They quickly reached the cave.
T-800 found that the cave now has some new items.
Some new utensils, bowls, plates, chopsticks and a carpet.
"Master, that's the best I was able to do…I apologize for my lack of resourcefulness…"
If T-800 had a mind, he would be impressed. "It's impressive." and yet he praised Lin Feng.
Lin Feng's heart swelled at the praise. But he quickly shook his head.
"Master, please rest. Let me quickly start the fire and prepare heart burning tea for you…"
T-800 immediately catched Lin Feng's hand before he could leave.
"Explain first…what danger we are preparing for?"
T-800 didn't let go of Lin Feng's wrist with his mechanical grip, preventing the boy from running away.
Lin Feng looked out at the sky with terror in his eyes.
"The Moon, Master! It changes! It becomes the Penance Moon! It is the curse of the Boundless Seal Realm. Tonight, the moon turns dark, and the pattern of the Brand appears on its face. When that happens... the heavens punish the sinners."
He pointed at the sky with a shaky finger.
"Every sinner marked with the Brand, the Penance Mark suffers the 'Soul-Severing Cold.' It is a cold that does not freeze water, but freezes the marrow and the spirit! The more strokes on your Brand, the deeper the cold bites!"
Lin Feng's eyes widened as he looked at T-800's shoulder.
"Master, most people here have three or five strokes. A ten-stroke sinner screams all night in agony, praying for death. You... you have twenty strokes! The frost will target you with twenty times the intensity! Without a fire array or Yang-attributed boiling medicinal bath, you might not survive the night!"
[Analyzing Lin Feng's blood circulation.]
[98 percent chance. The Boy is not lying.]
"Please, let me prepare fire and hot bath for you, Master." Lin Feng was begging like he himself is going to die from 20 strokes of Penance Mark's Soul-Severing Cold.
T-800 released his grip. "Go. Prepare." He gave him the rest of the Spirit Stones.
"Yes, Master!"
Lin Feng ran out of the cave to collect the materials as T-800 looked up at the sky.
The moon hasn't risen yet, the sun is still half, more than half gone, the darkness is taking over but still a faint sunlight fighting back.
His internal calculation took this curse night seriously but all the calculation does not reveal any sort of danger to his mechanical physiology.
He could have given some hint to Lin Feng about his uniqueness and avoid wasting those spirit stones but that would have been against the infiltration doctrine.
He just stood there like a statue, observing the sunset and waiting for this Penance moon to rise.
As per his internal clock, 30 mins later Lin Feng came rushing off frantically with lots of materials.
Lin Feng collapsed, dumping a bundle of Iron-Bark wood and a sack of pungent, red herbs onto the stone floor.
"I got them," he wheezed, panic rising with the shadows. "Sun-Fire Roots... for the bath. We must hurry."
T-800 didn't help at all as he observed only. Lin Feng also didn't ask for any help at all as if it was his only duty.
He quickly built a bonfire at the center of the open ceiling courtyard of the cave, higher than T-800 height.
He lit the fire and then picked up the large iron bowl, ran outside again to collect water.
Meanwhile the sun finally set behind the mountains, leaving a cursed purple sky. But the moon hasn't risen yet for some reason.
A total darkness.
Outside the whole sect, the whole Greenwater Town was in a suffocating silence. Everyone hiding behind their own arrangements of bonfire wards, Yang arrays, Medicinal boiling bath and lots of secret pills.
Praying for dawn.
The silence was choking with dread and so the darkness, but faint light started to show up everywhere.
Everyone has already started lighting up their bonfire.
This terror, even if T-800 has no emotion, he could sense it.
This Penance Moon is not a natural phenomenon. If he had a base world view, a belief, this would be the moment it is supposed to shatter it.
If this was still a moment of questioning reality, if this was a dream or not, this moment would confirm it that he is not in some dream, some simulation but this is real.
[Prime Directive: Kill John Connor.]
But it doesn't matter at all. His directives are absolute.
Lin Feng came running, soaking in water. It seems he fell in the pool while hauling the heavy Iron bowl with water.
He ignored his own shivering body in the cold, as he settled the Iron bowl on the side of bonfire, for some reason the fire hasn't taken its grip properly, its still releasing smoke instead of tongues of flames.
He quickly fanned the bonfire and after a few attempt the flame came out. He quickly made a side section in the large bonfire for the Iron bowl and threw in the herbs.
"Master, please! Stay as close to the fire. Let me know when the cold feels unbreakable and I will bath you in this yang medicinal water."
T-800 remained motionless looking above in the sky.
His sensors observing the minute changes in the sky.
It was a starless night and no clouds too, just a night ago it rained so hard that it left no clouds to spare.
Lin Feng also joined in curiosity to check what his master was looking at. His wet clothes and shivering are already gone from the large bonfire heating up the whole cave like a furnace.
Then a point in the sky lit up.
"There…" Lin Feng whispered with dread as he looked at his master, for his well-being.
That point of light in the sky started to glow bright, and started to grow larger.
It was not a moon like T-800 knew of earth.
It was more like a metal disk with a brand mark etched on it.
It was the literal branding iron but glowing in blue flame like glow spreading a glowing aura or dust like thing all over everything.