"Alright, I think I get it," Lianying muttered slowly. "This time I'll make it fast."

She stepped forward, white flames billowing off her right arm entire! She raised her right hand once more, and two spears chambered themselves by her side. The mirth on her face calmed, and her breath regularized. She was serious.

Her hand fell with the force of a lightning-bolt, and the two spears flashed forward—

"Oh, Lianying. I was looking for you."

The spears stopped in place only a few inches from my chest.

It was Wang Wujiu's voice.

Lianying took several steps away from me and, with a look of terror in her eyes, muttered, "Sister Wujiu..."

The two other followers walked up behind Lianying and slapped her on the shoulders. "We told her not to mess with Bai Chunxue, but she didn't listen."

"That is fine," Wujiu said with a lazy shrug. "That's not a concern anymore. I am here on other business. Specifically, I must inform you of some new developments in our plans."

Lianying coughed with relief. "Ah, yes, of course."

The crowd that had already accumulated only grew thicker. After all, it was quite rare to see someone as prominent as Wang Wujiu out in the city. If she was going to say something, everyone wanted to listen.

"I will be going into secluded cultivation. And while I am away..." Wujiu paused and looked out of the corners of her eyes to make sure that everyone was listening. "...Sima Rui will be taking over for me."

—Sima Rui! Now I remembered why I had been able to pick out the magistrate's name. Wujiu had spoken of Sima Rui because she was Wujiu's strategist for the reunification of the western provinces, the future governor of Xichuan Province! That was what Wujiu had said!

But that only left me with another puzzle. What exactly had Sima Rui meant when she had told me that she didn't want me to die?

"If I may, Sister Wujiu," Lianying began, "Sima Rui is only at entry-level Foundation Establishment. I do not think she is suitable to serve as your substitute. Rather, would it not be wise to have one of us peak-level Foundation Establishment cultivators do so?"

Wujiu sighed, and then she asked, "Tell me, Lianying, who is the most powerful person in all Xili?"

"...The Emperor of Wei, I suppose," Lianying replied with some hesitation.

"And what is the Emperor's cultivation level?"

Lianying's mouth twisted, yet remained closed. It was not auspicious to speak of such things.

So Wujiu answered the question herself.

"Some decades ago the Emperor was in the Martial Warrior stage; in other words, he was a entry-level Foundation Establishment cultivator, far lower than even the generals he commanded. In the wars for Huoshanlong Archipelago he was half-crippled and now is only the equivalent of a Muscle Tempering-stage Qi Condensation cultivator. The Emperor would not even qualify to enter our inner sect, and we are not even the most powerful of the cultivation sects in the land of Wei."

Wujiu began pacing around the circular space that the crowd had yielded, and those who had only been listening out of the sides of their ears turned their heads towards her, awaiting the rest of her explanation. Only when she completed a lap did she continue,

"It is often said that cultivation is the practice of going against the laws of the heavens. This is incorrect. The fundamental law of the heavens is destruction— flesh to ashes and stone to dust. We cultivators do nothing more than align ourselves even tighter with that law. Rather, it is those rare exceptions like the Emperor and like Sima Rui who have the ability to create, who turn mobs into nations and rubble into palaces. Even our sect founder Murong Huanlan, who is said to have reached the World Empyrean realm before her death, in her life of a thousand years could not create anything more than a small sect in the mountains of a backwater."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Wujiu stopped in front of Lianying.

"Lianying, we shall soon depart for the western provinces, which we will rebuild from the ashes left behind by a century of death. That is the promise I offered you all when I asked you to follow me. If you wish to take Sima Rui's place, then prove to me that you can do the impossible and raise order out of nothingness, just as she can, because that is precisely what we are going west to do."

Lianying collapsed to the ground.

"I was wrong," she gasped. "I cannot replace Sima Rui. Sister Wujiu, your judgement is impeccable. I apologize. Please forgive my error."

"—Then make sure that everyone understands that Sima Rui's words are as my own, and her body is as mine; if anyone, of our sect or not, dare even lay a hand on her, I shall flay every fragment of flesh from their body and crush their bones to dust in the middle of the Central Theatre, and then I shall do the same to their entire bloodline, so not even a memory of them may remain under the heavens."

One might have doubted why she announced her seclusion in public, but this made the reason clear. It was to legitimize, and to protect, Sima Rui in the eyes of the cultivators who otherwise held little respect for civilian matters. Sima Rui, who was less a cultivator than a scholar, who broke through to Foundation Establishment only to immediately abandon the jianghu for the imperial bureaucracy, who right now was not even a member of the Phantom Orchid Sect but rather the magistrate of the city of Kangtian. She was not a member of the sect, and thus was not protected by it; she was not a member of any sect, and thus in the jianghu only Wujiu's word preserved her life.

Wujiu turned and began to walk off towards an alleyway.

"Sister," one of the other two followers called after her, "when will you be out of seclusion?"

Wujiu paused and looked over her shoulder, smiling a terrible smile, a smile full of knowledge that she could not possibly have.

"After Long Guoqiang dies."

She disappeared, and at the same time, the crowd erupted in shouts and hollers.

"What does that mean?! Is Lady Wang going to kill Long Guoqiang?!"

"How could she kill him if she's going to be in secluded cultivation?!"

"But then who else is going to kill him?!"

"Is he already dead?! Did he get poisoned?!"

"Hey! Have any of you seen Long Guoqiang recently?!"

"I saw him yesterday! He was really angry about something, but he definitely wasn't dead."

I sighed and wormed my way into the crowd. After Long Guoqiang's death? Well, I suppose it would be nice if he died, but there was no use in me of all people thinking about it.

After all, I was powerless.

----------------------------------------

I returned to my little shack on Xiaolan's back, and then spent much of the evening sitting aimlessly at my desk. Something felt off. I was not sure what. Perhaps it was my growling stomach, but I was in the habit of skipping dinner, so that was not particularly unusual.

Feeling restless, I sat outside and looked up at the night sky. There were some clouds over the moon, so I contented myself with looking at the stars. I quickly located my two favorite summer constellations, the Wings and the Well. I liked the Wings for its unnecessary complexity, and the Well for the silly fact that it resembled a chair drawn in perspective.

A light wind blew, but it was summer, so even the night breeze was pleasant.

The moon freed itself from the clouds' grasp, and shone dully in the sky. It was almost full, though I could not remember if it was supposed to be waxing or waning.

A summer moon...

A tear rolled down my cheek, but I could not tell why, so I wiped it away and went back inside.

I had nothing else to do, so I lay down on my bed and turned my eyes to the ceiling. I stared at the ceiling, the pitch-black ceiling, almost as if I was waiting for something, though for what I knew not. What can you expect to see within the absolute blackness of the night shadows? Would you expect a shadow within a shadow to shudder or shift? Certainly not, no more than you would look to the absolute brightness of the sun and expect to see the sparkling shapes of its flares!

My mind lazily ran over the events of the day. I had gone down to the city with Professor Jibeidi in the morning, and we had wandered the city together, and finally we had eaten lunch together. Then I had wandered off to the auction house, which I had thought might be worth seeing, though I had, of course, no money to make a purchase; yet as soon as I heard Canyue place a bid, I had left, not wanting to have to confront her. Then I had wandered down the streets and had been unlucky enough to get in a fight with Gu Lianying, but had been saved by Wang Wujiu of all people. And then I had rode on Xiaolan's back back here, and that was it. As far as my days went, it was better than most.

Well, perhaps if Wujiu really did kill Guoqiang, my days would get a little better.

Ruminating on this little fragment of hope, I went to sleep.