Chapter 14- Trading Heads

Tian took a long moment to try and understand what he was seeing. The girl was dressed in rather good robes. They were a fine silk, bright green with gold trim and a blindingly white underrobe. All carefully tied and belted in place. Her hair was nicely cropped, but not decorated. There was a pendant on her waist too- a lovely blue stone, but what was carved on it he couldn’t tell. A noble child. Ji was holding her about as high as his neck. Any attempt to sneak a head shot would be intercepted.

Tian reached out with his senses, Counter Jumper running hard. No strange qi from the child. Hong remained herself. No hidden traps around the room, though several of the carvings and paintings were deeply cursed. Most cursed of all was the demon’s claw Ji was pressing to the child’s neck. Tian could see it had been cut from a true demon, not merely crafted into that shape. Some obscene crafter’s art had been worked on it to preserve and strengthen it, letting the wild-eyed heretic hold the finger flesh as a handle and use the long, dagger-pointed nail to stab with.

“This little monk is confused. Why would saving this little girl’s life be worth more than taking yours for the cause of healing the world?” Tian asked. He would prefer to save the girl. Of course he would! But he knew exactly what would happen if Ji made it to the nomads. He would become another heretic loose in the Redstone Wastes. The consequences of that would be awful. Who knows what resources and hidden knowledge he had accumulated?

“That is Ma Xiaobai, only child of the City Lord, and granddaughter of the Red Plume General that commands the border army garrisoned here. And the reason I’m here is to rescue her.” Hong’s voice was clipped.

“Ah. So my “help” with a diversion might not have been so helpful. I’ll have to make it up to her. Ma… I’ve heard that name before.”

“I see. Her death would cause a political problem.”

“It would make the city collapse! It would turn brother against brother, father against son! The army would leave and the nomads would storm in, looting, burning and taking slaves! The border of the Kingdom will be unguarded, Ancient Crane Mountain will be critically weakened, and I worked damned hard for fifteen years to make it happen! It wasn’t supposed to happen tonight, but you daoist pricks showed up to run a GOD DAMN AUDIT?! Who would believe that horseshit! Do you little shits know how much I suffered for this? Do you know how much I sacrificed?!” The spittle was flying from Ji’s mouth as he howled at the injustice.

“Thank you for relieving this little monk’s confusion, Benefactor. No.”

There was a pause in the room. Tian thought even Xiaobai was giving him a look.

“No? NO?! What do you mean, no?!”

“This little monk will be unable to kill this daoist sister, or escort you from the city. This child’s death will not spark a war. The city will not fall. You worked hard, but it is too late. The City Lord and the General know who to blame now. Their trust in the monastery will be damaged but not broken entirely, and it is in their interest that this city survives. This plan cannot work. May this little monk offer Benefactor another solution?”

Tian gently fed wood qi into the burning lamp in his crimson palace, stimulating the inviting light within him. It wouldn’t affect the people around him directly, but the sincerity of the compassion in his voice rang truer and truer.

“What then? Be quick, and no games. I startle easily, and get bored even more easily.”

“Benefactor must understand that there is no way he can leave this room alive. But that is not a problem for Benefactor, with the right preparations.”

“Fake my death?” Ji looked a little interested.

“No. Ensure that when you die, the Heavenly Demon will forgive your mistakes and honor you above all others. Give him cause to raise you up as an example of the rewards reserved for his best and most powerful generals. The sacrifice of this child will not move him. She won’t even fill the cracks in his teeth. You need something a bit more special.”

Tian smiled under his wicker basket helmet as he slowly removed his storage ring and let it drop on the ground. His staff dropped next to it. “The life of a living legend should suffice.”

The room got very still. Ji stared, struggling to understand what Tian was saying.

“It’s very simple. Benefactor has heard people yelling about this monk’s identity from the courtyard. He may even have heard of people like this monk in the past. You thought we were mere stories. But look, Benefactor, this little monk is here before you. You have the evidence of your own eyes, and the destroyed bodies of your guards. A level six monk that can kill three level nine mercenaries? What could he be but a legend? And Benefactor? Listen to this voice. Look at these hands.” Tian pulled up the sleeves of his robe, displaying his soft skin.

“This little monk is young, Benefactor. This little monk carries the hopes of many others. Hopes that he will be a hero of the people of this world, and a deadly enemy to the followers of the Demon.”

Tian let the silence fill the room, the light of his candle burning bright.

“You could kill a little girl and achieve nothing. Or you could kill this little monk, and change the world.” Tian opened his robes, exposing his chest. Tapping a spot a little left of center.

“Benefactor cannot change when this life ends. But he can change everything about how the next life will begin.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Monk.” Hong’s voice was strained. He could see the spearpoint shaking. “Monk, this is not the right choice. It’s not even a choice for you to make. You came here because of me-”

“No. This monk has been killing Benefactor Ji’s subordinates as he found them in the city, working his way up to him. Our meeting here was merely fate.”

“Oh? Who died?” Ji asked. He looked distracted, thinking over what Tian said.

“A potter and a goldsmith. This monk confesses that, if he ever bothered to learn their names, he has forgotten them.”

“Oh, them. Hah. Yes. Not names worth remembering. I would have your name, though, Monk.”

“Benefactor Ji, does this little monk look like someone who owns anything of value? How could he own something as precious as a name? You may pick one for him if you wish.”