Story 10 - The Spy Who Rocked Too Hard (Part 3 🎸) (Patreon)

While I waited in the guild’s main room with the bored clerk, I mentally reviewed some of the songs I’d memorized that could be useful. Of course, there were only so many I could play. Much like with my other disciplines, I was held back due to my realm. My internal Qi’s quality and amount just wasn’t enough to fuel the effects of the more powerful songs.

Frankly, knowing stronger techniques but being unable to use them was frustrating as fuck.

::Sister Lin!:: Little Spring interrupted my thoughts with his telepathic transmission. ::This area doesn’t have a lot of the things you want. And what they do have isn’t at the usual quality.::

::That’s to be expected. Pick up whatever you can. See if there are any local high-quality substitutes.::

He went silent, so I reviewed another song. When I reached the chorus he said, ::So far I’m hearing mixed rumors about Lord Bountiful.::

::Anything interesting?::

::Well, most people are saying that he’s been protecting the city insanely well. Even though he’s only at Golden Core, he’s able to use all of his tamed beasts and expensive spiritual tools to fend off a Nascent Soul cultivator. He’s powerful.::

::That’s only to be expected of a city lord in an area close to an Unorthodox sect.::

::But there are also a lot of people who complain to me in private.”

I narrowed my eyes.

The clerk at the front counter nervously pulled out a jade slip and went through the motions of taking inventory.

::They don’t say anything specific, but they’re all warning me to not get involved with him. But if I do, to never cross him.::

He was probably a man who did not take betrayal well and made contracts that were disadvantageous. But I wouldn’t know for sure until I spoke with him myself.

::In that case, I’ll meet with him alone.::

There was a long pause, during which the clerk held up a pill bottle long enough to count it four times. He glanced at me, winced, and moved onto the next bottle.

Little Spring said, ::Is that really a good idea?::

::Why wouldn’t it be?::

::You should take me with you so I can smooth things over if you say something strange.::

::Nonsense! Why would I say something weird? Just who do you think I am?::

::Sister Lin!::

::That’s right.::

::That’s why I’m worried.::

This brat! I was an adult, damn it!

I scowled.

The guild clerk jerked and took a few swift shuffling steps toward the back of the guild.

::I need you to remain hidden and be my secret back up. Can I count on you to do that?::

::You want me to fight by your side if things get tricky?::

::It won’t come to that.::

::But if your situation gets dangerous—::

::I’ll enter the space and exit it where you are::

::Promise?::

I glared. Was this kid doubting my life preservation skills still? Sure, I’d miscalculated during the convention… Fine. Whatever! His doubt might be deserved. But only a little!

For some reason, the clerk started taking inventory faster, then slipped and fell. I caught him with my spiritual energy and put him on his feet.

::I’m not going to risk my life by doing something stupid, again.::

I glowered. “Slow down if you don’t want to get hurt!”

He straightened and bowed. “Yes, Master Alchemist!”

The way this clerk was acting made me wonder if I’d developed some kind of supervisor energy from all that time working with Early Rise Swift Brush.

***

After an hour, the security guard finally returned. “The City Lord will see you now.”

She led me through various beautiful but run-down streets. Well, aside from that alleyway where a fight broke out over some minor cultivation treasure. That place looked ugly.

It actually didn’t take long until we were walking up a hill near the ocean where a massive palace wall seemed to look down on the people below. Considering the short time it took us to get here, the guard must have waited a long time to see the City Lord on my behalf.

The palace had a red gate flanked by traditional lion-dog statues. A quick scan with my divine sense revealed that they were actually high-quality defensive tools.

The gate opened as we neared it. As soon as I stepped through, I noticed the back of a Golden Core cultivator quietly confronting a bodyguard over something. He had a large frame, black hair, and wore white robes covered in embroidered golden peacock feathers. He paused in his argument and turned to face me.

[Image Link]

I bowed.

“Master Alchemist Linlin greets the City Lord.” Fuck, that sounded awkward. Whatever. It wasn’t like I would see this guy again after today.

His lips turned up into a large smile, and he opened his arms wide and welcoming. “Greetings, Master Alchemist! It’s always a delight to have a fellow guild member visit my humble palace.”

