Too Far Apart

3. Guilty

"Get him to the healer. Master Nie, please look into your skills, as a cultivator..."

The voice was too close to his ear, making him groan. The other person stopped. There were two arms around his shoulders, and his feet were limp. He recalled the last thing and realised what was going on. He tried to firm his legs, to took a moment but he was able to stand. Then he opened his eyes to see Sect Leader Lan and his fellow Jiang disciple both had their arms around him and carrying him like that. He was just glad he wasn't bridal style in anyone's arms. It would be an embarrassment of a lifetime. He unhooked his hands and looked at everyone visibly unscathed. His neck stung and his throat burned as he stepped away from the two people. They were still on site, littered with many dead bodies. He turned to bow in thanks when he heard the low rumble.

"Mast Jiang. You are awake." his voice sounded angry. He looked angry. Jiang Cheng couldn't say anything.

"I expected it from others but not from you Master Jiang. One must be level headed and calm, not foolish and eager at a night hunt. What you did was incredibly stupid and could have gotten you killed."

Jiang Cheng felt his heart sink, it was the same words his father had told him many years ago. It seemed like he was barely refraining from the word childish. Or was it his own insecurity ringing back his father's words? He wanted to bite back that if he weren't the one to step in then the victim would be you and then we all would have been in trouble. But he stayed quiet and looked on the floor of the forest. Another body lay to his left. He fixed his eyes on it.

An automatic response rose up but the burning in his throat increase as he opened his mouth. He chanced a glance and saw Sect Leader Lan seemingly stern but calm. Better not to say anything about my throat. He looked away only to realise that everyone was looking at the two of them uneasily. Now he scowled. Did he really have to scold him like a child in front of everyone? What about Master Jin's stupidity? Or Master Nie's cowering?

Now he was really angry. He tried to keep his head straight and not meet Sect Leader Lan's eyes as they began to trek back up the mountain road back to Cloud Recess. All he wanted to do right now was to stay clear of the people around him and be alone.

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Sect Leader Lan felt himself calm down with the trek. He did not prompt a usual report of their learning on the way up. For one, they were all exhausted from the sudden ambush, for two they needed to save their spiritual energy and three, he himself needed to calm down as he was riled up because it had never been the case with his night hunts when a disciple would be injured unconscious.

By the time they were back inside, it was nearing time for breakfast and his head was organised. He felt bad for scolding Master Jiang and keeping an awkward silence around his disciples. He looked at Master Jiang as they came to a stop and knew the other was avoiding his eyes. He would have to call him separately and tell him calmly to not put himself in dangerous positions.

He asked everyone to meet him in the evening after dinner for a report, asked Master Nie to bring his friend to a healer and told Master Jiang to rest well. Everyone bowed and dispersed, master Jiang didn't meet his eye.

"Sect Leader Lan." he looked at the new music cultivator who had backed him up in the hunt.

"Can I have an urgent word with you?" Sect Leader Lan led the man to the Elder Hall and waited for him to continue as he seated.

"I want to begin by saying I am not partial to any disciple, I rather do not have a high opinion of Master Jiang but it seems tonight he might not have been at fault. Among the last three, Master Jin seemed to fumble with multiple arrows and lose focus which caused him to be caught and himself back exposed to two attacks. Since you were otherwise occupied, Master Jiang stepped in and chose to use his arrow to get Master Jin free and shielded you with his body. I do realise he should not have but the situation was tight. If he had chosen to save Master Jin and not you, you would have been unconscious and we would have been in trouble seeing the overwhelming amount of corpses. If it was the other way around, Master Jin would have been seriously injured."