Novels2Search

29. Bad news

Chapter 29

Bad News

Yulian looked at Jon for a long moment, her eyes slightly squinted as she studied him intently. Jon held her gaze, feeling like this had become an unspoken contest of wills. If he looked away first, she might take it as a sign he was being untruthful. Sure enough, she repeated those ritualistic hand movements before launching into her explanation.

Yulian scoffed lightly and said, "I see. In that case, who is your master then? And why did you hide this...unconventional upbringing for so long?"

Jon felt a pang of disappointment. He had hoped, perhaps naively, that Yulian might turn out to be another otherworlder like himself, trapped in this strange realm. That would have been infinitely reassuring amidst all the insanity.

But now it made sense - her probing questions, her admittance of being an undercover operative. Of course she was just a cultivator spy, carrying out a clandestine mission. No interdimensional connections there, as intriguing as that could have been.

Still, a niggling thought prodded at the back of his mind as he considered her behavior more critically. She hadn't made any overtly aggressive moves so far, despite openly confessing her true nature. Which meant either she didn't view him as a priority threat to be neutralized...or she simply lacked the ability to do so safely.

Jon's eyes narrowed slightly as he logically weighed the latter possibility. Then again, a spy is still a spy, even if they're not particularly experienced or capable. Yulian had admitted her role readily enough - was that mere bravado, or a subtle tell that she wasn't as formidable as she let on?

He realized he was rapidly descending into the kind of distrustful, paranoid calculations that had become second nature when dealing with unknown variables back in his own world. Best to stay focused on the matter at hand.

Squaring his shoulders, Jon opened his mouth to respond. "Wait a minute. Why am I the only one answering questions here?" He fixed Yulian with a pointed look. "Who exactly are you to be interrogating me like this anyway?"

Yulian arched an eyebrow cooly. "I think telling you that would rather defeat the whole purpose of me being undercover, don't you?"

Jon scoffed. "Oh, so it's a big mystery, is it? For all I know you could just be some poser trying to act all cloak-and-dagger."

He leaned back to a tree, crossing his arms as he appraised her with an incredulously amused look. "I mean, you just straight-up admitted to being a spy right off the bat. Not exactly subtle operative tradecraft there, Miss 'I Can Neither Confirm Nor Deny.'"

Yulian was visibly flustered, stumbling over her words as she tried to formulate a retort. Jon recognized that distinct look of someone caught off-guard, struggling to regain their composure.

It wasn't the first time he'd seen that reaction from her either - she'd had a similar stunned moment when he'd initially called her out for being a woman back when they first met.

Yulian clearly wasn't used to having her cover challenged so directly.

Jon allowed himself a small, satisfied smile. She's definitely inexperienced at this whole spy thing, he mused. Gets rattled the moment I start poking holes in her act, only to hastily retreat behind that stern, unflappable front again.

As Yulian opened and closed her mouth wordlessly, Jon sensed an opportunity. If he could keep her off-balance, maybe he could finally start getting some straightforward answers himself.

"First of all," he began coolly, "you know my name. But I don't actually know yours. I mean your real one." He fixed her with a pointed look. "Care to remedy that little inequality, oh enigmatic one?"

Yulian bristled visibly, some of the flustered panic fading as she tried to reassert control. "Wh-what tells me 'Jon Li' is even your true name?"

Jon couldn't help but let out a short bark of laughter. "Touché, I'll give you that." He spread his hands placatingly. "Alright then, let's start over - we can be Two Nameless Ones having a delightfully oblique conversation."

He then casually arched an eyebrow at her. "So tell me, Madam Spy... That Tang clan you’re representing, who are they exactly?"

Yulian opened her mouth, clearly intending a scathing retort, but Jon seamlessly pressed on without letting her get a word in edgewise.

"And while we're touching on sensitive subjects," he said airily, "I'm just dying to know - what exactly is your mission here in this quaint little place? Rooting out subversive cultivator activities? Gathering spiritual intelligence on behalf of your masters?"

He flashed her a taunting smirk. "Or are you perhaps here investigating reports of a strange, unaffiliated rogue causing trouble? Gee, I can't imagine who might fit that description around these parts..."

