The doors to the Clan head office loomed large. I had to get permission to go to the Shadowstar forest and it would be easier to get the Clan Head on my side, before I approached my parents for that permission. I doubted they would be happy with me.
Unlike my cousin I had to wait for my turn as various people walked in and out of the office of our clan’s leader. They were an eclectic bunch from clan officials to guards and messengers from other clans. It was clear that the Clan Head was a very busy man.
It was finally my turn and as I entered I could see the Clan Head sitting behind his table smiling at me, ”Mei how can I be of help to you?”
“I have come to ask for a favor. I wish to contribute to the wealth of the clan and thanks to my improving health I seek an opportunity to do so,” I opened my bid by showcasing the opportunity for the clan this represented. Clan Head did not bid me to stop and so I continued.
“I have received information that in the Shadowstar forest there will be a hunt for Beasts. I think it is a perfect opportunity for the clan. The place will be lush with cultivation resources, which we will get for cheap and sell for a tidy profit,” explained my idea.
I took part in several of such hunts, when I was still on the path of immortality and while cultivators had their own separate camps, it was hard to miss the encampments where hunters and various traders gathered from scraps we would leave behind. It was certainly a profitable business.
Clan Head smiled, ”It is certainly not a bad idea, and it is nice to have confirmation about the location, but I believe it is not as new a venture as you believe. Our clan made a decent profit on such occasions,” he explained to me.
My smile remained on my lips. I should have known Clan Head would already know about the rift and the upcoming hunt. It could not have been that secret information, if Anna knew about it already and he was in business of knowing things first and foremost. That is how you made a profit, after all. Luckily, I was still not out of arguments.
“That might be true, but I can offer a unique perspective as a former cultivator, which was not available to the merchants we had sent beforehand. I will be a great boon to such an expedition,” I pointed out.
Clan head looked at me and I could feel his eyes looking deep into my soul, although he was not a cultivator.
“It is true that we gain a lot of relatively worthless goods in these ventures. Merchants we send out are experienced, but they do lack ability to identify the important parts of the Beasts hunters bring them and so often have to work by guesswork, rather than their experience. Yet I do not know how you could enhance the odds of gaining valuable materials in this way,” he said. It was not hard to guess he was testing me. He must have known the answer to this dilemma.
I considered the issue Clan Head had. Recognizing worthy cultivation materials is often problematic for those who do not walk the path of immortality. The Qi might not be stored in the Beast's flesh evenly, sometimes it might be just in skin or in bones, but not remain in the other parts of the Beast. It was hard to guess the amount of Qi in the remnants of the slain Beast without the help of spirit sight, although I was sure there were other methods to gauge the amount of Qi available to people without spirit sight.
It mastered little. This was the way to get to the Shadowstar forest for me. I had a skill which could be used, now I had to sell it.
“I still hold the spirit sight cultivator’s base to feel the Qi in the air and in objects. I can recognize cultivation materials with just a glance and I do not make mistakes,” I said looking somewhat smug at myself. The situation was slightly more complex and there were many factors, which made simple spirit sight insufficient to distinguish cultivation materials perfectly without extensive training, but I doubted many materials of such type would be brought in by hunters and cultivators would keep their prize to themselves.
Clan Head nodded at my offer, ”That is indeed a worthy goal, but I cannot help and think that there is more going on,” he said, smiling knowingly.
I did not know how he could suspect there was more to my offer, but I saw no reason to lie to him, “Most of the trades will happen in the evening once the commotion dies down and hunters will return to the camps, before the next day. I will help the traders then in my full capacity. During the rest of the day, I will conduct personal business, which won't affect my duties as assessor.”
“And what will these duties be, young daughter of our clan,” Clan Head focused on the thing I left unsaid with unerring precision.
“I will hunt some Beasts to sell their parts and make money to help my parents with their obligations,” I said, not meeting the Clans Head's eyes. I was sure that frolicking around wilderness and killing things was not a business for a young daughter of our clan, so I hoped the leader of our clan would accept this deviation from the norm.
He smiled at my admission, ”I think that members of our clan will offer you a fair price for your prize, but is it not too dangerous for someone who was just recently rather sick?” Clan Head wondered out loud looking at me with those piercing eyes of his.
“No powerful Beast will escape the cultivators, so I will have to face a low rank remains, which are too many for cultivators to fight. The cultivators and Imperial officials perfected the organization of Rift hunts through the generations, which is why there can be a trader’s caravan parked right next to very dangerous Beasts. And I can dispatch Beasts of that level with ease,” I answered his question with somewhat exaggerated optimism.
