Chương 139: Book 2 Chapter 52: Old friends

It was a blessing that the day was so busy she had little time to think. By the time the sun hung overhead, Uncle Tiger came to visit. It was the second time Muxue had ever seen him like this, restrained and subdued, his usual vibrant colors hidden beneath a plain cloak and his larger-than-life personality buried behind a solemn expression.

He brought with him the full list of the dead, news of what Chengxuan was doing (nothing), the court's response (an even bigger nothing), Minister Pao's message, and the details of their departure the following morning.

"Remarkably little has changed on the surface," he said gently. Even so, Muxue felt a spike of anger. Her friend – her mother, a traitorous part of her whispered, a thought she would never allow to escape – was dead, and nothing had changed? She wanted to scream. Instead, like the princess she was, she put on a mask and pretended everything was fine. She was accustomed to masks; it was how she had lived for the past fifty years.

"The deaths are being blamed on 'Shi Wanjun's traitorous forces,' as the prince put it before the court, though no one is actually foolish enough to believe that. To everyone else, it's simply another exchange between him and you. And since we're seen as the side losing..."

"They won't speak up for us because they think we're on the back foot," Muxue finished. She wasn't even disgusted, that was simply the nature of the court. And, much as it rankled her to admit it, anyone suddenly lamenting the deaths on her side would be a hypocrite. Not a single voice had protested when Chengxuan's men had been dying. It just... didn't feel the same. She drew a slow breath, the qi laden air filling her lungs, another reminder of this strange bronze jade, before letting it out.

"Minister Pao?" she asked. The Tiger General snorted, making no effort to conceal his disdain.

"Trembling in his boots. He did everything he could to back out of the campaign, even trying to resign, not that there's anyone in the ministry capable of replacing him. He'll be trouble, mark my words. The only reason he isn't licking your cousin's boots right now is because Chengxuan probably doesn't think he's worth the effort." What went unsaid was that Chengxuan was not entirely wrong. Unless Muxue won this fight, the battle would already be lost, and Minister Pao would suffer for it in the aftermath.

"But he's still coming," she pressed. Her uncle nodded, and relief washed quietly through her. Whatever his disposition, once they reached the Wall, he would have no choice but to support her, since there would be no other path left open to him. She could work with that. The Ministry of External Affairs was insignificant enough that anything beyond his reluctant cooperation was hardly worth considering. Silence settled between them, comfortable in the way that only shared grief could make it.

Uncle Tiger let his gaze wander over the bronze jade surrounding them while Muxue idly traced the embroidered hem of her robes. At last, he broke it.

"How are you, Little Moon? Really?" She tried to smile but knew it had failed before she even looked up at him.

"... Ready to leave," she admitted, offering the only honest answer she could afford.

"Mo Jian and Bai Ning are upstairs, waiting for their allies, but I didn't feel like joining them." She couldn't summon the interest, nor the energy to play the gracious princess, at least not today. The thought alone was enough to make her angry. Mo Jian had insisted she come regardless, arguing that leaving her alone while assassins were hunting them was an unnecessary risk. She had refused, and in the end he had simply left his ding behind instead, its protection encompassing the entire cavern.

She could neither see it nor sense it, and that alone told her everything she needed to know. No assassin was getting through it. Uncle Tiger nodded, as though hearing everything she had left unsaid. His eyes swept over the bronze jade once more.

"That boy," he muttered.

"Does he even know what he's sitting on?" Muxue couldn't help smiling, faint as it was.

"I suspect he does. He simply doesn't care." She glanced around the cavern herself, at the veins of crystal threading through stone like frozen lightning.

"Then again, he has bigger secrets." Tang Huwei snorted.

"If this wasn't manifested through the gui, I'll never wear makeup again." Coming from him, that was as close to absolute certainty as anyone could get.

"The court will lose its collective mind if they discover what's buried here. The mere possibility that it could revitalize dead qi veins was enough to reach even my ears. But proof that someone can manifest a natural treasure of this grade..." He shook his head.

"Perhaps it's better this remains buried until we can deal with it properly."

"It's not ours to deal with," she reminded him gently, though there was little rebuke in her voice. She understood his curiosity and his concern; she herself had long since accepted that Mo Jian's methods mattered less than the results he achieved, but one did not become an Army General like Tang Huwei without questioning everything.

"Fair enough," he conceded. Then he straightened.

"Now, come upstairs with me."

