~~~
The body Serene End was puppeteering is no more. Its parts are now splattered over the walls, floors, and even the ceiling. Thankfully, the barriers prevented any of it from reaching the three people in the room.
Xiao Shuang blinks very slowly.
“This is…not quite what I expected when you said you had something to show us,” Xiao Shuang says, staring at the gory display with a haunted look.
Lu Mei places a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“You poor dear,” she says, “I am sorry you had to find out this way, but this man is terribly comfortable with the dead and entirely too inconsiderate to the sensibilities of the living.”
Liu Jin feels attacked.
“Many of the stories you told me about your training involved Spirit Beasts being killed by the dozens, either by you or your Master,” he tells Xiao Shuang.
“Killed with ice,” Xiao Shuang protests. “They froze and shattered prettily. This is not pretty at all!”
“It is not that bad,” Liu Jin says, surrounded by the remains of Serene End’s flesh puppet. “Really, it’s only a body. Considering how accurate its construction is, one could call this artistic.”
Xiao Shuang and Lu Mei stare at him.
Liu Jin sighs.
“Fine,” he says. “I’ll handle this.”
He kneels on the ground and puts his hand on a particularly large chunk of flesh.
“Should you really be touching that?” Lu Mei asks. Her tone is both dubious and a little disgusted. “Isn’t it dangerous?”
“Not particularly,” Liu Jin says as his Qi reaches out to the dead flesh. “The real Serene End is not anywhere close. I thought she was when we fought in Imperial Cloud City, but it was this body I was sensing. It acted as a beacon for her, allowing her to project her presence over vast distances. When I destroyed the body, I also freed it from her influence. Now, it is nothing but flesh without any will or orders imprinted on it. All I need to do is exert my will over it, and…”
Liu Jin’s Qi spreads from one bit of flesh to the next like the strands of a spider web. In a few seconds, he has made contact with every bit of flesh, every chunk of bone, and every pool of blood.
He pulls.
The effect is instantaneous. The blood, the flesh, and the bones all come rushing to his hand, twisting and compacting until they have made themselves into a flesh-colored orb with a diameter of around seven inches.
“See?” he says, holding up the ball for them to see. The room is now clean. “Completely safe.”
Marrow enters at that moment. Liu Jin had called him several seconds ago. The dog’s eyes light up when he sees the ball, and he starts jumping in place. Liu Jin tosses the ball at him, and the dog rushes after it.
Xiao Shuang stares.
Lu Mei sighs.
“I suppose we can start discussing things,” she says, making her way to a chair and sitting down with considerably less grace than usual. Xiao Shuang follows suit. “Pleased as I am that you wish to more actively include us in your decision-making process, are you sure what you did was wise? I won’t deny I enjoyed watching you show that upstart her place, but that might have ruined any chance of future negotiations.”
“Not necessarily,” Xiao Shuang says, pointedly looking anywhere but at the dog. “She might simply think you established proper boundaries. A strong opening statement is preferred and often necessary when dealing with people like that. However, wouldn’t it have been better to keep her prisoner?”
Liu Jin shakes his head.
“It was too dangerous,” he says, crossing his arms. “While I could have kept her confined indefinitely, that would have encouraged her to grow creative. The arts of the Death Fashioning Scripture are a dangerous variable that I do not need in my palace or my Empire. In a way, it was a lucky thing Serene End grew bold enough to trespass. Dealing with her would have been far harder otherwise.”
“She is still out there now,” Lu Mei points out. “Let us assume our Xiao Shuang is right, and Serene End intends to continue negotiations. Should you take her offer? Like it or not, she was right. Even with the support of the Eternal Flame Clan and the Divine Frozen Palace, the Temple of the Thousand Shadows and the Peerless Heavenly Sword Peak are too strong for us. The aid of the Death Fashioning Scripture would be invaluable in protecting yourself against them.”
“That would defeat the whole point of the tournament, wouldn’t it?” Xiao Shuang asks. “The leader of the Death Fashioning Scripture wants to tear down the barrier. Allying with the Death Fashioning Scripture would help him. From the sounds of it, they seem to believe it will make them so strong that they’d defeat the other two powers on their own. We’d be left completely at their mercy.”
“I merely present the option,” Lu Mei says, raising her hands. “I do not like it any more than you do, but we cannot pretend it does not exist. We do not have an abundance of choices right now.”
“Completing the Death Fashioning Scripture,” Liu Jin mutters just loudly enough for the two girls to turn to him. “That’s what she said, isn’t it? She talked about it as if there was an actual scripture somewhere.”
