The Fourth Fall - Chapter 23 preview (Patreon)

Late at night, and the hunting parties had returned. They had never managed to even come close to the settlement, still multiple li away even at their furthest point of search. To some extent, the distance these parties could stand to journey outwards was dictated by their mortal failings and their movement speed. In addition, of course, there were concerns about potential clashes, for this land was claimed by the Wei and Cai alike.

Watching the final groups come back, Wu Ying stood on his balcony, lips pursed in thought. They had not come close, not yet.

"Go to them," Yang Mu said, softly as she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his back. Wu Ying froze, unwilling to move as she held him, only relaxing a little after a moment when he realised she was holding him.

"Who?" He grunted as her grip tightened on him briefly.

"You know."

"I shouldn't. It's not my place. And if I'm found out..."

"Do you think they will catch you?" She raised an eyebrow, then realising he could not see it released him and moved around to watch Wu Ying, eyebrow still arched. "My little wind cultivator."

"It's not just about what I think..." He trailed off. "To risk so much..." He could not tell what troulbe might be caused, if he was found out. How someone else both stronger and wilier in the political arena might twist things. That dread lay in him, pushing against his honour, held him back. Fear for the future, of unknown consequences held him back.

"Yes, so much. For a village of innocents, who might be caught unawares in the battles to come. Or the hunting parties that will be sent out," Yang Mu murmured. "Will you let them suffer, when you could change it?"

"I should."

"Perhaps."

Wu Ying closed his eyes, then opened them after a time, the turbulence in his soul settling as his breathing relaxed. He turned to regard Yang Mu fully, staring into her eyes and finding himself offering a gentle smile. "Thank you." She returned the smile in return, not needing an explanation for why she was being thanked. "I'm a lousy immortal, aren't I? Unable to cut my ties to this world."

"Not all of us have to," she whispered. "I sometimes fear, that so many have untethered themselves from this mortal world, that they lack the moral compass anymore to function in the society above."

"You fear the immortals have become even more amoral?" Wu Ying said, surprised.

"When your dao overrides even the mortal soul within you, do you change? How much?" Yang Mu said, looking up at him. "The stories of ancestors, of immortal descendants returning and tearing up entire households, of guarding and hurting their families abound. Those few that do return, either at the behest of the Jade Emperor above or because of prior commitments. Most are not... good."

"Bastards, all of them," Wu Ying agreed. Oh, there were exceptions. Guan Yin, the ten immortals of peach island, the Guardians of the Gates of the Thousand Hells. They were well known to be kind to mortal and cultivator alike, and the buddha's were, of course, in their own way, exemplary individuals. Though their form of immortality was different too, their path a variance on the normal immortal one; even if they too cultivated and sought enlightenment of the greater Dao, though they might term it differently.

But the rest? The rest of the immortals who came were arrogant and cruel, uncaring of the mortal world below. The immortal who had chastisted the fire dragon that Wu Ying had once watched fight in the distance had cared not for the damage the dragon and their battle had caused. The immortal dragons who had played with him as a toy during their flight were no better than the immortals who had flitted in the distance in the typhoon.

Perhaps, though immortality and the rise to the Heavens might have great benefits, it too was broken to some extent. Though, to voice that concern, was blasphemy.

"Another time," he said, firmly. Another time, they'd talk and deal with what might be waiting for them. Immortality was not guaranteed, and for now, he had his own concerns to manage. "If I wish to visit them, I should leave."

"I'll cover for you, if necessary." A slight twist of her lips upwards. "Though I expect few will bother coming. Tou He is not here, and he is the only one who might disturb us while we are otherwise occupied." A small smile then. "There are advantages to being scandalous."

A smile and then shake of his head and he let himself fade, pulled along the gusts of wind. Pulled, through the mortal world across hundreds of li within the space of a breath.

Wu Ying reformed twice, forced to stop for a moment to regain his bearings. It was the action of a blink of an eye, as the world and his still mortal mind readjusted to his surroundings and he allowed himself to become the wind once more. The Wind Body - the full seven wind body - of his Body Cultivation was stronger in many ways than he had ever expected, though weaker too. He was no immortal wind, that could never be destroyed. While he might have faded into the wind itself, it left him vulnerable to attacks with specific killing intent or that damaged a wide area with spiritual component or an imposition of chi or dao. In his wind form, he was in the end, weaker, than he was while mortal.

It was, Wu Ying knew, a trade-off with his own decision not to become an immortal wind. Perhaps, given what he knew now, he might have been able to reform himself in his mortal form. He might have been able to avoid losing his mortal body entirely - but it would be a reflection of himself now. His wind body would be his real form, his mortal body a seeming. And while the pair might join further ahead as an immortal, where the line between wind and Wu Ying was absent, that was a frightening thought in itself.

