Alex gazed at Elder Panheu and Jidihu for long moments.

“Any luck finding any clues as to what’s really been going on here in Baidushi?”

Jidihu flashed a humorless smile, sipping her drink. “Nothing beyond what we already learned, Alex. Multiple purges and the complete dismantling of the local JiangHu sect. Your royal friend Cheng Lei is a hero to hundreds, if not thousands, and no one’s seen heads or tails of the Blue Prince or any member of my sect since they fled. As for your other friends...” Her gaze turned sympathetic. “You saw them by Dongfang Hong’s side as well as we did. And whether or not you wish to hear it, my husband’s logic is far from flawed. Ruthless as he may be, he’s also one of the most eligible and desirable bachelors in the kingdom, considering that he is the de facto lord of all of YanTu nation, whether or not he’s been formally crowned by the emperor. And his niece might indeed find it far more prudent to stay in his good graces than to dare challenge his power and end up removed as quickly as all others that would dare raise blade or quill against him.”

Alex couldn’t keep himself from shaking his head “I’m sorry, I don’t buy that. Something feels so off about the whole damned thing. When I caught sight of them…” He winced in recollection of their desperate gazes. “I don’t buy it. Not a damned bit.”

Panheu chuckled softly, sharing a look with his wife. “Best we tell him, then. Don’t you think?”

“Tell me what?” Alex said, more anxiously than he’d like to admit.

“The Red Prince is hosting a celebration at the imperial palace tonight, and we, along with most other Gold tier guests, were invited to come,” Jidihu said, gazing with particular intensity at Hao Chan and Yinzi. “Apparently our girls caused quite a stir with their earlier performances. Dongfang Hong’s messenger made it clear that the prince would consider it an honor if the girls were to perform for the guests this evening.” She flashed a mirthless smile. “And no guardian eager to find the best match for her charges would decline a soiree being attended by over a dozen Golds.”

She tilted her head at her girls. “Of course it’s up to you, children. As magnificent as the prizes being offered by the competition might be if we actually manage to place let alone win in this competition, the stakes have never been higher. Despite my own reconnaissance, should you feel the least bit uncomfortable, we’ll leave this farce of a contest and leave the city at dusk.” Her gaze was both sympathetic and hard when she gazed Alex’s way. “Because as much as Alex no doubt wishes to get in touch with his old friends and assure for himself that all is as it should be… it’s not worth imperiling either of your own lives. I’m sure he would agree.”

Alex felt his cheeks flush and lowered his head. “We already know the bastard’s rotten as hell, and you’re right. So far we’ve been able to compete under a pretext of fairness, where our enemies don’t dare go too far under the gazes of hundreds of spectators, and perhaps an imperial inquisitor that Dongfang Hong can’t be sure isn’t taking a careful measure of everything going on. But I wouldn’t want to risk either of you, no matter how much I’m desperate to run into some old friends, and just make sure that everything’s really okay.”

Yinzi furrowed her brow, playful banter on temporary hold as she gave him a look far savvier than she normally cared to reveal. “You’re planning on investigating the palace yourself. Seeing if you can hunt down your old friends, make sure they’re really there by choice and if not...” She flashed a playful smile. “You’ll give them a doorway to paradise and stick around at least long enough to show our favorite prince just how you feel about his cutthroat games.”

Alex flashed a hard smile. “Damn right. And I’m not such a monster that I’d risk the people who mean so much to me today while trying to rescue the friends who helped me before.”

Hao Chan turned from the artful application of her makeup to glare at him with a beauty that left him breathless. “Risking yourself as always, hero. But just how do you plan on accomplishing anything without your queens distracting an opposing king?” She shook her head. “Jidihu explained the palatial defenses. And with your soul linked to ours, Alex… the three of us are able to do what no one else can.” She flashed a smile equal parts playful and determined. “Trust me, Alex. Yinzi and I can take care of ourselves. And if worst comes to worst, you know we can flee with our movement techniques at speeds few would dare to follow.”

