~~~

Song Daiyu invites Duke Lai to the Five Blessings Auction House.

Usually, it’d be the sort of invitation Duke Lai would scoff at. Song Daiyu is a young girl who has not even seen twenty springs while he is the ruler of Stone River City. It is not her place to decide where they should meet. Furthermore, the Five Blessings Auction House of Stone River City is still under construction. Hardly a place worthy of him.

However, for all that Duke Lai is one of the most influential men in the region and a cultivator who has reached the Heaven Realm, the Five Blessings Group is the Five Blessings Group. It does not matter that Song Daiyu is a young girl whose cultivation is far beneath his. What matters is that she is the representative of one of the largest merchant guilds on the continent.

It is in Duke Lai’s best interests to make a good impression.

He graciously accepts Miss Song’s invitation and arrives with a procession of servants and gifts. This proves to be a wise choice. Though the building is nominally under construction, the room in which the young Song Daiyu hosts the meeting has so much gold and precious gemstones it might as well be covered in them. It is a stark reminder of the people Duke Lai is dealing with.

“I must thank you, Duke Lai,” Song Daiyu tells him over dinner. “You grace this newly-built Five Blessings Auction House with your presence. With your reputation in the region, I am sure the other lords will soon be knocking at our door.”

She says it all with a graceful smile. One that must have been practiced for countless hours in front of a mirror until her tutors deemed it perfect. Though young, the girl holds herself with poise befitting someone several decades older. Duke Lai has no doubt the Song family must be exceedingly proud of her. In fact, Duke Lai will go as far as to say that if he had a daughter, he would wish for her to be like the girl before him.

Alas, Duke Lai has no interest in such things. The raising of children distracts one from higher pursuits. One who intends to achieve eternity does not need to leave behind a legacy through others.

He has reached the Heaven Realm.

He will soar higher still.

“There is no need for you to thank me, Miss Song,” he says. “The Five Blessings Group is known far and wide. Every lord in the region would have knocked on your door the moment you announced your first auction regardless of whether this Duke was here or not.”

“You flatter us, Duke Lai,” Miss Song says. “However, our long history has taught us that our reputation is often insufficient. A certain level of prejudice against outsiders is only natural, expected, and even wise in many cases. We have found that allying ourselves with an influential local goes a long way towards establishing real trust.”

“I am the influential local you have chosen for the Storm Dragon Empire, then?” Duke Lai asks before drinking from a golden goblet full of wine far richer than any in his stores. “I cannot complain, I suppose. Yet, I must ask, why did you not go to General Dan instead?”

“General Dan’s name is known and respected. I will not deny that,” Miss Song says. “However, he is a warrior, not a businessman. That is not the sort of man the Five Blessings Group can partner with. Duke Lai, who has guided his lands to prosperity, is a far more fitting partner for us.”

She does not say that, as a cultivator in the Emperor Realm, General Dan would be a far more difficult partner to handle. Such a thing would be in poor taste, but Duke Lai is not blind to the obvious. Rather than getting angry, Duke Lai merely takes the compliment in the spirit in which it was given.

“Besides,” Miss Song adds in a conspiratorial whisper, “If you do not mind me saying so, I believe General Dan was far too reckless in allowing the Eternal Flame Clan so much control over your trade.”

Duke Lai smiles. “Ah, on that, we certainly agree on. General Dan is a great man but not the best at business.”

In truth, Duke Lai understands why General Dan acted as he did. With the civil war raging across the country, the Eternal Flame Clan’s support was a source of stability too great to ignore. Back then, it was the logical choice.

Right now, it is little more than a shackle around their necks. Duke Lai might be working with Elder Fa, but there is a reason why he is also courting the Five Blessings Group. He does not intend to repeat General Dan’s mistakes. He will not be dependent on anyone. The Five Blessings Group and the Eternal Flame Clan are both just a means to an end.

He knows full well there are far greater powers out there.

