Claddings of Light : Book 12 of Painting the Mists

by Patrick Laplante

  “Daoist Clear Sky finishes tenth,” the announcer said. “Though there were some disagreements as to his score, and some of them were so spiteful we had to revoke voting rights of some of our respectful elders. There is no doubt that this pill is powerful, however, so the result stands. The judges have never heard of or seen its like. Tell me, Clear Sky—can it be replicated?”

  “Never,” Cha Ming said. “I could never make it again.”

  “Then it is as they thought—a pill created during enlightenment, no matter how insane your concoction process seemed to the audience.” The judge turned to Iridescent Wonder. “I’d also like confirmation on this momentous occasion. The judges witnessed a merging of Grandmist and iridescence, no matter how slight?”

  “Yes,” Iridescent Wonder said. “I’ve long argued that it might be possible, despite many detractors. But all the judges here can attest this pill seal is not fully a Grandmist seal, and neither is it fully iridescent. A few of us even caught a glimpse of its nature in his flames. Thanks to his clear cauldron, we even managed to record the process. This is a good day for the research community.”

  “Then this contribution to our knowledgebase is worthy,” the judge said. “Your pill is powerful, Clear Sky, but you did make three attempts. Some argued that this is grounds for rejection, but they were outvoted.”

  “Thank you, honored judge,” Cha Ming said.

  “No thanks are needed,” the judge said. “The results of the competition speak for themselves.”

  Cha Ming looked up and saw the crowd was cheering. There were many reluctant clappers there, but what more could he expect? Elder Iridescent Torch had a strong following.

  You did good, kid, Iridescent Wonder sent privately.

  What wonderful data, Iridescent Charity said. We’ll have to run more tests after this.

  Iridescent Virtue, who stood beside Cha Ming, nodded respectfully, and Iridescent Tempest showered him with cheers from the front of the stands. As for Iridescent Smile? She looked like she’d swallowed a lemon. But that was frosting on the cake.

  He’d succeeded. He’d taken the first step. He now qualified for the Iridescent Ancestor’s trial. Now he could compete in earnest for the phoenix inheritance blood and earn the hope he sorely needed.

  Chapter 29: Rescue

  The black-and-white fox was an uncatchable blur as he rushed past ships and soldiers and weary travelers. He teleported through patrols of fresh army troops, not even stopping to steal their food or sabotage their clothing.

  Huxian ran as fast as he could, accelerating his movements and keeping his three friends stowed away in his tail-space. The last thing he wanted was to be a half minute too late.

  “Watch it!” a cultivator shouted at the blur that almost tipped him off his flying sword. Why did cultivators fly on swords anyway? It didn’t make sense—ships or cars or even plain old surfboards were clearly superior when built with the right material and runes.

  Focus, Huxian thought, piercing through space once again, then jumping into a tall corn maze. He shuffled through it until he arrived at the edge of the unwalled city. Once there, he quickly surveyed the outer boundary that protected not only the main city but the large and small estates just outside it. Its purpose wasn’t to repel, but to detect.

  Where did we come out again? Huxian thought, sniffing at the wall. Last time they’d left the city, they’d gone through this field. Ah-ha! Damn, I’m good! He found a crack in space and slipped through the shield undetected by the city’s karma-based system.

  We’re in, Huxian sent. Get ready. There were no shadows here, so he used a trick of the light to hide himself as he wove through the different estates and approached the Mi Clan’s. The bulk of it was surrounded by a very sad excuse for a wall that was meant to mark off the pastures and grazing grounds. He looked about using his keen fox eyes and sniffed with his strong fox nose. His fox form wasn’t very convenient for most things, but it was great for infiltration.

  Do you see this? Huxian asked.

  Yeah. Seems like a pretty tight guard, Gua said, noting the cultivators circling the perimeter.

  They all wear the same clothes, Miyue said. Do they have to make this so easy?

  How has your practice been going? Huxian asked.

  I’m not great yet, but for this? Miyue replied. I’m more than good enough.

  How fun! Bifang said. Will we get to play with all the animals?

