Capítulo 58: Chapter 58 - Let's talk about this.
Xin entered the barracks with a huge batch of weapons in a sack behind his back.
"What's that?" Lei was lying on a bunk bed with his only arm behind his head. Everyone was resting now, relatively clean and fully healed.
"I visited the intendant, there is some good news. They'll give us supplies and an escort to Zadana."
"Oi! That's rad." Lei jumped up from his bed. "What are these, though?"
The officer told Xin he'll provide them a mortal-level weapon of choice per person, so he took the liberty of making this choice by himself, without telling the party.
For Rui Ming, a new curved blade.
For Lei, a sabre with a handguard.
For himself, a guandao glaive again.
Since Tu Qiang's, Wu Xiaoyun's and Murong Zhan's weapons were intact, and Yao Nang was now using master Taowei's mallet, he got them each a crossbow. These weren't as good as his arbalest, but their squad's combined firepower was so much bigger now. The lack of proper ranged weapons annoyed him since the day of their departure, and he was glad to finally remedy this.
"Weapons for everyone. Come see." Xin started handing everyone their assigned weapon.
"Nice!" Murong Zhan grabbed a crossbow and a pack of bolts. "I am not big for crossbows, but it's better than nothing!"
"Same!" Wu Xiayun sounded lively, which unnerved Xin, who was anticipating her impeding mental breakdown. "I've got a ranged dao shard now, thanks to brother Xin, but a crossbow won't hurt, eh?" She felt like Xin was showering her with gifts.
"So why didn't any of you bring one? Why didn't the sect enforce an equipment standard?" Xin was genuinely confused.
"People use whatever they are comfortable with. I can shoot a crossbow, but I am bad at it. I'd rather toss a stone." Tu Qiang said.
"This is retarded. It's not about whether you like it or not, it's about preserving qi. If we had more firepower… Whatever. I brought the weapons, let's sleep now."
"We were about to, brother." Said Rui Ming. "But we were anxiously awaiting your return. You know, meeting a rank three master is pretty serious. What did you talk about?"
"Eh, nothing too serious, we just chatted. He told me a bit about his good old days, asked me about this and that. Then he announced our reward and I left."
"The fuck?" Lei laughed. "You chatted? About what?"
"Well... History? Sect politics, this sort of stuff."
"I am at a loss for words." Murong Zhan rubbed his forehead. "You realise that there was a certain etiquette you had to follow? Please don't tell me that you just started asking him random questions."
Xin averted his eyes for a second:
"Eh... Look, he knows a lot of interesting lore, when else would I get a chance to ask?
By the way, there is something else I wanted to discuss."
"Fine, you switched the topic. No one noticed." Lei smirked. "Discuss what?"
"So, I took the liberty of exchanging the water bubble dao shard for a wood path snakevine dao shard. I am decent at weaving vines, and we need more methods. This thing can restrain opponents, so I decided to get it."
"Hey! You had to consult us!" Tu Qiang got agitated and stood up from his bed.
"Yeah! We could have gotten a new dao shard for Rui Ming, who's clearly our strongest fighter! Wood path isn't even your main path! Can we return the shard?" Yao Nang suddenly joined her ex-boyfriend in protesting.
"Hey, listen! The shopkeeper said it's a limited offer, and for fucks sake, is anyone here doubting my tactical judgment? Seriously? After all that happened? I might not be perfect, but I am miles ahead of everyone here in this aspect. Use your brain! Lei already has a dao shard, Tu Qiang too. Rui Ming is a wind user, there aren't any shards of his path for sale here. Listen, snakevine dao shard is a shard I can use with little to no training, due to my previous experience. It's the best option for our squad's survival, undeniably! Thus I didn't consult!"
Xin lied. There was no limited offer. He just saw a snakevine dao shard for sale, and traded it for a water bubble, paying just two extra spirit stones.
"Listen, Xin! We haven't discussed this before, so I am willing to let it slide. But from now on, all the trade goes through me. Got it?" Tu Qiang looked at Wu Lei and Rui Ming, expecting them to undermine him again. Instead, they just looked at Xin. "The yaoguai organs, the rare materials from the caves, we'll split everything equally."
Xin had a flashback of their fight during the tryouts. Since then, Tu Qiang hasn't made any meaningful progress. But he now had a snakevine shard to ensnare him, and Woodcutter's Downswing to deal damage.
Usually, a rank one master would wipe the floor with a mortal, but Xin was at the top of the mortal realm. He's been cultivating for a long time and had a wide foundation, along with a decent bloodline. Having fought against and along Tu Qiang several times, he knew that he could now match him in combat strength.
Xin made his decision.