“Still, I am glad you brought up the Eternal Flame Clan,” he says, holding his cup for one of the servants to refill it. “Do you recall the disciples of the Eternal Flame Clan I introduced you to?”

Miss Song’s eyebrows quirk in thought. “Ah, those two,” she says at last. A smile tugs at her lips. “The poor dears had no idea what they were doing. What of them?”

“Have you perhaps heard of them since then?” Duke Lai asks her.

Nothing important happens in Stone River City that he does not know about. Duke Lai often likes to think that. However, Qing Jin and the girl he brought with him have managed to elude his spies completely. If not for the giant eagle Qing Jin brought with him still circling the city until a day ago, Duke Lai would have thought they had left that very same day.

Young Yuan Tao was right to warn him about Qing Jin. Though he is still nothing but a young whelp, anyone who can hide his presence so easily cannot be underestimated.

“If Duke Lai does not know, how can we be expected to?” Miss Song asks him, shrugging her shoulders. “We are merchants, not spies.”

“So you say, but it is widely known the information network of the Five Blessings Group is without peer,” Duke Lai replies. “Merchants like to talk quite often, it seems.”

“Perhaps we do,” Miss Song admits. “However, our presence in this country is quite new. I am unsure if the rumors we have heard are fit to reach Duke Lai’s ears. I do not wish to bore him with the idle chatter of disgruntled merchants tired of waiting for all their permits to be approved. After all, it is already hard enough to enter the Storm Dragon Empire by land while avoiding Murong Bang’s territory. Having to wait for all the paperwork to be done on top of that is so very tedious.”

Ah, so that is how it is. Duke Lai smiles at the gall of the girl in front of him.

“I will see about speeding the approval of your permits. I would hardly like to make my good business partners wait,” Duke Lai says.

“How wonderful of Duke Lai,” Miss Song says, clasping her hands together. “Such kindness has helped clear my mind and helped me recall something I overheard the other day. It seems some of my men saw a Black-Winged Imperial Eagle flying east toward the Black Woods.”

Duke Lai frowns.

He thought Qing Jin would return to the southern front or perhaps try to visit Rumbling Thunder City to speak to General Dan. However, the Black Woods lie to the east. If Qing Jin keeps heading in that direction, he will reach the border and General He’s armies.

Is Qing Jing trying to mislead any possible pursuers, or is there something he seeks there? Perhaps he intends to steal the supplies now that he knows he won’t sell them?

No matter, he cannot afford to ignore this information.

“I see. You have my thanks. I will make sure to use the information you have given me wisely, Miss Song,” Duke Lai says. “In fact, I am grateful enough to ignore your rudeness.”

Miss Song smiles without a shred of guilt. “Can you truly blame a merchant for trying to get a better deal?”

“That’s not what I am referring to when I speak of your rudeness,” Duke Lai says, enjoying how the smile falls off her face. “Did you think I would not notice as soon as I entered this room?”

He waves the goblet around.

“Did you think I would be distracted by your gold and your wine and your food? No, Miss Song. I noticed. An artifact in this room has been storing the Qi I emit passively.”

“Oh, my!” Miss Song looks away. “How embarrassing.”

Duke Lai raises an eyebrow. “That is hardly how I would describe the situation.”

“You misunderstand, Duke Lai,” Miss Song hurries to explain. “This was meant to be a surprise for you. As I am sure you have noticed, there are many barriers protecting this building, and their number will only increase once we finish construction. I wanted to surprise you by keying your Qi into the barrier. That way, you could come and go as you please without having to go through our security protocols. A border permit for a border permit, if you will.”

“I see.” Duke Lai rubs his chin. Her explanation sounds reasonable enough. “Perhaps my reaction was too hasty then.”

Miss Song shakes her head. “No, Duke Lai. It is I who erred. I can see easily how my actions might be misconstrued.”

“Indeed, I am truly touched by your gesture. All the same…”

Duke Lai waves a hand.

The apparatus gathering his Qi explodes.

“This duke does not enjoy having his Qi sampled.”

Miss Song smiles as though nothing had exploded. Truly, an exemplary young lady.

“Naturally.”

Their conversation continues in peaceful harmony.

