From the perspective of Zhuge Su Yeon
The morning chill had not yet dissolved when my palms glowed with a clear, almost translucent hue, tinged with the faint gold of the rising sun.
It was the Light of the Morning Dawn — an intermediate Earth-grade martial technique, whose lines I had already etched into every detail of my meridians.
The radiance spread open, as if the very sky breathed with me. And, for an instant, the silent training ground seemed to awaken only within my hands.
The same technique I had used against the elder of the Dark Sun Sect.
The same one that, in the Black Castle, I had compared to grander options — and refused.
There were stronger methods, grander names, styles that would make young heirs kneel in tears of gratitude.
But for me, none fit as well as this calm, discreet, steady light.
It did not promise fireworks. It promised constancy.
And, deep down, I had always preferred the loyalty of a technique that did not try to be more than it needed to be.
The glow faded slowly, like one closing their eyes after a long vigil.
At my side, the wind blew between the timbers of the ancestral hall.
And soon after, a voice.
— "Problems?" — I asked, unhurried, turning my face.
Mei Lan waited a few steps behind, as imperturbable as always. The sleeves of her hanfu perfectly adjusted, her posture upright, her gaze sharp as one who does not allow even the slightest tremor.
— "Visitors." — she replied.
I sighed inwardly.
"Of course. Because the author doesn't understand the concept of a quiet morning."
I allowed my body to relax, Qi retreating back into the dantian, until the light in my hands was nothing but memory.
I raised my gaze. The sky still held the pale blue of dawn, clouds stretched in long lines like lazy brushstrokes. It was early. Far too early for visitors to be a coincidence.
If someone dared to appear at the first steps of the sun, it could only mean two things: arrogance… or desperation.
And, in both cases, it was work for me.
I took two steps toward Mei Lan, my feet marking the firm ground of the courtyard.
— "Who?" — I asked, already expecting the inevitable irony of the answer.
— "It is the patriarchs of the Yuan He and Tie Xuan families." — Mei Lan replied, without altering her voice, as if she had merely announced that two neighbors had asked for a cup of tea.
Silence lingered between us for just an instant. Long enough for my gaze to turn back to the sky, where the light was still too pale to be called day.
I already knew the answer.
The motive for the visit was not pride, not even calculation. It was desperation.
Those two families had been crushed by the imperial edict — not to the point of annihilation, like the Han, but reduced to shadows of themselves. The Empire had been merciful enough to spare their lives, but not their dignity.
Their fortunes evaporated.
Their connections dissolved.
Their influence, once arrogant, had fallen to levels beneath even the smaller clans of Sky Gray City.
And now, like corpses that still insisted on breathing, only one option remained: to crawl.
I did not need to hear their words to understand the reason for the visit.
If before the four clans had divided among themselves the mines, the markets, the gambling houses, and agriculture, now all those veins of wealth had fallen into the hands of the Zhuge Clan.
Or rather… into the hands of Mei Lan.
And if Yuan He and Tie Xuan wished at least to guarantee survival without starving to death, they would need to resolve their old disputes with us.
It was natural.
It was the necessary politics of this world.
I sighed lightly, irony hidden beneath a studied calm.
"Where there is ruin, requests for reconciliation always arise. Where there is power, visits always arrive early in the morning."
I turned my gaze back to Mei Lan, who waited motionless, as if even the morning wind did not dare brush her robe.
— "Then it is time to receive them." — I murmured, adjusting my sleeves, as one preparing not for battle, but for yet another of those survival theaters that men call politics.
The ancestral hall was lit only by the flame of the incense burners, rising in slow spirals, as if even fire feared to hurry before such a morning.
The two patriarchs already awaited me. Their garments were solemn, but their eyes betrayed sleepless nights and vanished fortunes. The air weighed with the mixture of wounded pride and necessity.
They were the ones to break the silence first.
— "Patriarch Zhuge…" — Yuan He began, his voice laden with a humility that, three years ago, he would never have imagined pronouncing before me. — "We come today not as rivals, but as men who recognize their mistakes. We ask forgiveness for all past disagreements."
Tie Xuan, beside him, inclined his head gravely:
— "The truth is that we underestimated your lineage. Today, we know that not only did we fail to understand your strength, but also to respect it."
I listened calmly. There was no need to interrupt. The words fell on their own, like loose stones from a wall already in ruins.
When silence finally returned, I replied:
— "I am not, in fact, someone who holds grudges." — my voice sounded serene, as though reciting a memory. — "And I see no need to bring past matters into any sort of reckoning."
