Chapter 141 - Making Plans

"You know I won't turn that down," Tang Jin said around a mouthful of hearty goat curry. He'd already finished the first portion he'd been served and moved immediately to a second helping while ignoring the vegetable dishes that had been placed on the table. "I feel like I've barely had a chance to help at all since breaking through. It would be nice to be able to contribute a bit," he added. 

"Brother Jin, you helped plenty," Feng Xi said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "We just haven't had many opportunities for all of us to bring our talents to bear at the same time."

"Sister Xi is right," Zhang Bai said. "The timing is good to put our recent practice to use. Should we plan on going out hunting tomorrow then?" 

"Not tomorrow," Ao Wen said with a shake of her head. "I need to pay a visit to the local representative of the Alchemy Consortium so I don't ruffle any feathers while we're here. I also need to find a weaponsmith, preferably one who's better than Aesthete Qing was."

"What do you need a weaponsmith for?" Brother Gau asked. "You're already carrying the biggest saber I've ever seen an alchemist lug around, is there anything you can't cleave in half with that monster slayer? Or is that the problem? If you need a good knife I might know someone who could help you out," he offered. 

"It's not that I need a smaller weapon," Ao Wen explained. "It's that this one isn't optimal for the technique I'm trying to cultivate. The Jun clan who developed my Obsidian Night Scorpion Saber Art used a black bladed saber in part because it made them less visible when they hunted at night. I'm looking for a similar weapon. Do you know someone who can do custom work to make something like that for me Brother Gau?"

"Black bladed weapon the size of a Horse Cutting Saber," the burly man said, scratching at his scraggly beard. "Understudy Lau is really your only option. His services aren't cheap and he may not want to touch your commission even if you can afford him. Since you're a friend of Zhang Bai, you can give him my name, it might help, or he might throw you out of his shop."

"That doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement," Zhang Bai said, refusing the wine offered by the beautiful young woman clinging to him and opting for more of the pungent local beer. "Do you have history with him or something?"

"It's not that," Brother Gau said, waving off the idea. "It's just that Understudy Lau is a bastard and a stubborn mule with a mixed bloodline that makes him both brilliant and ornery. He's got the strength of a Celestial Ox and the temper of a Scarlet Magpie. He's not the best weaponsmith in Lantern City but he's the only one with any skill who will make blackened blades. If you can manage to trigger his compulsion to collect rare or precious things you'll probably be fine," he explained. 

"I'll see what I can manage then," Ao Wen said, cupping her hands briefly in thanks. "A new saber isn't as important as dealing with the Alchemy Consortium, I don't want trouble again." 

"What kind of trouble did you get into with the Alchemy Consortium?" the young woman clinging to Zhang Bai asked. "I thought Young Lord Zhang's family maintained pleasant relationships with all of the local powers. Surely someone as talented as him could smooth things over for you couldn't he?" The young woman worked hard to push down her frustration, trying to find a way to recapture Zhang Bai's favor. She couldn't understand why he seemed so distant from her! If this had been his previous visit, his hands would have wandered several inappropriate places by now, yet in the presence of his friends, he barely touched her! Maybe if she could enhance his reputation with his friends she could find her way back into his good graces and his bed tonight. Now that he had become a Soldier, his prospects were limitless and she didn't intend to let anyone else in Lantern City take him away from her!

"The head of the Consortium in Turning Leaf accused me of trying to poison the common people when Patriarch Zhang appointed me as the Guest Alchemist of the Zhang family," Ao Wen said simply, as though speaking of an everyday occurrence. "I challenged him to a duel and caused his cauldron to explode while he was attempting to concoct the recipe I gave him. He should recover from his injuries in the next two to three years," she said calmly.

Instant the atmosphere around the table chilled by several degrees and several people gave the diminutive alchemist with the oversized saber a reconsidering look. Just how ruthless was this young lord to inflict injuries that would take years to recover from on the local head of the Alchemy Consortium? No wonder he wanted to seek out the representative of the Consortium in Lantern City to prevent issues. Or perhaps it was to deliver a threat? For a moment, some even wondered if this black robed alchemist had actually attempted to poison the common folk but since they were a guest of the Zhang family and had come with Zhang Bai they felt it was unlikely. 

"I see," the young woman clinging to Zhang Bai said, unsure how to handle the information. Getting involved with Zhang Bai's new friends might be more trouble than it's worth! "Young Lord Zhang," she purred gently. "How long will you be in Lantern City this time? You know that once it starts to snow, the Darkwood is hard to leave." 

