There were a few rules I went over in detail before we started. The first game went about as well as I could imagine it. Five people was about the lowest amount of people that I could play the game with, and I had to use a special small town mode I had played a bunch.
"I know that she's the empath because she says that I'm a good character, but since she might be the drunk then I can't count on anything?" Xueyie said, "Just thinking this through and I can understand why you like this so much."
"The complexity is just right, though who would have thought that you would be able to just up and pretend to be a demon. I thought I knew Auntie Low, but it appears that this old woman is not exactly who I thought she was. It's a shame really, as we're going to have to play another game," Auntie Chin said.
Auntie Low cracked a smile. She had a smile that hadn't left her face since she understood the concept.
"I couldn't be the demon three times in a row, could I?"
"We can certainly see," I said, collecting up their slips.
Doubt began to surface among the ladies and I could see that they really enjoyed the social deduction of finding out who the demon and their minion were. I was just sad that I had no tokens or grimoire to put them in. I'd taken several slips of paper and had to hand them out to the ladies and then explain some things. There was always a night period where everyone closed their eyes and I went around giving a bit of information to some of the players. I would hold up one, two or zero fingers to the empath to indicate whether the people to her left or right were both evil, half evil, or neither. It was nice to know these things in a game, since knowing that three people the next block over killed people to advance their cultivation was enough for me to want to go in guns blazing.
It was still a stunning gorgeous mid afternoon and the sun was beginning to dip towards the west, giving us golden light to work with. I decided to give it one more game for the heck of it. I was definitely swapping information with them after this and probably inviting myself back to the docks for the community aspect.
"Jin Xueyie, you have been rather quiet," Auntie Chin said, "What is it that you do?"
"I'm an apprentice therapist under this guy over here," she said, taking a slip and looking at it briefly.
"She's also an actor," I said, "A working one at that."
There was a chorus of oohs and ahhs, as the women all decided that this was interesting enough to fawn over her. Egiya smirked at the attention that her comrade was getting.
"So sad that there's no money in medicine," Auntie Low said.
"Yes, what a shame," Auntie Chin said, "Nevertheless, please persist my dear and we will be watching you closely in this next game. Very closely."
"Alright, it is nighttime, everyone go to sleep," I said as the women all went quiet and closed their eyes as I went around collecting slips and d giving information.
I smiled as I saw that Auntie Low was once again the demon, beating the odds no matter what I tried. It was like she was made for the role, or the name, perhaps?
We played one more game before the Aunties all stood up and had a stretch. Evil won again, of course. I would have to commission a better set of pieces for this game if I now had a regular group again. I felt like I hadn't felt in ages, totally focused on something fun that had absolutely nothing to do with getting better at work or improving myself. Sure as the storyteller role, I could be better, but there wasn't that much room for improvement.
Xueyie had positioned herself to watch the shop while, so when she tugged on my sleeve, I gave her a reassuring hand on the shoulder.
From her hiding spot, I could feel Min stirring as she got up from her nap. It was time for her to go to work and I mentally signaled for her to come on down for the party.
Some of the guests had decided that they wanted to make an irish goodbye, and we were having none of it.
---
We played another game as Min tracked one of the demonic cultivators across town. They hadn't gotten too far when the aunties decided that it was time to pack it in for the day. We thanked them for playing, and promised to drop by on a different occasion.
"You're going to do this again, right young master Joe?" Auntie Chin said, her wrinkles seeming to dissipate.
"I'll be certain to invite you. Though I might live in a different district, this is too much for us to pass up on."
"Good, I have several girlfriends with single daughters that I'll call upon next time."
I jerked back involuntarily.
"That uh, won't be necessary," I said.
"Nonsense," she said, patting my hand.
She left before I could get another word in edge wise.
"If those three have their way, you'll be remarried in a week," Egiya said.
"Two tops," Xueyie said,"Though I'm surprised that neither of our mothers have come to you with offers of our hands."
"Girls, I'm old enough to be your uncle-"
"That isn't saying much, though is it? Right sister Xueyie? It seems like Joseph would be a great husband."
