Chương 345: Chapter 291: I Am Going To

~~~"Don't expect me to call you Emperor."

"That is quite alright. I am not particularly fond of the title."

"Hmph." Liu Jin and Xiao Fang have moved away from the rooftops of Imperial Cloud City. The alleys that run between the city's countless buildings are so numerous and interconnected that they form an accidental labyrinth. There is no better way to move between districts without drawing attention. There is also no smellier way. Due to the many recent festivities, there is a pile of trash in nearly every corner, giving the narrow passages a pungent odor.

Without a doubt, it is not a place fit for the Young Master of the Xiao Sect or the Emperor of the Storm Dragon Empire, not that either of them looks the part right now. Liu Jin is dressed in plain clothes made of hemp, though it wouldn't matter if he were wearing something more conspicuous. His mastery over Art of the Roaming Thief has grown to the point where he can walk among regular people and not be noticed, something he tested at The Three Hogs just to be certain.

As for Xiao Fang's robes, they have so many patches sewn on them that they are more patch than robe at this point. It is completely unlike the Xiao Fang in Liu Jin's memories. In Eastern Port City, the heir was always dressed in fine silks. Liu Jin doubts he ever wore the same outfit more than twice. Granted, most of those had been variations of the Core Disciple robes of the Xiao Sect. The change is also reflected on Xiao Fang's face. He is not just physically older. There is a determined tiredness in his eyes.

His countless struggles have left many scars on his body. They are not immediately noticeable, but the more Liu Jin looks at him, the more he finds. On the tip of ears. On his neck. Above his eyebrows. Undeniably, he has gone through a lot.

"Did you have trouble making it here?" Liu Jin asks.

"I cannot imagine it was easy considering your circumstances." Xiao Fang has been running from his aunt, Xiao Yifan, for years. Now, he has willingly come to the seat of her power. To call it unsafe would be an understatement.

"It's fine," Xiao Fang says.

"So many people are entering the city, it's impossible to keep track of them." One merely needs to listen to the night to know Xiao Fang is right. Loud music and songs, glasses clinking and shattering. Dawn must be less than four hours away, yet the various parties happening all over the city show no sign of stopping.

"It's safer for him here as well," Xiao Fang adds.

"It would call too much attention if he left the city, but no one will think twice if it is him sneaking off to some bar. Everyone is doing it." A moment passes. Liu Jin is content to walk in silence. Xiao Fang is not.

"What about you?" Xiao Fang asks.

"I can't imagine someone of your status would have an easy time making himself absent."

"It was easier than expected," Liu Jin says.

"It was already known I would be attending the Crimson Cloud Tournament. Making myself scarce a few weeks earlier changes little. I have competent people handling most matters of governance." There had been some objections to his decision. Minister Chu wanted him to stay because the plans for the goodbye feast would have to be radically altered with him gone.

Lei Kong managed to temporarily escape from his duties as Clan Head to offer to accompany him and even offered Lei Chen as a replacement when Liu Jin pointed out why that wouldn't be wise. Curiously, the young cultivator had not seemed opposed to it. As for Lu Mei…

"I would wish you a safe trip, but we all know that is an impossibility. Go and be triumphant."

"How fortunate you are to have dependable underlings," Xiao Fang says.

"Xiao Heng sends his regards, by the way. He is useful, although a bit dim." Liu Jin smiles, happy that the man he helped so long ago is doing well.

"He had a difficult childhood," Liu Jin says.

"He has a weird taste in women, more like." Liu Jin blinks.

"Oh, you think that too."

"I think women are a problem without a solution," Xiao Fang says with unusual vehemence.

"The world would be a better place if our parts did not fit, and my world would be better without any women at all."

"You have a sister," Liu Jin points out.

"Xiao Shuang is pure like snow, nothing like that harpy," Xiao Fang says darkly before glaring at Liu Jin.

"How could you betray her? I cannot believe you already have another woman! Is Xiao Shuang not good enough!?"

"Your father had multiple wives," Liu Jin points out, not that he ever knew them.

