Ash let his hands fall to his sides.
He had been about to argue, but he decided against it.
“I come with news,” Ash muttered instead.
“Yes. Likely I’ve already heard it, in fact,” admitted Gen, his mouth curving up into his wolf-like smile. “It seems Bao Jade will need to take some time to recover. Apparently, he was injured in a training accident.”
Thinking on that, Ash shook his head after a second.
“I crushed his nuts with my hand,” Ash said simply. “And the Inner Sect master apparently no longer has his lower or middle Dantian.”
Gen’s smile only grew wider at that.
“I heard that, as well. Just not the details about Bao,” Gen said, then let out a sigh. His smile fell away from his face. “I considered him a friend. An old friend. I never would have suspected him.”
“That’s… usually how deception works,” Ash mumbled. “If it was easy to spot, it wouldn’t be a concern.”
Opening his mouth, Gen looked like he wanted to argue that point, then closed it. Nodding his head once, he then shrugged his shoulders.
“You’re right. Absolutely right,” said Gen. “How did you ruin the Inner Sect master, by the way? No one can seem to determine what actually happened to him.”
“Tribulation attack hit him. A lot.”
The skin where Gen’s eyebrows would have been moved upward at that.
“Your tribulation made him a citizen? I think we greatly underestimated just how strong your tribulation was.”
“And then some. And then some. I’m afraid your next one—when you cross into the Spirit Refiner world—will be even more dangerous, Chosen One,” Locke said.
Pulling out the tribulation crystal from his storage, Ash showed it to Gen.
“This is what was left over,” Ash said, holding up the plum-sized and perfectly clear crystal.
Shaking his head as he eyed the prize, Gen clicked his tongue and made a hand-waving motion at him.
“Put it away and show no one else. Be sure you take that into yourself before the day is over. Far too precious a thing to not be kept secret until you can process it,” Gen ordered.
Ash put the crystal back into the Hall and then waited. He wasn’t sure what to say to Gen.
Or if he should apologize.
The truth of the matter was, he’d single-handedly crippled the sect. Without its sect leader, there was a distinct lack of force and power that it could now call upon.
Doubly so, because Inner Sect Master Peng was no longer a cultivator.
“Don’t fret. We’ll make it through this rather easily, to be honest,” Gen said with a dark chuckle. “I’ll murder Peng, splash his blood around a bit, likely on a medallion I have just for him, and then have a chat with Bao. I don’t believe I can fight him and win in a one-on-one fight, but… but with knowing what we do now, I don’t think he’ll be willing to test me.
“Chances are, we’ll be able to act on any information he has without fear of his compatriots. Because this whole business isn’t over. Not by a long shot.”
“I would imagine not. Someone has been investing a great deal of time and money into acquiring the Jade Fist. Though… Bao Jade couldn’t enter the Jade Vaults, could he?”
Taking in a slow breath through his nose, Gen appeared to be contemplating that.
“No. It would seem the Jade Vaults have been sealed since the last Jade Master vanished. Though I begin to wonder if they didn’t vanish so much as they were made to disappear,” Gen grumbled. “The Jade Masters have also been absent for quite a while. Whenever anyone inquired about them, Bao would just say they were out taking care of sect business.”
“In other words… there’s no one at the top to protect us from another sect attacking us.”
“Outside of our faithful alumni, no, there isn’t. Which is why it’s a good thing you didn’t end up killing Bao Jade. That would have made our position beyond untenable. Given what we know of him—and that he is now aware we know—he’s… in an interesting position. If he were to take further action, we could go to the alumni and they would dispose of him.”
“I thought—”
“They might not be able to take on another sect for us or defend us in a direct attack,” Gen said, nodding his head and cutting Ash off, “but they could easily get rid of Bao Jade and replace him. That’s well within their power to do.”
“So… we’re left with a defender that, up until recently, wanted us all to die,” said Ash, clarifying the situation, “or getting rid of said defender without anyone to replace him. I can’t tell which option is worse, considering that he personally tried to kill me.”
“Indeed. But those are the options we’ve been given and must work with,” said Gen with a sigh. “And in the meantime, as I handle sect troubles, you must begin working on cultivating your middle Dantian. As well as rebuilding your Qi Sea once you incorporate your tribulation crystal.
“Though, I believe your companions will be returning tomorrow from their own tribulations. They weren’t able to wait for you and needed to continue on with Li-Yong.”
That’s a good point. They had their own tribulations they needed to deal with.
“Indeed. Chunhua and Na still have their own to go through, you realize. It’s quite likely that they’ll need to handle theirs in the next few days. Chunhua in two or so, Na in five. Hers will rely on her ability to control her Qi, I imagine. Rather than a mindless brute like yours was, Chosen One,” Locke added. “Theirs should be much more… normal… compared to your own. Though, they’ll certainly still be above average.”
