Interlude: The Crimson Flower

~~~

He is the Black Dragon’s son.

Lu Mei does not react. She cannot react. That is how big the shock is.

The Black Dragon is not particularly well-known in the Crimson Cloud Empire, but it is impossible to avoid his name in the Storm Dragon Empire. Soldiers tell horror stories around campfires. Parents use him as a threat to misbehaving children. People going about their day will blame their misfortunes on him.

The Black Dragon is more myth than man at this point. He is a specter. A monster that leaped out of the pages of a storybook and held the entire country between his hands only to vanish.

No matter how much Lu Mei tries, she cannot reconcile her Jin with such a terrifying despot.

And yet…Doesn’t it almost make sense?

A mysterious and powerful cultivator like Jin could not have been born under common circumstances. Normal cultivators do not somehow know Ceaselessly Refining Breath. They do not marry a woman of the Divine Frozen Palace or share any of the countless little oddities that surround Jin like a cloak. However, if she accepts that Jin is the son of a powerful cultivator who went into hiding for some reason, it all begins to make sense.

Previously, he claimed his hometown was destroyed by Murong Bang. Was that a lie?

No, Jin would not lie like that. He is the sort who prefers to lie by omission when he has to lie at all. If he says Murong Bang destroyed the city he grew up in, that is the truth. This revelation merely adds another layer to his motives.

Personal responsibility, perhaps?

A son is not guilty of his father’s actions, but Jin is the sort of person who would feel the burden regardless. More importantly, if Jin is the Black Dragon’s son, that would make him…

“I know it is hard to believe, but it is the truth,” Jin says. “If this changes your mind in any way…”

Change her mind?

Lu Mei laughs without restraint. It is an undignified display for a proper young lady such as herself, but it is just too funny. Does Jin really think something like this is going to scare her off? Does he think revealing himself to be of royal blood is somehow displeasing?

How silly of him. Does he really not understand?

How can this be anything other than perfect?

Still laughing, Lu Mei pulls him into a hug. She almost feels like dancing around the room. It is not that she does not have questions. Oh no, she has plenty of those, and Jin is going to have to answer every single one of them.

For now, however, she is deliriously happy.

~~~

Lu Mei knocks on Feng Zhi’s door a few days later.

“Hello, cousin!” she says, barging in without waiting to be invited. Her reward for doing so is the sight of Feng Zhi and Yi Jiao hastily breaking away from each other, not that they were doing anything interesting. They were just lovingly staring into each other’s eyes. How dull.

In Feng Zhi’s case, the apple truly did fall far from the tree.

“You!” Feng Zhi growls as he quickly rises to his feet. “Who are you to enter my room without permission?!”

Once upon a time, the anger of the Young Master of the Eternal Flame Clan would have her cowering. How things have changed. Now, she meets Feng Zhi’s eyes and smiles smugly, confident that she can get away with this. Feng Zhi might have authority over her, but she’s too valuable for him to levy any sort of heavy punishment on her, and they both know it.

“Is it not normal for family to visit each other, cousin?” She asks him sweetly.

“We are not family.” Feng Zhi glares at her. “Don’t call me cousin. Or else.”

He raises his Qi, but that is all he does. It is all he can do, and even then, he cannot afford to raise his Qi too much or else it is Yi Jiao who will be hurt.

“I might not be legally recognized as part of the clan, but we both know the same blood flows through our veins,” Lu Mei says. A gold spark shines in her eyes. “Or would you prefer it if I called you brother?”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

A vein starts throbbing on Feng Zhi’s forehead.

“We are not siblings.” Feng Zhi pauses before adding, “I checked. My father was nowhere nearby during the time of your… conception.”

“Really? What a pity,” Lu Mei says, already aware that Lord Feng Gui is not her father. Like most people who have looked into the matter, Feng Zhi must think her father is Feng Dianzuo, Branch Master of the Soaring Sparks Valley Branch of the Eternal Flame Clan. That suits her fine. “Still, perhaps there is more to the matter than you know. Information is so easily fabricated, after all.”

That gets Feng Zhi interested. The possibility of her being his father’s bastard is not something he can ignore despite how much he has probably investigated the matter to quell his doubts. Feng Zhi is simply too aware of his father’s appetites.

Truly, it is so nice to talk to someone who is so easy to read.

“I would be willing to speak, but…” Her eyes drift over to Yi Jiao. “We would have to be alone, naturally.”

“Absolutely no-”

“Fine.”