[MA] 156. Madam Pihu (Patreon)

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[A/N: 1/3 chapters I owe you. I now owe you 2 chapters. Next chapter on Tuesday.]

Shen's policy on his aura was simple: he would rather no one had to feel it and would go out of his way to prevent unnecessary discomfort.

However, everyone was fair game until the Rift War was over.

Almost every single person in the area was there to fight, with very few exceptions. That meant they would potentially face at least ten other aura users. Getting used to his aura would be to their advantage in the incoming battle.

Yet, there were exceptions.

Some people brought commoner family or friends along. They were too weak to help in any way, including with the overground bureaucracy. They tired too fast and did things too slowly compared to even F-ranks.

Even many of the armed commoners who had come to help in the fight, who supposedly were harder people, simply gave up after feeling Shen's aura. Those who stayed strong still needed rest, so they were kept in military training for the grand battle or doing less critical jobs underground if they wanted.

Yes, underground. The weak commoners who didn't want to leave were separated into a magically built underground area—exactly four hundred yards below ground. That way, Shen could move around freely in a veritable war zone without the need to avoid anyone.

The underground was open for anyone to visit in their free time, and Shen reckoned it had become a sort of subterranean city where most people liked to hang out.

He wished he could see it.

Despite the safeguards, a protected commoner sometimes found its way into his aura. They weren't locked underground, though they were very vocally warned about the dangers of going up.

Shen had felt terrible the first time a weak commoner had been subjected to his aura. The poor man had emptied his bladder on his panPrevious Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapterts right before fainting.

However, he had grown calloused to it after the hundredth time. There were too many people around, and he had to go places. This was a war zone. He was their general and strongest combatant, and time was limited. It was an unfortunate matter of fact that accidents would happen.

So he hadn't cared much about the girl's scream in the hovercar when he met Sai. He had felt her in the vehicle even before hearing her reaction. It had been uncomfortable for her, but she would survive without mental scarring, and he couldn't be expected to ask permission to move about in his war camp.

That said, he did care about placing her under the same duress again—as was about to happen.

Sai was visibly upset while holding the seven-year-old by the hand. Shen didn't need his learning ability to ascertain their kinship; their faces were so similar it was eerie.

Both were approaching Shen's aura range, though Sai also looked unwilling and deep in thought. He moved much slower than Alicia, who slowed her pace to stay beside him.

Shen stepped back, and it caused Alicia and Sai to stop. Alicia sighed, told Sai to wait, and approached alone—clenching her jaw again when she entered his aura.

She looked curiously at the growing light beside Shen. "What's this?"

He shook his head. "I suppose someone is teleporting in very slowly. I would bet on Marzia because of the timing." He nodded at Sai. "What's that about?"

Alicia raised an eyebrow and looked pensive. "Marzia, huh?" She shook her head slightly. "Sai's supposed to introduce his sister to you while his mother helps on the front desks."

Shen frowned. "Only military commoners in training should stay overground," he stated the obvious.

Alicia sighed, this time much deeper than before. "Madam Pihu is... hard to refuse." Shen guessed that was Sai's mother's name. "She told Sai to bring Ananya to see you and wouldn't take no for an answer. Not even after I told them what happened to Carlisha."

Shen felt a pang of guilt when he heard the name of the woman he had traumatized by accident. She still hadn't recovered.

He looked at Sai and Ananya. The girl stood still behind her brother, looking down at the ground and only giving Shen quick, afraid glances from time to time.

He sighed. "I'm not subjecting the kid to my aura again, and whoever let a non-combatant commoner help on the front desks will be demoted as soon as I deal with this light." It was better to be understaffed—which they were not—than to have the wrong people at the wrong place. That could cause all kinds of issues. He raised his smartphone for Sai to see and waved it a little. "Do you think he'll understand I'm telling him to call me?"

"Unless he's an idiot, he will."

= - = - =

"...and you, young man, you better get out here before you fall on your toes," Pihu said firmly.

"Ma'am, with all due respect—" the boy started, but she was having none of that.

"Young man," she interrupted, "if you respect me, get some rest!"

