v2C94: Victory?

The air was tense in the stone room, buried deep within the mountain. I was in another one of the throne-like seats. Honestly, they were less uncomfortable than they looked. Either that or, as a cultivator, I just didn’t feel discomfort as easily.

Guo Daxian was seated to my right and Xiulan’s dad, Xi Kong, was to my left. Daxian had pushed part of his robe off his shoulder, exposing the mass of tattoos that ran down his arm and chest like he was some kind of yakuza. Xi Kong had his hands linked in front of him in the robes of his sleeves, a rather more traditional figure.

The rest of the Elders were seated behind us, some of them were even leaning on walls. The Shrouded Mountain Sect Disciples had been grabbed and were sitting on their knees before us. They looked as uncomfortable as I felt.

And me? I was front and center with my arms crossed and a chicken on my shoulder. I felt a bit underdressed in my normal outfit, all rougher linens rather than the silks everybody else was wearing. But it had the symbol Meiling had designed over my heart and on my back. I liked this uniform. It felt right. And maybe, just maybe, remembering her with her tongue stuck out as she sewed the design on helped me calm down a bit.

Still, it made me feel just like a mafia boss or something, about to give the Shrouded Mountain Sect an offer they couldn’t refuse. Or had I already given them that?

It was a funny image, yeah, but right now I was seriously questioning where things went wonky. How did I go from running away from the Cloudy Sword Sect to being the guy in charge of the cultivators of the entire Azure Hills?

…Just what has my life become?

No time to dwell on it though. One of the cultivators outside the door slammed three times on it and declared: “Zhou Yingwen of the Shrouded Mountain Sect!”

I felt everybody else tense up even more as the young man entered the room. I could feel the Qi pouring off the people behind me. They were nervous, and I felt my Qi burble unpleasantly in response.

I heard a hum of irritation from Daxian when the door’s opened and a lone figure strode in.

“No Elders, they insult Master Rou,” I heard another snarl as Yingwen entered, unarmed, and wearing his sect’s robes. He walked forward until he was in front of me and dropped to one knee.

“Zhou Yingwen pays his respects to Lord Rou,” he intoned. His head was bowed completely. Nobody else spoke, waiting for me to start.

“Are you it?” I asked.

“I beg your indulgence, Great Lord. I have brought with me the words of the mighty Elders of the Shrouded Mountain. They have agreed to do as you have ordered, Lord Rou—no member of the Shrouded Mountain Sect has stepped foot into the Azure Hills without your permission save for myself.” The young man stated immediately. “ I am sent to relay their communication. If you feel this one is unfit to bear the words of the Elders and would prefer to directly communicate with them, Elder Chongyun of the Heaven’s Star Fury, has agreed to meet with you at a place of your choosing. ”

I raised an eyebrow at the statement. Honestly… I had kind of been expecting for an Elder to come around anyway. Counting on it even. But was this really them preemptively doing what I asked them to, or something more nefarious? I had no idea. This. This is why I hated politics. I had no doubt that the Shrouded Mountain Sect Elders could probably run circles around me. Honestly, the incompetent old men who grabbed the idiot ball and ran with it, so common in stories, seemed to be absent here.

The cultivators of the Azure Hills seemed pragmatic and practical, without much arrogance, but I didn’t know if that was because they were all scared of me or not. People tended to act differently when you walked into the room carrying a loaded gun and told them to get along. They were all still trying to kiss my ass.

They were all still waiting for my response. I simply nodded.

“So, what do the Masters of the Shrouded Mountain Sect have to say?” I ventured.

“Elders Shenhe and Chongyun thank the wandering cultivator Rou Jin for his virtue and benevolence, avenging the death of the Young Master. Should he require anything, the Shrouded Mountain Sect will do their utmost to aid the man who avenged Young Master Zang Li.” Yingwen said, his eyes still on the ground.

“What about the damage inflicted on the town?” I asked.

Yingwen grimaced. “The Elders apologize for the deplorable conduct of their disciples. It was disgraceful to become so intoxicated and cause such a disturbance. However, it was the foolishness of youth that drove them to such a state and in that spirit the Elders ask for understanding from you Great Lord. The Elders wish to show gratitude to the Great Sects of the Azure hills for their forbearance in this matter. They have heard your virtuous suggestion that recompense is needed. I have brought with me a small gift and that recompense. .”

Was that it? Really, was that the end of things?

I hummed and gestured for Yingwen to continue. Yingwen stood, and took a couple of steps back. He reached into a pouch on his hip and pulled out a ring. For an instant, I was confused. Then I remembered that spatial rings existed. They were basically bags of holding from what I remembered.

There was a flash of light and a burst of Qi.

And then there was a table in front of us. Piled high with pills and giant pouches with the symbol of what this world used for currency on them. It looked like a fortune in goods.

I heard a strangled gasp as the feeling of tension ratcheted up again. Every eye was on the new table, or more specifically, the ranks and ranks of pills on it.

“Spiritual Level refining pills?”

“Thousand Year ginseng—!”

“Iridescent Soulflower?”

The whispers and mutters raked across the room. Every Elder was staring greedily at what the Shrouded Mountain Sect had produced.

“ The Shrouded Mountain gives these small treasures in recompense and asks you Lord Rou to disseminate them as you please. .”

. I guess they couldn’t resist giving the Azure Hills at least some nose tweaking. Nothing on that table was small to the folk of the Azure Hills. I looked around at the shock and greed in their eyes and couldn't help the rather loud sigh that escaped my lips.

