One Tail at a Time

A Plan

Xiaobai and I have talked for some time before her senior returns to guide her out of my chamber again.  But in that time, I learned exactly why she had left the mountain and what had happened during her entire disappearance.   And there are two things that concern me deeply.  The first is the tunnel she had found herself in.  After a lengthy interrogation, I come to the conclusion that I may have to seek out its position myself.  Her directional skills leave much to be desired, so I cannot trust her judgement in being able to find it again.

But I do have a general idea from where she was before she had tried to flee the soldier s they had sneaked into Xue Yan with.  She also firmly believes that Liwei was well aware of the plan to entice her into the Demon Lands well before he arrived on Kunlun Mountain, which I find surprising, because I had not really given the boy much credit for being a strategist much less an actor.

But we live and learn and what I have learned about that boy, is he might lean on the side of spinelessness, but his desire for approval from his father will see him do absolutely anything to get it even if it means effectively kidnapping my disciple and not only risking the ire of Kunlun Mountain, but also effectively upending what little leeway Qing Qiu has made in righting the wrongs of the past while also deepening the worlds hatred of a little girl who has done no wrong.

I am livid to say the least, and retribution is my only desire, but after a thorough talk with Xiaobai in conjunction with her mother, it is decided that nothing more will be done in terms of retaliation.  This is the kind of heart that child was born with.  She is far too forgiving and in the process, far too naive, if she thinks the Demons will let it all go.  

Tit for tat is not that Demons style.  He will either also let it lie or he will go hard.  And after what Bai Zhi and I did to his palace, the Demons will absolutely retaliate, only I have a strong suspicion that rather than declare outright war, he will draw this out as far as he can take it, while gaining the ears of the world in the hope of rallying support among our own allies, who are already unsettled by what happened at the Inventors Convention.

But as I have mentioned untold times before, I know that Demon better than I know anyone in this world.  The last great war, saw me studying his habits, quirks and foibles until I could breath at the same rhythm as him.  So the sudden arrival of a courier with a summons to appear for a special negotiations meeting between the Kunlun Mountain, the Celestial Tribe and the Demons.

Notably, Qing Qiu has been excluded and that is because Xiaobai is my Disciple and therefore comes under my protection whereas her father has gained immunity at the request of the Demons Overlord.  Now this is interesting, because it means he has opened up a private line of communication between himself and Bai Zhi while effectively shutting us out which does not bode well for any of us, least of all Xiaobai.

Which seriously puts me into deep contemplation on how best to prepare her for what might be coming.  The Demon Overlord is a highly intelligent strategist, and will use everyone and everything at his disposal to gain an advantage over his enemies, even if it means using his own son.  But worst, he will use Xiaobais naivety and kindness to weaken her position among us while also using her own father against her.  He is that vile.

Not that Bai Zhi is naive, because he is not, after all, the man did not become the greatest war general and Emperor of the largest tribe by being naive.  But the Demon will no doubt use his love for his family and volatile nature to his own benefit and because Xiaobai has already seen him unleash hell on the realms for her already, he knows that Bai Zhi will not endanger his people anymore than he already has which means, he is in the weakest position right now.