Unintended Cultivator

Book 6: Chapter 40: Fox Matters

This is boring, complained Misty Peak for the fifth time.

Sen ignored her while he finished adjusting the formation flags position. The work would have gone much faster if he hadnt had her tagging along and doing her level best to get him to do anything except finish the formation. Content that the flag was in the best place he could manage with someone constantly breaking his concentration, he stood and gave the fox woman a hard look.

If I didnt know better, Id think that you were trying to make sure I dont finish this or that it wont work properly. Almost like youre still trying to make sure your grandfather doesnt actually get that relic he wants.

Misty Peak rolled her eyes. Its not like hes dying immediately. Another day or two wont make a difference.

Maybe not to him, and maybe not to you, but I have places that I need to go after this. Places where Im already overdue.

Im sure that theyll understand.

Maybe, said Sen.

He thought about Falling Leaf and Fu Ruolan. It was all too easy to imagine how unimpressed both would be with his explanation about why it took him so much longer to get back than anticipated. While Falling Leaf might just give him the cold shoulder for a year or two, he cringed to imagine what kind of punishments Fu Ruolan might dream up for him.

You know, on second thought, said Sen, thats probably not true. At all. Besides, if youre this bored, go bother your grandfather. Or go fetch Li Yi Nuo and bring her back.

I dont actually like him very much.

Your grandfather? Why not? Hes personable enough.

To you, maybe. Its different if youre a fox.

How so? asked Sen.

Well, he treats you like a person. No, thats not quite it. He treats you like a peer, which is just the most unfair thing ever. Because you arent even close to being on his level.

Sen shrugged. True, but its not like I have any control over how he treats me.Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m nov𝒆lb(i)n.c(o)m

I know, said Misty Peak. It doesnt make it any less frustrating. He treats me like a child, and I let him. Which I hate.

Why do you let him if you hate it so much?

This is what Im trying to explain. I can hate him in my heart. I can even try to kill him. But outside of that, if he lays down the law and Im not ready to challenge his position, I have to accept it. Its part of my nature. And since Im now completely sure I cant take him in a fight, and not at all sure the stories I heard about him were true, Im not going to challenge him.

Oh, said Sen, that sounds wildly inconvenient.

It is. As for the sect girl, I dont want to spend any more time with her than necessary.

That sounds like an argument for giving her back.

You havent made an acceptable offer for her, said the fox in an absurdly exaggerated haughty tone.

Not true, said Sen in an equally exaggerated reasonable tone. I offered you those fine loose pebbles. Pebbles that could only be sourced from beyond the bounds of human civilization. Pebbles that could only be acquired at great personal risk. That offer stands.

I feel like someone might have told you that you were funny sometime in the past. You shouldnt have believed them.

Im hilariously funny but thats not the point. What is it that you want? asked Sen. Make a reasonable proposal, and Ill consider it.

Fifty gold tael, said the fox.

If thats what you want, ransom her back to her sect. They might let you extort them that way. I certainly wont.

Oh fine. Youre no fun, she said before falling into a thoughtful silence. Take me with you into the ruins.

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That gave Sen pause. He had been under the impression that foxes couldnt enter the ruins at all. Hadnt that been the reason Laughing River had recruited him in the first place? Of course, hed gotten that information from the elder fox. That made it more than a little suspect. The fact that Laughing River hadnt gone in to get the treasure himself, however, did lend the idea a certain patina of believability. It minimally suggested that there was something blocking the fox from getting at what he wanted. Even if there were some kind of trick that would let Misty Peak get in, though, why would she want to? There were undoubtedly treasures of some kind in the ruins that shed want, but the risks were absurd for both trying to get in and get back out. It would likely be easier and less risky to get treasures and relics from somewhere else. Which meant that there was either something specific in the ruins that she wanted or something that she wanted to make sure that Sen didnt find. Like a spatial treasure, he thought.

Why? he asked.

Whats with that suspicious look?

Its because of all of the suspicion Im feeling right now. I wear my heart on my sleeve.

If only, muttered Misty Peak.

