Chapter 331 - Tearful Goodbye

Yuzu sat in contemplation as Li Ru left the shrine. Inviting her for tea was essentially the same as offering to help her with a favour. She found herself with a deep impression of the scholar’s sincerity and noble character.

After all, she was the one who had originally approached Li Ru for help. Yes, they had cooperated to handle the God of Life, but that was mutually beneficial to the two of them. Today he had essentially acted to assist her as well, yet he was the one who owed her a favour?

Does this mean he has accepted me as a student? Yuzu wondered. But, too bad I’ll never have the chance to call on him. Or perhaps, I should think that’s a good thing, if I am going back to my normal life.

Normal people don’t have any need to know Angels of Death, after all.

Yuzu sat in contemplation for a while, feeling somewhat down, though she didn’t know exactly why.

It’s probably just the stress of all of this. Yuzu grumbled inwardly, looking around the small, cramped chamber. Weak, grey daylight seeped in from the cracks around the boulder-blocked hallway that lead out to the surface. The boulder had been rolled into place by Somm, a crude ‘door’ that only he could move, thus giving her privacy to do her work. A chill breeze seeped in, carrying with it the heavy odour of decay and swamp water that she had tolerated for months.

She was done with struggling to keep herself fed and sheltered. She was done with dealing with crazy, dangerous individuals and getting mixed up in their crazy, dangerous affairs.

She wasn’t like Char Char. She didn’t crave adventure or excitement, she didn’t want to be a hero. The past few months had taught her that she was actually the opposite of one. Yes, she’d done good, but she’d done it all from afar, using and manipulating people, putting others in danger instead of herself.

And all for what? A pouch full of gold coins?

Yuzu weighed the heavy pouch in her hand, feeling conflicted between feelings of satisfaction and self-criticism. This amount of gold would set her family up for the rest of their lives. They wouldn’t even need to run the shop anymore if they didn’t want to. She felt a quiet discomfort of how good she felt about being paid for her ‘services’.

And in the end, the guru-chi aren’t even going to get their amulet. Yuzu thought. Yeah, I’m not a hero at all.

She tucked the pouch into the inner pocket of her dirty, travel-worn coat, then looked down at her hands, which wore equally grimy fingerless woolen gloves.

“What I wouldn’t do for a long, hot bath.” She muttered softly.

Leaving the Exalted world wasn’t just about avoiding trouble and danger. It was about returning to where she belonged.

She missed her home, her shop, her customers. She missed waking up in her bed to the smells of Zwei cooking breakfast in the kitchen. She missed Xiang. Loud, abrasive Xiang, who was always yelling at her for doing something wrong. Xiang, who ordered her around and criticized her friends.

Xiang, who worked an extra job to afford medicine, who surprised her with books because he knew she enjoyed reading, who told Zwei to cook the vegetable-heavy meals that Yuzu liked even if he could barely stand most vegetables himself.

A smoky white string in the room grew solid, the arrival of an Exalted man already long-expected by Yuzu.

She cast her eyes out to the strings in the swamp, where Somm and Nilya were waiting with Bacchi and his oji.

It was funny. They had paid her on her vague promise that she would prevent their brothers and sisters from completing the Trial of Succession. In this way they would still have a chance to claim the Sun God’s inheritance. And technically she had indeed followed through on that agreement. They didn’t know that the amulet was now going to be in the possession of the God of Wisdom. They didn’t know that their prophecy had been disrupted and invalidated.

And Yuzu wouldn’t tell them. She was no hero, after all, and pretty soon this wouldn’t be her problem. Let the God of Knowledge deal with them as He wished.

Yuzu read the strings, discerning the details of the white-stringed man.

He was well dressed, a young adult perhaps just past his twenties. He wore a checkered tailored suit, complete with a pocket watch with its golden chain hung stylishly from the pocket of his silk vest. He was clean shaven, with a slim face and pointed chin. He had a pronounced widows peak and his hair was slick and combed backward.

His name was Soong, just Soong. An Astromancer-for-hire that had been paid to pick up Yuzu and drop her off in Noga City.

Yuzu’s lips turned upward in a wry grin. She had thought the God of Knowledge would use some arcane magic to transport her back to Noga, but instead he actually simply just hired someone to do the job for him.

The strings of the two guru-chi outside were drawn into the cave by Soong’s arrival. Yuzu foresaw a short scuffle and hasty exit in the future as the guru-chi would resist Yuzu’s attempt to leave.

She reached out to Somm and Bacchi’s strings, her voice speaking softly to them as the White Maiden.

“It is done.”

Yuzu watched as the black strings shifted and quivered, the future changed by her actions in the present. Sensing the opportunity, Yuzu gently touched the two immortals’ strings and pulled them away from the cave. There was a slight resistance followed by gentle compliance.

With three words and a tug of their strings, the guru-chi had been influenced to not only let Yuzu leave without resistance, but give her privacy when Soong arrived.

The power of Fate… is truly convenient. Yuzu mused, feeling a swell of power buzz through her body. If I didn’t act, there would have been a conflict.

But surely the God of Knowledge would have anticipated that conflict. Then why would He send in Soong so directly…She paused, tempering her ego as a thought came to mind. This means He had the prescience to predict my own actions, and proceeded with this plan confident that there wouldn’t be any problems…

Yuzu frowned, slightly worried. She hadn’t sensed any interference in the tapestry of Fate. This meant there were two explanations here.

First, the God of Knowledge could have some control or aptitude for the Fate Domain, and was proficient enough that His actions could not be detected by her.

Second, the God of Knowledge did not have any influence on the Fate Domain, but His knowledge or other powers were enough to predict or manipulate her such that she inadvertently acted according to His expectations.

