Violet Heart

by Patrick Laplante

  “I’m technically royalty since I married the princess,” Marshal Feng pointed out. “But please, call me Brother Feng,” he said. “I absolutely abhor titles, and you’re not much younger than I am.”

  “I should at least call you Junior Uncle, given your friendship with my master,” Yue Bing replied. “Otherwise my master will have to choose between calling me disciple or sister. The confusion wouldn’t be worth it.”

  “Junior Uncle?” Feng Ming exclaimed. “I won’t have it. I’m definitely your master’s older brother.”

  “Let’s meet halfway at Uncle Feng, then,” Yue Bing said. “While you’re not much older than me, you’re a mighty core-formation cultivator, and the most senior marshal in the Song Kingdom.”

  “Fine,” Feng Ming said. He poured a glass of clear liquid into her cup and pushed it toward her. “Only desperate body cultivators drink the poison you’re drinking. Many stronger men than you have killed themselves with it.”

  “With you around, how could I possibly die?” Yue Bing said, sighing. “Anyone trying to attack me would likely stab themselves in the neck. Accidentally, of course.” She took a sip of the cup, which to her surprise, instantly calmed her nerves while revitalizing her state of mind.

  “Only the prepared are lucky,” Feng Ming said dismissively. “Speaking of which, you’re fortunate I happened to be carrying some of this wine with me. It’s good stuff, but expensive as all hell.”

  “It’s what I needed,” Yue Bing said, taking another sip. A load of stress melted off her shoulders once more.

  “Rough day, huh?” Feng Ming said. “Then let’s make it a good day. Let’s find out where that bastard who dared sneak past our wall ran off to.” He held up his glass. “Bottoms up!” They downed their respective cups and walked out of the bar after leaving a generous tip. Then, a force resembling a viscous gas erupted around Feng Ming and wrapped around Yue Bing. They flew out of the city, completely bypassing the city’s entrance. Yue Bing only sensed a slight probe from the city lord’s manor, who immediately backed off as though he’d seen a monster.

  “I was originally going to set off tomorrow, but I had a good feeling about meeting you today,” Feng Ming said. “I figure that means he’s nearby.”

  After flying for five minutes, he stopped. They flew down to the ground in the smoldering wreckage of a village. Feng Ming lifted the wreckage with a stream of qi, breaking apart the wooden buildings and incinerating them piece by piece as he looked through them. He retrieved many corpses, which he placed in a grave he’d dug with a single wave of his hand. An entire village, and no survivors.

  “I heard you can sense blood vitality,” Feng Ming said. “Can you do that now?”

  Yue Bing nodded. She took out her ankh and poured incandescent force into its red runes. As soon as she did, a bloodred haze appeared around them. It spread out across the city ruins and began lapping up whatever remnant vitality was in the area.

  “Something was used to gather blood vitality in that location,” she said, pointing to the center of the city. “And while those corpses look intact, you’ll find that they don’t carry any wounds, whether internal or external. They’ve been sucked dry.”

  “See, I told those chumps that General Lai was right to recommend you,” Feng Ming said. “Those bastards think they can demonize my niece as they please. Just you wait until I beat them into shape.”

  “There’s no need,” Yue Bing said. “It will be bad for morale.”

  “Morale isn’t worth the price of willful ignorance,” Feng Ming said sternly. “This entire village was slaughtered because some arrogant doctor decided he knew what the trouble was. He concealed expert testimony from General Lai, leading to thousands of deaths in the process. As far as I’m concerned, he committed treason, and if we weren’t so shorthanded, I’d have him locked in the dungeons.”

  Suddenly, he frowned. He looked to the east, where a soft blue light had just appeared. Yue Bing felt her body jolt as he grasped her with his qi and took off at full speed. Two breaths later, they arrived at a formation that had just been activated.

  “Take a look at this. See what you can find,” Feng Ming said.

  Yue Bing nodded. Though she wasn’t strong in formation and talisman arts, she was passably skilled. She quickly reassembled the formation, whose self-destruct sequence had luckily fizzled out halfway through activation.

