~~~

Unlike the Apothecary, which has many talented disciples, few truly devote themselves to the Medical Pavilion. It may be one of the most visited places in the Eternal Flame Clan, but any advancement that can be achieved there can be more easily attained through other divisions. The Medical Pavilion cannot be compared to one of the four pillars of the Eternal Flame Clan. It is a healing station and not much else.

That is why it is so easy for the Apothecary to take it over.

Not that they are calling it that, of course.

After learning of Elder Cheung’s wrongdoing, the Apothecary clearly needed to secure the Medical Pavilion. It wasn’t that they were overstepping their bounds. Not at all. The situation demanded prompt action. There had been no time to consult with anyone else. Who knows how many disciples could have suffered had they waited? To say nothing of the evidence that could have been destroyed had they given Elder Cheung time to prepare!

If Apothecary disciples are now patrolling the halls and standing guard outside the building, it is only because them not being there would be irresponsible. Elder Xue could not possibly leave the Medical Pavilion leaderless. It was her who had taken Elder Cheung under custody; thus, it was her responsibility to keep order.

Clearly.

“Why, oh why, do I sense you had something to do with this?”

Lu Mei is not going to attack him. Liu Jin knows this. She is not foolish enough to do so under the circumstances. Even if she did, he is completely capable of defending himself.

Still, as her amber eyes bore into him, Liu Jin cannot help but feel very uncomfortable.

“Good intuition, I’d wager.”

Lu Mei’s glower intensifies. Liu Jin sighs.

The charmed disciple is nowhere to be found. The door is closed and has been sealed with a few talismans to further ensure their privacy. Beyond that, it is the same room as always, a simple windowless white room with wooden furniture located on the lower level of the Medical Pavilion. Liu Jin and Lu Mei were making ointment here just a few days ago.

And yet, the atmosphere now is completely different.

“I found evidence Elder Cheung was experimenting on some disciples.” Liu Jin shrugs as he says it, trying to underplay the importance of his actions, futile though it may be. “I may have brought the information to Elder Xue.”

“How... impressive.” The disdain Lu Mei manages to fit into so few words is almost laudable. “The Medical Pavilion has been turned upside down, and the rest of the Eternal Flame Clan will soon follow. Is this what you meant when you said you’d change things?”

“It is a start.”

“A start.” Lu Mei repeats the words slowly, tasting them. Her eyes grow colder still. “How unimaginably bold of you.”

“Do you dislike boldness?”

“On the contrary, any proper lady likes a bold man.” Lu Mei’s eyes narrow by a fraction. “Being lied to, however, is not as attractive a quality. I am sure you understand.”

Liu Jin winces.

Technically, he had never lied. He had certainly never tricked Lu Mei like she had him. Their relationship is something that came about due to her maneuvering, after all. However, he knows better than to point that out. Despite everything, Lu Mei had shown enough consideration to warn him about associating with Feng Hao.

That is a consideration he failed to show to her.

“I do not mind being dragged into fights between disciples,” Lu Mei says, crossing her arms. “Showing those lesser than us their place is an activity I do not mind sharing with you. However, the feud between Patriarch Feng Zhang’s sons is a fight between Emperors. I told you I want nothing to do with it. I warned you about getting close to it!”

The wind picks up as Lu Mei slams her hand on the table, her face set in a furious scowl. For a moment, it seems as if her eyes have become a more brilliant shade of gold.

“You have put me right in the middle of it.”

Liu Jin looks away. “I did not wish for you to be here.”

Lu Mei scoffs. “And yet, here I am.”

“I could say it all happened too quickly, but that would be a poor excuse. I should have tried to warn you before going to Elder Xue. I didn’t,” Liu Jin admits. Something roils inside him.

Is it anger?

Frustration?

Shame?

Had Liu Jin warned Lu Mei ahead of time, she could have simply not gone to the Medical Pavilion for a few days or weeks. That was all it would have taken for her to avoid this. However, he hadn’t done that. Even though Liu Jin had known her being here was a possibility, he still chose against telling Lu Mei.

“Did you not go to me because you feared there was a chance warning me would give something away?” She raises an eyebrow. “Or because you feared I would betray you?”

“The former,” Liu Jin replies instantly. “Betraying me would mean involving yourself in the conflict.”

Lu Mei stares at him.