“How about for now, you have a seat, and we have a nice game?” Gen asked, then gestured to a black and white checkered board off to one side.
“Yes, let’s,” Ash replied with a chuckle.
***
Ash walked into his home, closed the door, and paused.
There was no sound coming from inside.
No light was turned low and waiting for him.
Coals were not banked in the hearth.
His home was cold, dark, and empty.
Huh.
“I mean, what’d you really expect?” Locke said with a chuckle. “Everyone is tending to their own lives in one way or another, Chosen One.”
Ash couldn’t argue with that point.
It was incredibly accurate.
Standing there, he had no idea what to do with himself. He really hadn’t been alone since he’d run away and secluded himself in the Hall in a temper tantrum.
Even then, he hadn’t really been alone because he knew people were waiting on the other side for him.
Right now, he had none of the people who he’d consider himself close to.
The guards walking Sheng Street that were posted outside his home were acquaintances to be sure. He even knew a great many of their names and what they were like as people.
But they weren’t what he’d call his inner circle. His confidants.
“Your harem,” Locke offered.
My… harem. They’re not—yes. They’re my harem.
Fine. Yes.
They want it, I want them physically, and people want me dead.
Whatever.
No more back-stepping. No more being passive. No more letting things happen.
Need to lead. To push forward.
To charge ahead.
Shaking his head and once more reaffirming his resolution to not be passive, Ash walked deeper into his home.
Moving to the hearth, he started placing a number of smaller logs into it.
“No sense in letting the house stay cold, even if it’s just me,” said Ash aloud.
“Makes sense to me. But I don’t feel heat or cold, so it’s mostly a topical discussion. Much like wondering what outer space tastes like,” Locke replied.
“Wha… what? That’s just weird,” Ash said, settling the wood into place. Rather than getting out a fire-striker, he just channeled Qi into the wood itself.
Seconds after the wood could hold no more, it burst into flame.
“Yes, very indulgent and wasteful, Chosen One.”
“As if I need the Qi. Feels like I’m always full these days.”
“You are, actually. Always full, that is. We need to finalize your transition into the Mortal Refiner realm soon.”
Nodding at that, Ash couldn’t disagree.
There were a lot of open items he needed to attend to. So many, in fact, that he was beginning to wonder if he had the time to complete enough of them before more issues appeared.
“You probably don’t. But that’s okay. Because you’ll start farming some of these tasks out to your harem, right?” Locke asked. “You yourself said you’re not going to turn them away from your bed either. You going back on that already, Chosen One?”
The denial died on his lips even before he could get the first syllable out.
“Definitely going to give them some tasks,” Ash agreed, then let out a short chop of a breath. “And not turning them away either, no.”
“Good. With that being said, I’m going to go check on my lovebirds. I swear they spend more time in the bedroom than they do anywhere else.
“Feels more like a porno than a romance now. I’m extremely glad I gave them some means of birth control or she’d long since be pregnant.”
Ash raised his eyebrows at that and held his hands out toward the fire. The flames were spreading from log to log quite quickly now, and it was starting to throw out some heat.
Squatting there in his empty home in front of the hearth, Ash quietly went about ordering his thoughts.
His tasks.
What he needed to get done long-term, and what he had to do in the following days.
Staring into the fire as it moved and flowed over the surface of the wood, Ash felt himself being drawn into it. Becoming part of that chaotic and crackling ripple as it devoured the log.
The chaos wasn’t real. At the base of the flame, where everything was actually happening, it was calm.
Steady.
Chewing away at the wood and converting it. Using it as fuel.
It flowed over the log as if it were a liquid.
Turning his right hand at the wrist, Ash willed the fire to move down and around the log’s edge. To shift down, onto the next log, and begin to gnaw on that one as well.
Responding in a stuttering and shuddering way, the flame did as it was bidden. Flowing along.
Fire, water, wind, molten metal or earth, so many things can flow if you look at them closely enough.
What can’t I do with my Dao?
Time… space… many of the elements. So many things are open to momentum.
Closing his hand slowly, Ash willed a small section of the fire to simply smother itself down into a single ember. To be nothing more than a glowing orange dot.
And so it became an orange dot.
Relaxing his control over the fire, the ember rose up into a flame once again.
“Always more to learn, it seems,” Ash murmured and stood up.
A sudden knock on his door caught him off guard as he started to move away from the fire.
Realizing after a second that no one would be answering it for him, Ash went to get the door.
Opening it, he found Na standing on the other side of the doorway.
“Your Handmaiden is reporting for her nightly duties, Master Sheng,” Na said, bowing deeply at the waist to him.
Pressing his lips together, Ash considered sending her away.
He wanted nothing to do with her if this was only a duty.