  It seems Master didn’t exaggerate Uncle Feng’s luck in the slightest, she thought. He might have even downplayed it a bit.

  “These are coordinates for the northern part of the Quicksilver Empire,” she said. “The coordinates were shockingly well preserved.” She then checked her jade tracking tablet. The man was evidently outside its tracking range.

  “We got lucky, I guess,” Feng Ming said. His nose wrinkled, and he smiled. He waved his hand, and a small hill beside them lifted off, revealing a single violet ginseng root. Feng Ming made a grasping motion and threw the root to Yue Bing. “Here, eat it while it’s fresh,” he said, stuffing it into her mouth without consent.

  Before she knew what was happening, Yue Bing was flooded with heaven and earth qi.

  What the hell kind of medicinal ingredient is this? She thought. Does his luck really need to be so exaggerated? She could only absorb the seemingly endless stream of qi that stabilized her foundation while simultaneously filling her foundation pillars to the brim.

  I should have enough energy, she thought. If I hammer away at this bottleneck, I should be able to break through in two days or so.

  Having made up her mind, she gathered all her energy and battered the invisible barrier that restricted the growth of her qi pillars. To her surprise, it crumbled like soft cookie dough. Her pillars expanded as she broke through to late foundation establishment, and her qi seas were instantly filled with energy, while the remainder of the ginseng’s energy fed the voids in her bones.

  Shortly after, she heard a soft snap. Her bone structure adjusted, and red runes appeared. Her body cultivation had unknowingly broken through to early bone forging. While her strength unchanged, her vitality was so potent that she wondered if she could kill herself if she wanted to.

  Yue Bing awoke, startled. “How long has it been?” she asked worriedly. It was daylight now, and she felt guilty for having made Uncle Feng wait.

  “I don’t know, about a half hour?” Feng Ming shrugged. “I see you made a couple of breakthroughs. Lucky.”

  Lucky can’t even begin to describe this, she thought. “Where to next?” she asked.

  “Unfortunately, I have zero jurisdiction in the Quicksilver Kingdom,” Feng Ming said. “I need you to go up there and see if you can get the Alabaster Group to help. The crown will pay the bill, of course. But you know, politics.” He handed her a token with the royal insignia.

  “That shouldn’t be a problem,” Yue Bing said. “Killing psychopathic evildoers is legitimate business in their books.”

  “Those self-righteous angels are all right in my books,” Feng Ming said, laughing. Then, after obtaining her consent, they headed toward the northern passage. Hours passed by in silence, but to her, they seemed like days.

  “I heard from General Lai that you’ve been feeling troubled,” Feng Ming said, breaking the silence as they approached the fortress. It was a jointly operated border between the Song Kingdom and the Quicksilver Empire. The relationship between the two countries was a peaceful cooperation.

  “It’s nothing,” Yue Bing said. “Everyone wonders when I’ll start behaving like a blood cultivator. I can hardly blame them. I’m dreading the day when I go insane.”

  “Heh,” Feng Ming said. “Not a chance. If you turn crazy, I’ll eat my cape.”

  “I don’t think that’s a very safe bet to make,” Yue Bing said. “You’d be better off betting on anything else.”

  “Do you know Aunty Gong?” Feng Ming said, seemingly changing topics.

  “You mean the Buddhist monk?” Yue Bing said. “I heard she played a substantia
l role in foiling a plot against our kingdom a couple of years ago.”

  “That she did,” Feng Ming said. “But what you might not know is that she used to be a blood cultivator.”

  Yue Bing looked at him in surprise. “No, I’ve seen her before. She’s calm, considerate, and merciful. There’s no way she used to do those dreadful things.”

  “It kept getting worse and worse, and I wasn’t able to stop her,” Feng Ming said wistfully. “It started with a few bar brawls, then some botched missions. Finally, she killed someone. Some petty thief that deserved a few days in jail and a quick release. She was fortunate enough to have a caring brother. He broke her out of jail and took her to the mountains, where she found Buddhism and escaped her path of carnage.

