Interlude: The Silkworm III
Xie Jin scowled. Of all the people the Peach River Sword School had to send, it had to be him. It didn't matter that his grandfather received him in the end. His attempt to enter the Basin by using Brother Chen's relationship with him was an insult. Did they mean to insult them? The bastard even had the audacity to ignore Brother Chen's greetings.
"Princess Bao," Jiang Lei said with a slight bow. "I am here to escort you. Do you need time to prepare?"
Si's face was politely neutral, a product of her etiquette lessons and experience. She couldn't hide from Xie Jin, however. He'd been in those same etiquette lessons even if he never took them seriously, and he had known her even longer. If she didn't have an appearance to keep up, she'd be frowning. That was fine, though. Xie Jin would frown enough for both of them and some for Brother Chen too. Calling her a princess from the get-go…. these Peach River Bastards were bold.
"No, I've had plenty." Si gestured for Jiang Lei to lead the way. "Please."
He and Brother Chen fell into step behind Si. His Gu surreptitiously sensed Jiang Lei and passed back its findings. Liquid Meridian Second-Layer. The time since they'd last seen each other had been kind to Jiang Lei. It grated Xie Jin to no end that the bastard had advanced a whole Layer while Xie Jin hadn't advanced at all. The Earth-Rank Pill Brother Chen gave him was enough to put him near the peak of the Ninth-Layer, but he still required polishing before he could attempt Condensation. It was frustrating, but there was no helping it. He had to cultivate enough for two.
Jiang Lei briskly walked ahead of them, close enough to be considered leading them but far enough to be impersonal. Bao Si tried to engage him in small talk to wheedle out information and received eloquent sentences full of absolutely nothing. Xie Jin didn't know how Brother Chen tolerated the man. This was only the third time he'd met Jiang Lei, and he'd already had it up to here with him.
Jiang Lei brought them down to the first floor, past the bar, into the kitchen where none of the bustling cooking staff noticed them, and down into a root cellar. Jiang Lei placed his hands on one of the shelves and spiked his qi. Formation symbols flared to life on the wall behind the shelf, and the whole wall fell away to reveal a tunnel. Jiang Lei held up a small light and waited for them all to pass through before sealing the entrance and continuing on. Xie Jin's Gu vibrated with another warning. The tunnel walls were lined with qi, a formation, capable of blocking even its senses.
"Your people are well prepared," Si praised.
"We tried our best to prepare for Princess Bao's arrival," Jiang Lei politely but coolly replied. "We're just embarrassing ourselves in front of your highness."
Si tittered. "Oh, there's no need to call me that."
There really wasn't. Nobody called her that, and not even because she couldn't act like a princess if she ripped one's skin off and wore it like a suit. She was the last heir of the Black Bone Royal Dynasty. She was of royalty, but that didn't mean she was royalty. The Basin hadn't had a royal for 400 years since the last King and Queen handed over their crowns to the Empire before being killed. Even for people like his Grandfather and the Grand Shaman, 400 years was a long time. Long enough for peoples' opinions to shift, especially if cultivators like them shared those opinions.
Brother Chen ran his hand along the wall and rubbed the dust from his fingers. "Back then, the attack you used. Was that what the Peachwine used to look like?"
Jiang Lei missed a step. The first mistake he made so far. Just when Xie Jin thought Jiang Lei wouldn't say anything— "Yes. At least, that's how it was relayed to me." Despite his disgust, Xie Jin couldn't help but recognize the note of longing in the bastard's voice as one that had often shown up in his own. "I was born far too late to see my home at its height."
Trust Brother Chen to do what Si couldn't. They didn't know what this attack was, but if it looked like the authentic Peachwine and if it was a visualization Jiang Lei was shown, then it meant whoever passed it down was, at a minimum, a Crystal Transformation Realm if they'd seen it themself. It wasn't much, but it at least gave them a bit more context for the strength this remnant of the Peach River Sword School possessed.
Si hummed, no doubt piecing together more than Xie Jin could. She was always infuriatingly better informed and better able to make sense of what she was given. The latter wasn't something Xie Jin could make excuses for. She was just that much better than him. It was why he'd always worked so hard to earn the same secrets she received in confidence.
At the end of the tunnel was another false wall that Jiang Lei opened, and they were ushered into another basement. Xie Jin mentally mapped their walking direction and matched it to the city above. The tunnel ran directly under the plaza and connected to one of the homes on the opposite side. It was a bold construction. Especially considering how close it was to the Dispensary Fountain.
"This way," Jiang Lei said, motioning to the stairs. The house was well-appointed but empty of any people. His Gu made sure to inform him it was scrupulously clean… too clean. No dust, no foreign presences, no lingering qi, nothing but the stench of another Gu that only another of its species could recognize. Xie Jin felt his heart tighten as Jiang Lei stopped in front of a door and cautiously knocked. Brother Chen frowned, his hand twitching. Xie Jin had seen the habit enough to recognize he wanted to reach for his sword.
"Enter." A woman's voice leaked through the seams of the door, carried with qi, and washed across them. Jiang Lei opened the door and respectfully stood to the side. Inside was a large round table with two chairs set. A woman with a youthful face and a head full of gray hair sat watching them between interlaced fingers. His Gu shuddered. Its judgment was instant. Peachblood Crystal Transformation Realm Ninth-Layer.
Si proved her bones by not hesitating to walk in. Xie Jin was quick to follow her. Only Brother Chen lagged behind, locking eyes with Jiang Lei for a brief moment before coming to stand at their side.
"Princess Bao. Apprentice of Wu Lingyue. On behalf of the Peach River Sword School, I welcome you." The Crystal Transformation Realm stretched out her hand to the empty chair. "Please, sit."
Xie Jin bristled. Not standing to greet them was an insult. Introducing Si first before herself was an insult. Not stating her title as an apprentice first was the final straw. Si was the apprentice and the face of a Star Core Realm. Disrespecting her was directly disrespecting their Ancestor. At the same time, Xie Jin was unsettled. It was one thing for an escort to call Si a princess. For the faction's representative to say, was another thing altogether.
Si didn't let anything show on her face. Si was someone who only got more dangerous the more time you let her have, and she'd been preparing herself for this meeting before they ever left the Basin. She pinched her dress and dropped into a picture-perfect curtsy. "Apprentice Bao greets the delegate of the Peach River Sword School on behalf of her Master."
The woman quirked her lips. "Will you discount yourself so? In my eyes, your own identity is no less important."
"This little girl can only make the delegate laugh. She is only here as a messenger for the Elders."
"The Elders only? Is Wu Lingyue so busy in the Splintered Lands that she can't speak to her only apprentice?"
Bao Si pursed her lips. "My Master, Grand Shaman Wu, isn't someone who needs to be bothered with minor affairs."
"Minor, hm?" The woman's eyes were clearly level with them, and yet Xie Jin felt she was staring down at them from atop a mountain. "You have quite the pretty tongue. I'm sure that girl Wu takes pleasure in hearing your voice. She was always vain like that."
"Who are you?" The voice was filled with indignation and hesitant confusion, and it wasn't until the woman turned her gaze to him that he realized it was his own voice that spoke.
Xie Jin went from being stared at from a mountain to feeling as if he'd been dropped to the bottom of an abyss. Whatever amusement she treated Si with clearly wasn't extended to him. A sickeningly sweet peach scent forced its way up his nose and down his throat. His Gu stirred, but it was sluggish, and Xie Jin would drown in the scent of peaches before it broke free quickly enough to help him. Just as black started creeping at the edge of his vision, an arm roughly grasped his shoulder, and a dragon's roar shook the peach scent enough that he could breathe.
Brother Chen fearlessly matched gazes with the Crystal Transformation Realm. The woman raised a curious eyebrow and drew back the rest of her presence. Xie Jin gasped for air and stilled his Gu from instinctively lashing out. Even if he died right now his Death Curse wouldn't be strong enough to bother this woman for more than a day. Maybe even less.