I paused for a moment, letting their breath hang in the air. Only then did I add, in a low tone:
— "However… in the present situation, I see the need for a small demonstration of goodwill from your clans."
A brief shudder ran through their shoulders. The two exchanged glances, and it was Yuan He who dared to ask:
— "What do you ask of us, Patriarch Zhuge?"
I took my time to answer. I walked slowly to the patriarch's seat, letting the echo of my steps be the only response for a few seconds. I sat down, adjusted my sleeves, and then spoke:
— "As you must know, the Zhuge clan has always been small. Three years ago, we diminished even further. Today, our members are few… and yet, the four areas of Sky Gray City demand many hands."
I lowered my gaze slightly, letting my words drag with softness:
— "Abandoning such areas is impossible, since the imperial edict entrusted them to us. Therefore… if we could have some loyal hands assisting us, it would be ideal."
The words were indirect, but no further explanation was needed. All present understood. The request was simple, raw: vassalage.
Though such practices were not uncommon — after all, even the Zhuge clan was, in the end, a vassal of the imperial throne — for Yuan He and Tie Xuan it was a bitter burden. They had once ruled Sky Gray City, had once been pillars. Now, to bow was to acknowledge they would never again lift their heads.
And, even so, they did not hesitate.
Both knelt before me, the sound of their knees against stone echoing through the hall.
— "From this day forward…" — Tie Xuan said, his voice firm though broken by shattered pride — "…our clans will pledge loyalty to Patriarch Zhuge and to the Zhuge clan."
I nodded lightly, without prolonging the scene more than necessary.
— "Good. Administrative matters can be dealt with directly by Mei Lan." — I replied. — "I will not trouble the patriarchs more than necessary."
The air seemed to ease with my words. Exchanges of compliments followed — empty formulas, ritual courtesies, the theater of politics. After a few moments, the two patriarchs withdrew, leaving behind some treasures still remaining in their impoverished coffers, and the promise of eternal loyalty to the Zhuge clan.
When the hall emptied, I remained in silence.
The Han clan had tried for generations to achieve what now rested in my hands: complete control of Sky Gray City.
I smiled faintly.
"Indeed… I have a rather clever sister."
As for my decision to accept those clans instead of simply destroying them, it was simple.
It was far more advantageous to have a few subordinates than to pile up useless corpses.
I knew well that, at this moment, they had followed such a path only out of necessity. If they had the strength to rebel, they would do so without hesitation. But the rule of this world never changes: the absolute power of the fist governs all wills.
As long as the Yuan He clan and the Tie Xuan clan could not surpass the Zhuge clan in strength, they could do nothing.
And, with time, slowly, things would settle. The habit of obedience is stronger than any oath uttered in desperation.
I then turned to Mei Lan. Her eyes, as always, reflected not emotion, but calculation. For her, that was neither victory nor glory — it was simply the natural order of things.
But there was a more important matter to address.
I raised my hand, and from my spatial ring I withdrew five small books. Their covers were worn with time, their pages carried the weight of ages, yet the lines inscribed in them still pulsed with living intent.
I placed them on the table before her.
— "I found these during my journey." — I said calmly. — "I believe they may be useful for Mei Xue."
The soft flame of the candles reflected on the covers, and the air of the hall seemed to hold its breath before them.
Mei Lan's always-serious face transformed in an instant. The rigidity dissolved, and before me appeared not the clan's cold administrator, but the sister who melted at the mention of Mei Xue.
She took the books as though holding sacred relics, the care in her fingers betraying the power of a true doting sister. A few short words escaped her lips, lighter thanks than usual, and then, without delay, she hurried from the hall.
I already knew her destination.
There was no other possibility but the library, where she would pour those texts into Mei Xue's hands as though delivering the entire future of a generation.
I was left alone.
Then, I raised my hand again and withdrew another volume from the spatial ring. Its cover was rigid, inscribed with ancient characters, and its mere touch made the air around exude the bitter aroma of herbs.
An alchemy manual.
Recipes up to the intermediate Earth level.
I recalled the cost, as I always do. Almost thirty thousand points.
Added to the Veil of Heaven Formation, which already rested under Mei Lan's calculations, and the information about Zhuge Lian Yin's physique — forty-two thousand points for the former, twenty thousand for the latter — my prize of ninety thousand points and the savings accumulated in recent months had… vanished.
Evaporated, as if they had never existed.
And yet, I felt no regret.
Everything was investment.
And, sooner or later, the returns would come.