v2C94: Victory? (Patreon)

The air was tense, in the stone room. I was in another one of the throne-like seats. Honestly, they were less uncomfortable than they looked. Either that, or as a cultivator, I just didn’t feel discomfort as easily.

Guo Daxian was to my right, and Xiulan’s dad, Xi Kong was to my left. Daxian had pushed part of his robe off his shoulder, exposing the mass of tattoos that ran down his arm and chest like he was some kind of yakuza. Xi Kong had his hands linked in front of him in the robes of his sleeves, and cut a rather more traditional figure.

The rest of the Elders were seated behind us. Some were leaning on walls. The Shrouded Mountain Disciples had been grabbed, and were sitting on their knees before us. They looked as uncomfortable as I felt.

And me? I was front and center, with my arms crossed and a chicken on my shoulder. I felt a bit underdressed, in my normal outfit. All rougher linens rather than the silks everybody else was wearing. But it had the symbol Meiling had designed over my heart and on my back. I liked this uniform. It felt right. And maybe, remembering her with her tongue stuck out as she sewed the design on helped me calm down a bit.

Still, it made me feel just a bit like a mafia boss or something, about to give the Shrouded Mountain an offer they couldn’t refuse. Or had I already given them that?

It was a funny image, yeah, but right now I was seriously questioning where things went wonky. How did I go from running away from the Cloudy Sword Sect and never wanting to deal with cultivators again to apparently being the guy in charge of the entire Azure Hills cultivators?

….Just what had my life become?

No sense dwelling on it though. One of the cultivators outside the door slammed on it, and declared: “Zhou Yingwen of the Shrouded Mountain Sect!”

I felt everybody else tense up even more, as the young man entered the room. I could feel the Qi pouring off the people behind me. They were nervous, and I felt myself respond a bit. My Qi burbled unpleasantly.

“They dare?” I heard Daxian mutter.

“No Elders, they insult Master Rou.” I heard another snarl, as Yingwen walked forward until he was in front of me, and dropped to one knee.

“Zhou Yingwen pays his respects to Lord Rou.” he intoned. His head was bowed completely. Nobody else spoke, so I asked the question on my mind.

“Are you it?” I asked.

“As you have ordered, Lord Rou—no member of the Shrouded Mountain Sect has stepped foot into the Azure Hills without your permission.” The young man stated immediately. “Elder Chongyun is available should you wish to receive him.”

I raised an eyebrow at the statement. Honestly… I had kind of been expecting for an Elder to come around. Counting on it even. But was this really them preemptively doing what I asked them to, or something more nefarious? I had no idea. This. This is why I hated politics. I had no doubt that the Elders could probably run circles around me. Honestly, the incompetent old men who grabbed the idiot ball and ran with it, so common in stories, seemed to be absent here.

The cultivators of the Azure Hills seemed pragmatic and practical, without much arrogance, but I didn’t know if that was because they were all scared of me or not. People tended to act differently when you walked into the room carrying a loaded gun and told them to get along. They were all still trying to kiss my ass.

Instead, I simply nodded.

“So what do the Masters of the Shrouded Mountain say?” I ventured.

“Officially, Elders Shenhe and Chongyun thank the wandering cultivator for his virtue and benevolence, avenging the death of the Young Master. Should he require anything, the Shrouded Mountain Sect will do their utmost to aid the man who avenged Young Master Zang Li.” Yingwen said, his eyes still on the ground.

“What about the damage inflicted on the town?” I asked.

Yingwen grimaced. “The Elders apologize for the deplorable conduct of their disciples, getting drunk and causing a disturbance. They offer the recompense demanded by Lord Rou.”

Was that it? Really, was that the end of things? Just a yes, sir? I hummed, and gestured for Yingwen to continue, but instead he just reached into a pouch on his hip, and pulled out a ring. For an instant, I was confused, then I remembered that spatial rings existed. They were basically bags of holding, from what I remembered. Yingwen stood, and took a couple of steps back.

There was a flash of light and Qi.

And then, there was a table in front of us. A table piled high with pills, and giant pouches with the symbol of what this world used for currency on them.

I heard a strangled gasp, as the feeling of tension ratcheted up again. Every eye was on the new table, or more specifically, the ranks and ranks of pills.

“Spiritual Level refining pills?”

“Thousand Year ginseng—!”

“Iridescent Soulflower?”

The whispers and mutters raked across the arena. Every elder was staring at what the Shrouded Mountain Sect had produced.

“As Lord Rou has demanded. We shall give these small treasures to the mortals and the cultivators of the Azure Hills.”

Which were decidedly, to the Azure Hills, not something “small”. I guess they couldn’t resist giving the Azure Hills at least some nose tweaking. I saw the shock and the greed in their eyes and couldn't help the rather loud sigh that escaped my lips.

