“Sounds like you’ve been busy,” Mi Fei said, not mentioning her own involvement. Hearing it from his own mouth, however, she regretted pushing him so much just now. What was it with this place and making her feel bad about extracting apologies? First Cha Ming and his… his… She stopped thinking about it. There was no need to think about that. About him.
“It’s all fine now,” Wei Longshen said, saving her from her own thought process. “Things have been better lately.”
“Well, it sounds like you’ve had your fair share of suffering,” Mi Fei said. “I forgive you.”
“On the bright side, a few good things have come from this whole mess,” Wei Longshen said. “Actually involving myself in our businesses has given me a few ideas. Now that I have the time, and perhaps with your help, I could.…” He trailed off and frowned. “What in the seven hells is going on?”
Mi Fei followed his gaze and saw that a crowd was gathering just outside the restaurant window. There were panicked voices and screams. Some of the wait staff ducked out and ducked back in almost immediately. They heard sirens and saw flashing lights.
They and several others in the restaurant made their way outside. Mi Fei’s feeling of dread intensified. She saw a black flicker in the corner of her eye. Once. Twice. Three times. They pushed through the crowd only to discover a figure on the ground. Mi Fei froze when she saw her. A woman. Dead. A dagger through her heart.
“Don’t I know her?” Mi Fei asked.
“Her name is Elder Shufen,” Wei Longshen said quietly. “Elder Meadow Wind. She watches us all the time, looking for danger. Danger she apparently spotted.”
There was a black flicker, and Wei Longshen followed her gaze. “Did you see that?”
“Yes,” Mi Fei said, and pointed. “There!”
Wei Longshen pulled out his flute and began to play a song. At first, it seemed atonal, but she soon realized it was many melodies merged together. He played and finished four quick songs, summoning four powerful specters. “Find the culprit,” Wei Longshen said angrily. “I won’t let him get away. Not this time.” Then he summoned his personal ship and took off in fast pursuit. It was one of those they’d used for the Kingfisher Guard mission.
Wait, Mi Fei thought. Is he abandoning me? He hadn’t waited for her to climb on and instead had taken off after the shadow alone.
Stupid man, Mi Fei thought. She summoned her own ship. He’d bought one, and so had she. She flew off after Wei Longshen and sent a message to his communicator. If you think you can just leave me behind, you’re dead wrong.
Go back, Wei Longshen replied. It’s dangerous.
I’m coming too, Mi Fei said. She’d been training for this. It was her time. Xiao Bai?
Coming! Xiao Bai replied. The Jade Rabbit had been lurking nearby. A white blur bounced off buildings and jumped into her ship.
You’ll only make matters worse if you tag along, Wei Longshen said. He sounded weary and… resigned?
How dare you look down on me like this, Mi Fei said. Her ship might be slower, but she had Xiao Bai, who channeled time essence to speed them up. We’re having a serious talk after this.
She waited for a snide comment. Playful banter before a fight. None came her way. Wei Longshen simply stared ahead at a path of shadow and smoke, a frigid wind urging him forward.
Meadow Wind was dead, and it was all his fault. He knew that now. He also knew why she’d been murdered and how he’d been wrong for many weeks. Why, why, why? he wondered. He should have seen it sooner. He should have realized it after the second murder.
They chased the killer through the sky. He was fleeing, not outward like Wei Longshen had expected, but toward the tallest building in the prefecture. At first, he wondered why the assassin would do so. Was the prefecture lord not there? No, he thought. He’s out to bury the dead.
Go back, Wei Longshen told Mi Fei again. Once again, she didn’t listen. Then again, why would she? She didn’t know. She didn’t understand that her being here would only make things worse.
They hopped off their ships and onto the surprisingly even rooftop of the prefectural tower. Roof tiles made of delicate clay broke beneath their modest weight. A shadowy figure appeared then, ephemeral and difficult to trace.
“Are you sure you want to fight me, boy?” the assassin said with a gravelly voice. “Three are dead by my hand. You could be the inauspicious fourth.”
