Sky Pride

Hong and Tian entered Burning Flag City in a thoughtful mood. The heretics’ storage rings had been short on the usual things they associated with heretics- blood, insects, poison, organs, and general signs of atrocity. There were some powders that were poisonous, certainly, and some special food for cultivating insects, but as a whole, there really wasn’t that much “heretical” in there. There was, however, more than three thousand spirit stones split between the two rings.

“Liren, you handle the shopping. Is that a lot or a little? It feels like a lot.”

“I’m… not too sure myself, honestly. On the one hand, it’s really not a lot. I asked around in No Gate City, and a good Heavenly spear starts around twenty five thousand spirit stones, with almost no upper limit. And that’s what a wandering cultivator thinks is good, I imagine a good spear by my standards probably starts closer to thirty thousand or forty thousand.”

“How much was your snake head spear in the end?”

“I talked her down to ten thousand stones before the discount, and got her to throw in a bunch of other stuff. A good trade, even if I wound up barely using the damn thing. A Heavenly Realm spear is a hell of a lot more.”

“Right. But that’s a serious piece of craftsmanship, requiring a lot of skilled work and rare materials. You probably need a higher level workshop too. Ten percent of that price in the rings of people free enough to hang around a border city in the hopes of ambushing passing cultivators is weird.”

“I have a theory.” Liren pointed at the partially empty grocery stores and the hard faced people snatching up whatever reached the bins. “I don’t think they have anywhere to spend their money.”

“Eh?”

“Black Iron Gorge is there, but from what we have heard, it’s a blood soaked hell as rival powerhouses try to take control.” She tapped her lip, half closing her eyes. “It’s easy to imagine. I was always told Black Iron City was ruled by a cabal of very powerful Heavenly Realm cultivators. That’s probably true, but they answered to Blackiron, who was at the Human realm or higher.”

“Probably the Human Realm. Starsieve said… well, I don’t think he quite came out and said it, but however he tied himself to the kingdom is clearly not the standard way of progressing your cultivation. Judging from everything, he was extremely powerful for his realm, but still within the… imperfect human realm. To borrow Teacher’s phrase.” Tian looked around the streets, craning his neck left and right. There had been lamb skewers roasting over charcoal with bits of leek or green onions when he passed through here last, basted with spicy oil. He didn’t get to try them last time, and his mouth was watering imagining the taste.

“Makes sense. So we had two overpowered cultivators with a full realm advantage over their lackeys or juniors, and now they are gone. The mountain is sealed off, and most of our Heavenly cultivators are either hiding or, if Starsieve succeeded in his culling plan, dead. The external threats from the other sects still exist, but now it’s a lot less. All the heretics make a grab for power, because they know exactly what will happen to them if someone on their level takes power.” Liren chopped her hand through the air.

Tian nodded slightly. “So all the weaker heretics scram out of there, because they are about to be either fodder or an example. Their trade network probably still exists at the mortal and earthly realms, but their higher level crafting and trade is stone dead. Probably.”

Liren squinted, straining to see the length of the street and not finding a single food vendor. “This is the closest city to Black Iron Gorge on the “safe” kingdom side of the wastes. Any Heavenly cultivators from the Kingdom would be coming through here. There may even be some garrisoning it now. Much easier to set up an ambush here than roam around hoping to find someone rich enough to be worth robbing. Changing topic, do you see any restaurants open? Or tea houses?”

“No. Let’s ask someone. Excuse me, Grandmother, is there a decent restaurant near here?”

“Decent? You will have to settle for being there in the first place.” The granny shook her head and kept right on sweeping the street in front of her house. “You must be visitors. The governor ordered the restaurants and food stalls to close up, except for a few that operate under supervision.” 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“Ah? Did something happen?” Tian asked.

“You might say that, might say that! The Boruski, those bastards! They slipped a bunch of their people in, a few at a time, for weeks. Then they tried to burn down the granaries. That’s why the gate check is so detailed, and why you got that tablet saying what inn you can stay at.”

Tian and Liren had opted to skip the exceedingly long queues and discreetly flew over the walls. The guards were plentiful and attentive, but there were always gaps to exploit if you were fast enough.

“Did they succeed?” Tian asked. “In burning the graneries, I mean?”

“Boy, are you deaf?” She glared at Tian, dust bucket in hand. “I said they tried. Thankfully, the spirit of the Martyr Venerable touched a local who overheard them talking and reported it. I guess they forgot a lot of us have ancestors from the Tribes. Not that long ago, either. My family remembers the Boruski, I can tell you that! We remember them very well.”

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They got directions for the closest restaurant, and set to walking. “Should we just sleep out in the grasslands? I’m not hearing anyone talking about Hanshen, so he’s probably not here yet.” Liren asked. Tian shook his head.

“Right now, what we have the least of is information, and scouting around won’t get us much. Was there a temple here?”

“Nope. There were some loose cultivators around, and I think… maybe some kind of rest house for the Outer Court? Don’t hold me to that, I may be mixing up two cities. This close to the wastes, everyone figured you should be in and fighting or our and having a rest.” Liren spread her hands wide.

