Chapter 129 (Patreon)

Awkward. That would describe how the day had been thus far. Meeting Jiang Lei was awkward. Chen Haoran’s attempt at small talk had gone nowhere in the end. He’d thought at least they could start a conversation seeing as they found themselves once again walking through a dark tunnel to avoid attention. He’d thought too much, apparently. Maybe he should have brought Phelps along. Pets could always get a conversation going.

Things hadn’t gone much better when they met Xi Wangmu. At the very least, she lent evidence to the old factoid that an organization’s attitudes were the sum total of its leader’s shitty personality. It would have been too much to wish that this world would be better than Earth, but was it too much to ask for it not to share the same failings? Of all the things that could be proven universal, why did it have to be powerful people not caring about the little guy? Except it was worse here. At least back on Earth, a CEO or politician couldn’t kill someone with an angry look.

Well… maybe Xie Jin wouldn’t have died, but he probably felt like he was. Chen Haoran’s first direct attempt to resist a Crystal Transformation Realm had only succeeded because Xi Wangmu hadn’t been kidding when she called it a look. It was all form and no substance. Whatever Xie Jin had been feeling to Chen Haoran’s sense his own body had sent him into shock. Perhaps the sheer difference in power triggered an extreme fear response? Chen Haoran certainly felt his spine crawl, and he wasn’t even the focus of Xi Wangmu’s attention. Honestly, if Xi Wangmu had decided to press her assault, he wouldn’t have been able to stop her at all. Fortunately, she did. Unfortunately, the discussion then shifted to something even more dangerous. Politics.

Chen Haoran couldn’t help but note that Bao Si sitting down at the table at all was a loss in a way. It was obvious the temptation of getting the Longevity Elixir for Xie Ling was too much to pass up, even for her. Xi Wangmu had them by the balls and, worst of all, was aware of it. She probably knew it for a while now too given how rude she was in the beginning. It was a simple and brutish power play. The type a person could only do when they were confident in the strength of their position. Xi Wangmu had made it clear that she was not the one striking a deal with them. They were the ones who had to make her an offer.

Well. In the end, it wasn’t his place to do anything. He’d just leave it up to Bao Si and her incredible poker face.

Xi Wangmu smiled kindly at her as she sat down. It was a textbook political smile doubtlessly mastered after countless hours of practice. Spoiled only by dark eyes backed by 4 thousand years of apathy. “A wise decision Princess.”

“I will be the judge of that,” Bao Si replied. “Shall we begin with the purpose of this meeting?”

“Does it need explaining?” Xi Wangmu asked. “You’re a smart girl. I’m sure you can figure it out.”

Bao Si folded her hands primly. “You’re planning rebellion.”

Xie Jib breathed in sharply beside him. Chen Haoran slowly exhaled. Rebellion. He wasn’t surprised. He was pretty sure they all had been nursing the idea for a while. He certainly had. Xie Jin and Bao Si apparently found evidence in the spirit stone. As for himself…. he met Jiang Lei and Wang Xiao while they were hunting criminals. At the time, he had only known they were part of an organization doing a job the government should have been responsible for creating a good image for themselves and establishing legitimacy among the populace. In the beginning, it had been an outrageous guess that slowly grew firmer as he found more supporting evidence. How many times was this now? He really had to start a coin jar for this sort of thing.

“Is it rebellion?” Xi Wangmu idly questioned, as if the answer held no meaning for her. “There was never an official end to the war, after all. The people did not accept the Empire. Even now, there are remnants resisting in the Splintered Lands.”

Bao Si sniffed with disdain. “The people’s acceptance changes nothing—the Empire rules to say otherwise is just quibbling over the semantics. A bunch of petty warlords fighting for the scraps the superpowers left in the Splintered Lands will make no difference.

Xi Wangmu chuckled. “You’re correct, of course, Princess Bao.”

“That word. Why are you using that word? I’m not a princess. The Basin hasn’t had royalty in 400 years.”

“Ah yes,” Xi Wangmu mused. “Not since your ancestors Bao Ji and Bao Jia handed over their crowns and were forced by the Sunset Emperor to commit suicide.” She sighed. “What a shame. I knew them well.”

“I’m sure,” Bao Si dryly replied. If Chen Haoran’s translation was correct, then what Bao Si actually said was: I don’t believe a word you said. It was hard to tell if Xi Wangmu was really bullshitting them or not, given how old she was supposed to be. “You are aware that the Empire considers rebellion worse than war, correct? You already failed to defeat the Empire when they invaded. Forgive me for not being confident in your odds of success now that they’ve established themselves within the country.”

