“I’m very sorry sir. This way please.” The bronze badge apologised again.
Wuxian waved his hand as he clambered over the balcony railing, shaking his head.
“Don’t worry about it. Technically, it’s my job anyway,” he chuckled, gingerly dropping down one floor at a time, “And I haven’t exactly been fulfilling my duties these last few weeks either.”
The bronze badge let out a muffled snort in response, “there hasn’t been much interesting going on lately anyway. At most, you’d just be supervising the training of some of the city guard.”
Wuxian dropped down to the lowest roof, standing beside the man.
“I didn’t catch your name, how should I address you?”
“Wang Qipian.”
Wuxian raised an eyebrow, but ultimately, decided not to ask about the meaning. As they walked along the roof, chatting here and there, he began to feel a strange sense of familiarity.
‘Must be my imagination. Everyone’s clothed pretty similarly anyway.’
Making sure the Northern Dark Edge was properly affixed to his back, Wuxian caught up to Wang Qipian, slightly out of breath from the descent from the Weeping Willow’s balcony.
“So, what is it that Shui Qianyue needs me for?” He asked.
Wang Qipian turned back momentarily, as if to check if there was anyone nearby. By now, they had long left the proximity of the Weeping Willow’s vantage point. Wuxian tried to follow his gaze, but Wang Qipian’s black hood cast a shadow over his face, concealing all but his chin and mouth.
Wuxian felt a minor tinge of oddness. While many other Nightwatchers wore hoods, none sat quite as low as this. After all, if the hood prevented others from seeing the wearer, the wearer’s vision would be partially obscured too. For the Nightwatch, of which the lower rungs were occupied entirely by close combat focused martial practitioners, the hood would be more detrimental than beneficial.
‘But they all have slight variations in their attire. It’s possible that Wang Qipian often works stealthier assignments, necessitating the concealment of his face. It makes sense that they’d want a stealth operative to help with guarding the perimeter- it takes a sneak to catch a sneak after all.’ Wuxian mused as he tapped the earth qi mask that he’d conjured up.
Despite this, Wuxian still felt that it was better to remain cautious. As the Jade Garden’s nemesis, even the Twilight Order’s Qi Condenser had been parasitized. To take control of a martial artist like Wang Qipian would no doubt be easier.
‘And it can’t hurt if I drag my feet a little bit, right?’
As he thought this, Wuxian felt slightly guilty. He’d originally prided himself quite a bit on being a reliable character, but when his own life was potentially at stake, he realised that he was actually willing to stoop lower than he’d thought he would to maintain his safety. All of a sudden, his thoughts were interrupted by Big North- the artifact weapon began trembling slightly, as if to warn him.
Eyes narrowed and guard raised, Wuxian followed behind the bronze badge Nightwatcher at a slower pace than before, turning left, then right, climbing up a level and so on. He monitored the surroundings as closely as possible, also preparing to preemptively attack at any moment in case Wang Qipian tried to make any moves.
Wuxian suddenly stopped in his tracks, prompting an odd look- at least, what he assumed was an odd look- from the hooded Wang Qipian.
“We seem to have taken the wrong turn back there. We’re headed away from the Weeping Willow now.” Wuxian stated, reaching backwards as he stepped back slightly.
Wang Qipian seemed to be unconcerned.
“Team leader Jin and his men are stationed this way. Captain Shui’s orders were for me to bring you over to them, not to lead you into the Weeping Willow.” He explained slowly.
Wuxian glanced at the surroundings from out of the corners of his eyes, double checking their current orientation.
‘We’re currently travelling westwards, which is the direction we originally came from, from beneath the streets via the Undertunnel network. Though I’m not fully certain, it makes more sense for Jin Anjing to be stationed on the other side of the Weeping Willow behind us on the eastern side, while Fu Yumao’s team is stationed here instead, completing the encirclement.’
Hoisting the Northern Dark Blade into his right hand, Wuxian held his golden badge with his left. Previously, before departure, he’d connected his badge to Wan Qiushou and Shui Qianyue’s, allowing him to send them voice messages.
Under Wang Qipian’s direct gaze, Wuxian brazenly activated the badge, opening a channel to the other two gold badges. After a few seconds, he heard a puzzled voice from the other end.
“Who is this?” Shui Qianyue asked, “little Wan, Sihai Wuxian, is there a situation?”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
At this moment, Wang Qipian’s act broke down. He immediately turned and bolted, not bothering to keep the act up any longer. Wuxian watched on, feeling slightly alarmed.
“Shui Qianyue, did you send someone called Wang Qipian to bring me over to Jin Anjing’s team?”
As if realising something was wrong, Shui Qianyue didn’t reply immediately, instead issuing orders to the people around her. At the same time, Wuxian heard the sound of shouts and activity in the Weeping Willow’s direction. Afterwards, she went silent. Wuxian could only hear the sound of hubbub in the background as well as Shui Qianyue’s light breathing.
“Has that Wang Qipian fled?” She asked eventually.
Looking at the fleeing black-clothed figure that was rapidly becoming smaller and smaller, Wuxian couldn’t help but begin thinking.
‘Clearly, Wang Qipian is an impostor. It’s likely his name is fake too, but I’ll continue to use it for the sake of convenience. What is his purpose in luring me specifically away from the Nightwatchers?’
“Yes, he’s quite far now, but still in sight.” Wuxian replied after a moment of hesitation.
“Okay. I can’t order you around, but it would be best if you pursued him.” Shui Qianyue replied.