"I will obviously hold you and my father to different standards!" Xiao Fang snaps back.

"That's just common sense. Now, out with it! What does the Feng girl have that my sister doesn't!" Liu Jin sighs and looks away from Xiao Fang's glare.

"I am not having this conversation with you."

"Oh. Good." To Liu Jin's surprise, Xiao Fang sighs in relief.

"To be honest, I don't really want to hear about your romantic entanglements, but my duties as a brother compelled me to object to your libidinous ways and call you a scoundrel."

"This scoundrel is here to help you."

"Well, that just makes you a helpful scoundrel." Liu Jin and Xiao Fang glare at each other for five tense seconds before bursting into laughter.

"I have missed this," Xiao Fang says softly.

"I do not believe we ever talked quite like this before."

"Don't make me say it." Liu Jin smiles.

"I missed you too, friend." Xiao Fang looks away. It does nothing to hide his embarrassment, but if it makes Xiao Fang feel better, Liu Jin will pretend he does not see his reddened cheeks.

"Anyway!" Xiao Fang says, clearing his throat.

"We're here already." Of the many districts in Imperial Cloud City, the forty-eighth district is known for its countless bars and other seedy establishments. There are even talismans placed on the district limits to ensure it remains submerged in eternal night. It is a relatively simple illusion but one that adds to the atmosphere. The building Xiao Fang has led them to is bright pink and surrounded by glowing smoke of many colors that occasionally arranges itself in all manner of bawdy shapes.

A couple of drunks are sleeping on the other end of the street, and a naked man desperately bangs on the door, begging to be let inside. The sign on top of the building reads 'The Playful Flower.'

"This is a brothel," Liu Jin says.

"And we're men. What's more natural than for us to go in?" Xiao Fang points out.

"Come on." The inside of the Playful Flower is even more aggressively pink than its outside. The air is heavy with perfume and no small amount of aphrodisiacs. An unskilled person, upon entering, might find themselves making all manner of poor financial choices. That is clearly what happened to the naked man outside.

"Welcome," the hostess greets them with an inviting smile and a voice like silk.

"What is your desire, guest?" Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"That idiot Li owes me money," Xiao Fang says. Unlike the hostess, his face might as well be carved from granite.

"Where is he?" The smile on the hostess's face falls off, replaced by tired annoyance that looks a hundred times more genuine.

"Third floor. Sixth room to the right." She jabs her thumb to point at the stairs behind her.

"Beat him violently if you must. In fact, I insist. If you do, I will give you a discount, but hurt the girls, and you'll regret it." Xiao Fang does not reply. He marches up the stairs in annoyed silence.

"She did not say a word to you," he points out.

"She could not see me."

"Hn." The third floor of the Playful Flower is made of a long hallway that stretches to the left and right of the stairs with multiple doors on either side. Mercifully, no sounds can be heard, likely the result of protective talismans that ensure the clients' privacy and avoid disturbances. As soon as Xiao Fang nears the sixth door to the right, it opens, and a half-naked man comes out.

"Quick," the man whispers to them, his hand urging them to come in. He has a prominent nose and a scruffy beard. His body reeks of alcohol and other things. However, none of that takes away from his cultivation. No matter how he looks, he is someone who has reached the Ninth Level of the Earth Realm.

"What happened? You suddenly left and… oh." The prostitute in the bed stops talking when she sees her client has come back with company. She has a pretty face with dimples on both cheeks. Her hair is loose, and the bedsheets over her body are her only clothing. She looks at Xiao Fang and the man in confusion before nodding to herself.

"Very well," she says with confidence.

"This Plum is still new to her profession and has not yet handled multiple swords at once, but I will try my best!" Xiao Fang stares. The man laughs.

"You're the best! Truly! However, this is not about that."

"Oh, one of your secret things, then?" Plum opens her mouth in surprise before covering it with a smile and rising from the bed. Xiao Fang immediately adverts his eyes.

