Chương 344: Chapter 290: Below the Clouds

~~~ The Crimson Cloud Tournament draws near! That is the sentiment that echoes throughout every single one of Imperial Cloud City's one hundred and twenty-seven districts. From the government official to the beggar, everyone is preparing for the festivities. They talk about it in their homes! They hear in the streets! They count down the days with eager joy! The greatest young talents from all over the Crimson Cloud Empire will gather in Imperial Cloud City to fight for dominance.

There is no greater spectacle, no event that is more important. It comes every four years, and anyone who is anyone must be present. Imperial Cloud City teems with activity. People from every corner of the Empire pass through the city gates every day. There is spectacle in every corner, and exotic wares from all corners of the Empire are suddenly on display as more merchants and entertainers enter the city. The tournament is still weeks away, yet the inns are almost at their limit.

Entrepreneurial-minded citizens have taken to renting rooms at their homes. The Three Hogs, a dingy but warm tavern in the seventy-seventh district, is perhaps quieter than other places. The night is young. Most people in the district have only just finished working. The old regulars have begun drifting in, but many seats remain empty. But even here, the Crimson Cloud Tournament is all people can talk about.

"I saw the Furious Fists passing through the city gates!" says Wei the carpenter, a young man with a sturdy build who is trying hard to grow his first beard.

"You should have seen them! They were riding bears!"

"Bears? Who cares about bears!" says Ying the seamstress, a stout woman with small eyes.

"What were you even doing near the gates anyway?" Wei the carpenter grins guiltily.

"I snuck out, but don't tell the old man that."

"Oh, I'll tell him!" Ying says. The people laugh.

"I also have you beat! I saw the disciples from the True Spear just this morning. So handsome they were! Like they were carved from jade. Oh, if only I was younger!"

"If you was younger, they'd still run the other way!" says Greedy Chun, another one of the tavern's regulars. He owns a shop a few blocks away and always overcharges.

"Listen, you all! I was picking some stuff over at the twenty-third district. What do you think happened? A fight starts between the White Leaves and the Nine Laws! They say they were fighting over a girl, but what a sight it was! Saw it with my own eyes!"

"As if your old eyes could tell white cloth from black," says another one of the regulars. At once, all eyes turn to him. He is a bald man with a broad smile that shows his yellow teeth. The only hair he has is a mustache that wiggles when he talks. The people call him Gambling Xin.

"The Furious Fists, the True Spear, the White Leaves, and the Nine Laws! All of them are garbage! Not one of them has ever made it to the Top 100!" Gambling Xin says, tapping his knuckles against the wooden table.

"You should be putting your eyes on the Green Scripture! They just arrived this morning!"

"The ones who hunted down those Black Knife bandits last year?" asks Ying the seamstress, pursing her lips.

"I heard about that too!" says Wei the carpenter, always eager to talk.

"They say the bandits kidnapped the daughter of the Elegant Forest City Lord, but the Green Scripture rescued her and slaughtered them all!"

"Quite right, they did!" Gambling Xin laughs.

"Not only that, but the Emperor rewarded them for their heroic deed with many cultivation pills! They're in a very good position and even sent a full delegation of ten to compete in the tournament! Among them, the one you should all watch out for is Niu Qiang! He is only eighteen, but they say he's over eight feet tall! He beheaded the leader of the Black Knife in single combat and is sure to put on a strong showing in the tournament!"

"Bah!" shouts an old man sitting by the corner. Though he is a regular, no one knows his name because he has never given it.

"I'll throw your words back at you! What does it matter what some nobody from a Sect that is not even in the Top 100 did? The preliminary rounds are a waste of time, and everyone knows it! There are only four Sects that matter in this Empire!" The old man's words are followed by a hushed silence. There is no need for him to say which four Sects he is referring to. There is not a single person in the entire city who does not know of the Four Great Sects of the Empire.

Children grow up hearing tales of the old man of the Infinite Mountain Sect. Men dream of the beauties of the Divine Frozen Palace! And who has not heard of the two brothers from the Eternal Flame Clan? Who does not know of the Wandering Wind of the Endlessly Raging Valley? The Four Great Sects are myths and legends made real. They are elite among the elite. When they speak, the world bows to their whims. Even the Emperor cannot afford to deal carelessly with them. In a few weeks, they will be able to see them.

"The Four Great Sects, huh?" Gambling Xin says, recovering his grin before everyone else.