Yulian's eyes flashed with frustration, but Jon showed no signs of letting up. "One more thing that's just eating away at me - does your sect know you routinely reveal your operative status this freely? Or did they somehow miss that illuminating 'need to know' lesson back at spy school?"

At this, Yulian finally managed a sputtering rejoinder, Jon could imagine her face reddening under the mask. "I-I'll have you know, I am a full-fledged disciple of my sect! I've been trained extensively in intelligence gathering and investigative discip-"

But Jon had already moved on, his expression one of insincere contemplation. "You know, now that I think about it more, you strike me as more of a 'honeypot' type operative, tasked with seducing and extracting intel from marks..."

He made a show of giving her an appraising once-over, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Although I do have to question your sect's procedures if they're sending out such..." He paused, letting his eyes linger teasingly. "...novices on such delicate assignments."

Yulian's reaction made it clear his barbs had struck their intended mark. Her chest heaved with indignant outrage.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Jon watched her emotional discomfiture play out with a sort of clinical detachment. It was almost fascinating in a way, dismantling her admittedly still-raw interrogation tactics through simple questioning and prodding at contradictions.

Of course, he realized he was perhaps being overly acerbic - she was clearly outmatched when it came to verbal fencing. He made a mental note to pull his punches going forward; it wouldn't do to completely demolish whatever thin veil of competence she was still desperately clinging to.

"Look," he said at last, his tone gaining an edge of firmness. "You want answers from me? Fine, but it's a two-way street. I'm not just some bumpkin you can intimidate into spilling my life's story."

Jon locked eyes with her, allowing his gaze to sharpen incrementally. "If you want reciprocity, you'll need to get a hell of a lot better at this little game of questions."

Yulian's shoulders slumped minutely as she finally relented with a weary sigh. "Fine. What do you wish to know?"

A faint sense of satisfaction flickered through Jon as he registered her capitulation. He really was getting the hang of this verbal parrying - manipulating the conversational flow, baiting reactions and capitalizing on missteps. An uncomfortable parallel surfaced, unbidden: the way he deftly steered the interaction, exploiting Yulian's insecurities and lack of guile, felt...disquietingly familiar.

It mirrored the emotional undercurrents of his relationship with Daeun, he realized with a start. The subtle machinations, the backhanded digs masquerading as harmless banter, constantly undermining the other person's stance until they surrendered the higher ground. He swallowed hard, unsettled by the association. I guess I took on more of that demon's habits than I thought...

Pushing the unpleasant notion aside for later examination, Jon refocused on the present. "Well, Miss Tang, I can call you miss Tang, right?" he began, drawing out the honorific just slightly, "Since I've been sequestered on the mountain with my grandmaster for so long, I sorely lack even the most basic knowledge about the outside world."

He paused, both to let the humbling admission sink in as well as mentally pat himself on the back. Not bad improv if I do say so myself.

He really was getting into the rhythm of this fabled backstory ruse.

"So let me ask you again," Jon pressed on, "could you tell me why exactly you're here in Zhilan? Does anyone else know you're operating as a spy? And speaking of which - what precisely are you spying on?"

Yulian's gaze darted left and right in a manner Jon had come to recognize, bracing himself for another truth bomb.

"I came here because we detected strange movements in this vicinity. The Demonic Cult's base was actually discovered two years ago, and we noticed more and more people going missing - likely abducted to be brainwashed and repurposed as thralls."

Lovely, Jon thought. A whole underworld of mind-controlled cultists - just what this mess needed to get even weirder.

He frowned outwardly. "But if their base was destroyed, why are you still here investigating?"

A resigned sigh slipped from Yulian's lips. "There's undoubtedly a deeper reason that base was established in the first place. Who's to say the same root motivation wouldn't spur them to rebuild elsewhere?" She shook her head, troubled. "We may have uncovered one den of vipers, but nothing indicates there aren't others slithering about unseen."

The thought of his former demonic abductors potentially regrouping, still carrying out their nefarious plottings, ignited a slow burn of anger in Jon's gut.

Of course, those cloven fucks were the entire reason his life had gone ass-over-teakettle into this cosmic fuckery, he inwardly raged. He recalled with visceral clarity their chilling words upon his forced summoning: that he was to be a living sacrifice for their demon lord's ascension.

