“The cat’s disappeared,” Graceful Twilight whispered.
“If he’s gone, he’s gone,” Huxian said. “Senior Mao Mao is far stronger than either of us. He must have brought us here for a reason.”
“Is he the very fierce demon you’ve been telling me about?” Bifang asked.
“The very same,” Huxian said. But why had the cat brought them here? To witness a mob of demons going at it? They naturally hadn’t stopped at words, and now, the demons were brawling in the middle of the street. Blood was being spilled. Small amounts of it. The people of Shimmerwing apparently took their fashion very seriously. No one used demon weapons, of course. That would have been dishonorable. Though Huxian noticed something strange. “Wait a minute. That’s not Miyue. That’s just a normal sea nymph.”
“Where’s the original big sister Miyue, I wonder?” Bifang said.
Then they saw the smoke. A satisfied-looking sea nymph coughed as she jumped through a lower window.
“Fire?” Gua said angrily. “You dare set fire to my shop?” His followers were even more incensed than he was.
“Come on, who sets fire to buildings?” one of them called out.
“Have some self-control,” another said. Even the toga wearers weren’t happy with this development. Some were throwing off their togas, preferring to walk around in the nude now that their idol, Miyue, had done something so drastic.
“Oh no!” Bifang said, horrified. “Oh no! With so many witnesses!”
“What?” Huxian said. “It’s just a small fire.”
“This isn’t just naughty illusions,” Graceful Twilight said, crossing her arms. “This is straight-up arson.”
Many of the toga wearers jumped into the shop and started extinguishing the flames that were spreading. Then the window breaking started. Not to put out the fires but to storm into Miyue’s shop to start destroying and looting.
It wasn’t long before the city watch arrived. To Huxian’s surprise, they were accompanied by a rune-gathering elder. Huxian had caused a lot of mischief with Bifang. There was also a lot of accidental setting of fires to stalls and burning up of clothes. But now, one of the most powerful members of the Iridescent Clan beelined to where the fire had started. “I guess they take arson very seriously here?” Huxian asked.
“Especially intentional arson,” Bifang said. “Mine was always accidental. They had ways to tell I wasn’t lying.”
Sure enough, Miyue was soon cuffed and marched off, and a law enforcement officer walked over to their group. “We’ve heard reports of minor theft and mischief using illusions on the third floor. We’re going to need you to come in.”
“Oh, come on,” Huxian said. “It wasn’t us who stole anything.” The crystal on his side glowed blue, and the officer nodded.
“That’s true, but we’re going to have to take you in for more detailed questioning,” the officer said. “Arson is a very serious crime, and your friend the crackling crane is currently on probation.”
Bifang tried to hide behind Huxian.
“Fine, fine,” Huxian said. “We’ll come along.”
“And you are?” the officer asked Graceful Twilight, who was now a third-burning Phoenix clanswoman.
“Call me Twilight,” Graceful Twilight said.
“All right, Lady Twilight, Lord Eight Directions, and Lady Crackling Flame, I am Peace Officer Fiery Vigilance. Please come peacefully, and we will resolve everything according to the law. Assuming you are in no way responsible for this case of arson, you will be free to leave after all fines are paid. Any questions?”
“Yeah,” Huxian said. “That black-and-white cat came this way. Have you seen him?”
The crystal glowed blue once again. Officer Fiery Vigilance raised an eyebrow. “Are you telling me that there was a black cat wreaking havoc in the marketplace?”
“Of course,” Huxian said with a grin. “A very powerful demon. At least middle investiture.”
The crystal glowed again. The officer gulped. “Well then. I’m sure our elders will be happy to know anything you can tell us.” They set off at an urgent pace. The fire seemed all but forgotten to the officer.
Won’t Senior Mao Mao get angry? Bifang asked.
I doubt it, Huxian said. My guess is, he’s just bored like we are. Why not send a bit of fun his way?
As for Graceful Twilight, she was grinning from ear to ear. The poor, secluded girl was finally getting a well-deserved adventure. He’d have to thank Mr. Mao Mao the next time he deigned to meet them.
