CC3 -Ch20- (Patreon)

“I… this was a mistake. I’m not supposed to be here,” said an older man amongst the group Ash had pointed to.

“Most definitely a mistake, but you’re here, and now we’ll find out why,” Ash said, letting his arm drop to his side. “So… who are you, and why are you here? Who told you to be here?”

“My… I’m the head of Shue clan, I was given an invitation to be here by a servant,” said the old man. Reaching into his clothes, he pulled out a thrice folded piece of paper.

Holding it out toward Ash, the old man looked rather concerned and earnest.

Ash looked to the letter, than to to the man.

There was something off about him that made Ash feel uncertain. Something that gave him pause and didn’t want to completely trust his story.

“Did anyone else receive such a letter?” Ash asked, still watching the man.

A chorus of voices responded in the affirmative. Multiple people reached into their clothes and brought out similar looking letters.

Right.

In other words, they were all invited here to try and cause a problem for me.

Except I’m not playing by their rules and my promise of violence gave them a very clear view of the situation. One they want nothing to do with.

“Okay,” Ash said, wondering how to handle this. He wasn’t entirely sure but he had a few thoughts. He still felt there was something off about the old man but he couldn’t place it, though it didn’t seem to be anything that would directly cause a problem for Ash at the moment.

Thoughts, Locke?

“No. I don’t sense anything amiss about him, or anyone else, in the room,” Locke replied immediately. “They all seem like perfectly ordinary citizens. Nothing more, or less.”

Really? Huh.

I feel like there’s something… off… with them.

Tilting his head to the side, Ash stared at the man. Then he felt the sea of Qi that surrounded everyone and everything.

Nothing there was out of the ordinary either.

The Qi rolled around them and past them as if they didn’t exist. Rocks in the path of water that only diverted it for a small time.

Just as it should.

With a sudden and strange thought, Ash opened his Dao and fed it a small amount of Qi. Only that which he could grasp onto that rolled around him and cost him nothing.

He finally knew what it was that he felt. What he had sensed from the man, and now after opening his dao, several others in the crowd as well.

They were all moving counter to Ash’s momentum. They were attempting to stall out his progress here in the Imperial City.

As he was the center of the storm, the vortex itself, he could apparently sense disturbances to his plans. Much like he could sense objects that were in the way of Qi, he could feel things that were in his own way.

But… I couldn’t feel it when things went awry with the previous king. Or the Realm Lord.

I wonder, does being a Cultivator make it harder for me to sense their intentions?

Does their own dao and Qi prevent mine from being able to determine their intentions?

If I was more powerful than them, could I sense them better?

“Most likely. From what I can tell, I’d agree with your assumption, my Chosen One,” agreed Locke. “Though… I find myself suddenly agreeing without any doubt to Gen’s point of view. Your dao is far too strong. Far too powerful.

“I think we lucked out with our last tribulation. I’m really not looking forward to our future breakthroughs, as I fear they’ll become ever stronger.”

That just means we’ll need to find a way to swallow up the tribulation and enslave it to our will, rather than trying to survive it. Something for a beautiful, intelligent, and incredibly devious wife of mine to start working on, wouldn’t you say?

“I… yes. Yes I would say so,”murmured Locke.

He could feel a deep warmth flowing toward him, from her. That she was feeling quite shy and appreciated as of late.

The harder he pushed at her, the more she fell away from her originally aggressive starting point. As if him going after her kept her off balance.

“I’ll say this once,” said Ash, solidifying the answer to the current situation in his head. “And I’ll make it very clear since you’re all here. So clear that there isn’t anything you can do to misunderstand it.”

Standing up, Ash held his hands out to either side of himself. He held them open with his palms facing upward.

“I’m here to secure the Imperial City. To make sure it’s safe for the king and his entourage. Because as I’m sure you know, his family was killed by traitors,” Ash stated with finality. “Those guilty of sedition and rebellious hearts, they will all be weeded out, and killed like the dogs they are.

“I have no doubt that families and clans were involved as well. That some of you here, were involved. You were all part of what happened with the deaths of the royal family members, as well as the king.”

