Chương 124: Book 2 Chapter 38: Performance

Life had a way of coming full circle. Bai Ning knew what the saying meant, and even agreed with it to some extent, but she rarely found herself thinking it. It was the sort of thing old people said, like Master Mo Jian or her father, for instance, when they were trying to sound wise and worldly. In this instance, however, she had to admit that life really had come full circle. When she had been younger, her sect had been attacked by a demonic cultivator without provocation.

Now, she was the one attacking people without provocation. Granted, there were extenuating circumstances. She was not a demonic cultivator, for one. The soldiers of the Lion Army were hardly innocent victims, for another. And the attack could arguably be called provoked, if an offense committed fifty years ago still counted. Still. Not that any of it was going to stop her. Even setting aside what was at stake, the commanders of the Lion Army hardly inspired sympathy.

With their General missing (read: dead), they still remained preoccupied with outmaneuvering one another, each eager to exploit what they saw as an opportunity to advance their own position. Case in point: Jun Dao, the Core Formation Ten Thousand Man Commander whom she and Miao Bu had been assigned to eliminate. Every Lion Army commander at Core Formation or above had been identified and assigned multiple cultivators of the same realm from the Tiger Army.

The strategy was simple: overwhelm each enemy commander with several peers at once and remove them from the battlefield as quickly as possible. Where numbers fell short, Tang Huwei had recruited cultivators from the Outer Court, promising generous rewards and positions within the Inner Court. Few had accepted the offer, but enough had joined to patch several gaps in their ranks. Besides, the Tiger Army possessed an advantage that could not be overstated: they still had their General, while the Lion Army did not.

This was not a war they could lose through conventional means. Their real defeat conditions were time and collateral damage. If the battle dragged on for too long, or worse, spilled beyond the soldiers and into the civilian population, the Emperor himself would come down on all of their heads. The princess had been quite clear on what that would mean: an opportunity to put Chengxuan on the back foot and keep him there, wasted.

And despite her opinions of Xiang Muxue, which she had been very careful not to let show whenever Master Mo Jian was present, Bai Ning could not deny that the princess possessed a far firmer grasp of strategy and statecraft than she did.

"Fellow Daoists, consider my offer," Jun Dao said, his voice carrying easily through the corridor.

"Help me eliminate that snake Sui Hao, and I will help you achieve your objectives. In return, you aid me in taking over his command. You gain one less enemy to fight and, when the dust settles, a friend within the Lion Army. A win-win arrangement." Miao Bu answered with his spear. A golden-white projection erupted from the spearhead and shot forward, aiming to punch through Jun Dao's lung.

The strike crashed against the shield the commander had summoned at the beginning of the ambush – an artifact behind which he had stubbornly entrenched himself ever since – and shattered harmlessly. That was another complication. More than anywhere else, the confines of the palace restricted how they could fight. Any grand display of qi, any attempt to conjure towering manifestations or unleash mountain-splitting techniques, risked causing exactly the sort of destruction they had been ordered to avoid.

They could not afford excessive noise, let alone structural damage. As a result, both sides kept their qi compressed and their techniques restrained, forcing the battle into a far more controlled affair than most cultivators preferred. Unfortunately, Jun Dao was less constrained by such concerns. Since he was the one being attacked, containment was almost as important as killing him.

Had he not been so obsessed with turning them into accomplices in his schemes against a rival commander, he could have raised the alarm long ago. Instead, he still seemed convinced this was an opportunistic strike with limited objectives and a short timetable, which, in a manner of speaking, was true. Consequently, he remained more interested in manipulating them into advancing his own position than escaping. Bai Ning silently thanked the stars and flicked her sword.

A shining green duplicate of the Green Destiny Sword shot down the corridor. As it flew, it corkscrewed through the air in an erratic spiral, weaving unpredictably as it sought Jun Dao's blind spot. It was useless. Like Miao Bu's spear strike, the sword smashed against the golden barrier projected by his rectangular shield. One of the hundreds of painted soldiers depicted across its surface collapsed as though slain.

