127 Scattered Shadows

127 Scattered Shadows

“Alright, you and your gal friends can go now,” I said, waving Zhu Lian and the handmaidens away.

Zhu Lian blinked. “Gal friends?”

“Ignore me,” I muttered. “Just go.”

She narrowed her eyes in confusion, but gave a low bow and gestured to the others. “Come, sisters. Let us leave the honored guests to their discussion.” As they filed out, I heard faint whispers among them. I didn’t need Divine Sense to guess what they were saying. My choice of words had always been strange to this world, and honestly? I didn’t think I’d ever shake that off. Some habits from Earth were apparently immortal.

Once the ladies were gone, I turned to the elders of the Shadow Clan, motioning for them to come closer. “Alright. Gather around. Let’s talk.”

They formed a loose semicircle around me, robes still wrinkled from resurrection, post-death daze only now starting to fade from their eyes. I could still feel the weight of the atmosphere, the lingering scent of blood, ash, and crushed pride. But now that they were here, alive, they needed direction.

“So,” I began, “what now?”

Hei Yuan stepped forward with a grim expression, acting as their spokesperson. “Forgive us, Master Wei. It would not be wise for us to speak of our future so lightly. We... must speak amongst ourselves first. Much has changed.”

Silence followed. For the first time since they woke, the elders all fell still, each processing their second chance at life. No bickering, no curt remarks, just grim acceptance. The realization had sunk in. They were alive. The price had been heavy, but they had returned.

Hei Hong broke the quiet with a hollow voice. “The clan is gone. There is nothing to return to. No island. No sacred grounds. No heirlooms. Just ashes.”

Another elder, Hei Ximei, stepped forward. “If you are willing, Master Wei… we would serve. Take us in. We offer what remains of our lives to you.”

Hei Yuan stiffened. “Ximei!” he barked. “You speak out of turn!”

But she met his gaze head-on, chin lifted in defiance. “Then punish me later, Grand Elder. But tell me, what choice do we have?”

He gritted his teeth. “We are the architects of our own ruin. We… I… failed to see the storm brewing in our midst. It was not some outsider’s curse, nor fate’s cruelty, but it was our blindness.” His voice grew harsher with each word. “That girl, Gu Jie… she gave us prophecy. We mocked her. In our circles. I know! Thus, this tragedy had befallen our Clan! Moreover, an Imperial Prince’s son died on our lands. There will be consequences, consequences that we will suffer. It didn’t help that we treated guests like they were invaders. And now…”

He turned to me and bowed deeply.

“It is you, Master Wei, who saved what little we had left. And for that alone, we owe you more than we can ever repay. But to ask more of you now… would be to tread the path of shame. It is dishonorable. Disgraceful. I won’t allow it.”

His voice cracked at the edges, and I saw something rare in a man like Hei Yuan: guilt. Real, unfiltered guilt. The others looked away, suddenly very interested in the stone tiles beneath their feet.

They knew he was right. And still, they didn’t know what to do next.

Neither did I.

Not really.

But one thing was certain, I hadn’t resurrected them just to watch them fade into obscurity.

And I wasn’t done speaking.

“I’ve got no problem taking you guys in,” I said, arms crossed as I looked over the battered but breathing elders of the Shadow Clan. “Honestly, I’ll probably need to build my own faction sometime soon anyway.”

Several of them blinked.

Hei Ximei tilted her head. “Faction?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Like a sect, but with more personality and fewer dress codes. Think of it as a community with slightly less backstabbing. Hopefully.”

They didn’t look entirely convinced, but at least they weren’t outright refusing.

“I can’t make any promises about salary,” I continued, “but I can guarantee weekends.”

More blinking.

“That means… you get a day or two off every seven days,” I clarified, then paused. “Actually… how many days are in a week here?”

That thought hit me harder than expected. I’d been here for months, and I still had no clue what the standard calendar looked like. That’s how strict the Empire was with knowledge. You wanted to know what year it was? Good luck. Want to know the week structure? Better have a library pass or a noble sponsor. It was ridiculous. I made a mental note to ask someone, or better yet, steal a book.

And yes, I could just ask Nongmin, but sometimes I just wanted to be a jerk. I hoped some noble would pick a fight with me, so that I could have them fetch me a book.

Anyway.

I waved a hand lazily. “I’ll leave you all for now. Go gather the other survivors, if there are any, and talk among yourselves about what you want to do. But don’t take forever, yeah? I’ll be heading out soon on an expedition outside the Empire’s borders. Got a disciple to collect and a pair of folks to bring back.”

That caught their attention.

Hei Min coughed into his fist, not-so-subtly trying to get my attention. I looked at him and nodded.

“Yes?”

“Where are we?” he asked, eyes scanning the courtyard. “And… those women from earlier… who were they?”

“I think it’s a sect,” one elder muttered.

