Chapter 20 - Movements Behind the Curtain

In a second story private room in the Falling Petals Tea House, two men watched the crowd disperse with clouded expressions.

"It seems," the elder of the two men said eventually, "that both of our objectives are now at risk." The elder gentleman pulled at the pointed black beard on his chin as he continued. "It was fine as long as the Feng family remained suppressed without any available second stage cultivators, but now that Feng Xi has broken through to become an Understudy, it changes many things."

"I don't see how it's an issue," the younger man said, releasing a wisp of yellow flame from his thick and meaty hand to re-warm the tea that had cooled while they watched the spectacle play out below. "My darling Feng Xi may be a second stage cultivator now, but that only makes her more suitable to become my bride. Besides, as an Artist, while she is capable of doing many things, she can't take the place of Feng Lieren. Your interests are still as secure as they were before her breakthrough and I'll ensure that she doesn't become a new pillar for the Feng family when she marries into my household," the broad shouldered and barrel chested young man said, bringing a fist to his chest to punctuate his promise.

"You speak as though you've already extracted a marriage contract from her family," the elder man said with a snear. "From what I understand, Yu Kexin still holds hope for her husband's recovery should they ever be able to afford the services of your master. With Feng Xi becoming an Understudy, she's much more capable of inviting your master to tend to her father at which point not only will we lose our hold on the Feng Family, we risk your master discovering what you've been adding to Feng Lieren's medication," the bearded man said sharply.

"You assured me that it was traceless," the younger man growled, yellow sparks flashing from his hand as it tightened into a clenched fist. "Besides, even if it can be detected, you think my master would question where it came from? I'm not without my own resources," he said leaning back in his chair and dusting embers from his elegant alchemy robes. "If some of it shows up in the tea leaves of the pale white tea he's been drinking these past few years, suspicion will be easily diverted away from me and on to the Peach Blossom Tea House."

"You aren't seeing the second problem," the elder man said, hiding the exasperation he felt at trying to turn such a straightforward simpleton into a willing tool. Clearly what wit the bullish young man possessed had been consumed by too many hours with his nose in ancient books! "Ao. Wen," the older man enunciated clearly. "By my estimate, she'll be a late stage Brawler by summer and a Soldier by the following spring. There's been a rumor since the Awakening Ceremony that she and Feng Xi were sworn sisters and given everything that's happened since then, it certainly seems to be true. That means that even if Feng Xi can't take the place of Feng Lieren as a hunter and protector of the town, Ao Wenn will be able to do so on behalf of the Feng family. We'll have to speed up if either of us are going to succeed."

"Late stage brawler by summer? Second stage by the following spring?" the younger man said dismissively. "Perhaps she will, but I expect that she only made rapid progress in her martial cultivation because she's crippled her other paths," he pronounced as though his words were Heaven's Mandate. "The elders at the Holy Light Abode were all bemoaning it, saying that her soul was damaged and that her heart, mind and body were no longer properly tethered. A person in that kind of fragile state has no chance of becoming a pillar for the Feng family to count on."

"What do you know, you never personally examined her," the elder man countered, unable to keep the disdain from coloring his voice. "Besides, you haven't traveled the world as much as I have. If you knew what kind of bloodline that little girl carries then you'd never underestimate her the way you're doing right now."

"What's special about her bloodline? I thought the Ao Family were Stone Lions with bloodlines so thin that Ao Wen is their first cultivator in four generations. Is her mother's family exceptional in some way that we don't know about?"

"I don't know if her mother's family is exceptional or not," the elder man said, downing the last of his tea and signaling for the waiter to bring a jug of wine. "What I do know is that I felt the aura of a dragon on her."

"A dragon?" the young man said in shock. "Wouldn't that make her a member of your family then?"

"You think every dragon bloodline in Turning Leaf town relates to my family? Unless one of her parents is someone's illegitimate child, it's unlikely she's related," he said, waiving off the idea and pouring himself a cup of strong smelling wine. "But, where there are things that threaten our plans, there are also opportunities." With a wave of his hand, he withdrew a small packet and placed it in front of the younger man.

Sniffing the contents of the packet, the young man frowned. "Blood Iron Dust? I thought we wanted to bring Feng Lieren down, not make him stronger. This is the sort of thing that a second stage cultivator like him can use to bind iron to his bones, giving him a significantly stronger frame. It isn't easy to come by either, shouldn't you be using this to further your own cultivation?"

"Your thoughts are far too shallow, you're still too young," the older man said. "If you were one of my sons, I'd beat you for speaking without thinking."

"Watch your tone," the young man said, yellow flames flickering around his sausage like fingers. "We're both second stage cultivators here."

"Bah," the elder man snorted instantly dismissing the young man who hadn't even crossed fourty years of age yet. "Young pup, you've a long way to go before you catch up to me at the gates of the third stage, don't mistake yourself for my equal. I give you the respect your profession is due but no more. Now, listen, because timing will be very important. Blood Iron Dust is very useful to second stage cultivators but what happens when it's taken by a first stage cultivator?"

"It's impossible to bind the iron," the young man said confidently. "Instead of nourishing, it becomes an abrasive in the marrow, wearing away the bone's strength and leaving the cultivator not only with brittle bones but it greatly harms their blood essence. Without frequent supplements, they're likely to be anemic for life. You aren't thinking of using this on Ao Wen are you?"

"No, but I do need something from Ao Wen," the older man said, shaking his head. "The Blood Iron Dust is for Feng Lieren, but while he's technically a Soldier, right now, he can't manifest more energy than an early stage brawler, and doing so exhausts him significantly. Even if he's at the stage to handle Blood Iron Dust, he won't be able to process it. It will be no different than giving it to a newly awakened Brawler."

"But it won't kill him. How does this help us?"

"I told you, timing," the elder man said. "I'll find a way to bring Ao Wen and Feng Xi out of Turning Leaf town for a few days. While they're gone, you'll add the Blood Iron Dust to Feng Lieren's next batch of medicine. Within a few days, his health will deteriorate and Yu Kexin will become desperate. At that point, you can swoop in with an offer. Your family surely has a powerful medicinal pill saved for grave emergencies. While they would never consider giving it away normally, if it were a betrothal gift to save the life of their future daughter-in-law's father…"

Both men smiled darkly in understanding. "But what do you get out of this? You said you wanted something from Ao Wen?"

"It's not a big deal," the elder man said, finishing the wine in the jug directly. "Once Feng Xi is your bride, her sworn sister is sure to visit your home. When she does, render her senseless along with your new wife," the older man said, ticking off the points of his plan on finger tips. "I'm sure a man of your profession knows how to rob them of their senses for long enough to spirit them away. I'll handle the rest," he promised while tugging at his beard. "We can make it look like she was kidnapped, maybe also 'borrow' your wife for a while. That will give you a chance to come 'rescue' her before she's 'ravished by bandits.' But no matter what, I won't let them go until I carve out Ao Wen's dragon core!"