Interlude: Those Beneath

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Lei Kong is taking a walk when he sees a merchant with a wooden cart trying to make his way up the steep streets of Rumbling Thunder City. The merchant’s cart is so loaded with goods that even the two mules pulling it are not enough. Merchants often pay to have their merchandise transported through the canals, but this one has jumped down from his cart to help the mules push instead. He must not be particularly wealthy.

“Let me help you with that,” Lei Kong says, walking up to the man to help him push.

The cart is heavy, but he is a cultivator in the True Realm. He could carry it with one hand if he wished to. After crossing a few blocks, Lei Kong tells the merchant to get on the cart and leave the pushing to him, an offer the man is all too grateful to accept. He’d been on the verge of collapsing already. Best for him to rest while the mules pull and Lei Kong pushes.

With two hands.

The day his lord returned his arm to him, Lei Kong spent the whole night staring at it. Even now, his eyes cannot help but look at his restored limb with wonder. Where there was once emptiness and the coldness of his prosthetic, there is now warmth and blood that flows. He can feel the aged wood against his palm and the cloth of his sleeve brushing against his skin. He can feel his Qi flowing through every inch of his body.

It is far more than he deserves. However, this is not a matter of merit. His arm is there so he can serve his lord better. His body is whole to endure the tasks ahead.

Lei Kong knows his purpose well.

As Lei Kong reaches the top of the street, the merchant thanks him and even offers to pay him for his help. Lei Kong respectfully declines and continues on his path, making his way across the wealthy streets of Rumbling Thunder City. They are wide and covered in blue cobblestones that shine like jewels. The gardens are green, fertile, and full of flowers. The houses are large and elegant.

He cannot believe a city like this exists in the Storm Dragon Empire he grew up in.

Lei Kong is no stranger to wealth. The Lei Clan is one of Murong Bang’s staunchest supporters, a position they have greatly privileged from over the years. As Lei Kong grew up, he saw the halls of Thunder Blade Fortress restored to their former glory and more. That increased wealth, however, rarely made its way to the lower classes.

Murong Bang encourages success through might. Those who wish for prosperity need to join the army and thrive. The rest are left to waste away. As a consequence, crime and poverty are rampant in his lands. The situation is completely different from that of Rumbling Thunder City.

Lei Kong frowns and shakes his head to banish those thoughts from his mind. Now is not the time for them. He has already arrived at his destination, one of the mansions near the top of Rumbling Thunder City. He walks around and waits near a tree by the back door.

He does not have to wait long.

“Finally,” says a disciple from the Eternal Flame Clan as he leaps down from the tree. He is Ten Zichun, one of the disciples that went to the Dead Plains with his lord. “I was starting to wonder if you weren’t going to show up.”

It is true he is a little late. Had he used Thousand Steps of the Thunder God, Lei Kong could have been here in less than a second, but his lord has forbidden him from using that technique while in Rumbling Thunder City. The odds of someone recognizing it are not zero. Best for all if no one has to ask why there is a member of the Lei Clan in the city.

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For similar reasons, Lei Kong chose to walk instead of leaping across the rooftops.

“I had to take care of other matters first,” says Lei Kong. His lord would have approved of him helping that merchant. “But that is not important right now. I am to tell you my lord has not changed his mind.”

In a few days, many of the disciples of the Eternal Flame Clan will depart for the front lines. Naturally, his lord has been chosen to go to the most difficult battlefield. Those who prove themselves are entrusted with more responsibilities, and though he does not seem to realize it, his lord is a natural leader. Many disciples had volunteered for this mission because they wanted to serve under his lord’s command again. Ten is one of them, and he had been eager to go to the front lines with his lord.

However, it is not to be.

“You are to remain in Rumbling Thunder City.”