Well, isn't that just fantastic? he seethed. So I'm probably the crux around which this entire thing revolves? Awesome.

Forcing his features into a carefully neutral mask, Jon probed cautiously. "Okay, but what do you think actually drew the demons here in the first place? What were they after?"

Yulian's expression took on a pensive cast. "We have several working theories, but the two most likely are..." She ticked them off on her fingers. "First, they intended to capture and coerce Elder Huo Zheng into an alliance after his disappearance. Having such a powerful cultivator in their ranks would be an immense boon."

Jon felt his breath catch at the mention of Huo Zheng, but nodded for her to continue with studied nonchalance. Best not to show my hand just yet.

"And the second hypothesis?" he prompted, trying to keep his tone blandly inquisitive.

"That they were attempting to reverse-engineer some new form of cultivation method," Yulian finished. "By unlawful and unnatural means, of course."

A new method of power-leveling through nefarious occult shenanigans? Well, that would track with these assholes' desperation for an edge, Jon mused darkly.

His mind raced as he rapidly calculated his next move. If this woman - this agent of whatever shadowy organization was monitoring the situation - had even an inkling that he may be the true locus around which the demons' schemes revolved...a world of hurt could come crashing down on his head before he formulated any contingency.

Best to divert her suspicions while he still could.

"I see," he replied evenly, feigning an intrigued frown. "And what leads your superiors to those particular conclusions? Do you have any insights into which may be more probable?"

Hopefully playing the inquisitive rube would keep her running that mouth and buy him some time to gauge how much she actually knew - or didn't.

At Yulian's words - something about the demons being after cultivation resources and ancient talismans - a palpable wave of relief washed over Jon. Oof, they don't seem to know anything about my role in all this nonsense - thank you, merciful heavens!

His mind instantly rebelled against that stray thought with a derisive snort. Oh yes, let's extend gratitude to the omnipotent celestial being that allowed this whole interdimensional clusterfuck to befall me in the first place!

He rolled his eyes heavenward in a brief, sardonic glower - only for the universe to pivot and deliver a swift cosmic kick to the philosophical nuts.

The bomb finally dropped.

"We had information that they took in a talisman master," Yulian continued, tone sobering. She reached for a piece of paper in her robes and showed it to Jon. "This man” she said, showing him the drawing of a face all too familiar to Jon, Yulian continued, “He goes by the name of Ling Tianshi. He is known for his...unorthodox methods, and had disappeared some forty years ago until we learned of his resurgence within the Demonic Cult's ranks."

Jon's heart stuttered in his chest. That's him! He mentally exclaimed, recognizing the old man who had summoned him here, and whom he had killed accidentally.

A gnawing sense of dread began creeping up his spine, but he forced nonchalance. "This...Ling Tianshi. Who exactly was he to put your people on such high alert?"

Yulian arched a bemused brow. "Was? What makes you think he's deceased?"

Oh shit, nice one idiot. Jon scrambled for a plausible deflection. "Not at all, I simply assumed he didn't survive that big battle a few days ago. It was pretty brutal from what I could tell."

The excuse seemed to satisfy her - for the moment.

Yulian gave a thoughtful nod. "Well, the reason he's of such significance is that Ling Tianshi is believed to be the last known practitioner of an ancient and very special talisman art. Which is why his reappearance alongside the Demonic Cult raised immediate red flags."

She paused, eyes narrowing fractionally as she studied his features. "He would have been invaluable for subverting wards and protections, reverse-engineering esoteric practices...who knows what other malicious applications those fiends may have-"

She trailed off, eyes narrowing fractionally as she studied him. "Jon? You've gone quite pale. Are you feeling alright?"

Because, in that moment, Jon felt the bottom drop out of his stomach, legs turning to jelly as the full, inescapable gravity of his predicament finally hit home like a freight train - one he was utterly powerless to abort.

Oh no. Oh fuck no no no…

If this "Ling Tianshi" character was truly the last practitioner of his craft left in existence, the final talisman master versed in interdimensional summonings and arcane riftways...then by killing him in that cultist assault…

He gulped, trying to maintain a straight face, “D-did you say t-th-” he hesitated to even utter the word, “the last?”