Chapter 141
Leo, the Piper
Leo returned to the longhouse rather rattled and tired; the whole while he tried desperately to battle away any thoughts, in want of calm and silence more so than anything else in the world. Luckily, the longhouse provided precisely that; animals, as though they'd known, had dispersed and left elsewhere, while the kids, too, were missing. Azariel must have left to keep an eye out, leaving behind the reticent kind of the world that he loved.
He climbed up to his room and went out to the terrace overlooking the surrounding canopy of trees, seating himself onto the familiar frame of a chair, enjoying its temporary creak and crack, and closing his eyes as he melded further back into the form.
What now?
It was a ponderous and loaded question, and one bereft of a singular answer. Now... now he had to win a war, he knew, a war he didn't even know was happening not an hour ago. What war, even? War from within the forest? War from outside of it? And win it—how? How precisely? He wasn't even allowed to leave the Forest, not yet anyway. Maybe he was being urged to cultivate a hundred times harder than he already was in hopes of reaching whatever arbitrary cutoff there was for leaving this place?
Maybe it wasn't up to him to win the war, but just to facilitate the outcome? Perhaps the world was external and had nothing to do with either him or the forest, but if it were to be considered as 'having won it,' he'd have to become a passive sort of participant? No, it was all just guesswork. He was blind in ways that he was entirely unaware of until he came here. The lack of knowledge, and the lack of means to gain that knowledge, was maddening. He'd taken it for granted, back on Earth, how quickly and easily he could inform himself of anything.
On a date with a girl who kept yammering about some or another conflict somewhere in the world? A quick bathroom break was enough to load up on the few bits and pieces of knowledge to fool her into believing he had a vested interest in much else besides himself. There was no such thing here; even if he dropped the facade completely and outright began asking the most inane questions, he felt he'd still remain blind.
Sighing, he took out a jug of the bad alcohol that Lu Yang brought and took a few sips; it was still bad, like raw vinegar sweetened by a spoonful of sugar that also, somehow, had some salt and sauerkraut. He winced and clicked his teeth, feeling the quickly fading burn; it was better than nothing, however, and he desperately craved it.
Then again, he loathed the sensation.
He did not want to yearn for alcohol of all things—but it was almost his 'default setting' any time he'd get stressed. As far back as his teenage years, he'd try to combat the stress by getting so drunk that his body would stop functioning.
The memories dulled the desire as he set aside the bottle and opened his eyes, staring out over the railing and at the auburn bark. The branches curled like hair strands, inwardly under the gravity's pull, leaves scattering in familiar patterns along the bodice. Here and there, marble-sized and shaped fruits hung loosely, occasionally swaying under the grasp of the local flutter.
He frowned for a moment before relaxing; his 'senses,' as it were, picked up some newcomers in the approaching distance, though a quick overlook revealed familiar—and some unfamiliar—signatures. The kids have returned, some strangers in tow.
Putting away the bottle, he went over to the pond for a quick swim before putting on a fresh set of robes and returning to the longhouse. By the time he'd come back, others were just fifty yards away, and he went behind the house to meet them.
Yue and Liang led the charge, chattering about something, while there were two figures walking with rather uncertain footsteps just behind them: an older man and a younger woman. And, at the far back, there was Lu Yang, hands behind his back, head craned toward the sky, humming something.
"Master!!" Yue and Liang both exclaimed and quickly sprinted over as soon as they'd spotted him, bowing swiftly in unison. His heart swelled for a moment as he smiled.
"Hey, you two. Welcome back."
"Thank you, Master!"
"I see we have some guests," he said, glancing momentarily over the two newcomers but not paying them too much attention; he garnered that they were the 'helpers' Yu Minge and Xiaoling sent over, and he didn't want to stress them too much too quickly. "I'll start preparing a dinner quickly."
"Aah, Master's food," Yue said. "We ran out a few days back and had to eat something else. Phew. It wasn't even food."
"Hey!" Lu Yang called out from the rear, appearing somewhat angered.
"You looked even more disgusted eating it than we did," Liang, surprisingly, chimed in.
"I know, but still... I tried my best!"
"Well, we've learned that you shouldn't."
"Okay, before this becomes a thing—or, well, more of a thing," Leo interrupted. "Settle our guests in while I fix us a meal. And apologize to Grandpa Yang. He tried his best."
"... why do you loathe me?" Lu Yang asked as Leo grinned, leading the charge to the other side of the house.
As though fate wanted it so, Shui'er and Hino both emerged from the shrubberies at that time, followed shortly after by Azariel. The trio paused, as did Leo, sighing inwardly and wondering whether the imagined faces would match the reality.
