Chapter 122: Escalation

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A disciple from External Relations bursts into Liu Jin’s office and glares at him with stormy blue eyes. It is the second time in as many days this has happened; it is even the same disciple. Predictably, he leads with the same words.

“How much further do you think you can insult us!”

Liu Jin sighs as he looks down at many documents on his desk. Should he be happy he is being distracted from this tediousness? Should he be angry that these tedious tasks will now inevitably take longer to finish? Since when did organizing shifts and reviewing daily reports become things he has to do? This is the Eternal Flame Clan, is it not? Are the disciples here meant to learn how to fight or to pursue the Dao of Bureaucracy?

If Master could hear him, he’d probably say such a Dao exists and leave him wondering whether he’s joking or not. His father would know the truth, but he’d decline to comment, possibly to spare Liu Jin the headache.

“Well? Do you have nothing to say for yourself?!”

Liu Jin raises an eyebrow with deliberate slowness and leans back against his seat. “I was unaware there was any need for me to say anything. Surely, the situation has already been explained to Brother Yuan’s satisfaction. Or is there, perhaps, something he still fails to understand that he must interfere with my work so vehemently?”

Yuan Yi’s lips twist into a snarl as he draws himself to his full height. Though only three years older than Liu Jin, he stands two heads taller than him. His Qi, which marks him as someone in the Fifth Level of the Spirit Realm, blazes around him, further magnifying his presence.

“You dare!”

Liu Jin’s red eyes narrow. His Qi does not rise so much as it coils around his body.

Yuan Yi instinctively leans away from him.

“You are the one who dares, Brother Yuan. You dare barge in where you are not wanted. You dare interrupt my work to discuss an issue that has already been settled.”

“Settled?” Yuan Yi echoes incredulously. His hands twitch at his sides as if he wanted to squeeze something with them. “What is settled about the Medical Pavilion refusing to give out medicine?!”

“The Medical Pavilion is not doing any such thing,” Liu Jin immediately corrects. “We simply cannot afford to distribute that which may be contaminated. Do you not remember Elder Xun’s verdict? Do you mean to imply he was wrong? Am I to take that as the official position of the Division of External Relations?”

As expected, Yuan Yi immediately backtracks. “Of course not!”

“Then understand why we do what we do,” Liu Jin tells him. His fingers tap against his desk at a slow rhythm. “Elder Cheung was experimenting on disciples for the sake of harvesting their dantian. There is no telling what someone like that could have done to the many elixirs and medicines we have in storage. For all we know, we could end up giving out poison by accident. It would be reckless for us to distribute them without first making sure they have not been tampered with.”

Hence, the Medical Pavilion has stopped sending medicine to the capital, leaving those in the Crimson Cloud Tournament with few supplies to draw from. As far as reasons to sabotage Lord Feng Shang go, it is not a bad one. Liu Jin would go as far as to say it is a decently reasonable fear.

It is still just an excuse. So far, they have not found any signs the medicine in storage has been modified in any harmful way.

“Brother Qing certainly said those words yesterday, yet it seems to me the Medical Pavilion has no problems giving out medicine to the disciples who come here. Why, then, is it so hard to send supplies to the capital?”

The muscles on Yuan Yi’s neck are so tense it is a wonder he manages to get any words out.

“Brother Yuan, the disciples who come here, do so because of minor injuries,” Liu Jin says, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his desk, lacing his fingers together. “Simple remedies such as those can be made overnight. For most common injuries, we do not even need to waste resources. A simple technique will do. The needs of Core Disciples are not so easily met. You cannot possibly expect us to produce such high-quality remedies so quickly.”

By the time they have enough made to send over, the Crimson Cloud Tournament will be over.

What a truly regrettable set of circumstances.

“But why am I even telling Brother Yuan this?” A small, terse laugh escapes Liu Jin’s mouth. His palm hits the desk with a little too much force. “Did we not have this exact same conversation yesterday? Lord Feng Shang will receive what he needs when we can provide it. Until then, our hands are, regrettably, tied. You are free to tell that to Elder Fa. “

Liu Jin takes his eyes off Yuan Yi, doing his best to ignore the heat rising in his gut. He had almost been done working out the night shift when Yuan Yi broke into his office. He just needed a couple of-

Yuan Yi’s palm slams against his desk.

“You dare treat me as a mere messenger?! As a servant to be dismissed?!”

