by Wong, Tao
Wu Ying made a face but had to agree. Whatever they chose to do, it would have to be well considered. It was one thing to have a duel, another to attack the residence—temporary or not—of another sect. The second could result in a blood feud or the entire group being disowned.
“Do you have a suggestion?”
***
Staking out the residence of the Heavenly Lake Sect was easier than Wu Ying had expected. At the end of the block that the sect had taken residence within was a restaurant that stayed open late into the night. They were more than happy to host the group on the top floor, giving them a window that overlooked the street and the way toward the sect’s residence. That they had to kick out a group of diners celebrating their grandparent’s ninetieth birthday had made Wu Ying wince enough that he paid for their dinner.
The restaurant itself was of significantly lower quality than the ones they had been visiting, more focused on serving the local populace than a high-class restaurant meant for cultivators. There was no spirit beast meat on the menu, and only a single dish trumpeting the use of a demonic chicken was present. Even the decor, sparse as it was, was of lower quality, the artwork from unknown local artists.
For all that, Tou Hei did not hesitate as he ordered, burdening the waiter with his rapid-fire requests for dishes such that the waiter almost missed Yu Kun’s demand for wine. Wang Min kept silent while Wu Ying had his attention focused on the building in the distance.
“We should have found a closer place,” Wu Ying complained.
“Where?” Yu Kun replied, waving down the street. “It is all residential and closed retail. Unless you wanted to hide on the rooftops…” His eyes narrowed. “You did, didn’t you?”
Wu Ying shrugged uncomfortably.
“I will not. I am a cultivator, not a… a… cì kè[25]!” Wang Min said.
Wu Ying grimaced but relented. The cike held a strange position in the jianghu[26]. The cike was as much a series of martial arts styles as a way to describe a group of sects that focused their activities on assassinations. Due to the nature of their style and their focus, the sects were either heretical or dark sects, depending on their dao focus. Because they walked such a fine line, they were viewed with distaste by the more orthodox sects like the Verdant Green Waters, resulting in the kind of response Wang Min showed.
“But I can’t see what’s going on,” Wu Ying said.
“That’s why you brought me along,” Yu Kun replied.
He moved around to the window and placed his hands on the windowsill. As he moved his hands away, Wu Ying was surprised to see a yellow paper stuck to it, talismans that Yu Kun proceeded to attach all along the windowsill. When he was done, Yu Kun sent a surge of chi through the talismans.
A gasp from the waitress who had arrived caught the cultivators’ attention. Wu Ying could understand, for the talismans had shifted the window opening, making the chi flows outside visible. Furthermore, Wu Ying felt that with a small exertion of his will, he would be able to extend his perception, allowing him to see—to sense—the chi flows within the residence of the Heavenly Lake Sect.
Yu Kun took his seat, waiting for the waitress to depart after supplying the jars of wine before he explained. “If there is a fight, we should easily sense it brewing. Even if the sect attempts to hide such an occurrence, these talismans should allow us to know.”
Wu Ying nodded but a part of him worried that they might try something a little more underhanded. What if they poisoned her? Struck her so fast that she never had a chance to protect herself? What if they overwhelmed her in an all-out attack before Wu Ying and the others could arrive?
All of those questions and more ran through his mind as dishes arrived and he stared out the window. While his friends supped on the dishes, commenting on the taste and generally playing at being unconcerned, he watched. He knew there was little he could do, but still, he watched.
Two hours later, Elder Yang finally made her appearance. She strolled down the street, passing through the ill-lit passages without need of a lantern, her spirit sense more than sufficient to guide her way. She stopped in front of the sect’s residence, briefly looking around before she rapped the door and was guided in by a servant.
Wu Ying’s murmured acknowledgment of her arrival elicited grunts and nods of acknowledgement from the group. As usual, Tou Hei continue to eat without concern, while the others slowed down, picking at the dishes. Only Wu Ying’s bowl of rice lay untouched.