"Nah, fuck off. I killed the yaoguai, spent years studying alchemy and invested into an alchemy kit with my own money. I extracted the organs myself, and they belong to me now. None of you would even think of harvesting them, be honest with yourselves. Anyone got a problem with me claiming this loot? Fine, but remember — I was your friend and outrider until this moment, but I might quickly become your adversary." He looked around the room, most people looked confused with such brazen insubordination. Lei smirked back at him, as if saying "I'm loving it".
"Guys! We've lost three comrades already, is this the best time to start infighting?" Yao Nang raised her voice. "Let's all cool down and go to sleep, okay? There will be no winner in this quarrel."
"I fucking despise you, Yao Nang. At least Tu Qiang is honest."
"Oh! Watch your words!" Tu Qiang pointed a finger at him. It seemed like a fight was about to erupt.
"Nah, let me finish, Qiang! Listen, Yao Nang. You start stirring this shit, bumping our heads together, and now you try and act like a diplomat? How about you fuck off in the first place? I haven't heard an intelligent opinion from you since we met. And you, Tu Qiang, how about you stop acting like you guys are still together? This shit is pathetic."
"Xin. That's too much. Let's stop." Rui Ming sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll split the materials, but you'll keep the organs. We'll return master Taowei's belongings after the mission, and all the other loot, including the iron mantis contribution, will be split equally. Yao Nang's and Tu Qiang's relationship status is irrelevant, don't taunt them about it."
"Equally, you say? Don't rank ones get double of what a mortal would get?" Lei asked.
"It's actually about disciple and master status, not cultivation rank. In that case, what do we get, one and a half? Rather than argue about this stuff, we just split everything equally. Every mortal here is a 'seed' anyway, and will soon be rank one. Next time, we'll come up with a different solution, but now, in times of distress, we should compromise. I'm taking the biggest loss from my offer, so you know I am arguing in good faith." Rui Ming's voice was gentle, but there was something hawkish in his gaze.
"That sounds fair, brother Ming." Said Wu Xiaoyun. "Think the stress from the previous battles caught up with the guys, and they lost control for a minute. Let's just forget it, you can fight it out when we come home, in the Martial pavilion. Right?"
Xin looked around. He wanted to say something smart, but forgot what he was arguing about for a moment.
Well, now that I think about it, I certainly exploited my temporary status elevation. I forced our team to obtain ranged weapons, and I got a suitable dao shard for myself. Will I have to give it back once we come back home? Well, that bubble shard belonged to Su Xing, and I killed him alone, so I could at least claim it as my share. Tu Qiang antagonised me again, but nothing came out of it. Again. Should I beat him up? He irritates me.
"Xin?" Lei called out to him. He understood that his friend's thoughts were drifting again.
"Whatever. I am fine. Let's go to sleep." He answered and dropped on an empty bunk, turned his face to the wall and covered himself with a plaid.
This angered Tu Qiang, of course:
"I am not finished talking. I am a senior master here, and you won't undermine me again. You won't act alone and you won't insult your equals. Or your superiors. I'm asking again — do we have any problems?" Tu Qiang kept insisting.
Xin stood up from his bunk and looked Tu Qiang in the eyes. Why won't he fuck off? He considered the best course of actions, but followed his gut instinct:
"Listen, Qiang." He taunted him again, refusing to call him by rank. "I am a few weeks away from being rank one myself. We both know that I'll wipe the floor with you when it happens. I don't care about your tough guy act, or your reasonable guy act. Both annoy me gravely. You can back off so that I forget about your existence, or you can keep pushing me and make a mortal enemy. What's your choice?" Xin felt a slight bit of anxiety as he said this, but his martial spirit suppressed it. He had killed several people by now, and slain even more monsters. In his fatigued mind, there was no resistance to the idea of just ending Tu Qiang's life if he raised a hand at him.
Tu Qiang looked him in the eyes. He was shorter, but bulkier than Xin. He then looked around the people in the room, expecting someone to say something he could latch onto. Nothing. Everyone expected him to handle this himself.
"Xin, I'll be a bigger person here and just ignore you. You'll apologise once you come to your senses. I appreciate your help during our travels, you are essential to our cause, and I'll respect your input no matter what personal issues we may have. Don't step out of line again." He tried to speak calmly, but he saw the audience get bored. Lei was about to break into laughter.
"You done?" Xin waved away from his face like he was bothered by a fly, then sat down and addressed the group again. "Guys, I gave my armour away for repairs, everyone should do it before you go to sleep. It's free, and will be done by morning. Once everyone gets a good night of sleep and a hearty meal, we'll take the escort and go to Zadana. We won't stay there for long; we grab a delivery, sleep, rent the horses and leave. Questions?"
"Xin, I think we should address the unresolved conflict." Said Yao Nang. "We can't just keep travelling as if nothing happened if two of our group members want to kill each other!"
