Leaving Luo Huang with a promise to arrange a meeting with his son, Lee Jia made her way to the back of the caravan, where Xin Wei and Guan Yi were waiting. Xin Wei bowed as she approached.

“Miss Lee, a pleasure as always.”

“It’s good to see you two as well. Who are all these people?”

The pair had brought with them a caravan of several dozen people—mostly mortals or very early stage cultivators—and Jia only recognized Luo Huang and his family.

Guan Yi cast his gaze over the crowd ahead of them, carefully making their way through the rocky pass.

“Refugees, mostly. Many former residents of Lushan, looking to flee the town after the collapse of their local sect. Others from all over the southern provinces, simply trying to avoid the ongoing conflicts.”

Jia paled—that was her fault, wasn’t it? Lushan had been the sect town under the protection of The Gaze of the Everwatching Mists Sect, before she killed their sect master.

Well, Master Ienaga killed him, but she’d done so to protect Jia and her friends. She was horrified to discover that such suffering had occurred on her behalf. Xin Wei read her expression and sighed.

“Don’t blame yourself, Miss Lee. After their fall, other nearby sects started squabbling over their leftovers—and that was before the current chaos started.”

Jia shook her head.

“I still can’t help but feel responsible. But what’s this about chaos and conflicts? What’s going on in the empire?”

“It’s a mess. The Bai are furious about the death of their scion, and they’re blaming whoever they can point their fingers at. They aren’t in...open conflict, per se, but there have been fights, and it’s causing unrest.”

“Uh...should we be worried? Eui killed Bai Lin with her own two hands, with witnesses to boot.”

Xin Wei chuckled.

“Witnesses that haven’t bothered to come forward. Nobody knows where Zheng Long’s run off to, but the Awakening Dragon and the rest of the northern sects seem content to sit back and watch the chaos unfold.”

Guan Yi nodded.

“Bai Renshu still holds you responsible, of course, but not as directly as you might think. Instead he’s been focusing on our Flowing Purewater Sect and the Austere Mountain.”

Jia blinked.

“The Austere Mountain? They weren’t even involved.”

“No, but they are one of the sects contesting Bai’s territory, and they were at the summit. That’s good enough, it seems. I won’t bore you with the sophistry they’re using to justify it all.”

“I see. Do these people know what they’re signing up for?”

Xin Wei shrugged.

“In broad strokes. A new frontier under the protection of an independent sect with only loose formal ties to the empire. A land of equal opportunity for anyone to become cultivators without needing to swear themselves to a sect—some actually refused because of that last part.”

“What? Why?”

“Too good to be true, I suppose. It’s certainly unheard of within the empire.”

Jia frowned.

“I don’t know...I feel like you left out some pretty major details, Xin Wei.”

“Well it’s a little late to do anything about it now. What are they going to do, turn around and go home? No, these people are committed, and they know full well that there’s going to be more to Jiaguo than just what they were told.”

“I guess... Why are there so few cultivators?”

Guan Yi met her eyes with his usual impassive stare.

“Because most cultivators are already bound to sects, Miss Lee. Becoming a cultivator without binding oneself to a sect is one thing, but it would still require them to cut ties with their current sect, and most aren’t willing or able to do so.”

Xin Wei nodded in agreement.

“Establish more of a reputation and perhaps a few sects will be willing to pay your fees to give their young masters an edge, but for now—especially with the situation being so unstable—I wouldn’t expect much.”

Jia groaned. The sects of Qin were among the richest organizations on the continent, and their support would have been an enormous boon. With both Yamato and Qin distancing themselves from Jiaguo, the academy’s first year was already on extremely shaky ground.

Hopefully Goryeo would be more receptive.

“Alright. Let’s discuss settlement, then—and these people are going to need a representative to sit on the council. Not Xin Wei—your mother is already a councilor, which would compromise both of your interests.”

“My my! And to think that when I first met you, Miss Lee, you couldn’t even spell your own name.”

Lee Jia smirked, putting a hand on her hip as she did her best Yan Yue impression.