Hours passed with only the continual slurp of meals being eaten, of commoner diners chattering in the background to disturb Wu Ying’s focus. Each time the chi in the window fluctuated, he tensed. Almost always, it was a minor fluctuation in the environment, the passing by of a strong cultivator or a practice session within the residence. None of it was of the same strength or intensity that Wu Ying would have expected from a fight.
The ongoing tension wrung his nerves dry, made him rub the hilt of his sword over and over in nervous worry. Assurances that they would catch it, requests that he relax were all greeted with a grunt before he turned back to watching the residence.
So it was a surprise that when matters escalated, he was the least ready of the group.
***
A hand struck the door leading into their dining room. It stayed aloft, catching the swinging door on its return with contemptuous ease as the intruder strolled in. Behind him, others crowded the doorway. Tou Hei paused, one hand falling to his side where his staff rested against the table, the other holding aloft a pork skewer, half consumed. Yu Kun, closest to the door, was on his feet, his swords already drawn and facing the intruders. Lei Hui and Wang Min were only a fraction of a second behind, standing as the intruders entered the room.
Only Wu Ying, intently focused on the residence, wrung out after so many hours, reacted slowly. He caught sight of flashing blades as he turned, as the first entrant to the room engaged Yu Kun.
“You dare to spy on us! You Verdant Green Waters Sect offal, die like the wandering dogs you are!” Lu Ren exclaimed, making sure to pitch his voice such that everyone in the restaurant could hear. “How dare you attack us, using those spells!”
Even as Lu Ren accused them, acting the part of the victim, Wu Ying noted that the cultivators who engaged his friends in combat were all clad in plain martial robes. None of them wore clothing that denoted their true alliances, though a couple of the faces were familiar from the duels. Certainly not all of them were wandering cultivators or members of the Heavenly Lake Sect.
His surprise and musings were cut short as the flare of energy he had been waiting for—as well as the roar of structural destruction—arose from behind Wu Ying. He twisted his head, his sword drawn from his side, only to catch sight of the newly destroyed second and third floor of the residence tumbling down. Even as he watched, swirls of blue and foam-green chi formed around a familiar female Elder’s form as she rose in the sky, sword light gleaming as she battled another.
“Watch out!”
Wu Ying jerked his head aside, barely dodging the sword thrust that sought his life. He riposted automatically, finding himself engaged in battle with Lu Ren again. Behind the cultivator, the rest of Wu Ying’s party was fighting in close combat, one of the cultivators engaged with Wang Min sporting a half-eaten barbeque skewer sticking out of his arm.
“Your interference ends now,” Lu Ren snarled, thrusting at Wu Ying and catching him in a high bind. Sword blades and guards pressed together, Lu Ren sent a surge of chi through his body, filling the room with that burnt chi smell as he shoved Wu Ying.
Unable to hold his position, Wu Ying was thrown backward into the wall with Lu Ren following, blades still engaged in the bind. The flimsy, common-made wall could not handle the energy imparted to it and shattered around their bodies. Together, the pair tumbled from the third floor of the restaurant, broken wooden beams and compressed mud walls showering them as they fell to the street.
Sword freed finally as they tumbled, Wu Ying began a s
eries of cuts, sending his own chi surging through his weapon. His feet, kicking in the air, connected with a beam. A surge of energy imparted itself into the beam. He changed directions in mid-air, even halting his fall for a second. The sudden change caught Lu Ren by surprise. An underhand cut, a twist of Wu Ying’s wrist, and the blade bit into flesh.
Blood filled the night air, staining his blade.
Wu Ying landed, the loud, ungainly thump of Lu Ren’s graceless fall preceding his. The other cultivator staggered upright, clutching the back of his neck, which had been sliced open. Blood pooled from his fingers as Lu Ren raised his blade.
Not intending to give the man time to recover, Wu Ying threw himself forward. Blades flashed as Wu Ying executed Clearing the vermin from the Doorstep and then Dragon greets the Sunrise, again and again. Cuts scored Lu Ren’s body, the fast attacks breaking open his opponent’s guard. Before Wu Ying could finish the job, a whistle blew.