“No, no. Too clean for a sect. Another clan’s grounds, maybe?” another whispered.

Oh, right. I should’ve clarified that. My bad.

“Ah,” I said, snapping my fingers. “Welcome to the Imperial Capital.”

The silence was immediate. You could’ve dropped a needle and it would’ve exploded from the tension.

Hei Ping, bless his naive heart, gasped and nodded in admiration. “To think Master Wei was so rich and magnanimous… opening the gates of his prestigious estate to us humble survivors…”

“Hold on, hold on,” I cut in, holding up both hands. “Let’s not get carried away.”

They all looked at me, confused.

“This isn’t my place or anything,” I explained with a sheepish grin. “I’m new here, okay? There’s no way I can afford real estate in the Capital. I had my… uh… bestie lend me the courtyard so I could host you guys.”

Hei Yuan blinked a few times and squinted around the courtyard. “This place… it looks familiar,” he murmured, voice trembling slightly.

I let out a fake cough and avoided eye contact.

“Yeah, about that…”

Hei Ximei, the same elder who’d offered to serve earlier, raised a brow. “Where are we, Master Wei?”

I scratched the back of my head. “Well… you’re standing in the Imperial Palace.”

This time, they didn’t just go silent. They stopped breathing altogether.

Hei Hong’s face went pale. Hei Min’s eyes twitched. Hei Ping looked like he was about to faint from sheer anxiety.

I shrugged.

“Yeah, I know. Not ideal. But hey, if I’m gonna get in trouble for harboring old naked people, might as well do it in style, right?”

There were thirteen of them.

Thirteen ragged elders, stiff from resurrection, still blinking at the sky like they expected it to be fire and brimstone. They weren’t exactly peak fighting material anymore, assuming they ever were, but I wanted to bring about half of them with me.

Call it sentiment. Call it practicality. Call it misplaced loyalty. Whatever it was, they’d earned a sliver of my trust. We were war buddies, after all… Kind of.

They’d died beside me. That counted for something.

Hei Yuan stepped forward, his back a little straighter than before, though his beard still looked like it had lost a wrestling match with a thunder hawk.

“Master Wei,” he said carefully, “may I ask… what became of the Shadow Lake Island? And… the Emperor’s intentions for our clan?”

Ah. Shadow Lake Island. Took me a second to remember that was what they called their home.

I had to chuckle. Cultivators really loved their dramatic naming conventions. Everything had to be ‘Lake,’ ‘Heaven,’ ‘Blood,’ or ‘Moon.’ Couldn’t just say ‘the island,’ huh?

I sobered a bit, then answered plainly, “It’s quarantined. Don’t expect to rebuild your home there.”

Hei Yuan’s brows furrowed. The others stiffened.

I raised a hand. “I got a glimpse using my Egress spell. It’s bad. Real bad.”

I remembered what I’d seen, just a few hours ago, the moment I left the throne room and blinked into existence there. A crumbling island shrouded in red mist. The scent of sulfur choked the air, mingling with the stench of rotting demon flesh and half-reformed undead. Shadow Lake Island was a battlefield turned biohazard zone. The terrain had buckled. Entire buildings had caved in or melted into grotesque, tarry masses. Pools of blood that shimmered like oil lay still and silent, refusing to dry.

Imperial troops had surrounded the perimeter. A few cultivators in quarantine robes were still exorcising what remained. Every now and then, something twitching tried to stand again, a demon, half-eaten or half-dead, trying to resurrect as an undead. The soldiers didn’t hesitate. One strike to the head. Move on.

A wasteland. A warzone. Whatever it had once been, Shadow Lake Island was no longer a home.

“As for the Emperor’s plans with the Shadow Clan?” I shrugged. “None, as far as I know. You’re not his problem anymore.”

Their faces fell slightly.

I added, “You’re mine now.”

That got their attention.

I held up a finger before they could misinterpret it. “Not like that. I don’t mean you’re some burden I’m stuck with. What I mean is… I want you to be my responsibility.”

Hei Yuan’s lips parted like he wanted to argue, but nothing came out.

I stepped closer, letting my voice firm up. “You’ve lost your land, your people are scattered, your legacy nearly gone. That’s not something I can fix overnight. But if you’re willing to stand, I’ll help you walk again. Starting with your clan members. You’ll probably find the rest scattered across the Deepmoor Continent. Around the military outposts near your old territory. If you want to bring them back, I can help.”

Hei Ximei sucked in a breath. Hei Hong dropped his shoulders for the first time since waking up. All thirteen of them exhaled, like they hadn’t realized they’d been holding their breath until I said the words.

“Of course…” I added with a smirk, “the journey’s gonna suck.”

A few chuckled weakly.

“But I might be able to lend you a few boat artifacts to speed things up. Could even toss in some maps if you ask nicely.”

Hei Yuan looked down, his voice hoarse. “Master Wei… you are… a living treasure.”

