The Twilight Order

An inconspicuous grey slab hidden within a back alley in the red light district began trembling. It slowly rose up inches above the surface of the ground, dust and dirt rolling off to the side as it was pushed up.

A black-gloved hand carefully placed it down to the side, a hooded figure to which the hand belonged clambering out silently. It crouched down, making its way to the end of the alleyway, peeking out to survey the area. After determining that nothing was amiss, it tapped its boot twice, the sound echoing back to the newly-made opening in the ground.

Immediately, a group of black-clothed people exited one by one, all carrying various weapons, their clothes appearing both uniform yet unique at the same time. After they took up various positions around the alleyway, four more distinctive figures followed them out.

Fu Yumao and Jin Anjing glanced at each other, eyes meeting. Instantly, they began carrying out the predetermined plan. Jin Anjing tapped the shoulder of a bronze badge whose back was pasted against the wall, hand holding his sheathed sabre.

He held up four fingers, then pointed upwards at the top of the alley. The bronze badge nodded, turning to four other bronze badges. After a second, they all stowed away their weapons and rolled up their sleeves.

In an impressive display of athleticism, they climbed the three metre tall alleyway wall, as if they were born to crawl rather than walk. At the same time, Fu Yumao issued non-verbal orders to five of her men too, causing them to scatter silently into the darkness.

Wuxian watched on with a plain look. Though they were currently deployed to investigate the Weeping Willow about a series of murder cases, he didn't feel much aside from curiosity. Perhaps it was the fact that he was a cultivator or that he had long since internally distanced himself from matters regarding Cang'An and Nightwatcher affairs.

Jin Anjing walked over, cupping his fists at Wan Qiushou first, then Wuxian. Immediately after, he turned and walked out of the alleyway with his four remaining bronze badges. Wuxian wanted to ask what he was doing, but decided to abide by the no-speaking rule that everyone seemed to be adopting.

Fu Yumao deployed the rest of her men, keeping only one bronze badge with her. She beckoned to Wuxian and Wan Qiushou, leading them out of the alleyway. At this point, Wuxian began to lose interest. While he made sure to maintain his awareness to protect against a potential ambush, that was the full extent of his participation.

To his surprise, they were only one street away from the Weeping Willow. As they walked closer, Wuxian noticed that there was already a cordon set up by the city guard, with rows upon rows of wooden stakes which blocked the way forward, cutting off the streets leading to the establishment, undoubtedly to prevent people from crossing through.

The group of four stopped briefly as Fu Yumao turned around to face Wan Qiushou.

"Take a high position." 

Wan Qiushou nodded wordlessly. He crouched down, taking in a breath, before running forwards. With a kick off of the ground, he shot up into the rooftops, vanishing from sight. Wuxian watched on blankly, wondering what he was supposed to do next.

"Mister Sihai, you should go with him." Fu Yumao reminded, as she swivelled on her heel, continuing down the street to liaise with the city guard.

Her accompanying bronze badge cupped his fists at Wuxian before turning and following her hastily, his black cape fluttering behind him. Wuxian scratched his head, turning to look up at the rooftops.

Not only had Wan Qiushou vanished with no regard for Wuxian, but he'd also not told him where to go!

'And I've never actually tried to climb walls before.'

Cracking his knuckles, he made sure the Northern Dark Edge was tightly secured to his back. Stepping backwards a few paces, he made sure the run-up was clear, before circulating his qi, activating Effortless Flow as he dashed forwards.

He jumped up, one foot hitting the wall and pushing him further up. While in mid-air, a gust of qi pushed him the last inch, allowing him to grab a hold of the roof with his hands. One last pull and Wuxian made it cleanly up.

He looked around, partly to survey the area and partly to figure out where Wan Qiushou had gone.

'They're taking this seriously, huh.'

Wuxian couldn't help but take in a cold breath of air as he looked down. The view from the rooftop was completely different from down below- down there, there was barely any cover. The streets were wide and open, but up here, it was easy to stay concealed while also moving across the area unnoticed.

