“I believe you came here to see the city lord?” the strange Gao Clan member asked me, turning on his heels and walking out of the encirclement of shadowy cultivators.

  “I was curious why he had failed to deliver justice to his treasonous councillor, but I can see now it was an impossible task. With the weight of his clan behind him, what is one mere City Lord?” I replied with a sigh.

  “Well, you could ask him yourself. Here he comes,” the man said, pointing at the doors of the throne room.

  Councillor Gao walked through the hole I’d punched in the stone while looking around in confusion. When his gaze landed on me it twisted first into fury, but he settled on a depraved grin.

  Behind him, City Lord Teng Shi shuffled in with his head raised. However, his eyes were glazed over, exactly as Captain Kang and the rest of the city guard’s eyes had been.

  I was now certain that the powerful Gao Clan cultivator had placed them all under some sort of hypnosis or mind control. I felt the clutches of death tighten around my neck.

  “The city lord isn’t in a very talkative mood these days, but maybe my little cousin can offer his perspective. He is the acting ruler of Three River City these days, after I fixed his mistakes,” the man said, lounging on the throne once more.

  “Zhao Dan, how does it feel to have your reputation destroyed and your life held in my hands?” Councillor Gao sneered, staring down his nose at me.

  It was rather comical, given that he was a head shorter than me. It left his head tilted and twisted as he tried to impose his dominance despite having a weaker cultivation and a lacking stature.

  “My reputation is unimportant. You are a disgusting bastard, Councillor. Poisoning your own citizens is an act of pure evil. If you wanted to take revenge you should’ve done it with your own hands like a man, instead of slaughtering the innocent,” I replied, keeping a lid on my bubbling fury.

  I threw a glance at the man on the throne. He hadn’t reacted even when I berated the councillor, but that didn’t mean he would ignore me if I tried to kill him.

  Before making any rash moves I needed to figure out the relationship between the two cousins. My only hope of escape was somehow slipping out of the powerful cultivator’s grasp.

  “Do you think I’m stupid, Zhao Dan?” the councillor cackled.

  I scratched my temple and the man on the throne snorted. The councillor’s face twisted in rage but he schooled his expression and continued.

  “Confronting a cultivator three small steps above me would be suicide. This method was far easier and more entertaining. Crushing your prey before squeezing the last drop of life from its neck is a satisfying process,” he remarked, walking over to the city lord.

  I winced as he struck Teng Shi in the gut. The city lord doubled over before standing back up. A trickle of blood fell from his lips but he didn’t react.

  The councillor struck him two more times and on the third blow he collapsed to the ground, spitting blood. I watched with a cold glare as the councillor pressed his foot on Teng Shi’s head.

  “This fucking bastard thought he was better than me, trying to keep me on a leash like a dog! Gao Deng Luo is no one’s fucking pet,” he roared, stomping down on Teng Shi’s neck with a sickening crunch.

  “Enough, cousin. I need the city lord alive,” the strange man snapped, tossing a pill onto the ground beside the councillor.

  Gao Deng Luo threw a look of annoyance at his elder cousin, but fed the city lord the pill regardless. I watched the pill work, the city lord’s erratic qi calming as his wounds were healed enough to keep him alive.

  “You’re a powerful man, Councillor. Beating someone who can’t hit you back is impressive,” I said, staring at the furious little man.

  He growled and stormed towards me. When he was a few paces away he stopped and took a deep breath. His lips twisted into a smirk, the rage replaced with satisfaction.

  “Say what you like, Zhao Dan. Soon you will be my puppet, just like the rest of these unimportant wretches,” he sneered, taking a wriggling worm from a pouch on his belt.

  I narrowed my eyes at the creature, sensing a powerful flow of qi within it.

  The man on the throne scoffed. “Is this really necessary, little cousin? Can’t you kill him and be done with this nonsense?”

  The councillor didn’t reply, instead taking another step towards me. I tried to move away but I felt a heavy weight pushing down on me, freezing me in place.

  Despite his obvious derision for the councillor, the other Gao Clan cultivator was supporting his actions. I clenched my jaw. I would rather die than allow this impotent bastard to turn me into a puppet.

  He stopped when his nose was almost touching my chin. He looked up at me with sparkling eyes, like a child who’d unwrapped a new toy. “I’m going to make you kill that little bitch with your own hands. Did you know about our Gao Clan’s hypnosis gu? It takes root in your soul and allows us to control your body, but your mind stays active the entire time,” he snickered.

  My face fell as he explained what the worm did. I had suspected mind control, but the reality was far worse.

  That meant the captain, the city lord, and all of the guards were still conscious as they were forced to obey the orders of the councillor and his older cousin. It made me sick.

