When he came to the premises of Mirantel City, Ray stopped for a moment to assume domineering airs.

He was Geisha now, and Geisha wouldn’t pant, buckle, and be wild-eyed. All the impersonations of the protagonists he did from the many novels he read came in handy now.

He straightened his spine, his head held up. His steely eyes were focussed on the path ahead. With a firm gait, he reached the pagoda that stood tall in a place where Edinghan Castle once sat.

At the notice of his presence, guards knelt. Ray waved his hand to let them stand. A maid came hurriedly to lead him to his room.

Clambering up the drunken stair, Ray carefully scanned the interior of the pagoda. It had nine stories. Each story had six rooms except for the top story which had three spacious rooms. One was for Eiran and his guard, and the other was Geisha. The last one was a conference hall. Connecting all of them was a spiral staircase.

The pagoda was carefully built, regarding the security as its utmost priority.

The only way to reach Eiran was through this spiral stairs. But, if you wanted to reach him, you’d have to go through forty-eight guards who were at the peak of Spirit Opening Stage. Some might even be at Spirit Establishing Stage.

But what really shook Ray was the person who built the pagoda. The pagoda was built in a night or rather in a quarter-hour. It was built out of the very land it stood on. By the earth elementalist.

The person who built the pagoda can control the elemental chi outside his body freely. Only a cultivator at Spirit Injecting Stage could do that. That was the third stage of the cultivation!

Even across the world, a Spirit Gestating Stage cultivator had a force to reckon with.

And such a cultivator was protecting Eiran on this voyage. Ray’s face grew grim at the realization.

Once he was in his room, the maid went to his back and began to pull down his robes. Ray went stiff. He forgot how things went with nobles. All those lordlings had a habit of fornicating with women they could get their proverbial claws on. Maids were no exception. In fact, they were trained to satisfy their owners.

Ray held up a hand. The maid stopped. He shooed her away. “Leave me and don’t disturb me for a while,” he said in a strict tone.

The maid trembled and scrambled away.

Ray heaved a sigh of relief. That was a close call. He should be more attentive from now on. Lest some random girl stole his virginity in his careless nights.

The room was quite spacious. Despite it was made of soil, it had a grandeur that many extravagant buildings on the isle lacked. Near the window, the feathery bed was so plushy that when he lay on it, he almost sank into the bed. Ray could see sleep beckoning to him. Ray wished he could embrace it, but more important things were at hand.

Inside the bathroom, despite it was made of clay, the bathtub didn’t turn into slush when the scented, lukewarm water swirling gently around. Beside the bathtub lay herbal scrubs on a porcelain plate.

Ray sloughed off his robes and sunk into the scented water. A sense of peace flooded in. Ray closed his eyes.

What should I do? Ray wondered. Eiran’s guards were quite diligent. They kept an eye on their lordling all the time. And that old man… Ray thought of the Spirit Injecting Stage cultivator: a hunch-backed old man with wrinkles on his face and snow-white hair on his head. Eiran called him grandpa Clyde. That old foggy wouldn’t leave Eiran even for a jiffy.

He didn’t leave Eiran’s side even when he was sleeping with maids, Ray recalled from Geisha’s memories.

It was almost impossible to make a move on Eiran. Even if Ray poisoned the food, he’d simply be killing Eiran’s hounds for they tasted first everything for Eiran.

And any mismove meant death for Ray. He didn’t want to gamble with his life. Not when he could cultivate and become stronger. When he became strong enough, he could beat the crap out of Eiran.

Ray took the herbal scrub and began scrubbing. It smelled so sweet that he almost ate it.

“Let’s first make good use of Eiran and extort some cultivation resources.”

*****

Ray exasperatedly looked at himself in the mirror. Beneath that thin red robe embroidered with dragons and phoenixes, there were weapons enough to arm a garrison to the teeth. Enchanted armor, talismans, hidden weapons, and whatnot.

He didn’t dare to ruffle his grey wavy hair which he liked to feel so often for he didn’t know which was his hair strand and which was a poison needle.

So, a dress can be so lethal. Ray felt his horizons broaden. It took him three hours to look like this. He wondered if he was overdoing it.

But the next step was of pivotal importance. For that, he needed to look like an edgy Geisha. Like he was about to blow things up if his demands were not met.

