~~~

It has been over an hour since Liu Jin’s fight with Chen Guo ended, and Xiao Fang is still bothered by it. The Young Master of the Xiao Sect angrily paces around the small, dingy room that is his hideout as he pictures every moment of the fight with perfect clarity. Chen Guo’s overwhelming strength. Liu Jin’s fierce lightning.

Their impeccable mastery of their Dao.

“I knew he was holding back!” Xiao Fang hisses through gritted teeth. “I knew it!”

Worst of all, though Xiao Fang does not want to admit it, he knows he cannot compare to Chen Guo. The way that man wielded his Dao was already impressive during his previous matches, but it reached a new height during his fight with Liu Jin.

And it still was not enough.

Xiao Fang fights back a shiver as he remembers that terrifying black thing. Just looking at it evoked a primal fear within him that he still cannot quite explain. Though he wants to remain angry at Liu Jin for holding back, a part of him has already decided that he is thankful that Liu Jin did.

A Dao is supposed to be the culmination of a person’s path, everything one is distilled into power.

What does it say about Liu Jin that his Dao is that black void?

“Young Master,” Big Nose Li calls out to him. The two are sharing the room by necessity. Xiao Heng and his wife are also sharing a room, though Xiao Fang imagines those two are actually glad for the opportunity to be alone with each other. “I know you have many things on your mind, but do we really still need to be in the city?”

“Yes.”

“But Young Master-”

“Yes, we do,” Xiao Fang tells his friend. “We are not leaving this city until the tournament ends.”

“Why?!” Big Nose Li protests. It is only the two of them, so he can get away with doing so. “You’re putting yourself at risk by remaining here! Your aunt still wants to kill us all.”

“My aunt wants to kill me,” Xiao Fang corrects. “You did not do well enough in the tournament to be worth killing.”

Big Nose Li’s nose flushes in embarrassment.

“It was really hard, Young Master,” Big Nose Li says, looking away as he scratches his big nose. “I had to deal with lots of assassins in the second stage.”

The ordeals of Big Nose Li during the second stage of the tournament would probably make for a thrilling tale, but that is a story for another time.

“However, you know I am right, Young Master,” Big Nose Li continues. “Our presence here complicates things. My brother…”

He trails off with a complicated look on his face. Xiao Fang’s expression softens. The longer they are here, the more pressure Li Boqin will be under. That cannot be denied. He might even give himself away, either by accident or in an attempt to help them.

“I understand you worry about your brother,” Xiao Fang says. “However, please understand that I am worried about my sister.”

Big Nose Li blinks.

“The Young Miss? But why? Surely, Brother Liu would never do anything to hurt her?”

“He already did!” Xiao Fang hisses, fighting the urge to raise his Qi in anger. Unlike Liu Jin, Xiao Fang is not a master of stealth. He doesn’t need to be. Imperial Cloud City is far too populous for the likes of Xiao Yifan to ever find him just by concentrating hard.

Of course, it is a different matter if he makes it easy for her by recklessly letting his Qi rampage.

“That’s not the issue,” Xiao Fang continues in a quieter voice. “Something is wrong with my sister. It’s obvious.”

“That’s not really…That is to say…” Big Nose Li scrunches his face as he tries to think of a way to put it delicately. “Young Miss is just…”

“Dangerously unstable,” Xiao Fang voices what Big Nose could not. His friend flinches. “Had that Gan Nangfeng been any weaker, she would have suffered permanent damage. The same can be said for the rest of her opponents. She has been able to control herself so far, but it’s obvious her mind is balancing on a knife’s edge.”

All because of Liu Jin.

Xiao Fang closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Annoying as it is, he can only trust Liu Jin to help his sister right now. However, what can Liu Jin even do against his sister’s power?

Worse, what will happen if he turns that terrifying Dao against his sister?

It is not something Xiao Fang wants to think about.

“I understand this is not ideal,” Xiao Fang says, speaking in a softer voice. “However, she is my sister. Until I know she is safe, I cannot leave. However, I will not stop you if you want.”

Big Nose Li smiles and shakes his head.

“Why bother, Young Master? This Big Nose Li has been with you through deserts, monsters, and various disasters. A dingy room in a rundown inn is paradise compared to that.”

Xiao Fang smiles.

“That it is, old friend. That it is.”

