Min Group

  Thankful to leave the nascent sprawl of the town, Yi-Wen shifted his thoughts to how he was going to ‘accidentally’ lose track of the siblings and continue on his own quest. Things were mostly quiet once they were on their way. The two took the lead on the trail through the surrounding forest. He wasn’t sure how far south of the capital he floated before he got dragged out of the river, but even the trees seemed to look a little different from those around the capital. These were denser and darker than the ones he had escaped through. The village was truly only a spot of civilization in the wilderness. Yi-Wen felt uneasy at the prospect of being truly left on his own out there. The thought of staying with the two musicians until they reached their next destination crossed his mind.

  “I think here is best.” Shu walked a few more steps down a path while Jia walked a little ways down one to the right of it.

  “Wait, what is happening?” Confused, Yi-Wen stopped at the crux of the split in the road.

  “We think now would be a good time for you to leave.”

  “Me? Leave?”

  “It was apparent to us that you were trying to leave town in a hurry.”

  “And we were rather concerned that you would try to use the troupe to do it.” Jia added.

  “I-Well...I did need to get out of town, but…” He honestly lost track of what to say and put his hand on his chest over the object hidden in his clothes.

  “There’s nothing good that can come from associating with a strong cultivator on the run.” Jia clarified.

  “So we thought it better if you came with us and then went your own way,” Shu crossed his arms, nodding as if proud of himself. “Here we are, out pass the town, with no pursuers. Perfect time to leave right?” Yi-Wen looked between the two surprised.

  “Right, but how...I mean, why were you aiding me? I find it odd that you knew I am a cultivator, did not want my name, and now are seemingly letting me go.” Yi-Wen wanted just a bit more space to react to whatever they had planned and took a few steps back.

  “And now we simply have no interest in keeping you. Go on now, get!” Shu actually shooed him with his hands.

  “How are you shooing me away! That is what I should be doing!”

  The two siblings sighed. They exchanged several purposeful glances before turning back to Yi-Wen. He then retooled his approach.

  “I apologize. We should start again, but. in a more honest way this time?” He folded his hand towards them in greeting.

  “He needs something.” Jia turned completely towards Shu, not even acknowledging Yi-Wen for a moment.

  “I think he is just out of his depth. He doesn’t seem particularly...crafty?” He responded with a small chuckle. Jia nodded leaving Yi-Wen speechless for a moment. The two also fell silent, but he sees their eyes track something back and forth around him. After a moment of looking like the fool, Yi-Wen sighed and dropped his hands completely unsure what to do.

  “I think it is best you tell us who you are, what you are trying to do, and – or – what it is exactly you want from us? Also if you could tell us any of that without touching that spiritual device, we would be much more comfortable.” Jia crossed her arms while Shu yawned and stretched. Yi-Wen looked at Shu in disbelief, but turned to answer her.

  “You can call me...Bai An. It is not important where I need to go, but I do need some assistance...figuring out exactly where I am in the country and a map to navigate by.” The sibling’s faces were steeped in doubt. Shu reached a hand over his shoulder and into a bag to root around for something. Grasping it, Shu smirked and walked up to Yi-Wen.

  “You see, we are fairly certain. That you are Ru Yi-Wen, the missing royal cultivator, or his assassin or kidnapper. The capital can be confusing when they pass around wanted papers.” He tossed the leaflet with two fingers in Yi-Wen’s direction. Barely catching the piece of paper, Yi-Wen nervously poured over its contents.

  “Also, we are not calling you that.” Jia added from her spot behind Shu. Yi-Wen clicked his tongue and rubbed his forehead. The paper has a description of him, the item he stole, and a cardinal direction he could be in. Also, it seemed a few days old. He still lacked much of his memory from the past few days because of his fall into the river and subsequent stay in the mansion back in town. It was entirely possible that the king had already managed to ensnare him.

  “I...I am Ru Yi-Wen, and I promise you that I have not been kidnapped or killed. I just needed to escape the capital.”

  “Things not going well as royal cultivator?” Shu raised his eyebrows with a mischievous smile.

  “I left because his Majesty will be the death of this country, and I had no other choice.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Shu’s face froze and Jia’s eyebrows raised as she shifted position.

  “I hope you have a plan and not just saying what many of us already know.” She asked.

  Without wasting a breath Yi-Wen responded. “I hope you are just wandering cultivators and not a royal hit squad here to send me to my ancestors,” He looked back and forth between the two of them. “If not, then I know exactly how fix everything.”