Si, as expected, hadn't even blinked the entire time he was suffocating. She looked at the woman with indifferent eyes. "In the time since we have arrived, you have insulted our Master, our Elders, and our people. If you do not give us a satisfactory answer, then I'm afraid there's no purpose in remaining here."
The woman chuckled. "My apologies. I did not expect a casual glance would cause such an adverse reaction."
Xie Jin flushed. She was calling him weak. Brother Chen's hand squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, but he could barely feel it. He knew he was weak, but to be so openly pressed down and called out filled him with difficult-to-suppress shame. Would anything have changed if he were a Liquid Meridian right now? Could he have resisted? At the very least, he wouldn't have had to rely on Brother Chen.
He needed to advance.
"I believe we are done here," Si declared. She took a sealed letter from her storage bag and placed it on the table. "Our Elders have deliberated, and this is their answer."
"Oh, I don't seem to have introduced myself." The woman spoke with a note of realization. As if she truly had just remembered not mentioning it rather than being deliberately rude this entire time. "I am Xi Wangmu."
Impossible. Xie Jin couldn't keep the surprise from his face. Even Si had a ripple of emotion. Brother Chen, on the other hand, didn't even blink. He kept his words to himself this time. Si would ask his question anyway.
"Xi Wangmu is a Star Core," Si said.
Not just a Star Core. Xi Wangmu was old. As in, she looked old. She was called the Old Lady of the River for a reason. Qi did a lot to help a cultivator keep a youthful appearance throughout their life, especially if they advanced quickly into the higher realms. Xi Wangmu, however, was old enough that even qi couldn't hide the weight of her years. All the artwork and stories, many of them straight from his grandfather, painted the same picture of her as wrinkled and hunched over. This woman calling herself Xi Wangmu didn't look a day over twenty, even with gray hair. Even if he had wildly theorized that Xi Wangmu might be behind the resurgence of the Peach River Sword School Xie Jin wouldn't have dared dreamed something so outlandish.
"Sacrifices must be made when you face a man of the Sunset Emperor's caliber." The woman's face was desolate, and Xie Jin was reminded that Xi Wangmu was as much the Queen of the forbidding Western mountains as she was of the river that sprung from them. The air in the room shifted. Xie Jin had grown up next to Crystal Transformation Realm cultivators his whole life and felt their power for himself so many times as to be uncountable.
And yet….
He was reminded that even his grandfather had people he had to look up to.
"Be that as it may," Bao Si said, unruffled. "Whether you are claiming her name or are truly the Queen Mother of the West, we do not wish to partake in any dealings. Our delivering a message is only to show face to the once exalted Swordsmen of the Peach River."
"I suppose Xie Ling is the one responsible for that sentiment," Xi Wangmu mused. "He was a smart man. It's a shame he let himself get distracted by lesser matters and allowed his cultivation to fall to the wayside." She sighed and almost sounded like she meant it too. "He's getting rather up there in the years, is he not? I should visit him to catch up on old times, and see if he's gotten any better at Alchemy. I remember him being so curious as to the method of my Longevity Elixir and—" Xi Wangmu covered her smile with her hand. "Excuse me for getting ahead of myself. I can't very well go before our meeting is over now, can I?" She motioned again to the chair. "Please, sit."
Xie Jin had known Si for a long time. Time in which he had shared many experiences with her. Some of them good. Most of them irritating. During that time, he learned how to read Si even when she left nothing to be read. He'd been there when she'd been trained to remove those tics, after all. For this whole meeting, Si had been like a boulder amidst the waves, and for all that she could annoy him sometimes, Xie Jin was grateful to her for that. Even in front of a Crystal Transformation Realm, she could keep things under control.
So when Si gripped the back of the chair and forcefully pulled it out to sit down, something that she would have been, and that he had been, punished for by their etiquette instructors so long ago, he couldn't help but feel things were starting to spiral out of control.
Chapter 129: This Young Master's Messenger Quest Goes Wrong, As Expected
Awkward. That would describe how the day had been thus far. Meeting Jiang Lei was awkward. Chen Haoran's attempt at small talk had gone nowhere in the end. He'd thought at least they could start a conversation seeing as they found themselves once again walking through a dark tunnel to avoid attention. He'd thought too much, apparently. Maybe he should have brought Phelps along. Pets could always get a conversation going.
Things hadn't gone much better when they met Xi Wangmu. At the very least, she lent evidence to the old factoid that an organization's attitudes were the sum total of its leader's shitty personality. It would have been too much to wish that this world would be better than Earth, but was it too much to ask for it not to share the same failings? Of all the things that could be proven universal, why did it have to be powerful people not caring about the little guy? Except it was worse here. At least back on Earth, a CEO or politician couldn't kill someone with an angry look.
Well… maybe Xie Jin wouldn't have died, but he probably felt like he was. Chen Haoran's first direct attempt to resist a Crystal Transformation Realm had only succeeded because Xi Wangmu hadn't been kidding when she called it a look. It was all form and no substance. Whatever Xie Jin had been feeling to Chen Haoran's sense his own body had sent him into shock. Perhaps the sheer difference in power triggered an extreme fear response? Chen Haoran certainly felt his spine crawl, and he wasn't even the focus of Xi Wangmu's attention. Honestly, if Xi Wangmu had decided to press her assault, he wouldn't have been able to stop her at all. Fortunately, she did. Unfortunately, the discussion then shifted to something even more dangerous. Politics.
Chen Haoran couldn't help but note that Bao Si sitting down at the table at all was a loss in a way. They were here as messengers, not negotiators. It was obvious the temptation of getting the Longevity Elixir for Xie Ling was too much to pass up, even for her. Xi Wangmu had them by the balls and, worst of all, was aware of it. She probably knew it for a while now, too, given how rude she was in the beginning. It was a simple and brutish power play. The type a person could only do when they were confident in the strength of their position. Xi Wangmu had made it clear that she was not the one striking a deal with them. They were the ones who had to make her an offer.
Well. In the end, it wasn't his place to do anything. He'd just leave it up to Bao Si and her incredible poker face.
Xi Wangmu smiled kindly at her as she sat down. It was a textbook political smile doubtlessly mastered after countless hours of practice. Spoiled only by dark eyes backed by 4 thousand years of apathy. "A wise decision Princess."
"I will be the judge of that," Bao Si replied. "Shall we begin with the purpose of this meeting?"
"Does it need explaining?" Xi Wangmu asked. "You're a smart girl. I'm sure you can figure it out."
Bao Si folded her hands primly. "You're planning rebellion."
Xie Jin breathed in sharply beside him. Chen Haoran slowly exhaled. Rebellion. He wasn't surprised. He was pretty sure they all had been nursing the idea for a while. He certainly had. Xie Jin and Bao Si apparently found evidence in the spirit stone. As for himself…. he met Jiang Lei and Wang Xiao while they were hunting criminals. At the time, he had only known they were part of an organization doing a job the government should have been responsible for. Creating a good image for themselves and establishing legitimacy among the populace. In the beginning, it had been an outrageous guess that slowly grew firmer as he found more supporting evidence. How many times was this now? He really had to start a coin jar for this sort of thing.
"Is it rebellion?" Xi Wangmu idly questioned, as if the answer held no meaning for her. "There was never an official end to the war, after all. The people did not accept the Empire. Even now, there are remnants resisting in the Splintered Lands."
Bao Si sniffed with disdain. "The people's acceptance changes nothing—the Empire rules. To say otherwise is just quibbling over the semantics. A bunch of petty warlords fighting for the scraps the superpowers left in the Splintered Lands will make no difference.
Xi Wangmu chuckled. "You're correct, of course, Princess Bao."
"That word. Why are you using that word? I'm not a princess. The Basin hasn't had royalty in 400 years."
"Ah yes," Xi Wangmu mused. "Not since your ancestors Bao Ji and Bao Jia handed over their crowns and were forced by the Sunset Emperor to commit suicide." She sighed. "What a shame. I knew them well."