“Do you really want to play that game, Xin Wei? Because I’ve spent the better part of the last year working pretty closely with your mother, and she’s always happy to chat about her precious little Wei’er.”

Xin Wei’s expression turned stony enough to give Guan Yi a run for his money.

“I apologize.”

Guan Yi turned to his friend and shook his head.

“Xin, after all these years, you still haven’t learned to pick your battles?”

“Shut up.”

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

Back at home, Li Meili cautiously broke the news of Lushan and the situation in Qin to Pan Jiaying, who was taking it surprisingly well.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Ah, that makes sense. Sect towns are about as safe as it gets most of the time, but when the sect struggles, so does the town.”

Meili pursed her lips.

“Uh, right. You’re not upset?”

Jiaying shook her head.

“Lushan was my home, but all of my biggest dreams were about leaving it. I didn’t have much attachment to the town or the sect.”

“What about your parents? They still lived there, right?”

“Eh, they’ll be fine. They’re simple folk, but tough—as long as there’s rice to plant, they’ll be there to plant it. Though actually, now that you mention it, I wonder if they came here too.”

Meili blinked.

“Do you think they would? From what you’ve said, I got the impression that they were pretty set in their ways.”

Jiaying shrugged.

“I mean, a bit? But I must have gotten my wanderlust somewhere, right? And Dad’s always been pretty critical of the sect, so maybe they took advantage of the opportunity to move.”

Meili sat back in her seat and frowned thoughtfully for a moment.

“Do you want me to check? There’s less than a hundred people coming from Qin—it wouldn’t take long to ask around for them.”

“Aren’t they still pretty far away?”

“Jia’s still there.”

“Oh, right.”

Jiaying crossed her arms and chewed over it for a moment before sighing.

“I guess it would be good to know. I’m a little nervous now. I don’t know whether I want them to be here or if I’d prefer that they didn’t come.”

It took less than a minute for Jia to find them. Jiaying’s parents were quite social, it turned out, and just about the entire caravan knew them by name.

“Looks like they did. Do you want to go visit them?”

Jiaying’s eyes widened in shock.

“Wait, right now?”

“Sure! I’m kind of eager to meet them now.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready. Shouldn’t we wait for them to get closer or something?”

Sensing Jiaying’s hesitation, Meili took her hand and smiled.

“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to, but they aren’t that far out. I might not be able to get there in the blink of an eye like Jia can, but if you let me carry you it will take less than an hour.”

Jiaying groaned.

“No, you’re right. I shouldn’t put this off. Alright, let’s go—before I can get a chance to change my mind.”

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

They arrived in short order, and Jiaying’s parents weren’t difficult to find. Her father, Pan Zixin, was a tall, well-built man with the ruddy complexion of a man who’d spent his life working, and a gentle demeanor that felt like a mismatch to his rugged build. Her mother, Shi Jinghua, was heavyset and matronly, with streaks of gray creeping into her otherwise dark hair, and worry lines creasing her forehead.

The pair were in the midst of a lively discussion with another couple as the girls approached, and Shi Jinghua trailed off mid-sentence when her eyes fell on Jiaying. She swatted at her husband to get his attention, pointing the pair out as they approached.

Once they’d reached a polite speaking distance, Meili bowed.

“Greetings! My name is Li Meili—it’s good to finally meet you.”

Shi Jinghua ignored Meili entirely, and focused on her daughter.

“Jiaying? Is that you?”

Jiaying cleared her throat awkwardly.

“Uh, yeah. Hi Mom. Hi Dad.”

Tears welled in her mother’s eyes as she rushed forward. Instead of the hug Meili had been expecting, however, Shi Jinghua raised her hand. Meili moved on reflex to block the slap, and a loud smack echoed through the air.

Nearby onlookers politely turned away and pretended not to notice, and the couple that Jiaying’s parents had been speaking to quickly made themselves scarce. For her part, Shi Jinghua staggered backwards, clutching her hand.

“Ow! Who in the emperor’s name are you? I feel like I just slapped a stone pillar.”

