Chapter 133 - Return of the City Lord

City Lord Zhang slumped in an overstuffed chair in his office, nearly melting into Wan Yue's deft hands as she massaged his stiff neck and weary temples. He considered his trip to Red Moon City to deal with the matter of Alchemy Novice Mao Ailum to have been a success, securing a commitment from the Alchemy Consortium to dispatch a genuine Master Alchemist as soon as one could be arranged. Despite that success, however, the news he returned home to produced far too much cause for concern. 

"You're certain?" he asked, looking up at Wan Yue with sharp eyes. 

"He said 'Blood and Slaughter' multiple times during the confrontation," Wan Yue said, a dark expression on her face. "He also made claims about consuming his brother's 'blood, flesh and heart', claiming that he had taken his brother's 'everything.' It sparked a memory so I spent some time in the library. I found what I was looking for in the Journal of Zhang Wu from the Seventy-Third Year of the Blood War. He said that the bodies of powerful cultivators had to be burned before the Blood Slaughter Demon Clan could take them and harvest their blood, hearts, and flesh to use as power," she explained. "In his writings, he said that the Clan used their own fallen brethren for strength as well as the bodies of their victims. I also found a reference in 'A Soil Soaked in Blood' to the final days of the war that said: 'Strike only when you are most sure of a complete kill for any who escape with great wounds will sacrifice themselves to strengthen their Clansmen. It is better to fight a dozen weak demons than three mighty ones. To defeat Bloody Slaughter one must practice bloody slaughter.'" 

"When I read the histories of the First Lord Zhang, I had thought the tallies of soldiers and demons killed in each battle and the lists of exterminated families had been somehow exaggerated," the City Lord said with a shake of his head. "Our Zhang family now numbers left than fifty but in those days, First Lord Zhang wrote of his feelings of shame that fewer than a a thousand members of the family remained alive. Now the enemy that nearly eradicated our family and soaked the western peninsula in blood is showing their hand here again. Was Long Ma alone?"

"Zhang Bai doesn't think so," Wan Yue said with a sigh. "Worse, he thinks that one of the Soldiers under our command is part of the Clan."

"What?" City Lord Zhang all but leaped from his chair, turning to look at Wan Yue in shock. 

"I told him about my suspicions before he began his search of the Long family estate and he found no proof of involvement with the Clan. Given that we knew Long Ma had used a ritual from the Blood Slaughter Demon Clan to consume his brother, we expected to find such a ritual but we discovered nothing of the sort," she explained. "There were, however, signs that several things had been removed in haste, as though Long Ma had wanted to ensure they weren't found if he needed to flee."

"That doesn't sound like Long Ma at all," the City Lord said, tugging at his beard as he thought. "The man didn't believe that anyone beneath the rank of Warrior could defeat him and even then he had some confidence. He moved his family to a hunting lodge so no one could attack his family while he attacked Ao Wen's, not because he intended to abandon his home and take them on the run."

"Exactly," Wan Yue agreed. "Moreover, Zhang Bai found things that weren't taken which should have been if the intention was to hide traces of his misdeeds in Turning Leaf or to preserve rare knowledge he'd hoarded. It's like things were very selectively removed after Long Ma died," she concluded. 

"It's good to see that he's finally putting his mother's many years of lessons to use. I wish I could say it was because he'd awoken to the gravity of his station but the truth is more likely to be related to Ao Wen isn't it?" he asked rhetorically, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers in thought. 

"He's moved beyond passing fancy and infatuation if that's what you mean," Wan Yue said. "You weren't here to see Alchemist Ao when her father's hand was delivered. I've never seen someone so… consumed," Wan Yue continued, shivering at the memory of Ao Wen's berserk flames and her unhinged plan. "The concoction she planned for herself would have left her dead seven times in ten after she used its power to overwhelm Long Ma but she didn't care as long as it would let her save her father. That she didn't ask Bai, Tang Jin, or Feng Xi for help hurt all three of them deeply. Bai'er is looking for something, anything, that he can do to prove himself to her," Wan Yue said sadly. 

"Is he still fixed on her romantically? It doesn't take an artist to know that she's already given her heart to Understudy Feng," the City Lord said with a father's concern for his son. 