No one should be forced to work for thirty hours straight, much less a child in a military costume, pretending to be a soldier. He still had baby fat on his cheeks! That was inhuman!

"Go rest, soldier," Lieutenant Amos Kasher finally intervened. "It's an order."

The boy made as if to complain, but Pihu had raised five children and knew how to look at them the right way. He looked at her, then at the Lieutenant, and just turned around and moved away.

The other people on the triage line pretended they weren't looking.

She smiled at her impromptu rescuer. Amos Kasher was a bald white man with a long gray beard and dark eyes. He was old, yet his muscles filled his fatigues, and he looked like he could wrestle a lion—and win. He had been assigned as Pihu's aide, and to her surprise, he hadn't complained about it or even looked upset in the slightest.

"Do you make them all work like this?" she asked with a demanding tone despite her smile.

Her children had learned to fear that, but Kasher was immune to it—for now.

He kept a stoic face as he replied, "Guardians must work a minimum of twelve hours per day but are encouraged to work more. We don't need rest, ma'am, and we have a war at our hands. Unnecessary resting will only give the enemy an edge."

"But even soldiers like resting, don't you?" she insisted.

"Some do," he conceded, but everything from his voice to posture made it clear he was not one of them.

"Well, old man, you better rest and enjoy some of your life sometimes. You must remember why you're fighting in the first place."

"I'm fighting for revenge, ma'am. My family is already dead. There's nothing left to enjoy." His voice became heavier, but his face still betrayed no emotion.

Pihu knew better than to let a sad story stop her from talking some sense to someone. "And if you disconnect yourself from the world, what will you be willing to do for your revenge?"

"Anything," he said while she was still with her mouth open and planning on talking more.

"Well, you better think twice," she immediately countered. "How far will you go when someone else's son is on the way if you don't care about anything else anymore? Vanya's husband joined the military to give her a better life, then started beating her because he felt so tormented by everything he had to do. Will you be like him? Will you make the world an even worse place because you forgot it can be any good?"

Kasher said nothing for a few seconds. Pihu thought she had gotten to him, but she couldn't be any wronger.

He looked her straight in the eyes and asked, "Is that why you told your blood-soaked assassin of a son to babysit your daughter while he walks toe to toe with our beloved  mass murderer of a leader?"

She wouldn't have any of that. "You called my boy a blood-soaked assassin, Lieutenant, but you want revenge. Some people are evil and deserve to die. That's what my boy does."

She wasn't stupid. Little Sai's money had to come from somewhere, and he looked like an assassin who had come straight out of a bad fantasy movie. He even had scary-looking oversized knives.

But she also knew her boy and was sure he had a good heart in his chest and a good head on his shoulders. He wouldn't do evil to the world.

She had raised him better than that.

Kasher pretended he hadn't even heard as he kept pushing. "Is that the reason you pushed your seven years old daughter toward a level of mental stress that no one understands? A terror that makes grown men shit on their pants? To make the boy remember humanity is worth fighting for? Whose benefit was it for? Your son's or Feng Shen's? Your son's or Earth's?"

Pihu's smile died.

"We all sacrifice whatever we are willing to for the goals we find worthy," he continued. "You just sacrificed your daughter and maybe your son. I'm sacrificing myself. At least I'm not using my children to further my agenda. So keep your false empathy and hypocrisy for the sheep who can't tell no to a noisy motherly figure."

He stepped closer to look down at her. "I was ordered to escort you, and I'll be the world's best errand boy, ma'am. I'll even make soldiers obey your stupid orders just so we can all have an easier time. But I won't take your nonsense. You better remember that."

Pihu pursed her lips but didn't let that bitterness discourage her. She had dealt with stubborn men ever since her husband passed away.

She had also learned the steep cost of staying silent when she should speak up.

She had lost three children that way.

"You're a sad old man, Lieutenant, but believe me, I'll make you see the light yet," she said. "Do you want to make a bet?"

For the first time, he showed emotion on his face: slight surprise. "What kind of bet?"

"I bet my boy will not put my girl through the... what was it called? Aura? He will not let her enter that Feng boy's aura."

Kasher's surprise turned into a slight frown before reverting to a stoic face. "What are we wagering?"

