~~~

“Young Master! Young Master!”

The words are like the screeching of metal. Xiao Fang closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, one that makes his shoulders heave. His hand slowly curls into a fist, which he presses against his forehead. He cannot give into anger. Not right now. Calm is of the essence.

Empty yourself.

Enter the void.

Words taught to him as a child, yet only now do they seem useful.

“Don’t say it.”

His voice comes out strained, but at least he is not screaming or yelling. That can certainly be called progress.

“Young Master! We’re lost!”

“I told you not to say it!”

Xiao Fang whips around to scream into Big Nose Li’s face. His feet sink into the sand as he does so, further dirtying his clothes. Gone are the days when Xiao Fang wore robes made of the finest fabrics the Xiao Sect could afford. All he has on him now are common brown robes that match the color of his hair and a blue sash that is a little less blue every time he washes it. Even the soles of his shoes have been worn down by the long journey.

Age has eroded away the softness of youth and turned him into a handsome young man, though that may be hard to tell with all the sand on his face and clothes. Sand has an annoying way of getting everywhere, he has discovered, especially when it stretches for countless miles all around.

Li has not fared not any better. The last few weeks of their journey have been trying ones.

“But Young Master,” Li says. Whines, really. The sound ill-fits someone like him. Time has not made his nose any smaller, but it has turned Big Nose Li into a man who towers over everyone. “It’s true. Here in the Great Red Plains, this one doesn’t know left from right, and neither does Young Master.”

Xiao Fang laughs. There was a time when he could have said the sky was green, and Li would have agreed with him. They were such stupid children back then. Time and a healthy dose of mortal danger have a way of realigning one’s priorities.

They have had plenty of those ever since they left Eastern Port City.

The first leg of their journey to visit all the branches of the Xiao Sect was a pleasant one. The branches they visited were minor ones so that Xiao Fang would gain experience and not offend anyone truly important later on.

Then Liu Jin’s letter arrived.

With naught but a few paragraphs, Xiao Fang became an orphan. No longer the Young Master of the Xiao Sect, but a child with a position that was tenuous at best. The Elders who would have supported him lay dead. The city that would have financed his endeavors was sacked. The fighters who would have bled for him were no more.

Why should anyone listen to him?

What stopped one of the more powerful and influential branch heads from taking over?

Xiao Fang didn't want to acknowledge the truth at first, and indeed, he hadn't. He clung to denial even as most of the disciples traveling with him deserted him. It took Elder Gang taking him aside and giving him the most stern talking-to of his life for Xiao Fang to accept his situation

Everything changed from that moment on.

The purpose of Xiao Fang’s journey is no longer to know all the Xiao Sect has to offer him. It is now a journey to gain the loyalty of all the Branch Masters. It is a journey to prevent the splintering of the Xiao Sect by uniting it under him.

The results have been mixed so far.

Landing themselves in the middle of the Great Red Plains is not something he planned on. Xiao Fang can say that with certainty.

“This desert is no more than a momentary obstacle, a mere footnote in the stories they will one day tell of us,” Xiao Fang says with confidence and bluster. The combination has served him well so far, so he sees no reason to abandon it. “As I am sure you will agree, it was the safer alternative.”

Big Nose Li has no problems nodding fiercely to that.

“Your Aunt is scary, Young Master.”

Xiao Fang scowls. Aunt is not the proper term, but with families as large and as complicated as the Xiao Clan, there is little point in determining the exact relation. Whether he calls her Aunt or something else will not change the fact that Xiao Yifan is the Branch Master of the largest and most influential branch of the Xiao Sect, which is located in the imperial capital.

Naturally, she is determined to take the Xiao Sect away from him.

“You will hear no arguments from me. We’re quite lucky your brother has his loyalties where they should be.”

“He is truly the best, isn’t he?” Big Nose Li says with his nose held high and a big, proud smile. The smile soon falters. “Does Young Master think… My brother, is he...?”

“Nothing will happen to him,” Xiao Fang says with resolute certainness. “Nothing will happen to him, and I will remember his loyalty when I am restored to my rightful place.”

Weeks ago, his Aunt invited him to discuss things in a neutral branch of the Xiao Sect. Xiao Fang was instantly wary of the offer. While his Aunt’s support would be invaluable in uniting the Xiao Sect, Xiao Fang doubted she’d be willing to step aside for him. Sure enough, Big Nose Li’s brother, who has been stationed in the capital for many years, managed to warn them of her plot just in time.

His Aunt is not planning to support him. She does not even plan to lock him away in some lesser branch or use him for the sake of passing down his seed.

She plans to kill him.

Even with Elder Gang protecting them, Xiao Yifan is not an opponent they can face, not if she has the might of the strongest branch of the Xiao Sect behind her. They had no choice but to flee into the Great Red Plains in hopes of losing her spies.

That had been ten days ago.

The lack of food does not bother Xiao Fang. Neither does the searing heat or the lack of water. As a cultivator in the First Level of the Spirit Realm, he can handle all those things.

The lack of anything resembling a map, however, is proving to be an obstacle. Walking around for days without getting anywhere is starting to grate on him. On everyone.

“There you are, Young Master! We thought you had gone too far ahead!”