~~~

“That was risky. Very risky. I believe I will write a long letter to Shuang telling her all about it,” Song Daiyu tells him later that day while fanning herself on the couch.

Contrary to what her words might lead one to believe, Song Daiyu does not sound angry or scared. Rather, she seems satisfied. Energized even. When she speaks of writing to Xiao Shuang, she sounds like someone who can’t wait to share a happy anecdote with a friend.

Curious, considering Song Daiyu had put herself in a very dangerous situation. In theory, they both knew Duke Lai would not do anything to hurt her if he valued the deal with the Five Blessings Group. However, expecting high-level cultivators to adhere to common sense is not always a winning strategy.

If they hadn’t surpassed common sense, they wouldn’t have become high-level cultivators.

“Well?” She asks him. “Did it work?”

Liu Jin nods as he presents what he took from the meeting room. It is a small furnace-like apparatus with a light glowing inside it.

Duke Lai’s Qi.

Certainly, Duke Lai had not failed to destroy the artifact he sensed gathering his Qi. However, that’s just it. Duke Lai only destroyed what he sensed. They had intended for Duke Lai to notice something was off from the beginning. Either he would destroy the artifact to prevent them from gathering his Qi, or he would allow Daiyu to take the sample as a token of trust.

The point was to make Duke Lai think he had seen through Song Daiyu. In that way, it would never occur to him to look for the second, much better-hidden device.

“Excellent!” Song Daiyu’s fan snaps shut. “What are you waiting for? Take the sample and open that silly scroll of yours.”

Liu Jin glances at her out of the corner of his eyes. Song Daiyu is leaning forward with her whole body, her eyes shining with interest.

“You seem oddly eager considering how nervous you were when I asked this favor of you,” Liu Jin tells her as he fishes out the scroll Lei Kong recovered.

“I am a merchant,” Song Daiyu says proudly. “Taking risks is what we do. Choosing to take a risk can never be done lightly, but once the risk is taken, it is our duty and privilege to enjoy what comes of it. If your suspicions are correct, we are seconds away from uncovering a conspiracy and obtaining evidence that will expose Duke Lai as a traitor. Oh, I can’t wait!”

“Patience,” Liu Jin says, setting the scroll down. “This cannot be hurried. We only have a small sample to work with.”

It is regrettable but had they tried to gather more, Duke Lai would have likely noticed the second artifact. This was the safest way.

Liu Jin closes his eyes and carefully forms his Qi into a protective sphere around the artifact. In that way, Duke Lai’s Qi will not leak out and fade away when Liu Jin opens it. Even then, Liu Jin does not open it fully. He merely allows a small gap which he immediately plugs with his Qi.

Now that his Qi has a way in, Liu Jin carefully makes contact with Duke Lai’s Qi and…

He frowns.

“This is Duke Lai’s Qi, correct?”

Daiyu frowns at his question but nods. “Of course. The artifact is little different from the ones Sects use to measure the cultivation level of prospective disciples. It has just been modified to take in the Qi one passively expels instead of requiring a willful infusion. We use it to gauge prospective workers and business partners. It was empty before Duke Lai entered the room, and I made sure not to expel any Qi. Thus, Duke Lai’s Qi is the only one that should be there.”

Song Daiyu has explained all of that to him before, so Liu Jin knows it should be as she says.

However…

“This Qi feels different from that of Duke Lai’s.”

Song quirks an eyebrow. “How so?”

Instead of trying to explain, Liu Jin shaves off a small piece of Duke Lai’s Qi with his and takes it out of the artifact. The small piece hovers over his index finger, and he holds it out toward Song Daiyu.

Frowning, Song Daiyu rises from the couch and touches it.

She gasps and immediately jerks her arm back, holding it tightly against her chest.

“That felt…”

“Dead,” Liu Jin finishes for her, his voice cold. “It felt dead.”

In the wake of Liu Jin’s words, the room is silent. It takes almost a full minute for either one to say anything.

“Duke Lai’s Qi did not feel that way at all. Hasn’t once in all the times I have met him,” Song Daiyu notes with a thoughtful tone.

“There are ways of hiding the nature of one’s Qi,” Liu Jin says, thinking back to the time he visited Five Bats City. The cultivator Ruan Goutin used an artifact to make his Qi feel like that of an Emperor to hide the poor state of his dantian. “Duke Lai could be using something like that.”

He takes another sample of Duke Lai’s Qi, a bigger one this time, and wraps it around his hand. He picks up the sealed scroll and injects Duke Lai’s Qi into the seal. The red wax fades away, and the scroll unfurls. Liu Jin glances at its contents and passes it to Song Daiyu.

“Huh,” she says while skimming it. “Somehow, that is not as shocking as it would have been a minute ago.”

Liu Jin can only agree. Dead Qi like that can only mean one thing. Liu Jin remembers the Dead Plains far too well to ever mistake that feeling.

Duke Lai’s Qi feels like that of the disciple from the Death Fashioning Scripture. The Death aspect is not nearly as strong, but it is still far more prominent than it was in the traitorous Core Disciples from Lord Feng Shang’s faction.

There is no mistake. Duke Lai not only knows about the Death Fashioning Scripture. He is actively working with them.

“What will we do now?” Song Daiyu asks him. Liu Jin frowns.

“We follow the plan. You will sneak Yi Jiao and this letter to Rumbling Thunder City.”

He will have to fill Yi Jiao in on what they have discovered, but it is still the best course of action. Yi Jiao being his messenger, combined with the letter, will guarantee Feng Zhi’s involvement.

“As for myself, I will go to Black Woods.”

Daiyu frowns. “Did you really have to inform Duke Lai of the exact place you plan on going to?”

“It was necessary to validate you as a source of information and an ally of his,” Liu Jin says. “We do not want him to suspect. Have no fear.”

Liu Jin’s red eyes shine with determination.

“I intend to lead whoever he sends after me on a tedious and fruitless chase.”

Everything would begin after that.

~~~