Alex swallowed, rendered momentarily speechless by the vision of beauty before him, paints and dyes artfully applied not to hide her distinct features, but to highlight and accent exquisite features hinting at the strongest conceivable foundation, a Silver that even a Rank 1 Gold would do well to respect. Instead of hiding the silvery hue of her hair, they were showing off it’s striking color, accented only by hairpins of gold that further served to emphasize its metallic hue. Alex’s heart quailed at the attention he knew she’d receive… both girls would receive, as some of the most powerful men in two kingdoms would soon be vying for their hands.

She gently squeezed his speechless hands, leaned forward for a gentle kiss so fast that he felt no pressure at all. For all that he was happily drowning in her gaze.

Her lips curled up in a bemused smile. “There. Kissed you so fast our Dantians didn’t feel a thing. Now go and change, hero. Yinzi and I are definitely going to put on a performance for our new friends, which means we all have a party to attend in less than two hours.”

“Come on, Alex,” Jidihu said, squeezing his shoulder. “Best we get you ready as well. And you better believe I’ll be your Shadow in this, Alex. Because as my lieutenant and future son-in-law, you could do with some hands-on training. And the less currents we stir, the less likely this night will end in absolute disaster.”

***

The walk through Baidushi later that evening was nothing short of surreal. First they had been led to a discrete exit it appeared that everyone above the status of disciple knew about, a well lit tunnel burrowing right through the mountain, one of the very few that hadn’t seemingly been completely abandoned. Yet after a surprisingly short descent that would have still left most mortals breathless, they emerged from the sheer face of the mountain facing Baidushi. Alex felt no less than a dozen protective wards guarding the entrance as they emerged from tunnels to the starry night sky. He took a deep breath of fresh air that smelled of the forest, the sharp scents of autumn a delightful contrast from the scent of damp and limestone that had permeated the otherwise well-maintained tunnel.

The servant that had led them out bowed low before them, before gesturing to the eastern gate. “Baidushi proper, honored ones. Should you wish for personal escort to your destination, I will of course be happy to serve.”

Jidihu smiled warmly at the young cultivator still struggling to clear his meridians, earning a surprised smile when silver kissed the boy’s palm. “No escort needed at all, aspirant. Though if you wanted to enjoy the fruits of Baidushi after a long day’s work… I certainly won’t tell.”

The youth positively beamed. “My gratitude, honored cultivators!”

Shortly thereafter, Alex found himself before the Eastern gate, bracing himself for the awful sense of deja vu he had been hit with once or twice before when passing through the massive portcullises of a sacred city. He was prepared for a considerable wait, as there were any number of merchants and travelers seeking entrance into the city… yet they all seemed to melt before Panheu and his entourage.

Alex and Hao Chan exchanged glances when people turned to look their way with angry glares or curious frowns as a smiling Panheu stopped for absolutely no one. Yet one glance in his direction and every mortal and lesser cultivator present immediately paled, flinched, or kowtowed. The guards by the entrance frowned at whatever was causing a ripple through the crowd. But when Alex found himself before a quartet of heavily armed men, they merely stepped back and bowed their heads. A sharp contrast to the jaded tone they had used on everyone else seeking admittance.

“You honor us with your presence, esteemed cultivator,” said what appeared to be the captain of the guards, hurriedly rushing over. “We would be happy to give you a personal escort to wherever you wish to go.”

Panheu met the man’s eyes and smiled. “The palace. We’re expected.”

The captain blanched, before slamming fist to chest. “Of course, revered one. Do you wish carriage or palanquin?”

Panheu snorted. “Of course not. No cultivator gets anywhere if he’s too lazy to use his own two feet.” Words that immediately earned a buzz behind them, fiercely whispering mortal traders, craftsmen, and perhaps a few wandering cultivators murmuring over the chance comments of a man radiating the unmistakable power of a Gold.

Alex couldn’t help but feel chilled as he was finally forced to accept just how profoundly he had been transformed since his earliest days, just a couple years ago.

Countless lifetimes ago.

Having once been little more than a youth desperate for a source of income and a roof over his head who could only dream of finding a path that would lead to excitement, adventure, and the life of a cultivator. Yet here he was now, standing proudly by Panheu’s side.

