While they had decided on a course of action, it was not as though they planned to simply assault Rén Xuě, beat him to a pulp, and steal his spot as the general of this army. His soldiers trusted him. If they were to simply attack him without provocation, it would undermine their own authority. They needed his army behind them, which wouldn’t happen if they acted barbarically.
The world of cultivators might have been one where might makes right, but many of the people in this army were not cultivators. They were farmers who had lost their homes, fathers who had lost their children, sons who had lost their fathers and mothers. Rén Xuě had managed to earn their loyalty by promising them justice, and they were fiercely loyal to him.
Of course, there were also the cultivators in this group. They would be indispensable for their assault on the Palace of the Undying Sun.
That was why, with the help of Zhang Ming, they had decided on a course of action that would earn them both the loyalty of the army and kick out Rén Xuě.
It all started during their next meeting.
The meeting took place in what Wu Jian was beginning to call the War Council room. It was where Wu Jian and the others first met Rén Xuě’s generals. He and Hou Jingshu stood behind Mei Xilan as she sat at the table alongside the others. Despite being the former princess of the nation, Rén Xuě was sitting at the head. Mei Xilan did not let it bother her. She met the eyes of everyone with a dispassionate stare.
“I believe we have tiptoed around this matter long enough. Up to now, this army has done little more than harass the Undying Sun Sect. We’re little more than a rat nipping at their feet. We will never accomplish our goals of removing them from our nation if we continue to do this,” Mei Xilan spoke with quiet confidence, injecting her chi directly into her vocal chords. It had the effect of making her words seem more persuasive than they might have been.
This kind of technique had no real name. It was simply something that every powerful cultivator could do. Chi was strength, and infusing it into your voice projected that strength onto others. Someone strong like Wu Jian and Hou Jingshu could shrug it off just fine, but nobody else present had their strength. Even Rén Xuě unfortunately found himself hanging on her words--until he realized what he was doing and began shaking his head.
“Your words are quite bold. I applaud your desire to defeat the Undying Sun Sect, but you speak out of ignorance,” Rén Xuě said. “We are doing what is within our grasp. We currently lack the manpower to actively engage in combat with them. We simply don’t have enough cultivators.”
“And when will we get these cultivators?” asked Mei Xilan. She didn’t give Rén Xuě a chance to answer. “As we speak, the Undying Sun Sect is continuing to recruit more members. They will grow. Meanwhile, we cannot act as overtly, according to you, because it would bring their wrath upon us. That being the case, we will never be able to overcome them with numbers. So, how do you plan on making up for this? Do you have some plan to acquire more cultivators? Hiring mercenaries from outside of the country, perhaps?”
“I would never hire a foreigner for help,” snarled Rén Xuě.
Mei Xilan leaned forward and pinned the man with a stare. “Then how are you going to bolster our numbers?”
Wu Jian smiled as Rén Xuě shifted his eyes to and fro as though seeking a way out. These generals before him were unaware of what the man was doing behind their backs. They didn’t know that he’d had Liang Wei kidnap women to be used as cultivation furnaces in order to induce a forced awakening--what they took to calling someone who activated their dantian and meridians through use of the dual cultivation ritual. These men were proud cultivators who followed him because they, too, did not like the Undying Sun Sect.
“This is ridiculous,” said Rén Xuě. “We should be focusing on what to do next, not interrogating me. You have only been here for less than a month, Sui Mei Xilan. I suggest you act with more prudence.”
“I have acted far too prudently,” Mei Xilan said. She suddenly stood up, and as she did, an incredible pressure suddenly burst from her, forcing all those currently seated to groan as though in pain. “I have acted with nothing but respect and kindness toward you, even though you have treated me with great discourtesy. I did so because I believed you had the best interest of my people at heart and did not wish to create dissension within your ranks.” She paused to purse her near-perfect lips. “That was a mistake.”
The pressure suddenly increased. Wu Jian felt it like someone was placing their hands on his shoulders and lightly pushing down, but everyone else nearly face planted onto the table’s surface. Only Zhang Ming had been spared that fate. He looked on with pride glinting in his eyes.
This was the plan they had come up with.
Rén Xuě was not a cultivator and did not understand how cultivator’s acted. His strength came from stealing the strength of others, which was why all he could do was scurry around like a rat. He might have acted like a hardass who would do anything to see the Sui Kingdom’s monarchy restored, but he had the heart of a coward. They were going to take advantage of that.
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Up to now, Ren Xue had only seen hints of their power--and most of it had come from Wu Jian. He had seen how Wu Jian could lay waste to an entire group of cultivators by himself with ease. However, he did not know how strong Mei Xilan was.
Might makes right. That was the fundamental rule of the cultivation world, and while the average citizen was not a part of that world, the rulers of each nation were--they had to be. A nation not ruled by a cultivator was a nation waiting to be conquered. Mei Xilan was going to show them her power, to prove to these people that she was the only one who had the strength to lead them. Rén Xuě would not understand, but the other men in the room would.