There was an immediate outcry of dissent against Ash’s words. As if they could somehow stop him from saying what he had by decrying it loudly.

“Silence!” commanded Na from the door she guarded. Her voice was like a sword drawn from it’s sheathe and pointed at another. It promised violence to anyone who would disobey. “Lord Sheng was not finished speaking, you filthy mongrels.

“Listen to him now or hear only the worms after I cut you down. I care not for your lives, your families, or what you believe power is In the lower realm, there is little that can rise up to the level of the Sheng.”

Everyone fell silent and said nothing more.

“Now… to continue,” said Ash with a smirk. “I will personally dig up all the poisonous roots of those involved. I will cull them completely.

“If I find a man who has assisted in this terrible action, I will not just cut him down, but his entire family as well because a single rotten apple spoils the bunch.”

There looked to be a silent riot at his words.

Numerous people all shaking their heads as if to deny his words and what he was promising them.

“Or… or you can turn yourselves in,” finished Ash, letting his hands fall to his sides. “If you turn yourselves in, confess to all your crimes, and what you’ve done, I’ll spare your families.

“Alternatively… I welcome you to turn in those in your family you believe to be guilty of crimes against the crown. I also would be willing to hear any concerns of those you suspect might be guilty that are outside your family.

“Though I warn you. If you report someone falsely, and I find them to be innocent, I will take the price of my wasted time out of the hide of the person who made the report. So be cautious and sure in your accusations.

“Before you can begin to respond, you can all leave. All of you except the minsters of the old king. I expect you all to remain here. Don’t make me track you down after this and don’t doubt I will.”

There was a clatter from the back of the room that got Ash’s attention.

Looking that way he found Jia had just removed the locking bar from the door she guarded. She was now standing beside it and had brought forth a wall of water-like Qi.

It filled the doorway from top to bottom and had an odd shimmer to it.

Then Ash realized that it would be completely invisible to most. It’d been formed of her own Qi and formed in such a way that light simply went right through it.

There was no reflection in any way or shape.

It was like a perfect piece of glass that just invited the unwitting to slam into it.

As Ash was highly sensitive to Qi he could see that it was there due to the Qi, not the actual construct.

“Please exit this way,” demanded Jia in a firm voice. “Lord Sheng will be accepting accusations and confessions by letter, which will be followed up with by an in person interview.”

“Can’t decide if the king won’t like this, or will appreciate what you’ve done,” muttered Tala from his side. “You’ve made yourself the enemy, not him. He can sweep in afterward and be the very pleasant and nice king, while you’re the demon lord himself.”

“Eh… that’s fine,” Ash murmured in reply. “I don’t want his position and they shouldn’t want me here either. This just makes it easier.”

“So it would seem,” said Locke. “I think you’re doing it quite well. You’re being very active. Not passive or lazy at all.

“On top of that, we’re creating a very deep power-base for ourselves here in the Imperial City. I’m sure Yue can use that to our advantage.”

“Yes… though… I’m still nervous about the Realm Lord. I feel like all I’ve done is put a tager on our backs,” confessed Ash, watching the great majority of everyone in the room leaving.

“He’s guilty,” Tala said in an assured way. “Clearly involved as we’ve already discussed. We’ll just have to kill him. Do it in a way that doesn’t lead back to us.

“We almost have the power for it. He didn’t seem that much stronger than us on a one-on-one level. Just two of us together could put him in the dirt. Or… or Chunhua by herself, I suppose.”

Hm.

How strong is Tala?

“Quite. Strong enough that you’d have to kill her to win, but even that wouldn’t be a guarantee. She might beat you once out of six battles,” answered Locke.

Raising his eyebrows, Ash was surprised at the answer.

“What’d Tai and Ehrinnis do, by the way?” Ash asked.

“Nothing,” Locke remarked dryly. “They’re holed up and discussing their future together and what to do about it. Apparently Jia was quite right in assuming things would change if Tai got the Dokal Far knocked up.”

Ash only nodded his head and then sighed.

