Chương 56: Chapter 5

She emerged in a secondary plaza beside the Palace. The vibe was different here. Instead of the dark elegance and somber majesty of the Palace, the stone buildings ringing it were utilitarian to the point of being stark. Incense wafted from great braziers, trying and failing to mask the stench of manure. Harried-looking stable boys pushed carts of feed or did one of the many tasks needed to keep a stable running. And this is just a little thing. Spirit-beast rearing isn't really our thing, mh?

A great and honorable Sect sucking at something. How ironic. Amused by that, Wu Zetian wrapped herself and Shanti into her Night, shielding both from sight.

"Honored Founder," the woman started in her monotone. She had the rare talent of never looking anything but perfect. From the perfectly crisp uniform to the excellent posture, not one hair was out of place about her. That she needed to clear her throat and smooth her skirt was the equivalent of a soldier trying to reattach his head.

"My loyalty to you is absolute. I would sacrifice my life at a moment's notice should you ask it. Just… could I be so bold as to ask that you hand out a warning before…" She covered her mouth with a hand, hiccupping. Wu Zetian was watching the stables.

"Oh, you're a grown girl. You'll be fine." She glanced at her with a small smile." It's rare for a cultivator of your rank to be exposed to my Night. Use the chance for some cultivation." She tuned off her mumble about "not having time to feel the transfer before being snatched, let alone cultivate", returning to watch the stables. As always, letting go of work to return to that other thing felt difficult. Would it ever stop doing so? She truly hoped so. It was starting to feel embarrassing.

But, well, she wasn't exactly bursting with experiences to make predictions here.

Like my Sect's experience with spirit-beasts. We'll have to learn together. Gesturing for Shanti to follow, she walked inside. The stables were a strange mix between their moniker, a cultivator sanctum and a prison. Iron gates shook as the creatures locked behind slammed against it. Spirit-beasts squatted inside massive cages, or snarled at the soldiers poking at them with long poles and pulling at them with chains.

Veterinaries bustled about, gathering around patients strapped to tables, or administering Qi treatments. Stable boys huffed and puffed, filling troughs with feed and bringing baskets full with more. One, fed up with the spiritbeast he was trying to feed snapping at him, hit the offender over the head with his shovel. The spirit-beast – a horse with a mane that seemed made out of ghostly fire – looked a mix between outraged and startled.

Spiritbeasts came in all sizes and shapes, even more than their animal counterparts. What they had in common was that they all belonged to the Night, having been formed and then fed on the Shadow Dragon Veins. Manes that flickered like ghostly flames; ebon hues; skins that seemed carved out of obsidian and metal; eyes glowing with unearthly colors, and other, stranger features. There was quite the wide array.

Still, differently from the Shadow-Beasts that haunted the Plateau, these creatures had also basked in Qi generated by peaceful human activities, and that made domestication a possibility. It had influenced them, turning what could have been an unthinking, mad beast into something closer to a flesh-and-blood animal. Some of them. Many beasts were too contaminated by the powerful Qi of the Siege, and had to be put down. A necessity since, to the despair of the staff, none of those present here was below Rank 5.

Shanti in tow, Wu Zetian strode among the bustle, her Qi keeping her hidden and subtly altering the personnel's paths so that they never got in her way. She was searching for a certain person, and it wasn't hard to find her. Wu Lin was busy feeding pieces of a fruit to a rat. The little girl was being her energetic self, looking both like she was sparkling and awfully focused on the task. Judging from the frazzled-looking attendants around her, that was the best compromise they could get from the Young Mistress.

Why, she must have tried feeding the big beasties. Smiling, Wu Zetian announced her presence with a small pulse of Qi. One enthusiastic hug, followed by a gentle patting and a general scurrying away of panicked attendants later, Lin was pulling at her sleeve, excited to show her latest project.

"I called him Quicky!" She announced proudly. The rat's whiskers twitched when she stroked his head, but whatever annoyance he felt wasn't enough to stop him from nibbling on the fruit.

"He was such a grumpy-face before, but I was patient, Grandma. Like you told me! Now he lets me pet him!" And to show her triumph, she reached out to do just that. But twice must have been too much, because Quicky nipped her.

"Ow! You stupid…!" Wu Zetian arched an eyebrow. She had made herself quite clear about language in her presence, didn't she? She had, and Lin slapped a hand over her mouth, before grinning shamelessly. Wu Zetian flicked her forehead, eliciting another "ow!"

