Trees.
Loads and loads of trees.
Nothing but an endless, suffocating barrage of wood and leaves along our path as we made our way through the forest. We were supposedly being led by our beloved Yanyin. Not a great guide if you ask me. In fact, calling her a "guide" might be an insult to people who actually get you from point A to point B without stopping to look at a weird beetle for ten minutes.
Every interesting leaf demanded her commentary, every bird call required investigation, and her stamina disappeared faster than a fart in the wind. It is a miracle we haven't walked in a circle three times, and that's only because I recognised the path from us walking through it a day before. Thank the gods we'd started at dawn.
I had spent the night before hatching plan A's, plan B's, and even a few plan C's. I briefed them to my friends, going over contingencies, and making sure that the variables we could control were, in fact, firmly in our control.
Now, logically speaking, going to a high security prison to break out a prisoner should make you feel nervous, right? It should make you anxious. Your palms should be sweating, your heart should be doing that uncomfortable fluttery thing against your ribs. And don't give me a snarky answer like, 'Actually, it should make you feel guilty for breaking the law.' We were way past that. Besides, we were freeing an innocent man. We had the moral high ground, even if the legal ground was rapidly crumbling beneath our feet.
What I'm trying to get at, is the visceral reaction. When you are merely minutes away from committing an act of such consequential nature, it should be churning your stomach.
But not mine. My stomach was as settled as a stone in a pond.
Throughout the walk, I would occasionally stare at Longwei. I'd watch him walking with that easygoing walk of his, and a smile of pure relief would wash over me. I wasn't worried because I knew I had the power of the sun by my side. An overpowered martial artist. A formidable being whose very existence made standard planning obsolete. The embodiment of fear and strength wrapped in human skin. A damn cheat code, people!
With him there, I had absolutely nothing to worry about. Even all of that meticulous planning I did the night before? Simply back-ups. A mattress to fall on, just in case the universe decided to play a prank. But with Longwei, the universe didn't stand a chance.
Eventually, all of that bark and branches gave way to our destination.
There stood Lai, supposedly the Staff Venerable. He looked tall. He looked strong. He was guarding the prison in utter silence as a picture of absolute focus. He didn't seem that intimidating the day before. Maybe because we hadn't planned on facing him head-on yet. But standing there in his line of sight, you remember that Venerables are tough guys. They aren't sitting on top of the martial world for nothing. Even those without a significant amount of qi can prove to be difficult.
You might be right to think that we could've tried to be smarter about this. We could have stayed in the tree line, ambushed him from the woods, or tried to pick him off one by one. Use our element of surprise, right?
But honestly, it wouldn't really matter. We were going to end up engaging with him eventually. A guy like that, a seasoned warrior, wouldn't take long to improvise and adapt to an ambush. He'd smell us coming. Besides, like I said, I had nothing to worry about. As a matter of fact, all we really had to do was take a seat on the grass and watch the show as Longwei kicked him into space.
We each stepped out of the woods and into the clearing, entering his sight. As we walked toward him, my mind, being the chaotic place that it is, started drifting. There were multiple questions hovering over my head, none of which I could ask him at that point, obviously, since it wouldn't seem appropriate at the time. Intrusive thoughts, more so. But they were nagging me.
Like… why wasn't there a chair for him to sit on? Sure, he might be a powerful martial artist, but people gotta sit once in a while. And you know what else people gotta do? They gotta shit once in a while too. Where was he gonna do it? It's supposed to be just one guard. He can't abandon his post.
Even if he did, how was he gonna defend himself during that vulnerable moment? And how was he gonna eat? How would he defend himself then? It's just one guard. If he can't eat, he can't shit. If he can't shit, then he's not eating. Then… how is he alive? Doesn't matter if a person's a lowly peasant or a high ranking Jade Palace Official. Everyone's gotta eat and shit!
Apologies for wasting your time with those thoughts, but you can't argue that they're not logical and don't bother you.
"Senior Brother Lai!" Yanyin greeted the guard, breaking my biological analysis. She offered him a bright, genuine smile, as if we were meeting for tea rather than a felony.
Lai's stern expression softened. "Yanyin! What a pleasant surprise. And you've brought friends?"
I stepped forward, chest out, projecting the authority of the leader of our humble sect. I greeted him with a nod. "You remember us."
"Of course I do. What brings you to my doorstep?"
I cleared my throat, straightened my posture, and tried to break the news to him as smoothly and professionally as possible. "Venerable Lai, we're here to fight you, and break into the prison."
There was a pause.
"Ah," he smiled, a sad, knowing little smile, as he looked past me at Yanyin. "I just hope you haven't wasted any of your hard-earned money on these mercenaries, dear Yanyin. I don't think such people usually give refunds upon failure of their task."
My eye twitched. "We're not mercenaries," I clarified, my voice slightly tighter. "We're here on our own free will."
"Charity, is it?" he asked, amused.
"Kind of."
Moving slowly, he removed the heavy staff stationed on his back and placed the tip on the ground in front of him. He rested his two palms on the end of it, placing his chin on his hands, looking at us with pity. "In that case, I believe it is only proper manners for me to gently warn you and suggest you leave and not waste your time."
"I'm afraid we can't-"
"I wasn't talking to you, spokesperson," he interrupted calmly, lifting a finger to point directly behind me. "I'm talking to your leader in the mask."
I turned toward my friends in a split second and mouthed a filthy curse at Longwei just to let them know I was offended by that. Heavily.
Who even assumes such a thing? Spokesperson? He profiled us entirely based on our appearances. Just because Longwei was taller than me, broader than me, and maybe dressed himself slightly cooler, which is highly debatable by the way, he was automatically our leader? Looks can be deceiving, you know. Yanyin could be our leader. Who knows?! If you really think about it, she kind of was. This whole operation was for her.
Anyway, I just kept my mouth shut. There was no point arguing about the hierarchy. I decided to swallow my pride and simply enjoy watching him get owned. I took Yanyin's arm and guided us back toward the safety of the group. I handed her over to Mei and crossed my arms, stepping back to let the "leader" do the work.
"Alright then," Lai said, taking a firm hold of his staff. "If we're doing it, allow me to stretch a bit. It's been a while since my last fight."
As Lai began his warming-up ritual, me and my friends looked sideways at Longwei and gave him a knowing smile. A co-conspirator's grin. It was time. It was time to one-shot this judgmental dude right into the neighboring nation. My smile was already filled with satisfaction and excitement.
Longwei just stood there like a statue, though.
Lai was almost done with his stretching. He spun the staff, and I could physically feel the wind generated from the rotation.
We frowned slightly. Maybe Longwei was waiting until the last absolute second to do something? You know, for 'aura' purposes?
Lai stopped spinning. He got into an attacking stance, staff lowered. He probably wasn't in the mood to play defense and waste time.
"Do something," I mouthed at Longwei, as the imminence of Lai's attack was creeping up my spine.
Longwei looked at Lai, and at me.
And then… He just shrugged.
Shrugged! In a baffled gesture, like we didn't speak the same language! Like he had no idea why I was looking at him!
Lai's eyes narrowed as he kicked off the ground, rushing toward us at top speed, and swung.