Chapter 52: DRIVE AWAY

CHAPTER

52

DRIVE AWAY

JIEYUAN

—∞—

Jieyuan froze at the sight of the pair. Before he even knew it he was closing his palms around the shafts of the Shifting Feathers, starting to draw them, and he stopped himself before he could pull them out, killing the instinct.

On the other end of the corridor, Sovereign Aoxin similarly came to an abrupt stop on a step about three-quarters of the way down this floor’s half of the stairway. She had her eyes narrowed, scrutinizing him. Then she smirked, chuckling. “After what I saw of your duel, you’re jumpier than I would’ve thought, Haoyujin Jieyuan. I didn’t realize my presence inspired such terror.”

He steadied himself, and forced out an apologetic smile. “I apologize. Part of me is still on the dueling stage, I think.” That was true, though only part of it.

There was also the fact he’d just beat up a core disciple from her sect—rather brutally, at that.

And then there was the whole matter of Meiyao’s engagement with Dayang.

He should be safe—no one would be fool enough to try anything, not with the envoy in the same building. But that didn’t magically vanish all his reasons to be wary.

“That’s a good instinct,” Sovereign Aoxin said, shaking her head as she continued on down the steps. “Don’t apologize for it.”

Dayang trailed behind her, silently watching him, inscrutable. They locked eyes briefly, and that got Jieyuan a subtle nod and nothing more.

“So,” Sovereign Aoxin said, climbing down the last step, “that was quite the performance just now. And for Heavens’ sake, don’t just stand there gawking. I don’t bite, boy.”

Jieyuan obliged, still not sure what this was about. Dayang remained on the third step up, standing behind his aunt like a statue.

“Hmmm.” Sovereign Aoxin crossed her arms, looked him up and down. “You’re indeed Huizhong’s son.”

“You knew my father?” He’d thought the highest-rank cultivator his father had ever dealt with was the Radiant Gold Palace head.

“I met him…” the sovereign protector frowned. “Thrice, I believe. Yes, thrice. Your family has served us well for generations, managing many of our businesses. It would’ve been remiss of me not to meet its leader at least once.” She paused. “On that note, I met the new head recently. Your aunt, yes? Your father’s sister. An ambitious woman, if I’ve ever seen one.”

“That sounds about right,” Jieyuan said.

After his father’s funeral, he’d approached his aunt and told her he had no interest in taking over the business—that he was going to join the Gleaming Stone Sect. She’d looked awfully relieved, and he was pretty sure it was because his leaving meant she wouldn’t have to kill him.

Because she would’ve.

After all, she’d already gone to the trouble of arranging his old man’s death.

He didn’t hold it against her, though. The family head had been his uncle before his father took over. Jieyuan even knew which poison had been used to arrange that particular succession.

It was as his old man had liked to say.

Business was business.

“I guess you could say ambition runs in the family,” he added.

“Oh, I don’t doubt that in the least,” Sovereign Aoxin said, giving him a knowing look. “Now, there’s something I’ve been wondering. Something that’s been on my mind since Protector Zhaoyong shared the Gleaming Stone Sect’s list of new disciples with us.”

She leaned forward. “So satisfy this curiosity of mine, if you will. What in the Heavens is a Haoyujin doing in the Gleaming Stone Sect? How come you didn’t go for my Radiant Gold Sect?”

“I…” Jieyuan hadn’t thought he’d be asked that. Not that directly, at least. He wasn’t in the right frame of mind to come up with a proper excuse, either, fresh out of combat as he was. The truth would have to suffice. “I wanted to start fresh. To start anew.”

“Start anew?” Whatever answer the sovereign protector had been expecting, that clearly wasn’t it, going by her expression. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

Sovereign Aoxin let out a sharp exhale. “So that’s why we didn’t get you. Start anew… Heavens take it. Heavens take it all.” She murmured a few more things that Jieyuan suspected to be rather unflattering, before she smiled wryly. “I can’t say I’m happy about that. You are going to accept the envoy’s offer, aren’t you? Do you have any idea what the Gleaming Stone Sect’s getting, in exchange for that?”

He made to speak, but she put up a hand.

“You don’t. Trust me—you don’t. Three fourth-orders… the Heavens have really taken a shine to the Gleaming Stone Sect this time around.”

She sighed, then reached forward, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Well, again, I can’t say I’m all that pleased about your choice, but… I’m glad you’ve been doing well for yourself, Jieyuan. Heavenly affinity aside, you’ve got promise. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a fourth-sign defeat a fifth-sign like that. Just… try to be a tad more gentle with my poor disciples next time, all right? ”

“I’ll try,” he said. It was a lie, though, and an obvious one.

