~~~

The sun has risen by the time Liu Jin finishes the autopsy. A fitting end to a hectic chain of events. If he were on a lower level of cultivation, perhaps he would have been left too tired to do anything today. However, sleep stopped being something Liu Jin needed many stages ago. While Liu Jin takes daily naps out of habit, he can go for one or two weeks without sleeping if he wishes to. Maybe even a month if he pushes himself.

A single day is not a problem.

“Should we really be here?”

“Of course,” Liu Jin says. “We are unlikely to spend much time in Rumbling Thunder City, so we should take the opportunity to explore it before we are sent away.”

Yesterday, the city put on its best face for them. Today, Liu Jin has ventured into the lower side to catch a glimpse of how it looks unwashed. He and his companions have taken off their disciple robes and replaced them with common clothes to better mingle among the people.

So far, the city looks far better than he expected it to. The houses are small but serviceable, and the scent of filth is nowhere to be found. The people of the lower side do not look ill or malnourished, nor are they dressed in rags. They are just normal people, and quite a few of them at that. Street performers, merchants selling all sorts of things (even memory talismans, to his surprise), kids running around, men and women taking a break from their jobs, and so on.

There is no denying it. General Dan has managed to create a peaceful city in a warring country. His achievement deserves praise.

“That is certainly true,” Fang Bingbing says as they enter a restaurant. “But shouldn’t you be in the City Lord’s house?”

“My presence is not required there today,” Liu Jin replies. “Most of the negotiations were done yesterday after the party.”

Which isn’t to say there aren’t any negotiations going on right now. Feng Zhi, Mud, and Yuan Tao are meeting with General Dan and his officials to address a myriad of small compromises. It is overly tedious yet unfortunately necessary work that Liu Jin is glad he is not a part of. It is also why Liu Jin feels confident enough to explore the city. As long as Yuan Tao is around Feng Zhi and Mud, he’ll not be able to get away with much.

Not that it had stopped him from sending a messenger out before dawn.

The autopsy had not revealed anything earth-shattering. All Liu Jin knows thanks to it is that, contrary to what Lei Kong had assumed, the messenger hadn’t activated any suicide technique. Instead, the technique activated on its own when the servant came to the conclusion there was no way to escape. A cruel way to prevent possible betrayals.

A simple roll call that morning had revealed the messenger was not one of their disciples, meaning he could have been a servant or perhaps someone who lived in Rumbling Thunder City.

“Besides, I beat City Lord Chu’s daughter quite soundly yesterday,” Liu Jin says after the waitress has taken their order. He shrugs his shoulders and tries to keep his tone casual. “I can not imagine I will be welcomed there.”

While City Lord Chu would feel compelled to treat him with respect due to his position, there is no telling what his daughter would do. Lu Mei had offered to get close to her, and Liu Jin had taken her up on it. His presence would just incense City Lord Chu’s daughter and hinder Lu Mei’s efforts.

“I am not good at making friends, it seems.”

“We are friends,” Fan Bingbing points out. She does it so matter-of-factly that it brings a smile to Liu Jin’s face.

“That we are,” Liu Jin says.

“What about me?” Huang Shing asks

“We are friends too,” Liu Jin replies.

“I see you more as an acquaintance,” Fan Bingbing says.

“I didn’t mean that!” Huang Shing slumps forward, letting his chin touch the table. “Brother Jin wants to keep his distance after the banquet. Sister Fan is following because she wants to see the city. But why am I here?”

Liu Jin stares at him. “You know why you are here.”

“But she’s right there!” To his credit, Huang Shing does not raise his voice. He just hisses and points towards the general direction of the city gates. “Why can’t I talk to her?”

“It is my understanding that emotional reunions can be volatile,” Fan Bingbing says. “We cannot be volatile while we are guests in the city.”

“She’s right,” Liu Jin tells him. “He might be on the upper side, but there’s no telling how he will react if you approach her here. Better not risk it.”

Liu Jin does not mention Feng Zhi’s name, but the way Huang Shing glares tells him there is no need to. His friend understands just fine what the problem is.

“Fine,” Huang Shing grumbles. He turns his head, so his cheek is resting against the table. “You’re paying for this, though. The meal, I mean.”

“I invited you, so it’s only fair,” Liu Jin says, thanking the waitress a few seconds later when she comes with their orders. Some sort of sweetened pastry served warm and filled with something sweet and cold that melts as the seconds pass. It is a Rumbling Thunder City delicacy, or so they are told.

Stolen story; please report.

“Delicious,” Fan Bingbing says as she takes the first bite.

“Indeed,” Liu Jin says. Even Huang Shing’s dour mood cannot last in front of the sugary treat. It is so good that they order more as soon as they finish their plates.

“You have been a disciple longer than I. What can you tell me about Yuan Tao?” He asks Fan Bingbing while they wait.

Fan Bingbing thinks for a few seconds before answering.

“I am afraid you will not find answers in me. He’s a Core Disciple, and he must be trusted by Elder Fa if he has been sent here. That is all I know,” Fan Bingbing replies, cleaning her mouth with a napkin. “What I can tell you is that the Division of External Relations has been largely in charge of handling our negotiations with the Storm Dragon Empire. Elder Ju has always disliked that and constantly pushed for us to have a bigger role, but he was repeatedly denied.”

