Alex's dreams were surprisingly peaceful, as he rode gentle air currents like a kite caught in the wind… pleased to sense so many sleepy docile sounds of families resting in their homes of kiln-fired bricks, harvested wood, or ancient stone. Alex could sense the relief in so many parent’s exhaling susurrations as they held their children close, the cares and worries of a near disastrous fire in the end successfully quenched, their city safe once more.
“Is it done?”
Alex froze, recognizing the voice… or at least one very similar to it. It was the voice of an aristocrat with nothing but contempt for his lessors. A voice so very like Tan Yi’s own.
“It is.”
Cold laughter filled the air, carried on air currents Alex now felt like an extension of himself.
“Good. Excellent! You are dismissed.”
“An honor to serve, my lord.”
A momentary pause was followed by a satisfied chuckle. “That’s two rifts we’ve successfully corrupted. And a third formation of fire. Now, all we need to do is wait for another core to finally crack, and their illusion will rupture, revealing ugly truths plain to everyone with eyes to see!”
“But what about the Water core?” hissed a third voice that could only be Tan Yi himself. “If we’re going to be the city’s saviors, we have to be in position to snatch it!”
The air rang with a smack.
“Father!”
“Quit asking foolish questions and think! Which rifts have we tainted?”
“The western rift and the southern one, Father.”
“Precisely. And the fire right in the heart of peasant student housing allowed us to place a black formation right under these damn fool’s noses without having to corrupt the busiest rift in the whole damned caldera. So that’s two rifts that are now corrupted with shadow beasts free of Water’s cleansing sustenance that will make daring those rifts a perilous endeavor for anyone lacking our clan’s direct blessings, and the Eastern rift will never manifest Water or Ice ever again, with Fire’s Wrath eternally burning away it’s opposite. And I assume you’re not such a fool as to fail to understand the significance of this configuration?”
“No, father. Of course not.”
This earned a contemptuous snort. “Really? Then why did you even need to ask? Though I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, after your managing to foul up your sole assignment within the western rift!”
“It’s not my fault!” The younger voice angrily hissed. “Those damned Ruidians interfered. There was nothing I could do without giving everything away!”
“Well, they won’t be a problem for long, should things go as planned,” the elder voice declared. “How are things at the school?”
“Lan Li and Xuon Li have done their part, father. Now all the cowards that are too afraid to back us directly at least know to keep their heads down and avoid the Ruidians at all costs, if they wish to weather the storm of ascension to come.”
“Good. It was too much to expect their backing, but so long as they know better than to interfere with what’s to come… and know to avoid those Ruidian abominations, that will suffice.”
“Father, the foreign nobles...”
“Are of no real consequence either way. We need not worry on their account. Now, explain what the hell happened with the western fires? They were supposed to keep the damned headmistress occupied for the entire night! Had things gone as planned, the illusion would have already been disrupted, and we could have forced a vote of no-confidence this very night!”
“All I could find out was that there was a chance shower right overhead.”
“Really? On what was hours before a cloudless day, right before we went ahead with our plans? I find that hard to believe. There must have been wujen interference from a third party!”
“All my scouts spotted was a few students suffering from smoke inhalation after getting too close to the blaze. But maybe it was a storm master protecting their home?”
The older man snorted. “Why do you think we chose the poorest quarter? Ancient wood too long desiccated and the poorest quality fire-kilned mud bricks dependent on wooden struts and support beams would make a poor home for any cultivator, let alone a Silver-tier wujen. No. This was something else, and we’d best find out what! Unaccounted variables must not be allowed to interfere with our ascension!”
“Understood, father. I’ll have our agents keep an eye for anything untoward at the school.”
“Good.” The man’s voice brightened in ways that would have sent shivers down Alex’s spine, had he been anything but the wind. “What’s the status of the Ruidians at the college. Are we ready for some tragic accidents?”
“There’s just the Ruidians that were in my class and the other pair at the moment. Unfortunately, they seem to be on good terms with Senior Cultivator Te Chang, and they’re never out of each other’s sight.” The youth snorted cynically. “The look in their eyes is that of a hunted animal, no matter how much old edicts should have assuaged all their fears.”
