Heaven's Laws - Lifestone - Chapter 61 - Part 1

“You’re leaving?” The beautiful Fairy Eu-meh asked as he turned away.

His training gave his grin a confidence he didn’t have. “Not all of my sect are like Harnish. I have to save who I can.”

“Do you want us to come with you?” The tawny skinned fire cultivator said, stepping away from the mobile palace. They’d just finished gathering everyone on the first floor from the joint sect and they’d piled in.

“No. I’ll be able to freely move alone.”

The blond fairy that had taken the lead appeared at the man’s side. “If you return alone, we’ll grant you entrance, but if you have others from your sect…”

“I understand.” He gave them a martial bow.

“Best of luck, Brother Baros,” Li Qiang called out.

The group he’d traveled with for such a short time returned his salute.

He didn’t waste anymore time. What his Dvora had done in insisting she needed to warn her sect had sparked something in him. It was like he finally had the freedom to act as he willed, and he didn’t hold back.

As he exited the Divine Spire and saw his fellow Morning Midst Villagers surrounding the only entrance, he didn’t feel fear or animosity, but the most potent joy he ever remembered feeling.

To the water cultivators surrounding him it would’ve been almost a substantive thing. He couldn’t hide his smile, knowing that the emotion would help disguise his purpose.

Bowing to the elder in charge, he announced. “The cultivators inside have taken a defensive position. I’m to head to the perimeter.”

The man waved to him. “Go.”

As soon as permission was granted, he sped off to where he knew Renz was positioned. His friend had been given the task to stop anyone from leaving. The extent to which Sage Harnish would harm other sects, he wasn’t sure. He suspected the sage would just want to control the information as to what happened to Pangfua and the joint sect, but for such a plot it would just be far safer to kill everyone involved.

There were shortcomings to that as well. Making people believe it had been a great accident would be easier if several of the smaller sects present fully believed it. Pangfua had said she’d keep watch on the vault’s defensive array after all, so the groundwork was already set.

Glancing back toward the spire, he couldn’t help but to worry about Dvora. He inwardly pleaded with the heavens that she’d make it out alive.

His eyes turned to the giant array formation Harnish had set that covered the entire outside encampment. It wasn’t strong enough to stop stronger Earth Realm cultivators from leaving, but it would warn those at the perimeter that they were.

As for the people that had been outside of the spire, Baros saw them all herded together. There was some segmentation in the camp, like the Night Pearl Sect which was separate and showed a mild amount of hospitality. The Ice and Fire Phoenix Sects were not shown the same kindness. Elder Sya and her husband Brother Tu stood at the forefront of the largest group outside the Morning Midst’s own overwhelming numbers. Their main source of power was that his sect had twice the number of Sky Realm cultivators present than all the other sects combined. Many of them had just arrived today.

Renz wasn’t hiding. He was with a group at the gate where they’d normally greet newcomers. They shared a look, and his friend knew something was going on.

Repeating what he’d said to the elder at the spire’s entrance, he took his place and his friend’s side.

After the attention was off him, Renz said in hushed tones, “What is it?”

“We need to leave.”

He felt his friend’s emotion. He was assured—relieved. Renz’s directness in battle had never been a good fit for the sect, but had he been wrong him Had he also desired to leave all this time?

“Brother Baros and I will do a quick sweep,” Renz called out, getting a nod from their senior.

They took off at a run, remaining within the array. The gate was near the middle of the perimeter, but Renz only led him halfway to the wall before diverting course and heading inward.  There was one of the more permanent structures in their path, which Renz stopped behind. He was careful as he scanned their surroundings. Glancing around the corner, his friend asked. “What’s this all about?”

“I’m leaving. I want you to come with me.”

His friend still wasn’t facing him. Baros still felt the man’s reaction. It wasn’t as overwhelming as his own elation at final feeling like he was doing what he was meant to do, but it was similar. His friend felt relief at his words.

“Harnish can’t win,” he began to explain.

Renz turned in a relaxed manner. He knew the man well enough to know his grin was genuine.

With the sudden spike in his friend’s qi, came pain. He looked down to find a curved dagger had pierced him below the ribs. Its curve was designed for this very purpose, to slide upward and pierce the heart or lungs.

This was the man he’d grown up with.

Renz’s expression changed. There was cruelty scoffing back and him that he’d never seen in the past.

“As soon as you took Sage Harnish’s mission, I knew you were planning to betray the sect.”

His mouth began to move, but before he could speak, Renz slid the dagger out of his stomach. One word managed to escape his mouth in a mostly intelligible manner. “Friend.”

“You’ve always been a self-righteous fool—too blind to see that I’ve been using you as a whetstone to sharpen my skills all these years. There was a time I even tried to persuade you to stay, but your presence is annoying.”

A fist found his open wound and Baros felt forward without the strength to catch himself. He found the grass cool on his cheek. To lose so much strength already, he knew his betrayer’s blade had pierced its target. The heart wasn’t always a fatal wound for someone in the Earth Realm if he were able to get treatment.

If Renz had said anything else, he didn’t hear him. Nor did he hear his leave. He did the only thing he could and removed the best lifesaving mediation he had then swallowed it. He didn’t believe it would be enough.

There was regret, but there was also a calm that soothed him that he couldn’t right explain. He’d been right. Not about Renz. If he’d forced the issue when they were younger, perhaps, but that man had given himself over to Sage Harnish’s teaching. He should’ve known better. He had. To be honest is to be vulnerable.

What he’d been right about was following his conscience, even if it hadn’t worked out. He needed to make sure Dvora knew what he’d tried to do. That’s he’d tried to be a good man, and for once he’d succeeded.

An empty card jade appeared in his hand. With the last of his strength, he began to write with his perceptions.