Book 2 Chapter 69

AN:I feel like a trigger warning, or at least a plain warning, is necessary for today's chapter, except I'm not entirely sure what to warn you against.

Thank you!

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As night fell, Mo Jian gathered everyone in the massive guest tent the Kiyat had given them, some more easily than others. Muxue was already wringing her hands in nervousness when the last of the group – read: Bai Ning and her friends – trooped in, though she stopped the instant their attention turned to her.

"Time to flee," she said, by way of greeting, offering no further explanation.

Mo Jian, who had accompanied her that day to speak with the tribe's elders and had watched her weave the lie that they were merchants for the better part of the day, had expected this. The others had not.

"Flee?" Liu Rushi echoed, exchanging a quick glance with the others. "Won't the tribe take umbrage and chase after us, Your Celestial Highness? And beyond that, won't this destroy any hope we have of remaining anonymous during our mission? I thought… Well, I thought perhaps we could fake a Fatwa, using the information the Horse General gifted you…"

Muxue was already shaking her head. "Faking a Fatwa is next to impossible. Merchants without imperial permission have tried for millennia and never succeeded. No, there is no point in dragging this out. If we run, they will chase us for a while, but not forever. We can lose them eventually, because we have two Nascent Soul cultivators. The only true danger is that our presence will become known from now on. The Kiyat will spread the information to every tribe and horde their messengers can reach, and soon enough, we'll have hunter packs and assassin groups chasing after us too."

She shrugged, as if to say: That's life.

Wei Shentong glared at her, something like resentment burning in his eyes. "You seem remarkably blasé about that proposition, Princess. As I recall, you emphasized the need for subtlety and secrecy quite a lot when you shared your plan. I was not expecting such a… quick change."

Mo Jian opened his mouth to answer, but Muxue waved him down without even looking at him. She faced Wei Shentong squarely. "Plans change according to circumstances. And while this will obviously make things far harder for us than initially expected, it is still salvageable. In fact, it might even work out better. My message to Tayang Khan will now be accompanied by the news that a group has been bold enough to openly walk into the Steppes. The Northern Warriors respect strength above all else."

She paused, a dangerous glint entering her eyes.

"As for the added danger… are you or are you not a Nascent Soul cultivator, Lord? Surely, this is not enough to frighten you?"

The tension in the tent thickened perceptibly as eyes snapped from Muxue to Wei Shentong. Neither released their aura or circulated their qi; they were in the middle of enemy territory, after all, but the air felt thick enough to cut. Finally, Wei Shentong backed off first, harrumphing and looking away. He did not pursue Muxue's claim that this might actually work out better for them, which she had likely only come up with to put a positive spin on their circumstances.

Mo Jian felt like burying his face in his hands. They had barely stepped into the Steppes properly, and already the group was imploding. Worse, one of their major goals – to remain hidden – was about to crash and burn.

The thing was, this was still a better outcome than another possibility that had occurred to him. After all, there was one other way to ensure they remained hidden: slaughter everyone in the tribe apart from themselves and conceal the evidence. If there was no one left to raise the alarm, then no alarm would be raised. And Mo Jian could do it. With the changes to the Netherworld Scorpion, it would even be easy. Even without those changes… as long as he and Wei Shentong moved with their full strength, and luck was on their side… they might have succeeded.

Now, it was no longer a question of possibility, but choice.

So he was quietly thankful that no one had brought it up. Those days in the Palace, when he had decided not to kill people without evidence of at least some crime, were behind him. Yet, whether it made him foolish or hypocritical, he still did not want to conduct a slaughter. Not even now.

Meanwhile, Bai Ning, who had been following the conversation in silence, suddenly spoke up. "So, how are we going to flee? I can bring out Miantiao."

Duan Cheng, standing at the corner of the tent, nodded. "A dragon is a fine choice, and that one is quite strong. The Yuan may also be hesitant to come after us because of a dragon."

Wei Shentong snorted again, shooting a quick glance at Mo Jian. The look was both disdainful and questioning, but Mo Jian ignored the former and nodded at the latter. He understood what the other man meant, and agreed. Bai Ning was being naïve. Why would they choose a dragon controlled by a Core Formation cultivator when they had a Nascent Soul cultivator who could transport them far more quickly?

A pulse of jade-green qi swept out from Wei Shentong. The ground beneath them buckled. It bulged and tore apart as though something enormous were burrowing up from beneath their feet.

