Molting the Mortal Coil

That laugh of hers was still as unsettling as it had always been. Even if she was as lovely as a flower, that creepy laugh and the fact she could poison someone to death in an instant were likely the block to many a romantic thought. This revelation tempered his annoyance at being drawn into this situation. Distracting him from the current event enough that he actually let the look of pity spill onto his features, “I’m sorry you have to be involved in all this, Xiezi.”

Her face fell for a moment, and then twisted in disgust, “I didn’t come here for your pity. You’re wasting my good intentions!”

“You want me to support your side, and not the other. I’ve been involved in enough nonsense lately, I just want to rebuild my clan in peace.”

“Two tigers can not share a mountain. My Great Elder already tried to keep things peaceful, but the Jinxi will not rest until they tear us down.”

Sage frowned, “I do consider us friends, but I am the only one in my clan that remains. I cannot let my ancestors down, the Lang Clan must not end with me.”

Xiezi hissed with anger and that tiny scarlet scorpion jumped out from her collar and pointed its stinger at him. Then she threw up her hands in exasperation and the motion nearly threw off the little scorpion. Its little pincers grasped the collar of her robes and it squeaked in outrage. Sage bowed his head, cupping his fist to salute her and she grumbled while turning and walking away.

“You’re a fool! You think they care about you? The Jinxi are the ones that decided there was nothing left of value in the Lang Clan and simply accepted a gift from Windflame Sect so they could take the culprit as a disciple.”

She couldn’t resist dropping one last line as she was walking away, then she leapt up and disappeared over one of the walls. Of course, she hadn’t entered his courtyard in the normal manner because she didn't want to be seen by the Jinxi people across the street that were likely to be constantly monitoring his courtyard.

Unfortunately, the gentle treatment Sage had been receiving so far came to an end. Having spent nearly a month in the Chong Clan, he only wished to leave. He said as much to Jinxi Shi, giving her an extremely generous gift of Spirit Stones as thanks for her work as his guide here. He informed her of his wish to depart, but she did not agree.

“Are you sure, Mister Lang? I was told you would be our guest for quite some time. If you wish to go, I’ll have to report it to my superiors. I think many people will wish to see you off, so please wait a few days so we can prepare a proper send off for you.”

Technically, he was subordinate to the Chong Clan in two ways, both as a City Lord and as a Branch Clan. It was in his best interests to remain on their good side, or they might try to take back Lionheart Town. Worse, they might just decide they no longer needed his Branch Clan. They’d already shown how little they cared when it was nearly wiped out and they barely did anything in retaliation.

So pragmatic. They considered my clan spilt milk and would rather earn resources than expend them in revenge. Truly heartless.

The Lang Clan were merely seen as expendable foot soldiers to them. With them already dead, their value was already gone. While they might have fought to protect them, by the time they learned about it, the Lang were already dead. Sage also knew that he mattered little to the Chong Clan at the moment. A single Nascent Soul was quite powerful, but even with Ruanfu, the two of them could barely put up a fight against one of the Chong Family Factions. If all five of the factions came against them, they would stand no chance, let alone if they pulled some of the Branch families along with them.

Sage was expecting there would be another gathering of some sort from the way that Jinxi Shi worded things, but later that day he was met with something else. A dozen men in black masks showed up on his doorstep. Wu Faction. Their faces were covered with a dozen glossy black eyes, the brownish black chitin of their masks covered from their forehead down to their upper lip and extended back on both sides to partially cover their ears. On either side of their mouth was a large mandible, a tiny arm with a spiked tip, which made it look like they each had a huge pair of fangs.

Given their identical looks and their hidden faces, Sage had a hard time telling the Wu Faction members apart from each other, but he recognized the gaudy golden amulet the lead man was wearing. He had been close to the Wu Elders at Sage’s introduction meeting, and one of the ones showing the most disdain. As soon as Tujiu opened the door, a pair of them pushed their way inside and started prowling around the entrance yard like they were looking for hidden foes. Then they took up positions to either side of the door to the manor, like they were sentries, or more accurately like they were cutting on Sage’s escape route. The entrance yard was just a small square yard between the gate on the outer wall and the entrance to the manor house. It was a place a guest could keep their horses, umbrellas, or any other objects they didn’t wish to dirty up the house with, yet still leaving them protected by the walls.

The other men in the group filed into the small yard, pushing Tujiu back with their numbers. Soon enough, they had blocked the main gate and spread out in a semi-circle to surround Sage. Tujiu jostled with a few of them, but then he cried out in pain and was kicked over to the ground next to Sage. The bald man grabbed his left forearm and Sage saw there was a black mark underneath his fingers. Poison!

Rage shot through him, and Sage glared at the new arrival, “What is the meaning of this? Who dares poison my subordinate?! Can you handle the responsibility?”

The leader of the group laughed and his cronies joined him, the group of them seeming to think his words were a great joke. After a few moments of that, his lips curled into a smile and Sage was quite sure he had a gloating look on his face, “He dared to resist these great members of Chong Wu. He should be happy we aren’t charging him for that poison, that venom is quite expensive after all.”

Thoroughly enraged, Sage closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again. Then his mouth opened and he spit with violent force upon one of the masked men. There was a loud bang as the man was thrown backward and smashed against the wall, knocking some of the cobblestone and tiles loose. He slid down to the ground and cried out in pain. The crude sound and vulgar gesture added more insult to the action, making all of their jaws drop in stunned silence.

It took them a moment to realize what had happened and then their auras flared to life and they flooded the small yard with energy, ready to pounce upon Sage and Tujiu, but at that moment the leader held up his hand, halting them all in place.

“Can you handle the responsibility of hurting a man of my Chong Wu?” sneered the man.

Sage laughed, all his reservations about staying out of this conflict suddenly washed away like the tide. He suddenly felt quite free, these bastards made his path quite clear. Forgive me Ancestor, your task might end up taking a few more decades or centuries to be fulfilled.

With a wide smile on his face, he reached out into the world and his Qi resonated with that of the world around him. His smile widened and a thick white mist spilled from his lips, sinking to the ground and rolling outwards like a wave. He lifted one hand and stretched out his fingers just as the mist curled up around each of the Centipede men. Then he closed his fist and they felt the world twist around them. That heavy mist sunk into their bodies and in just a few breaths they were drenched in sweat. Their throats tightened from dryness and their mouths grew scratchy, like they’d been marching through a desert for days.

“You dare to cause trouble for a Nascent Soul? Who taught you little brats manners?”