“Are they safe?” Mi Fei asked.
“Safe as dogs, they are,” Brittle Bark said. “So they’ll play nice if you do too. We start everyone young, and the wolves are good at sniffing out people they can bond with. They might not be able to cultivate yet, but it’s important to build trust. Wolves don’t bond unless they bond for life.”
“I confess not knowing how all this works,” Wei Longshen said. “I was always under the impression that bestial demons couldn’t grow unless they became initiates.”
Mi Fei snorted. “Shows how much you know.”
“The Mi Clan would know a thing or two,” Brittle Bark said. “Maybe you can clear up the confusion. I’m not very good with polite words, and I might call him ignorant and stupid a half dozen times.”
“I resent that,” Wei Longshen said.
“Well, you know that they have special meats for body cultivators,” Mi Fei said. “Where did you think they get them from?”
“I assumed it had to do with bloodlines,” Wei Longshen said defensively.
“That’s only a part of it,” Mi Fei said. “How could bloodlines provide enough raw energy to feed a muscle-empowering cultivator? Or even the legendary shell-marking cultivators? Then you need to consider the fact that there are hordes of blood-awakening cultivators and initiation demons in the prefecture. In terms of volume, they could eat the entire city’s stock of basic demon meats and still be hungry.”
“She’s right about that,” Brittle Bark said. “And my wolves have fiercer appetites.”
“So your wolves are raised in the same way we raise demons for food?” Wei Longshen asked.
“The bond facilitates it, but yes,” Brittle Bark said. “Though if you ever compare wolves to food again, I’ll kill you. And it’ll be all kinds of personal.”
“But why don’t they develop human forms?” Wei Longshen asked. “That’s the confusing part.”
Xiao Bai shrugged. “Back in the day, that was all there was. Then nature decided to do something more efficient. If you have initiate demons keeping everyone in line, and investiture demons to grow and expand, why waste all that energy feeding huge monsters?”
“You’re saying they grow by eating,” Wei Longshen said.
“That’s all they do,” Mi Fei said. “They don’t have quests. They don’t gain human forms. They’ll never gain inherited memories. They’re monsters, so we call them monstrous demons. You hear about them from time to time, when adventurers kick a hornets’ nest, or one gets hungry enough to attack a town or city.”
“Well, consider me educated,” Wei Longshen said. “I don’t think I’ll ever look at a piece of demon meat the same way again.”
The kennels consisted of an assortment of mid-sized buildings, most of which had missing walls. They were filled with cages, some reinforced and containing ferocious untamed wolves, and others with open doors that provided shelter for mothers and their cubs. One cage in particular stood out to Mi Fei. It was made of a strange silvery wood etched with runes infused with demonic energy. She fingered the wooden enclosure, wondering how useful they would be. How powerful a demon could they contain? Her family raised grazers, not carnivores. It was better to hunt such beasts than to try domesticating them.
“Get your hands off that cage before they go missing,” a voice snapped.
Mi Fei jerked her fingers back just in time to avoid a howling mass of darkness that slammed against the cage door. The violet-eyed creature gnawed at the wooden enclosure, its slippery saliva coating the bars and pooling at the base of the cage.
“She thinks you’re tasty. Wants a bite. So do half of these wolves. I wonder why.”
Mi Fei shivered and turned around to see a short balding man. Though small in stature, barely coming up to her chest, he was wiry and had rough, leathery skin. He was possibly the least-fashionable man Mi Fei had ever met, preferring to wear rough hemp pants and a loose-fitting leather vest fastened into place with straps as opposed to traditional cultivator robes. He also wore riding leathers and wraps around his hands.
“What do you all want? Why’d you send me a bunch of kids, Brittle Bark?” the man snapped.
“They’re here to do some riding, Red Howl,” Brittle Bark said.
“Riding?” Mi Fei exclaimed.
Wei Longshen and Xiao Bai exchanged devilish grins. Lei Xieren seemed as surprised as she was, though he stiffened his jaw and straightened his back.
“We’re in talks with the dandy-looking man and his family, and I wanted to get a feel for them,” Brittle Bark said. “See what the wolves think.”
“Not interested,” Red Howl said, proceeding to a workbench, where he began working leather into buckles.