“I do not see a reason to forbid your venture, although I would appreciate, if you would not spread the stories about your true goal,” the Clan head said, and I was flooded with a sense of relief, that something was working out, but my hope was premature because his next words froze me in fear.
“So you will inform your parents about your intentions, or should I?”
My parents would flip, if they learned I was fighting dangerous Beasts. I looked at Clan Head wide eyed, ”I was hoping we would not have to mention the part about going on a dangerous hunt to my parents.”
“They are your parents, Mei. Do you wish to keep the truth of your activities from them?” he asked me, bemused.
I could only nod. I could not let my parents know. They would have a panic attack.
“It is in my power to keep it from your parents and even ask the merchants you will accompany to keep silent about your little side venture, but in exchange I would like to ask a favor from you,” the Clan head offered me a lifeline from my situation.
I nearly nodded immediately, but I was not foolish enough to just say yes to an open-ended favor, that way laid madness, ”What kind of favor?” I asked him, my eyes narrowed.
Clan Head kept smiling, “Nothing I could not ask from a member of the clan, but I would need your cooperation. I can tell you it would involve travel, but the rest must remain secret for now,” he explained to me.
It was still a very open-ended bargain. Clan Head could demand many things from the members of his clan, but it was not an unreasonable request and in the worst case I could still refuse, when the time to fulfill the favor came, although I was sure the wrath of Clan Head would be rather bad.
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“I will owe you a favor then, honored Clan Head,” I said after weighing my options some more.
Clan Head kept his smile, Perfect, is there any other issue you wish my help with?”
I could only think of one thing, ”Have you received any news about the cultivator, which wished to attack my “wise cousin,” I asked him. It was an incident, which still seemed strange to me.
He shook his head, “No my sources are rather silent about the whole incident, so whoever planned this is keeping their cards close to their chest,” his smile vanished as he considered the problem, ”Is there anything else, I can help you with?”
I knew when it was the time to leave, “No, Honored Clan Head, I shall take my leave. Thank you for giving me a little of your valuable time,” I said and backed away from the room, as he gave me farewell still looking deep in thought.
I left his office and walked away. It was a happy day. Soon I would secure money for my parents and, if I had any luck, I could meet Anna and catch up with her. I was sure she had a lot of stories about the goings on in the sect and the people there. It was an opportunity, which I never expected to have again and which would be very rare in the future and so I planned to enjoy it while I could.
The sound of a panicked run disrupted my thoughts. I looked around and saw Adra running to me holding a piece of paper in her hand.
“Why are you here? I thought you had a day off?” I asked her. She looked at me horrified.
“Mistress, I was going through the town with my family, when I saw guards putting this poster up. I grabbed it and ran here as fast as I could,” she explained and shoved the piece of paper into my face.
I took it and unfolded it.
To my nonexistent surprise it was a bounty poster. The city guard was offering a rather sizable sum of money for the capture of a dangerous thief. The poster depicted my face sporting a rather devilish grin.
I chuckled at the description under the poster. Apparently the dangerous thief attacked an upstanding member of society and robbed him of a significant amount of jewels. The moneylender put the bounty both on the thief and the jewels in question.
“My lady, this is no laughing matter. The guards will scourge the city for you. They do not kid around and their will is the will of the Empire,” Adra said, trying to impress me with the urgency of the situation.
“I do not know the person on the wanted poster, Adra,” I pointed out. “It seems like some rather skilled thief got away with a daring heist. I will inform the guards if they come to visit our clan compound, but I am sure they will find no such criminal in our ranks.” I said to her.
Her confusion was a sight to behold, “But that is your face on the poster and you went to that money lender today. I sent you there.” she said to me looking at me like I went crazy.
“Adra, I am not a thief and I never visited the money lender in question, something better came up,” I explained to her.
Her face became an interesting shade of pale, which I thought was not part of human expression, ”I am sorry, mistress. I did not want to offend you by suggesting that you could be a thief. I am sorry,” she bowed to me, trying to apologize.
“It is okay. I am sure you meant nothing bad by this,” I said to her reassuring her, she was after all correct. It was me on the bounty poster, but It would be better, if I kept it to myself.
I smiled as I considered my options. The solution of the moneylender was impressive in a way. If I was a simple thief or someone who did not belong to the clan this city-wide search was certain to flush me out and bring him the jewels I carried.
I was rather sure he would pay more than the jewels were worth in bribes to the guards, so that the operation went smoothly and no one would ask too many questions, but it was a message. You would have to make a deal with him, otherwise you would face the full might of the law. It was ingenious and said bad things about the state of the law enforcement in the city.