"That's fine," Zhang Bai said with a charming smile. "We're intending to spend the winter here and leave in the spring. Mostly, after several of us broke through recently, we're looking for opportunities to train."

"I see, so I'll have plenty of opportunities to catch up with Young Lord Zhang," she purred. "Lingling," she said to the young woman who had begun trying to feed Tang Jin spicy dumplings. "They've been traveling all day and I'm sure they're tired. We should visit with them more tomorrow. Why don't you come help me to make sure their rooms are in order. You will be staying here won't you Young Lord Zhang?" she asked with a pout. 

"Of course we will, Shuli," Zhang Bai said nervously. "Um, Brother Tang and I should probably each take a room of our own, but Novice Ao and Understudy Feng would probably prefer to share a room, so three rooms should be fine for us."

"I see, and you'll be staying all winter?"

"Just a few nights," Ao Wen interjected. "It's not suitable for me to practice alchemy in a place like this. I'm sure we can find a place to rent out for the winter in the next few days. Unless Bai wants to stay here while the rest of us find another place for the winter?" Ao Wen asked, raising an eyebrow in Zhang Bai's direction. 

"How could that be," he protested awkwardly. "Just a few days then."

"As my lord wishes," Shuli said with a graceful curtsey. A few days… surely in a few days she could sink her claws deeply enough into him that others would stay away. The only question was, should she take the risk of becoming involved in the trouble that his friends would doubtlessly stir up? Fishing in troubled waters could lead to great fortune or great disaster, she just didn't know which one this was likely to be.

Later that night, Gau paced nervously in the light of the purple lantern he'd hung from the lowest branch of a Darkwood tree. He'd waited long enough for a stick of incense to burn after Zhang Bai and his companions had retired for the evening before rushing to this quiet park overlooking the Green River. Whether he was followed or not wasn't something that Gau concerned himself with. The person he was meeting with tonight would eliminate any hidden watchers before speaking with him. Anyone who crossed his master deserved the fate they would suffer. 

"Gau, my loyal dog," an eerie voice spoke from the shadows under the Darkwood tree, sounding like it had been carried across a dozen gravestones before reaching Gau's ears. "Why have you called for me tonight?"

"My Lord," Gau said, dropping instantly to his knees and pressing his head to the stone ground, not daring to meet the gaze of the man he'd called here tonight. "Zhang Bai has returned to Lantern City," he reported directly. "He's broken through to become a Soldier and he's brought friends with him this time. One of them is another Soldier from Turning Leaf's Tang family, another is a woman, an Understudy from Turning Leaf's Feng family, but the most notable one is an Alchemy Novice named Ao Wen who all but crippled the representative of the Alchemy Consortium in some kind of Alchemist's Duel. They say that the old goat in Turning Leaf will need two to three years to recover from the wounds Alchemist Ao inflicted by forcing the other alchemist's cauldron to explode."

"I see," the man hidden in darkness said thoughtfully. "Go tell Alchemist Ma Xiaohua to expect company. I want her opinion on this Novice. If this Novice Ao is as capable as you're implying, it may be worth testing him. Did Zhang Bai divulge why they are here and how long they'll be staying?"

"He said they're going to spend the winter training here," Gau answered quickly. "They didn't seem to know about the strange beasts in the Darkwood but they're going to take the hunting missions from the Loose Cultivator's Association. Since they're all at the second stage, they probably won't die."

"So be it," the voice said from the darkness. "Anything else you learned about this alchemist?"

"He carries a huge two handed saber," Gau said thoughtfully. "He said that he cultivates something called the Obsidian Night Scorpion Saber Art and that he needs a black blade to further his cultivation techniques. I sent him to Understudy Lau."

"That's useful. You've done well tonight Gau," the voice said, reaching into a pouch before tossing a small bag at the kneeling man's feet. "Deliver my message to Alchemist Ma first thing in the morning. Tell her that I will forgive her failure if she can bring me an alchemist who can succeed where she didn't. Report to me if there's anything I should know."

"Your will, My Lord," Gau said to the darkness. He received no reply to his statement and he expected none, firmly believing that his lord had left the moment the small bag landed in front of him. Still, Gau waited almost as long as it would take to brew a cup of tea before he raised his head from the ground before quickly pocketing the small bag and scurrying back to the Lapis Lantern.