Chương 61: Chapter 10

"Repeat. Word for word." The Ancestor was in a bad mood today. The waves of alien energy bathing the throneroom were quite explicit about it. The guards sweated, struggling to hold their posture. The servants moved on trembling knees, bringing refreshments and leaving as fast as courtesy allowed them. Even the Sect Elders were feeling it. Chen Liwei's soldiery stance looked like it was being vigorously helped by a generous injection of Night Qi.

Xing Xing's intrigued grin had something fixed to it, as though carved in glass. And yet, nobody had it as bad as the small delegation. Kowtowing before the throne, they shivered in undisguised terror under the Founder's baleful gaze. For a few moments, the main ambassador struggled for air. Before he managed to gather enough to speak, a junior member of his entourage went down face-first, the foam on his lips making a thin trail on the floor.

Attendants moved to help him, then promptly thought again when the Ancestor glanced their way.

"Repeat," Wu Zetian said, low and calm.

"Word for word." The ambassador wiped his forehead with a handkerchief, swallowed, and obeyed. The reply from Danghan's Revenge was a long, elaborate insult. It spared nothing: the Sect, the Nightborn, the Founder, Elders, Night Qi and motherhood of everyone and anyone living on the Plateau. It was impressive in its way, for creative effort if anything. Too bad that Wu Zetian couldn't find anything to be amused about today. She kept staring at the ambassador until he too was about to pass out.

Only when the eyes of the poor man were starting to roll back did she turn away with a snort.

"Begone, all of you. Sect Elders. Speak." The attendants were only too happy to obey, she noticed with some irritation. Of course. The masses were fickle. One day, they worshipped you. The moment you let some of your control slip, they ran from you. A lesson to keep in mind. For once, Xing Xing didn't take the spotlight. The Sorcerer frowned slightly, watching her.

"An insult," Chen Liwei said. The Night General couldn't have turned paler. Her fingers clenched on the handle of her weapons tightly enough that chips of precious material fell.

"The blackest betrayal. Give me a detachment, Founder, and I shall raze Danghan to the ground." Wu Zetian tapped fingers on the throne's armrest, repressing the instinct to snap at her. Raze Danghan. How idiotic must one be to suggest such a thing?

"No," she said.

"The Sect needs that territory. Intact. If we can take it, its stores and disciples will push the reclamation decades forward. Destroying it is not on the table, am I understood?" She glared at her. The General looked taken aback. It was just a moment, but still enough to feed her annoyance. Was she dealing with a veteran or a child? Maybe the General wasn't the right person for the job.

"But of course," Xing Xing interjected smoothly. The Sorcerer bowed, a hand on his barrel-wide chest.

"The General meant no disrespect, of course. If she spoke hastily, it was out of excessive zeal, isn't that so, General?"

"Yes… yes, of course. My apologies, Founder." Chen Liwei actually looked apologetic. More, she looked disoriented, like a recruit before an order she couldn't quite find the sense of. For some reason, it only made Wu Zetian more annoyed.

"Fine." She wasn't lingering. Idiocy aside, Chen Liwei was right.

"This is an insult," she said.

"There will be an answer. But I won't tolerate an indiscriminate one. Danghan is too important for our efforts to be devastated." She frowned at them, making sure they understood.

"Still, I find it strange." Xing Xing caressed his beard.

"All of Qinghai felt the Founder's battle against the Twelve Demon Alliance. It was a display of power for the ages, and the reason why the Province has sagely decided to return to the fold. Even novices felt it. How, then, can these fools think to oppose the Sect? It must take an astounding amount of arrogance for it. Or…" He smirked, tapping his chin. Chen Liwei frowned.

"…or they think they have the power to oppose the Ancestor," she finished.

"But how? Wu Zetian's might is unmatched. We saw it."

"Well…" Xing Xing patted his coat, brushing invisible dust off the precious material.

"The world is wide and its treasures many. If they think they possess something that can protect them from the Founder's wrath, it would explain this level of insolence." His glance was meaningful, and it made her fume. They all remembered that cursed Treasure, able to freeze the whole Sect and allow even Nascent Soul to hold their ground against her. That the Revenge may have something similar… Dangerous, and Xing Xing smirked like it was nothing. It annoyed her. It bugged her.

"Yes, true." Chen Liwei was quick to put her distaste for the Sorcerer aside when it came to military matters.