  That’s actually a pretty good idea, Huxian said. He cast his dominion around himself and used space-time demonic energy to map out their surroundings. The nice thing about spying on humans was that they didn’t think of defending themselves from anything more than human qi. He’d thought the Mi Clan would know better. Apparently, raising a few monstrous demons for food made them think they were experts on demons.

  Huxian could teleport anywhere within his four-hundred-meter domain, so he slipped from fence post to fence post, taking in several vantage points to form a complete map. While he was at it, he laid a few reconnaissance markers. By looking through holes in space at these specific locations, he would eventually have a competing security system at his command.

  Bifang, I can’t let you out, but I need a distraction, Huxian sent. We need to scare that herd of monstrous steelfur oxen over there. That’ll tie up a few elders.

  Leave it to me! Bifang said.

  Huxian dove into the short grass, shrinking into his smaller demon form, using light and shadow to hide himself as he made his way closer to the herd. Then, through one of his four tails, seven balls of different colored fire shot out at the oxen. The crackling flames made loud noises that spooked the beasts and caused them to charge toward the nearest wall, destroying it. Mi Clan cultivators shot out to recover the animals, and Huxian took advantage of the ensuing chaos to travel deeper into the estate.

  He executed several short jumps that took him to a short wall that surrounded the Mi Clan manor and its attached courtyards. We’ve got a bit of a problem, Huxian sent to his three teammates. He wasn’t scared of the wall, but it was a little unnerving. The main problem was that there were guards checking passes for everyone going in or out.

  Gua, can you do something about these clowns? Huxian asked as he ducked into a shadowy portion of the stone structure.

  I could give them a makeover if you really like them, Gua said.

  No, you dolt, I meant incapacitate them, Huxian said. Use a poison and put them to sleep or something.

  That’s very unimaginative of you, Gua said. I’ll do you one better. A miasma oozed out of one of his tails and pooled beneath the guards’ feet. At first, there was nothing. The poison drifted away, unnoticed by anyone. Eventually, however, they began to stir.

  “I think I need to go to the bathroom all of a sudden,” the first said.

  “Nope, I’m going first,” the other said. “I’ve got a number two.”

  “I also happen to have a number two,” the first guard said.

  “Mine’s different,” the guard said. “It’s feeling pretty explosive.”

  “I’m just going,” the other said. “I’m going to crap my pants.”

  “Hey, wait up,” the other said. “There’s only one bathroom!”

  They raced off, leaving the door unguarded. It was a side door, not the main entrance.

  On the other side was a garden where several ladies were chatting and gossiping. They weren’t very attentive, so Huxian snuck around them and through an adjacent courtyard, bypassing the kitchen on his way out. He steeled himself as he passed a freshly cooling pie on the windowsill.

  Focus, Huxian reminded himself, suppressing his instincts to steal the pie with every fiber of his being. Speed was of the essence during recon and a potential rescue operation.

  He snuck behind the main manor, clinging to its pristine white walls and bending light so that his fur perfectly blended in with the background. When he reached the back of the building, he teleported to a small hiding spot next to the training grounds. A
tall older man with a burning sword was sparring with two younger men.

  Strong, Huxian thought. Hey, Miyue, you want to make an appearance?

  So you’re finally interested in my company? Miyue asked.

  I want you to make a clone imitation of one of those annoying girls in the garden, Huxian said. Pick whichever one you think will draw the most attention.

  You do know that I won’t be able to talk for very long, or I’ll give myself away, don’t you? Miyue said.

  That’s fine, Huxian said. I only need three seconds.

  All right, Miyue said. Inky water spilled out from Huxian’s tail. It morphed and wriggled until it became a perfect copy of one of the Mi Clan girls. This wasn’t Miyue’s main body, but a clone she could control remotely. With any luck, that super-strong swordsman wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

  Huxian snuck toward the courtyard just beside the sparring grounds. He’d been there a few times to visit Xiao Bai.

  “Greetings, Senior Sister,” one of the men said, spotting Miyue.