"And an even better father. Better watch out, Daddy."
I thought about how hard I was going to make our training sessions when I got back to tip top shape and grinned.
"Min is on the move. Who wants to stay?"
Both of them tripped over the other one as they raised their hands. Xueyie had a bit of time before she was due to makeup, and Egiya had to be tired of waiting around.
"Alright, both of you can go and I'll just take a little stroll down the way to see if I can find anything," I said.
I was going to try to get a layout of the building for our next move: a raid.
===
There was no end to my disappointment when Min returned. The demonic cultivator, one of the men had only been going to pick up food, enough to feed at least three people. He had brought it back which gave us out first tip.
They had also rented the apartment above the shop.
It made sense. The Kang family did the same thing. But the cost must have been immense and I didn't see the empty storefront making any money then something else clicked.
"Min. If this is a cash business, they can just cook the books to make themselves look profitable, right? They can have a benefactor somewhere that is paying for their costs?"
"But then why would they set up a shop at all if they had money? Perhaps they are not just buying and selling tacky vests and blouses? What else could they be doing?"
There were too many questions that I didn't know the answer to as a non local. Things that I would have to run by Lee the next time she showed up. I figured that someone had to make some sort of patronage somehow otherwise how would the keep afloat? Maybe they had paid for the rent all up front, or the Red Fang Sect had done so.
Min sent back her calm vibes through the bond.
"I really don't know, Companion Joseph."
Now if I could just get the damn blue coats to do something.
---
At the end of group therapy the next day a familiar middle aged inspector was waiting at the front of the old Red Fang compound. I didn't want to speak with him, as I attempted to radiate for him to leave until I remembered that he had a job to do and I could make him do it. Xueyie watched as he approached, but kept her distance, the unspoken ease with which she would slip into violence on my behalf comforting.
"Inspector Bao of the constabulary, I presume?" I said, nodding to the man.
"Why yes. Ah the man with the curly hair. I never caught your name," he said.
"And I never offered it."
"I suspect that you're the new fourth realm cultivator though, just by your calm demeanor around me."
"Why sir, you might be right about that. Tell you what. I have a tip for you to investigate. The fact is that I've had several people formerly and informally requests someone investigate what appears to be a small cell of demonic cultivators. It doesn't have to be you and I understand this is lot to ask but they seem to be second or third realm. I just think that you would want the credit for finding and getting them behind bars or whatever it is that you do."
He blanched. He took a second to straighten his immaculate blue robes. A single strand of hair fell down from the left side of his face. He then took a moment to tuck it back in.
"There are more demonic cultivators? Why didn't anyone tell me? This requires our immediate attention. Tell me everything you know please."
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"Gladly."
I briefly summarized the situation, answering several unrelated questions as he kept thinking of things. When I explained I had been rotating several people as lookouts his demeanor shifted.
"You sent your spirit beast to watch them? What would happen if something happened to it?"
"Probably the same thing that would happen if they went after my daughters. I would burn this city to the ground to destroy them."
"Noted."
I felt like you should have been scribbling notes in some tiny squirrel sized scroll but apparently his mind was like a steel trap.
"And how do you know that they are demonic cultivators?"
"I know one of their trade secrets. It's something that is kept on a need to know basis. Only the Mandarin and a select few people in my inner circle know the details. A scan of their cultivation practices will easily ascertain the truth."
"And I suppose that there is some technical reason that you need say someone from the moon clan to be present when you do such a scan? Also what is keeping you from killing themselves yourself and claiming the bounty?"
I looked to Xueyie.
"The bounty for all the cultivators that I killed here has been allocated to this little group and my efforts at their rehabilitation. Also the bureaucracy is taking forever to deliver my first bounty and I would like to lodge a formal complaint at the time it has been taking."
"You didn't answer my question. You could take them out yourself-"
"Is that an official government sanction promoting vigilante justice? So I can just murder people indiscriminately now with no regard to the rule of law? Is there no due process?"
"We tend to hold up due process in the case of demonic cultivators. You've seen what they do."
"That's beside the point. There's a bounty for finding them, correct?"
"Correct."
