The Banquet

The banquet thrown by the emperor to honour his beloved subject Li Zhenming. Hah, the populace scoffed. Who was the imperial family kidding? They all knew, alright? The imperial family didn't get any benefits from the Si Lak Mercenaries trio to the Capital, making them the laughingstock. And, knowing that two tip echelons of the Mercenaries remained with the Li family under unknown circumstances, they decided to invite them personally into the lion's den: the imperial palace.

Banquet guests arrives at the West Gate of the imperial palace in their stately carriages. The Ji family, with their heads held as high as it could be, sneered down at everyone else with newfound pride. The Feng family, wishing they could plaster the sign: our daughter is in the Si Lak Mercenaries, on their foreheads. The Han family, who had also secured the recognition of the Mercenaries with an undisclosed prize treasure. The Li family.

The small nuclear family was the interest of everyone. Patriarch Li stepped down from the carriage, followed by Ren Ziming, his wife, in a beautiful hanfu of purple and gold, enhancing her beauty. In the second carriage that followed them, a maid helped the Li family's young miss down, a young girl carrying her little sister in her arms. People's eyes flickered over them briefly. These two were rumoured to have been accepted into the Mercenaries despite their young age and lack of cultivation talent. Instead, everyone craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the real important people. Sword Saint Tao He and Shadow Claw Jun Ru. Where were they? Did they not come?

"They're over there!" Someone from the peanut gallery suddenly hooted excitedly, and everyone started looking back towards the direction of the Li family's two young misses. Oh! There they were! There was no mistaking someone from the Mercenaries. They were dressed in purple armour, scarlet belts, and a terrifying mask covered their faces.

Consort Ruang, Xi Huazing, and the eighth princess, Xi Huan, emerged from within the palace to welcome the Li family.

"Cousin," Consort Ruang did a little curtsey. Xi Huazing and Xi Huan called out "Uncle" and "Aunt" quite clearly as they greeted the Li couple.

The thin line Patriarch Li's lips had formed did not ease. He greeted the Consort Ruang formally and addressed the fourth prince and eighth princess by their official titles, rendering them speechless. Madam Li did the same.

Li Sihan strolled towards them. Patriarch Li eyes get covertly, and when she arrived in front of the Consort, he said:

"Greet the Consort, Sihan,"

Tao He and Jun Ru exchanged incredulous glances, even though all they could see was esch others eyes.

"My dear niece," Consort Ruang bent slightly, "how have you been?"

To curry the favour of her niece Joe meant that she would put in a good word for Huazing with the Senior that took her in if needed!

Li Sihan stared at the consort quizzically, then up at her father.

"Is she my aunt?"

The question that seemed to come from an innocent eight year old actually carried great importance that only Jun Ru and Tao He were aware of.

If Li Zhenming told the Grand Chief that Consort Ruang was her aunt, that would be the absolute end of the consort's troubles for a thousand generations, for the Grand Chief would take her in just as readily as she had taken Li Zhenming, Madam Li, and the young miss as her family.

But if he said no...well, Consort Ruang would never know what she missed.

"Haha-- my dear niece, of course I'm your aunt!"

"I asked him, not you," Li Sihan retorted coldly, causing several people to gasp. Li Zhenming quickly interrupted.

"Consort Ruang, please forgive my Sihan. She hasn't had much contact with outsiders, so she doesn't know much,"

Li Sihan raised her eyebrows. Had she spoken rudely to this woman? And why was her father using honorifics when he spoke to her? Hmph.

"Sihan, this is Consort Ruang. Apologize for your rudeness," Li Zhenming coaxed.

"Oh. Sorry," Li Sihan said distractedly. Shadow Claw and Sword Saint shuddered. That was the end.

"Come this way, uncle, aunt, Esteemed Seniors," Xi Huazing's eyes were darting to and fro from the two men in masks. He was not yet sure which one was his master.

Li Zhenming led his family into the palace. The two Mercenaries had not said a word so far, and Xi Huazing was getting anxious.

The party arrived at the Banqueting Hall, where the other guests had already arrived and were socialising. There was a hush as the prestigious families came in. People came forward to greet them one after the other, while Xi Huazing led the Li family to the seat of honour, amidst envious gazes.

