The next place on their list was the small island nation of Liim that shared a border with the Union of Five. Lasvanian support was the only reason why they hadn’t been absorbed during the brief period after the Fifth’s ascension to High Cultivation where the Union had decided to expand.

Lasvania had put a stop to it rather quickly, but not before the once small Republics in the Union had expanded their territories fivefold. It was a pretty brazen challenge to the Lasvanian power at the time, nearly trying to conquer a close ally.

Lee was not quite sure why they did not take action and investigate further then. He’d asked Bornie about it and she said something about naive ideology and factionalism. There was also the global purging campaign the Executors had done just a century ago and no one was willing to repeat it so soon then.

That existential crisis seemed to have cemented a solid hatred of the Union of Five across the entire country. The High Congress’ decision had actually been met with celebration and partying by even common people that wanted their larger neighbour gone.

It went without saying then, that Lee, someone who had been subject to the Fifth’s marking and was freed, became something of a hero. Their arrival was met by even more celebration on the streets, and the president himself came to welcome them. They used a portal, thankfully, but not before waving at the crowd gathered in the streets. At the president’s request he’d also shouted a few words to them.

“Down with the Fifth!”

That sentence was met with what was perhaps the loudest noise he had heard in his life. He felt relief the moment he was shown his accommodations, a large apartment that could fit a family of tour. The sheer intensity of the anti-Fifth prejudice and the way he was being idolised had been mentally draining.

Throughout the whole thing, Lisa was completely silent, barely answering when he tried talking to her. He was not particularly sure what to do, so he called Bornie. She would likely know better.

“Hey Lee, what’s up? How’s your trip? I just finished watching your arrival at Liim. There’s an awful lot of people abroad with posters of you.”

“Hello Bornie. The experience has been smooth. I met someone from Xenus. As for the people with posters, they are just people who see me as a symbol of their cause. I cannot control whatever misguided ideas of me anyone has.”

“You are correct. I simply thought the whole thing was rather funny, honestly. You met Wen Dongmei? How did that go. Supposedly she has something of a reputation among ascendants.”

“Yes, I did. She was my master’s first disciple, so our meeting was pleasant. Her reputation was well earned back home, but she is only vengeful to her enemies.”

‘Interesting,” she seemed to stew on that for a moment before continuing. “So, what exactly did you want to ask about, because I somehow doubt you just called to say hi.”

“I am worried for Lisa,” he spilled out.

That got a raised brow from her.

”Lisa? It must be serious then. What is the matter with her?”

“She has been acting strange since the day we left Lasvania. Not only was she nearly late that day, but she also looked like a mess when she showed up at first. Like someone who had been crying, perhaps. She has cleaned up since then, but it is clear that there is something wrong. I have not seen her like this in the short while I’ve known her, and I find myself worrying about it.”

Bornie shut her eyes and took a deep breath after he was done speaking.

"Where was the last place she went before that? Did she tell you?"

"Not exactly. She mentioned something about errands for her mother, but nothing else. Do you have any idea what could have caused it?"

Another deep breath.

"Joha Feltham is a case study on how not to raise a child. She put her daughter through things nobody should ever experience. So, if Lisa is acting the way you say, there’s a good chance she’s responsible.”

He pondered on her words for a few moments. He was fairly sure what Bornie considered abuse was significantly more than what he did, but there was nothing to be done about that. Still, Lisa was tough. It would take something bad from even his point of view to affect her so much.

“Is there nothing that could have been done to stop it? I thought Lasvania was supposed to be able to prevent these things.”

He knew what the answer to that question was, of course. Though the country made effort to provide justice and so-called equality, powerful people still seemed to have a bit more leeway.

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"Ha," Bornie barked out a short laugh. Her reply was perhaps the most jaded he had ever heard her, though it simply confirmed what he had been thinking.

“There are people in power that know or suspect what is going on, yet what can anyone does about it? There’s only so much the system can do. As for how you can help her, I would say talk to her. About any random thing, and don’t take no for an answer. She will not hurt you if you’re firm. I will also try to reach her in the meantime.”

Lee was not quite sure he was ready to push Lisa that hard, particularly when she was in such a mood, but he appreciated the advice. He would at least make an attempt for her sake.

“Thank you for sharing your wisdom. I will make efforts to follow it.”

“I should be the one thanking you for telling me. Lisa has never been particularly fond of people. She would likely have continued to sit on this instead of seeking help.”

