~~~

When Elder Chang told Liu Jin he was to deliver a message, Liu Jin had not expected the Elder to shove a clump of Qi into his Aura for Elder Xue to retrieve. Considering Nine-Headed Snake God and Old Jiang saw no issue leaving things inside his soul, Liu Jin supposes this shouldn’t be surprising. Maybe it is common for high-level cultivators to hide stuff inside people.

It is still extremely rude.

“Is he an idiot?”

Unlike Liu Jin’s thoughts, Elder Xue’s angry words are not aimed at Elder Chang.

“I may have thought the reinstitution of the Internal Force was reckless, but I was still impressed by his daring! But this? Freeing Xun Huwen? What is that fool Dang thinking?”

Elder Xue’s Qi is dense around her body as she paces around her laboratory. Most likely, she is trying to prevent it from flaring up. Too much Qi in this room may interfere with the barriers around the many projects Elder Xue has lying around. Liu Jin can only be grateful for her self-control. The presence of an angry Emperor is not easy to bear, especially when standing so close to one. Already Elder Xue’s Qi has begun pushing out even the oxygen in the air despite her efforts.

“That idiotic fool! And Lord Feng Shang… There is no way something like this was done without Lord Feng Shang’s approval. Unless... Could he really have gone behind Lord Feng Shang’s back? That sort of gamble is far too big for a man like him, but…”

If nothing else, the sight of Elder Xue alternating between muttered theories and hissed insults is a novel one, though one Liu Jin wishes were happening under more auspicious circumstances.

Liu Jin also wishes he had more context. It is this last thought that compels him to open his mouth.

“If this disciple may be so bold as to interrupt Elder Xue’s musings.”

Elder Xue immediately turns her eyes to him, the movement so quick Liu Jin does not see it happen. Her stare is so intense Liu Jin’s words falter, but only for a little while.

“Who exactly is Xun Huwen?”

Elder Xue does not answer. Not right away. A breath goes by. The intensity of her presence diminishes as she forcibly quiets it down.

“I am not surprised you have not heard about him. After all, this is a tale from over three hundred years ago.”

Another breath goes by. The tension around Elder Xue has completely disappeared now.

“Xun Huwen was one of the more talented disciples the Eternal Flame Clan had seen in centuries. Diligent, driven, and hard-working. The Heavens gave him no end of blessings.” Elder Xue grimaces. “Xun Huwen was also cruel, petty, vengeful, and overly ambitious.”

“Oh.”

“Make no mistake,” Elder Xue adds. “Many of our disciples and some of our Elders can be described in similar ways. Despite his flaws, Xun Huwen’s potential was simply too great to ignore. Even though he killed many talented disciples as he rose through the ranks, there were still plans to select a suitable woman of Feng blood so that he may marry into the Feng Clan.”

Liu Jin’s eyebrows rise. From how Elder Xue describes him, Xun Huwen sounds like someone who could have become an Elder or a Branch Master. Had that marriage taken place, his progeny may have even gone on to marry into the main branch of the Feng Clan.

“What changed?”

Had Xun Huwen finally attacked someone whose importance was too great to overlook?

“Xun Huwen had... an unfortunate Dao.”

Liu Jin blinks.

Elder Xue smiles. “Were you expecting something more dramatic? Sorry to disappoint. Xun Huwen’s Dao revealed itself to be Destruction. By itself, that is not particularly damning, but Xu Huwen’s particular brand of Destruction was too uncontrollable.”

“This disciple must express some confusion, Elder Xue.” Liu Jin tilts his head to the side. “Is there more than one type of destruction?”

“There are several,” Elder Xue says, much to Liu Jin’s surprise. “The Eternal Flame Clan is a place of fire. Because of it, it is not uncommon for our disciples to reach the path of Destruction. However, not all Destruction is the same. Forty-seven different types of Destruction Dao have been recorded in the history of the Eternal Flame Clan. An additional one hundred and nineteen are purely theoretical in nature. It is an interesting field of study, but not something you should concern yourself with at your current stage of development.”

Elder Xue pauses, most likely for Liu Jin’s benefit. Indeed, the youth does his best to absorb Elder Xue’s words. His master had spoken of Dao to him more than once, but he had not mentioned there could be so much variation in what most would consider a singular path.

“In most cases, there is nothing wrong with reaching the Dao of Destruction. Lord Feng Gui, for example, walks the path of Destruction. Young Master Feng Zhi will likely reach the same answer eventually. As long as the disciple is properly guided, it is not a condition to be feared.”

Elder Xue’s face darkens.

“However, the same cannot be said of Xun Huwen. A Dao is the result of a cultivator’s journey, and it will go on to further shape a cultivator’s path to Eternity. Xun Huwen’s Dao is Destruction without motive or purpose. It cannot not be controlled or relied on.”

Elder Xue sighs.

“At his first offense, we levied the harshest punishment we could upon him and locked him away in the Punishment House. Some argued time in isolation would teach him patience and temper his Dao, but those people were either deluding themselves or offering empty platitudes.”

In other words, Xun Huwen’s punishment had never matched his crime. They had locked him away in the Punishment House using flimsy reasoning because they all considered him dangerous.

That is probably why it is now possible for Elder Dang to release him. From the beginning, Xun Huwen’s punishment was only upheld because all the Elders were all in agreement about how potentially dangerous he was.

Until now.

“Elder Xue, this disciple has one more question. Xun Huwen’s name… I know there is bound to be more than one person with the same family name but is he perhaps…”

“Xun Huwen is Elder Xun’s grandson as well as his only living relative,” Elder Xue says before Liu Jin can finish his question. “You intuit correctly. That is also the reason why he was not immediately disposed of and why freeing him is so risky.”

Oh.

That changes things.

That changes things quite a bit.

In order for Xun Huwen to be imprisoned, Elder Xun must have agreed to it.

However...

“We cannot place Xun Huwen back in the Punishment House without due cause. We cannot kill him because there is no telling what Elder Xun might do if his grandson is killed instead of jailed. He might even side with Lord Feng Shang to avenge him,” Elder Xue says, summing up their situation.

“So we can only hope that this Xun Huwen attempts a truly terrible crime that he can be charged with this time?”

“There is no need to hope,” Elder Xue says, shaking her head. “Xun Huwen has surely been released to cause chaos and nothing else.”

The look on Elder Xue’s face is grim.

“The only question is where Elder Dang will try to aim him at.”