Chapter 19: Ashes
Cha Ming woke up to a splitting headache. His vision was blurry, and he had difficulty focusing. A steady buzzing noise filled his hearing, drowning out the usual morning bustle. It was only now that he realized how tired he’d been, how he’d overworked himself to learn alchemy at breakneck speed.
“What, did you just think you could go on indefinitely?” Sun Wukong asked, appearing at the foot of his bed. He had both eyes closed, and his legs were crossed. He kept his hands on his knees and was doing his best to appear mystical.
Cha Ming yawned. “You could have warned me.”
“You know my theory on teaching,” Sun Wukong said. “The school of hard knocks is the best school there is.”
Cha Ming didn’t have the energy to argue. His joints let out satisfying pops as he stretched. Knowing that his lethargic feeling wouldn’t go away on its own, he stepped into a pattern routine in the large room. It was a challenging set of movements the Monkey King had once taught him. It started off simple enough, first with plain fists and kicks, eventually blending into a full staff routine. He not only imbued maximum power into his every movement but countered it with pressure from his domain. The destructive power of a peak-rune-carving cultivator rampaged in a tiny bubble, never disturbing even the teapot resting on a nearby table.
Fifteen minutes passed, and in that time, the remainder of Cha Ming’s mental, spiritual, and physical fatigue vanished. His worries faded. Sleep had washed away the filth, and routine had reinvigorated him.
“Today’s going to be a good day,” Cha Ming announced. He stepped out of the hotel room and proceed downstairs.
Huxian was already there, munching on a sausage. The fox now drank black coffee of all things, though he visibly shuddered with each sip.
“You look terrible,” Cha Ming said, summoning his breakfast from across the room. He helped himself to a bowl of porridge and dried fruit and the aggressive coffee phoenixes favored.
Huxian looked up, startled, then relaxed when he saw it was him. “Oh, it’s just you.”
“Expecting someone else?” Cha Ming asked.
“The watch,” Huxian said, taking another bite of sausage.
Cha Ming raised an eyebrow. “This doesn’t have anything to do with those events from a couple of weeks ago, does it?”
“I already told you I had nothing to do with that,” Huxian said.
“Sure, sure,” Cha Ming said. He could tell through their bond the fox was lying, and the spatial ring full of rare and expensive medicinal ingredients had done little to convince him otherwise. He peered at the bags under Huxian’s eyes. “Girl problems, then?”
“Nope,” Huxian said. “Gua and Miyue.”
“Go ahead, spit it out,” Cha Ming said, taking a sip of his coffee. The burnt, bitter liquid was just what he needed to jumpstart his busy day. As he put his cup back down, a young woman walked down the stairs. She looked as tired as Huxian did. That same girl promptly walked up to Huxian and hugged him tightly, and Huxian was forced to wrestle himself free.
Cha Ming raised an eyebrow. Are you sure it’s not girl problems?
Bite me, Huxian said with a glare.
The woman looked just as young as Huxian did, barely an adult. That meant she could be anywhere between twenty and two hundred years old. She had an unrestrained, innocent look about her, and a striking brilliance in her eyes. What struck Cha Ming most, however, was the pigmentation of her hair. It sported seven
colors that were very different from the Iridescent Clan’s five burnings.
“And who might this young lady be?” Cha Ming asked.
“This is Bifang,” Huxian said. “Didn’t I tell you about her?” He slid his plate of sausages between the two of them. The girl proceeded to eat mechanically as her mind struggled to wake up.
“Nice to finally meet you, Bifang,” Cha Ming said, nodding to her. He then spoke to Huxian discreetly. We’re not going to have any problems, are we? I don’t care what kind of relationship you have, and I won’t ask, but the hotel staff was asking me if we’re going to set fire to the place.
What? No, there’s nothing going on! Huxian said. Why do you and Miyue think that? She’s just clingy. Clingy!
Right, Cha Ming said. The fire situation?
It’s not an issue. She’s just allergic to pepper, Huxian said. I put a spatial seal on all the pepper containers in the room. It would take an elder to break through.
I’ll pass that on, Cha Ming said and proceeded to mentally reassure the panicking hotel manager.
