Chapter 28: The Feast (Patreon)

I rushed towards the doors to the large rectangular hall, while hoping that I wasn’t too late. Getting ready for the feast took longer than expected. At first, I had planned on giving myself a quick wash before changing into my usual outfit of a red vest, red trousers, and black boots. However, when I arrived at the building where the exam participants could clean themselves up, a small army of servants swarmed me.

It turned out that Astra, predicting that I would pass the final test of the entrance exam, had sent the servants to help me get ready for the feast. They bathed me, coated my hair in scented oil, and dressed me in clothes Astra had prepared beforehand. I tried to escape from the servants, since I didn’t like the idea of strangers bathing and dressing me, but to no avail. These servants were themselves cultivators. All of them were in the mid Qi Condensation realm, meaning they were all weaker than me, but I couldn’t withstand their overwhelming numbers. When it became clear that it was impossible to escape, I gave up and let the servants have their way.

While I found the experience odd, I ended up enjoying it midway through. It felt nice to have others pamper me. This was the sort of treatment I should have gotten back on Mt. Wind Dance, since I was the young master of Clan Wind Dance; in name at least. However, even the servants of Clan Wind Dance despised and disrespected me, thanks to my uncle.

An unfortunate consequence of letting the servants help me was that I ended up taking more time getting ready than I would have if I had done it all myself. Still, the results were worth it. When the servants finished with me, one of them pulled a full-length mirror out of their storage ring and showed me. My appearance stunned me.

Instead of the outcast of Clan Wind Dance, I looked like a proper young master. Gone were the brown robes made from cheap cotton. Now I wore red and gold silk robes of the highest quality, which matched well with my skin tone. Instead of a rat’s nest, my hair gleamed and was styled for the first time in my entire life. The smell of sandalwood and myrrh teased my nostrils thanks to the scented oil the servants used. My hair was tied off to the side, with the Flame Fiend token proudly displaying my allegiance.

It took me several moments to accept that the young man in the mirror was me. It was so different from how I used to look that I almost couldn’t believe it. This was all thanks to Astra. If she hadn’t kidnapped me, then I would have still been on Mt. Wind Dance, lonely and miserable. My father’s kin had treated me like a pariah, but my mother’s family accepted and loved me without reservation. The stark difference between the two illustrated to me just how much my life had changed within the span of a single year. Tears stung my eyes, though I made sure to wipe them away before they fell.

I would have continued to stare at my reflection in the mirror, but one of the servants reminded me that the feast would start soon, if it hadn’t already. I thanked them all, before rushing out and heading towards the large rectangular hall. When I arrived, I took a deep breath before entering. The moment I opened the door, a myriad of sights, scents, and sounds washed over me. There must have been a restriction on the building, because none of this was noticeable from the outside.

A single massive room took up the entirety of the rectangular hall, or at least most of it. The walls were red and decorated with golden lotuses, chrysanthemums, and other flowers. Several pillars, each one thick enough that I doubted I could wrap my arms around them, held up the ceiling. Like the walls, they were red and decorated with gold flowers. Plush rugs covered the floor.

Several long wooden tables occupied the central area of the room, with several smaller square tables occupying the outskirts. No furniture occupied the very center of the room. However, it wasn’t empty. A troupe of dancers, both male and female, performed an intricate and beautiful dance. All of them wore green and white robes. A band of musicians occupying one of the hall’s corners, also wearing green and white robes, provided the music.

All of the tables were laden with food. So much so that I feared that they would buckle and break under the weight. The food all contained traces of qi and the scent of it all filled me with an intense hunger. My mouth watered. While I recognized most of the dishes, I was unfamiliar with a few of them and I couldn’t wait to try them out. However, I hesitated before stepping inside.

There were thousands of people in the hall. Most were cultivators, though there were also several mortal servants flitting about. The majority of the cultivators were in the Foundation Establishment realm, while a few were in the Golden Core realm and even fewer were in the Nascent Soul realm. At least I assumed they were Nascent Soul cultivators. They could have been at a higher realm. All I knew was that they were more powerful than the Golden Core cultivators.

