Path Of The Dragon (A Dark Fantasy Cultivation Wuxia Xianxia Progression Series)

Chapter 70 Cloak And Dagger

In the Chen family compound, Chen Liang, the family head sat on his throne scowling at Elder Kanev who knelt before him in the center of the audience chamber.

Chen Liang turned his head to the cloaked man to his left. "And you found nothing at all?" he asked.

"Nothing," said the cloaked man, "We found mention of a minor noble family in the Iron Kingdom that goes by the name Liu, but they do not match the girl's description and we've found no noble families to the north with such a name. She may hail from somewhere further than we can reach, have a reclusive family, or more likely, her name may be a lie designed to throw us off her trail."

Chen Liang looked away and the cloaked man retreated behind his throne, waiting at attention.

"And what have you learned about the girl?" Chen Liang asked, a note of irritation slipping into his words.

"Only what I've already reported, my lord. She's good friends with the Pan twins and the hive girl. And goes everywhere with that spirit tiger of hers," Elder Kanev said.

"You've truly learned nothing more? In months of watching her? No clue as to where she's from? Who her family is? Does she even have one? What about these mysterious bodyguards? Does nobody have anything of value to report?" Chen Liang asked.

"I'm afraid she's tight-lipped, my lord. I've heard mention that she serves a master of great power but that he's otherwise preoccupied. Yet she does not speak of what he's occupied with. She doesn't even tell Elder Shi much. Not when I can overhear them at least. She's as much a mystery to her allies as she is to us," Elder Kanev said.

"Elder Shi? Is that the elder who helped her end the fight between my son and that Pan girl?" Chen Liang asked.

"The very same," Elder Kanev said.

"Hmm... has she gone against our family before?" Chen Liang asked.

"It wouldn't surprise me. She's a treacherous bitch, my lord," Elder Kanev said.

"She's not someone we've ever noticed taking sides," said one of the Chen family elders.

"We'll have to keep an eye on her. But, back to the matter at hand," Chen Liang said, "you have nothing useful to report?"

"I'm afraid not, my lord," Elder Kanev said, "she takes great care and speaks little of her family. From what I've heard, she's from somewhere a great distance away."

"A great distance... that could be anywhere," Chen Liang muttered, "or nowhere. This could all be a lie. A bluff to avoid being crushed. I still can't believe the Onyx Pavilion would be so shameless as to buy their own auction and gift it to her. What do they know that we don't?"

"Perhaps she's tied to the mysterious expert? He's been buying up an awful lot of cultivation resources," said one of the elders.

"Maybe... but didn't we find she has wealth of her own? What expert would personally buy resources for a disciple who could do so themselves? It makes no sense," said another elder.

Chen Liang held up his hand and the room fell silent.

"Whoever she is, she's been advancing through the ranks far too quickly. At this rate, she'll soon be an Elementalist and after that... there's no telling what heights she might reach. She's shown herself to be our enemy. We have no choice. We must get rid of her before she grows stronger," Chen Liang said.

There was a long pause. Chen Liang smirked. No doubt his words had finally got them to begin thinking things through. It was tiresome sometimes what utter trash people were.

"You're right of course," said Elder Bolin, "but no matter who she is, that bodyguard of hers is a serious threat. And even if we succeeded in slaying her, can we afford to invite her family's wrath down upon us?"

Chen Liang ran the back of his index finger against the underside of his chin, feeling his cleanly shaved bristles against his skin. "What elemental affinities do you have Elder Kanev?" he asked.

"Water and earth, my lord," Elder Kanev said.

Chen Liang smiled. "Water... excellent. Are you trained in trace removal?" he asked.

"Yes, my lord," Elder Kanev said.

"Good," Chen Liang said, "then it should be no trouble at all to make sure whoever this Liu Jie's family is never even knows what happened."

"I... but my lord... I cannot hope to overcome such a powerful bodyguard," Elder Kanev said.

Chen Liang let out an exasperated sigh. I'm surrounded by idiots. He thought. "In your report," Chen Liang said, "you said that the Essence continued to gather even while the girl was in the city with the Pan twins."

"Yes, my lord," Elder Kanev said.

Chen Liang sighed again and spoke slower, so the idiot might finally understand. "If the Essence was being gathered in her room... where was the bodyguard?" he asked.

"In... her room?" Elder Kanev said, "Oh... so she is vulnerable after all? All we have to do is make sure there's no trail for the bodyguard to follow!"

Chen Liang smoothed one of his eyebrows with his thumb. How is it possible for people to be so useless? He wondered.

"Yes. Do you think you can handle that?" Chen Liang asked.

"Of course, my lord. It shall be done," Elder Kanev said.

"Good. Kill the girl. Use your affinity to ensure not a single trace is left. Nothing. If even a single shred of evidence. A single clue remains. I will skin you while you scream and dump you into the purpleheart eyeworm farm," Chen Liang said, "They're excellent at burrowing under the skin, and without yours, I'm sure they'll have an easier time of it. But, should you complete this task in a satisfactory way... I will personally gift you enough resources for you to advance all the way to the Spiritualist rank."

"Thank you, my lord," Elder Kanev said with undisguised excitement in his voice, "I shall not fail you."

***

The days flew by as Jie trained and it seemed like no time at all before the festival for World Creation Day began. Pan Tian and Ithilix came to Jie's residence and she left with them, heading to sign up their team.

The Crimson Academy was warmer now and winter seemed like a distant memory as lotus petals drifted on the wind in colorful swirls.

The air was also filled with lanterns of a thousand different colors that hovered in the air like exotic, twinkling stars as small dragons made of water flew between them.

And towering dragon statues seemed to have been erected overnight. With scales dark like obsidian that gleamed in the myriad lights of the lanterns and the bright sun. On the ground, metal dragons of all different sizes skittered to and fro. Some tidied up, busying themselves with collecting litter, and sweeping floors while others seemed more focused on causing mischief. One ran by with someone's hat with a student chasing after it.

"Hey! Get back here!" he shouted as he ran after the metal dragon.

The grounds were filled with stalls of all kinds selling everything from weapons and cultivation treasures to exotic foods. Well... exotic to Jie's eyes anyway. Why anyone would eat the still-alive spiked octopus, she had no idea.

"It looks amazing," Jie said as she caught one of the lotus petals in the air and played with it, the red petal staining her porcelain fingers before she released it to the mercy of the wind.

"How did they set all of this up so fast? None of this was here last night," she said.

"They had Elementalist craftsmen and above working on it. All the elders helped as well, so it didn't take them long, but I suppose you were too busy cultivating to notice?" Pan Tian suggested.

"I guess so," Jie said.

As they walked, they passed different sculptures. Most were of dragons, or of Xiannu, the world, in various stages of creation. Some were globes of fire barely covered in rock and others had detail down to miniature trees atop the surface with oceans that lapped against small beaches.