A heartbeat later, figures from elsewhere on the shield marched across the painted battlefield and filled the gap in the formation. The shield absorbed every attack through its miniature army, sacrificing painted soldiers while leaving its master entirely untouched. Bai Ning frowned. That was the third time she had seen the shield replenish itself.

"An impressive artifact," Miao Bu noted dryly. Jun Dao laughed.

"Finally, someone with discernment." He raised the shield slightly, displaying its painted surface as though showing off a prized possession.

"This is my natal artifact: the Hundred Battles Bulwark. Every soldier painted upon it has fought and died a hundred times already. What are a few more deaths?" Another green sword copy flashed through the air. Another painted soldier fell. Another took its place. Bai Ning resisted the urge to sigh. The shield's strength was not merely its durability; it was its efficiency. Every attack they launched had to travel through layers upon layers of disposable defenders before it could threaten the man behind them.

The artifact was turning their superior numbers into a contest of attrition. A contest they did not have time for. Her gaze swept down the corridor. The palace passage was broad enough for several people to walk abreast, but not much more than that. Lacquered wooden walls rose on either side, decorated with carvings of clouds and dragons. The enclosed space prevented Jun Dao from being surrounded properly, while simultaneously limiting the scale of techniques everyone involved could safely employ.

In another setting, they could simply bury him beneath overwhelming force. Here, every strike had to be measured, which was exactly why he had chosen to stand his ground. He's stalling, she transmitted to Miao Bu. The spear cultivator did not look at her. Obviously. I may have a way to get past his defenses, if you can keep him busy, she replied. Miao Bu was too disciplined to hesitate, but she felt his assent through their connection.

He stepped forward as she drifted back, his spear snapping out in another seemingly perfunctory thrust. Jun Dao fended off the attack as easily as all the others, but the question accompanying it caught his attention.

"Sui Hao... that is the Commander with the Vast Prosperity Scythe, is he not? Why do you want our help in taking him out?"

"Because he made me look like a fool before the General some time ago," Jun Dao replied, making no effort to hide his smile.

"And because he stands between me and a promotion to Hundred Thousand Man Commander. What does it matter? Either way, you profit."

"Hmm." Miao Bu's spear lashed out again.

"Suppose we agree and help you. What then? Will you assist us against the other commanders as well, or is this a one-time arrangement?"

"Hardly." Jun Dao scoffed.

"But I will take my men, along with whatever remains of Sui Hao's force, and keep them out of your way. That's one less division for you to fight and I get everything I want. As I said: win-win." As he spoke, his gaze flicked toward Bai Ning. She was clearly hanging back and just as clearly gathering qi into her sword. Under ordinary circumstances, that alone would have been enough to set off alarm bells. Yet for all his caution, Jun Dao's greed was stronger.

Had Miao Bu, the more dangerous of the two, been the one retreating, he might have suspected a trap. Bai Ning's actions earned only a fraction of his attention. More importantly, he still believed this attack was merely a storm to be weathered. His thoughts were already fixed on the aftermath. On rival commanders, on promotions, and on how the Lion Army's hierarchy would look when dawn arrived. He did not know that Bai Ning and Miao Bu had come to ensure there would be no dawn for the Lion Army at all.

And Bai Ning could feel it. The certainty, the complacency, and the naked ambition beneath his words. It was almost as though Jun Dao's thoughts were written across the air itself, leaving nothing between him and her sword. It's all just armor, she reminded herself, focusing past the distance, the shield, and Jun Dao's words. That's all it was: armor. Ignore it, she told herself. Just cut what matters. She swung the Green Destiny Sword in a single, clean horizontal slash. The qi she was building in it dissipated.