He was in no position to pull his punches, not when fighting someone at a higher soulsign. He’d have been concerned about it, what with the sovereign protector’s hand on his shoulder, but her tone made it clear that she didn’t really mean it. They were cultivators. Pain was par for the course. As long as he didn’t kill or maim anyone here, there shouldn’t be any issues. Though he probably could get away with murder anyway, since he doubted Envoy Guodan would let anyone kill him.

“I’m sure you will.” Sovereign Aoxin chuckled, giving his shoulder a squeeze, before pulling back. “I’m afraid I must get going, then. My poor elders should be getting antsy, left alone with the envoy. It was nice meeting you, Jieyuan.” She turned around, starting up the steps, briefly stopping by her nephew’s side and giving him a small nod before she continued on. Soon she was out of sight, disappearing into the upper floor.

Jieyuan remained at the base of the stairway, looking up, waiting for Dayang to say something. He had a better idea of what this might be about.

“You and Meiyao,” Dayang finally said, and Jieyuan was glad the other man had skipped the pleasantries and gone straight for the gold. “You’re close.” That didn’t sound like a question. “Friends?”

Jieyuan thought back to how Yongyi had asked him nearly the same thing, the day they arrived at the Gleaming Stone Palace.

“Friends,” he said, simply.

No need to twist the knife.

Jieyuan could see Dayang working his jaw, like he was chewing over his words. The Radiant Gold Sect core disciple had a look of intense concentration. Considering Jieyuan, judging him.

“Look out for her,” the core disciple finally said, his voice tighter than a merchant’s purse.

Jieyuan frowned, trying and failing to make sense of that. “What do you mean by that?”

“You’re going to the Howling Lightning Sect. And so… And so is Meiyao,” Dayang said, the words ringing with the resignation of a condemned man. “So look out for her.”

Jieyuan’s frown only deepened. Of course Meiyao was going too. But why would Dayang admit it like that, what with their supposed engagement? Before he could voice those thoughts, though, Dayang turned around without another word and began climbing up the steps.

Jieyuan didn’t call after him. He didn’t think he’d be getting any answers. He knew the look of a man who’d reached his limit, who couldn’t be pushed any further and wouldn’t take kindly if anyone tried to.

If Jieyuan pressed the issue, the best outcome he could expect was Dayang ignoring him.

But there was someone else Jieyuan could press for answers.

He waited until Dayang was gone before getting on the stairway himself. He climbed up in silence, thinking, under the glare of the brightgold walls. He had a suspicion of what might be going on, and the more he thought about it, the more evidence he found in its favor. By the time he got to the upper floor, he was already halfway convinced.

The Gleaming Stone Palace’s delegation was directly across from the exit, and he made straight for it, ignoring the furtive looks sent his way.

Meiyao was standing right where he’d left her, and Yongyi was beside her, though with some distance between them. The two of them turned around at his approach, then smiled, seeing him. And there was something about both their smiles—small, subtle, approving, in the exact same way—that it occurred to Jieyuan that the two of them were siblings. It’d never really dawned on him until now, this so strongly, with how differently the two looked and acted.

“Nice work down there,” Yongyi said as Jieyuan settled himself in the space between them.

“I’ve got you two to thank for that. I couldn’t have done it without our spars.”

Yongyi glanced down at his waist, eyeing the sheathed Shifting Feathers. “You were rather… uncoordinated, your first day with your new weapons.”

Meiyao snorted. “More like hopeless.” Jieyuan saw Yongyi snap a quick look at Meiyao, who didn’t seem to notice. “But that was a good showing down there.”

“Not so hopeless, then, is it?” Jieyuan said to her, before nodding to Yongyi. “And you put up quite the spectacle yourself.” They’d crossed each other on his way down to the arena floor when he’d been called, but Jieyuan hadn’t been able to properly congratulate him. “You pretty much revealed nothing. Whereas I had to use up just about every trick I had.”

Everything he was willing to show, at any rate.

“That’s true,” Yongyi said. “Unlike you, however, I was the same soulsign as my opponent. And I’m fairly certain you didn’t use all your… tricks.”

Yongyi didn’t know the half of it—but Meiyao would, better than just about anyone else. And sure enough, as Jieyuan glanced over to her, he saw her knowing look.

But none of them got around to putting any more words in, because it was then that the proctor’s voice rang down from below.