"The other option, that they are just arrogant fools… It's possible, but unlikely. Before the unlikely, what is more likely, no matter how absurd, must be assumed to be truth. Founder." She turned toward her, turning urgent.

"Could it be that these rebels hold something able to resist your wrath?" Wu Zetian needed a moment. She actually needed a moment to pick up the conversation, and then another to put her thoughts back into order enough not to snap an answer. They were talking like she wasn't even there. Like they took her power for granted, when it should have been hers calling the shots. Her! Wu Zetian bit her tongue. Was she being childish? And yet… Chen Liwei was watching her strangely.

"Founder, is everything alright?" Wu Zetian blinked. Oh, right, she needed to answer. But Xing Xing was watching her with something too close to consideration. He was Third Link, wasn't he? Close enough to start getting strange ideas, especially if he realized her weakness. And what if he found one of those cursed Treasures? Her rule would be in peril. Her family would be…

"No!" Her fist came down on the armrest, cracking it. She scowled, glaring at the Sect Elders until they stepped back.

"There's no such thing. None." She turned away, gritting her teeth. They were watching her. Their eyes felt like they could see through her, like pinpricks over her skin. How hadn't she ever noticed that her rule was so shaky? Just one of those Treasures in the hands of someone competent… And maybe they already have it. There was one civil war. Who said there couldn't be another? In the story, Wu Zetian disappeared, dead or worse. Who said that fate was erased?

It would take so little, just another doll in the wrong hands, and then… her family…

"No, enough." She wasn't panting. She wasn't.

"We'll resume this talk… later. Yes, later. Leave me, both of you." When they hesitated, she snapped.

"Now!" That sealed it. Pale as a sheet, Chen Liwei stepped back and was engulfed by a frozen void. Xing Xing did the same, bowing deeply. But not even remaining alone helped. Wu Zetian pulled on her sleeves, struggling to calm down. How could she have been so foolish? How hadn't she seen it? Her rule was weak. Even putting aside the Treasures, her inability to leave the Plateau, to play babysitter to a bunch of weak mortals, made her vulnerable.

And now, with Danghan's insolence, that same inability would come to light. All would know, and that would leave all her possessions in Qinghai vulnerable. Immortals and mortals would come. And then, who would protect her grandson? A course correction. There's still time. If I act quickly… The Owls could be trusted. They were too close to be disloyal. Maybe she could start increasing their shares of places beside her? But then, it wouldn't push away the Sect Elders? And it was them she had to watch herself from.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. I need to find a way to leash them. They and their Clans. Like that, I'll be sure they won't be able to use any Treasure against me. I must. If I fall, Lin… She couldn't think it. No, it wouldn't happen. She wouldn't let it happen. Wu Zetian took her head in her hands, forcing herself to calm down. One step at a time. With one step at a time and the proper effort and care, she would strengthen her position.

Stupid, stupid. Why didn't she notice earlier? Lin. Start with Lin. She's my vulnerability. I'll make sure she's safe. Before the thought was finished, she was already in a corridor. Laughter came from behind the door. Wu Zetian didn't need her immortal perceptions to know that Wu Lin must have pulled Zhao into another game. She liked to invent new ones.

That more often than not they were mixes and remixes of games already existing didn't matter: Lin put a lot of thought into each, and demanded from her henchman utmost seriousness in handling "the first game ever." Wu Zetian smiled. Little scamp… She reached for the door… and stopped. The question hit her like a hammerblow. Did she truly want this for her granddaughter? A world of constant danger, of constant looking over one's shoulders, of constant worry and loneliness.

All because Grandma was too weak to ever be able to protect her. And then… Do you want to contaminate her? Her pain. Her sorrow. Her loneliness. Lin had come to her, not the other way around. It had been the little girl gifting her with something precious. She… she couldn't give her anything. She could only pull her down into her problems. She didn't want that. For once in her life, she didn't want to be a burden. She deserved a childhood, as small as that is. Her arm felt like it had turned to lead.

She let it fall, and turned around without a word. Yes, it was better like that. It would hurt her, but it was for the best. That is, if fate played by Wu Zetian's rules.

"Grandma?" Wu Zetian froze. She didn't need to turn. Wu Lin appeared before her like a moon peeking its curious face from storm clouds. That she held her rabbit over her head didn't take anything away from the image.

