Chapter 346: Consultation

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The body Serene End was puppeteering is no more. Its parts are now splattered over the walls, floors, and even the ceiling. Thankfully, the barriers prevented any of it from reaching the three people in the room.

Xiao Shuang blinks very slowly.

“This is…not quite what I expected when you said you had something to show us,” Xiao Shuang says, staring at the gory display with a haunted look.

Lu Mei places a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“You poor dear,” she says, “I am sorry you had to find out this way, but this man is terribly comfortable with the dead and entirely too inconsiderate to the sensibilities of the living.”

Liu Jin feels attacked.

“Many of the stories you told me about your training involved Spirit Beasts being killed by the dozens, either by you or your Master,” he tells Xiao Shuang.

“Killed with ice,” Xiao Shuang protests. “They froze and shattered prettily. This is not pretty at all!”

“It is not that bad,” Liu Jin says, surrounded by the remains of Serene End’s flesh puppet. “Really, it’s only a body. Considering how accurate its construction is, one could call this artistic.”

Xiao Shuang and Lu Mei stare at him.

Liu Jin sighs.

“Fine,” he says. “I’ll handle this.”

He kneels on the ground and puts his hand on a particularly large chunk of flesh.

“Should you really be touching that?” Lu Mei asks. Her tone is both dubious and a little disgusted. “Isn’t it dangerous?”

“Not particularly,” Liu Jin says as his Qi reaches out to the dead flesh. “The real Serene End is not anywhere close. I thought she was when we fought in Imperial Cloud City, but it was this body I was sensing. It acted as a beacon for her, allowing her to project her presence over vast distances. When I destroyed the body, I also freed it from her influence. Now, it is nothing but flesh without any will or orders imprinted on it. All I need to do is exert my will over it, and…”

Liu Jin’s Qi spreads from one bit of flesh to the next like the strands of a spider web. In a few seconds, he has made contact with every bit of flesh, every chunk of bone, and every pool of blood.

He pulls.

The effect is instantaneous. The blood, the flesh, and the bones all come rushing to his hand, twisting and compacting until they have made themselves into a flesh-colored orb with a diameter of around seven inches.

“See?” he says, holding up the ball for them to see. The room is now clean. “Completely safe.”

Marrow enters at that moment. Liu Jin had called him several seconds ago. The dog’s eyes light up when he sees the ball, and he starts jumping in place. Liu Jin tosses the ball at him, and the dog rushes after it.

Xiao Shuang stares.

Lu Mei sighs.

“I suppose we can start discussing things,” she says, making her way to a chair and sitting down with considerably less grace than usual. Xiao Shuang follows suit. “Pleased as I am that you wish to more actively include us in your decision-making process, are you sure what you did was wise? I won’t deny I enjoyed watching you show that upstart her place, but that might have ruined any chance of future negotiations.”

“Not necessarily,” Xiao Shuang says, pointedly looking anywhere but at the dog. “She might simply think you established proper boundaries. A strong opening statement is preferred and often necessary when dealing with people like that. However, wouldn’t it have been better to keep her prisoner?”

Liu Jin shakes his head.

“It was too dangerous,” he says, crossing his arms. “While I could have kept her confined indefinitely, that would have encouraged her to grow creative. The arts of the Death Fashioning Scripture are a dangerous variable that I do not need in my palace or my Empire. In a way, it was a lucky thing Serene End grew bold enough to trespass. Dealing with her would have been far harder otherwise.”

“She is still out there now,” Lu Mei points out. “Let us assume our Xiao Shuang is right, and Serene End intends to continue negotiations. Should you take her offer? Like it or not, she was right. Even with the support of the Eternal Flame Clan and the Divine Frozen Palace, the Temple of the Thousand Shadows and the Peerless Heavenly Sword Peak are too strong for us. The aid of the Death Fashioning Scripture would be invaluable in protecting yourself against them.”

“That would defeat the whole point of the tournament, wouldn’t it?” Xiao Shuang asks. “The leader of the Death Fashioning Scripture wants to tear down the barrier. Allying with the Death Fashioning Scripture would help him. From the sounds of it, they seem to believe it will make them so strong that they’d defeat the other two powers on their own. We’d be left completely at their mercy.”

“I merely present the option,” Lu Mei says, raising her hands. “I do not like it any more than you do, but we cannot pretend it does not exist. We do not have an abundance of choices right now.”

“Completing the Death Fashioning Scripture,” Liu Jin mutters just loudly enough for the two girls to turn to him. “That’s what she said, isn’t it? She talked about it as if there was an actual scripture somewhere.”

“You’ve never heard of it?” Xiao Shuang asks him.

“No,” Liu Jin says. “I know Cao Bian wants my master’s knowledge but not much else.”

A moment of silence falls over the room as the three consider the implication. Only the sounds of Marrow playing can be heard in the room.

“You could learn it,” Lu Mei says suddenly.

Liu Jin turns to her. “What?”

“Assuming there is an actual scripture, I mean. Think about it. You might have learned how to be a doctor, but your skills clearly intersect with those of the Death Fashioning Scripture.” She points at the dog. “You have a clear aptitude for them. Considering the situation, any scrap of power you can get your hands on is worth considering. It wouldn’t exactly be the first time you snuck into a Sect to use it for your own purposes.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Liu Jin frowns. Collaborating with the Death Fashioning Scripture might be the easiest thing to do right now. It would make the Temple of the Thousand Shadows and the Peerless Heavenly Sword Peak more motivated to kill him, but he could more easily hide behind the Death Fashioning Scripture.

However…

“It’s too risky,” Liu Jin says. It pains him a little to say it. “The Temple of the Thousand Shadows and the Peerless Heavenly Sword Peak might be more dangerous to me on a personal level, but Death Fashioning Scripture is the bigger danger on a global scale. At best, we can play along for however long it takes for Serene End’s patience to run out. Assuming she returns, that is.”

“She will,” Xiao Shuang says. She sounds certain of it. “A task given to a disciple is one that must be completed. If she returns empty-handed, she’ll be deemed a failure.”

“Then, let us hope she comes here to negotiate instead of something more dangerous,” Lu Mei says.

“I suppose that brings us to the next point,” Liu Jin says. “What are we to do with those we know do not want to negotiate? The Temple of the Thousand Shadows made it quite clear that they want me dead. If the Wandering Wind is to be believed, which she most likely is, the Peerless Heavenly Sword Peak wants the same.”

“You are safe as long as you stay inside the palace,” Xiao Shuang points out.