Ave Xia Rem Y

~~~

“You utter imbecile!”

“Imbecile? You have eyes but cannot see the storm right before us!”

“We still need to figure out the supply routes!”

“The taxes from Duke Lai’s lands over the last fiscal year-”

“We don’t need to hear that now!”

On and on the shouting goes. It has been that way for the past hour and shows no sign of stopping. The room is so noisy one could be forgiven for thinking they have somehow stumbled into a tavern or a circus.

Unfortunately, the people shouting at each other from across the table are neither happy children nor angry drunkards but a collection of General Dan’s top military officers, public officials, and essential members of the Eternal Flame Clan’s delegation. Even Lady Bai Wen is present. They have all gathered in General Dan’s home to decide their next course of action after the many recent revelations.

It is going poorly.

It is not because the people gathered in the meeting room are incompetent. Quite the opposite. Every plan put forth is carefully examined and methodically torn apart in seconds. Everyone at the table knows that they cannot afford to commit themselves to anything less than perfection.

That is simply how great the threat is.

Since Duke Lai’s testimony confirmed the existence of the Death Fashioning Scripture in the Storm Dragon Empire, it is no longer feasible or wise to keep their existence a secret. Thus, everyone at the table has been briefed about them by the Eternal Flame Clan.

As the one with more personal experience with their techniques, the duty of doing so fell to Liu Jin. At least, that is what Senior Brother Mud said. Liu Jin couldn’t fault his reasoning or figure out how to escape the task, so he briefed General Dan’s men to the best of his ability.

The Death Fashioning Scripture fights by using creatures made of dead flesh. A single member of the Death Fashioning Scripture can control hundreds or even thousands of those monsters.

Making physical contact with the creatures made by the Death Fashioning Scripture can lead to one’s flesh becoming corrupted or, worse, becoming host to a parasite.

The parasites of the Death Fashioning Scripture can be inactive for several days and even months. Upon activation, they assault the host, causing grievous and even lethal damage.

Though not impossible to detect, it would be hard for someone without the required skill set to notice the parasites. Some of the healers brought by the Eternal Flame Clan should be able to detect them, but more will need to be trained.

Liu Jin did his best to convey all that information precisely and concisely.

The arguing started immediately after he finished.

“We need to get rid of all the bodies we have buried on the border first!” one of the army officials shouts, slamming his fist against the table. “That should be our priority. Dig them out and burn them to cinders!”

“We cannot have our men digging for bodies around the border when they could be attacked at any moment by General He’s men!” Another one shouts. “Our first priority should be reinforcing our lines against General He’s armies. Then we can focus on taking care of the bodies!”

“If we focus on General He’s men first, we’re begging our men to be caught off guard by the corpses under their feet!”

“We need to divert more forces to the eastern border!”

“Impossible! We cannot leave ourselves exposed to Murong Bang!”

Multiple scowls appear in the room as soon as that name is uttered. Murong Bang’s forces are still attacking the southern border. Supplies have already been sent there, but the underlying problem remains. They cannot focus their full might on dealing with the Death Fashioning Scripture as long as they have to keep defending against Murong Bang.

Colonel Peng’s absence from the meeting works is an example of this. His advice could have been valuable, but the man’s presence is needed at the border.

Then there is Yuan Tao.

Liu Jin grimaces as he thinks back to what happened after his escape.

~~~

“Not possible!” Feng Zhi shouts as he furiously paces around the room. Liu Jin and Mud are with him. For obvious reasons, Lady Bai Wen is not. She cannot be allowed to hear this conversation. “It’s not possible!”

It has already been some time since Yuan Tao escaped. Though they sent some of their men to search for signs of his trail, the action was purely performative. They know they are not going to find him.

“Is it really so odd?” Liu Jin asks, making Feng Zhi glare at him. “Bastards of the Feng Clan have manifested the Eternal Flame in the past.”

Liu Jin does not mention Lu Mei by name, but he knows Feng Zhi and Mud are both thinking of her as the most recent example of this.

“Yuan Tao could simply be another one,” Liu Jin says. “Also, as I understand it, some Elders can also use the Eternal Flame.”