“Elder Fa dares treat you as a mere messenger,” Liu Jin points out. “I merely honor him by following his example.”

Is he perhaps being too antagonistic?

Absolutely.

Liu Jin is thankfully aware enough of himself to recognize that. It is unfair of him to take out his frustrations on someone in a similar position. Yuan Yi is doing Elder Fa’s bidding in the same way Liu Jin is doing Elder Xue’s bidding.

They are both simply playing their roles.

However, because they are both playing their roles, Liu Jin knows where this is heading. There is no sense in pretending otherwise. Now that things have reached this point, Yuan Yi will do the same thing he did yesterday.

That he must lose time to this farce has Liu Jin rather… nettled.

“Qing Jin, I challenge you!”

There it is.

~~~

Every disciple in the Eternal Flame Clan can make three guaranteed challenges per day. As the name implies, the person receiving a guaranteed challenge cannot turn it down. Even if a Core Disciple were to be challenged by an Outer one, it is not allowed for the Core Disciple to walk away. No matter how much of a waste of time it is, no matter how beneath him it is, so long as he hasn’t already accepted three other guaranteed challenges during the same day, he can only accept it.

Ever since the trial, guaranteed challenges between disciples who support Lord Feng Gui and disciples who support Lord Feng Shang have seen a surge in popularity. Indeed, Yuan Yi and Liu Jin do not fail to draw a crowd as they face each other in front of the Medical Pavilion. Some are disciples who followed them as they walked out of the building. Others are disciples who came with Yuan Yi but had not been allowed inside the Medical Pavilion as only one person is needed to deliver a message.

“Pathetic!” Yuan Yi yells out. “You do not even have the gall to step into the Sparring Hall with me?”

The reaction from the crowd is all too predictable. The disciples from External Relations cheer and echo Yuan Yi’s words, calling Liu Jin a coward, gutless, and many such things. Those from the Apothecary and Medical Pavilion attack Yuan Yi instead.

There is, however, one person whose words manage to break through all the heckling.

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“Oh?” A pair of clear brown eyes blink owlishly. “And why should Brother Qing do that?”

Yuan Yi glares at the girl who just spoke. Though their cultivation levels are the same, their appearances could not be more different. Unlike the tall and imposing Yuan Yi, whose muscles are visible even when he is wearing robes, the girl is short and thin to the point of looking frail, almost doll-like. Unlike Lu Mei who is blooming into a woman of alluring, unforgettable beauty, this girl, with her short brown hair, could pass for a child with the right clothing.

She is Fan Bingbing, one of the disciples loaned by Elder Ju to Elder Xue.

Though not the strongest among them, Fan Bingbing acts as the representative between Liu Jin and the disciples of the Exploration Division. It would not be proper for the Core Disciples to lower themselves to interacting with Liu Jin. That is simply the way of things. Outer Disciples are for everyone to command, but only the Elders can give orders to Core Disciples.

“The rules of the Eternal Flame Clan say we cannot decline a guaranteed challenge,” Fan Bingbing continues. “Nowhere do they say the challenge must be held in the Sparring Hall. It would be good of Brother Yuan to educate himself further lest he brings shame to the Division of External Relations.”

Fan Bingbing says it all in a dull monotone, but that does not stop Yuan Yi’s face from twitching with anger, an anger which grows when some of the disciples around them laugh.

“This does not concern you!” Yuan Yi hisses.

“Oh, is that so? My apologies then. I will endeavor not to correct Brother Yuan next time he makes a mistake.”

Though some people laugh, there is no hint of mischief in Fan Bingbing’s eyes. She truly meant everything she just said.

As Yuan Yi is about to step towards Fan Bingbing, Liu Jin flares his Qi, forcing Yuan Yi’s attention back to him. “Brother Yuan, why are you wasting time when you are the one who issued the challenge? If you are thinking of challenging Sister Fan instead, by all means, make your choice right now.”

“I would not recommend it,” Fan Bingbing says, hands folded behind her back. “I would not be as kind in my victory as Brother Qing.”

Yuan Yi’s face twitches. “You take it for granted I will lose?”

The opening is too good for Liu Jin to ignore.

“Why should today be any different from yesterday?”

That does it. The crowd, which had given them a wide berth from the start, backs away even further as flames flicker around Yuan Yi’s body. Even Fan Bingbing quickly moves away from them.

[Raging Flame Burst]