  Had they not even spared the city lord’s son? I hadn’t sensed him anywhere in the palace. Perhaps they killed him. Death was the better option anyway.

  Even knowing the fate that awaited me, I was powerless to resist. I could detonate my cultivation, but I wasn’t ready to give up yet. There might still be a path to freedom—perhaps even victory.

  Councillor Gao raised the worm until it was level with my mouth. I stared at the wriggling creature. It was pure white all across its body with red eyes, reminding me of albino creatures from Earth.

  He flicked his fingers and I choked as the worm fell straight down my gullet. I felt a scratch as it pierced through my throat and began burrowing through my body towards my dantian.

  I tried to move, anything to resist as the worm slowly made its way towards the source of my qi. However, the full cultivation of the powerful Gao cultivator wouldn’t let me move an inch.

  The worm met resistance as it reached the outer shell of my dantian, but it seemed designed to pierce it. I felt a sharp sting as it dropped through and into the pool of qi.

  I looked up at the councillor, watching the twisted amusement on his face as his worm took control of my body. My face revealed nothing except the occasional grunt and grimace.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  Internally however, I was laughing like a madman. The force of the man’s cultivation gently released as my body stiffened and my eyes glazed over.

  “Are you satisfied now, little cousin?” Gao Shan sighed.

  “Not yet. I want to watch as he kills his little bitch,” Gao Deng Luo replied.

  “How tasteful. Do whatever you wish, but ensure you take the alchemists in hand by the end of the day. The patriarch is arriving in two days. We must have Three River City in our grasp by then,” he ordered.

  “Two days!? The patriarch is coming himself, are you sure?” he exclaimed, taking a step backwards.

  “Indeed. I told you to look ahead, little cousin. Did you ignore my advice, as usual?”

  “Not at all, cousin. Actually, there’s more to this Zhao Dan than you’d expect. If the clan’s target is the Cloudy Falls Sect, then I believe I have exceeded the patriarch’s expectations,” he chuckled.

  “Oh? Tell me.”

  “Well, it began when I heard about an encounter between a disciple of the sect and…”

  ****

  Xiao Cui paced nervously around the lobby of the clinic. Village Head Wei sat to one side of the room while staring at her with amusement in his eyes.

  “He’s done this plenty of times before, little Cui. He will be back soon enough,” he chuckled.

  She stopped and turned to face him. “How do you know? You said the same thing when he vanished into the mountains for over a week! What if something happened at the palace?”

  “What could possibly happen? I know little of cultivation but if your Master Zhao was confident enough to face the city lord and that treacherous Councillor alone I am sure he felt nothing could go wrong.”

  Xiao Cui glared at him for a moment before resuming her irritated pacing. Yu Chun called out from the kitchen, bringing them both relief.

  “Dinner’s ready!”

  Village Head Wei rushed into the kitchen, eager to escape Xiao Cui’s muttering and fretting. She followed after him but as she was about to pass through the doorway, three loud knocks came from the door.

  At first she raced towards it eagerly, but then she stopped and frowned. If it was Zhao Dan returning, he wouldn’t have knocked. He knew how to unlock the formations.

  Yu Chun poked her head out of the kitchen. “Who is it?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure. It’s late. Are you expecting a visitor? Actually, why are you here again? I thought Master said you should stay at your… place of work,” Xiao Cui replied.

  “I don’t feel comfortable there. Du Wen can handle things. I feel safer here.”

  “Right, but it’s not your building.”

  “I cooked dinner, you ungrateful brat. Now open the damn door and see who it is.”

  Xiao Cui kissed her teeth and walked to the door, unlocking it and swinging it all the way open in a single motion. A boy covered in blood, wearing torn yet expensive looking robes stumbled forwards and collapsed onto the ground.

  She scrunched her face in confusion and annoyance. This reminded her of when the village head had arrived in the city bearing terrible news.

  Xiao Cui hoped this boy hadn’t arrived with equally ill omens, but she wasn’t naive enough to truly believe it. She helped him to his feet and shut the door behind them, banishing the cold draughts of wind to the city streets.

  When she saw the boy’s face, as bloodied and unrecognisable as it was, she cursed under her breath. She helped him over to one of the closest chairs and sat him down before storming into the kitchen, dark clouds gathering over her head.

  “Do you know the boy?” Yu Chun asked as she brushed past her.

  “His name is Teng Sheng. The city lord’s son,” she replied, opening the tap and taking a cloth from the counter.

  “What!?” Yu Chun exclaimed, throwing a wide eyed look at the injured boy before slamming the kitchen door shut behind her. “This is bad.”

  “Is it? Maybe it means that Master Zhao is delivering justice in the palace,” Xiao Cui snapped back.

