~~~

Song Daiyu listens to his story. At first, she does so with amused interest, but that amusement fades before Liu Jin hits the halfway mark, leaving only interest behind. Disgust, shock, and disbelief are the next to take turns playing across her face. Her eyebrows rise and fall, and her skin pales and greens as Liu Jin tells his tale.

In the end, only pure, simple shock remains on her countenance.

“I do not wish for you to be telling the truth,” Song Daiyu tells him once they are alone. Yi Jiao has long since retired to the accommodations provided to them by Manager Xiong, Liu Jin’s story having proven too much for her to handle.

“Does it sound like I am lying? Liu Jin asks her.

Song Daiyu does not reply immediately. She takes a long drag from her pipe and breathes a long stream of smoke into the air.

“It sounds like you made the most inconceivable story possible just to shock me,” she scoffs, the pipe twirling between her fingers. “The only thing missing was a surprise appearance by the Wandering Wind.”

She tries her best to sound angry, but Liu Jin does not fail to notice how tightly she holds on to her pipe or how it trembles as she waves it around.

It is only natural. Liu Jin didn’t just tell her he encountered one of the three major powers from beyond the Dead Plains. He told her that they had agents in the Eternal Flame Clan, that they were very likely present in the Storm Dragon Empire, and that Duke Lai might be knowingly or unknowingly working with them.

It is a lot to take in.

“I understand how outlandish it all sounds,” Liu Jin says, drawing a small laugh from Song Daiyu. “But do you believe I am lying to you?”

Song Daiyu’s green eyes peer into his for a long time.

“I have never known you to be a dishonest man,” Song Daiyu says before trailing off.

“But that was a long time ago,” Liu Jin finishes for her with no small amount of sympathy and understanding.

Old acquaintances is how Song Daiyu described them, but even that term is too kind. They talked, fought in a tournament match, and talked some more. It has been years since then. The time since they last saw each other far outstrips any length of time they ever spend together.

They are strangers with familiar faces. Nothing more.

“Indeed,” Song Daiyu says sadly. “We meet again after so long, and you warn me against doing business with Duke Lai. However, you do so wearing the colors of the Eternal Flame Clan.” She points at his robes with her pipe. “Your interests and mine are opposed. Why wouldn’t you lie to me? You have every reason to.”

She looks expectantly at him. As if waiting for him to deny it.

On this, however, Liu Jin must disappoint her.

“You are right,” he says. “I am here as a disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan.” He frowns and pauses. “Allow me to rephrase. It is no mere formality that has put me here. I joined the Eternal Flame Clan so I could be here today. I am fully invested in this mission.”

“And for your mission, you would ask me to turn my back on a deal that would greatly boost the reputation and power of the Song Clan as well as my status.” Song Daiyu sighs theatrically and moves to sit next to him. She leans in so her face is dangerously close to his. “Would you really be so cruel?”

Even though her dress somehow slips below her shoulders, and the scent of lavender surrounds him, Liu Jin’s gaze remains on Song’s face. He has far too much experience with Lu Mei to be swayed by something like this.

“I would,” he says.

Song Daiyu’s face falls.

“Even though you know I am acting in concert with your wife, you will still ask me to stop?” She tries next.

At that, Liu Jin falters. It does not last more than a second, but it is enough for a flicker of doubt to appear on his face.

“I… am still unsure how I feel about that,” Liu Jin admits. “I never expected anyone else to be on a road parallel to mine. Now that I say it aloud, I realize how foolish that makes me.”

After hearing what happened to Eastern Port City, Xiao Fang would surely have his hands full handling the Xiao Sect and the many attempts to usurp his position that would ensue due to his father’s death. Meanwhile, the Divine Frozen Palace would not allow Xiao Shuang to put herself in danger, whether to aid her brother or to avenge Eastern Port City. She would be safe but perhaps not content.

Those had been the assumptions he had been working under.

How naive of him. Time passes, and people will not be content to stay still. The world neither revolves nor depends on Liu Jin’s actions.

“Then won’t you reconsider your stance?” Song Daiyu asks. Just as doubt flickers on Liu Jin’s face, a glimmer of hope shines in Song’s eyes.

However, once more, Liu Jin must disappoint her.

“No,” he says sadly. “It is true I still do not know how to feel about this, but I do not intend to turn my back on the Eternal Flame Clan. I have met many people and made several commitments. I do not intend to betray them.”

“I imagined you’d say something like that.” Song Daiyu sighs and places a hand over her forehead. She takes another drag of her pipe. “Oh, why did you not go to the Divine Frozen Palace after Eastern Port City fell? We would not be having this problem if you had!”

“I did not think that possibility was open to me at the time,” Liu Jin replies, startling Song, who perhaps had intended her question to be purely rhetorical. “You might have thought well of me, but to the Divine Frozen Place, I was merely an inconvenience. My marriage to Xiao Shuang was simply an obstacle that prevented them from taking Xiao Shuang right away. I was nothing more than a speck of dust that happened to fall on their prized jewel. If I had gone there, even assuming they believed who I was, I doubt they’d have allowed me to talk to anyone important, let alone see Xiao Shuang.”

He smiles sadly.

“That is why I sent you that letter. You had the name and relevance I lacked and could see Xiao Shuang where I could not. I never once considered the Divine Frozen Palace would go as far as to move their influence in the court so they could declare war on the Storm Dragon Empire.”

Even now, it seems incredible to him that they are doing exactly that. Certainly, the attack on Eastern Port City could be considered an insult to them, but the Divine Frozen Palace has already obtained everything they could want from the Xiao Sect. They merely needed to go through the motions of saving face.

“I see. So that’s why,” Song Daiyu mutters. “I suppose I cannot blame you for thinking like that. It is only natural. Still, if a name was all you needed, you could have come with me to the Divine Frozen Palace! Had you kept trying to find me instead of vanishing, we could have gone to Shuang together!”