Both explanations were worrying, but Yuzu couldn’t figure out a way to discern which was true.

Shortly thereafter a portal opened up in front of Yuzu. The sharply dressed man named Soong stepped out.

The portal stayed open behind him, showing the scenery of some other part of the swamp. Soong carefully scanned the small room, offering a polite smile and nod to Yuzu.

“Good day, young miss.” He said, bowing politely, “My name is Soong, I am here to pick you up.”

“Yes.” Yuzu nodded, “I’m ready to go.”

Soong stepped aside, gesturing for Yuzu to enter the portal.

Yuzu stepped up to the portal, but just before entering she paused.

“Something wrong, young miss?” Soong asked, noticing her hesitation.

Yuzu didn’t answer Soong, but reached out to Nilya’s string with her spirit. She frowned, not sure what to say to the boy. She had only known him for two months, but she felt responsible for his fate. She felt a pang of guilt for leaving him in the hands of the guru-chi. After all, it was her interference that caused him to become an oji in the first place.

If only I could hold onto his string and look after him from time to time… But I’ve tried to hold onto strings before without success. If I tell him to pray to the White Maiden I won’t be able to answer from so far away. He might think I’ve abandoned him… I can’t give him that kind of false hope.

And aren’t I leaving the Exalted world anyways?

That’s right. I can’t leave the Exalted world halfway. I just have to accept that there’s nothing I can do.

Yuzu bit her lip, frustrated.

“Young miss?” Soong asked, concerned.

“It’s nothing.” Yuzu shook her head, “Let’s go.”

~

Outside the cave Nilya was sitting on a rock practicing meditation as part of his training. On another rock nearby Bacchi’s oji Umaru was undergoing the same practice.

His spirit fluttered as he felt the presence of the White Maiden around him. He resisted the urge to squirm and open his eyes, wondering if the sensation was part of his meditation, if the White Maiden would speak to him again.

A moment later the sensation disappeared.

Without knowing why he was overcome with a sense of loss. A single thought flashed in his mind— Shou Tao is leaving.His eyes shot open as he stood up, trembling with emotion.

“H-hey—“ Umaru called after him in protest, “What are you doing?”

Shou Tao is leaving, I’m sure of it! His heart raced, footsteps splashing in the shallow swamp water as he sprinted toward the small cave where Shou Tao had sequestered herself in isolation.

He ran past Bacchi and Somm who were sitting around a small fire. They watched him with calm eyes without trying to stop him.

Without knowing why, Nilya clasped his hands together as he ran and began to pray.

“White Maiden— Oh, Goddess—!”

Firm rock steadied his footsteps as he reached the mouth of the cave.

“Is Shou Tao really leaving without saying goodbye?”

He ran down the roughly hewn rock corridor which descended in a gentle slope.

“White Maiden, I need to tell her that I know the answer to her question—“

At the end of the hall was a dead end, where a large boulder over twice his height had been placed to block the entrance. A groove had been created allowing the boulder to be rolled into a nook, creating a crude door.

“I know what I want more than anything in the world—“

He gripped the boulder with both hands, his fingertips digging into the rock. His entire body tensed as he tried to push the giant rock aside.

“Shou Tao! I know what I want!” He yelled, even as his muscles burned and felt like they would separate from his bones from exertion, “Shou Tao! I want to become strong—“

Nilya yelled in exertion as his body was filled with Exalted power. Small stones and dust clattered against the ground as the huge rock groaned and began to move.

“I want to become so strong that I can do anything!”

The surface of the boulder between his fingertips cracked from the pressure of his grip.

“And when I’m strong, I want to use that power to save everyone!” He yelled, “I want to save my family and my village. I want to make the land green and full of life, like my uncle Sammo’s stories!”

With a final grunt of effort he shoved the boulder out of its spot. The cavern shook as it rolled aside and slammed into the nook with a cloud of sand and dust.

Nilya ran into the room, his body aching, tears in his eyes.

“Shou Tao! I need to tell you—” He yelled, choking with emotion, ”When you found me, I was so lost. My sister was deathly ill, my family was so poor we couldn’t even afford food or medicine. And I couldn’t do anything—”

His eyes adjusted to the darkness. An empty room greeted him, with nothing but a solitary pillow in the center of the room.

“But then you came. You healed my sister. You saved her and guided me. You showed me I could be someone else.” He fell to his knees, bowing until his forehead pressed against the floor.

“Thank you, thank you for giving me this chance. I’ll never forget it!”

He kept his head bowed against the cold rock floor, tears dripping from his cheeks.

Shou Tao was gone.

Somehow, he knew that the White Maiden had to leave too.

Had She heard his words? Did Shou Tao know the feelings in his heart?

He wasn’t upset at Shou Tao for leaving. He wasn’t anyone special enough to garner such treatment. Instead, he only regretted that he wasn’t able to show his gratitude, that he was still too weak to pay her back for all she’d done for him.

Long after the dust had settled and silence set in to the small chamber, Nilya quietly rose to his feet with his head lowered.

Slowly he raised his hands to his chest, pressing his palms together in silent prayer.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, he turned and left the chamber.

~

Many kilometres away, Yuzu held onto Nilya’s faint white string, feeling it slowly slip from her fingers.

She had tried, but really couldn’t keep ahold of it now that he was so far out of the range of her powers.

She had heard everything he had said to her. His words warmed her heart. But she was leaving Fuha, there was nothing that she could do for Nilya now. She felt his sadness and regrets, but in the end she couldn’t think of anything that she could say to him to make the departure sting less.

Still, a small smile touched her lips she heard his final prayer to her.

Thank you, Shou Tao. I promise I will make you proud.

Her hand dropped to her side as she watched Nilya’s white thread fade into the past.