"You aren't helping, muscles." Lei sighed. "The heat will blow off, can you stop provoking them into saving face? Just back off and let them go to sleep. This whole talk is nothing, mortals get an equal share, Xin keeps the ingredients. It's dealt with."
"What I am saying is we have to talk things through! Is it so hard for you men to just communicate like proper humans? I'd rather we have an uncomfortable discussion now than have to deal with two valuable members of our group being unable to work together later, that's it!" Yao Nang was confident she was doing the right thing here.
Xin stared her in the eyes, his nails grinding his thighs:
"No one asked you, Nang. What's that with men and communicating? What's that with women and stirring shit? So upset about not having a boyfriend? Miss having a pet to goad onto people you don't like? You proposed no solutions so far, while I did. Rui Ming did, Lei did. Frankly, even Tu Qiang proposed a solution when he backed off. What do you want, to see us fight? Or to see us make up, hug and sing happy songs? Huh? Tell me."
"Well, for starters it would be nice to talk about your attitude. We are resting, it's a good time and place to resolve our conflicts. Why are you acting so selfishly?" Xin's rudeness took her by surprise.
"Fuck this. It was never about communication or whatever, you just wanted to insert yourself into this situation, you couldn't live without being a centre of attention. But you had nothing of value to say, so you decided to goad your lap dog onto me. What are we even arguing about?" Xin carefully side-eyed Tu Qiang, as he expected him to attack him on Yao Nang's behalf. He was ready to activate his new dao shard any moment.
"That's a good start! What are we arguing about? What got you so irritated?"
Xin rolled his eyes. She tried to sound rational, but in his eyes, Yao Nang was patronising, and with nothing to show for it.
"Curses. I have no strength left for it. If you two want to fight me — tell me. I am not discussing anything with you retards any further. If you want an eager guy to fight people and warm your bunk — Lei's right there."
"Oh! Xin! Why bring me into this shit! Don't make me make a choice between protecting the dignity of a pretty girl and siding with my best friend! I'll side with you, of course, but you didn't have to do it!"
Yao Nang was shocked. She tried to make her comrades work things through, but now that Lei pledged his support to Xin, if there was a fight, it would be a bloodbath. Why is everyone else so quiet?!
"Screw this. You people are jerks." She sighed. "Let's get this mission over with, and move on." She forcefully sat down on a bed, and everyone heard its frame crack slightly. She then covered herself with a blanket and went to sleep. The crowd dispersed, but there was still a lot of tension in the air.
See? That's a solution, Xin thought.
Next morning, the group gathered again. Turns out, Xin sunk into sleep for ten hours, and when he finally woke up, everyone else was already awake and ready to go.
"Hey, brother! I talked to the fort's medic, and I've got some good news!" Lei said.
"Let me guess, your hand?"
"Yeah, they can repair it. As an outrider, could you approve a two hour delay in our departure? The procedure takes time."
"Sure, how much does it cost?"
"Oh, that. Seven spirit stones."
"Eh, I don't know if it's cheap or not."
"The shoulder roots are intact, so the repair is cheaper. I can afford it, don't worry."
"Should you afford it, though? How about we pay for it from our loot stash?" Xin said.
"Brother, I am fine, seriously. We don't have to do this."
"I'll ask the others what they think." Xin stood up and went outside. The group were packing up, saddling horses and eating their snacks.
"Hey, people, we'll depart two hours later than expected. Apparently, they can fix Lei's arm. Given how useful he was in our fights, and given that he's Foundation stage now, I think it's worth the wait. He was great for us, wasn't he?"
"Of course he was! His entrance in the cave fight was one of the coolest things I've ever seen! I wish the circumstances were different, though." Wu Xiaoyun said, smiling, but only then realised why Xin said this. He needed someone to give Lei face and make it look like the group owes him. "Oh."
"Yes, so I think we should use the money from the yaoguai's stash to pay for the procedure. We owe Lei. Alright?"
Tu Qiang and Yao Nang looked at each other again. Xin felt like they were now a team, united in opposing him.
"Well, I think it's a fair show of goodwill in our squad. I approve this. Does anyone mind?" Tu Qiang said. No one answered.
"Good. Thank you, master Qiang." Xin performed a martial gesture.
"Thanks, guys! Wasn't my idea, just to clarify. I'll give you a proper martial gesture of thanks once I have my arm back, haha!" Lei left, cheerful.
Three hours later, Lei returned with his belongings and a new arm. The group was still tense after yesterday's altercation, and spent most of the time quietly sitting around or taking walks around the fortress.
"I am back!" He performed a martial gesture and bowed, as promised. "Sorry, the fingers are still a little stiff. So, are we ready to depart?"
"Unless someone wants to talk about their unresolved feelings towards me or argue against my outriding plans, we're good to go." Xin openly mocked Yao Nang now.
She rolled her eyes.
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