"And-" he added sharply as she opened her mouth to protest, "I won't take no for an answer. No matter how awful you feel, these are the people who will march with you into the fires of war. You will lead them, implicitly if not explicitly, and that means you must be there when they arrive." His voice softened, though it lost none of its certainty.

"They need to see you standing tall. They need to know that you care enough to greet them yourself. They need to believe that whatever happens, it won't break you, and that even in adversity you'll stand beside them." He met her eyes.

"That is what it means to lead, and you already know that." Muxue held his gaze for a long moment before looking away.

"All right," she said quietly. ………………………………………… Together, they left the mine, climbing the winding passage back to the surface. Sunlight struck her face the moment she emerged, and she closed her eyes for an instant, savoring the reinvigorating warmth spreading across her skin, a small, stolen mercy after a night spent underground with grief for company. The mine had been empty, or at least had felt that way when she had arrived the previous night, but now it thrummed with activity.

Cultivators, most of them in the Qi Condensation realm, worked the various shafts, carving enormous blocks of jade from the mountain with magic treasures. The blocks were hauled away to be cut into smaller pieces before being sent to the washing pools below, where clusters of mortal families scrubbed the rough jade clean in spirit water as richly purple as Daqin wine. They did not linger. Both she and Uncle Tiger took to the air almost immediately, flying quickly enough that no one had a chance to stop them.

Muxue had already noticed more than a few curious glances directed their way. She doubted the common workers knew who she was, or for that matter, who any of them were, but she had no desire to be drawn into conversation today. The mountain's summit was jagged and uneven, save for one broad terrace that had been carved flat. Most of it was occupied by a stately building of polished jade – the Jade Hall, she presumed. Waiting outside, their eyes fixed upon the horizon, stood Mo Jian and Bai Ning.

Muxue let her spiritual sense wash across the summit, finding that apart from the four of them, it was empty. As she and Uncle Tiger landed, Mo Jian acknowledged them with a simple nod, which she returned. Bai Ning offered something gentler: a small, sympathetic smile. No words were necessary. The four of them stood together, watching the empty sky. Nearly fifteen minutes passed, the sun hanging directly overhead, its light gleaming off the jade walls behind them, before Uncle Tiger stirred almost imperceptibly.

Mo Jian reacted a heartbeat later, though it took longer for Bai Ning and Muxue to detect what the two men already had. A streak of olive green cut across the heavens, flying unerringly toward the mountain. As it drew nearer, it resolved into a magnificent three-decked tower boat. It came to a halt directly overhead before vanishing abruptly, its task complete, leaving five glittering trails of qi to descend from the empty sky, bearing their passengers gently to the summit.

Even through the fog of apathy shrouding her mind, Muxue found herself watching with genuine interest. The first person to draw her attention was the sole Nascent Soul cultivator among them: Wei Shentong. Mo Jian had always been strangely cagey whenever she had asked about the man, not out of any desire to keep secrets, Muxue suspected, but because he simply hadn't considered the details important.

What little she did know was that the two of them had been antagonists for some time before Wei Shentong had lost a wager to him, binding himself to something resembling ten years of service in exchange for the opportunity to enter the palace. Uncharitable though the thought was, one glance at his face convinced her that yes, he was exactly the sort of man who would agree to such a wager and regret it every day since.

His features were flinty, his blue eyes sunk beneath a perpetual scowl that looked as though it had been carved into his face decades ago; the expression of someone who had made up his mind about the world long ago and found any evidence to the contrary deeply inconvenient. He was surprisingly short, and his hair, more white than black beneath the midday sun, spilled from beneath an elaborate jade coronet.

Ordinarily he might have been intimidating, but the moment his eyes landed on Uncle Tiger, they sharpened with unmistakable caution. It reminded Muxue of a wolf suddenly realizing a lion had wandered into its territory. Even as he descended, his gaze never strayed far from Tang Huwei. Her uncle, for his part, ignored him with magnificent indifference, his attention fixed instead upon the other four arrivals.

As Wei Shentong made his way toward Mo Jian – still keeping one wary eye on Uncle Tiger – and Bai Ning stepped forward with a broad smile to greet one of the women with clasped hands, Muxue studied the remaining newcomers. Two of them were women. One immediately fell into step behind Wei Shentong, following him toward Mo Jian without a word. The other stopped before Bai Ning, clasping her hands with a gentle smile.