  “Hello, Junior Brothers,” Miyue said, imitating the woman’s voice. “Don’t mind me, I’m just running an errand.” She struck a pose, revealing more than a little cleavage. As she spoke, Huxian bolted past the training ground and edged toward Mi Fei’s courtyard. As he did so, however, he felt a jolt of fear. He looked back to see the swordsman staring straight at him. They stared at each other for a good three seconds before the man, to his surprise, looked the other way.

  Good to know, Huxian thought. Not everyone was pleased with the situation, it seemed.

  There were guards at the courtyard entrance, so Huxian bypassed them by teleporting straight into what was usually an empty room. He used his spatial affinity to pierce through an obvious alarm barrier erected around the entire perimeter of the residence.

  The clone is gone and collapsed, Miyue said. I don’t think anyone noticed anything.

  The sword master did, Huxian said. He just didn’t care.

  Oh, Miyue said. Lucky.

  That they were. Huxian had a feeling that man could tear them to pieces.

  They were finally inside the building. As a result, his fox form became a lot less useful, so he reverted to his human form, abandoning the stability of four strong legs and four tails in favor of two stupidly unstable legs and two very useful and very nimble hands and wonderful things called thumbs and fingers. He put his ear to the door and listened, spreading his dominion through the residence and in the area outside it. There were two elders lurking nearby, sword master excluded, but none of them were inside Mi Fei’s residence. For now.

  “About time,” Xiao Bai said when Huxian walked out of the storage closet.

  “Yeah, well, I needed to travel fast to get here so quickly,” Huxian said. “What’s the story?”

  “You know, the usual,” Xiao Bai said. “Big bad family wants to sell off a daughter. She doesn’t want to go, so they lock her up.”

  “A classic,” Huxian agreed. He looked from Xiao Bai to Mi Fei and frowned when he saw that she hadn’t even looked up. “What’s eating her?”

  Xiao Bai bit her lip. “Her handmaid tried to sneak her out. Not even a cultivator. It didn’t end well.”

  Huxian winced. “Jailed?”

  “Dead,” Xiao Bai said.

  “This family sucks,” Huxian said.

  “You’re preaching to the choir,” Xiao Bai said. “Get this collar off me, will you?”

  Huxian zipped over to her and put his finger on the purple metal object. He tried to send a wisp of spatial qi into it, but it fizzled. Then, for lack of a better idea, he summoned the sharpest spatial shard he could muster and tried to cut through its weakest point. It shattered. He didn’t dare try using his demon weapon. “I don’t think I’ll be able to take off this demon-subduing collar.”

  “Fine,” Xiao Bai said. “Later. Just get us out of here.”

  “The sword master saw me coming in, didn’t say anything,” Huxian said, proceeding to Mi Fei. When he tried to put his hand on her collar, however, she flinched back. “Hey, girl,” Huxian said softly. “Remember me?” She didn’t look up. “I’m Huxian. Lord Eight Directions. We were on a team, remember?” No response. “I’m Cha Ming’s bonded brother. You know Cha Ming, right?”

  Then she stirred. Huxian and Mi Fei had fought side by side, but she and Cha Ming had been through life and death together. In this life and another.

  “She’s dead,” Mi Fei whispered sadly. “They’re all dead. No matter where I run, they chase.”

  “Let’s stay positive, all right?” Huxian said. “How about you let me take a look at this collar, and I’ll see if we can get you out of here and feed your family some just desserts. Maybe we could raze the Cao Clan while we’re at it. Sound good?”

  She reluctantly let him inspect the collar. Tiger poop, Huxian thought as he looked it over. Well-made. It was even better built than Xiao Bai’s collar. Either they’d gotten this from their ancestral vault, or they’d spent a pretty penny for it. Or maybe Cao Wenluan sent it over. What a terrible person. Is she supposed to become his wife or his slave?

  “Have you heard from Longshen?” Mi Fei asked. “How’s his father doing?”

  “Unconscious,” Huxian said. “He was the first to let us know what happened.”