This earned a cold chuckle. “So they know what’s coming. Good! But the blond-haired one sounds far too savvy, from what you’ve already let slip. Keep an eye on them. If any of them are foolish enough to wander off half drunk from the quarters reserved for them, let our men know there’s a 500 Silver purse in it for them, but only if they can make the death look like an accident. And encourage our pawns to offer them rift slots that are doomed to end... unexpectedly. Te Chang’s a headache we still have to deal with for now, so we must keep our assassinations as discrete as possible. But make no mistake, boy. Once we achieve our ascension, none of them will be leaving this city as anything but desiccated corpses!”
This earned a snort from the youth. “It shouldn’t be a problem to handle them, one way or another. It was nothing to coax Elder Win to expel the pair of fools from cultivation classes altogether.”
“Which was stupid, boy. You burned needless capital pressuring him on something so trivial. What is cultivation to those fools but a lark? With the pressure for Water cores mounting, even your instructor refused to kick them out of the school outright. And now those Ruidians have nothing to distract them, save daring the rifts. They’re far too important to the current regime’s power base for them to be denied entrance, and we all know it.”
“But no one will delve with them, father!”
“None of the Bronze. You did that much good at least. Which should make it all the easier to pressure them into delves that can have only one ending for those abominations. But make no mistake, when our enemies finally appreciate just how perilous their situation has become, how quickly their comfortable life could topple to ruin… you’d better believe that the Senior Cultivator Te Chang himself and the most powerful Silver tier instructors will suddenly find time to take pity on their poor Ruidian guests.”
“Which is why we need to eliminate them before those fools wake up to their fate!”
“Only if our men can make it look like an accident! If you’re going to kill them in a delve, best make sure no Silver of note is there with your pawns. I will accept no foolish risks or mistakes when we are so close. Do you understand, boy?”
“Yes, father. I understand.”
“Good. Now get back to your post. We have a city to claim.”
***
Alex jolted from his sleep, heart pounding. Linnea’s sleepy whimper hit him, his cheeks flushing in sudden shame before recalling that he had done absolutely nothing untoward with her at all.
Even if she did like sleeping in the buff.
Sparing only a moment to cover her in silk, Alex left the chamber at a hurried, pace, immediately catching sight of Qing, Reny, and Ya Ling taking their ease, sipping tea.
He could tell by Reny’s smile and the quip on the tip of Qing Wu’s tongue that they were going to make a newlywed jokes at his expense, before their lighthearted banter froze to sudden tight concern, when they caught sight of his expression.
“Alex?”
Alex swallowed, intent eyes boring into Qing Wu’s own. “Could someone pass me wax tablet and stylus, or parchment and quill?”
This earned three puzzled stares. “Alex...”
Alex arrested Ya Ling’s gaze. “I’m humbled by how many secrets the Wind reveals, when one has the wit to hear it. It’s possible that me and my dear kung fu sister aren’t the only ones with such a gift.”
His friend’s cheeks flushed for some reason, but she didn’t hesitate to dip a head. “You’re right.”
Qing Wu’s brow furrowed. “Any fool who dares attempt breaching these wards will feel nothing but Winters’ wrath. I assure you of that, my boy.”
“Of course,” Alex quickly said. “But even the wisest wujen knows there must be flexibility in all wards, lest he cut off the very Water, light, and Wind letting in fresh air that makes sustenance possible in the first place.”
If anything, Elder Wu’s granite countenance grew harder, before Reny patted his knee. “The boy always spoke as if he were an equal when peril is greatest, you know that as well as I.”
She then turned to Alex who only then realized he had been using a command inflection in his urgency, overtly doing what was only subtly implied in English… and the other language he had spoken so frequently before.
He blinked in startlement. He was speaking the language of YanTu nation, which had hardly drifted at all since the days of Rising Phoenix, or so it seemed. Had the Red Prince ended up annexing this territory in the end, despite all Alex had done to destroy him? Had all his efforts truly been in vain?
He held back a painful wince, wondering just how catastrophic a certain explosion had been. Had he truly turned countless miles of ancient primeval woodlands into a massive desert basin? And why didn’t the forests, even those of pocket realms, absolutely despise him?
