Sen didn’t quite know what to make of the scene that greeted his eyes. The foxes, who he had just assumed were going to be the problem, were still sitting at the table where he’d left them. Of course, that didn’t mean they hadn’t caused the problem. In fact, he found it odd that they hadn’t gone somewhere else. Sen didn’t imagine that Laughing River really wanted to discuss the secrets of transformation in front of mortals. However, after he thought about it for a second, Sen realized that Falling Leaf had probably proven unwilling to go somewhere private with the immensely powerful nine tail fox. Sen didn’t think the fox would have tried anything. Especially not with Sen holding the spatial treasure hostage. He couldn’t fault Falling Leaf’s caution if that had been the reason, though. Only a fool offers their hand willingly to a predator’s teeth.
By all appearances, however, it seemed that the ghost panther was the source of the trouble. There were bodies scattered everywhere amid the wreckage of shattered tables and splintered chairs. A quick scan with his spiritual sense revealed that those people were still alive, even if some of them were probably thinking they’d rather be dead. The thing that truly captured Sen’s attention was Falling Leaf. She had a foot planted firmly between the shoulders of a man, keeping him pinned face down on the floor as he thrashed. Meanwhile, she had seized the robes of a man nearly three times her size in one fist, while savagely beating him with the other fist. Sen couldn’t even tell if the man was still conscious or if the ghost panther was holding his unconscious body up to continue the punishment.
Frowning a little, Sen picked his way over to the small bar and peeked over the top. The inn owner was crouched behind it looking like he believed that the end of the world had come. The man looked up, saw Sen looking down, and flinched like he’d been struck. Before Sen could get a word in edgewise, the inn owner started babbling.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t know she was a cultivator. I didn’t know!”
When it became clear that he wasn’t going to get anything useful out of the inn owner until after the fighting was over, Sen made his way over to the foxes. He had to step over some groaning, battered people to do it. He sat down at the table and gave the foxes an expectant look. Laughing River started to chuckle.
“I expect you think we did this somehow, but we didn’t. This is all on the mortals.”
“Oh, is it?”
Misty Peak quickly nodded. “We were minding our own business. Then, that pack of idiots came in here. One of them decided that Falling Leaf was too pretty to sit with us and should sit with them.”
Sen suppressed the groan he felt coming on. He could guess what happened, but he gestured for Misty Peak to continue. The fox woman glanced over to where Falling Leaf was still administering object lessons.
“Shouldn’t you stop her?” asked the fox.
“Not until I know the whole story,” said Sen.
“Alright,” said Misty Peak a little uncertainly. “Well, she said no. She was quite firm about it. The man didn’t like that, and he grabbed her. I think you can put together the rest.”
She gave the destroyed common room a halfhearted gesture. Sen nodded before he glanced over at where the inn owner was cowering.
“Why is he so afraid?” asked Sen, hiking a thumb at the bar.
Laughing River shrugged. “He didn’t do anything to stop it. He probably figures that once she’s done with them, she’ll turn her attention to him. Or maybe he thinks that you’ll burn the place to the ground because he let it happen.”
“Oh. I guess that’s not an unreasonable assumption,” said Sen.
Misty Peak got an interested gleam in her eyes. “Are you going to burn it down?”
Sen thought it over. “No. I don’t have anywhere else convenient for you to stay. I’ve taxed the patience of my teacher already. I’m certainly not adding to that by bringing you two there. Besides, it’s going to cost a lot to replace all this broken furniture. I don’t know if that’s punishment enough, but it is some kind of punishment. If Falling Leaf decides to do something to him, though, I’m not planning to step in.”
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Laughing River lifted an eyebrow. “I thought you were all soft-hearted about the mortals. Didn’t you run off to save one an hour or so ago?”
“Soft-hearted? Not so much. I went to help that young man’s father because it was probably a life-and-death situation and because I could. A tree fell on the man. Maybe it was karma coming around on him, but I doubt he was doing anything objectionable at the time. The idiot who runs this place lets some of his customers grab other customers. Whatever he gets, he deserves,” said Sen before glancing over to where he could hear someone blubbering.
