Xin reached the Border Guard fort atop a horse he took off the dead shaman — it just stood on the mist-laden field, petrified, refusing to run away. In a way, it felt like a gift from the plague spirit.
"That's a sect token!" A soldier atop the fort's wall shouted out. "Newbie, come verify!" He ordered someone, and the portcullis gates soon rose with a groan, a short man in a threadbare military uniform hurrying up to Xin, distressed. A guest like this was seldom good news.
"Halt, it's unsafe to approach!" Xin pointed his dented meteoric sword at him. "I'm Master Xin, Five Elements Transition sect."
"Huh, what does the Master mean?" The soldier stopped dead in his tracks.
"I might be carrying a malady of some sort. Summon a higher rank for inspection, soldier. I bear critical intel." Xin spoke authoritatively.
"Ehmm…" The young soldier turned suspicious, but soon gestured to wait and ran away, leaving Xin to smile somberly, head resting on his horse's mane.
A minute later, the patrolman on the wall called down:
"Master Xin, I sent for the medic! Please forgive us for the inconvenience, but you'll have to wait a bit more."
Xin shrugged. Not the worst hindrance in the past few days.
"Oh, I don't think it will be necessary." A gentle voice spoke from behind the soldier's back. Once its owner came into view, the officer immediately kowtowed.
"Commander, reporting immediately! Master Xin has…"
"Hush, youngling." The man addressed the subordinate, who was in his late thirties. "This won't be necessary. I see that master Xin is perfectly fit, and free of illness. Please tend to his horse, I'll lead our guest upstairs."
The fort's captain finally emerged floating from behind the tooth-shaped battlements, his presence as majestic as the last time — each movement easy and graceful, golden hair waving with the wind, warm eyes gleaming with quiet power. Xin couldn't help but smirk. What a showman.
"Greetings, master." Xin bowed deeply, performing a martial gesture, then dismounted. The floating master nodded and finally landed on the ground.
"Hm, Foundation stage already? Not surprised. Your soul's development is also superior to most rank ones." He smiled warmly, then leaned in and whispered. "Your Baihu totem is quite impressive, too, junior. I've only seen one before."
Master, he noticed me!
Of course he did! It's trivial for a rank three! He's a showman, I just told you.
"Master is very observant." Xin nodded coldly, smiling with a corner of his lips. Fuck. Civilization and manners, double-speak and hierarchies... Should I go back to that owl and ask it to put me out of my misery? "What now?" He asked rather crudely.
"Well, you've brought intel that I assume will lead to our cooperation. But for now, just follow me. You look awfully tired." The officer approached and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Eh. Could be worse." Xin shrugged and gently moved his hand away. "Had to walk a lot these past few days, but it's better now that I have a horse. I'm fine."
***
Xin sat in the fort master's study, this time in its hidden conference room. Seated in a lotus pose on top of a velvet cushion, he sipped tea from an elegant, gold-laced cup.
"You have a war victim's eyes, child. Much has changed since we last met. Are you sure you don't need a bath or meal? The road takes its toll."
"Think I am more perpetrator than victim." Xin stared at the bottom of his cup. "But who says one can't be both? I think you have a point. Apologies if I look or smell inappropriately, but I'd rather we get this over with."
Curses, is this some sort of power game? I am so bad at these.
"Oh, that's not what I meant. We're military, junior, not a pampered sect or a greenhouse-like ministry. Your smell is the last of my concerns. Was just extending hospitality." The captain smiled warmly again.
Xin blinked, yet his eyes lingered shut for too long. The past few days were catching up.
"Oh, of course, of course… Never meant to reject it. Appreciate it. But please let me report." Xin took a sip of tea, then opened his other palm. The man in front nodded gently. "Oh, before I begin, may I ask your name?"
What a stupid question. What's wrong with me?
"There's people left who don't know me?" The officer tilted his face lightly, then raised an eyebrow and smiled, this time deviously. "Steel Dantian Yongyi, or just Commander Yongyi. Now, your issue. Hurry, I have a drill soon."
Wait, THAT Master Yongyi?! From the Clay Nest's tournament? I don't remember much, except for how dazzling his armour shined… I swear he looked so much different back then! Well, it was a decade ago…
"Ah, yes. I am just Xin, no surname. Think I already told you." He became nervous again, then recomposed. "So…"
Xin told commander Yingyi his own version of what happened:
While cultivating near the steppe's border, he found the tracks of the Moss Bush demoness and followed them to a small nomad tribe that she was extorting. Using the nomads as human shields, he wounded her and forced her to flee. He then tracked her to a lair in the Yellow Pine forest and slew her there. The lair contained evidence linking her to a demonic faction and a half-finished dao shard designed to spawn a plantmen army.