The Capital

  The morning song of birds was so loud in Chao Dongcheng’s ears it felt like the morning arrived with ill intention. Thrashing about, he struggled to complete his morning routine before the sun had finished rising in the east. His retainer failed to wake him and yet Dongcheng had no ill will towards him, or anyone at this moment. The capital palace was darkened in the wake of the royal cultivator’s disappearance, cast in the shadow of the king’s poor temperament.

  Dongcheng’s stay over the last few days had been nerve wracking. Men with swords and blood on their minds were commonplace to him, but the daggers hidden behind smiles of the capital were more insidious than he could handle. On top of that, the open hostility of the king was enough to chill the blood in his veins. When he answered the summons and first stepped foot onto palace grounds, he felt the fear clinging to everyone in there. By the time he actually had his audience with the king, he was relieved to learn he was being sent away from the capital on a mission to locate the royal cultivator or at least his remains and the treasure that was stolen. Dismissed, he left the hall, king, and nobles behind with a sigh of relief. He and his retainer spent the night packing and he assumed, without his wake-up call, that his retainer had returned to packing.

  “M-My lord?” A faint voice called to him from the hall as Dongcheng secured the shutters and windows to his quarters. Pack in hand, he stomped over to the door to give his timid retainer a playful reprimand to ease his mind.

  “Good Morning-” Throwing the door open, he cut short and instead set down his pack to kneel beside his huddled retainer. The young man’s face was terrified, but he was otherwise unharmed. Dongcheng stood back up, kept his face smooth and waited for the veiled figure who accompanied his retainer to speak.

  “General Chao, I had your retainer brought to me this morning. It seems you were able to ready yourself enough without him. Good.” Even with the veil, the voice and it’s venom were more than enough identification. Dongcheng slowly kneeled again, his head hung low in reverence.

  “Your majesty, good morning.” Biting his lip slightly, Dongcheng felt full of remorse for his young retainer, he wasn’t much younger than Dongcheng himself and the same age as the King. And yet, the oppressive aura of the king was impressive compared to the cowering youth beside him.

  “Your assignment was not fully explained last night.” He moved to leave, “Rise and follow me.” Both Dongcheng and his retainer stood cautiously. The king walked at an odd pace, and Dongcheng had trouble finding a good speed to maintain his distance. His neck ached from stooping to appear shorter than the king as well. The halls were nearly silent as they walked, stooped and shuffling.

  Finally, they reached a room holding five people. Two of them had fought alongside Doncheng in battles past and he felt relieved to see them. They would make good additions to his tracking party, but the other three were new faces. Two were middle aged men who wore white and black cultivation robes and carried themselves stiffly. The last was a bit older donned in light blue robes trimmed in dark blue. Sending cultivators to find a cultivator seemed like another good move on the part of the king. Dongcheng’s muscles began to relax as he realized he was merely being introduced to his traveling party, and then the king spoke.

  “These men will assist you in hunting the royal cultivator. Ru Yi-Wen is a talented boy and you will need the strength of Heaven’s Right Hand.” He gestured to the two in white. “His martial uncle will also be a great help in fighting him.” The man in light blue saluted Dongcheng who returned it hesitantly. “And you are familiar with the last two.” The king waved them of dismissively and turned back to Dongcheng. “Do you have any questions General Chao?”

  These were the hidden daggers at play again. The night before the mission had been to ‘locate’ and now in front of these men he would be traveling with, it was clearly ‘hunt’. As his mind adjusted from rescue to kill, Dongcheng thought over his response carefully.

  “No, you majesty. Ru Yi-Wen shall be dealt with, and the sacred treasure returned as you intended.” The king gave a small chuckle followed by a small nod.

  “Not many people are familiar with Yi-Wen’s appearance. I have had his face spread on wanted posters outside the capital as a man wanted for his role in the royal cultivator’s disappearance. Use these posters if you become incapable of keeping this matter quiet.” The veiled figure nodded to a nondescript guard by the other entrance to the room. “Leave as soon as you are ready.” The guard approached the king to lead him away.

  Left in the room with five still rather tense people, Dongcheng stepped up to them to size them up. His former lieutenants were no worse for wear and greeted him eagerly, glad to be with a familiar face. The two Hand members merely nodded as he looked them over and greeted them. Only the light blue cultivator spoke.

  “This master will be in your care.” His bow seemed sincere and Dongcheng felt he might be the easiest person to work with out of the three cultivators.