The Fourth Fall - Chapter 38 preview

A wide swath of destroyed earth and a slurry of decaying vegetation was all that was left behind. In the early light of dawn, as the sky slowly lightened, the desolate land that still smoke could be seen. The stench from the rotting and poisoned area rose upwards, contained through the use of multiple daos. Standing far back, pink and green dust from groundup pills were being spread by apothecarists, chi and wind guiding the antidotes and neutralising agent into the affected lands.

“Terrible. Just terrible. This forest will take years to recover, and even so, I expect the plants that grow up in this section will be affected.” The Patriarch of Eight Stanzas was complaining even as the single Elder who’d he brought along continued to extract powders from his pockets, testing them against soil samples that had been gently and carefully brought over.

“The resulting plants could become highly effective ingredients for anti-poison pills though,” Yang Mu said. She snapped shut the small bottle and the jade box that contained remnant slurry and newly contaminated earth respectively. Both samples were untouched by the antidote which had been spread, the merchant muttering something about pristine samples for a customer.

“If they don’t just become poisonous themselves,” Patriarch Yi Lai said. “Worse, none of our people managed to capture even a single cultivator.” He turned and glared at Sect Head Yan as he continued. “I always thought the Verdant Green Waters was famed for their martial cultivators.”

“Among other things,” Sect Head Yan said, entirely unconcerned by the grumpy older man’s irritation. “We did manage to locate and kill all of them, after all.”

“But not capture. We are no better off than before.”

That was not entirely untrue. They had samples of techniques, the formation flags that both the Patriarch and Yang Mu intended to study in hopes of tracing the creator and techniques back to their origin. They even had learnt of some of the techniques in use, for the various duplicate and decoy techniques that had been showcased were rare. Given enough time and examination, they could narrow down the attackers place of origin and maybe even their sect.

For as much as the cun ke might believe they were shadows and ghosts, assassins without trace; the orthodox sects had infiltrated many of them over the years. Portions of their history, their techniques had been identified. Even when breakaway sects occured, it was always possible to trace back to the original.

The dark sects of the cun ke profession also had a major vulnerability. It was little use being an asassin sect for hire if no one knew how to contact you. They both needed secrecy and a certain degree of notoriety to exist which made them more vulnerable than other forms of the heretical cultivation purposes.

Even so...

“What we did learn came at quite the price,” Wu Ying said, unhappily from where he stood a distance away, guiding the flow of wind such that the antidotes could be spread around evenly. Each place the dust landed on decaying vegetation, clouds of bubbling gas would appear, even as dao’s and competing elemental chi types fought for dominance in an unseen dimension. Even so, the side effects of increased heat could easily be sensed by the cultivators standing in the distance.

“Elder Hsu will recover.” Sect Head Yan frowned. “To bury such a cultivation knot in their own dantian, it is not something I have ever heard of. It would have stymied their cultivation progress for sure.”

“Sacrificial pawns?” Yang Mu muttered unhappily.

“Strong sacrificial pawns.” Patriarch Yin Lai replied.

No one had an answer to that. Every single cultivator, when they realised they could not escape, had sacrificed their lives; triggering the cultivation technique buried in their dantians. There was no way for the cultivators to stop it, not without having known about the technique beforehand and taking overwhelming action. As it stood, even now, Wu Ying was not certain anyone but a cultivator a whole stage higher could have stopped their suicides.

“But what was the point?” Fa Yuan said, arriving a short moment later. She paused, briefly, to verify that Wu Ying was unhurt before she stepped off her flying sword, making the weapon disappear into her storage ring moments later. “Surely they did not think they could have broken in? And even if they did, what was the point?”

“And why us?” Sect Head Yan frowned. “The Wei and Cai were not attacked, I notice.”

Wu Ying’s lips compressed, then he gestured for the Sect Head. HIs superior looked surprised for a moment, before he spread his spiritual aura outwards, rudely shoving the competing dao of King Cai aside and locking down the surroundings. Wu Ying spread his own dao within that dome, layering it with his own techniques before he answered.

“I fear this was an attack to make us show our real strengths.” Wu Ying kept his demeanour outwardly calm, though his aura boiled with frustration. “I had no choice but to utilize my full strength to escape my target’s retaliation.”

