Chapter 614

Chapter 614

For most of his life, Goujian played the part of hunter and inquisitor, a misguided and deluded fool who ferreted out those who stumbled across the Truth

Much as he regretted all those wasted years in service to a lie, he still took pride in his skills and counted himself as second to none when it came to exposing the Chosen of Heaven for who they were. He learned that hiding in plain sight was far more effective than sticking to the shadows, for one needed an identity that could move freely about if one wished to investigate. Whether it be a beggar, a household servant, a patrolling soldier, or whatnot, a false identity afforded Goujian and his Aspirants the freedom to track their quarry without arousing suspicion. The only issue was that if your cover were ever compromised without your knowledge, then this left you vulnerable as it put the initiative in your quarrys hands. For this reason, it was always best to have an escape plan in place before infiltrating your enemies, and Goujians latest escape plan just so happened to start at the bottom of a stinking midden heap, where he lay still and silent as could be while doing his best to ignore the filth pooling around and on top of him.

Such was life, trials and tribulations without end, but after a few hours, he grew accustomed to the smell and even found this situation rather amusing. The thrill of the hunt was nothing compared to the dread of the hunted, and he relished the novelty in this reversal of roles. Hed come so far along the Martial Path, yet here he was hiding like a rat in a den of dragons, an exhilarating experience he might one day look fondly back upon after reaching the pinnacle of strength. It was so amusing, he almost let out a chortle, but there was a kitchen scullion emptying a barrel of kitchen waste nearby, so Goujian settled for a restrained smile instead.

There were drawbacks to embracing the Truth, and uncontrolled expression of emotion stood chief among them, but such was the price the Heavens demanded. True Balance was a tricky thing to get right, since one could hardly surrender to emotion and retain control at the same time. Too much or not enough, one was as disastrous as the other, which meant a few mishaps were bound to happen when progressing along the Razors Edge. It was not a Path of Balance nor Imbalance, neither Imperial nor Defiled, but both in one, True Balance as the Heavens intended. Embrace love and joy, give in to anger and hatred, wallow in grief and regret, indulge in relief and pleasure, for only then could one understand what it truly means to be human. This was Goujians Path, the True Human Path, for once he understood what it meant to be human, he could then divest himself of all mortal trappings and emerge as a being of pure Divinity.

And since this lofty goal finally appeared within reach, why did it matter if he had to lay in filth for a day or two to escape the powerful foes hunting him? Even a fearsome tiger can be brought low by a pack of wolves, and though Goujian was strong, he learned firsthand in Sinuji that there were always People beyond People, and Heavens beyond the Heavens.

Goujian only found True Balance a single time, just over six months ago in Sinuji. On that fateful day, he suffered grievous injury in the fires of war and there, on the brink of death, he surrendered to Balance and reforged his body using the Energy of the Heavens to become stronger than ever before. Impressive as his feat was, it was at best a partial success, for in his folly, he held too tightly to the reins of control and failed to wholly surrender to fate. Because of this, he denied himself the critical Insight and information he needed to properly design a new and improved body, leaving himself riddled with a myriad of unforeseen defects like poor heat dispersion, weak ligaments, overly dense muscles, lacking senses, and more. Alas, he had yet to find that elusive moment of perfect Balance once again and replicate even his partial success so as to correct some of his mistakes, but he was close, so close he could feel it.

Even defective and limited as it was, Goujians new form was formidable indeed, to the point where he only needed a few months of gruelling, agonizing training to reach the level of a half-step Divinity, or so the young Emperor claimed. In truth, Goujian believed even this much was being overly generous, because as impressive as his physical strength and durability might be, leathery skin and steely bones was no defence against Honed Spiritual Weapons. In high level exchanges, speed was king, and Goujians speed and reaction times were far from overwhelming, only marginally better than they were before his rebirth and in some ways, worse. Though able to move in straight lines at ridiculous speeds, he had to be careful when checking his momentum lest he tear his own muscles apart when moving at speeds too high for his flawed body to handle or stopping too suddenly. If not for this oversight on his part, he would have easily defeated Nian Zu in Sinuji, a man yet to unravel the true mysteries of the Heavens aside from the secrets which remained hidden inside his singular, signature move, the Shooting Star.

And even lacking in comprehension as he was, Nian Zu had been more than strong enough to teach Goujian how high the Heavens truly were in a mere ten exchanges. Even one had been enough, since the previous nine had been drawn out to buy time for the beleaguered Imperial soldiers, a warrior and general without compare. In contrast, Goujian was neither of these and counted himself a spy and assassin, which was simply the way of the world. Despite making prodigious improvements over the last six months, he was certain that if he were discovered hiding at the bottom of this midden heap, it would most certainly end in his death.

For Nian Zu was merely one among many Peak Experts residing in the Northern Citadel, which housed the midden heap Goujian was currently hiding in.