  “Oh,” Mi Fei said. “I hope he doesn’t try anything foolish for my sake.”

  “No promises,” Huxian said, then shook his head in disgust. “This isn’t going to work, Xiao Bai. I can’t get her free. I can’t get you out either.”

  Xiao Bai frowned. “What are we going to do?”

  “I need to leave you here for now,” Huxian said. “I can’t let them see me. I don’t want them to put their guard up. I need to—” He ducked into a shadow. The door abruptly opened, revealing an angry middle-aged rune-gathering cultivator.

  “So?” the woman said, eyeing Xiao Bai. “Have you realized biting is bad yet? Can we try having a civil discussion?”

  “Bite me, old lady,” Xiao Bai said.

  To which the woman replied by manipulating space into a gag to cut off any further words. The woman then walked over to Mi Fei. She bent down and held her chin up. From where he was hiding, Huxian could feel the heat of her glare.

  “I hope you realize this is a perfectly normal situation,” the woman said. “Minus your trying to run away, of course. It happens from time to time, though. I can’t say I’m surprised—you’ve always been willful, and your parents should have quashed that before your sixth birthday. But no, they wanted you to be happy. They wanted you to enjoy your childhood.” She spat. “Stupid fools. Kids in great clans don’t get childhoods. They get an education.”

  “I think you’re the first person I’ll kill once I regain my freedom,” Mi Fei said evenly. “You’re not important in the grand scheme of things, but I do hate you more than most. And you’re not nearly as difficult to kill as, say, my hateful parents, or that terrible excuse for a person, Cao Wenluan.”

  “Oh?” the woman said. “And how will you do that? You’re all locked up, and you’re not even a rune-gathering cultivator.”

  “Oh, please,” Mi Fei said. “I’m only a late-rune-carving cultivator, so you’re safe. For now. But once I undergo my next carving? Getting rid of you will be easy. None of the elders will be able to stop me.”

  “Fortunately for me, you’ll likely have been taught better manners by your new husband by then,” the woman said. Then she frowned. “Something’s different here. The mood of this place.”

  “Oh? Do you sense more loathing than usual?” Mi Fei asked.

  “Yes, as a matter a fact, I do,” the woman said. “You were distraught this morning. And now you’re suddenly angry? Something must have happened.”

  Crap, Huxian thought. Did she notice me?

  The woman paced around the room. She looked under the bed and in obvious hiding places. Huxian had fortunately decided to hide in the shadows just beside her bedside table.

&n
bsp; Xiao Bai did her best not to look in his direction. So did Mi Fei. That was why it came as no surprise to Huxian when a sword came piercing through space straight toward his chest. He summoned a small portal that redirected the sword straight at its sender, but she dodged it, catching it again and summoning her domain and world projection, which she slammed down on Huxian, nearly catching him.

  Just my luck, Huxian thought. He teleported out of the house, tripping multiple alarms in the process. He zipped through the many guards that were now aware of his presence. Then, when elders appeared and tried to seal him off, he simply laughed and slipped through their pathetic excuse for a spatial lock.

  He summoned a projection of broken mirrors as he ran away, activating a named ability he’d gained: Clever Fox’s Spatial Maze. It slowed down his pursuers just enough for Huxian to sneak through the city’s main boundary and dart off into a dark alley. He hid in the shadows there, licking a fresh wound where a burning sword had cut him. The sword master had been more than willing to act once he’d been caught.

  That went poorly, Huxian said as the cut healed over.

  We probably should have talked to the Wei brat before doing this, Gua said. They’ll be ready for us next time.

  I had lots of fun, Bifang said.

  Mistakes were made, Huxian admitted. At least now we know what we’re up against. We need two keys. Or a way to destroy a few powerful treasures.

  I think we’ll need a better distraction than a water clone, Miyue said. In hindsight, it was pretty obvious. Those boys were just dense.

  That’s life, Huxian thought. Now all he needed to do was find a place to lay low. Not a hotel—something off the radar. He knew of a few places. As he ran toward said places, however, he heard a mental ping. Then another. What in the seven hells was going on?