While most of the water cultivators didn’t know the details, everyone knew that something had happened by the way that Sen swept through their compound like a tidal wave looking for something to crash down on. Those who saw him coming made a point to be urgently needed in some other direction. The impression he made was not helped by the coldly neutral expression on the face of Lo Meifeng as she led him toward Shi Ping’s room, nor the oddly placid expression of Falling Leaf, who had seemingly accepted the turn of events as just one more strange thing the humans were doing. When they reached the right room, Lo Meifeng merely pointed at the door. Sen didn’t even break stride as he kicked the door open and started shouting.

“Shi Ping get your lazy ass out of that bed! We’re leaving!”

The fire cultivators shouted a couple of inarticulate noises while he thrashed in shock and then fell onto the floor. He stared up at Sen with an expression that couldn’t decide if it was furious, annoyed, or terrified. Sen gave him five seconds to decide before he bellowed a single word.

“Now!”

That seemed to snap the fire cultivator into full consciousness. He pushed himself up to his feet and, drawing himself up to his full height, he started to give Sen a defiant look. Then, he really looked at Sen’s expression. His eyes drifted over Lo Meifeng, who gave him nothing. Then, he glanced over at Falling Leaf. She cocked her head to one side before she said.

“I think he’s going to stab you again. I missed it last time.”

Lowering his eyes, Shi Ping grumbled something about needing time to pack. Sen glared at the man like he meant to punch holes through the fire cultivator’s forehead with his gaze alone.

“You have two minutes.”

“That’s not enough time!” complained Shi Ping.

Sen gave Shi Ping a smile that was all teeth and no friendliness. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Let me help you.”

With a gesture and flaring of wind qi, Sen dragged everything in the room other than the bed into one of his storage rings. Shi Ping’s eyes went a little wide.

“I’ll need my robes,” said the fire cultivator weakly.

Sen considered forcing the man to walk out of the Clear Spring sect as he was, but that was just the anger talking. Discipline and shaming were not the same things. Shaming the man publicly would accomplish nothing useful, and more than likely turn a grudging companion into an active enemy. Sen didn’t need one of those sleeping in the same campsites as him. Sen mentally searched through the storage ring, pulled out some robes, and threw them to the man. He fixed Shi Ping with a look.

“Two. Minutes.” Sen reiterated before he stepped back out into the hallway.

Falling Leaf and Lo Meifeng joined him. It was Falling Leaf who broke the thick silence.

“No stabbing?” she asked, sounding a little disappointed.

Sen didn’t even get a chance to answer before Lo Meifeng laughed. She clamped a hand over her own mouth, but even Sen let out a brief chuckle.

“Not today,” he said. “At least, not if he gets out here in the next minute or so. Why? Do you want me to stab him?”

Falling Leaf thought about it before she said, “No. I would like to see you stab him, though. Tell me the next time you’re going to do that.”

Sen nodded and manfully resisted the urge to chuckle. Lo Meifeng’s shoulders, on the other hand, were hitching wildly as she tried to contain her laughter. Sen looked over at her.

“Is there anyone that you want to see me stab?”

Lo Meifeng gasped the words out between fits of laughter. “So…many…people.”

Sen rolled his eyes. “I probably should have known that.”

Lo Meifeng nodded, finally getting her laughter under some semblance of control. “You really should have.”

Sen might have responded, but Shi Ping burst through the door still adjusting his robes. Sen briefly considered messing with the man’s head but decided that it wasn’t worth the hassle. Besides, it would just make getting away from the sect an even longer process. That was something that Sen wanted to avoid. He looked over at Lo Meifeng and then at Falling Leaf.

“Do either of you need to pack anything?”

Lo Meifeng shook her head.

“One or two things I left in my room,” said Falling Leaf.

“You should go attend to that. We’ll meet you outside.”

“How long do I have?” asked Falling Leaf.

“As long as you need,” said Sen.

As Falling Leaf dashed off down the hall, Sen could hear the spluttering from Shi Ping. Sen looked at the man and lifted an eyebrow, inviting the question.

“Why does she get as long as she needs, but I only got two minutes?” demanded the fire cultivator.