“I won’t let anyone else die for my sake,” Wei Longshen said. He checked his communicator. His family was on the way. He’d need to buy them time, but fortunately, he’d planned for this kind of situation. He pulled out a long black chain and threw it out. It flew through the cloaked figure and encircled the rooftop. Two runic seals shot out of the chain, one toward him, and one toward the assassin. The boundary solidified, using their souls as an anchor.
“A death match cage?” the assassin said incredulously. “You would dare lock yourself in with me?” Now that the artifact was active, the only way to leave was to incapacitate the other party.
“I only have to buy enough time for others to arrive,” Wei Longshen said. Their struggle would undoubtedly attract the attention of the prefecture lords. No matter who arrived, this battle would be over.
“You’re important, but not necessary,” the assassin said. “Since you’ve chosen this path, so be it.”
A spike of fear ran through Wei Longshen as the assassin’s aura burst out all at once. Buy me time, Wei Longshen instructed his apparitions. All four closed in on the assassin as he began to play a powerful, rhythmic melody.
Shadowy instruments of war appeared around Wei Longshen as he manifested his transcendent soul as a weapon. He wasn’t just a qi cultivator. He was a soul piper. He poured his rage into his music as he dodged the assassin’s blade, all the while thinking of Meadow Wind. The woman, his childhood friend, who had died for him.
“You think these piddling ghosts can stop me?” the assassin said. Space folded around him, and he teleported to Wei Longshen’s back.
Wei Longshen cursed and turned around just in time to see the dagger—and the row of gray spikes that forced the assassin away.
Mi Fei was angry. Both at Wei Longshen and at the shade. What she’d imagined would be a tag-team against a stronger opponent was turning out to be both their parties acting independently.
The assassin flickered through space, attacking Wei Longshen repeatedly. Mi Fei didn’t feel the slightest hint of danger from him. It was exactly as Burning Sword had said—he was hiding his killing intent until the right moment. Moreover, it was a group battle, and the assassin wasn’t focused on her. She could see him clearly, and as such, could defend for Wei Longshen.
A pool of Grandmist filled the rooftop, constricting the assassin but not hindering anyone else. As Mi Fei controlled the assassin’s movements, Xiao Bai chased after him, occasionally deflecting a blow with a powerful kick. Unfortunately, he was a rune-gathering cultivator and difficult to obstruct. World projections were tricky, and a teleporting opponent difficult to predict.
Still, Mi Fei’s training was paying off. Whenever the assassin teleported to one of Wei Longshen’s blind spots, she was the first to sense it. The Grandmist she used to predict the assassin doubled up as a mobile Grandmist shield, which, while unable to block the assassin, slowed him considerably.
Like this, they exchanged several blows, until finally, the assassin had enough. “You test my patience, girl,” he said. The bubbling dread suddenly became an ocean of fear as the assassin teleported not to her but to Xiao Bai.
Mi Fei tried to block him, and Xiao Bai tried to run away. The assassin locked her down with a spatial prison and stabbed her in the abdomen. Xiao Bai punched him in the gut, so he stabbed her through the thigh. Then through the arm. Then through the chest.
“Xiao Bai!” Mi Fei shouted. She ran toward her friend, but before she could make it, the assassin flickered in front of her.
“She’ll live,” the assassin said. “Stay out of this
.” Then he teleported away and resumed his attack against Wei Longshen.
Mi Fei ran toward Xiao Bai and saw that the assassin hadn’t lied. Xiao Bai was a Godbeast, after all, and could take a lot of punishment. The Dao scars from the man’s dagger were already starting to fade. Still, it would take a long time even for Xiao Bai to recover from such grievous injuries. As for Wei Longshen, he was fighting for his life, doing his best to activate some sort of medallion.
I need to buy him time, Mi Fei thought. If the assassin’s words and actions were any indication, he didn’t seem to want to hurt her. Well, she would use that. She interposed herself between him and Wei Longshen. The assassin’s blade froze inches from her chest, buying time for Wei Longshen to start the activation process. The assassin flickered, and Mi Fei slowed him with Grandmist just long enough to block him once again. Then the shadowy man growled and smashed down on her with his world projection, intent on forcing her out of the way.
