~~~

  It feels good to be back in the Storm Dragon Empire. Here, the people do not think he is a terrible villain. While his sudden ascension to the throne caught everyone by surprise, the effects of his rule have been largely positive. Save for a few setbacks caused by rebellious nobles with too-high opinions of themselves, the country has been inching towards prosperity thanks to everyone’s hard work, and that has influenced the public’s opinion of him.

  Though Liu Jin is confined to the palace, having so many of his friends with him makes the experience far less burdensome than it’d otherwise be. Additionally, the palace is literally made for his bloodline. There is no place where Liu Jin feels more at home.

  However…

  “The price of rice…”

  “Your Majesty, he made his festival in my territory! Those were my trees he chopped!”

  “According to the Treaty of the Three Tigers…”

  “So you see, increasing the price of grapes was absolutely necessary, Your Majesty!”

  “My daughter will soon visit the capital. She’s very excited to meet you, Your Majesty. She is a fantastic dancer, so I was wondering if…”

  Liu Jin has not missed having to hold court.

  Hearing the nobles complain about the slightest thing is always a trial. Though Liu Jin knows he could probably leave all of this to General Nie Dan and Minister Chu, he has been absent from the Storm Dragon Empire for the entirety of the Crimson Cloud Tournament and even before that. There is only so much he can neglect his duties before people start having opinions about what he should or shouldn't be doing.

  He did strongly consider leaving this task to his copy, but that felt inappropriate for various reasons.

  “The Eternal Flame Clan has pledged five hundred Inner Disciples to your cause, Your Majesty,” Feng Zhuo reports one day. The announcement causes a stir among the nobles in attendance.

  Most of it is positive.

  “Five hundred!”

  “Amazing!”

  “The Emperor is truly well-connected! Even the Eternal Flame Clan rushes to his aid!”

  “Well, of course! After all, Lady Lu Mei is…”

  Some of it is not.

  “Only five hundred?” one of the nobles says, his voice louder than the others. “They mock us!”

  Liu Jin and Feng Zhuo turn to the noble at the same time. To his credit, the man does not cower even as he feels the public turn against him.

  “The disciples of the Eternal Flame Clan have strength beyond reproach,” Liu Jin says. “Even a single one of them is worth more than a hundred men. By sending five hundred, they might as well be sending fifty thousand men to reinforce our borders. I ask that you not be ungrateful. Of course, if you wish to verify their strength suits your standards, that could be arranged.”

  Feng Zhuo grins.

  “I will happily demonstrate the strength of the Eternal Flame Clan if the duke desires it,” Feng Zhuo says. His Qi rises softly, reminding everyone in the room that, in General Nie Dan’s absence, not one of them surpasses his strength.

  “I…that will not be necessary,” the duke says, grimacing as he backs down. “Forgive my outburst, Your Majesty!”

  That is the end of that, for now. Liu Jin knows he will have to do something to make sure the nobles understand that he is not favoring the Eternal Flame Clan over them later. Already, there are pro and anti-Eternal Flame Clan factions among them. Lu Mei told him all about it one day. She had been giggling, as she’s technically the head of the pro-Eternal Flame Clan faction.

  People are so very difficult. Liu Jin’s eyes glaze over as more matters are brought to his attention, all of them varying degrees of unimportant.

  “-regretfully wishes to inform you that he will not be coming to the palace.”

  “Wait,” Liu Jin says, holding up his hand. The messenger flinches. His forehead gets closer to the ground. “I gave the command for my uncle to present himself to the palace.”

  It was not a request. Liu Jin leaves it unsaid, but the entire court hears it just fine.

  His Uncle on his mother’s side, the man who is his namesake, might lack Qing blood, but it is widely known that he is related to him. As such, he is an obvious target for anyone who has set his sights on Liu Jin, which at the moment includes the entirety of the other side of the Dead Plains. Upon arriving at the Storm Dragon Empire, Liu Jin immediately gave the order that his Uncle present himself to the Storm Dragon Palace.

  “Y-your Majesty did that, yes,” the messenger says. He sounds so scared that Liu Jin has to make sure his Qi has not flared by accident. It hasn’t. “However, Colonel Liu Jin says that he cannot possibly abandon his position at such a critical time. He thanks His Majesty greatly for his concern and kindness, but says that he must remain with the Brotherhood of Thunder.”

  Liu Jin stares at the messenger, who absolutely refuses to lift his head.

  “Were those the exact words my uncle used?”

  The messenger flinches.

  “They were,” the messenger lies.

  Liu Jin resists the urge to sigh. Knowing his Uncle, his message was probably far more hostile and verging on insulting. The poor messenger must have been trying to think of a way to soften it during his entire trip to the palace.

  After the civil war, his Uncle’s Brotherhood of Thunder was absorbed into the army as a mostly independent unit. Because of their reputation as a resistance force that fought against Murong Bang and because their commander is the Emperor’s Uncle, the Brotherhood of Thunder gained the reputation of being an elite unit. That attracted several outstanding talents within the empire, so now, it essentially is that.

  In that sense, his Uncle is not altogether wrong. The Brotherhood of Thunder will have an important part to play in protecting the Storm Dragon Empire in the battles to come. It is important for the unit to operate at full efficiency, and his Uncle is the commander of that unit.

  However, his Uncle could have easily appointed an interim commander! Nothing happening right now makes his presence an absolute necessity! Liu Jin wants to yell that, but it would accomplish nothing other than scaring the poor messenger.

  “You are free to leave,” Liu Jin says.

  The messenger does.

  Liu Jin closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

  It is another day in the Storm Dragon Empire.