"The Emperor and the Empress have arrived!" A stout eunuch raised the call. Everyone rose to their feet. Keen to leave a good impression on Sword Saint Tao He, the emperor did not delay in arriving at all.

"May the Emperor live for a thousand, thousand, ten thousand years!"

The emperor beamed in what he thought was a benevolent manner, his eyes on no one but the purple clad Mercenaries, who, he was surprised to see, were on their feet as well.

"We are glad that you are all here. We wanted to honour Our subject Li Zhenming for his selfless service to Us and to the people, with this feast. And also, to grant his daughters princess mandates, for their filial piety and excellent character,"

Anyone who witnessed Li Sihan's character outside the West Gate smirked. Just say you wanted to get in their good books early.

"Li Zhenming, rest assured. With your two daughters under the protection of the imperial family, people will think twice before harming them,"

Li Zhenming rose and bowed.

"This subject thanks your majesty!"

People clicked their tongues in envy. Under what sort of lucky star had this pair been born?! Born with a silver spoon into a first-tier family, accepted into the Si Lak Mercenaries as toddlers, and now, receiving the gracious mandate of County Princess, with the entirety of the imperial family ready to dote on them like mad! With this mandate, they had the right to call the Emperor father, and the empress mother!!!!

The emperor signalled the decree bearing eunuch, and he walked forward, opening the yellow scroll.

After the eunuch finished reading it with a loud voice, Li Zhenming said: "I accept the imperial decree," and received it while kneeling in front of the emperor's throne, with both hands.

The feast officially started and the emperor first of all made a toast to the two masked Seniors from the Si Lak Mercenaries.

"Your presence in our Phoenix Empire makes us feel immensely honoured," the emperor drank to them. The two drank a cup of wine back and raised their goblets respectfully to the emperor.

At this moment, Xi Huazing approached the Li table very nervously, holding a cup of wine. When he was a feet away he stopped and called out:

"Master!"

It was exactly the aggrieved voice an abandoned disciple would use.

Sword Saint Tao He was startled as he looked up. After all, all of Shadow Claw Jun Ru's disciples, if he had any, were at the Si Lak Mercenaries.

"You are?" Tao He asked politely.

"I'm Xi Huazing-- your disciple! Master!"

Behind his mask, a frown appeared on Tao He's face. This kid? His disciple? Was he not a prince?

"When did I have a disciple like you?"

The question sounded offensive, and everyone was starring at the duo.

"Six years ago--" Xi Huazing began.

"I didn't accept any disciples six years ago," Tao He retorted coldly.

"But the acceptance test at Mt. Tian--"

"If everyone who takes the acceptance test calls themselves my disciples--"

"But I passed!" Xi Huazing was aggreived.

"How dare you interrupt me?" The tone was now laced with killing intent. The emperor was alarmed as things were getting out of hand and was about to intervene.

"Ah! I'm-- I'm so sorry, Master!"

"If you damn kid call me Master one more time--"

"What's the matter?" A serene voice cut in. Everyone expected, with the aggressive way Tao He had reacted to being interrupted just now, that the person's head would go rolling. But Sword Saint Tao He turned and replied respectfully.

"I don't know this kid and he keeps badgering me," Tao He said in an almost childish complaining tone. Li Sihan smirked and said nothing more. Xi Huazing had the faint notion that his cousin was mocking him. What right did she not have to mock him? Was she not already the apple of a Senior's eye, causing the dispatch of two top echelons like his master and Jun Ru to watch over her. Yes, as always, Xi Huazing had his own theories, and this time it was not too far from the truth. However, whether that knowledge would do him good--

"Cousin--" Xi Huazing suddenly appealed to the boss, "talk to master for me--"

There was a muffled thump, and Xi Huazing suddenly found himself unable to make a sound. He clutched his throat in horror and made sickening retching sounds as his eyeballs bulged out. Sword Saint Tao He had merely flicked his fingers! This! This must be a Silencing Matrix! Xi Huazing made another choking sound and gesticulated wildly. Consort Ruang and Xi Huan rushed to his aid at once, the empress smirking lightly. Consort Ruang pounded Xi Huazing's back, to no avail-- this was a matrix inflicted problem! This outrage! Harming the fourth prince right in front of the emperor!

