Oh.

Oh!

Geming Lei had known he was setting himself up for disaster. But no one ever truly expects disaster to befall today. It’s always a feeling for something in the nebulous future. How ironic that he had been pondering his legacy just half an hour ago.

Interestingly, while he could feel his heart start beating faster, his thoughts were totally calm. He didn’t think himself a particularly brave man, but this situation was just out of his control now and it didn’t feel like any amount of panicking would help.

It was remarkable, how long his mind was managing to stretch out this short moment of time, but it came to an end as the Elder resumed speaking.

“Please don’t be alarmed. I have already told you how I feel about your work and I’m not intending on harming you in any way. In fact, I am here precisely because I agree with your work.”

Geming Lei swallowed. He did his best to let the Elder’s words calm him, but he wasn’t quite as relaxed as he would like to be. Which was a euphemism for the fact that he was still barely managing to breathe enough air to continue sitting here. At the same time though, his curiosity was certainly captured.

“How so?”

Not his most eloquent question, but it was all he could get out right now.

“Well, I have recently found myself questioning the fact that my sect is ruled by corruption, greed and force. Ever since then, rectifying this state has become the focus of both my mind and my actions."

That did it. Geming Lei’s fear subsided in its entirety to make more room for the curiosity.

“A revolutionary elder? Now that’s quite something. I don’t think I have ever heard of anything similar before.”

“I’m not the first one, not even in the current sect. It’s just that these kinds of conflicts usually don’t leak to the outside.”

“I see. That actually makes a lot of sense. Maybe I need to readjust my view on the world of cultivators after all.”

“Don’t be mistaken, we are still a minority. Which brings me back to my reason for being here. I came to the city because I intend to change that. Consequently, I have an offer to make you. I’d like you to educate the sect’s disciples in matters of morality.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me correctly. The bulk of our disciples have, up until now, only ever been educated in matters of combat and cultivation. I want to instill a sense of actual morality and fairness into them. There is no one in the sect who is both capable and willing to teach them, so I came to this city to find someone who could. I have stayed at the academy for quite a while now and have concluded that you would be by far the best choice.”

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

“I… I’m honored.”

“I’m happy to hear that, but that is not the matter on hand. The question is whether you want to accept this position or not. There are quite a lot of upsides and downsides attached to it, so allow me to elaborate.

“First off, let me go over the position you would take. The main thing I would expect of you would be regularly holding lectures, open for the disciples and all other willing sect members to attend. You’ll be free to determine their exact content, but the purpose of teaching the listeners moral behavior should always remain the focus.

“This is where the first downside comes into play. The people you’d be teaching aren’t academics, they’re children without any proper education, so I imagine that this task would be quite… boring for you, since you have to start at the lowest of groundworks.

“Other than these lectures, you’d be free to hold additional events like debates and similar, or just to continue your studies. Of course you’d be lacking access to the academy’s faculties, like the archive and such. To compensate, I’d give you access to the historical records of our library.

“One other thing to note is your personal safety. While you’d naturally be under my protection and I’d do my best to ensure your well-being, I need you to be aware that this is still quite the dangerous position to take. As I have already said, my faction is in the minority inside the sect so most of its leadership would likely want you gone. As a mortal among cultivators, you’d also not be able to defend yourself against any attacks.

“As for accommodation and compensation, I can guarantee you that it’s going to be better than anything a professor can receive here. From my assessment of you, I doubt that matters to you much, but it still needs to be said.

“Lastly, I don’t need you to make you choice right now. You can take a couple of days to think it over, I can return then.”

Geming Lei didn’t take much time to answer.

“No need. I have already made my decision. I accept.”

“Oh?”

“I have spent my whole life telling people what is right to do. If what you are saying is true, then this is my chance to do something good. What hypocrite would I be if I didn’t take it?”

“You’re a brave man, Geming Wei.”

“I’d like to be. I’ll still need a few days to wrap up my business with the academy though.”

“Naturally. There are also some things I could help the people I came here with. Head to the Li family’s residence when you are done, you’ll find me there.”

With that, the Elder rose to his feet and Geming followed suit.

“It has been a pleasure meeting you, professor. Oh, and in the meantime, take this. Just in case you need it.”

With a bright flash, the ring Liu Wei was wearing produced a small golden plate which he then handed over. Engraved on it were three mountains beneath full moon, the symbol of the Lunar Peaks Sect.

“This is a token of association. Should any trouble arise with the academy, don’t hesitate to make use of it. Goodbye, professor.”

Geming Lei bowed deeply.

“Thank you. It was an honor.”

After returning the gesture and giving him a last smile, the Elder turned to head out.

Once he was gone, Geming Lei sank back into his chair. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, his head was spinning. Just what had just happened? He’d need some time to properly process this.

…

Liu Wei stepped out into the open. This had been surprisingly easy, all things considered. He certainly hadn’t come here expecting to find someone so perfectly suited to teaching his disciples.

From what he could tell, Geming Lei was a genuinely good person. He wasn’t afraid to break with tradition and he was clearly very knowledgeable when it came to his field. That was everything he could hope for.

With this issue taken care of, only the one with the smugglers remained. If possible, he wanted to help Qingge take care of that in the coming days so the expedition could return to the sect alongside him. He trusted them to take care of it without him, but it would just be more convenient that way.

He’d go visit them tomorrow and how much they had learned. For today though, he’d allow himself some time off. Maybe he’d have himself a cup of tea with old Niung Li.