— The Emperor's Imperial Record, Entry No.44 —
Azul and I walked up to the large gates of Lady Vespara's mansion, where a butler awaited us.
"You must not embarrass me, Khan, remember what I told you." I heard him, but I wasn't listening; he had repeated the same mantra at least fifty times on our way here.
The butler nodded to one of the guards, and they opened the gates for us to come in. "Welcome, Azul," he looked at me, "and you must be the hunter."
"Yes."
"Very good, come with me." And he led us through her mansion's oak-covered floors and pristine white walls to a large chamber guarded by only two large wooden doors. He knocked three times.
"You may come in."
And so Azul and I walked into a large, lit room with a grey-haired lady sitting atop a makeshift throne.
The butler bowed, gesturing for us to do the same. "My lady Vespara, I have brought the tanner."
"And my pelt?" I did not look up, but I was sure she was addressing Azul, "My lady," he figeted, "but I told you, we must wait for the right season before we get the skins."
She eyed him, then clicked her fingers one by one on the armrests of her throne. Azul hurried to finish what he was saying, "T-thats why I brought the hunter," he touched me on the arm, "he's even hunted a spirit beast before."
She raised an eyebrow at this, "You waste my time, tanning man. I only care about the Celestial leopard's skin."
"Yes, my lady, you see…" and from my position next to him, I could see a large droplet of water fall to the ground. Then another. They rolled down his chin.
"...I cannot give mortal men enough money to hunt a spirit beast—there's too much risk."
"And? Do you dare to defraud me?" She threw a jar of liquid at his head, the pieces of jewelry around her neck clanging together like bells. Azul didn't dare dodge. It smelled like perfume.
I didn't let her see the shock in my expression; my heart was racing like it was being drawn by a chariot.
"No, no, my lady, how would I provide you the skins without a hunter to acquire them for me?" He half-whimpered. A thin stream of blood stained his eye and travelled down to land in droplets. "I brought him here because he wants to negotiate."
'Is this why Azul is pretending to be so humble?'
The noble lady looked to her butler, and he gestured for me to speak. She had lain back on her throne and was now stifling a yawn. "May I raise my head, Lady Vespara?"
"Go ahead." I stood to my full height, back straight, and eyes looking forward but not directly at the noble lady. The action of bowing was a bitter taste in my mouth, but that wasn't what was most on my mind; I had to make this negotiation worth as much as I could. "I have heard from Azul that a stately lady like yourself has an extensive collection of books; the only thing that would rival it would be your beauty and your taste in decor." I pointed at the room around me and then at her necklaces.
I lied. It looked tasteless.
A half-amused smile appeared on her lips, and she looked directly at me for the first time.
'What did Azul say? To praise her looks?'
"A fair, noble woman such as yourself would not mind if I went through her library? If I can, I'll be able to learn more about the spirit leopard. What better way to increase my chances of returning alive with your skins?"
I included the last part because from the widening grin on her face, I was not sure whether she saw me as flesh and blood like herself or as one of the wooden toys little children and girls played with.
There was only one reason I was doing this: if, for some reason, she was able to release me from my deal with Wan Cheng, then I would like to become a merchant. I'd had the idea for a while, but there was no way I would be able to get that money for the foreseeable future.
"What boldness. Tell me, how old are you?" I raised my voice to speak, but she didn't let me, "No, no, hush. You are sure you can get me my skins?" She folded her legs back across the seat, voice low, but incredibly high-pitched.
"Yes, my lady."
"You may have access to my library," she cooed, "but only for two weeks, then you must hunt the leopard. I will not wait forever."
I hesitated. 'Should I ask for more?' But now was the time. I couldn't wait to be handed what I wanted on a silver platter.
In the forest, it didn't matter if you were a fox or a bear; if you didn't hunt, no animal would hop into your mouth.
"In that case, my lady, I would also like to ask one more thing." My hands were shaking now, in anticipation, 'I'll be free.' "There is a man named Wan Cheng. He holds a contract over me. Would you be able to sever it?"
"Wan Cheng? The commander? Hah!" she laughed, "ask for something else. He answers to far higher nobles than myself." She called for a servant to bring her a drink. "
Tanner, you'd best hope he is better at hunting than making decisions." She laughed so hard I was afraid she would drop onto the floor, her thin chest and arms heaving visibly with every inhale.
