Chapter 196: Awkward Conversation

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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.

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“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.”