“Halt! No fighting in the streets!” Behind the screaming guard lieutenant, a troop of Body Cleansing city guards appeared, all armed with long spears and metal scalemail armor.
“That mean we can keep fighting up here?” Yu Kun called from above, even as the clash of blades and thump of wood continued.
“Stop fighting!” the lieutenant screamed again, face flushed and incensed.
Wu Ying debated stabbing Lu Ren and finishing the matter anyway, especially when the swooning and injured cultivator smirked. Wu Ying’s sword trembled a little, but he stepped back and swung his sword, cleaning it of the man’s blood and the stink of his chi. Killing him in cold blood and in front of the guards would bring more trouble than Lu Ren was worth.
Wu Ying did wonder how exactly Lu Ren and his Master had managed to hide their affiliation with the dark sects, what with the rather obvious clues. It was something he’d ask Elder Yang…
Eyes widening, he looked around, searching for his martial sister. But their battle had shifted from the residence, through the sky, and across rooftops at speeds Wu Ying could not hope to match. Only the sudden pulse of chi in the distance spoke of their continued battle.
“Don’t worry, that fight will be handled too,” the lieutenant said. “Now, all of you, sheathe your weapons and follow us back to the jail.”
Wu Ying frowned, but seeing Lu Ren put away his weapon and the guards raise their weapons threateningly, he complied. He could only hope that Fa Yuan could manage the battle herself. Because it looked as though they would be stuck in jail instead.
Chapter 26
To Wu Ying’s surprise, his elder sister was led into the same jail that contained him and his teammates in the early hours of the morning. Zhong Shei was the one leading her over, though he separated her from Wu Ying and placed her in an adjoining cell alone. The guardsman was extremely apologetic to the Elder, murmuring things about procedure and necessity while assuring her that the magistrate would have this settled in short order.
When Zhong Shei left, Fa Yuan looked around the jail cell, meeting Wu Ying’s gaze before she perused the environment. The cell itself was made of compacted earth plaster, overlaid on top of clay fired bricks. The entire cell was fully reinforced by simple enchantments to increase durability, much like the wooden doors, reinforced with metal bars, that shut them in. To Wu Ying’s surprise, the jail cell itself was not particularly redolent, the straw within recently changed and the cell itself scrubbed of refuse. Still, it was a far cry from their usual accommodation.
“Are you okay?” When Wu Ying realized he’d echoed Fa Yuan’s question, he could not help but smile. He gestured back to the group when she waited for his answer. “We are uninjured mostly. If anything, it was the others who came out of the fight worst.”
He could not help but be proud at that turn of affairs. The worst injured among them was Lei Hui and the apothecarist had managed to blind his attacker with a carefully dispersed pouch of powder. On the other hand, since Wang Min was fussing over Lei Hui’s injury, wrapping his injured arm with a bandage and making sure he was taken care of, Wu Ying had a feeling the apothecarist would have taken twice the injuries for the result.
“I am fine. Elder Hsu had more strength than skill.” Fa Yuan’s lips curled in a smirk. “It is what happens when one rushes for strength and cultivation more than skill. Much like his disciple.”
“He wasn’t that bad the day before,” Wu Ying protested. Though his recent fight with Lu Ren had been more one-sided.
“There were extenuating circumstances then.” When Wu Ying made an inquiring noise, Fa Yuan answered. “There is a kind of cultivation exercise that burns potential to give strength and speed. It requires sacrifice, and if we are right, not necessarily their own. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the benefit. Temporarily.”
Wu Ying’s eyes widened. That kind of thing, it was anathema to cultivators. To waste one’s potential for the present would cut short one’s immortal journey. To draw on another’s potential, to force that kind of sacrifice… “Wait. Was that why they asked you to meet with them?”
“Yes. They offered the Ben’s spirit stone if I offered them some of my own life blood,” Fa Yuan admitted.
“You didn’t give them any, did you?” Lei Hui spoke up, struggling to stand and being pushed back by Wang Min. “They can do more than just use it for your potential.”