“Elder Hsu used an escape talisman to do the same, though his was less effective.” A slight pause, and then Sect Head Yan added. “Mine finished himself while trapped in my clouds, such that I was never in danger. However, I did have to exert a degree of force that I had not before.”

“And the fourth...?” Patriarch Yin Lai muttered. He had been inside the building, dealing with the security of the Princes as had been agreed upon and as such, had missed the actual fight. He would still have been within if not for their need to deal with the damaged surroundings from Wu Ying’s opponent. The other suicides had been explosive but nowhere as destructive.

“Smashed flat,” Fa Yuan replied. “King Cai did not even give them a chance to use their technique. Not that it mattered. It seems that their body destroyed themselves anyway.”

“You believe they were feeling us out again then?” Sect Head Yan hesitated, then added softly. “Do you suspect betrayal by the Wei?”

It was Fa Yuan who answered. “All signs point to it, does it not?” Then, she added slowly. “However, these signs, they are too clear, do you not think so? The Cai have shown themselves to be quite adroit at negotiations and diplomacy. More than we expected. Their ability at subterfuge could be no worse. The Wei are, historically, no worse than us.”

“Better an open enemy than a false friend,” Patriarch Yin grumbled.

For now, all they could do was warn the Princes and be wary of their friends and enemy. Whether or not the assassins had managed their primary mission, it was certain that they had sowed further seeds of suspicion.

Now, if only they could work out what they really wanted.

***

After the early morning excitement, the remainder of the day and all negotiations had been called off. While small groups still met at the negotiating tents, the principals of each team had stayed behind in their spirit instruments. Not to say that there were no discussions, for spirit messengers flew back and forth between the Shen and Wei buildings.

Wu Ying was ‘requested’ to accompany the Fourth Prince that day, though he understood that it was no more a request than any other suggestion from royalty. As such, the wind cultivator had a clear view of the proceedings and the on-going discussion. It started with politely worded requests for information and assurance that everything was well.

...verify the status of the the Princes and all cultivators from our valued ally from Shen...

After that, came the reassurances that, of course, the Wei had nothing to do with the attack and they would help them in anyway they requested.

.... noticed the most recent attempt at the Fourth Prince. Once again, we are grateful to see that our most trusted and honored of comrades from Shen were unharmed. We seek to reassure the Shen that all resources of the Wei are available...

On the Shen side, there were subtle requests for an update on the defences of the Wei, if any attack had been conducted, even the logs or impressions the Wei guards might have gleaned during the brief attack.

...recordings, impressions or observances by our allies of the attack. Having these records would provide us aid in ascertaining the origination of the attacks and the goals of our opponent...

As the day went on, the Cai sent their own missives, though theirs was perfunctory and barely above cordial. The Shen had, of course, thanked the Cai for their aid in dealing with their attacker, though Wu Ying knew that had taken quite a bit of maneuvering to not offer suggestion that the Shen owed the Cai for the aid rendered.

Meanwhile, further missives to verify changes in negotiating positions had flown.

...increasingly concerned at the targeted attempts at the negotiating party and on the lives of our royal selves. We must insist that additional steps be taken to safeguard the negotiations. Additional bonds and seals...

Of course, any such changes in formations or seals at the negotiating location, or the return of hostages - like Yin Xue - had to be dealt with with the Cai or passed upwards for confirmation by the King of Wei, rather than agreed upon by the Princes. Yet, it was also necessary to begin such negotiations now, to state their views and to set out their initial negotiation positions.

It was all politics, it was all the initial testing before blades met. The moments when you sized up your opponent before you clashed with sword, when you walked up to the stage, when you announced your style and form - or chose not to do so - and the way one stood, the psychological games beforehand. Because it was all the same, all preparation and staging and moments of readiness that had to be played out.

“The Wei continue to deny, vehemently, they are part of the attacks,” Prince Shen Ru Yuan murmured to Wu Ying, gesturing at the documents spread before him. “At the same time, it seems there is a schism growing in their ranks. Some are willing to offer concessions, to consider letting us take back your friend, to renegotiate access to trade routes, to increase the supply of their woven silk from Jiliang.” A small smile. “Concessions. Weakness. Other groups,” now the gesture was to another pile, a smaller one, “continue to demand we honour our obligations. They push for a harder stance, not just with us, but with the Cai. They feel these attacks must come from them, that they seek to weaken us.”