"I'm sure," Bao Si dryly replied. If Chen Haoran's translation was correct, then what Bao Si actually said was: I don't believe a word you said. It was hard to tell if Xi Wangmu was really bullshitting them or not, given how old she was supposed to be. That she knew them was probably true. That she was close, as she seemed to be implying, was more suspect. "You are aware that the Empire considers rebellion worse than war, correct? You already failed to defeat the Empire when they invaded. Forgive me for not being confident in your odds of success now that they've established themselves within the country."
Damn. Chen Haoran would've whistled if it wouldn't have been wildly inappropriate. Bao Si wasn't taking prisoners. Whatever her confidence was based on must be reliable if she was this aggressive. At least, he hoped it was.
Xi Wangmu smiled. "Why do you think Zumulu lost 400 years ago, Princess Bao?"
Bao Si narrowed her eyes, and Chen Haoran hoped she could see something in Xi Wangmu's expression because he certainly didn't. "They were weak, and fragmented compared to the Empire's superior soldiers and better-organized army, and, of course, the Sunset Emperor."
Xi Wangmu nodded. "They were too independent."
There was a pause in the air. They waited for a follow-up to that sentence that never came. Instead, Jiang Lei wheeled over a tea cart and set a cup in front of Xi Wangmu and Bao Si before filling them up with a steaming tea that smelled like a fresh peach harvest. Xi Wangmu completely ignored Bao Si in favor of her tea, while Bao Si frowned in contemplation as she turned over Xi Wangmu's words.
Her eyes flew open. "You're receiving another superpower's support. The Bagmar Republic? The Eastern Lightning League?"
Chen Haoran stilled. Bagmar Republic. The nation Lan Fen had warned him the Chen Family had some kind of connection to. His mind inevitably went back to the Golden Lily Association. The Seven-Colored Steps of the Rainbow Stairs came from there.
Xi Wangmu slowly clapped. "Well done. Yes. Unlike before, there is significant foreign support."
With a shaky hand, Bao Si raised her teacup to her lips. It was the first real flaw he'd seen from her so far. He quickly glanced at Xie Jin but found that while he looked even more shaken by the news than Bao Si, he wasn't looking at her with concern. He looked back at Bao Si, and from his position behind her, Chen Haoran could see she didn't drink the tea at all.
Bao Si set the teacup down. "You seem to have all the support you need. Is there any reason for my people to join?"
"You're not wrong," Xi Wangmu said. "Your Black Bone Tribe is useful, but their alliance isn't a necessity." Her eyes pinned Bao Si. "You, on the other hand, are much more valuable in my eyes."
Bao Si pushed her cup to the side. "What do you want?" She warily asked, dispensing with the pretenses.
Xi Wangmu calmly sipped her tea. "I believe Zumulu is due another King of the Rivers and Lakes, or rather, a Queen."
Xie Jin hissed, and Chen Haoran stepped closer to him lest he attract Xi Wangmu's attention again. It was a useless move as she only had eyes for Bao Si now. Bao Si, meanwhile, had become even more eerily calm after listening to Xi Wangmu's proposition.
"On what basis are you making this claim?" she asked.
"Tell me, girl, what was the fate of the River Kings of Zumulu when the Empire took over?"
"Self-exile to the Splintered Lands for those who could escape, extermination up to nine relations for the rest."
Xi Wangmu nodded. "Correct. Now as you so aptly put it, what sort of legitimacy and face do you think those exiles who've spent 400 years fighting over scraps in the Splintered Lands will have once they return home?"
Xie Jin mouthed the words at the same moment Bao Si spoke. "None at all."
"Precisely." Xi Wangmu traced the rim of her teacup. "Zumulu cannot be left to fracture as it has so often done before."
"The Black Bone Royal family is no different from those exiles," Bao Si said, despite herself she couldn't hold back the bitterness in her voice. "Worse even. My ancestors abolished the monarchy themselves."
"Do not discount your heritage so quickly, girl," Xi Wangmu chided. "Of the remaining royal descendants in Zumulu, only the Basin has maintained any sort of power and respect. In addition, the sacrifice of the King and Queen of the Black Bones is well remembered. Were it not for them taking the lead in offering their crowns to the Sunset Emperor and stalling him, there would not have been a chance for the other River Kings to flee at all. There are some that even say it was their Death Curses that forced the Emperor to stop."
Bao Si scoffed. "The Three Killers couldn't slay the Sunset Emperor. If a mere Death Curse could harm him, he would have razed the Basin to the ground. Besides, Meng Huo had already surrendered to the Sunset Emperor by the time my ancestors did. The only reason he didn't hunt down the surviving River Kings was because he considered them no longer worth the effort."
Xi Wangmu chuckled. "Who will care? So long as you take the lead, then the people under you will make whatever lie you wish into the truth. For the Exile kings, following the resurgent Queen of the Black Bones to reclaim their homeland is a type of legitimacy they can only dream of."
"Is that what you wish to do then?" Bao Si asked with a snake-like gaze. "Turn me into another Princess Cicada?"
Chen Haoran recognized that name. It was a story Xie Jin had told him while they lazed about one day in the Basin. Princess Cicada was a princess of a large Peach River Kingdom when her uncle assassinated her father, forcing her to escape with the help of loyal courtiers. Eventually, Princess Cicada resolved to take back what was rightfully hers and sailed up the Peachwine singing a song so beautiful the other Peach River cities declared for her, and even the Peach River Swords took up their swords and helped overthrow her uncle and restore her to her rightful throne. It was a nice story.
Xi Wangmu laughed. "Do you think I'll marry you and take your power like Princess Cicada's husband did?"
….Xie Jin didn't tell him that part of the story.
"Girl Bao—no Bao'er, if I wanted to become Queen of Zumulu, I would have done it a long time ago."
Bao Si and Xie Jin frowned. Chen Haoran couldn't blame them. The last time he heard that kind of appellation was from Lan Fen's grandfather. Apparently, it was a term of address mostly used for younger children. It dawned on Chen Haoran that throughout this whole conversation, Xi Wangmu had been treating Bao Si more like some intelligent grandchild than with any actual seriousness. Bao Si seemed to realize it as well, going by the look on her face.
Xi Wangmu, on the other hand, seemed to pay her expressions no mind. "In return for your cooperation, I will give Xie Ling two Earth-Rank Longevity pills—enough for 200 years of life and make sure your royalty will be restored. What say you, Princess Bao?
Bao Si stared long and hard at Xi Wangmu and remained silent. Chen Haoran and Xie Jin became unnaturally still. Whatever Bao Si said right now would doubtless have ramifications that would affect the Basin for years to come.
Bao Si stood up from her seat.
"My apologies, Senior Wangmu," Bao Si said with a smile that could only be described as politely rude. "But before I am a Princess, before I am even a Bao, I am a Black Bone Shaman. I will take your words back to my Master and the Elders so that they may decide on them."
Xi Wangmu sighed. "I was right—you're the only one worthy in your generation. What a spine. You're wasted on your master." She set aside her cup and took out a rectangular green jade from her sleeve.
"What is that?" Bao Si asked with furrowed brows.
"Your master never communicated with you since you relayed the situation to her, has she?" Xi Wangmu met her question with a question. "It's curious, isn't it? The message was sent, and she is aware another Star Core Realm is involved, but she has relayed no instructions, not even to her only apprentice, who is being sent as a messenger."
Bao Si clenched her fist, and Chen Haoran saw Xie Jin pale more than when he'd suffered the brunt of Xi Wangmu's presence.
"What are you implying?" Bao Si demanded.
"You cannot speak to your Master in the Splintered Lands." Xi Wangmu pushed the jade forward. "Would you like to try from here?"
Bao Si staggered back. Chen Haoran and Xie Jin rushed to steady her. Her eyes were riveted to the jade.
Xi Wangmu threaded her fingers together. "I said before that the Black Bone tribe's alliance isn't a necessity. That is because I've already received an answer from the only opinion that matters."
