Huang Jin went still for a moment. The cold stone walls of the antechamber rang with the words.

  It felt like a slap to the face, but he did not reel from it. No; a question had just been created, and his subconscious raced to find an answer before he allowed himself to react. The question: why didn’t that hurt more?

  Sure, he knew that he had been thrown away, that knowledge had entirely shaped the last four years of his life. But there was the venom, and this was his sister. It should have been like a knife to the gut, not a slap.

  He got it. This girl, despite sharing his exact likeness, was a stranger. That’s all there was to it. He didn’t know this person, and that knowledge dragged against his very soul. But he knew sad. He could operate under sad.

  So he shrugged, and gave her the best smile he could manage. “I am a faithful servant of the Empire. I don’t dare act on interpretations, only on our Father’s word.”

  For an instant, her face contorted- a twist of fury before she managed to lid her emotions. With her face again serene, she shot back. “That’s a rather lazy attitude for an heir to take, is it not?”

  “Heir? Ah, but I’m on my Dao Journey. Right now, I’m only a wandering cultivator.” Grinning with a sudden surge of inspiration, he performed a perfect bow. “Therefore! This Huang Jin greets you, First Princess Yulong Bai Shanyao. How can this humble alchemist serve you?”

  Bowing in this fashion prominently displayed Baoshi, who remained frozen. If she cared at all about the dragon, it didn’t show in her surging qi. The prince didn’t need to see the girl’s face to sense her rage; it washed over him in waves.

  “You know, dear brother, groveling might well suit you,” she spat. He looked up just in time to see the tenuous mask of calm reassert itself. She must have been making a doozy of a face, because Baoshi grabbed on much tighter as Huang Jin straightened.

  Before he could say another word, a new source of power stole away his focus. It cloaked itself to avoid overwhelming all in its vicinity, but now that it was nearby… pure Wood qi, shining like the sun and walking like a man. It shone so brightly that the prince had to intentionally dampen his energy senses to adjust. An elderly man with a resplendent grey beard and sapphire eyes stood in the doorway.

  This had to be Elder Fu. Had he really studied under this being for nine years? But back then he didn’t have his Master’s techniques for qi control and detection. Now, he found proximity to this Elder to be profoundly humbling.

  At first, Cai Fu only noticed his charge. “There you are, girl. What-” When his eyes fell on Huang Jin, he cut off mid-sentence, mouth hanging open.

  No one spoke for a moment. The two Imperial servants didn’t even twitch. Bai Shanyao turned to the Elder, inclining her head in respect. “Please forgive me for wandering off, Elder. I had some minor business with one of the suppliers.”

  Elder Fu recovered. “Ah, I see. You may carry on, then,” he said. As his gaze returned to the prince, he looked like he had more to say… much more.

  “Thank you for your forbearance, Elder.” When she returned to speaking to her brother, the vitriol had reduced down to a simmer. “I would like to commission two bottles of your ‘Perfect-Balance Spirit Refining Pills,’ alchemist. Specifically a version made for the Advanced Realm. The Household would offer two silk notes for each.”

  Off-balance as he was, Huang Jin considered this. The thought of outright refusing didn’t even cross his mind, given the circumstances. He’d have to adjust the ingredients, but with the Zodiac he could make such a thing quite easily… and that was a lot of money for the effort.

  He looked to his Master, who had remained silent so far. He didn’t need to ask her for permission; she had already cleared him to work on commission. But he did not have permission to reveal the location of her grotto. “Master, where would you prefer for the pickup location?”

  “City of Songying in the White Mountains province, right outside the main gate to the governor’s compound, high noon in three weeks. Half in jade coins and half in gold, all in open chests. I want that fat fuck to see this,” she answered instantly.

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  At this, the tense Elder seemed to loosen somewhat. He even chuckled. “Hah! It is good to see that you haven’t changed in three thousand years, Lady Dahe!”

  She shook her head in turn. “Young, handsome Cai Fu. In the grand scheme of things, three thousand is a rounding error.”

  “All my life, a rounding error?” He did keep laughing… but a twinge of sadness entered those old features. “Your tongue is a fearsome weapon indeed. If only I could make some rebuttal…” He switched his attention to Bai Shanyao, then, as if to change the subject. “If your business has been concluded to your satisfaction, it’s past time we departed.”