I rolled my eyes and turned before he could start composing poetry on the spot. I’d had enough of his overblown gratitude speeches for one day.

I gave the Shadow Clan elders a nod and took a step back.

“I’ll leave you to your own devices,” I said. “Figure out what you want to do. I’ve got other business to handle.”

They bowed. Thirteen elders, all gaunt and ghost-eyed from death and resurrection, bowed low to a random Outsider. It made me feel weird. Still not used to this whole people-looking-at-me-like-I’m-a-big-deal thing.

I activated the Egress spell, letting the glow build along my arms. The formation beneath my feet flared as I channeled my will. Normally, the spell would just snap me back to where I had marked earlier, but with enough willpower and a bit of directional finesse, I could aim my landing with the spell formations set up in advance.

And sure enough, with a pop of pressure and a blink of light,  I was inside the underground chamber beneath Ren Jin’s estate.

It wasn’t much of a chamber. More like a dark basement that got overfunded. Polished jade walls, softly humming arrays inlaid with silver thread, and one of those ambient glowing orbs hanging overhead like a low-budget moon.

The spell formations here were the Empire’s real trump card, not just cultivation or powerful warriors, but the infrastructure that turned cultivation into civilization. Everything was laced with purpose: teleportation grids, sealing arrays, privacy wards. This place was wired like a living thing.

Their warping technique wasn’t to the level they could go interstellar, though. Still, it was impressive.

I started walking, letting the layout guide me toward the exit tunnel, boots echoing faintly on the stone. My fingers brushed along the etched walls absentmindedly.

Time to check in.

I flicked my mental will and connected to Voice Chat, a special power more bizarre than any special ability in my arsenal, but effectively the same thing. Pick a bound target. Call. Pray they weren’t in the middle of stabbing something.

“Hey there, Alice. How’re you doing?”

There was a pause, then her voice crackled into my mind like a grumpy radio ghost.

“Terrible.”

Her tone was flat, dry as desert sand.

She continued, “We found a small village. We're taking our time here. Like you told us. Lying low. Not moving unless absolutely necessary.”

Good. That meant they were listening.

“I imagine things on your side aren’t easy,” I said aloud, pacing past another flickering spell lantern. “The sovereign power over there runs a tight ship, and judging from what I’ve read and seen, slipping past their border control would be... well, not fun.”

I sighed, adjusting my cuffs.

“I’ll come pick you up instead. You just make sure you stay low and cause as little noise as possible. Emphasis on no trouble. We’re trying to stay under the radar, not kick it in the face.”

“Roger that,” she said with a sigh. “Lu Gao’s been resting. He’s stable, no complications.”

“Good. Keep him safe. He’s… important to me.”

“Aw, you do care,” she teased, voice lightening just a bit.

I ignored the bait.

“How’s the language barrier? Locals giving you grief?”

“It’s manageable. Joan and I are picking up the language. Our skull friend’s been tutoring us.”

“Skull friend?” I blinked. “...Is that literal? Ah, that guy.”

“Yup. A skull. Talks a lot. Has opinions on soup. Also likes fashion and stuff.”

I blinked again. “You know what? I don’t need to know.”

Still, I filed that away. Skulls were rarely a normal occurrence. But we could dig into that later. Back in the Black Forest, I didn’t have time to play catch-up, so of course, I have no idea what the deal was with that skull.

“Alright,” I said. “Let’s review. No starting fights. No spontaneous uprisings. No sword-drawing unless it’s absolutely necessary. And definitely no slaughtering people just because they’re jerks.”

“Aww.”

“Alice.”

“Okay, okay. But I’m telling you now. If Joan sees injustice, she’s not just going to stand there.”

Of course not. That woman was less Holy Spirit and more self-righteous sword incarnate... Well, she was a priestess, so of course she was. Moreover, she was too 'in-character' and didn't possess the sensibilities of your average gamer.

I rubbed my temples. “Just… just watch her. Keep both of you safe. That’s the mission.”

There was a moment of quiet.

Then Alice said softly, “I’m flattered, you know.”

“Hm?”

“That you can put your trust in a dirty vampire like me.”

I smirked. “Takes one to know one.”

“Careful, Da Wei. Flirting like that, and I might just fall for you all over again.”

I sighed and kept walking. “Alice, if you try any harder, I might have to install a rejection formation.”

She laughed.

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop. For now.”

With that, she disconnected, leaving only the faint hum of formation lines in the air around me.

I emerged from the underground chamber a few moments later, stepping into one of the side courtyards of Ren Jin’s estate. The evening light had begun to settle over the city, casting long shadows through the rest of the Yellow Dragon City.

Time to start making plans. If I wanted to pick up my wayward disciples, I’d need clearance, a plan, and a boat that could fly over an entire continent.

Easy stuff, right?

Right.