"In that case, this one shall make herself absent and wish you good luck." Xiao Fang waits exactly three seconds after she closes the door to speak.

"Really, Li Boqin?" He asks. His eyebrow twitches dangerously.

"You let a common prostitute know of our dealings?" Li Boqin. A Core Disciple of the Xiao Sect. A member of the Imperial Cloud Branch who was born in Eastern Port City. The man who saved Xiao Fang's life by warning him of his aunt's plans.

"Have faith, Young Master," Li Boqin says, sitting by the bed.

"Plum knows how to be discreet, and I have been careful to hide the exact nature of my secrets. Besides, I have spent years ingratiating myself to this establishment. They let you in so easily because I told them to. Our meeting is as secure as it can be." Liu Jin does not doubt him, but he still starts placing privacy talismans on the walls. As he does, he notices Li Boqin seems to have placed quite a few of them on top of the ones already layered into the construction. Li Boqin laughs.

"Your friend is quite the cautious one, Young Master. I…" As soon as Li Boqin stops looking at Xiao Fang and takes in Liu Jin's appearance, he freezes.

"I… you…" He blinks several times.

"Doctor…Liu…?" Liu Jin looks at Li Boqin in surprise.

"He's his son," Xiao Fang says, leaning against the wall furthest away from the bed.

"How do you even know Doctor Liu?"

"How could I not?" Li Boqin says. The man rises from the bed and approaches Liu Jin, but stops himself, suddenly aware of the state of his body due to the activities he has been partaking in.

"Doctor Liu helped me greatly when I lived in Eastern Port City," he says solemnly, bending his body a full ninety degrees.

"I have nothing but the deepest respect and gratitude for him and was greatly saddened by his passing." For a moment, Liu Jin says nothing. Alarm appears on Li Boqin's face.

"Forgive me! I didn't mean to bring up a sensitive subject. It's just… you look so much like Doctor Liu… You're younger, obviously, and much healthier looking, but still... It's uncanny."

"No," Liu Jin says, "there is nothing to forgive. I was just surprised, but… it is not an unhappy surprise." Since the fall of Eastern Port City, the only reminders of his father have come through the man's life as the Black Dragon. This is the first time he meets someone who speaks of him as a doctor.

"Touching as this all is, I will remind you it is not what we are here for," Xiao Fang says.

"I want my Sect back."

"Of course, Young Master! Of course!" Li Boqin says, bowing his head repeatedly.

"This Li Boqin has not forgotten his loyalties."

"Always impatient," Liu Jin says, shaking his head.

"Fine. There are things I have wanted to ask for a while. I refrained from doing it over our limited correspondence because I thought it better to talk about them in person."

"Go ahead," Xiao Fang says.

"I have nothing to hide."

"Who is Xiao Yifan?" It speaks volumes of Xiao Fang's self-control that his Qi does not waver despite the way his every muscle suddenly tenses in obvious anger.

"Xiao Yifan is a traitor," Xiao Fang says through gritted teeth.

"However, that's not what you are asking, is it?" Liu Jin nods.

"The number of Emperors in the Crimson Cloud Empire is a little over a hundred," Liu Jin says.

"Over forty are part of the Four Great Sects." In other words, the number of Emperors in other Sects is no greater than sixty. While people use the results of the Crimson Cloud Tournament to determine who the Top One Hundred Sects of the Empire are, the truth is that many among the so-called Top One Hundred do not have a single Emperor in their ranks.

"I will admit I am not fully familiar with the structure of the Xiao Sect," Liu Jin continues, "but when I was a child, your father's rule never seemed to be in doubt, and a big part of that was due to his power. How could someone like Xiao Yifan have risen so quickly after his fall?"

"What point is there in being so coy?" Xiao Fang asks him, annoyed.

"How is she an Emperor? That's what you want to know! That's what I want to know!" Xiao Fang takes a deep breath. It does nothing to make his knuckles any less white.

