Lu had to admit, he would never have expected the shy and soft-spoken Lan to have a hidden domineering side.
But everything from his tone of voice to his body language made it clear that he was telling the alien patriarch what the terms were, not merely presenting them. It was a shame that his newfound confidence extended to volunteering Lu’s services as well.
“[You aren’t bluffing.]” Still Water’s eyebrows had been climbing as the negotiations went on, and would now be perched in the highest reaches of his hairline like a monkey if he weren’t entirely bald. “[You’ll help us take out Junk Dog?]” Interpreter kept adding more and more incredulity to his voice, and Lu had the faint worry that they were being tricked somehow; surely, such an extreme reaction to a normal mutual-defense pact must be fake, right?
“[Within certain limits, as I said.]” Lan’s voice had also regained a touch of uncertainty, though in his case it was closer to bafflement. “[Are such things really so rare, here?]”
“[I’ve never heard of anything like it.]” Still Water shook his head. “[The closest would be the mountain clans, but they’re basically just one clan pretending to be two. They share members and everything.]” Really, nothing? You’re obviously social animals, surely basic cooperation is a commonplace and obvious concept? No, no, you helped set up your half of this whole ‘Bigger Sit’ kerfuffle! Obviously you must be exaggerating for effect! “[I just don’t see what you get out of it.]”
“[We get you, patriarch. The friendship of the Horrible Swamp Clan.]” A small sigh escaped his lips. “[If anything wishes to go through to our side, it needs either a breaching treasure, or this spot. Which means battling Horrible Swamp, one way or the other. So it is in our best interests that you continue to exist.]”
The two had been speaking for a good long while, at this point. Tu Niu’s arrival had caused a spot of hope to blossom in Lu’s chest, and that blossom grew into a veritable tree as men and women continued to come through over the next few minutes. Their mostly-empty half of the campfire was vacated as he and the other disciples discarded decorum in their relief, greeting their brothers and sisters and explaining the situation.
Last through had been the Elder, and Lu had very nearly cried. White Knuckle stepped through the gate with grace and dignity, despite the rainbow-coloured slime quickly sublimating off his armour, and immediately took charge. To Lu’s surprise he left Lan as the main spokesperson, sending him back to the fire as he gathered all the rest of them together.
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“Listen carefully, and do not repeat what I tell you.” White Knuckle’s voice had a strange quality to it, no doubt the product of whatever spell he was casting. Lu could feel the ripples it made in the ki, and to say they were complex would be an understatement; he had no doubt that whatever anti-spying art the Elder was using, it was in the core realms at the very least. “There are things that are not taught, deliberately, simply as a matter of course. The unorthodox.”
The crowd moved slightly as a single unit, every member individually rocking slightly at the word. Ah, Elder, you’re not saying..? White Knuckle gave a small sound of derision. “I am not going to reveal anything that will shock you, disciples. The Steadfast Heart does not eat babies, nor sacrifice the souls of mortals, nor shake hands with any devil or demon. Discard such notions.” Of course, of course, obviously not. “But there are matters that are unorthodox that you would not think would be so. We are standing inside one right now.”
Lu did not look down at the ground, but it was an effort. The Elder continued, “Many thousands of years ago, when the Patriarch was a young Elder, humanity discovered the second and third reality.” A pause, and Lu’s brain filled in the blank. Heaven and Hell. Right, nothing surprising so far. “Heaven came first; when the original Emperor ascended, the spot he had been meditating in was transformed into a permanent gateway. His former sect took to guarding that place, and renamed itself Heaven’s Gate.”
It was nothing but common history, but Lu was spellbound all the same. “Time passed, and a second Emperor ascended. You cannot imagine what effect this had on society; the first time had been thought of as divine providence, a living deity assuming his rightful place. But then suddenly any cultivator could reach the peak, if they had enough resources.” Lu swallowed. Despite the fact that the Elder could not possibly have been present for the events he was relaying, his voice held an absolute conviction. “And then, while war ravaged every land… Hell broke through. At the time, relations between Heaven and Earth were uncertain. There were two Heavenly Emperors, and they were each vying for power and influence. And the discovery that the afterlife existed as a real, physical place that could be traveled to was still rampaging through mortal culture like a wild beast. Entire nations disappeared overnight; some to the endless waves of demons, and others to their own greed.”
Am I caught in an illusion..? No, he didn’t think so; it was only the Elder’s words, heavy with emotion, painting a picture in his mind’s eye. His fellow disciples were absolutely silent.
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“The two Emperors, seeing the devastation, put aside their differences and united. With their aid, the sects were able to prevail over Hell – I am skipping over a vast amount of time and tremendous effort, but know that it was close. For a very long while, humanity clung to the edge by its fingertips.” He breathed in, then out. “But we survived. There was a narrow window where we could have destroyed it, sent our own armies through and broke it over our knee. But the massive death toll had weakened convictions, and too few nations could bear to commit themselves entirely. Hell was allowed to fortify its borders, and so it yet remains to this day, a looming threat too entrenched to remove.”
