Destiny in Cinders

”Madam, this was my fault,” said the gold-eyed girl in a guilty voice as she slowly walked out. ”My bloodline is unique and interlocks deeply with the terrestrial vein. Even though I can use the terrestrial vein to hide, geomancers can also use them to detect me. They don’t know my exact location for now, but they will still try to take this terrestrial-vein node. I was the one who brought misfortune to you.”

Madam Huai shook her head. ”What are you saying? Since the night I found you unconscious at my door, I already knew the kind of trouble I would be getting into. I’m sure you refused to tell me about yourself or why you’re on the run because you don’t want to get me involved in this conspiracy, but I took you into my care despite knowing how this would all unfold.”

”But why, madam?” When she approached, the old lady took her deep into her embrace and stroked her long hair.

”I’m old. I will die soon, if not this year, then the next.” She calmly spoke of her ultimate demise in an unimaginably carefree manner. ”In my youth, I was saved by a benefactor. In exchange, however, I have no choice but to live bound to this location. Since then, I swore to offer others help however I can. When I saw you, I immediately knew that you’re a pure child even though your thoughts can be deep and confusing. My life’s purpose has been to help children like you.”

”Qi Soul Lending... I see,” the gold-eyed girl muttered. She looked up intensely and said, ”Madam Huai, this place is no longer safe. They might use even harsher force the next time they come. I can’t let you suffer for helping me without doing anything about it. I know it’s risky, but please come with me. I might be able to help extend your life!”

”How could that be, foolish child?” She chuckled in resignation and wanted to say something else, only to freeze up at the sight of a purple-green glow coming from the divine jade that was set beneath the girl’s clavicle. Purple-green qi swirled within the jade like serpentine dragons.

***

Meanwhile, An Jing followed the escaped thugs with a fierce gaze. He immediately noticed that one of the cowardly thugs took every step firmly, a sign of martial prowess. Following that one might lead him to the mastermind.

As he expected, the martialist among them quietly slipped away and made many confusing turns to reach a secretive alley. There were quite a few doors on both sides of the alley. Behind one of them were two constables who were playing a game of pai gow. They rose when they saw the martialist. ”Why did you come back so soon? Did it work?”

The martialist that disguised himself like a thug spat on the ground. ”We were unlucky. That Dustdawner lad messed it up.”

The two constables seemed surprised to hear that. ”What does he have to do with this?”

”Isn’t he just at the Silk Aura Stage? It’s one thing for Old Guan to not stop him, but why did you fear him?”

”I could tell that he’s trouble.” The martialist sat down and prepared to play a few hands. ”Like the boss said, the Dustdawner lad must be a disciple of some large tribe. He’s skilled and I’m no match for him. The boss wanted to ’invite’ him to the constabulary to ask him what tribe he’s from. That way we could levy a complaint to the tribe. They were the ones who said they wouldn’t interfere, so why would they send someone to test our limits? In the end, we weren’t able to stop the lad from ruining our plans at the teahouse. I wonder how he’ll be punished when he returns to the tribe.”

”Forget it,” said the constables, not seeming to mind. ”It’s not the first time Dustdawners caused trouble. He’d only be chewed out a little. We’ll just send more people next time to force him to kneel to you. Come, let’s focus on the game and forget about him.”

”You’re only able to say that because you weren’t the ones he messed with! You’re not even taking what I say seriously. What kind of friends are you?” the martialist complained, but he got on with the game nevertheless.

An Jing had tailed the martialist using Profoundstep and heard everything. ”It seems that my cover brought me trouble. The Dustdawner tribes seemed to have struck some kind of agreement to not stir anything up. My disguise was too perfect to the point that they didn’t doubt that I’m a Dustdawner at all. That’s why they want to capture me to ask me if the tribes’ directive has changed.”

There were a few lingering questions, but most of them had been answered. The mysterious group wanted to tap into the terrestrial veins’ power for some reason and tried to take over terrestrial-vein nodes during Shu Zheng’s absence. They weren’t part of the demonic cult and probably didn’t get along with them. They only managed to infiltrate the city after the cult’s forces near Keensight suffered casualties. However, this organization seemed influential enough to buy out quite a few constables and thugs in the city.

An Jing was patient enough and knew that it wouldn’t be long before some of the losers finished their game and left to report what had happened to their superiors. The losers soon left in a bad mood and headed toward one of the large companies in Keensight, Honor Pavilion.

”Interesting... So Honor Pavilion’s the one who’s been messing with me. I recall that they were the ones who bought the fur of the goldfur bear. They even bought out the constabulary. The group that hunted the goldfur bear must’ve been affiliated with them, so it’s no wonder they learned about my talisman sale so soon.”

”Will you look into Honor Pavilion next?” Yvelbane asked. ”Your drone’s going to be quite useful. Martialists who aren’t aware of their existence would mistake them for tiny insects or birds.”

”There’s no rush. They haven’t reported back after their game. I’ll only get worthwhile information after they receive the report. In fact, I’ll give them a helping hand,” An Jing said, smiling. ”I’ll go beat them up to vent and give them more information about me to report. Let’s see what their backers are made of.”

He flipped open his cloak to reveal his conspicuous clothes and equipment underneath. Then, he put on a gas mask from Skysource and pushed through the door, barging into the hidden room where the people of that mysterious organization gathered.

”Who’s that over there making so much noise?” The martialist and the constables were deeply engaged in the game and having lots of fun. They thought that more of their comrades had arrived and wanted to snap at them. Before the martialist could react, he felt a buzz behind his head and fainted.

An Jing pulled his fist back, having held back and not squeezed the brain matter out of the orifices of the constable’s head. Even so, the strike would render him bedridden for half a month from the concussion.

The others who were playing cards snapped around and saw An Jing in his fearsome mask, instantly registering what had happened. They quickly rose to resist, but An Jing approached rapidly and punched each of them once at the forehead or temples. A few dull thumps followed as they slumped to the ground. Nobody outside the quiet gambling valley heard anything either.

An Jing had taken care of everyone in the room in a few moments, not giving anybody a chance to react. ”This is too easy.”

Given his current power, the constables wouldn’t stand a chance against him even if they hadn’t been ambushed. The real question was whether he should actually reveal his strength. It could blow his cover, but would it even matter? He was already fuming from their harassment earlier in the day. If he didn’t at least use the chance to vent, he would start questioning the point of engaging in martial practice in the first place. Not to mention, these people had some decent loot that was worth the effort.

”Interesting.” He stepped across the bodies on the ground and found a half-translucent jade in the constable leader’s possession. It was a spirit stone. ”I knew it, these are no average people!”

He played with the spirit stone in his hand and turned to look at the unconscious constables, smiling as if he just saw some forgotten wallets. ”I really hit the jackpot. To think that there’s a pure spirit stone here of all places...”