Wuxian looked down at his golden badge with a strange look.
‘And risk my life in the process? It’s obvious he lured me specifically and now you want me to follow him into a potential ambush?’
He felt a slight sense of discontent inside, despite having previously trying to avoid growing fond or attached to the people around him. He dismissed those thoughts quickly- perhaps Shui Qianyue knew some things that he did not.
“Will you send anyone to support me? It’s quite risky for me to go alone.” Wuxian asked, covering up his unhappiness with a neutral tone.
Shui Qianyue didn’t respond immediately again, as if thinking things through.
“I’m sorry, Sihai Wuxian, but I can’t afford to send anyone after you. If Wang Qipian is bait or a diversion to reduce our concentration of force around the Weeping Willow, we’d be falling right into his trap.”
Wuxian didn’t respond, weighing things up internally. As if sensing Wuxian’s discontent, Shui Qianyue spoke again after a brief moment of quiet.
“With this move, we can be almost certain that the Weeping Willow is the right place to search- it no doubt holds some important clues. Why else would they try and divert our attention like this?”
With a bitter smile, Wuxian shook his head.
‘Though that’s true… it also means that Shui Qianyue values the success of this case over my own safety, else she wouldn’t ask me to risk my own safety to catch Wang Qipian. In the scenario where Wang Qipian’s goal is to lure at least a portion of the Nightwatch’s forces into an encirclement, how would I alone survive something designed to kill that many martial practitioners?’
He gave the golden badge another look, before decisively shutting the connection. At the same time, he pinched his glabella in consternation.
“I suppose it doesn’t make sense for someone like her to fall in love just like that. Naive, too naive. In any case, this is better for me. She’s given me a proper reason to push her away… from now on, let us be considered merely acquaintances- once I leave this place, I shan’t look back.” Wuxian muttered, vowing silently to the heavens.
As he finished speaking, the Northern Dark Edge trembled. For the first time in a while, Big North appeared, sitting cross-legged in the air per usual.
“Junior, I recommend you chase after Wang Qipian.” Big North advised, eyes shut.
Wuxian locked away his emotions, forcing himself to assume a state of rationality.
“Why so, senior?”
“As you’ve just seen, they still don’t trust you fully. Perhaps they think that you might be the one luring them away, with the false tale of a Wang Qipian that doesn’t exist.”
Wuxian shook his head.
“Wan Qiushou saw Wang Qipian call me over under Shui Qianyue’s orders.”
“But how would the others know unless he tells them directly? It’s possible that Wan Qiushou is still sitting up there none the wiser. And even if he did tell them, it’d be possible for you to be in cahoots with Wang Qipian, attempting to draw them away from that whorehouse.” Big North rebutted instantly.
Wuxian frowned in response.
“So I should just go and sacrifice myself then? Shui Qianyue said that I have the discretion to do what I want- catching Wang Qipian was just her recommendation.”
Big North sighed, as if he was talking to a short-sighted child.
“Pursuing Wang Qipian is the only way to prove your innocence. If you return right now without having even tried, it could just be a ploy of yours gone wrong. They would still suspect you regardless, but if you actually went and got injured in the pursuit or by an ambush, better yet, if you manage to slay a few foes, it’d show that at the very least, you’re not working for Wang Qipian’s faction.”
“But what if I die?”
“With your recovery, movement and defensive skills, it’d not be difficult to escape from a group of martial practitioners. With me here, I can detect them in advance and warn you. Besides, there are risks to any action you make in this situation. It’s up to you, junior, whether you wish to be proactive and take the opportunity to prove yourself. On the other hand, you can be passive and allow more doubt to be cast over you… eventually, you might die at the hands of the Nightwatch rather than your true enemies.”
Wuxian didn’t respond, but he began pacing forwards. Each step, his speed increased and his gait widened, until he broke out into a full-on run, Effortless Flow active in full-force.
“Be careful. He’s at the Qi Condensing realm.” Big North warned as he vanished back into the treasure weapon.
Wuxian chased forwards at rapid speeds. Each step, his wood qi reserves dropped marginally, but he also moved so fast that it seemed more like he was flying instead. As he closed in on Wang Qipian, he began to feel that something wasn’t right.
‘Is he… slowing down?’
At the same time, he realised that it didn’t make sense that he was still able to see Wang Qipian after all this time. To evade capture, surely, one wouldn’t run in a straight line as he’d done, no? The surrounding buildings and alleys provided lots of cover- all Wang Qipian needed to do was duck behind a corner and it’d be almost impossible for Wuxian to accurately track him.
‘He’s so obviously luring me in closer… but I don’t have much choice either.’
Wang Qipian suddenly took a left turn, moving down into an empty square. He stood dead in the centre in a somewhat defenceless manner. As Wuxian closed in, the man raised his arms up in the air, as if surrendering.
Taking a high position from the nearby rooftop, Wuxian looked down at Wang Qipian.
‘Big North would have warned me if there was anybody nearby lying in ambush. It looks like Wang Qipian’s alone.’
Raising the Northern Dark Edge, Wuxian pointed it at Wang Qipian threateningly.
“Speak, what is your intention in luring me here?” He barked.
Wang Qipian turned slowly, arms still raised. Facing Wuxian now, he removed his hood, revealing the face beneath. Reflexively, Wuxian felt a sense of disbelief as well as comprehension at the same time. The subconscious clues he’d picked up over the last hour began piecing together in his mind and finally, the reality of the situation dawned on him.
“It’s you?!”