Yet he already knew one possible answer, only having to gaze up through the window allowing a cool breeze into the centralmost foyer they presently gathered in, spotting the pale blue moon above.
A satellite world with oceans and continents of its own.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
So reminiscent of his own realm, upon which endless forests stood tall and proud, sanctuary to a city he had tried so desperately to save. Fifteen million souls that might have grown and flourished before setting up countless satellite cities halfway across the globe over a thousand years… to say nothing of the vast, world-spanning woodlands that would absolutely thrive before the waste Qi generated by so many sacred cities
He shook his head, having so many questions to which he feared he’d never have a good answer.
“One moment, Alex,” Reny said with a gentle smile, Ya Ling giving Alex a concerned look as her grandfather leaned back in his chair, rubbing his bearded chin, capturing Alex with his thoughtful gaze.
A stolen glance Ya Ling’s way made it clear that certain secrets had already been revealed, just by the way she blushed and lowered her gaze.
“I’m given to understand that you and my daughter were very… busy last night,” Elder Wu said, before tilting his head in a nod of respect. “I suspect a great many people owe you a debt of gratitude, but for reasons perhaps best not mentioned, discretion might well be the better part of heroism… in this matter at least.”
Alex gave a relieved nod with those words. “I agree completely.”
Ya Ling’s intent gaze locked with his own. “Alex, it’s really important that Linnea knows it as well. If word gets out...”
Her words cut off abruptly with her grandfather’s gentle pat. “Our young friend here is no fool. I’m sure he understands,” Qing Wu’s eyes belied his gentle smile. Alex quickly bowed his head.
“I think I do, Elder Wu.”
“Excellent. And there is the ink brush and vellum, if you wish to channel your… inspirations into calligraphy, now is the time.”
Alex flashed a bemused smile at the pretext, before quickly coming to Reny’s side where she expertly set up vellum weights, ink pot, stone and brush, and Alex quickly got to work transcribing both the events of last night as concisely as he could, before taking a deep breath, and transcribing near the entirety of his dream.
Alex frowned at his work when he was done, praying that superhuman finesse meant that his amateurish attempts at writing with ink and brush words that he normally only read… words he only now realized were written in letters and symbols he had no recent experience writing at all.
He took a breath before gesturing for an Qing Wu to take a look, the man’s furrowed brows widening as he read the entirety of what Alex had written.
Alex felt a twinge in his gut with the look Qing Wu gave him when he finished reading it.
Ya Ling, reading by her grandfather’s side, grew increasingly horrified as she read on.
“Grandfather, if this is true… our entire city is in peril, and it’s all thanks to those damn...”
Quickness check made!
Her eyes widened in anger when Alex clamped a hand over her mouth, for just a single heartbeat before he apologized with a bow. “Forgiveness, kung fu sister. But consider carefully the weight of your words, lest they be carried by the same breeze as brought so many secrets to me.”
“In your dreams,” Qing Wu said curtly.
Alex winced. “Well, yes. There is that.”
Elder Wu shook his head with a sigh. “Alex… having visceral dreams after fighting against peril, working to the point of exhaustion, is hardly strange or unusual. We don’t decide people’s fates, or risk further exposing ourselves to censor by blindly accusing obvious political opponents without damn good proof of wrongdoing.”
Ya Ling’s eyes flared with ire. “Grandfather, you know damn well what that… clan is capable of! If Alex is right, about any of it, than all the Ruidians here are...” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “In trouble if they’re ever caught off guard or alone.”
“Which is as good a reason as any to keep them partied up with me,” Alex said with a nod, his stance firming as he caught Elder Wu’s gaze. “And you need proof. The headmistress, if you’re to trust her with this, will need some kind of proof. So that’s what I’m off to get.”
He gazed out the window once more, happy to finally see traces of the starry night sky, hoping that meant that the worst of the awful smoke had passed. “How long was I out?”
“Just a few hours,” Ya Ling quickly assured, her eyes twinkling with her smile. “One of the advantages of Bronze tier Vitality and restless sleep, no? Dawn’s less than an hour away, though.”