“You’ve never heard of it?” Xiao Shuang asks him.
“No,” Liu Jin says. “I know Cao Bian wants my master’s knowledge but not much else.”
A moment of silence falls over the room as the three consider the implication. Only the sounds of Marrow playing can be heard in the room.
“You could learn it,” Lu Mei says suddenly.
Liu Jin turns to her. “What?”
“Assuming there is an actual scripture, I mean. Think about it. You might have learned how to be a doctor, but your skills clearly intersect with those of the Death Fashioning Scripture.” She points at the dog. “You have a clear aptitude for them. Considering the situation, any scrap of power you can get your hands on is worth considering. It wouldn’t exactly be the first time you snuck into a Sect to use it for your own purposes.”
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Liu Jin frowns. Collaborating with the Death Fashioning Scripture might be the easiest thing to do right now. It would make the Temple of the Thousand Shadows and the Peerless Heavenly Sword Peak more motivated to kill him, but he could more easily hide behind the Death Fashioning Scripture.
However…
“It’s too risky,” Liu Jin says. It pains him a little to say it. “The Temple of the Thousand Shadows and the Peerless Heavenly Sword Peak might be more dangerous to me on a personal level, but Death Fashioning Scripture is the bigger danger on a global scale. At best, we can play along for however long it takes for Serene End’s patience to run out. Assuming she returns, that is.”
“She will,” Xiao Shuang says. She sounds certain of it. “A task given to a disciple is one that must be completed. If she returns empty-handed, she’ll be deemed a failure.”
“Then, let us hope she comes here to negotiate instead of something more dangerous,” Lu Mei says.
“I suppose that brings us to the next point,” Liu Jin says. “What are we to do with those we know do not want to negotiate? The Temple of the Thousand Shadows made it quite clear that they want me dead. If the Wandering Wind is to be believed, which she most likely is, the Peerless Heavenly Sword Peak wants the same.”
“You are safe as long as you stay inside the palace,” Xiao Shuang points out.
Until they decide to send someone in the Divine Realm. She does not say it, but they can all feel looming pressure caused by the possibility. Right now, only a complicated mess of alliances and enmities prevents that from happening, but it will not remain that way forever.
Once the ceremony has come and gone, they will probably risk it. Of course, if the ceremony has been successful, it means Liu Jin has stopped Cao Bian’s plans, but he’d rather not die immediately after his success.
“I am not concerned about myself right now," Liu Jin lies. "This is the actual issue."
He waves his hand, and a translucent map of the Storm Dragon Empire appears between the three of them.
“Oh! Very impressive!” Lu Mei says, trying to run her fingers over the projection and watching as they go right through it.
“I have a city now,” Liu Jin says, pointing to the center of the map. Grand Storm City is outlined in gold. “Multiple, in fact. Citizens. Subjects. People under my responsibility. The Palace might keep me safe, but it cannot protect them. There are too many of them for me to hide them inside these walls.”
“The way you said that makes me think you already tried to figure out a way to make that work and failed,” Lu Mei notes. Liu Jin refuses to answer. “Regardless, will it really come to that? You have done a lot to build a villainous reputation. Most people won’t think to attack you through your citizens.”
“Oh? That was on purpose?” Xiao Shuang asks. “I thought it came naturally to him.”
Liu Jin sighs.
“Unfortunately, it does,” Liu Jin says, “I thought I should take advantage of it a little. If people think I am a villain, they are less likely to think I will care about others. However, that won’t necessarily stop them from killing my people to make me lose face. Worse still, Firm Shadow has an unfortunately accurate grasp on my character.”
“Maybe, but so do you, don’t you?” Lu Mei asks him.
Liu Jin blinks. “I believe so, yes.”
“Is he the type of person who will kill countless innocent people just to fulfill an objective?”
Liu Jin thinks back to Firm and Alarming Shadow. He remembers them putting on a puppet show for the children of that small, poor village. There was no reason for them to do so, but they did it.
“No,” he says. “He wouldn’t.”
“Well, there you go,” Lu Mei says. Xiao Shuang turns to look at her.
“That’s it? We have to rely on the goodwill of our enemies?”
“Relying on the goodwill of people who want him dead is what he has been doing all along,” Lu Mei says, shrugging. “It is a good thing you never met Murong Bang. That man was terrifying. Compared to him, the shadows are but innocent babes frolicking in the flowers.”
