by Jeremy Bai
At first he thought it was a fluke. But soon there was no mistaking it. She never wore the cloth bracelet anymore.
The first day, his reaction was to rationalize why she had stopped wearing it. Perhaps she felt it didn’t match her clothing or thought that it was too childish. The second day, he tried to convince himself that he didn’t care. The third day, he canceled his usual sparring session with Bao and spent the day in secluded meditation.
During his meditation session, he focused almost completely on pushing thoughts of Bao and the bracelet outside of his head. However, such efforts were useless.
Worst of all was that with Sun Mai gone, he had nobody to talk to. It was only after Sun Mai’s departure that Sunan realized he had no other close friends. Even the long-time members of the Golden Dragon Division all viewed him with a certain reverence that precluded closeness.
In the past, Sunan had never thought much about how often he and Sun Mai talked to each other, but now it was painfully obvious. Of course, having a conversation with Sun Mai had often been as frustrating and useless as trying to juggle a handful of oiled ferrets. But if nothing else, Sun Mai was trustworthy, and to Sunan, having someone to confide in was an asset that he only realized the value of after losing it.
A day of meditation did little good to clear his mind. On the morning of the fourth day, he rose early, tossed a thick cloak over his shoulders, and stalked toward the main gate of the palace.
The guards there were surprised to see him, and before they could inquire why he was leaving the palace, he muttered something about going for a walk to get some fresh air.
It was cold outside, with a stiff morning wind that bit to the bone. Sunan began to climb farther up the mountain, scrambling up the boulders and steep inclines that would eventually lead to the highest peaks of Zun Shan. Based on the extensive scouting the Dragon-Phoenix Sect had done of the mountain, it was completely safe.
Sunan did not plan to climb very high. After hiking for about an hour, he sat down cross-legged on a rock outcropping and looked at the landscape stretching out below. It was a cloudless day, and the scenery was breathtaking. He could even see the mirrorlike Chrysanthemum Lake off to the north.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and focused on the qi in his body. To his surprise, he found that his qi flow had been altered and was streaming through different meridians than it usually did. For some reason, it felt soothing, and even pleasant. Drawing on his qi reserves, he poured more power into the flow, strengthening it, reinforcing it, speeding it up.
Sunan had no way of knowing it, but the reason his qi flow had been altered was that the spot he had chosen to sit on was itself a meridian, a place where the natural energies of heaven and earth flowed through the mountain toward its summit. Another thing that Sunan was completely unaware of was that the top of the mountain was a very unique place in all of Qi Xien, a place where the natural meridians were especially powerful. By sitting down to meditate and perform breathing exercises on that natural meridian, he allowed his own qi flow to be altered, much the same way that a compass might be affected upon nearing a powerful lodestone.
The longer the qi flowed through his body on this new pathway, the calmer Sunan got, until his heart felt as tranquil as the surface of Lake Chrysanthemum.
Before he realized it, three hours had passed. That was when he detected the sound of someone climbing up the mountain from down below.
He opened his eyes, and let his qi flow return to normal. However, the calm remained.
A few minutes later, Mao Yun appeared on the rock outcropping.
“May I join you, Dragon Sovereign?” he said.
Sunan looked over his shoulder and nodded. Mao Yun sat down next to him cross-legged, wrapped his cloak around himself, and looked out at the scenery.
“A bit better view up here than down by the palace entrance,” he commented.
“Indeed,” Sunan replied.
A moment passed.
“Dragon Sovereign, you’ve seemed… distracted over the past few days.”
It suddenly dawned on Sunan why Mao Yun had come, and the calm from moments before was interrupted by a spark of emotion in his heart that seemed to contain anger, embarrassment, and melancholy all at the same time.
“I’m fine,” Sunan said.
Mao Yun nodded. “Dragon Sovereign, may I speak plainly?”
“Of course, Mao Yun. You know I don’t care about formalities, especially among friends.”
“Very well. I think I know why you were so… distracted. It was the cloth bracelet, wasn’t it?”