He glanced back, and, indeed, they were a perfect match; both Yue and Liang had strange looks on their faces as their eyes darted between Hino and Leo, while Lu Yang at least momentarily bothered masking it at all, though, in some ways, the subtle, hidden dagger was a whole lot sharper than the kids'.
"We'll have a greeting ceremony later," Leo said. "Kids, go get cleaned up. I'll fix us a meal quickly."
Despite the awkwardness abounding, everyone dispersed as Leo started the fires, hung the cauldrons, and poured the water. The crackling of fires soon roared as the water began to boil, prompting him to start tossing in ingredients in what, to an untrained eye, looked like a haphazard manner; but there was method to the madness, as it were, even if barely anyone else could see it.
Some fifteen minutes later, everyone converged and started populating the increasingly decreasing amount of space that existed in front of the longhouse. In fact, they were a seat short, prompting Azariel to sit down rather awkwardly next to Hino and Shui'er.
"So, introductions," Leo said as he finished giving everyone their bowl. "This here is Hino. Hino, this is everyone. Grandpa Yang, big brother Liang, and big sister Yue."
"H-hello," Hino bowed quickly and greeted rather awkwardly; the boy still seldom spoke, only ever following Shui'er around (who, admittedly, spoke enough for the both of them).
"Ah, these two are--"
"--Hello, Senior!" The young newcomer perked up suddenly and rapidly walked over in front of Leo, bowing deeply with a beaming grin. She had rather long hair tied up in a ponytail, which hung over her shoulder, auburn-colored, and a pair of abyssally black eyes, which radiated curiosity. "My name is Zexian! I just turned 17 a few months back, and I was Outer Disciple of the Holy Blade Sect! My father is Lu and my mother is Bai, and they had been married for 14 years before they had me on the auspicious morning of early September! I rather enjoy tea, swimming in cold rapids, and reading historic romances.
"Ah, the latest one," she suddenly plopped herself down by Leo's side, continuing. "It's called Dastardly Tale of the Long Lost Love's Return to the Scorched Halls of Her Childhood, and it's about a powerful cultivator returning to her childhood village to reclaim her childhood love that was barred from her when she was young. I really do recommend it--ah, but perhaps you are too old to enjoy it. Hmm, I'll compile a list! As it were, I wish to extend my deepest gratitude for accepting my little young self, and I promise to work these bones of mine to dust! Cute Sister Yue already mentioned that you don't like when people beat around the bush, so I won't! My goal is to become a legendary teacher, the likes of which history will marvel at! All of my Disciples will be renowned geniuses, conquerors, dragon slayers, and demon hunters!
"My latent talents, unfortunately, are rather abysmal; however, as the Grand Design always offers a path, I have been blessed with rather acute comprehension. I can discern and disseminate most Arts and Methods better than most of my Seniors, and I shall happily pass on my teachings to the Disciples of your Sect! Ah, yes, I also very much wish to author a love novel of my own, but alas, I am—as I'm sure you can guess—quite shy; I have only ever held a boy's hand and not much else, so I am quite unconfident about..."
Leo was many things at the moment, and it seemed those who'd returned with the girl were none of them; Liang and Yue were seemingly whistling, looking elsewhere, while Lu Yang was grinning in a rather showboat-y manner. The elderly man who accompanied the young girl seemed entirely disinterested and was busy devouring the bowl of food, while Hino and Shui'er already appeared wholly enthralled—even Azariel was seemingly bewitched by the rapid cadence and consistent onslaught of words.
"So, what is my first task?" She ended her lengthy speech as Leo ate a spoonful of the cooling stew.
"How resilient are you to people being mean to you?" Leo asked.
"Not at all."
"Then your task is to simply relax and acclimate for the next few days," he added. "Don't worry about much until then."
"Yes, Senior!"
"And you are...?" Leo looked over at the elderly man and asked. The latter (rather gracefully) put down the bowl of food, took out a tissue from his robes and wiped his beard and lips, and even coughed before sitting down on his knees and bowing toward Leo before speaking.
"Esteemed one, my name is Tiao Agottah," he said. "Though all call me simply Elder Ag. You may address me as you see fit. I shall be in charge of addressing all your queries about Sect establishment; I have, myself, helped establish numerous branches of the Holy Blade Sect over the eighty years that I've been acting as an Elder. Young Liang has already introduced me to most of your circumstances, so I have already written down a rough outline of a plan that I shall present tomorrow. Greetings."
"... hm, yes, greetings," Leo said as the man sat back up on the boulder and resumed eating. He glanced over at his two Disciples who still seemed rather interested in the world around the longhouse for no apparent reason, and then at Lu Yang, who was still grinning, and sighed.
It was a hamlet of oddities and extremes, and he was the piper they followed. Perhaps, in a way, it was always meant to be.