“And… also because I wish to enjoy the bed with you,” Na added, standing upright again. There was a warm smile on her face. “So I look forward to this duty and want this to happen. Do you defy me, Master Sheng?”
Looking at the beautiful, intelligent woman, Ash took a step to the side.
“By all means, come in,” Ash said simply.
“Ah, thank you.”
Moving past him, Na entered his home. Pausing several steps past the entryway, she turned to face him.
“Thank you for saving me, Na,” Ash said and shut the door. Slowly Na’s eyes moved up to his own and remained there.
“Of course, Ashley. Master Sheng. You spared my life and protected me. I’m indebted to you,” Na murmured. “That and… I also saved you for my own selfish reasons.”
“Na… I’m shocked. Selfish?” Ash asked with a grin, taking two steps toward her and closing the distance.
“Yes. Selfish. Because if I were to save you, and we both survived, then I would be able to have an encounter such as… as what we’re having right now.”
“Sounds like being selfish worked out.”
“Yes! It did. Doubly so, as Chunhua is currently preparing for her tribulation with Gen. I will have you to myself tonight, and most likely all of tomorrow,” Na said. Slowly, the smile on her face faltered. “Though I must share a secret with you, Master Sheng.”
Raising an eyebrow at that, Ash waited, folding one hand into another.
“My… my Granny Ahnan pushed a piece of jade into my wound,” Na said, her face taking on an odd look. “It… I’ve… been able to interact with it. Through my Qi. I think it’s a very weak version of what you can do. I’m slowly learning… the Jade Master techniques from it. In fact…”
Na paused and then pulled the large, broken, green jade sword out from her storage ring. Ash had given it to her to handle and care for, then promptly forgot about it.
The jagged edge at the bottom where he’d broken it off was gone. As was a large portion of the material that it’d come with.
It’d been reshaped and clearly formed into a slim one-handed blade.
Then Na pulled out a second weapon, identical to the first.
“I can mold and shape the jade,” Na murmured, pressing the two blades together. They immediately formed into a single large two-handed weapon.
And almost as quickly as that’d happened, it became a staff that stretched out to each side.
“It only works with the jade sword and the jade I gathered from the vaults, though,” Na added, then vanished the staff away into her storage equipment. “I believe I’m going to become a Jade Master.”
“Then congratulations are in order,” Ash said, bowing his head slightly to her. “And I’m sure Granny would be most excited to see your control over the jade already.”
Na let out a soft whoosh of breath as her lips curled upward into a wide smile.
“She would be, wouldn’t she?” murmured Na, staring hard at Ash now. “I accept your congratulations and demand that you allow me to tend to my nightly duties.”
“As you wish, Handmaiden,” Ash said, reaching up and laying the fingertips of his right hand to her jawline.
Then he leaned in close and kissed her, his left hand coming to rest on her hip.
Na made a small squeak, before pressing in close to him, kissing him back with abandon.
“Ugh, it’s pornos on every channel, it seems tonight,” Locke grumbled. “Can you at least do something other than missionary with her? That’s all Tai ever does. Life has so few surprises.”
Surprises aren’t very fun.
Ash was rather busy seeing how long he could kiss Na at the moment and wasn’t paying much attention to Locke.
“They can be quite fun. Depending on the surprise, that is,” Locke said. Then he coughed once and cleared his voice twice.
“It just really depends on the surprise,” said a very feminine and sultry voice inside Ash’s mind. One he’d never heard before and made his skin prickle. “Some can be quite enlightening. Amazing, even. At least, to me. But we both know I’m a trickster who loves a good romance. Isn’t that right, my Chosen One?”
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If you enjoyed this book, try out the books of some of my close friends. I can heartily recommend them.
Blaise Corvin- A close and dear friend of mine. He’s been there for me since I was nothing but a rookie with a single book to my name. He told me from the start that it was clear I had talent and had to keep writing. His background in European martial arts creates an accurate and detail driven action segments as well as his world building.
https://www.amazon.com/Blaise-Corvin/e/B01LYK8VG5
John Van Stry- John was an author I read, and re-read, and re-read again, before I was an author. In a world of books written for everything except harems, I found that not only did I truly enjoy his writing, but his concepts as well.
In discovering he was an indie author, I realized that there was nothing separating me from being just like him. I attribute him as an influence in my own work.
He now has two pen names, and both are great.
https://www.amazon.com/John-Van-Stry/e/B004U7JY8I
Jan Stryvant-
https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Stryvant/e/B06ZY7L62L
Daniel Schinhofen- Daniel was another one of those early adopters of my work who encouraged and pushed me along. He’s almost as introverted as I am, so we get along famously. He recently released a new book, and by all accounts including mine, is a well written author with interesting storylines.
https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Schinhofen/e/B01LXQWPZA
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