“A pot of the Dragonwell green tea, the wild mushroom soup, mmm…. Noodles served Crossing the Bridge style, grilled pork with lemongrass, and we’ll take the mustard greens and garlic too. Do you want to add anything?”
Liren rolled her eyes. “Three dishes and a soup is enough. Green tea, though?”
“Ah, Sir Immortal must be commended there. Our Dragonwell green tea was picked and roasted last month. It is at the very peak of flavor right now. Any wine with the food?”
The two shook their heads and the waiter bowed and scurried off to put their order in.
“You usually prefer white tea, or red.” Liren murmured.
“I do, but this really is the perfect moment for good green tea.” Tian’s voice was a little distant. They had a window with a view out over the rolling foothills at the base of the mountain, and looking the other way, they could see down onto the ground floor below. The upper floors were arranged like balconies, with the center open and a view of the floor below provided. The highest floors had carved wooden screens, but the second floor wasn’t so precious.
“King of Hell Hanshen? That’s not a common name.” Liren’s voice was soft, carrying straight to his ear.
“I’m more concerned about a very common name.” Tian’s voice grew even fainter, as he turned his gaze away from the people sitting below and watched the clouds. “A name neither of us could forget.”
Liren didn’t say anything. Her feud with the Long Clan was far beyond merely “irreconcilable.” They had exterminated her whole clan, leaving only her questionably reliable grandmother, her mom, one of her fathers, and herself. The sect had silently, but quite carefully, kept the Longs well away from her. With imperfect results. The one time they did get close, the Longs "accidentally" let a Heavenly Realm heretic very nearly kill the two juniors. They certainly would have died, were it not for some treasures and Grandpa Jun.
The Long Clan had two very senior Heavenly Realm cultivators in the Inner Court, though neither was an Elder. They had a powerful mercantile empire, and strong military support both inside and outside the sect. Dangerous enemies indeed. Liren was a peer of theirs now, no longer benefitting from the questionable protection of her seniors. Given everything, she had no protection at all.
Tian knew she still wanted vengeance. He wanted to get it for her. In an indirect way, it would be getting revenge for the Xia too. But that’s not what pulled his memories up into the white clouds and hot blue sky.
Brother Long, the gentleman cultivator who taught him Go. Who first introduced him to proper music, now that he thought about it. The first one of his brothers who he could truly think of as a coward. When Depot Four was attacked, “Brother” Long’s nerve broke. He hid himself in his cell, sealed the door with every talisman he could, and never came out again. At least, he hadn't by the time Tian left the Redstone Wastes, almost two months after the attack.
His one-time good brother should never have begun cultivating immortality. He should have been a scholar, warring with other scholars through memorials, his battles fought with ink and aphorisms, not blood and sabers. Sister Li, the crafter he worked for, was born for cultivation. She kept crafting arrows even as her teeth shattered under the convulsive power of the drugs she took to stay on her feet. Crafted until her fingers literally bled. Lost her arm and very nearly her life when a heretic caught her at her station, refusing to stop for even one second.
She was still crafting, last he heard, down in the Redstone Wastes. It was an arm that was cut away, not her dao path. Brother Long got through the battle untouched, and his heart died.
The last time he had thought this much about him was… probably when he raided the Jin Clan in Burning Flag City. A heretical branch of a cadet family that served the Longs. What a world. What a mad, mad world.
He sighed and listened to the conversations drifting through the tea house. His Heavenly Realm senses helped there. He just had to concentrate, and the voices came into focus. It made hopping between conversations quite easy.
“Radiant Dawn looks like it’s trying to consolidate the northeast as it expands south. I heard Tiger Mountain joined ‘voluntarily.’”
“They may want to consolidate, but it’s not so easy. Bamboo Medicine Hut sealed itself off from the world, must be inspired by the Mountain. So did The Hall of Echoing Songs, The Quilin Throne-”
“Quilin Throne? Never heard of ‘em.”
“Not much to them, or so everyone thought. They looked like any other minor sect. Who would have guessed they had a sect protecting array? Not an amazing one, looks like a befuddling mists array, but it expresses their stance.”
“Meanwhile the mortal world has gone mad. Did you hear about Count Jin? Personally beheaded a hundred subjects convicted of heresy. His nephew’s concubine was among them.”
“No!”
“Oh yes. Word is that he would have swung the saber even if it had been his nephew! But the young man escaped that shame by dying in the battle against the Green Banner Rebels.”
“Do you think he-”
“Who can say, who can say.”
Another voice, middle aged and polished.
“Waiter, Waiter, I think you dropped this piece of silver.”
“Oh, how kind of you, sir! Is there some way I can repay you?”
“I hear you need an introduction to see Merchant King Long’s… private collection. Do you know who might make such an arrangement?”
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“Sir, how could a little waiter like me wade into such deep waters? I can tell you there is no one in the Lower Town with those kinds of connections. If you need a pass for the city, you can try to arrange something with Master Ko or Master Si, you will find them drinking at the City Bell Tavern tonight. Inside the City, try asking around the Chess Pavilion or the Hundred Fragrances Brothel.”
“If I was content with a brothel, why would I want to see his private collection?”
“Honored guest… while some of the entertainers there entered voluntarily and sell only their art, others…”
“Ah. Say no more.”
Tian’s attention was pulled to another voice, rough, but well spoken. The trail dust couldn’t cover the worry in his voice.
“The Emperor has given the King of Hell leave to command a company of horse guards, blurring the line between the civil service and the military. Such a thing has not been done in generations. He called for volunteers for the posting. You will never guess who came forward.”