"Sister Bai," she murmured, unmistakable joy warming her voice. She was tall and fair, with an unmistakable fondness for white. Snow-pale skin blended seamlessly into equally white hair, broken only by a pair of jet-black hairpins. Everything about her carriage spoke of noble birth. Muxue had seen that same effortless poise countless times in the heirs of great houses making their first appearances at court, though in her, the usual arrogance was absent. She carried herself with dignity rather than superiority.

Trailing after her came the remaining two men, or rather, boys; at least, that was Muxue's first impression once she saw them properly. Neither looked younger than fifty, but both wore the same irrepressible grin of mischievous children reunited with old friends. The taller of the pair was broad-shouldered and handsome in a stern, upright sort of way, possessing the sort of noble bearing artists loved to immortalize.

The image was undermined entirely by the hopelessly besotted smile he wore as he looked toward their white-haired companion. The second was round enough around the middle that Muxue briefly wondered whether he cultivated food as diligently as qi. His head was shaved smooth as an egg, and a necklace of thick wooden prayer beads rested against richly embroidered robes of green, gold, and blue. She might have mistaken him for a monk... were it not for the obvious expense of his clothing.

The taller man reached Bai Ning first, clapping her heartily on the shoulder.

"Sister Bai!" She turned with a radiant smile, while the white-haired woman sighed in a way that somehow managed to be simultaneously exasperated and affectionate before making room for him without complaint. Moments later, the rotund cultivator ambled into the gathering. Bai Ning blinked, then exclaimed "Zhuhe, you got fat!" The bald man gasped as though mortally wounded.

"I cultivated prosperity!" Laughter erupted from the little group, and something twisted unexpectedly inside Muxue. She could not remember ever having friends like these: people so effortlessly happy simply to see one another again. Her last... her only true friend had- She cut the thought off before it could go any further, instead turning her attention back toward Mo Jian. Wei Shentong was speaking to him now, accompanied by the last woman.

Her gaze lingered on the newcomer a moment longer than she would have preferred, though judging by the way Uncle Tiger was openly studying the woman with an approving nod, Muxue doubted anyone had noticed. She was beautiful, which in itself was hardly remarkable among cultivators, but what was remarkable was that she made no effort to hide it. Her robes were cut daringly low, accentuating rather than concealing her figure.

Every movement carried an effortless languor, every smile balanced somewhere between teasing and invitation, and even standing still, she seemed to radiate practiced confidence. Incongruously, she reminded Muxue less of a cultivator from the south of the empire than of certain noble ladies she had encountered at court, women who understood perfectly well the influence beauty could wield and delighted in wielding it. The thought was swept from her mind the next instant.

"What do you mean we're going to the Great Wall instead of the Palace?" Wei Shentong's shout echoed across the summit, all composure abandoned. Mo Jian raised a placating hand, as though soothing a skittish horse.

"Calm down and hear me out. This is an opportunity in disguise, not an exile. And it's not as though the risk is insurmountable. You're a Nascent Soul cultivator. If we're careful, we can at least guarantee our survival, no matter how risky the situation is." Judging by Wei Shentong's increasingly flat expression, that reassurance was having precisely the opposite effect Mo Jian had intended. Oblivious, or perhaps simply uncaring, he blithely continued.

"You see the people standing beside me, don't you? This is Princess Xiang Muxue, and the man next to her is one of the Empire's Army Generals, Tang Huwei. If we resolve the crisis at the Wall in exemplary fashion, we'll be untouchable at court." His grin widened.

"Besides, I promised you answers, didn't I? This is all part of the plan." Wei Shentong's head snapped toward her, and Muxue recognized the look immediately. He knew her name, and more importantly, he knew what it represented: The Fallen Princess. Whatever opinions he held, however, he possessed enough sense not to voice them in front of either Mo Jian or Uncle Tiger. He inclined his head stiffly.

"Your Celestial Highness." Muxue returned the gesture with an equally measured nod, refusing to let a poor first impression harden into prejudice. The woman behind Wei Shentong chose that moment to step forward.

"Brother Mo," she said, her voice warm with amusement, "you've become quite handsome, and not a word to anyone about it? I should send Fan Mei a jade slip with your face on it. She'd blush herself senseless." Muxue's attention sharpened instantly, not merely because of the teasing familiarity, but because the tips of Mo Jian's ears turned unmistakably red. He smiled with the air of a man resigned to inevitable defeat.

"Fairy Liu Rushi, I remain as defenseless against you as ever." He inclined his head politely.