Sen didnt respond to the obvious attempt to get him off-topic.

Its an ancient ruin that hasnt been disturbed for probably thousands of years. There are bound to be all kinds of powerful, valuable, and unique things in there that a girl might want.

Theres also a treasure that your grandfather needs to save his life. One that youd be ideally positioned to steal or keep me from getting if you were on hand. If it were to accidentally fall into your storage ring, that would certainly rectify that power imbalance between you two, now wouldnt it? I mean, hed probably do just about anything you asked to get his hands on it.

Misty Peak got very serious in a hurry. You may be right about that. Heres the thing. Im not that suicidal. He might play at being the kindly old man with you, but play is all it is. He can turn ruthless as fast as any other old monster. You dont survive long enough to become an old monster without that capacity. Just look at you.

What about me?

Im smart enough to know that not all of those stories about you are true, but most of them have something in common.

Whats that?

When you take a position, you are uncompromising to a level that most would consider madness. That makes you ruthless in the pursuit of your goals at times. Now, how ruthless do you think you could become if youd had a few thousand years to hone those tendencies?

Sen didnt particularly like the comparison or the implications, but he couldnt really deny them either. Pretty damned ruthless, I would imagine.

Exactly. If I tried to hold that treasure hostage, the value of my life would drop to nothing, immediately. The best outcome in that situation is that he hunts me down and does unspeakable things to me until I hand it over.

Werent you worried hed do that if you interfered with me?

Misty Peak sighed. Thats different.

How is that different?

I think youd need to be a fox to understand.

Try me, said Sen.

All right. If I could manipulate you, trick you, or simply kill you, then Id have only outmaneuvered a human cultivator. Since you are kind of famous, Id have come out of it looking good. In the end, though, Id have only indirectly inconvenienced my grandfather. It wouldnt be seen as a direct challenge to his power or authority because I interfered with you, not him. He might have even been a tiny bit impressed, even if he was annoyed. If I take the treasure and try to use it to force his hand in some way, that is a direct challenge. And he would crush me.

Sen tried to sort out the implications of what hed just heard, while also trying to decide if he believed any of it. While he sort of understood what she was getting at about indirect influence, it also sounded like a lot of ridiculous hair-splitting to him. That made it a challenge for him to believe. The problem was that he lacked the background with the foxes to know if it actually was ridiculous, or if it just sounded ridiculous to him because he was a human. Given that the stakes were someones life, Sen decided that it simply wasnt his decision to make. Plus, there was the potential problem of actually getting her into the city.

Im not going to pretend that what you just said makes sense to me, and Im not sure it particularly matters. Laughing River told me that there are protections in place to keep foxes out of those ruins.

The fox woman jerked a little at that as if it was new information. He really said that?

He did. What? Did you think he recruited me for this on a lark?

Honestly, yes. You owed him a favor, I assume. So, why not send the human folk hero in to do the job instead of doing it yourself?

Sen frowned. He hadnt considered that possibility. He was starting to wonder if he wasnt being paranoid enough about this entire venture. On the other hand, he didnt think that old fox was lying to him about that part of it, either. If it were his life on the line, Sen wouldnt trust the task to someone else unless he had absolutely no other choice.

I suppose its possible, Sen admitted, but also not relevant for your purposes. So, heres what were going to do. And by we, I mean you, Misty Peak. If you can talk your grandfather into letting you go, Ill take you along. Getting into the ruins is on you, though. I dont have the knowledge or the means to get you past whatever protections are keeping your grandfather out.

Hell never agree to that, objected the fox woman.

I guess youll just need to be extra charming, instead of your usual level of charming.

Im not sure anyone is that charming. Wait, what do you mean by my usual level of charming? Are you saying Im charming? she asked while grinning at him.

Ignoring her question, Sen continued. Assuming you can talk him into it, and that you can actually get into the ruins, your safety is your responsibility. I dont know what well find inside, which means I cant make any promises about either of us getting back out.

So, youd just callously abandon me if we get into trouble?

Sen stroked his chin a few times before he said, Dont be silly. Im not a monster. It wont be callous.