~~~

Liu Jin flies high above the ground.

He is still a long way from reaching the Heaven Realm, and he cannot use a flying carpet like Lu Mei. Nevertheless, Soaring Feather proves to be an able substitute. The Black-Winged Imperial Eagle has grown big and strong. Riding on his back is not as comfortable as using a flying carpet--such artifacts have several protective talismans woven into their fabric to protect their passengers--but that makes the ride more enjoyable in some ways.

The fierce rush of wind. The coldness of the skies. Soaring Feather’s heartbeat.

Liu Jin takes all of it in and smiles.

Unfortunately, a glance down is all it takes for his smile to wither. Perhaps these lands were beautiful once upon a time. No, they definitely were. However, constant war has left them ravaged. Looking down is like looking at a man disfigured by countless scars. There is no place here that hasn’t been a battlefield and no place that won’t become one.

Perhaps sooner than they’d like.

The word of two traveling puppeteers is not iron-clad evidence, but it would be extremely foolish to dismiss Firm Shadow’s warning without first looking into it. Because of that, Liu Jin and his men will stay at Ox Storm Fortress for a little more time. That is the conclusion Liu Jin and the commander of Ox Storm Fortress came to after discussing the matter for more hours than Liu Jin cared for. Doubtless, the man is still angry at him for letting the two suspicious men go.

“Colonel Peng will hear of this,” the Thousand-Man Commander told him. The man obviously expected him to be afraid, so he hadn’t looked pleased when Liu Jin just agreed with him.

Colonel Peng needed to know of the puppeteers. More importantly, he needed to know about Liu Jin’s suspicions regarding their origins. Of that, there can be no doubt. The only question is whether Colonel Peng and, by extension, General Dan will learn of it before or after Liu Jin tells Mud and Feng Zhi. He is still not quite sure which is the best course of action there.

To somewhat mollify the annoyed commander and give himself time to think, Liu Jin volunteered to scout the surrounding area with Soaring Feather. As well-meaning as Firm Shadow’s warning was, phrases such as “sometime soon” or “this area” are not precisely brimming with detail. Knowing Murong Bang’s raiders might attack meant little when they didn’t know the time or the place. It could happen in a week. It could happen today. It might be an attack on Ox Storm Fortress or perhaps on any of the other fortresses. There is no way to know for sure.

So far, Liu Jin’s search has turned up nothing. He cannot sense any human Qi in miles, something he is relatively happy about. If possible, he’d prefer for Firm Shadow to be wrong. The more uneventful their stay at the border ends up being, the better.

“Let’s cover a few dozen miles more before returning,” Liu Jin tells Soaring Feather, patting the bird’s back.

Soaring Feather lets out a sharp cry. He’s been flying for hours, and it’s the first time he does so with someone on his back.

“Don’t whine,” Liu Jin tells him. “Do this properly, and I’ll get you some good meat.”

Soaring Feather’s next cry is full of energy.

~~~

Night has fallen by the time Liu Jin returns to Ox Storm Fortress. The guards salute him as he enters and delivers his report to the commander. The man looks smug throughout it, clearly happy at what he perceives to be Liu Jin’s failure. Liu Jin does not care. If nothing comes from this, then all the better.

When Liu Jin goes to his quarters to rest for the night, he finds a person waiting in front of his door. She is a slender girl with long, black hair who looks as if she is about to nod off at any moment. She is sitting on the floor with her head resting against the wall.

She is Huang Shing’s former fiancée, Yi Jiao.

“Brother Qing!” Yi Jiao says, standing as straight soon as she sees him. “I request a moment of your time!”

She finishes with a bow so deep her body forms a perfect right angle and makes no attempt to rise from it. Liu Jin looks at her in silence for several moments. As the silence drags on, nervousness starts to emanate from Yi Jiao’s body. She has her gaze fixed on the ground, but Liu Jin can sense she badly wants to look up to see what sort of look he has on his face.

“I know this might be a little sudden, but-”

“We are in the middle of a mission,” Liu Jin says, effectively cutting her off. “Not just any mission but one of great importance to the Eternal Flame Clan.”

“I understand, but-”

“We saw combat not even two days ago, and we will continue to see that sort of violence for as long as we are here,” Liu Jin continues. He raises a finger and waves it in a circle to gesture at their surroundings. “Do not let the walls around us fool you. We are still in the middle of hostile territory. Five hundred of us came to this country, and two hundred of us have been sent to help protect this border. I am in charge of all those two hundred lives, including yours. I have had a very long meeting with the commander of this fortress and still need to write a report and decide on several sensitive matters.”

He pauses. Yi Jiao does not speak this time. The girl remains silent, her body frozen stiff. Despite the content of his words, Liu Jin’s tone is neither angry nor accusing. Rather, he is so matter-of-fact he might as well be reading a list of numbers.

“I am not saying this to belittle you or to take out my frustrations on you,” Liu Jin adds. “I am saying this because what you came here to talk about has little relevance to such things, so I want you to understand exactly where your priorities lie in relation to mine.”

“I… understand, Brother Qing,” Yi Jiao says.

“Good.” Liu Jin opens his door. “Come in then.”

“Huh?” Yi Jiao finally raises her head. “You are not going to throw me out?”

“I said I wanted you to understand your priorities. I do not recall saying I wasn’t going to hear you,” Liu Jin explains. He walks in and sits on his bed before looking at the dumbfounded Yi Jiao. “Leave the door open after you come in. I have enough rumors circulating about me already.”

“What? Oh….Oh!” She grimaces. “Right. That'd be bad.”

As she enters his room, she takes a look around and whistles.

“This is nice,” she says. “Better than what they gave us. They’re making us share their barracks”

“I am the equivalent of your superior officer to these people. This is to be expected.”