"Your majesty!" She was unable to take it any longer, "Huazing was just trying to acknowledge his master! This! This is truly unnecessary!"

"I did clearly tell him not to call me master again. It is very much necessary," Tao He responded to the consort immediately. She paled.

"Please don't be offended, Senior Sword Saint," the emperor said, calming his anger, "I've let senior witness my shortcomings in educating my son,"

Tao He merely grunted and turned his head to the other side. Consort Ruang was shocked. This was the power a cultivator had! Even the emperor could do nothing!

"But Sword Saint Tao He, if you will hear this emperor out-- the fourth prince did pass the acceptance test at Mt. Tian and a senior disciple informed him that he had been accepted,"

"Maybe accepted as that one's disciple. When I left for the Si Lak Mercenaries I called all my disciples together and dispatched them. Go to Mt. Tian. There's no one there now. I don't know this boy,"

Unable to say a word and feeling his last chance with Tao He slipping between his fingers, Xi Huazing's eyes turned red. In a fit of anger and helplessness, he released his aura unconsciously, and a massive suffocating blanket seemed to have descended upon yhe Banqueting Hall. Consort Ruang and Xi Huan, who were closest to him, felt the impact first and stumbled back several steps before falling heavily to the floor. Everyone's faces shone with shock and interest. So this was the power of a Martial Practitioner!

Tao He glanced at Xi Huazing and scoffed loudly.

"What's the use of an outburst? Five hundred steps away from me and I know what level of cultivation you are already. If you caught my eye I would have told you. In any case, I'm not taking disciples,"

"You really have a lot of time for nonsense, Tao He. If you don't want him, show it clearly," a crisp voice rang out. Why, it was the Li family's young missy!

Tao He waved his hand lightly and Xi Huazing was sent flying across the hall. He hit a wall and there was a sickening 'crack' sound. The guests did not dare to gasp.

"Like that?" Tao He asked Li Sihan.

"Exactly." The stoic replied, "you've just wasted your saliva,"

It took five seconds for Consort Ruang to realise what had happened. Letting out a scream, she ran to her son, who had passed out.

"Huazing! Huazing! Look at me! Huazing!" Consort Ruang raised her head, "your majesty! Your majesty, what have they done to my Huazing?!"

"Summon the imperial physician!" The emperor was full of wrath in his heart. He had completely lost all his face today, and there was nothing he could do about it! That was what angered him the most. He knew he had to take it out on someone or his insides would rupture.

"Li Zhenming!"

Patriarch Li raised his head. What did all this have to do with him? Did he ask for some damn banquet on the first place? Was it not the emperor's greed that caused all this?

"Yes, your majesty?" Li Zhenming answered respectfully, though, rising.

"I would have been pleased if you were able to stop your daughter from infuriating Sword Saint Tao He to the extent of causinmg injury to the fourth prince,"

Li Zhenming's eyes twitched. He had no idea that that was what his daughter was going to say, alright?!

"Please forgive this subject--"

"Enough," Li Sihan slammed her hand on the table in front of her, making a noise that was far too loud for her little hand.

"Sit down," Li Sihan looked her father in the eye.

"What?!--" Li Zhenming was shocked, "Sihan, be quiet! I must not disrespect his majesty,"

"Tao He," Li Sihan simply said. Tao He got up and gently helped Patriarch Li back into his seat, leaving everyone stunned. Li Sihan resumed feeding Little Bun in earnest. The emperor's face turned ugly. This! He could not take this! How dare the girl who still smelled of milk disgrace him, not once, not twice, in the presence of his subjects! If it went on line this, would anyone still recognise his authority?!

At this moment, Xi Ziyun, the third prince, got up and approached the Li table. As he came, he unleashed his aura. Again, a heavy blanket-like suffocating air descended on the Banqueting Hall. There were gasps of shock that greatly satisfied Xi Ziyun's ego. So the third prince had also become a cultivator! His aura was a little strange though. It felt like scabbed hands were reaching out of a dark well. It was terrifying, much like the Mercenaries.