“The Elders are different,” Feng Zhi snaps at him. “While Elders can be linked to the Eternal Flame, their connection is not the same as ours. They cannot pass it down their bloodline like my family can.”

Liu Jin takes it as a good sign that Feng Zhi is willing to reveal that much in front of him. It probably isn’t a huge secret, but if Feng Zhi truly doubted him, he would have been more evasive.

“That would make Yuan Tao a bastard of the Feng Clan by default,” Mud notes.

“I couldn’t sense him,” Feng Zhi says, making the two look at him. “People with the Eternal Flame can learn to sense the Eternal Flame in each other. After everything that happened in the Dead Plains, I made sure to practice this skill.”

Likely so he wouldn’t be separated from Feng Hao like that again, Liu Jin muses. And perhaps also so he wouldn’t be surprised by someone he knows revealing themselves to have Feng blood like what happened with Lu Mei.

Clearly, that last part hadn’t worked out.

“However, though I frequently saw Yuan Tao during the meetings, I never once detected the Eternal Flame inside him,” Feng Zhi says. He has stopped pacing and is glaring out the window so intensely that Liu Jin wonders if the glass will melt.

“Duke Lai had some sort of way of hiding the truth of his Dead Qi,” Liu Jin says. “It could be something like that.”

“Or it could be that Yuan Tao has enough skill with the Eternal Flame to hide himself from me,” Feng Zhi says, scowling. “That he was able to break free from the ice of the woman of the Divine Frozen Palace leads me to believe that is the case.”

“Elder Fa could have tutored him,” Mud says. “No, he must have. Still, that Elder Fa somehow raised a Feng-blooded cultivator in secret is quite worrying. What exactly is it that he's after? And what is it that those beyond the Dead Plains want from us?”

