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2.25 - The Court Revealed
🕑 Added 2024-02-15 23:00:01 +0000 UTCThe bandit king’s corrupted fist slammed into the ground, cracking the earth beneath it. Although He Yu hadn’t seen her move, Zhang Lifen stood a good twenty feet away from the impact, the hem of her gown drifting as if underwater.
She held an exquisitely crafted composite bow of black lacquered wood and gleaming white horn. Silver formation characters shone along its length. The treasure radiated a spiritual weight nearly as intense as Zhang Lifen herself.
As she drew back the bowstring, an arrow of brilliant water qi coalesced into being. This too, gushed power. Between the weight of Zhang Lifen’s fully unleashed spirit, her treasure, and her technique, it was nearly too much for He Yu to bear.
Zhang Lifen’s bowstring thrummed. Water qi flared as her arrow leaped off the string, trailing icy mist in its wake. Her technique slammed into King Hao’s corrupted shoulder, releasing a blinding flash of power. When He Yu’s vision cleared, King Hao’s arm was simply gone.
Another technique streaked through the air, this time slamming into the center of King Hao’s chest. When the flare of power faded this time, everything of the bandit from the waist up had simply been obliterated. For the second time that afternoon, the body pitched forward into the dirt. At least, what remained of it.
Zhang Lifen turned to them, all traces of her usual playfulness gone. “Collect whatever spoils you can carry and go,” she commanded. He Yu had seen her affect drop before, but never like this. It honestly frightened him.
“What’s happening?” he asked.
“Do what I said.” Her tone left no room for argument. “Return to the sect as swiftly as you can, and work on your breakthrough. If you catch wind of anything—I mean anything—that feels even remotely like what you’ve felt just now, hide.”
“Are you going to be okay?” he asked, even as he stuffed the bandits’ ill-gotten lucre into his storage treasure. It was a small comfort that both Yan Shirong and Li Heng looked just as concerned as he felt.
Finally, a little bit of the Zhang Lifen he’d come to know returned as she gave him a small smile. “I’ll be fine,” she said, her tone softening. “I can take care of myself. I just can’t—”
Something in her voice shifted again as she cut herself off. It almost sounded regretful. Then, she shook her head as she turned away to face the east. “Get back to the sect. You’ll be safe there.”
He Yu swallowed. “Promise you’ll come back,” he said. It had just sort of come out. He knew that bonds between martial family were strong, but Zhang Lifen had never really been around all that much. Despite that, she was the reason he’d come as far as he had.
She gave him a reassuring smile at him over her shoulder. “Of course. Although, you likely won’t see me before the tournament,” she warned. “I’ll need to enter seclusion once I return to the sect. It seems my time as a Golden Core has come to an end. We can speak more when I emerge.”
It only took a few more minutes for He Yu and the others to fill their storage treasures. The wealth they’d gathered, and the payment of the bounty that awaited them back at the sect, were overshadowed by whatever had happened with King Hao and Zhang Lifen’s sudden shift in mannerism.
The bandit had called out to an “Empress” before his qi changed. He Yu thought he had a pretty good idea of which Empress the bandit had meant, but he deliberately refused to dwell on that. The looming certainty that he’d become caught up in something far larger than himself wasn’t something he was ready to deal with.
* * *
Zhang Lifen let her smile drop as she watched her three juniors disappear into the forest before turning back to the east. They would be fine. She did spare a thought for herself, though, as she briefly focused on the pressure in her dantian. She’d been at the peak for a long time, now. Perhaps too long, given the current situation.
She wouldn’t dwell on that, however. If anyone could have seen this coming, it would have been Master Cai—and he hadn’t. He would have warned her if he had, and instructed her to advance to Nascent Soul.
She pulled a delicately carved figurine of a heron from her storage treasure and briefly spoke into it. With the message sealed, she pushed a trickle of qi into the formation script along its back and it vanished.
The approaching presence from the east would arrive before Ren Huang did, but not by much. Huang and herself would be enough to deal with this interloper together, she hoped. She just needed to hold on until he arrived. Fortunately, as a middle Fifth Realm, Ren Huang wouldn’t take nearly as long to get here as she had.
As she waited, she allowed herself to reflect on the outer disciples’ progress. Their encounter with Old Guo had been fortuitous. They’d advanced beyond her expectations in a remarkably short time. Master Cai had chastised her for sending them away from the sect in the first place, telling her that she’d overestimated their abilities.