"Everyone, hold on," Mo Jian warned. His own qi surged outward, weaving itself into a barrier that enclosed the interior of the tent and shielded everyone within. From outside, he could already hear the sounds of confusion and commotion. But it was too late for the tribe to react. The ground finally tore apart completely, chunks of grass and soil collapsing inward as a jade boat burst from beneath them. It was already large enough to carry everyone in the tent, yet it swelled slightly as it rose into the air, multicolored qi weaving around its hull to form a protective barrier. Natal artifacts manifested in every hand. Mo Jian, meanwhile, sent a copy of the Heaven Enshrouding Ding upward, expanding it until it covered the boat as well.

Below, the tribe had already dissolved into pandemonium. Mo Jian caught a single bewildered glimpse of what seemed to be scaled horses stampeding across the encampment before realizing they were the Yuan charging toward them. Golden fire bloomed across the ground, until the entire tribe's encampment seemed to mirror the heavens above, gold and silver scattered across the darkness like a sea of stars.

And then-

A roar of fury shook the earth. Tent poles shuddered and rattled, several collapsing outright. A moment later came the deeper, rolling blare of war horns as the Kiyat camp awakened to danger. "Yesui," Muxue said, her face pale. The flying ship continued climbing, even as the first war cries rose into the darkening sky. And somewhere nearby, dangerously nearby, Mo Jian heard the heavy thunder of hooves, dozens of them, as if the entire tribe was converging on their position.

The boat turned north and fled.

Behind them, a rolling tide of golden fire surged into the sky in the shape of a whale and gave chase.

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Fifteen minutes later, the whale was still chasing them.

"We must have angered her quite a lot," Mo Jian commented from where he stood on the boat.

Its speed was quite impressive for an early Nascent Soul cultivator, but the whale behind them was not losing ground by so much as an inch. Mo Jian suspected – but could not quite confirm – that it was composed of Yesui and all the Core Formation elders of her tribe. Perhaps they had even thrown in a few Foundation Establishment cultivators for good measure. They had really angered their former hostess. Thankfully, without a Khan to guide them, they were still not up to the task of catching up to them.

Li Kang, who was standing nearby, grinned broadly. "Now this feels like a proper adventure."

Duan Cheng, who had been running him, Chen Zhuhe, Yue Shuangyi, and Bai Ning through his Thousand Faced Die's ability to create a layered board for combating multiple foes, grunted. "Don't move. Do you want to learn how to use this formation or not?" Then, catching himself, he added, "Of course, if Senior Mo Jian has something more important to say…?"

Mo Jian waved them off.

Li Kang sheepishly turned back to his friends, and Duan Cheng started to demonstrate his ability again.

Mo Jian decided to move away so as not to disturb them, heading for the front. The vessel itself was of a simple design: nothing more than a boat-shaped jade structure with a single deck for them to stand upon. It was large enough that they had naturally broken into groups. Duan Cheng and the juniors occupied the rear, while Liu Rushi was conversing with Muxue farther ahead.

At the bow, Wei Shentong stood tall, his robes flapping gently in the breeze that slipped through their qi barrier. Mo Jian moved to join him, seeing as Muxue and Liu Rushi were deep in a private conversation.

"At this rate, we'll lose them in a day or two, so long as we don't run into another tribe."

Wei Shentong grunted. "It would be far better if you let me attack them. To flee like a dog with its tail between its legs…" He clicked his tongue. "It leaves a sour taste in my mouth."

Mo Jian sighed irritably. "They were kind and courteous to us, and we were the ones who lied to them. There is no reason to attack them when we can simply flee. Besides, if that doesn't move you, then pragmatism should. If we injure or kill someone among their group, they will have genuine cause for enmity against us. This way, their attention will soon shift elsewhere."

Once more, Wei Shentong grunted before falling silent.

Mo Jian took the opportunity to study the ground passing beneath them as they flew through the skies at incredible speed. It was all grassland: tall, pale stalks rippling in the wind, shades of green, yellow, and brown blending together beneath the faint starlight. Here and there, small clusters of trees or jutting rocks broke the monotony. On the left horizon, a mountain range was slowly coming into view, its peaks shrouded in mist that caught and reflected what little light reached them.

