~~~

  Old Jiang had been a demanding teacher.

  Every day meant a new challenge. A different poison to defeat. A different puzzle to solve. His master seemed to derive great joy from Liu Jin's constant struggles. The only time he showed regret was when he made him undergo the trial of the Nine-Head Snake God at the grand age of nine. Liu Jin is sure that Old Jiang would have waited longer if he had more time to live.

  Regardless, harsh as his lessons were, Old Jiang never imposed any obligations on him. He never warned him about misusing his teachings or told him to use them only in specific ways. On the contrary, Old Jiang was very upfront about the fact that Liu Jin could do whatever he wanted with the knowledge passed down to him.

  Most likely, Old Jiang did not want what happened to his father to repeat itself. That is why he allowed Liu Jin the freedom to act as he pleased. To that end, he hid much from him. His enemies. His allies. His history. Old Jiang only showed him what he thought was absolutely necessary.

  Had Liu Jin ever tried to get him to tell him who poisoned him, Old Jiang would have probably laughed at him and told him not to think about stupid things. Liu Jin knows that.

  However…However…

  Somewhere out there are the people who murdered his grandfather!

  Liu Jin breathes deeply. The Wandering Wind has done what she wanted and left after answering some of his questions. The others are gone as well. He asked them for a moment of privacy to gather himself, and that was no excuse. The Qi around him is dark, heavy, and carries a light scent of death. No matter how much Liu Jin tries to bring it under control, dark thoughts keep bubbling to the surface of his mind. He looks into his soul, and all he sees is a poisonous ocean boiling with wrath.

  “Boss, you are going to mess up your face if you frown so much.”

  Liu Jin slowly turns away from the pillar he had been glaring a hole into. Su Daji is standing there with her hands behind her back. Her expression is nonchalant, but the thin layer of Qi around her body says much.

  “I asked for a moment,” Liu Jin says.

  Su Daji gives him a flat look.

  “Has leaving you alone with your thoughts ever worked out, boss?” she asks, waving a hand through the air, literally pushing his dark Qi out of the way. The motion makes the divide between the normal air and the one saturated with his Qi clear. “Look, you’re literally darkening the room.”

  Liu Jin glares at her in silence for several seconds. The purple-haired girl refuses to budge.

  “This is serious.”

  “And that’s why I am not leaving you,” Su Daji replies. “The others listened to you because you gave them a lot to think about. You’re good at that, but this Su Daji has entirely too many half-remembered memories to be swayed by something as small as a war between humans and demons. More dangerous than that would be to let you act as that woman wants. You know that’s why she told you, right?”

  “I know,” Liu Jin replies.

  The Wandering Wind is many things, but subtle is not one of them. She does not care enough to be. From the moment she told him that information, she knew he’d feel compelled to follow it through. Even if he knows she is trying to manipulate him, no amount of reasoning can temper what his soul cries for.

  “So?” Su Daji asks, throwing her hands up. “Don’t give her the satisfaction! Annoy her! Spite her! Make her mad! If you’re in doubt, always act in the way that will create more spite, Boss.”

  “It’s not that simple,” Liu Jin tells her. “They will come after me regardless. I always knew revealing myself would attract the people who killed my master. I don’t have the option not to deal with them.”

  “You’re just lying to yourself,” Su Daji says, crossing her arms. “There is a difference between attention and fixation, and you are about to let this become the latter. From there, it’s a short trip to obsession. He wouldn’t have liked that.”

  “What do you know?” Liu Jin asks her in a quiet voice. “As you told me days ago, you are not Su An.”

  She flinches. A glimmer of hurt appears in her eyes, but it is gone in an instant, replaced by pure stubbornness.

  “Maybe,” she says. “But I do remember things. Maybe not enough, but bits and pieces. She knew him. Not as much as you, obviously, but she liked him well enough. Maybe I don’t remember everything, but I know one thing for certain.”

  “Oh? And what is that?”

  “He loved you,” she says. “Your entire family is awful at showing emotions, but he was always so happy when he was with you. He was so proud. Do you really need me to tell you he wouldn’t want you to be stupid on his account?”

  No.

  She doesn’t.

  His master never wanted him to take up his feuds.

  Liu Jin looks away. His vision blurs for a moment before he blinks it away.

  “I…I am sorry. I seem to always need you,” Liu Jin says. “I thought I’d grown a little more by now.”

  “Hmph, you have grown lots, but that’s exactly why you need more people to give you advice, boss,” Su Daji says. “That’s fine. There are plenty of us here. Now, are you going to stay in this room and brood, or will you come with me and see the others?”

  She offers her hand. Liu Jin takes it.

  “Others?” he asks before she pulls him out of the empty room.