“Do not think I don’t know how you became a cultivator, Rén Xuě,” Mei Xilan continued.
“What are you--hurk!”
“I did not give you permission to speak,” Mei Xilan’s voice was cold, but colder still was the ice that suddenly began creeping up Rén Xuě’s legs.
“Mei Xilan!” Liang Wei shouted in alarm as he took a step forward. “What are you doing?! Cease this at once!”
“You may keep your mouth shut, too. I am disappointed in you.” Mei Xilan cast her glare at him and waved a hand.
[Ice Lotus]
The cold air became colder still. Icy mist spread through the room before it quickly coalesced into several sharp lotus flowers that hovered around Liang Wei’s neck. The man looked like he was still going to say something, but when one of them cut his skin as easily as a knife slicing through food, his entire body froze.
Mei Xilan turned back to Rén Xuě, who looked quite pale. She studied him for a moment, then turned to the others.
“You might not realize this, but Rén Xuě has been deceiving you all this entire time. He is no cultivator. His strength comes not from training but from a sick dual cultivation ritual. This man has been kidnapping women, secreting them away, and turning them into cultivation furnaces to steal their strength. Worse still, he has had several of his men do the same,” Mei Xilan explained to everyone in the room. Both Rén Xuě and Liang Wei went pale.
“I… do not… know what you… are talking about…” Rén Xuě muttered through chattering teeth. He looked like he was struggling to speak through the cold.
“You don’t, do you?” asked Mei Xilan. “South of here lies a dense forest. If you travel deep within this forest, you will come upon a large tree. This tree has a sealing array placed over it to hide the fact that, inside the tree, is a secret chamber…” The more she spoke, the paler Rén Xuě and Liang Wei became. They looked like they were staring at a demon. “I plan on showing this to everyone here anyway, so whether you deny it or not is of no concern.”
“I… this is obviously… a trap… you’re trying to deceive…”
“Deceive? A trap? You think I have the means of creating an elaborate trap like this? As you said, I’ve been in the Sui Kingdom for less than a month, and most of that time was spent in your company. How could I create an elaborate plan to deceive the people here?”
Mei Xilan spread her arms, as though to showcase her innocence.
“I do not believe Sui Mei Gōngzhǔ would lie to us,” Zhang Ming said. “We should listen to what she has to say.”
“Zhang Ming… you traitor…” Rén Xuě ground out.
“A traitor? That’s a funny word to use coming from you.” Zhang Ming raised an eyebrow. “You treat our future queen with complete disrespect, and now I find out you’ve been kidnapping our people and using them in a dark ritual. It seems to me that you are the traitor here.”
By this point, Mei Xilan had eased up on the pressure she was emitting, so both Li Wei and Fang Heng were able to breathe. They still looked pale. The way they eyed Mei Xilan was also profoundly different from the disregard they had displayed before. There was respect in their eyes. Displaying her power so flagrantly had been the right move.
“I would like to see where this dark ritual you mentioned is taking place, but… even if we do not see it, I understand now that following you is better for our goals,” Li Wei said.
“Weeeeei!” Rén Xuě snarled.
Li Wei shrugged. “I followed you because you are stronger than me, and I respect the strong, but it’s clear to me that between the two of you, this young woman is your superior in every way that matters. I would listen to her over you even if your strength was the real thing.”
Fang Heng said nothing, but his nod spoke far more eloquently than words could.
“You’re all going to regret this!” Rén Xuě shouted as he struggled against his bonds, but he could do little more than squirm as the ice continued creeping along his body. It had already engulfed his torso and was beginning to make its way across his shoulders. “You hear me?! I’m the one who created this army! They are loyal to me! Nobody understands their pain better than me! You won’t be able to take control over it even if you oust me!”
Mei Xilan gave him a cold look. “Yes, we will. Once I show them the evidence of your crimes and prove that what you are doing is harmful to everyone, they will no longer want anything to do with you. Of that I can assure you.”
“SUI MEI XILA--!”
Rén Xuě was unable to finish screaming her name, for the ice had quickly accelerated, covering his arms, neck, and face within seconds. The ice quickly froze him over. He was still alive. Mei Xilan had made sure he wasn’t dead since he still had to answer for both his crimes and serve as an example to the people, but he looked as though he’d been frozen to death.
Liang Wei was shivering.
“Sui Mei Gōngzhǔ… I… I want you to know I had no desire to be a part of any of this… Rén Xuě… he blackmailed me into doing his bidding… I’m--”
“You are not innocent,” Mei Xilan interrupted. “Do not think I don’t know that you’re the one who leads people of Rén Xuě’s choosing to the site where all those women are kept. If you were really against what he was doing, you should have told him you wouldn’t be a part of his schemes even if it killed you.”
Lian Wei looked like he wanted to say something, but Mei Xilan decided to freeze him, too.
“They look like a pair of icicles,” Hou Jingshu murmured into the now silent room.