  “But back to her blood arts. Her cultivation required constant slaughter, and the more she killed, the crazier she got. She started accumulating a baleful aura that was tough to stomach. And now that I’ve become marshal, I’m privy to a lot more information than you are. Without exception, each and every blood cultivator in the south will become deranged and depraved. Normal people can’t stand their presence, and their aura slaughter.”

  “Then I guess it’s only a matter of time,” Yue Bing said softly.

  “You didn’t let me finish,” Feng Ming said. “Out of all the blood cultivation methods I’ve read up on, none of them match what I see in you.”

  “And what do you see?” Yue Bing asked.

  “I see a girl with weak strength and an incredibly durable body,” Feng Ming said. “You’re like a giant reservoir of vitality waiting to be spent. And according to General Lai, you can use this to heal the unhealable. Heal! There’s nothing like this among Southern blood cultivators, who love nothing more than spilling blood.

  “More to the point, it’s impossible for any of those evil paths to go by undetected. If you were cultivating an evil technique, it would show. Your body cultivation has reached early bone forging, so the evil aura would cling to your bones and be impossible to hide. I don’t sense any evil aura in the slightest. Therefore, I can only conclude that the technique you cultivate isn’t evil. You need to cheer up and ignore those stupid bastards. You need to focus on what you do best, which is healing people. And you need to keep yourself sober when you head to the Quicksilver Empire. I’d hate to see Brother Cha Ming lose a disciple to alcohol abuse.”

  The well-timed joke brought a smile to her lips. “Thank you, Uncle Feng,” Yue Bing said. “I needed that.”

  “Anytime,” Feng Ming said. “Now, about this trip to Quicksilver.” He handed her a pouch of spirit stones, a generous amount, even by her standards. “I’m running a little low on this wine of mine. Could you pick up a thousand bottles while you’re up there? The merchants are gouging the palace, and I won’t have it.”

  “Isn’t the price high because of the king’s tariffs?” Yue Bing asked.

  “Some battles aren’t worth fighting,” Feng Ming said. “I’ll fight a depraved devil, a deranged psychopath. I’ll fight fiendish demons and vile plagues. I’ll even fight the bureaucracy. But I’ll be damned if I start a meaningless argument with my father-in-law. Not for all the wine in the world.”

  Chapter 18

  Wind buffeted Zi Long’s purple robes as he sat cross-legged on the prow of the fifty-foot spirit ship. The large vessel was constructed of pure spirit wood, and it made the rest of the journey to the Violet Heart Sect relaxed and even pleasant. Dozens of purple-robed cultivators powered the vessel while others took care of the prisoners they’d rescued.

  His gaze flickered across the cabin, where most of them lay comatose. The trauma they’d endured at the hands of the soul-sucking lust devils was still deeply entrenched in their psyche. Only time would tell if, and how much, they ever recovered.

  “You did everything you could,” Su Shan said, sitting down beside him. “There’s no need to brood over it.”

  “I’m not brooding,” Zi Long said. “Rather, I’m pondering the point of it all. I wonder why they do all these terrible things and what drives them down this evil path.”

  “Does there need to be an answer?” she asked.

  “Devils don’t spring out of nowhere,” Zi Long said. “They start off as normal people like us. Yet instead of trying to live decent and peaceful lives, they give in to their basest desires. Their depraved lifestyle isn’t even a necessity; it’s a symptom of the mental state that brought them there.”

  Su Shan shook her head. “It’s not something we can affect, so there’s no need to wonder about it. All I can do is help my father with our family business and enhance my cultivation. All you can do is further your own cultivation. And if you see wicked cultivators like them again, bring them to justice. If you don’t, don’t worry about it.”

  Zi Long chuckled. “For me, that’s far easier said than done.” He pointed to his jade irises, which seemed to pierce into her soul. “These eyes of mine can see through disguises and spot devilish creatures wherever I go. There are far more out there than you realize. Even killing those I see will keep me busy for a lifetime.”

  “Then I don’t know what advice I can give,” Su Shan said.

  “No one does,” he replied. In the distance, the sun was rising. A thin layer of clouds appeared along the horizon as the barest hint of sunshine peeked through them. It resulted in a vivid violet coloring that hovered over the small mountain that housed the Violet Heart Sect.