“My friend, be reasonable,” Brittle Bark said. “I’ll buy a round of choice cuts if you do.”
Red Howl paused. “Monstrous grassland elk. Three of them. Third rank.”
“That’ll cost a fortune,” Brittle Bark countered. “You know we can’t afford that.”
“I’ll pay,” Wei Longshen said.
Red Howl grinned triumphantly. A small bag of holding changed hands, and Brittle Bark sighed. “It’ll take time to arrange. I trust I can leave them in your capable hands?”
“Worst case, the wolves will eat them,” Red Howl said. Then, seeing Mi Fei’s pale expression, he chuckled. “Just kidding. You all coming? Who wants to go first?”
Red Howl brought them just outside the kennels to an adjoining empty field. It didn’t grow crops of any value that Mi Fei could see. The man whistled four times, each with a distinct tone, and a group of wolves lazing about a pile of half-eaten raw meat perked up one after another.
Are you wolves, or are you dogs? Mi Fei thought. Xiao Bai seemed to share the sentiment.
“First things first,” Red Howl said. “Respect. A wolf won’t let you ride unless it respects you. Hold out your hand, and one of the wolves will come to you, assuming you’re worth anything.” Each of them did as instructed, and the wolves ran up to them.
They were large and came up to Mi Fei’s shoulders, and at first, all of them ran to her. She nearly peed herself but stood her ground. Worst case, she could burn them all to ashes. They seemed to sense her intentions, and after a few biting exchanges, they split off, leaving the largest female wolf to inspect her. She circled, sniffed, and stared Mi Fei down. Then, she bowed her head and licked Mi Fei’s fingers.
This isn’t so bad, Mi Fei thought. Embrace the fear. Get comfortable with it. She petted the wolf’s gray and black fur. It was smooth but slightly oily.
To the side, her companions were experiencing mixed results. Xiao Bai’s wolf was already cowering on the ground, while Lei Xieren’s wolf still eyed him dubiously. Wei Longshen’s wolf straight up refused to look at him.
“Can’t help you there, boy,” Red Howl said. “She wants to be impressed. Well? Impress her.”
Wei Longshen thought a moment before bringing out his flute. He let out some whistling sounds that sounded like the same whistle the wolf had responded to earlier. He played a strange song using that sound as a base that Mi Fei found silly, and quite frankly, tone deaf. The wolf, however, was delighted at the tune. Then, seeing that the three others had accepted their riders, the last wolf reluctantly licked Wei Longshen’s fingers.
“Good job,” Red Howl said. “None of you died or lost a hand. Well? What are you waiting for? Climb on.”
“There’s no saddle,” Wei Longshen said.
“You want to saddle a wolf?” Red Howl said incredulously. “You’re crazy. They’d bite your face off before you could even try. Anyone who rides a wolf rides does it bareback. You hold on to their fur and you feel your way around. If they respect you, and you don’t ask them to do anything stupid, they’ll listen.”
Mi Fei didn’t immediately climb on. Instead, she petted her wolf. She didn’t know her name, but it wasn’t like anyone could pronounce her real one anyway.
“Can I climb on you?” she asked. “Is it okay?” To her su
rprise, the wolf understood. She crouched a bit, and Mi Fei took that as an invitation to pull herself up using her long gray hair as handholds.
“You’re so tall,” Mi Fei said. “Shorter than a horse, though.” The she-wolf almost shook her off in reply. “I mean, you’re nothing like a horse. Horses are terrible beasts. Only good for eating.”
This seemed to soothe her wolf, who began to walk around on her own initiative. Mi Fei tentatively urged her in one direction, then another, using her hips and knees much like she would a horse. It worked about the same, except she didn’t bounce up and down uncomfortably due to the wolf’s body mechanics. They didn’t gallop and jump—they prowled and pounced.
“There. You’ve all hopped on, and you haven’t broken your fool necks,” Red Howl said, riding up to them on his own wolf. “Time for a game, I think.”
Mi Fei had never heard of wolf-riding games, and she wondered if they had something like polo, which was played on horseback, or if there was a more specialized sport. The answer came soon in the form of a large ball the size of Mi Fei’s head. It was leathery and full of bite marks. It hovered around uncertainly, suspended in the air by six silver wings that beat like a hummingbird’s.