"Everything changed when your letter arrived. I was no longer visiting the branches of the Xiao Sect as their eventual lord but as someone who desperately needed to secure their support before the news of my father's death spread. Once it did, I could not trust them. Still, when Xiao Yifan called me to speak on neutral ground, I could not refuse. I'd have been seen as a coward." He smirks.

"Contrary to my worst expectations, my aunt greeted us warmly. She shared stories with me about my father's youth. I dared to believe I found an ally… Then Li Boqin woke me up and told me my aunt wanted to kill me."

"I regret not being able to find a more tactful way to act, Young Master," Li Boqin says, bowing his head.

"Don't apologize. You saved my life," Xiao Fang says.

"Regardless, I didn't start thinking about this until later, but by then, Xiao Yifan already had control over most of the Xiao Sect. It did not make sense. She was not an Emperor when we met. Perhaps she was a Renegade, but-""Actually," Li Boqin interrupts nervously.

"She already was, Young Master."

"What?" Xiao Fang asks with a voice that is like the crack of a whip.

"Every Branch Head I spoke to told me she was in the Heaven Realm."

"That was the case for a while, Young Master," Li Boqin says.

"it is natural they would think that because Branch Master Xiao Yifan was not really... active." Xiao Fang raises an eyebrow.

"I am not a patient person, Li Boqin."

"It is complicated, Young Master," Li Boqin says.

"Officially, Xiao Yifan has been the Imperial Cloud City Branch Head for over a century. However, she spent most of her time in seclusion. The governance of the branch was primarily handled by the Elders. Only occasionally would she venture out and give a few orders. Whenever she did, she was in the Heaven Realm."

"Maybe not," Liu Jin says.

"There are many ways to disguise one's cultivation." He looks at Xiao Fang when he says that. While he can sense that Xiao Fang has reached the Earth Realm, his exact level escapes him, likely due to an item on his person.

"Perhaps," Li Boqin says.

"Regardless, people had gotten used to this. No one really expected her seclusion to permanently end."

"But it did," Liu Jin notes. Li Boqin nods.

"I will never forget that day," Li Boqin says.

"She left isolation and summoned all the Elders and Core Disciples. She told us the time had come for new leadership. That was when I learned of Eastern Port City's destruction."

"Wait," Liu Jin says, frowning.

"The information wasn't widely known at the time? You only found out after Xiao Yifan left isolation? Li Boqin nods.

"That is so. No one knew back then."

"That is…odd," Liu Jin says, rubbing his chin.

"I was the only one who escaped that night, and it was through the Five Blessings Group that the information reached Xiao Fang before any of the Branch Heads. However, it should have been widely known by the time it reached the capital. You wouldn't have needed to be told."

"No," Xiao Fang says, "There is another way it could have reached Xiao Yifan before even me. You said it, right? That mad butcher worked with people of one of the Four Great Sects."

"The Endlessly Raging Valley," Liu Jin confirms. Xiao Fang's frown deepens, an impressive feat considering the lines on his face already threaten to become permanent.

"Meddlesome bastards!" Xiao Fang spits out.

"It's probably because of them that she learned of what happened! They might have even helped her become an Emperor! They saw an opportunity to take control of my Sect and took it!"

"But Young Master! Xiao Yifan was almost always in isolation!" Li Boqin points out.

"When could the Endlessly Raging Valley have helped her or told her anything?"

"I do not make it a habit to assume there is anything beyond the power of one of the Four Great Sects," Xiao Fang says.

"This will not stand! I will take the Xiao Sect and make it as strong as any of the Four Great Sects! No, even beyond that! There will be no one who will doubt us." He looks at Liu Jin as he says that. The challenge in his eyes is obvious.

"I wish you the best of luck." Xiao Fang clicks his tongue and looks away.

"It takes the fun out of it if you're just going to support me."

"Oh? Should I have insulted you?" Liu Jin crosses his arms.

"Very well. Xiao Yifan is an Emperor Realm Cultivator and has the loyalty of most Branch Masters. You do not. What exactly do you plan to do, Former Young Master Xiao Fang?"

"I am going to challenge her." ~~~