The Power in His Palm

The miracles Zhang Tie had displayed underground had been far too shocking. From that moment on, more and more people began gathering around him, becoming his followers.

In this age, "follower" was a specific designation. It carried far more particular requirements and significance than attendants or guards. Attendants and guards could be hired with money, and those hired had to obey their master's orders completely within the scope of their duties. Followers, however, came of their own accord, with no employment relationship whatsoever. Their relationship with the person they followed was complicated. Sometimes it was casual and flexible; followers could leave at any time, and no one could force them to do anything. Yet at other times, such a relationship was exceedingly sacred.

In the context of the Xibo Language, the relationship between followers and the person they followed carried many layers of meaning. At its simplest, it could be the relationship between fans and an idol. A step higher was the relationship between a group's leader or head and its members. Higher still was something closest to the solemn master-disciple relationship of the East. The final kind consisted of followers brought together by faith.

Under normal circumstances, the status of a follower could shift freely among the first three relationships at any time, or encompass all three at once. The last kind—followers gathered by faith—was extremely rare. Such a group fused all four kinds of follower relationships into one. It already carried something of a martyr's air.

Zhang Tie's followers were precisely this last kind. Because of that, Zhang Tie's words and orders held immense influence over them.

The next day, before the sun had risen and before Fairy Dragon Star in the eastern sky had completely faded, the ten thousand-plus followers of Zhang Tie who had gathered outside