Ah, I see where this is going.
“So when the fourth, Heim, was discovered… the Emperors decided not to take half-measures. It was torn apart within a year, slaughtered from top to bottom and pulled apart until it ceased to exist. The Fifth Reality was the same; so swiftly was it crushed, not even a name survived.”
Silence. And now here we are, in the Sixth Reality. This time, he did look down, at the stone that had once been fetid, eternally-rotting mud.
A voice cried out from near the back of the crowd, slightly hesitant. “Sir. You’re saying that we are, right now, defying Heaven?” It was one of the combat specialists, a woman he didn’t know the name of.
“Yes, disciple Fong.”
“Why?”
The Elder’s face was like carved stone. “Because Heim and the fifth were not Hell.” His gaze swept over the assembled diplomats, martial artists, and scholars, to settle on that absurd sputtering campfire. “And I will not assume that this is, either.”
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Having all the rest of his sect-mates present did wonders for Lu’s anxiety. Imagine if I had had to go tromping off into the desert with just Tai Sho – madness! Madness that he absolutely would have done, but still madness.
Speaking of Tai Sho, he still seemed to be unsettled. He would stare into space for minutes at a time, before jolting back to reality. Lu would have sympathised, if the man were not who he was. Ah, perhaps I’ll sympathise regardless. Better to leave any grudge in Bull’s capable hands… at least until the mission is complete and we’ve made it through the horrid deserted wasteland, at least.
Not that his rescue squad agreed; where a few days ago he had been planning to journey with a full twelve martial artists, now he was mingling with a mere five; Ging and Lady No had stuck by him, along with two men named Jiang and Hu Kuon, and a second woman who refused to be called anything other than Scarlet. Two sixth realms, three fifth realms, and one third realm in me.
And one seventh realm, in Tai Sho. I can’t believe over half the group deserted me just for including him. I mean yes, I understand, but it’s not as though they’ve ever cared about Bull before now. I should be the one who’s most angry, not them! It was actually a bit distressing; while the manpower they had lost wouldn’t equal Tai Sho in terms of combat strength, that strength was concentrated in one place. Seven disciples could cast seven spells at once, which would be more useful in certain situations than one spell of superior strength.
But enough worrying. I’ve drawn my hand, time to play it out. “And you’re certain he isn’t being held by Horrible Swamp? Absolutely?”
Lan shook his head. “We offered a truly outrageous amount for his return – even for just a body. If Still Water is keeping him, we’re not going to find out without serious reconnaissance.”
Lu grimaced. “Well, I suppose that would be too easy.” No, it seemed that he would was bound for the Junk Pit a second time. He looked over to the swamp contingent, which had grown over the past hour as Still Water had it hammered into his head that no, the basic military agreement was not some sort of elaborate joke. Huge men were still arriving on speeders, trickling on from seemingly random directions.
At least I’ll have a lot more firepower this time.
Then one particular speeder caught his eye, and his face lit up.
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The liminal space had not felt like much of anything. He could perhaps liken it to body-temperature water, but even that might be too much.
And it had lasted only a single moment; White Knuckle had stepped out of one unfolding disaster and into another, gone from the uncertain doom of the angered Heavens to the admittedly lower-stakes issue of panicking subordinates within the span of a subjective second.
Not that he was downplaying the importance of the current situation; securing the relationship between Earth and Salt was quite possibly the most important thing currently occurring in either world, even if it took the form of squabbling children. Most problems are caused by the squabbling of children, after all.
So he would not be rushing out to secure those few breaching treasures left outside their control; he would need to stay nearby and keep an eye on their new ‘allies.’
Because as unlikely as he thought a betrayal would be, if it did happen the results would be catastrophic. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t nudge things in his preferred direction, not at all.
“Shadow them. Do not be seen.”
The young woman moved awkwardly in her armour, not used to the weight. But even so, her steps would be silent when they needed to be. “Elder Goldenseed-“
He pulsed his sense, just for an instant. The environment seared into his exposed soul, but his features remained steadfast. “The situation is not the same as it was yesterday. She would be agreeing with me, if she were here.”
Suu Li’s teeth were bared.
“Do I need to repeat myself, disciple?”
“…No, Elder.”
He watched them go. Seven disciples with an eighth trailing behind, following a trio of natives on a flying treasure. Other groups were breaking off to pursue the rest of the splinters, but that one was the most stacked.
Hopefully they will not need it. Lu had the splinter; he could breach back into reality at a moment’s notice. But even so… His eyes turned up to the strange sky, lit by incandescent sparks floating on the sea of cloud in open defiance to his understanding of physics.
They had established communications with the sect, the swamp clan was cooperating, and everything seemed to be on track. So why do I feel this trepidation?