Chapter 180: Death & Sunshine, V

"Excellent," Wu Hao said, grinning. "He won't live to see tomorrow."

Master Shu coughed to hide a surprised laugh, then rolled his eyes for good measure to show that he actually disapproved.

"If you kill him we're doomed," Master Shu chided. "Murder would bring such a furore down on our heads, boy, that even I wouldn't be able to get you out of it. Do not kill Ke Shuang, try to kill him, or do anything that goes beyond the bounds of a normal spar. Do you understand?"

"Whatever," Wu Hao said sullenly. All this sparring, he thought. What was it even good for?

"It is good to see you are confident, however. How much of that confidence is based on what you actually know of him, though?"

"I know he uses a spear," Wu Hao said. "I know that he's got a qi like a burning sun, with the emphasis on burning, not on warmth, or what On the Basics called aspects of the sun. My guess is that that means that his spear techniques will rely mostly on inflicting shallow wounds on me, which will linger and probably hurt like if I was really burned, and then going for the kill once he thinks I'm sufficiently humbled."

He cocked his head.

"I've seen a few of the movement techniques that the Diancang Sect uses," he continued. "The main branch, I mean. I think he'll be using something based around light. Shimmering Steps, I think it's called."

"Hrm," Master Shu said, his eyebrows creasing into an expression of contemplation.

"I don't think he knows anything about me," Wu Hao continued. "Not since I advanced and not what I did on the road. I think he'll probably be expecting the saber and the Sky-Severing Saber Art. Maybe he'll try to bait them out. He does seem like the type to be confident enough in himself to face them head on."

Master Shu was frowning, now.

"You have put more thought into this than I expected," he said, with a grudging approval. "Why don't you put this much thought in everything else?"

"Because the other stuff is boring," Wu Hao mumbled, which nearly got him another cuff around the ears and that look of grudging approval to vanish.

"So you think you'll be able to win?" Master Shu asked.

If I don't I'll simply reset and try again, Wu Hao thought. But, out loud, he said, "Yes."

Master Shu grunted.

"To be honest," he said. "For the plan it doesn't much matter if you win or lose. In both cases, I have options to explore, each of which would be equally promising. Perhaps even more promising, were you to lose."

Wu Hao stared up at the old man.

"Too bad," he said. "Because I'm going to win."

Master Shu shook his head.

"Well," he said. "That's the correct mindset, at least. Best of luck, then. Let's get going."

He rose to his feet.

"Wait," Wu Hao said. "Don't you think I can win?"

"I think you can," Master Shu said. "But if you actually will depends on you, boy. You're the champion of the Winter Solstice festival. Show them all how it's done and you will have smooth sailing. If, however, you don't treat it seriously..."

Wu Hao nodded. "I understand. But I was wondering, what exactly is the plan at the moment?"

"The plan," Master Shu said cheerfully, "is in motion. That's all you need to know, boy. I shouldn't even be telling you this much, so be happy."

"As if I would be," Wu Hao muttered.

"That's up to you to decide," Master Shu said, and turned away. "Let's get going, then. Follow me. I know the way."

The banquet room was next to a courtyard, with the sliding doors propped wide open and with blazing hearths kept well-fed to keep the deep winter chill out. That was the arena that they'd be duelling in, then, Wu Hao supposed. He studied the terrain in a few glances: kept carefully free of ornamental shrubs or large plants, it was just a large rectangle with grass hidden underneath clumps of disparate snow, which was falling gently from the night sky above.

As they entered the room proper, Wu Hao got his first glimpse of the Diancang Sect's main family, who were already sitting at the largest of the tables, ready to receive guests.

Off to the side sat Ke Jiazhong, the youngest son if Wu Hao recalled the tour correctly. Next to him sat his older brother, the one who'd be sparring later. There was an open space left between them and a small card with elegant handwriting indicating that this was left on purpose, for a sister who was currently out on a mission.

Next to the two of them sat a woman who had to be their mother - one of the few people who weren't golden-haired, but whose hair was brown and short-cropped. She didn't seem like much of a martial artist: a third-grade at most, Wu Hao thought. She was still pretty despite being in her early forties, but she had a strict cast to her face: lips that looked ready to purse, eyes with frown lines next to them. She had dressed up in a beautiful robe in the official colors of the Diancang.

Next in line were the Twin Sovereigns of the Diancang Sect, although they weren't actually twins and hadn't become Sovereigns at the same time. That was where most of Wu Hao's attention went, and he studied the Patriarch intently.

