Sage stayed silent, finding this whole conversation to be quite shocking. Weren’t they here to recruit the Zhu Clan? How did it turn into securing shelter for their people after they lost?

Sage thought about it again and realized it wasn’t all that unusual. The Zhu wasn’t a part of the Chong Clan, at least in no official way and it seemed they liked it that way. If Sage was planning to war at such a scale, he’d also be setting up an emergency plan for his people. The only problem was that he had a whole planet full of people. While he didn’t care much for them, the truth remained that if he was truly killed his Inner World would also be destroyed. It was now contained within his Nascent Soul, so it wouldn’t be broken if his body were destroyed, but it was still vulnerable if his soul was shattered.

The best he could do was send the dozen or so people he actually cared for into the Universe Ring. They wouldn’t have permission to own it, but Tao Ba would probably do him the favor of letting them stay for a while after he’d died before releasing them back into the world. Hopefully that would be enough for Sage’s enemies to leave, especially since he wasn’t likely to go down without trying to hide it or toss it away so the enemy wouldn’t profit from his death. Suddenly hearing that the Xie had planned for their downfall made Sage realize that this conflict was larger than he assumed. By being pulled in, he might also be forced to play a part in a war, something he had been fighting to avoid.

If things have come so far, it just means I have to get serious again.

He’d been on another planet for the last couple years, one where he’d been at the top of the food chain. Now, after being back just a few months he was getting pushed into a war and that irked him. I’ve been fighting with people a whole rank ahead of me for quite some time now. They sent hundreds and thousands after me for years and never stopped me. Do they think I’m some weak little thing to be toyed with?

Sage stepped forward, fixing his bright golden eyes upon the Zhu Elder, “I also have an agreement with the Zhu Clan. After this is over, I will be returning. Please prepare the dowry for Zhu Jiao!”

After making the announcement, he suddenly realized he’d been caught up in his own internal drama and had made a bold statement, dispelling the atmosphere that was lingering in the room. The Zhu Elder had seemed to be sympathetic to the Xie’s Great Elder, but now Sage had interrupted the flow with a somewhat hostile statement. Xiezi, for her part, didn’t seem to care. She wasn’t here to beg for help, she was merely here to ensure the Zhu didn’t go back on their word. On the other hand, the Zhu Elder had seemed wistful when thinking of the Xie Great Elder and now she was pulled out of it. Instead she merely smiled at Sage, “Don’t you worry, we will honor our agreement with the Lang, just as we shall with the Chong Xie. We Zhu will always keep our word.”

The desire to continue to mingle was blown away by Sage’s fierce attitude and so the meeting soon came to an end. Tujiu felt quite at odds with this trip. All he’d done was follow Lang Sheng around, then he got beat up and went back to following quietly. After they left the hall, Tujiu was the first to open his mouth, “Are we finished now? Can we go back to Lionheart Town?”

Xiezi laughed at this, “Che-He-Hehe. So straightforward! My Great Elder would quite like you.”

“Tujiu is a great warrior, but he is not cut out to be a guard.”

Xiezi turned her gaze over to Sage after he spoke, “Really? It seems like he’s doing a better job of it then your attempt to be a diplomat. You were quite forceful, demanding money along with your woman. How manly.”

Being teased so directly, Sage had the urge to scoff and turn his head like a teenage hooligan, but he carefully restrained himself from responding. Instead just staying silent and showing an outward calm. Xiezi chuckled again, “Che-He-Hehe, you’re no fun. Not even letting me tease you. Oh well. What about you Tujiu, did you see any Zhu girls you like? Their reputation as beautiful flowers is surely not without cause. We Xie always pride ourselves on appearance, but these little spiders have us outclassed. I’m jealous.”

Tujiu’s bald head was nicely polished and he lifted his chin, making it shimmer along with the pearlescent shimmer of his eyes, “They are certainly quite lovely. One of the girls I saw when we arrived had such elegantly long and thick arms.”

Xiezi blinked, “Long and thick arms. Elegant? Ahh, that’s quite interesting.”

Sage couldn’t help but to laugh, “Brother Tujiu has always had an interesting take on everything, don’t worry about it Xiezi. So, what do we do next? Are we going to stay to bother the Jinxi, head back to the Chong Clan, or can we go back to Lionheart Town now?”

“Oh, trying to get out of it, are you? Why leave so soon? You haven’t even seen your beloved yet, have you? So bold of you. Demanding they hand her over and you won’t even go to see her. Quite the brute.”

While she was teasing him, Xiezi led them out of the gates of the Zhu Clan Manor. They had left through the gate that led into Plum Lantern City and not out into the wilderness. Tujiu was busy admiring all the sights of the city as they walked through the crowded and bustling streets.

“So, are we leaving now, or are we just playing around in town for a while?”

She laughed at Sage’s impatience, “Both. We’ll leave after we see the sights and sounds. Since we’re here it would be a waste not to sample all the local specialities. My friends would definitely yell at me if I didn’t at least bring them back a few of the famous Plum Lanterns from Plum Lantern City.”

Tujiu perked up, “Plum Lanterns! Good idea. I’ve heard of them, they ward away evil spirits. Girls also love their purple color. Let’s get some!”

Seeing how excited Tujiu was, Xiezi led them to a different street, one filled with a brilliant cacophony of paper lanterns in every conceivable shade of purple. The street was flooded with them. Street vendors selling cheap rectangular paper lanterns, small shops with a spherical paper lantern of every possible size and there was even a huge temple like building with iron, copper, bronze and many other sorts of expensive lamps and lanterns. As the namesake of their town, it wasn’t surprising to see a whole street devoted to them, but the sheer variety was quite impressive.

They stopped at the first street vendor they came upon to get a closer look at what the difference between a ‘Plum Lantern’ and a regular lantern with purple paper was. An experienced hand the street vendor explained, “The difference between a Plum Lantern and a regular lantern is the inclusion of parts from the Earth Plum Tree. We make the wooden frames and the paper from the Earth Plum Tree, and there is a secret process to turn the plums into candles.”

“So, what of those metal lanterns? Are they not as good as the ones with more Earth Plum Tree wood?”

The vendor shook his head, “Only from the cheap vendors. The high class ones have skilled refiners that can include the Earth Plum Tree essence into their products. As for everyone else on the street, it’s up to you to figure out who is selling true Plum Lanterns, and who is just selling purple paper lanterns,” then the man showed off his goods and continued, “My own wares are one hundred percent guaranteed true Plum Lanterns! My prices are a little higher, but you won’t be sorry!”

The three of them were pleased to know the difference and they even bought a simple spherical paper lantern from the vendor to get a closer look and as thanks for the guidance. While Sage and Tujiu were peeking at the candle, Xiezi brought them ahead, leading them towards the massive building at the end of the street that was bound to have the best stuff. In fact, Sage could already make out that the lanterns hanging from their rafters were magic tools.

A true Blacksmith!