Surprisingly, the action immediately shut everybody up, the press of bodies craning to look at the resources on the table snapped back into position. Xiulan’s father and Guo Daxian looked almost embarrassed at their exclamations.

But I just had one last question.

“And what about yourselves?” I asked.

Yingwen looked directly at me. He looked resigned. “That…. Is for you to decide, Lord Rou.”

The silence, and the implication was defining. Yingwen walked forwards, and once again dropped to a knee, bowing his head.

It was an odd feeling, somebody outright giving you permission to kill somebody else if you felt like it. Somebody easily offering up their lives to you.

Perhaps, if it was the heat of the moment, I might have said yes. Perhaps, if the town hadn't been repaired, if the Shrouded Mountain hadn’t just said yes to everything I asked, I might have felt angrier.

But dancing around all the Elders? All the stress, wondering what was going to happen? I just felt exhausted.

I had already killed one man. I had no desire to kill or cripple anybody else.

Maybe I was weak… but at that moment, I couldn’t stomach the thought.

“Go.” I stated simply. “Go, and never return.”

The Disciples of the Shrouded Mountain stared up at me with wide eyes.

“We all owe you our lives, as unworthy as they are, Lord Rou.” Yingwen said.

And that was that. The whole altercation with the Shrouded Mountain was finished.

All I would have to show for the entire meeting was a scroll written from the Elders of the Shrouded Mountain, and a whole load of stress.

Being the guy in charge sucked.

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The rest of the day was spent handing things out, for the most part. I got the Lord Director his money. I had to… oversee a bunch of old men and women squabble over the stuff for their students like birds fought over a berry.

I kept my arms crossed, and my face stern… even as my Qi occasionally bubbled unpelasently.

With the immediate threat of the Shrouded Mountain out of the way…. Things got a little bit more hectic.

Invitations for dinners. Invitations to visit people’s sects. Or their manors. Or from the one guzheng lady, Xinling, request for a private, late-night dinner.

I could have stayed for weeks, just dealing with everything.

But there was one big benefit of being in charge that I did like.

Namely that you can tell everybody you didn’t want to deal with to sod off.

“You can contact me through the Azure Jade Trading Company if there is an emergency.” I said pleasantly, and people stopped asking.

It was late at night, and the stars were out, by the time I got time to myself. Sitting on the top of some inn, and reading the scroll I had gotten from Yingwen. For the first time, I wanted some peace and quiet. Loudboy.. Well, the kid was really loud, especially when he started bawling his eyes out when I gave him the stuff that could possibly restart his cultivation. I still don't know if I trusted the Shrouded Mountain’s resources, but a primer on ways to repair broken cultivation had been added. The rest of the cultivators were all pretty hyped about the pills and stuff though.

Or the normal people staring blankly at the “compensation” they had received, and going just as nuts.

I shook my head, and turned back to the note. A note of thanks, and apology, as well as of all things, poetry. Some flowery stuff about a mountain blocking the cold wind from the north, and how they would never forget the Cloud’s gentle shadow.

I think I got the gist of it, maybe.

I never was very good at poetry.

I sighed, and put the scroll down, just in time to hear a thump as Tigu jumped up from the ground floor as well. She had a bright smile on her face.

“There you are, Master!” she cheered, climbing onto me, and wrapping me in a hug. I smiled at her, and hugged her back.

“Hey Tigu’er.” I whispered. “Did you enjoy your time with your friends?” I asked her.

Tigu grinned, and she immediately started babbling away about Loud Boy and Rags, as well as “The Smaller Blade of Grass” having some kind of drinking contest.

I listened to her, as she curled up into my lap, and just talked. She wasn’t too far into her story, when there was a light flapping of wings, as Big D landed beside me, with Rizzo on his back. The little rat squealed a greeting, and let me scratch at her head, leaning into my touch. I took a breath, and just let her voice wash over me.

“So I added to its beauty!” Tigu enthused. “It's a treasure! Just ask the owner!”

‘She carved it into the wall.’ Ri Zu interjected. ‘Then she had to apologize to the owner!’

Tigu stuck her tongue out at the rat, who just responded in kind. I raised an eyebrow at the two as they started squabbling like sisters.

Big D just seemed amused, as he hopped over and started preening Tigu’s hair, The girl harrumphing and going still.

She... sounded like she had, at least after everything was over, had a good time.

I stared up at the sky for a little bit longer. Until I finally said what was on my mind.

"What do you think about heading home soon?” I asked.

Tigu paused, and looked up at me. She considered the question.

A smaller, softer smile spread across her face. “Home sounds amazing.” she stated simply.

“Yeah. it does, doesn’t it?” I asked.

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Hmm. unsure about this one. But things are slowly wrapping up. Dunno if this one was too much tell though.