Chapter 208: Winter

Chapter 208: Winter

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By now, Yi Jiao should have reached Rumbling Thunder City and presented the evidence of Duke Lais treachery. Soon enough, General Dan will summon Duke Lai. If Duke Lai answers the summons, he will face a trial, his treachery will be exposed, and he will be punished. If Duke Lai tries to ignore them, he will face punishment anyway. Either way, the supplies will be freed, and they can all start focusing on more important matters. All Liu Jin needs to do is wait.

That had been the plan.

Lady Bai! Liu Jin shouts, doing his best to hold on to Bai Wens hooded cloak as she flies through the clouds. Are you sure this is a wise idea?

Naturally! she replies.

Bai Wens Qi brims with unshakeable confidence as she transmits her words through Qi. At the speed she is flying, it would be impossible for them to communicate otherwise. Liu Jin can almost imagine the bright smile on her face under her veil and cloak.

Duke Lai is an evil man, is he not? for new novels

That is fairly possible, Liu Jin replies, willing himself not to look down. A fall from this height wouldnt kill him, but that doesnt mean he wants to think about it. At the very least, we know hes working with those Beyond the Dead Plains.

Exactly! Bai Wen says. Hes allowed their taint inside him and might even be working their vile arts on his citizens. Should we really let a man like that do as he wishes while we wait for General Dan to act? That sort of roundabout scheme is for lesser people.

That sort of roundabout scheme is what Liu Jin is counting on.

Nay! That is not wise at all! Bai Wen continues. Action must be taken!

The clouds part and reveal Stone River City. It is but a small dot in the distance.

It must be swift!

The dot grows bigger. Already Liu Jin can make out the individual tiles on Duke Lais castle.

It must be decisive!

Bai Wen does not stop.

~~~

Song Daiyu has had a difficult time lately.

Ever since Jin brought her a host of unfortunate news, her objective in Stone River City has changed. All her plans have gone up in smoke, but she cannot let Duke Lai know that. She has to act as though things are proceeding as planned.

While there is a certain element of challenge to it she quite enjoys, Song Daiyu still finds herself lamenting the loss of such a potentially lucrative deal. She cannot even sign too many agreements with Duke Lai because being associated with him will soon be a minus in the Storm Dragon Empire. The best she can get out of him now is permits.

Such a pity.

Today is another one of the days she has been summoned before Duke Lai. The man does it quite often, likely so he can feel important by association. These visits become rather trying on her.

The ceiling caving in is almost a welcome reprieve.

Almost.

The entire castle is rocked as though it has been seized by an earthquake. Wood and stone break without end as something crashes into the castle and breaks through several floors all the way into Duke Lais main hall. The servants scream as they head for the exit. Song Daiyus faithful bodyguard, Shitou, puts his large body in front of her to protect her.

Alas, there is no need for it. Despite the chaos, no rubble lands on her or any of the servants.

The one who broke into the castle saw to that.

And it must be just.

Song Daiyu pales as the dust clears up to reveal someone who can only be Lady Bai Wen standing mere feet away from Duke Lai. Though she is covered from head to toe in a cloak, there is no way she could ever mistake that Qi. Right beside her, Song can see Jin struggling to regain his bearings after such an entrance.

You outsiders are all the same. You look down on us and judge us as though you were our superiors and dictate how we should handle our affairs, Duke Lai says, leveling a finger at her. You believe yourself to be above all, yet there are those even above you. You dare call me a villain for allying myself with them? Foolishness.

Foolishness? Bai Wen echoes. Look at yourself! Though you are in the Heaven Realm, you have become nothing more than a corpse! Its unnatural!

Nature does not dictate what becomes of us, Duke Lai counters. As he speaks, the city begins rumbling. It is because I became a corpse that I reached the Heaven Realm!

What?

Duke Lai laughs, happy to have finally shocked Bai Wen.

Surprised? It is only natural. Those of us who live on this side of the Dead Plains are so limited in what we consider possible. However, I have been granted their knowledge and become something more.

Corpses rise around the city. They pile on top of each other and meld into towers of flesh that rise high into the sky before twisting and converting into a single spot.

All the corpses converge on top of Duke Lai.

He laughs as the towers of corpses bury him completely and break his castle. Liu Jin blinks as a sphere of ice suddenly materializes around him and floats him to safety. It is not just him. Bai Wen creates spheres of ice around every person in the castle and uses them to evacuate them before the castle crushes them.

From the rubble, a mass of dead flesh rises. It twists into a facsimile of a man. A faceless giant with bubbling and rotten flesh. It is so big it looms over the city. The abomination brims with the power of a cultivator in Heaven Realm, yet Liu Jin also senses it is somehow less than the Fleshcrafters creations.

Do you see now? A twisted maw opens on the giants face. However, it is Duke Lais Qi that spreads his words for all the city to hear. This is power beyond you. With their arts, my being has fully transcended its flesh, leaving me free to focus on reaching higher mysteries.

I see. Bai Wen says. She does not bother using her Qi to speak this time. It is only because Liu Jin is close that he can hear her. Its almost like she is talking only to herself. In other words, you were nearing your natural death, and their arts allowed you to live long enough to enter the Heaven Realm. I understand how that might have appealed to you.

As she speaks, the giant Duke Lai brings down a massive fist on top of Bai Wen. As it draws closer, Liu Jin can see the hundreds of corpses wiggling in that single fist.

Pitiful.

The fist stops and freezes before shattering into a million tiny pieces.

You pathetic fool, Bai Wen says to the stunned Duke Lai. You gained time but focused on the wrong things. That dead body of yours could never nourish your soul properly. You gained the raw power of a Heaven Realm cultivator, but your soul is weak and frail.

Bai Wen raises a single finger.

Still, Ill thank you for acting as I thought a man like you would. You called upon all the dead flesh you had gathered to show your superiority. That saves me the trouble of having to search the city for your taint.

Arrogant wench!

Duke Lai throws himself at Bai Wen.

Bai Wen points at him.

Liu Jin blinks and, in doing so, opens his eyes to a city covered in softly falling snow. All is silent, and there is not a single roof in the city that has not been painted white.

The giant Duke Lai is completely frozen over, turned into nothing more than a giant ice statue. It stays like that for a few seconds before shattering into nothingness. Only the small form of Duke Lai is left unconscious on the ground.

That is one problem solved, Bai Wen says. A sphere of ice materializes around Duke Lai to keep him prisoner. She turns towards Liu Jin. Shall we go to Rumbling Thunder City now?

Liu Jin stares.

Not even half an hour.

That is how long it had taken for everything to happen. A problem that had stumped Liu Jin for weeks had been solved just like that. Bai Wen defeated Duke Lai and made it look easy.

Power.

This is power.

~~~