"Well, betting on a sure thing does not pay nearly as well, old man. But if you really want to know, I have some information on them as well."

"What can you possibly know of the Four Great Sects?!" Greedy Chun asks, bringing down his beer mug with force. The serving boy, an orphan named Bo, barely steps back in time to avoid getting beer spilled on him.

"Well, my dear shopkeeper, I might be just a humble mortal not worthy of meeting the eyes of such esteemed people, but so are the many servants of the palace." Gambling Xin grins with confidence, his mustache wiggling as he does.

"And I'm a man with many friends who talk with other friends. Gather round, people. I will tell you something good." There was no need for him to ask. Everyone is already leaning in. No person in the district knows more about what is happening in every corner of the city than Gambling Xin. It does not matter if his source is the friend of a friend of a friend. Everyone is eager to listen to what he has to say. Bo certainly is.

The child is taking his time pouring the drinks so he does not have to go back to the kitchen just yet.

"The Infinite Mountain Sect is sending one of their best, a young lad named Chen Guo, whose reputation I am sure you all know by now." Everyone nods. Chen Guo's deeds have been the talk of the bar on more than one night.

"While he is one to watch out for, he simply cannot compare to what the Endlessly Raging Valley has in store," Gambling Xin says.

"They have been very active recently, but not because of the disciples of their delegation. Oh no, they say the Wandering Wind herself is coming here!" Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

"As if!" Wei the carpenter is the one who cries out, but many others soon echo him.

"It's true!" Gambling Xin insists.

"The servants say the Endlessly Raging Valley is making all sorts of demands to prepare for her arrival, but they're having trouble! The Divine Frozen Palace is not making it easy for them."

"Why?" Bo asks before he can stop himself. The young boy covers his mouth with his hands when everyone's heads turn to him. Far from looking annoyed at being interrupted, Gambling Xin just grins wider.

"Because, young lad, the Endlessly Raging Valley and the Divine Frozen have been fighting over the Xiao Sect," Gambling Xin says.

"See, the Xiao Sect used to be allied to the Divine Frozen Palace, but when the new matriarch took over, they switched over to the Endlessly Raging Valley. Maybe they made the better offer, but you do not turn your back on one of the Four Great Sects without consequences. The matriarch of the Xiao Sect has had a hard time ever since."

"Oh! I heard about that!" Ying the seamstress says, almost bouncing in her seat.

"They say she was humiliated at the auction last month over at the Five Blessings Hall."

"Humiliated and left with quite a hefty loss," Gambling Xin confirms.

"And that's only the latest in a long list of incidents. The ladies of the Divine Frozen Palace are as cruel as they are beautiful, and they are so very beautiful."

"Why did the Xiao Sect switch sides, then?" Bo asks, now a little more confident in speaking.

"Ah, who knows, lad? No one is even sure how the current matriarch of the Xiao Sect came to power." Gambling Xin shrugs.

"Lowly mortals like us cannot hope to understand how those people think. We can only guess."

"And make money by betting on what they do, huh?" the old man at the corner asks him wryly. Gambling Xin grins widely, showing his crooked, yellow teeth.

"I am a simple man," he says.

"And I'm not done yet, because I have saved the juiciest bit for last. Here's what none of you knew! I heard this straight from the lips of a palace maid! It's all confirmed! There is no need to doubt! There's an Emperor coming here!"

"There's tons of Emperors coming here!" shouts Wei the carpenter.

"Not like that, you dunce," Gambling Xin snaps at him.

"An Emperor of a nation, I mean! The Emperor of the Storm Dragon Empire is coming to compete in our Crimson Cloud Tournament!" That declaration sets off a wave of murmurs. Living in Imperial Cloud City, it is hard not to be aware of all the important events, and the Storm Dragon Empire and its Emperor have been gaining prominence as of late.

"Why would someone like that compete in our tournament?" asks Greedy Chun. Gambling Xin grins, clearly having expected the question, but Bo does not have time to hear his answer. The kitchen bell is ringing, and he does not want to be reprimanded for lazing about. Quick as he can, Bo dashes into the kitchen. When he comes back, Bo is balancing far too many plates in his small arms, a very poor idea as the portions at the Three Hogs are always generous. Sure enough, the weight soon has the young boy falling forward.

"Careful."

"Thanks," Bo says. The plates are secure now. Bo takes his time putting them on the tables so he can hear Gambling Xin speak.

