131 Hidden Agenda

Huxian was in pain. Not physical pain, but mental pain. For starters, he had nasty dream where he was beaten half to death by a few dozen cultivators. He now realized it was the result of his connection with Cha Ming. Thankfully, the cultivators didn't seem to have any ill intent. It only resulted in temporary pain on his part.

It was only superficial mental pain. His true anguish stemmed from his feelings of guilt, which had left him bedridden. He felt pain in his heart whenever he saw Lei Jiang, who was constantly out on patrols near the cultivator encampment.

The thought of the mouse seemed to summon him. Purple lightning crackled across the sky before the small mouse appeared in front of Huxian.

"Permission to speak freely, Master," the mouse yelled.

Huxian sighed. "Granted."

"Two skirmishes have occurred in the past week, one with the blond-haired one and one with the dark-haired devil. Our losses were greatest against the devil, exchanging two of our purification demons with two of their foundation-establishment cultivators. Our beasts fought valiantly with the terrain advantage, but their tactics were cunning and vicious. On the other hand, not much happened when we fought the blond-haired tea drinker. A few bones were broken, and a few cultivators were grievously injured, but nothing worth mentioning."

"Is that all?" Huxian asked dispassionately.

"Yes, Master," the mouse replied.

"Lei Jiang, do you hate me?" Huxian asked.

The small mouse stared at him with wide eyes as though incapable of understanding the question. "How could I possibly hate the master? Master is most benevolent, most magnificent. The stars would lose their luster without Mast—"

"What I mean," Huxian said, cutting him off, "is would you hate me if you didn't have a slave mark and weren't my general."

Lei Jiang stared at him blankly. "I can't imagine such an existence. I can only think that it would be a very lowly existence, not worth living at all."

Huxian knew he wouldn't get anywhere. He had asked these questions many times and had gained no ground. No matter how he tried, whether it was ordering him to act normally or using a bunch of qualifying statements, he couldn't pry a single bit of personality out of the mouse. He wasn't like Silverwing, who would get mad at him or speak what was on his mind. It was like Lei Jiang's entire world revolved around Huxian.

Huxian sighed once more. "Come here, Lei Jiang," he said. The mouse swiftly ran in front of Huxian. "Closer," Huxian said. The mouse approached until he was just before the fox's head. Huxian began to glow brightly, surrounding them both with a black-and-white bagua. The bagua symbol on Huxian's head glowed, and so did one of trigrams on his tail, the trigram for lightning.

Simultaneously, the "general" character on Lei Jiang's head also glowed a soft purple color that faded into the mouse's tough fur.

"Lei Jiang," Huxian barked authoritatively, "I pronounce you free!" The instant he spoke these words, the character on Lei Jiang's forehead shattered. The normal expression of adoration slowly turned to that of fear and panic. "Go!" Huxian barked, exerting his Godbeast presence on the pitiful creature at peak purification. The bagua faded, and the mouse disappeared in a flash of purple.

"I hope you do well," Huxian whispered, a tear trickling from his jade eyes. He lay there for an entire day and spoke to no one. No, that wasn't it. Rather, no one dared to come speak to him. It wasn't until noon the next day that he heard a familiar fluttering sound. Depressed, he forced himself to exit his cave.

"I'm proud of you," Silverwing said. He was perched on a tree just outside the cave.

"How is he?" Huxian asked.

"Scared out of his wits," Silverwing replied. "He doesn't know who he is. But one thing is certain—he's not the Lei Jiang you once knew.

"I could tell the moment his eyes changed," Huxian said. "By the way, I have something for you, Silverwing." The black and white colors on Huxian's fur suddenly faded to gray, converging into a black-and-white ball. The fox looked exhausted, but his black and white coloring returned shortly.

"What's this?" the falcon asked, pecking at the small ball.

"Just eat it," Huxian said in irritation. The falcon didn't think twice before gulping it down. Enlightenment flashed through his eyes.

"This is…" the falcon said unbelievingly.

"I lied to you," Huxian said. "I'm a terrible friend, and I regret it. I've been keeping this peak-level-purification technique from you. What's worse is that it's specifically suited for those with roc bloodlines. It's useless to me, but it means the world to you. Yet I kept it away from you, wanting to trick you into becoming my general.

"I'm a failure as a friend, and I don't deserve to know someone like you." Huxian turned around and headed back into the darkness of his cave and continued to mope. He was alone now, with no one to rely on. Except perhaps Cha Ming, if they met again one day and he wasn't mad at him.

An incense time passed before he heard Silverwing's familiar flapping. It was likely the last time he would hear it. After all, it wouldn't take much time for him to gain his ancestral memories and break through to core formation. Why would he bother sticking around these desolate mountains once he advanced? He would be free to fly through the skies, a single flap of his wings enough to take him across the whole continent.

He wished for nothing more than a good life for him.