Sunan’s heart suddenly leapt up into his throat before dropping down into his stomach. “W-w-what?” he stammered. “What bracelet?”
Mao Yun chuckled. “Sunan, you have many talents, but lying isn’t one of them. Most people didn’t notice that bracelet, but I noticed. Bao and I have been close for years now, and we’re even sworn siblings. That’s a secret, by the way. We swore our oaths way back in Daolu.
“Anyway, as her sworn brother, do you think I wouldn’t notice how she took to wearing that cloth bracelet all of a sudden? I didn’t even need to ask her to know who gave it to her.
“I’m guessing that when she suddenly stopped wearing the bracelet a few days ago, it got you… distracted. Am I right?”
For some reason, Sunan felt very, very foolish. Sighing, he shook his head. “Was it that obvious?”
“No, no, no. Sunan, even Bao didn’t notice! But she’s my sworn sister, so part of my responsibility is to be looking out for certain things. Things like this. So I noticed.”
“It’s stupid, I know,” Sunan said. “Those bracelets, back where I come from, they…”
“I know. Sunan, I was born in Yu Zhing, as was my father, but my mother was originally from Qi Fao, so I know all about those bracelets. They’re relatively common among the villages and towns that surround the Bay of Yu. And I also know what it means when a young man gives a bracelet like that to a young woman who isn’t a family member.”
Red heat began to seep up Sunan’s neck onto his face, and he suddenly felt as if he were being strangled. He tried to think of some way to respond to Mao Yun’s words, but the only sound that came out of his mouth was a slight gurgling noise.
“Sunan, the reason Bao took that bracelet off is that she cherishes it.”
At first, Sunan wasn’t quite sure he’d heard correctly. Then his eyes went wide and, without even thinking about it, he turned to look at Mao Yun. “What?”
Mao Yun sighed. “She’s been wearing it for a while now, and it was beginning to fray. It was even soaked with the sweat of far too many sparring sessions. During the battle with the Bone General, it was also splashed with some of his blood. So she took it off, carefully cleaned it, and then put it in a jade box, which she keeps in her room. Sunan…” He chuckled softly. “Maybe it’s because I’m watching all this happen from an outside perspective, but sometimes I wonder just what the two of you are thinking! You run one of the most powerful sects in all of Qi Xien, you’ve fought and killed ogres, you’ve experienced visions of ancient times, you’ve defended against armies, you’ve slaughtered hordes of demons, but when it comes to each other, you might as well be fumbling around in the dark with your ears plugged!
“I told Bao that you would be upset if she stopped wearing the bracelet, and she responded that I was being silly and that you wouldn’t even notice. Sunan, I’m not much older than you, but at the moment, I feel like someone from the elder generation talking to a little boy. You must know what’s happening between you and Bao. You do, right?”
Mao Yun’s words struck Sunan’s gut like physical blows, although he tried not to let that show on his face. Clearing his throat, he said, “We’re… we’re just friends and the leaders of the—”
Mao Yun burst out laughing, cutting Sunan off. “Sunan, you said for me to speak plainly, and so I shall. The two of you are falling in love! You don’t have to admit it, but you know it’s tru
e. This situation with the bracelet makes it clearer than ever.”
Sunan was at a complete loss of words. “I… I…”
“Sunan, we in the martial world live different lives than those in the mundane society of Qi Xien. That much has become clear over the past years. In ordinary society, things like these would be arranged by your families and the matchmakers. But neither of you have families to make such arrangements. You two need to do things differently. We’re not part of society anymore, and you don’t need to conform to all those ancient customs.”
After Mao Yun finished speaking, the only sound that could be heard was the cold mountain wind. A long moment passed, a moment that seemed to stretch for an eternity. However, Mao Yun could sense that it was a moment in which he shouldn’t speak, so he held his tongue and waited for Sunan to break the silence.
When he did, he only spoke six words.
“All right, what should I do?”
***
In the Zun Peaks, in the southwest of the Banyan Region, was a fortress built into the face of a cliff, which had come to be called the Grotto of the Timeless Master. In a stone chamber deep in the fortress, a meeting was currently underway, led by the Timeless Master himself, Li Buwei.