One of them a Gold, the other with the Strength and Vitality of one, and both of Alex’s disciples as well. Together, it was conceivable that the four of them alone could conquer an entire city.

A city of ten million. Did Alex not fear the horrific loss of life and extreme violence such madness would ensue, were they not in such close proximity to Royal Phoenix Academy with an influx of equally powerful contenders… Alex had no doubt the four of them could set themselves up as rulers of any city they chose.

Because that was the true power of a Gold. As much as he felt like he had been fighting a constant uphill battle, death forever a single mistake or miscalculation away… forever compelled by the need to get stronger, ever stronger, all he had to do was catch anyone’s gaze in the crowded midnight market full of hawkers, food stalls and late night shoppers to appreciate anew just how far he and his friends had come. For all that the citizens were dressed in a colorful, eclectic mix of clothing styles denoting countless cultures within the Golden Realms, all the citizenry looking their way wore uniform looks of awe and fear when he caught their gaze. Especially on this night, when Panheu made it clear that they were to hide nothing… to let the world itself sense the might of their auras, even free of killing intent.

Alex knew all too well that their looks of fear not without merit. Not when he had sprung into this world at a strength of 9… a strength that his trials and tribulations and the draconic blood pounding through his veins had eventually raised to an absolutely absurd 416, or Rank 2 Gold plus 5 ranks of Silver and change, after channeling the potency of both a divine soul stone and the very essence of his most despised foe. Not when he could could still hear as loudly as ever the high pitched keen of Hao Chan and Yinzi’s cores spinning about at such horrific speeds that space itself seemed to warp around them. And how glad he was that it was all metaphor, for all that he too could now warp space, at least enough to deflect a whole onslaught of blows with his own Gold Swan parries. Yet he had absolutely no doubt that if his angels dared to leave this world and the titanic pressure pressing down upon them all before their cores had stabilized into Gold… they would erupt like supernovas in truth.

And when at least a handful of people who were gazing their way blanched with sudden overwhelming dread upon catching sight of Hao Chan’s strikingly beautiful features… Alex wasn’t offended. Because how could you blame any man or woman for flinching away from death that could claim them all in a heartbeat?

Panheu caught Alex’s gaze and smiled. “Now do you understand, disciple?”

Alex nodded. “For this is why no one dares to judge a ruler’s path. When you get so strong that an entire city of ten million needs to fear you, your very existence proves the righteousness of your cause. At least in this world.”

Jidihu snorted. “Or at least it’s far more expedient to stroke powerful egos and fill their purses with gold, their beds with eager women, and the air with bards singing their praise, if it entices Gold tier monsters that could destroy all of civilization to preserve it instead.” Alex winced under her glare. “And that now includes all four of you, for all that three of you are still technically Silver, and all of your methods have been unorthodox in the extreme.”

Yinzi chortled even as lightning fast hands stripped a hawker of all the copper bracelets he had been holding, seeming to disappear in a flash no mortal eye could follow. Yet before the man could even cry out in dismay, the sound of silver clinking at his feet could be heard, and a chuckling Yinzi was pirouetting beside a bemused Hao Chan without a care in the world, as first a handful then a full score of copper bracelets flashing in the lantern light were sent tumbling through the air, Yinzi juggling with an effortless grace that was outright cinematic, as she added ever more outrageous knickknacks from half a dozen stalls they passed, including knives and actual flaming torches, thanks to a full score of Silver tiers split between Finesse and Quickness. Silver concentrated so deeply that it she was only a few revelations away from transforming it all to Gold.

“Feared titans that could topple a kingdom, even if I’d far rather dance and juggle. Right, Hao Chan? I guess that’s what we get for daring Jade steps before being forced to wade in divine currents until even the titan sent to kill us was washed away! And just look at mother’s expression, Hao Chan! Because how much trouble would we be in, if we weren’t protected by her shadows or Alex’s cards of fate this very second? I get shivers just thinking about it!”

Alex thought it exquisite testament to Jidihu’s skills that both allowed passersby to gaze in wonder at Yinzi’s antics before flinching when they caught her wild grin, all without hearing a word she was saying.