***

"You really don't like battle achievements, do you?" Zhou Li said mockingly. "It's no wonder you're the second young master and not the first. I wouldn't pin the hopes of my family on a turtle like you either."

Wang Jun shrugged. He was seated in front of an ornate tent, sipping tea as usual. There was no flicker in his expression, no anger or irritation. Just like he practiced day in and day out. "I am very calculative in my actions," he said. "And I don't like to kill off good men when there simply isn't a reason to."

"No reason?" Zhou Li said incredulously. Smirking, he added, "Yes, that's true. There isn't any reason for you to compete with me. After all, how could you possibly compete with an oracle in strategy?"

"Quite right," Wang Jun said. "I suppose you've divined the outcome of our battle?"

Zhou Li's expression darkened at these words. Wang Jun knew full well that the only thing Zhou Li could divine was darkness. He divined the same thing every day. The future was shrouded to him, which was why Wang Jun dared to engaged in subterfuge with him in the first place.

"Tell me," Wang Jun continued. "How many more sin flames must you accumulate to break through to core formation? You mustn't need much more, considering the chaos you've been causing outside the cities. Perhaps a few thousand more dead children and tens of thousands of innocent virgins will do the trick?"

Zhou Li's eyes narrowed. "I don't see why you would accuse me of all these things," he said. "The black flames I cultivate do not require sin. In fact, they require the opposite—preventing national disasters, preventing war. It's quite tiring to prop up a nation when there is chaos everywhere.

"Meanwhile I need to deal with entitled brats who don't know their place. There is one I have to deal with on a daily basis that is particularly annoying. He's useless even amongst useless men. In fact, I received a juicy bit of information the other day about him. I heard that when he was young, he let his sister die." The sounds of a shattering porcelain attracted glances from the minister's camp. Zhou Li smirked. "What I spent to find that out wasn't wasted in the slightest."

Wang Jun regained his composure swiftly and chuckled before taking out a second teacup and continuing his lounging. "If you paid money for that information, I can only shake my head at your idiocy. There are many people who would have happily told you for free."

At that moment, the tent flap opened beside them. "Are you two bantering again?" a voice said.

"Esteemed minister, we wouldn't dare," Zhou Li said.

"It was innocent verbal jousting, Your Grace," Wang Jun replied.

"I can tell," Minister Rong said. "If the broken porcelain is any indication, you both have razor blades for tongues and the cunning of a fox. Now then, what's the tally for the day?"

Zhou Li was the first to reply. "Reporting to Minister Rong, this week we killed one mid-purification demon beast and one early-purification beast. However, we lost two foundation-establishment experts in the process due to a disadvantage in terrain."

"And you?" Minister Rong asked Wang Jun.

"A few broken bones and a few serious injuries," Wang Jun replied. "No kills, but no significant losses."

"Sometimes you must risk a little to gain a little," Minister Rong said, looking at Wang Jun meaningfully.

"Naturally," Wang Jun said. "On that note, I wonder if we might meet in private after this report?"

"We can," the minister said. "But if any attempts to sway me personally are made, I can assure you that this competition will be over before the hour is up."

"I understand," Wang Jun said. He waited with clasped hands for Zhou Li to finish. The latter smirked at him before bowing and leaving them behind.

"This way," the minister said, opening his tent flap. They entered a space much larger than its external appearance would suggest. "Speak. No sound can travel inside or outside this tent."

"Very well," Wang Jun said. "Do you mind if I make you tea while we chat?"

"That is… acceptable," Minister Rong said. This was the only luxury he afforded himself. Good tea relaxed the mind and strengthened the soul, enabling him to do his utmost for the country. Wang Jun didn't take long to set up a tea table, boil water, and begin pouring tea for two with a practiced hand. Each cup only contained only a single draught, but this was the best way to enjoy this particular blend.

"Before we begin, I wish to confirm something with Minister Rong," Wang Jun said. "It was agreed previously that the one with the most merit in obtaining the immortal jade would be given the rights to the jade. What would you define as merit?"

"As I explained before, it is a balance between cost and results toward obtaining the jade," Minister Rong said.

"And if we stole it with minimal loss, this would be considered a positive result and count as merit?" Wang Jun asked.

"Any result," the minister reiterated.

"Excellent," Wang Jun said. "Some time ago, I met secretly with the sovereign of a nearby peak, who happens to be contracted to a friend of mine. I asked for access to the jade, and he agreed that the beasts of all nine peaks would agree to trading it."

"They would simply trade it?" the minister asked incredulously.

"It's useless to them, and it's a hot potato in their hands. However, what they want isn't limited to a trade. The goods they require for trade only amount to a hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones, and I've already determined that they can be made available in a few months. What they really want is a peace treaty for the next five hundred years."