  ~~~~

  “How has my Uncle been?”

  Qing Guo frowns as he looks at him. At first, Liu Jin thinks it is because he has interrupted his cousin’s calligraphy practice.

  “Are you…” Qing Guo waves his calligraphy brush in his direction, “Really yourself?”

  “I am myself,” Liu Jin replies. “Keeping my copy around all the time was starting to cause trouble, so I decided to recall my soul fragment.”

  “Do you want people to be scared of you?” Shi Qingxia shouted at him yesterday. “No? Good. Then stop letting that thing walk around. Do you have any idea how many servants have come crying to me? Just when the rumors about your experiments were starting to get better, too.”

  Maybe his reputation here isn’t as good as he thought it was.

  “I see.” Qing Guo sighs in relief. “I mean no offense, but talking to a copy of my cousin would have been too…Wait, you say, you retrieved your soul fragment. Does that mean the body is still out there?”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Well, yes,” Liu Jin says, not seeing the issue. “It took a long time to make. I’d rather not have to do it again. Besides, I left it in my room. No one will have to see him-”

  A shrill scream cuts through the palace.

  “Except the maids who clean your room,” Qing Guo says at the same time as Liu Jin’s palm meets his face. “For someone so brilliant, you have an incredible talent at missing what is obvious to many, cousin.”

  “That’s not important right now,” Liu Jin says, already knowing Shi Qingxia is going to complain to him about this. “I asked you a question. Has my Uncle been well?”

  Qing Guo is suddenly very interested in his calligraphy.

  “Is there any chance you are asking about your other uncle?”

  Liu Jin frowns. He already sent another letter to his Uncle Liu Jin, but he doubts that it will change his mind. The man is unreasonably stubborn.

  Why is his family so full of troublesome people?

  “Stop trying to avoid the subject,” Liu Jin says. Qing Guo sighs.

  “I apologize,” he says. His lips form a flat line as he considers what to say. “Well, you know my father…”

  He trails off. Liu Jin waits for him to continue.

  He does not.

  “That’s it?” Liu Jin asks.

  “What do you want me to say?” Qing Guo asks, throwing his hands up. “He talks to me sometimes. When he does, it means he’s having a good day. He’s been painting for the past few months. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing, but it’s better than the alternative. There are times when he just…meanders around or sleeps the whole day. It’s depressing to look at!”

  Qing Guo slams a fist against the table. The inkwell trembles, but it does not tip over. He takes a deep breath.

  “Are you going to kill my father?” he asks, not looking at him.

  “What? No!” Liu Jin yells. He wants to be angry at Qing Guo for asking that question, but how can he when people have been assuming he would since he took the throne? “I won’t do that. Ever.”

  Qing Guo’s lip trembles. Liu Jin’s Qi reveals his honesty, but Qing Guo’s mind is busy listing all the reasons why killing his father is a good idea.

  “How did our family become like this?” He wonders.