He nodded at that. It seemed like what she was already trying to do. He asked her a few more questions and they talked about a few lighter topics before finally ending the call. She agreed to speak to Lisa first before he would try his luck. Hopefully that would make her more receptive to his attempts.

He ended the call feeling slightly better. At least he had a path forward with Lisa.

He scanned the room thoroughly before trying to cultivate. The qi was even more potent than it was in Nava. It was unexpected, considering the island’s small size, but not too surprising when he thought about it. Extremely potent qi was likely one of the many forms of aid they had received from Lasvania over the years.

He focused inwards and went back to forming his technique after that. He was making steady progress, and it was becoming a little easier to get the right patterns the more he went on.

His stay in Liim went smoothly for the most part. Like the Navans, they were quick to agree to proposals of improved cooperation and the president looked downright gleeful when action against the Union was mentioned. Once again, he had to take a brief tour to various parts of the city. He instantly became the centre of attention anywhere he entered, which was a little annoying. Unearned adoration was something he truly did not enjoy.

The president, strangely enough, had asked to be featured in a video for his social media. The request had been slightly confusing until he saw all the positive comments made by Liimians under the video. Of course it had been a publicity stunt.

The next two countries they went to were similarly pleasant, albeit with less potent qi. There were also a lot less posters of him, something he was grateful for. Interestingly, he found that a lot more people seemed excited by Lisa’s presence, which made sense. As one of the most talented people in her generation and the daughter of a Lone Power, it was to be expected. The fact that he was the one centre of attention in both Nava and Liim had simply been deviations from the norm.

Not that she even seemed to notice any of it though. If anything, her mood had gotten worse over the past few weeks. Some of her grumpiness had even started to seep into their meetings, however mildly. It was easily glossed over when they were dealing with allies, but it might be a little more problematic with the countries they were going to next.

Bornie had spoken to her a little, but she had not been particularly receptive, evading most of the questions. So, after a week of pointlessly delaying, he finally gathered enough courage to try speaking with her, even though a part of his brain still screamed at him for being an idiot. He ignored that part, moody she might be, there was no way she would blow him into many tiny pieces just for talking.

He stood at her door for over an hour before she seemingly gave up and just let him in. He stepped inside the warm, cozy apartment that she was staying in. They were in the last allied country on their trip. He had made sure to wait till the very end before having the conversation.

That was definitely the reason for the delay. It had nothing to do with his cowardice.

“Hey Lisa,” he greeted.

No answer.

“Hey Lisa.”

“What do you want?” she asked in a way that made it clear she would prefer if he was elsewhere. Well, tough luck.

“I just want to talk.”

“Well sorry but I don’t.”

He clamped down on the fear that was about to fill his heart and pushed it aside.

“I do. I will not leave until we talk.”

Her eyes narrowed at that and for a moment he was afraid she would do something drastic, but then she went back to ignoring him, instead focusing on cultivating.

So he waited there, calling her name and asking random questions while she continued to pretend he was not there. It became a game kind of game to see who would get tired first.

After nearly three hours, she finally seemed to have had enough.

“Enough of that,” her voice sounded almost tired. “Say what you want to say and go.”

He had to work to stop himself from smiling after that. It was obvious what he was going to talk about the moment he had truly thought about it. There was, after all, one major thing that they both loved.

So, he spoke about cultivation, just his at first, and she slowly started listening. She clearly did not want to have any kind of conversation, and at first, she was ignoring most of his questions. Yet gradually, he could see her warming up to the conversation against her will.

It took a few hours of his time, but by the end of the day, she was an active participant in the conversation, pointing out flaws in his own methods and even sharing a few things she had to struggle with.

Eventually, when he felt their talk would soon end, he took a bit of a gamble.

“Thank you for your time, Lisa. I believe this discussion has been beneficial to both of us. Could we do this again next week?”

She stared at him for a long while before answering.

“Did Bornie put you up to this? She can be a little too nosy sometimes.”

“No,” he shook his head. “I was the one who told Bornie about your situation. I don’t know what happened, but I don’t think completely shutting yourself out is how to deal with it. It has already caused you to slip up in our meetings. What if something happens with the leader of a hostile nation. I doubt anyone would be pleased back home.”

It was another gamble he was taking, as he could end up pushing her away again, but he thought it was worth it.

“I will think about it,” was her reply in the end.

He found himself feeling relieved when he went back to his room. Lisa’s situation had really been weighing on his mind. With any luck, she would regain herself to some extent before they went to the next country, and everything would go smoothly.

Hopefully, at least.