Chapter 211: Lively Discussion

~~~

“You utter imbecile!”

“Imbecile? You have eyes but cannot see the storm right before us!”

“We still need to figure out the supply routes!”

“The taxes from Duke Lai’s lands over the last fiscal year-”

“We don’t need to hear that now!”

On and on the shouting goes. It has been that way for the past hour and shows no sign of stopping. The room is so noisy one could be forgiven for thinking they have somehow stumbled into a tavern or a circus.

Unfortunately, the people shouting at each other from across the table are neither happy children nor angry drunkards but a collection of General Dan’s top military officers, public officials, and essential members of the Eternal Flame Clan’s delegation. Even Lady Bai Wen is present. They have all gathered in General Dan’s home to decide their next course of action after the many recent revelations.

It is going poorly.

It is not because the people gathered in the meeting room are incompetent. Quite the opposite. Every plan put forth is carefully examined and methodically torn apart in seconds. Everyone at the table knows that they cannot afford to commit themselves to anything less than perfection.

That is simply how great the threat is.

Since Duke Lai’s testimony confirmed the existence of the Death Fashioning Scripture in the Storm Dragon Empire, it is no longer feasible or wise to keep their existence a secret. Thus, everyone at the table has been briefed about them by the Eternal Flame Clan.

As the one with more personal experience with their techniques, the duty of doing so fell to Liu Jin. At least, that is what Senior Brother Mud said. Liu Jin couldn’t fault his reasoning or figure out how to escape the task, so he briefed General Dan’s men to the best of his ability.

The Death Fashioning Scripture fights by using creatures made of dead flesh. A single member of the Death Fashioning Scripture can control hundreds or even thousands of those monsters.

Making physical contact with the creatures made by the Death Fashioning Scripture can lead to one’s flesh becoming corrupted or, worse, becoming host to a parasite.

The parasites of the Death Fashioning Scripture can be inactive for several days and even months. Upon activation, they assault the host, causing grievous and even lethal damage.

Though not impossible to detect, it would be hard for someone without the required skill set to notice the parasites. Some of the healers brought by the Eternal Flame Clan should be able to detect them, but more will need to be trained.

Liu Jin did his best to convey all that information precisely and concisely.

The arguing started immediately after he finished.

“We need to get rid of all the bodies we have buried on the border first!” one of the army officials shouts, slamming his fist against the table. “That should be our priority. Dig them out and burn them to cinders!”

“We cannot have our men digging for bodies around the border when they could be attacked at any moment by General He’s men!” Another one shouts. “Our first priority should be reinforcing our lines against General He’s armies. Then we can focus on taking care of the bodies!”

“If we focus on General He’s men first, we’re begging our men to be caught off guard by the corpses under their feet!”

“We need to divert more forces to the eastern border!”

“Impossible! We cannot leave ourselves exposed to Murong Bang!”

Multiple scowls appear in the room as soon as that name is uttered. Murong Bang’s forces are still attacking the southern border. Supplies have already been sent there, but the underlying problem remains. They cannot focus their full might on dealing with the Death Fashioning Scripture as long as they have to keep defending against Murong Bang.

Colonel Peng’s absence from the meeting works is an example of this. His advice could have been valuable, but the man’s presence is needed at the border.

Then there is Yuan Tao.

Liu Jin grimaces as he thinks back to what happened after his escape.

~~~

“Not possible!” Feng Zhi shouts as he furiously paces around the room. Liu Jin and Mud are with him. For obvious reasons, Lady Bai Wen is not. She cannot be allowed to hear this conversation. “It’s not possible!”

It has already been some time since Yuan Tao escaped. Though they sent some of their men to search for signs of his trail, the action was purely performative. They know they are not going to find him.

“Is it really so odd?” Liu Jin asks, making Feng Zhi glare at him. “Bastards of the Feng Clan have manifested the Eternal Flame in the past.”

Liu Jin does not mention Lu Mei by name, but he knows Feng Zhi and Mud are both thinking of her as the most recent example of this.

“Yuan Tao could simply be another one,” Liu Jin says. “Also, as I understand it, some Elders can also use the Eternal Flame.”

“The Elders are different,” Feng Zhi snaps at him. “While Elders can be linked to the Eternal Flame, their connection is not the same as ours. They cannot pass it down their bloodline like my family can.”

Liu Jin takes it as a good sign that Feng Zhi is willing to reveal that much in front of him. It probably isn’t a huge secret, but if Feng Zhi truly doubted him, he would have been more evasive.

“That would make Yuan Tao a bastard of the Feng Clan by default,” Mud notes.

“I couldn’t sense him,” Feng Zhi says, making the two look at him. “People with the Eternal Flame can learn to sense the Eternal Flame in each other. After everything that happened in the Dead Plains, I made sure to practice this skill.”

Likely so he wouldn’t be separated from Feng Hao like that again, Liu Jin muses. And perhaps also so he wouldn’t be surprised by someone he knows revealing themselves to have Feng blood like what happened with Lu Mei.

Clearly, that last part hadn’t worked out.

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“However, though I frequently saw Yuan Tao during the meetings, I never once detected the Eternal Flame inside him,” Feng Zhi says. He has stopped pacing and is glaring out the window so intensely that Liu Jin wonders if the glass will melt.

“Duke Lai had some sort of way of hiding the truth of his Dead Qi,” Liu Jin says. “It could be something like that.”

“Or it could be that Yuan Tao has enough skill with the Eternal Flame to hide himself from me,” Feng Zhi says, scowling. “That he was able to break free from the ice of the woman of the Divine Frozen Palace leads me to believe that is the case.”

“Elder Fa could have tutored him,” Mud says. “No, he must have. Still, that Elder Fa somehow raised a Feng-blooded cultivator in secret is quite worrying. What exactly is it that he’s after? And what is it that those beyond the Dead Plains want from us?”

No one has any answers to that.

~~~

Yuan Tao is most likely in General He’s lands already. He could be giving the general all sorts of information about them. It is yet another complication to take into account.

However, figuring out what to do about Murong Bang has to come first.

“In the end, it all comes down to Murong Bang,” General Dan says, finally deigning to speak. As soon as he does, the room goes silent. “We cannot adequately prepare ourselves to fight the Death Fashioning Scripture while fighting him, and we cannot fight him while having to fight the Death Fashioning Scripture.”

It is nothing that has not been said before. Everyone in the room already knows that, yet they wait with bated breath for General Dan to continue. If he has spoken, it means he has arrived at an answer.

“I shall send an envoy to Murong Bang to negotiate a temporary truce.”

The room erupts.

“Lunacy!”

“General, please reconsider!”

“That monster could be on their side for all we know!”