"Master," Bao Si whispered.
"Not that it made much of a difference," an uncaring Xi Wangmu continued. "No matter what, after the Seven-Colored Steps of the Rainbow Stairs was brought to the Basin, it was inevitable you'd be implicated. Though admittedly, that was a curious happenstance. The original plan was to create chaos among the Empire's Crystal Transformation Realm loyalists and divide the Garrison's attention."
Xi Wangmu turned her gaze to Chen Haoran, and rather than a human, Chen Haoran felt like he was staring at a towering tree. "On that note. I am very curious as to why that cheapskate Gold-Eater decided to give the technique to you. It's a bit rude to keep wearing a mask, no? This old woman is so honest that she didn't even put on any makeup and came to meet you with a bare face. Will you not extend the same courtesy, Chen Haoran?"
The request sent shivers down Chen Haoran's spine. No matter how politely she worded it, all he could hear was the implied threat behind every single syllable. Slowly he reached up and peeled away his mask. Xi Wangmu placidly observed him until the mask was off in its entirety, and he stepped forward to shield Xie Jin and Bao Si. Xi Wangmu blinked.
Then, to his horror, she frowned.
"Chen….Haoran." She slowly repeated his name as her sense brushed across his face. Throughout the entire meeting, no matter the expression she molded her face into, Xi Wangmu's eyes remained as voids carved from an apathy born of 4 thousand years of living. Now those voids bloomed with a horrible light.
Recognition.
Xi Wangmu sneered. "Chen Haoran."
Instinctively he reached for his Gifting Power, and for once, wished he hadn't.
Connection: Valid
Chapter 130: This Young Master Bluffs Like Hell
The room fell into silence. Xie Jin, Bao Si, even Jiang Lei quailed and froze like deer in the headlight. The meeting had taken a turn none of them could anticipate. Chen Haoran's mind furiously raced. Xi Wangmu was a valid connection. Why? The obvious answer immediately presented itself—the Chen Family. What kind of connection was it, though? She had seen his face before. She knew him by name. Had they met before? Had they spoken? How well did she know his predecessor? He had a connection to her, which meant they had some kind of official relationship. Was she his servant? Or his Master, perhaps? He immediately ruled those out. She was too disrespectful seeing him. Even Song Yuelin, menace that he was, never directly referred to him by name as Xi Wangmu did.
He noted just how long it took for her to connect his face and name. She had known his name but didn't associate him with the Chen Family until she saw his face, and even then, it took her a minute. That boded well for Chen Haoran. Whatever the nature of their connection, it didn't seem to be a particularly close one.
Xi Wangmu sneered. "Of course, I should have known Gold-Eater wouldn't give the technique to any random junior. Why are you here?"
What else could it be? Sworn friends? Allies? No, it'd be impossible for her not to immediately recognize him if they were that close.
There was a sudden chill in the air. "I asked you a question, Chen Haoran."
Right. Time to channel his inner Song Yuelin.
Chen Haoran casually met Xi Wangmu's gaze. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was me you were speaking so rudely to." He sauntered over to the table and stared down at her. "Since when was I someone you could be rude to, Xi Wangmu."
Xi Wangmu raised an eyebrow. The cold fingers of her sense pierced through his chest. The Yellow Dragon roared in anger at the invasion. Xi Wangmu disdainfully smiled. "So you decided to play with fire and let a foreign spirit in your body, and now you think you're worthy of respect. Am I supposed to be impressed?"
Chen Haoran ignored her. "How long are you going to keep me standing?"
Xi Wangmu pursed her lips and waved at the chair. "Sit."
He kicked out the chair and fell into it, leaning back and crossing his legs. The abrupt noise caused the other three to flinch. When Bao Si had been sitting in this chair, she'd had a perfect straight-backed posture, a diplomat at work. Chen Haoran, on the other hand, looked like a gangster who had wandered into a UN meeting.
"You must really think you've done something special," Xi Wangmu said. "I admit, it's a bit surprising to see you've reached the Liquid Meridian Realm. You've gone from being a major disappointment to your father to an ordinary one. Congratulations." She finished off the last of her tea. "Now. What brings Chen Qitao's dog son to Zumulu? I believed you were left to rot in the north, no?"
Her insults went in one ear and out the other. The man who would have been insulted by them was long gone now. Instead, he analyzed them. Compared to how she insulted Bao Si by treating her as a child, Xi Wangmu's insults toward him were of a much more pointed nature. It highlighted just how different his status was from Bao Si in Xi Wangmu's eyes.
Chen Haoran snapped his fingers over his shoulder at Jiang Lei. "Tea."
Jiang Lei paused, cautiously looking at Xi Wangmu before slowly bringing the tea cart over and setting a new cup for him. Chen Haoran ignored Jiang Lei's intense scrutiny. He ignored the holes Xie Jin's and Bao Si's eyes were boring into him. He ignored Xi Wangmu's question once again. When Jiang Lei finished pouring the tea, he grabbed the cup and downed it like it was cheap swill. He didn't even need to channel any qi to avoid scalding his tongue. A dense peach flavor spread throughout his mouth, and a peach-pink qi washed over his meridians, easing the strain they had accrued from the Yellow Dragon's autonomous cultivation.
"Not bad," Chen Haoran said, smacking his lips. He took the teapot from a perplexed Jiang Lei and stood to fill up Xi Wangmu's cup. Xi Wangmu regarded him calmly as he poured.
And poured.
Her calm expression fell away to a frown, and there was a collective hitch of breath in the room as Xi Wangmu's cup ran over and tea spilled onto the table. Before the tea could reach the edge of the table and fall in her lap, Xi Wangmu's qi spiked. The tea immediately evaporated. Her cup and the teapot Chen Haoran was holding shattered into pieces and disintegrated.
"Boy." Xi Wangmu's voice was dangerously low. "What do you think you're doing?"
Chen Haoran cocked his head. "I thought we'd already decided to dispense with face? Why are you getting so mad?"
Xi Wangmu's qi did not stir or rise in any way, and yet Chen Haoran felt something akin to hundreds of cold blades touching his skin. The Yellow Dragon roared, and Chen Haoran let it fill him with the courage needed not to flinch. He was playing quite a dangerous game here. That was okay, though. It was impressive seeing the things a person unconsciously revealed when they were angry. He was learning a lot, especially since he had Xi Wangmu's meeting with Bao Si to compare.
"Since when did I become someone you could be so rude to?" Xi Wangmu said, parroting his earlier words. "Do you think that selling your soul and achieving a little success in cultivation means anything in my eyes? I was ruling the Peachwine when your ancestors were suckling their mother's milk."
"Yes, yes, you're very old." Chen Haoran said, ignoring the invisible blades. "Forgive me, though, for thinking my ancestors got the better deal in the end."
Xi Wangmu narrowed her eyes to slits. "You are testing my patience Chen Haoran. Do not think you are so valuable to your father that I won't kill you right now."
So if he were valuable to his father, then Xi Wangmu couldn't do anything to him?
"Why so threatening? I was just giving you a reminder." He placed a hand on the table and loomed over her. "Even the dogs of the Chen Family can't be insulted by the likes of you, Xi Wangmu. Kill me? Have you asked my father's permission? Do you really think a mere Crystal Transformation Realm is enough to make Chen Qitao take you seriously?"
Behind him, he felt three separate qi freeze in terror. Chen Haoran couldn't blame them. What he was doing was worthy of death. He didn't think a cultivator as old as Xi Wangmu would have many compunctions about killing someone for annoying her. Briefly, he thought about taking a step back but discarded the thought soon after. The more he controlled this conversation, the less likely it was that he'd be forced to answer something 'Chen Haoran' should have known. On his own, he wouldn't have been able to do it. Xi Wangmu wasn't wrong to say he had nothing worthy of her respect. Fortunately, he wasn't alone. While he didn't know as much as he would have liked about Chen Qitao, he knew enough to be willing to bet that his name would deter her as it did the City Lord.