“So…” Cha Ming said. “Gua and Miyue.”
“Oh. That. Miyue’s in jail.”
“Not that I’m surprised or anything, but this kind of the thing I’d expect from Gua, not Miyue,” Cha Ming said.
“Mmm, he does seem the type,” Bifang said. She was slowly waking up.
“Yeah, I’m as surprised as you are,” Huxian said. “Apparently, she thought it would be a good idea to rile up a mob of toga-wearing demons and then set fire to Gua’s shop. First part? Okay idea. Second part? Big no-no. We spent all day yesterday reassuring law enforcement Bifang didn’t do it, then we spent all night chasing imaginary cats.”
“They made us do lots of tests, but it was obvious I didn’t do it,” Bifang said. She held up a finger, and a seven-colored flame appeared. “That fire was orange, and mine is clearly awesome!”
“Cats,” Cha Ming said, shaking his head. “I guess phoenixes hate cats. Still, it seems out of character for Miyue.”
“To be fair, Gua started it,” Huxian said. “He filled her room with a poisonous swamp. The water damage was easy to fix, but it took her days to get rid of the smell. Thing is, it didn’t really hurt her, so it was in a legal gray area.
“Arson, on the other hand, is pretty clear-cut. At least around here. You’d be amazed at how specific and unforgiving they are about that kind of thing. I guess it’s necessary when half your population could burn down a city block.”
“I believe it,” Cha Ming said. “Where is she now?”
“Sulking in a cell until we decide to bail her out,” Huxian said. “We decided as a group to leave her there for three days as punishment. Silverwing and Mr. Mountain cleared it.”
“So you have your own disciplinary council now,” Cha Ming said. “Interesting.” He’d wondered how their group dynamics would change once they’d accumulated enough members. He also wondered if Huxian would stop at eight like he was supposed to. He didn’t have a lot of respect for rules.
“Well, I need to get going,” Cha Ming said, finishing up the rest of his food. “I don’t want to keep the elders waiting.”
“Elders?” Huxian said. “Where are you going?”
“The ninth floor,” Cha Ming said.
“That’s great! Those bullies won’t dare stop us from going up,” Huxian said. “Bifang, let’s go!”
A peaceful morning was too much to ask for. Getting to the stop of the spiral staircase between floors wasn’t an issue, but when they arrived, they were greeted by a fully iridescent member of the Iridescent Clan. “Iridescent Smile,” Cha Ming said with a toothy and very false smile.
“Clear Sky,” Iridescent Smile replied. “I see that you have a habit of showing up where you’re not welcome. Why do you insist on testing the patience of this city’s elders?”
“I don’t see any of them personally chasing me out,” Cha Ming said. “I’m just a lowly rune-carving cultivator. Why would the elders bother with me?”
“Alas, the task falls to us juniors to teach you your place,” Iridescent Smile said. “I sure hope you brought your invitation, or this could get ugly.”
“You’re never so aggressive,” Cha Ming said. “Has something happened?”
“You, we cannot stop,” Iridescent Smile said. “But we’re not about to let your pet fox drag around that pyromaniac.”
“Huxian is not a pet,” Cha Ming replied. “And I’m not sure you want to force the issue. Or do you want a repeat of our encounter in the workshop? Besides, isn’t it above your station to confront us on this?” This was a common taunt in Phoenix society. She could either take the high road and allow him passage because her station was too high, or she could challenge him, basically admitting that he was at least a worthy opponent.
“On the contrary, everyone is fully aware of your power,” Iridescent Smile said. “That is why my senior sister came here with me. Elder Iridescent Charm, why don’t you greet our guests?” Another fully iridescent phoenix stepped up and glared at them.
“I thought you told me this would be a challenge?” Elder Iridescent Charm said. “Instead, I see a wretch who tries to associate with his betters.”
Why me? Cha Ming thought. He preferred the straightforward members of the Monkey Clan. “I am but a humble rune-carving cultivator,” Cha Ming said. “Surely you won’t cause me any problems.”
“You offend my master,” Iridescent Charm replied. “Rune carving? Rune gathering? It matters not. Leave these two behind, and I’ll let you go. Otherwise, you’ll need to stay below.”