Nothing happened. The air stirred faintly, then fell still. Jun Dao's head snapped toward her the instant the blade moved. He frowned and then his hand fell off. A razor-clean cut separated it from his wrist. For a brief instant, he simply stared, confusion overtaking surprise. Then he stumbled backward with an aborted scream as blood fountained from the stump, splashing across the lacquered floor. The Hundred Battles Bulwark clattered down beside it.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Miao Bu moved instantly. His qi surged like a rising tide and a blinding spear projection erupted from the weapon in his hands and crossed the corridor in a heartbeat. Jun Dao never had a chance. The spear struck him square in the chest. The corridor rattled from the force of its passage, and the walls shook with the sound of wood groaning. Bai Ning raised a sleeve to shield her eyes from the flash.

When she lowered it, Jun Dao was gone. Smoke drifted through the corridor. The sharp scent of ozone hung in the air, as though lightning had just struck. There was no body or ashes. Only a severed hand, still dripping blood onto the floor, and beside it, the Hundred Battles Bulwark. The two of them exchanged a single look, half in surprise and half in triumph, before Miao Bu raised a hand. The severed hand and the Hundred Battles Bulwark rose and slipped into his storage pouch.

"Let's go," he said, resting his spear on his shoulder and turning away. Bai Ning swept her spiritual sense through the corridor one last time. There was nothing there. She followed. They had completed their objective. Now they could regroup with the wider command. ……………………………………………… General Tang Huwei had chosen to position his command at the base of the stairs on the twenty first floor. The reasoning was simple.

The bulk of the Lion Army's forces were stationed on that level, but significant contingents were also dispersed across the twelve floors of the Inner Court, each overseen by designated commanders to ensure proper coordination. As a result, while pressure on the twenty first floor was critical, so too was preventing the Lion Army from consolidating elsewhere. If left unchecked, scattered units could regroup. If allowed to regroup, they could become a problem.

For the Lion Army, the most natural rally point would always be the twenty first floor, where their General stayed. Therefore, for the Tiger Army, securing the stairwell and controlling ascent and descent was essential. And so Tang Huwei had planted himself there. Aside from personally engaging the only two mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators within the Lion Army, he had not moved from his position once. His presence alone ensured that no one could clear the stairs.

In effect, it guaranteed the Tiger Army free movement through the Inner Court. Even noble ladies and lords – tittering or frowning in equal measure – had been denied passage and instructed to remain hidden until the current "kerfuffle" was resolved. Bai Ning and Miao Bu found him there, surrounded by four people and issuing instructions – no, orders – to two of them. She recognized the ones being addressed, and a faint trace of awkwardness rose in her as they noticed her as well.

Gu Daisheng and Celestial Maiden Zhuo were two of the five Nascent Soul cultivators from the Outer Court who had agreed to support the Tiger Army in exchange for future positions within the Inner Court, despite the considerable risks and uncertain rewards the arrangement carried. In other words, they were all nominally on the same side.

However, Bai Ning had recently been assigned to the second level under Gu Daisheng's authority, and she and Master Mo Jian had very clearly circumvented that authority in order to initiate the very situation now unfolding. To call the encounter awkward would have been an understatement. At least Celestial Maiden Zhuo had not seemed to recognize her at first. Unfortunately, that only lasted briefly.

Gu Daisheng had clearly briefed her at some point, given the complicated look the other woman – her senior – now directed at Bai Ning. Fortunately, they arrived as the two were departing. Gu Daisheng and Celestial Maiden Zhuo cupped their hands in a restrained salute, then turned and strode down the stairs toward the twentieth floor. Tang Huwei's gaze snapped to Bai Ning and Miao Bu.

"You two sure took your time," he drawled. He lounged on a beauty couch, idly spinning a jeweled scepter as part of his attire. The two cultivators standing beside him, both Nascent Soul commanders of the Tiger Army, looked inordinately pleased by their general's complete lack of dignity. Bai Ning reminded herself to be patient. Everyone present was not only more powerful than she was, they were likely deeply relieved to have their general back in command, no matter how much of a fashion disaster he appeared to be.