~~~

“Xun Huwen is in Heaven Realm. He is not a foe you can defeat at your current level. I have told you about him so that you may know not to engage him. Dealing with him is a matter that will be left to the strongest among our Core Disciples. That you have brought Elder Chang’s message to me and caused the Internal Force to reveal their hand is enough. For now, lay low and await further instructions.”

Despite Elder Xue’s words, Liu Jin cannot help but feel restless. It is a good thing the Medical Pavilion has so much work for him to occupy himself with. The disciples who have been hurt by the brawl in the Sparring Hall are all in need of treatment. That should help him focus his mind elsewhere.

Alas, that idea dies the moment he steps into the lobby.

A group of disciples from the Internal Force are already there and arguing loudly over something. Bu Jing is not among them. Liu Jin doesn’t know whether that is a good thing or not. It would have been troublesome if Bu Jing had come to challenge him so soon after their last bout. However, Bu Jing not being here could mean their fight taught him that defeating Liu Jin will not be as easy as he had assumed. A rather regrettable outcome.

Liu Jin would rather not face a properly prepared foe.

A problem for later.

“What are you waiting for?” The Internal Force disciple shouts. “Release them to us now!”

“What is the meaning of this?” Liu Jin asks as he makes his way in front of the members of the Internal Force. “This is the Medical Pavilion. We have several patients who require rest. I will not have you disturbing them.”

“We are here to pick up the disciples who were left the other day so that they may be taken to the Punishment House.”

“Those disciples are still in need of treatment,” Liu Jin replies, immediately deciding there is no way he is going to entrust his patients to the Internal Force, especially the patients who support Lord Feng Gui. “When they are healed, I will send them to the Punishment House with a proper escort.”

Liu Jin wonders if the men Lady Ling lent to him are still technically under his command or if the incident in the Sparring Hall caused her to rescind that privilege. Using those five as escorts would be perfect.

“Do you expect me to believe Inner Disciples could have been kept down for more than a day?”

“I do not care what you believe. My patients are my patients. You shall not touch them until their health has been ascertained by me.”

Death.

No one says or does anything. No frowns. No gnashing of teeth. No minute twitch of a muscle. No disturbance alerts Liu Jin’s senses in any way.

Nothing other than instinct tells Liu Jin people are about to die.

“Don’t!”

Multiple snakes made out of Poison Qi flood the room. In the blink of an eye, the members of the Internal Force find themselves surrounded by the Qi constructs, the snakes hissing and their fangs dripping with venom. Liu Jin’s deathly intent blankets the room. His red eyes root the Internal Force to the spot.

“I will only repeat myself once,” Liu Jin says, his voice deathly quiet. “I will not have you cause a commotion here.”

Had Liu Jin not acted, one of them would have disabled the bracelets like Bu Jing did in the Sparring Hall. That is what his instincts tell him.

Had a fight of that level broken in the Medical Pavilion, the damage would have been immense.

“You can’t-”

“I could kill you.”

One brave disciple from the Internal Force dares to open his mouth only to be immediately silenced by Liu Jin.

“You are disciples of the Internal Force. You are prized. You are valuable. If I were to kill you without cause, my punishment would not be light,” Liu Jin admits, nodding in a reasonable manner that is entirely at odds with his aura.

