v7c14: Rusting Iron

Sheng Yanjing, Auditor General of the Azure Hills, was still wondering if this was some strange dream. Had he slipped and hit his head on that fateful night when he had gone to confront the Lord Magistrate? Had he imagined the arrival of the Imperial Herald? Was he some drooling fool laying on a bed somewhere in Verdant Hill?

He knew in his heart that this was just idle musings. This was real. He was now a co-conspirator in a scheme to bring down his once-benefactors. He was also being treated surprisingly well. He would have thought he would have gotten the cold shoulder from the Lord Magistrate or the cultivators, but instead he was treated with something almost like respect. And if not respect, he was treated cordially, and even included in their convoy—to protect him, even, just in case the Wus tried anything with him.

It was certainly a lot better security than the Wus ever provided for him. To think his once-enemies valued him more than his previous masters.

Though… he had never really been seen as an enemy, had he? An unfortunate tool perhaps, but never an actual threat.

It did hurt his pride a bit, but honestly, it was the best outcome.

Yanjing sighed and pushed those thoughts away. He returned his attention to the window of the enormous carriage he was seated in.

A carriage that was being pulled by a Spirit Beast.

The bull ran like the wind, his great strides gobbling up Li like a man gobbles up bowls of rice—yet the carriage was level and straight, and he didn’t even feel the galloping of the Spirit Beast.

Perhaps that was what made it feel so strange. The lack of movement, and the lack of noise. Oh, he could hear the thundering of hooves, but… the wind. There was no wind. When one rode upon a horse, all one could hear was the roaring gusts.

But there was nothing.

It almost made things boring. Well, not almost, he was rather bored at the moment, yet the question was bugging him.

He paused and turned his eyes to his companions within the carriage. He wondered if he had the guts to ask them questions… but they had all been fairly polite so far when they had stopped for the night, and Lord Jin even deigned to cook for them all. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought the young man the real servant… but cultivators were supposed to have some strange quirks, and cooking one of the most delicious meals Yanjing had ever eaten was certainly on the low end of strangeness.

His eyes first caught Xue Ji, and he immediately dismissed the severe-looking woman. She had seemed fairly approachable… until about five minutes into the trip when she pulled out a sword and started sharpening it while talking to the maid, Suyan, about what kind of poisons they could expect in the Azure Hills; their scents and tastes… And casually going into detail about how quickly she could expect to kill any cultivator assassins the Wus could possibly send with the bored tone of somebody who had actually killed people before.

Xue Ji was currently laying on her back and using the maid’s tail as a pillow, with the rest of it wrapped around her body and chest. He understood that they were family, and apparently had not seen each other in some time. Xue Ji was reading through a scroll on said poisons; her severe eyes were locked into an especially intimidating glare today—she had been complaining to the maid about the lack of Qi in the air.

The maid herself was reading a different scroll, this one of cooking recipes… while swirling a a blade that looked somewhat like a cicada wing blade around her fingers like a young student twirled his calligraphy brush. The viciously curved blade was a silver blur that cut through the air with a disconcerting low hum, and the woman was spinning it in a way that sounded almost like music.

Yanjing shuddered and turned to the final person within the carriage. The Lord Magistrate was sitting on top, out in the elements, with Lady Wu, Lady Meiling, Lord Jin, and their child, which left the fish.

The Spirit Beast was lounging in his beautiful jar, an absolute work of art in Yanjing’s opinion. The fish’s tail flopped gracelessly over one edge, his head propped up on the other. His fins had turned into odd, muscled arms; one was holding a sheaf of paper with math formations, and the other fishing around in a bag of nuts. He occasionally popped one into his mouth.

The Spirit Beast caught Yanjing’s gaze and he froze. The fish stared at him for a moment, then picked up his bag of nuts and offered it to Yanjing.

Instantly, the awkwardness faded. “Ah, my thanks, Master Wa Shi,” Yanjing took one and popped it into his mouth. His eyes widened. They were different from what he was used to, but they were clearly some variation of drunken nuts; savoury and spiced, instead of sweet. “Ah, drunken nuts, how delightful.”

The fish perked up. “Oh? I didn’t invent these?” he asked. “Are they done differently in Pale Moon Lake City?”

“They are indeed. Firstly, we use a southern Azure Hills nut called a pecan, instead of walnuts. We typically use sugar on the outside, instead of this mixture—they’ve recently started using a new ingredient, maple sugar, on some of their batches. Delicious. Still, I can see these catching on as well, “ Yanjing said. Those nuts had gotten him through many long nights studying.

The fish perked up. “Oho? Do you have a shop you recommend?” Yanjing nodded.

They went into that conversation for a little, and it was a good distraction, before he circled back around to the journey.