"You little rascal," she said, but without heat.

"What are you doing here?" Wu Lin rubbed her forehead.

"Helping!" She said, without messing a beat.

"People here looked so out of it! Me and Zhao had to help!" The little boy, mousy and unobtrusive as always, seemed to pop out from nowhere. He nodded, looking as serious as he was on a war expedition. That he was holding a casket bigger than he was above his head took something from the effect. Wu Zetian's lips twitched. Of course, Lin should be studying and cultivating right now. She could imagine her nurse was…

yes, she could see her now, running in a panic through a wing of the Palace, looking for the little girl. Before she had the chance to make her thoughts known, Lin noticed Shanti. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Oh, it's big sister!" She squealed and hopped to greet her. Shanti lowered herself on one knee, expression softening.

"Young Mistress," she greeted, hand on her chest.

"I trust your efforts are bearing fruit?"

"Yes!" Lin had taken a liking to the Shadowed soon after Wu Zetian took her in her employ. The little girl decided that Shanti was her new "junior". Because, and that were her words, "people looked at Grandma and were either scared or intimidated, but it was only because you didn't know her. She wasn't so bad, promise!" But to do that, people needed Lin's careful guidance, who knew better.

Shanti and the whole main branch, who, according to a certain insulting granddaughter, Grandma was running ragged and were in urgent need of rescuing. Wu Zetian didn't sigh. She didn't. Seriously, her granddaughter was a mix of ridiculousness and deep insight. The kind who called her supposed junior big sister. And anyway, what's with that "she wasn't so bad?" She just liked it when people knew their place around her. And she knew how much she could push her people, thank you very much.

This little traitor and her big tongue…

"Hey, big sister," Lin said, turning deadly serious.

"Grandma isn't bullying you again, right?"

"Bullying? I, well…" Move, girl. This needs to be finished by today. What do you mean it's impossible? I decide what's impossible, and this is not. Oh, stop complaining already. Not good enough. Rewrite it from the start. Don't you talk back to me, girl. Since you have so much breath to spare, you can use it to fill these forms.

"Uhm…" Standing behind Lin, Wu Zetian smiled at her. It was the Smile. Trademarked and under copyright. The kind that promised unspeakable things happening to you in the near future, depending on your next words.

"Nope, nope, everything is fine." Eyes very empty, Shanti waved a hand in denial.

"Me and the Secretariat couldn't ever do anything but praise the Founder, in and out of the workplace." Good girl. You survive another day. Lin looked thoroughly unimpressed.

"She's bullying you, isn't she?" She patted Shanti's hand, shaking her head.

"Don't worry. Lin is going to take care of you." Now it was Wu Zetian's turn to be unimpressed.

"About what exactly, young lady?" She asked, laying a hand on her fool of a granddaughter's head. She arched an eyebrow.

"Maybe you're looking for some bullying yourself?" The impression Lin gave was that of a cat being caught in the open.

"Grandma! You wouldn't do that to Lin!" She protested, grabbing her hand and improvising something like a jig as she struggled to escape.

"Lin better not underestimate Grandma then."

"Aaaack! So Grandma is a bully! Big sister! Lin was wrong! Run! I shall hold her back!"

"For half a second, I am sure. Zhao, you don't need to run for real. She's joking."

"Lin is not joking! Aaaaack! Not the claw on Lin's head!" Wu Zetian smiled, patting her. Note to self: Lin is not allowed in the office ever again. She gestured, and Shanti, catching her meaning, bowed gracefully and stepped away, going outside to wait for her mistress. Lin adjusted her hair; she grumbled something about "Grandma bullying me" and "only Grandma could bully Shanti. She's like a golem!" but Wu Zetian decided to be merciful and spare her. This once.

"I remember this one," she commented, reaching out to pet the spirit-beast. The rat, his fur a lustrous metallic black, had been given the run of a small table. A spirit array gave him the equivalent of a source of snacks, and was ready to act as a containment cage at the first sign of hostility. Because even a friendly Rank 6 remained a Rank 6. The rat let go of the fruit to grab her fingers with his little paws. A little adoring squeak went up as he pushed himself against her hand, whiskers flickering.

Wu Zetian chuckled.

"How are you doing that, Grandma?" Wu Lin's expression was a mix of awe, envy and reproach for having her head jostled. But she was a good kid. The first won out easily.

"It took me so long only to pet him."