It was a moonless night, and thick layers of clouds covered the sky, allowing only the faintest glimmer of starlight through. As such, the flaming whale chasing them was impossible to miss. It was composed entirely of golden flames, shaped with exquisite detail. Its enormous tail swept through the sky in broad, languid arcs that looked almost leisurely despite the deceptive speed they produced. A prominent blowhole sat atop its head, through which it occasionally let out a tremendous trumpet, though Mo Jian was fairly certain actual whales did not possess such a feature. Its mouth hung open, revealing rows of needle-like tongues of flame that served as teeth.

Looking at it, Mo Jian was once again reminded of the fiery Taotie he had fought at the Wall, as well as the other beasts the Yuan had manifested. This must be a common technique among them.

Compared to their flamboyant methods, his own approach to flying suddenly seemed rather lacking in style. Not to mention this jade boat…

Wei Shentong caught him staring. "What? You have a problem with my boat?" His tone made it abundantly clear that there had better not be a problem. Otherwise, Mo Jian could always fly on his own.

"No, no." Mo Jian hastily shook his head. "I was just thinking…" He paused, then glanced down at the jade vessel beneath their feet. "…instead of a flying boat, maybe a spaceship-like construct would be cooler."

Wei Shentong stared at him. For several breaths, neither man spoke.

"A what?"

"A spaceship," Mo Jian repeated, suddenly realizing he would probably have to explain. "A construct designed specifically for traveling through the void. Like the legends of the Golden Shuttle or the Wind-Fire Futon." He clicked his tongue, unsure how to explain the idea further and deciding not to bother.

Wei Shentong's expression slowly shifted from confusion to mounting annoyance. He abruptly turned back toward the front of the boat. "Go away. I have to concentrate on escaping the Yuan."

Mo Jian sighed, silently acknowledging his own fault, and backed off. That left only one group he could bother, unless he wanted to stand around by himself. Thankfully, Muxue and Liu Rushi were discussing a familiar topic.

"Perhaps something less forward," Liu Rushi was saying. "Something like, 'A treasure of your people, long lost,' instead of 'The symbol of legitimacy.' It would preserve the context while softening the tone."

Muxue nodded. "Jian made a similar point, but he tended toward too much bluntness. I think your idea works better. With this, the messages are pretty much complete."

Mo Jian, who had just walked over and overheard the last two lines, rolled his eyes. "Better to be too blunt than couch the message in so much flowery language that the meaning gets lost."

Muxue gave him a flat look, while Liu Rushi flashed him a smile. Mo Jian ignored both reactions. "Since the messages are done, when are you planning on sending them?" In truth, there was no particular hurry. Any time within the week would have worked. But now that subtlety was no longer an option, their calculations had changed, or so he assumed.

Muxue nodded. "Right now," she answered. "There is no point in waiting. The strength of my method is that the messages will reach their intended recipients regardless of distance and cannot be intercepted."

She clapped her hands together and then drew them apart. Hovering between her palms was a small silver bell. Its body was shaped like overlapping flower petals, while its clapper and shaft were fashioned from the same silver metal. It glowed with an otherworldly light, seeming almost too pure for the darkness around them. Under Mo Jian's and Liu Rushi's watchful eyes, Muxue raised the bell and began whispering to it as though it were a living creature.

The little bell rang with every word. Each note carried her voice across vast distances, transmitting her message to the Khans – to every Khan on the Steppes. The same message would reach each and every one of them, except Tayang Khan, who alone would receive something different. It took her a good fifteen minutes to finish. At last, the final notes of the bell faded into the night. Without its musical chimes, the darkness suddenly seemed quieter, and somehow, much darker.

Muxue lowered her hands. The silver bell vanished between her palms as silently as it had appeared, leaving behind only a faint glimmer that faded a moment later.

The three of them stood in silence for a while, each aware that the die had now been irreversibly cast. From this point onward, there was truly no going back. More than that, their actions would now ripple across the Steppes and rouse every horde to war. Every Khan would move to target them, because the Truth Tolling Bell ensured that they could determine the veracity of Muxue's message.

Finally, Mo Jian shook himself out of his thoughts. He cast about for a way to steer the conversation elsewhere, and thankfully, the sight of Muxue's natal artifact reminded him of something. "Why didn't you ever use the Bell to ask your grandfather for help? Fifty years ago, I mean," he asked curiously. After all, being able to send its messages to anyone was one of the Truth Tolling Bell's powers.