Meili cast a questioning glance at Jiaying, who was being uncharacteristically silent and refusing to meet her eyes, before turning back to address Jiaying's mother.

“I already introduced myself, but as I said, I am Li Meili. I’m a friend of your daughter.”

“We were told our daughter was dead.”

Meili crossed her arms and looked askance at the couple. Pan Zixin wore a pained expression, but seemed content to let his wife do the talking for now.

“I thought you’d be happier to discover otherwise.”

“Happy?! I told her over and over again not to join the sect—to come home and get married. We thought you were dead, Jiaying! We mourned you. Now I discover that you just ran off with some rogue cultivator and I’m supposed to be happy about it?!”

Jiaying stared at the ground.

“Sorry, Mom. I would have told you, but things were...complicated when I left.”

“Does this have something to do with Luo’s boy? I heard he was still alive as well. Heavens, don’t tell me you eloped?!”

“No, Mom. We did both leave the sect together, but it wasn’t like that.”

Meili surreptitiously cast a privacy spell as she sensed where the conversation was headed. Rumors about her involvement in Qiao Quan’s death, no matter how true, would make things a bit difficult with the Lushan refugees.

“Luo Mingyu and Pan Jiaying were victims of undue oppression. I respectfully ask that you keep this between us, but Elder Qiao Quan was prepared to kill them both for helping me. My master intervened, saving us all, but afterwards we were forced to flee.”

Shi Jinghua whirled on Meili furiously.

“And just who are you, exactly?”

Meili frowned. She was unpleasantly reminded of how stubborn and argumentative Jiaying could be when she was upset—an unfortunate family trait for them to share.

“I’ve already introduced myself twice. I met Jiaying during my travels, and she helped me find a cure for my sister’s illness. As thanks, I’ve been teaching her cultivation.”

She hated hedging their relationship like that, but the empire generally had a very conservative view on same-sex couples, and it wasn’t her place to out Jiaying.

Unfortunately, her attempts fell on deaf ears, as Jinghua only grew even more upset.

“Cultivation?! You ran off with some errant rogue?! I’ve told you, Jiaying, women aren’t meant to be cultivators—we just don’t have the right qi for it.”

Now it was Meili’s turn to get angry. She’d been trying to stay level-headed and understanding, but there was only so much she could tolerate. Nevertheless, she controlled herself, not allowing her anger to affect more than just her expression.

Finally, Pan Zixin stepped in, putting a hand on his wife’s shoulder.

“Darling, perhaps we should—”

But he was too late. Shi Jinghua had already worked herself up, and there was no stopping her.

“No! Jiaying, you’re not going to be leaving again. You’re to cut ties with this Li-whoever and once we’ve settled in our new home, I’ll arrange a husband for you. It’s past time for you to grow up and take responsibility for yourself.”

Meili felt as though she was about to snap, but Jiaying beat her to it.

“No.”

Her mother recoiled from the single word as though she’d been struck.

“What do you mean, ‘no’?”

Jiaying crossed her arms and scowled at her mother.

“I mean, Mother, that I’ve already grown up, and it’s you who needs to get over yourself and accept it already. I’m not a rice farmer, I’m a cultivator. I’ve chosen my path, and it’s not your place to ‘correct’ it.”

She took a step forward, unconsciously letting her anger slip into her aura and forcing her mother back from its pressure.

“You’ve been very rude to Meili even though she’s been perfectly cordial in the face of your insults. You didn’t even introduce yourselves, so let me be the one to introduce her, for the third time!”

Jiaying took a step back and gestured to Li Meili.

“Dad, Mother, this is Li Meili, otherwise known as Yoshika. I owe her my life after she saved me from the Everwatching Mists. She is the founder of the nation you’re immigrating to, and close personal friends of the two men leading this caravan.”

Meili watched awkwardly as the blood drained from Shi Jinghua’s face. She’d been kind of hoping to keep her identity publicly separate from Yoshika, so that she could go incognito without having to disguise herself.

Jiaying slipped an arm around Meili’s and intertwined their fingers, glaring at her mother defiantly.

“She is also my girlfriend.”