Soon the throng of late night shoppers, workers, and those just savoring the vibrancy of Baidushi at night with its countless taverns, dining halls, and entertainment venues that reminded Alex just a bit of karaoke bars, blended into more stately tree-lined thoroughfares, hosting grand looking homes, pavilions, and higher class taverns and eateries, the night now vibrant with the scents of honeysuckle, cherry blossoms, and roses as they steadily approached the palace still some distance off, but its soaring towers could be seen even from here.

Finesse Check made!

Of course, that was the moment when the fine lacquered hardwood door to a grand pavilion abruptly opened, while Yinzi and Hao Chan were briefly gazing off at the palace. The night was suddenly filled with the sounds of drunken laughter and the sharp scents of hashish and opium filled the air as a dazed trio of men wearing bleary-eyed countenances and once fine cotton changshan tunics dyed a bright crimson stumbled out the door and right into Alex, now doing his best to block the sight of them from a suddenly flinching Hao Chan.

Of course the arrogant disdain all but frozen on their inebriated countenances demarcated their perceived social status like nothing else, and the look on their faces when their way was abruptly halted by the bulky Ruidian was priceless.

“How dare you block our way, coolly. You will kowtow, or you will bleed!” The closest inebriated man’s foul breath washed over Alex as the one behind him stumbled forward, struggling to draw his jian.

Before the third one, pale as a sheet, desperately put his clawed hand over the wrist of the second. “Come, Fu. We must go. Now!” The man urgently hissed, the cold stink of fear now competing for the fumes radiating from them as clarity returned to at least one of their number.

The man known as Fu sneered. “I will do no such thing. Not until this lowlife apologizes for his crimes! Look, the fool dares to block the way of actual nobles. Why, I’ll be doing them a service!”

Finally, he yanked out his jian.

“He’s not in their way. He’s with them, Fu!” His terrified companion whispered before stumbling back as Fu frowned at his open hand with confusion.

Before his eyes widened like saucers to see his blade in the hands of the Ruidian he was determined to cow. “You stole my blade! What are you doing? That’s a priceless family heirloom!”

His blanched and stumbled back when Alex squeezed his fist, crumpling the razor sharp blade into a twisted bar of scrap, before dropping it to the ground with a clang.

“I think you dropped this.”

Alex paid the open-mouthed fools frozen in terror no more mind as Panheu snorted and Yinzi gave him a hi five.

“Are you done playing with the mortals, Alex? Then let us be off.”

Alex dipped his head. “Of course, master,” he said, the five of them continuing on their way as Alex gently clasped Hao Chan’s trembling hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“He crumpled fine steel like it was nothing!” The smallest of the three whimpered, having no idea Alex could hear him still.

“He crushed sharpened steel with his hand, and there’s not a trace of blood on the blade! How powerful a cultivator must one be to do that?” Hissed the third.

“Are you fools really letting the Ruidian cow you? It was just a trick,” sneered Fu.

“If you believe that, then why don’t you go over there and say it to his face?” snapped the third.

Alex allowed the rest of their conversation to blend into the murmurs of the far more sparse crowd as he turned to Hao Chan.

“Are you okay?”

Strained features softened into a smile. “Yes, beloved, I am.” She swallowed, shaking her head. “It’s just… when the door opened and I heard the sound of drunken revels, smelled the perfume and poppy in the air…” Her eyes welled with sudden tears that evaporated in furious streams of spiritual energy before they could even finish streaming down her cheeks. “We’re it not for you rescuing me, I could have been one of those...” She swallowed, giving a furious shake of her head. “I don’t even want to say it.”

“Then don’t!” Yinzi cheerfully said, before giving her closest friend a tight squeeze, all the while still juggling the massive collection of plates, bracelets, torches and knives she had claimed with a single hand. “Mother’s helped out all sorts of girls who have been through more madness than you can shake a magical jian at. The trick to staying sane is to let the past stay in the past and focus only on crafting a happy future for yourself. Maybe most important, anyone who would rub your past in your face is someone you’d best keep firmly in your past. And if that means you need to reinvent your self entirely, well, that’s what our sect is for!”

