Chapter 102: Complications

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There is a poison called Bliss of the Foolish. It has the unique effect of making the one who drinks it believe himself to be wise and knowledgeable. Some would say there is no merit to it as everyone is already suffering from this malady. Still, Old Jiang had made Liu Jin drink it, so that he might know its effects. This was back when Liu Jin was still developing his resistance to poisons, long before he received Nine-Headed Snake God’s test. The experience had left him with one of the worst headaches of his life.

This one might just be worse.

He’s been laid on a soft bed with an even softer pillow, but it is hard to focus on anything other than the pain. It is as if his head has been split open with a spiked mace. Liu Jin groans and tries opening his eyes, but the light punishes him for it. It is bright. Far too bright. Liu Jin snaps his eyes shut in an instant.

“Careful, you’re still recovering.”

He recognizes the voice as Lu Mei’s. Though his eyes are closed, Liu Jin can feel her Qi, hear her breathing, and smell her perfume. Most likely, they are alone in one of the rooms of Patriarch Wong’s mansion.

“What happened?”

“As Young Master Feng Zhi suspected, Wong Shou was involved in the attacks.”

She makes no effort to disguise the surprise in her voice, and really, why should she? Who could have suspected it would be Wong Shou who’d been creating the shades?

All those shades…

Bubbling. Festering. Screeching.

“Careful,” Lu Mei warns once more. She does something with her Qi. Not an attack. Liu Jin can feel her Qi reaching out to his and… redirecting something outwards? “Do not agitate yourself. The effects of Wong Shou’s attack still linger on you.”

“Attack? He barely touched me…” As soon as Liu Jin says it, it dawns on him. “The emotions.”

Lu Mei hums her affirmative, gently massaging Liu Jin’s forehead.

“Wong Shou used Yin Qi to project negative emotions onto you. Their intensity overwhelmed you and caused you to lose consciousness.”

“It is similar to your technique then,” Liu Jin notes. Now that he knows what he is looking for, it is easy to locate the excess Yin Qin in his system and expel it. That is what he felt Lu Mei doing earlier. She has probably been helping him while he was unconscious.

“The principle is the same, although my technique is far more subtle and elegant than his.” Liu Jin can almost feel her eyes narrow. “And yet, you fell to such brutish tactics despite expertly dealing with mine.”

Liu Jin manages a smile. “As you said, it was a brutish attack. I was caught off-guard.”

There had been too many emotions all at once for him to deal with. So much doubt. So much fear. So much self-loathing. It had been too much, too fast. The emotions had been so intense Liu Jin had felt them as his own. How could anyone mount the will to defend themselves while feeling so wretched?

“A weak excuse.”

“Not an excuse but the truth. I am an honest person.”

“I wonder. Are you?”

The air in the room changes. Liu Jin opens his eyes and blinks to adjust his vision. His gaze flicks down before rising to meet Lu Mei’s amber eyes.

“I must say. This does send some mixed signals.”

Wind.

While one of Lu Mei’s hands massages his forehead, the other one is surrounded by sharpened wind, mere inches from Liu Jin’s neck.

“Since Young Master Feng Zhi and the others have left to deal with the situation, I thought this would be a good opportunity for us to speak plainly.”

“I don’t know if I’d like that. The last time a person told me to speak plainly to him, it didn’t end well.”

“What a pity. You’ll just have to bear it.” Lu Mei’s tone and expression are completely at odds with what she is doing. Just by listening to her, one would never think she is threatening Liu Jin’s life. “You’re doing a remarkable job of it already. I expected you to be more nervous.”

“You have had me all alone for quite some time.” Liu Jin points out. He wants to shrug but refrains from doing so out of caution. “If you wanted to kill me, you’d have done so by now. Instead, you helped me expel that foreign Qi. You have my thanks for that, by the way.”

“A trifle. Your body was already doing a fine job of getting rid of it. At best, I speeded things up by an hour or two.”

“Nevertheless, I thank you.”

Lu Mei holds his gaze for several seconds before pouting. “You are just determined to take all the fun out of this, aren’t you?”

“It is my nature.” Liu Jin replies, keenly aware of the blade of wind pointed at his throat. “I could pretend to be scared if you wish.”

