Interlude: The Wandering Young Master

Interlude: The Wandering Young Master

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Young Master! Young Master!

The words are like the screeching of metal. Xiao Fang closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, one that makes his shoulders heave. His hand slowly curls into a fist, which he presses against his forehead. He cannot give into anger. Not right now. Calm is of the essence.

Empty yourself.

Enter the void.

Words taught to him as a child, yet only now do they seem useful.

Dont say it.

His voice comes out strained, but at least he is not screaming or yelling. That can certainly be called progress.

Young Master! Were lost!

I told you not to say it!

Xiao Fang whips around to scream into Big Nose Lis face. His feet sink into the sand as he does so, further dirtying his clothes. Gone are the days when Xiao Fang wore robes made of the finest fabrics the Xiao Sect could afford. All he has on him now are common brown robes that match the color of his hair and a blue sash that is a little less blue every time he washes it. Even the soles of his shoes have been worn down by the long journey.

Age has eroded away the softness of youth and turned him into a handsome young man, though that may be hard to tell with all the sand on his face and clothes. Sand has an annoying way of getting everywhere, he has discovered, especially when it stretches for countless miles all around.

Li has not fared not any better. The last few weeks of their journey have been trying ones.

But Young Master, Li says. Whines, really. The sound ill-fits someone like him. Time has not made his nose any smaller, but it has turned Big Nose Li into a man who towers over everyone. Its true. Here in the Great Red Plains, this one doesnt know left from right, and neither does Young Master.

Xiao Fang laughs. There was a time when he could have said the sky was green, and Li would have agreed with him. They were such stupid children back then. Time and a healthy dose of mortal danger have a way of realigning ones priorities.

They have had plenty of those ever since they left Eastern Port City.

The first leg of their journey to visit all the branches of the Xiao Sect was a pleasant one. The branches they visited were minor ones so that Xiao Fang would gain experience and not offend anyone truly important later on.

Then Liu Jins letter arrived.

With naught but a few paragraphs, Xiao Fang became an orphan. No longer the Young Master of the Xiao Sect, but a child with a position that was tenuous at best. The Elders who would have supported him lay dead. The city that would have financed his endeavors was sacked. The fighters who would have bled for him were no more.

Why should anyone listen to him?

What stopped one of the more powerful and influential branch heads from taking over?

Xiao Fang didn't want to acknowledge the truth at first, and indeed, he hadn't. He clung to denial even as most of the disciples traveling with him deserted him. It took Elder Gang taking him aside and giving him the most stern talking-to of his life for Xiao Fang to accept his situation

Everything changed from that moment on.

The purpose of Xiao Fangs journey is no longer to know all the Xiao Sect has to offer him. It is now a journey to gain the loyalty of all the Branch Masters. It is a journey to prevent the splintering of the Xiao Sect by uniting it under him.

The results have been mixed so far.

Landing themselves in the middle of the Great Red Plains is not something he planned on. Xiao Fang can say that with certainty.

This desert is no more than a momentary obstacle, a mere footnote in the stories they will one day tell of us, Xiao Fang says with confidence and bluster. The combination has served him well so far, so he sees no reason to abandon it. As I am sure you will agree, it was the safer alternative.

Big Nose Li has no problems nodding fiercely to that.

I believe I said everything I wanted.

You always do.

A privilege granted to the strong. You would know little of it.

Xiao Fang growls. Xiao Heng and his wife suddenly look highly uncomfortable holding the palanquin. They fear becoming collateral damage if he were to lash out in anger.

That only shows their naivety. Xiao Fang will never be foolish enough to attack Shen Mi. Not because she is a member of the Divine Frozen Palace or because she has been of great aid in their journey.

It is because she is right.

She is stronger than him.

However, that does not mean he will just take her words in silence.

If you are so strong, why let them carry you around in that thing instead of making yourself useful? He waves at the palanquin. It is not a simple thing the likes of which one can find in every city. The blue vehicle is adorned with ivory and has plenty of space inside.

Or so Xiao Fang thinks. He has never been allowed in.

Even since Shen Mi joined their group, she has mostly kept to her palanquin, stepping out only when needed.

I could help you make your way through the plains, Shen Mi says. However, if I did that, whod be left watching poor Elder Gang. He is still quite wounded, as I am sure you know.

Xiao Fang winces.

Elder Gang is the only Elder who was with him when Eastern Port City fell. Ever since, Elder Gang has been his most stalwart supporter, staying by his side when others fled. He is a necessary voice of knowledge and wisdom in their group.

He is now inside Shen Mis palanquin recovering from grievous wounds.

While fleeing through the desert, they ran into a Heaven Realm Dragon, a most unfortunate encounter. Because Elder Gang had to defend them, he was heavily injured during the fight. His regenerative abilities ensure hell recover, but that will take time. Until then, they have no choice but to brave the sweltering plains without their strongest member.

They were not even capable of harvesting the dragons corpse for parts. The beasts hide was so tough they could barely cut away some bits of its flesh, not that any of them can eat them. They are all too weak to subdue a dragons flesh. Trying would only hurt them. Perhaps even kill them. Only Elder Gang can benefit from the flesh, but feeding it to him would be dangerous.

Elder Gang has been on the Ninth level of the Heaven Realm for some time now. He cannot advance without entering the Renegade Realm. No one among them wants that, yet if he stays at his current level, Elder Gang will not be able to properly defend them from the many dangers ahead.

At times like this, Xiao Fang wishes Liu Jin were here.

Liu Jin would have already healed the Elder Gang. Of that, there is no doubt in Xiao Fang's mind. Liu Jin would have helped them harvest that dragon and would have turned its body into pills they would have already eaten to grow stronger.

Yes, if Liu Jin were here, things would be much easier.

However, Liu Jin is not here. Instead of helping him bring the Xiao Sect under control, he has chosen to be foolish. When that servant of his arrived with a message from him, Xiao Fang did not want to believe its contents. However, the answers provided by that man when interrogated only confirmed the veracity of his story. Liu Jin did send him.

That idiot even sent those pills as an apology!

While they helped raise their cultivation level and were useful in bargaining with one particularly troublesome Branch Master, Xiao Fang would rather have Liu Jin at his side instead of him being off in that damned quest of his.

Does Liu Jin really believe he can unmake the balance in the Storm Dragon Empire?

Well, Xiao Fang supposes many would call his own quest foolish. Still, if he is foolish, Liu Jin is doubly so.

That absolute butthead.

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