It was odd, really, watching him and his brother sit side by side.

Ke Jiaming was thin and sinewy. He was, from what Wu Hao had heard during the tour, not that much older than his brother - a year or two, at most. But Ke Jiaming looked old and severe, while Ke Taiqi instead looked like a jolly middle-aged man, as if there was a difference of ten years or more between them.

Ke Taiqi had a full but short beard and whiskers which stretched across his face, the golden yellow of which faded into a rusty sort of brown as it tapered down into a goatee. He was tall and gave off an impression of size, of largesse, of a spirit of freely giving.

His qi was warm like the sun, but other than that it was more than a little muddled, somehow. There was some rigidity in the way which it flowed in a solid, steady pattern, but there were occasional flareups of heat and light as the big man gesticulated while talking. A large sword hung by his side, though angled so that it wouldn't cut into the ground.

Wu Hao frowned slightly. Something about the man's qi wasn't quite like that of most Sovereigns. The impressions he got were more mixed. Master Shu was black and white. Ke Jiaming was a killing frost. Ke Taiqi wasn't as clear-cut. Wu Hao glanced at Master Shu speculatively, wondering if the old man had noticed it too, but he stood there and smiled.

"Good evening, Glorious Sun Sovereign," he said. "Thank you for receiving us."

Ke Taiqi got up, smiling in return. "Absent Sovereign," he said, his voice warm. "To the contrary, thank you for allowing us to host you for a few nights. We hope that everything has been to the liking of you - and your disciple, of course?"

"Of course," Master Shu said.

"You've already met one of my sons, I hear," Ke Taiqi said, gesturing not to Ke Jiazhong but to Ke Shuang, who was sitting ramrod straight in his cushion at the other end of the table, next to the Moonlight Sovereign.

He was dressed in fine clothing, dandelions adorning the surface of his sky-blue robe, wide-sleeved. His spear lay by his side, within hand's reach.

"Good evening," Ke Shuang said, and stood up. His dark hair hung over the side of his face, hiding the faint imprint of the five fingers on his cheek. He tried to smile but it was so clearly forced that not a trace of sincerity could have been found in it. "I apologize again for my earlier remarks, Sovereign."

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"Yes," Master Shu said, deceptively mildly. "I regret that I had cause to discipline you. But I've said that bygones will be bygones. There is no additional need to apologize once again."

"That's very gracious of you," Ke Taiqi said, casting a side eye at his son. "Raising sons is always a difficult thing, but I would have liked to think we had raised him better than this. But, as you say - it is water under the bridge. Let's forget it and let's simply enjoy the evening, yes?"

"You are exactly right," Master Shu said.

Ke Taiqi smiled, then looked around.

"Where is Linglong?" he asked his wife, who pursed her lips.

"Freshening up," she said. "I expected her earlier, but she'll have been training again, I suspect."

"I see," Ke Taiqi said. "She'll be here shortly, I'll assume. On with it, then."

Ke Taiqi made a short motion to Ke Jiazhong, who stood up, pulling something out of a spatial storage ring - a small sort of bell, Wu Hao noticed. When he rang it, silence fell throughout the room as conversations tapered off.

"Good evening, all!" the Patriarch boomed. His voice spread through the room without being overly loud - one of those tricks that every Sovereign seemed to have mastered.

"I'm very glad all of you were able to make it here," Ke Taiqi said. "Now, not to waste too many words. The reason for this banquet is of course the official visit of the newest Sovereign of the Martial Arts Alliance - unless, of course, news of a newer Sovereign still has yet to reach my ears!"

He laughed and Master Shu smiled.

"That happening would be my pleasure," Master Shu commented. "More companions for the road are always welcome, after all."

Wu Hao didn't quite agree, but it was clear enough that his opinion didn't much matter.

Ke Taiqi picked up his speech again where he'd stalled.

"Now, aside from the Sovereign who has honored us by attending, there are several others I would similarly like to congratulate and reward for their service. Among others, I will offer a drink later to the head of our escorting agency, for bringing yet another mission to a successful end. To my sons Boyi and Shuang, as well as our adopted daughter Linglong, for their results in the Winter Solstice tournament. To my absent daughter, Yuxiao, currently travelling the world in an attempt to gain the materials she needs to become a first-grade martial artist..."

