Promise and Betrayal: A Mo Dao Zu Shi (the Untamed) Story

Chapter 14

After last night, I find myself more at ease around Lan Zhan, and he seems to be considerably more comfortable around me, as well. Few words pass between us, but we take to accompanying each other on the roof every night when we cannot find sleep or if something plagues our mind. In these weeks, our rooftop stargazing has been every night. Sometimes I arrive first. Sometimes, despite the late hour, I find Lan Zhan cross-legged on the roof, absorbed in the music of his zither. We say little. There have been nights when no word passes between us. On those nights, it is just us and the stars and the night, the silence calming our thoughts and clearing our minds.

A month passes and we have yet to hear from the three missing heirs. We are not searching, but we have asked townspeople to open their eyes and ears; the Wen Clan will no doubt be hunting those three, and we will let the Wen Clan do the work for us. Yet no one has found them. No bodies have been recovered, and no news of them travels to our ears.

Meanwhile, the Unclean Realm has been dancing along a cliffside since we arrived weeks ago. Forces of cultivators are always at the ready, even in the early hours of the morning. But still, the Wen Clan does not attack. It is as if they bide their time, waiting for a signal or an event; their position has not changed in a month. Their main force remains in Nightless City, their branch forces taking up residence in Lotus Pier, Cloud Recesses, and several other smaller clans' seats of power. The war council has considered the possibility of us being flanked, and concluded that while it may happen, we have no way to stop. We have one force, and we cannot split it, lest we lose our advantage.

The atmosphere in the city grows more restless with each passing day. City residents have boarded up their homes and businesses, not daring to flee the city, but not daring to venture out in the streets. The war council has enforced a curfew in hopes that it will deter the Wen Clan from attacking under cover of darkness, yet no attack comes.

It leaves us with more time to plan, more time to mobilize, but more time to overthink and second-guess. The coalition grows as restless as the city. The war council has moved to mobilize their forces, to gather them outside the city and prepare them for travel; once the first blow is swung, war will break out. And we do not plan to lose.

The preparations for the army are immense. Shopkeepers start to appear on the roads again, merchants daring to sell supplies to the Nie Clan. It briefly breathes new life into the city, but I know it will not last. After the army leaves, the city will return to hiding behind a tree.

I continue to long for my swords, missing their familiar weight on my back. Every day I retreat to the far corner of the grounds I found that day, sometimes pretending to spar, sometimes running through forms. News of my activities spread around the castle, which seems to happen quite often. I now draw a small crowd, mostly of servants, but sometimes the Clan Leaders appear and scrutinize my technique. Some days the other heirs join me, bearing offers to spar and practice together, of which I accept. I spar most often with Lan Zhan, but we spar in private unless he approaches me during my daily practice. Neither of us is fond of public pageantry.

Jin Zuxian also appears often, and soon I find he is a formidable opponent. I relish my time sparring with him; it affords me a time to approach my technique and style differently. Whenever he challenges me, the crowds are always larger, mostly women and cultivating students, especially of the Jin Clan. A few times some of the cultivating students ask me to teach them. As news of my practices and impromptu classes spreads, my practice changes into a group class on some days and an arena sparring match on others. I did not know I had such a following, or that I was appreciated as much as these people make it appear. I am a formidable fighter, yet I keep telling the students and crowd that my cultivation theory skills are unimpressive.