  “My family lives within Violet City, just adjacent to the mountain,” Su Shan said. “That’s where we grow elemental wood, one of the most lucrative exports in the city. Do you need somewhere to stay the night?”

  “No need,” Zi Long said. “I happened to be heading to the Violet Heart Sect. Our meeting was a happy coincidence, nothing more.”

  “Then feel free to stop by anytime,” Su Shan said, her voice laced with sadness. “I’m sure my father would be happy to meet my savior.”

  “I just helped in passing,” Zi Long said. He sensed her unhappiness, but there was nothing he could do for her.

  Soon, the spirit ship floated above the city gates. The city’s protective formation shimmered lightly as the large vessel entered it. The ship first stopped by the guard shack, where most of the rescued cultivators were left for sorting and rehabilitation. Then it stopped by Su Shan’s father’s mansion, where she and the others were welcomed with open arms. Finally, it headed to a set of large purple gates at the foot of the mountain.

  “We must travel the rest of the way on foot, Brother Zi,” the lead cultivator explained.

  Despite the man’s high standing in the sect, his cultivation was equally matched with Zi Long’s at middle foundation establishment. Therefore, he had little choice but to treat him as an equal.

  “That’s not a problem, Brother Li,” Zi Long said. “Please be sure to introduce me to a sect elder once we arrive. I have a very important message to deliver.”

  “Of course, Brother Zi,” the man replied.

  At his command, the ship vanished. Zi Long and the dozen cultivators were forced to scale the mountain one step at a time. And while their cultivation bases were mighty, the mountain was even more so. Small runic characters appeared as they scaled it, and each of these characters let off a strange pressure that increased the difficulty of their climb.

  “I’d really hate to try climbing as an enemy,” Zi Long muttered.

  “It’s extremely difficult,” Brother Li replied. “That’s why the Violet Heart Sect’s lineage has continued for the past two thousand years. The formation on the mountain is powered by our sect’s unique power called violet heart force. Every sect member on the mountain contributes to its overall prowess when under attack.”

  Up ahead, a small wooden gate appeared. It, too, was powered by violet runes.

  “The formation automatically detects ill will as visitors climb,” Brother Li explained. “With enough ill intent, the sect formation would unleash a ferocious attack. Should the enemy be powerful enough, the sect
’s guardian spirit would awaken. In fact, this happened once, many years ago. An evil alchemist, Mo De, tried attacking the front gates. Though he escaped with his life, his vitality and soul were heavily injured in the process.”

  Interesting, Zi Long thought. It seems enemies frequently cross each other’s path. “Did he ever come back seeking revenge?” he asked.

  “Heavens, no,” Brother Li said. “Who would be so stupid as to scale the mountain with a wounded soul?”

  Who, indeed? Zi Long thought. Does that mean that Brother Fan’s problems are internal to the sect rather than external?

  It didn’t take long for them to reach the peak of the mountain. There, they walked through a set of black wooden gates installed in a violet stone wall. Two guards stopped them to verify their identities.

  “Brother Zi here wishes to greet a sect elder and deliver urgent news as soon as possible,” Brother Li said to the guard as he showed his token. “He says it has to do with the sect master.”

  “Where is the news that you wish to deliver?” the guard asked.

  “The news is very sensitive, and I must deliver it to a sect elder personally,” Zi Long replied. “My apologies for the inconvenience.”

  “Very well. You can wait here,” the guard said. He summoned a jade slip, which he quickly imbued with a wisp of incandescent force. The slip then flew off to a large building near the back of the sect through an open window. “An audience can take up to a few days, as the elders are typically in seclusion, but as a guest of our sect, we’ll be sure to provide the best accommodation….” His voice trailed off as he noticed a jade slip flying back to him. He caught it with two fingers and scanned it briefly before bowing to Zi Long.

  “Our grand elder wishes to greet Brother Zi Long personally,” the guard said. “Please follow this humble servant to the grand elder’s residence.”

  “Many thanks,” Zi Long said, bowing back. Then he turned to those who had accompanied him. “I’ll be sure to visit Brother Li after I finish my audience.”