~~~

  “This is outrageous.”

  “I sincerely believe it is the best path going forward.”

  “It is abuse. Blatant abuse.”

  “Think of your citizens! Surely, you can see the benefits for them?”

  “Now you try to use my citizens against me?”

  “I am only saying what is obvious, Your Majesty!”

  Deep within the Storm Dragon Palace, Liu Jin and Song Daiyu glare at each other across a table. Menacing red wars against vibrant green, neither side willing to budge an inch.

  “This,” Liu Jin says, taking the contract and waving it in front of Song Daiyu’s face, “is a monopoly. You are asking me to give you a monopoly. And you’re trying to charge me for it! Why is your first move always so unreasonable?”

  “Well,” she says, smiling without shame. “You cannot blame a merchant for seeking the best possible deal.”

  “I can blame you for thinking I am stupid enough not to notice what is written on a piece of paper,” Liu Jin counters. “Duke Gong raising the price of grapes in his territory was your doing, wasn’t it?”

  Song Daiyu has the decency to look away.

  “I never said anything of the sort to him,” she says. “Anything he might have misinterpreted from my words is not really my fault.”

  “I can throw you out,” Liu Jin points out, his eyebrow twitching. “It would literally only take a thought. It’d be a very pleasant thought.”

  “You would abuse me so? After all we have been through?” Song Daiyu asks, putting her hands over her chest. “After so many joyful moments? You truly are a tyrant.”

  Liu Jin’s glare darkens.

  “Wait, wait, wait!” Song Daiyu says, raising her hands in panic. “I have tea with your wives after this!”

  Liu Jin sighs.

  “You…you wouldn’t have really thrown me out, would you?” Song Daiyu asks him.

  “You’re still not getting a monopoly over those grapes,” Liu Jin says instead of replying to her question. “I’m not going to deliberately hamper my country for the sake of our friendship. At best, I can give first refusal to the Five Blessings Group.”

  Song Daiyu frowns and crosses her legs as she considers this. Since her dress has twin slits running down its sides, the motion shows off her calves, which are quite shapely.

  “What about the forest?” she asks. “Surely, if we were allowed to harvest from-”

  “Denied,” Liu Jin says. “Even if I wanted to, which I don’t, the Division of Exploration has the rights to that place for the next two decades.”

  It is part of the deal Liu Jin made with Elder Ju years ago. In exchange for his support, Liu Jin gave the Division of Exploration access to several ruins and areas that they believed could be of archeological importance. Some had criticized this decision, but the state of the Storm Dragon Empire after the civil war was too poor to consider wasting resources investigating old buildings.

  From what Fan Bingbing has told him via correspondence, the excavations have gone quite well. She seemed very excited about some of the discoveries they made, claiming they might shed light on the continent's history. That might explain why the Death Fashioning Scripture had some of their creatures guarding those places.

  “Damn them!” Song Daiyu says, making a fist. “Do you have any idea how many times we have tried to do business with that lot! They just dig up old treasures and let them gather dust! It is criminal!”

  Liu Jin thinks back to his visit to the Division of Exploration. He very much doubts that any relic there is gathering dust unless it is the dust caused by the constant explosions. Well, to a merchant like Song Daiyu, it probably all amounts to the same thing, a bunch of valuables that are not generating any value.

  “Not everything needs to be for sale,” Liu Jin says, taking a moment to enjoy the outrage on Song Daiyu’s face. “However, if we are to talk of things that are, how goes my order?”

  “Ah. That.” Song Daiyu purses her lips. “Gathering the supplies was child’s play for the Five Blessings Group. I do not see why you needed help. You have an entire country of resources at your disposal.”

  “My country’s resources are needed to maintain my country, especially now,” Liu Jin replies. “I’d rather not take more than necessary from our reserves.”

  “I don’t know. Those reserves seem mighty large by my estimates, enough to survive a famine or a large war,” Song Daiyu says. “How long exactly have you been planning this?”

  “Not as long as you think.”

  “You have been building the reserves since the day you took over,” Song Daiyu counters.

  “That was just good sense,” Liu Jin says. “Making everyone angry at me was an idea that came later.”

  “Shall I congratulate you on not being divorced?” Song Daiyu asks him seriously. “It seems rude, but considering everything that happened…”

  Liu Jin thinks back to his fight with Xiao Shuang. Rather than divorce, that was dangerously close to him becoming the sort of husband whose wife never allows him to leave her sight.

  “Things are good,” Liu Jin says, knowing that’s what Song Daiyu is really asking. She will probably have a different version of this conversation with Lu Mei and Xiao Shuang after this. “Considering everything that happened, it is amazing.”

  “You do have a talent for getting away with being a scoundrel,” Song Daiyu says.

  Liu Jin glares at her. She refuses to budge.

  “That might be true,” Liu Jin admits. “I know I went too far in some of my actions, so I want to make it up to them.”

  “Oh! That’s great!” Song Daiyu leans forward. Her green eyes shine with excitement. “Have you taken any steps so far?”

  “I… invited them to watch an interrogation and included them in the planning process that happened after,” Liu Jin says, trying to pick his words carefully to make it all sound less bad than it actually is.

  It doesn’t work. He can see as the light dies in Song Daiyu’s green eyes.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “Why are you like this?” Song Daiyu asks him, visibly despairing. She reaches out to touch his face. “You are so handsome. So brilliant. So gifted. Did the Heavens make you like this only to make us suffer?”

  “I am open to suggestions.”

  “Forget about your war for a moment,” Song Daiyu immediately says. “Not that I don’t approve of you trying to include them in your decisions instead of shutting everyone out like a selfish cad, but there are other things you can do. Spend time with them. It is not like you are going anywhere.” Her look turns suspicious. “You are not going anywhere, right? This isn't a trick where we find out the real you went to the Dead Plains and the copy is the one that stayed behind, right?”

  “Of course not! What do you take me for?”

  Song Daiyu does not answer him. She merely gestures at him from head to toe.

  Liu Jin has no counter to that.