Muxue smiled humorlessly. "I did. I cried and invoked his name after learning of my father's death and Chengxuan's actions. When I did, the Bell refused to work for a week. After that, I never tried again."

She paused. "His answer was plain enough."

Ah. For a second, Mo Jian had forgotten whom he was asking about. The Immortal Emperor was not concerned with foibles like individual people among his descendants. He cared about his bloodline as an abstract whole, viewing it like a tapestry rather than a collection of individual threads. Muxue was probably lucky he had not outright killed her for bothering him. He must have been in a good mood at the time.

Behind them, the flaming whale continued its relentless pursuit. On the flying boat, nine people, each lost in their own thoughts and considerations, flew ever onward toward a future none of them could yet see.

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"Now. We move now," Ye Wuying cried as she watched the Yuan horde before them lose most of its strength. The leaders of this barbarian group had vanished into the sky behind a jade-green flying boat, chasing it across the heavens like a flaming meteor.

Beside her, Wuhen was equally swift. He immediately put away the Shadow Carriage, leaving the two of them hovering in the sky, concealed by their own abilities.

Not that it made much difference.

This collection of piss-poor barbarians really was stupid. All of their strongest leaders had gone after a single target, leaving the camp largely undefended save for a mass of Foundation Establishment cultivators and a single old Core Formation cultivator. None of them possessed the ability to see through the siblings' concealment, let alone do a damn thing against them.

Wuying raised her hand, and her brother mirrored the motion.

Their combined natal artifact slipped out from between her legs, pooling in the air before them. Unlike most natal artifacts, theirs was neither solid nor fixed in shape. It was a strange, fluid mixture of white and red, constantly shifting as it drifted through the air.

Then it scattered. Droplets rained toward the ground. The instant each one struck the earth, it unfurled into a warrior. They were humanoid in shape, with green, fur-covered skin and slightly hunched postures that made them resemble apes. Their arms were longer than their legs, hanging all the way down to their knees.

"Encircle the camp," Wuying ordered. "Make sure no one escapes."

The ape like warriors melted away, collapsing into liquid and slithering away. Wuhen gathered the remaining mass of their natal artifact – The Aftermath of Love – and shaped it into a mirror-like surface before him. Its surface churned between red and white before finally settling on an image of Muxue and her group fleeing from a flaming whale.

They crossed immense distances with every passing second, yet neither assassin made any attempt to pursue them. Things had been different at the Wall, where complacency could create an opening. Right now, however, that group was on high alert, and any attempt to approach them stealthily would likely be detected. After all, Wuyen still kicked her every time from within her womb when they even thought about getting close to Mo Jian.

Wuying winced as the thought barely formed in her mind, and a moment later, her unborn child kicked her again. She pressed a hand against her stomach, soothing him with her qi. Hush, she thought. Wuyen subsided.

"If we can determine their eventual destination, then setting an ambush becomes a possibility," Wuhen said. His thoughts were clearly focused on the task at hand. "It will also be the best attempt we can make, unless we decide to take the direct approach."

Wuying joined him in studying the mirror. She didn't actually need to see what it displayed. The mirror's surface did not truly show anything at all. It was merely Wuhen's power flowing through it, allowing them to use their natal artifact in such a manner. And as for everything else…

"Wuyen directed us here. That means there is something worthwhile to learn. And even if there isn't, slaughtering the remnants of the tribe will mean the survivors will chase after our targets with lethal intent." Her eyes narrowed. "That means the princess might die without us ever having to lift a finger. It's worth doing."

Wuhen nodded. "Then let's wipe them out and interrogate that feeble elder they left behind. Besides, I've always wondered what it would feel like to do it atop a cloak of flayed Yuan skin." His smile was lustful and hungry. "It probably feels similar to what a bed of nails is to mortals."

Wuying had to suppress her own arousal at that, though she couldn't quite suppress the little shiver that ran down her spine. It had been too long, far too long since they had had each other. Tonight's stage provided the perfect excuse to indulge. And, after all, this could be considered an important step in their mission. They were merely setting the stage for another Night of Knives.

Done with words, the two of them rose higher into the air before descending upon the little tribe.

Within seconds, screams and cries erupted from below as an immense slaughter began.

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AN (2):The next chapter is Tayang Khan's POV and, honestly, probably my favorite chapter of the Steppes arc so far (at least among what I've written).

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