Three days had passed since Vera made the decision to go to the Oxus tribe along with Aspartese. On this day, he sat alongside Aspartese and Zhuge Jin.
Aspartese slid a letter across the table to Vera.
"Vice-master is willing to house Chun in the First Branch. Hotelier Jin has volunteered to help take care of him as well."
Vera slurped the soup from his bowl, not bothering to look at the letter.
"I appreciate the thought, but he has settled here completely. Sending him away from everyone he knows and leaving is a bit too much."
He set the bowl down and looked towards Aspartese.
"The beggar coalition has been taken care of; I doubt there is any need for protection from the First Branch."
In the midst of Vera and Aspartese debating Chun's accommodation for the next year, Jin observed the two while sipping on some wine.
Considering Vera was still not aware of Chun's background, it made sense he didn't see the point in sending the boy to the First Sector.
Aspartese let out a low sigh. He spoke while glancing at Jin.
"That does make sense. Who would go after a random child?"
Vera nodded. He fidgeted with his cup while looking at Jin from the corner of his eye.
"Nonetheless, I would really appreciate it if there was a strong fighter with no job to look after Chun when I'm gone."
Jin gripped his cup tightly. Neither Vera nor Aspartese was being subtle about their side eyes.
Do they want me to stay here until they come back?
Aspartese wrapped his arm around Jin's shoulder.
"Vera, why don't you head back and spend some time with Chun? I'll settle the bill and head out. It's getting pretty late; I'm sure the waiter would want to head home now."
Vera picked up a napkin and wiped his face clean. He bowed his head to the two of them and headed back up to his room.
As the echoes of his footsteps dulled, Aspartese called for the waiter. Soon the young waiter hurried over to the table.
"How can I help you, Branch Master?"
Aspartese held onto Jin's shoulder, no matter how hard Jin tried to pry his arm off. He looked at the waiter with a bright smile.
"Can you get me two bottles of Baijiu wine? As for the bill…"
His smile grew even brighter.
Dumb brat, you've got lax.
He pointed up at Vera's room.
"Just add it to that young man's tab."
The waiter nodded, somewhat surprised. But knowing it wasn't his business, he hurried back to the counter while Aspartese chatted with Jin. Over at the counter, the waiter looked into the register, searching for Vera's tab. His finger hovered over the room number. He mumbled under his breath as he read out the details.
"Room 201. 100 coppers are owed. Debtor: Aspartese."
He scratched his chin, confused by the tab.
When did the branch master take on the young warrior's tab? Well… It's none of my business.
Hidden by the staircase, Vera peered over the railings with a wild grin.
You stupid old man, you've become too lax.
***
Well into midnight, Aspartese and Jin sat in the Branch Master office at the Sixth Branch. Aspartese sat silently in his chair while Jin read through a document. His expression contorted as he scoured through the details.
He set down the sheet and looked at Aspartese.
"Since when did this start?"
Aspartese leant over and retrieved the document. "The research began when we realised that all those who looked for children of Zhuge were collaborating with one specific group. Right now, each sect in the commission is looking for Zhuge descendants and protecting them."
Jin slammed his fist into the table, eyes running red with rage.
"They've had fifty years to intervene. But they only made a move when it came back to bite them in the ass."
Having folded up the document, Aspartese placed it inside his desk drawer.
"You should know by this point, while the commission protects humans, it only does so from outside threats. Only a few sects practise chivalry to any extent."
Wine frothed up as Aspartese poured two cups.
"Any child of Zhuge found will be handled by the commission sects for now. Vice-master Tong Xuan has informed me of his intent to retrieve them from the sects and return them to you once the threat ends."
He passed one to Jin and took a swig from his own.
"Fifty years ago, we had no connection with the Zhuge to warrant travelling all the way and helping. But now, we are ingratiated with you. When the war ends, we are willing to support you if you want to rebuild your clan."
Breaths hitched.
