Molting the Mortal Coil

Wan Ling looked like she wanted to give him a slap for acting as if he was a child trying to get excused from a responsibility and not equal partners in their business. She said nothing and instead just looked up at the sky and let out a sigh. Sage hadn’t yet left and so she just waved her hand dismissively at him since she didn’t feel like dealing with any more of his antics at the moment.

Sage slipped away and let out a sigh of his own. Dealing with that woman was truly difficult. He was eager to avoid her wrath, fearful of losing her assistance, and also worried about their relationship deepening. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her, but he was already engaged after all. The Lang Clan Ancestor had been a major help in him surviving to this far, so he couldn’t ruin the Ancestor’s arrangements. He could sense there could be more to their relationship, but he chose to flee in order to avoid future complications.

Since Wan Ling hadn’t denied his proposals for Lionheart Town, Sage moved forward with his plans and for the next step he needed a little more assistance. He planned to hire on a few experts, but the talents he needed could not be found in Lionheart Town. He planned to take a trip over to Golden Cricket Cove, the provincial capital, and that thought had him walking back to where he’d just left Wan Ling.

“Ahem. I was planning on going on a little trip and inviting all the Tiankong Siblings. I know you’re quite busy with many things to do, but perhaps you’d like to see the capital of Ten Thousand Wave Province?”

“Such a kind invitation, how could I not take it?”

Sage sensed an undertone of sarcasm, but the tone of her voice and the smile on her face said differently. Yet, Sage trusted his instincts and believed that she was unhappy with him at the moment. Eh, don’t push it. Better to just take the win!

He scampered off and gathered up the Tiankong Siblings. Jiyao, the cocky pretty boy. Juzui, the short red-haired gentleman. Baozhai, the leggy brunette big-sister type. Tujiu, the hairless violent spearman. Songji, the sweet and innocent sounding girl, that wore a leather catsuit and specialized in assassination. Last, but not least, Ruanfu. The hawk and dragon-like mix with the most powerful pedigree, an arrogant girl with snowy white hair and piercing blue eyes. Oh, and there was also Ruanfu’s fiance, the european looking Wanqian Lei with his blue eyes and golden hair.

Wan Ling also joined them along with two of her assistants. A young woman and an old man with a large and burly stature. One that Tujiu was already sizing himself up against. Sage didn’t want to waste time on this trip, he planned to use the Merciful Mollusk to travel the Golden Cricket Cove. The instant travel and short duration of the trip was the reason that everyone was coming along. Normally, the plan was to have a Nascent Soul always on guard in Lionheart Town, but since it was only a day trip then they made an exception.

They used their identification tokens for the Merciful Mollusk and tracked their way back to the hidden door on a rock in the woods. Since they already knew its location the journey to it from Lionheart Town only took a few hours by Airship. The assassins that had led him to this transportation array had taken a few days to travel the same distance in order to cover their tracks and also because they couldn’t fly. The route was far more direct by air.

There was no cost to take the array to the Merciful Mollusk, but they would have to pay to head back. Wan Ling and her assistants also spent extra to get an identification token to reduce the costs. They were already impressed that a group had set up hidden Transportation Arrays and were already eager to make use of them for their business. It seems the Tiankong Siblings didn’t want to tell Wan Ling so she wouldn’t interrupt their vacation trips.

Over the two years he’d been gone, the five of them had been visiting Golden Cricket Cove every so often. So, they were eager to lead them all to some of the best restaurants they had found. The group of nearly a dozen spent a small fortune on a huge feast at a very fancy restaurant and then went to a few great places for sightseeing. Since it was called 10,000 Wave Province, it was a place with plenty of water. Lionheart Town had a few nearby lakes and rivers, but Golden Cricket Cove was on the edge of a sea. Adding on the unusual appearance of the city, with the roofs of all the buildings being grassy gardens and the streets being paved with what looked like gold flecked stones, it made for quite an interesting place with some astounding views.

After playing around with them for a few hours, Sage finally made an excuse to leave. They were already gearing up to go to the beach, but he wasn’t in the mood to get sand everywhere so he declined.

Wan Ling was going to do the same, but Sage insisted that she take some time to relax. He even pointed at her, “You should get a little sun, you look a little pale. I’ve been gone for two years, so I need to make up for lost time. You, on the other hand, have been working hard so you deserve a break! Keep an eye on those kids for me, they’re always getting into trouble.”

Sage scuttled out of there at high speed once again, not realizing that he was sending somewhat mixed signals. He was too focused on the reasons for this trip to pay attention. He paid a local kid to act as a guide and first found a place to recruit some builders. While the sewer he planned to build wasn’t common, it wasn’t a foreign concept. Many of the cities had large drainage systems to deal with rain and floods, especially in 10,000 Wave Province. He hired a dozen of the most skilled architects and engineers and gave them the rest of the day to prepare. He didn’t need them badly enough to spend hundreds of Spirit Stones each to send them through the Transportation Array, but he planned to put them on an airship with an escort to lead them to Lionheart Town.

The next item on the agenda was far more interesting, to Sage at least, consisted of a trip to a Beast store. In the Dou Kingdom, the selling of Spirit Animals and Demonic Beasts did not fall under the influence of the Four Major Businesses. So, there were plenty of shops that sold such beasts, just like that shop that had been so influential to him back in Red Knife City of Shou Kingdom. Strange Creatures. It was a weird name, but he had no idea that inside that shop he’d find that toad with the hypnotic eyes that had caused him so much trouble. Of course, the shop he was looking at now was not named Strange Creatures, he was just doing a little reminiscing while looking over the many businesses that lined the Golden Market. Sage had to admit it was quite a stylish name for the business district of a city and with a little jealousy resolved to come up with something suitably impressive for Lionheart Town.

Hmm, Lion. Mantis. Golden Lion? Too much of a ripoff. Lion Mantis? I wonder if there’s a mantis that has a big lion’s mane? Maybe I should make one, but don’t many mantis females bite the heads off the males when they mate? How would that make sense with lions and their harems? Lion Mantis is a bad idea, check.