CHAPTER 37 — The Silence Between Prayers (Part Two)
The valley did not return to normal.
It only pretended to.
Lian retrieved her sword but did not sheath it. Her posture had changed — not hostile, but alert in a new way. Not just toward the girl.
Toward Zheng Wen Te.
"We need to report this," she said at last.
Her tone was steady.
Official.
Zheng Wen Te looked up slowly. "Report what?"
"The descent. The sealed anomaly. The interference of a higher messenger."
Her eyes flicked briefly to the girl before returning to him.
"And you."
Something in that word lingered.
"You're going to report me?" he asked quietly.
Lian hesitated.
Just a fraction of a second.
It was small.
But at fifty years old, Zheng Wen Te knew hesitation when he saw it.
"I have responsibilities," she replied. "The sect must assess potential threats."
"Threat," he repeated.
The word tasted bitter.
Lian's jaw tightened. "You nearly spoke a forbidden name under divine coercion. The heavens reacted. That is not minor."
The girl watched them without interruption.
Zheng Wen Te slowly pushed himself to his feet.
His legs felt steadier now.
Not because he felt stronger.
Because something inside him had shifted.
"When the giants projected my life to the world," he said calmly, "did the sect report that to me first?"
Lian frowned. "That's different."
"How?"
Silence.
Wind moved through petals again.
He held her gaze.
"I was exposed to the entire world without consent. My failures. My family. My weakness."
His voice did not rise.
That was what made it heavier.
"Did anyone ask if I agreed?"
Lian's fingers tightened around her sword hilt.
"That was divine will."
"And this isn't?" he asked.
The question hung between them.
Lian looked away first.
"We are cultivators," she said more quietly now. "We survive by aligning with Heaven, not questioning it."
There it was.
Alignment.
Not truth.
Not justice.
Alignment.
Zheng Wen Te glanced at the sky.
Clear.
Innocent.
Watching.
He felt it again — not guidance.
Observation.
Lian exhaled. "I won't accuse you. Not yet."
Not yet.
"But I will report everything that happened here."
The girl's lips curved faintly.
Soft.
Knowing.
Zheng Wen Te nodded slowly.
"Of course you will."
There was no anger in his tone.
That surprised even him.
Just clarity.
Lian stepped back, already mentally distancing herself.
Sect first.
Individual second.
He had lived in the business world long enough to recognize that structure.
The moment risk appears—
loyalty recalculates.
As Lian turned slightly away, Zheng Wen Te felt something settle inside him.
Not rebellion.
Not rage.
Just a quiet decision.
If he was being watched…
If he was being positioned…
Then he would start watching back.
And somewhere deep inside—
a prayer did not rise.
For the first time…
he did not offer one.