'If any ambush is to happen, then it'll come from up here. No wonder Fu Yumao and Jin Anjing sent most of their men up to the rooftops.'

He focused his mind, returning to surveying the area. Within the cordon itself, there was only one point that was higher than anything else- the Weeping Willow itself. 

'The last time we visited, I hadn't paid much attention to the architecture. It's definitely got more than just two stories. Perhaps the higher floors are for accommodation or to store wealth and other goods.' 

Wuxian began making his way towards the Weeping Willow. If Wan Qiushou was stationed anywhere, then it'd be on the place's uppermost floors. There were several symmetric balconies that peeked over from above that no doubt allowed for the best vision over the entire quadrant.

Since he was not particularly keen on actually getting into an engagement, Wuxian made his way up slowly and carefully. Though he was a cultivator, the lack of this sort of physical activity made things much more difficult for him who was more accustomed to walking and running, not climbing and jumping. It was times like this where he seriously considered making time to do some body tempering.

Eventually, he made it up to the highest section of the Weeping Willow. Thoroughly exhausted, he slumped over the railing, lying down on the balcony's wooden floor. The moment he arrived, a pair of black leather boots touched down beside him with a crisp clack.

Without looking, Wuxian already knew who it was.

"Son of a b*tch, why didn't you wait for me?"

Wan Qiushou reached out a hand, which Wuxian gladly took, pulling him up onto his feet.

"I forgot."

Resisting the urge to kick the man off the balcony, Wuxian took deep breaths, partially to calm down his irritation and partially to replenish qi that he'd expended getting up to this point.

Eyes narrowed, he studied the rooftops and walls that lay adjacent to the Weeping Willow.

"Where did Shui Qianyue go off to with the other two teams?" He asked in a low voice as he shifted to look down at the city guard below.

"She went inside to conduct an investigation. We're out here to combat any martial practitioners or cultivators that let their curiosity get the better of them." Qiushou responded, his eyes narrowed as he continued to survey the rooftops around them.

"Makes sense." Wuxian nodded, resting his head against his arm as he leaned on the railing.

Despite his lazy and disinterested exterior, internally, he felt a sense of unease. Though he was leaning on the railing, his free hand was already behind his back, ready to bring out the Northern Dark Edge at the next moment. Something about standing up on this balcony in such an exposed manner caused his hairs to stand on end.

They continued standing in silence, their eyes boring into the darkness below. The lighting in the area was uneven, primarily distributed around the entrances to the various establishments themselves rather than on or across the streets. This created an interesting visual phenomenon where the streets were long lines of darkness intermittently broken up by scattered protruding yellow glows most likely from candle or lamplight.

Wuxian shifted, taking a step back from the edge.

"Say, don't you think this is a bad spot to guard from? Although we have a good view, it's also pretty easy for others to see us. We're sitting ducks up here." He said, voicing his concerns as the feeling of unease grew stronger.

Wan Qiushou shook his head.

"That's the point. We're here as deterrents. If someone does decide to launch an attack, with our skills, we'll have time to retreat backwards into the Weeping Willow itself. From there, we can descend the stairs and regroup with sister Shui." He explained, continuing to stare into the distance.

"But what if the aggressor is a Golden Core cultivator? If we do manage to escape, it won't be without any injuries." Wuxian replied, taking another step back from the railing.

Again, Wan Qiushou shook his head slowly.

"Cang'An city is under the protection of the Jade Garden. It's nigh impossible for a Golden Core to enter unnoticed."

Hearing this, Wuxian scoffed internally.

'For a Qi Condensation cultivator like the white robed man from before to be parasitized, the gu master would at the very least be at the Golden Core realm. According to Big North, gu masters cannot control their parasites from an unlimited distance away. There's a non-zero chance that the gu master is within these city walls.'

A thought suddenly came to him.

"By the way, has much investigation been done into the white robed cultivator's background?" He asked.

Surprisingly, Wan Qiushou nodded.

"He's from the Twilight Order." 

"What's that?"

"It's a demonic cult that's opposed to the Jade Garden."