Thankfully for Chen Haoran's not-dying plan, Daddy Chen was indeed built different.
Xi Wangmu scowled at him but didn't kill him for the affront. Chen Haoran took the opportunity to retreat and sit back down. His mind turned to the connection once again. Xi Wangmu was close to the Chen Family. If her foreign support was the Bagmar Republic, then the Chen Family was also probably supporting her plans in Zumulu. Her attitude toward him eliminated the majority of possible relationships she could have with him. He also eliminated the horrifying thought that they were married. No matter how ridiculous cultivators made things in this world, letting a 20-year-old marry someone in their four thousands was too far. Whatever their relationship was, it wasn't something she and his predecessor negotiated themselves. That only left….
Chen Haoran leaned back in his seat and held up his hand in mock surrender. "Now, now, I didn't come here to fight. We're family, after all."
If anything, Xi Wangmu scowled even further. "You are no child of mine."
There was a strangled gasp that could have been Bao Si but more likely belonged to Xie Jin or Jiang Lei. Chen Haoran didn't have the mind to figure out who, though. He was rather more preoccupied with the fact he was probably sitting in front of his stepmother, of all people.
"Chen Qitao, you wild asshole. What the fuck?"
Chen Haoran didn't let his discomfort show on his face. Thankfully Xi Wangmu took a page from the shitty stepmother playbook. Things could have gone very wrong very fast had she and his predecessor been at all closer.
"I tire of your nonsense, Chen Haoran," Xi Wangmu said. "Has Chen Qitao sent you here?"
He grimaced. It wasn't an expression he had to fake. "I'm not here by choice. Song Yuelin and I had a run-in with Shen Jianyu. Our operations up north have gone to waste now because of him."
"Shen Qi's son, was it?" Xi Wangmu pinched the air. The purpose of the motion was lost on Chen Haoran, however. "He's considered talented among the current crop of imperial scions despite his low cultivation base. You weren't wronged by being run off by him."
Right. It seemed that his breaking away from Song Yuelin wasn't common knowledge in the Chen Family yet. That was good. It saved him from several awkward questions. Unfortunately, Xi Wangmu had more to ask.
She pinned him with her stare. "That doesn't explain why you're interfering with the Basin."
Chen Haoran shrugged. "When have I ever needed a reason to do what I do? I just found some interesting things to occupy my time." He turned his head to spy on his friends. Jiang Lei was stupefied—the revelation of Chen Haoran's relation to his school's Founder apparently being too much for him. Bao Si and Xie Jin both stared at him like they were seeing him for the first time. Chen Haoran's heart sank. He wasn't looking forward to dealing with that conversation.
"What do you want?" Xi Wangmu bluntly asked, drawing his attention.
Chen Haoran blinked. "What ever do you mean?" No really. What did she mean?
"What will it take for you to not get in the way anymore?" Her eyes flicked to Bao Si.
It seemed she really did value Bao Si. Well, she'd have to if she wanted to install Bao Si as the ruler of Zumulu. Or maybe Xi Wangmu was that worried about him, or rather, who he represented. Xi Wangmu had asked if Chen Qitao had sent him here as if that was a bad thing, and Gold-Eater had also seemed to think Chen Haoran's presence was some plan of his father. Was the Chen Family not as involved in Zumulu as he thought? Or was Chen Qitao being too involved the issue? Xi Wangmu was planning a rebellion. What rebel wouldn't be worried about their foreign allies having too much influence in the new government they fought so hard to establish?
Chen Haoran made a show of considering Xi Wangmu's words. His eyes slid over to Bao Si and caught her gaze. Her face was unreadable. He turned away. "I'll leave that to you," he said. "I'm sure you'll come up with something satisfactory."
Xi Wangmu didn't look pleased, but it was hardly the worst thing he'd said to her so far. She flipped her hand, and a jade box appeared in her palm. She pushed it across the table. Chen Haoran casually lifted the lid and was immediately blasted with a fruity smell. Inside the box was a perfectly round and rosy peach.
"An 800-year-old Banquet Peach." Xi Wangmu said. "Consuming it will make the body light and strong and will enhance vitality. If you want to be more than a disappointment to your father, then you'll need this."
Jiang Lei's qi fluctuated when Xi Wangmu took out the peach, confirming that it was something valuable. Chen Haoran dropped it into his storage bag without a second glance. "A pleasure doing business with you."
Xi Wangmu snorted. "Leave. The longer I see your face, the more my mood gets spoiled."
Chen Haoran pushed away from the table. He didn't need to be told twice. "Far be it for me to keep disturbing you then." He threw his arms around Xie Jin and Bao Si. Even when they flinched, he didn't remove his arms, just mourned and pulled them to the door.
Unfortunately, Xi Wangmu wasn't finished. "Bao'er, you'll receive your instructions soon. You may ask your master for more details."
He could feel Bao Si tense under his arm. A feeling he wished he could replicate when he felt Xi Wangmu's sense sink into his body again and hover over the snarling and snapping Yellow Dragon.
"Leave Zumulu before you lose control of that thing, and it kills you," Xi Wangmu said. "It will trouble my daughter if I have to explain why you died in my territory to your father."
Chen Haoran paused. The Yellow Dragon roared.
"Noted."
Chapter 131: This Young Master Does Not Explain
Chen Haoran let Xie Jin and Bao Si go as soon as they reached the underground tunnel. No one said anything as Jiang Lei opened the way for them to go back to their own inn. Xie Jin and Bao Si marched up into the room in lockstep. Chen Haoran hung back on the stairwell and watched them go. Best to let them talk among themselves first. Today had been a day of revelations, and Chen Haoran's wasn't even the worst. Jiang Lei awkwardly stood next to him, looking as if he wanted to say something but failing to find the words.
It was striking how quickly things could change, and roles could reverse. A few months ago, Chen Haoran had been forced to watch his words and step lightly around Jiang Lei. Now they stood as equals in cultivation, and it was the unflappable and carefree Jiang Lei who was now forced to weigh his words carefully in front of Chen Haoran.
"What's up?" Chen Haoran asked. "Cat got your tongue?"
"No, my apologies—" Jiang Lei hesitated. "—sir?"
Chen Haoran huffed and waved off the respectful address. "Don't call me that. It's just awkward hearing it from you."
"My apologies."
Chen Haoran rolled his eyes. "Bet you didn't see this coming when you decided to follow me that night."
"No," Jiang Lei said. "I can't say I could have ever imagined this."
That made two of them.
"Well, you were the one who was always confused about my background. Now you know," Chen Haoran joked.
"I'm still confused," Jiang Lei immediately retorted. "Your background is clear, but you've become even more inscrutable."
Chen Haoran felt amused. "Honest now, aren't we?"
Jiang Lei's face twisted as he apparently judge his words were too informal. "I'm sorr—"
"Can it," Chen Haoran interrupted. He reached into his storage bag and pulled out a flimsy book. "Here. This is for you."
Jiang Lei gingerly took the book with wary eyes and, under Chen Haoran's urging, opened to the first page. His eyes went wide. "This is—"
"My handwriting isn't great, but I did my best to make it legible. I'd give you the original, but you know it's not really mine to give away."
Confusion was writ large across Jiang Lei's face. "This is the Seven-Colored Steps of the Rainbow Stairs."
"Yes," Chen Haoran confirmed. "What about it?"
"Why are you giving this to me?"
"Why not? I said you could learn it too, didn't I."
"But that was…." Jiang Lei didn't finish his sentence, but he didn't need to. There were plenty of reasons to insert.
"Well, at least you can recognize what you were putting me through," Chen Haoran said. "At the end of the day, I said you could learn it, and you saved my life. Take it."
Jiang Lei gripped the book tightly. There weren't words to describe the various emotions he cycled through in that instant. Eventually, he settled on gratitude. "Thank you, Young Master Chen."