Humble my ass. I could see the various arrays surrounding the vast palace grounds, and my divine sense picked up the rare and strong spiritual woods that went into each building’s exterior. Although I’d seen locations that were more opulent, the subtle treasures on display showed off this man’s wealth. Especially considering how backwater this area was.

Since I couldn’t go to a city lord’s house without bringing a gift, I handed him a pill bottle with some of my better generic healing pills. “A gift, for my first,” and hopefully last, “visit.”

He opened it up and lifted the bottle toward his nose. His eyes brightened. “Ah, useful. And the quality is beyond excellent. You’re a very skilled alchemist.” His dark gray eyes focused on my face. “And, perhaps, a very lost one?”

“Not lost, exactly. But certainly farther from home than I’d like. I need your guild’s Immediate Message Wall for a reason.”

“Right, about that... To use it, I require one high-tier spirit stone.” He held up a finger.

I frowned.

He splayed his hands out as if saying that it couldn’t be helped. “It may seem like a steep price, but it’s paying for the wall’s protection and operation. This area of the world is practically lawless with that unruly unorthodox sect right there.” He gestured in the ocean’s opposite direction, toward three small mountain peaks that jutted out from a mostly flat land like three fingers.

I grudgingly took out a high-tier spirit stone and handed it over to him.

His wide smile made his eyes turn to slits. “A pleasure doing business with you. Now, since it’s on the way, why don’t I introduce you to my pets?”

“I’m good. Spiritual Beasts despise me to the point of trying to kill me on sight.”

He waved his hand. “Nonsense. Mine are so well trained that even if they hate you, they won’t attack.”

I grinned. “I bet you that high-tier spirit stone that they will.”

He eyed me up and down. “Look at your confidence! Who would dare take that bet? Fine, I’ll take you around them.”

He led me over to the side, near a short cliff overlooking a salty lagoon. Suddenly, bursts of sword Qi shot out from the water far below and aimed toward me.

The security guard parried the blows before they even came close.

I took out my guitar and stepped closer to the cliff’s edge. “What was that?”

He frowned. “This is the direction with my fewest beasts, but I do have a few aquatic pets. It seems they do hate you. Far more than I considered. Or their training has been a bit too lax these past few days. But, worry not. I’ll work with them tonight, so this never happens again.”

I stared into the dark salty waters and expanded my divine sense. These pets were really shark spiritual beasts, but their noses were long and pointed like a swordfish.

“I’m sure you noticed it by now, but I bred these sharks to develop swords on their snouts and trained them in the way of the sword. Now they can produce their own sword Qi.”

The fuck?! Did this guy just say that he made freakin’ sharks with sword Qi coming out of their noses? Who was he? Xianxia’s Dr. Evil?

I glanced toward him and saw him smiling widely at the dark water.

Then again, maybe he was merely a weird, unscrupulous rich man, who was into rare and strange spiritual beasts.

***

He brought me to a small room where a massive slab of black jade was erected haphazardly. It had dust covering it and cobwebs connecting it to the wall as if no one had used it for years.

I frowned.

“My people haven’t gotten around to installing it and I keep wondering if I should move it back to the guild. But it still works.”

Sure, but that was no excuse to let it get into this condition.

I cast the cleaning technique and scoured the entire room, including Lord Bountiful Tenacity.

“Ah!” His smile widened genuinely. “How refreshing.”

Well, that was a new response. Maybe this guy wasn’t so bad, after all.

“Your technique is the strongest I’ve ever come across. I quite like it.” He walked over to the now spotless wall and placed a mid-tier spirit stone on its surface. The stone sunk into the jade as if it were made of water. He then repeated the process a few dozen more times.

The wall started to glow with energy, showing that it was ready to use.

From a groove at the bottom of the black jade, he picked up a long white writing stick. “To use it, just infuse this with your spiritual energy and write on the board.”

I reached out for the stick. He hid it behind his back with a grin.

Was this a test? Fine. He wasn’t getting between me and my sect.

I used Impossible Leap to step behind him, but he turned to face my new location and held up a finger.

Oh. This guy wasn’t half bad for a city lord of some backwater.

“Patience. I have more to explain.”

