by Jeremy Bai
“You’re sure your Phoenix Crown is down there?” Sunan asked.
“It has to be. When the Golden Immortal arrived, we started fighting almost immediately, and then I ran to find you. There was no time for him to search the room.”
“What if one of his men found it?”
Bao shrugged. “Anything’s possible. But I locked it in an iron chest in a hidden compartment under the bed. They seem more interested in burning the city than searching for loot.” Bao looked over at Sunan, her eyes flashing. “Sunan, that crown is dangerous. If it ends up in the wrong hands…”
Sunan tightened his grip on the saber he held in his right hand. “You don’t have to try to convince me it’s dangerous. Sun Mai and I are both very familiar with what it can do.”
Bao wanted to tell Sunan that the power of the Phoenix Crown was different than the raw power of the spirit of the phoenix demon in the fallen star’s unrefined form, but now didn’t seem the proper time. “None of those soldiers down there look very intimidating,” she said. “I’d wager they’re all in the first level or so.”
“Agreed. I still haven’t recovered from the fight with the Golden Immortal, but those soldiers shouldn’t prove to be much of a problem.”
Bao hefted the spear she’d picked up along the way. “We don’t have much time. Let’s go.”
Without another word, she leapt through the air toward the courtyard. Sunan flew along right behind her.
They descended on the soldiers like a force of nature, showing not even the slightest scrap of mercy. Bao stabbed a soldier through the heart with her spear, then slammed the haft into the nose of another, sending him flipping backward. Sunan severed a head, then unleashed a swinging kick that sent two soldiers tumbling backward.
Bao’s initial assessment had been correct—these soldiers were not powerful qi fighters, and as such, it wasn’t even necessary for Sunan and Bao to use any of their high-level techniques to defeat them.
There were more soldiers than they initially realized, but virtually every move they made resulted in soldiers dying or being rendered unconscious. A few soldiers inside the buildings rushed out to join the fight, and yet, barely a minute later, not a single one of them was left standing.
Bodies littered the courtyard left and right, and blood flowed everywhere.
Bao and Sunan were panting slightly, but neither one had received even a cut or bruise.
Sunan wiped the blood off of his saber with a rag and then sheathed it at his side. Bao tossed the spear aside and picked up a pair of butterfly swords laying off to the side. “Come on.”
They were soon inside Bao’s bedchamber, where she quickly opened the hidden compartment and pulled out an iron box. After unlocking it with a key she kept strung around her neck, she confirmed that the Phoenix Crown was safe.
Sunan looked over at the wardrobe leading to the tunnel. “That’s where he came from?”
Bao nodded. “The wardrobe was locked, which means he must have a key or some other method to open the door from the inside.”
“I just wonder how he got into the passage to begin with. We searched it thoroughly after you discovered it. Maybe we should investigate further…”
“No,” Bao said. “Too dangerous, and not enough time.”
Sunan frowned but nodded his head. “You’re right. Let’s go.”
***
As the flames raged higher in the city, the soldiers and constables of Daolu, along with the members of the Golden Dragon and Pure Phoenix Sects, fled the city. A select few shed their uniforms and stayed behind.
As for Bao and Sunan, they raced through the slums of Daolu toward the Zhen Gate, which was the arranged evacuation point. Upon arrival, they climbed up into the barbican to look out over the city. Much of it was obscured by smoke, but even still, the devastation was already apparent. Sunan gritted his teeth and shook his head.
“Damn you, Fire General,” he murmured. “And damn you too, Demon Emperor.”
“This almost seems too easy,” Bao said.
“What do you mean?”
“Like we’re being allowed to flee. The roads leading from the Dragon, Thunder, and White Rat Gates were all locked down, but the Zhen Gate was completely unguarded. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Maybe it does, Chieftainess,” a new voice said. It was none other than Dragon Lord Sima Zikang, flanked by Sun Mai and Mao Yun. Sima Zikang looked haggard and exhausted, and both Sun Mai and Mao Yun had clearly seen better days.
“What do you mean?” Bao asked.
“The Fire General would prefer for us to flee. A protracted siege wouldn’t benefit him, nor would the destruction of the city.”
“But he set fire to the damn place!”
“To some of it,” Sima Zikang corrected. “Not all. We probably set more fire than he did.”
Sunan looked over at Sun Mai. “What of the Golden Immortal?”
“We wounded him but didn’t manage to finish the bastard off,” Sun Mai said.
Mao Yun made a sound almost like a growl. “I have a feeling this won’t be the last time we run into him.”
A short moment of silence followed, which was then broken by Sima Zikang. “Sect Leader. Chieftainess…”
Sunan turned away from the city. “I know. It’s time to leave.”
***
Not too far north of Daolu’s Thunder Gate, three figures on horseback looked at the blanket of smoke covering the city and the formations of troops pouring into the shattered gates.
They were the Fire General, Love General, and Bone General. They were not alone. However, the soldiers and guards who accompanied them were arranged in formation out of earshot.
Different expressions could be detected on the faces of the three ogre generals. The Fire General’s lips curved up into the slightest of smiles. The Love General seemed conflicted. The Bone General appeared to be struggling to contain his rage.
