Heaven's Laws - Monolith - Chapter 67 - part b

Pangfua placed herself right in front of the Morning Midst Sect Master.

Unwilling to let his big sister face the sage after what she’d just been through, Chao moved to cut her off, but Huifen was too fast. She was already there by the time he started moving and even Elder Alfori placed herself between him and the near-peak water sage.

That great dragon inside him that demanded justice roared out when a blaring flame warmed the area and Sect Master Uilleam shot off into the distance.

The Night Pearl’s Ginevra seemingly disappeared only to reappear in the distance to attack again.

A liquefied flood dragon struck down the follow up attack. The qi-serpent’s body nearly covered the sky, showing off the might of the water sage.

The moon sage wasn’t as flashy, but her ability to evade his perceptions sent a chill of fear throughout Chao’s body. The speed of such battles made a cultivator’s normal senses almost useless. Their perceptions were all they had to follow along. If it wasn’t for his strategy of surrounding himself in space, he couldn’t be sure he could defeat her. And if she intended to assassinate him when he was unaware? There was no doubt her flare of fire qi could do the job in an instant.

As powerful as the Morning Midst Sect Master was, the most impressive thing about him was how he was able to defend against the woman’s attacks. The water dragon had a long body. It encircled the man, shifting to intercept each attack.

She didn’t just attack from front, flank, and back, but shot in from above and below. She was like a bird of prey swooping in from every direction on its aerial target. Her speed was enough that he was having trouble fighting back. No, he simply wasn’t.

“What’s going on?” Chao said allowed. Why did it seem like the Night Pearl Sect Master was taking Harnish’s death harder than the man’s only Sect Master? And weren’t they allies of more than a thousand years?

Huifen suddenly shot past him, setting off the chime of the array as she dived toward the earth. Then he saw it. Some of the kowtowing disciples and elders of the man Dvora had just killed had risen to their feet and were about to take the woman by force. He watched as his wife blasted downward with ice qi, sending the lot of them back to the ground. Most of them sprawled backward this time.

As his wife arrived at her side, Dvora didn’t just let her take the blade, but handed it to her. Words passed between them.

As interested as he was in their discussion, he trusted his wife to handle it. He returned his attention to the spectacle of water and fire. He’d been responsible for the deaths of half the overlords on the continent, but in all actuality, he’d seen very few in action. Their goal during the battle against Emperor Sun was to kill their enemies as quickly as possible before they could become a problem. They’d been remarkably efficient.

Chao didn’t have an emotion numbing technique, but after his time in his father’s training construct, very few things bothered him even if he was startled. As he watched the duel rage, he felt his heart thunder in his chest. Water cultivation really did make for exceptional defense. As for what the Night Pearl Sect cultivated, it was even more fascinating. It was undoubtedly fire cultivation, but their focus on the moon and their veils gave it some unique characteristics. It made him wonder if their ability to hide their perceptions was because there were concepts they cultivated just as the Li family did with the sword and sharpness. He was almost sure of it.

It made him think of the moon and its many attributes. It reflects light, but it doesn’t produce heat. It’s filtered light, or veiled, giving it a pale softness. The moon was even talented with concealing itself depending on the time of the month and seasons. It couldn’t control the amount of light it reflected, but that didn’t mean cultivators that imitated it wouldn’t develop such a technique.

After a quarter hour, there was no sign the duel would be over anytime soon.

Elder Alfori had descended to help with Dvora. Chao even saw Mother Sya fly up carrying many disciples with her qi with the help of a few elders. Father Tu was there. The man gave him a nod. He flew forward to accompany Pangfua who had been hovering all alone.

“Big Sister,” he said as he joined her.

She gave him a quaint grin but didn’t turn away from the fight. There was silence between them for many minutes before she said, “Their story is a tragic one. It should be over soon.”

He tilted his head to the side, unsure how she’d come to her conclusion. “Who will win?”

“They aren’t fighting, Little Brother. Just working out frustrations in a way familiar to them. I’ve seen it once before.”

“I—I don’t understand.”

“It’s not my story to tell, but just know that Sage Ginevra lost a son today.”

The color ran from his face. “Should we be wary?”

Pangfua shook her head.

“Did we kill him? Her son?”

“Not just hers. Their son.” She looked at him before realizing she was being unnecessarily cryptic. “Harnish.”

He was suddenly at a loss for words. His mouth even moved but nothing came out. Finally something slipped out. “Harnish was the son of two sages?”

“Yes, but he’s not related to Sect Master Uilleam by blood. As I said, the story is a tragic one, but he adopted the boy as his own. Even raised him in his own sect. I mustn’t say more. Besides, they’re about to finish.”