Tian grunted. “I can feel a couple dozen in the Earthly Realm and four Heavenly Realm cultivators. That’s not a casual number of cultivators. There were zero Heavenly Realm cultivators last time we were here.”

Liren grunted back. “Lunch first, eavesdropping, then visiting the locals. They had the most amazing lamb skewers the last time I was here. Maybe I can have them again- why are you looking at me like that?”

The restaurant was packed. Utterly packed. Even the offer of a significant bribe couldn’t get them a table straight away, nor was there a special floor or rooms set aside for cultivators. Room would have been made if they introduced themselves as such, of course, but this wasn’t Mountain Gate City. Immortals were not commonly seen here, if they were seen at all. They stood for an hour with everyone else, waiting their turn in the hot sun. The table they finally got was barely clean, tiny, and they were nearly touching elbows with their neighbors.

“Waiter, what dishes do you have?” Tian asked.

“Today we are serving lamb broth with day bread, braised vegetables and tofu with greens and a light sauce. The tea we have available is Caravan Black, and for wine we have Three Flowers Old Reliable and Master Leng’s Special Reserve. There is an extra fee for meat in the broth, and the Special Reserve is strictly one jar per customer per day. Prices non-negotiable.”

“We’ll take one of everything except the wine. Meat in the broth too. And can we get a bowl of rice with that?” Liren asked.

“Did I say we have rice? Ayah! This is why foreigners are no good. Rice is only available three days a week. You guess if today is one of the days.”

Tian admired the waiter. It wasn’t often he saw a waiter berate a customer. Given how packed the restaurant was, and the distinct shortage of waiters, the man’s exhaustion was understandable.

“Never mind then. One of everything except the wine, including the tea, please.” Liren smiled thinly, though her veil would have stopped the waiter from seeing it.

The waiter hurried off with a sharp nod, leaving the two to look at each other with crooked grins. The restaurant was a susurration of whispered words and clinking spoons. The dull thud of cups and bowls being set down on the stained tables adding bass notes to the scene, with yells from the kitchen or outside bringing in the treble.

Tian sniffed, once. His nose twitched and his eyes tightened. Liren subtly shook her head and shrugged. The worn and soiled clothes should have told their eyes before their noses- soap wasn’t in much more supply than the rice.

“They say that the Boruski are making moves to annex the Chimmurgh Clan. You know Clan Head Wuusan’s third wife is the second daughter of Clan Head Hokaldi. They will play it like they are just unifying the houses. Hokaldi would lead an army, they say, and he has the achievements to claim a warleader’s pennant.”

“Tsk! Impossible. Don’t you see the difference between a father in law outside the tribe, and a father in law inside the tribe? Wuusan won’t stand for that.”

“Wuusan can be generous to his friends. Even more generous to his family. Arrangements could be made.”

“Oh? Then remind me what happened to all his other fathers in law? Promoted to the Council of Elders, given all the wine they can drink, and packed off in a brocade tent where they can natter at each other and never see their former clans again. Which still makes them better than Wuusan’s uncles, who are dead. And two of his brothers. Who are also dead.”

The tea arrived with a thunk and a clatter of cups. “Your food will be out shortly.” The waiter was gone in a blur of beige robes before they could even respond. Tian picked up the iron teapot by its long handle and poured for Liren, then himself. He brought the tea cup up to just under his nose, gently inhaling the aroma. It was a testament to his muscular control that he didn’t violently fling the cup away.

Another sniff. Smokey. Intense smoke. There was a bit of the sweet smell he associated with roasted red teas, but trampling over that was an intense smell of charcoal smoke. He tentatively took a sip, then set the cup down firmly. The list of teas he would never purchase again was extended by one.

Liren peered into her empty cup, then looked at the tea pot hopefully. He silently poured her another cup.

“Oh don’t look like that, it’s different. I’m not saying I’d want it every day, but isn’t a change good now and then?”

Tian sniffed and looked away, returning to his eavesdropping.

“Can’t believe the Rising Dawn Sect moved into the Ancient Crane’s old guest house. They said they are turning it into a sect residence. That seems bold.”

“Tsk! Everyone knows the Crane’s wings are clipped. The mountain has sealed ‘em off, and who knows when it will open again. What do you expect them to do? Obediently wait?”

“Still. Right in their old property. Word is they executed all the old servants. Didn’t even let them quit, just executed them all. Just to make a point, they say.”

“Shhh! Are you looking to die? If you want to commit suicide, don’t take me with you!”

“Ah, no, no. I’m sure we are all very grateful that they keep the Shamans under control. You can feel it out in the grassland. They say the steppes themselves are rising up against the Kingdom!”

“Not where the Red Plumed General can hear them, they don’t. All the water of the Green River wouldn’t be enough to wash away the blood the Red Plume Army has spilled in the last year.”

“And now the White Horse General is sending his son, a company of troopers, and the King of Hell rides with them. I’m not waiting. If you want to leave now, you can come with my caravan, but I swear I won’t be in this city come sunset tomorrow.”