For what wind would he be? All of them? None of them? He still struggled, he knew, with the winds of Heaven and Hell. Though he might have resolved some of the contradictions in their views, thoug he might have overcome his distaste of the overbearing authoritiy of the Heavens, the self-guided judgement and independence of the Hells, Wu Ying knew it was only a quite ditentate. Perhaps it would be possible to be allies, friends even, with the winds - accepting of some of their flaws, their failings without agreeing with them entirely.

Or perhaps, this conflict would see him fail when he rose. It was why he hesitated, why he chose to strengthen his immortal soul. For immortality did not require perfection in the dao one chose to pursue, just a sufficient degree of strength and understanding.

Perhaps.

A breath, another flickering moment of travel and dispersal and then he was there, standing before the silent settlement he had spotted long ago. He caught the spear that swung at him, catching it with his casual ease and stopping the attack.

"Good reflexes. But I am no enemy." Another frown as the man tugged, fighting him. He opened his mouth to shut, throwing himself backwards as he did so in fear of being attacked, calling for the aid. Calling about enemies. For his part, the wind cultivator could not help but sigh.

"Attack! Attack!" A hand moved down, sideways. A pouch was grabbed, the cords torn open and the contents flung at Wu Ying. The wind gathered the dust, pulling it into a ball at Wu Ying's automatic request, gathered tight and hovering before him. Yet, at the same time, small amounts dispersed, causing his eyes to water, his nose to drip and his throat to constrict.

Surprised, but not wanting to show it, he pulled a small jade box from his storage ring. The ball of red dust was placed within, the last dregs carefully guided within. The guard was staring at Wu Ying in surprise, his own body reacting to the trace amounts of the powder, his hands blistering at portions that had come into contact with the dust.

"Fascinating. A herbal detterent. And a powerful one," Wu Ying said, curiously. He wanted to know more, of course, but chose not to pursue the matter as yet. After all, the shouting was enough to draw additional villagers out of the building, the strongest clustering around him while others shouldered bags and belongings, some clad only in sleeping robes as they dragged childrenw ith them to flee.

"Who are you?" An older man demanded, one who was in his mid-50s if he had been a pure mortal with only a few Body Cleansing meridians open. Having nearly a full dozen cleared, he was likely closer to seventy than fifty. The steady hand he held the dao, the curved sabre resting on a shoulder where he could utilise to strike was relaxed but aggressive as well. "What do you want?"

"It's strange, how often those words are used," Wu Ying mused out loud.

"And you surprised many then?" the village head asked, for that was obviously what he was. In the distance, Wu Ying could sense the cultivatorsc limbing onto trees, bows aimed at him. "You make it a habit to appear where you are unwanted?"

"You'd be surprised," Wu Ying paused, eyed his sword and his surroundings, and then added "Or perhaps not. I'm no enemy, and I don't intend to hurt anyone. But I won't take constant attacks lying down either."

"You say you're no enemy, but you threaten us."

"A warning." Wu Ying raised a hand, the one holding the jade box. "I could have done a lot more, a lot worst if I meant harm." He paused, frowning and called forth the wind at the edges of the village, the howling gusts and the sudden breeze causing some of those who clustered around him, spearmen and archers to tense. "I also have another warning to offer."

"Then you'd leave?"

"Yes." Wu Ying nodded the way he came. "You might have noticed the spirit instruments that flew by. You might have even heard the noise of their descent. If you have soothsayers, they might have told you about our arrival. But most of all, you need to know, we are not leaving soon. And if you stay, I fear, you'll be found out."

"Found out." The headman of the village snorted. "As though we have not been already. And who are these figures?"

"The State of Cai, Wei and Shen are meeting to discuss a peace agreement."

"Three tigers meet around a watering hole, the deer should beware, eh?" the headman stared long and hard at Wu Ying, turning his head as he listened to the cries of his people. They were cries of surprise and annoyance, but none of anger or fear. When he looked up, the archers who could see what was happening only shook their head. "Why aid us then, cultivator?"

Wu Ying was not oblivious to the lack of title or the rudeness shown to him. On the other hand, he chose to ignore it. Multiple cultures had little enough care for strangers as he'd experienced before, and while most were wary and polite because of the potential danger a powerful cultivator might bring, he assumed a breakaway settlement like this had its own culture. One that respected his achievements and strength little it seemed.

"Why offer food to a hungry dog or coin to a beggar?" Wu Ying replied. "Charity is its own reward, acts of kindness and goodness need not be explained."

"Perhaps not, but there's no guarantee you're not manipulating us for your own ends." Again the man replied, challengingly.

Wu Ying hesitated at the blatant suspicion. He wondered what he could say to remove it, and then realised a moment later, perhaps there was little. After all, he was a stranger and this, their home. He was asking them to leave it, on nothing more than his say-so. He himself was not certain he would have done as much, even if he had once uprooted his own village before.

Funny, how the past echoed with the present at times.