"-so you see, the Emperor is actually a member of the Eternal Flame Clan," Gambling Xin tells the enthralled room.

"He used his connections there to gain control over the Storm Dragon Empire and eliminate all his enemies."

"I heard he seduced a daughter of the Feng Clan so he could get their support," Ying the seamstress says.

"I heard he was never supposed to be the Emperor," says Greedy Chun.

"They say he betrayed his family and now keeps them captive in the palace dungeons."

"I heard that too," says Ying the seamstress, quickly nodding.

"They say he takes the children of those who defy him."

"I heard he drinks poison like wine!" says Wei the carpenter.

"When he invites you, you are expected to drink with him. You die if you do, and he kills you if you don't."

"They say he makes monsters and keeps them as pets," says the old man in the corner.

"Maybe those are heavily exaggerated rumors. Maybe he is trying his best and just happens to have an unfortunate reputation." Gambling Xin laughs and rubs his hands together.

"Yes! The Young Dragon is a villain through and through, but even villains need support," he says.

"Since the Eternal Flame Clan gave him an Empire, now he's going to give them the Crimson Cloud Tournament! That's the payment, you see. But there's more…" Bo dearly wishes he could hear some more, but he hears the owner calling him again. There is garbage that needs to be taken out. The young child grits his teeth as he lugs around the large sacks. He should carry them one at a time, but he wants to hurry and go back to hear more. Predictably, he trips again.

"You really need to learn to take better care of yourself."

"Sorry," Bo says, somehow not on the floor. Wasn't he just falling?

"I just wanted to hear more."

"Is it really so interesting?"

"Of course it is!" Bo says, offended the question even needed to be asked.

"Didn't you hear them talk about the Dragon? He sounds like a real villain!"

"I suppose I can't deny that. Will you be watching the tournament?" Bo looks down.

"I wish, but the entrance costs a lot. Best I can hope for is a brawl in the street!"

"Maybe it is for the best."

"It's not!" Bo shouts back, angry at his poverty. He will never be able to watch heroes like Niu Qiang and Chen Guo fight the villainous Dragon while the rest of the city will. It's so unfair!

"Boy!" Bo looks up, startled. The old man from the corner has come out of the tavern and is calling out to him.

"Stop wasting time and come here!" Bo feels dazed for some reason. He had been talking to someone, right? Who was it?

"Quick! Hurry!" The old man says, the urgency in his voice spurring the young child.

"It's not safe to be alone on a night like this. Things are walking among us, boy. They look like us, but they aren't like us. Remember that." Bo can only feel confused. What just happened? ~~~ Liu Jin moves silently through the rooftops of Imperial Cloud City under the cover of the new moon. It is, perhaps, a little unneeded. Imperial Cloud City is vast. The smaller districts are the size of towns, and the larger ones are basically cities unto themselves.

The most powerful people in the city are gathered in the Imperial Palace and the districts surrounding it, and their power is so great they effectively blind each other as to what happens in the rest of the city. What person could possibly pay attention to a bird flying in the sky when a tiger is right in front of them? Still, Liu Jin supposes there is no harm in being cautious. Once he arrives at the designated meeting spot, he sits by a chimney and waits. There is a party happening below.

The people are laughing, and the music is festive. It makes it extremely easy to hide. Liu Jin is nothing more than a shadow on the roof. After an hour, it appears. A lone bird flying in the dark sky. Most people would have never noticed it. At a glance, it looks no different from a common pigeon, but that is only because of how high the bird is flying. Things would be quite different otherwise. Indeed, when Soaring Feather meets it in the sky, the two birds look to be about the same size.

They fly around each other in wonder, as is their right. It is the first time they meet a fellow Black-Winged Imperial Eagle. After they have finished proving the identity of their masters, the two eagles part ways. Minutes pass as Liu Jin keeps waiting. A fight has started in the party below. The drunk people cheer both fighters on. A dark-hooded figure joins Liu Jin on the roof. He moves with purpose and strength.

When he is three feet away from Liu Jin, he pulls down his hood, revealing wild brown hair and sky-blue eyes. He has changed a lot since Liu Jin last saw him. No longer does his face have the softness of youth. It is hardened with age and experience. Not a boy but a young man. Xiao Fang of the Xiao Sect stands before him once more.

"It has been a long time." ~~~