~~~

Feng Zhi’s body still hurts.

Immediately after his fight with Qing Jin, Feng Zhi received some of the best treatment the Eternal Flame Clan could provide. Though he hadn’t won, the Young Master of the Eternal Flame Clan could not possibly be left bedridden. What would people say if he wasn’t seen the very next day?

And yet, his body still hurts.

How much more would it hurt had Qing Jin called on his Dao?

Feng Zhi frowns as he remembers that black thing. When Chen Guo summoned that iron dome, the entire arena exploded in boos. Even usually dignified masters hurled insults like children. No one wanted to miss even a single second of the fight.

When Qing Jin’s black void swallowed the ring, there was only silence. Before that thing, Feng Zhuo’s smile did not seem so bright, and Lady Ling’s eternally disapproving frown melted into apprehension. Even his father and uncle looked somewhat bothered. Without a doubt, Qing Jin has become a very dangerous man in a very short time.

So why is Feng Zhi listening to him?

Towards the end of their fight, as he was about to lose consciousness, Qing Jin used Qi to transmit a message to him without anyone noticing. Any sense of satisfaction he might have gotten from that fight was instantly snuffed out, replaced by an annoyingly urgent task. Now, Feng Zhi is sneaking through the halls of the Eternal Flame Clan’s estate like a common criminal.

“Now, this is a surprise.”

Feng Zhi hears the smirk on Lady Ling’s face even before she appears on the other end of the dark corridor. It is nighttime, so the woman is dressed in silk clothes that cover entirely too little. Were she anyone else, Feng Zhi might have blushed, but he dislikes his father’s mistress too much to feel even the slightest bit of attraction to her.

“I only came here to talk,” Feng Zhi says, raising his hands to show he means no harm.

“Is that so?” Lady Ling’s smirk grows amused. “Then, am I wrong to think you were heading towards my son’s room just now?”

Her son. Not his brother. Feng Zhi grits his teeth. It has always been that way, so he shouldn’t get angry, but he is. However, that’s all the more reason why he needs to tread carefully. Lady Ling is stronger than him by a full realm of cultivation. The last thing he wants to do is give her a reason to kill him on the spot. His father might kill her for something like that, but in her mind, she’d have secured Feng Hao’s future, so it’d be worth it.

“I was,” Feng Zhi says. “I also knew that you’d intercept me. Had I gone to you directly, you’d have refused me, but it is important that we talk.”

“Oh?” Lady Ling raises an eyebrow. “Well? Go on. This should be interesting, if nothing else.”

“I need to take Feng Hao out of the city.”

Lady Ling’s smirk fades.

“Apparently, I was wrong,” Lady Ling says. “You do not even qualify as a clown.”

Feng Zhi bites his tongue to stop himself from saying anything in anger. As Lady Ling turns to leave, he holds out his hand.

“Wait!” He says. “Feng Hao has been chosen!”

Lady Ling stops. She does not turn, but Feng Zhi knows he has her attention. He needs to make the best of it.

“During our fight, Qing Jin told me the Crimson Cloud finds Feng Hao a suitable vessel,” Feng Zhi says. “Because the Eternal Flame is so strong in him, Feng Hao is the perfect conduit. As long as he remains in the city, there is a chance the two powers will merge and become one in him.”

Lady Ling slowly turns around.

“Let us say I believe you,” she says. “You are saying that my son has been chosen to wield great power and become the future of the Eternal Flame Clan in every respect, and you want me to… help you stop this? Why would I ever do something like that?

“Because you love your son,” Feng Zhi says. “It is your one good quality.”

She glares at him.

“I am not in the mood for jokes, child.”

“It is no joke,” Feng Zhi says. “If the Flame and the Cloud rejoin, Feng Hao will become the future of the Eternal Flame Clan. That is true. But Feng Hao is still a child. It is far too soon for him to assume that sort of power. People will try to kill him, or worse, influence him. Do you really want that for him? Or would you rather have him remain a child for a few more years?”

Lady Ling’s mouth forms a thin line. Her lips are pressed together so tightly that it is as if she’s trying her hardest to stop her mouth from admitting he has a point. No matter how much power Feng Hao has, it will not change the fundamental reality of his youth. At his age, he’s far too vulnerable to have so much power, to say nothing of the incredible pressure he would be burdened with.