When he opened the door, the maid scrambled to him for his assistance. When his steely eyes trained on her, she nervously shifted on her toes, her head down.

“Tell Eiran that I request his presence in the conference hall.”

“Yes, Milord.” She bowed and retreated.

Ray made his way to the conference hall which had no walls. Only a semi-circular balustrade and drapes. A short-legged wooden table sat at the center on a plushy floor mat. A tiny thread of smoke was curling and swirling above the porcelain cups that lay beside the table.

Herbal brews here were always smoking hot every time Geisha had come here. This time was no exception, it seemed. Ray wondered how many cups of herbal brew that had gone down the drain after they got cooled down. What a waste.

Ray didn’t stop at the table; instead, he pulled up the drapes and leaned against the handrail. He could see all of Mirantel. From up here, the pedestrians were ants, the buildings toys, and the graveled paths slithering black snakes.

As he watched, Ray felt a sense of arrogance and power sneaking into him. As if everything was beneath him. This is how nobles liked it, huh? Looking down on everyone and everything.

“It’s been a while, brother Geisha.” Eiran made his way from behind. His footsteps clacked in a rhythmic way. Ray pushed all his senses to their limit. “You’ve been out for almost five days. I wonder what’s it in this barren island worth your time so much.”

Ray trained his eyes on the guy that upended his life in a single night. Eiran Leopold wrapped himself in snowy furs. “What I did, where I went, Is it your business to mind them?”

That came out sharper than he intended.

Eiran paused. Then he smiled. “Of course not. Not unless you are out to on hunt for the scroll I am looking for. Surely, you wouldn’t go behind my back an do such things, yes?”

“I do what I want, lordling. You have no control over me. But no, I won’t waste my time on a scroll that God knows if it existed at all. I was hunting in the forest to sharpen myself.”

“That’s quite diligent of you,” Eiran commented. It was more a mock than praise. “And I urge you, brother, to not question the authenticity of its existence. By doing so, you are challenging my acumen. I’m here only after confirming its veracity. I’ve given these hillbillies a fortnight to offer the map, but it seems I’ve been too generous. A sennight has passed, but I didn’t find any lead.” Eiran’s eyes became glacial. “Since the soft ways didn’t yield the results, it’s time for hard ways.”

“You do no such thing,” Ray said, fighting down a shiver at the mention of ‘hard ways’.

This wasn’t the first island Eiran visited. Eiran heard that there was a map that leads to an earth-shaking treasure. Through his sources, Eiran narrowed down his scope to the five isles: Gintura Isle and the four isles near to it. He believed the map should be somewhere on these islands.

Gintura Isle was his last visit. And the four isles he had visited… he razed them in his wake. No one was spared. Even children. Because he didn’t want to risk a leak of the word.

Ray wasn’t foolish enough to think he would spare Gintura Isle. He had to drag Eiran out of this island before he could unleash his terror upon the island. And Ray knew exactly what he should do.

“The word of the destruction of the four islands has reached Blood Gate, brother Eiran. Soon, an investigation will be launched. We had sufficient time to cover them up. But we won’t have enough time on our hand to whitewash the destruction of this island.” Ray cast a stern glance at Eiran. “You know what happens then, don’t you? I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be in Blood Gate’s cross-hairs. Even the House Leopold can’t help you out of it.”

Eiran’s face turned serious at the implication. “Is it true?”

Ray shrugged. “Why would I lie?” Eiran fell into thinking. “Also, I need my payment, brother Eiran. Convert them into five best grade vials of first-rank dragon blood essence and five basaltic blood essence. I’ll be waiting for them in my room.”

Ray turned around and began his way out. Behind him, Eiran whirled around. “That’s worth a hundred thousand spirit grains! Our deal was fifty thousand spirit grains — ten thousand spirit grains per island. You are stopping me from cleaning up this island and yet you’ve doubled the payment! What are you playing at, brother Geisha?”

It seems a hundred thousand spirit grains is a big amount even for a lordling.

“I’m playing at nothing, brother Eiran. Blood Gate got the word now. The risk I’m taking has doubled. It’s only fair I get the double payment, isn’t it?”