"Where are you going?" She asked. She paused, peered at her face with a frown.

"Why are you grumpy?" Grumpy. A small voice in her mind told her that she should have rebuffed her. Got angry. It was the right time to push her away, for her own sake. Whatever impulse that was died a messy death long before it had a chance to reach her lips.

"No, not grumpy." Wu Lin kept peering at her like she was a map written in an ancient language. Suddenly, she jumped, going up into the air like a hand picked her up by the scruff.

"Grandma! You are sad! Why are you sad? Who made you sad?" Wu Zetian opened her mouth to protest. She never got the chance.

"Come inside! Come inside!" Wu Lin didn't take no for an answer. She pushed and pulled with all the strength of an angry squirrel, and she was too out of it to do anything but go along with it. She found herself in a cozy room; or the messiest child artist's study, depending on the outlook. The walls were made of black stone. Maybe. A chaotic layer of drawings, sketches and paper thingamagig all but covered them.

It was so thick that the resident artist had started arranging them so that each piece went alongside the other like a puzzle. A giant, colorful puzzle that covered everything like a soft blanket. Wu Zetian felt… inspired. Somehow. The tiny voice kept telling her that there was something wrong, but compared to the warmth of Lin's hand in hers, it was just a whisper on the wind.

"Sit! Sit!" She may have been pushed. Or maybe she sat of her own will. Whatever the method, she found herself on a stool, facing a little table where a cage had been set. Inside, the rat was busy gnawing apart a piece of wood carved in a hopeful approximation of himself.

"We made it to give him some company," Lin grumbled, zipping around as a ball and then as a little girl.

"But he's grumpy and stupid." Before Wu Zetian could decide if Quicky was indeed grumpy and stupid, or if it was the spirit-wood of the statuette that triggered his survival instincts, she was provided with a chipped cup, inside of which there was something that may have been tea. She cautiously took a little sniff. What even was that? Wu Lin took a look at her, decided she had been well-served and planted herself before her, tiny fists jabbed in her sides.

"Who made you sad, Grandma?" What did you answer to that? One hundred possible answers clamored for her voice, all of them lies.

"Lin will beat him up!" She roared, jumping up in that firework-kind-of-way that was her own.

"Just say the name." Affection, fondness and pity washed over Wu Zetian. She is so childish. And cute. And adorable. And that was why she had to protect her. Even from herself if necessary. Especially from herself.

"…nothing, my child. It's… nothing. Your grandma is just a bit tired." She underestimated her. When would she learn not to underestimate her? Wu Lin took one long scowling look at her face, and the edges of her mouth went down in the most disappointed, grumpy and angry expression a child ever wore.

"You're like Blue now," she said. Wu Zetian was taken aback.

"You look at Lin like Lin is just a baby who understands nothing. Well, maybe I don't! All I know is the corridors of the Palace, and the best spots for hiding when I didn't want to be found." Suddenly, she was close. Her voice cracked a bit, but she didn't cry. She watched her, as serious as a totem.

"I don't, I really don't. Not what Blue carries, and neither what you carry, Grandma. Just…" She took her hand, unearthly pale and strong and immortal, into hers, small and soft and warm.

"But whatever it is, everything will be alright. Lin knows it will. Because Grandma is amazing. And if you feel alone or tired or whatever, just come to Lin, alright?" She pouted.

"You said I have to tell you when I feel stuff. You do the same, alright, Grandma?" It was like someone dumped a bucket of water on her head. Wu Zetian hadn't realized how far away the ground had felt. Suddenly, it was like the world snapped back into focus. She was on firm land once more, herself once more. In the distance, that tiny voice peeled itself from the thing that was hers. For a split second, she saw Qon, the demon disappearing too fast for her to do anything but listen to his sad sigh.

Wu Zetian thought about schooling her features. One look at Lin's earnest, worried expression made her decide otherwise.

"I… I may have made a mistake, Lin." A lingering part of her expected reproach. Wu Lin just grinned shamelessly.

"Good! Lin was thinking that Grandma was being too perfect! Now I don't have to try as hard!" Wu Zetian watched her. What did you say to this? Her high-powered mental powers were back, her thoughts flowing faster and more orderly than before. She had underestimated the Demon's influence. It had taken root inside her, turning her back into the paranoid fool that she and her previous self once was. She hadn't even noticed, and the things she planned to do…

All her previous actions now unfolded before her like the madness that they were. Fool, fool madness. An Immortal, caught in the old trap, and all it took was for a granddaughter to say that everything would be alright. Fate. Fate! Or maybe it was something else. Whatever it was, it was stranger and more unlikely than any story.

