“As I said, it’s probably just those darned memories,” Xiao Bai said. “You compartmentalized them, but they’re leaking out.”
“Maybe,” Mi Fei said. “I’m not convinced.”
“Fine,” Xiao Bai relented. “Look for your shadow, then, if you think it’s real. At the very least, you need to unwind and start having fun.”
“All right,” Mi Fei said. “You win. What kind of fun did you have planned?”
“Cuddly fun,” Xiao Bai said. “Secret fun.”
“I like cuddly things,” Mi Fei said. “Just give me a moment.” She waved her hand and spread out her Grandmist domain. She swept up most of the broken things into a neat pile the cleaning staff would take care of. “Wouldn’t want them to get hurt because you went flying with a single kick.”
“You surprised me,” Xiao Bai said.
They left her personal courtyard and passed the sparring square. She nodded to her sword instructor, Daoist Burning Sword, who was currently training a promising late-rune-carving junior from a branch clan. Mi Fei saw a flicker of black in the corner of her eye past the training grounds, but she ignored it and reminded herself that it probably wasn’t there. She was imagining things, and the last thing she wanted was for the rest of the Mi Clan to think she was crazy.
Many juniors greeted her as they passed through the manor’s carpeted main hallway. It ran completely through the large building, which served not only as a meeting and business place for most of the elders, but also as a gate to the residences and a welcoming hall.
“There you are,” said a woman in a loud and confident voice.
Mi Fei flinched. She wanted to ignore the woman but hesitated. She had promised, hadn’t she?
Mi Fei turned and bowed lightly. “Mother,” she said.
Her mother smiled. In her youth, that had been commonplace, but to Mi Fei, it now seemed strange and foreign.
“It’s been a while,” Madame Mi said. “Why don’t you accompany me for a cup of morning tea? Just a cup. No need to stay long.”
Mi Fei hesitated and looked to Xiao Bai, who shrugged. “We’re a little early,” the Jade Rabbit said.
“This way,” her mother said, leading her toward a small room and that was usually reserved for entertaining guests. Xiao Bai didn’t follow. Her demon companion did not like her mother one bit.
They sat at a table for two. One of their maids entered the room and poured them each a cup of hot tea. It was already perfectly steeped and wouldn’t oversteep thanks to another ingenious domain application. She would have to learn that some day. The maid bowed and left the two alone.
“I see that you’ve made great strides in your cultivation,” Madame Mi said. “I’m glad.”
“I’ve been putting in more effort,” Mi Fei said. “The family’s resources have been helpful, and I’ve managed to reach late rune carving.”
“Don’t mention resources,” her mother said. “I’m not here for family politics or games, I’m just here to talk.” She sighed and took a sip of her tea. “You know, I never could break through the peak of rune carving. It was too difficult. It took me a hundred years to get there, and when I did, I knew that was the end for me.”
“But you’re…” Mi Fei said.
“Yes, yes, I’m a false rune-gathering cultivator,” her mother said. “Weaker than a normal rune-gathering cultivator, but it comes with the longevity. Your father loved me dearly, so he couldn’t bear spending the rest of his life without me. I didn’t want to take the pill, but I also didn’t want him worrying about me. Did you know that his mother, your grandmother, died at the hands of an assassin?”
“I didn’t realize,” Mi Fei said.
“I’ll never be able to break through again,” Madame Mi continued. “Taking the pill cost me five hundred years of life as well. Then again, I never would have never reached the rune-gathering realm on my own. In the end, I gained five hundred years.”
“You could have kept trying,” Mi Fei said.
“I know my limits, dear,” her mother said. “But that’s neither here nor there. Tell me. How are things going with Wei Longshen? It must be nice not to have us breathing down your necks now.”
“Things are good,” Mi Fei said. “I can’t complain. We see each other a few times a week. We talk every day. Though I admit, we haven’t been seeing as much of each other recently.”
“The murder, yes,” her mother said. “I heard about that.”
No one had mentioned her incident in the mirror house. She suspected that the new replacement mirror house that had sprung up nearby due to a mystery investor might have something to do with the owner’s silence.