Jin clutched at the edge of the table. The veins across his neck bulged. Aspartese tapped at the glass he'd prepared for Jin.
"I don't understand what you've been through till now. And if you want to hunt everyone who was behind the downfall of your clan, we simply don't care if you do it. Sit still and work with us till the end of the war. What I promised before isn't related to your cooperation."
He set his cup down and reached for his smoking pipe. After stuffing the mouth with some mugwort, he walked past Jin, patting his shoulder.
"I'll go outside and smoke. Take your time to give me an answer."
…
Aspartese stood by the veranda outside his office. Thick clouds of mugwort smoke enveloped the air. His gaze was fixed southwest.
Halfway through the pipe he tapped the ash out while reminiscing. Each day spent clashing fists with his peers.
Hunting demons and protecting nearby villages.
However…
All good memories come to an end.
Regardless of their abilities, his people lived simple lives. One with nature, never caring for material things.
If only they changed their ways. How many of us have died because of their stubborn nature?
A sharp clack sounded as he flung his pipe across the veranda. He looked at the mugwort roots that had spilt over the floor in disappointment.
In the end, you also sided with the elders, Ardashir.
Just then the door to the Veranda opened. Zhuge Jin walked over. The rage in his expression had receded. Standing outside the door, he told Aspartese.
"I'll stay back in the Sixth Branch until you come back. If my help is needed in the war, I'll leave a method to contact me."
To this, Aspartese nodded.
"Thank you. I'll send a letter to the vice-master conveying your intentions."
Jin threw over a flask of Baijiu to Aspartese.
"I also don't care about what you do or don't. Nonetheless, facing it is better than running away."
***
A youthful man sat within an elegantly furnished room. Cushions and robes woven from the finest of silks.
The walls were adorned with cold iron weapons. Each weapon was lined with tens of engravings.
Just one of those weapons would be enough to purchase an entire city. However, the man wasn't interested in those weapons; rather, his eyes were glued to his table.
A translucent red pill lay within a cushioned box. It exuded a dense vital energy. Lines of red energy wafted over the pill's surface.
He reached out for the pill, holding it between his fingers. A sharp breath sounded through the room as he inhaled the wafting aura.
His expression contorted with pleasure. Every movement in his skin was as though a sword were grinding against another.
"Even after two thousand years your Right hasn't diminished, Immortal Zhuge! Cultivation truly nurtures the amount of Law in the blood."
The luminescent red pill shimmered against the skin over his chest. As he pushed the pill through his robes, the flesh over his chest split open, revealing his heart. Strings of flesh shot out from his chest, wrapping themselves around the pill.
Fervently devouring it. Soon the blood essence in the pill disappeared completely, becoming a perfect part of his body.
"That evil demon, Dao Tian. Why did he burn your corpse? I could've made great use of it."
As he spoke of the Ascender, the smile on his face shattered. His metallic skin warped into an expression of pure rage.
"Soon! I'll refine even his body. The revenge of the Yaoguai will finally be complete on that day."
Violent qi burst forth from his hand, shattering the room open. He rose from his seat and walked outside. From the rubble of his room only the deep red in his eyes could be seen.
"Tusha! Is the cattle ready?"
From beyond the rubble, a woman knelt in front of him. Although, she looked much like a human, the metallic lustre of her skin couldn't be mistaken.
"Yes, great lord. The human slave, Wuque, has collected ten thousand this month. Though lesser than the previous month, he claims that a large portion of them are still calflings."
He walked through the dust expressionlessly.
"Since there are a good number of calves this month, let it pass. How many have conceived?"
At this question Tusha smiled brightly. Her arms extended outward; her tone almost gleeful.
"Wuque is truly useful! With his tools, all those who were capable have conceived. There are almost three thousand child-bearers this month."
Shrill clangs permeated the air as the youthful man clapped. He stepped onto the railing in front of his room.