“Even so,” Lady Ling says, crossing her arms, “You cannot possibly expect me to trust you with my child’s safety. With him gone, you’d be the heir of the Eternal Flame Clan.” Her lips twist in displeasure. “The tournament has unfortunately proved fruitful for you. You have uncovered your Dao and demonstrated your power before everyone. My husband would not waste you. With Feng Hao gone, your position would be assured.”

Feng Zhi scoffs.

“With Feng Hao gone, my father would start working on creating another prodigy child,” Feng Zhi says, fairly certain his father has never actually stopped working on creating more children. “Let us not pretend I matter to him much. Besides, even if you wouldn’t hesitate to kill me if given the chance, you know I’d never hurt Feng Hao.”

“Do I?”

“Yes,” Feng Zhi says, glaring at her. “For the entire time we have known each other, you have acted as though I were a threat to Feng Hao, but he is my brother! I already lost one family member. I’ll die before I lose another. Do not hold me to your pathetic standards.”

Cleanse.

Feng Zhi has often expressed similar sentiments, but this time, his Dao reverberates in his words. It means they represent the unshakable foundation of his soul, a single truth that cannot be denied.

No matter how badly Lady Ling wants to.

“I could take him away from the city without your help,” Lady Ling points out, trying to find an alternative, but Feng Zhi shakes his head.

“My father would immediately notice something was off if you and Feng Hao went missing at the same time, but he is unlikely to notice my absence. Besides…you are better suited for…” Feng Zhi blushes. “Distracting him.”

Lady Ling smirks. However, it does not last. The woman judges him in silence. Her gaze searches for any weakness in him, trying to find even the slightest hint of dishonesty. Feng Zhi opens his Qi as much as possible so Lady Ling might see he has nothing to hide,

After what feels like an eternity, the woman who has hated him since before she met him speaks.

