Destiny in Cinders

I've never seen such a peaceful city since the snow calamity happened. An Jing observed the streets as he walked through them.

Keensight was a rather economically developed city in the northwestern region. The walls of the buildings along the streets were covered in artwork. Shadow plays were being performed in the backyards of many homes. The city was filled with life and wonder.

What was even more interesting was how people came out hot and steaming from the bath houses near the center of the city, not minding the cold breeze even one bit as they walked to the buildings nearby, humming a light-hearted tune while they were at it.

Young scholars enjoyed finely brewed beverages in tea shops, occasionally turning away from their books to look at the snow outside. Armed warriors laughed and feasted on flesh and wine in taverns.

A large river flowed through the city, powering a massive water wheel. The tower next to the water wheel flew two large black flags, the symbols of Grand Chen. An Jing saw a disciple of a martial academy pushing a cart with his own strength, shoving the snow that had piled up on the road to the side as he left the city. An airship whizzed past the clouds above, landing near the city hall.

An Jing shuffled to the side of the streets without drawing any attention. While some passers by noticed his somewhat odd Dustdawner manner of dress, nobody gave him a second look. Keensight was a hub for trade between Grand Chen and Dustdawn, after all, so his presence there wasn't anything too remarkable.

The only thing about him that drew extra attention was his fair appearance and upright air. His hair looked like a bird's beautiful plumage. His skin seemed white and supple. All those signs implied that he was some scion of a major clan that was confident enough to let him roam about alone without fear of slavers.

He had crafted this appearance to match what he would have looked like were he not a martialist. His meager progress with the Imperial Earth Art meant that the extent to which he could change his appearance was limited to minor adjustments without altering his existing frame.

An Jing's typical look was far too domineering thanks to the martial techniques he had practiced since childhood and his powerful lifearc. As such, nobody would see through his disguise even if it didn't look that different from his usual appearance. All he needed to do was tone things down to keep a low profile.

He didn't have any specific objective that day and toured the city like an average Dustdawner. He listened to rumors in the alleys, jokes and spirited conversations in taverns, serious matters in tea houses on top of interacting with some others. He even circled around the city to test out his stamina. Near the end of the day, he returned to the trading sector near the outskirts of Keensight.

"The world of Void Embrace has deteriorated considerably from what it used to be. In fact, it has become quite a mess," Yvelbane said. "Even though the people seem to be living peaceful lives, it's only thanks to the strategic location of this city. If this was my time, Keensight would be a far larger hub of commerce rather than its current state as a mere trading outpost.

"Not to mention, the effects of the snow calamity are still cascading out. The Dustdawners' lives will be negatively affected and this will eventually disrupt the fragile peace between them and Grand Chen. Though Keensight seems prosperous now, it's built upon the foundation of laborers from Dustdawn. This can't be sustainable at all!"

"Be honest with me. Surely, you're not just a normal sword. This simply isn't something a sword should know about! You sound like an expert!" An Jing said.

"But of course," Yvelbane said in a serious tone, "the sword is a weapon of rulers, and at times, a ritual instrument. Conquest is nothing but a necessary act of violence. Wielders of swords need to know about everything there is to know. Even though I can't figure out a solution for this predicament, I can at least pick it apart at the seams.

"This also applies to swordsmanship. I can identify the openings in the swordsmanship of others, but I won't be able to help them fix it. At the end of the day, I am but a sword."

So you're saying you're nothing but a long stick that identifies problems without being able to solve them... Well, swords don't have to solve the problems created by humans. They just have to solve problematic humans. An Jing shook his head and said, "All in all, Keensight has a huge problem, one that will blow up when we least expect it."

An Jing could tell that the peace and prosperity of the city was not a stable one. Otherwise, Yvelbane wouldn't have been so scathing with its remarks. From his conversations as he roamed the streets, An Jing also learned quite a bit of recent news. Putting aside the crises of the future, Keensight's peace was under threat even in the present.

First, the guardian adept of Keensight, Majesty Yang Fist Shu Zheng, hadn't been seen for quite some time. It was said that he often ventured deep into the wilderness alone to hunt as autumn transitioned into winter. However, this was the first time ever that he hadn't shown himself in public for more than a month.

Yet, people didn't really seem to care. The officials of the city were lax and the garrison was apathetic. Those in charge even thought that the beasts and aberration sightings at the border were nothing but hallucinations. An Jing suspected that the officials of the city would begin to pilfer the treasury during his absence.

Second, An Jing heard from the ladies gossipping on the streets about vagabonds and people who lived alone vanishing without warning. Some children who went out playing alone also disappeared into thin air, much to the fright and concern of many. The frightful tone in their voice made it sound like they were afraid of their own children getting kidnapped. There wasn't the slightest hint of embellishment.

Is the demonic cult up to something again? He couldn't help but furrow his brow at the thought. Even though he had painstakingly escaped their pursuit and didn't want to get under their radar again, he couldn't sit by and do nothing. Even if he couldn't take action himself, he would report it to people who could. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Even so, he had his doubts about the matter. Based on his own experience with the demonic cult, they were akin to fine gourmands. They actually had high standards for the kind of children they took. Children without lifearcs or those who hadn't received special training were usually left alone.

The servants and riders of the cult likely used to be children who weren't even worth being brewed into medicine to be consumed or those that didn't have lifearcs to awaken. People like Instructor Li who failed to awaken their lifearcs were considered rare enough to be made into an instructor and a leader of his own squad. He had improved his status in the cult through grit and effort, and even then, he started off as a candidate who stood a much better chance than most to awaken a lifearc.

Barring any exceptional circumstances such as a sudden shortage of people, the demonic cult would never have to kidnap children from a city of the empire. They could easily source people from the settlements within their mountainous territory.

An Jing wasn't under the impression that the demonic cult followed a strict code of ethics. They were an amoral organization. He did, however, believe that they were discerning about the kind of children they kidnapped.

Alas, even if the Heavenly Demon Cult wasn't behind this, it could still be some other minor cult. Something much larger had to be going on behind the scenes for them to abduct people from an imperial city like Keensight.