  “Our Uncle killed our grandparents and framed my father for it. Then, my father killed him and left your father to clean the mess.”

  Qing Guo takes a long, deep breath and leans back against his seat.

  “You know… When you put it that way, we have actually made quite a bit of progress, haven’t we?” Qing Guo wonders.

  It saddens Liu Jin how true that is.

  ~~~

  The empire is big, and the threat looming over it is large. With so many things that require Liu Jin's attention every day, it’d be incredibly easy for him to lose himself in his duties.

  However, that’d be just another way of procrastinating.

  He can leave much of the military planning to General Nie Dan, and he can trust in Minister Chu to smooth over the ruffled feathers of the nobles.

  Only one thing absolutely requires his presence.

  “Uncle,” Liu Jin says, knocking on the man’s door. “I believe it is time we talk.”

  Predictably, there is no response. Liu Jin feels the nervousness coming from the man behind the door. It has been that way ever since his Uncle sensed his presence drawing near. Liu Jin could have used [Art of the Roaming Thief] to avoid that, but suddenly appearing so close to his Uncle would have done more harm than good.

  Liu Jin knocks again.

  Time passes. His Uncle does not answer. While Liu Jin could easily open the door, there is no point if his Uncle is not ready to talk.

  “I understand, Uncle,” he says. “If you are busy, I will return tomorrow.”

  Liu Jin turns around and takes three steps.

  “Wait!” A voice calls out. Liu Jin stops. “You… You’re just going to keep coming back?”

  “I will,” Liu Jin replies.

  There is another moment of silence followed by a defeated sigh.

  The door opens.

  The room behind it is quite messy. His Uncle is not particularly motivated to keep it clean, and he does not allow the maids to go in. There are clothes all over the floor, along with a few half-eaten meals. Thankfully, there are no broken vases, torn curtains, or rippled pillows anywhere to be seen. That means his Uncle’s mental state is far better than it was during the civil war.

  The room smells heavily of paint. Multi-colored stains cover the walls and carpet. Just as Qing Guo said, his Uncle has started painting, or perhaps Liu Jin should say he has started painting again. There are many pictures lying around the room: fruits, forests, sunsets, and many other things. None looks like the work of an amateur.

  “Y-you’re just like him,” his Uncle says, hiding behind a large canvas. “He was pushy too.”

  For Liu Jin, there is no higher praise than being compared to his father. However, his Uncle’s memories of the man are nowhere near as warm as his.

  “I apologize,” Liu Jin says. He looks at his Uncle for a moment before realizing his gaze makes the man uncomfortable. He turns his attention to the paintings. “I bring you bad memories.”

  “Are you going to k-kill me?”

  In the Storm Dragon Palace, none can harm a Qing except another Qing. His Uncle might have been stronger than him in the past, but he never tried to oppose him. He knew the Storm Dragon would always pick Liu Jin over him.

  That doesn’t even matter now.

  Liu Jin has reached the Heaven Realm. Though his Uncle's cultivation is still higher, that makes little difference. The fight between a broken man and one who has broken everyone in his path can only end one way. His Uncle cannot imagine himself winning, and Liu Jin cannot imagine himself losing. It is that simple.

  “I am not going to kill you, Uncle,” Liu Jin says.

  “Why?” his Uncle asks. “I know what people say about me, before and now. My existence is a natural tool of rebellion. Killing me would be the smart thing to do. Anyone can tell.”

  Liu Jin grimaces. General Nie Dan has said as much to him, and the worst part is that neither he nor his Uncle is wrong. Even during the first few months that followed Liu Jin’s ascension to the throne, some of the nobles who rebelled used his Uncle’s name to justify their uprising, claiming they were acting in his stead.

  A figurehead for greedy fools. That is all his Uncle has ever been. Even when he was Emperor, it was General He Bin who dictated his every action.

  “Uncle, I know your life has been hard.”

  His Uncle lets out an uncharacteristic snort.

  “Hard? I…I was born with a golden spoon. I never had to worry about anything because… because I could leave it all to them.”

  His Uncle hesitates for a moment before beckoning him closer. Liu Jin does, approaching as slowly as one would a wounded rabbit. That still does not stop his Uncle from backing away as Liu Jin advances.

  “T-they were the ones everyone had high hopes for,” his Uncle says, pointing at his painting.

