"Long time no see, Immortal Master."
Shen Fang began waving in greeting while he was still some distance away.
Only when he rode up to the village entrance did Liu Shuyue say coldly, "I believe I drew a line for you. Anyone who dares cross it will receive no mercy from me."
"Wait... Circumstances have changed! Surely you've heard that even warring armies don't kill envoys. Don't kill the messenger!" Shen Fang hurried to explain, without a trace of his former bearing as Prefect.
"You? An envoy?" Liu Shuyue asked in surprise.
"Indeed. His Majesty takes your affairs very seriously. He wrote a letter himself and ordered me to deliver it into your hands." With that, he dismounted and took a rolled letter from his satchel.
She made no move to take it. "So you're here to persuade me to surrender?"
"I'm only here to convey His Majesty's wishes. I have no other intentions."
Liu Shuyue turned to Chen Xuan.
Chen Xuan thought for a moment, then gave her a slight nod.
Only then did she step forward and take the letter. "Leave the guards outside. You alone can come with us."
Mala Village had few buildings worth speaking of. Most villagers lived in caves beneath the stone pillars, let alone having a dedicated meeting hall or reception room. Even so, the vitality of the place stunned Shen Fang. His eyes never stopped roaming.
"What do you think of the village?" Chen Xuan asked teasingly.
"If I hadn't seen it myself, I never would have believed it." Shen Fang seemed to have been waiting for the subject and immediately launched into an effusive account. "Everyone says the Myriad Mountain Great Wilderness is a death trap, overrun with monsters and strewn with corpses. Who would have thought it held such pleasant scenery... and such abundant resources?" He pointed at a row of drying racks laden with fish beside the lake. "To go from empty stomachs to stores full of meat—what a miracle! I thought the refugees who fled here would suffer terribly, that perhaps not one in ten would survive. It seems I underestimated you, Immortal Master."
Then he looked at Chen Xuan. "Might I ask your name, sir? Are you also a practitioner of the Lotus Cloud Sect?"
"Chen Xuan. As for where I come from..."
"He is a fellow practitioner," Liu Shuyue interjected. "Though he doesn't belong to the Lotus Cloud Sect, we share the same goal on the path of cultivation."
"But from what I know, the Lotus Cloud Sect rejects all practitioners outside its own ranks..."
"That only applies to practitioners from this land. Chen Xuan comes from beyond the Abyssal Sea."
Understanding dawned on Shen Fang's face. "I see. When I met this young man that day, I knew he was someone remarkable. If we have the chance, Brother Chen, I hope you'll tell me stories of the world beyond the sea."
Chen Xuan merely smiled and gave a slight nod.
Liu Shuyue was clearly making it up. All he had to do was play along.
They received Shen Fang on an open patch of ground beside the lake at the edge of the mountains. Apart from a long table and a few chairs, there was nothing there.
"The village is still under construction, so we have nowhere better to receive you. Please forgive our lack of hospitality." Liu Shuyue spoke politely, but there was not a trace of apology on her face.
"Not at all. I think this place is quite nice." The Prefect waved his hands. "Plenty of light, a gentle breeze, heaven and earth for a room, mountains and water as our witnesses. It suits us perfectly."
Liu Shuyue studied him for a moment before sighing. "I thought you were stubborn and arrogant. It turns out you're rather adaptable."
Shen Fang only smiled wryly at the jab and said nothing.
She had no desire to keep exchanging pleasantries, so she opened the "secret letter."
After skimming just a few lines, Liu Shuyue's brows drew together. By the time she finished, she slapped the letter onto the table in anger. "Outrageous!"
"What does it say?" Chen Xuan asked curiously.
"See for yourself." She pushed it toward him.
Strictly speaking, the letter was for Liu Shuyue's eyes alone, but Shen Fang discreetly looked away, pretending not to notice what the Immortal Master had done.
The letter was blunt. Its first half accused and condemned Liu Shuyue—King of Qi's fury at her betrayal was plain in every line. He had treated her with sincerity for five years, only for her to go her own way. Even so, he was willing to give her a chance to make amends. If she returned to the Royal City within two months of receiving the letter, confessed her crime, and submitted to him, he would spare her entire clan from execution.
