ALL NOVEL 143: The Cruel Weight Of Responsibility
Closing the door with a soft click, Lin Songmei slid her shoes off, following behind Yan Mingqing to the living room. Faced with a mess of blankets and other miscellaneous objects, Mingqing stood there, hands on her hips. “We’re going to need to put this stuff away. They’re going to be sleeping in this area.”
“I mean, they could also sleep in the unoccupied bedroom,” Lin Songmei offered, leaning against Mingqing’s shoulder. “But, yeah, we need to clean this area up.”
Tapping her chin and sighing, Mingqing shifted her weight from one foot to the other before patting Songmei on the head. “I’ll set up the call, you just start folding the blankets, I’ll join you in a sec. We can always organize while on call.”
“You’re so right,” Songmei laughed, giving Mingqing a brief hug before doing a half-jog towards their blanket pile. It had been a couple of weeks since they had spoken to Liu Xueli, so it was a good opportunity. Of course, one not in the best of circumstances, but an opportunity to talk nonetheless.
[Helloooo~ You two are calling for once! No scheduling or anything! What have I done to earn such an honor~?] Xueli’s voice transmitted through the call. With her terminal sitting flat on the couch, Mingqing tapped a button, allowing for a video projection of Xueli to pop up in the air above.
“Well, we’re in a bit of a pickle.” Mingqing began, walking back over towards Songmei and pitching in to help with the clean up. “We’re pretty sure the entire city is in a bit of a pickle.”
[Well, I’m not there... so you have to give me a little more than that.] Xueli pondered, a serious light back in her eyes as she saw the urgency with which Songmei and Mingqing moved. [First of all, are your lives in danger?]
“Don’t think so...” Songmei tapped her chin, looking over at Mingqing who also shook her head. “We’re at a pretty high cultivation. We can hold our own against the city’s top hitters, and can at least run away. This year’s disciples might be in a bit of trouble though.”
“So, for context, the mayor backstabbed Wrath. Now he’s hanging out with Avarice, it seems they’re planning something. We managed to rescue Wrath and deliver her to the hospital. On the way back from the hospital though, the mayor sent out a message to the whole city, saying he’s going to do an emergency speech a few hours from now.” Mingqing explained, her hands folding a blanket as she talked.
[That’s... certainly not what we expected.] Xueli sighed, massaging her eyebrows. [Alright, I’ll make a trip over to Westriver soon. Given the fact that Avarice has a track record of contact with the demons, I’ll make the sect do an emergency recall to all disciples in Westriver.]
Taking the blanket from Mingqing, Songmei walked over to the closet, stowing it as Mingqing began to fold another blanket. “Recall? Are we going back to Starlight Lake?”
[No, no, it’s still too early, and you all should be fine.] Xueli shook her head, putting on some glasses as she pulled out another to begin messaging other people in the sect. [It’ll just be an emergency call to return to the Starlight Lake owned housing until more information is known. Hopefully, it’s just a false alarm, but it doesn’t hurt to be safe.]
Falling silent as Xueli raised a finger to have a moment, Songmei and Mingqing continued their cleanup. Organizing as much as they could and putting the more private items in a basket to take upstairs. Throwing all the random items into a bin, Songmei’s heart twinged as she looked at the mess in the bin. There was no consistency among the items, there were journals they didn’t need others seeing, there were random bits of money they didn’t need others taking, and more.
[I’m done!] Xueli called out, taking off the glasses (that Songmei was pretty sure didn’t do anything) and grabbing Songmei and Mingqing’s eyes and ears once more. [You two should be getting a message in a couple of seconds, so you can disregard it. Now that we have some time, can you two fill me in exactly on what the situation was? Why do you say backstab, that type of stuff. I just want a clearer picture of the situation.]
With an obnoxious mix between buzzing and ringing sounding out from her and Mingqing’s terminal, Songmei dismissed the notifications first before tapping her chin. “Just... where to begin?”
Getting a shrug from Mingqing, Songmei bent down, picking up another blanket, folding it as she and Mingqing began retelling the story so far. Word vomiting all their thoughts out and drowning Xueli with any and all relevant and irrelevant knowledge they had on the subject, Songmei and Mingqing spent a solid few minutes talking.
Having only given Xueli enough airspace to slip in a couple of “mhm”s and “I see”s Songmei and Mingqing finished off their final few thoughts before sitting down on the couch, the living room now clear of all debris.
[A rebellion... huh.] Xueli sighed, feeling a headache starting to come on with the impending work she’d have to do. [Okay, I’ll make sure to tune into the mayor’s speech later tonight as well. For now, I just have a few thoughts, preliminary ones. But, to be honest, it’s not likely that they’ll change.]
Stroking her chin and kicking back in her chair, Xueli watched as Songmei went to the closet, pulling out a vacuum and duster. With Songmei handing the duster to Mingqing, Xueli couldn’t help but nod. They had grown so much! They really looked like independent adults now!
[Okay, it’s time for some... sort of brutal honesty. I still think it’s quite soft, but I’m sure some would disagree,] Xueli murmured out loud. Songmei, on the other hand, not a second after hearing those words, felt an immense atmosphere of worry drop onto her and Mingqing’s shoulders.
[Well, I think, I... well, maybe someone else in the sect, but probably me. Since I want to see you two in person again.] Xueli smiled, shooting a pair of finger guns through the projection. [Considering the situation, I wouldn’t be surprised if most masters with direct disciples under them actually come to the city... It’s just that I’m just pretty high-ranked, so I’ll probably get saddled with some stupid bureaucratic responsibility again...]
With Xueli beginning to diverge from her original line of thought, Songmei and Mingqing gave each other a look and imperceptible shrug. Without a doubt, they wanted to get the ‘brutal honesty’ over with sooner, but... hearing Xueli blabber on like this was par for the course.
[Actually!] Xueli grinned, slapping her own knee as she began laughing. [Wu Sen is probably going to be there because Lu Qiang and Cai Yufei are his disciples! He’s the head of the disciplinary bureau, I’m sure I could push the work to him! I’m in charge of the Martial Pavilion, I can’t be trusted with this stuff!]
Resisting the urge to tell Xueli her joke about not being trusted had a fair possibility of being true, Songmei instead whispered it to Mingqing who snorted before murmuring “I must concentrate on dusting... dusting, not laughing.”
[Ai... stop laughing, you two! I know your master might not be the most elegant all the time, but she knows what she’s doing!] Xueli reiterated with a couple self-assured nods. [Okay, back to brutal honesty. It’s quite simple. Unlike last time, where I saved you two from a pretty problematic situation, I think you two... I think you all should figure it out on your own.]
Getting a pair of confused head tilts and raised eyebrows, Xueli pursed her lips and sighed to herself. Why were they so in tune with each other?
[Well, think about it. Last time, it was something far beyond your capabilities. The plant was something out of reach for even the mayor.] Xueli motioned, miming out a little plant in the air. [However, the problem this time... really is just the mayor and other powerful figures in the city. You two, though a little below him right now, with the rest of your friends, could certainly resolve it!]
With both Mingqing and Songmei seeming a little apprehensive, Xueli reassured the two. [I’ll talk it over with all the other masters, but I’m sure they’ll agree! It’s a great learning opportunity! To be honest, it’s due time you youngsters had some real hands-on growing opportunities! We’ll be there to make sure you don’t die, and you all will be there... to solve the problem!]
Feeling their own headaches come on with how busy their future was shaping up to be, Songmei and Mingqing could only think of one thing: Xueli really was good at pushing off work.