Those whispered comments gave Xi Ziyun another much needed boost. He arrived in front of Jun Ru (Tao He said he wasn't taking disciples anyway, so there was no need to waste this prince's time with him, he thought pompously).

"Greetings to Senior," Xi Ziyun said pompously.

"I only accept disciples at the rank of Martial Grandmaster or higher," Jun Ru's cold voice rang out from behind his skull mask as he stated blandly.

Xi Ziyun's face contracted for a moment.

"Well then, what about cousin? Cousin, will you take me as your disciple, heh heh,"

It took Li Sihan a moment before she realised that he was talking to her. She burst out laughing. It was a high, cold, terrifying laugh that seemed to come from the darkest soul.

"Am I your cousin?" Her reply shocked Jun Ru and Tao He. They were expecting her to say something else. How many disciples did the Grand Chief have? Just four. And they were at the peak of cultivation! It was the dumbest thing to say!

"Am I your cousin?" Li Sihan repeated, locking her black eyes with Xi Ziyun's. He felt creeped.

"Ye-- yes. After all, Consort Rusng is my stepmother,"

"Is Consort Ruang even my family member?" Li Sihan smirked, "my father didn't tell me,"

Consort Ruang could help feeling something wasn't quite right.

"I, Li Sihan, only have Li Zhenming, Ren Ziming, and Li Silan as my family. And I have sworn to protect them from any hurt. Aside from these three, anyone who claims ties with me, shall face my wrath!"

The Grand Chief herself had never had a family. None of the Si Lak Mercenaries knew her past, but they'd never heard her speak of her original family. Now that she was Li Sihan, and belonged to the Li family, she'd decided to protect them!

"Heh," Xi Ziyun seemed to have come to himself as he smirked, "but even so, you are part of the Phoenix imperial family now, so you are my sister. Sisters always help their brothers out, so, help me and your brother Zimin enter the Si Lak Mercenaries. If you can enter, a child, without cultivation talent, and that lass Feng Chusan, who has nothing but her pretty face, and that lad Ji Hanming, also a non-cultivator; how much more the crown prince and I? Don't worry, when you enter the Si Lak Mercenaries in the future, as long as your big brother Zimin and I have preceded you, we will not allow any one to bully you under our watch!"

It seemed like a good bargain to the unaware ones who were listening, and even the emperor's heart softened. He would forgive this girl for embarrassing him in the presence of his subjects, as long as two of his sons could enter the Mercenaries. He had to maintain the image of a benevolent emperor anyway, and she was only a child, ah.

Of course, it was just a load of claptrap in Jun Ru and Tao He's ears. Li Sihan herself was not even bothered.

The empress decided to lend her voice to the matter.

"County Princess Li, you should speak to the Senior that took you in on behalf of your two brothers. This empress will personally make sure that the time before you leave for the Mercenaries; be it a dozen years; will be spent in the personal care of this queen,"

"Yes," the emperor agreed.

WHAT LUCK! Everyone glanced at Li Sihan to see her reaction. This! What kind of lucky loli was this! Just how?!!!

"What Senior?" Li Sihan frowned slightly. "Who told you that a Senior took me into the Si Lak Mercenaries?"

The emperor's first thought was that Li Zhenming had committed an offence against the directions of the Senior by making the matter public, and, inspite of himself, felt gleeful.

Tao He and Jun Ru raised their heads up from the sumptuous dishes they were indulging in. Li Sihan was starring at the Empress.

"Eh? Your father was the one who told us--" the empress opened her mouth.

"County Princess Li," the emperor interrupted, "as a matter of fact, this emperor wanted to do further than bestow you a princess mandate. I also wanted you to become the seventeenth prince consort--"

Tao He spewed out the wine in his mouth and set his goblet down with a thud. He swore under his breath-- he was so shocked!

"--but your father said that was impossible as a Senior had taken you in. Is there a mistake? If that is so, this emperor is still willing to declare you the seventeenth prince consort on the spot,"

Li Sihan's lip was raised in a sneer. She addressed her father.