“Linzushen Meiyao, of the Gleaming Stone Sect.”

Focusing down on the arena floor, he saw that the middle stage was empty again, save for the proctor. An entire fight had passed. He looked around and confirmed that Daojue was still there. Considering nobody else had come down the stairway while he and Sovereign Aoxin and Dayang talked, they’d probably been contestants closer to the other entrance. From the Xiyunfeng Clan and the Viridian Death Cult.

Another name was called right afterward. A Xiyunfeng.

“That’s me,” Meiyao said, stepping away from the railing.

“Best of luck,” Yongyi said, all solemn-like, looking awfully serious all of a sudden.

Meiyao gave her half-brother a pointedly unimpressed look.

Jieyuan shrugged. “What he said.”

Meiyao huffed but didn’t quite manage to hide her smile.

She headed on down. In this particular case, Jieyuan was actually glad to see her go. Because the questions he wanted would be better asked without her around. He waited until she was out of sight—she lingered a little while further back, suddenly accosted by Yuyan and Wanxin—before he sidled closer to Yongyi.

“So,” Jieyuan said, keeping his voice low, “I just had a fun little chat with Dayang earlier.”

Yongyi’s brows furrowed, and the look he gave Jieyuan was just shy of wary. “I noticed him and Sovereign Aoxin head down for a moment. It was to talk to you, then?”

“It was.” Jieyuan started to consider carefully how to phrase the question, but then decided to follow Dayang’s example from earlier and not mince words. “The engagement’s a farce, isn’t it?”

The uncomprehending look Yongyi put on might have worked if Jieyuan hadn’t caught him stiffen up for an instant like he’d been given a shock of cold water. “What?”

“It was never meant to go through,” Jieyuan said, “and I’m pretty sure everyone’s in on it. Everyone besides Meiyao. Not that it could go through, in the first place, because Meiyao wouldn’t stand for it. And based on what she told me earlier about the Viridian Death Cult, she could very well have them go to war to stop that from happening.”

Yongyi clearly tried, but couldn’t keep the wince from slipping through.

Jieyuan recalled precisely how everyone in the room—everyone that mattered, at least—had reacted when the sect leader mentioned Meiyao’s engagement in the palace’s conference room. For the most part, Jieyuan didn’t consider himself someone particularly clever or insightful. But he wasn’t entirely incapable, and his upbringing in this life had ensured he’d know how to navigate his way around a little bit of intrigue.

“So here’s my theory,” Jieyuan said. “This whole engagement business was meant to drive Meiyao away. To ensure she would take the Envoy’s offer. How close am I?”

Yongyi looked away, turning down to the arena floor. Down there, Meiyao was already halfway to the center stage. Her opponent, a man from the Xiyunfeng Clan, had already arrived.

Jieyuan let him have these moments. The thing about pressing someone for answers was that there were times you were better off easing up on them for a bit. You wanted to corner them, but take it too far and they’d close up altogether.

Meiyao got on the stage, and though he couldn’t hear it, he could tell the proctor was now going over the rules of engagement. Meiyao drew her shrouded saber, the man across her doing the same, except he turned out to be one of the rare few spear users around. So far, the only disciples he’d seen using them were from the Gleaming Stone Sect and the Xiyunfeng Clan.

“Did Meiyao tell you what happened to Lianhua?” Yongyi asked, quietly, solemn, just as the proctor got off the stage.

“How she was taken away? She did.”

“Did she tell you what happened afterwards? How the Viridian Death Cult tried to take Meiyao back, but Meiyao refused?”

“She did.”

“Meiyao was furious. Furious like you wouldn’t believe. And she was just eight at the time—when you’re that young, you can’t really think clearly. She pushed everyone away. Mother didn’t take Father’s side, not exactly, but she also didn’t take Meiyao’s either, and after that, you were either with her or against her. And most of us… Well, we understood there was nothing Father could’ve done. If anything, Father… No. Never mind. What matters is that despite all of that, Meiyao chose to stay behind. Despite the way she’s acting right now, Meiyao… she cares about family. She’s very much so a Woodsoul, even if she doesn’t seem that way most of the time. And my father…”

Yongyi trailed off. Meiyao and her opponent had already engaged, exchanging blows. The fight was strangely subdued. Meiyao used a slightly more aggressive version of the Liangshibai style, but one that still leaned heavily on defense. The Xiyunfeng Clan disciple also seemed to favor a more reactive style. Both seemed to be testing the waters.

