Immortal Connections - Chapter 10 preview

Chapter 10 - Wu Ying

Five ascendants, hair tied up and hairpins carefully in place. He noted the cut and type of dress, the stylized animals on their embroidered robes and, most importantly, the swords that they wore. Each on the pommel carried a simple insignia upon them, the one for the kingdom of Qin. A powerful kingdom, one to the north and east of the old kingdom of Cai whose half-Immortal ruler Wu Ying had slain. They had managed to ensure to see off the incursions of the Cai through guile and combat prowess, until, of course, the half-Immortal ruler had fallen.

Wu Ying had spent only a little time with them, passing along the edges of the kingdom. After all, they were infamously xenophobic, unwilling to allow others strangers to their kingdom, espousing a somewhat different set of governmental and cultivator philosophies.

Now, five of them stood before Wu Ying, and the only other marking on them was the tiger brooch they all wore hanging from the left chest, proudly and fully. Legs spread, hands hovering by their sides and close to a draw, breathing low and even.

“Shou Ren, have you found another sacrificial piglet to join you? Are you seeking to raise the standing of your pitiful group on the back of others?” The first to speak, the one in front, taunted with a smile that was as cruel as his words.

“Huang Lan Song.” Shou Ren utilized his full name for Wu Ying’s benefit, head tilted upwards as he set his chopsticks down. “I see your normal entourage is here. Tell me, do they help you…” Lan Song’s eyes narrowed, a hand edging to his weapon as he waited for Shou Rent to finish his sentence. “…compose your poems?”

“Are you looking to borrow them? Your last offering was rather bland,” Lan Song said, letting his hand shift aside.

“I would never dare think such matters. After all, I’m but a lowly cultivator from Ong.” A small gesture to the side, taking in Wu Ying and Xin Heng. As before, the woman had shrunk in on herself, making her diminutive form even smaller in an attempt to make herself no more than a shadow. “You know the apothecarist, Xin Heng. And this is Long Wu Ying, assigned to me for today by Vice Minister Yu and brought here by the Lord Protector of the Seven Winds and Thousand Lesser Palaces himself.”

“The Lord Protector bestirred himself from his cloud?”  Lan Song turned his attention on Wu Ying now, a subtle but consistent pressure increasing as he stared at the new ascended. “Well, now that’s interesting. Which of the twelve are you joining?”

“Ascended Huang,” Wu Ying inclined his head in acknowledgement. “Gentlemen.” He waited for a beat, receiving a series of minor acknowledgments from the others. “Ascendant Shou Ren has yet to explain the concept of the signs, nor their meanings.”

“Really now?” Lan Song lips curled up in derision before he smoothed it out. “I guess it makes sense, that the piggie is unwilling to explain how low his own group stands. The very bottom of the twelve, is it not?”

Shou Ren’s chin lifted, as he continued. “Second from bottom. The Immortals from the East are below us.”

“Not since last night. Did you not hear? Your people failed at the Winter Dance.”

“But Ah Chen…”

“Was uncountably ill.” Lan Song put on a visibly fake look of sorrow. “She could not make it.”

“I… what…”

“Fascinating as this might be, the twelve?” Wu Ying said, interrupting the pair. He noted the glare shot at him by some of the entourage but ignored him. “It seems that these groups are of some importance after all.”

“Twelve groups, twelve members of the zodiac. Membership in a group indicates your willingness to join the particular branch of the jade palace’s bureaucracy. Not that every member of a group will be recruited, of course, as openings in the bureaucracy are limited.”

“Do we get told what those openings are?” 

“No. The expansion of heavenly bureaucracy is constant, but the specifics are unknown,” Shou Ren said. 

“The military arm, the tigers,” one of the entourage spoke up, interrupting, a hand touching their chest and the crest and symbol pendant on it, “is ascendant now. Numerous members have joined and the armies of heaven continue to grow.”

Wu Ying glanced over at Shou Ren who gave a slight nod, confirming the thoughts. 

“Though the Snake and Dragon are both immensely strong as well.” At Wu Ying’s unspoken prompt, Lan Song continued. “They recruit into the departments of taxes and justice in turn, and employ many.”

“And the others?” 

“You know the rat are the east, immortals from the north join the dog faction, roosters the south and monkey’s the west.” A slight twitch of the lips. “They rank in the lower edges of the zodiac mostly all but those from the west. Their standing – at the moment – are high, but that might change soon enough.”

“Soon enough?”

“They rarely partake in our games.”

That was another line of enquiry, but it was bad enough trying to keep all this straight. Better to get this done with, Wu Ying knew he would understand this further later when he had time. For now though… “Go on.”

“The Central Secretariat draws from the oxen, the rabbits deal with rites and formations, the sheep manage personnel while the horse work hard at the major programs, the central works of the heavens.” 

“Leaving only the pig and the chancellery.” A smirk from Lan Song, “the smallest group and the only one that has not drawn a member from in the last two thousand and eighty years. No wonder it is the smallest, barring those from the East. And filled with the most pig headed of all.” 

“No new members at all?” Wu Ying said, surprised.

“None.” Again, that self-satisfied smile. “The Emperor has no need for advice from the newly ascended. Only fools would think that they have to offer our august lord high above. We are but to serve him, as his arms, as his legs and sinews and tendons, as he carries out the will of heaven.”

Wu Ying looked down, hiding his reflexive grimace as he picked up his tea cup and sipped on its content. The will of heaven, the belief that one was endowed with the knowledge of those above, the wisdom of the Dao and the instinctive understanding of the best choices for all… 

That was a belief that Wu Ying found hard to hold onto, not after what he had seen in the world below. The suffering and pain, easily avoidable. The hints of a dysfunctional heaven he had glimpsed thus far. On the other hand, he also had learnt to wait and watch, to learn patience because sometimes, the world managed itself without further input from others. 

Like a boat, tipping from side to side in the water before it righted itself. 

“Well, I guess that’s Ascendant Long all caught up,” Shou Ren said “There’s a lot more, of course, to show him. And I do believe we’re done eating.” He stood up, offering the group a tight smile. “If you’ll excuse us.”

“No, no, no,” Lan Song said. Wu Ying tensed at something in his tone, something dark and gleeful. “We cannot just leave the job unfinished. And if the new Ascendant now knows of the twelve, we have pushed ahead your lackadaisical introduction to this world. And it would be our pleasure to show him a little more of our world, and the tigers. After all,” eyes tracking downwards to Wu Ying’s sword that he had propped up against the table, “he might actually be useful. Unlike some.”

That last sentence had Xin Heng make a little noise deep in her throat. One of the entourage, a man with a scar running down across one eye looked over, but seeing that his leader had either ignored it or missed the noise, chose to stay silent.

“What are you planning, Lan Song.”

“Just an introduction to our sparring ring. After all, the next tournament is in a few days.”

“Lan Song-!” Shou Ren’s voice rose. “You cannot-”

“No, it’s alright. I might as well see what at least one of the zodiac groups has to offer,” Wu Ying said, slipping his sword through his belt as he stood up. After all, sometimes, the best way to gauge another man was across a pair of blades and after one – or the other – had been bloodied.