The sheer size of the crowd filled me with anxiety. I had never seen this many people all in one place before and I found it overwhelming. It didn’t help that most of them were more powerful than me. They could kill me with little effort on their part. However, I steeled my nerves and stepped inside the hall.

A few people noticed my entrance and studied me with appraising eyes, but they otherwise ignored me. Oddly enough, I found this reassuring. If everyone stared at me all at once, I would have frozen with fear and anxiety. I wasn’t anyone special, not here. I was just here to celebrate like everyone else.

I glanced around and saw people eating, drinking, and watching the dancers. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. This feast was supposed to be in honor of the exam participants who passed the final test and joined the Dawn and Dusk Sect as inner disciples. However, I had the feeling that that was just an excuse. I think they just wanted to throw a feast and have fun.

I looked around, searching for any familiar faces, when someone called out to me.

“Senior Brother Darian!”

It sounded like Clarissa. I turned towards her and froze. Clarissa’s appearance took my breath away when I caught sight of her. She was a vision of beauty. That was the best way I could describe her. She wore a blue and silver dress that accentuated her lithe form. Her blonde hair done up in a simple and elegant style with a pair of silver hair pins holding everything in place. Light makeup adorned her face, complementing and highlighting her delicate beauty. Even by Clan Wind Dance standards, Clarissa was gorgeous.

She rushed towards me with a shy smile on her face. She stopped a few feet away and twirled around.

“What do you think?” she asked. “Cultivator Harlow and Cultivator Willow helped me.”

I continued to stare and didn’t respond.

“Senior Brother Darian?” Clarissa asked, the smile on her face fading away.

I shook myself out of my stupor and gave her a smile.

“You look…” I paused to drink in her appearance. “…amazing.”

Clarissa’s cheeks reddened and she looked away from me, but I noticed the corners of her lips curve upward.

“Thank you,” she said in a soft voice.

A brief moment of silence passed. In that moment, I felt something change between us. However, before I could examine what that change was, Clarissa spoke up again.

“The rest of us arrived a few minutes before you did,” she said. “Cultivator Willow and Cultivator Harlow are with their families.” She gave me an excited smile. “It turns out that they both come from families with strong ties to the Dawn and Dusk Sect.” Her eyes narrowed at me. “Though, I suppose you already knew that.”

I made a so-so gesture.

“I suspected something of the sort,” I said. “That, or they attracted the interest of someone with high status within the sect.”

Clarissa’s eyes flickered to the Flame Fiend Hall token tied to my hair.

“What about you?” she asked.

I debated with myself on how much to tell her, before deciding to share some of the details while keeping the rest to myself. After all, I didn’t know if it was a good idea to reveal who my mother and my sisters were just yet.

“A bit of both,” I said. “My mother’s family all hold high positions within the Dawn and Dusk Sect. When they realized what my situation was like on Mt. Wind Dance, they decided to ferry me away.”

Clarissa’s eyes widened.

“Your mother’s family?” she asked.

“Yes.” I grinned at her. “I’m demonkin. My demon blood came from somewhere. It wasn’t like I spawned out of the ground.”

“Oh.” Clarissa’s brow furrowed. “I suppose you're right. It’s just that I never gave it much thought before.”

You and the rest of Clan Wind Dance, I thought but didn’t say out loud. None of my kin on my father’s side said much about my mother, except to insult her. I suspected that they didn’t know who she was, not even my uncle. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been so loose lipped. Cultivators tended to pay back insults with interest. Given that my mother developed the Frenzied Fiend fighting style, which focused on aggression and brute force, I doubted she was any different in that regard.

How would she react when she found out how Clan Wind Dance had treated me and insulted her?

“Would you like to join me and my family, Senior Brother Darian?” Clarissa asked, changing the subject.