I crossed my arms and jumped back to my place in front of the wall. “Go ahead.”

“These walls are connected to the main branch on the continent. Your message will go through there, so you have to specify which guild branch you’re trying to reach in your first sentence. Your messages will then be routed through there, so be aware that what you write here is not private at all.”

Damn, this spiritual tool technology was so old school. I’d almost completely forgotten how it worked.

“I assume that I also have a limited amount of characters before it stops working altogether.”

He grinned. “I’m starting to appreciate your intellect, Master Alchemist.”

I placed my hands behind my back. “Well, I am a genius.”

He handed me the writing tool. “Then I leave you to it.”

***

“Martial Aunt Lin! Are you and Martial Uncle safe?”

After eventually connecting to the correct guild and getting them to bring Unyielding Firestorm over, then going through a bunch of hoops to confirm his identity, I finally had my first message from him. Of course, to get to this point, I spent a good half hour making sure the wall hadn’t been tampered with. Surprisingly, it was in acceptable shape.

“We’re as safe as we can be. The city we are in is near the Irrepressible Beast Blood Sect.”

“That’s too far away.” I could practically feel Unyielding’s frown through his calligraphy. “I don’t have access to all the sect’s resources, so I can’t send help.”

“I realize that. Can you check if there are any of our Immortal Bone Creation or Immortal Ascension sect ancestors in the area?”

“It will take me a while, but I’ll do what I can.”

Let’s see. There were two major issues I needed him to solve for me.

I started writing. “First, I understand that continuing to take care of all the paperwork without me will be difficult. I suggest adding a dozen or so new clerks. Teaching them will slow down your work initially, but you’ll speed up later. Have Early Rise Swift Brush teach them about the Dao of Paperwork.”

“Don’t worry, Martial Aunt. I’ll figure out the paperwork issue! You just focus on staying safe. No matter what, we’ll eventually get you home.”

I grinned. This martial nephew of mine was making me miss the sect already.

“Next, Clear Eyes Mad Tongue is going on a mission next week. I want you to hire two Alchemists’ Guild guards to go with him. They’re named Red Three and Red Seven. You've met them before.”

“I remember. I’ll hire them if I can find them. If not, then I’ll send others with him.”

“Make sure they’re at Golden Core!”

“Yes, Aunt Lin. Though I don’t think he’ll be happy about it.”

He probably wouldn’t. But I’d rather have him angry with me and alive than dead.

We sent a few more messages back and forth, discussing topics he needed information on that weren’t sensitive before he had to leave.

Then I sent one last message, this time to the Alchemists’ Guild headquarters on this continent.

“Requesting to assist in a major endeavor in exchange for a teleportation for two to the Indomitable Will Sect.”

I waited for a while. A good ten minutes passed before words appeared on the wall again. “We have nothing for you. But City Lord Bountiful Tenacity might. Speak to him about the details.”

Well, fuck.

“You are a valued alchemist, and the guild wishes you luck in your endeavors.”

Uh-huh.

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Author’s Note: Thank you all for reading! You are the best readers a writer could ask for!

Now I’m caught up, and Patreon is once again two weeks ahead of RR! Though part four will have to come out on the 12th or 13th to give me more uninterrupted time to write Story 10.

For this chapter’s first scene, I was just imagining Lin staring toward the clerk while going over the songs she knows and the guy getting more and more nervous as her anger shows on her face and in her energy until he trips over his own feet. The thoughts going through his head go like this:

“She just keeps staring at me. I thought we’d built rapport? But, I suppose she is an esteemed master alchemist.”

“Oh no, she’s narrowing her eyes at me. I better look busy. Well, I should double-check the inventory.”

“Why is she still staring at me?”

“And now she’s glaring and her anger is so strong I can feel it. I need to get back!”

“Oh no! I just made things worse! Maybe she’s upset that I’m taking inventory too slowly. I better speed up! Faster! Faster! Oof!”

“Ah? What’s this? Did she just save me from a nasty fall? I could have seriously broken the guild’s desk if I’d fallen into it.

“Her advice is so angry but she’s obviously worried for the safety of this unworthy clerk. What a kind soul.”

Anyway, I had fun with it. Probably more than I should have.