Damn. Chen Haoran would’ve whistled if it wouldn’t have been wildly inappropriate. Bao Si wasn’t taking prisoners. Whatever her confidence was based on must be reliable if she was this aggressive. At least, he hoped it was.

Xi Wangmu smiled. “Why do you think Zumulu lost 400 years ago, Princess Bao?”

Bao Si narrowed her eyes, and Chen Haoran hoped she could see something in Xi Wangmu’s expression because he certainly didn’t. “They were weak, and fragmented compared to the Empire’s superior soldiers and better-organized army.”

Xi Wangmu nodded. “They were too independent.”

There was a pause in the air. They waited for a followup to that sentence that never came. Instead, Jiang Lei wheeled over a tea cart and set a cup in front of Xi Wangmu and Bao Si before filling them up with a steaming tea that smelled like a fresh peach harvest. Xi Wangmu completely ignored Bao Si in favor of her tea, while Bao Si frowned in contemplation as she turned over Xi Wangmu’s words.

Her eyes flew open. “You’re receiving another superpower’s support. The Baghmar Republic? The Eastern Lightning League?”

Chen Haoran stilled. Baghmar Republic. The nation Lan Fen had warned him the Chen Family had some kind of connection to. His mind invariably went back to the Golden Lily Association. The Seven-Colored Steps of the Rainbow Stairs came from there.

Xi Wangmu slowly clapped. “Well done. Yes. Unlike before, there is significant foreign support.”

With a shaky hand, Bao Si raised her teacup to her lips. It was the first real flaw he’d seen from her so far. He quickly glanced at Xie Jin but found that while he looked even more shaken by the news than Bao Si, he wasn’t looking at her with concern. He looked back at Bao Si, and from his position behind her, Chen Haoran could see she didn’t drink the tea at all.

Bao Si set the teacup down. “You seem to have all the support you need. Is there any reason for my Basin to join?”

“You’re not wrong,” Xi Wangmu said. “Your Black Bone Tribe is useful, but their alliance isn’t a necessity.” Her eyes pinned Bao Si. “You, on the other hand, are much more valuable in my eyes.”

Bao Si pushed her cup to the side. “What do you want?” She warily asked, dispensing with the pretenses.

Xi Wangmu calmly sipped her tea. “I believe Zumulu is due another King of the Rivers and Lakes, or rather, a Queen.”

Xie Jin hissed, and Chen Haoran stepped closer to him lest he attracted Xi Wangmu’s attention again. It was a useless move as she only had eyes for Bao Si now. Bao Si had become even more eerily calm after listening to Xi Wangmu’s proposition.

“On what basis are you making this claim?” she asked.

“Tell me, girl, what was the fate of the River Kings of Zumulu when the Empire took over?”

“Self-exile to the Splintered Lands for those who could escape, extermination up to nine relations for the rest.”

Xi Wangmu nodded. “Correct. Now as you so aptly put it, what sort of legitimacy and face do you think those exiles who’ve spent 400 years fighting over scraps in the Splintered Lands will have once they return home?”

Xie Jin mouthed the words at the same moment Bao Si spoke. “None at all.”

“Precisely.” Xi Wangmu traced the rim of her teacup. “Zumulu cannot be left to fracture as it has so often done before.”

“The Black Bone Royal family is no different from those exiles,” Bao Si said, despite herself she couldn’t hold back the bitterness in her voice. “Worse even. My ancestors abolished the monarchy themselves.”

“Do not discount your heritage so quickly, girl,” Xi Wangmu chided. “Of the remaining royal descendants in Zumulu, only the Basin has maintained any sort of power and respect. In addition, the sacrifice of the King and Queen of the Black Bones is well remembered. Were it not for them taking the lead in offering their crowns to the Sunset Emperor and stalling him, there would not have been a chance for the other River Kings to flee at all. There are some that even say it was their Death Curses that forced the Emperor to stop.”

Bao Si scoffed. “The Three Killers couldn’t slay the Sunset Emperor. If a mere Death Curse could harm him, he would have razed the Basin to the ground. Besides, Meng Huo had already surrendered to the Sunset Emperor by the time my ancestors did. The only reason he didn’t hunt down the surviving River Kings was because he considered them no longer worth the effort.”

Xi Wangmu chuckled. “Who will care? So long as you take the lead, then the people under you will make whatever lie you wish into the truth. For the Exile kings following the resurgent Queen of the Black Bones to reclaim their homeland is a type of legitimacy they can only dream of.”

“Is that what you wish to do then?” Bao Si asked with a snake-like gaze. “Turn me into another Princess Cicada?”