"Keep studying and you'll see," Wu Zetian teased her. Wu Lin pouted, but there was no mistaking the challenging light in her eyes.

"You still lack an Artifact, don't you?" She asked, gently massaging the rat between his ears. The little creature chittered in pleasure, its back leg twitching.

"How would you like a bound Companion Beast in the meantime?" Wu Lin, who had been watching her movements like she was writing them in her memory, gave her a wide-eyed stare.

"Heck no!" She snapped, then realized she better mind her manners, and said more softly: "Erm, no, Grandmother, thank you. This one is cute, but Lin wants a sword!" Fire burned in her eyes. Wu Zetian hummed, turning her hand so that the rat could cling over it.

"Has He Yuan given you your new schedule?" The majordomo was more than the Palace's head butler. As an advanced Core Formation, he had almost two centuries of experience as a trainer for the Main Branch.

"Yes!" Wu Lin showed her hands. Her palms were covered with scratches, and new calluses were on their way to emerge at the base of her fingers. She grinned widely.

"We've been going over fitness for now. Old Mustache said that Lin needs to regain some muscle. But soon, I'll start working with weapons again!" Wu Zetian nodded, smiling.

"Then we'll see when that time comes." She offered her the rat.

"Be patient for me, Lin. We'll find the best weapon for you." Wu Lin hesitated, before accepting the creature with both hands and a squeal of delight. Wu Zetian watched her play with him, the rat accepting with noble tolerance. A Companion Beast, mh? It wasn't an orthodox path, not for the Godless Night. Yet, it would provide her quite the boost, at least for a while. Bound Companion Beasts allowed one a very shallow form of Dual Cultivation by linking their minds with their owners.

More importantly, interacting with their feral minds could offer quite the insight into the Dao of Night. We'll see. If she has the talent for it, I'll arrange it. She glanced toward Zhao. The boy had passed the interaction in silence, seemingly content to just watch. A Beast Companion would do wonders for you, little critter that you already are. Maybe that same rat. Mmh…

"I always heard that Spirit-Beasts are grumpy, or think only with their stomach!" Lin said, breaking her out of her reverie. The girl touched the rat with a finger, squealing in joy when he accepted her pat.

"But these ones are so friendly!"

"Of course." Wu Zetian gestured. Close by, a woman was carrying a beautiful rabbit that seemed woven out of moonlight.

"The Dao nourishes them, painting them in its colors. While this awakens hunger for more in them, just as many become things of grace and balance instead, finding contentment. This one?" She pointed at the rat.

"Touch his fur. Feel the silent vibration of its whiskers. Peer into the gloam of his eyes. What do you see if not the stillness of a closed room? And why would a closed silence hunger for more?" Lin watched the rat in her hands with new eyes. She still stroked his fur, but there was a new respect in her gestures. As for Zhao, his expression was thoughtful, his gaze fixed on the creature. Mph. Likely then.

"This world is ample, child, far more than our limited eyes can ever catch. To think that it's just hunger and madness to fill its skies is more than foolish. It's arrogance. Every creature follows its own Dao. Each brings a lesson we can learn."

"I… see." Wu Lin handed her the rat. She received it, then allowed him to clamber back on the table, where he set down for a nap.

"And…" Wu Lin's expression was thoughtful, but the way she wrung her hands spoke of some inner tension.

"…that's why Blue left? To learn?" There it went. The elephant in the room. Lin was a soul used to keeping her problems to herself, to avoid feeling like a weight. But Wu Zetian was patient. This was what she had been waiting for.

"Your brother went because he asked," she said, sighing.

"When I retook the title of Sect Master, he felt like I was punishing him for failing. I… may not have been convincing enough to make him understand it wasn't so." She'd lie if she said it didn't annoy her still. But she wasn't exactly good with expressing her true feelings. She may be somewhat at fault here.

"What has he told you?" Lin frowned.

"Well, not much? He just said something about the honor of our family and took off. I told him that I didn't care for any honor if it meant him going away. But… he just smiled like I was being a baby! And then, he was gone." She pouted, but there was real pain in her eyes.

"He's always like this! He… he never tells me anything! He just does what he wants!" Wu Zetian wasn't surprised by the outburst. It felt like it was another thing long into coming. It's about time I untie this knot.

"Hush. Don't cry," she told her, and it must have had some effect, because Lin pulled up with her nose and nodded, eyes gleaming.

"Come with me. Zhao, you too."