1078 Chapter 1078 The Letter of the Agreement

“Stand down,” said Meng with a growl.

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“I am, in fact, very stood down. My weapon has been dismissed, my hands are in the air, and I have no desire to resist. I’m perfectly willing to accept being sent into an illusionary coma, as long as it’s not so deep that my body will just shut down. Recovering doesn’t have to be likely, just possible,” said Shun slowly and calmly.

“Hmm… yes you have been remarkably cooperative, do you have any further requests?” asked Meng.

“I wouldn’t want to presume,” said Shun with somewhat false modesty.

“No, you’ve made it clear this was a business decision for you. As such, it will cost you some years in payment for acting against me, but I agree it isn’t worth your life. I won’t go too far out of my way for you, but I shall not attack you for overstepping in your requests,” said Meng.

“In that case I’d like to make two requests, I believe will be accepted, and one I am unsure of,” said Shun.

“Get on with it. I’m feeling pretty good about Jian getting taken out, so I’m willing to hear you out. I said that. Stop beating around the bush like you’re trying to buy yet more time,” said Meng, noticeably less pleased with the continual deferring of her offer.

“Right. My apologies,” Meng glared at Shun as he spoke, “The first request is permission to pen a letter, infused with my signature qi, explaining the minimum to my family. That I am fine, that I accepted this punishment for my action, and that I will live through it and have no desire to seek retribution. I am even willing to allow you to look over my writings if you so desire. I seek to hide nothing,” Meng nodded easily.

“My second request,” Shun continued, seeing Meng’s lips tick upwards ever so slightly at the corners, “Is to get permission to activate one of my teleportation talismans. I have a hidden bunker on the mountain, and I am able to activate it on a delay, of your choosing. I would like to set it up to take me there once you have applied your illusions to your satisfaction. I have other treasures that can save me, but it is while valuable, less so then the others. Additionally, I believe myself to have the best chance of surviving if I use it, especially in conjunction with the letter.”

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Meng tapped her cheek a few times “As long as you swear by the heavens that the talisman will not activate before whatever time limit you give me, and swear not to chase myself or my children for… fifty years,” offered Meng.

“That is a most generous offer, I accept,” said Shun, bowing forward though still with his arms raised into the air and open palmed.

*I don’t know how to feel about this. I mean, is this a good deal? Fifty years, is a long time… but it’s not that long if you’re sleeping I guess. It’s just… feels super weird to be having this conversation after we murdered his… what work companion? Acquaintance? At least it wasn’t in cold blood but… cultivators are weird.*

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Lily sent a feeling of agreement over the link. As Meng spoke up again, “Good. Do you have any request as to the type of illusion you wish to be subjected to?”

“You would allow me such a boon?” asked Shun. Meng glared at him, hard, and Shun winced, understanding it looked like he was delaying things again. “Of course, you would not have offered otherwise milady… though… if you will permit me… why are you asking for requests? Is this not to be a punishment?”

Meng shook her head with gritted teeth. “Yes… but I am not out to torture you for decades with horrible illusions. I want a certainty that you will not be able to harm me and mine for at least a decade, hopefully longer. If you choose the illusion you will be more likely to let it run its course. Though… I hesitate to jump straight to a pleasant illusion, many would consider knowing that joy is fake worse torture then any amount of pain,”

“Yes… I understand…” mumbled Shun with a nod. “If you had offered me an illusion of my Dao partner I would’ve been insulted, and aggrieved. I… hmm… is it possible to have you prepare an illusion based on the stars in the night? I wish to meditate on the meaning of my light,”

“That feels a little like a chance to power yourself up…” said Meng with a hum, and Shun just shrugged in response. “You know what? I can respect it Shun. That’s what I’ll give you. Now, please write out your letter and then we can begin. My goal will be keeping you under for a century, but I doubt my illusion can truly hold up against someone of your power for so long, especially if you decide to actively unravel things. Of course… if you wish to keep meditating…” _{Please visit f𝗿e𝙚𝙬ℯ𝚋n𝚘ν𝗲l. 𝐜𝐨𝗺}

Meng let the knowledge hang in the air, and Shun accepted the offer with a deep bow as he pulled out a small desk that could be used while kneeling and started on his letter. Shun understood the offer. Meng would set up her illusion well, an offer, a temptation of power. If only he allowed himself to remain imprisoned for just a little longer. Shun felt his respect for his, now no longer, matriarch of the Holy Icy Wind sect.

What he knew, as a mole, was that Meng had been good for the sect in the long run. If she had not been forced out of her roll, despite the ‘sabotages’ she had attempted, she’d just been a cut above the original Meng in terms of operational efficiency. If the sect managed to survive this blow, it would likely come back stronger. Of course, the chance of that was low. Many other sects would circle like vultures, and with him gone, many of the elders confused, and the rest of the sect in a panic… it was unlikely they would survive.

Still, Shun had hope for the future. Perhaps in the unlikely event this illusion provided him with unique enlightenment it would allow him to break into Rank 5. Shun doubted it, but he did believe it would provide him unique enough insight to pass down to his descendants and allow them a real chance at cultivating to such a height. Shun thought he was getting off extremely lightly.

As such, he didn’t try to leave any hidden messages in the letter he was writing. Shun was straightforward and wrote out exactly what he felt his descendants needed to know. It read as follows:

“”Greetings children, I am unsure which of you will receive this letter but I ask as your elder that you pass it around to all of my descendants. I have come up against Meng, who you will soon know as a traitor. This both, is, and is not true. Meng who has run the sect for most of your lifetimes, is not the original Meng of this sect. None the less, I was tasked, by the same organisation that hired her, to take her out when she went even further rogue for the sake of something precious.

I lost, this should not be a surprise to any, as I am but a mere elder and she is the matriarch of our great sect. Her departure will leave us weaker, and while I would love for you to remain within the sect and bring it to greater heights, a safer, and more practical course of action is to abandon the sect and find another to take you in. Something that will likely be easier now then at any other point in history.

I am not dead, so do not morn me. I have taken a penalty that will allow me to live, though I will not be free to act for quite some time. I do not regret the course of action that led me to this outcome, and I am hopeful that it will have been a boon once this is over. The organisation that hired myself, and Meng, may contact you with an offer of resources in exchange for the assistance I provided…

Yet they also may not. Assuming that I am dead and thus cannot apply pressure on them to provide what was promised. Know that while I did make deals to benefit my descendants, without my active and provable presence, anything they offer you may have a massive number of hidden strings attached. I say this not to scare anyone away, but as a way for you all to understand the dangers, and benefits better.””

Meng looked over the note as it was offered to her and nodded, seeing nothing objectionable. “The oath please,” Shun nodded and recited the oath as promised, before bringing out the talisman and setting it to go off in an hour, as promised.

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