Before Chen Haoran could reply, a flash of golden light appeared in his mind, and when he cast his thoughts toward it, he found that the golden light surrounding his second gifting slot was brighter than before.
Chen Haoran masked his surprise with a grimace. "Don't call me that. You remind me of another asshole. Besides, you saw my relationship with Xi Wangmu. It's not exactly something you can call close."
"Your family is still one of our major backers," Jiang Lei said. "Etiquette demands I address you with respect."
Chen Haoran raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Were you already aware of my family's involvement? Xi Wangmu must value you a lot."
"It's just a little talent that's caught the Queen Mother's interest," Jiang Lei not so humbly said. "Even I wasn't aware of the nature of the relationship."
"Well, that's Chen Qitao for you," Chen Haoran casually said.
Jiang Lei nodded. "Yes, the Southern Dragon King is mighty indeed." He glanced at Chen Haoran. "His son doesn't seem far off either."
Chen Haoran snorted and clapped Jiang Lei on the back. "Flattery will get you nowhere. Now get. The longer I stay here, the more annoyed that old bat will be."
Jiang Lei shook his head in exasperation. "Only you could be so bold, Chen Haoran." He walked down the stairs and paused at the bottom, looking up at Chen Haoran and nodding. "Until we meet again."
"Oh, believe me," Chen Haoran thought. "The next time we meet will be too soon."
Chen Haoran had yet to hear any shouting or any discussion at all as he approached their room. Despite knowing better, he still had the thought that things weren't as bad as they seemed. This thought lasted until he actually opened the door, and the sounds that had been blocked from escaping assaulted him in full force.
"—do you not understand the implications!"
"I do! Stop treating me as if I'm a fool!"
Bao Si and Xie Jin cut their shouting short when Chen Haoran entered the room. Their Gu, no doubt the cause of the noise being trapped inside, hovered protectively by their sides. Phelps peeled himself off the bed where he'd pressed himself flat and floated into Chen Haoran's arms with a distressed squeal.
Chen Haoran patted Phelps's head. "Easy there, buddy."
"Chen Haoran," Bao Si said. She did not glare or narrow her eyes at him. She did not look angry at all. Yet she did not look happy either. The teasing look in her eyes that he'd grown so used to seeing was gone. Her centipede Gu wrapped itself around her arm, and Chen Haoran mourned the precaution.
"Before you ask anything. I can't give you the answers you want," Chen Haoran said.
"Can't or won't?" Bao Si demanded.
Well. Both honestly, but if Chen Haoran said that, he had no doubt things would go from bad to worse. He didn't know enough about the Chen Family or their deal with Xi Wangmu to satisfy Bao Si's questions, and he certainly wasn't going to reveal his total lack of knowledge. Not when there was a chance the information could make its way back to Xi Wangmu. Especially since there was no telling if she could listen in to them.
"I'm sorry about the Heaven-Rank," he said. "I didn't know it was that politically charged."
"Is that all you didn't know?" Now Bao Si narrowed her eyes. "That day, we were wary of the Peach River Swordsmen's methods to enter the Basin. Perhaps we should have been paying more attention to yours."
Xie Jin stepped between them. "Wait a minute. There's no way Brother Chen could have come to us with ill intentions. He was already living in the north long before I ever arrived, and I was the one who approached him."
Bao Si's face became terrifyingly blank. "Yes. You were."
Xie Jin frowned. "What's that supposed to mean."
Chen Haoran slowly edged over to the corner and tucked Phelps's head into his shoulder. His drama senses were telling him this was going to get ugly.
"You were the one who approached him." Bao Si said. "You were the one who brought him to Zumulu. You were the one who fought to keep him in our home. Now he's turned out to be in the same bed as the bitch who's dragging our people into a bloody rebellion."
Shock colored Xie Jin's features before quickly turning into a scorching glare. "Are you implying I'm trying to harm our home? Do you think I'm some kind of traitor?"
"Can't I?" Bao Si sneered. "Even my Master has decided her interests supersede the tribes. If the Grand Shaman can do that, then why not a maverick like you?"
"Bao Si, how dare you—"
"How dare you!" Bao Si shouted. Her centipede tattoo writhed as if it were alive. "Xie Jin, you dare act indignant? You dare claim you have the tribe in your heart? You? A shaman that pays no heed to his duties? That wanders away from his village more than the rogues in the Gu Department do? You still have not told us why you left Zumulu and went up north! Yet you demand our trust and faith? Xie Jin!"
"The Palace Exams!" Xie Jin roared. He let out a heavy exhale, like an angry bull, in the silence following his outburst. "I went to take the Palace Exams."
Bao Si froze.
Then she erupted with incandescent rage.
"The Palace Exams!" Bao Si's voice shook with force and emotion that she had not displayed even when Xi Wangmu strong-armed her with her own Master's permission. "Xie Jin! What were you thinking? Joining the Empire? You would really sell your Gu to the faithless bastards of the Gu Department? Is that why you became a shaman?"
"I was never going to join the Gu Department!" Xie Jin protested. "I was going to join the Palace School with my own skill. I would never use my Gu to help the Empire."
Bao Si sneered. "You think you could join the Palace School without them realizing what you were? How much of a fool can you be? Is that how you'd explain yourself in front of your grandfather? You unfilial bastard, is this how you treat Grandpa Xie's care for you?"
"Bao Si, don't you dare bring my grandfather into this." Xie Jin's Beetle Gu released a low chitter akin to scraping knives.
"Who else will? You? Why do you care now when you never have before? Is it because you're ashamed? Good! Be ashamed! That poor man is always placing his faith in you, and all you do is disappoint him at every turn!"
"You fucking bitch!"
Chen Haoran flared his qi and quickly stepped between Xie Jin and Bao Si. His qi was like a bucket of water atop their heads, dousing their rising qi and emotions. They both shook and stepped back but did not relent in their ugly stares.
"Let's take a step back, okay?" Chen Haoran asked. "Don't forget where we are right now." He turned to Bao Si. "Listen. The Palace Exams were canceled before anyone could take them, and Xie Jin's only thought was of home. Even if he did pass them, he'd never join the Empire. There's no way he'd abandon the Basin for the Palace School."
Bao Si's face had returned to being expressionless, and she addressed Xie Jin directly. "Xie Jin, answer me honestly. If the conditions here permitted, were you going to leave Zumulu with Chen Haoran?"
Xie Jin's silence was loud in the quiet room.
Bao Si shook her head. "There were other shamans available. I even argued with Grandpa Xie not to bring you. He wanted to test you, though. It turns out he was right too." Bao Si laughed. It was a hard, bitter sound. "I can't believe I ever thought I could marry you. Why did you even become a shaman if you hated it so much."
Xie Jin stood there, his face a twisted mask of grief and smoldering anger. "Because I wanted to be like you," he whispered. His Gu flew into his sleeve, and he decisively turned and left the room, slamming the door so hard it rattled in the frame.
Chen Haoran watched him go, tracking his direction with his sense. Bao Si said nothing, and instead collapsed onto the bed and buried her face into her hands.
"Chen Haoran," she said. "Who are you?"
Well, maybe a little can't hurt. He sat down on the bed next to her and set Phelps next to him. "Do you know who the Southern Dragon King Chen Qitao is?"
"Southern Dragon King," Bao Si murmured. She looked up from her hands with dry, clear eyes. "I've heard that title. My Master had mentioned it before. She said it belonged to a powerful warlord in the Splintered Lands."
Again with the Splintered Lands.
"What are these Splintered Lands you keep talking about?" Chen Haoran asked.
Bao Si was not amused. "Will you continue playing a fool Chen Haoran?"
He really wasn't. This was a pure, authentic fool. He couldn't help asking. He'd heard the term bandied about far too often to keep being ignorant of it. Thankfully Xi Wangmu had given him the perfect excuse.