“Make it a race to five catches,” Red Howl said. “The ball will fly to the far field. Come back when you’re done, and don’t break any bones!” He then jumped and kicked the ball so hard it flew over a thousand meters away.
“What now?” Wei Longshen asked.
Mi Fei didn’t get to answer, as her wolf was already bolting toward the ball, and she was too busy trying not to fall.
Mi Fei steadied herself quickly, and soon the four of them were racing through the tall grass. Rodents and small birds dove out of their way, and the wolves nipped and bit at them as they ran. It had rained yesterday, so the grass was green and tender, but thankfully not soggy like it would be after a weeklong rain.
Mi Fei hung on for dear life as her wolf ran, chasing Xiao Bai, who was blurring ahead atop her own wolf. The white-haired woman was grinning from ear to ear and whispering in her partner’s ear. She was accelerating time for the both of them!
“Cheater!” Mi Fei howled.
“Attacks are cheating,” Xiao Bai said. “This is just helping.”
Fine, Mi Fei thought. Two can play at that game. She summoned her domain, and the air around her and her wolf parted as they ran. The air no longer resisted them and instead eased their passage forward like wind in a sail. They nearly caught up to Xiao Bai when the girl and her wolf suddenly jumped up to catch the flying ball. The ball dodged, and Mi Fei was able to slow it down just enough for her wolf to catch it in her massive jaws.
“First point’s mine!” Mi Fei yelled. Her wolf let go of the ball, and it sped off with an extra burst of speed. It rushed toward Wei Longshen and Lei Xieren, who began trying to push each other off their wolves as they fought over it. When Lei Xieren reached for his spear, however, his wolf growled. No, it was saying. That’s against the rules. They knew what they were doing.
“I’ll get it this time!” Xiao Bai said. She and her wolf zipped by even faster. Mi Fei giggled and brought up earthen walls as obstacles. “Hey! That’s cheating, isn’t it?” Her wolf ignored her. Apparently, it wasn’t.
“This is stupid,” Lei Xieren said. “I can’t use weapons?”
“Probably just not lethal ones,” Mi Fei said as she rode past him.
“I got it!” Lei Xieren said. He summoned a large wooden staff. It was a padded training weapon with a chalk tip to indicate strikes. Wait, was that a jousting lance? Lightning curled around him, and he and his wolf sped past Mi Fei’s larger wolf, who grumbled unhappily at being outrun. Still, they weren’t nearly as fast as Xiao Bai. She was about to catch the ball, but this time, her wolf partner feinted, allowing the ball to dodge before actually going after it.
Lei Xieren would have none of it, however. He charged, and just before Xiao Bai’s wolf caught the ball, he smashed into her with his training staff. She fell off her wolf, and the moment she did, her wolf stopped. “Seriously? That’s not cheating?” The wolf shook his head.
Mi Fei ran past her and executed yet another acceleration maneuver, warping her surroundings with the power of Grandmist. Unfortunately, doing so for more than just herself and her wolf was too taxing. She couldn’t do the same to slow her opponents, or else she’d quickly run out of qi.
Mi Fei was about to reach the ball a second time when suddenly, her wolf froze. It looked back as a strange song filled the battlefield. Spirit wolves appeared all around them and growled, and one even grabbed the ball and ran toward Wei Longshen’s wolf, who grabbed it and took the point.
“That has to be against the rules,” Xiao Bai said. The wolves looked at each other expectantly. Her own wolf, the leader, came to a decision. She growled to the others, and Xiao Bai translated. “Ah. She says two spirit wolves maximum. Otherwise, it’s no fun.”
“Fair enough,” Wei Longshen said, banishing all but two. He threw the ball up, and it zipped off.
They chased it as a group. Together, they began pelting each other with nonlethal attacks and restricting each other with their domains. Lei Xieren used strange solid lightning techniques to fight while Wei Longshen used his music to control his summons and shadows to bind his competitors.
Xiao Bai seemed like a one-trick pony at first, but when they were closing in on the ball this time, everything froze. They stopped mid-jump while she chased after the ball and caught it.
“This one’s mine, right?” she asked, then noticed they were still frozen. “Oops.” She released them, and the wolves growled softly, and she rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine, not again. Too powerful.” She tossed the ball back up, and they bolted after it as it traveled farther and farther away from the kennels.
