The outpost was smaller than Wang Hui expected.
In every xianxia novel she had read, sect outposts were at minimum a proper building with walls and a gate and some kind of impressive formation array. This one was three wooden structures in a clearing, a well, a storage shed, and a notice board with papers on it that the wind was doing its best to remove.
There were maybe twenty people. A mix of Azure Sky blue robes and a few civilians, probably local hunters who used the outpost as a rest stop. Everyone looked tired. No one looked like they were having a good day.
Then the group walked in.
With Wang Hui.
'...I did not think about what walking into a populated area would look like.'
Every single person in the outpost stopped what they were doing.
Twenty pairs of eyes. All on her.
Complete silence.
'Okay.'
'Okay this is fine.'
'I am a Qilin. I am sacred. This is normal. People are supposed to look at me with awe.'
'This is awe. They are awed. Everything is fine.'
A small child, maybe five years old, pointed at her and said, "Horse."
'...'
'I cannot even be surprised anymore.'
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║
║ Dignity: -2 ↓
║ Total : +27
║
║ Called a horse by a five year old.
║
║ (ಥ_ಥ)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'The child is five.'
'The child does not know what a Qilin is.'
'This is not a reflection of my dignity.'
'...It is a little bit a reflection of my dignity.'
Bao, walking beside her, crouched down to the child's level and said in a very serious voice, "She is not a horse. She is Lucky."
'THAT IS NOT BETTER BAO.'
The child thought about this. Then nodded like it made complete sense. "Lucky horse."
Bao looked delighted. "Exactly."
'I am leaving.'
'I am turning around and walking back into the forest.'
'This was a mistake.'
Mei grabbed her by the horn.
Not hard. Just enough to stop her from turning around.
"Please do not go back into the forest," she said. "Wei Liang needs to report in and we need to figure out the Shadow Broker situation. Just. Stay. For a bit."
She let go of the horn.
Wang Hui looked at her.
Mei looked back with the expression of someone who was very tired and just needed one thing to go right today.
'...'
'She grabbed my horn.'
'Nobody has ever grabbed my horn before.'
'That is extremely informal.'
'...I am staying.'
'But only because I want to hear about Shadow Broker.'
'Not because of the horn thing.'
'Definitely not.'
* * *
The outpost had a senior disciple in charge, a woman named Liu Fang who looked about twenty-five and had the energy of someone forty years older. She took one look at the group, one look at Wang Hui, and said, "Report. Now. Inside."
The group went inside. Wang Hui followed because nobody told her not to.
Liu Fang's office was one room with a desk, two chairs, and a map on the wall that had more red marks on it than seemed healthy. She sat down, looked at Wei Liang, and said, "You look terrible."
"Thank you."
"That was not a compliment. Mei, is he actually injured or just being dramatic?"
"Injured," Mei said. "Poisoned blade, already treated, but he needs rest."
"I do not need"
"Rest," Mei said firmly.
Wei Liang closed his mouth.
'I like watching this happen.'
'He listens to Mei.'
'That is interesting.'
'He does not listen to anyone else but he listens to Mei.'
Liu Fang was looking at Wang Hui now. The kind of careful, professional look that was different from the staring outside. This was assessment.
"What is that," she said. Not rudely. Just directly.
"Her name is Lucky," Bao said.
"That is not what I asked."
"She followed us from the forest. She helped with the assassins. She is very smart."
"It is a beast."
"She," Bao corrected.
Liu Fang looked at Bao. Then back at Wang Hui. Her eyes were sharp. She had been doing this longer than the others, Wang Hui could tell. She was not going to be satisfied with "Lucky."
'She is going to figure it out.'
'Or she is going to try.'
'...I need to look like a normal interesting beast.'
'Not an abnormally intelligent beast.'
'Just. You know. An unusual one.'
'Impressive but not suspicious.'
Wang Hui sat down, tucked her feet under her, and stared at a point on the wall slightly above Liu Fang's head.
Blank. Calm. Animal but dignified. Like a very smart dog that understood tone but not words.