"What is the bounty for turning in live demonic cultivators?"
"There uh-I don't know that has never happened in my ten years in the constabulary. They are quite rare-"
"So rare that a nest of dozens of them were operating here under a false pretense, enough that seventy people were kept in their larder as human chattel?"
I clenched my fists.
"I'm not a murderer, inspector Bao. I'm just a guy trying to process some trauma here."
"But you-"
"Not.A.Murderer."
He finally backed off. I shuddered.
"Is everything alright, Joe?" Xueyies silky voice cut through the tension between us, "Or is this mean man threatening us?"
"I most certainly am not-"
"He is."
"Now hold on a second can I get a word in-"
"NO!"
We both yelled at the same time.
The man actually stood down, visibly deflating.
"Let me explain," I said releasing my veil, " Exactly what you're going to do next Inspector Bao."
---
Two hours later and we milled about the Docks District. Two dozen blue robes in uniform stacked themselves up behind various walls in the two blocks surrounding my least favorite shop in the city. Xueyie and Egiya both watched from the hungry Peddler as our backup. They would enter the shop shortly after us unless we made the signal.
Inspector Bao took point as the two of us strode in. He was sweating profusely and as I found out he had been struggling with a lot of issues that were keeping his cultivation low.
We walked in, ringing the anchor shaped bell as the door closed behind us. Two of the cultivators were there looking bored, but they brightened considerably when we arrived.
"Ah, welcome welcome, are you two men of the town looking for something to celebrate your love of the sea faring life? Perhaps something to spice up you love life? We serve all kinds here, don't be shy," the mans sing song voice sounded like a theatre kid trying out for a cat food commerical.
"Ah, well you see what we really wanted," Inspector Bao started, the sweat dripping from his moustache condensing into near steam.
"Was something for the hot months," the woman behind the counter said.
She held up a hideous pirate shirt. Her mark was clearly visible at least to me
"Come on friend, go ahead and tell them what you want," I said.
The anchor bell rang.
"One second!" The sing song voice of the man said, grinding my calm into the dust.
"Oh hello! We're here to buy something for our daddy," a familiar voice said.
"If I could just stop being interrupted today."
I held up a palm.
"I said nothing sir. But this is your show. And that shirt would make your eyes pop," I said.
"It would indeed. Especially if paired with a wonderful handkerchief or scarf. That would do right by you, oh your eyes are black- we could do a yellow sash instead."
As she spoke, she held out various items to him and I chuckled internally. They were doing the hard sell on him, after I had nearly dragged him to the station under threat of expulsion from the constabulary Thankfully his boss took the threat seriously and sent him with all the people he would need to subdue and move the three.
"You're both under arrest for-"
"Oh no! Is this the fashion police again, Hui! I told you to stop advertising out of the district."
"Ah no! We can't handle this."
"Would you both stop it!" He barked out.
"-for suspicion of being demonic cultivators."
That was when both of them stopped to turn their heads just a bit off. It was more goofy than creepy as their stares tried to penetrate Baos admittedly poor defenses. They didn't even have eyes for me, their prey enraptured into their trap.
"Looks like dinner time is early, sister."
"You're right, brother and now we can feed."
The room turned dark and I instinctively pushed out some qi to make the place a bit brighter. I left Bao hypnotized by the twins as they pushed forwards. Then they both stopped, as if smelling some delicious pork buns on their way to a diner.
"Curiouser, this is a path we have never seen before- sister...sister?"
The sing song voice cut out. I heard two things crumple to the ground, and I was hoping it was my quarry as the only thing I saw was a blue robed inspector babbling to himself.
"Did we do it?" Egiya said, standing over one of the unconscious demonic Cultivators.
"You girls did great, now let me get the one that was sleeping."
As if on cue, Min walked in with a stupid grin on her face Of course she had taken my moment where I had to counter their technique to pounce upon the third of their rank. The poor guy looked more bruised than not, but was somehow alive.
"This is going to be a mess to clean up," I said, looking down to see a sobbing police inspector curled up into a ball, "Hey, its your guys part now, Bao."
"I-uh-what? We're not dead?"