  ~~~

  “Brother-in-law, how I have missed you!”

  Liu Jin is the Emperor of the Storm Dragon Empire. None can harm him as long as he is inside the Storm Dragon Palace.

  Feng Zhuo’s bear hugs are, quite unfortunately, not a method of harm.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “Senior Brother,” Liu Jin says as Feng Zhuo lifts him off his feet. He is pretty sure he hears Su Daji snickering a few feet away. “It has not been that long.”

  “Not that long? Preposterous! I could swear it has been months!” Feng Zhuo says. “You made us all very worried, you know?”

  “I am aware… You can let me go now.”

  “Certainly, it was all very impressive,” Feng Zhuo continues as though he had not heard him. Liu Jin knew he would. “I must say your match against Chen Guo was my favorite. It was such a strong clash of Dao.”

  “I take some offense to that,” Xiao Shuang says. Lu Mei’s genteel laughter reaches Liu Jin's ears moments later.

  "In particular, I appreciated the moment where-"

  “Unhand him already, you fool!" says a new voice. "He’s the leader of a nation. Treat him with the appropriate respect.”

  “He’s my brother-in-law,” Feng Zhuo says, but he finally lets Liu Jin go. “Am I not allowed to show love for my family?”

  Bai Wen crosses her arms and raises a very unimpressed eyebrow.

  “You can show your love without being a nuisance,” she replies.

  “This Feng Zhuo? A nuisance?” Feng Zhuo sighs melodramatically and places a hand over his heart. “What a terrible thing to say! What a cold place the Divine Frozen Palace must be!”

  Bai Wen’s eyebrow twitches. Feng Zhuo’s smile grows.

  Liu Jin senses imminent danger.

  “As pleased as I am to see you both here,” Liu Jin hurries to say, “I must admit that I was not expecting you. Not today, at least.”

  The look Bai Wen gives him almost makes him take a step back.

  Almost.

  “Is it so surprising that I would be here after so many things have happened?” Bai Wen asks him, her voice deceptively calm. Liu Jin finds himself shaking his head. “I was quite worried, so I am heartened to see you in good health. However, I will not deny there is another motive to our presence here.”

  “Considering Little Hao is going to stay here for the foreseeable future, it wouldn’t be right for him to go unsupervised, right?” Feng Zhuo interrupts, earning himself a glare from Bai Wen. He takes it in stride. “My little sister will be here too, but she’s a little too biased on this matter.”

  Lu Mei smiles. “Guilty.”

  “Thus, the responsibility falls to me to chaperone Feng Hao and continue his instruction,” Feng Zhuo says as the six of them renew their walk down the hallway. He glances at Bai Wen out of the corner of his eyes. “I assume the lady is here for similar reasons.”

  “That is so,” Bai Wen says, still annoyed at the interruption. “Little Shuang’s talent is immense. It would be a waste if we stopped nurturing it.”

  “Little Hao is more talented,” Feng Zhuo mutters just loudly enough to be heard by everyone.

  “Are you a child?!” Bai Wen yells at him before catching herself and clearing her throat in embarrassment. “Anyway, Lady Meng Yue volunteered to do it.”

  Xiao Shuang shivers.

  “But that was deemed unwise,” Bai Wen finishes. “I was chosen instead.”

  And, of course, no one bothered to ask him if it was okay for them to send emissaries to his palace. Not that he would have refused them, but it is the principle of the thing! The day is not even over, yet Emperor Xiang’s words are already coming true.

  Still, it could be worse.

  They could have allowed Lady Meng Yue to have her way.

  “I am, of course, grateful to have you here,” Liu Jin says instead of voicing his real thoughts. “The hospitality of the Storm Dragon Empire is always open to you.”

  As if on cue, Shi Qingxia appears in front of them.

  “The victory meal is ready,” she says without any preamble.

  Liu Jin blinks. Certainly, he felt everyone gathered in the banquet hall from the moment Su Daji dragged him out, but…

  “I wasn't aware we brought any cooks,” he says.

  “We didn’t,” Shi Qingxia says. “However, they knew the palace would reach you after the tournament, so they made sure to leave everything cooked and preserved with temporal seals.”

  That…was really thoughtful of them.

  “Follow me,” Shi Qinxia says, turning. “It will get cold if we wait too much.”

  They were already on their way to the banquet hall when Shi Qinxia reached them, so the walk there only takes a few more seconds. The table is full of all sorts of delicious-looking food: meat from various Spirit Beasts, seasoned vegetables, and more. However, that is not what makes Liu Jin smile.

  “Finally!” Bei Hong says. “Do you know how long we’ve waited for you to be done with all your talking? Do you want the food to go to waste?”