Chao returned his attention to the fight as he puzzled through what she had said. There was a sudden wail that carried as far as Sage Ginevra’s explosive flares. The water dragon was gone in an instant and from a few kilometers away, he saw the two dueling sages embrace.

The Night Pearl Sect Master had thrown herself at Sage Uilleam. Her face was buried in his chest. Her weeping was mostly silent, but even an earth realm cultivator could see her shudder with each sob.

“They will join us when they’re ready,” Pangfua said.

He watched as Uilleam started to undo the moon sage’s braid. The man carefully picked the strands apart before he ran his fingers through it.

Chao didn’t know the story, but he didn’t have to in order to sense the danger. This wasn’t the danger of life and death. It alarmed him just as much as if it was. The way Uilleam was holding her. Their familiarity.

His eyes darted downward where he found his Huifen once again kneeling with Dvora.

She seemed to sense him. She looked up and their eyes met. He knew enough about the Night Pearl Sect and Morning Midst Village to know their physical location weren’t close. Certainly two sages could meet each day if they put in the effort, but it was far enough to make it bothersome. It begged the question, why would two people who obviously cared for each other put such distance between them?

Pangfua had said Harnish was their son, but he wasn’t Uilleam’s by blood. Did that mean their relationship had started later or had Ginevra been unfaithful?

Even though Huifen could tell something was wrong in his expression, she gave him a sympathetic grin and turned back to the girl. There was already much they had to discuss later. This just added another thing to the list.

It wasn’t long before the once dueling sect masters headed in their direction. They were no longer embracing but remained close.

As soon as they reached Pangfua, they both saluted her and apologized.

Chao didn’t regret Harnish’s death, but it still grieved him that they’d lost a son, and he was directly involved in his death. He was compelled to say something. “I lament your loss.” He bowed his head without taking his eyes off them.

Sect Master Uilleam gave him an inquisitive look. “This is?”

“Sage Uilleam. Sage Ginevra,” Pangfua said in turn. “Let me introduce you to Sage Long Chao.”

“The young sage that is husband to your sage Huifen?” Ginevra asked. Her tone was a strict one still overcast by her earlier sobs.

He felt the sudden urge to defend his wife. “I had every intention of killing Sage Harnish myself, but my Huifen stopped me. She sought to save as many of your disciples as possible and was injured in the processes.”

“Chao,” Pangfua hissed.

“It’s alright, Little Sister,” Uilleam responded.

“Yes,” the moon sage agreed. “It’s been over nine hundred years since we could consider Harnish a boy. He was always up to mischief, but his schemes have only become viler as time passed. There have been accusations. To think he would turn to murder, and that of someone we consider a friend…”

Chao realized the strict edge to the fairy’s tone was more that of a practiced disciplinarian than accusatory. It reminded him of some ice fairies who always seemed to be scowling without scowling when using heart of ice.

“Well met, young sage,” Sect Master Uilleam said with a friendly bow of his head. “We regret that we’re meeting under these circumstances. We were looking forward to meeting you both.”

Chao saluted them both but didn’t know how to respond.

Pangfua saved him. “There’s some business we should address.”

The sages all glanced down to see Dvora sitting there in a daze with Huifen and Elder Alfori at her side.

“Do you know this girl who would dare murder a discipline in the presence of his sect master?” The water sage asked. He sounded as curious as he was angry.

“I do.” His response drew all their attention. He began to say that she was an acquaintance but thought better of it. If she hadn’t warned Pangfua and sent Brother Baros to them, many more would’ve died today. “She’s a friend.”

He briefly told them how she’d drugged him and tried to seduce him. Seeing their reactions, he grinned. Looking to the Morning Midst Sect Master, he directed his response to him. “Brother Baros, your disciple that warned us that Sister Pangfua was being attacked and came to warn his friends not to fight before they stabbed him in the back, was secretly engaged to her. He begged us to spare her.”

Chao didn’t spare the moon sage. “He said that she was just acting on orders and wanted to leave her sect because she despised the deception. They both did. Huifen and I encouraged them. If I had to guess, Sister Dvora has found Brother Baros’s would be killer.”

He felt Pangfua’s glare, but she needn’t worry. Neither sage responded in anger. They didn’t even try to defend their sects.

“Uilleam, it’s all our fault,” the moon sage said.

“It’s my fault,” the water sage countered. “I didn’t do a good enough job with Harnish.”

“No. You were a wonderful father to him. He did this to himself, but the sects’ practices… The guilt is on our heads.”

The Morning Midst sage didn’t object. He did say, “Pangfua, would you act as mediator?”

“It would be my honor,” she said with a bow.

And so the four of them descended.