~~~

Night falls over Rumbling Thunder City.

The storm still rages. Though less intense than it was hours ago, the rain, wind, and thunder are still enough to keep most of the city inside their houses. Perhaps General Dan will be calm when the morning comes. Perhaps, the storm will go away on its own. It matters not.

Yuan Tao intends to be gone by then.

The rumbling of thunder and the roar of wind provide the perfect cover for him. Dressed in dark clothes and making sure to keep his Qi hidden, Yuan Tao is almost invisible in the storm. He moves silently across the rooftops and climbs over the city walls with cat-like grace.

No one notices him. Not the guards outside his door or the ones around the city.

It is a pity he has to leave like this, but with Duke Lai imprisoned and soon to be put on trial, there is no other way. The duke will inevitably expose him to save his own skin.

What a mess.

Just thinking about how everything has degenerated is enough to make Yuan Tao angry. He was sent to the Storm Dragon Empire to sabotage the efforts of Lord Feng Gui’s delegation. To that end, he cooperated with Duke Lai, an old partner of theirs.

Unfortunately, the man has proven himself to be utterly incapable.

To think he even gave Duke Lai the three disciples from the tournament to help him out! Truly, the epitome of wasting pearls before swine! Those three might have lost the Crimson Cloud Tournament, but each is a more talented cultivator than Duke Lai could ever hope to be. Shi Qingxia and Ye Zheyu will likely surpass him in less than a decade. For Yong Zhunyi, it will take a year or two at most.

And yet, despite having such prodigious cultivators under his command, Duke Lai still got himself exposed and captured.

Yuan Tao sighs.

The rain has made the ground muddy. It makes running hard, and while flying is very tempting, using too much Qi would give away his presence. He will have to deal with it until he has crossed a few more dozen miles.

A few more dozen miles.

A few more dozen miles.

A few more dozen miles.

A few more-

Yuan Tao stops.

“Oh, you noticed. A pity. I was curious to see whether I could keep you like that until the morning. It seems that will not be an option.”

Yuan Tao’s Qi blazes.

His golden eyes shine like suns, and the rain around him evaporates. The ground dries up, and the dirt is burned away from his clothes. His long braid rises like the tail of an angry cat.

“You,” Yuan Tao growls, glaring at the man in front of him. “What are you doing here?”

Mud blinks.

“Should I not be here?” He asks, cocking his head to the side. “Surely, you did not think you could escape without anyone noticing? Or perhaps you are asking how we knew you would run towards General He’s lands? That should also be obvious, though I do not believe you would have managed to escape even if you had chosen a different direction.”

He says it all matter-of-factly. As though Mud were the teacher and Yuan Tao the dull student. It makes Yuan Tao gnash his teeth, but he cannot afford to lash out.

“Escape?” Yuan Tao asks. “What do I have to escape from, Brother Mud? Is it wrong that I seek to stretch my legs after being in the city for so long?”

It is a weak defense, and they both know it. Unfortunately, shamelessness is his only way forward. While Yuan Tao has always been thankful his body is free from the parasites the Death Fashioning Scripture is fond of using, he finds himself wishing he had one at the moment so he could be safely extracted.

Though considering who is in front of him, perhaps even that wouldn’t have helped.

Mud is only in the first level of the Heaven Realm. Yuan Tao is in third. That difference should be enough to make Yuan Tao his unquestionable superior.

However, Mud is Elder Xun’s one and only disciple.

Yuan Tao knows Mud’s story. A talentless disciple picked up by Elder Xun in what many assumed was a burst of petty sentimentality. A useless lout only good for guarding the old tomes of the Technique Hall. That is what most people thought of Mud for two hundred years.

And in those centuries, Elder Xun created a monster without anyone realizing it.

“Do not embarrass yourself, Brother Yuan,” Mud tells him. “You have conspired with Duke Lai and those beyond the Dead Plains. That cannot be ignored.”

“That’s a bold accusation to make,” Yuan Tao says. “Yes, I have talked with Duke Lai. Why wouldn’t I? Duke Lai has been quite accommodating to our policies in the past. If Duke Lai truly is a traitor, that only means he has fooled me in the same way he fooled everyone. Surely, you will not hold that against me?”

“Interesting,” a new voice says. “Then, how do you explain the letter you sent to Duke Lai the same day we arrived here?”

Somehow Yuan Tao fails to notice Qing Jin standing behind Mud until the younger cultivator speaks. While Qing Jin’s skill at hiding his Qi is no secret, something tells Yuan Tao the actual culprit is Mud.

“Should I read it for you?” Qing Jin asks, holding a letter Yuan Tao immediately recognizes. “You say quite a few things in this. None paint you in a good light. Conspiracy would be putting it mildly.”

Yuan Tao grimaces.

The letter in Qing Jin’s hands is the one where he explains to Duke Lai what their purpose should be in regard to Lord Feng Gui’s new policies. To disrupt them and sabotage them as much as possible. There are even a few suggestions written down. Yuan Tao knew his messenger never reached Duke Lai, but he had not been worried as the letter could only be opened with Duke Lai’s Qi.

Unfortunately, Duke Lai has proven himself far too incompetent.

“Is this who you trust, Brother Mud? A spy of the Divine Frozen Palace?” Yuan Tao asks, pointing at Qing Jin. It is another deflection, yet this one holds truth to it. Yuan Tao has already sent word to Elder Fa about it.

Unfortunately, the information won’t get there in time to be useful to him.

“The matter of Qing Jin’s alliances will be investigated in time.” Feng Zhi is the one who appears this time. “You, however, take priority.”

“Did you think the Patriarch did not know of Elder Fa’s true loyalties?” Mud asks him. “Of course, he did. He merely thought it prudent to ignore it. However, your conspiracy is being far too overt, and so, you have forced our hand.”

“It would reflect poorly on us if, after everything that has happened, we only start acting after Duke Lai’s testimony,” Feng Zhi continues. “By the time Duke Lai testifies, this matter will have already settled itself. Do not think badly of us, Yuan Tao. This is simply how the Eternal Flame Clan keeps itself honest.”

Arrogant brat.

So confident in the Eternal Flame that he believes he can speak to him as an equal. However, Feng Zhi is not his match. Not even close. Neither is the damnable Qing Jin.

The issue is Mud.

As long as he is here, he cannot win.

“Do you seek to kill me before dawn, then?” Yuan Tao asks, carefully weighing his options. He does not want to reveal his hand, but he might not have a choice.

“That will not be necessary.”

Yet another voice, and one that confirms he has fully lost.

“While I am sure such brute displays are not new to the Eternal Flame Clan, they have reached out to me so that we might encounter a more humane solution,” Bai Wen of the Divine Frozen Palace says.

“Is that what it has come down to?” Yuan Tao shouts in anger. “You accuse me of treason but ally yourself with our rivals?!”

“You are a Heaven Realm cultivator who knows valuable information,” Mud explains. “We do not have time to interrogate you before the trial, and keeping you locked would be too complicated using our skills as you have recently demonstrated. Reaching out for Bai Wen’s help was only natural.”

Imprisonment, then, not death.

Yuan Tao takes a deep breath. There is no other way.

“Very well,” he says, kneeling and offering his hands. “I, Yuan Tao, submit to you and put myself at your mercy.”

He is frozen in seconds.

