Henry breathed deeply, savoring the smell of liquor, roast meats, and dried blood. The North had been educational, but the South was where all the action was. He was not disappointed when he appeared at the Rising Star Inn. Lady Pale Moon herself was there to meet him and his retinue. She was as beautiful as ever; the two ladies at his side seemed homely compared to her. She was also a bloodthirsty and capricious bitch.

She knew what she was doing, offering Henry a Clan suite.

He would acquiesce that this was her house and he was just a guest. He had the rest of the party stay on the ground floor. They were content to embark on their ventures as they disappeared into the crowd. He made his way to the Clan suites, once again marveling at the way the Inn seemed to stretch the space inside of itself to fit whatever Pale Moon needed. The suites were embossed with the letters of the Clan, and he saw two that he recognized.

He had no ill will towards these two; he was just curious about what they had gotten up to since the last time he’d seen them.

Knocking on one of the doors, he waited patiently to enter.

There was a knock on the door, and all of the Wu cultivators grabbed their weapons in anticipation of a fight. All that was except Mui, who just sat there without a care in the world.

“Wel, is someone going to get that, or are we all simpering women?” Mui said as he set out two glasses on the table.

A younger clansman with a forgettable face opened the door trepidatiously. He prayed to the ancestors that today would not be the day he would meet them.

Henry stuck his head in and smiled broadly. These Wu clan cultivators had all drawn their swords except for one.

“Mui, you son of a bitch, I told you I’d buy you a drink if we survived that night, and here I am making good on my promise,” he said jovially as he hoisted a bottle of indeterminable nature into the air.

“Sheath your swords; we have an honored guest in our presence,” Mui said curtly, and his clansmen rushed to obey.

“Please Brother Hen Ri, come in and join me; your two radiant companions are also welcome as well,”

Mui motioned to three plush velvet seats.

Henry sat down and sighed contently—it was like sitting on puffy clouds. Lu and Yi stood stoically by his side. Henry uncorked the bottle and poured a thick, viscous fluid into the two empty cups.

“Fair warning, Mui, this is dwarven wine, and it kicks like a mule.”

Mui quirked an eyebrow but took his cup regardless.

“To your health,” Henry said, raising his glass.

“And to yours,” Mui said, clinking his glass before downing it in one gulp.

To his credit, Mui did not grimace or even flinch as the fire water roared through his body. He had only heard of Dwarven wine in stories and legends and did not want to show his ignorance to Henry.

With a sigh, Henry poured another glass of wine for them both.

“So tell me how your time at the Inn has been?”

“Very productive so far, but no one has served as much a test as you, Brother Hen Ri. People still talk about my fight with the Dragon.”

Yi and Lu both look quizzically at Henry.

“They called me that here for a bit,” he said as if that was enough to answer the two women’s questions.

“As you know, Lady Pale Moon wishes for me to crush a clan, so I have come to ask for your advice.”

The other Wu cultivators tensed, their hands hovering near their weapons again. Mui casually took another sip of the Dwarven wine, savoring it as he looked deep in thought.

“Brother Hen Ri, let me ask you: Do you want to appease Lady Pale Moon or make an example?”

All the Wu cultivators turn around in unison to stare at Mui.

Henry gives Mui a predatory smile.

“It’s like you are reading my mind, so tell me which one of these assholes it's going to be.”

“Well, that’s a pretty easy question to answer, honestly. You remove one of the big dogs, and the other mongrels will fall in line. “

Henry leaned back in his chair as Lu fed him some grapes.

She had told him that he must act the part of the spoiled young master. That had made him feel quite uncomfortable, but he had to acquiesce to the fact that it made sense. A bit of diversion always helped. He had to sell the illusion.

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“Clan Hua would be a good target,” Mui said, drawing shocked looks from his clansmen.

“Brother Mui, they are our allies. How could you…”

Mui glares at the nameless clansman, who immediately shut his mouth.

“Clan Hua is one of the original five founding clans and has lorded their punctuality over the rest of us for decades now. They have three hopefuls this year who I think would be a good match for you, Brother Hen Ri.”

“I see, and if I just so happen to bump off your competition, that would be good as well,” Henry quipped.

“Hen Ri, I agree that Clan Hua would be a good choice. It is prestigious enough to support our goals but not strong enough to offer you much resistance.”

Mui looked at the blonde woman who spoke, noticing her sharp green eyes, which took in all his clansmen like a predator scoping out the weakest prey.

“Where are my manners? Might I ask for your name, milady,” Mui asked graciously.

