by Tony Tran
“Cheng Yu, after your meal I want you to go have some men but up all of the mirrors in the city. We will be needing them just in case my fears turn out to be true.” Zhang said to Cheng Yu who was seated at the table beside his own.
“Ran Kaitou, I'll be needing you to accompany me on a certain task later today.” He said to Ran Kaitou who sat at the same table as Cheng Yu.
“Accompany you? Why should I? After I finish this meal I’m taking my men and leaving. Only a fool would stick around and risk dying for free.” Ran Kaitou retorted in an unhappy tone.
“Of course, I paid you.” Zhang replied with a grin.
“When was this?” Ran Kaitou asked with a confused look on his face.
“I'm paying you in opportunities. An opportunity to survive a Jiangshi invasion, an opportunity to achieve greatness, an opportunity to obtain wealth and power, and an opportunity to get revenge against your enemies.” Zhang said. He had looked into Ran Kaitou’s background and knew about how Ran was the former prince of a kingdom, invaded by the Siwang Empire.
Without replying Ran Kaitou continued his meal and sat in silence.
After everyone finished their meal Zhang led them outside to where the three frozen Jiangshi were. Dozens of thin cracked could be seen running across the surface of ice upon closer inspection, as everyone approached.
“Ai if you could do the honors.” Zhang said to the lovely young women he was holding hands with.
In a flash the Queen of the Night whip appeared in Ai’s hand. An instant later one end of the whip shot into the ground and dozens of vines sprouted out from the earth.
With a thought, Ai made the vines lash out and pierce through the air. With devastating force, the vines punctured the block of ice, as they headed toward the Jiangshi at high speeds.
Drilling through the ice the vines latched themselves around the three Jiangshi.
“My turn.” Zhang muttered as his Sky Piercer halberd was withdrawn for his interspatial ring. A purple glow soon enveloped it and the halberd took to the skies and twirled about ask it had a mind of its own.
The halberd shot toward the block of ice and soon a loud cracking sound rung everyone's ears. A few people felt that their hearts would burst out of their chests at any moment as they watched the massive flower like block of ice shatter.
Remember the shrug that had occurred last night a few people even wanted to run. But they chose to put up a brace front and stayed to watching instead.
Once the ice shattered, a blood curdling and earth shattering roar sounded out. The three Jiangshi were not free and no restricted by the poison laced ice any longer. Now was the time for them to go on a rampage and slaughter everyone.
That would be the case had dozens of vines not wrapped around their bodies. The three Jiangshi tugged and pulled at the vines trying to break loose but to no avail.
“Just to be sure none of you can break free.” Zhang murmured after his halberd flew back into his hand and was deposited back into his interspatial ring, twenty-one arrows, tipped with Lightning Eater scales appeared in front of him.
These arrows, much like the halberd shot through the air toward the three Jiangshi. Moments later, each Jiangshi was pierced through by seven arrows. Hands, arms, shoulders, neck, leg, knee and foot joints were all pierced through by an arrow.
This made it highly improbable for them to even move an inch. Like pinned insects the three Jiangshi could not budge at all.
Hung up by Ai’s vines and incapacitated by the arrows, smoke began slowly raising from the bodies of the three Jiangshi. They were currently facing their strongest adversary, the sun.
The one true weakness of the Jiangshi and their kind was the warm rays of the sun. As their bodies were wrapped in smoke, pieces of the Jiangshi were sliding off their bodies. The flesh on their faces was slowly being melted away, revealing white bones.
Not long after, after the last of their power was expended, they bursted into clouds of dust and was blown away by a gentle breeze. From the clouds of dust that the Jiangshi had turned into three green colored pearl like objects fell onto the ground.
A purple glow soon enveloped these green colored pearls causing them to levitate into the air and fly back to Zhang, who stored them away into his interspatial ring to inspect later.
“You there, fix the road. As I've said before I don't pay you to stand there and look pretty.” Zhang said to Ran Kaitou with a grin. He didn't know why but it was fairly fun to bug Ran Kaitou when the opportunity presented itself. Of course, he did not possess any ill will against Ran Kaitou, they could be considered comrades who shared a common goal, since they both wished for the destruction of the Siwang Empire.
After Zhang’s words from earlier, Ran Kaitou simply did as he was told. The thought of revenge which he had suppressed for years, suddenly flared and occupied most of his thoughts. His land, his people, his power, and his family had all been turned to ashes by the Siwang Empire and he was forced to scrape the bottom of the barrel to survive.
Had it not been for a few loyal subjects who survived the slaughter then perhaps there wouldn’t even be a person named Ran Kaitou anymore. Zhang’s words were now deeply imbedded in his heart.
“A chance to obtain wealth and power, a chance at obtaining revenge…” Ran Kaitou thought as he used his earth magic to fix the road.
Once the three Jiangshi were taken care of and the road was fixed, there was nothing to do but wait for Cheng Yu to return after buying all of the mirrors in the city, so Zhang and the four beauties went back into the hotel.