“Who? Who would dare make enemies of the whole world?”
“The White Horse Fellows, led by the Iron General himself.”
“That’s a pillar army! Are you saying a full company of elite troopers volunteered?”
“Indeed. The General begged permission to supply the troops, and his own son is their captain. He is putting his son’s life in the hands of the King of Hell as proof of loyalty.”
“Tsk! I heard the Emperor was furious about the Boruski Tribe taking over so much of the southern grasslands. It looks like the King of Hell is visiting Burning Flag City for more than the good of his soul. The Red Plume General is practically the only one keeping our southern border in any shape at all.”
“Dark days, dark days. Price of rice is up four times from what it cost last year, price of salt is only doubled because of the Royal Monopoly being established-”
“Speaking of the King of Hell and people losing their heads…”
“Right, right. Heavens, did you hear about what he did in Feyun City? Lined up the whole family, all of them, right on the merchant docks and made the whole city watch as they were beheaded. Their heads tumbled into the Green River, the bodies buried in a ditch somewhere without so much as a grave marker.”
“Why bother with a marker? Who’s left to offer incense? Speaking of, I know a good source for high quality wood, if you are thinking about having a coffin made in advance. I have.”
“Good brother!”
Female voices spoke in excited murmurs, their voices suddenly rising and falling in volume.
“Blue River bandits-”
“Who?”
“Clear out your ears, sister, and listen. My auntie’s neighbor’s brother’s butcher has a nephew who’s engaged to the sister of the woman who raised the second chief laundress over at the Northern Beauty Hot Springs, and she told me that the Blood River Bandits had come down and taken over a stretch of the Agate. The local bandits were all crushed under them. Apparently, their leader has strange and supernatural powers. Evil powers.”
“Alarming! Are the local sects doing anything?”
“The local sects couldn’t stop their piss mid flow, how are they going to stop the bandits? Ghost King Zhong is going to be working overtime at this rate.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of him!”
“Here’s your tea.” Tian’s attention was yanked back to his table. The teapot thudded down in front of him, a kettle set next to it on a thick pad. “Your dishes will be out momentarily. Is there anything in particular you wanted to ask about?” The waiter asked.
“Yes, I heard you need a pass to enter the city proper?” Liren asked.
“Yes, that’s right. Only the Mountain Guardians have free access to the city. Everyone else needs to buy a pass, or get one cheaper through a local guarantor. But that’s not so easy either. It’s not just a pass for entry, you see. It’s a token that keeps track of how long you can remain in the city, as well as tracking your movements through the city. Some parts are forbidden even with a pass, and if your pass expires while you are still inside the city? No chance to buy an extension, immediate execution!”
The waiter grinned as he chopped down with his hand.
“How much are passess?” Liren asked.
“Depends on your cultivation, I hear, but I wouldn’t know about that. For mortals, it’s expensive. Very. Ten Silver a day, and the longer you want to stay, the more the price goes up. A month’s stay costs gold, not silver.”
Tian and Liren nodded. “Where can we find Merchant King Long’s shop?” Tian asked.
“Inside the city, of course. He does have a warehouse out here, if you were thinking of saving a little coin, but forget it. He only stores bulk goods there, and it is fortified, guarded by cultivators, and worst of all, the Long Clan Ancestors are known to be both in the City, and vengeful in the extreme. Not worth even asking at the door about a little off the books purchase.”
Tian had never known such a thing was even possible, but nodded fearfully anyway. “I see, I see. Times are hard all over, it’s never wrong to save where you can but is it really being frugal if it costs your life?”
The waiter paused hearing that, then nodded with violent enthusiasm. “Wise, wise words! Oh, if only more people had Sir Immortal’s wisdom! ‘Is it really being frugal if it costs you your life?’ I will remember Sir’s words and keep them in my heart.”
“No need for flattery, no need for flattery. Though, if I was looking to do some… tax free shopping… is there a warehouse I should stop by?” He glanced over at Liren, who slid a little silver over to the waiter.
“Not really, sorry Immortal. Goods are usually stored in storage rings when they are intended for Immortal use. The stuff in warehouses is all the bulk goods and things that cannot be stored.”
Tian smiled. “You pick up a lot working as a waiter here.”
“It’s the job. Actually, I don’t get paid by the owner. My income is entirely tips, and I have to split those with the house. But since everyone who comes here is looking for information, it’s a pretty good living. Assuming you don’t die, of course.”
“Very true.”
“Sir might check out… hmm. The Nimu Company. Look for the sign of the celestial ox, blue flag, can’t miss it. Mostly they deal in mortal goods, but it is well known that their caravans have immortals guarding them who sideline in tomb robbing. No guarantees about what they have, as you might imagine.” There was a faint buzzing, just at the edge of hearing. “Ah, but your food is ready. Let me go collect that for you straight away!”
Liren gave Tian a confused look. “You want to go shopping? You? Mister ‘It’s silly to buy new shoes when I can fix them with a bit of straw and keep them going for another few months?’”
“We are missing an awful lot of things. Some of our stuff does badly need upgrading, and frankly, and I say this with love, but we ran out of soap months ago and…”
“I hate you. It’s important that you know that. The cleansing spell works perfectly. All our seniors use it.” Liren glared at him.
“And yet, I still smell wonderful, while others… It’s a fixable problem. Probably. Anyway, I have my teacher’s instructions. There are any number of ways of finding what you need.”
Tian tapped the table idly, grinning, hiding the fact that Liren mostly smelled of the summer sun on the practice grounds at the West Town Temple to him. Not seeing Grandpa Jun grinning right behind him, and rubbing his ghostly hands.