Chapter 314: Survival

~~~

“Argh! Damnation!”

Young Jiang yells in frustration after hitting the ground for the twelfth time in half that many minutes. He tries to pat away the dirt from his robes, but it is useless. They are already more brown than blue. Having grown up among garbage and corpses, such a silly thing should not bother him. However, the wonders of daily baths and clean clothes have made him quite attached to cleanliness.

“This is impossible,” Young Jiang grumbles under his breath.

It does not go unnoticed.

“Really? I believe I just showed you it is entirely possible.”

Young Jiang glares at his master. The woman sits on a large rock with a book on her lap. How can she read it when the mask she wears has no eyeholes is anyone’s guess.

“You gave me a long explanation I barely understood, then showed me the technique once!” Young Jiang complains.

“Ah, but I did show it to you,” his master points out, raising a finger to underscore her point. The giant vulture next to her laughs at him as much as any bird can laugh at anyone. Young Jiang glares at it, thinking, not for the first time, the damn bird would be more useful as their lunch.

“What’s even the point of this?” Young Jiang asks. “I can already make myself faster with Qi! A movement technique is not what I want to learn from you!”

“If I am to be your master, you must learn what I teach you,” the masked woman says. She closes her book and stands up. Young Jiang immediately takes several steps back, afraid he might have pushed too far. Even the stupid bird inches away from his master. “Tell me, foolish disciple of mine, what do you think is the most important thing for you to learn?”

It is obviously a trick question.

Young Jiang knows he’s supposed to answer the way she wants. Any other answer would be found faulty. However, being untrue to himself is not something that suits him.

“Healing,” he replies without hesitation.

He still remembers how his master reshaped his body in the blink of an eye the day they met. That single moment reshaped his entire life and expectations. That is what he wishes to learn above all. It is why he has followed her this far despite the several dangers she has thrown him into.

For his honesty, his master throws her book at him.

It bounces off his head, hits the vulture before it can laugh at him, and finally bounces back to his master’s palm.

“Survival,” she says while Young Jiang rubs his head in pain. “The most important thing for you to learn is survival. I have no need for a disciple who cannot outlive me.”

“You are teaching me to run away?!”

“Naturally,” his master replies with a shrug of her shoulders. “You are weak. Incredibly and pathetically so. Do you expect me to guard you my whole life? Hide you between the folds of my robes? That’s foolish. If you learn to run away, you can live another day. If you live another day, you can grow stronger. If you grow stronger, one day you might not be weak. Thus, survival must always be your priority.”

Young Jiang wants to object, but there is no error in his master’s arguments, even if they are all insulting in some way.

“If all I need to do is learn how to survive, isn’t there any other easier movement technique I could be learning instead?”

His master scoffs. “If you cared about easier, you would not be learning from me. There is no better movement technique for you to learn. If anything, you should be thanking me for the opportunity to learn this technique. It was used by a great hero, you know?”

Old Jiang stares at her flatly.

“It has Thief in the name,” he points out.

“Heroes are often fond of taking things, often in daring ways,” his master says, before shaking her head and sighing. “Really, it is such a pity he is dead. The Roaming Thief was such a dashing rogue.”

“The technique didn’t even keep him alive?!”

~~~

Imperial Cloud City teems with noise. The people toast in Chen Guo’s name. They speak of Xiao Shuang’s terrifying ice. They tell each other about Lu Mei’s golden flames and Xiao Fang’s dominating performance.

And, of course, they speak of the Young Dragon.

Some disapprove of his handling of a weaker opponent. Others know this sort of pageantry is just another part of the tournament. It is the fault of the Emperor’s opponent for being too weak. If anything, the disciple of the Black Dusk should be thankful he left the ring without serious injuries. Emperor Qing Jin could have easily killed him if he wanted to.

At least, that is how most people are talking about the fight. It is a different story among the upper echelons of the city.

Hushed whispers. Hurried conversations. Secrets meetings in dark rooms. It is not just happening in the Four Great Sects. Masters with centuries of experience are suddenly on edge. Different words and different tones are used, but without a doubt, they are all speaking about the same thing.

This does not go unnoticed by the young contestants.

“Your lover just did something. I’m not sure what it is, but this is definitely his fault.”

Lu Mei looks at Bei Hong and fights the urge to sigh. While some would have waited until they were alone to have this conversation, her childhood friend just blurted it out in the middle of the common room in the Eternal Flame Clan’s estate for everyone to hear.

The others aren’t even pretending not to be listening in!

“So?” She asks, sounding perfectly bored. “What is it to you?”

Bei Hong’s grin shows off all his teeth.

“I wanted to thank him, obviously,” he says. “He said something good was going to happen, but I was beginning to doubt. I should have known better.”

Lu Mei refrains from shaking her head. Same predictable, overly brutish, ultimately reliable Bei Hong. Others would have no end of questions and concerns. He merely wants to express his approval in the loudest way possible, even if it means making trouble for her.

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No, knowing him, that’s just another incentive.

“Well, he’s not here,” Lu Mei says.

“Oh, I know. I just wanted to say it,” Bei Hong says, already on his way out of the room, probably to get some extra training before tomorrow. Some would approve, saying every second counts. Others would instead talk of the importance of resting. Lu Mei does not care either way. Meditating would be meaningless in her current state.

“Enough of this!” Feng Zhi says, standing up and marching over to the long couch where Lu Mei rests. “Where is he?!”

Oh, he just makes this too easy.

Lu Mei decides to do him a favor and does not insult his intelligence by asking Feng Zhi who he is talking about, even if Feng Zhi keeps leaving himself open for such things. It’s almost a crime. Her cousin should really focus on sharpening his tongue.

“Do you really believe I would know such a thing?” she asks Feng Zhi, batting her eyelashes innocently.

“Yes,” Feng Zhi replies in a voice as dry as the desert.

“Oh, dearest cousin, why must you distrust your own family?” Lu Mei asks, turning her head away from him in fake despair.

“Because I know my family, and you fit in far too well,” he replies.

Lu Mei gives him a few points for that one, but she does not show him anything other than a disarming smile.

“I love you too, cousin.”

Feng Zhi’s whole body tenses up. His hands clench and unclench before he takes a deep breath and walks away, fully convinced that he is not going to get anything out of Lu Mei. The others soon return to their own matters, lacking either the confidence or the interest to try to interrogate Lu Mei.

Only when everyone else has looked away does Lu Mei allow her smile to fade.