On his way to the fort, he discovered the fresh corpse of a nomad shaman, plague-ridden and rotting, with clusters of horse tracks scattering in all directions. He concluded it had been a botched spirit-summoning ritual — and rode to report it without delay.
"I see, master." Captain Yingyi stared at him intently. "Have you brought any evidence of your words? I don't want to undermine your hardships, mind you, but acting on unverified intel would be unwise."
"Oh, of course." Xin smiled warmly. "The hag's scalp and face, parts of her blood path ridden meridians still on her flesh. I'm conserving them in my bag of holding. I've also got a half-ruined letter of hers, which already told me a lot — mayhaps you could restore it further somehow?
There's also some trinkets from the renegade cultivators that ambushed me when I was still taming my totem — I have strong reasons to think they're connected with the hag's employer. There's also…" Xin wanted to keep going, but commander Yongyi coldly cut him off.
"That's enough for now. We'll see about the letter later. So, what would you have me do? You have a full view of the situation, where do you think I should divert the resources to thwart this danger?" He put his hands on his knees with a relaxed expression.
Is he genuinely asking me for advice, or is he just probing? Could be both.
"I'm not smart or experienced enough to suggest anything to the wise Master…"
"Stop clowning around, Xin. Being a sycophant doesn't suit you, your overblown sense of self-importance is leaking out too easily."
"Oh." Xin smiled and raised his arms, as if saying "you caught me". "Well, I'd check all the border villages, interrogate all the recent mercenary recruiters, and scour the black market for people buying low level inheritances. And it's a wild guess, but it's likely they operate in Zadana, at least to some capacity."
"Oh, my." The captain gave Xin a thumb up. "You impress me, junior. What about those nomad pigs up North, perhaps we should interrogate them further? To understand their connection with the demoness better."
Xin's heart sank, but he anticipated the question and prepared the best relaxed face he could:
"Don't know. The tribe I used were small and insignificant, that's why she bullied them in the first place. You know what? They still owe me for 'protection', so how about I fish for more intel when I come back there? I'll relay anything I learn to the fort nearby."
"Nearby? How close are they?" Captain Yongyi ignored Xin's question and raised his own.
Fuck.
"Eh, a few hours from the border." Xin lied. "But they're migrating north soon. Or north-east. Whatever it is, they won't be hard to track for someone like me."
"Fine, do it. Except I am worried about the logistics of the whole operation." The officer laid his chin on his palm, putting on a tired expression. "Travel in this area is complicated, and it's not like I can give you an escort this time, Master Xin."
Does he genuinely trust me, or is he still probing by playing innocent?
"Thinking the same thing, master Yongyi. But I might have a solution. Remember my request the first time we met?" He smiled lightly.
"Come on, again?" The captain made a surprised face. What a forward young man!
"Yes, I want a flying sword!" He said, this time without jest. "This will ensure that I reach Zadana in no time, then come back to interrogate the nomads again. And frankly, I think I served the state well, don't you agree?" Xin hoped his puppy face would augment his request.
"Are you… asking to buy one or to borrow one?" Captain Yongyi raised an eyebrow, yet his lips curled into an amused smile for just a moment.
"Buy, of course!" Xin pumped his fist. "As long as the price is nice."
"Oh, you cheeky boy." The man waved his finger at him. Xin worried, was the captain hitting on him again?! "Such naivete is bribing, of course, yet it's not how it works. Flying swords are first category equipment, and are meant for internal use — I can't just trade them around. And aren't you asking too much? These things are expensive, especially for a Foundation stage master."
"Right." Xin sulked. "I was just suggesting something that would lead to the most common good for everyone involved, especially the state. The flying swords are indeed expensive for a rank one, but aren't you rank tree? You could…"
"Nah." The officer cut him off. That was a blunder, his face showed, try another angle. "Why would the state fund your trip to Zadana in the first place? You aren't qualified to investigate the demonic faction on our behalf, and if we lend you a flying sword, we're painting a massive target on your forehead. Every brick of that damned city is ridden with crime."
"Well, please see it this way." Xin said calmly. "I need to collect the hag's bounty, so I'll be visiting Zadana anyway, flying sword or not. If I find something out there, I'll share it with the Border Guard — I have some sources there I could utilise." Xin hoped that a serious face and a mention of "sources" would impress the captain. He had no serious connections in Zadana, of course. "I'll visit the nomads on the way back, yet if I have to travel by horse, I won't be able to visit them any time soon — this risks the intel spoiling."