“Right.” She laughs awkwardly. “Right.”

Her laughter dies down. Silence falls over the room, but Liu Jin is in no hurry to break it. She is the one who sought him out, so she should be the one to speak.

“I came here to talk about Shing,” she says at last. “Listen, I know you do not like me.”

“That’s not true,” Liu Jin says, interrupting Yi Jiao yet again.

“But… what?” She blinks at him in a manner reminiscent of Huang Shing. It seems the childhood friends do have some things in common. “What are you talking about? Why wouldn’t you dislike me?”

“I do not know enough about you as a person to have any strong opinion of you. Be it positive or negative,” Liu Jin says, shrugging his shoulders. “Those sorts of judgments will have to wait until we know each other better.”

“What do you mean you don’t know enough?” She asks him, raising her voice a little. “You were there that night! You know what I did!”

“You handled things very foolishly,” Liu Jin says, making her flinch. “That is not enough for me to dislike you. Certainly, your actions hurt Huang Shing.” She winces this time. “However, if I were to dislike every person who has handled a delicate situation poorly, I would have to dislike many people. Myself included. That does not sound pleasant.”

Yi Jiao stares at him dumbly for several seconds.

“No wonder he doesn’t like you,” Yi Jiao mutters under her breath. “But wait! You have been avoiding me all this time. What was that about if you don’t dislike me?”

“I believe I have listed my many concerns,” Liu Jin tells her while raising an eyebrow. “You will notice how all of them are a great deal more urgent than this conversation.”

“Oh.” Yi Jiao blushes. “Right.”

“Also, I believe this will be an awkward conversation, which is why I have been putting it off. I had hoped it would take you longer to work up the courage to approach me.”

“... I am not sure if I’m being insulted or not.”

“Insulting you would accomplish nothing.”

“Whatever!” Yi Jiao shakes her head and takes a deep breath before looking him squarely in the eyes. “How is Shing doing?”

The question is expected, but Liu Jin still takes a moment to think about his answer.

“He is as well as can be expected,” Liu Jin says. “He is not happy, but how can you expect him to be? I do not think his cultivation is in any real danger, which is the best we can hope for now. Whether he’ll overcome this on his own or whether he’ll need help is something we will find out in due time.”

“I was hoping I’d be placed in the same group as him so we could talk,” Yi Jiao says, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Maybe explain things better.”

“I assumed so. That is why I made sure not to place you two together.”

“But why?!”

Liu Jin crosses his arms. “Do you really believe your presence will help Huang Shing right now?”

“You don’t know that it won’t!”

“You have been content to not approach Huang Shing all this time,” Liu Jin points out. Immediately, Yi Jiao’s indignation crashes into guilt. “It would be courteous to allow him the same time you have given yourself. Or else, what you seek is not Huang Shing’s benefit but your own absolution.”

She grits her teeth and looks away. “... That’s too harsh. I thought you said you didn’t dislike me.”

“Truth cares not about like or dislike,” Liu Jin says. “I had to caution Huang Shing several times in the past about approaching you recklessly. Now, I will do the same with you. Give him time. He needs it. The blow dealt to him was quite harsh.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be that way. Nothing was.” She looks down. “It’s just…I just...”

“You saw an opportunity to escape a situation you were dissatisfied with and took it,” Liu Jin finishes for her. “There is nothing inherently wrong with that. You were young. What else could you have done? One could even argue Huang Shing’s bullheadedness is what brought about his own pain.”

“That’s not true!” Yi Jiao snaps at him. “I should have trusted him more back then! I should have tried talking to him! I should have just…”

She trails off and looks at him suspiciously.

“Did you just test me?”

“Did I?” Liu Jin rubs his chin in thought. “A little bit, perhaps. Should I not have?”

Yi Jiao’s hands curl into fists. “... I am really starting to understand why he doesn’t like you.”

“I am flattered that Young Master Feng Zhi speaks of me to you.”

He is less happy that Feng Zhi and Yi Jiao are close enough that he would open up about that sort of thing. He might be reading too much into it, but it’s also possible that Huang Shing will receive another blow to his pride in the near future.

“Come to think of it, the Young Master is the one who recruited you due to your body’s unique condition.”

Scarlet Miraculous Body. That is what she said that night. He learned about the trait during his studies under Old Jiang. It is not as rare as a Body of Extreme Yin, but in a place like Eternal Flame Clan, it might be even more valuable. It gives her great affinity with Yang-based techniques despite being a woman.

“Are you satisfied with the arrangement so far?”

“What? Of course, I am! I have regrets about how I left, but I don’t have one complaint about my life in the Eternal Flame Clan! I’m happier now, and my cultivation has grown by leaps and bounds.”

“Is that so?” Liu Jin tilts his head. “The Young Master has not made any demands of you? Him or anyone else? Females with special conditions tend to be in high demand and not often for the best reasons.”

The comment draws a fierce glare from her.

“Feng Zhi is nothing like that!”

“I see,” Liu Jin says.

“Why would you even ask that?” Yi Jiao asks him. “You have known each other for several months. Almost a year! You should know Feng Zhi is not that sort of person!”

She says it with complete confidence. Liu Jin closes his eyes and sighs.

“We have known each other for a long time now, but I don’t really feel I know the Young Master all that well. Getting to know him is hard when he holds so many things against me.”

She hmphs and crosses her arms. “That’s not surprising. Putting aside the fact that you’re sort of ominous and that he’s jealous of you-”

“What?”

“He’s jealous of you,” she says. He blinks at her blankly. “You know? Because of how close you are to his brother while he cannot even look in his direction without Lady Ling wanting to kill him? Also, because he has issues with what happened to his mother and... I really shouldn’t have said that last part, but did you really not know? About the jealous part?”

No,

No, he hadn’t.

~~~