“Very well.”

~~~

It is a busy night at the Three Hogs. The Crimson Cloud Tournament is once again the main topic of discussion.

“It is all said and done now,” Gambling Xin says, his mustache wiggling as he talks. “If the Emperor wins the next round, I’ll never gamble again!”

“Bah!” says Ying the seamstress, rolling her small eyes. “You were a gambler when you were a kid! You’ll be a gambler till the day you die! And after that, your corpse will find a way to gamble with the worms that feast on it.”

“I mean it, you old bat!” Gambling Xin says as many of the regulars laugh. “Chen Guo lost. That couldn’t be helped. We all overestimated him.”

Bo frowns as he fills gambling Xin’s cup. One night ago, everyone was cheering for Chen Guo and toasting in his name. Due to his many heroic deeds over the past five years, Chen Guo had been a favorite of the people. Now, they’re talking about him as though he’d never been all that great. He doesn’t like that. Not one bit.

“However, the winner of the tournament has already been decided!” Gambling Xin continues. “The girl from the Divine Frozen Palace is too strong. There is no way she can lose.”

“I don’t know,” says Wei the Carpenter. The young man scratches his cheek nervously. “They are married, right? Won’t that make her give up?”

A few tables away, Greedy Chun snorts. “That shows how young you are. Do you think there’s any wife who’ll pass on the opportunity to make her husband miserable?”

Most of the patrons erupt into laughter. Bo cannot say he understands why.

“But,” Greedy Chun continues. “Everyone here was certain Chen Guo would win, and look what happened to him. You all felt it, right? Emperor Qing Jin is too damned scary.”

More than half of the bar shivers. They were not at the arena, yet the entire city felt the dark wave that spread all over the city. They all instinctively understood it was the work of Emperor Qing Jin. Before that power, even the much vaunted Chen Guo came up short.

“They say Chen Guo is still unconscious,” Ying the seamstress says. “That poor lad.”

“Maybe that’s true, but Chen Guo, great as he was, cannot compare to the jewel of the Divine Frozen Palace,” Gambling Xin points out. “Unlike him, she’s in the Heaven Realm.”

Few people in the bar can argue with that. Someone in the Heaven Realm is far superior to someone in the Earth Realm. That is something everyone knows. Even Bo understands that much.

He still does not like it.

“What do you think, boy? Do you believe the Young Dragon can win?”

Bo frowns. “A higher level of cultivation means someone is stronger, right?”

“Common wisdom dictates that, yet you do not sound sure.”

Bo frowns.

“I really wanted Chen Guo to win,” he says.

“Many people did.”

“He’s a brave hero,” Bo says.

“Even though he lost?”

“Of course!” Bo says, offended at the very question. “Chen Guo is a great man! He’s stopped bandits, saved cities, and beat up villains! That doesn’t go away with just one loss! That’s why.. That’s why it feels so wrong that he lost. He shouldn’t have lost, but he did, so…”

“So if he shouldn’t have lost but did, you’re wondering if maybe the same won’t happen again?”

Bo nods.

“Does that sound silly?” Bo asks.

“It sounds to me like you have more sense than most.”

“Hey, boy! My glass is empty!”

As Bo hurries back to work, Liu Jin sighs and places his elbows on the table. He wanted to clear his head before the final fight arrived, yet his mind remains as troubled as ever.

Maybe he shouldn’t have chosen this place.

“You’re in my seat.”

Slowly, very slowly, Liu Jin turns around to face the old man who definitely just spoke to him and who is most definitely staring right at him.

Liu Jin moves to the side.

The old man takes his seat in the corner of the room.

Liu Jin stares at him.

“How?” Liu Jin asks.

“I sit here almost every day,” the old man says, shrugging. “I know my spot.”

Liu Jin frowns. Even in its incomplete state, Art of the Roaming Thief is not the sort of technique that can be defeated by something like that, and certainly not by a man whose cultivation does even seem to exceed the Spirit Realm.

“Who are you?”

“I’m out,” the old man replies immediately.

“That’s not an answer,” Liu Jin says.

“I’m out,” the old man repeats. “If you hadn’t been in my seat, I wouldn’t have talked to you. It’s bad enough that someone like you is here, trying to mingle with the common people like you are one of us.”

Liu Jin raises an eyebrow and gestures at the old man.

“I am one of the common people,” the old man says. “Whatever I might have been before, I’m just an old man who sits at the corner of a bar now. One day, I might teach the kid a thing or two. Until then, I’m just another ordinary person.”

“I knew people who tried to walk away once,” Liu Jin says. “It did not work out for them.”

“If you are talking about who I think you are talking about, then it’s because they were monsters.” Liu Jin’s glare almost freezes the man in place, but he manages to get his next words out. “Don’t look at me like that. You know I am right. In this world, there are people, and there are monsters. They were monsters, and from the looks of it, you have been raised to be a monster bigger than either of them.”

Liu Jin snorts.

“I’d like to think a monster would feel less conflicted.”

“It ain’t that easy,” the old man says. “Most monsters aren’t born monsters. They became that way over time. That’s why they’re so scary, because anyone can become one with the right steps. You took one today, didn’t you? I could feel your argument with the young man from the Infinite Mountain Sect. He was right, and you know it. That’s why you feel bad.”

Liu Jin sighs, yet he does not contradict the old man.

“I won,” he says.

“That don’t make you right,” the old man points out. “It just makes you stronger. It’d be worrying if you couldn’t understand that.”

Liu Jin closes his eyes.

Legacy. Tradition. History.

Chen Guo’s words still echo in his head. Though Liu Jin rejected his Dao in the heat of the battle, the truth is that he cannot help but admire Chen Guo. The love Chen Guo feels for his grandfather… surely it is comparable to what Liu Jin felt for his father and his master. As such, Chen Guo’s desire to continue his grandfather’s legacy is something he cannot help but relate to.

Yet, the roof of Liu Jin’s Dao lies in the hollowness of the world. To win, he had to reject it, but was that truly right? If he keeps rejecting every Dao he fights, all that is left will be a hollow world.

If the world he offers is more terrifying than the one that exists, what is the point?

“Xiao Shuang is dear to me. I do not wish to reject her,” Liu Jin says.

“Don’t.”

“I don’t think I can win unless I do,”

“Lose,” the old man says. When Liu Jin glares at him, the old man raises his hands. “I merely say what is obvious.”

Liu Jin sighs. “I know. I never expected to find answers here. Just silence.”

“You picked a poor place to find silence in.”

“I am apparently fond of making poor choices.”

The old man looks at him in silence for a moment.

“Shall I buy you a drink?”

“I think I’d like that.”

~~~