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A few hours later Cheng Yu finally returned with a dozen horse drawn carriages full of mirrors.
“Everyone! We are heading out! Prepare to meet hostile forces! No matter who tries to stop us, take them down. As long as you stick we me you’ll be fine.” Zhang’s voice echoed throughout the hotel.
Although not many people knew the extent of Zhang’s influence, from what they’ve seen so far, they could tell that his wealth was extremely vast, meaning that he must be a part of some extremely powerful clan or have an extremely powerful backer. Then comes the fact that so far all he had done was save the province from the threat of annihilation while no one else was doing a thing, so there wasn’t anything that would make people not want to work with him. Also, he paid everyone except Ran Kaitou very handsomely.
“Lingqi did you prepare what I asked you to prepare?” Zhang asked.
“You think I can’t concoct something as simple as that?” Lingqi replied with a chuckle as she waved her hand and a large sack appeared in front of her. With her delicate fingers, she undid the knot on the sack and revealed dozens of clear jars of liquid.
“Now I exchange for this sack what will you offer me?” Lingqi said in a teasing tone.
What she didn’t expect was for her husband to walk up beside her and whisper into her ear. After a few words from Zhang, Lingqi could be seen with blushed cheeks while handing the sack full of jars to Zhang.
“So, we have a deal?” Zhang said in a teasing tone.
“W-we have a deal…” Lingqi said while trying to avoid eye contact with Zhang. With that the group headed out and headed for the provincial lord’s mansion.
On his way through the city, Zhang noticed that there was an oddity occurring. Not a single soldier or guard that affiliated with the New Moon Province could be seen. The streets were still bustling with people but no one that was a part of the government or military could be seen at all.
“Something is wrong… Cheng Yu I want you to send a few men start a small fire in the north-western region of the city and spread news that the city is under attack. I want people to start evacuating the city as soon as possible. Something is off and it’s definitely related to this province’s lord.” Zhang said in a whisper to Cheng Yu who was walking behind him and the four beauties. He could have ordered Cheng Yu to rally the people of the city to perhaps aid him bu
t Zhang did not want innocent people to end up in harm's way due to his actions so he thought it would be best to try to evacuate the city instead.
“Right away my lord.” Cheng Yu replied as he and a few men disappeared into the crowd.
“Sweetheart, everything should be okay as long as we stick together.” Yuying’s said with a reassuring smile on her face. It was a face that told you that even if the sky were to fall, everything would still be fine.
“Yea honey, everything will be fine.” Ling said as her arm curled around Zhang’s.
“Alright let's make sure things are finished and continue our trip.” Zhang said with a grin as he planted a kiss on Yuying and Ling’s face. Lingqi did not complain and demand a kiss this time because her face was still somewhat flushed and she was still avoiding eye contact with her husband due to the words that he had whispered into her ear earlier.
Once they arrived at the front of the provincial lord’s mansion which was strangely unguarded, Zhang began issuing orders to the men who followed him, “In a few moments we will storm into the mansion, I assure you that what we are doing is for the good of everyone in the city. If anything occurs, I will accept the consequences in your place so fear not.” Since most of these men were not a part of Ran Kaitou’s underground syndicate to begin with, it was not as if they were afraid of breaking any laws so no one showed any sign of leaving. While the various actors and storytellers had come thus far already they did not seem willing to turn back now.
With his word spoken, he walked up to the front gate of the provincial lord’s mansion and a single blood red sword appeared in his hand. With a swing of his sword, the wooden bar that kept the gates locked was cut into two. Then with a single kick he sent the two doors swinging back.
When the doors opened, they revealed a sight that could only be described as spooky. Dead trees, broken down doors, cobwebs and an all-around creepy feeling atmosphere. It seemed as if no one had been in the mansion for a long time.
“Everyone grab a mirror and follow my instructions.” Zhang said as he directed the men following him to fall into formation. They were to break into groups of ten and use the mirrors to reflect sunlight into the mansion in case there were undead lurking inside the mansion as they investigate.
“Lingqi I guess we won’t have to use your potions to knock out the guards, guarding the mansion. But if you want we can still go through with the deal.” Zhang said in a teasing tone to his lovely wife.
Not knowing what to say, Lingqi stayed silent while avoiding eye contact.
Thus, the investigation of the provincial lord’s mansion begun.
Chapter 14: The Search
The teams consisting of ten men each dispersed throughout the provincial lord’s mansion as they began their search for answers.
Where have the soldiers of the New Moon Army, who were stationed in the city go? Why was the lord’s mansion in shambles? Most importantly where was the lord of the New Moon Province?
Full of questions, everyone carefully split up and in went from one room to the next trying to find signs of life. Of course, everyone was equipped with mirrors and would shine sunlight into every room before entering. Even once they entered, someone would stay outside with a large mirror and reflect sunlight inside. Those who were inside would use midsized or small sized mirrors to reflect the sunlight reflected on the large mirror throughout the rooms. This was a way; Zhang had come up with to bring light to places where the sun’s warm rays could not reach.