“In the Liangshibai Clan, we test our children’s heavenly affinity just after they’re born,” Yongyi suddenly continued. “So we’d always known Meiyao was a fourth-order. And something that we’ve never been sure of was whether Meiyao would choose to remain or move to a higher-realm sect. Even after Lianhua was taken away, we weren’t sure if that’d be enough to push her away. Even more so since she’s mellowed these last few years.”

Yongyi glanced back, over to where the sect’s elders were standing. “Our father… Meiyao doesn’t have the best opinion of him, but Father does care about her. And so he came up with this plan, to give Meiyao the reason she needed to leave. Because after what happened to Lianhua, he decided—we decided—that Meiyao couldn’t stay. Whatever it was that drew that cultivator’s attention to Aunt Lianhua, Meiyao most likely has it too. And we couldn’t have her suffer the same fate. For some passing higher-realm cultivator to just whisk her away. They want her to become as strong as possible so she can protect herself.”

Yongyi finally looked Jieyuan’s way. “And… And I think that Father wants Meiyao to look for Lianhua, or at least find out what happened to her. Meiyao… She’s never been on best terms with Father, and what happened with Aunt Lianhua didn’t help. But he isn’t nearly as bad as she makes him out to be. And Lianhua… Look, I loved Aunt Lianhua, but she wasn’t quite the saint Meiyao thinks she was, either. She and Father… They had a complicated relationship.”

Below, the duel started heating up, Meiyao attacking more and more often, probably having already gotten the hang of her opponent’s style. Jieyuan remained silent, thinking about what Yongyi had revealed, as he watched the fight.

The truth turned out to be pretty much as he’d thought. At the very least, that meant one mystery down. He didn’t think Yongyi was lying. All of it fit. As for what he’d do about it?

“I’ll stay quiet about it.” He certainly didn’t want her second-guessing her decision to leave, if there was that much danger of her choosing to stay behind. He doubted Meiyao would stay even if she knew, but Yongyi would know her better than he did, and that wasn’t a risk he could take.

His decision didn’t come from his desire to take advantage of whatever lay ahead of her, either. Meiyao did need to get stronger, because as Yongyi had put it, there was something special about her, about her lineage. Remaining defenseless just wasn’t an option.

“Thank you,” Yongyi said.

And that was the end of it. In silence, they both focused on the fight.

Meiyao had managed to get a few cuts in, though nothing serious. She remained unharmed, and was currently pushing him back. The more he watched, Jieyuan’s impression that the Xiyunfeng Clan disciple was oddly unaggressive was only reinforced.

Meiyao was good, no doubt about that, and he’d seen her kill a fourth-sign as a third-sign, the difference between those being significantly greater than fifth-sign and fourth-sign. But she’d been using her realmskill or whatever secret power it was that she had. Powers she couldn’t use now, what with her situation being similar to Jieyuan’s in that regard.

It wasn’t as if Meiyao couldn’t overwhelm a fifth-sign like this if she were to push herself to the limit, by virtue of her martial ability alone. But that was just the thing—she wasn’t pushing herself. Jieyuan could tell she wasn’t going all out. She would move even faster in their spars, strike even harder. And that meant that her opponent was also holding back, even though their duel was long since past the point where they should be both bringing out their best.

And then Meiyao managed to get past the Xiyunfeng disciple’s guard, ramming her saber into the side of his chest.

The man jerked back, and Meiyao surged forward, slamming her saber into his right hand, where it gripped the spear.

The Xiyunfeng disciple let go of his weapon, and Meiyao immediately snapped her arm up, holding the blade of the saber right beside his neck.

There was a pause. Then the man put up his arms.

A beat later, the proctor was back on the stage, announcing, “Winner, Linzushen Meiyao from the Gleaming Stone Sect.”

It was over. Just like that.

Meiyao’s opponent hadn’t even gotten around to using his realmskill—the Xiyunfeng Clan only had one, and it was the showy type—or the prime gear-skill his spear most definitely had.

It looked an awful lot like he’d thrown the fight. Which made no sense, given how important each disciple’s rankings were for the cabals involved. Meiyao hadn’t even needed to use her new saber’s prime gear-skill.

Jieyuan looked over to the Xiyunfeng Clan’s side of the floor. Many of the disciples and elders there wore strong frowns. But Zhihao, the sovereign protector… he wore no expression at all, face curiously blank as he stared down at the stage.

And Jieyuan had a feeling it wasn’t his clan’s disciple he was looking at.