Chapter 28: Luck

~~~

It takes Liu Jin a moment to react to the announcement.

“Visitors?”

One of the servants nods. “Yes, Little Lord. There are visitors from the Lun Clan at the gates. The Lun Clan’s leader, Lun Shu, has come to pay his respects to Branch Master Xiao Ding due to the Young Master’s passing.”

Of course he is.

Liu Jin grinds his teeth. Beside him, Xiao Heng looks somewhat nervous. Liu Jin wishes he could just order the servants to tell this Lun Shu to go away. However, if his memory does not fail him, the Lun Clan is one of the major powers in New Moon Town. It would be disrespectful for a servant to send him away.

Then there is the matter of the uncertain status of the wedding. Since the groom is dead, the Hu Clan could easily back out of the arrangement and go back to favoring the Lun Clan. In a way, it is telling that the Lun Clan has come to pay their respects before the Hu Clan.

Liu Jin takes a deep breath and pinches the bridge of his nose. Like it or not, he cannot afford to alienate either of the two clans.

Even if he really does not need this right now.

Liu Jin does not want to think about these small, petty things, yet he must. Neither Xiao Nan nor Xiao Ding is here. Xiao Heng is the young master, and Liu Jin is the guest from the main branch. They must act as such right now.

“How many Elders are still here?” Liu Jin asks the servants. He imagines quite a few left with Xiao Ding to hunt down the bandits.

“Three, my lord,” one replies. “Elder Chang is currently in the middle of closed doors training. Elder Biming and Elder Peng should be asleep.”

Three. It is not much, but it would have to be enough for this.

“Go get them,” Liu Jin tells three of the servants. “Tell them what is going on and let them know they are to meet us at the gate.”

“M-my lord?” A servant stutters. He is clearly not enthused by the idea. None of them are. It is probably the reason why the servants sought him and Xiao Heng first. No one wanted to be the person who interrupted an Elder. Liu Jin’s eyes narrow.

“Go.” One short, clipped word sends the servants running.

“Boss,” Xiao Heng speaks up. “What shall we do? Are we to wait for the Elders?”

Liu Jin shakes his head. “No. Letting our visitors wait too long could be seen as a sign of weakness.”

And weak is the last thing the Xiao Sect can look like right now. Annoying as it may be, Liu Jin cannot afford to make the local branch look bad.

“We will go and greet this Lun Shu,” Liu Jin tells Xiao Heng. Predictably, Xiao Heng pales.

“We? Me as well? Boss, I-I have never been part of this type of things and-”

“Your father is gone. Your brother is dead.” Liu Jin’s words mercilessly silence any objections. “Right now, you are the Young Master of our Xiao Sect’s New Moon Town Branch. I wish it didn’t have to be like this, but I need you to stand with me. Will you do so?”

The words are as much for himself as they are for Xiao Heng. Truth be told, Liu Jin would like nothing more than to ignore this situation and return to his bed. However, that is a luxury beyond his reach. Xiao Heng seems to understand this as well for his face hardens with resolve.

“I will go where Boss goes.”

“Good.”

Liu Jin takes a deep breath. To the remaining servants, he says, “Have the cooks prepare something. Wake up the strongest disciples we have.”

The servants bow and hurry to follow his orders. Liu Jin starts making his way towards the main courtyard with Xiao Heng following after him.

They have guests to greet.

~~~

By the time Liu Jin reaches the gates, he hears far more voices than he expected. All of them are coming from outside.

“Lord!” One of the guards calls him. “Finally, you are here!”

“What is going on?” Liu Jin looks at the still closed gates and listens to all the voices coming from the other side. “Why are there so many people gathered outside?”

“My lord, this one does not know. At first, it was only Clan Leader Lun Shu and a small delegation, but then more and more people started to show up. What shall we do?”

Part of Liu Jin appreciates the irony of a grown man asking a ten-year-old that question. The other part laments the events that put him in this situation. Liu Jin sighs and starts moving toward the gate. He climbs up the ladder and steps up to the top of the gate with the other guards. Like always, Xiao Heng is right behind him.

When Liu Jin reaches the top, he sees them. There are about three dozen people outside.

“What is the meaning of this?” He asks loudly, causing the people below to look up. “Why have so many visitors come before our Xiao Sect at this hour?”

A man steps to the front of the crowd. He is tall and broad-shouldered. He looks closer to fifty than forty but could easily be over a hundred. With cultivators, it is always hard to tell.

“We have come here to show our solidarity with Branch Master Xiao Ding whose son was slain by cowardly dogs! I am Lun Shu of the Lun Clan. Who is it that I speak to?”

Liu Jin raises an eyebrow.

So this is Lun Shu.

Liu Jin’s first impression of the man is that of unfortunate competence. The child clenches his right hand under his sleeve and takes a deep breath before speaking.

“I am Liu Jin, a disciple of the Xiao Sect’s main branch, here to witness the wedding of Branch Master Xiao Ding’s son.”

The moment he mentions the main branch, murmurs and whispers rise from the crowd below. They look at him with different eyes now. Liu Jin grabs the momentum and presses on.

“It gladdens me to see so many people wish to express their solidarity with Branch Master Xiao Ding for it shows he is respected and loved by all who live in New Moon Town. However, I regret to inform you he is indisposed right now. As I am sure you can understand, he is not in any mood to receive visitors.”

The moment he finishes saying those words, a thought occurs to him. Liu Jin’s eyes narrow.

Just now, he said Xiao Ding is indisposed to avoid mentioning he has left New Moon Town. However, would that information be a secret to these people? If the news of Xiao Dong’s death has already traveled all over town, then shouldn’t these people know about the hunting party?

The guards at the town gates should have seen Xiao Ding leaving with all the others. It is not as if they went out in disguise.

Surely, the leader of one of the two major clans in New Moon Town should know that much?

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“As such,” Liu Jin continues after only a small pause. “I must ask all of you to return to your homes.”

Is it not what Liu Jin planned on saying, but if he is right, he cannot afford to trust these people.

“What’s this?” Lun Shu says. “Would the Xiao Sect really turn away well-meaning visitors from the Lun Clan? Is the main branch truly so rude?”

“The Xiao Sect is not obligated to humor the whims of those that show at its doorstep. The Lun Clan presumes much if they think they can come here in numbers like this and expect to be treated as guests.”

Liu Jin does his best to channel as much of Xiao Fang as he can. Judging by the angry glares the crowd shoots at him, it is fair to say he succeeded. Yes, they all look fairly angry at him.

Except for one person.

Except for Lun Shu.

Lun Shu just looks at him with all too sharp eyes. Something flashes in them, and in that moment, Liu Jin knows exactly what is going to happen. His eyes widen before turning to Xiao Heng, a word of warning in his lips.

He never gets to utter it.

In the blink of an eye, Lun Shu is right next to Liu Jin. The child recognizes it as a movement technique of sorts. However, he is nowhere near fast enough to do anything about it. Liu Jin can only watch as Lun Shu grabs Xiao Heng by the throat, then grabs him as well.

By the time the guards cry out in surprise, Lun Shu has used his movement technique once more and is already running away from the branch sect’s compound. Liu Jin’s vision blurs from the speed Lun Shu is moving at. He tries to shake off his captor’s grip.