  “Don’t be an idiot. You know Sir Zhao is not that sort of man. The city lord is extremely protective of his son. If he is in this state, that means something must have happened to the city lord. He is supposed to be the strongest cultivator in the city. There’s only one way he could’ve succumbed…” she began tripping over herself as she spewed word after word.

  Xiao Cui squeezed out the cloth and walked up to her. The girl placed a soft hand on Yu Chun’s shoulder. “I’m sure Master Zhao is fine,” she said through clenched teeth. “Let’s clean the young master’s wounds and ask him what happened before we jump to conclusions.”

  A while later, Teng Sheng was no longer drenched in blood. They had to take his damaged robes off and give him some of Zhao Dan’s spare robes in exchange.

  They were quite large on the boy, draping all over and looking awkward. It was better than being naked or wearing robes filled with rips and holes, nonetheless.

  “Thank you, ladies. I am in your debt,” the young city lord wheezed once he’d woken from a brief nap.

  “What happened to you? Why did you come here?” Xiao Cui demanded, not giving him a moment to relax.

  Yu Chun placed a firm hand on her arm, squeezing gently. Xiao Cui’s gaze softened and she took a step back, giving the boy some breathing room.

  After a few moments filled with only the sounds of his shallow breathing, he grunted and pulled himself upright in the chair. Even while grievously injured he maintained his pride as the young lord of Three River City.

  “It was that treasonous snake, Councillor Gao. I knew he was depraved, but my father allowed him leeway as he was an exceptional official. Keeping the bureaucratic side of the city running smoothly would be twice as difficult and take twice as long without his expertise,” he explained with a sigh.

  “However, my father’s refusal to do the right thing is what led to our downfall and the sorry state I find myself in. I suspect that even the poison which plagued me for most of my life was that bastard’s doing. I owe your master a life debt for curing me of it. Since then I have even managed to achieve three-star Body Tempering, though I fear my progress slows already.”

  “Well, that much is obvious. No matter how talented an official he is, keeping such a venomous man by your side was bound to cause problems sooner or later,” Xiao Cui said, perching herself on the chair’s arm. “What about my master? Where is he? Did you see him in the palace?”

  “I don’t think he came to the palace before I fled. I barely escaped with my life. The guards almost killed me,” he said, slamming his fist against the chair.

  “The guards? Why would your father’s men try to kill you, their young city lord?” Yu Chun asked, raising her eyebrow.

  “It was that Gao bastard. They came in the night and used strange pills and creatures to force the minds of the guards into submission. Even Captain Kang and…” he cursed, his knuckles white from clenching them so hard. “Even my father has fallen under their control. He was powerless against that cultivator from the councillor’s clan. That man was terrifying.”

  Yu Chun’s face went white as all colour drained from it. She staggered backwards, covering her mouth with a hand as she squeaked.

  “I’m sure my master is stronger than another Gao bastard. Just wait for him to get back with news of his victory,” Xiao Cui said with a wave of her hand.

  However, when she turned and saw the terrified Yu Chun who was breathing shakily, she furrowed her brow in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

  “You don’t understand. Even Sir Zhao will be powerless if cultivators from the Gao Clan have come here. We need to run. There is no hope left for the people of this city,” she said, shaking her arms and standing tall.

  Xiao Cui frowned. She didn’t want to believe that what Miss Yu was saying was true, but her fear and hesitation were genuine. She’d grown to trust and admire the woman as they worked together, the older lady’s advice helping her tremendously in growing her business.

  If her master was in danger with no allies, what could she do? Xiao Cui knew she had no real strength of her own. If she ran to the palace she would only make her master’s life more difficult.

  She thought back to the first time she’d met Zhao Dan, in the forests near the Cloudy Falls Sect. He’d also mentioned a friend that he caught up with in the Jagged Sword Mountains—an inner disciple of the sect.

  If there was anyone who could help them now, it would be that friend. If she told him about the trouble Zhao Dan was in, then perhaps he could come to save him.

  “There might be one way we can save Three River City. However, it won’t be an easy journey. There are spirit beasts on the road and vile bandits. I owe Master Zhao my life, so I will go. If you want to run, I won’t hold it against you,” she suddenly announced.

  Yu Chun exhaled, clenching and unclenching her fists. “I also owe Sir Zhao my life. If you say there is a way, I will accompany you.”

  Teng Sheng leapt to his feet, then clutched his chest and coughed a little blood. “Even though I am injured, I am still a Body Tempering practitioner. I can protect you on your journey. Let us leave at once.”

  Xiao Cui nodded, a warm feeling bubbling inside her chest at the support of the two people. Zhao Dan had saved each of their lives and countless others in this city. Now it was their turn to save his, no matter the cost.