"I was sent as a hostage to Clearsprings City when I was young by my father," Chen Haoran somberly said. "I was weak and otherwise useless to him. I didn't stay that way forever, though." He placed a hand over his heart. "You heard Xi Wangmu talk about the foreign spirit in my body. Thanks to it, I was able to become a Liquid Meridian Realm. But… sometimes it feels like this body isn't my own." He tapped a finger against his head. "Sometimes things I should know, I don't."
Bao Si searched his face for any sign of falsity. For any hint that he was lying to her. Unfortunately for her, there wasn't, and he wasn't. His poker face was the one born out of long hours spent in retail and customer service, and what sort of lie could she find when he didn't speak any?
"The Splintered Lands are the shattered remains of territories and kingdoms that lie between the Empire, the Bagmar Republic, and the Eastern Lightning League. They're lawless places that only served to be exploited by the superpowers and used as buffer states. There the only rule is by the fist."
"I see. Thank you."
"If you really wanted to thank me, you would tell me what sort of danger my people are in," Bao Si said.
"It's not completely bad," Chen Haoran said. "At least Xi Wangmu values you and isn't planning to use you as some soldier. Plus, she can't be too disrespectful now that she knows I'm involved." Granted, that was relying on Chen Qitao's prestige more than anything Chen Haoran himself did, so it wasn't the sturdiest threat, but for Bao Si, anything was better than nothing.
"So is that it? I must choose between you or her?" Bao Si straightened. Her centipede tattoo rippled even as two eyes, not unlike Xi Wangmu's, threatened to draw Chen Haoran in and throw in down into the abyss. "I do not like being forced to do what I do not want to do. Nor do I appreciate being sold." Her eyes narrowed to snake-like slits. "By my Master or by you, Chen Haoran."
"Sorry about that," Chen Haoran said. "In my defense, though, you've seen that old coot. If I rejected her, then things would have gotten worse before they got better. That does remind me, though." He pulled out the jade box, took the Banquet Peach, and held it invitingly in front of Phelps. "Here, buddy. Snack time."
Phelps took one sniff, and his face turned a rosy pink even through his fur. The peach quickly disappeared from his hand, core and all.
Received Hundred-Fold: 80 thousand-year-old Banquet Peach
Bao Si's face featured yet another one he had yet to see, this one of open-mouthed shock.
"I hope this shows you just how serious I was about 'selling' you and how little I care for Xi Wangmu."
Bao Si slowly shook her head. "I don't know what to make of you anymore."
"You never knew what to make of me," Chen Haoran pointed out. "Now, would you like a hug or an emotional support sloth before I go find Xie Jin?"
Chapter 132: This Young Master and Xie Jin
Bao Si naturally chose the emotional support sloth, so Chen Haoran was forced to go searching for Xie Jin, bereft of his furry backpack. He was being dramatic in truth. He was going to leave Phelps in the room anyway. Walking around Reservoir Town with the sloth on his back was just tempting fate. His search for Xie Jin was exaggerated as well because when Chen Haoran walked down to the dining floor of the inn, Xie Jin was standing by the door waiting for him.
They said nothing and left the inn. The light was fading into purple dusk, and lamplighters moved from light pole to light pole, screwing on glass jars filled with fireflies that glowed like lightbulbs. Unlike in Stonebridge, the streets of Reservoir Town bustled at all hours of the day. A curfew was apparently too hindering for merchants that arrived and left, whether day or night. With Reservoir Town being the center of the Pacification Committee and the Garrison, the Empire could afford to lapse on this bit of control. It meant that Reservoir Town was the first city in Zumulu that Chen Haoran had found to have a proper nightlife.
He and Xie Jin wandered the hustle, watching workers go to worker bars, soldiers go to soldier bars, and the merchants, depending on their means, split between merchant bars for the poor and finer dining pavilions for the well-off. It was one of these finer establishments that they went to. Chen Haoran dropped a wad of gold banknotes for a private room with a view of the streets and a bottle of Mortal-Rank Rose Wine that was apparently popular in the Central Region.
Xie Jin drank heavily from his cup without so much as a toast and grimaced. "I feel like I'm drinking perfume. How the hell can those Central Region farts stomach this?"
Chen Haoran took a sip and had to agree. It tasted like his rose baths smelled. Altogether he'd probably appreciate the bottle more if he dumped it over his head. Chen Haoran glanced over the menu and passed it to Xie Jin. "You see anything better?"
Xie Jin scanned the menu, and his eyes lit up. After spending a decidedly less amount of money compared to the Rose Wine, the server brought up a new rice wine in a clay jar. Xie Jin filled Chen Haoran's cup, then his own, and they toasted each other. It was normal as far as alcohol went. For a regular person, it would be considered strong. To Chen Haoran, he could drink it like water he so chose. It was far behind the Ranked wines he'd partaken in every way. Yet it was pleasant. Bitter but in a way that enhanced rather than detracted. Chen Haoran enjoyed the taste and the moment he shared with Xie Jin drinking it.
Chen Haoran paused as he savored the wine. The flavor struck a chord of familiarity within him. "We've had this before, didn't we? When we first entered Zumulu with that cattle driver."
Xie Jin hummed a note of agreement. "The same. That guy had good taste. This is a wine straight out of the South. The bitter flavor comes from the poisonous plants used to brew it." Xie Jin wistfully looked to the ceiling while nursing his drink. "Not that it's actually poisonous. It's only made with the weakest plants, and the toxins are neutralized during the fermenting. It's so common here that it's usually the first drink we offer to visitors. You'd think we were giving them actual poison, though, from the way they act about it. You're the first I met who didn't hesitate to take a drink from a Southerner."
Well, that was born out of his complete ignorance, but he wasn't going to spoil Xie Jin's mood by saying that out loud. On the other hand, it seemed he didn't need to say anything. The mocking smile Xie Jin wore faded into a thin line as he stared into his cup. As if the drink had somehow personally insulted him. They sat there in silence, nursing their drinks, watching tired new arrivals tug their carts to depots so that they might finally rest while teams that would depart in the morning had one last celebration before the hard journey ahead.
A group of excited Liquid Meridians in the middle and late stages brushed through the crowd without care and loudly entered an expensive-looking restaurant. A team of soldiers patrolled the street, breaking up fights should cultivators decide to escalate into more than something physical. They did not lack work. The friction created by power and alcohol meant tempers flared up more often than not. However, even those in the Liquid Meridians stopped short of actually releasing their qi or techniques. The one man bold enough saw himself taken down with furious force by the soldiers.
Xie Jin watched it all with such focus that he didn't realize he'd finished his wine till he'd tried to drink twice and came back empty. When he tried reaching for the bottle, Chen Haoran took it first and refilled his cup.
"Bao Si tried to tell me about your history," Chen Haoran said. He ignored the way Xie Jin involuntarily tensed and refilled his own cup. "I told her I would hear about you from you directly. Will you tell me?"
Xie Jin stared at his cup with a faraway look. Chen Haoran folded his hands and patiently waited. Whatever wanted to be said would come on its own time in due time, even if that time wasn't now.
"The process of creating Gu is called the Poison Jar Ritual," Xie Jin finally said. "The most venomous Hell Bugs in Zumulu are gathered and sealed into a closed space where they devour each other until only one is left. All the toxins concentrate in that survivor, who's then fed to silkworm larvae until again only one is left. That larva is typically raised into a Gu on its own or then fed to another desired host to become a Gu. There's more to the ritual than that, chants and spells and other traditions to fully complete the transformation. But that's the gist of it. At least in the rest of Zumulu."
"But the Black Bones are better," Chen Haoran said.
A small smile graced Xie Jin's dour face. "Yeah. The Black Bones are better. Once you have the last silkworm larva, the process is basically done. Feed it or raise it. The choice varies depending on the tribe. That's not enough for us Black Bones, though. Once we have the last larva, we eat it."
Chen Haoran blinked. "You what?"
"We eat it."
"The super venomous larva. You just eat it?"
