Chương 39: Chapter 38

Wu Zetian's first thought was to commandeer one of the many workshops dotting the Palace. Most of the operations had been shut down, but one could easily be reopened and put to work for what she had in mind. Then Wu Lin suggested something different, and she almost kicked herself. The main branch had a compound. Down, in the Lightless Underworld, the Deputy Masters dwelled alongside the direct descendants and their household guards. Which made it her home, in a way. How could she have forgotten?...

would be what she asked, if she didn't know the answer already. Among the palaces that danced in the almost perfect night above Still-Death Gate, Inverted Mountain Home was the grandest. From the outside, it appeared as a great cube of dark wood and gleaming tiles, trailed by streaks of purple. Curved roofs and whole floors shifted and turned as the cube rearranged itself constantly. No matter this, the Sect's character for Night always decorated four sides. Wu Zetian was pleased by the sight.

Inverted Mountain Home had been one of her first experiments with the Shadow Dragon Vein's emanations, a self-contained, self-fuelled fortress shielded from the other Floating Mansions of the level and from the layers above. She had quickly shed it as her main dwelling in favor of the Iron Blossom beneath, but it always remained a place dear to her. In a mixed, complicated kind of way.

Thankfully, none of those ridiculous balloon-ships was present here: the Sect Elders and their Direct Disciples ascended and descended on the billows of the Night Qi that came from beneath, and their own barges. Not like she needed either. A small exertion of the Distance Made Moot Technique from the Path of Distance and she emerged on the landing at the base of the cube, unfolding her cloak to reveal the two kids as well.

"Whoa!" Wu Lin said, stumbling forward. The little girl blinked, then jumped excitedly.

"We're here! So fast! Grandma is amazing!" Wu Zetian hummed, refusing to acknowledge the flicker of satisfaction for the compliment. Alright, maybe she had smiled a little. Just a tiny bit, though. Zhao didn't share the enthusiasm. The boy took one look at the endless black of the layer, yelped and threw himself into the closest refuge, which was Wu Zetian's leg. She stiffened, looked down and, to her shame, her first instinct was to kick the trembling, terrified kid away like a mangy dog slobbering on her robes.

But she couldn't do that, could she? And she couldn't just… pat him? Caress him? Mumble something soothing? What did you do in these cases? Wu Zetian, Earth Immortal, Absolute Sovereign of the Godless Night and essential God, froze, unable to decide what to do. Good thing she had allies.

"Zhao!" Wu Lin cried out. The little girl rushed to pull him away.

"What are you getting scared about? The Night is good, you blockhead! Take a deep breath, come on. Like this." She inhaled deeply, currents of pure Night Qi spiralling into her meridians. Wu Zetian smoothed her robes, trying and failing not to feel grateful. Zhao… well, he definitely wasn't up for some impromptu cultivation.

"Oh, it doesn't matter," she said, putting up her best poker face of unflappable matriarch. Stowing her hesitation, she patted Zhao close and offered him her sleeve, extended by Night Qi, to huddle in. The boy made a surprised squeak as the strips of materialized Qi fell on him, but then he grabbed them, seeming to calm down a little in his new little den.

"Better?" She smiled at him. The kid blinked at her, turned very red, and promptly lowered his head, mumbling something unintelligible. Alright, he was cute. If a bit stinky. Wu Lin didn't look happy. The little girl scowled in her trademark way, looking conflicted between hamfisted concern for her henchman and jealousy for the attention Grandma was giving him. With a small sigh, Wu Zetian opened her arm, Night Qi already coalescing to form another refuge for children. Wu Lin didn't need to be told twice.

They made for a strange sight as they made their way toward the entrance. An Immortal, striding with all the poise and grace of her station, with two kids using her oversized sleeves as refuges, one giggling nonstop and the other smiling tentatively and blinking owlishly. Smiling slightly, Wu Zetian wondered if that world had ever seen something like that. Probably not, and that was all kinds of funny. Stolen novel; please report. She met Lin's eyes.

Don't press him too much, she mouthed, tipping her chin toward Zhao. He's a blockhead, Lin mouthed back. Sorry, Grandma. No worries. But he's a bit stinky. A bath later? I tried to! Wu Lin almost jumped out of her den. She raised her chin in her best "disdainful young miss" impression. He's a blockhead. Wu Zetian breathed a small laugh. This scamp… With all that, she wasn't exactly fond of her granddaughter giving baths to foundlings like stray kittens. That needed fixing.

The landing, cordoned by ritual ropes that would have turned to dust a millennium ago if they weren't woven out of Qi, led into an ancient gate. Spells of prohibition and less-than-pleasant endings gleamed softly over fossilized wood. So dramatic. Wu Zetian let out a mental snort. All the defense array of the Home was untouched and perfectly functioning. Powered as they were by the direct emanations of the Shadow Dragon Vein, there was no disconnecting them without ripping out the former root and stem.