"If I'm right, you'll take a day off. If I'm wrong, I'll go to that boring underground and play a nice old senile lady being protected by my betters."

"Deal," he said too quickly.

Pihu smiled triumphantly. If anything, she still knew how to set a bait.

As for the reason she had ordered Sai to bring Ananya into Feng Shen's aura, it was simple. Pihu had raised five children and erred on many things, but she had also learned the lesson on those things. If she had taught her oldest to ignore stupid orders from his boss, he wouldn't have driven drunk, and she wouldn't be three children short.

However, a mother couldn't just tell a son to disregard the words of someone they admired. Therefore, she was teaching her boy to ignore her stupid order so he could, in the future, ignore Feng Shen's.

She hadn't even considered everything Kasher had assumed. Yet, having the Feng boy remember common humans existed and had feelings could be a nice bonus. The universe always rewarded those who tried to do good with more good.

Pihu turned away from the Lieutenant. "Now, where's my table? I have work to do."

= - = - =

Sai dialed Shen—the latter had sent his number by email.

"In hindsight, surprising you wasn't the best idea," Sai said as soon as the man picked up.

Sai wanted to blame his oversight on his instincts—assassins didn't want anyone to know about their arrival. However, he had to admit it was mostly because he wanted his family to have a better chance of escaping if Shen proved to be a crazy mass murderer. His logic was that a forewarned psychopath wouldn't let anyone slip through their fingers, but an unprepared one just might.

Sai had severely underestimated the cultivator's growth.

"Sorry about trying to kill you," he continued. That sentence felt very awkward.

"Whoever attacks me as soon as they feel my aura is automatically excused," Shen replied. He wasn't blind to his aura's effects on people; his issue was with those who planned their attacks after getting used to it, like the few he had just maimed. "It happens regularly. Fleeing was also allowed until the Call to Arms. I don't know whether Marzia will excuse the deserters under this circumstance, not now that deserting is a capital offense."

He paused, then continued, "I also apologize for it. Getting into my aura without expecting it can be harsh, especially for commoners, but your sister will be alright. Even those who have it the worst get over it in a couple of days. Almost everyone gets over it within a few hours."

Alicia had explained auras to Sai and his mother. Auras were an expression of part of Reality going through someone to affect a limited range more strongly.

In other words, Shen's Path's Concepts were strengthened around him, and most of the said Concepts were related to battle. Therefore, the heightened Concepts felt like the very air around people was about to kill them.

To normies—or commoners, as everyone was calling them in the camp—with no contact with Concepts, it was similar to what they would feel if they were naked in the open during a deadly storm. However, they later realized they had survived without a single drop of water falling on them, much less being struck by the cutting winds or fatal lightning bolts. In other words, their minds couldn't quite understand what had happened.

So, they rationalized it as either imagining things or the situation not being as terrible as they remembered. Comparatively, it was like realizing they had been comfy in a solid, safe underground shelter during the storm. Or even like forgetting a nightmare.

In a way, Reality itself had been responsible for the experience, not Shen. That made it easier for the mind to deal with.

However, the opposite was also true; seeing Reality act aggressively was though.

Alicia had told a tale of two days ago. Two commoners had been around when Shen stopped a fight between Guardians using his aura. He had dismembered them with a twist of his will.

One commoner had only seen it from afar and classified the affair as magic shenanigans, but the other had been in the aura.

That woman, Carlisha, was still staring at empty air and ignoring all external stimuli. The shock of feeling—not seeing but being there to feel it—Reality itself bend to destroy a person was too much for the ordinary mind to deal with. The doctors believed she would recover within a few weeks or months, but that remained to be seen.

Sai clenched Ananya's hand a little as he recalled the tale. His sister was already much better than Sai had expected. She had kept crying desperately for almost ten minutes after feeling Shen's aura for the first time, then suddenly started behaving almost normally, although a little more timid than usual.

But did Sai want to put her through it again?

He had no idea what his mother was thinking when he told him to bring her to Sai's aura again. To be honest, it sounded like child abuse. But his mother wouldn't put Ananya in harm's way, would she?

What in Shiva's name was going on?

And what was he supposed to do?

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