Cursing his strength for the first time, somebody cleared their throat loudly behind them. Sage turned around, surprised by the sudden new arrival. His Spirit Sense had been spread over the bamboo garden, yet somehow this woman was completely invisible to it. He quickly looked around, wondering if there were other hidden figures, wondering if he was about to be ambushed.

Xiezi, on the other hand, had immediately bowed her head, “Please forgive my rash words, Great Elder.”

Hearing what she said, he carefully examined the approaching woman. She had that beautiful mature asian woman vibe, the kind where you couldn’t tell if she was thirty or sixty. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and held with a pair of jade chopsticks, and her clothing was an altered version of the red robes and dress that Xiezi wore. What was the most troubling was that Sage had no idea of how powerful she was. That meant she either had some extraordinary methods, or she was far more powerful than he was. He immediately realized it was likely the latter and he also bowed his head to her, “Forgive this one for intruding.”

He wanted to explain about Xiezi crying being the reason he approached, but given the strange temperament of the people in the Chong Clan he’d met so far he held his tongue. What if seeing Xiezi crying was shameful to them and they decided to pick a fight with him? On the other hand, trespassing in a garden was a crime, but it was a minor one. He’d rather be in trouble for that then invite some other calamity by explaining too much. This Elder might have seen everything for all he knew, and he’d seen enough cop dramas back on Earth. The right to remain silent was important! Don’t incriminate yourself by talking too much. You never know what the other party knew, or at the very least what they could prove!

The Great Elder looked Sage over for a few seconds before snorting, “Hmph. You presume too much, Cricket Kisser.”

At that moment, there was an immensely loud and deep voice calling out from within the building adjoining the courtyard, “Who’s out there!?”

The power of that voice rattled the wooden doors and blew out a few of the paper windows, a wave of pressure emitted from the room and into the garden. One of the doors was knocked out of its track and hung at an odd angle. The Great Elder frowned and turned towards that fallen doorway, her own demeanor instantly changed and she yelled back just as forcefully, “Quiet down in there you deaf old coot! I’m handling it!”

“What’s this about a dead boot? What are you doing out there you old hag?!”

A furious look flashed onto the Great Elder’s face and she ignored Sage and Xiezi, picking up a bamboo switch from the ground and stomping into the building, “You’re dead you old bastard!”

Seeing the Great Elder storm off, Xiezi quickly poked Sage’s arm, “You should get out of here before she comes back! She thinks you’re a tool of the Jinxi.”

Sage wanted to defend himself, but he stopped himself, nodding and leaping back up onto the wall in the way he’d come. Passing over the grassy area and back onto the main path, sprinting back towards his own courtyard. He still had a lot of questions for Xiezi, but he did not want to get drawn into a conflict with that Great Elder, or whoever it was she was arguing with. Even now, he could hear a few loud impacts echoing through the night air from that direction. Whatever was going on, the parties involved were quite powerful.

A few minutes later, Sage had returned across the huge Chong Clan Manor and back to his courtyard. He checked carefully and could find no one following him, but it wasn’t like his residence was hidden. He was a public guest of the Clan after all, so if that Great Elder wanted to find trouble with him, it wouldn’t be difficult. Even if he ran away, he was a City Lord now, so he’d also have to abandon Lionheart Town if he really wanted to run. Of course, why would he do that? Should he be afraid of a single elder? So what if she was stronger than him, he’d faced many people stronger than himself in the past. The many strange and unusual means he had available hadn’t failed him yet. At the very least he was quite confident in his ability to escape.

Confident as he was, that still didn’t mean he would rest easy. He meditated through the night, leaving half of his awareness focused on his surroundings.

The next few days were more of the same, being taken on tours around the town. Sage was no fool and he noticed they would always be taken to at least one establishment owned by the Jinxi faction, or operated by people who loved them. He heard subtle compliments and praise for them every few hours. Even a random group of people on a street corner might be gossiping about them when their carriage rolled past, just barely loud enough that details couldn’t be made out. Sage began to think that they were actually experts in subliminal messaging and grew even more wary of the things going on around him.

The more he paid attention to it, the more he noticed many subtle details and clues. He was reminded of ‘mentalists’, those magicians from Earth that were part psychic, part hypnotist, with a little bit of illusionist to put on a show. They used very subtle word patterns and visual cues to influence the mind. They’d make you think of a number or a word and then ask you to guess that word or number and have some elaborate way to show they’d already ‘predicted’ it long ago. It seems the Jinxi may be skilled in a similar sort of technique.

He had no way to stop it without calling them out, and even then they could easily deny him. Sage could only stay on guard against it and prevent it from affecting him. He also told Tujiu secretly, since the fellow was far more simple and lunk headed, he didn’t want his ally to be lulled by them and turn against him when he needed him.

After a week, Sage was called to a gathering. It was in the great hall as before, but this time there were hundreds of large tables set up. Instead of a formal meeting, it turned out to be a feast. He greeted the Elders again and then was led to a table with four others. Jinxi Shi had brought him into the room this time, showing him to his seat and also introducing him to the four at the table. It turns out they were also Chong Clan Branch Heads!

A beautiful mature woman in the same style as the Xie Great Elder was wearing bright yellow clothing. She had a far more lively look on her face than the Xie Elder, like she was going to bite someone, and there were a few small wasps flying near her. She was the Ci Clan Head. With a name like ‘Stinger’, and the wasps in the air, it was quite apparent what her clan was about and Sage smiled politely while also keeping his distance.

Next, was a somewhat stocky or burly woman. She had the build of a commoner, a woman that spent her life planting rice or carrying boxes. She was also quite short and didn’t seem to care about her appearance. Her clothing was very utilitarian and a very dark red. The Matriarch of the Yi Clan. Looking closely, Sage saw that her clothing was not all cloth, parts of her were carpeted in a dense layer of ants.

Further down the table was a very dense man. Not in an intellectual capacity, Sage hadn’t spoken to him enough to declare such a thing, no the man was quite wide. Everything about him simply seemed thick and heavy. When he placed his hand upon the table it warped from the weight. Sage wasn’t sure if he practiced some sort of body hardening technique, was extremely bad at controlling his strength, or if it was something innate. He wore grey robes and was the Clan Head of the Jie, which meant Beetle.

Lastly, there was a very pampered looking man wearing an aqua blue color. He was by no means a handsome man, but he seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time grooming. His hair looked like multiple hair styles blended together in some odd new method, somehow looking loose and relaxed but also not becoming messed up no matter how he moved or played with it. Sage caught a glimpse of makeup on his cheeks and a shiny little glisten to his skin. He smiled at everyone and everything. The Min Clan Head, the Frogs.

For his part, Sage was wearing a bright emerald green set of robes. He hadn’t known why Jinxi Shi had asked him and Tujiu to change clothing, but now it was quite apparent now. Everyone in the hall was wearing different colors to show off their factional affiliation. Sage thought it was a bit odd to so encourage such disunity among a Clan, but he wasn’t in charge so all he could do was greet the other Branch Heads and take his seat. Their table as well as those of the Elders were larger and placed around the main path of the room while everyone else sat further away, fanning out in a sea of colors that somewhat reminded him of an election tracker, or a sports stadium, all the swathes of color showing support.

The Ci Clan Head sent Sage a venomous smile and a few of her wasps drifted towards him, “Isn’t it impressive? The Jinxi have brought us prosperity for many generations.”