But that meant nothing. The stores of artifacts and the treasuries it once contained had long been depleted, first by Wu Zhan's reckless spending, and then by the so-called Loyalists, who had despoiled it. If that was supposed to be a home, it was an empty, gutted one. As always, the thought of thieves put something cold in her chest and made her fingers crawl. Pushing it aside, she activated the portal with a flicker of Shen and stepped through. Immediately, they arrived in a new world.

The biggest change was in the sky. Instead of the endless black of night she was used to, it was a silky blue. A small sun blazed merrily among strands of wispy clouds. Oh, absolutely not. Wu Lin and Zhao agreed.

"Father liked that," the girl said, dripping with a contempt that sat strangely with her age. Wu Zetian sniffed, but kept an eye on her. The little girl scowled at the sun like it had offended her personally. Not a fan of her late father then. Not surprising. If the sky didn't agree with her, the land did to some extent. The mansion was palatial, 10. 000 square meters of polished wood, slender columns and curved roofs.

Built in the style of the Xi Empire, it had a rugged stone foundation, atop which squatted stocky buildings radiating stately antiquity instead of the dark elegance of the Godless Night's own. A central building took center stage, with great vermillion columns holding overlapping golden-tiled roofs. Pale wood, polished and smooth, held walls and staircase decorated with carvings of dragons, phoenixes and clouds caught in vibrant colors.

Two wings emerged from it, holding the household barracks and the servant quarters respectively; they enfolded a great tiled courtyard, a garden and a park. Columnaded promenades allowed family members to enjoy both, or play games while appreciating the cool air. The land around the mansion was soft and pleasant, with grassy hills and a river that burbled happily. Wu Zetian strode between the roofs, letting the children lead the way while she took in the details of the place. Old memories wafted through her.

Belonging to another her, and yet so achingly familiar. The old Wu Zetian had poured her heart and soul into this place. It was supposed to be her new home after her long escape from the East was done. The nest where she would raise her chicks and start anew. It was beautiful. A touch of Shen pervaded everything, giving it a breadth of endless life. In the garden, a pool ran with delicate fishes of iridescent scales, the banks were colorful with flowers and grasses.

Cicadas filled the air with their song, alongside the best scents of spring and summer. It was like time had stood still here. In a way, sustained by the endless amount of Qi and the will she had impressed on the place, the shape she wished it to retain, it had. The many chambers still stood open. The beds were made. Candles were still lit, and not a speck of dust marred the polished wood.

Above, beautiful lattices held panels painted with intricate, geometric patterns, the colors as fresh as the day they had been laid. Banners in silver and black billowed still, and the scents of cedar, incense, laquer and silk tickled the nose. Wu Zetian passed a Weiqi board. The first player had launched a bold offensive. The second player could have stopped it, or counterattacked. It waited there still. That wasn't a place meant for politics.

It was supposed to be a refuge, a family home, a corner of the world made only for yourself and your loved ones. And… it had failed. Wu Zetian stopped. Amidst the delicate lotus blossoms, her reflection was crystalline. An old woman wielding all the power in the world, except the one she wished. She saw it as clearly, as she had lived it firsthand. An old woman who had tried and failed, running behind her old barriers, unable to trust and to let go of her obsession.

You never managed to make a family for yourself, have you? Just like me. You built everything, made everything ready, and then failed when it was time to give it all a sense. You failed to open yourself up, and instead of keep ing on trying, you ran downstairs to that Blossom and that so-called eternity. You closed yourself off and left this place to the main branch while telling yourself you were aiming higher, that this was nothing but an impediment. Coward. There was no answer.

Wherever she had gone, the old Wu Zetian wasn't listening. We are so alike, you and I. Maybe you're living in my old life now? Maybe… They said that one of the few certainties in life was that life didn't turn back. In her case, it was almost an exception. She was living through her old self's life in the opposite way. Starting from beneath, from the old Wu Zetian's last step, when, filled with despair for her failure, she had closed herself off from the world and persisted in her obsession for a millennium. This…

this was the second rung, when she had made her last attempt to live for something other than power and ascension. When she had failed. Endless obsession. Endless torment. One day, I'll have to face the source of it. Her gaze flew to the east, beyond the Basin, beyond the Empire and its Dragon Emperor themselves. To the darkest place.

"Grandma! This way!" Nothing of her thoughts made it to her expression. Outside, she was smiling gently at Wu Lin's grin.

"I am coming, dear." Let these sorrows stay with me, for an eternity if it needs to be. Only blessings for you, my little one. Only blessings. A small prayer, to be recited in the intimate depths of her mind.