Liu Fang watched her for a long moment.
Then she turned back to Wei Liang. "Shadow Broker token. Tell me exactly where you found it."
'...She bought it.'
'She is not one hundred percent sure but she bought it.'
'I am incredible.'
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║
║ Dignity: +5 ↑
║ Total : +32
║
║ For successfully pretending to
║ be a normal animal.
║
║ (System did not expect this.)
║
║ (°□°)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'PLUS FIVE.'
'I KNEW IT.'
'I am an excellent actress.'
'...Do not react. Do not react. Stay blank. Stay normal.'
* * *
The meeting went on for a while. Wang Hui sat in the corner and listened to all of it.
The Shadow Broker, from what she could piece together, was not a person. It was an organization. Information brokers, mostly, but the kind that did not just sell information. They also acted on it. Quietly. In ways that were hard to trace back.
Someone had hired the Shadow Broker to make sure Wei Liang's group did not reach wherever they were going.
Not to kill them. Just to stop them.
Which meant the assassins with sleep poison made sense. Knock them out, delay them, let whoever was behind this buy more time for something else.
'More time for what.'
'What needs more time.'
She looked at Wei Liang through Group Sense. His HP was full, which was good. His cultivation level registered as something her system described as "significantly above average for his apparent age" which was helpful but vague. His mood registered as "focused" which she was beginning to suspect was his default state for everything including probably sleeping.
Out of curiosity she checked the others.
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ GROUP SENSE READOUT
║
║ Bao Lingyun
║ HP: Full. Mood: EXTREMELY HAPPY.
║ (Reason: Lucky is here.)
║
║ Mei
║ HP: Full. Mood: Tired but managing.
║ (Reason: Everything.)
║
║ Chen
║ HP: Full. Mood: Anxious.
║ (This is also his default.)
║
║ Lin
║ HP: Full. Mood: Unreadable.
║ (System cannot parse.)
║
║ (•ω•)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'EXTREMELY HAPPY because Lucky is here.'
'That is.'
'...That is kind of.'
'...Moving on.'
'Lin is unreadable. System cannot parse.'
'...So it is not just me.'
'He is not scared.'
'He is walking into something that sent assassins after him and he is not scared.'
'Either he is very confident or he is very stupid.'
'...He does not seem stupid.'
"The outpost needs to send a report to the main sect," Liu Fang was saying. "This level of Shadow Broker activity in Moonlight Forest is not something we can handle alone."
"How long will that take?" Wei Liang asked.
"Three days for a messenger to reach headquarters. Four or five for a response."
Wei Liang was quiet for a moment. "I cannot wait that long."
"Wei Liang."
"The situation at the sect is not stable. Every day I am delayed is another day for"
He stopped. Glanced at Bao, at the others, at Wang Hui.
"Another day," he finished.
'He stopped himself.'
'He was not going to say the rest in front of everyone.'
'...His sect is not stable.'
'Someone knew his route.'
'The Shadow Broker was hired to delay him specifically.'
'There is someone inside his sect feeding information out.'
'...That is a very bad situation.'
'That is genuinely not a good situation at all.'
'...None of my business.'
Liu Fang rubbed her face. "You are going to do what you want regardless of what I say."
"Yes," Wei Liang said. Very politely.
"Then at least take two more people. Chen and Lin can go with you."
The Nervous One, Chen, looked slightly less nervous about this than Wang Hui expected. The Quiet One, Lin, just nodded.
'Huh.'
'The Quiet One is named Lin.'
'I have been calling her Quiet One for four days.'
'...Lin. Noted.'
* * *
The outpost fed them. Actual cooked food, rice and braised vegetables and something that might have been chicken, and Wang Hui sat at the edge of the eating area and was very dignified about the fact that Bao kept sneaking pieces of chicken toward her when he thought no one was looking.
'I am not eating that.'
'I am a Sacred Beast.'
'...It smells very good.'
'...I am eating that.'
'I am eating that and I am maintaining full dignity while doing it.'