“Senior sister is a famous flame dancer,” Iridescent Smile said. “Her flames are quite deadly. I wouldn’t test her patience if I were you.”
A column of iridescent fire appeared behind Iridescent Charm. It manifested as a large phoenix that surrounded her protectively. This wasn’t an alchemical fire, but a phoenix’s life flame. Cha Ming had heard of such phoenixes in his lessons from Iridescent Virtue—Iridescent Charm was a rare variant demon who didn’t have a standard weapon. Instead of a sword or spear or even a cauldron, she had received a flame seed during her initiation. Her fires would be much more deadly than normal alchemist flames.
Cha Ming wasn’t fully confident in fighting her. Then again, didn’t he need to defeat two city lords? Still, he hesitated. By using a phoenix-shaped iridescent flame and her identity as an elder-level flame dancer, she was putting the pride of Shimmerwing City on the line. If he defeated her, was he not announcing that he was superior to every single phoenix at the same cultivation realm in this city? That even their elders were inferior to him?
Fortunately, the matter was taken out of his hands. “Stand down, Iridescent Charm!” a man shouted. Cha Ming was surprised to see Elder Iridescent Wonder rounding a corner. “I don’t have time to waste with younglings like you.”
“You forget that I am an elder as well,” Iridescent Charm said.
“And you seem to have forgotten that time I spanked you for not behaving in class,” Iridescent Wonder said. “Well? Why aren’t you scramming?”
Iridescent Charm wilted. “Very well. I shall take my leave.”
“But, elder sister…” Iridescent Smile said.
Iridescent Charm shook her head.
“You win this one,” Iridescent Smile said to Cha Ming. “You won’t always be so lucky.” They both turned around and stormed off, and the guards at the entrance relaxed, happy not to have to deal with the fallout of their confrontation.
“Thanks for the save,” Cha Ming said, following Iridescent Wonder.
“Iridescent Torch’s disciples have become irate of late, so I thought it best to come fetch you in person,” Iridescent Wonder said. He eyed Huxian and Bifang. “And you two must be the ones who definitely weren’t there when Iridescent Torch’s garden was vandalized.”
“We were on the fifth floor,” Bifang said, rambling off what was clearly a rehearsed speech. “I was even arrested for setting fires. How co
uld I have been here on the ninth as well?”
“That’s the best alibi I’ve heard in a long time,” Iridescent Wonder said.
“Is Elder Iridescent Charity not coming?” Cha Ming asked.
“Something came up,” Iridescent Wonder said. “It’s just you and me. Try not to lose too much face while we’re bargaining.” He looked to the two demons. “You weren’t planning on bringing these juniors along, were you? This is a rather important meeting.”
“I think we’re just heading in the same direction,” Huxian said.
They walked past the alchemist quarters and proceeded to the elder quarters, which took up a significant amount of real estate on the ninth floor. The many elders and their extended families could live here alongside their servants, attendants, and disciples. Each residence was walled, and most contained an elaborate garden. Each of the residents took great pride in their display—with the notable exception of Iridescent Torch, whose garden was undergoing “routine maintenance.”
“I heard about Iridescent Torch’s garden getting looted, but aren’t these people asking for it?” Cha Ming said, eyeing the thin metal fences surrounding each of the medicinal gardens. “Runes of protection can only do so much.”
“Anything better blocks the view,” Iridescent Wonder said with a shrug. “An important part of being powerful is showing off. Most importantly, who would dare deface an elder’s garden? Iridescent Torch’s reputation took a mighty hit after it happened.”
“She did say nothing important was stolen, and that they were just about to renovate the place anyway,” Cha Ming said.
“How else would she explain the giant crater?” Iridescent Wonder said with amusement.
Both Huxian and Bifang looked away and did their best not to make eye contact. Yes, Cha Ming decided, they were definitely guilty.
“Is this the place?” Cha Ming asked as they arrived at a mid-sized complex. The walls here weren’t made of the usual thin metal but stone, blocking off the usual view of the front garden.
Claddings of Light : Book 12 of Painting the Mists Page 30