“I can’t believe you’re just letting them escape!” the Bone General snarled.
The Fire General didn’t bother to look over at the Bone General. “My concern is taking this city, not routing the enemy. You never were a big strategist, Gu.”
The Bone General turned his head and spat on the ground. “You know I hate that name. The language of this place sounds like a monkey vomiting up its intestines.”
The Fire General chuckled softly. “This is our home now. After all the decades that have passed, you surely realize that, don’t you?”
Without another word, the Bone General turned his horse and left. A few minutes passed in which the Fire General and the Love General simply watched the troops entering the city.
A wind blew, carrying with it the acrid odor of smoke. The Love General sighed inwardly. “Thank you, Huo.”
The Fire General looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “You shouldn’t thank me. This was a strategic decision. I care not for your politicking and scheming.”
“I know that. But after you’ve conquered everything there is to conquer, there will still be much work to do to keep this empire in one piece. We’re going to need people like that Sunan on our side.”
The Fire General snorted. “You’ve grown soft, Ai. You might be the diplomat among us, but don’t think you can hide that look in your eye from me. You’ve let that human boy work his way into your heart, haven’t you?”
This time it was the Love General’s turn to snort. “How much of a fool do you think I am?”
“I never said you were a fool. But you and Gu both seem to get obsessed with the wrong things. Do you know how much time he’s wasted chasing that girl here and there? And why? Because she got lucky and killed one of his agents?”
“You know it’s not as simple as that. Gar-El is very protective of us. He was the one who gave the order sentencing her to death.”
“That was years ago, Ai. Much time has been wasted while Gu chased her all over the map, time that could have been spent on much more important affairs.” Not giving the Love
General a chance to pursue the topic, the Fire General said, “Daolu is ours, and it will be safe to enter by the time the sun sets. Will you be joining me? There will be plenty of work trying to ferret out the spies and the traitors.”
“Isn’t that Gu’s job?”
“Indeed it is. But I suspect he might have other things on his mind. A young girl, perhaps…”
A long moment passed, and the smell of smoke grew stronger.
“I hate conquered cities,” the Love General said. “Too much smoke and too much blood. I’ll head back to Yao Gong Palace.”
***
The escape from Daolu was relatively orderly, but some chaos couldn’t be avoided. Soldiers and constables mixed in with the Golden Dragon Sect and the Pure Phoenix Sect, and they were joined by a large number of ordinary citizens of the city who didn’t wish to stay behind.
Crossing the Chezou River was difficult considering the bridge had been burned at the beginning of the siege, but by making use of boats and other methods, they managed to get to the other side of the bank. A few people made their way directly south or even to the east. However, the vast majority followed Bao and Sunan to the west, toward the mountains which surrounded Zhifu Shan, one of the five legendary peaks of Qi Xien.
The first night outside of Daolu, they made camp on the border of the Little Demon Forest, which led to the foothills of the mountain. Although sentries were posted, everyone was exhausted and out of sorts, and the camp was haphazardly set. Furthermore, there were hundreds of people in it.
Because of that, nobody noticed a shadowy figure fly into the camp late at night and land on the branch of a tree not too far from Sunan’s tent.
It was a zhen bird, an avian creature with a long neck, a copper-toned beak, golden claws, and purplish feathers. Zhen birds were not unheard of in the north of Qi Xien, and at first glance, this one seemed just like any other zhen bird, albeit somehow more beautiful. And yet, if anyone were there to look at its eyes, they would see them staring fixedly at Sunan’s tent, gleaming with something that seemed to far surpass the intelligence of ordinary animals.
As the night wore on, the zhen bird remained on the branch, almost as if it were standing guard over Sunan.
Chapter 49: Two Boxes
An Jian was an ordinary man. At least, he seemed that way. Although he was no martial artist, his eyes flickered with an intelligence that was outright frightening. That was one reason why he rarely looked anyone in the eye.
Currently, he was looking over the smoldering ruins of the Delightful Wind Shop, which had once stood right next to the headquarters of the Pure Phoenix Sect, the former residence of the Golden Immortal. An Jian had run the shop for a few years, selling beautiful fans decorated with poetry of his own creation. In the short time that he had operated the shop in Daolu, he had built up quite the clientele in the city, especially among the rich and powerful.
The shop was now nothing more than cinder and ash.
In the final hectic moments of the battle, An Jian had fled the burning shop with a handful of his fans, one of which he held in his hands right now. Looking down at the fan, he smiled.
“I must admit I failed to foresee that Daolu would be destroyed ahead of schedule. How very interesting.” A curl of acrid smoke floated toward An Jian, which he waved away using the fan. The truth was that An Jian had once been one of the most powerful martial artists alive. But that was in a different life. A different time.
“Despite living directly in the shadow of Sunan and Bao, they slipped away before I could make my move. The closest I could get was that debate with Sun Mai. What a waste of time.” An Jian looked around at the smoldering city. “Thankfully, it’s not too late. All my years of preparation ensured that. The seeds that have been cast out will eventually grow to fruition, and then I will make my move.