"I wasn't aware you would be joining us." Liu Rushi smiled, tucking a loose strand of flame-red hair behind one ear with practiced elegance, a gesture so natural it nevertheless gave every man watching an excuse to look.

"I was worried about Shuangyi," she replied.

"It's the first time she's traveled so far from home, so I thought I should accompany her." She glanced affectionately toward the white-haired woman.

"And," she added with a playful smile, "I've always wanted to see the capital. It seemed a fine opportunity to accomplish both at once." A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Mo Jian's smile softened into something almost guilty.

"I am sorry that you came all this way only for me to ask you to accompany us even farther from your homes, not to mention into the middle of a crisis." Liu Rushi merely smiled. With an almost absent-minded gesture, she manifested a long hairpin of translucent ice and deftly twisted her loose hair into a high ponytail. The transformation was immediate, as her languid elegance vanished, replaced by a much more martial look.

"Risk and reward walk hand in hand for cultivators, Brother Mo." Her smile remained, though there was steel beneath it now.

"Do not trouble yourself. We all came prepared to help you to the best of our abilities. None of us imagined the road ahead would be free of danger." Enough. Muxue was just about to step forward and introduce herself properly when another voice cut through the conversation.

"I notice," Wei Shentong said sourly, "that I received neither an apology nor any concern whatsoever regarding the dangers involved." Mo Jian rolled his eyes.

"Oh, for-" He stopped himself with a sigh.

"You know what? This is as good a time as any." He gestured to his feet.

"Let's head below. There are a few things I should explain that ought to put your mind at ease." Then, raising his voice, he called to the other four cultivators, who had drifted back into cheerful conversation.

"Come along, everyone." The quartet turned toward him, and the tall, broad-shouldered man blinked once... then twice.

"Senior Mo, you look..." He trailed off, suddenly realizing that whatever he had been about to say was probably inappropriate. Mo Jian regarded him with dry amusement.

"I look what? Finish the thought, Li Kang." The man immediately found the horizon fascinating. Before he could dig himself any deeper, Bai Ning rescued him with a firm elbow to the ribs.

"He means you look completely different, Master, which you already know." She shot Mo Jian a knowing look.

"So, stop trying to intimidate him." For the first time that day, Muxue found the corner of her mouth twitching upward, as they made their way toward the mine once more, descending into the same cavern she had left only minutes earlier. There was an easy familiarity between the newcomers and Mo Jian and Bai Ning, effortless and unforced in a way that could only come from shared triumphs and hardships. Their laughter echoed down the passage ahead, filling the silence that had hung over the mountain since dawn.

Muxue glanced sideways at Uncle Tiger. He had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the exchange. Sensing her gaze, he looked back and offered a small, rueful smile. She understood: he was mourning too. She had scarcely allowed herself to think about it amid her own grief, but he had lost trusted soldiers and long-serving subordinates, including Miao Bu. He had also lost the men and women from the Outer Court who had placed their faith in him. Watching old friends reunite so joyfully...

It could not help but remind him of those who would never laugh beside him again. Without a word, they continued down together, while around them, the others chatted and joked as though the world were exactly as it should be. Beside one another, princess and general carried a quieter burden, each drawing a measure of comfort from the simple fact that, for a little while at least, they did not have to bear it alone. ………………………………………………………..

By the time everyone had settled, Muxue had been introduced to the newcomers, or rather, they had all been introduced to her. She now knew the names of everyone present. The cavern they had retired to was spacious enough that their group did not feel cramped, though there were still more people gathered than she had first assumed. Three Nascent Soul cultivators sat among them: Uncle Tiger, Mo Jian, and Wei Shentong.

Excluding herself, there were six Core Formation cultivators as well: Bai Ning, Li Kang, Yue Shuangyi, Chen Zhuhe, Liu Rushi, and Duan Cheng. Even then, they did not begin immediately. Mo Jian first laid down five separate formations across the cavern, each one settling invisibly atop the last. Muxue then concealed the entire array beneath the Truth Tolling Bell, ensuring that even if someone discovered the formations, they would find nothing of value beyond them.

Finally, Uncle Tiger blanketed the cavern with his own qi, the pressure of a late stage Nascent Soul cultivator saturating every inch of the chamber. Only once all three layers of security were completed did anyone visibly relax. Muxue already knew pieces of what Mo Jian intended to reveal. Even so, that only made her more interested. There were still too many gaps in her understanding, and if he truly intended to explain himself at last, she intended to listen carefully.