This plan of course had an obvious weakness. I was not a normal citizen of the Empire. I was a member of the Silverhand clan. Contrary to what Adra believed, the chance guards would search our clan compound for their thief was non-existent. What is more I doubted anyone would recognize somewhat lustrous clan-daughter as the thief in the picture, which afforded me another layer of protection.
Even if the guards tracked me here, they would face the Silverhand clan and the power it wielded. I doubted the money lender would enjoy such an occasion.
It provided another good reason to leave the city for at least some time, which brought me to the moment where I stood in front of my parents, who were just finishing their dinner.
I just had to find a way to sell my journey to them.
“Mei you returned from the city? Have you brought something nice for yourself?” my mother asked me.
“I visited some traders, but they had nothing I found interesting.” I sat down at the table.
“That is a pity. You should treat yourself to something nice, if you want to. It is not every day that you experience miraculous healing.” My mother smiled as she put a bowl in front of me and loaded it with noodles and spicy sauce.
“I was just lucky, that is all,” I answered her and dug into the noodles. I was ravenous. In my hurry to get things done I had forgotten to have a proper meal and my body demanded nutrients.
“We were lucky that doctor Francos was willing to take our case. The man proved himself to be a true miracle worker,” my father remarked, nearly causing me to spit, but I was skilled and kept the food in my mouth.
My parents have been singing praises for doctor Francos ever since he proclaimed me healthy. It was now a regular occurrence, but not one, which I was accustomed to.
“He was a blessing from the ancestors,” my mother added and then turned to me, ”I think we will get you a new set of clothes for the purification ceremony next month, Mei. Your attendance was impossible, when you were sick, but now that you are healthy. I do not see any reason the officials would bar you from attending.”
I knew of the ceremony. It was a traditional way to expunge evil spirits and karma from the city and was an annual rite. There was a similar ceremony done in every city and village of the Empire regularly and I was blessed by dodging nearly all of them, when I was visiting. The memories from my youth were enough to last me a lifetime and into the next cycle of reincarnation. The whole occasion was a boring spectacle of who is who in the city as a gigantic procession marched around the city limits as priests chanted and the clans were seen in full force. I was not expecting to attend this time too, as sick or infirm were forbidden from attending these rites, as they could disrupt their purification effects.
Luckily for me I would be somewhere else this time too.
“I am sorry mother, but I cannot attend the ceremony,” I said to her, exploiting my opening.
“Why?” my father asked, raising his eyebrow at my declaration. It was a valid question, as far as my parents knew I had nothing to do.
“I have found a new place in the clan for me. Members of our clan will be in the Shadowstar forest buying the excess cultivation resources and the Clan head noticed that my qualities make me a perfect fit for such an expedition,” I pointed out.
I could see dismay overtake my mother, but my father regarded me with a calm and thoughtful silence.
“Mei, you just returned to us. You should not be leaving so soon. I am sure we can persuade the Clan head to send someone else,” my mother said.
“I will contribute to the clan’s wealth, mother and It is something I can do and do well.” I pointed out.
My mother dismissed my idea with a scoff , ”I do not think rummaging through skins and bones is something a young lady, such as yourself, should be doing.”
I was planning on creating those bags of skin and bone, but I would not tell my mother that, ”I will not get even dirty, mother. It is my skills in using my spirit sight, which will be the trump card of our expedition. I will just be looking for signs of Qi in the goods the hunters will bring to us,” I explained to her.
This reasonable argument did not diminish her worry, “You will catch cold, or something from those uncouth barbarians,” she said at which point I just looked at her trying to understand what she meant.
She looked at me exasperated, until my father inserted himself into the discussion, ”If it is what you want, Mei. We will not be stopping you, but we will spend some time together as a family before you go. You cannot deny us that little pleasure.
It was a price I was very willing to pay, although I worried what such a pause in business would do to my father’s finances, mother was less than happy.
“What if some Beast attacks you and kills you, Mei?” She looked at me worriedly.
“Cultivators will take care of the truly dangerous Beasts, mother I will spend time in the traders camp far away from the action and even if some weakling makes it to the camp, your daughter is strong. I will be okay,” I reassured her, trying to lie as little as possible, as lying to my parents made me uncomfortable.
“Okay, but you will take Adra with you. You will need someone to take care of your clothes and to cook for you. I saw you last time you returned, you cannot go around looking like a commoner.” My mother insisted.
I agreed to her demand, although more reluctantly than to my father’s as it will be a hassle and we returned to the family dinner. It was a pleasant moment.