  ~~~

  With the supplies for the trip to the Dead Plains secured, the last of the preparations is complete. A few days later, everyone is gathered in the palace’s courtyard, ready to board the Flame-Wheeled Wagons that Feng Zhuo has procured for the occasion. Though the Storm Dragon Empire has access to several flying items thanks to their dealings with the Red Sky Pavilion, the speed of the Eternal Flame Clan’s signature vehicles cannot be surpassed.

  “This is goodbye for now, Little Sister,” Bai Wen says, stepping back after hugging Xiao Shuang. “Practice what we talked about while I am away. It is important that you refine your Dao. We will review your progress when I return.”

  “I understand, Senior Sister,” Xiao Shuang says, nodding seriously. “I wish you safe travels.”

  The Imperial Courtyard is nearly empty. Despite Minister Chu’s wishes, there was no need to make a large ceremony out of this. Liu Jin rather prefers it this way. It gives everyone space to say their personal goodbyes.

  “Take care,” Liu Jin says, ignoring all the odd looks thrown at him.

  “I will be exactly as careful as you would be. You know that,” his copy replies.

  “I know, and now I realize how worrying that is,” Liu Jin says. “Remember, our memories will synchronize every twelve hours. Do not let it catch you by surprise.”

  “Understood,” his copy says, nodding before getting on the Flame-Wheeled Wagon.

  “You have grown up to become a bizarre man, Boss,” Su Daji says, walking up beside him. She flashes him a grin before hopping in front of him. “Won’t you wish me safe travels?”

  Liu Jin smiles.

  “If I did, I fear the Heavens might act to spite me,” he replies. “However, you do not need me to wish you well. We all know you have endured far worse. This might sound strange considering where you are going, but try to enjoy yourself.”

  “I never had any other intention, Boss!” Su Daji says, making a fist and bringing it to her chest. “One day, that witch is going to regret toying with me!”

  Liu Jin’s reply is lost as a high-pitched voice cuts through the air. Slowly, everyone’s eyes turn to the small spectacle happening off to the side.

  “Young Master! I truly have doubts about this!”

  “Hush, Big Nose,” Xiao Fang says, trying to pry himself off from his friend. “I have already spoken for you.”

  “That’s the problem!” Big Nose Li yells.

  “Ah, parting is such a sweet sorrow,” Feng Zhuo says, watching it all happen with a smile on his face. He turns to Bai Wen. “Lady Bai, I will miss the sight of you in the palace.”

  “And I will enjoy the wastelands for they do not resemble your visage,” Bai Wen replies.

  “You wound me.”

  “Xiao Nan will agree with me,” Bai Wen says. “He finds you annoying and boorish.”