Standing in the center of the chamber, Mo Jian cleared his throat. Despite the audience before him, he did not appear uncomfortable in the slightest. If anything, he seemed almost relieved that the moment had finally come. Every conversation ceased as all eyes turned toward him.

"Thank you all for gathering here," he began, a small smile touching his lips.

"I know I've promised answers to many of you. Beyond that, I imagine everyone would appreciate some clarity regarding the situation we've found ourselves in. Since we're all here, I'd like to provide both." The attention in the room sharpened perceptibly. Muxue, already seated with her back perfectly straight upon the rock and jade floor, found herself unconsciously sitting a little straighter still. Mo Jian's smile remained, though it had taken on a different quality. It was no longer simply polite.

There was a hint of camaraderie to it now, as though he were inviting everyone present to share in a burden he had carried alone for far too long.

"It began many years ago," he said, "when I came... rather closer to death than I would have preferred." A few eyebrows rose around the chamber, but no one interrupted him.

"Through circumstances that I still do not understand, I experienced what I can only describe as a vision of the future. It was not a divination, nor was it a fleeting glimpse of a single event. It was... comprehensive." He searched for the proper word before continuing.

"I lived through years that had not yet happened. I witnessed events stretching far beyond my own lifetime, saw kingdoms rise and fall, watched people I had never met become the greatest heroes and the vilest villains of their age. I remember conversations that have not yet occurred, battles that have not yet been fought, and discoveries that have not yet been made." His smile turned faintly self-deprecating.

"I realize how absurd that sounds." No one answered him, and the silence that followed was complete. Muxue found that she had forgotten to breathe. Whatever she had expected him to say, it had not been this. She had imagined some grand political ambition, an ancient inheritance unearthed beneath the mountains, or perhaps a powerful patron whose existence he had concealed from them all. Instead- He claimed to have seen the future. She looked around the chamber.

Wei Shentong wore an expression of open skepticism, Liu Rushi's amused smile had disappeared entirely, and even Uncle Tiger, who had remained remarkably composed throughout the morning, was studying Mo Jian with narrowed eyes. Only Bai Ning appeared utterly unsurprised, sitting with the relaxed posture of someone hearing a story she had known for years, merely waiting for everyone else to catch up.

"At first," Mo Jian continued, "I believed I could simply ignore it. But the events I had witnessed continued to unfold exactly as I remembered them. One after another, they proved the vision's accuracy, until it became impossible to convince myself that doing nothing was an option." His expression grew more serious.

"So, in order to prevent the calamity I saw awaiting us, I came to a single conclusion." He looked directly at Muxue.

"I needed the help of an immortal." She had no idea what expression crossed her face in that moment, but she hoped it was not disbelief, because that was certainly what she felt. Even Uncle Tiger looked unconvinced now, his brows raised almost to his tattoo line.

"To that end," Mo Jian continued, "Bai Ning and I traveled to the capital to seek an audience with the Immortal Emperor. Unfortunately, the scale of what I witnessed is so extraordinary that simply recounting it aloud is liable to see me dismissed as either a madman or a fool proclaiming the end of the world." A self-conscious smile tugged at one corner of his mouth.

"I therefore considered it imperative that our first meeting take place under circumstances where I could present proof before making such claims. More importantly..." His smile turned wry.

"I would very much prefer not to be struck down for insolence, or dissected to determine whether I am attempting to deceive an immortal or merely speaking the truth." A ripple of unease passed through the room before fading almost as quickly. Everyone exchanged baffled glances, though each seemed to have arrived at a different conclusion.

Wei Shentong looked positively irritated, though Muxue noticed that nearly half his attention remained fixed on the bronze jade surrounding them; ever since entering the cavern, his gaze had kept wandering back to the crystal walls. Duan Cheng, by contrast, appeared thoughtful rather than skeptical, his fingers absently stroking his chin as he weighed Mo Jian's words. Uncle Tiger's expression had shifted as well, his eyes still narrowed, but no longer in disbelief.

Rather, he looked like a commander reluctantly entertaining a possibility that defied every instinct telling him to reject it. As for Muxue, she remained unconvinced. Not because she thought Mo Jian was lying – that, somehow, felt impossible – but because she wondered whether he had genuinely experienced what he described, only to misunderstand what it truly had been.