I took a moment to think about it. I was tempted by her offer. However, I had planned on finding Astra and spending the feast with her. If my other sisters were here as well, I assumed they would be with her. I felt both excited and nervous about the prospect of meeting them. Besides, while I liked Clarissa, I couldn’t say the same about her father and mother.

Cultivator Clemont never participated in my humiliation, back on Mt. Wind Dance, but neither had he helped me out. I had no reason to hold any kind feelings towards him. As for his wife, Cultivator Sylvia, I didn’t remember interacting with her all that much. All in all, I had little reason to accept Clarissa’s invitation. Still, I liked the idea of spending time with her. She was beautiful and I enjoyed her company.

Then again, perhaps I could take this opportunity to hear news about Lucius. Other than Clarissa and my father, he was the only Wind Dance I cared about. It had been a little over a year since I last saw him, and I missed him something fierce. Perhaps I could convince Cultivator Clemont to deliver a message to Lucius for me. Now that I was an inner disciple of the Dawn and Dusk Sect, I didn’t have to worry about my uncle trying to drag me back to Mt. Wind Dance. It didn’t matter if Clan Wind Dance found out where I was. They couldn’t touch me, not anymore.

“Very well,” I said, smiling at Clarissa. “Thank you for the invitation.”

“Excellent!” she yelled, her face flushed with excitement. Realizing that she had let her emotions get the better of her, Clarissa took a deep breath to regain her composure. “Follow me.”

Despite her words, Clarissa took me by the arm and started guiding me deeper into the room. It didn’t take me long to find Cultivator Clemont and his wife sitting at one of the tables near the center. Both looked uncomfortable. I could see why. While there were plenty of divine cultivators and spiritual cultivators enjoying the feast, there were just as many demonic cultivators. 

Given Clan Wind Dance’s attitude towards anything demonic, and their ties to the Thousand Blade Sect, of course Clarissa’s parents would be uncomfortable. While they brought Clarissa here to protect her from my uncle, that didn’t mean their attitude towards demons and demonic cultivators had changed. A petty part of me enjoyed their discomfort.

As Clarissa led me towards her parents, I noticed a familiar pair approach us from opposite directions: Cultivator Diana’s bodyguards. While I noticed their approach, I didn’t give them much thought. I had no business with them, and they had no business with me. Or so I assumed.

However, when the two of us passed by them, one of them bumped his shoulder into me while the other bumped into Clarissa and almost knocked her over. Clarissa let out a yelp, but managed to keep her balance. Unfortunately, I was of no help there since I was too busy keeping myself upright. The bodyguard who bumped into me wasn’t a physical refiner, but he was still at late Qi Condensation, so I couldn’t shrug him off without effort.

“Watch where you’re going!” the bodyguard who bumped into me said. I started calling him Minion One in my head, for the sake of convenience.

“Yeah!” the other bodyguard, or Minion Two, said. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you manners?”

The two of them sneered at us, but I ignored them and focused my attention on Clarissa.

“Are you all right?” I asked her.

“Yes, Senior Brother,” she said, looking upset but trying to hide it. “I’m fine.”

“Hey, are you ignoring me?” Minion One demanded.

He put a hand on my shoulder to try and make me face him, but I shoved him aside. He stumbled back a few steps, almost crashing onto one of the nearby tables, but managed to stop himself in time.

The commotion started to attract attention from everyone else and my nerves grew taut when I realized just how many people were looking at us. Some appeared annoyed, some appeared amused, while others appeared indifferent. However, no one stepped forward to stop us. They were content to let things play out without intervening.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Minion Two demanded. “How dare you put your hands on my brother?”

“Your idiot of a brother put his hands on Senior Brother Darian first,” Clarissa snapped. “Or are you blind as well as stupid?”