Those who had never seen the Timeless Master generally expected him to be tall, dashing, and heroic looking. The reality was quite the opposite. He was rather short, even stocky, with blunt features that made him look different from the average inhabitant of Qi Xien. However, his eyes glittered with a profound light that made him seem extraordinary to the extreme.
Also present in the stone chamber were other heroes associated with the Timeless Master, including his wife the famous swordswoman Lady Qixia, his sworn brother Pei Fu, Drunken Crane Ping Fangrou, a new arrival to the fortress, Hero Qian Chengsi, as well as many others.
The Timeless Master was staring down at a table covered in maps, one of which showed the Banyan Region, and the other, the Dai Bien Forest.
The other heroes at the table were also studying the maps, frowns on their faces.
“Is the matter at Bixie Lake that important?” Lady Qixia asked.
The Timeless Master nodded. “Yes, and we can’t afford to go down there without a sizeable force. We still don’t know the truth about this Hua Pi character or where his loyalties lie. If he forms a coalition opposed to us, we would be in a very dangerous position. And ignoring his invitation would be tantamount to a direct insult. So the question is, what do we do about Huisheng?” He looked over at Qian Chengsi. “Are you sure your information is correct?”
Qian Chengsi nodded. “Absolutely. I saw it with my own eyes. The Zhizhu Coral is in Huisheng.”
The Timeless Master looked back at the map. “The Demon Emperor never leaves the Zhizhu Coral in any city for longer than four months. That means time is limited. We have to strike quickly.”
“We don’t have enough people to split them between Huisheng and Bixie Lake,” Lady Qixia said.
“I know. It seems the matter of the Zhizhu Coral must be handed over to someone else. Perhaps the Dragon-Phoenix Sect? If they hurry, they could get to Huisheng in time.”
Ping Fangrou smiled. “Should I prepare for a trip to Zun Shan?”
The Timeless Master nodded. “Leave within the hour.”
Chapter 73: Magistrate Zhou
“I didn’t tell you about the cloth bracelet?” Bao asked. Then she leaned her head to the side to dodge the stab of the spear. Pushing the haft to the side, she used Phoenix Torment on her opponent, one of the city guards of Huisheng. The man let out a muffled shriek, then tumbled down the rooftop amidst a clatter of roof tiles, before falling over the edge and disappearing into the darkness of night.
“Cloth bracelet? No, you didn’t.” Only a few meters behind Bao, Ping Fangrou was also fighting one of the city guards. As the man’s spear slashed through the air, she swayed backward at an odd angle to avoid it, then snapped herself toward him and punched him in the chest, sending him flipping head over heels across the rooftop.
On a few nearby rooftops, and within some of the dark alleys below, other Dragon-Phoenix fighters were also tangling with various city guards.
Having dispatched the last of the group set specifically after them, Bao and Ping Fangrou began to speed across the rooftop, heading south toward the docks. “Yeah, he made a cloth bracelet and gave it to me as a gift.”
“Made it himself? Wow!”
“I guess it’s a tradition from up by the Bay of Yu.”
“That’s so sweet!”
They leapt over the gable end of the rooftop and flew to the air, landing on the roof ridge of the adjacent building.
“I wore it for more than two years straight,” Bao said, “until it was about to fall apart.”
“Then what? He made you a new one?”
Bao chuckled. “No, you wouldn’t believe what happened. That dolt Sunan.”
Before she could continue, the whistle of arrows flying through the air could be heard.
“More guards,” Ping Fangrou said. After leaping forward into a tumble to avoid two arrows, she continued running across the roof ridge. “So, what happened? What did Sunan do?”
***
“Dragon Sovereign,” Lin Cuirou whispered, “I heard some news about you and the Phoenix Sovereign. Is it true?”
“There’s no need for formalities,” Sunan replied in just as low a voice. “Just call me Sunan.”