“In situations like this,” she says, walking up to him until there is barely any space between them, “you are supposed to say you trust me to never betray you.”

“If you found it amusing and there was no real danger, I believe you would do so.”

Lu Mei’s hand rises and clenches around his robes, slowly but with force. Her face is dangerously close to his, yet he senses no intimacy from the gesture.

“Being overly blunt now will not make up for failing to do so earlier. You do understand that, right?”

“I am trying to say I failed to meet that standard,” Liu Jin says, meeting her eyes. “I am sorry.”

She huffs. “At least you finally said it.”

Neither says anything for a while. They just stand there in silence, Lu Mei’s hands holding onto his robes, her face close to his. Liu Jin’s hands twitch every now and then. He doesn’t know what to do with them. Holding Lu Mei seems like the natural choice, yet he is not sure how welcomed that gesture would be right now.

In the end, it is Lu Mei who breaks the silence.

“What is our plan?”

He blinks.

“Our? I thought you were angry with me?”

The flat stare she gives him is all the answer he needs.

“Fighting or arguing with you right now would be idiotic and counterproductive. Rest assured, I will take out my anger on you in several subtle ways later. Right now, you and I are conqueror and conquered. Acting the part is the best I can do.”

Before Liu Jin can reply, someone outside bangs on the door. Though old, the door neither trembles nor rattles. The talismans ensure it remains upright and locked. Moments later, shouting voices come from outside, a fist hits flesh and a body falls to the floor. Lu Mei and Liu Jin look at each other, instantly coming to a silent agreement. A wave of Liu Jin’s hand deactivates the talismans as the two head for the door.

“What is the meaning of this?”

A disciple lies on the floor. Two disciples from the Apothecary stand around him. Even without looking at the bruise on the fallen disciple’s cheek, it is not hard to piece together what had transpired.

“Well?” Liu Jin asks, his voice snapping everyone to attention. “Have you lost your voices? Are your mouths only there as decorations?”

“B-brother Qing!” One of the disciples says. He flinches when Liu Jin’s red eyes flick over to him. “W-We were ordered to search this floor to look for evidence of Elder Cheung’s crimes.”

Elder Xue’s orders, no doubt.

“Yes!” The other disciple says, nodding several times. “That door was locked, so we thought something was being hidden there. That is why we were trying to get that disciple to open the door.”

The disciple on the ground coughs weakly. Anger emanates from his body, yet he does not dare glare at them. He is only an Outer Disciple. Not a match for anyone here.

“We thought he was refusing to comply,” the first disciple says, “so we felt we needed to…”

“Beat him,” Liu Jin supplies, face perfectly placid.

“This one was going to say motivate him, but Brother Qing’s words are clearly superior to my own.”

“Is everything okay?”

Liu Jin blinks as Lu Mei follows him out of the room and takes hold of his arm, pressing herself against him.

“You were taking too long,” she tells him, her voice positively sultry.

The disciples look at them with slow realization. They look at how close the two are. They look at Liu Jin’s robes, which had come slightly undone from Lu Mei holding on to them earlier. They look at Lu Mei’s robes which have mysteriously become looser in the span of a few seconds.

There is really only one conclusion they can come to.

“As you can see,” Liu Jin tells the two disciples, doing his best to ignore his reddening cheeks, “I was the one who sealed the door.”

“We do not appreciate being interrupted,” Lu Mei adds, her face nuzzling against him. “Are you going to punish them, dear?”

Liu Jin’s eyebrow twitches.

“I am considering punishing someone.”

“I-We’re sorry, Brother Qing!” one of the disciples says, his face torn between envy and admiration. The other one follows suit as they both bow their heads to him.

“Take that disciple to be treated,” Liu Jin orders them. “You can continue your inspection after that, but do not harm the disciples here unless attacked first. We are all disciples of the Eternal Flame Clan and are only here to lend our aid to the Medical Pavilion in its time of need. Those are Elder Xue’s most sincere intentions. Remember that.”

“Of course, Brother Qing!”

“We understand, Brother Qing!”

“Well?” Liu Jin asks when the two don’t move quickly enough. He points to the stairs. “Do you not have ears? I gave you orders. Go!”

The two disciples take off, almost hauling the fallen disciple over their shoulders as they flee the scene. The commotion has not gone unheard. Multiple heads peek into the hall, attracted by the noise. A single glare from Liu Jin is enough to send many of them back to their rooms, but the damage is already done.