He wasn’t looking forward to the conversation with the ministers.

If he didn’t miss his guess, it’d be boring.

Filled with minutia that wouldn’t do him any good. Where everything they’d want to talk about would be nothing he could discuss because it wouldn’t be up to him.

Likely them all trying to wrangle things out of him even as he did his best to shut it all down and determine their involvement with the murder of the king.

“None, would be my guess,”offered Locke. “They weren’t going to benefit by the kings death. In fact, they’d lose. All the way around.

“The only one who would likely gain is the queen or those who support her. Which, from what I can tell from my investigation, was most certainly not the ministers. They didn’t much care for her at all.”

Oh.

So… this’ll be a waste of time?

“Most likely. But don’t worry, I’m sure I can keep you mildly entertained throughout,” promised Locke.

***

Leaning back in the throne, Ash watched as the ministers slowly filed out.

They’d done exactly what he’d feared they would, and he learned everything he’d expected.

Which was attempt to get concessions out of him, and nothing at all, respectively.

As the last one left the throne room, Na closed the door firmly.

“Well that was certainly a wast of time,” exclaimed Chunhua.

“Yes, it was. But it was something that needed to be done, regardless of how we felt about it,” countered Jia. “They needed to understand our position, and we had to know where they stood as well.

“So… as you said, a waste of time. But one we couldn’t put off or postpone.”

“Agreed,” Ash said with a shake of his head. “Let’s move on to whatever’s next then.

“Anyone have anything to add? Otherwise, we need to run down the commander and find out why there’s no royal guards here. That’s almost as disturbing as all those people being here when they weren’t supposed to.”

“Yes, it’s a guarantee that Stephen is dead, incapacitated, or was part of the enemy’s ranks,” suggested Na. “There are no other possibilities, really.

“Given that he said he would take care of those you pointed out, I would say he’s dead. He likely underestimated what they could do and paid the price for it, despite your warnings.”

“That sounds about right,” said Chunhua with a shake of her head. “Those who are used to being strong tend to over-estimate themselves. We must always strive to believe that those who oppose us can kill us.”

“Anyways,” Locke said with a casual flick of her hand, then she reached up and pulled the veiled hat off her head. “Phew. After a while I can only smell whatever I ate last in there. I like the uniform and all, but it can be a bit stifling.

“Now… as to what you all need to know, I have nothing to offer. Everyone I’ve pulled into the Hall has known nothing, offered nothing, or been unwilling to speak about anything.

“I’ve used torture, starvation, lack of sleep, everything I can think of, to get them to talk. At this point I think that if they actually knew something, they’d tell me, or they’ll die before they spill the beans. So… that’s the end of that source of information, I guess.”

“That just leaves whatever we can dig up in the city then, right?” Tala asked and then huffed.

“More or less,” confirmed Jia. “After we determine what has happened with Stephen, and replace him if needed, we should begin digging through the attendance reports. There is likely people who did not show up when they were supposed to. Those individuals will be who we need to look into.

“They provide a distinct possibility of giving us more information to go off of. If not them, then all we can do is tighten security and wait for Hu to arrive.”

Tighten security and wait for Hu to arrive… I really don’t like that.

At all.

But if we can’t figure out a direction, or a line of questioning, there isn’t much else we can do I suppose.

“Very true,” lamented Locke.

There was a sudden clack as the only unlocked door to the throne room swung inward, opening wide. Standing in the doorway was Stephen along with a company of royal guard.

“Ah… lord Sheng?” asked Stephen, moving into the throne room. “You’re here quite early, are you not?”

Frowning, Ash ended up shaking his head in disbelief before he could even formulate a response. Locke was hurrying to get her hat back into place and adjusting the veil with frustrated grunts and pulls of her fingers.

“Early? You’re late, commander,” Tala said derissively. “You failed to be here at the specified time. It is fortunate that lord Sheng’s health can be assured by my Elegant Self and the other Brides, but that doesn’t remove you from your duties.”

The commander looked very confused, then concerned.

