“Wait, what? What do you mean, I’m not in trouble?”

“Did you turn stupid, boy? Of course you are. You were just exposed as having a Seal on your forehead and leaving an auction with a stone tablet covered in more Seals.”

Sage began to curse inwardly. Peak Master Zhen added a dramatic pause before she continued, “The Holy Flame Sect has denied any knowledge of such claims and there is a standing order to interrogate you as soon as you return to the Sect. Unofficially, in light of your contributions, don’t return to the sect. As long as you stay away, we have an excuse of ignorance and won’t have to act. Luckily, you already set up that company of yours years ago so all the earnings from your designs will be passed to them.”

She paused again, giving him a minute to parse all that information. Then she tossed him a Storage Ring, “Shame you can’t return, but we can use this. You came from the Dou Kingdom, right? Head back. You are now one of my little birds. The ring has a Messaging Jade, and my espionage manual. You’re going to expand my information network in the Dou Kingdom and that manual will teach you how. Now get going, we certainly can’t be seen together.”

Before he could even finish processing all that had just been dumped onto him, Peak Master Zhen had already disappeared. Then he felt a vibration of energy within the new Storage Ring and brought out the Messaging Jade. Recognizing the formation, he was surprised. It was a very expensive, twinned communication device. He bit his finger and dripped a drop of blood onto the Messaging Jade. The blood was slowly absorbed and then it glimmered slightly to signify the linking process was complete. Then he added a trickle of Qi to it and it linked to his consciousness.

~Good, you bound it. Now it won’t ever work for anyone else, if they try it will self destruct, so be careful. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about your situation, but you knew the risks when you started studying seals. Oh, and Lupeng said ‘keep making more of those unorthodox devices’, so don’t let him down. Good luck, Lang Sheng.~

Who would have thought that going to an auction would end up this way?

Sage was quite annoyed. There was still plenty of things he’d like to do at the Holy Flame Sect but now he was effectively exiled from it. He could still serve them and his business was still in place with all his friends to run it, but now he wasn’t allowed to return.

Seems like they couldn’t confirm that I had a seal, but they highly suspect it. They probably care more about the bounty than actually stopping anyone who uses seals. That would explain why they’re just pressuring the sect and not just informing the Shihu Kingdom directly.

He turned and started to head away from the sect, starting the multiple year journey back towards the Dou Kingdom. Last time he’d made the journey with the mind of a beast and caused various disasters along the way. This time he was going to make sure that sort of situation did not occur.

Before leaving Holy Flame Province, Sage sent a Red Crane Message back to his friends. Probably the last one he’d be sending for many years, if not decades or even centuries. Simple messages like the Red Crane could barely reach to the other side of a province, so in the future he’d either have to get a more powerful communication device or rely on hiring couriers.

He sent each of his five friends an individual letter to apologize for getting into such a mess and reminiscing about the past. The three brothers that were his roommates and drinking buddies. Wan Yuhan who taught him how to be a Tamer, and of course, Wan Ling. He wasn’t quite sure what there was between the two of them, but now he didn’t know if he’d ever find out.

Wan Ling,

I know this situation has probably shocked everyone, but please know it was never my intention to get any of you caught up in this. You were there to take my disastrous business and turn it into a success, and I can never thank you enough for that. I’d like you to know I will cherish the time we spent together and always look back fondly upon it. Anything else there might have been between us, it is probably better left unsaid. I wish you only happiness in the future, take care.

Lang Sheng

He sent another letter to the Prosperity Company itself and detailed his business deal with the Lu Clan. He asked that they take the 400,000 he took as a down payment to be extracted from his future earnings. He even explained in detail the tips he’d given to the Lu Clan. If Wan Ling or the others wished to give the same information to any other organizations they could try the same thing before Airships became widespread. He also asked that they work towards establishing trade with the Five Mountain Sword Sect Alliance in the Five Mountain Province of the Dou Kingdom. Specifically, the Mount Song Sword Sect, and Song Lu Tian. They should set them as a target for establishing trade using Airship caravans. The basic Airship wasn’t all that capable by itself, but they also had a few models that were heavily defended and could be used as a platform for powerful cultivators to attack from. Just like a merchant caravan, a protector force could escort a large amount of weaker traders, but through the sky. The Mount Song Sword Sect was going to be a huge power in the future when Song Lu Tian eventually became a Sect Leader. It would be in their best interests to forge a good relationship and be the middleman between the Holy Flame Sect and Song Lu Tian.

Sage told them he might be completely out of contact for years at a time, but he would find ways to try and send them more designs as often as possible. To that end, he added his experiences and detailed instructions on creating Formation Weapon sets. It was an uncommon path of cultivation that led to it becoming a sort of lost art. He had forgotten to pass over the skills when he had returned to the Sect, thinking of saving them for himself. He’d already given them a new industry, and was going to use Formation Weapon sets as his individual speciality to earn some renown. There was even a possibility he could pass over his research to get into the good graces of an expert in the Sect and be taken as a Disciple. Now that he’d been, in practice, exiled from the Sect, he might as well pass the method over and get more benefits.

Finally, he left the hint that if the Prosperity Company were to establish some branches in the Dou Kingdom he would eventually find his way to stop by for a visit. He didn’t want to send any specific information on his location, since that might put his friends in danger. On the other hand, it was good to leave a possible route for them all to meet up again in the future. They would have to expand through the whole of the Shihu Kingdom, and then pass through one of two other kingdoms before their reach would extend to the Dou Kingdom. It gave them a good long term goal, one that Sage would also work towards on his end.

Even without opening the manual from Peak Master Zhen, he knew that in order to both rebuild the Lang Clan and create an intelligence organization, the first step was power and influence. He had to start a new group and gather fame and power. If he was just going to spy on a single organization he could infiltrate them and work his way through the ranks. He wasn’t just spying on one group. Instead he could already tell the best route would be to establish his own organization and use that group to both train operatives to gather intelligence and as a force to support his new clan.