Wait, was that why Gu Daisheng had joined the Tiger Army? He did seem to share a similar sense of… unfortunate style. Her thoughts drifted further down that line than they should have. Miao Bu, meanwhile, was already answering.

"We were delayed. That idiot Jun Dao was cowardly to the end, and he hid behind a shield the entire fight. It took time to pry him out of his shell." General Tang Huwei waved a hand as though brushing away an irritating fly.

"That's not what I meant." He turned his gaze to Bai Ning, sounding half amused, half irritated.

"I sent your companion after one of the Nascent Soul Hundred Thousand Man Commanders – Kong Si – and he was finished in five minutes. Didn't even need to coordinate with anyone else. He's already taken out three other commanders, and I sent him to the twenty fourth floor to keep Chengxuan's man – Han Shu – occupied." He shook his head, as though genuinely torn between admiration and annoyance.

"I was expecting something equally impressive from you." Irritation flared through Bai Ning in full force. Miao Bu turned slightly toward her, studying her with a considering look. Unfortunately, her glare had no effect on the flamboyant disaster of a man in front of her. A part of her was glad Mo Jian was receiving such recognition. He deserved it – he always did, no matter how she might joke about it in private. But another part could not help feeling distinctly wronged by the comparison.

Her teacher was two centuries old compared to her two decades, and a whole realm higher in cultivation. Of course he was accomplishing things she could not. If she had half his time and experience, she would have slapped this general in front of her and forced an apology out of him.

"Your thoughts are written clearly all over your face," Tang Huwei said, amused. He was even smiling now, clearly enjoying himself.

"I wasn't hiding them," Bai Ning replied through gritted teeth. Before things could deteriorate further, and before she said something she could not take back, Bai Ning changed the subject.

"Where is the princess? I don't sense her nearby." It took effort to keep her tone neutral rather than accusatory. The general still looked amused, as though he could see exactly what she was doing, but he answered anyway.

"I sent her back to her rooms to sip tea or play Go or whatever it is princesses do in their spare time. If all this-" he waved broadly, taking in everything around them- "goes poorly, it's best she isn't associated with it. That way, the Emperor will only take our heads, not hers." Behind him, the two commanders nodded as though this made perfect sense. Even Miao Bu, who she had briefly begun to view more favorably, nodded along. Bai Ning's glare deepened.

"I notice that consideration doesn't extend to me or Mo Jian. We would also prefer to keep our heads attached, so perhaps you could spend some time thinking about how to achieve that?" If anything, Tang Huwei's smile only widened.

"So sensitive," he said, with mock sadness, shaking his head. Bai Ning absolutely did not grind her teeth or wish a thousand painful deaths upon him, regardless of what anyone might claim. Still, she had to admit that she was becoming increasingly irritated by how easily he got under her skin. She was supposed to be the one who unsettled people, and not the other way around. So why were her carefully honed talents for annoyance failing her now?

Thankfully, Miao Bu, demonstrating admirable judgment, chose that moment to redirect.

"What is the overall situation, General?" Tang Huwei turned his attention to him and waved a hand in a vague, wobbling gesture.

"Eh." He delivered the syllable with all the gravity of a man haggling over the price of a potato at a market stall.

"It could be going better. But then, it could also be going worse. We've eliminated over half the targets by now, but the remainder have dug in and become considerably more cautious." He leaned back further into his couch.

"The fighting is still contained, which is about the only genuinely good news. As long as that remains true, we should have the rest of the day and at least part of the night to settle matters." His expression soured slightly.

"I know the Emperor. Tomorrow he'll summon the court for an emergency session, and I'll have to explain myself. If we can wrap everything up in a neat little bow before then, this might still work out." He paused.

"But if not..." With entirely unnecessary enthusiasm, he drew a finger across his throat. The two commanders behind him nodded solemnly, as though this were a perfectly normal way for a general to discuss his chances of survival. Bai Ning wished she could glare harder. This man needed to be glared at. Failing that, she found herself wishing, rather ironically, that Xiang Muxue were present. Perhaps the princess could make him behave.