“I… no. No. The time we schedule the meeting was thirty minutes from now,” argued the commander. He looked very sure that his words were true. That he was speaking from memory and couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “I’m here early with the company assigned to guard the throne room.”

“The meeting ended,” Ash said, looking at the man more deeply now. He could feel that there was something lingering in the commander.

As if an ability had been used on him and it hadn’t completely faded yet.

“Commander, send your people out and come on over, we’ll discuss it,” Ash said evenly. “I think you’ve been made the fool of a bad joke.”

Ash didn’t want to tip his hand right now that he could possibly detect something else there. Just in case there was someone in the company with the commander that was working for the enemy.

Looking frustrated, angry, and very confused, the poor man dismissed the company he’d come with. Ordering them to close the door on their exit as well.

No sooner than the door had shut than Ash sighed and made a hand motion toward the commander. One that would hopefully put the man at ease.

“Relax. It seems you’ve been the victim of an ability,” Ash said and then turned to look at Locke. “I’m sure you sensed it as well. Is there anything there we can use? Anything to figure out, determine, or analyze? Anything at all?”

“No,” said Locke with a short huff. “There’s something there. I can sense it quite keenly. It’s just that there isn’t much to feel or sense from it. It’s just… it’s like looking at a shadow.

“I can tell something was there, that something happened, but none of the details. None of what it was or what happened.”

“I see,” Jia said, turning to look at Locke, then Ash. “So in other words, there is an ability user in the Imperial City that can change the memories of others. That or implant information so that they believe they were told something else entirely.”

“Thats what it sounds like to me,” Ash said, then turned to look at Chunhua, Tala, and Na. “Thoughts?”

“Mine align with yours,” Na said simply.

“Likewise,” chimed in Chunhua.

“We shouldn’t let anyone go by themselves going forward,” said Tala while gesturing with a closed fist. “If we’re alone, anywhere, at anytime, we risk ourselves. If this person is so close as to get to the commander without raising an issue, than they’re all the more dangerous.

“They did so without raising an alarm or concern, and got out without causing any issues either. This is most certainly not an issue we can overlook or ignore.”

“Yes,” Na said with a short dip of her head. “We must always go in pairs. Commander, you will need to find someone you trust to always be at your side. Additionally, we’ll need to get a list together of everyone who could have had access to you.”

“I… yes,” mumbled the commander with a sigh, then a shake of his head. “Yes. I see.”

There was a firm knock on the door that’d just been closed.

“Lord! A messenger just arrived!” called a muffled voice through the door. For them to be as loud as they were, they must have been shouting at the top of their lungs. “The king is arriving the day after tomorrow! In the evening!”

“The day after tomorrow? That’s… that’s greatly ahead of schedule. We’ve only been here a day, and he’s already moving that fast to get here,” Ash said with more than a little confusion. “That’d mean he’s also traveling at what would be break neck speed for citizens. What the hell happened in Xing city that would cause him to flee? He’d have to have left almost as soon as we did.”

“It would seem our window of opportunity is closing quickly,” Chunhua said. “We must act just as quickly.”

Ash couldn’t argue with that sentiment. They needed to get a move on.

“Alright,” said Ash. “Chunhua, Na. Work on the list of people who could have gotten close to the commander. Jia, Tala, hit the attendance list. Locke and I will see what we can dig up in the city itself.

“It’s the most likely location to give us information at this point since we struck out in the palace.

“Commander, did anything come of those I pointed out to you? Did they reveal anything? Did you discover anything?”

“Those… those you pointed out to me?” asked Stephen, looking very confused once more.

Right… I see… great.

In other words, they’re running lose in the city, and it’s likely one of their number has the mind wipe ability.

“That’d be my guess. We can scan for them as we go,” offered Locke. “So let’s get a move on.”

“I attached water Qi to everyone that left from the meeting,” Jia said before everyone could depart. “I will keep an eye on them to see if they make any odd movements but… it sounds like they were all innocent as well. Likely having their minds assaulted by this… demonic cultivator.”

Demonic cultivator?

Huh. I kinda like it.

Kinda catchy.