My jaw hit the floor and I turned to stare at Clarissa. In the short time I’ve known her, it seemed like she had a meek and mild temperature. It turned out that there was more to her than I had realized. There was nothing meek and mild about her now. The expression on her face reminded me of a sword; cold and sharp. The look in her eyes sent a chill down my spine. She looked at Minion One and Minion Two as if she would love nothing more than to cut them down. I made a mental note to never anger Clarissa, because I never wanted her to look at me like that.

Clarissa’s words and her expression must have caught Minion One and Minion Two off guard as well since they didn’t react right away. However, they recovered their composure a few seconds later and their expressions twisted with anger.

“What did you just say, you stupid bit-…?” Minion Two started to ask, but I cut him off.

“Enough!” I said in a sharp voice. “This is supposed to be a celebration. Stop causing a scene.”

Minion One scoffed.

“We’re causing a scene?” he asked. “You’re the ones causing a scene. Not only did you bump into us, but you also had the audacity to lay your hands on me. Who do you think you are? I’m a retainer of Clan Verdant Lotus.” His sneer deepened. “You two are nothing more than a pair of nobodies from an insignificant clan that no one has heard about.”

Minion Two chuckled and gave us a nasty smile.

“If you both kowtow to us and beg for mercy, we might consider just breaking your arms and legs before letting you go,” he said.

A part of me wanted to retreat to avoid causing even more of a ruckus. I hated being the center of attention, especially with so many people around. However, I couldn’t. Cultivators respected strength above all else, and held little regard for those they considered inferior. Well, most cultivators. I’ve met a few who seemed to break the mold, so to speak.

Regardless, I would lose a lot of face if I retreated now. The other disciples of the Dawn and Dusk Sect, as well as the elders in attendance, were all watching us. They were assessing us, judging us, waiting to see how we would react. Acting like a coward now would just make my life more difficult in the future. Besides, I wasn’t the only one affected by this. I had to take Clarissa’s position into consideration as well. Fleeing wasn’t an option.

“Beg for mercy?” Clarissa scoffed in a mocking tone. “You must be addled-headed.” She looked the two bodyguards over. “As if I would ever kowtow to a pair of rude and boorish thugs like you two.” She smirked. “Though, I suppose that makes you a perfect match for your mistress, given her lack of manners.”

Despite her strong front, I felt Clarissa trembling beside. It must have taken a lot of courage on her part to act like this.

“What did you just say?” Minion One asked in a low voice.

“You dare insult Young Mistress Diana?” Minion Two demanded. “You’re courting death!”

The two bodyguards looked ready to attack us then and there, but managed to hold themselves back. Perhaps they didn’t want to resort to violence first and kept trying to provoke us instead. This was a feast after all. Causing a commotion and disrupting the festivities would make them look ill-mannered.

“I’ll give you two one chance to apologize and walk away,” I said. “However, if you insist on acting like a boor, then don’t blame me for responding in kind.”

Minion One opened his mouth to respond, but a familiar feminine voice cut him off.

“What is going on here?”

My heart sank, and I turned to find Cultivator Diana standing not too far away from us. She wore an emerald and white dress that looked far more luxurious and ornate than the robes she wore during the entrance exam. Her hair was done up in a complicated style and decorated with golden hair ornaments, with a golden lotus as the centerpiece. She carried a fan made of green silk in her hands, which she used to hide her mouth. Despite that, I saw the smirk in her eyes.

If it came down to a fight, I was confident that Clarissa and I could deal with Minion One and Minion Two. However, if Cultivator Diana intervened, then we would have no chance at winning. From the way she smirked, she knew this as well. I realized then that she had orchestrated this entire situation, likely as revenge for our encounter earlier today. I suspected as much, when her two bodyguards bumped into us, but her appearance turned my suspicion into a certainty.

“Clarissa!”

Clarissa and I looked to find her parents heading in our direction with urgent expressions on their faces. My heart sank even lower. This was a nightmare. We were attracting far too much attention and now Clarissa’s parents were about to get involved. How were we going to get out of this?