They were near some small artificial spirit woods now. The sect probably grew things there. There were birds hiding in the trees, and she wondered if this place was a hunting ground rather than a garden.
Flicker. A black shadow filled her with dread. Flicker. She shivered with fear. Her wolf growled, so Mi Fei whispered soothing words into her ear. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry,” she said. But the wolf seemed less certain. Did it sense something others didn’t?
The ball dove into the woods. They were forced to navigate tree trunks thicker than her body and avoid annoying bestial demons and monstrous demons of the avian variety. Lei Xieren stood out from their group in that he’d clearly trained for such evasive maneuvers, and he was able to navigate the death trap and secure the fourth point for his team.
“Last one’s the tiebreaker,” Mi Fei announced. The ball shot out of the woods. Their wolves rushed back toward the kennels, doing their best to trip each other up. They nipped at each other as the four of them fought. No one wanted to lose this competition.
Lei Xieren blasted them all with waves of paralyzing lightning, but not before Wei Longshen bound Xiao Bai with chains of shadow and song. Xiao Bai quickly accelerated time around herself and her wolf, breaking them apart. Mi Fei was able to sneak past all of them, and she grinned as her wolf caught the ball. Her elation didn’t last long, however, as the wolf quickly let go the ball, crouched, and began to growl. The other wolves did the same, and as one, they charged toward the kennels.
At first, they were confused. Then they saw a gathering of younger wolves and younger men and women up ahead. Some were growling, and others were whining and howling softly. Something had happened in their absence. Something terrible.
Mi Fei shivered, and once again, she saw a black shadow flicker away from the kennels. But it didn’t exist. Did it? Yet how else could she explain what she saw? Beastmaster Brittle Bark was kneeling on the ground, and the wolves growled softly as their group approached. Mi Fei suddenly felt distinctly unwelcome here.
“Excuse me, what’s going on?” Wei Longshen asked, pushing through the crowd. Then he froze, and Mi Fei did too when she saw it. In the center of the wolves and the children was the bod
y of a man. An abnormally short balding man. He’d been stabbed in the heart not once, but twice. Both wounds were oozing thick blood with a golden luster. A demigod’s blood. His own life’s blood. “What happened?” Wei Longshen repeated.
Beastmaster Bitter Bark rose. His meaty fists were trembling. His face was red and contorted with grief. “Dead,” he said. “He was killed. No one saw who did it, not even the wolves.”
“We were only gone for a few minutes,” Wei Longshen said. “And Red Howl wasn’t weak either. He was a Dao God, for heaven’s sake.”
“Go,” Bitter Bark said. “Get out of here.”
“What?” Wei Longshen asked.
“Get lost. I don’t want to see you again,” Bitter Bark said.
“But we were gone with the wolves all this time,” Mi Fei said.
“Doesn’t matter,” Bitter Bark said. “First the Sisters, and now us? Tell me, Young Lord Wei, who’ll be next? It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. Someone’s targeting whoever you make friends with, and we can’t afford to make such enemies like you can.”
“I’ll find who did this,” Wei Longshen said softly. “I’ll find them and hang their corpses at the city limits.”
“Won’t bring him back, though, will it?” Bitter Bark said. “Go. You’re upsetting the wolves.” Indeed, the wolves, even those they’d ridden, had all pulled their ears back and were glaring at them. In their eyes, they were as culpable as the one’s who’d killed Red Howl.
“Those who did this will answer for it,” Wei Longshen said. “You have my word on it.” The beastmaster and the other sect members didn’t reply. Instead, they raised their heads and began to howl.
Wei Longshen sensed the difference the moment he entered the Wei family manor. Whether it was the hushed whispers or the anxious glances, worry had set in. The halo of success that had protected him was no longer there. They didn’t see Wei Longshen the Death Piper but Wei Longshen, bringer of danger.
Wei Lixin, one of his four brothers, fell into stride beside him as he made his way toward a familiar staircase. “The hour grows late, brother,” Wei Lixin said. “Father was beginning to take his anger out on lesser family members like myself.”
Claddings of Light : Book 12 of Painting the Mists Page 18