“Dreadful things, assassinations,” her mother continued. “You don’t see much of them these days, but two hundred years ago, they were all the rage.”
“Two hundred years ago?” Mi Fei said. “Didn’t Lord Burning Lake come into power over three hundred years ago?”
“Yes, and it took him over a century to consolidate,” Madame Mi said. “I pray we never see such times again. Yet who can say what will happen? War is upon us.”
“War we’re profiting from,” Mi Fei said.
“Such is business,” Madame Mi said. “Such is life. But enough of clan matters. I’m glad things are working out between the two of you. You know, I never did like the idea of keeping you apart.”
Mi Fei scowled. “You had an odd way of showing it.”
“Come now,” her mother said. “I can’t be contradicting my husband, can I? We’ve been together for eight hundred years, Mi Fei. You’ll understand. Someday.” Mi Fei doubted it, but she didn’t voice her opinion. “Either way, I’m happy it’s working out for you. Although I admit that I’m worried about the state of political affairs. Just know that if it doesn’t work out, there are other options.”
“Other options?” Mi Fei said, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, you aren’t engaged, and I’m your mother, so I haven’t stopped looking out for you,” Madame Mi said.
Mi Fei’s expression darkened.
“Don’t give me that look. I’m not pushing, just testing the waters here and there. It’s like going window shopping. You’re looking but not buying, and the shopkeeper knows it and doesn’t take you all that seriously.”
Mi Fei relaxed a little. “Fine, do your looking. Since we’re on the subject, I’m curious. Are there any subjects of importance I should keep an eye on?”
Her mother’s expression brightened. “Well, I haven’t been seriously looking, but a few options have come to mind. There’s that handsome young man from the Xia Clan that came over. And there’s a nice young man in the Lei Clan.”
“The mid-ranked clan?” Mi Fei asked.
“You can’t limit yourself to great clans, dearest,” her mother said. “If we did that, we’d all be inbred within three generations. Besides, it’s not like you’re actually interested. You’re just entertaining me.”
“You caught me,” Mi Fei said.
Her mother chuckled. “I’ll finish the rundown, then. The Jin Clan has a talented craftsman in his thirties. The Seven Swords Sect had an inner disciple break through to the rune-gathering realm in his early forties. Then there’s the Cao Clan. Cao Wenji has been peddling her son hard. Who, I might say, is a good catch. He’s strong, on the cusp of rune gathering and muscle empowering. Heavens, he’s even the commander of the prefectural army. In fact—”
“Stop,” Mi Fei said. “Just stop. I’ll entertain you, but I won’t talk about that pig for a second more than I have to. He has a harem, and he’s not even married. It’s indecent.”
“You’d be the main wife, though,” her mother said. “Come now, it’s not that uncommon.”
“Common or not, I loathe the man,” Mi Fei said. “He is a beast, and I’d rather slit my wrists and be done with it.”
Her mother pursed her lips. “Fine. Like I said, I wasn’t looking seriously. I’m just saying there are options.”
Mi Fei sighed and
closed her eyes. “I know. It’s just… too much. Too much for now.” She opened her eyes and spotted the cup of tea she hadn’t touched. Still piping hot. She drank it down in a single long draught. “Thank you for the tea, Mother.”
“Maybe we could talk about other things next time?” Madame Mi said. “Other light things? Strictly non-business?”
“Sure,” Mi Fei said. She didn’t want to keep bearing a grudge against her mother. Especially if she was staying in the prefecture long term.
Xiao Bai met her as she left the room. She was glad her friend had darted off. She’d needed that conversation, and her heart felt lighter for it.
“Took you long enough,” the Jade Rabbit said. “Let’s go. Ship’s waiting.”
Chapter 11: The Kennels
“So,” Mi Fei said, glancing at the tall, burly man sitting in front of Xiao Bai a few seats back. “He seems nice.” They were currently flying over vast fields outside the prefecture. Small towns passed them by.
“I was looking for someone who could keep Xiao Bai company, and Lei Xieren fit the part,” Wei Longshen said. “Strong. Dao God. Likes fighting.”
