Chapter Twenty - Practiced Forms

Lao Xiaojun

image [https://i.imgur.com/xzisjky.png]

“This is an unprecedented level of rancor.” Liang-Zhongzhu huffed, his fan working harder to keep himself cool. Lao Xiaojun doubted that the sweat was because he was hot, however. “But fine. I will accede to Lao-Zhangmen’s temper tantrum and call our esteemed Sect Leader. It will take a few days for him to arrive.”

The man’s eyes sparkled in his rattish face, and Lao Xiaojun felt his jaw clench in a frown instinctively. Lao Minghui, however, smiled serenely. “Certainly. In the meantime, yourself and your entourage will have our best hospitality.”

“No need, no need,” The old man waved his fan, “I and the other clan members will be staying at a local resort. However, this old man would not mind if a few of our disciples were allowed to stay within your sect walls to partake in some of the training you offer? Call it an… exchange of good will.”

That was what he was aiming for. Surely those disciples would be snooping for sect secrets and worse. Lao Xiaojun didn’t click his tongue, but only barely.

“Of course, that’s fine.” Lao Minghui acquiesced, far too easily in Lao Xiaojun’s opinion. Satisfied, the Liang Elder rose from his seat, along with his lackeys, and swept out of the meeting room like a torrent of foul smelling water exiting a blocked swamp. Once he was gone, Lao Minghui sighed, and rubbed at her temples. “Dearest Didi… Please do not glower at my back so. It feels as if I’m being scalded.”

Lao Xiaojun moved his gaze away, feeling guilty even if he knew it wasn’t actually possible for his gaze to hurt her. They weren’t completely alone, servants bustling to clean up the tea and snacks that had been part of the hospitality offered these offensive guests. But they were alone enough for him to murmur back, “I’m sorry, Jiejie. I just do not like that there will be those… interlopers wandering our sect.”

Furtive Jade had been trying to get their hands on Severing Firefly’s secrets for decades. Ever since that wretched Cai Bingtian defected over to Severing Firefly’s hands, irreparably breaking the good relations between the two sects. He still didn’t know why Lao Minghui had allowed him to join the sect, but his sister was far older than him, and far wiser. Even now, in the face of his dissatisfaction, she simply raised a hand and patted his cheek, like one would a child.

“It’ll be alright. We’ll simply need to be impeccable hosts who never let their guests have a single moment of solitude.” She smiled, “Youuuuu,” Here the gentle patting turned into pinching and Lao Xiaojun didn’t hiss through his teeth but it was a close thing, “need to be working on that Longevity Pill, or have you forgotten? Elder Feng is not going to be happy if it’s late, and her wrinkles grow worse.”

“Elder Feng will last a few more years without worry.” He muttered back, sullen as only a little sibling being chided could be. He slapped his sister’s hand away, and the annoyance just chuckled at his scowl. “Has there been any news regarding the butchering of the dragon?”

For the last several weeks, the green dragon’s corpse had been in the hands of their Elders, who were simultaneously writing up a bestiary entry for it, as well as carving out any useful parts that might be usable in pill-making, armor-crafting, or weapons-making. The meat itself was being sent over to the Culinary Elders, who cultivate qi-infused meals, to see if it was edible and might impart something useful to the people of the Sect.

He had no doubt that Furtive Jade was angling to get more information out of that, with this negotiation, if not parts of the body themselves.

“Sadly no. I expect full reports before the end of tomorrow, but for now, I must let my sect siblings do their work without interference.” She rubbed at her temples again, and Lao Xiaojun had the inexplicable urge to poke her right between her eyebrows, where the red-painted huadian sat. So he did.

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“Urgh!” She grunted, an unintelligible noise of frustration, as she threw a hand up to slap his hand away, leaving him with a grin reminiscent of a well-entertained cat. “Didi, if you have messed up my makeup, I will cut your supplies in half next month, so help me!”

He rolled his eyes. She’d made that threat before. “What else?” He asked, prying.

“What do you mean, What Else?! I’ll-I-” She stumbled over her words for a moment, before sharpening, “I’ll cut your firewood too!”

“No, what else is worrying you?” He asked, leaning down to look at her, in the way he knew annoyed her ever since he shot up as a teenager to be taller than she was.

Her brow furrowed again, and she bit her lip, obviously considering which of her burdens she could share, and which she couldn’t. “...It’s Tourmaline Grove. They’re denying any knowledge of a disciple this far away from their grounds, and denying that one of theirs would slaughter so many.”

“...But we have witnesses.” He huffed, confused as to how they could think they’d get away with it.

“Yes, but the old goat isn’t going to acknowledge that, as our disciples are the only witnesses. If even ONE Furtive Jade disciple had also seen her, then that would be another story, as both sects could move for reparations, but… As it is, it’s our word against theirs, and the Inter-Sect Conferences don’t begin for another few years.” She was back to rubbing her temples, and he wanted to hit something. Politics always made things worse.

“Why don’t we call one early?” He asked.

“Because we have precious little backing right now, Didi, and you know it.” Lao Minghui sighed, shaking her head. “Our Major allies are in no position to support us against one of the oldest and largest sects in the Ailun Empire. And if we went to war with them properly, it might draw the Chifeng Emperor into it. As much as we like to pretend the Jianghu is separate from mortals and their ruling bodies, it is not so cut and clear as that.”

Lao Xiaojun wanted to argue. After all, a single cultivator was worth hundreds of normal soldiers in battle. But he could not deny that the armies and personal guards of the local emperors and rulers were filled with disciples coaxed over by mortal riches and the chance at luxury and riches for their mortal family as well. His sister has received multiple marriage proposals from the rulers, crown princes and secondary princes of the Ailun, Chifeng, and KuFeng empires respectively. Of course, she’s turned down each one, not interested in marrying some mortal man even if her lifespan would outweigh his by centuries, if not forever if she could break through Nascent Soul stage into Immortal Ascension stage.

She turned a rueful smile onto her little brother, and he nodded, “Then we need new allies.”

“Or new knowledge. Clearly something is happening to draw beasts like this Dragon here. It did not get the chance to tell us anything about whether it was brought here or whether it wandered here.” She smoothed some of her long hair down her shoulder, kickstarting their walk back to her offices through the lush green gardens of their sects courtyards.

Her steps took them the long way, and for a moment he wondered why, until he saw that they were passing by the outer-disciple’s training classes. A whole group of them in little lines like ducklings, performing the same martial arts stances, sliding through various Kuen too (hand kata), over and over. He remembered what it was like to perform those movements until his body shook with strain and his muscles felt they were on fire. He remembered sneaking out in the middle of the night to practice them more, so that the teachers would praise him the next day.

Not that he, as the former Sect Leader’s son, was ever an outer disciple. He’d been personally trained by his sister since the day he was born. But she believed that for unity in battle, some of the class-training was necessary. And so he’d attended some of these classes too.

Now, she looked over them with an appraising eye, and a smile touched her cheeks when she saw what she was looking for. A body that was clumsy and unused to these movements, mixed in with the students. Nie Ruyi, trying her very best to keep up, was dressed in tight training clothes, going through the motions of punching, blocking and kicking out. He could already see some of the issues with her stance, as she seemed to lack the kind of flexibility in the ankle and calf that most of the younger disciples had already trained into.

“She seems to be fitting in well.” His sister commented as she watched Nie Ruyi be corrected by one of the outer elders running the class. Then, she turned, and continued her path to the offices. Lao Xiaojun followed, the mental image of Nie Ruyi’s sheepish smile following them.

image [https://i.imgur.com/xzisjky.png]