“No, I hate my men who fake it. That is a woman’s prerogative.”

“I thought changing her mind was a woman’s prerogative.”

“We have many prerogatives.” Lu Mei doesn’t bother fighting her smile. Then again, neither does he. What does that say about him? “We are unfair like that.”

A lull falls over them. Lu Mei’s smile slowly fades away, replaced by a frown.

“Why do you know [Ceaselessly Refining Breath]?”

Liu Jin blinks.

“What?”

“Do not take me for a fool!” Lu Mei snaps at him, her golden eyes flaring with anger. It is the first time he has seen her angry with him. “I might not have noticed it at first, but you have never once stopped using the technique. I began suspecting when I saw you deal with the alcohol back when we became Inner Disciples. Now that I have felt your body expelling Wong Shou’s Qi, I know for sure. You are using [Ceaselessly Refining Breath].”

Lu Mei moves to straddle him, but there is nothing sensual about it. The wind in her hand does not allow his mind to wander.

“Can you imagine my confusion? Why does someone like you know a technique that belongs to the Red Sky Pavilion? Did my father send you? Did my mother?”

Liu Jin just keeps blinking.

“I am afraid I do not understand.”

Out of all the things Li Jin had expected Lu Mei to confront him about, this one hadn’t even been on the list.

“You are using a breathing technique known only by select members of the Red Sky Pavilion,” Lu Mei explains, her voice deliberately slow, a sign of her thinning patience. “You can even maintain it constantly, something few ever manage to achieve. You either thought I wouldn’t notice, or you wanted me to notice. One is an insult. The other one is foolish. Which is it?”

Breathing technique?

He doesn’t use any breathing technique. The only thing Lu Mei could have sensed is… the method to purge himself of poisons and impurities Old Jiang taught him. Was Lu Mei confusing it with a Red Sky Pavilion technique or was there a connection there?

It is not impossible.

Old Jiang had been an Emperor Realm cultivator even after being diminished by the foul poison inside him. With that sort of power comes longevity. The number of things his Master could have done throughout his life is not one Liu Jin dares speculate at. Old Jiang could have easily created the technique and taught it to someone in the Red Sky Pavilion centuries ago.

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“The technique I use to purge impurities from my system is one taught to me by my master,” Liu Jin says, deciding there is no harm in being honest. “Whether he had any ties to the Red Sky Pavilion is not something I know about. He taught me, and he died. I can assure you my being in the Eternal Flame Clan has nothing to do with you.”

Lu Mei looks at him in the eyes, face completely blank at first, then with dawning realization.

“Oh, dear. You’re telling the truth.”

“Like I said, I am an honest person.”

Usually.

“Well.” The wind blade vanishes. “This is rather awkward.” She gives him a measuring look. “Not entirely unwelcome, though.”

“Really?” Liu Jin raises an eyebrow. “I’d have thought you’d be offended that I know one of your Sects’ techniques.”

Supposedly.

Lu Mei waves her hand. “As long as you have no ties to my previous Sect, I could care less.”

“I am also married.”

Her hand freezes.

“Now, that is unwelcome.” Her fingers play with his hair. “Why would you bring up something like that now?”

Why, indeed.

“It seemed like the right time,” Liu Jin replies, all too aware he’s alone in a room with an attractive girl who is no longer threatening him.

“Your sense of timing is atrocious,” Lu Mei says bluntly. “What’s next? Are you going to tell me you’re in the Eternal Flame Clan to rescue her?”

Liu Jin chuckles. “No. Nothing like that. We married years ago.”

“And yet you’re here. Alone.”

“Life made demands of her.”

“What an interesting way of not saying anything of substance.”

“It is not an easy topic to talk about,” Liu Jin says, well aware it is he who brought it up. He takes a moment to gather his thoughts. “You have to understand we married young.”

How many years has it been since then? Whenever Liu Jin thinks back to those times, it feels like a lifetime ago. Even though he knows he was married to Xiao Shuang for just a few months, it feels much longer than that.

Sometimes Liu Jin wishes he could go back to those times.

“There were reasons for it. It was a way for our families to reaffirm their bonds with each other.”

“Isn’t that the case for every marriage? You make it sound as if you don’t care for her.”