  “Of course, Handsome Elder,” she replied, and made to leave with her coterie. The First Princess and her two guards filed out at a gesture from the Elder. Fu lingered for a moment, conflict plain on his face.

  Finally, he turned to Huang Jin. “First Prince. I’m… glad to see you well. I… we all look forward to your return to the Palace next year.” Again, there was that look as if he had more to say.

  The prince bowed his head. “Thank you, Elder Fu. I will return bearing much treasure.”

  A little ghost of a smile, and Elder Fu turned to leave with the others, taking his proper position at the head of the procession.

  An impulse struck Huang Jin as they left, one he could not ignore. He stepped out of the antechamber and into the hall while the party was still close enough that he didn’t have to yell.

  “Sister! I know I’ve given you ample reasons to hate me. I know. But I promise, I will never be your enemy.” He packed as much feeling into the words as his voice could carry. Uncouth it might have been, but if he missed this chance he wouldn’t get another for an entire year.

  She didn’t turn around. She didn’t even stop walking. “I think I’m quite capable of choosing my own enemies,” she said, not the slightest twinge of emotion marring her voice. And then they were gone.

  The prince slunk back into the room, closing the door behind and practically collapsing back into the stone chair. Baoshi floated from his place on his ‘father’s’ back onto the table, to receive consolation. The dragon, too, had been deeply disturbed. Huang Jin began the task of calming him, running his fingers over the jade-like scales as he ruminated.

  Master broke the heavy silence by clearing her throat. “Ahem. Mi mi mi, look at me, I’m a Young Mistress! I’m gonna walk into a private room, be a giant fuckin’ bitch, and then walk back out!” Her voice was a perfect mimicry of Bai Shanyao’s, down to the slightest note.

  In spite of everything, the prince couldn’t help but laugh. Really… what else could he do?

  -

  The grand carriage of the Household departed well after nightfall, leaving the pale glow of the Hallowed Rift behind. Floating above the paving-stones and pulled by a pair of ancient, bestial stone constructs, it suited the grandeur of its occupants.

  The young princess had long since let the road lull her to sleep like a babe, leaving Elder Cai Fu alone with his thoughts once again. It was a pity, about those two children… they had always been so close, before ‘the trouble.’

  What did she want from this excursion, after all? Why did the Empress send her here? Certainly, the Rosegold Paragon had sure knowledge regarding the First Prince’s location. Perhaps she tracked him via some technique of the Tribes, or perhaps General Xing and his intelligence network played a role. The Great General had been seen to ‘pay his respects’ to the meditating Empress rather often. Had she roped him into her conspiracy?

  Either way, there would be no hiding it now. News of this day would spread like a wildfire, far and wide… and all those who heard would sleep better for it. All but one, at least. The Peace Between East and West still lived.

  Lived? Elder Fu shifted in his seat as he reconsidered the events of the Auction. The boy didn’t just live. A great power, ancient even by the Empire’s standards, had taken him as an apprentice. An auspicious young dragon with jade-green scales blessed him with its presence. He retained that engaging enthusiasm that had always marked him for greatness. Most importantly, he created an elixir that could shake the very foundations of the Heavens, and presented it as though it were some commonplace trinket at a barker’s stall.

  And now, through Bai Shanyao, the Household had officially commissioned a cultivation resource from him. It was a worthy transaction; he’d inspected the prince’s products himself before they departed. They were of truly superlative quality, uncannily so for his low level of qi.

  The boy was now a promising alchemist of tangible use to the Sect of the Imperial Household. Was that it? Did the Empress seek to reconcile him back into… that man’s graces?

  If so, it proved how little she knew of the Emperor’s character. Did she mean to increase her son’s value? He was already objectively indispensable to the Empire’s future, and he had been tossed aside anyway. There was no reasoning with-

  Cai Fu withheld the thought, again, for the hundredth time. Unhelpful, dangerous, and treasonous.

  He laid the matter aside for the moment, and allowed himself to slip into meditation. Great things had happened, and much yet might come of them. Maybe it really would be enough to sway even that one. Maybe.

  He would need to speak to the Empress again, that much was certain.

  The carriage floated on through the night.