If it had been any other rune-carving cultivator, he wouldn’t have succeeded. But in that moment, Mi Fei’s strength soared, and she felt wings spreading out from her back. Her Grandmist thickened. Her control solidified. She reached out and found that she could somehow control space. She’d broken her limit somehow, though she didn’t know how.
“Enough!” the assassin barked and slashed down, cutting through her fledgling world projection, and her Grandmist, and her protective robes. He cut into her shoulder and deep into her chest. The assassin cursed and shoved her away. The world went black as she sank to her knees in a pool of her own blood. Was she dying? Had Wei Longshen made it?
She saw the assassin lunge at him, but before he so much as reached him, another figure appeared, full of thunder and storms. Oh, good, Mi Fei thought. Everything faded.
“Mi Fei!” Wei Longshen shouted the moment the blue-cloaked figure appeared. He dove toward her and dug through his bag of holding for healing pills he kept in case of emergencies. He almost fumbled the first as he forced it into her mouth. Relief flooded him as he saw the wound on her chest begin to close.
He knew his work wasn’t done yet, however. Xiao Bai was still in danger. He dragged Mi Fei over to her demon companion and administered a second lifesaving pill. It wasn’t fully suited to demons, so the effect wasn’t as pronounced, but her wounds began to heal all the same.
A fierce battle was raging overhead. They exchanged furious blows, constantly teleporting and flickering and clashing. This continued on for a few seconds before the assassin changed tact and attacked Wei Longshen. He shielded both girls with his body, knowing that if they died, he’d never forgive himself. Fortunately, it didn’t come to that. His father had lied. He hadn’t given the medallion to an elder. His father was here.
“You dare attack my son?” Patriarch Wei said.
Wei Longshen was thankful—a mere elder would have already perished. Patriarch Wei was the strongest in their family. He channeled wind and lightning, the strength of storms. He was the bane of assassins and evildoers.
“This doesn’t concern you, Patriarch Wei,” the assassin said.
“It concerns my son, so it concerns me very much,” his father said.
“I didn’t want to fight him, but he insisted,” the assassin said.
“And here we are,” Patriarch Wei said.
“Leave, or I will kill you,” the assassin said. “Your clan will perish without you to support them.”
“Hah!” Patriarch Wei said. “It seems this prefecture has forgotten how I made my name.” The air crackled as their auras clashed. Lightning crackled and winds howled. Only a thin gray shield protected the assassin, though it wavered and warped. “Come!”
The assassin no longer held back, and only now did Wei Longshen realize the assassin had been toying with him. A spatial lock? He could have broken out at any time. It shattered under the combined pressure of both cultivators.
A single second passed, and in that second, they exchanged a dozen blows. After a few more seconds, the assassin drew a sword and coated his dagger. It bubbled and hissed with a silver poison. “Last warning,” the assassin said.
“I’ll say the same,” Patriarch Wei said. Dark clouds of crackling lightning gathered around him.
Blink. They fought in the sky, moving so quickly Wei Longshen could barely see. The assassin didn’t break through, and when he tried to take Patriarch Wei’s back, the storm intercepted him.
Blink. They were level with the rooftop, fighting in the air. They were fighting fiercely, but with each exchange, the assassin was losing ground. Then, likely seeing it was futile, the assassin tried to flee, but lightning blocked him, and Patriarch Wei cut him off.
“Don’t force my hand,” the assassin said.
“You killed one of our elders,” Patriarch Wei said. “I can’t let you leave.”
“Fine,” the assassin said. “Live with the consequences.” There was another flash, and Wei Longshen felt the world around him ending. Four spirits appeared behind him, and the assassin’s dagger ripped through them like sheets of wet paper. In that moment, Wei Longshen tasted death. He looked it in the eye, welcoming it, accepting it.
Blue lightning flashed in front of him, and Wei Longshen felt a wetness on his chest. He blinked and realized his father was now in front him.
“You madman!” the assassin gasped, falling to his knees.
Patriarch Wei fell as well, and Wei Longshen caught him. A dagger lay buried in his chest. It had missed his heart, but just barely.