“I still have decades of time to work with if necessary. The arrows hidden in the darkness will fly straight into the hearts of Sunan and Bao, and then the matter will be concluded.” He chuckled. “It seems the time has come to do a bit of traveling.”
With that, he began to stroll in the direction of the Zhen Gate.
***
After a short, fitful night of rest came another long day of travel, then a bit more rest. They skirted the edges of the forest during the day, then camped among the trees at night. The process repeated a few times until the group was about a week west of Daolu, beneath the towering mountain peak that was Zhifu Shan.
Bao was in a rotten mood. Flames of anger licked at her heart, and with each passing day, the anger grew hotter, and her temper shorter. The more she thought about the events that had occurred, the more frustrated she became with herself, and the more she hated the Demon Emperor. And especially the Bone General.
The faces of Lin Qingxia, Yang Ziqiong, and Yuwen Huo passed through her mind constantly. She relived the fight with the Golden Immortal and was continuously pricked by the stinging humiliation of having been defeated.
By the time they camped in a ravine at the foot of Zhifu Shan, Bao felt like she was about to explode. Not bothering to eat an evening meal, she left the camp and began to climb the mountain alone. An hour later, she settled down cross-legged on a stone outcropping that jutted out from the side of the mountain and formed something like a platform.
From this height, she could see forest stretching out to the east and the Chezou River far to the north, but little else. Daolu wasn’t visible, nor was any smoke from its burning. The camp, farther down the mountain, was relatively well hidden in the ravine.
As she sat there looking at the sun preparing to drop down over the horizon, she forced herself to breathe in and out. Assuming the same posture she had invented years ago, she began to meditate. Instead of forcing the qi through a prescribed path, she allowed it to flow freely through her body.
Because of the rage inside of her, the qi seemed to flow more quickly than usual, but it also distorted slightly and fell into a different path than it normally did. To Bao’s surprise, the flow of qi inside of her was taking a unique shape, and she surmised it was because of the anger that burned in her heart.
Over the course of the following hour, she continued to meditate, analyzing the flow of the qi and trying to memorize the pattern of its flow through her meridians. Strangely, her rage had subsided, but the qi had grown more powerful, rushing through her body like a screaming river. Her eyes shot open, and they glowed with a faint red light.
She still felt like she was about to explode, but this time it was not from anger. Leaping to her feet, she let out a growling shout and released the energy through the tips of her fingers. Five streams of crimson light snaked out, slashing into the rough rock at her feet, hewing out five fingertip-deep furrows that emanated faint maroon smoke.
Panting, Bao looked down at her fingers. Of all the techniques she had seen and used, this seemed the most terrifying. If it could slash holes into rocks, what could it do to human flesh? Most terrifying of all was that she could sense that the technique wasn’t complete. There was potential to fuel it with even more power than she had. What would happen then?
What made it so powerful? My rage?
Closing her eyes, she turned her attention inward again and found that, to her surprise, she was completely calm. Earlier, the fury inside of her had burned seemingly beyond her control, but now there was nothing.
After a moment of contemplation, she sat down cross-legged and slipped into a meditative state once again. The qi began to flow, and this time she tried to send it along the same path as before. However, as minutes passed, and then hours, she failed over and over again. She could vaguely remember the outline of the path, but she couldn’t reproduce it.
Before she knew it, an entire night had passed. As the light of dawn began to rise up from the mountain behind her, she opened her eyes.
“Dammit,” she murmured. Shaking her head slowly, she rose to her feet.
It was in that exact moment that she heard her name being c
alled behind her.
“Bao!”
She turned to find Sunan hurrying over.
“Were you out here the whole night?” he asked, looking alarmed.
She looked around in surprise at the murky dawn sky. “I guess so. I was hit with some enlightenment.”
She subconsciously looked down at the five furrows she had slashed into the boulder.
Sunan reached her and followed her gaze down to the furrows. “Is that…?”
She nodded. “A new technique. But I’m having trouble reproducing it.” After a moment of silence, she continued. “You came all the way up here looking for me?”
“Yes, something happened. Follow me.”
They hurried back down the mountain and into the camp. Bao immediately noticed a buzz of activity. At one point they passed a large pavilion, within which she saw Mao Yun, Sun Mai, Sima Zikang, Liu Jiahui, and other high-ranking members of the two sects.
“Is there some sort of meeting going on?” Bao asked.
“Yes,” Sunan replied. “Up to now we’ve been running like crazy. Disorganized. We need to fix that, so the men are talking about how to divide up the new recruits.”
“New recruits? I was gone for a night. Why does it feel like it’s been a week?”
Sunan chuckled. “We have soldiers, constables, and plenty of ordinary citizens to take care of now. Those who are willing to join our sects will be divided up in the best way possible. Any who don’t wish to join will be sent on their way once it’s safe.”
As they talked, Sunan led Bao through the camp to what she recognized as her own tent.
Sunan stopped outside and gestured at the tent flap. “After you.”
She pushed the flap aside and entered the tent. It was small inside, cramped for two people, especially considering that there was a wooden table set up inside.
“During the unpacking last night,” Sunan went on to explain, “I personally took care of your items, especially… that.” He gestured at the iron box on the table.