“Of course not.” Elder Yang shot a contemptuous look at Lei Hui, which made him wilt. She drew a deep breath, settling her emotions. “I would never do such a thing. Our initial negotiation for the spirit stone took some time before they raised the issue. My refusal did not anger them at first. Eventually, they chose to stop the civilities.”
The group fell silent, knowing the rest of the story. Except…
“Did you kill him?” Yu Kun asked.
“I did,” Fa Yuan replied coldly.
Wu Ying winced. Not at the death of their enemy but what it would mean for them. Killing another sect Elder would have consequences. Never mind the fact that it happened in the middle of a city. Battles in the woods, in the wilds were issues that the jianghu dealt with privately. Battles in cities added in unwanted local bureaucracy, making things much more complicated.
“Good.” Yu Kun nodded, going back to take a seat.
“How is that good!” Lei Hui said, waving his hand around. He winced and was pushed back down to his seat by Wang Min, who muttered something about idiotic apothecarists to Wu Ying’s amusement. The fight in the restaurant must have been intense to create the shift in Wang Min’s regard of Lei Hui. “We were trying not to kill our opponents!”
“We were?” Wu Ying said, surprised.
“We were,” confirmed Tou Hei.
“Huh.”
“And it was a good thing that you did not. I asked you to not get involved,” Fa Yuan said coldly, her arms crossing. “It might not have devolved if you had not made your presence known.”
“We were trying to not draw attention,” Wu Ying muttered.
“Hiding a block away was not exactly subtle.”
He winced again, looking for support from his friends. He found Tou Hei seated, counting his prayer beads in quiet meditation. Lei Hui and Wang Min were arguing about Lei Hui’s recent movements, while Yu Kun had found the waste bucket suddenly engrossing. Glaring at the group doing their best to avoid confronting the Elder, Wu Ying turned back. Some friends they were.
“Sorry, Elder Sister.” Wu Ying cast his gaze down, lowering his head in supplication. When all else failed, rely on one’s familial ties. Which, he knew, was the reason his friends were leaving him to confront her. It wasn’t a card they could play.
The snort his words elicited told him his blatant ploy was not unnoticed. But when he looked up, he saw the slightest tug of a smile on her lips, quickly squashed.
“Still, Lei Hui was right—”
“I told you!”
“The death of Elder Hsu would be troublesome in most circumstances.” Fa Yuan smiled grimly. “It is a good thing I made arrangements.
”
Wu Ying grinned, turning around to shoot an “I told you so” look at Lei Hui. The apothecarist just sniffed and turned back to Wang Min as they discussed healing pills.
“So now what?” Wu Ying said.
“Now, we wait.”
***
It was late morning when the magistrate himself and the hereto-unseen captain of the guard arrived. The captain was a massive man, more bear than human it seemed, so overflowing was his follicular nature. He was clad in a dark scalemail chest armor that reached beneath his hips and carried a pair of crossed daos on his hips. Even in the jail, the man was wearing his helmet as he glared about him, stray tufts of hair escaping the open face of his helm and around the end of his helmet.
“Elder Yang, thank you for your patience. I apologize for this taking so long. Much of what you said was true, though it took more effort to have the Hall Master to allow me to view the spirit stones,” Magistrate Song said. “While it seems the allegations are true upon first perusal, we have a problem.”
Fa Yuan arched an eyebrow at the magistrate, who wiped at his forehead at her displeasure.
“You killed a sect Elder in the city. Whether you were justified or not, we cannot just free you,” the captain of the guard said. “I’ve been dealing with a half dozen others complaining about your actions.”
“What sects were they from?” Fa Yuan asked, her voice cold.
“Does it matter?” the captain said. “You did kill him.”
Cutting off Fa Yuan before she could speak, the magistrate waved his robed hands, the long sleeves flapping in the musty air of the jail and creating a small breeze. “I know why you asked, Elder Yang. And we are looking into the other matter”—he flicked his gaze toward Wu Ying and his team—“but such accusations… well, it’s not something a simple magistrate like me can handle.”