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║
║ Dignity: -1 ↓
║ Total : +31
║
║ For eating from Bao's hand.
║ Like a pet.
║
║ (｀・ω・´)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'I ate FROM the ground near his hand.'
'That is different.'
'...One point. Fine.'
After the meal the group settled in for a few hours of rest. Bao was asleep in under three minutes. Chen and Lin were not far behind. Mei stayed up writing something in a small notebook. Wei Liang sat against the wall of the main building with his eyes closed.
Wang Hui explored the outpost.
Not because she was restless. She was completely calm. She just wanted to know the layout. That was sensible and practical and had nothing to do with being too alert to sleep.
'I am calm.'
'I am completely calm.'
'I have been alive for four days and I have encountered more dangerous things than I did in my entire previous life but I am very calm.'
The notice board had papers on it. Hunting reports, mostly. Monster sightings. A few wanted posters for bandits operating in the outer forest. And one paper, newer than the others, with a drawing on it.
The drawing was not good. Whoever had done it was not an artist. But Wang Hui recognized the general shape.
Horn. Scales. Flaming tail.
The caption below it said: "Unusual creature sighted in Moonlight Forest outer zone. Do not approach. Report sightings to sect leadership immediately."
'...'
'That is me.'
'That is a drawing of me.'
'Sect leadership wants sightings reported.'
'There is already a notice up about me.'
'I have been here THREE DAYS.'
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ℹ INFO ℹ
║
║ Notice posted: 2 days ago.
║
║ Source: Azure Sky Sect
║ Leadership.
║
║ Someone reported Host's presence
║ very quickly.
║
║ (⊙_⊙)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'Two days ago.'
'That is...the day I arrived.'
'Or the day after.'
'Someone saw me and reported to sect leadership within twenty-four hours.'
'...The first group that found me.'
'Bao and Mei's group.'
'They reported it.'
She looked back at the main building where Mei was still writing in her notebook.
'...Of course they reported it.'
'They are sect disciples. Finding an unusual creature in their patrol area is exactly the kind of thing they are supposed to report.'
'Mei is responsible. Of course she filed a report.'
'Probably used a communication talisman that same evening.'
'Sect leadership gets the message, puts out a notice to all outposts in the area.'
'Two days later it is on this board.'
'...That is actually very fast and efficient.'
'I would be impressed if it was not about me.'
'...This is fine.'
'It is just a notice. "Do not approach." Nobody is coming yet.'
'I just need one more level and then I evolve and then I am harder to catch.'
'This is fine.'
She looked at the drawing again.
The artist had given her very large eyes. Bigger than they actually were. And the horn was drawn slightly too long. And the tail looked more like a regular fire than a proper flame tail.
It was not a good drawing.
'...I look better in person.'
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║
║ Dignity: +1 ↑
║ Total : +32
║
║ For valid self-assessment.
║
║ (•ω•)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'...Thank you.'
'That is the nicest thing you have ever said to me.'
* * *
She was still looking at the notice when someone stopped next to her.
Not Bao. Not Mei.
An older man. Maybe sixty, maybe older, in Azure Sky robes with the kind of trim that meant he was not a junior disciple. He had arrived at the outpost while the group was in the meeting, and Wang Hui had registered him as non-threatening and not paid much attention.
She was paying attention now.
He was looking at the notice. Then at her. Then at the notice again.
'...'
'He is comparing me to the drawing.'
He crouched down slowly, with the careful movement of someone whose knees had opinions about crouching. He looked at her for a long time. Not with Bao's enthusiasm. Not with Liu Fang's professional assessment. Something quieter than both.
"Hm," he said.
'Hm.'
'That is not a good hm.'
'That is the hm of someone who has just confirmed something.'
He reached into his robe and took out a small jade disc. Old, from the look of it. He held it near her and watched it.
The disc glowed.
Faintly. Just a thin line of light around the edge.
But it glowed.
'...What is that.'
'What does that do.'
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ⚠ WARNING ⚠
║
║ Unknown artifact detected nearby.