With this new information, Wuxian's brain suddenly became active. Resting the Northern Dark Edge against his shoulder, he cupped his chin in thought. After a few moments of thought, he spoke again.

"Do you think the Twilight Order is behind the murders?" 

Wan Qiushou didn't reply instantly, seemingly giving the question a good think.

"Not sure."

Wuxian waited for Wan Qiushou to explain, but the latter seemed wholly content with his curt answer, crossing his arms as he continued surveying the area. 

"Well, go on then. Explain." Wuxian urged, changing his posture.

Wan Qiushou pursed his lips, shifting his weight from one leg to the other repeatedly.

"The Twilight Order is only interested in dethroning the Jade Garden and replacing it as the master of Cang'An. They've never caused unnecessary civilian casualties before, since from their perspective, these civilians will eventually be under their care. For them, it makes no sense to damage their own foundation."

Wuxian looked at him strangely. 

"That's the only reason?"

"Yes."

"What if they've had a change of heart? What about a change in leadership?"

"Unlikely. As a demonic cult, authority is held tightly by one family. Right now their decision maker is their current saintess. According to our sources, she's still active, so it can't be a change in leadership, especially since the Twilight Order only elects a new saintess when the previous one passes away or becomes physically and mentally unfit to lead." Wan Qiushou refuted matter of factly.

"I see," Wuxian replied as he tilted his head to the side, "how long have the Jade Garden and the Twilight Order been feuding?"

"According to chief Li, since the very beginning." 

"And you didn't think to inform me sooner?"

"No."

"…"

Suddenly, they heard the sound of light footsteps in the distance. Glancing at one another, they instantly lowered their bodies and drew their weapons. Wuxian held the Northern Dark Edge with both hands while Qiushou brandished a pair of deer horn knives.

For some reason Wuxian could hear his heart pumping, even though their surroundings were mostly quiet. Perhaps it was the atmosphere or just the nature of the operation. In all of his previous fights, they had either been spars, or the single ambush conducted by that man from the Twilight Order.

'Strangely, I feel like I prefer being ambushed. It happens in an instant and I'm thrown right in the fray, whereas now, I can't help but overthink about how things could go wrong.'

The footsteps came closer and closer, before stopping entirely. Wuxian and Qiushou shared another glance, unanimously deciding to take a look. Circulating his qi, Wuxian cautiously activated Turning Stone, creating a layer of earth qi armour over his face and neck.

Of course, it wasn't a solid sheet of earth qi either, since that would get in the way of movement. Instead, it was three sections of solidified earth qi with minute gaps between each to allow the free turning and bobbing of his head.

Standing beneath them was a black-clothed figure. Wuxian's eyes floated down, catching sight of a bronze badge sitting on the person's chest. The bronze badge cupped his fists and half-bowed.

"Apologies, sirs- orders from captain Shui."

Letting his guard down slightly, Wuxian let out a silent exhale. Wan Qiushou sent him a look, but he didn't notice it.

"Go on then."

The bronze badge cleared his throat quietly. 

"Mister Sihai, please accompany me down to group up with Jin Anjing's team. We need your help."

Wuxian habitually moved to scratch his chin, only to find a layer of hardened earth qi instead. Retracting his hand, he glanced down at the roofs below, feeling a sense of dread at the thought of climbing his way back down.

"How about you take Wan Qiushou instead? Since he's more familiar with your Nightwatcher business, it'd make more sense to have him handle any complications that occur, no?" He suggested.

"I'm afraid that's exactly why mister Wan should stay up here. In the case of an ambush, he'll have a better chance at alerting the forces within. And… I don't mean to offend you, mister Sihai, but since you're not too familiar with things just yet, we're not allowed to leave key roles to just you alone." The bronze badge replied apologetically, bowing slightly lower as he spoke.

"Heavens… alright then. Let's go." Stowing his weapon away, Wuxian paused just as he was about to climb over the balcony. "Say, isn't there a staircase on the inside? Why don't I go down that way and regroup with you by the entrance?"

"No can do, I'm afraid. Captain Shui doesn't want any interruptions during her investigation."

"…Fine."