“It’s really great that Bei Be volunteered. Being carted around in style is better than flying there myself!” the fish declared, and Yanjing blinked. The fish could fly?

“It is a little disconcerting not to hear the wind though. I suppose it’s some cultivator magic?” Yanjing asked, finally getting to his question.

“Yes, Bei Be and the Boss are working together. Bei Be is still learning—he’s cutting the air ahead with his will, but we would still hear things if it was just him. Boss’s Qi is also around the carriage. He’s asking it to be nice and quiet, so we can all talk without yelling,” the fish explained matter of factly.

He’s asking the wind to be quiet so we can talk.

Shen Yanjing wanted to laugh. Heavens above, the Wus had no idea what was coming, did they? They truly tried to strike the one man they should not have. And now they were sitting blissfully unaware as a storm gathered around them. How wonderfully poetic.

And Shen Yanjing was, thank the Heavens, on the winning team.

“What about you, Wa Shi?” Yanjing asked. “Can you command the wind?”

“This Great Dragon is like the Boss. The wind is eager to submit, and would be quiet!” the fish declared in a haughty voice that turned sly after a moment. “…but don’t tell the Boss that, because he might make me take over wind duty.”

The sheer shameless laziness made Yanjing laugh.

“Worry not, great fish, this humble auditor knows well the value of discretion,” he said with a wink. They both shared a chuckle, and the silence was companionable, before Yanjing saw the papers Wa Shi had set to the side. “What manner of math formations are you working on, by the way?”

The fish picked them up and showed them to Yanjing. They were… very advanced. And very much unfamiliar to Yanjing, though he could see some vague similarities from other scholar’s advanced courses. From there they got into accounting math. Wa Shi swiftly grasped his calculations on how to determine fraud, and nodded sagely, before launching into an explanation of a bookkeeping method Lord Jin had mentioned—something about double entries?

He listened intently. This… this was all very interesting.

And it took his mind off the trip, the two terrifying women in the carriage with him, and the fact that in a few days, he was going to meet more cultivators.

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Running to the Ironfields, while shorter in distance than going to Pale Moon Lake City, would have been a far more difficult journey if we hadn’t been cultivators.

Unlike the northern road, which was at least passably maintained, all the roads leading in this direction were near derelict, full of potholes, and in some cases merely a dirt path. Not many people came out this way, it seemed.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Still, it was a nice enough journey. Zhuye and Meimei looked to be enjoying it at least. They spent most of their time on top of the carriage, watching the world flash past us along with the Lord Magistrate and Lady Wu. Zhuye also appreciated Big D’s gift, though he always seemed a bit confused when the rooster himself didn’t materialize.

Occasionally Suyan would open a door and leap onto the roof to serve tea and cakes that she had cooked with a fire crystal, and we would just sit around, talking or singing.

The auditor, Yanjing, was actually a pretty chill guy too. Had a bit of a dry sense of humour, and he was willing to answer my questions about how the capital worked. Teacher was good, but it had been decades since he had last been in Pale Moon Lake City, and Yanjing had an updated view of things.

Xue Ji also answered questions about governance and working in a provincial capital, and when I asked why she had volunteered to help Teacher, her response was simple.

“Oh, I enjoy it. The numbers, the moving parts—where the theoretical resolves into a practical plan of action combining resources from across the province, or across the Empire, to accomplish a goal? It’s quite something!” she said, her smile bright… and her tail wagging.

Which was fair enough. There were worse hobbies to have.

I switched off with Babe once or twice, but it was only when I was sure nobody would notice; Master Jin, unfortunately, had an image to maintain. But mostly, it was all Babe. He wanted to perfect his air-cutting technique and didn’t mind putting in the hours, racing tirelessly onwards.

Meimei once smelled a Qi source while we were camping—sharp like a sword, but oddly dull to her senses. It was heading toward us.

Suyan and Xue Ji both stood up, blades dropping into their hands… but I waved them off.

“I’ll take care of it,” I said. Last time I had met a Spirit Beast from the Azure Hills, it had literally pooped itself and ran.

Maybe I could have a better interaction this time?

I went to investigate and found a Reaper Wolf. The Spirit Beast snarled at me in shock when he noticed me, clearly surprised that I had snuck up on him. His claws bit into the earth, and he flared his Qi at me.

This one certainly looked a lot better than the Wicked Blade had. His fur was smoother and shinier, but there were still two hairless patches shaped like crescent moons on his shoulders that exposed rippling muscle. He had a row of extra claws that formed from his knuckles, shaped like sickles. He would be about as tall as me if he stood on its hind legs, but other than that he looked pretty much like a normal wolf.

Second Stage of the Initiate’s Realm.