Setting up

Feng Yu’s whisper still runs like a shiver through me as I walk up the hill towards Huoyun Sect. I ignore the glances and voices around me as I go. Half the city will know I’m wearing Feng colours before I can fall asleep tonight. Well, I might not even get sleep if I want to inspect the city walls, but just one night in my own bed should be allowed, right? Nothing will happen if I just sleep for one night?

Right. That didn’t sound like a flag at all. Better get moving.

As I reach the gates of the Huoyun Sect compound, there are voices in the courtyard. I’m greeted by what must certainly be all members of the sect, standing around in a loose circle, talking amongst each other. In the middle, Dai Xuan and… Dai Qian! She’s up and about! Granted, she is supporting herself with a walking stick, but colour has returned to her skin and shine to her eyes. Dai Xuan spots me first and almost trips over her feet to welcome me with an embrace.

“Shijie! You’re alright!”

“I was just exhausted. The Feng family provided me with an excellent physician.”

“That’s not all they provided you with, I see,” Dai Qian says and I can hear her voice dripping with implications. Not that I blame her.

“My clothes weren’t salvageable. I apologise for ruining my sect uniform,” I say, accompanied by a bow.

“You ruined them in pursuit of a good deed. Xuan’er already told us about what happened.”

“We weren’t supposed to engage the monsters,” I say, head still lowered.

“No one is going to fault you for stepping in to save those merchants. On the contrary, it’s a noble deed to fight when you’re outnumbered.”

“We were pushed into a corner, but Shijie mustered her last strength in a burst that saved all of us,” Dai Xuan explains animatedly. “I found her passed out in the forest afterwards.”

“Enough about me, what about you? You’re walking!”

Dai Qian smiles. “I’m feeling much better today. Xuan’er’s medicine seems to be working.”

Ah. Of course. She can’t tell anyone about the application of my dragon qi, so she has to thank her daughter. If you ask me, Dai Xuan ought to be thanked, anyway, the way she takes care of Dai Qian.

“I am overjoyed to see you in better health.”

There are murmurs of agreement around us. Huoyun Sect is small and familial. Dai Qian takes in disciples, who can’t live with their own families for whatever reason and provides them with a home and training. Of course she doesn’t take just everyone—you have to have at least some talent to cultivate. It makes for a heartwarming story, and it is, but only until you know the reason for it. Huoyun Sect is the last line of defence for the artefact hidden in the lake, and she couldn’t bear to select disciples with strong family ties to send to their potential death. Everyone here is disposable, to some degree, even Murong Zhiyu. At least I know it, whereas they don’t. For generations, the sect leader was always allowed to choose disciples at their discretion, and Dai Qian has chosen this route. I watch her talk to the others, who gather like a flock of baby birds around her. If I succeed, maybe they won’t all die. I don’t think I can completely prevent the attack, but I can make sure we’re ready to repel it.

“Why are you all out here together?” I ask.

“I wanted to take a walk and everyone chose to join me,” Dai Qian replies. Baby birds indeed. “But now I’m a bit tired. Won’t you accompany me into my rooms, so you can tell me what happened?”

I readily agree, and together with Dai Xuan I help the sect leader back inside as the rest of the disciples disperse. Sensing what is about to happen, Dai Xuan automatically excuses herself to fetch us some dinner and leaves me alone with Dai Qian.

“I really am glad to see you walking again,” I repeat.

“All thanks to you. I shouldn’t have been so rigid as to not ask you for your help. A dragon’s genuine qi really is very effective against poison. Could I trouble you…”

“Of course.”

I take a seat behind her on the bed and put my palms on her back. The qi flows easier now, as I’ve gotten used to the way it feels. My hands grow warm and Dai Qian sighs. I can feel a change in her body already. Where it was hungrily reaching out for my qi before, it feels more robust and less desperate now. It still accepts my donation readily, but it’s a smoother transfer.

“A few more days of this and I should be able to heal on my own. I can already feel the heaviness of the poison leave my limbs.”

“Whoever set up this trap had evil intentions.”

“I think so too. It can’t be a coincidence. First the poison, then these monsters. There haven’t been any incidents like this in Xiyang for years and now they all happen so close to each other. Something… someone is poking the city’s defences from different angles, but I can’t see a pattern yet.”

“Maybe you could consult General Liu about this. She is responsible for the city guard, and they see and hear many things.”

“I was in no condition to receive her, so the thought didn’t even cross my mind, but I’m regaining my strength now. I will invite her to meet me.”

I feel something pushing back against my qi, something disrupting the flow and I concentrate on it until the knot unravels. Dai Qian coughs.

“Sorry. Did that hurt?”

“Only for a moment. It feels like a headache that I didn’t even know I had is fading…”

“You should also invite Feng Ruoyi.”

“Oh? Feng-laoban? Why?”

“I talked to her today. She’s preparing a report on the status of the supplies and their distribution in Xiyang, should it actually come to an attack. You three are the most important women in the city and it’s important you coordinate well.”

Dai Qian looks over her shoulder and frowns.

“I have no personal qualms with either of them, but…”

“But?”

“Fine. I’ll do as you ask. You know I’m only listening to you because I know who you are. No one else could order me to invite these two into the same room. They are literally like fire and water. At each other’s throats just like their sons.”

They didn’t interact at all during the drama. But it makes sense that a mere fight over a bride wouldn’t be enough to make them fight each other even in times of crisis. So they are already enemies, and the marriage issue was just a convenient excuse to fight openly? Wow. Okay. I had hoped to be able to save the city even if I don’t figure out the shipping issue with Feng Yu and Liu Renqing, but this seems trickier than expected. I suppose I could ask the queen to order them to cooperate, but she likely did that during the original timeline as well, and see where that got them. So it’s even more important to get them to bury the hatchet early.

“I can be there with you, if that makes it easier. I can’t actually talk to them in my capacity as princess, though.”

“I know. There are things more important at play than any of this. You can stop now. I can’t take in more of your qi anyway.”

I take my hands away and Dai Qian slumps on the bed. I’m happy to see her cheeks have a rosy glow, though she looks exhausted.

“Thank you. I will sleep well tonight.”

“Please inform me of the meeting time with Feng-laoban and General Liu.”

“I will. Good night.”

“Good night, Sect Leader Dai.”