Alex gave a relieved nod. “Good. Then we have a little bit of time to plan. There’s a group led by a noble from a neighboring city who would like to take advantage of my and Linnea’s knack for handling a certain rift. With luck, they won’t mind a few extra companions to better the odds.” His gaze turned thoughtful. “Hopefully, they won’t mind a change of plans and us daring the Southern rift. Because I can think of nothing that would more definitively verify that my dream’s more than illusion than if Shadow beasts suddenly made an appearance there.”
Ya Ling furrowed her brow. “I thought that rift was off limits for the sake of noble guests?”
Alex flashed a bleak smile. “Funny how that worked out. I wonder if a careful investigation of these so-called noble guests would reveal ties to a certain clan eager for a change in the political landscape? Or perhaps they were just used as patsies. What we do know for sure is that if things abruptly changed… maybe there’s some credence to my dreams after all.”
Elder Wu frowned.
“He has a point, husband,” Reny said at last. “Though I admit to not being a fan of the idea of Alex putting his life on the line yet again for the sake of this city.” She then shook her head with a pained smile. “Yet few know as well as we just how effective he and his fiance are when fighting in concert against Shadow beasts.”
Elder Wu sighed. “Very well. I’ll have a word with the headmistress.”
Alex blinked, immediately understanding the significance of the man’s clout within this school, or at least the credit he had earned, working by the headmistress’s side earlier that evening.
Alex bowed his head, appreciating his mentor being willing to so quickly spend his own accrued political capital. “Thank you, Elder Wu.”
Elder Wu chuckled softly at Alex’s praise. “If your suspicions are correct… it is we who should be thanking you. And on the off chance that the Wind’s secrets really were whispering in your comatose ear… letting her know that it might be a good idea if we did a cursory examination of the dormitory ruins wouldn’t go amiss either.”
Reny frowned. “The exposure to so much soot and smoke so soon after the fire isn’t good for you at your age, dear.”
This earned a mirthless smile. “Neither is being forced to deal with yet another infernal configuration without a handful of days to cleanse the waste Qi burden I’m already...”
His eyes widened with surprise before chuckling softly when Alex gently clasped his shoulder.
“With your permission, Master Wu?”
The man’s bemused nod instantly became a wide-eyed hiss that turned to an awed grin by the time Alex removed his hand.
You have successfully incorporated Elder Wu into adventuring party!
Autonomy declared Sacrosanct. Free Agent status maintained.
Elder Wu has given you – Full Physiological Access!
You have successfully claimed Excess Free Floating Dark Qi within meridian channels and vasculature system.
You have stabilized endothelial layer of party member: Elder Wu.
Inflammatory waste Qi in the form of unstable plaque deposits has been successfully removed!
Alex felt a shiver with the unexpected words at the end, even though the stream of Dark Qi he absorbed was barely worth mentioning, at least compared to the Silver-tier beast core that he had consumed like a waterfall of potency the night before.
Alex forced a smile at his mentor’s joyful expression.
“Wonderful, boy. I swear I feel like I’ve spent a full month cultivating under the desert sun’s purifying rays, thanks to that gift of yours.”
“He does have the makings of an alchemist specialized in the tinctures that matter most,” Reny said with a smile, before her demeanor grew strained, seeing something in Alex’s eyes. “Alex?”
He tapped his chest, before glancing a still pleased-looking Qing Wu’s way.
Her features blanched. “Oh no.”
“It’s fine. But I’d recommend shifting cultivation focus away from elemental mastery and straight into body cleansing and vitality for at least an hour every day from now on. A small price to pay for what might be centuries to savor all of life’s adventures. I also happen to know an apothecary who makes a wonderful tincture of garlic, turmeric, and ginger.”
Alex gave her Yana’s address through mapsign. He found himself missing her smile and the hours they had spent just embracing their healing art and servicing customers and the unexpected peace he had felt, working by her side. He promised himself that he’d take the time to visit sometime soon, when the city wasn’t in the midst of a major power struggle.
Reny wasted no time, grabbing her surprised husband by his arm. “I knew I should have thought twice before falling in love with a man two centuries older than me,” she said with a forced smile. “Come, husband. Time for me to do what I should have been doing every morning for the last fifty years.”
