Chapter 283 - Moon Lake (XI)

It's... beautiful.

Okay, I'm puffing it up a bit, but it's legitimately far better than I expected. I'd entirely thought it'd be some old-looking crapshoot reminiscent of, like, Plymouth Fury from the 60s. But no, there isn't a whole lotta chrome-plated garbage trying to look extremely futuristic, not realizing it's dating itself... wildly.

There were two long benches, each large enough to fit about ten people all by themselves, pressed against the wooden wall. They were decently wide and, most importantly, were also cushioned. There was about four feet of space between the two benches, and on the far end, opposite of the doors, was a small sofa, maroon-red like the cushions.

I don't quite get the magic of it, though the folds of space certainly make for marvelous engineering. As everyone settled down, I grabbed a handful of mid-grade Spirit Stones and tossed it over to the 'maw' of the array--it was positioned above the sofa, shaped like a dragon's head. As soon as the stones flew in, the eyes of the statue lit up in bright crimson and the entire chariot shook for a moment.

The knowledge on how to fly it was already ingrained in my head--and, in extension, I could fly it just with my head.

Imagining it ascend, it began to move. Despite seeming to rock and rumble outwardly, there wasn't a whole lot of turbulence on the inside. A bit of shaking, perhaps, but it was extremely stable as it began to levitate. One foot, and soon ten, and before long we were about four hundred feet off the ground, looking down upon the world that seemed eerily small.

The kids had pressed their heads against the window, oo-ing and aa-ing, while I did my best to endure splitting my lips into the biggest, dumbest smile imaginable.

Because, by God, this was amazing. If I had known how it'd feel, I would have flown the damn thing immediately upon getting it, even if it would have made us go broke.

As I poured more stones into it, it started to speed up.

And then it really started to speed up. Before long, we were traveling at around 60 miles an hour--a relatively 'unimpressive' number as I'd once gone up to nearly 140 miles trying to impress Yas, but for here?

We were whizzing through like a streak of lightning!

The world slowly shifted into a bit of a blur as the kids chattered about. Even Lao Shun got up at one point and walked over to the window, glancing down.

The only unmoving ones were Long Tao--as I imagine he'd flown this speed when he was my age, without the need for a chariot--and the three statues that were pressed into the corner of the bench, unmoving. Honestly, if they didn't blink once or twice, one might legitimately mistake them for statues.

"Hey," I called out to Wei, snapping him out.

"Y-yes, Master Lu? How can I help?"

"Tell me about the Moon Lake."

"A-ah?"

"I weren't lying when I said that we were just coming out to explore the world."

"Ah, of course! Yes, the Moon Lake!" he said. "Legends have it that, a long, long time ago, it was a vast, endless desert. One that couldn't even be crossed at night, as it would get as cold as it was hot during the day. On the opposite ends of the desert were two mighty Sects, and they would occasionally fight over who 'owned' the desert. During one of those skirmishes, two disciples fell in love--both the direct Disciples of their respective Sect Masters. Their affair continued in private until they both ascended to the Seat of the Sect Master, whereupon they revealed their relationship to the world.

"As means of unifying the two sects into one, greater power, they looked to create a safe passage through the desert--in the process, however, they discovered a massive, underground lake spanning thousands of miles. They then combined the might of both sects, using every disciple and elder they had, and pushed the water to the surface. It is said that the formation of the Moon Lake, as it is today, took over a hundred years."

A legend? A slightly modified truth? I honestly can't even tell. If it'd been a story back on Earth, it would have been easy--here, though? It literally may all be true, word for word.

"What's it like today?" I asked.

"Hmm, mostly a normal lake, I suppose," Wei said. "There's a few low-level clans that occupy its banks, and one Ancient Clan that hosts the annual gatherings. Though we all gather to 'find the dragon's corpse', everyone is very aware, including the Ancient Clan, that we're there for the sunken treasures. The idea is that the guests spend a lot of Spirit Stones while there, which more than makes up for the lost treasures. But the truth is, calling them 'treasures' is a bit generous. Most of us go there simply to compare notes with our peers--not, not that your disciples have peers! In their age group, they are absolutely unrivaled! And you, of course, as their Master--"

"--yeah, yeah, why do you say calling them 'treasures' is a bit generous?" that's not how Lao Shun presented it, at least.

"Most people get a few medicinal herbs, or maybe a piece of precious ore to craft a weapon, but it's not as though you cannot find those things elsewhere. There are treasures, but it's the Holy Lands that always take them--even if they are not the ones who found it."

"Oh? So they steal the treasures? No, no, wait--they strongly imply that it would be safest with them."

"Hm. Something like that," Wei smiled helplessly. I mean, it didn't matter to me, too much. But this trip to the lake... I've started having a bad feeling or two about it. Something wasn't adding up.

And I didn't really know what--that's just sort of how my brain sometimes worked. Well, not my--it's not that my brain is special, I'm pretty sure that's how all, or most of, the brains work.

The idea is that something in the details I've learned up 'till now wasn't solidly adding up, or it was adding up, but the details were reminiscent, in some way, of a bad experience.

... or, it really just might be my paranoia, again.

"Ah, but if I may..."

"..."

"..."

"Yes, you may." he really was asking of my permission. Oh my God, these people will really give me a stroke.

"You shouldn't fly in with the chariot; n-not that you need be afraid of anyone or anything, of course! You are grand, and your disciples--"

"--just shut up, please."

"Y-yes! I'm so sorry! Please don't kill me!"

"..."

Honestly, I'm probably better off getting used to this treatment. But, if I'm being even more honest... I'd rather people treat me like dirt.

Being treated that way? I have experience. I have plenty of experience of people coming in and seeing just something they could demean. I'm oddly content being insulted and shat on, which probably says more about me than it should. Regardless, being treated this was... it was uncomfortable. Really, really uncomfortable.

"Of course we're not going to land there in this," I said, sighing and ignoring his deep bow. "Believe it or not, I'm a man opposed to violence."

"Yes, Master hates violence!" Hm? When did the kids come back here?

"I once saw him shed a tear while two people were merely yelling at each other!" Eh? Dai Xiu? You did? How come I don't remember that?

"Yes, yes," Xi Zhao followed along. "Master is a kind, pacifist soul who would always rather solve conflict with words than fists! You must be careful around him, or he might pass out!"

"If you see anyone fight in Master's sight," Wan Lan said. "Hurry up and cover his eyes. I once saw him fall to his knees and openly weep at the sight of a dead man he didn't even know--he sat kneeling for two days and praying over the man's body!"

... hey.

Who the hell is this guy you keep talking about?!!

When have I ever kneeled for two days?! You think I can kneel for that long?!!

No, no, don't give in--don't show any reaction! That's what they want!

... aah, screw them.

"Indeed, I am opposed to violence," I said, my lips twitching. "But if you keep yapping like that, I'll have Long Tao increase the intensity of sparring tenfold. No, scratch that, I'll have him actually use a sword. But a dull one that can't cut anything. Yet, it will feel like it's cutting. Like it's severing all your tendons and digging into you flesh, displacing your organs in a whirlwind of horrors--hmm. Maybe I'm not too opposed to violence?"

"Pfft, ha ha ha..."

Alright, laughter I can take. With me, or at my expense--it doesn't matter. A morbid thought came up to me as I listened to the kids laugh: I wouldn't mind, truly, if their laughter became my epitaph.