Life left the assassin’s eyes. His father’s sword was buried in his torso, and his flesh was charred and burned. Wei Longshen eased his father down. He fumbled for a lifesaving pill—standard issue in his family—only to realize he’d already used his. Both of them. As for his father’s pills? They were inside his spatial treasures. Sealed away until the man was dead or the blood seal broken.
He’s still alive, Wei Longshen thought. His soul is still there. But it was fading fast. If he didn’t do something soon, he would perish. Wei Longshen called upon his death-aligned soul and poured transcendent force into the man. His father had a lightning soul, which was the antithesis of death. Still, they were father and son, so it wasn’t a complete rejection.
The air warped, and a figure appeared. Then another. Then another. Patriarch Mi and Patriarch Xia and Patriarch Cao appeared first. Then came the sect patriarchs. The battle had been a beacon, and every strong figure in the city had sensed it. Prefecture Lord Burning Lake arrived last. He put his fingers to Patriarch Wei’s neck, frowned, and shoved a pill into his mouth.
“He lives,” Lord Burning Lake said. “His spirit is wounded. He needs a doctor, and quickly.”
“An assassin?” Patriarch Cao said. “Who would dare?”
Wei Longshen cursed the man inwardly. It was precisely the Cao family who’d hired him, but he didn’t dare speak with his father unconscious.
“We will investigate this,” Lord Burning Lake said. “The assassin’s guild doesn’t rule here. It looks like I’ll need to remind them.”
Elder Wei Yimu and two other elders of the Wei Clan appeared then. They scrambled to the Patriarch and inspected his wounds. “What happened, my boy?” Wei Yimu asked.
“It’s all my fault,” Wei Longshen said. Then he looked over to Patriarch Mi, who was bent over his daughter’s unconscious and blood-soaked body. He was glaring daggers at him, and Wei Longshen couldn’t blame him.
“I gave you a chance, and this is how you repay my kindness?” Patriarch Mi said. He floated the two bodies into a small ship. “Prefecture Lord, I’ll be going now. They require treatment.”
“Do so,” Lord Burning Lake said.
Wei Longshen didn’t have the heart to stop them. He didn’t have a right to say anything. He’d failed them, just as he’d failed Meadow Wind. It’s better this way, he told himself. The best place for her was far away from him.
After all, the reason the assassin had struck three times was not because of his family’s growing p
ower. It was not because he needed to be kept in check. Too many gears were turning in the prefecture, and the Wei Clan’s gains were just an annoyance. No, the assassinations had been a warning. A message he’d been too foolish to notice.
It all boiled down to one key question: Who was more valuable to the Cao Clan—Wei Longshen or Mi Fei? Wei Longshen was a nice addition to the family should he be open to marrying Cao Shufen, true, but Mi Fei was a prize Cao Wenluan would guard jealously.
The assassin had struck three times. Not because he was making headway with any particular clan, but because he and Mi Fei had been enjoying themselves. The goal wasn’t to cripple the Wei Clan but to tear apart their relationship.
“Are you all right, son?” Wei Yimu asked once the elders were done bandaging his father. They’d loaded him onto an enclosed transport to shield him from the falling rain. As for the assassin’s corpse, they’d burnt it to crisp, only keeping its head for identification.
“It’s all my fault,” Wei Longshen whispered.
“It isn’t,” Wei Yimu said. “Your father knew exactly what he was doing.”
“It shouldn’t have come to this,” Wei Longshen said, shaking his head.
“It did, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” Wei Yimu said. “He made his choice, and he paid for it.” Then he put a hand on Wei Longshen’s shoulder. “I need you to be strong, son. We need you to be strong.”
Wei Longshen nodded, took a deep breath, and steeled himself. He bottled up his self-loathing and swallowed his grief. Wei Yimu was right. He could regret all he wanted, but now was not the time for grieving and self-doubt.
“Let’s take him home,” Wei Longshen said. “Call my mother and let her know. We’ll pick up the doctor on our way.”
Claddings of Light : Book 12 of Painting the Mists Page 37