“It’s your job to prevent Blood Gate from finding out. The word got out means you did sloppy work. I should charge you instead for thwarting my plans.” Eiran’s face burned with fury.

“Watch your words, lordling. To satisfy your ego and sadistic urges, you laid those islands to waste. If not you insist on wiping them out and made a big scene, things wouldn’t have come to it now.” Ray didn’t let go of his chance to take a dig at Eiran.

“What did you say?” Eiran thundered. Whitish chi blasted out and hovered above Eiran.

Ray was forced to take two steps back. “Consider your actions carefully, lordling. This is not your turf to throw your weight around.” Ray wiped out the blood on his lips with the back of his hand. “I’ll be waiting for the vials in my room.”

He turned around and shuffled to his room, leaving Eiran to choke on his rage.

*****

“I want to kill him,” Eiran said to none.

“You must not, young master.” A voice came out of nowhere. The floor in front of Eiran began to bulge, twisting and squirming. The bulge slowly turned into a hunch-backed old man. “We need him to avoid the gazes of Blood Gate.”

“But he’s pushing it, grandpa. He’s just a lowly outer court disciple of Blood Gate, yet he dared to extort me,” Eiran seethed.

“That’s how the world works, young master. With the asylum of a stronger force, even weak could dance in front of those who are stronger than them.”

“But he’s just an outer court disciple. One that has just embarked on the cultivation path. Are you sure Blood Gate would lock horns with us for a trifling outer court disciple?”

“If it’s others, I wouldn’t be so sure. These days, when I was inquiring about him, I came to know that he is on a crucial mission assigned by Blood Gate. If we kill him now, we would be interfering in Blood Gate’s plans.”

Eiran paused. Things turned out more complicated than expected. Even he didn’t dare to mess up with Blood Gate’s plans. “What’s that mission? Is it about the scroll?”

“No. I don’t know the details, but his mission begins this full moon.”

A week from now. That explains why he is so eager to leave. But Eiran was unwilling to let him go just like that. In all his born days, nobody dared to take advantage of him. He looked at grandpa Clyde. “So we just let him extort us?”

“Of course not. Since he is so cocky being a Blood Gate disciple, we should let the Blood Gate decide his fate.”

“You mean?”

“Isn’t he asking for money? Let’s give it to him. Give more than he asked. And while giving, let’s record it with the enchanted mirror.” Grandpa Clyde smiled then, wrinkles on his face turning into grooves. “And then we should complain about the atrocities Geisha had committed in the past four islands and how he extorted us to the Blood Gate with proof. Given how stringent the Blood Gate is…”

Eiran laughed and finished the sentence for the grandpa: “He is doomed.”

*****

When he reached his room, Ray found himself drenched in sweat. Challenging Eiran like that had been too risky. And he had been on the edge throughout the conversation. Luckily, he managed to pull it off.

Ray believed he would get the blood vials soon. Then he could start his cultivation.

Not long later, just as he expected, the maid came to him, carrying two jade boxes and a pouch on a silver platter.

She placed the platter on the table and knelt, shivering. “Young master Geisha, our lord Eiran sent everything you’ve requested: ten vials of best grade blood essence of the dragon and basaltic turtle, and a hundred thousand spirit grains. In return, our lord implored you to not instigate them on the destruction of four isles.”

Ray found it odd at the note of pleading in her tone, and her behavior was a bit off too. Why was she kneeling and shivering?

But the mention of the additional reward — a handsome one — got all his attention.

Hundred thousand spirit grains? Ray raised his eyebrows in surprise. Was Eiran’s head kicked by a donkey or what? He never requested for spirit grains.

No matter. If Eiran had too many spirit grains to carry around, Ray was glad to share the burden.

Ray took the reward and shooed the maid away. Once she was out of his earshot, he stuffed the jade boxes into pockets of his robes and walked out of the pagoda.

With these vials, he could begin his cultivation. The first step of cultivation should be tread carefully. There were a lot of factors to consider. And for this, he needed some peace of mind which he wouldn’t get if he stayed in the pagoda full of people he wanted to slaughter.

Also, he didn’t know what would ensue once he began the cultivation. If something gave him away, he was dead meat.

Ray carefully picked his way to the gully he often went whenever he wanted some time for himself.