Chen Haoran recognized that name. It was a story Xie Jin had told him while they lazed about one day in the Basin. Princess Cicada was a princess of a large Peach River Kingdom when her uncle assassinated her father, forcing her to escape with the help of loyal courtiers. Eventually, Princess Cicada resolved to take back what was rightfully hers and sailed up the Peachwine singing a song so beautiful the other Peach River cities declared for her and even the Peach River Swords took up their swords and helped overthrow her uncle and restore her to her rightful throne. It was a nice story.

Xi Wangmu laughed. “Do you think I’ll marry you and take your power like Princess Cicada’s husband did?”

….Xie Jin didn’t tell him that part of the story.

“Girl Bao—no Bao’er, if I wanted to become Queen of Zumulu, I would have done it a long time ago.”

Bao Si and Xie Ji frowned. Chen Haoran couldn’t blame them. The last time he hear that kind of appellation was from Lan Fen’s grandfather. Apparently, it was a term of address mostly used for younger children. It dawned on Chen Haoran that throughout this whole conversation, Xi Wangmu had been treating Bao Si more like some intelligent grandchild than with any actual seriousness. Bao Si seemed to realize it as well, going by the look on her face.

Xi Wangmu, on the other hand, seemed to pay her expressions no mind. “In return for your cooperation, I will give Xie Ling two Earth-Rank Longevity pills—enough for 200 years of life and make sure your royalty will be restored. What say you, Princess Bao?

Bao Si stared long and hard at Xi Wangmu and remained silent. Chen Haoran and Xie Jin became unnaturally still. Whatever Bao Si said right now would doubtless have ramifications that would affect the Basin for years to come.

Bao Si stood up from her seat.

“My apologies, Senior Wangmu,” Bao Si said with a smile that could only be described as politely rude. “But before I am a Princess, before I am even a Bao, I am a Black Bone Shaman. I will take your words back to my Master and the Elders so that they may decide on them.”

Xi Wangmu sighed. “I was right—you’re the only one worthy in your generation. What a spine. You’re wasted on your master.” She set aside her cup and took out a rectangular green jade from her sleeve.

“What is that?” Bao Si asked with furrowed brows.

“You’re master never communicated with you since you relayed the situation to her, has she not?” Xi Wangmu met her question with a question. “It’s curious, isn’t it? The message was sent, and she is aware another Star Core Realm is involved, but she has relayed no instructions, not even to her only apprentice, who is being sent as a messenger.”

Bao Si clenched her fist, and Chen Haoran saw Xie Jin pale more than when he’d suffered the brunt of Xi Wangmu’s presence.

“What are you implying,” Bao Si demanded.

“You cannot speak to your Master in the Splintered Lands.” Xi Wangmu pushed the jade forward. “Would you like to try from here?”

Bao Si staggered back. Chen Haoran and Xie Jin rushed to steady her. Her eyes were riveted to the jade.

Xi Wangmu threaded her fingers together. “I said before that the Black Bone tribe’s alliance isn’t a necessity. That is because I’ve already received an answer from the only opinion that matters.”

“Master,” Bao Si whispered.

“Not that it matters,” an uncaring Xi Wangmu continued. “No matter what, after the Seven-Colored Steps of the Rainbow Stairs was brought to the Basin, it was inevitable you’d be implicated. Thought admittedly, that was a curious happenstance. The original plan was to create chaos among the Empire’s Crystal Transformation Realm loyalists and divide the Garrison’s attention.”

Xi Wangmu turned her gaze to Chen Haoran, and rather than a human, Chen Haoran felt like he was staring at a towering tree. “On that note. I am very curious as to why that cheapskate Gold-Eater decided to give the technique to you. It’s a bit rude to keep wearing a mask, no? This old woman is so honest that she didn’t even put on any makeup and came to meet you with a bare face. Will you not extend the same courtesy, Chen Haoran?”

The request sent shivers down Chen Haoran’s spine. No matter how politely she worded it, all he could hear was the implied threat behind every single syllable. Slowly he reached up and peeled away his mask. Xi Wangmu placidly observed him until the mask was off in its entirety, and he stepped forward to shield Xie Jin and Bao Si. Xi Wangmu blinked.

Then, to his horror, she frowned.

“Chen….Haoran.” She slowly repeated his name as her sense brushed across his face. Throughout the entire meeting, no matter the expression she molded her face into, Xi Wangmu’s eyes remained as voids carved from an apathy born of 4 thousand years of living. Now those voids bloomed with a horrible light.

Recognition.

“Chen Haoran.” Xi Wangmu sneered.

Instinctively he reached for his Gifting Power, and for once, wished he hadn’t.

Connection: Valid