But things had worked out, so where was the harm? Besides, now that things seemed to be advancing faster than Master Cai had anticipated, they’d need to make use of anything—and anyone—they could.
The presence drew closer, and she was able to get a better sense of their advancement. Fifth Realm. Zhang Lifen put on her most disarming smile and folded her hands in the sleeves of her gown. Even though there was little she’d be able to accomplish beyond stalling for time, she still needed to keep up appearances.
Her opponent arrived with a burst of heat and a wave of blood. The emissary of the Sunset Court slammed down on the far side of the bandit camp. He had fine features that managed to at once look delicate and strong. His hair had a shine that would be the envy of any mortal lady of status and was bound up in a crown hairpin of gleaming black metal, inset with a large ruby. His black robes were of similarly high quality, and were embroidered with silver and gold thread.
Although he carried no visible weapon, he was clearly here to fight. Now that they’d come face-to-face, she could determine the exact level of advancement. Middle Nascent Soul, approaching the late stage.
The emissary made no effort to restrain his presence. He was a towering suit of iron-wrought armor with four arms, each wielding a massive dadao. The armor glistened in the fading afternoon light, slick underneath a sheen of blood. Glowing molten metal dripped from the joints. Zhang Lifen could feel the heat coming off him in waves, and she had to force herself not to gag from the overwhelming stench of blood.
Even though she was still only of the Fourth Realm, she met him in kind. Her own presence flowed out from her, a glassy and still sea. However, just beneath the surface were powerful currents that dragged anyone caught in them down into the silent depths hidden below. Black and cold, they whispered the quiet peace of the drowned to those caught in her embrace.
Her smile came a bit easier now, as steam billowed between them and the weight of their combined spirits blasted away what little remained of the bandit camp. Water extinguished fire. That her own aspect overcame his wouldn’t allow her to defeat him, not with such a difference in their cultivation, but it did mean she had a real chance of lasting until help arrived. She could always find a silver lining if she wanted.
The emissary gestured to the body of King Hao, or what remained of it at least. “This man was a servant of the Sunset Court. Do you know who is responsible for his death?” He spoke as if he were holding a normal conversation, despite being clear on the other side of the camp, nearly two hundred paces away. They were both advanced enough that there was no need to shout.
Zhang Lifen inclined her head. “I claim responsibility.” No point in being polite—humble speech would do her no favors here.
“Since you were surely unaware of your transgression, I—Kong Huizhong, Emissary of the Sunset Court—offer you the opportunity to repay your debt. Pledge your service to the Court, and you may live.”
“I was aware.” It took all her effort to keep her voice light. She was courting death and she knew it.
The emissary’s fierce eyebrows drew together. “Our movements are not well known to outsiders. Tell me how you knew, and I swear your death will be swift and without undue suffering.”
Even if she had believed him, she wouldn’t have answered truthfully. Although the Court had to know that Master Cai had taken an apprentice—Xiao Jun would have told them as much shortly after they recruited him—he had been careful to maintain the impression that he was ignorant of their activities. “I don’t think I will,” she said, manifesting her bow from her storage treasure.
As its weight, more spiritual than physical, fell into her hand, and her fingers curled around its familiar grip, she felt some small measure of comfort. This wasn’t a fight she ought to be starting, but sometimes one had little choice in these matters. She doubted that even with Ren Huang’s help this was a foe who could be defeated here. They could drive him off, however.
Pushing aside concerns for her own safety, she drew back her bowstring. Things had moved quickly; moreso than Master Cai had anticipated. They’d known the Sunset Court had infiltrated the sect via Xiao Jun for well over a year now. They’d thought to use him to gauge the threat. It had been a good plan until King Hao appeared. At the very least, she could be certain Master Cai was watching. If she were to fall before Ren Huang arrived, he would know what had happened and would take action. He would continue playing at ignorance, or reveal himself as he saw fit.
Time seemed to stretch as she drew back her bow. The arrow of qi formed by the first stage of her bow art—the Heart Piercing Black Rain—settled into completion at the same instant her bow reached a full draw. Her bowstring thrummed, and she’d nearly finished a second draw before her first arrow had crossed half the distance to her foe.
“Just need to hang on,” she whispered to herself as she released her second arrow and began to form her third.