~~~

Trials are usually held in the courthouse, where the people of Rumbling Thunder City are free to come and watch. That will not be the case this time. Duke Lai’s trial will be held in General Dan’s grand hall, far away from prying eyes.

General Dan does this not because Duke Lai’s betrayal must be kept hidden. It is far too late for that. Already, there are countless rumors floating around the city. No, what must truly be kept secret is something else entirely.

It is the existence of the powers beyond the Dead Plains.

Most people do not know what lies Beyond the Dead Plains. Those who do rarely speak of it except in the quietest of whispers and behind closed doors. To speak too much is to risk drawing their eye, and to draw their eye is to court death.

Unfortunately, they are well past that point.

General Dan stands in full armor in front of the frozen form of Duke Lai. The only other people in the room are his closest officials, as well as Mud, Feng Zhi, Bai Wen, and Liu Jin. No one else has been allowed inside.

“Let us begin,” General Dan says, giving the signal to Bai Wen.

The ice around Duke Lai melts away.

He falls to his knees, panting. There is no trace of the powerful and dignified duke to be seen. Devoid of his fine clothes, all that is left is a corpse that moves. His eyes take in the world around him in confusion.

“For him, it will be as if no time had passed since the battle ended,” Bai Wen had explained to them before the trial. It hadn’t been just Duke Lai’s body she had frozen, but his mind and Qi as well.

What a terrifying ability.

“What...?”

Gradually, Duke Lai realizes he is no longer in Stone River City. He is not in the remains of his castle but in General Dan’s hall, and the one in front of him is not Bai Wen but General Dan himself.

“Stand.”

The word is not shouted. The word is not said in anger or with any strong emotions attached to it. It is a command, and commands are to be obeyed. A mere vassal like Duke Lai has no right to refuse. Despite the pain and tiredness, Duke Lai stands up. He makes no move to speak or defend himself.

That has not been asked of him yet.

“You stand before me accused of various crimes,” General Dan says. “Is there anything you have to say for yourself?”

As soon as permission is given, Duke Lai’s face breaks into a panic.

“General! I’m your loyal servant! This is clearly-”

“Stop.”

One word. That is all it takes, though one could argue the glower on General Dan’s face would have been just as effective on its own.