Enter the void.

Xiao Fang reminds himself of those words as he turns around and faces the other reason behind his discomfort.

It is not the young man that waves at them or his wife. Xiao Heng and his wife are an unexpected addition to their group, one that he would have never acquired were it not for Liu Jin giving him the idea to visit New Moon Town. Branch Master Ding was all too eager to accommodate him in hopes of attaining a higher position once Xiao Fang became Patriarch.

Xiao Fang cannot fault that type of self-interest. Besides, Xiao Heng’s presence within their group has worked out in Xiao Fang’s favor so far. His distant cousin is a talented cultivator despite coming from such a mediocre place.

His taste in women, however, leaves something to be desired. Even after taking a concoction that has heightened her beauty, Xiao Meili is only average by his standards. Regardless, they are both agreeable enough company.

Compared to the person inside the palanquin they are carrying, they are downright virtuous.

“Surely you jest, Xiao Heng?”

The curtains of the palanquin pull back to reveal a veil-covered face. The faces of the ladies of the Divine Frozen Place are not for the eyes of common people. It is not for their safety that they wear the veil but for the safety of others. Only men with the strongest of wills can resist falling in love at first sight. Everyone else is simply doomed to forever pine after an unreachable goal, ruining their chances of ever finding happiness with any other woman.

Or so she says.

“There is no way our dear leader would leave us behind. Young Master Xiao Fang is a man who does not take a step without first looking. He would never rush into anything. That would be so very idiotic.”

Xiao Fang’s scowl darkens.

Effortlessly mocking and effortlessly arrogant. That is the woman the Divine Frozen Palace sent him to help him with his goal. She appeared one day with a letter from his sister and has been a constant headache ever since.

“Do you have something to say, Shen Mi?”

She titters, not looking the slightest bit bothered by his anger. If anything, she seems to derive nourishment from it in the same way a flower does with the sun.

“I believe I said everything I wanted.”

“You always do.”

“A privilege granted to the strong. You would know little of it.”

Xiao Fang growls. Xiao Heng and his wife suddenly look highly uncomfortable holding the palanquin. They fear becoming collateral damage if he were to lash out in anger.

That only shows their naivety. Xiao Fang will never be foolish enough to attack Shen Mi. Not because she is a member of the Divine Frozen Palace or because she has been of great aid in their journey.

It is because she is right.

She is stronger than him.

However, that does not mean he will just take her words in silence.

“If you are so strong, why let them carry you around in that thing instead of making yourself useful?” He waves at the palanquin. It is not a simple thing the likes of which one can find in every city. The blue vehicle is adorned with ivory and has plenty of space inside.

Or so Xiao Fang thinks. He has never been allowed in.

Even since Shen Mi joined their group, she has mostly kept to her palanquin, stepping out only when needed.

“I could help you make your way through the plains,” Shen Mi says. “However, if I did that, who’d be left watching poor Elder Gang. He is still quite wounded, as I am sure you know.”

Xiao Fang winces.

Elder Gang is the only Elder who was with him when Eastern Port City fell. Ever since, Elder Gang has been his most stalwart supporter, staying by his side when others fled. He is a necessary voice of knowledge and wisdom in their group.

He is now inside Shen Mi’s palanquin recovering from grievous wounds.

While fleeing through the desert, they ran into a Heaven Realm Dragon, a most unfortunate encounter. Because Elder Gang had to defend them, he was heavily injured during the fight. His regenerative abilities ensure he’ll recover, but that will take time. Until then, they have no choice but to brave the sweltering plains without their strongest member.

They were not even capable of harvesting the dragon’s corpse for parts. The beast’s hide was so tough they could barely cut away some bits of its flesh, not that any of them can eat them. They are all too weak to subdue a dragon’s flesh. Trying would only hurt them. Perhaps even kill them. Only Elder Gang can benefit from the flesh, but feeding it to him would be dangerous.

Elder Gang has been on the Ninth level of the Heaven Realm for some time now. He cannot advance without entering the Renegade Realm. No one among them wants that, yet if he stays at his current level, Elder Gang will not be able to properly defend them from the many dangers ahead.

At times like this, Xiao Fang wishes Liu Jin were here.

Liu Jin would have already healed the Elder Gang. Of that, there is no doubt in Xiao Fang's mind. Liu Jin would have helped them harvest that dragon and would have turned its body into pills they would have already eaten to grow stronger.

Yes, if Liu Jin were here, things would be much easier.

However, Liu Jin is not here. Instead of helping him bring the Xiao Sect under control, he has chosen to be foolish. When that servant of his arrived with a message from him, Xiao Fang did not want to believe its contents. However, the answers provided by that man when interrogated only confirmed the veracity of his story. Liu Jin did send him.

That idiot even sent those pills as an apology!

While they helped raise their cultivation level and were useful in bargaining with one particularly troublesome Branch Master, Xiao Fang would rather have Liu Jin at his side instead of him being off in that damned quest of his.

Does Liu Jin really believe he can unmake the balance in the Storm Dragon Empire?

Well, Xiao Fang supposes many would call his own quest foolish. Still, if he is foolish, Liu Jin is doubly so.

That absolute butthead.

~~~