Chen Xuan was hardly surprised. The letter did not even mention the slain dragon. Once King of Qi learned that the Immortal Master had killed the dragon that symbolized royal authority, skinned it for meat, and used all its precious Dragon Blood to nourish the refugees, he would probably burst a blood vessel.
But the second half of the letter was absurd.
It was a naked threat. If Liu Shuyue failed to return by the deadline, King of Qi would execute her entire clan, along with the residents of her birthplace. And that was not all. He would muster his army and rogue cultivators alike to raze the refugees' hiding place and grind everyone who dared resist into dust!
No wonder Liu Shuyue was furious at such reckless disregard for the lives of his own subjects.
"Where is your family now?" Chen Xuan asked after reading it.
"I'm a disciple of the Lotus Cloud Sect. What family would I have?" she said indignantly. "I've been in the sect's meditation chambers for as long as I can remember. The other disciples are the same. I've never heard any of them speak of family or a life outside the sect. King of Qi is threatening me with something that doesn't even exist!"
"Were you born in the sect, Immortal Master?" Shen Fang asked in surprise. "I thought the Lotus Cloud Sect secretly sought out gifted children, adopted them, and raised them to become practitioners..."
"That's nothing but a rumor," Liu Shuyue said at once. "The sect opens its gates only once every hundred years. Where would it find the people to gather children from the common folk? Rogue cultivators and evil cultivators use the Lotus Cloud Sect's name to swindle people, and that's why the world believes such nonsense!"
A sect completely sealed off from the outside world? If they desire nothing from it, why do they interfere in worldly affairs? Chen Xuan was curious. "Then who are the Liu family mentioned in the letter?"
"I know that one," Shen Fang answered immediately. "The Yunzhou Liu Family is a great clan. But... Immortal Master, are you certain you have no connection to them?"
"Wouldn't I know my own origins!?" Liu Shuyue retorted.
"I'm not doubting you. It's just..." The Prefect hesitated. "They claim not only to be related by blood to the Auxiliary State Immortal Master, but also to have close ties with the Lotus Cloud Sect. And they give a detailed account of your background. They say you have a younger sister in the clan named Liu Qing—"
"Absurd!" she cut in. "That Liu family has lost its mind!"
"They probably made up all those details to bask in the fame of a sect disciple," Chen Xuan said, rubbing his forehead. "Now their whole family has basked its way to the execution block."
Liu Shuyue suddenly fell silent.
After a long while, she spoke again. "I imagine the Prefect has already guessed what the letter says."
"More or less," Shen Fang said modestly. "This affair has shaken the court. Even in Qingzhou, I can feel His Majesty's murderous anger. The fact that he wrote to you first instead of immediately sending troops to suppress you is probably considerable restraint on his part."
"Restraint?" Liu Shuyue sneered. "He casually uses the lives of an entire region's people as a bargaining chip... He has no right to rule this country!"
Shen Fang gave an awkward cough.
"I won't write back. Tell him this yourself," she said, enunciating every word. "I will never submit to a tyrant like him!"
"I... understand your position. I'll convey it as appropriate," Shen Fang said with a nod.
The two escorted the Prefect to the village entrance. As he prepared to leave, he asked, "Are you still bringing refugees here for shelter, Immortal Master?"
"Yes," Liu Shuyue said. "Why?"
"Perhaps I can help you with that."
"What do you mean?"
"As you know, Zhang Wei is the gateway north out of Qingzhou. Refugees fleeing famine will inevitably gather there. I could send people to escort them safely here, saving you a great deal of travel."
Liu Shuyue paused. "Why? I thought you didn't care whether they lived or died."
Shen Fang's expression did not change. "I govern Zhang Wei. When forced to choose between protecting those inside the city and those outside, I must choose the lesser evil. But if I have a chance to save the refugees, why would I choose to become the villain the people of Qingzhou curse?"
After holding his gaze for a moment, Liu Shuyue cupped her hands to him. "Then I'm sorry for the trouble, Prefect."
She had returned to addressing him with respect.
Shen Fang returned the gesture with equal sincerity. "I hope that by the next time we meet, this place will have become a true refuge from the world."
Before you continue