Qing Wu’s surprised protest died in his throat when his wife led him to their personal quarters, Alex grinning at the flurry of emotions coming across the man’s features before he took on a studius air. “My wife and I will be meditating, but fear not. I will make a point of assuring the support of old friends and new acquaintances alike. I trust you will carry yourselves professionally and act with prudence and caution as always,” he said, before he and his wife slipped away.
Ya Ling’s cheeks were actually blushing, and it was All Alex could do not to laugh.
“Goodness! Is grandmother that eager for another baby to care for? I know her cultivation path is closely aligned to motherhood, but it’s been almost a century since her last!”
“I think your grandfather’s going to be as surprised as you to find out that’s not her objective. At least… I don’t think,” he said with a smile.
Ya Ling gave him a curious look. “Alex?”
He whispered softly in her ear. “All the exposure to Dark Qi might have dislodged some arterial plaque I just happened to be in the right time and place to stabilize. To put it another way, he was in danger of a heart attack or stroke.”
He gently squeezed her hand when she flinched, eyes wide with dismay. “Don’t worry. You live in a magical world full of cultivating healers, after all, and body strengthening techniques that I’m betting were designed by countless older cultivators eager to extend their lives for as many decades or centuries as possible. Now that Reny’s aware of what’s going on, I’m betting your grandfather will be right as rain for centuries to come.” His smile grew strained. “Though I don’t think your grandfather should be Rift delving any more… at least not for the foreseeable future. Especially if I’m not around.”
Ya Ling looked visibly pained by Alex’s words, rubbing her now fully intact left hand. Which made it all the more surprising when she spoke up. “I hate those bastards, for what they did to our city! And I absolutely refuse to sit here and just worry my head off like a girl in a stupid tale.” Her eyes took on a fierce glint. “I’m coming with you.”
Alex frowned worriedly, his gaze straying to the back bedroom. “Ya Ling...”
His friend gave a no nonsense shake of her head. “I read your shoddy attempt at calligraphy as well.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” she smirked. “But if your hunch is right, and our enemies are indeed controlling the flow of things through formations… formations that are probably hidden, how the hell do you expect to find any sign of it in the Southern rift?”
Alex blinked. “Damn, that’s actually a good point. My Forest Sense is far better than my Desert Sense, but there’s hardly any point in starting with the Western rift, since I’m afraid I’ll just be fighting for my life against those Shadow Pumas nonstop there, with no time at all to sniff out whatever’s off in an entire forest of strangeness and peril.”
“Exactly. Which is why the Southern Rift is the first rift we should try to clear of any formation or odd taint. If it’s only been corrupted for a day, the Shadow beasts should be weaker and less frequent than those you’ll find under cover of the jungle in the Western rift that nearly killed us all! At the very least, they should be much easier to spot… and whatever they did to alter the rift should be far easier to detect,” Ya Ling said with a triumphant smile.
“That’s actually a very good point,” Alex conceded.
Ya Ling flashed a cheeky smile. “It is, isn’t it? But don’t worry, if something’s off… I’ll know pretty damn quick. And as we both found out, there’s literally no safer delve for me to dare than an eternal desert under the midday sun.” Her expression grew coy. “So best we leave now, Alex, before anyone thinks to stop us.”
Alex’s gaze widened. “Shit, with all that’s going on… I wouldn’t be surprised if someone did attempt a curfew.”
“At least they might for me,” Ya Ling said, her demeanor now deadly serious as she quickly kitted up in padded aketon and tight mail shirt before shimmying on the lightest of silk cultivators uniforms on top of it, which would allow her to pass at least a cursory examination without anyone thinking too much of her attire. The helmet and spear Alex was happy to place in his storage ring, she could secure those vital elements when they were actually before the rift.
“Thank you, Alex. Now come on, let’s gather up your… wife and in-laws, and meet up with your foreign noble friends who at least haven’t been cowed to submission by those Duo LI bastards.”
Alex winced at the sudden tightness in her gaze. “Ya Ling...”
She shook her head. “It’s fine, Alex. I saw how well you two were in sync with each other.” Her expression turned wry. “Literally. Now let’s get everyone and get out of here before grandmother even knows we’re gone.”