Alex couldn’t help smiling at the gentle counsel coming from a girl embracing her inner jester to the utmost. Perfectly in line with a daughter of the fox.

She kissed Hao Chan’s cheek. “I mean, besides cleaning metaphoric house for an entire city and the logistics of body disposal and keeping a hundred competing factions in line, and profiting off every vice you can imagine, besides all that, my mother’s practically a humanitarian!”

“Enough, Yinzi.” Her mother said. “Now put away your toys and get ready for the performance of your lives, because the palace is just up ahead.”

Hao Chan’s hand reflexively squeezed Alex’s own when she caught sight of the soaring towers of pearlescent marble that could now be seen in a break between the grandest manors enjoying closest residence to the royal quarter and the portion of the city reserved for the palace grounds alone.

“Alex, it’s beautiful!” she whispered as they cleared the last of the competing manors, only to be greeted by the sight of a glittering palatial marvel right out of the storybooks, so captivating that one might be forgiven for hardly noticing the sedate seeming moat surrounding the palatial grounds, save for the eye-catching ornamental silver bridge, presently manned by a pair of smiling men dressed as neatly as any court functionary, hardly looking like guards at all, save for the jian at their hips, the mail shirts Alex sensed under their uniforms, and the Silver tier intensity in their eyes.

“Greetings, honored cultivators. How may these humble servants of Baidushi help you?” The closest one asked.

Panheu smiled before displaying a crimson talisman Alex hadn’t seen before. “Headmaster Dongfang Hong should be expecting us.”

The guard cursorily inspected the talisman before bowing his head. “The honored Elder Panheu and his charges are welcome to the palace of Baidushi. Please, this way.”

Yinzi frowned, turning to Alex as they stepped upon the bridge. “Why are the palace grounds free of any wall or serious fortification? Protected only by a pair of Silve—“

Her eyes abruptly lit with surprise, crimson lips curving in a dimpled smile as both her parents paled, grimacing under sudden strain. Alex glared at the satisfied smirk one guardian gave the other, so quickly anyone slower would have caught nothing at all.

“Ooh, that’s why! Did they really channel the river here, Alex?”

Hao Chan frowned. “But it’s so faint, I hardly feel it at all.”

Yinzi nodded. “I know. It’s more like a trickle. But it’s still impressive, right, Alex?”

Alex nodded, carefully noting the way the pair flinched and turned to Hao Chan and Yinzi in surprise, before their features smoothed into professional neutrality once more.

A pale-faced Jidihu’s glare was all that was needed to silence the girls. Apparently stepping over even the palest shadow of the actual River of Souls with the help of an enchanted bridge was still enough to sap and drain Jidihu’s impressive shadow arts, so Alex spoke in their party interface instead, a tool that would be absolutely vital to them if their plan was to have any hope of working.

“It used to be far wider, and Dongfang Hong’s red agents, much like this pair, would regularly use it to toss their enemies into the river, where they’d dissolve in seconds before drifting off to their next life, however many centuries from now that might be. I guess someone decided to tone it down a bit after the city nearly got flooded? Either way, it still serves as a pretty much impenetrable barrier for any mortal who can’t access the Silver bridge.”

Alex pointed at the silver amulets the pair of men were wearing while their backs were turned. “Those amulets will let anyone without our gifts cross comfortably use the bridge, though obviously strong Silvers and Golds can cross using the bridge alone, but they will still feel it crushing their souls.”

Yinzi nodded. “So Baidushi’s royal palace has no impressive fortifications, but who cares? No one’s going to be leaping across this cute little moat anytime soon. Right, Alex?”

Alex grinned. “We could, but no. Not unless they were carried over by one of us, I don’t think anyone else would survive the attempt.”

Seconds later they had crossed, Panheu actively supporting a panting Jidihu. The pair of men waiting for them were subtly mocking them with their smiling gazes. Yet they flinched quickly enough before Alex’s hard stare, noting that he and the girls beside him looked no worse for ware than if they had crossed the most mundane of streams.

Dongfang Hong’s poorly disguised guardians fell into a pair of sweeping bows, before pointing to the palace ahead. “Be welcome to the palace of Baidushi and the court of the Headmaster, honored guests,” the said, before stepping away.