“Because I know she’ll go to her room, grab her things, and meet us outside. She won’t decide to take a nap or go get a meal.”

“I know how to be quick when it’s important,” said Shi Ping, sounding affronted.

“Well,” said Sen, “there’s also that whole part about me actually liking her.”

“You were a lot nicer to me back at the Order of the Celestial Flame.”

“You whined a lot less back there, too. I even saw you put in an occasional effort. Something to consider moving forward.”

Before Shi Ping could think up some new complaint, Sen led them all back outside. They stood in a small group near the door, but not so near it that it would invite people to engage with them. Sen had had enough engagement with the Clear Spring sect to last him a good, long time. He was mentally reviewing a map when he felt the presence of a core cultivator he recognized racing toward him. Oh yeah, he thought, I probably should have expected this. A moment later, Chan Yu Ming came to an abrupt stop right in front of him. He offered her a bland sort of smile. It was the best he could manage under the circumstances.

“You’re leaving?” she asked.

“I am.”

“Right now?”

Sen glanced toward the door, and then back to Chan Yu Ming. “Essentially. As soon as Fa Ling Li joins us.”

“But-,” Chan Yu Ming started before she caught the intensely curious stare of Shi Ping and the benignly disinterested look that Lo Meifeng offered. “Can I talk to you in private?”

Sen didn’t have any particular desire to have the kind of private discussion that the young woman clearly had in mind, but he nodded. It wasn’t like he’d avoid having the conversation if he told her no. They’d just have it in front of an audience instead of without the audience. He followed her a short distance away from Shi Ping and Lo Meifeng. He waited in silence while she gathered her thoughts. Her expression firmed up into certainty when she settled on what she wanted to say.

“I heard about what happened. I’m sorry. That never should have been allowed.”

Sen shrugged. “Did you help him?”

“What? No, of course, I didn’t help him.”

“Then you don’t really have anything to apologize about.”

“Maybe not, but someone should do it. I doubt the patriarch did, the old coward.”

Sen sniffed. “He did not.”

Chan Yu Ming seemed to struggle for a moment. “Damn it, I thought I’d have more time for this.”

“For what?”

“You’re going to the capital, aren’t you?”

“I am. The Golden Phoenix sect may have what I need. That’s assuming I can come to an arrangement with them.”

“It won’t be cheap if you can do it at all. They might refuse to even speak to you about it,” she said, although it sounded more like something she was telling herself.

“Then they’ll refuse. I can’t help what they’ll do.”

“You’ve never been there before, the capital. I can tell. You wouldn’t be so casual about all of this if you had, if you understood the dangers there.”

“I take it you have.”

“You could put it that way.”

“How would you put it?” asked Sen.

“I grew up there. It’s where my family…lives.”

Sen would have loved to know what word she discarded in favor of the word lives.

“It wouldn’t change anything if I did know. I still have to go there.”

“What could that sect possibly have that you need so badly that you’d go to the capital?”

“A manual. A very rare manual. One I can’t do without.”

“Isn’t there anywhere else you can get a copy?”

“There’s a literally insane nascent soul cultivator with a copy who might give it to me, or kill me, or enslave me. That’s option two at this point.”

“Oh,” said Chan Yu Ming. “Well, I see. Yes, I guess the capital probably is a better choice than that. Barely. Still, you need to be careful there. There will be people who know who you are. They’ll try to use you.”

Sen shrugged again. “Like I said, I can’t help what other people do.”

He glanced over at a movement in the corner of his eye. Falling Leaf was coming out of the building. Chan Yu Ming followed his gaze to the door and grimaced.

“Why the hells did Gong Jun De have to be such a fool?” she asked.

“It’s his nature,” said Sen, although he thought she probably wasn’t directing the question to him.

“That’s certainly the truth.”

Sen offered Chan Yu Ming another of his half-smiles and a respectful bow. “It’s time for us to go. I’ve wasted enough time in this place. Goodbye, Chan Yu Ming. I hope fortune smiles more on you here than it did on me.”

Chan Yu Ming hesitated for another second before she blurted out, “Let me come with you.”