“Oh, no harm, Master Mui. I am Hen Ri’s half-sister Yi; Father sent me alone with my siblings to watch over this little knucklehead.”

All the Mu clan members and even Mui stiffen up at the mention of the Northern Sky Breaker. They all looked at Yi with wide eyes as she gave them a savage smile.

It suddenly dawned on the Mu clansmen that they might have made a deal with the devil as Hen Ri ate more grapes and chatted amiably with Mui.

Having gotten all the information he could squeeze from Mui, Henry bid him goodbye and walked to the next Clan on his list.

He had inquired about her before coming here mainly out of curiosity but partly because, if he was going to be honest with himself, he had a giant crush on that hawk-nosed girl. He discovered her name was Guan Li, and she was a younger daughter of one of the great Clans.

With a gentle knock on their door, Henry swallowed slightly. He felt nervous and had no idea why he was even doing this. He wanted to say that it was to gather more information on the Hua clan, but that couldn’t be the case. Whatever the reason, the door opened, and he walked in with Lu and Yi in tow.

Guan Li fixed her skirt and hair nervously. Why was she nervous? Why did she care? She told herself that she didn’t. She knew this was a lie. She cared very much what he thought of her. And now he was here, standing in front of her with these two gorgeous women flanking him. As she remembered, he was even more rugged with his Northern garb. He had an air of self-assurance that she found very fetching. Her sisters were on him immediately with fawning words.

He talked to them politely enough, but his golden eyes never left her. She felt her face flush as he extracted himself from the harpies before walking to her.

“Hey, come here often?” he said jokingly.

“It's ok, kinda boring, and the crowd seems too old for my taste,” Guan Li said, eliciting glares from her sister.

“You know I couldn’t stop thinking about you since we last met.”

Henry took her hands.

“I don’t know what it was about you, but I just wanted to see you smile again. You have a beautiful smile, you know?”

Guan Li blushed so hard that she looked like a tomato. He was so forward, which was rare for cultivators. She didn’t hate it, though.

“I have learned that closed mouths do not get fed, so I was wondering if you'd like to go on a date with me.”

Guan Li’s hands were sweating like crazy, and she found it hard to say anything.

“Let the poor girl have a second, Hen Ri. Can’t you see how flustered you are making her,” the blonde-haired woman said. She had introduced herself as Hen Ri’s stepsister.

“The girl would so lucky as to catch the eye of master Lady Yi, maybe if she plays her cards right she will be worthy of carrying his child.”

The maid said this stone-faced as Guan Li’s sisters all looked shocked. They had never had this happen before, where they were not the center of attention. She loved it, watching them squirm as Hen Ri continued to ignore them.

“I mean, I'll have to ask Mother, but I’d love to go on this date with you, whatever that means,” she said quietly.

He gives her such a warm, gentle smile that she can’t help but return the favor.

“You have such a pretty smile. I hope to settle this business with the Hua clan so I can see it again.”

He tries to let go of her hand, but she holds him tightly.

“Wait, you are gonna pick a fight with the Hua Clan. Why would you do such a foolhardy thing.”

Henry moves closer to her. They are practically chest to chest. He smelled nice, like fresh rain and dying embers.

“I'm pretty impulsive, and I think it would be better if I showed your Mother I can handle myself in a fight.”

He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close.

“Why would you care what mother says,” she says breathily.

Her sisters had their weapons drawn about to advance on Henry, but his bodyguards glared at them. Her sisters quickly sheathed their swords. These two were not simple cultivators, and her sisters were not fools.

“I don’t want her to think her daughter is falling for some weakling.”

She touched his chest and looked into those golden eyes again. They were so warm and kind, which was rare in this cold, cruel world. It happened before she had any idea what was going on.

She kissed him deep and long, savoring the taste of his lips. He was shy at first, but soon, he kissed her with a deep passion that made her knees weak. It seemed like the world melted away as they stood there in that suite. Nothing else mattered, just for that singular moment.

Someone cleared their throat, and the bliss was shattered.

“Young Master, we should go. We do not want to overstay our welcome here,” Yi, the maid, said tersely.

There was a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Henry pulled away but still held Guan Li at the waist.

“Yi is right; we have to visit the Hua Clan,” Henry said while sneaking a quick peck.

“If you say so, but be careful; we haven’t even gone on our date yet,” Guan Li said dreamily.

“Be right back,” Henry said as he rushed for the door.

He was going to kick some clan ass and maybe snag another smooch from Guan.