Falling Leaf had seemingly grown tired of beating the big man and had turned her “gentle” attention to the one she’d pinned to the floor. He was on his knees, crying, and pleading with the implacable ghost panther. The man’s words were so garbled by his sobbing that Sen couldn’t even understand most of it. Then again, he didn’t need to hear the words to understand it. It all boiled down to one key idea. Please don’t kill me. One look at Falling Leaf told Sen that those pleas were largely falling on deaf ears. Her eyes were still blazing with cold fury. She probably wouldn’t kill him given that she hadn’t killed any of the others, but Sen didn’t imagine that man was going to feel healthy anytime in the near future. When she started in on the man, Sen turned back to the foxes. They were both giving him mildly surprised expressions.
“You’re really not going to do anything?” asked Misty Peak.
“I didn’t tell those men to be stupid,” said Sen. “They aren’t innocents. If they grabbed Falling Leaf here, they’ve almost certainly done the same thing in other places to people who couldn’t fight back. Besides, I don’t know them. They aren’t allies. Why should I get in the middle of it? More importantly, why do you care what happens to them?”
“She doesn’t,” observed Laughing River. “Neither do I. Understanding you, on the other hand, is of interest.”
Sen gave the elder fox a dubious look. “Why is that?”
“The better we understand you, the easier it will be to avoid truly angering you,” said Laughing River.
“Is that really a matter of deep concern for you two?” asked Sen with a small snort.
“Of course, it is,” said Misty Peak. “You can summon vengeful, terrifyingly powerful nascent soul cultivators. Do you think that they’d say no if you asked them to kill someone for you? Equally important, all the evidence suggests that you will be a vengeful, terrifyingly powerful nascent soul cultivator. Probably sooner than later. Teasing you is one thing, but I don’t have a death wish.”
Sen opened his mouth to speak but found he didn’t have a ready response to that. She wasn’t wrong about him being able to summon nascent soul cultivators. Master Feng and Uncle Kho probably would kill someone for him if he asked them to, not that he would. But he supposed that there was no way that the foxes could know that. He wasn’t as sure about Auntie Caihong. She would likely hunt down anyone who did him true harm, but that wasn’t the same thing as killing someone just because he asked. He was less than comfortable with the idea that he might be perceived as a vengeful figure of terror and doom. He sighed. It was probably too late to avoid that since so many of the stories painted him that way.
“I suppose I can understand your concerns,” admitted Sen.
There was a particularly sharp sound of fist on flesh that drew Sen’s attention. He saw Falling Leaf casually toss aside the limp form of the crying man. His spiritual sense revealed that she had spared even him. The ghost panther stalked over to the bar where she glared down at the inn owner.
“Bring me food,” she commanded.
“Whatever the honored cultivator wishes,” cried the inn owner before he fled toward the kitchen.
Falling Leaf nodded to herself and returned to the table. She sat down and picked up a cup of what had to be cold tea. She took a sip before she turned her gaze on Sen.
“Did you save the tree man?” she asked, all signs of violence gone save for the blood on her hands and speckled across her face.
“I think so,” said Sen.
He retrieved a piece of fabric and a water gourd from his storage ring. He wet the fabric and handed it to the ghost panther.
“That’s good,” said Falling Leaf.
She took the cloth and wiped at her face and hands.
“I’ll check on him in a few days to make sure,” said Sen. “Sometimes, these things are trickier than they look at first. I wish Auntie Caihong were here. She’s better at reading injuries than I am.”
Falling Leaf nodded. “The Caihong has great talent in healing.”
Sen took no small measure of amusement from the increasingly baffled look on Misty Peak’s face. Laughing River did a better job of controlling his expression, but Sen could tell that the elder fox also wasn’t sure what to make of the conversation he was listening to.
“So, I heard someone tried to grab you,” observed Sen.
Falling Leaf glared at the unconscious men she’d left in her wake. “They thought to force me to sit with them. Force me. A ghost panther. The fools,” said Falling Leaf before she sat up straight and gave Sen a concerned look. “You must teach the kit to protect herself from such as these. She has no claws. She must be shown, as you were shown.”
“Kit?” asked Misty Peak and Laughing River in unison.
Falling Leaf eyed the startled foxes warily before she glanced at Sen. He lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug.
“Sen has taken in a lost human kit,” announced Falling Leaf.
“He did what?” demanded Misty Peak.