In front of him was a large fenced area of barren land. A chorus of distressed cries filled the grounds.
Ten thousand humans stood back to back. Lathered in sweat, suffocated by the heat. The youthful man inhaled the scent with a ferocious hunger.
"You've done well, Tusha. You can use the corpses for your technique."
Tusha struck her head into the wooden floor.
"Glory to the great lord, Yulei!"
The man didn't acknowledge her words; he simply nodded as he jumped into the fenced lands.
There was no loud boom as he landed; rather, he merged into the crowd effortlessly.
Stood in the midst of thousands cramped into a parched space. The scent of their sweat, faeces, blood, and fear soaked the air.
From the large crowd, a child, no older than ten, bumped into him. Her cheeks stained with tears, she looked to him. Her voice choked and quaked.
"Big… Brother! Do you know… where my mother… is?"
Despite his cold exterior, he knelt down and caressed the child's cheeks.
"Why are you so afraid, child?"
The girl sniffled, her mucus splattering against his fine silk sleeves. "I lost my mother! She will be… scared… without me."
The man, Yulei, looked at his sleeve with disdain, but he hurriedly changed his expression to that of a kind elder.
Life for strength.
His grip over the child's cheeks tightened. Dark chains of cold iron appeared around his body, crunching against his metallic skin.
"You don't need to worry about that. You will meet her soon."
The girl's tears halted for a moment. She looked at Yulei with hopeful eyes.
"Really—"
A stream of red blood flowed from his palms. A pike cleanly extended from his palms, piercing through her skull and into her brains.
As he stood up, the child's lifeless body crumpled against the floor. His arm moulded itself into the shape of a scythe.
"Really."
An abyssal black swept through the dry earth. Blood filled the cracks in the leached ground. The chorus of thousands turned to gurgling and choking. As the light of life was about to leave their eyes, dark chains climbed through the ground, wrapping their dismembered bodies tightly.
Slowly but surely, every single drop of blood in the bodies and the land was sucked in by the chain.
Pulses of light hurtled through the chains each time someone died.
And when the last groan died out, the bounds disappeared. Yulei stared into the night sky with an ecstatic expression.
The bright pulses seeped into his flesh, filling his body with boundless strength. His iron skin bent at the sheer force derived from the life he'd just devoured. But soon, even that ended. Now that the cries had come to an end, the wrought iron that bound his flesh shattered. Yulei let out a satisfied burp.
"Do what you want now, Tusha."
As his words passed five stories up and reached Tusha, she hurried over to the railing.
"Thank you, great lord!"
Her fingers dug into the wooden railing, barely able to contain her excitement. She murmured under her breath.
"Immortal technique, Corpse Puppet."
At her words, the darkened night sky split open. Limb by limb, each body rose to the sky. Under the roaring winds the bodies clumped together, forming a massive sphere, obscuring both the tower and grazing grounds from the moonlight.
A dense veil of qi engulfed the sphere, melting the corpses into a viscous soup.
She walked toward the sky from the railings. At each step her figure grew in size. By the time she reached the sphere, the length of her shin was greater than that of the tower. Crossing over two li in height, she gently caressed the sphere in her palm. Her sheer size overwhelmed the earth; the base of her feet dug a deep pit into the ground.
"Condense."
The viscous soup burnt with a deep violet. As the acrid fumes of immolated flesh dispersed, a small child-like figure remained in her palms.
No bigger than her fingertips, it wailed loudly, grabbing at her finger. Despite being a goliath himself, in front of Tusha, he was no bigger than a mouse.
"You're such a hungry boy!" She squealed as she gazed at the child.
"Great lord, if it's all right with you, I would like to take my child to the nearest settlement for food."
Yulei waved at her, gesturing for her to leave. In a mere instant, her towering physique disappeared from the grazing grounds.
Yulei watched the air trail at her wake with an exasperated expression.
"The cattle are rubbing off on her. She has become such a doting mother."