“My mother was telling me this morning that he’s one of the prefecture’s most eligible bachelors,” Mi Fei said.
“I’m wounded that you still have such conversations,” Wei Longshen said.
Behind them, Lei Xieren was busy showing off an assortment of weapons to Xiao Bai. He was an impressive man, a spear wielder, judging by the short spear he kept near at hand. He treated his weapon much like a demon would.
That wasn’t to say that spears were the only weapons he used. A stack of weapons was piling up on the seat beside them, including swords, axes, blades, daggers, and throwing knives in addition to other oddities.
“Good choice,” Mi Fei said, feeling Xiao Bai’s approval despite her feigned disdain.
“We’ll be fine as long as we help ourselves before letting them anywhere near a buffet table,” Wei Longshen said. “There won’t be anything left for us otherwise.”
They were flying on one of the many side roads, unpaved and tamped with a thick clay that remained dry despite the rain that fell every other day. In the field beside them, farmers were busy harvesting a crop of demon sallow corn. It wasn’t edible by humans—or at least, it wasn’t tasty. Instead, its purple kernels would be fed to the many monstrous demons that the demigods and demons in the Burning Lake Prefecture feasted on.
“How have you been?” Mi Fei asked. “You’ve been busy lately. Taking hours to respond to messages.”
“You have no idea,” Wei Longshen said. He looked tired. Drawn out. “The leader of the Sisters of Solemn Flame died surrounded by dozens of people in broad daylight. People don’t get over something like that in just a day or two.”
“I can only imagine the consequences,” Mi Fei said.
Wei Longshen sighed. “Most people don’t know this, but we’ve recently recruited thirteen mid-sized organizations, including the Lei Clan. That’s in addition to twenty-seven small ones, all of which are quickly growing in power.”
“That sounds difficult to manage,” Mi Fei said, furrowing her brow. Her own clan had many branch clans, subsidiary clans, and sects, but they’d been around for ages. New additions were the worst and would require a lot of careful attention. Her own clan had three of them. But forty?
“The thing about small clans and sects is that most of them only have one core member,” Wei Longshen continued. “Like the Sisters of Solemn Flame—they’re effectively doomed if that member falls. Sure, I’ve recruited the help of a specter in each clan who’ll teach them and guide them, but that does them little good when their supporting powerhouse fails. And that’s assuming the specter stays loyal to me.”
“I thought you controlled those,” Mi Fei said. From what she knew, professionals like soul oracles kept their summoned minions restrained by a contract.
“I create these specters from memory,” Wei Longshen said. “They owe me their gratitude for bringing them to life so they can help their juniors, but that is the only tie that binds them. That’s why we had to move quickly. Make assurances. We adopted the Sisters of Solemn Flame into our clan. We gave them resources like any branch clan would get, as well as technique manuals and the like.”
“That sounds expensive,” Mi Fei said. As part of her education, she’d been made to review branch clan ledgers. If you included rent and cultivation resources, they weren’t a small expenditure.
“It’s an investment,” Wei Longshen said. “We’ve managed to mollify the rest of them, but now all other negotiations have stalled. If that was all the damage there was, however, I wouldn’t be so busy. Our competitors used the low morale as a smokescreen to poach our employees and attack our finances. You know as well as I do that money is the lifeblood of any clan. There isn’t a clan out there that runs on a tight budget.”
Mi Fei nodded. “I imagine you had to shut down or sell some business to shore up your cash reserves?”
“I had to get creative,” Wei Longshen said. “I may have sold dragon-wrought weapons I don’t have yet.” He winked. “Don’t tell Shneraz or Serrendil.”
Mi Fei smiled. “All right, I forgive you. It sounds like you’ve had it bad.” She looked outside and saw that they were exiting the plains proper and getting into more hilly territory, with interspersed woods and pastured lands instead of cultivated fields. Bestial demons roamed them with little supervision, only to be caught and culled when they reached the right age for slaughter. “Why are we so far out? Where are we going?”
“To the Howling Presence Sect,” Wei Longshen said. “They have a large estate well away from the city.” He pointed in the distance. “See that hill? See the woods and the plains around it surrounded by that stone wall? That’s all theirs.”