"So do you suggest I go and interrogate the nomads myself?" The captain squinted lightly, his gaze turning eagle-like.
Master, have we been found out?
"If you think it's the best thing to do, who am I to tell you otherwise?" Xin shrugged. "I'm just saying I could help, as a concerned citizen. If this solution isn't up to your liking, I'd humbly request I'm compensated in any other manner you see honourable." Xin's face was rather detached as he said this, he tried to lean into the "tired warrior" image.
"What way? Let's get this over with, you're getting on my nerves, I'll be frank with you."
Xin paused and carefully considered his next actions.
"I am sorry if I came off as greedy. I am eager to serve, I am just unfit to do so in my current condition. Perhaps I could compensate the fort for the flying sword, and my reward could just be making the price reasonable and the bureaucracy smooth? Sounds fair to me."
"Go on." The captain said gently. Xin felt he was on the right track.
"A decent flying sword costs around a hundred stones, so how about I get a used one yet pay for the new one for the fort? I trust the master to pick one in good condition, of course. Can you agree to this arrangement?"
"Of course. Sounds reasonable." The man took the last sip of the tea, then put the cup on the tray in front of his futon. The long look he gave after was a clear message — this talk has been going on for a long time, it's time to end it.
"But there's a complication." Xin feared his shameless face would be splattered all over the wall now. "I'd like to contribute more intel from my last trip to Zadana. I swear by my ancestors that this is relevant."
Captain Yongyi sighed and rolled his eyes. Sure, his face said. Keep talking. Xin told the officer about his encounter with Diego, a feared Mistborn swordmaster who claimed to "slice Condensation stage masters for breakfast". Last time, he somehow found out that Xin claimed the bounty on the Young Mantis's head and tracked him down. He feared that the mantis and the hag were connected, and that Diego could seek him out again.
"I fail to see how that's my problem." Captain Yongyi shrugged. "If the bounty master betrayed you once, isn't it wise to avoid dealing with him again?"
"Please see my perspective, master Yongyi! That bounty would change my life — once I claim it, my cultivation tempo would surge, and you'd have a great potential contact for the future! I'm just asking for a few hours of protection and some help negotiating, nothing else." Xin pleaded, determined.
"Enough!" Master Yingyi snapped and pointed at the door. "I'm done with you. I'll discuss your accomplishments with your sect, then reward you accordingly. You have my word that the reward will be appropriate." He waved his hand, dismissing the youngster.
Xin's face turned to that of a scorned puppy once again:
"Master Yongyi, when I killed the hag and was deciding where to go, I considered hundreds of possibilities. Out of all the people in this world, dozens of honourable men came to my mind, yet I knew it was you who is a true paragon of virtue. So I chose to go through a dangerous, ancient forest just to reach you — not even out of duty, but out of respect! To be dismissed like this is soul-crushing…" His expression was that of a boy disillusioned with his childhood hero.
"Enough, you didn't even know my name when you rode in! What is this shameless flattery? The audacity to think it would work!" The officer waved his hands, astonished.
"It's just a flying sword, I'm not asking for much…" Xin sulked again. "And I'm saying I'll pay for it, I'm not asking for handouts!"
"Fine, you'll get your sword. But you'll get no escort or anything else, and you'll pay the price of a new one, as arranged. Do you have the money?" The captain surrendered. This youngster is truly unhinged, better throw him a bone before he gives me a stroke!
"No." Xin stared at his feet, ashamed.
Master Yingyi was wide-eyed. He never met a person that audacious. He sighed, recomposed and spoke again.
"You looted the demoness, she should have had something of value. Let's see what you got."
No! Xin knew barter and pawning were seldom good business when another person was so much more powerful.
"Well, that's why I am asking for protection in the first place." He scratched the back of his head. "I can pay out of the hag's bounty, forgive me for not explaining this well. So the escort in Zadana is just to protect our business transaction. This will only take an hour of your men's time, I promise." Xin nodded with confidence.
"You…" The officer covered his eyes with his hands, then ran them down his face, as if trying to wipe away the annoyance. "You didn't heed my advice, did you?"
Oh. Xin was embarrassed. What advice? He just stared at master Yingyi, confused.
"I told you not to force things, remember? Now look at the mess you're in, a half-burnt candle twenty years of age. Fine, we'll get you your sword. Pour me another cup."
Xin nodded eagerly. I'm finally decent at haggling!