Considering how blunt all the members of Exploration he has met have been, Liu Jin is not entirely sure that decision was wrong.

“He’s been quite happy ever since this expedition was announced. Between this and… what happened in that place, he says he’s busier than he has been in decades.”

“At least someone is happy,” Liu Jin looks at Huang Shing. “What about you?”

“We joined at the same time,” Huang Shing points out as the waitress brings their orders. “Why would I know more than you?”

“You worked for the Punishment Force.”

“Yeah, but that was Internal Disputes, not External,” Huang Shing says with his mouth full. “You’re probably thinking we worked closely with them because we were all part of the same faction, but it’s not like we were pals or anything. Elder Dang never had anything nice to say about Externals.”

Right. Huang Shing did say something to that effect in the past.

“Do you really think that guy is trying to make things go wrong here?” Huang Shing asks. He chokes on his pastry as soon as he says that, forcing him to punch his chest and drink some tea to make it go away. “I know we were on different sides and all, but even Elder Dang told us to take the loss gracefully.”

“He did?”

“Well, there were a lot of insults involved, but that was the gist of it,” Huang Shing admits. “He gets really going when he gets angry, but he also told us he was proud of us for surviving and gave us a lot of points.”

Does that make Elder Dang complicated or overly simple? No matter. Elder Dang is not the Elder that should be on his mind now.

“I have reason to believe Elder Fa has not taken the loss nearly as gracefully,” Liu Jin says.

“Elder Ju warned me about something like that,” Fan Bingbing says. While they weren’t looking, she had finished her second plate. “He has never trusted External Relations.”

“Isn’t that just because their divisions are rivals?” Huang Shing asks though Liu Jin can tell he is just pointing it out for the sake of it.

“It is true that Elder Ju is a man of many petty grudges,” Fan Bingbing says seriously, as though she weren’t insulting her Elder. “However, when it comes to External Relations, his dislike feels more serious than usual.”

“Interesting.” Liu Jin doesn’t get to say more. A loud crash turns every head in the establishment towards one of the tables. One of the waitresses is on the floor, the empty plates she was carrying shattered around her.

A large man wearing armor stands over her. His cultivation is not impressive. His musculature is nothing he has not seen before. His looks are unremarkable.

All the same, Liu Jin flinches.

It is not the same armor, he tells himself. The shape of the breastplate and pauldrons is slightly different. The blue is not as intense, and the black is lighter to the point it can almost be called gray. This man belongs to General Dan’s army, not Murong Bang’s.

And yet…

For a moment, he was reminded of an absolutely dreadful night.

“What is the meaning of this?” The man bellows. There is a slip of paper in his hands which he holds up in front of his face. “We grace your establishment with our presence, and you dare charge us?!”

“C-customer, please!” The waitress cries out, trying to back away. Her legs are too numb with fear to allow her to stand. “I do not understand…”

“Who do you think keeps all of you safe?” The large soldier asks. “We have just returned from defending the border territories! We slayed the dogs of that monster Murong Bang so that you may be at ease! Where is your gratitude?!”

“I am sorry, customers!” The girl says. No one moves to help her. Even the store manager is trying to hide away. “I did not realize-”

“Do you not see the armor?” The soldier asks, banging his breastplate. “Did you think me a child playing pretend?”

“Hey, that’s enough!”

The soldier glares at Huang Shing. Unlike many who have kept their heads down, the teen stands up and grins cockily.

“This is none of your business,” the soldier barks at him. “Who do you think you are to interfere?”

“You’re making a scene while my friends and I are trying to eat. Of course, it’s my business,” Huang Shing says. His grin grows. “Do you really think you’re strong or important enough that you can get away with acting like a dog without being treated like one?”

The soldier’s Qi spikes. He is barely in the Spirit Realm.

In other words, he’s nothing special.

“Do you not realize who you are speaking to?”

“A soldier?” Huang Shing replies, scratching his ear. “You were pretty vocal about it.”

The soldier’s face goes red. “I am a Hundred-Man Commander of General Nie Dan’s army!”

“If General Nie Dan’s army is filled with men such as you, then he is in dire straits indeed,” Fan Bingbing comments. She does not do it loudly, yet the entire place is so silent that no one has any trouble hearing her words. The people flinch while the soldiers sitting frown darkly.

“You will regret those words!” The Hundred-Man Commander advances toward Fan Bingbing, but Huang Shing gets in his way.

“Hey, I am the one confronting you.” He glances back. “Don’t steal the scene from me, Sister Fan.”

“My apologies,” the girl replies.

Sensing the coming violence, the people quickly get out of the way. The waitress has already fled into the kitchen.

“Huang Shing,” Liu Jin says.

“Are you going to stop me, Brother Jin?” Huang Shing asks him.

“We are guests of General Dan,” he says.

“What?!”

“As such, it would be seen poorly if we were to start a fight with his men during our second day in the city,” Liu Jin continues as though the Hundred-Men Commander hadn’t spoken. “So it should be okay as long as what happens here cannot be called a fight.”

If nothing else, this should be an excellent opportunity to see how Yuan Tao and General Dan react.

Huang Shing's face brightens. “You’re so smart, Brother Jin!”

“Don’t worry,” Liu Jin says, his eyes finding the hiding store manager. He sips his tea calmly. “We will make sure to pay for any damages as well as the meals of those who run away.”

~~~