Chương 150: A Classic Trope

The Han family compound looked the way you would expect a once-prosperous merchant clan to look when they were trying to maintain appearances while running out of resources to maintain them with. The main courtyard was still swept and clean, but I could see patches where expensive stone tiles had been replaced with cheaper alternatives and the decorative plants were well-tended but sparse. They were probably sold off one by one over time as the finances got tighter.

And even the wooden pillars supporting the entrance showed signs of careful repair work rather than replacement, which told its own story clearly. You had to admire the effort even if the results were a little depressing to look at.

"Young Master!" A servant came hurrying toward us through the rain, "we were so worried when…" he stopped talking and his eyes went wide as he took in Han Zhongwei's disheveled state, "Master Han, are you...?"

"I'm fine," Han Zhongwei waved the concern off but I could feel Han Renyi noticing how his father was favoring his left side. Those roots had not been gentle about anything.

"Gather the family in the main hall and send someone to fetch Qingyi from wherever she's been hiding." The servant hesitated for a moment and glanced between father and son trying to piece together what had happened from the available evidence. The Han family's situation wasn't a secret in this city.

Everyone knew Zhou had been putting pressure on them and seeing the patriarch come back in this condition accompanied by his son who had blood on his robes, I should have done something about that before we walked in, was a lot to process all at once. The servant bowed and hurried off to carry out his instructions.

I used the moment to study the compound's layout, and it was quite clever from a defensive standpoint with multiple courtyards connected by covered walkways and clear sightlines to all the major approaches. In its prime with guards and some defensive formations, it would have been a respectable stronghold.

Now though, I counted three guards who were trying to look like they were patrolling rather than huddling under the eaves to stay out of the rain, their weapons were well maintained but dated, and their stances showed basic training but nothing beyond that. I couldn't blame them; combat training required resources the family hadn't had for a time.

"A merchant family shouldn't need this kind of defensive architecture," I thought to Han Renyi, "unless..."

"The compound was built during the Resource Wars," he replied, "back when every major family needed to be able to protect their holdings from raiders and rival clans." Interesting. This world's declining energy situation had deep roots and understanding how society had adapted to it over time was the kind of thing that might prove useful at some point. But I couldn't think about it now. Han Zhongwei shot us another worried glance that he was trying to be subtle about and not managing it.

Fair enough because his son had demonstrated abilities that by every right should have been impossible at his cultivation level. If I were in his position, I would have a lot of questions too. Which reminded me.

"We need to get our story," I told Han Renyi, "before your family starts asking things we're not prepared to answer."

"Story? But I know what you are!" His voice had an excited quality to it now, almost a little manic, "you're fr—""Later," I said cutting him off, "right now we need to focus on not making your family believe that some ancient monster has taken over their son's body." There was a pause before he responded, "is that far from the truth?"

"You wound me," I said, "here I am being a reasonable body sharing entity and you're comparing me to some second-rate possession spirit, I'll have you know I haven't demanded a sacrifice or made any attempt to corrupt your soul even once." I felt his amusement mixing with the uncertainty that was still present underneath it and that was good. A little levity was what he needed to start processing everything that had happened today, and there had been a lot that had happened today.

"So what's the plan?" he asked after a moment.

"The mysterious secret master explanation," I said, "it's a well-established approach for this kind of situation and people tend to accept what fits into frameworks they already understand."

"And what am I supposed to tell them about this secret master?"

"Keep it vague but believable, you encountered them while searching for ways to help your family, they recognized your potential, but they prefer to remain anonymous, and the techniques they taught you are unique. That's all you know about them." Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"That's not far from the truth."

"The best explanations are mostly truth with enough misdirection to—" I stopped because I sensed someone approaching, female and young, through Han Renyi's memories I recognized who it was even before she came into view. Qingyi, his sister. She looked like her brother with the same jet-black hair and the same green eyes except hers were currently full of tears and she was moving like she had somewhere very important to be.

"Timing," I said, "you're up."

"Wait, what do you mean I'm—" I released control of his body back to him right in the middle of that sentence. The sensation was strange, like stepping back from something while still being aware of every part of it, I could still feel everything, the rain, the wood under our feet, and the surge of his emotions as his sister came into his field of view, but all of it from one step removed.

Qingyi hit him like she was trying to knock him over which she very nearly accomplished as she wrapped both arms around his waist and pressed her face into his chest, "brother, they said, they said you were..." she broke off and started crying too hard to finish the sentence. I felt Han Renyi's protective instinct surge up and his arms went around his sister on their own, "I'm fine Qingyi, everything is fine now."