“That… is something I could have done,” Liu Jin admits, thinking back to why he did not do so at the time. “Perhaps the possibility did not occur to me. I was not at my best back then.”

Perhaps he did not believe Song Daiyu would actually deliver his letter.

Or maybe…

“Has Xiao Shuang…” Liu Jin begins talking, then stops. The words suddenly seem stuck in his throat. He swallows and pushes on. “Has she talked about me?”

“Of course she has!” Song Daiyu rolls her eyes as though it should have been obvious. She looks ready to say more, but Liu Jin’s next words stop her.

“Does she resent me?”

“What?” Song Daiyu blinks at the suddenly stone-faced Liu Jin.

“Does she resent me?” He asks again. “I made things quite clear in my letter. Had I not helped that soldier… Had I possessed the presence of mind to just talk to someone… Things… Things could have gone differently.”

As he talks, realization gradually dawns on Song Daiyu’s face. “Ah,” she says, “so that’s what it was. You never tried to visit her because you were afraid she would blame you for the loss of her hometown.”

Liu Jin does not say anything.

That is enough of an answer.

“You are such a fool, Jin,” Song Daiyu says, shaking her head. “I have been that girl’s friend all this time, and I can tell you that whenever she speaks to me of you, which is quite often, it is always with unbearably sweet fondness. She never once thought to blame you.”

Those words alone take a weight from Liu Jin’s shoulders. A shadow is cast off from his back.

But not completely.

Not until he sees Xiao Shuang again and hears it from her lips.

“Fear and shame. How unsightly of you,” Song Daiyu says, pointing at him with her pipe. “Had it not been for those, you’d have gone to the Divine Frozen Palace, and things would be much better now.”

“Would they?” Liu Jin asks. “It is because I joined the Eternal Flame Clan that I am in a position to warn you of those beyond the Dead Plains.”

If he had never joined the Eternal Flame Clan, he would have never been sent to Dead Plains. He would have never encountered the Death Fashioning Scripture. He would have never talked to Patriarch Feng and learned how deeply embedded their spies were in the Eternal Flame Clan.

Without all that, it would have never once occurred to him the puppeteers could be people from beyond the Dead Plains. He would still be blind to the machinations of the powers from the other side.

“You still insist on that story.”

“I do,” Liu Jin replies.

“Do you really believe Duke Lai is working with people from beyond the Dead Plains?” The doubt in Song Daiyu’s voice is undeniable. “I would imagine his lands would be far richer if that were the case.”

“It is not certain he is working with them. However, Elder Fa of the Eternal Flame Clan is. It is he who has helped shape our policy in this region, and it is his underling who is working with Duke Lai,” Liu Jin says. “Whatever the goal of those beyond the Dead Plains might be here, I doubt they will allow the Divine Frozen Palace to do as they plan.”

Song Daiyu’s lips form a thin line.

“If I listen to you and you’re wrong, I wouldn’t be just walking away from a fairly lucrative deal. My actions could be taken as an insult to the Divine Frozen Palace. It could ruin everything I have achieved so far.”

“But if I am right and you don’t listen to me, you will be placing yourself, the Five Blessings Group, and even the Divine Frozen Palace in danger.”

“I know!” Song says, losing her temper. Her green eyes flash angrily. “Damn you, I know!”

Liu Jin wisely stays quiet after that. No one speaks for several minutes.

“I apologize,” Song Daiyu says at last. “That was unseemly of me.”

“You face a difficult choice. It is understandable,” Liu Jin replies. “I do not envy you.”

“What would you do if I decide I don’t believe you?” Song Daiyu asks him seriously.

“I would ask you to at least not tell Duke Lai what I have told you in this room, though I would not blame you if you did. Who knows? It might even make him think,” Liu Jin replies. “I would also ask you not to try to hand us over to him. I would hate fighting you.”

Song Daiyu chuckles. “Always so honest.”

“I am willing to subject myself to any test you might have to verify the veracity of my story,” Liu Jin tells her seriously. “I know the Five Blessing Group is bound to have ways of ascertaining whether someone is lying. Whether it is painful or dangerous, I will submit myself to them if it helps you believe me.”

Song Daiyu does not answer immediately.

“My grandfather once told me strong cultivators do not change easily.” She looks him in the eyes. “You have become a strong cultivator, Jin.”

Liu Jin’s eyebrows rise slightly. “Do you trust your judgment of me that much?”

“Of course not,” Song Daiyu says, much to his surprise. “If our one meeting was all we had, I would not believe you. It is not even because of what I have gained thanks to your letter of recommendation. I have already told you, haven’t I? I am your wife’s best friend. Do you have any idea how many stories that woman has of you? I took you for a cold man, but it seems you were quite the cute child.”

Liu Jin blushes. She laughs.

“So no, Liu Jin. I will not trust my judgment or my memories of you. I will trust Xiao Shuang’s judgment. Thank the Heavens you were blessed with such a good wife.”

Liu Jin smiles. “Always.”

It is Song Daiyu’s turn to smile. “You two really are similar,” she says. “And don’t think we are not going to talk about the woman you are with later. Please, tell me she’s at least prettier than the one you brought here. A mere beauty is simply not enough.”

“Rest assured, Lu Mei is not just a beauty but a great beauty,” Liu Jin says with confidence.

“Interesting.” Liu Jin can tell Song Daiyu wishes to ask more but forces herself not to. “But no matter, let us talk business. What will you do now?”

“Well.” Liu Jin thinks about his options before coming to a decision. “Since I am in a Five Blessings Auction House, I wish to purchase something from you.”

“Oh, what is it?”

“A sample of Duke Lai’s Qi.”

~~~