"You are right," Wu Ying said, eventually. "There is little I can say to convince you. So, take my words under advisement. Or not. But they will arrive, if not within days but weeks."

"Weeks, you say." Again the considering look from the head of the village.

All the while,  members of the village slowly made their way over as danger subsided. Some, the more cautious, were sneaking into a larger building, one that had been carefully insulated, minor and crude enchantments drawn upon the walls to block notice and preserve the food within. At first sight, one might believe the well insulated building was a cold room; dug deep into the earth to help preserve milk and meat alike. And it was, but there was a secondary use - one that the stream of individuals enterring the building were utilising it for. A hidden passage, an exit that bypassed sight that led far away.

Wu Ying debated blocking their passage. Chose not to. A cornered rat was more dangerous than ever, and he had only meant to delay their passage. Allow him to finish his conversation, before it was time to go.

And it was time.

"Yes. Choose, or not." Wu Ying pointed in the direction he had come from. "If you leave, I would not recommend that way." Outside of that, there were monsters, locations that were dangerous to tread upon. But these people had lived here for this long, they obviously knew it better than him. To caution them further would be foolish on his part. Even coming here might have been folish. "I wish you the best." nclining his head, he took a step back, an unecessary motion to start his disappearance. But less startling for them. Only for the village head to hold a hand out to stop him. "Yes?"

"Is that it? You come here, you disturb our sleep, breach our defenses and leave a cryptic warning and then... leave? Is that all the aid you intend to offer?" the man sounded angry now, hand clenching tight around the dao over his shoulder. "Is that all you think of us, cultivator?"

"And what do I owe you?" Wu Ying said, curious now, unaffected by the anger radiating off the other. "We have no relation. You are not even potential countrymen of mine."

"You came anyway. So is this all the aid you'll offer then?"

"What is it with people?" the wind cultivator mused, out loud. "I owe you and this village nothing, and yet, I step out of my way to help. Call it a whim, if you will. But now, you demand more. More and more, though you already know I care nott o do so. Do you think, demanding more, you'll succeed? If you do, do you think perhaps, the next time, I might refuse to step out of my way for another?"

"Should I care for these theoretical others? These are my people. They are not. And you, with your strength, your ability can do so much more." The head man jerked his head to the side, nearly clipped himself on the dao as he indicated the few civilians, the ones not holding weapons, who'd crept close to listen. Courageous enough not to run, unlike the majority. "If we leave, many of us will die."

"Many of you already do." In the distance, the wind had found it. The overturned earth, the gravestones marking the fallen. A cemetery, hidden in the shadows and replete with flowers, stones laid upon the ground to stop creatures from digging up the corpses beneath. Well cared for, even here.

"And you condemn even more to death. These guards, these riders might never find us. They might not care, we're here."

Wu Ying inclined his head in acknowledgment of the point, held here now by curiosity. And a little annoyance. "Truth. And you can stay. That is your choice."

"Even if we left, where would we go to? There's no place for us out there."

Now he held a hand up, the wind cultivator forestalling further words. "Don't. If you tell me something that requires me to act, I will be... upset. Your reasons are your own. Heretical cultivators or just those fleeing, leave it be." He considered a moment, his eyes skipping over the group, taking in the fighters. The slipshod armour and weapons some held, the lack of strength in the majority. Even the pulsing aura that some contained. He considered his feelings, the guilt laid upon him and his own conscience. His decision to meddle, when he could have left things alone.

Perhaps he should have left. But now that he had started, he was committed. Could he offer them weapons, pills, techniques? Of course. Were there innocents in here? Certainly. It was what had driven him to act. But how far should he step out of the way, when he had his own obligations, his own needs? When his actions could cause further trouble, for himself and others?

Well. If he had wanted to be anonymous entirely, perhaps he could have taken another tack. Blown apart their buildings perhaps, scared them into leaving. Instead, he stood here.

So.

"For the children." Because of those here, he would try to save them. And perhaps they might not agree, perhaps they might not accept it or even offer it to them. But then it would be on their conscience, not his. He tossed the bundle of talismans to the headsman, nine in total - three more for their parents and guardians, for a child without them would be condemned to death as much - and this time, did not stay to wait. Nine aura, sight and smell suppressing talismans. He had dozens on-hand, for the introduction of new wild gatherers. It cost him little, but perhaps might save a few.

Or not.

He turned his attention away, left the winds to tell him of danger. He could not save them all, and had done what he would. Not could. And perhaps, that gnawing guilt left behind, that certainty that one could do more was why the immortals turned away. Why so many chose not to act.

Finding a balance, between guidance and aid, between leaving those beneath to grow and strengthen through their trials and letting them be crushed beneath was a constant test. Of one's soul and heart. A test that had no right answer, not even in the moment. Perhaps not even in the future, when all events had passed.

For fire is good and bad.