“You’d still be dead.”

The temperature drops. The snake around the disciple who spoke drifts closer, its fangs almost scraping against his neck.

“If any of you even think about starting a fight here like the one in the Sparring Hall, it will be your last fight. I promise you that. Do not give me cause to make good on that promise.”

In the end, it had to come down to this.

In the end, some people can only be motivated by their own lives.

“Leave.”

They do.

~~~

Despite the commotion and obviousness of Liu Jin’s aura, Lu Mei never once comes down to investigate. When Liu Jin asks about her, he discovers she has been locked in their office since yesterday.

“She claimed there was no reason for her to concern herself with the disciples who had been wounded in the Sparring Hall and that she is not to be bothered,” Khong Hu told him, his voice heavy with stern disapproval.

On the one hand, Liu Jin has no problem thinking that Lu Mei would believe that.

On the other, Liu Jin is fairly sure she’d normally have found a better way of getting away with it.

When he goes up to their office, he finds the door locked. However, the talismans Lu Mei used to do so are almost all his work. Opening the door and entering is a simple matter.

“Shut the door now!”

He obeys immediately, re-activating all the talismans for good measure and hoping everyone outside had been too busy to feel the instant in which Lu Mei’s Qi had leaked out of the room.

Lu Mei is burning.

She stands in the center of the room, her arms wrapped around her body and a pained expression on her face. The air around her is distorted with heat. Various documents have begun burning, and the only reasons the fire hasn’t spread further are the sturdiness of the materials used for construction in the Eternal Flame Clan and the level of control Lu Mei is displaying. She keeps all the fire tight around her body, not a single ember drifting close to the floor. A current of wind circles her, further preventing the fire from spreading.

The flames flicker gold.

It happens briefly, sporadically. However, every so often, wisps of gold appear on the flames.

A very familiar gold.

“I meant… for you to stay... outside…”

Lu Mei speaks with great effort, her voice distorted and full of pain. It compels Liu Jin to act, but he forces his heart to slow down. Panicking will do nothing here.

“If I did that, I would not be able to help you,” Liu Jin points out as he takes protective talismans from his spatial pouch and places them on the door, walls, and floor. Calmly, yet quickly. “And you most assuredly need help.”

His senses tell him what his eyes are already seeing. Lu Mei is doing her best to contain the energies inside of her.

Her best, unfortunately, is not enough.

If those flames are really the same as what Feng Zhi used, that Lu Mei has not yet lost control of them is nothing less than remarkable.

“How… kind… but… I don’t see how…”

His Qi reaches out to hers. Lu Mei’s eyes widen, yet she does not fight him. Instead, she allows his Qi to enter her and mix with her aura. Liu Jin takes a deep breath as he sits down with his back to the door and his legs crossed.

“Dual cultivation? …How… daring of you…”

“Not quite. I do not think I’d survive the experience.”

“I am rather… incandescent…”

That Lu Mei can joke would relieve him if what his senses were picking up wasn’t so clearly alarming. This is not as simple as a breakthrough gone out of control. The fire burning around Lu Mei is not being generated by her Qi. It just… appears within her. Perhaps an Inheritance like the Veins of the Nine-Headed Snake God? If he could get close enough to examine Lu Mei’s body, it may be possible to tell.

That will have to wait.

“You realize… this will be… dangerous.”

“I am aware.”

It is a good thing, Liu Jin thinks as he starts synchronizing with the flames, that he had to make a Heartening Phoenix Pill during the feast. The energies of the Phoenix Feather are not the same as flames that seek to leave Lu Mei’s body, but they are similar enough for Liu Jin to have some sort of baseline to work with.

A tether is created between Liu Jin and Lu Mei. The Flame Qi in Lu Mei is channeled through her to him. He does not take the Flame Qi all at once. Such a thing would leave him even worse than Lu Mei is right now. Instead, the tether transports minuscule amounts of Flame Qi, small enough that Liu Jin’s own Qi is never overwhelmed.

Similarly, Liu Jin does not let the Flame Qi enter his body. Instead, Liu Jin keeps the Flame Qi within his Aura and smothers it with his Qi.

As more Flame Qi gushes from Lu Mei, Liu Jin repeats the process again and again. Understanding what Liu Jin seeks to do, Lu Mei begins to help him. The two are soon working in a seamless rhythm, their breathing perfectly matched.

Second by second.

Minute by minute.

Hour by hour.

When all is said and done, Lu Mei and Liu Jin are lying down on the floor, breathing heavily. Most documents in the room have been reduced to ashes, and several scorch marks have been added to the walls and floor. Of the talismans placed on the floors and walls, over half have been burned.

Amber eyes meet red.

“We should talk.”

“I suppose we should.”

~~~