"They activated one technique that turned this room dark and you're down there clutching yourself, yeah we're not dead."
He patted himself down as if they had taken a part of him off, and he was expecting to not find his favorite organ. Typical cop.
"I'm not dead!" He sighed,"Where am I again?"
"Inspector Bao, you are in a demonic cultivators boutique shop in the docks district. These have some mind control adjacent powers that shut you down temporarily and made you forget why you're here. You have a squad of constables outside waiting for your signal."
"I do?" The confused man barely was able to get that out before the first of his men rushed in, ushering a second round of yelling and explanations.
Shackles appeared around the arms and legs of the the proprietors as they cleaned up house, taking my two before Mins tribute.
One of the women with some rank on her shoulder appeared in front of me. She was some deputy inspector that I had conveniently forgotten the name of, and it's not like they wore name tags here.
"Sir, I think that you have led us right into the vipers nest and you will be handsomely rewarded but did you have to uh... Bludgeon this one to unconsciousness? I don't know if we should heal him or just throw him to be leviathan bait at this rate."
"I assure you that this was the work of my spirit beast and she made an accurate assessment of how this man? Woman? Needed to be treated. Non-lethally, I may add so you have someone to interrogate."
"Indeed. We will be doing an after action review of this once they are fully in Iron hook, but until then, thank you for your continued service to our city. You will be contacted."
I half expected her to tip me for my generosity, but she moved on to give a series of very specific orders about the placement of three rube adorned sets of neck collars. Once closed, the leather worked collars that closed with a satisfying click each time.
The girls ushered me out just in time for us to watch the show. There was a crowd watching as the blue robes took two of their number to escort one of the demonic cultivators each. Or more accurately they carried them. The streets were packed. A small hole opening up for the government officials was the only movement that stirred. I have expected the deputy inspector to give a little speech about what was happening. That's the kind of thing I would expect on earth. Of course here they didn't have broadcast television and a 24-hour news cycle, but I imagine that word would come out somehow.
Thinking back to how others I knew got their information. It was all word of mouth. Somebody would have had to tell their friend who told another friend and so on down the line. It put a new light on everything I had been told so far. Witnesses could be unreliable. Or coerced to say something else. Their memories could be affected by people interviewing them about their experiences. These are all known factors.
What I didn't know is how something like this got out or didn't. The inspector didn't actually believe me. He only respected my power. It was ridiculous and it kind of felt like the nepo version of being strong. It was as if I had one a bodybuilding competition and that gave me power over the local police force because they respected that. Like yeah come look at my muscles but can you actually do your job guys. I did not come here to clean up these streets. But if I really had to I would do it.
"Joe, are you all right? You seem a bit out of it,"
Egiya said, once we got far enough away.
"I'm not mad that I didn't get to punch anybody."
"But you feel like you should be, right? Don't you have to? What is it? Process your trauma by beating the shit out of men like this?" Xueyie said.
"I want to process my trauma productively. Like making some art or helping others heal from their trauma. I get the warm and fuzzies from helping others. To be clear, I don't recommend that everyone does this or that I have some sort of one size fits all solution here."
"You also get the tea."
"Perks of the job, my apprentice. Perks of the job. It's part of the reason why we have an understanding of confidentiality. This way they can vent without fear of it going to the wrong person."
"I could see how that might be a problem," Xueyie said, cutting around the end of the crowd.
"What are you both on about?" Egiya said, finally getting out from the masses.
I turned to offer her my arm. She accepted one, then Xueyie accepted the other.
"If someone's going to spill their life secrets to you, you have an obligation to keep their secrets. So you hear lots of things that you wouldn't otherwise, including all the drama in people's lives."
"I take back everything I said about you before. Now that I know you are into the drama aspect it makes sense that Xueyie is your friend."
"For your sake, I won't consider that an insult. I do art for the love of it."
"And you love it has nothing to do with the amount of money that your clan makes from the proceeds?" Egiya said.
"Ladies, if you're going to fight, let's do it in a training environment. There are enough things that we can agree on that we all despise."
"Like those sailor blouses."
"Exactly."