The Heavenly Wandering Sword
Chapter 54
As he headed back down towards the mortal realm, he was stopped suddenly. Time itself froze again and he could only sigh as he realized just what the hell was happening. Just like last time, a portal opened beside him and the golden figure stepped out. While he could have guessed the reason for the Dao’s appearance, it didn’t make him any more enthusiastic for the meeting either. The golden figure stepped forward, its arms behind its back and shook its head at him. He could have predicted the meeting but now he was unsure of what might happen.
“Li Jian… why can you never stay out of trouble.” The Dao asked, its head shaking in disappointment. Li Jian just shrugged slightly and grinned. “Should I stand by and do nothing then while the Soul King dagger is unleashed into the world along with the Skull Dragon?” He raised his eyebrow at the Dao questioningly but the Dao just stared at him. “Cutting the roof off of the Hunt Palace. Was that necessary?”
In hindsight, perhaps it had been too much to interfere in the machinations of the Divine Hunt deities but he also knew from his previous experiences that things got out of control very easily and quickly. Deities felt all emotions on a much more grandiose scale. He had no idea what could have happened if he had simply let things be. Wars in the Heavens were traumatizing to everyone involved. “Did it not settle the issue?”
The Dao shook his head again. “I have trouble foreseeing your fate. I do not know what that means. It could be a good thing for you or a bad thing. Now that the Pact has been broken, you must re-set the Pact between the Heavens and the Underworld. Please be careful. And stop cutting the roofs off of my creations. It’s not easy building a god-proof palace.” Time quickly unfroze and Li Jian found himself flying down the sky towards the Abor continent. “It wasn’t that god-proof.” He muttered to himself only to be hit in the face by a rock. A rock flying in the air like that? The Dao can be petty too, he supposed. Reset the pact? How was he supposed to reset a pact like that? Either way, he was sure that annoying golden man will tell him. Or more likely, simply freeze time, appear and then force him to do whatever it was to re-set the pact.
He landed near the Oyrat camp and found that General Shing had indeed listened to him. The Lancers were gone, and their bodies had been retrieved as well. This was good news. Now he needed to think up a story for what had happened. “Kon Kon.”
The Sword Spirit was summoned, but he appeared while holding the wrist of the defeated Underworld Deity of Undeath. Mei Min snarled at the sword spirit who gave her a mild look and let her go. She would stare up at him with a bit of contempt on her face but he just ignored the look. Vanquished foes were still vanquished foes. “It looks like your arm healed nicely. I am going to set some rules. No using your powers just because. If you do that, I’ll bind your soul to a kitchen ladle so you can experience being used to stir fry vegetables for eternity.” At those words, she paused a bit. She had indeed seen how powerful he was and there was no doubt in her mind that he was capable of such a thing. Plus, she was pretty creeped out by the way the Sword Spirit would turn his head to stare at her every so often. But why the hell was a Heavenly Palace deity wandering around the mortal realms?
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“If you have any questions, now is the time to ask.” He looked at her expectantly, and she clenched her fingers. “Fine. What exactly are you going to have me doing? And why the hell do you want me to be your servant? I’m warning you if you have lewd ideas I will use the ancient vampire fang technique on your junior.” He raised an eyebrow at her, waving a hand at Kon Wang who had raised a sword ready to smite her. “I’m afraid I am not so ambitious so as to take the virtues of the vampire queen. I know your story, so I will explain to you why. You had your whole life taken away from you when you were only twenty. You were turned into a vampire and damned to the Underworld no matter what you did. I understand why you did all the things that you did in your life. If you have ever thought about a chance at a more normal life, then this is the only one you will get.”
With that, he turned and walked away whistling a tune to himself. Kon Wang floated after him, another damn meat bun appearing in his hands as he munched on it while floating. “Wait. You never told me what you wanted me to do!”
Li Jian turned with a big thumbs up and a very serious look on his face. “You will be my new teaching assistant!”
He could have simply used his powers to fly back but he decided to walk back to the capital city. Murk was a few days away, and he figured that he might as well enjoy using his feet for a change. There had been a few different villages that he had passed along the way, and he figured that he would stop there each night and perhaps sample some of the simpler country fare that he always enjoyed. Mei Min trekked behind him, complaining about the indignant treatment. Of course, anytime she got too boisterous in her complaints, Kon Wang would appear with his sword drawn. That usually kept her quiet for at least a solid hour.
In the first village he came to, a sign at the front said “Chao Village.” It was one that he had passed before with the Lancers. It was a small village, but it had a bustle and vigour to it. It was just getting late at night and he hurriedly found an inn that had room. The inn proprietor took one look at Li Jian and then over at Mei Min before nodding with a lecherous gleam in his eye. Having paid the single silver for one night, they were shown to a room on the second floor. Once the door had closed, Mei Min turned and glared over at him.
“I am not sleeping on the floor. Kill me if you must, I would rather die.” Li Jian raised an eyebrow at her before shaking his head slightly. Now he remembered why he did not often travel with a female companion. “Take the bed. I will be fine with the floor.” He rolled his eyes as he walked past her and took off his pack, setting up a bamboo matt on the floor for him to sleep on before laying down. It was not true sleep as mortals would call it. It was a state of simply being for a deity or those with a high enough cultivation. A few simple hours of meditation essentially would restore any of his spiritual essence that he had used during the day. In truth, he had used quite a bit ever since he stepped into the Underworld so this was a recovery that he might actually need for once.
He had just put his head down on the pillow when he heard a loud annoyed huff from the vampire deity. He thought about it for a moment and decided to just ignore it. He closed his eyes only to be interrupted by another annoyed huff. He sat up and sighed, knowing that he would regret asking. “What is wrong Mei Min?”
The Underworld Goddess sat up in the bed and frowned at it. “This is the worst bed I’ve ever had. The bed is poorly made, and the bamboo lashing on it is old.” Li Jian could only frown slightly. She really was the Deity of Undeath. At this rate, she might kill him with her complaints. “You asked for the bed. Do you want the floor instead?” She just glared at him before laying back down. He figured that she finally decided to go to sleep before she hmphed a bit. “What is it now?”
Mei Min laid on her back and stared up at the ceiling. “Are you going to kill me?” Laying on the bamboo mattress, Li Jian wondered for a moment if he had accidentally married her. He thought only married men had to suffer the pains of having a wife keeping them up at night with idle chat. “No, but if you don’t go to sleep I might have Kon Kon slit your throat.” She huffed at his reply and rolled over, but she did fall asleep.