Everyone is going to know about this before the end of the day.

“How commanding of you,” Lu Mei says once they are back inside. “I could get used to that.”

“Was that just now the first of your many subtle acts of revenge?” Liu Jin asks, one hand rubbing his forehead, his mind already contemplating the ramifications of what he had done and what those disciples had been doing.

“That is part of it,” Lu Mei admits, “It was also necessary. It is as I said. Conqueror and conquered. You saw how those disciples were acting.”

Liu Jin sighs, tired.

“Superiority is a powerful drug,” Lu Mei tells him seriously. “I needed to make it clear I belong to you before anyone got any ideas. Those disciples will be sure to spread the word of your bold conquest. Or will you censure me for that and leave me to the mercy of others?”

Liu Jin’s face morphs into a scowl.

“Do not make light of such things.”

“Who makes light of it?” Lu Mei pokes his chest. “That is the reality of our situation. Do not pretend to be naive to it. Certainly, those two wouldn’t have been any threat to me, but that cannot be said for all disciples of the Apothecary. If it was me you found in that situation, would you have been able to remain as calm?”

Liu Jin growls but says nothing.

There is nothing about the Apothecary that makes its disciples more virtuous than the rest. Liu Jin already knew this. It was not the character of the institution that attracted him. It just happened to be a place suitable for his skills, and later, his goals happened to align with Elder Xue’s. That is all.

He knew he was creating conditions for the strong to take advantage of the weak.

“No,” Liu Jin admits, heat entering his voice as he moves closer to her. “I would not have. I would have hated it. It will not happen. Ever. I will make sure of it.”

“Bold words.”

“A bold promise,” Liu Jin counters.

“And why should I trust it?” Lu Mei asks, moving closer still. Challenging him. Daring him. “What will you do to prove your claim?”

His hand is on her cheek before he knows what he is doing, his lips moving closer to hers.

He kisses her.

Is it the stress he has been under that compels him? His attraction to Lu Mei? The need for contact? It is probably all of those, but Liu Jin’s mind has no time for that level of self-reflection. Lu Mei’s lips are impossibly soft; her body is warm against his as he wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her closer, her mouth eager as she responds to his affections.

He doesn’t want to let go of her.

And yet, he must pull away.

“Well, you certainly took your time.” Lu Mei tries to sound unaffected, but her voice is breathless, her face flushed, and her eyes hungry. “Just so you know, I am still a little angry at you.”

She is close, very close. He’d just need to lean in for another kiss.

“If you are only a little angry now, I have clearly done something right.”

“No one likes a cocky man,” Lu Mei warns him. The effect is somewhat ruined by the way she keeps holding on to him, not that Liu Jin is faring much better. His hands do not seem to want to let go. “Still, I suppose there is no turning back now. News of us will spread throughout the Medical Pavilion by the end of the day.”

“If everything fails, you could always tell Lord Feng Shang’s faction I forced you.”

“No.” Lu Mei immediately shoots down the idea with a shake of her head. “Playing such a part would ill-suit me, and being in the company of people stupid enough to believe me a distraught damsel is beneath me. I am officially part of Lord Feng Gui’s faction now. What shall we do?”

With extreme reluctance, Liu Jin lets go of her.

“We need to prevent more incidents like the one we just saw from happening,” he tells her. “Certainly, collecting evidence is important, but the transition also needs to be as smooth as possible. A brawl here would be too troublesome. The Outer Disciples and most of the Inner Disciples will listen to me. However, I am not sure I wield any authority with the Core Disciples.”

Lu Mei sighs. “That is only because your thinking is too direct. Think about it. This is only happening because you went to Elder Xue. I am sure many of your fellow disciples are already aware of that. In their minds, you are someone close to Elder Xue. You can leverage that connection to get others to follow your lead.”

“That could work,” Liu Jin says, rubbing his chin. “Elder Xue is currently busy with the other Elders, so it is not as if any of the disciples will dare interrupt her.”

“If you are only starting to realize that now, it is clear you need my help.”

“Evidently so,” Liu Jin says. “However, even if we can keep things peaceful here, everything else will be up to Elder Xue.”

Those words are enough to wipe the smile from Lu Mei’s face.

All their actions, no matter how well thought out, can only have a small impact. It is just as she said earlier.

This is a fight between Emperors.

~~~