"I don't know," Wan Yue said honestly. Zhang Bai had managed to join Ao Wen's group along with Tang Jin and she didn't believe the young lord would be blind to the dynamics of the group but infatuation and love could do strange things to how a person saw the world and their place in it. 

"My Lord," A servant called from the entrance to the office. "Alchemist Ao and Understudy Feng have come to request an audience."

"I imagine she's come for an accounting on Long Ma's issue," the City Lord said, moving to his desk and smoothing his appearance to one more suitable for a lord meeting with their vassal. "Please, allow them in."

When Ao Wen and Feng Xi entered, the placid and refined aura radiating from the two young women caught both the City Lord and Wan Yue by surprise. Every time they had seen Ao Wen, from the day she brought Mao Ailum before them to her defiant stand against Long Ma she'd always felt a bit… jagged. Fragile like a mended piece of pottery that had sharp edges. The Ao Wen before them now, however, carried a calmer and more soothing air, like the sharp edges had been worn smooth. 

"Patriarch Zhang," Ao Wen said with a polite bow. "Unfortunately, I need to cut short my tenure as the Zhang Family's Guest Alchemist," she said simply. "Turning Leaf is increasingly unsuitable for me and I think it would be best that I begin my travels early. Patriarch Zhang doesn't need to worry about supplying me for my journey," she added. "I've done little to earn such a favor from you. Once I complete a few remaining tasks, I intend to depart. I hope Patriarch Zhang understands and can forgive the disrespect," she said, offering another bow.

"Is this about what happened with your family? Are you taking them with you on your journey?" Wan Yue asked, surprised by Ao Wen's sudden change in plans. The last she knew, Ao Yang was still badly injured and recovering from Ao Wen's treatment of the Flood Dragon Venom. 

"As far as my mother is concerned," Ao Wen began slowly, wanting to be truthful but not to belabor the issue now that she'd already made up her mind on how to handle it. "Her daughter died in the Awakening Ceremony and there is no longer a relationship between me and her. She has asked that I provide no further treatment for Father lest I cause him more harm. I've already provided prescriptions for my father's treatment to Novice Wu," she explained, her voice masking the pain behind her words. "If there's anything that Patriarch Zhang wishes me to concoct in the next quarter moon, I will be happy to oblige as repayment for the grace I have received," she finished with a final bow. 

"There is nothing for you to repay," the head of the Zhang family said softly, looking into the worried eyes of Wan Yue. "There are a few matters I would like to request your assistance in. I'll ensure you're appropriately compensated. Wan Yue will bring a list later if that's acceptable?"

"Thank you for understanding Patriarch," Ao Wen said, cupping her hands respectfully and leaving with Feng Xi as they'd come, strangely at peace in the midst of what must be a painful leave-taking. 

Several moments later, Patriarch Zhang looked at his beloved concubine with deeply furrowed brows. "Do you think she knows about the Blood Slaughter Demon Clan? Is she leaving to draw off any attempts at revenge for Long Ma?"

"It's something she would do," Wan Yue said, equally concerned about Ao Wen getting involved with the powerful clan. 

"Talk to Bai'er. If he's able to travel with her when she goes, that's a good thing," the City Lord concluded. "But he's to say nothing about the Blood Slaughter Demon Clan unless Ao Wen brings it up. Ensure that he has a thousand li messaging token. If he finds other evidence of the Clan while he's following Ao Wen, I want to know about it."

"As you command my lord," Wan Yue said with a smile. This was the side of her husband she loved the most. Stepping back, seeing the big picture, and searching for a way through the seen and unseen dangers to protect her, their family, and all of Turning Leaf town. "You still want to arrange compensation to Ao Wen's family for what Long Ma did?" she asked.

"Yes, but not until after Ao Wen has gone. Let her fade away quietly. More attention now would only inflame matters and we have a spy to find. We should gather the others and discuss…" The City Lord's mind worked rapidly and efficiently as he began to develop his plans. The Blood Slaughter Demon Clan couldn't be allowed to gain additional footholds in Turning Leaf town. Things needed to be done to ensure the safety of the people from the greatest threat they may know for generations. Next to that, considerations like the fate of the Ao family became much smaller and eventually faded from his mind entirely.