"Grandma?" Wu Lin looked worried.

"Are you okay? You aren't being Blue again, are you?" Wu Zetian did school her features this time. No, that wasn't the truth. The fond kindness she felt wasn't simulated, nor the aching shame in her heart. But it was fine. It was all fine. Because Lin was here, and she could do so much for her little bird.

"No, child, I am not. But… thank you, truly." Wu Lin searched her face for a moment, before deciding that she could take her words for truth this time. She was just like that, this little scamp.

"Come, please." Chen Liwei and Xing Xing re-emerged into the throneroom with the closest thing to hesitation two multi-centuries-old cultivators could muster. Wu Zetian sat on the throne, watching them with placid calm. I have a Heart Demon in me. It made me go crazy for a little bit. But I am fine now, no worries. A bit too much, yes?

"I have to extend my apologies to you both, Elders," she said.

"I fear that I may have allowed my worries to take the better of me for a moment. Elder Chen, my apologies for my tone. Your suggestion had its merits, and I agree with it. It'd be careless to underestimate these rebels and believe they act only out of misplaced arrogance. Unlikely as it may be, it's more likely they have something that allows them to act with this level of security. Elder Xing, the same apologies to you. You have arrived at a conclusion that would be foolish to discard."

Chen Liwei looked taken aback. For a moment. An eager look passed over her, breaking her icy mien. Xing Xing watched her for a long moment, before nodding, a relieved satisfaction washing over him. Wu Zetian adjusted her robes, smiling at both. Fear for a rebellious subordinate? Just make sure that they're well-compensated and loyal. Treasures making her invulnerability a shaky proposition? Just act carefully and make sure you aren't taken by surprise. More, surround yourself with trusted people.

And you know how the story goes. Inability to move? That only means that you're like a turtle. They can nibble at your limbs, but they'll break their teeth over your shell.

"Do you have suggestions on how to act?"

"We talked about it, Founder." Xing Xing bowed.

"Haoran remains in Qinghai alongside the Young Master. I suggest that scouts are deployed into Danghan to take stock of our enemies. Once we know who they are and the danger they pose, the Young Master and his guardian may be the proper hammer to right this particular nail."

"And if Danghan holds something truly able to repel an Immortal?"

"Then, Founder, we'll choke them." Chen Liwei was merciless.

"Danghan is no Plateau. They have problems supplying themselves. We'll attack them there and force them to surrender, or at least reveal their strength." Wu Zetian mused.

"Cautious. But so be it. There have been too many powerful Treasures going around lately to be anything but. Elder Xing. I foresee that the Basin may become traversable soon. You must prepare an expedition and send it toward the border, ready to make the passage when the paths shall open. You'll go as well, and reattach our connections to the Empire. More, I want to know about our side branches and my daughter. Until now, you will join Haoran and my grandson in assessing this problem.

If it's possible, you'll solve it." She gestured, flapping her sleeve.

"You have operational freedom. But Danghan must be preserved as much as possible. Our reclamation depends on it." The Elder all but sparkled with satisfaction.

"By your will, Ancestor." Wu Zetian hummed, eyes narrowing with amusement.

"As for you, General, please, join me for tea."

"Oh… I, tea? But of course, Founder. It'd be… an honor."

"Mine as well, General. Your family has children, has it not? I'd love to meet them. My granddaughter may use some playmates. And discipline, really." A mix of gratitude and determination sparked in her gaze.

"Yes, Founder." Wu Zetian smiled. All the paranoia, suspects and fears were as insubstantial as ghosts now. Qon lurked in the distance, and she could feel his ragged breaths and hopeless steps. And yet, yet there was hope to be found here, among allies whom she could learn to truly trust, and a little girl who was far more important than she likely could ever think. As for her grandson, there would be danger on the path she was setting him on, and part of her fretted over it.

But there were limits to what she could do to shelter him, couldn't she? If anything, this may be the fastest way to bring him back home with success. She wouldn't cross her fingers and hope for the best. Honestly, she preferred to work for it.