Alex’s eyes rose in alarm equal to Panheu’s surprise. That the man was so arrogant, so confident in his position that he would dare to act as if Crown Princess Cui Zhe’s palace was his own, boded grave tidings indeed.

Even so, his foreboding was mitigated somewhat by the glorious spectacle before him.

The palace of a crown princess, a collection of grand pagodas and tall spiraling minarets connected by soaring archways surrounding a grand outdoor courtyard lit by lanterns and a wujen’s arts as the air resonated with the haunting melodies played by dizzi and erhu, with the pipa’s lighter notes blending into a melody that squeezed Alex’s heart, though he couldn’t say why.

Alex couldn’t help grinning at the sight of a half dozen musicians playing before an outdoor audience that radiated the power and majesty of deepest Silver and resplendent Gold, titans that could claim entire cities of their own. Yet all were sedately observing an exquisite performance as a handful of actors danced about a raised outdoor stage. Even if the palace and courtyard did look quite a bit different than the last time he had been here, he had sort of been fighting for his life against a divine pawn who had marked Alex as his personal nemesis doing all he could to kill him at the time. And he himself had been suffering the backlash of spiritual lightning coursing through his body. Perhaps he shouldn’t be surprised that his memory wasn’t quite as clear or exact as it otherwise might be.

“Oh, they’re telling the story of Zeng and Peng!” Yinzi gushed, her eyes twinkling in the lamp light. “Star crossed lovers destined never to find happiness, no matter how hard they strove or how desperately they fought!” Her ears perked up, tail vibrating as she sighed and shook her head. “Such a tragic story. I absolutely hate tragic stories! Do you think we can watch the whole thing before we’re introduced?”

Yinzi’s words washed over Alex when he caught sight of both his greatest mortal enemy and the girls he most wanted to see. Seated on an elevated dais across from the Gold titans upon gilded chairs with jade inlays such that it looked like a council of thrones sat none other than Crown Princess Cui Zhe, Princess Xian Hong of YanTu nation, and Liu Li, the girl who had done so much for him as a frightened lost boy with no hope at all, just a few short years ago. Seated above all three of them, lips curled in the faintest of smiles as he wore the regalia of kings, was Dongfang Hong himself.

His eyes lit up when Panheu approached and a single gesture had all the actors and actresses on the stage simultaneously break off their performance so fluidly as they bowed thrice before a bemused Panheu and his party while two musicians trilled salutations with their transverse flutes that it hardly felt like an interruption to the story at all.

Several Golds smiled and nodded greetings, all of them attended to by handfuls of fawning servitors, most strikingly pretty, seeing to their every need as they held out silver plates filled with fresh fruit, figs, shelled nuts and pitchers of Saki and mead.

Truly the Golds were being treated like visiting royalty themselves, yet as warm and inviting as the atmosphere was, as Dongfang Hong gestured for Panheu and the others to make themselves comfortable with a single wave of his hand, several servitors immediately finding them seats and plates full of exquisitely prepared food, Alex couldn’t help but feel an awful chill of foreboding as he gazed at his friends peering at the play so intently, as if they didn’t even dare to look his way. Even the crown princess was gazing raptly at the performance, a far cry from the imperious, strong-willed woman he had sensed ruling this palace with an iron fist, just a few short months ago.

Now she and the girls beside her sat demurely, as if at the sufferance of the king who now ruled them all.

Not a word was said by anyone during that eerie play Alex sensed occurring on multiple levels. Both on the stage, and among the audience as well.

Because Golds were the farthest thing from fools. They, who more often than not ruled a city of their own, in name at least must sense at least as well as Alex the power dynamics at play. That Dongfang Hong had, for all intense and purposes, made Baidushi’s court his own. Which meant that all of QuiJing Province was just a heartbeat away from being formally annexed. With Liu Li and Xian Hong both clearly in his power, to say nothing of the crown princess herself… Alex feared it was only a matter of time.

The privileged Golds here either knew exactly which way the wind was blowing, or they were fools. And few fools who didn’t worship the fox would ever make it to Bronze, let alone Gold.