As for how he got here, well, he only had the Uniter to blame. The conniving schemer hadnt even bothered giving Goujian this task himself, and instead sent the young Emperor to pass along his plans, which were utterly lacking in detail. Though happy to wage war on the front lines and give the newly turned Chosen of Heaven time to learn and grow, the Uniter wanted his Wraiths in position to act against Imperial leadership should the opportunity present itself, but thus far, he had no success getting his Concealed killers past the Imperial defences. Thus, the task fell to Goujian, who happily accepted this fools errand to get away from his arduous, agonizing training before it could finally break him.

The Uniter was a bastard through and through, but a brilliant one, for a few errant words of advice did much to help Goujian along his Path and shore up the weaknesses of his physique, but it came at no small price. For months, he endured constant pain and suffering by day as various Demons pummelled him to near death, only to relive the same injuries while they healed naturally to become stronger than before thanks to the medicinal baths he soaked in overnight. Rinse and repeat, that was his life for far too long, but the results spoke for themselves as little by little, Goujians flaws diminished in severity allowing him to harness more and more of his strengths, tempered by the repeated beatings and healings. It seemed so obvious in retrospect, given the Penitent Brotherhoods penchant for self-inflicted torment, but were it not for sheer desperation, Goujian would not subject himself to such torture ever again. The pain turned seconds into minutes and minutes into hours, to the point where the last few months felt like decades to him, with each passing day filled with abject misery save for those few, precious moments of rest the Uniter afforded him to meditate on the Dao and possibly find True Balance once again.

Most of the time, Goujian merely wept, and when it came time for his training to begin anew, he wept some more. Why was a strong body even necessary if the end goal was to leave it behind and ascend to Divinity?

Regardless of his thoughts on the treatment, Goujian could not deny that it was effective, so he put his full effort into this venture in hopes of learning more from his wise Mentor. It became immediately apparent that the first group of infiltrators would have no chance of success, for they were all natural-born Defiled Wraiths from beyond Imperial borders, meaning they were unable to speak Common and utterly incapable of blending in. To remedy this, Goujian and the young Emperor picked out over three hundred candidates from among the newly Chosen and sent them to the Uniter to undergo the speedy, secretive training required to become a Wraith. Not ten days later, a little more than a third returned to Shi Bei looking pale, wan, and sickly, but while their strength had not improved by much, and in some cases even regressed, every last one of them knew how to innately Conceal with only a modicum of focus.

A shame Goujian was denied the opportunity to witness the process firsthand, but the young Emperor was refused access as well, so there was no helping it. The Uniter was a man of many secrets, and he guarded them fiercely as a mother bear guarded her cubs, and even the young Emperor was not privy to most of them, or so he claimed.

With the right people, the next part came to devising the right plan, and Goujian immediately cast aside the Uniters suggestions that he find a ship and sail east under Concealment or blaze a trail across the dangerous and impassable Arid Wastes. Instead, he led his hundred Chosen Wraiths out to the front lines, where they worked with a tribal Chieftain to isolate a no-name Imperial Captain and slaughtered them to the last man, whereupon their armour, weapons, and uniforms were confiscated by Goujians people. From there, it was simply a matter of marching east in full view of Imperial scouts and keeping a careful distance from other battered, retreating units, until they were close enough to sprint for the Azure Sea and swim past the heavy Imperial barricades at Sui Hua before disappearing into the Central grasslands, all in a single, exhausting night.

Difficult to mask the disappearance of an entire hundred man retinue, but by the time the Imperials tracked him down, Goujian intended to be hidden within plain sight once again.

With the first hurdle overcome, Goujian led his Chosen further east to a remote township of Central, where he made contact with a well-to-do merchant inside the Uniters network who was happy to vouch for their new identities. The majority of the Chosen Wraiths became sailors working on the merchants ships, while others found work as labourers, farmhands, and aspiring landowners under Falling Rains initiative to bring workers to the Western Border. Those poor, misguided souls were being herded to the border to become fodder for the Defiled, but they believed that runts silver-tongued lies and flocked to his districts in droves. An ambitious plan, sinking so much coin into a mere distraction, but as the Minister of Finance, Falling Rain had the coin to spare, and the lives of commoners were worth less than the dirt they tread upon in the eyes of the Imperial Clan.