  It shows two young men standing side by side, both of them with red eyes and pale skin. Liu Jin immediately recognizes one of them. Though he looks younger and healthier, it is undeniably his father looking at him through the painting. The person next to him is a slightly older man with a cavalier smile. Liu Jin recognizes him from a few old portraits still in the palace.

  His Uncle. The man who killed his grandparents.

  Qing Jianhong.

  “They were both magnificent,” his Uncle says, looking at the floor. “It didn’t matter that no one expected anything of me. I was just happy to be their brother. I didn’t need anything else. When the incident happened, I couldn’t believe it. Jianguo was gone. Jianhong told me it was going to be fine, but I noticed things. Inconsistencies. I doubted, yet I willingly ignored those doubts.”

  He takes a deep breath. His whole body trembles.

  “When Jianguo came back, I should have been happy, but I wasn’t. It was like a nightmare. He had become something scarier than Jianhong could ever hope to be. He killed his wife, his children..They were my nephews… They were just children! I… didn’t want to see anymore. I didn’t want to know anything. When He Bin told me it would all be alright, I believed because I wanted to believe.”

  His Uncle closes his eyes.

  “You can’t trust me,” he says. “I’m a weak, pathetic man. If the situation becomes too bad, I can’t guarantee I won’t betray you! You should kill me! Qing Guo would forgive you. I have been a terrible father to him.”

  Liu Jin stares at the broken man in front of him in silence. It is not the first time he hears about his father’s deeds, but hearing it from someone so broken by him does leave a mark.

  “I lost my father. I’d rather spare Qing Guo that pain,” Liu Jin says quietly. “Uncle, if things have reached the point where you think you have to betray me… you should probably do it.”

  “What?”

  “My opponents are the three powers from the other side of the Dead Plains. If things have reached the point where people are pushing you to take the throne, I am most likely already dead,” Liu Jin tells him seriously. “What is important is that the barrier remains standing. As someone of Qing blood, your existence is a necessity. You can use that to guarantee the safety of our people and our allies.”

  “You… you are treating the event of your d-death as an opportunity to leave an assignment for me?” Qing Guo asked, his voice trembling between disbelief and another emotion. One that has not been in his voice for a long time.

  Anger.

  “Are y-you an idiot?!” His Uncle yells in his face. Liu Jin reflexively takes a step back as his Uncle actually aims menacing Qi at him. “D-death is scary! You’re supposed to dread it! Run from it! Why are you and your father so damn alike! Why are you so keen on letting a pathetic man like me live while people like you die? Do you think I want that responsibility?"

  Liu Jin blinks.

  “I just thought that it would be good to make plans in case…”

  “Don’t!” his Uncle shouts. “I'm tired of death! I’m sick of death! Do not speak to me of death! If you’re not going to kill me, then live! I’m not strong or brave. Don’t make plans that assume I'm going to be the last one left! I don’t want to be alone! A dragon is supposed to be insufferably arrogant! Laugh and say it’s all going to be fine! That’s what I want to hear!”

  Liu Jin snorts.

  He places a hand over his mouth to contain the sound, but it’s of no use. His loud laughter soon fills the room.

  “Sorry,” He says, trying and failing to stop himself. “It is just…I came here to try to reassure you, Uncle. I wasn’t expecting you to give me counsel.”

  How silly of him. He has let all this talk of war weigh him down far too much. Being cautious is one thing. Being a pessimist is another. He has done outrageous thing after outrageous thing.

  Why begin to doubt himself now that he has so many people he can absolutely not fail?

  “I seem to have forgotten proper etiquette of things,” Liu Jin says, getting his laughter under control. “Forget everything I said and have absolute confidence in these words: You will always have a place under my roof, my free-loading Uncle.”

  “...That was suitably arrogant, nephew.”

  “Thank you.”

  ~~~

  Mini-Character List

  Liu Jin: Our protagonist. Empires are hard. Families are harder.

  Feng Zhuo: Young Master of the Eternal Flame Clan. Smugly superior.

  Qing Guo: Prince of the Storm Dragon Empire. Sanest Qing.

  Shi Qingxia: Maid of the Storm Dragon Palace. Handles the training of the other servants.

  Qing Jianjun: Former Emperor of the Storm Dragon Empire. NEET.

  AN

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