With each name, there was some reaction from the crowd. Oddly enough, most of the approval went for the head of the escorting agency, who nodded proudly in the middle of a group of what had to be subordinates. There was polite applause for Boyi, there was some applause for Du Linglong, but for Ke Shuang there were a few scattered coughs and a half-hearted attempt to clap. The name of Ke Jiazhong's sister received another cheer, the most honest one yet.

Ke Taiqi must have noticed as much, but he said nothing, merely regarding the room with a fond smile.

"But there is something else we must attend to," Ke Taiqi proclaimed. "Before the food is brought in, we of the Diancang Sect have prepared a spectacle of sorts - a dual duel, as some might put it!"

He smiled at his own pun. Some people forced smiles.

"First, my own son shall take on a fellow martial artist of the first grade. Boyi, Lu Bowin: step up, please!"

Wu Hao watched the duel between Lu Bowin and Ke Boyi with interest, at least at first. Master Shu had been right to call it more of an exhibition duel than a serious spar, though. Neither of them were going full-force. Their moves were beautiful, but they felt hollow.

They had tested the waters earlier, but to Wu Hao's eyes, not much had actually changed. Neither of them had even spilled any blood yet. He hoped that he wasn't wrong - that this wasn't them being serious. Otherwise he figured that they wouldn't be much use on the battlefield in a few years.

Still, both of them were first-grade martial artists. That meant something.

Lu Bowin's sword cleaved through the air as he swept himself along on light steps, swords forming out of the clouds of qi which he left behind and launching themselves at Ke Boyi. Unlike his main sword - a thin thing, which was clearly meant more for stabbing than for slashing and which had a wickedly sharp point - these were broader, rougher things. The whistling they emitted as they sailed through the air made it clear they weren't toys, though, but sharp weapons in their own right.

With every step he took, more clouds poured from Lu Bowin's sword and fogged up the courtyard.

"Flowing Cloud Sword Art," Lu Bowin chanted. "Stratus Downpour."

He followed his cloud-swords, vanishing into a swirling step that took him out of Wu Hao's sight. A blur of qi reappeared behind Ke Boyi, where Lu Bowin hid himself in a cloud and waited for a moment of distraction.

Setting his feet solidly, Ke Boyi pulled qi to his hands. His hair blazed with gold, casting such a bright shine that shadows formed around his feet in every direction at once, and his sword slashed out repeatedly in quick succession.

Each slash ripped through a cloud-sword, leaving golden cuts hovering in the air. Even when there were no swords left, Ke Boyi continued through a full set of movements. Dozens if not a hundred of such cuts littered the air around Ke Boyi, forming a cocoon of power within which he turned slowly and inspected the stage around him.

Wu Hao frowned. He could tell that Ke Boyi's foot tapped once or twice even as his qi surged up again into his sword, and then Lu Bowin behind him threw himself at Ke Boyi, sword extended.

Ke Boyi whirled around, sword already raised and with no sign of alarm on his face. Qi rushed through the sword and lit it up with beautiful patterns, each of them burning with a deep ochre sunlight.

"Great Sun Sword," Ke Boyi said calmly. "Sunspot."

He met Lu Bowin's "unexpected" charge with a slash of brilliant light that left spots on Wu Hao's vision, despite him hurriedly forcing his eyes shut the moment he realized what was going on. The bright sword cut through the clouds, trailing water and steam and qi, leaving shining scars in the courtyard.

When Wu Hao blinked rapidly to try and clear his vision, he saw that the tip of Ke Boyi's sword had already come to rest against Lu Bowin's throat.

Lu Bowin swallowed.

"I concede," he said.

Clapping resounded around the room. Both men bowed, barely even breathing hard, but Wu Hao saw both of them wrenching their qi back under control.

"Well done," Ke Taiqi proclaimed, standing up to applaud politely. "Well done, my boy! You as well, Lu Bowin. Excellent use of the Flowing Clouds Steps there - you've been practicing, no?"

Lu Bowin bowed. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

"Now," Ke Taiqi said, settling himself down again in his seat. "There was another request for a duel. Shuang?"

Ke Shuang uncoiled himself where he'd been sitting languidly, spear in hand.

"Yes, Father," he said. "I have asked for a duel with the disciple of the Absent Sovereign, which he has seen fit to grant."

Wu Hao stood up, cracked his fingers, and grinned.

"I'm ready," he stated out loud, and only a quick reminder from Master Shu prevented him from adding the "bitch" at the end.

But it was a close thing.