All this was easy enough to accomplish, and soon, the majority of Goujians Chosen Wraiths were on their way to the Northern Citadel, save for the lone, six Defiled Wraiths the Uniter insisted Goujian keep. These half-dozen killers were an inhuman lot, their pasty grey skin and dark, shifty eyes painting them as insidious vipers not to be trusted, but he had strict orders to see them safely into the Citadel. A difficult prospect bringing obvious Defiled into one of the most heavily guarded fortifications in the Empire, a task made all the more daunting by Goujians newfangled physique. In Sinuji, he impersonated a common farrier before MuYang and the others betrayed him, and it had been simple enough. By day, he worked, and by night, he disappeared into his tent with large jars of alcohol, which was enough to explain his absence. Blending in at the Citadel would have been even easier, if not for the fact that his new appearance did not lend itself to subterfuge. Where he once possessed a lean, lanky frame which looked positively decrepit whenever he donned loose robes and hunched his back, he was now too tall, too large, too handsome, and too memorable to blend in, which meant he could never pass as a commoner.This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

So once again, Goujian relied on old tricks and dressed the Defiled Wraiths up as Western Warriors garbed in the draped head-wraps and face coverings associated with those barren desert lands. To get around their inability to speak proper Common, he cut out all their tongues to force them to converse only through Sending. Thankfully, these six understood enough civilized language to follow basic orders, and he concocted a fanciful story of how the six comrades had taken their own tongues away and taken an Oath of silence in a show of contrition for failing to defend their fallen province. This was a good enough story to get him and his companions into the Citadel, but it took some time to secure real clients, and then travel from the ass-end of Central to the Western border while fighting off every bandit with half a mind to earn a quick coin.

The Empire was at war, and competent Martial Warriors in high demand.

Despite watching everything through Scrying, Goujian couldnt fathom why the Death Corps Guard would step back, until he realized the truth of the situation. This was all an elaborate bluff on Yang Jixings part, because he did not have the authority to order Falling Rains death if no crime was committed, and could only order the Death Corps to bar anyones path into the building. Now, the savage runt was leaving his protectors behind and calling Jixings bluff, telling the Death Corps that the only way to stop him from going inside was to kill him, which their Oaths would not allow.

The unfortunate guard could neither move nor stand in place, and so, the Heavens exacted its toll from him as he fell to his knees gasping for breath. You need to order him to actually stop me or get out of my way, Rain said, his voice piercing and easily heard even from Goujians distant hiding place. Hell die if you dont. It would not be a quick death either, for the Heavens were merciful, but the Death Corps Guard had no recourse, for he was caught in a paradox. Bar everyones path, but to do so would kill an Imperial Scion, and thus, he could neither stay nor leave, and so he fought for breath even though the weight of his Oaths would not allow it. The nameless guards face turned red, then purple, his bulging eyes panicked and desperate as he clung to hope, but Jixing ignored it all from high above. Down below, Rain watched the poor guard choke to death on stage, and only Goujian and other Scrying eyes could see the conflict and pity in his expression as those amber eyes took in the slow suffering his presence was causing.

Then, inexplicably, Falling Rain stepped back, and the unfortunate Death Corps Guard finally drew breath, gasping and heaving as he collapsed to the stage. Raising his head to glare at Yang Jixings balcony, Rain asked, Are you really so spiteful? Even now, you refuse to compromise? You erred in arresting my father, erred in denying me the right to attend his trial, erred in setting the Death Corps to block my path without the proper justification, but you would rather loyal Imperials die than admit it, and now the entire Citadel sees you for the man you are. A bully who would happily spill Imperial blood to take what is not his, and a fool who abuses his authority and would risk rebellion in a time of desperate war rather than admit his wrongs. Yang Jixing, you are a wastrel and an idiot who is not fit to lead, and as such, I refuse to acknowledge your authority. Raising his voice for the first time since arriving in the square, Rain shouted, I accuse Yang Jixing with dereliction of duty and criminal misconduct in a time of war. Is there any Justicar willing to hear my case?

Much as he hated to admit it, Goujian was thoroughly impressed by Falling Rains political maneuvering. Though he might not have the law on his side, his actions proved that Yang Jixing was unwilling to compromise even the slightest to avoid bloodshed and conflict, while his words suggested this was a conflict based on greed and misconduct. Now, the Disciplinary Corps silence showed that they were complicit in Yang Jixings schemes, which lent credence to the claims of Baatars innocence. Coupled with the fact that Yang Jixing was an unknown, most would instinctively side with Baatar and Falling Rain, even though the former stood accused of treason and the latter was unlawfully demanding the freedom of an accused criminal.

And now it seemed like the boy would emerge victorious from this Imperial conflict, all without bloodshed or rebellion. Whoever was pulling Falling Rains strings was no less brilliant than the Uniter, which explained why the old schemer was so reluctant to proceed. A warrior barring your path was a threat one could plan for, but a hidden mastermind lurking in the shadows? Difficult, truly difficult to defend against.

I, Colonel General Nian Zu, call into question the competence of the new Legate, Yang Jixing. Dropping his Concealment, the Living Legend appeared on the edge of stage with fist clasped in a military salute, standing behind Falling Rain to support him while still keeping enough distance between them to appear neutral. This servant requests the Disciplinary Corps to hear his case.

I, Major General Han BoHai, call into question...

