Jingwen retreated at speed, breath catching, cheeks red not only from exertion. She rubbed her face and shook her head, trying to make them fade. Stop blushing! Stop it! You’re stronger than this!
Black shadows darted to her. Jingwen blinked, forcing her poker face back into place. She nodded, and they fell in as she ran. “Anyone follow you?”
“No,” one replied.
As one, they ran out of the main clan and into one of the sub-clans off the side. A sprawling complex more spacious than the main clan spread out before them. Though less glamorous than the main sect, more buildings crowded into the space, and they spread off in all directions. Jingwen darted down one alley, then another, then bent and slapped a tile in the middle of the road. She and the assassins vanished.
Far below the earth, a mosaic yin-yang glowed. The tiles trembled, then leaped to life. The yin and yang crawled over each other one tile at a time, replacing one another’s place. Shadows swirled from the center of the mosaic. Like smoke, they billowed toward heaven, crawling over one another until they took the shape of Jingwen and the assassins.
Tossing her braid over her shoulder, Jingwen marched off. “Dismissed.”
The assassins bowed to her back, then vanished.
Down, down, the tunnel twisted, deep into the earth. Raw earthen walls crumbled slightly as she passed. In all directions, passageways snaked off from the main route. Crawling into the earth, they vanished into the dark.
As the glow from the yin-yang mosaic vanished, Jingwen lifted her hand. She closed it, then opened it. A small icy moth materialized from a white mark on her hand. Glowing with a pure white, snowy light, it fluttered over her head, lighting her passage into the depths.
A small group of cultivators passed her by. Heads down, they huddled past, unwilling to make eye contact. Jingwen glanced after them, but said nothing.
Ahead, light spilled into the tunnel. Jingwen raised her hand, summoning the moth back into her palm. The low hum of a conversation reached her ears. Just noises at first, it clarified as she drew closer.
“… must have it finished in time. Until that wench got pregnant, there was no hurry. Now, things are different. If it’s delayed again…”
“Not at all, not at all. I guarantee it. This time, there will be no more delays.”
“Can I trust you?”
A high-pitched giggle. “Of course not. But you can trust my subordinates’ work.”
Jingwen paused at the mouth of a cavern. Rough earth transitioned to smooth stone walls, slick with moisture. The cavern stretched high above her, lit by white crystals that protruded from the wall at intervals. Intricate scaffolding wound through the cave, blocking her view ahead.
Several tiers up, Bai Fenfeng conversed with a shadowy figure. Her eyes flicked to Jingwen, and she nodded at the figure.
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The figure stepped forward. A man with salt-and-pepper hair pulled into a tight ponytail smiled down at her, clutching a notebook close to his chest. Dark robes swirled around him. “Your daughter?”
Bai Fenfeng’s eyes narrowed. “Yes.”
He nodded eagerly and adjusted very round glasses. He peered down at Jingwen, narrow, dark eyes sparkling. “Oh! How beautiful. If she ever likes, I would be honored to have her sit for a portrait.”
“Erlan,” Bai Fenfeng warned.
He smiled at her.
“Thank you. I no longer require your presence.”
He adjusted his glasses and stiffened, face vacant. Color faded out of his body until he was black and white. All at once, the black and white Erlan collapsed into a puddle of ink.
Bai Fenfeng gestured. Jingwen leaped up onto the scaffolding beside her and dropped into a kneel, hands cupped. “Many apologies, Mother.”
“I heard the ruckus. What happened?”
“I failed to assassinate the interloper due to a number of… unforeseen difficulties. Give me another night. One more try, and I will have his head. Our original plan will be back on schedule, and we can forget this—”
Bai Fenfeng waved her hand. “No. One try was already too much. If the clan becomes suspicious and starts to investigate us, it’s over. No one saw your face?”
Jingwen hesitated. She shook her head. “No.”
Bai Fenfeng twisted her lips, suspicious, but waved it away. “No matter. For a hundred years now, your betrothal has been little more than a disguise to keep suspicion off us, so don’t let it bother you now that an interloper has entered the scene. Another few days, and none of that will matter. At last, the Bai clan will rightfully belong to us!”
Jingwen’s brows knitted. She started to speak, bit her lip, and fell back. All at once, she sucked in a breath and looked up. “Mother, at least let me warn Bai Xue. She’s done no wrong. She deserves—”
“No. All of that swine’s spawn must die, or fall into their rightful place as our clan’s lowly furnaces. I will accept no less.”
Frustrated, Jingwen frowned at Bai Fenfeng, but before she could speak, Fenfeng raised a hand, pressing the other to her brow. “Not now, Jingwen. Please. Let me enjoy this for a moment. After so long, we’re so close. Soon, we will be restored to our rightful place atop Bai clan, and that wench and her offspring will be no more than filthy furnaces once more.”
“Mother—”
Bai Fenfeng sighed. “Once we stand atop the clan, you can take Bai Xue for your personal use. Is that what you wanted?”
Jingwen opened her mouth, then ducked her head. Dully, she intoned, “Thank you, Mother.”
Bai Fenfeng nodded. She turned, striding across the scaffolding. On the far side, the scaffolding fell away. Far below, a pool stretched across the floor of the cavern. Mirror-still, the pool stretched nearly from one edge of the cavern to the other, water dark but clear. White roots coiled under the water. Thick around as Jingwen, sometimes thicker, to as slender as a finger’s width, they massed under the surface.
Where the white roots came together, a massive flower bud bulged up from the water. Tall enough to brush the ceiling, green leaves wrapped tight, bottom of the bud plump and thick, the bud threatened to bloom at any moment. The roots climbed directly into the bud, no stalk to be seen. At the very top of the bud, a tiny tip of black peeked through.
All around the lake’s edges, the scaffolding climbed toward the cavern’s roots, and struts and wooden boards stretched from the scaffolding to support the bud. Tubes stretched into the bud, feeding it qi and other resources, while magical treasures dripping with a dark crimson energy trained on the bud.
Jingwen glanced at one of the treasures and immediately averted her eyes. Even staring at it too long left her queasy and uncomfortable. She clenched her fists silently, remembering Erlan’s smile and his giggle. Jingwen stared into the pool, and her reflection gazed back, an uncertain expression on her face.
Spreading her arms, Bai Fenfeng sighed out, a smile across her face. In the reflection, she came up behind Jingwen and draped an arm over her shoulder. Jingwen stiffened, then leaned into her mother.
Bai Fenfeng nodded. Satisfied, she surveyed the bud. “At last… after all this time, our destiny comes to fruition. We retake the Bai clan!”