Minister Rong frowned. "How could we sign a peace treaty so easily? The lords of the forest rotate every few decades. The only stable existences are the sovereigns on each mountain, as well as their reclusive monarch, and he would never let himself be beholden to such a contract."

"I've confirmed that the sovereigns of the forest are all willing to sign a blood oath on it," Wang Jun replied. "They would limit their expansion efforts to the north and east, other beast territories that we are not concerned with. It's a win-win. Not only would they get resources to develop, but they could use the peace to expand their territories. Meanwhile, we wouldn't have to spend so much on military expenditures."

Minister Rong seemed deep in thought. "Who do they want as signatories on our end?"

"They want you, the third prince, and me, the second young master of the Wang family," Wang Jun said.

"That's all?" Minister Rong asked. Seeing Wang Jun nod, the minister's silence continued. "What do you know about the southern border?" he asked after an incense time. It was an unexpected question. The southern border seemed completely unrelated to the current conflict.

"Nothing much," Wang Jun answered honestly. "I come from a merchant family, and we are most concerned with profit. I can somewhat understand how a nation works, but only as a business."

"Well, then," Minister Rong said, "as you might know, we do not have any kingdoms on our western border due to the mountains. We only have a great wall that separates us from the beasts, which has proven to be strangely effective in containing them. There are opposing kingdoms to the north, the east, and the south. We are on very friendly terms with the north and the east. The north doesn't mind us because there is a mountain pass we can defend with ease and vice-versa. To the east, we have an alliance through marriage that has lasted generations. To the south, however, we are always waging war. And for many years, we have been losing ground.

"Regrettably, we haven't been able to redirect troops due to the ample number of beast tides to the north and the west. Both are important, and if we allowed the beasts into our territory, it would be very difficult to reclaim it. The fertile plains would grow over with forests, and the qi would turn demonic.

"Therefore, we have lost ground many times over the past decade."

"I assume this is relevant to the potential peace treaty?" Wang Jun asked.

"Of course," Minister Rong said enthusiastically. "If we can secure a peace treaty, we could use our freed-up troops to reclaim lost land and resources. There's no telling how much we could expand toward the south in five hundred years. In fact, it may be possible to retake South Hope Fortress. In that case, we wouldn't have to worry about attacks from the south for centuries!" Minister Rong frowned. "Though, you said they wanted one hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones' worth of trade goods. What is their estimate on the jade reserves?"

"There's good news on this front as well, Minister," Wang Jun said. "Not only is there three thousand jin of immortal jade, but there is also a hundred jin of immortal-jade core."

The minister's eyes widened at these numbers. "If you can close this deal, I will sign the blood oath and appoint you as the winner," the minister said. "However, you must get Prince Lei's agreement. In addition, we need forty percent of the resources traded on signing of the contract."

"I negotiated thirty," Wang Jun said. "I can't go any higher than that."

There was a slight paused. "Fine," Minister Rong said at last. "How long will this trade take to execute?"

"Three months," Wang Jun replied.

Minister Rong nodded. "Then you'd better hope that Zhou Li doesn't take over the mountain in the next three months. And I don't want to be seeing any funny business."

"Yes, sir," Wang Jun said with a solemn face. He was laughing inwardly. After all, no one else needed to know about the additional five hundred jin of immortal-jade core.

***

"You did what?" Prince Lei was fuming. Wang Jun understood why, of course. This entire time he had been telling the prince to be patient while his opponent's forces claimed battle merit. Now he was suggesting the riskiest play of all.

"Calm yourself, Your Highness," Wang Jun said. "I've already discussed it with the minister. In three months, if everything goes well, we'll be the ones in control of the mountain range while the crown prince's forces will have weakened. It's a double win."

"But what if things don't go well?" Prince Lei said through gritted teeth.

"May I be brutally honest?" Wang Jun said. The prince waved his hand to grant permission. "We grossly underestimated the crown prince's forces. By a factor of three. They hired people from outside the kingdom to grant them an advantage by using foreign money. They've been trickling them into the kingdom this entire time. How can we possibly win against them using conventional means?"

The third prince massaged his brow. "Can we sign right now?"

"We can't, because we need the initial trade to kick off the contract," Wang Jun replied. "The prime minister is too much of a stickler for the rules to bend on this. The beasts won't bend because they need the resources to strengthen themselves. And if they lose a few demons, so what? They will simply split the resources amongst a much smaller population. It's the way demon beasts operate."

"Can we sign before they take the mountain range?" Prince Lei asked.

"Yes," Wang Jun said. "We have an eighty-percent chance, assuming they don't get additional reinforcements. Plus, we can increase those odds with a bit of subterfuge."

Prince Lei shook his head. "The minister will be watching for that."

"My dear prince," Wang Jun said, walking up to him. His figure shimmered slightly before blending into the shadows. His body disappeared entirely. "There is no one in this camp who can stop me from walking where I please. No one."