Lin Cuirou and Sunan were crouched in the eaves of a pagoda in a temple overlooking the city magistrate’s palace complex, well concealed in the shadows cast by the crescent moon, which hung low over Huisheng. Lurking nearby were numerous other Dragon-Phoenix fighters, all of them armed to the teeth and dressed in dark clothing, complete with masks to cover their noses and mouths.
By chance, Lin Cuirou had been returning from Yu Zhing and his mission to deliver the head of the Bone General when others from the sect arrived in Huisheng for the mission they had accepted from the Timeless Master. The addition of another Dragon Lord made Sunan and Bao even more confident in the success of the mission.
“Anyway,” Sunan continued, “I’m not sure exactly what you heard, but it’s probably accurate.”
Lin Cuirou grinned. “Congratulations! How did you win her over?”
Sunan shook his head. “I wonder that myself just about every day. A handsome fellow like you probably understands women a lot more than someone like me. I’m really just a villager, you know.”
“The founding emperor of the Lin dynasty also started out as a villager, so there’s no shame in that. Although I do have to say, with my good looks, women tend to throw themselves at me left and right. So, you’re correct about that part.”
Sunan chuckled. “Well, in any case, the news you heard is true. Bao and I are enga—”
Before he could finish his sentence, a commotion broke out in the magistrate’s palace below. Servants and guards alike poured into the main square in the middle of the complex, many of them bearing lanterns affixed to long poles.
There was much shouting and yelling, and it seemed as though the entire complex was being mobilized. A moment later, the magistrate himself appeared, clearly having been awoken from his sleep. Despite that, he held a sword in his right hand as he called out orders to the scrambling guards and servants.
“That’s him?” Lin Cuirou asked.
“Yes, that’s him.” Sunan’s grip on the hilt of his Wind Saber tightened. “Magistrate Zhou, the most hated city administrator in all the south. Last month, he had twenty children executed as punishment for accusations of treason leveled against their clans. Take out Magistrate Zhou, and Huisheng will be completely leaderless.”
“So that’s why the Timeless Master sent you here?”
“No, this part of the plan was devised by Bao.” Sunan closed his eyes for a brief moment to begin circulating his qi. “All right, let’s go.”
***
“I truly envy you, Bao,” Ping Fangrou said, stepping
onto the gable end of the roof and then leaping out into the air. “In our society, it’s usually the matchmakers who—”
Before she could finish her statement, a pebble shot through the air toward her torso, moving at such incredible speed that it was virtually impossible to dodge. Ping Fangrou managed to twist to the side, preventing the pebble from striking her head on, and instead it clipped her shoulder. Even still, she felt like she’d been kicked by a horse.
The blow sent her spinning through the air, and she just managed to pull her momentum under control before she hit the wall of the building. By a sheer stroke of luck, her feet landed on the wall, and she pushed out, somersaulting to the ground below.
Bao had been just behind her, so instead of leaping to the next building, she leapt down to join Ping Fangrou below. They were in a small rear courtyard of what appeared to be a grain warehouse. It was mostly empty with the exception of a few bags of grain piled up against one wall, as well as a few push carts.
“Are you all right?” Bao asked.
Ping Fangrou had landed in a crouch and was now rising to her feet, rubbing her shoulder. “I’m fine. But whoever threw that pebble is very, very strong.”
A cold chuckle drifted out into the cool, night air. “Strong is one word you could use,” a deep voice said.
Moments later, someone blurred through the air and dropped down at the opposite end of the courtyard.
The mere sight of him would cause most people to grow weak in the knees. He was more than two meters tall, with shoulders as broad as an ox and fists the size of melons. He had a guandao cradled in his arm and was bare chested, revealing rippling muscles covered by countless tattoos. The scenes depicted by the tattoos were horrific—every imaginable form of torment was inked in grisly detail, almost as if the most terrifying torture chambers of Emo-Cheng were embodied in this hulking man.
There were trees of knives, vats of boiling oil, burning flames, and worse.
Bao rarely needed to fight with weapons anymore, but she still kept knives in her sleeves, and she quickly checked to make sure they were ready.