"But the guards said you were attacked, and then Father was taken, and I..." she pulled back slightly and looked up at him with tears running down her face, "I thought, I thought..."

"Shhhh," he said and stroked her hair, "it's all handled now, nobody is going to hurt you or Father, I promise." I stayed quiet and just observed while he comforted his sister. It was interesting to watch how naturally he fell into the role, the way his hand moved to her head, how his voice adjusted to the right tone, the slight shift in his posture to make himself seem more solid and reassuring.

All of it happening without any conscious thought and I was confident I couldn't have replicated any of that even if I had tried. More guards and servants had gathered around them by now, drawn by Qingyi's reunion with her brother and there was clear relief on most of their faces, though a few of them still looked uncertain about what had happened and what it meant. Han Zhongwei cleared his throat, "perhaps we should continue this inside, the rain..." Good instinct.

The last thing we needed was an audience for the conversation that was inevitably coming.

The main hall's furniture was high quality but sparse. What remained had been arranged carefully to make the room seem fuller than it was which was a merchant's trick and a reasonably effective one. As everyone settled in, I noticed how the servants positioned themselves with the older ones staying closer to the family and the newer hires keeping to the edges, it was worth remembering which of them could be trusted if things grew complicated down the road.

"Young Master," one of the older servants stepped forward and bowed, "we heard things, about Elder Zhou Shentong..." I felt Han Renyi's spike of panic and said, "tell them it's been handled, confident but not arrogant."

"Zhou Shentong will no longer be a concern," Han Renyi said, slowly but steadily, "neither will his sect if they have any sense." The servant's eyes widened slightly at that, but he just bowed again and stepped back without saying anything more. What followed was peaceful and felt a little surreal given everything that had just happened. Servants brought tea, people talked quietly about things, and for a while it was possible to pretend this was just a family evening gathering.

I could feel Han Renyi slowly unwinding as the familiar routine did its work on him. But it was never going to last forever.

"Son," Han Zhongwei finally said and his voice was careful, "about what happened at Elder Zhou Shentong's compound..." Han Renyi tensed and I felt it, here we go.

"I've made progress in my cultivation more than I've let anyone know," he said trying to sound casual about it but the slight tremor in his teacup gave away his nerves. His father's expression shifted toward something that looked like hurt, "you didn't trust me enough to tell me?"

"Tell him about the master," I said, "vague but believable, remember."

"It wasn't my secret to tell," Han Renyi said, "I have a master who prefers to remain anonymous, they've been teaching me techniques that are... unique." Han Zhongwei's expression cleared, "ah, I see," he nodded slowly, "yes that makes sense, some of the higher tier Rouqin can be particular about their privacy." I felt Han Renyi's relief wash through him and he muttered, "you have no idea," and I had to work to not laugh at that.

"But the Three-Leaf Clover Sect," his father's voice turned worried again, "they won't let this go, Zhou Shentong was one of their elders and their reputation..."

"Tell him your master will handle it," I said, "and we will, I have thoughts about that already."

"My master has assured me that any retaliation will be dealt with," Han Renyi said. I was impressed by how confident he managed to sound about something he had no information about. The relief that came over Han Zhongwei's face was difficult to look at because it was the relief of a man who had been carrying an impossible weight for years, watching his options disappear one by one, and who had just been handed something he hadn't believed he was going to get, which was hope.

"The Celestial Sovereign watches over us," he murmured and closed his eyes for a moment, "to send such a master to guide you..." I felt Han Renyi's guilt spike hard at that and I said, "it's better than the truth, trust me, mysterious master is easier for everyone to accept than I'm sharing my body with a spirit who won't explain what it is."

"I suppose," he thought back and he wasn't comfortable with it, but he accepted it. The rest of the evening went by in a blur of food and tea. I stayed quiet throughout most of it and just watched how Han Renyi handled himself. He was doing well, all things considered, keeping his answers vague when the training came up, and deflecting questions about his master with the amount of humility and holding up the image of a young cultivator who had received powerful but discreet patronage.

Eventually, he excused himself on the grounds of being exhausted from the day, which nobody questioned, they had all heard enough rumors about what had happened at Zhou Shentong's compound to have a picture of how tiring it must have been. Han Renyi's room had simple but well-made furniture and shelves filled with books and cultivation manuals. Once we were alone, I took control again and settled into a cross-legged position and drew the Qi Gathering Circle.

We needed to be at full strength before the Three-Leaf Clover Sect made their move.

"So," Han Renyi said, "are we going to talk about it?"

"About what?"

"About the fact that you're from another world."