Liu Jin pointedly ignores the look Xiao Shuang shoots him.
“Firm and Alarming Shadow might not be an immediate risk to the population, but they could become that if ordered,” he says. “The same holds true for Serene End. If she tires of negotiations, she will threaten my people.”
Curiously, the Peerless Heavenly Sword Peak, for all their vaunted power, is simply not a threat in the same way. Liu Jin glimpsed a little of that when he almost killed Bright Sword. The Death Fashioning Scripture and the Temple of the Thousand Shadows specialize in fighting groups. The Peerless Heavenly Sword specializes in duels.
“These are our resources,” Liu Jin says as multiple images appear over the map. The biggest among them is General Nie Dan. After him are people such as General Peng, Lei Kong, the three former disciples of the Eternal Flame Clan, and a few nobles. Elder Gang of the Xiao Sect is unfortunately busy in the Crimson Cloud Empire. “I suppose I can add Lady Bai Wen and Feng Zhuo.”
Two more figures appear. Feng Zhuo is grinning cheekily.
“I believe we can fight people on the level of Firm Shadow, Alarming Shadow, and Serene End. Even if the Peerless Heavenly Sword Peak sends someone on the level of Bright Sword, that is not beyond our ability to deal with,” Liu Jin says. “However, it will only be that way at first. The conflict will inevitably grow beyond our scope and numbers.”
Dark figures appear over the map. At first, there are only three of them. Their allies easily deal with them, but more appear. The figurines are not defeated, but they are unable to be everywhere at once. The cities and towns are overrun. Soon, the entire Empire is covered in shadows save for the Storm Dragon Palace.
“That is… very bleak,” Lu Mei says, looking at the nearly pitch-black map. “I’m worried that you have been dwelling on this all this time. Regardless, the issue itself is simple, isn’t it?”
Liu Jin nods.
“I need more power,” Liu Jin says, looking at the map. “Not merely personal power, but multiple strong followers. The more I have, the easier it will be to project power across the Empire.”
“Not just any strong followers,” Xiao Shuang says. “Husband, you need Emperors.”
Lu Mei laughs.
“If it were only so easy,” she says. “Not one of our Heaven Realm cultivators is ready for the Renegade Realm. Even if they were and managed to overcome it, there is no telling how many would remain loyal after gaining all that power.”
However, despite the truth of Lu Mei’s words, Xiao Shuang smiles.
“There is one,” she says. “Putting aside how many in the Divine Frozen Palace and the Eternal Flame Clan would relish the opportunity to let loose and do violence, there is one person who would never betray you, husband. My cousin.”
Lu Mei and Liu Jin blink.
“Isn’t he a Renegade?” Lu Mei asks.
“More than two years have passed since he was last seen,” Xiao Shuang counters. “He was already in the middle stages of the Renegade Realm back then. Someone like him must surely be nearing the Emperor Realm. Between the three of us, we have the connections and resources to ensure he reaches it. Think about it, husband! My brother is with us, so Cousin Nan won’t feel obligated to attend other matters. He will surely fight for you if you ask!”
“That…that could work,” Lu Mei says, looking at him. “Can we do that now? Push a Renegade to the Emperor Realm?”
Liu Jin doesn’t answer right away. He had helped the three traitorous disciples of the Eternal Flame Clan become Heaven Realm cultivators, but the gap between the Renegade Realm and the Emperor Realm is quite a bit larger. However, it is a fact that they have an abundance of resources. They have connections to the Eternal Flame Clan and the Divine Frozen Palace. They also have a direct link to the Five Blessings Group.
Besides, like Xiao Shuang says, Xiao Nan has been in the Renegade Realm for a while, and his talent is beyond reproach.
“We can attempt it,” Liu Jin says at last. “No, we must attempt it. It’d be foolish not to.”
“Excellent!” Xiao Shuang beams. “You’ll double the number of Emperors in the country.”
“No. Not double,” Liu Jin says, surprising both girls. “Triple.”
After all, there is another Renegade in the Dead Plains, one Liu Jin knows is loyal to the Storm Dragon Empire.
~~~
Mini-Character List
Liu Jin: Our Protagonist. When in doubt, ask wives.
Xiao Shuang: Disciple of the Divine Frozen Palace. When in doubt, go to family.
Lu Mei: Disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan. When in doubt, use enemies.
Marrow. Dog. When in doubt, play.
AN:
As always, there are more chapters over at the Patreon. Thanks to everyone who supports me there.
Take care!