Windows were propped up and doors were kept open as a sign that a room had been searched already. Zhang had instilled a set of procedures in place to ensure everyone’s safety. This was because of the likelihood of someone injured or killed during the search turning into an enemy that he made everyone be extra careful.
While many people were busy searching the grounds, a few had been ordered to return to the hotel and transport the blocks of ice that had encased the Jiangshi, over to the mansion. They were also ordered to acquire as much water as they could so that in case Ling needed to use her magic there would be an ample supply of water to use. Zhang had forgotten about this when they had left the hotel and headed for the provincial lord’s mansion or else he could have stored away all of the ice into his interspatial ring. But things done later are better then things left undone.
“Ran, if you can use your magic and reinforce the outer walls of the buildings for us to stay in tonight that would be wonderful. Also, some tall guard towers and walls to section off the mansion.” Zhang said as he was overlooking the search.
They were plenty of open space in the courtyard of the provincial lord’s mansion for Ran Kaitou to construct things that could provide lots of protection in case of enemy attack. As for the rooms in the mansion, Zhang felt that the walls seemed too flimsy, so he asked Ran Kaitou to reinforce them with earthen magic.
“Okay, everyone make room.” Ran Kaitou said as a yellow earthen glow enveloped his body. Once his hands pressed down onto to the ground a rumble sound became audible as the ground began shifting.
The ground underneath Ran Kaitou began to rise into the sky, creating a stone pillar beneath his feet. The pillar began to mold itself and slowly change into the shape of a guard tower that was complete with a ladder made of stone.
Ran Kaitou who was now standing on the roof of the guard tower, had a bird’s eye view of a large portion of the provincial lord’s mansion allowing him to plan where to and what to construct next.
Soon enough a yellow earthen glow was sent from the top of the guard tower down to the ground below causing a dozen more stone guard towers to shoot out from the ground. Stone tiles were unturned and buildings were left with holes in their ceilings as circle of guard towers was erected. Of course, these buildings had no people in them because they were in sections that haven’t been reached yet, so no one was injured by the falling roof tiles.
“I’ll be needing some of that stuff you gave to me last night.” Ran Kaitou yelled down at Zhang.
Zhang waved his hand and ten or so bottles of essence water appeared and levitated up to Ran Kaitou who collected them and stashed them into his robes. Afterward walls rose upward and sectioned off the provincial lord’s mansion, they of course, came equipped with gates and stairs for easy access. A fortress now replaced the provincial lord’s mansion.
“The evacuation should be starting right now.” Zhang thought as he saw puffs of cloud smoke rise into the sky in the north-western section of the city.
“Ran, I’ll give you the opportunity to become a hero now. Take half of the men and help the civilians evacuate outside of the city. Use those bottles I gave you to erect a fortress or something to keep the people safe. Also, recruit as many people as possible to bolster our forces.” Zhang had thought that they would opposite when arriving at the provincial lord’s mansion so he had Cheng Yu ensue panic and evacuate the city but that was not the case when they arrived. So now was to ensure the safety of the civilians and also paint themselves in a good light with the masses.
“A fallen prince turned mob boss turned hero, one cannot fathom what the heavens has planned.” Zhang laughed as he thought at how ironic somethings were in life.
“Right away…” Ran Kaitou replied as a stone pillar rose the sky and then lowered him to the ground. He had stopped questioning Zhang’s orders and simply did what he was told because a certain level of trust had been established between the two. Zhang was no one to mistreat those who followed him and Ran was not someone who turned away benefits so a mutual relationship was put into place.
Thus, Ran Kaitou departed the provincial lord’s mansion and his men mixed into the evacuating citizens. Although there were no apparent threats occurring, everyone was fleeing the city. With the tales that the acting troupes and storytellers and the commotions and deaths during the night, the city at the end of its wits. The fire and news of an apparent enemy attack from in the north-western section of the city was the last straw that broke the camel's back.
The fact that there were no soldiers or guards in the city added more fuel to the fire. This could be the perfect moment for a hero to arise amidst the chaos and that was Zhang had planned for Ran Kaitou. If Ran Kaitou could project the image of a hero into the hearts of the people, then if Zhang placed him as lord over the province then things would progress much more smoothly.
But of course, even if he was placed as provincial lord, Zhang would still keep an eye on him. Although they currently had a common goal he couldn’t tell if they would stay allies in the future.
“I’ll have Sun Ce and Zhang Liao move a battalion over into that fortress I’m having him erect in the on the outskirts of the city to keep an eye on things after this is all over.” Zhang thought as he looked toward the southeast where Ran Kaitou should be. He was a trusting person but he was absolutely not a fool, perhaps no one noticed but Zhang had placed checks over all of the forces under his control.