"Then," Miao Bu said, "where do you need us?" He straightened as he spoke, looking every inch the loyal and competent soldier awaiting his general's orders. Bai Ning briefly considered standing beside him and attempting to look equally professional. The thought died almost immediately. Perhaps if Master Mo Jian were present. Without him around to needle, however, she had no desire to encourage Tang Huwei's behavior. Almost as though summoned by her thoughts, the general turned toward her once more.

"Your companion could have helped us deal with the remaining commanders and won this battle by now," he said.

"Instead, he informed me that he did not wish to kill any more people without good cause, which is among the stupidest things I have ever heard." Bai Ning opened her mouth. Tang Huwei pointed a warning finger at her.

"Don't. I know exactly what you're about to say, and I'm not interested." She closed her mouth again, but smugly. The general sighed.

"Regardless, it now falls upon you to compensate for his foolishness." Bai Ning's eye twitched.

"Two floors below us, Cao Yong, one of the Lion Army's Ten Thousand Man Commanders, has managed to gather a sizeable group around himself. More importantly, he appears to be accompanied by one of Shi Wanjun's concubines, Yao Yue." Tang Huwei paused.

"A remarkably juicy piece of information that I would very much like to spend more time appreciating, but alas..." He actually trailed off, spreading his hands. Bai Ning did her level best to set either him or his hair on fire through sheer force of glare.

"Right," the general said, continuing as though nothing had happened.

"The two of you will head down, join up with Han Feng and Zheng Rui, and break up the group. Eliminate Cao Yong." His expression sharpened slightly.

"And if possible, capture Yao Yue alive." That immediately caught Bai Ning's attention.

"Why?"

"Because," Tang Huwei replied, "any woman capable of abandoning the Lion General in the middle of a coup to attach herself to one of his subordinates either knows something extremely interesting or is someone extremely interesting." He tapped the jeweled scepter against his shoulder.

"I'd like to find out which." Bai Ning stared at him and the general stared back. One of the two Tiger Army commanders behind him coughed into his fist.

"General," Miao Bu interjected diplomatically, "what exactly do you expect us to learn from her?" Tang Huwei brightened.

"Now that's a proper question." He pointed the scepter at Miao Bu.

"See? This is why people like you." Bai Ning felt a fresh surge of irritation.

"The answer," Tang Huwei continued, "is that I have no idea." Silence followed.

"However," he added before anyone could object, "the fact that I don't know is precisely why I want her alive. A concubine doesn't simply appear beside a Ten Thousand Man Commander during a palace coup without a story attached." He leaned forward slightly.

"Maybe she knows where Shi Wanjun hid certain records. Maybe she suspects he is dead. Maybe she's carrying messages between factions. Maybe she simply saw something useful."

"Regardless," Tang Huwei said, with greater seriousness, "she could end up providing us an excuse we can use at tomorrow's court session. But forget all that. For you, Cao Yong is the priority. He's gathered nearly two hundred soldiers around himself and barricaded part of the nineteenth floor. Every hour he remains there, more stragglers find their way to him." Miao Bu nodded.

"A defensive position?"

"A very annoying one. Han Feng and Zheng Rui have already engaged them," the general continued.

"Your job is to finish the matter quickly and move on."

"Understood," Miao Bu said. Tang Huwei nodded.

"Good." Then his eyes shifted back to Bai Ning.

"And try to do something impressive this time." Bai Ning's eye twitched. She stared at him for several seconds. Then she turned towards the stairs.

"Come on," she said to Miao Bu. The spear cultivator immediately fell into step beside her. Behind them, Tang Huwei called out one final instruction.

"Alive if possible!"

"The concubine only?" Bai Ning shouted back.

"Yes, the concubine. Cao Yong is optional." Bai Ning had suspected as much. Together, she and Miao Bu descended toward the nineteenth floor.