Chapter 27: Tasks
Hwong Hyun sneered but said nothing.
Instead, Chen Mave piped up in her soft, gentle voice, "If you lose it, don't worry too much. As long as your Soul Lamp is still lit, you can always verify your identity at the sect and get a replacement. It's just... a bit costly—fifty spirit stones, to be exact."
Fifty spirit stones? Compared to his fine, that was peanuts!
Lordi Payne continued the question, "Senior sister, if I may ask... I was reading the sect rules yesterday, and it seems like almost everything can be resolved with spirit stones. The sect even gives people time to gather the funds. But... what happens if someone owes the Holy Sect a large amount and then just... disappears? Wouldn't that mean the sect suffers a loss?"
"Not a chance!" Sil Deshah, a usually cold and stone-faced beauty, shook her head firmly, a rare smile breaking through her icy demeanor. "The Holy Sect's the most lenient among sects and factions—everything's solvable with spirit stones. But everyone knows: you never owe the Holy Sect money and run away!"
Chen Mave hesitated for a moment, her voice soft and delicate, like the rustle of silk. "I... I heard a story once. It might be true, or perhaps just a tale to frighten disciples, but... it's chilling all the same." She paused, her hands clasped gently in her lap, her gaze downcast as if reluctant to continue.
"There was a senior disciple... who owed the Holy Sect a hundred spirit stones. It wasn't much, really, but... he was old, his cultivation stagnant, his potential exhausted. He thought... he thought he could escape. He took on a task, slipped away, and vanished into the world, hoping to start anew." Her voice trembled slightly, as if the weight of the story pressed on her.
"But the Holy Sect... they don't forgive. They sent three cultivators—each a full realm above him—to hunt him down. The hunt lasted... twenty years. Can you imagine? Twenty years of searching, tracking, unraveling every thread of his new life. They found everything—his new alias, the family he had built, the quiet life he had tried to create." She shuddered, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"When they found him... it wasn't quick. They... they peeled him alive, layer by layer. His family—his wife, his children—were ground to dust. Every last one. The enforcers left nothing behind but a message: The Holy Sect always collects."