║
║ Possible function: Sacred Beast
║ Detection / Identification.
║
║ Recommendation: Do not panic.
║
║ (Host will probably panic.)
║
║ ∑(O_O;)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'I AM NOT PANICKING.'
'I AM VERY CALM.'
'...What does it do when it glows.'
'Does it tell him what I am.'
'Does it tell him I used to be a person.'
'Does it tell him my Dignity score.'
'WHAT DOES IT DO.'
The old man put the disc away. He looked at her for another long moment.
Then he said, very quietly, so only she could hear, "I have not seen one of you in forty years."
Wang Hui went very still.
"The last one I saw was in the northern mountains. Much older than you. Much larger." He paused. "It did not stay long either."
'He knows.'
'He knows what I am.'
'He has seen one before.'
'...He is not calling sect leadership.'
'He is not reaching for anything.'
'He is just. Talking.'
"You are very young," he said. "And you are in a dangerous place to be young and alone." He looked at the main building. "You came in with Wei Liang's group."
Not a question.
'...'
'He knows Wei Liang.'
'He knows him by name.'
"He is a good person," the old man said. "Whatever else he is. He is a good person." He stood up slowly. "Stay close to them for now. This forest is going to get more complicated before it gets simpler."
He walked away before she could react.
Not that she could have reacted. She could not talk.
But she watched him go and tried very hard to make sense of the last two minutes.
'...He knows what I am.'
'He told me to stay with the group.'
'He said this forest is going to get more complicated.'
'...'
'Who is he.'
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ℹ INFO ℹ
║
║ Identity scan complete.
║
║ Name: Elder Zhao
║ Sect: Azure Sky (Retired)
║ Cultivation: Nascent Soul stage.
║
║ Known specialty: Sacred Beast
║ research. Forty years field study.
║
║ Threat level: Low.
║ (He genuinely just wanted to talk.)
║
║ (｀・ω・´)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'Nascent Soul.'
'He is Nascent Soul stage and he is retired and he is here in a tiny outpost in the middle of Moonlight Forest.'
'...Why is a Nascent Soul cultivator at a small outpost.'
'That does not add up.'
'Nascent Soul cultivators do not retire to random forest outposts.'
'They go to inner sect halls. Mountain retreats. Places with proper arrays and libraries.'
'Not three wooden buildings and a leaky well.'
'...He is waiting for something.'
'Or watching for something.'
'...This forest keeps not adding up.'
'I came here to level up quietly.'
'FOUR DAYS.'
She looked at the notice board one more time.
Then she went back inside and sat next to Bao, who was still asleep, and stared at the ceiling.
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ★ LEVEL UP ★
║
║ Wang Hui is now Level 9!
║ +5 Stat Points
║ +1 Skill Point
║
║ ONE more level until evolution.
║
║ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'...Level nine.'
'One more.'
'Just one more level.'
'Then I evolve and I am Common grade and everything changes.'
'I can handle one more level.'
'...I hope.'
From across the room, without opening his eyes, Wei Liang said, "Whatever Elder Zhao said to you. Do not overthink it."
Wang Hui looked at him.
"He says things like that to everyone," Wei Liang continued. "He likes being mysterious. It is a habit."
'...He saw that.'
'He saw me talking to Elder Zhao from inside the building.'
'...Qi perception.'
'High level cultivators can extend their Qi outward to sense their surroundings.'
'He was not watching through a wall.'
'He was feeling through it.'
'...Which is somehow more unsettling.'
"Get some rest," Wei Liang said. "We leave at dawn."
He did not open his eyes.
Wang Hui stared at him for a long moment.
Then she put her head down.
'He likes being mysterious. It is a habit.'
'...Wei Liang. You have no room to talk about other people being mysterious.'
'None at all.'
She closed her eyes.
For the first time in four days she actually slept.
End of Chapter 5
[ Dignity: +32 ] [ Level: 9 ] [ New problem: Notice board ] [ New mystery: Elder Zhao ]