When she had stopped laughing, she continued, "Ask for something within my reach or leave my sight." She had returned to her cold demeanor from when we had first entered.
'What else should I ask for?' The deal with Wan Cheng was the only thing I was able to think about, and now I wouldn't be able to get that handled. I strained my mind thinking as I felt her stare down at me,
"Is it that you want me to repeat myself, hunter?"
Sweat beaded down my chest. 'What else?' I couldn't ask for cultivation manuals, and I doubted she would have them; there was only one thing I could ask for.
Money.
'In this world, cultivation was power, the next best thing was gold.' If I couldn't get the deal with Wan Cheng severed, then… "10 gold."
Azul staggered onto the ground, letting his hair mop the floor with more blood.
"As long as you get me my skins."
My eyes widened. 'Was she really going to give it to me?' "Since I will be hunting the spirit beast for you, would you be willing to give me three gold in advance?"
"Three gold?, Do you even know who you are speaking to? Do not push your luck, peasant." The butler surprised me by interjecting, and his mistress's face had turned to stone, "Leave. Get the task done."
The butler ushered us out.
'It was worth a try.' I needed to learn more, and that would be the real purpose of the library, I'd learn as much as I could from it, and when the time came, I wouldn't be left in the dark when I started wandering as a merchant.
Huo Feng dashed towards his master's home. The closer he got, the faster he moved. The grip and anticipation of finally having enough power to enact revenge were too strong for him to say no.
By his side, the sword hummed; he didn't know if it was from his imagination or from excitement, and he didn't care.
It took him only a few more strides, and he was there, but so were two other groups of people. The only problem was that he only recognised one of them.
Hung Lee.
The others were a thin, well-groomed man, with the air of royalty, and a large, dark-skinned man next to him who looked like he should have been the center of attention but somehow was able to sink into the edges of his perception.
*Crrr* He stopped. Huo Feng was sure he could fight Hung Lee, but he didn't know about that thin man standing atop the staircase, and he was certain there was no way to fight against the mountain of a man next to him.
The mountainous man reminded him of a saying, The hidden blade is more dangerous than the open sword.
Huo Feng, recognising that he was in the presence of his senior, bowed to the thin man in front of him. "Outer disciple meets inner sect senior." Then he repeated the same greeting for the burly man, ignoring Hung Lee.
Hung Zhen, who was Hung Lee's cousin, addressed Huo Feng as he was standing on top of the staircase. His shadow servant knelt right behind him. Everyone else was at the bottom.
Huo Feng didn't dare show his displeasure. "Inner sect senior, may this junior ask, where is elder Bai Sun?"
Out of nowhere, Hung Lee interjected, "Bastard, give me my sword!" and Huo Feng ducked in surprise, clutching the Jiang Ling sword. Hung Lee lunged at him. He turned his feet to run, 'They've found out!'
Hung Zhen broke out of his calm facade and barked, "Wait." But Huo Feng didn't listen, and Hung Lee looked like he was about to lunge again. The prince turned to his servant, "Stop them."
Like a shadow under the bright sun, the man slowly vanished but then instantly appeared next to Huo Feng, chaining him in place with shackles he had pulled out of seemingly nowhere. Huo Feng noticed his ring, 'A storage ring!'
And his face turned into one of despair, 'Father, mother, forgive me, this child has been unfilial.'
Lee was still aiming for Huo Feng, so Zhen's shadow servant, Li Dong, moved in front of him.
Lee ordered his shadow servant to hold off Li Dong while he went for the sword, but Zhen wasn't having that, so he ordered Li Dong to snatch the sword first.
Li Dong was faster, but Lee's shadow servant set off earlier, so they reached for the Jiang Ling sword at the same time.
But the second both of them touched the sword, it started to vibrate, then hum, and then it started shrieking. Little green scripts appeared on the body of the sword, and then white light erupted; if any mortal was around, it would have blinded them.
Everyone stared in shock.
Huo Feng himself started to bleed from his eyes. So did Lee. Only Zhen and the shadow servants were unaffected.
But Lee didn't care about his own health; he was still trying to get the sword from Huo Feng. Zhen shouted, "Stop." But only his shadow servant stopped, "You daft cousin, the thing is his bonded weapon now. You'll shatter it. Tell your shadow servant to stop."
Hung Lee immediately ordered him to stop.
It seemed they were at a standstill.