Surprisingly, the action immediately shut everybody up, the press of bodies craning to look at the resources on the table snapping back into position. Xiulan’s father and Guo Daxian looked almost embarrassed at their exclamations.

But I just had one last question.

“And what about you?” I asked.

Yingwen looked directly at me. He looked resigned. “That… is for you to decide, Lord Rou. The Elder’s have decreed that I have brought shame on the Shrouded Mountain. They ask that you determine my fate.”

The silence was deafening. Yingwen walked forwards and once again dropped to a knee, bowing his head.

It was an odd feeling hearing somebody casually giving you permission to kill somebody else as if their life was just…nothing.

I pitied him, at that moment. He was probably wondering if he was going to die, and yet he walked forwards and bowed his head with dignity. I hated it. I hated the fact that Tigu, Xiulan and everybody else had been hurt. I hated the fact that this world was like this.

It all weighed down on me.

I just felt exhausted.

For a moment I closed my eyes and let myself breathe. Who was I?

I had already killed one man.

Maybe I was weak… but I couldn’t stomach the thought of more killing. Not by my hands.

“Go.” I opened my eyes and stared steadily at the kneeling man. “ Take the others with you. Go, and never return.”

The Disciples of the Shrouded Mountain Sect stared up at me with wide eyes. Yingwen rose from his bow and looked back to me relief in his eyes.

“We are unworthy of the mercy you show us, Great Lord. Know that this Yingwen will never forget your generosity.” Yingwen said before bowing once more and leaving with the rest of the Shrouded Mountain disciples trailing behind

And that was that.

The whole altercation with the Shrouded Mountain Sect was finished. All I would have to show for the entire meeting was a scroll written from the Elders of the Shrouded Mountain Sect, and a whole load of stress.

Being the guy in charge sucked.

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The rest of the day was spent handing things out for the most part. I got the Lord Director his money. I had to oversee a bunch of old men and women squabbling over the stuff the Shrouded Mountain had given like birds fought over a berry, while the normal people quickly took care of all the cash.

I kept my arms crossed and my face stern, speaking little, even as my Qi occasionally bubbled unpleasantly. Best to let them work it out so they didn’t start thinking of me as the guy to go to when they fought.

With the immediate threat of the Shrouded Mountain Sect out of the way… things got a lot more hectic.

It was a day of meetings to get everything settled. Starting with Loud Boy… well, the kid was really loud, especially when he started bawling his eyes out when I gave him the stuff that could possibly help restore his cultivation. I still don't know if I trusted the Shrouded Mountain Sect’s resources, but a primer on ways to repair broken cultivation had been added. The rest of the cultivators were all pretty hyped about the pills and stuff though once it was divided up. The normal people had just stared blankly at the “compensation” they were getting, and then gone nuts. After all that the messages started pouring in.

Invitations for dinners. Invitations to visit people’s sects or their manors. One from the guzheng playing lady, Xinling, who requested a private, late-night dinner. Everyone seemed to want to meet with the great Master Rou Jin. It was a massive pain in the ass. I could have stayed for weeks, just dealing with everything and answering all the invitations.

Thankfully, there was one big benefit of being in charge that I did like.

Namely that you can tell everybody you didn’t want to deal with to sod off.

“You can contact me through the Azure Jade Trading Company if there is an emergency.” I said pleasantly to just about everyone demanding my attention.

It was late and the stars were out. I found myself sitting on the top of some inn and reading the scroll I had gotten from Yingwen. For the first time I had some peace and quiet.

It was a note of thanks, and apology, as well as, of all things, poetry. Some flowery stuff about a Mountain blocking the cold wind from the north and how they would never forget the Cloud’s gentle shadow. Courtly language.

I think I got the gist of it, maybe.

I never was very good at poetry.

I sighed and put the scroll down just in time to hear a thump as Tigu jumped up from the ground floor as well. She had a bright smile on her face.

“There you are, Master!” she cheered, climbing onto me and wrapping me in a hug. I smiled at her and hugged her back.

“Hey, Tigu’er,” I whispered. “Did you enjoy your time with your friends?” I asked her.

Tigu grinned and immediately started babbling away about Loud Boy and Rags, as well as “The Smaller Blade of Grass”, having some kind of drinking contest.

I listened to her as she curled up into my lap, and just talked. She wasn’t too far into her story when there was a light flapping of wings, as Big D landed beside me with Rizzo on his back. The little rat squealed a greeting and let me scratch at her head, leaning into my touch. I took a breath and just let Tigu’s voice wash over me.

“So I added to its beauty!” Tigu enthused. “It's a treasure! Just ask the owner!”

‘She carved it into the wall.’ Ri Zu interjected. ‘Then she had to apologize to the owner!’

Tigu stuck her tongue out at the rat, who just responded in kind. I raised an eyebrow at the two girls squabbling like sisters. Seemed like they had grown closer, I couldn’t help being happy at the thought.

Big D seemed just as amused as I felt. He hopped over and started preening Tigu’s hair. The girl harrumphed and went still but I could see the small smile of satisfaction on her face.

She… sounded like she had, at least after everything was over had a good time.

I stared up at the sky for a little bit longer letting the cool night air soothe me, until I finally said what was on my mind.

“What do you think about heading home soon?” I asked.

Tigu paused and looked up at me. She considered the question.

A smaller, softer smile spread across her face. “Home sounds amazing,” she stated simply.

“Yeah, it does, doesn’t it?” I replied, sharing her smile.