Silva took a deep breath, sent a reassuring glance to the two men who had gotten tense, and asked '' How do you know my name.. sir?'' She was more than a little lost. Did he knew her, had they met before? But when, and how?
'' I just know, no need for worry here, Silva. The wind has little secrets for me'', Seon said.
' The wind?' Thought Silva, what does he mean by.. 'Oh. No, that can't be, does he know I practice a wind cultivation technique? Surely not, i must be getting ahead of myself' she reassured herself.
'' No matter,'' she said, '' When will the Mayor.. Speaking of the devil. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mayor Silverhead. I was deeply saddened to hear about the little.. incident earlier this day''. Seon shot her a sharp look, still comfortably sitting on a couch, '' This was no ' little incident', Silva, and you ought to remember it as a grievous mistake.''
She bowed her head a little towards Gareth, a shiver coursing through her at the warning, '' Of course, please forgive me, Mayor Silverhead''.
Gareth had just entered the room, followed by Lin, his wife and a few servants. He barely had the time to register the conversation before letting out a hearty laugh, '' Ah, there is no need for the honored cultivator to apologize to me''. He deeply bowed to Silva, the two men, and looked curiously at the still unconscious Yelena.
Seon did not like this at all. He knew of course, martial artists were considered inferior to cultivators, their power and lifespans differing greatly. But to see his friend all courteous towards the superior of a woman who had crippled him annoyed him profoundly.
His face scrunched up slightly, he looked down at Azure and sent her his thoughts through his Divine Sense; ' I don't like that Gareth has to act so submissive, should we do something, sweet Azure?' Azure knocked his hand away, clearly showing her refusal. She liked things to go smoothly, without trouble. Oh, how she wanted to go back to sleep in the Caring River with Seon, nestled cozily in his inner world. But this wasn't meant to be, not yet.
So Seon sighed as he watched his friend ingratiate himself to the County Officials.
'' Anyways, this has gone on long enough. Would you please give the man his Regrowing Pill?'' Silva bower her head to Seon, and took out of her storage bag a small ceramic bottle. A faint herbal sent followed the bottle as she presented it to the wide-eyed Gareth. '' Is this.. What I think it is?'' He looked back hurriedly between Seon and Silva, '' This is much too precious for me, honored cultivator. It is but just a lost hand.. '' Lin, who had been silently watching the happenings from the side, took the bottle for him and said '' Oh, will you stop this now? You need your hand, and losing it should never had happened. Thank you, honored cultivator, for your generosity'' She bowed deeply to Silva, keeping the bottle close to herself, as if scared of it being taken away.
Silva was one of the few cultivators of her division who did not loose her respect for ordinary mortals, even if she still held some disregard for them. They would die soon enough, after all. But if these two were friends with Seon, the strangely intimidating man, then she would consider them more than she usually would.
'' No need for such politeness, madam. And the offender Official will be disciplined and charged, you can be sure of it''. Seon nodded at the notion, being punished was only natural in this situation, but he still added; '' I want her to lose a hand. Make it regrow or not, she should feel the same as Gareth did ''.
Silva could barely contain a groan from slipping out of her lips. Did she give too much respect to this man, that he thought he could dictate how she'd discipline her subordinate? But one look in his direction quickly cooled her down. He truly had a mighty air to him, as if a Dragon was hiding in human form. She was sure he'd look mostly ordinary to most people, but her Cultivation Technique, Wind's Whispers, consisted of a connection to the Wind element, and had the characteristic of hinting at dangers and opportunities, for the Wind knew all.
And the Wind loved this man. She couldn't be fully sure about this conjecture, but her Spirit Sight showed him fully immersed in multiple coddling elementals, Wind elementals too. And the feeling she got of him was.. Overwhelming, to be said.
'' She will be judged, sir Seon, but i will transmit your demands to the court.''
Gareth hurriedly said, '' There is no need to be so harsh, my, you don't have to make it difficult for the honored cultivator, right Seon? '' He sent a pleading look to Seon, conveying all the pleases in the world to him.
Seon sighed, again, thinking how much he did this day and said '' Suit yourself then, but I want insurance she won't try and take revenge on my friend here, his family or his town.'' He didn't know Yelena, apart from seeing her loosing her wits multiple times in front of him, so he had to be sure she wouldn't attack someone in a fit of rage. ''This is more than reasonable, do not worry, Sir Seon. This can easily be done. She might even be transferred to another department from now on.'' Silva looked visibly relived that he didn't try to force the issue here. Giving a Regrowing Pill was already a lot, and she didn't had much leeway here.
Seon smoothed out the hem of his sleeves, looked up and leisurely said, '' I suppose this will do. As I'm sure you'll understand, Silva, the day has been long enough, and I hear a blanket calling me. I'll see you all later.''
Seon hastily stood up, startling Azure who was nestled on his thighs. He flung his long sleeves in his stride, quickly going for the door.
Gareth barely had the time to utter an ' Ah!' Before Seon was gone. He smoothed out his furrowed brows, thinking : 'Does he even knows where the guest rooms are?'.
As Seon made his way through the long wooden corridors, his mind wandered. He had been away from civilization for a long time, after all, and he felt tired talking to people at once. As much as seeing Gareth, Lin and their children made him happy, he couldn't help but ask himself if coming out this early had been a mistake. After all, it should be known that his growing sleep wasn't supposed to end before another two hundred years. But he knew, in his rest, that humans didn't last long. Especially mortals. So while he slept, he dreamt of them, of their time together, their laughs and their cries. His longing was so deep that Cary, the Caring River, had to woke him up from his worry. She shed tears of guilt, rain falling onto her banks, muddying the way as he left. But he still had to come, even if just to say a final goodbye.
He hoped, of course, that it wouldn't come to this. But his fears were legitimate, and his mind young. How could he let go of the mundane so early in his life? How young he was, Seon, not even two hundred years old, with eons he had yet to live through.
As his mind continued to flow, he found himself in front of a room. The door was as simple as they came, nd the bustling sound of haggling came from the road.
He had naturally walked outside of the manor, in front of the surprised guards, his steps bringing him to this simple inn. A sign board hanged atop the door could be read as The Copious Inn. Seon pushed the creaking door open, a wave of beef noodle soup scent coming to his nostrils. He made his way to a short counter at the end of the room, a middle aged man standing behind.
He was half asleep, his elbow resting on the counter, his head on his palm, eyes dropping lazily.
A bell was just in front of the resting man, and Seon mercilessly rang it. The harsh sound instantly woke up the man. He stood at attention in a second, eyes wide open on Seon; '' Oh, ah, sorry for that. It happens with age, you know. What can I do for you today?'' Seon beamed a smile at the man, his smooth voice rolling out of his mouth; '' I'd like a room for two nights, do I need to pay more for meals?'' The man lowered his head, took a wooden token with a three carved on it and a key from below the counter, and said; '' That will be two silvers for two nights, and twenty coppers for two meals a day, one in the morning and one at night. For ten more coppers, we can bring you a wooden tub to wash in, cold water only''. He extended his hand and Seon took out two silvers and thirty coppers from his sleeve, taking the token and key from the innkeeper's hand.
'' First floor, third room on the left, and you're all set. The tub will be sent at dusk if that's alright with you today''. Seon did not care much, his mind becoming more and more muddled, needing a good night of sleep. He simply hummed and made his way upstairs.
He opened the door, didn't even properly looked at the room, and collapsed on the not so soft bed