Yet not everyone shared her reservations – Bai Ning's three companions glanced toward her almost as one, silently asking the question none of them voiced aloud, and she answered with a single, unhesitating nod. That was enough, and just like that, their uncertainty evaporated. The trust they placed in her was so complete that, if Bai Ning believed Mo Jian, then they would believe him as well.

Chen Zhuhe – the rotund cultivator whom Muxue had privately taken to calling the fat monk, inaccurate though she knew both descriptions were – suddenly sucked in a sharp breath.

"So your duel with Old Devil Fu, Senior..." Recognition dawned across his face. Mo Jian inclined his head.

"It was influenced by the vision." The four cultivators from the Thousand Shattered Islands exchanged significant looks. It was the sort of look shared by people who had just stumbled upon the missing piece of a mystery that had puzzled them for years.

"So," Uncle Tiger said at last, his deep voice cutting through the silence, "everything you've done since then has been in service of changing this future?"

"Not everything," Mo Jian replied. His gaze shifted toward Muxue, lingering on her for just a moment.

"But almost everything has been in service to that goal." He turned back to address the room.

"Which brings me to why we've all assembled here. I have sworn my support to Princess Xiang Muxue" -he deliberately swept his eyes across everyone present as he spoke her name- "in exchange for her assistance in securing that audience with the Immortal Emperor." His expression grew solemn.

"To arrange such a meeting, she must first become Crown Princess, and to become Crown Princess, we must succeed at the Great Wall." It took Muxue a full heartbeat to realize he had handed the conversation to her; she was still reeling from everything he had said. There was no doubt in her mind that Mo Jian believed every word, and somehow that made it harder rather than easier to dismiss. Yet whether or not she accepted his explanation, this was her moment to speak.

"Mo Jian is right," she said slowly, letting her voice settle into the register she had learned to use before the court.

"At present, Chengxuan believes the only paths left open to me are failure or death, perhaps both. That belief is precisely why he has committed so much of his strength to this endeavor." She let her gaze travel around the chamber, meeting each pair of eyes in turn.

"But if we succeed where he expects us to fail, everything changes. The prestige from such a victory would be enough for me to put my name forward as Crown Princess with genuine support behind it. And I believe-" She stopped herself.

"No." The single word rang more firmly than anything she had said before.

"I know we can win." The confidence surprised even her.

"The pieces are already in place. We are not marching blindly into a hopeless battle. We know our enemy, we know the battlefield, and we have opportunities that Chengxuan does not yet realize exist." She inclined her head.

"Whatever follows, this campaign will decide the fate of everything I have worked toward." Mo Jian picked up the thread seamlessly.

"As Her Highness said, this battle is the fulcrum upon which everything else turns. If we prevail, we will possess both the legitimacy and the influence needed to remove Chengxuan once and for all." A faint smile crossed his face.

"And, incidentally, the gratitude of the future Crown Princess is not an insignificant reward, not to mention that success also serves the considerably loftier goal of preventing the future I witnessed." Then, entirely incongruously, he clapped his hands together.

"So," he said, looking around the room.

"Any questions?" Muxue had several – far too many, in fact. But asking them now would undermine both her authority and the confidence she had just projected. Better to remain silent and let someone else voice the doubts she herself harbored. Fortunately, Wei Shentong looked more than willing to oblige. The Nascent Soul cultivator's expression had darkened steadily throughout Mo Jian's explanation. The moment the invitation was extended, he seized it.

"Questions?" he repeated, sounding genuinely offended.

"I have a thousand. You've explained almost nothing. A vision of the future? Fine. Let us pretend I believe you for a moment. What did you actually see? You haven't told us." He jabbed a finger toward the walls of bronze jade surrounding them.

"And if what you say is true, why go to such lengths to secure an audience with the Immortal Emperor? Why not simply use the gui?" He gestured broadly around the cavern.

"You seem perfectly comfortable using it for everything else." He took a breath before continuing, and when he spoke again there was a harder edge beneath the frustration, the sound of a man doing arithmetic he did not like the answer to.

"And why involve yourself in the Imperial succession at all? Why not support some other-" The words died in his throat, as only then did he seem to remember that Tang Huwei was standing less than ten paces away. The Tiger General had not moved, merely watching Wei Shentong with the patient attention of an apex predator considering whether something smaller was worth eating. Wei Shentong coughed into his fist.