I, Lieutenant General Situ Jia Yang, call into question...

I, Brigadier...

I, Colonel...

I Captain...

As more and more Imperial Officers revealed themselves to support Falling Rains accusations, the pieces of the Uniters plan finally all fell into place, and Goujian cursed himself a fool for not seeing it sooner while marvelling at how naturally the Defiled mastermind had manoeuvred everything into place. Earlier, Goujian had cursed his allies for not biding their time and picking their targets, but who knew how long it would be before a Peak Expert like Nian Zu would let his guard down? This was not the Northern Wall, where he had a manor to reside in, and there was no way to tell if a given opportunity was an ambush set to force the Wraiths to reveal themselves. Now, the Northern Armys greatest Military Officers were all gathered in one place, voluntarily coming out of Concealment for all to see, and Goujian would not let this opportunity pass. Even before the Uniters painful Sending arrived in his mind, he had already stealthily launched himself out of the midden heap and Concealed himself, his presence going unnoticed amongst so many Concealed Imperials coming out to lend support or simply enjoy the show. Never one to leave things up to chance, Goujian went one step further and Concealed himself from probing Domains as well as the physical senses. The concept remained the same, but the execution was different, in that rather than his Concealment being just an extension of his Domain, it also incorporated his Aura as well to emanate a second layer of obfuscation.

Yet another of the myriad possibilities hidden within Aura, alongside the mysteries of Oration and other such Talents the Uniter would not share with Goujian, but the Heavens would reveal all in good time.

There stood Nian Zu on stage in plain sight, hands clasped and head lowered in supplication to the Disciplinary Corps hidden within, a man of honour and integrity, unlike his Imperial Masters. Goujian scowled as he watched from the rooftop of a nearby restaurant and waited for opportunity to present himself. The Uniter wanted him to wait, said that one death must come first before all others, and Goujian disapproved, assuming the old schemer valued Falling Rains death over that of Nian Zu. A foolish trade, killing the boy and giving a chance to the General to go free, but Goujian still needed the Uniters wisdom for the time being.

More and more Officers revealed themselves until their voices all ran together, the message always the same and rarely changing. In a single day, a single action even, Yang Jixing had lost the Norths confidence, and the fiercely independent northerners would not be quick to forget this. The inept youth in question loomed over the crowd with a face red with rage, his veins throbbing and teeth cracking beneath the force of his gritted teeth, helpless to act but unwilling to accept defeat. What a disappointing Imperial Scion, but this, more than anything, proved to Goujian that the Imperials were no better than the rest of humanity, and only their stranglehold on the secrets of the Martial Path kept them in power. No wonder they recruited almost every Martial Warrior of note, bringing them away from the outer provinces and binding them with Oaths so that their precious secrets would never be revealed, and Goujian once again swore to tear down the Imperial facade of lies and bring Truth to all who would hear it.

Then, with barely a warning, the Uniter called Goujian to action as a Defiled Wraith, one of Goujians comrades still dressed in Western garb, neatly separated Yang Jixings head from his shoulders, in full view of thousands of loyal Imperials.

How the Uniter could have planned this all in advance, Goujian would never know, but the unpredictable scheme unfolded beautifully before his very eyes. The Wraith died before finishing the follow through to his attack, his heart skewered by the sword of a bearded Imperial who appeared a fraction of a second too late, ruddy cheeks blazing with fury as he roared, Rebel filth! You dare sully Imperial honour and ally yourself with the Enemy?! Death Corps and Royal Guardians, arrest the traitor Falling Rain! Slaughter all who resist!

Cackling with delight, Goujian drew upon the full strength of his reforged body and launched himself towards his foe, collapsing the roof beneath his feet and savouring the truncated screams which emerged from within. The distance between him and his target closed in an instant, but even this was enough time for Nian Zu to react, his head turning, feet moving, and mace rising to see, dodge, and intercept the perceived threat, but it was too little too late. Time slowed as Goujian watched his hooked sword scythe through the air, hurtling in an arc which would pass clean through his foes neck. Despite holding all the advantages, he knew that this was a game of millimetres and marvelled at the still Living Legends strength. Instead of cleanly decapitating him, Goujians sword just barely opened Nian Zus throat in a spray of arterial blood, and the taste of salty victory was more divine than Goujian had ever imagined. The shocked disbelief in Nian Zus eyes made it all the better, his brow furrowing in confusion before raising in denial as his body gave out, only for his eyes to narrow in anger and finally, ease into acceptance. There, in his final moments of clarity, Nian Zu gazed upon his killer, and Goujian smiled back.

I warned you in Sinuji, did I not? Goujians voice came out as barely more than a whisper, but the Living Legend could hear him well enough. You should have guarded your head better, because I always accomplish what I set out to achieve.

And just like that, the Living Legend Nian Zu, lived no more.

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