"Yes." Xie Jin saw the look on Chen Haoran's face and laughed. "It sounds insane, and it is. But by eating the larva and then feeding our infected blood to our chosen avatar, we create a much closer connection to our Gu. It allows a Black Bone Shaman to share in the cultivation of their Gu and vice versa. More vice than versa, though. Of course, it's an incredibly dangerous and painful process. The Gu poison immediately starts rotting the blood. That's what gives our Gu their black color."
Chen Haoran let out a low whistle. "That's pretty metal."
"I've never heard that expression before," Xie Jin said.
"It means something like intense or hardcore."
"Metal, huh?" Xie Jin sounded out the word. "Yeah. I like that. It is pretty metal. Without the support of an experienced shaman and the tribe, the process is a death sentence. Everyone comes together to help save the newborn shaman."
"And the shaman returns the favor by helping the tribe."
Xie Jin nodded. "Precisely. You won't find shamans as loyal to their people as a Black Bone is, nor Gu. A Black Bone Gu doesn't return to the Tenth Green Hell after the death of its shaman. Instead, it sacrifices itself to cast a curse strong enough to lay low a cultivator an entire realm above you. We call it the Death Curse. If a Black Bone Shaman has resolved themselves to die, then it's almost inevitable that they will not be dying alone…."
Xie Jin trailed off into silence after speaking. He hunched over the table. Peering into some past memory within his cup. Chen Haoran left him to it. He had the feeling Xie Jin's Gu lesson was more for than just pride.
"Brother Chen," Xie Jin said, not looking up. "Do you ever feel like you were born in the wrong place?"
Chen Haoran breathed in heavily. He calmly took the wine bottle, refilled his cup, and downed it in one go. He gently slammed the cup against the table, startling Xie Jin. "All the time, brother." He refilled Xie Jin's cup. "Tell me about it."
"I'm not my grandfather's actual grandson," Xie Jin slowly said.
Chen Haoran frowned. "He still raised you, though, didn't he? And from what I've seen, it seems he cares for you. What difference does it make if you're not his actual grandson?"
Xie Jin looked at him gratefully. "Thank you, Brother Chen, but not being of his blood mattered to me. Compared to Ren, who's his actual grandson and has a High-Grade Spirit Root, and Bao Si, who's well…. herself. I was just some orphan my grandfather adopted after whoever my parents were sent me back to the Basin before dying."
Chen Haoran held up his hand. "Wait, I'm sorry, Ren is Xie Ling's grandson?"
Xie Jin huffed a laugh. "Ren is…. a bit strange. He'd rather walk around the perimeter of the Basin all day on patrol than do anything else. It's why Grandfather raised Si as his heir. Of course, I was there too. Always learning less and being taught less than what she was." Xie Jin's grip on his cup tightened. "She was everything I expected a cultivator to be. Talented, valued, respected, and free to go wherever she pleased whenever she wanted. She was on track to be the youngest shaman in the Basin's history. Meanwhile, I was never meant to be a shaman. Ever since I was young, everyone knew I wasn't fit for it. Everyone except me, that is."
Xie Jin took a long draw from his cup. Uncaring of the way the wine spilled and stained his shirt. "It's the typical story. A young and ignorant boy wants to earn respect and make his dreams come true, so he goes and does something completely reckless without caring about the consequences."
"The Poison Jar Ritual," Chen Haoran said.
Xie Jin smirked. "Si is the second youngest shaman now. I don't think she ever forgave me for that."
"You did it on your own?" Chen Haoran asked.
"Unless you don't count stealing the collected knowledge of my tribe, then yes, I did it on my own." Xie Jin said. "I gathered all the Hell Bugs and distilled the best poison I could on the slopes of Stake Mountain, then ate that larva whole. It's a miracle I survived."
Chen Haoran thought back to how Xie Jin began this conversation. It wasn't purposeless. "You weren't saved."
"No," Xie Jin sadly said. He touched his sleeve. "I woke up alone with my Gu. To this day, I can't tell you what happened on that mountain or how I didn't die. No one else knew what I had done until I walked back into the village, Gu in hand. That's when I learned why no one wanted me to be a shaman. Even back then, I wanted to go out into the wider world. See all the sights that were to be seen and experience everything there was to be experienced. I only realized too late what kind of chains I wrapped around myself. A shaman who's not there for his tribe is no shaman at all."
"Even if you used your tribe's knowledge, you still did all the other steps by yourself," Chen Haoran pointed out. "That had to count for something."
Xie Jin bitterly laughed. "Toward my execution, yes. I'm not well-liked by the other shamans, you see. They didn't want our ancestral teachings to be used to create a potential rogue shaman. It'd be an insult to our tribe's millennia of inheritance—a shame on the name of the Black Bone Shamans. Grandfather and Si had to fight like hell to save my life, and even after I was officially inducted, the tribe didn't like the thought of supporting a shaman who might abandon them at any time. Of course, they were right to be wary. I was, in fact, planning to abandon them."
"And that's what led to you taking the Palace Exam?" Chen Haoran asked.
Xie Jin shook his head, his face a mess of helplessness and self-mockery. "I don't know why I even bothered doing that. Si was completely right to call me out on it. I guess I wanted to see if more power could give me more answers. Do I betray my people and everything I was raised to believe in, or do I follow my heart? In a way, it was a good thing for that peacock prince to cancel the exams. He stopped that reckless boy within me from another terrible decision." Xie Jin raised his cup to Chen Haoran. "Well, not completely terrible. I got to meet you, after all, Brother Chen."
Chen Haoran didn't raise his cup. He drummed his fingers on the table in thought. He'd been thinking a lot lately about many things: the world, Zumulu, the Chen Family, his Gifting Power, Bao Si, Xie Jin. Perhaps he was thinking too much, though. Maybe he, too, needed to let the reckless boy in him out.
"I was told before that when you advance in strength, a world of advantages opens up to you," Chen Haoran said. "Speaking as someone lucky enough to have grown in power, I don't believe it really gives you answers at all. In fact, I think the same questions that were beyond me as a Qi Realm are beyond me as a Liquid Meridian. Maybe even as a Crystal Transformation. We'll have to see, though." Chen Haoran reached into his storage bag and summoned a glossy green scroll to his hand. He placed the scroll on a table in front of a suddenly wary Xie Jin. "All that is just my experience with power. Maybe yours will be different."
"Brother Chen," Xie Jin cautiously said. "What is this?"
"You're a Wood Spirit Root, right? This is the Depths of the Cloud Jungle Sutra, a Heaven-Rank cultivation method."
"A Heaven-Rank…." Xie Jin's voice was scratchy. He looked from the scroll to Chen Haoran with wet eyes. "Brother Chen, I can't." He covered his eyes with his hand. "Brother Chen, take it from my sight. I can't. I can't. Please. Don't do this to me." Xie Jin did an admirable job of hiding it, but his hand could not catch all his tears, and his words could help but hitch. "Brother Chen, I have nothing to give you. Please, take it back."
Chen Haoran left the scroll on the table and instead emptied the last of the wine into their cups. "You're a liar if you say you have nothing to give me because you've given me something I could exchange all my wealth for and still never receive—a good friend." Chen Haoran raised his cup. "Xie Jin, I consider you to be the first real friend I've made in this world. If there's anything you could give me, it would be the honor to keep being friends with you. Maybe even… sworn brothers?"
Xie Jin's hand fell from his face and while his eyes were red and his cheeks still wet, it did nothing to stop him from giving Chen Haoran an incredulous stare. Chen Haoran awkwardly coughed into his hand. "Yes, well, um. I'm not really familiar with this, so I don't know the etiquette involved. I don't mind, though. Being sworn brothers with you. Unless you mind, of course. Which is totally okay if you do."
"Brother Chen," Xie Jin interrupted. He was laughing hard enough that fresh tears streamed down his face. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Trying my best," Chen Haoran said. He shook his cup. "What do you say, Brother Jin?"
"What else could I say when you ask me like that?" Xie Jin lifted his own cup.
Chen Haoran went in for the toast….
….and hit nothing but air.
"No."