No one has any answers to that.

~~~

Yuan Tao is most likely in General He’s lands already. He could be giving the general all sorts of information about them. It is yet another complication to take into account.

However, figuring out what to do about Murong Bang has to come first.

“In the end, it all comes down to Murong Bang,” General Dan says, finally deigning to speak. As soon as he does, the room goes silent. “We cannot adequately prepare ourselves to fight the Death Fashioning Scripture while fighting him, and we cannot fight him while having to fight the Death Fashioning Scripture.”

It is nothing that has not been said before. Everyone in the room already knows that, yet they wait with bated breath for General Dan to continue. If he has spoken, it means he has arrived at an answer.

“I shall send an envoy to Murong Bang to negotiate a temporary truce.”

The room erupts.

“Lunacy!”

“General, please reconsider!”

“That monster could be on their side for all we know!”

“Murong Bang is not on their side. I am certain of it,” General Dan says. Unlike everyone around him, he does not raise his voice even a little. Yet, as soon as he speaks, they silence themselves again. “That man has only been able to work for one person and no one else.”

“B-but…” one brave army officer says. “Who will we send to him?”

The question is absolutely necessary. As far as the rest of the room is concerned, this is a completely fruitless endeavor. Whoever is sent to Murong Bang will die.

“You will go,” General Dan says.

He is not looking at any member of the army. Nor is he looking at the civic officers. He is not even asking powerful people like Mud or Bai Wen.

His bright blue eyes are staring right at Liu Jin.

Once again, the room erupts in noise.

“He’s a child!”

“He’s a foreigner!”

“We need him to train our doctors before we risk him!”

“With all due respect, you cannot risk one of our members in such a fashion, general.”

“General, I am not at all pleased with your choice.”

One after another, the objections to General Dan’s choice are voiced around the table. The general allows them to be aired.

For exactly three more seconds.

“Everyone. Out.”

There is no room for discussion. No room for objection. The last word was always going to belong to General Dan. That is the privilege of leadership. It does not matter who speaks first. What matters is who speaks last.

One by one, the people leave the meeting room. Even Mud and Bai Wen, prodigious as they might be, cannot stand up to an Emperor. Liu Jin, despite knowing that he is the one person those words were not meant for, tentatively rises to his feet.

“No.” General Dan’s eyes are on him immediately. “You stay.”

Liu Jin freezes in place. He cannot even muster the will to shoot a pleading look to Mud.

The last person leaves, and General Dan and Liu Jin are left alone. Neither one speaks for a while. The room is so silent that even an ant's steps would make an unbearable noise.

"You must be wondering why I am choosing you," General Dan says. Even sitting and with his hands folded in front of him, he manages to be tall and imposing.

"The thought did cross my mind, general," Liu Jin says as he awkwardly sits down. "I am sure you must have your reasons, but I cannot seem to grasp them."

"I would be surprised if you could. You do not know Murong. You have heard of him and fought his men, but you do not know him. I do," General Dan says. He stands up and pours himself a glass of wine. Surprisingly, he pushes another one in Liu Jin's direction. "Did you know he and I used to be comrades once upon a time?"

Liu Jin looks down at his wine. "I… had heard about that, general."

When the Black Dragon left, the Storm Dragon Empire descended into chaos and anarchy. It was during those trying times that the Three Heavenly Generals rose above others and brought some semblance of order back to the empire.

However, there is a bit more to the story than that. It is not spoken about much, but it is also not a big secret. It even makes sense when one thinks about it. Emperors do not just appear out of thin air. The Three Heavenly Generals all lived in the Storm Dragon Empire when the Black Dragon ruled. They were already powerful when the Black Dragon ruled, and they were part of the army when the Black Dragon ruled.

In other words, all Three Heavenly Generals are former subordinates of the Black Dragon.

Liu Jin still doesn’t know how to feel about that.

“People do not like thinking about it much,” General Dan muses. “They’ll curse the name of the Black Dragon while praising me as a hero who brought them peace and order. The mind is great at ignoring inconvenient truths. Still, occasionally, someone will notice the obvious, and they will look at me much like you are doing now.”

Lu Jin draws back in his seat, trying hard to keep a neutral expression on his face.

“You are curious. It’s written all over your face,” General Dan says as though mocking his efforts. “You can ask. Everyone wants to know at some point.”

“What sort of person was he?” Liu Jin blurts. Then, he hastily adds, “Was he as terrible as the rumors say?”

He is not asking about Murong Bang, and they both know it.

“He was worse,” General Dan says. “Worse… and better.”

General Dan drinks some of his wine before continuing.

“Crueler than anyone. Kinder than anyone. Wiser than anyone. The Black Dragon was… magnificent. Never in my life have I met a man more suited to stand over others,” General Dan says. His voice sounds oddly wistful. It feels like he’s no longer in the room with Liu Jin. “When he revealed to us he was the heir to the throne, it only felt natural. How could a man like him be anything other than born royalty?”

Liu Jin listens to General Dan, spellbound. He tries to reconcile the image the general paints with the father he has always known. Kind, yes. Wise, yes.

But cruel… that is something he never saw in his father.

“If he hadn’t been that great, it would have been impossible for people as different as Murong Bang and I to work together,” General Dan continues, one finger tracing the scar on his face. “Looking back on it, it is hard to believe there was once a time I called that monster a comrade, but the Black Dragon’s charisma made that possible.”

He sighs. His wistful look fades away, and he puts down his empty cup.

“Do you now understand why I am choosing you?”

“I am afraid I-”

“Do not lie.”

Cold and sharp, General Dan’s words are a sword held at his throat.

“I believe I have sufficiently established that I do not care for people who lie to me,” General Dan tells the frozen Liu Jin. “You know why I am choosing you. At the very least, you have an inkling.”

General Dan looks at him, and it feels like he is staring into his soul.

“I do not know how or why you came to be. I do not know by what quirk of fate you stand before me,” General Dan tells him. “However, make no mistake, I know who you are. I have known since the day you arrived here, and I saw you deal with Chu’s daughter.”

Liu Jin’s instincts scream at him to do something. Lie. Flee. Deny. Something. Anything.

However, there is nothing for him to do. He can see it in General Dan’s eyes. The man’s mind is made up. He does not suspect.

He knows.

“Blood does not lie, boy. I see you sitting before me, and I can almost see him in your place,” General Dan says. “That is why you are the one I am sending to Murong Bang. Anyone else, I’d be sending them to their deaths.”

“And I will be different somehow?”

General Dan looks at him like he just said something stupid.

“Murong Bang will humor you, at least. You have the face of the one person he respected above all.”

~~~

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