"... member of the Imperial Family," he finished somewhat less enthusiastically. Mo Jian, meanwhile, nodded along almost cheerfully.

"Excellent questions." He held up a finger.

"The first answer is simple: I will not discuss the contents of my vision with anyone until I stand before the Immortal Emperor himself. If I am to reveal something that extraordinary, I intend to do it exactly once, before the only person capable of verifying it beyond doubt." A second finger joined the first.

"As for the gui, it cannot secure the sort of audience I require. If anything, displaying it prematurely would make that audience considerably more dangerous." Then a third.

"And as for why I chose Princess Muxue..." He smiled.

"Because I prefer her to every other candidate." There was no hesitation in his voice.

"The others would seek to use us for their own ambitions. Her Highness and I, on the other hand, have goals that align." Finally, he turned fully toward Wei Shentong.

"And the reason you will accompany us is, first, because you swore to obey me for ten years. But if that proves insufficient motivation..." He reached out and rested a hand against the bronze jade beside him.

"You recognize what this is, didn't you?" Wei Shentong's eyes flickered to the crystal despite himself.

"I have already harvested everything I personally require from this vein. The remainder is of no particular use to me." Mo Jian tapped the jade lightly.

"It can be yours." The words landed like a stone in still water, and he let the silence stretch before adding, "In exchange for your complete and unconditional support throughout this campaign." Even Wei Shentong forgot to breathe for a moment. He simply stared at Mo Jian. Then he laughed once: a short, disbelieving bark.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I don't particularly care whether you believe it," Mo Jian replied evenly.

"I only care whether you accept it." Wei Shentong looked around the cavern once more. His gaze lingered on the bronze jade surrounding them, on the countless South Pointing Roses suspended within the crystal, glimmering faintly beneath the formation lights. The greed in his eyes was plain to see, but so was the calculation behind it.

"You would hand over a treasure that kingdoms would wage war over."

"I would."

"... Why?"

"Because I don't need it." The answer came so immediately, so matter-of-fact, that Wei Shentong was robbed of his next question before he could ask it. Mo Jian continued before he could recover.

"I came here for something very specific. I have already obtained it. Everything else is excess."

"Excess," Wei Shentong repeated weakly.

"You intend to refine your natal artifact eventually, don't you?" Mo Jian asked.

"This jade is a natural treasure of extraordinary purity. Refined properly, it should improve the quality of your artifact, and just as importantly, it might allow you to breakthrough to the mid stage of the Nascent Soul realm." Wei Shentong's breathing slowed.

"And you'll simply... give it to me."

"In exchange for your wholehearted support until this campaign is concluded." The older cultivator fell silent. Muxue watched the conflict play out across his face: pride urging him to refuse, suspicion urging him to question the offer further, and greed, slowly but surely, winning out over both.

"... Very well." His shoulders sagged, just slightly.

"I already swore to follow you for ten years. I suppose I may as well stop pretending I had another choice." Mo Jian looked around at everyone else.

"As for the rest of you," he said, "I won't ask for oaths." His gaze settled first on Liu Rushi, then Li Kang, Yue Shuangyi, Chen Zhuhe, and finally Duan Cheng.

"You came because Bai Ning and I asked for your help. I won't pretend that what lies ahead will be easy, nor will I hide the risks involved. If any of you wish to leave, you may do so now, without resentment from either of us." The five cultivators exchanged glances. Li Kang was the first to snort.

"Senior, if Sister Bai asked me to jump into the sea, I'd only ask how deep."

"If I had to, I'd complain the entire way down," Chen Zhuhe observed.

"But I'd still jump." Liu Rushi shook her head, smiling faintly.

"You've already apologized twice for dragging us into danger, Brother Mo. A third apology isn't going to convince us to leave." Beside her, Yue Shuangyi nodded once.

"We're staying." Duan Cheng folded his arms.

"If the future of the Empire truly hangs in the balance, I'd rather witness it than hear about it afterward." Mo Jian's shoulders relaxed by the smallest degree.

"Thank you."

"No," Bai Ning said quietly, shifting to smile at the friends gathered around her.

"Thank you." The cavern fell silent save for the faint whisper of qi flowing through the bronze jade surrounding them. It was Uncle Tiger who finally broke the quiet, his voice carrying the weight of a man already turning the next problem over in his mind.

"Well," he said, "now that everyone has agreed to march into danger together, perhaps we should discuss the rather more practical matter of how exactly you're going to survive long enough to reach the Great Wall."