"Where did you get this tale from? With everything that unfolded before your eyes, you still don't understand?"

"Sihan--" Li Zhenming's face was pale, "please listen to father just this once," he said in a very low voice, "it's-- it's for-- it's for your safety,"

"Safety?!" Tao He rose angrily, "why does she need to be safe? Who dares to go against her?"

"Silence, Tao He,"

The flabbergasted guests eyes bulged out in shock as Tao He bowed reverently and sat down again.

"Father," Li Sihan was still addressing Li Zhenming, "I, Li Sihan, am not afraid of anyone. I do not hide behind likely stories. I do things plainly. If I did not want you to know who I am, would I not have decided so? If I did not want family, would I not have killed the lot of you when I first arrived? So why, why would you be afraid on my behalf? Even if it was the Scorpion Hall or the Yan Temple, would I cower? I am not afraid of anyone, and I do not need you to help me spread likely stories, understand?"

Li Zhenming wiped the sweat dribbling down his face nervously.

"O-- okay. Father will listen to you from now on,"

"Good," Li Sihan turned to the clamouring Little Bun and raised a goblet to the baby's lips. Xi Ziyun was thus left standing, ignored by the stoic.

"Well?" Xi Ziyun said impatiently.

"My Si Lak Mercenaries does not take in entitled and arrogant bigheads with no talent," Li Sihan fed Little Bun calmly, "that is not how we got to the top of the world. If I brought you back, you would just be locked up in the hatcheries and never see the light of day forever,"

There was silence after Li Sihan spoke. Her words were a little shocking. Didn't a Senior just promise to take her in? Why was she talking as if she had been in the Mercenaries all her life? And what were the 'hatcheries'? Everyone was curious.

"I don't care," Xi Ziyun's eyes were suddenly full of fiery heat, "just bring me there!"

"Did you not hear what she said at first?" Tao He was pissed, "the Si Lak Mercenaries will not take trash!"

As always, Sword Saint Tao He's choice of words were more aggressive. But perceptive people noticed the way he called the name of the Mercenaries as opposed to Li Sihan...

"Sister, you don't know whether I'm talented or not! Do you even know cultivation ranks? I'm talented, just bring me back!"

"Get lost," and with this the third prince was hurled against the wall as well.

The emperor had had enough.

"Li Zhenming!" He roared, "you have really fallen short! Receive my decree! Your mandate and that of your daughters are hereby revoked! They will be taken from you and subjected to strict etiquette training in the Heitian Courtyard! Your properties, assets and business are hereby confiscated by the imperial family! Guards!"

"What the hell?" Tao He swore loudly.

Li Sihan handed Little Bun to Jun Ru as armed guards poured in and surrounded the Li table. The baby being carried by the legendary mercenary was a sight that hurt the eyes.

Li Sihan rose, and patted down her graceful hanfu, even as the guards closed in and her parents were starting to panic. In a second, her leg was placed on the emperor's head.

Everyone blinked and gasped in horror! There had not even been a sound, and the emperor was no longer on his throne but on the floor!

"Xi Luyan, it was reported to me when you were born. You seem to be very proud of your emperor status, huh? A title that I could casually throw to my father if he coveted it. Is it because I've been very low key since I arrived in your empire? Is it because I did not tell my mercenaries to trample your palace to ashes because the sight of it annoys me? Is it because I spared you since this banquet began even though you've crossed my bottom line a few times? How many seconds longer do you think people live when they've irritated me? You're definitely the record breaker!"

The emperor's face alternated from red to green to white. Only he knew how heavy this girl's foot was!!! He-- he didn't think he could hold on any longer---!

"You-- you--" blood started to seep from the emperor's eyes, nose, mouth and ears, "who-- are--- you--?"

"Isn't it obvious? I am Li Sihan, the Grand Chief of the Si Si Lak Mercenaries !"

At this declaration, Jun Ru and Tao He fell to one knee!

"These surbordnates salute the Grand Chief! Our life and our hearts belong to you forever!" They said with utmost seriousness!

Li Zhenming's face completely drained of colour. So did the emperor's, for a clearly different reason.