  The look on Feng Zhuo’s face is so perfectly offended that more than one person breaks into laughter.

  ~~~

  The Flame-Wheeled Wagons fly high above the clouds. Despite that, the temperature inside them is quite warm, and the seats are big and comfortable enough to sleep on. A very ugly dog is doing exactly that. As for the woman of the Divine Frozen Palace, she has decided to fly for a bit alongside the large eagle escorting them.

  Big Nose Li tweedles his thumbs while trying to make himself as small as possible.

  No one needs to tell him that he is out of place. He wouldn’t even be here if the Young Master hadn’t been so insistent on there being at least some Xiao Sect presence when they went to retrieve Young Master Xiao Nan. Big Nose Li may have become a formidable young man by nearly every standard, but the people around him are all legends in the making.

  Especially the man seated across him.

  Hair as black as midnight, and eyes like rubies. Core Disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan, Champion of the Crimson Cloud Tournament, and Emperor of the Storm Dragon Empire. A man in the Heaven Realm with wives from the Eternal Flame Clan and the Divine Frozen Palace. He has one Emperor serving him, is connected to several others, and has many Heaven Realm cultivators at his command.

  Big Nose Li bullied him when he was a child.

  He was doing nothing that was not normal. Older disciples bully the younger ones all the time. One could even see it as a rite of passage. The whole thing did not even last that long! Not one statement among those is a lie.

  He still cannot meet Liu Jin’s eyes.

  Though they technically reunited after the Crimson Cloud Tournament ended, they have not talked even once. Liu Jin has not acknowledged his existence. Why should he? To him, he is the Young Master’s lackey. That’s not important enough to put him in his eyes. Even now, he is not truly in front of Liu Jin, just his copy. Big Nose Li cannot even manifest one soul fragment, but the Emperor of the Storm Dragon Empire can create a whole body for his to inhabit. They are on entirely different levels.

  Big Nose Li clutches his hands together. He breathes once.

  Twice.

  Thrice.

  “I…”

  “It is okay,” the Emperor says at the same moment.

  Big Nose Li’s brow furrows. The sensible thing would be to accept the gesture and let things lie. If the Emperor of the Storm Dragon Empire is fine with it, who is he to say otherwise?

  Unfortunately, Big Nose Li has never been the sensible sort.

  “Is it?” He asks instead of staying silent.

  “Is that so surprising?” the Emperor asks him. To Big Nose Li’s surprise, there is a smile on the man’s face. “It has been so many years since we were children. I won’t say I was fond of you back then, but time does weird things. The resentment and anger fade away. When I look back at my time in Eastern Port City, I can only smile.”

  Liu Jin shakes his head and looks at the window. Big Nose Li can almost see the ghost of the child he knew hovering in his place. So similar. So different.

  So much has changed. So much has happened. Big Nose Li knows that well. He and the Young Master had once gone to Eastern Port City to see what was left of it, hoping every report and letter was wrong. They saw the desolation and wept.

  “I’m too young to feel so old,” Big Nose Li says, leaning back against his seat.

  “And yet, being old has not helped your bellyaching, Big Nose.”

  Big Nose Li immediately glares at the speaker.

  “You don’t get to talk!” He says, pointing at Su Daji. “I have had your story explained to me about seven times, and I still can’t wrap my head around what happened to you!”

  “That doesn’t mean anything,” Su Daji replies. “The list of things you cannot comprehend is larger than your nose. Of course, you can’t wrap your head around it, Big Nose.”

  Big Nose Li’s eyebrow twitches. He can see that Liu Jin is hiding a smile.

  “That’s another thing! Can you stop calling me that?”

  “Why?” Su Daji shrugs. “Everyone does.”

  “The Young Master does,” Big Nose Li corrects her. “We have nearly died together enough times that I don’t mind it from him. You are not the same. We’re not children anymore. I have a name.”

  The uncomfortably attractive woman who looks like the annoying girl he used to know stays silent for several seconds.

  “Wait…” Realization dawns on Big Nose Li’s face. “You don’t know my name?”

  “What?” Su Daji snorts. “Preposterous. I know a great many things. It’s just that some of those things are clearer than others. My soul underwent very traumatic experiences, you see. Sometimes, there are hiccups.”

  “You don’t know my name.”

  “Yes, I do,” Su Daji insists. She jabs Liu Jin with her elbow. “Boss, tell me his name so I might say it.”

  Liu Jin doesn’t answer either. At first, Big Nose Li thinks that it is because he finds the silly argument beneath him, but he soon spots the trace of nervousness in his eyes.

  “Seriously?” Big Nose Li yells, nose and face red. “Both of you?”

  “I have no idea what you could possibly mean,” replies one of the most powerful men he has known.

  “We were in the Xiao Sect for years! We spent tons of time together!” Big Nose Li says, rising to his feet. “Remember the Eastern Port City Tournament? They called my name several times! You were both there! My name is-”

  ~~~

  Mini-Character List

  Liu Jin: Our Protagonist. Understanding himself by watching himself.

  Song Daiyu: Member of the Five Blessings Group. She’s a designing woman, and she has designs on you.

  Bai Wen: Disciple of the Divine Frozen Palace. Cool big sister. Cold acquaintance.

  Xiao Shuang: Disciple of the Divine Frozen Palace. Likes hugs.

  Su Daji: Disciple of the Endlessly Raging Valley. Has a list of unusual punishments she wishes to subject the Wandering Wind to.

  Xiao Fang: Future Patriarch of the Xiao Sect. Speaks for you so you don’t have to. You might want to.

  Big Nose Li: Disciple of the Xiao Sect. Some mysteries remain mysteries.

  Feng Zhuo: Young Master of the Eternal Flame Clan. Has never been so offended.

  AN

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