  “You served yourself a plate,” Lu Mei notes, looking at Bei Hong with no small amount of irritation. “In the Emperor’s banquet hall. Without the Emperor’s presence.”

  “Even I know better, Brother Hong,” Huang Shing notes after waving at Liu Jin. “That’s just rude.”

  “Call it repayment for services rendered,” Bei Hong says. “We fought those shadow people, didn’t we?”

  “You did, indeed,” Liu Jin says. “Did you have fun?”

  Bei Hong considers the question.

  “They were strong,” he says at last. “Cowardly, but strong. If they hadn’t retreated and stayed to fight till the end, I’m not sure we could have won.”

  “We weren’t at our best,” Huang Shing protests.

  “They weren’t using all their power,” Fan Bingbing counters, making Huang Shing grimace. Even Lu Mei looks somewhat displeased.

  “Next time, I won’t lose. It’s that simple,” Bei Hong promises, and everyone in the room feels the weight of those words settle over them. Some smile and chuckle while others shake their heads.

  “You’ll have time to prepare,” Liu Jin says, moving to the head of the table. He looks at all the people assembled. “In the meantime, please, drink and eat. The Emperor of the Storm Dragon Empire welcomes you and thanks you for all you have done.”

  That is all the prompting Bei Hong needs. Huang Shing is not far behind, quickly moving to fill his plate.

  “Quite the collection you have gathered,” Xiao Fang tells him, looking at Bei Hong and Huang Shing with clear distaste. Xiao Shuang is sitting beside him. She had gone to him as soon as she saw him. “They are certainly… unique.”

  “You are unique as well,” Liu Jin tells him. Xiao Fang glares at him.

  “It is good to see you, brother,” Xiao Shuang says. “Will you be staying here long? After everything that went on in the tournament, it would be nice if we could all spend a little more time together.”

  "I suppose spending time here is better than doing it at some inn," Xiao Fang says. “Besides, the situation over at the Xiao Sect is uncertain. Xiao Yifan supposedly fled the city, but if I show up right now and try to take charge, it will just leave me exposed.”

  “I suppose it would be rude of me to turn you away in your homelessness,” Liu Jin says calmly as he fills his plate. Xiao Fang glares at him.

  “You tease him too much, husband,” Xiao Shuang says, though the way her lips tremble reveals her true feelings.

  Xiao Feng’s eyebrows twitch. “You really have gotten comfortable speaking your mind.”

  “Was that not always the case?” Feng Zhi asks. “I cannot imagine a time when our esteemed Emperor wasn’t the way he is.”

  Xiao Fang and Feng Zhi’s gazes meet. A single nod is given as silent understanding passes between them.

  “Oh, I’d say we have all changed a little, cousin,” Lu Mei says. “Don’t you remember when we first met? You were so imperious and overbearing back then. What were you doing so close to the Spring of Clear Insight anyway?”

  “That’s not important!” Feng Zhi says, a hint of red on his cheeks.

  “No,” Huang Shing says with his mouth full. “The way you reacted just now makes me want to know.”

  “Silence, oaf!”

  “See? That is exactly what I mean. Hey! That was my duck, Yi Jiao!”

  Looking from the sidelines, someone sniffles.

  “Are you crying?” Shi Qingxia asks, disgusted.

  “I am emotional is all,” Lei Kong replies, rubbing the tears out of his eyes. “It’s just such a happy occasion.”

  Liu Jin laughs. He closes his eyes and allows the noise in the room to wash over him. Petty bickering, laughter, and countless meaningless words. His empty palace has become full in the blink of an eye. It is a far cry from the silence he favors. And yet…

  It feels good.

  ~~~

  Mini-Character List

  Liu Jin: Our protagonist. Happy.

  Su Daji: The Wandering Wind’s disciple. Carries much of Su An in her.

  Feng Zhuo: Son of Feng Shang. Friendly in-law.

  Xiao Shuang: Disciple of the Divine Frozen Palace. Looking forward to spending time in the Storm Dragon Empire.

  Lu Mei: Disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan. Would not tease people too much if they didn’t leave themselves so open.

  Bai Wen: Disciple of the Divine Frozen Palace. Concerned and annoyed.

  Shi Qingxia: Maid of the Storm Dragon Empire. Dependable.

  Bei Hong: Disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan. When in doubt, train.

  Huang Shing: Disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan. Lacks skill guarding his food.

  Fan Bingbing: Disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan. Big eater.

  Xiao Fang: Young Master of the Xiao Sect. That one homeless in-law.

  Feng Zhi: Young Master of the Eternal Flame Clan. Nothing happened.

  Lei Kong: Head of the Lei Clan. Could have sat at the table, but chose to stand back for old time’s sake.

  AN

  Like always, there are more chapters over at the Patreon.