“And what do you think?” Wu Ying could not help but ask.

“That if the Cai had intended our deaths, coming to negotiate makes little sense; nor sending assassins. Especially ones that had so little chance of success,” Prince Shen said. “After the first attempt, to throw away multiple Core Formation cultivators and talented Energy Storage cultivators? Wasteful.”

“Is that not what the Cai are?” Wu Ying said. “They wage continual war. Throwing away a life or two seems entirely consistent of what we know of them.”

“For what reason?” Prince Shen said, insistedly. “To draw you out? To draw the Sect Head? If this is to gather knowledge, the preview, then to what end?” He shook his head. “The first attack, it made sense. It could have destroyed or at least damaged our relations. Made it difficult for us to negotiate. Now?”

“Has it not done the same?” His gaze shifted to the stacks of letters, the ones flying in now and the attendants who opened them carefully, verifying safety and contents before passing it on.

“Inconvenienced us, surely. But destroyed our alliance or even hindred it?” the prince snorted. “If anything, we have hardliners shifting in their stances to favour us.”

“Then...” Wu Ying glanced around, not wanting to mention the other suspicion they had. That the First Prince or even the King might have sent these people after the Fourth Prince to create this very situation. As it was, the Cai - if they were innocent - must be feeling pressure too. One could not prove a negative after all, and the presumption that it had to come from the warring state must wear upon their mind.

“Perhaps.” An eloquent shrug to indicate that he too had considered the question, but knew better than to mention it. If his life was a piece to be moved around, then, he could only bear with it. That was the existence of a prince after all. He took the papers that arrived now, reading them over and letting the conversation die.

For the wind cultivator, the hours dragged on. Political maneuverings took hours, days even, and it was all so much slower when it was done via correspondence like this. For each word had to be teased apart, each sentence evaluated for the proper weight. And multiple parties had to be involved, as the First Prince, the Sect Head, the Right Guardian and more would send their own missives or even, occasionally, speak directly.

It was also clear, that the Fourth Prince was an after-thought. His marriage had sealed the alliance with the Wei, his presence here a political requirement to keep the allies working together. However, his opinion was unwanted, his presence sidelined. Even the presence and the occassional conversations he was drawn into all revolved around his personal involvement.

“Six months in Wei, visiting and staying with the King in his summer palace,” Prince Shen sneered. “I can see my brother’s all too helpful suggestions on this offer. Six months - more than enough time for my allies to be suborned and for my domain’s to fall to ruin.”

Wu Ying chose not to comment. He too had received letters, though his were more infrequent. A missive from Fa Yuan, confirming the number and nature and the potential of his students, in the near future. A possible series of lessons and the use of himself or one of his senior students as a guest Elder. The quantity and possibility of supplying certain herbs from his World Spirit Ring. The Sect Head, wanting further impressions from his fight, the Patriarch an update on the destroyed lands, Yang Mu wanting to know if he’d make it for dinner or if she should send some over.

Minor things, as the day dragged on. Till a missive arrived and then was hurried over immediately by the attendant rather than letting it pile up. The Fourth Prince frowned as he read it over, offered the document to Wu Ying.

“Prince Shen Qi is refusing to go to the meeting tomorrow?” Wu Ying said, surprised. “Is that not an insult?”

“Yes. Especially when the Cai have requested we begin negotiations again. Demanded that we restart the negotiations even, implying that keeping their King and their men away from their borders was almost an attack on them,” Ru Yuan said. “Almost makes me think that the attack might be from one of their opponents, and we, a small consquence.”

“Then, why attack us and not the Wei? Or both of us?”

“We’re further away?” Ru Yuan shrugged. “As I said, it was almost a thought. But managing an attack across multiple kingdoms, over such distance, it defies logic. To even know this might happen implies a spy master of amazing ability.”

“So, what do you intend?” Wu Ying said, getting back to the topic at hand.

Ru Yuan was silent, staring at the document for a long moment. Then he stood up, moving to the doors. When Wu Ying moved to follow him, the Prince turned his head.

“You may follow me to his rooms, but you will not enter. My brother and I have much to discuss. Privately.”