“I did not give you permission to speak so you could lie to my face. As you have been doing it for quite some time, it is understandable you have begun thinking of it as something licit to you,” General Dan says, making Duke Lai pale. “Do not. Your Qi betrays you. The testimony of your people betrays you. The words of your allies and enemies betray you. By lying, you insult yourself, you insult my intelligence, and you overestimate my patience with you.”

General Dan’s eyes grow darker.

“I am not a patient man, Lai. Do not be so eager for me to demonstrate it.”

By now, Duke Lai has realized this is not a trial. Not really. The matter of his guilt has been settled. The only question is how harsh his sentence will be.

Duke Lai probably wishes he could be anywhere else right now, Liu Jin muses. However, that is not going to happen. Even if those from the Death Fashioning Scripture try to transport him, there is no way that sort of technique can work in General Dan’s presence. Everything in the room is under his command.

“They offered me power,” Duke Lai says after a while. “I was a dying old man, and they offered to prolong my life long enough for me to reach the Heaven Realm. The rest was almost easy. We were stuck fighting the same war and glaring at the same enemies. There was no future in that.”

Duke Lai glares at the members of the Eternal Flame Clan in the room.

“Did you know it was the Eternal Flame Clan that introduced me to them?” Duke Lai asks him. “You judge me for being in contact with them, but it was they who introduced their presence into this country.”

“That remains to be proven,” Mud says. “Their presence in General He’s lands indicates otherwise.”

“Silence,” General Dan says. Mud nods his head in apology. “The Eternal Flame Clan is not on trial. They have already dealt with their traitor. You, however, are my responsibility. Tell me, did they ask you to harvest your citizens?”

“No,” Duke Lai shakes his head. “And I would not have obeyed such an order.”

“And yet, you created a giant made out of dead flesh.”

“Those were the bodies of those already dead,” Duke Lai says. “There was no need to target living citizens when natural deaths over the past decade from Stone River City and the surrounding areas were enough to build a sizable stock.”

Stock. Duke Lai refers to the desecrated bodies of the dead without a care, and by doing so, earns himself looks ranging from anger to disgust. However, General Dan’s face does not even twitch.

“The increased offensive from General He’s side. Did you know that would happen?”

“Yes.”

A declaration like that would have normally set off a wave of murmurs. Many soldiers died because of General He’s attacks. Those are all deaths Duke Lai could have prevented but didn’t.

However, no one says anything. No one dares to. Not in General Dan’s presence.

“Was it done simply so you could have an excuse to deny supplies to the southern border?” General Dan asks.

“I do not believe that to be the case,” Duke Lai answers. “Certainly, that was part of the reason, but I believe its main purpose was to increase the number of dead bodies they could use.”

“And the increased attacks from Murong Bang. Were they behind that as well?”

“That I do not know, my lord,” Duke Lai says, shaking his head. “The timing is suspicious, but I can only say I have never once known that monster to be working with them.”

“Is there anything else you wish to say? Anything you can offer?”

“Only that they are planning something, my lord,” Duke Lai says. “They have not mentioned anything, but the increased need for dead bodies leads me to believe they will not be content to remain acting in the background for much longer. The more bodies they gather, the more they will be able to do should they decide to strike.”

For the Death Fashioning Scripture, the corpses buried in the border territories are all weapons they can use. The more there are, the greater their advantage. Everyone in the room immediately understands the gravity of the threat.

“You have given me quite a bit to think about, Lai.” General Dan says after a while. He looks at Bai Wen. “Lady Bai, if you would?”

She nods. “Naturally.”

“Wait!” Duke Lai holds out his hands. “Don’t! I can-”

He is frozen before he finishes the sentence.

“Surprisingly, that was not a complete waste of my time,” General Dan says. His eyes sweep over the room before landing on his officials. “Well, what are you waiting for? You heard the traitor. There is work to be done!”

The deathly quiet hall immediately becomes alive with activity.

~~~

That should have been the end of it. With Duke Lai and Yuan Tao taken care of, they should all have been free to focus on reinforcing the borders and dealing with the Death Fashioning Scripture and their plots.

And yet…

“How is this possible?”

Feng Zhi sounds shocked. Even Mud’s silence seems less composed than usual. Bai Wen hums thoughtfully as she looks at the scene.

“This is… Well, it is certainly a surprise.”

Yuan Tao has escaped.

The ice, the same type of ice that easily held Duke Lai, has been melted. The additional barriers they left in the room have been torn apart, and a large hole has been burned into the wall.

“He must have done it during the trial,” Liu Jin says. “We were distracted.”

If so, Yuan Tao is several miles away already.

“That’s not the problem!” Feng Zhi snaps at him.” This…We have been made fools of!”

It is very easy to understand Feng Zhi’s anger. The flame Yuan Tao used to free himself from the ice. The flame he used to tear through his binding and escape.

It burns gold.

Yuan Tao used the Eternal Flame.

~~~