“That’s a lot of land for one clan,” Mi Fei observed. The land that fell within those poorly maintained walls was several sizes larger than her own clan’s estate—or at least the main one. Still, they were so far out that the land values were probably rock bottom. Demon attacks likely weren’t unheard of so far away from the prefecture and its main roads, and therefore the protection of the prefectural army.
“They need the land for what they do,” Wei Longshen said. “And I admit that we’re here partly on business.
“As long as it’s fun business,” Mi Fei said.
“Trust me, it will be,” Wei Longshen said.
He signaled for the driver to fly them in closer. Packs of woolly-headed bull demons roamed the pastures here. They were docile creatures that roamed the plains, eating what most would consider weeds to grow impressive stores of fat and heavy muscles.
“What are those?” Mi Fei asked, eyeing a few larger demons that were running in the fields, herding the woolly-headed bull demons away from the road. They howled as they ran, scaring away predatory avian demons and frightening enemies hidden in the grass. They even frightened an armored spider demon from its pit of a trap, promptly leaping on it and tearing it apart with their sharp teeth and strong jaws before it could escape.
“Cackling demon wolves,” Wei Longshen said. “Tame ones.”
“But they’re huge,” Mi Fei said. They didn’t normally grow to that size or strength. Moreover, they weren’t herd demons that could easily be raised for food. The sheer extravagance of it…
“You’ll see why soon enough,” Wei Longshen said.
Mi Fei watched as the so-called cackling demon wolves ran over to a pair of cultivators that were running not far away. These cultivators wore pants but no shirts. Their bodies were strong and well toned, and they looked ferocious. If not for her bond with Xiao Bai, she might have mistaken them for demon initiates. “They’re demon bonded,” she said.
“Their sect specializes in it,” Wei Longshen said. “I hope you’re not a cat person.”
The two wolf cultivators waved as they flew past, cutting straight through pasture lands toward a large log house at the top of a solitary hill.
Scattered on that same hill were other wooden buildings like dormitories, stables, and drying houses.
A grizzled man welcomed them with a toothy grin. “You’re late,” the man said. “Come here, you little rascal.” He didn’t bow as was customary but pulled Wei Longshen into an aggressive hug. Then he turned to Mi Fei. “I sense your smell on her. Is she your mate?”
“I wish people would stop asking that question,” Wei Longshen said. “Mi Fei, this is Beastmaster Brittle Bark. He’s rude on purpose because it scares away strangers.”
“Charmed,” Mi Fei said, holding out her hand. He ignored the hand and gave her a hug as well.
“Ah, a man who knows how to fight,” Brittle Bark said, clapping a thick hand on Lei Xieren’s shoulder. “And a lady. A strong one.” He grinned and extended his hand to Xiao Bai, who took it. What ensued was a back-and-forth exercise in crushing the life out of each other. It ended in a draw, leaving both sides unsatisfied.
“The lady is her demon companion, Lady White,” Wei Longshen said. “This handsome man is a friend from the Lei Clan, Lei Xieren.”
“They look capable enough,” Brittle Bark said, scratching his thick beard. “Wolves don’t like playing with people they don’t respect.”
“Wolves?” Mi Fei exclaimed. “We’re playing with wolves?”
“You didn’t tell her?” Brittle Bark said.
Wei Longshen grinned. “Why spoil the surprise?”
“I’ve always loved a good surprise,” Brittle Bark said. “My only question is whether you’re sure about this. I know I said I wouldn’t trust you before my wolves did, but it’s not all fun and games. You could get hurt.”
“I think everyone here can handle themselves,” Wei Longshen said. “I trust you. And your wolves.”
The man grinned. “Right, then. Let’s go see the kennel master, Red Howl.”
Brittle Bark led them away from his log cabin and down the hill toward the bulk of the sect’s buildings. As Brittle Bark had said, the place felt empty of both people and demons. Those who remained were mostly non-cultivators and the young. Oh, and tiny demon wolves, who played in the grass with those same youngsters.
Claddings of Light : Book 12 of Painting the Mists Page 17