Jiang was getting the impression that he was missing something. Again. Honestly, he should be used to it by now, but it was still just as irritating as ever.

Zhang opened his mouth, still visibly dazed. "Senior Brother, how—"

"Later," Li Xuan cut him off smoothly. "We have work to do." He brushed a speck of dirt off his sleeve, his tone suggesting the conversation – and Zhang's astonishment – were both mildly inconvenient distractions. "Mistress Bai and I have discussed the best ways to track down Gao Leng. She will handle dispatching scouts and searching the Broker's residence for information, and in the meantime we shall search the office he used when dealing with the… less reputable portions of the city." He turned to Jiang. "I believe you know where it is?"

Jiang didn't miss the slight insult, but he didn't particularly care about it either. "I know where it is," he confirmed.

"Wonderful! We're hoping to find records, correspondences, something that leads to Gao Leng. Come along, no time to waste – the sooner we find Gao Leng, the sooner we can all return to more important matters."

And just like that, the subject of Zhang's breakthrough was closed.

On the surface, at least. Jiang followed in silence as they left the yard, his thoughts tangled. If it hadn't been for Zhang's reaction, he wouldn't have thought anything in particular of the man's breakthrough. Even now, he didn't know why it was surprising, just that it was. After all, it wasn't that much different from any of his personal experience with breakthroughs.

Had Zhang broken through quicker than expected, and that was all? Was it the location or circumstances that confused him? The disciple had seemed like he needed the blow off some steam as much as Jiang had, so maybe it was just the timing.

And yet, Jiang couldn't help but recall Mistress Bai's words on how Pact-bearers were once prized because they could help other cultivators surmount their bottlenecks. He doubted Zhang himself was at a bottleneck, but the logic tracked – something about Pact-bearers made cultivation easier for others.

He also couldn't shake the feeling that Li Xuan was hiding something. The older disciple seemed to want to move on from the topic as quickly as possible, and while Jiang couldn't be sure, he was fairly certain that it was because Li Xuan didn't want him to know something.

Jiang quietly resolved to keep a firm eye on Li Xuan. The man wasn't nearly as blunt as he liked to portray himself.

— — —

The tavern above the Broker's office was silent and empty. Overturned chairs and abandoned mugs spoke of a hasty exit. Clearly, news of the Broker's demise – and, possibly, Jiang's involvement in it – had spread.

"Seems your reputation precedes you," Zhang murmured, still seeming a little off-balance from his breakthrough.

Jiang didn't answer. He led them through the deserted kitchen and down the hidden stairs, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. The office was just as he had left it, the only change being the cold, still air that had settled in the room.

Li Xuan sighed, looking at the office with faint distaste. "Well, may as well get a start," he said unenthusiastically, striding over to the wall of sealed drawers with the air of a man facing an unpleasant but necessary task.

Jiang couldn't entirely blame him. He had wondered what sort of secrets a man like the Broker kept, of course, but he somewhat doubted the reality would be nearly asw interesting as his imagination. As expected, once he started opening drawers and finding nothing but lists of names and debts that meant nothing to him, his curiosity cooled fast. He picked up another scroll. It detailed the grain prices in a northern city he'd never heard of. He put it down. This was just… work. Boring work.

Li Xuan sifted through a stack of correspondence, expression completely flat. He was only interested in one thing, and if the paper didn't spell "Gao Leng," it might as well not exist.

Zhang, on the other hand, looked like a child let loose in a treasury. His eyes flicked across the parchment, murmuring half aloud. "He kept records of every deal made in the city. Every bribe, every exchange of favours – he knew everyone's secrets."

Li Xuan didn't look up. "Of course he did. That was his profession."

"He had dirt on magistrates, merchants, even a few cultivators… Saints, half this city could be blackmailed into bankruptcy," Zhang continued like he hadn't spoken.

"Which is probably why it's still standing," Li Xuan said dryly. "Mutually assured destruction is a fine foundation for politics."

Jiang grunted, tossing another useless ledger aside.

The quiet stretched while they worked, punctuated by the rustle of paper and the occasional crack of old sealing wax. After a time, Li Xuan spoke again, far too casually. "Tell me, Jiang – what possessed you to abandon the sect in the first place?"

Jiang stilled. He glanced up, meeting Li Xuan's pleasant, probing smile, and felt that familiar prickle of wariness.

"Was it impatience? Arrogance? Homesickness, perhaps?" Li Xuan continued, examining a ledger like it contained the answer. "You'd barely begun your cultivation. Most would kill for a chance to join the Azure Sky Sect, and yet you walked away."

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"I only joined in the first place because I needed the strength and knowledge to save my family from bandits," Jiang said bluntly. "I had a chance to rescue them right after they were taken. I tracked the bandits back to their camp – I could see them huddled in a cage. But I was too weak. Mortal. If I'd be a corpse, and they'd still be gone. So, I ran to get help. Found Elder Lu, who assured me the Azure Sky Sect would be able to help – but by then, it was already too late. It had taken me too long to get help."

Li Xuan raised an eyebrow. "So your plan was to use the sect's resources, gain enough strength to fight your foes on your own terms instead of having to rely on others, then disappear once you got what you wanted?"

"That was the plan," Jiang said evenly. "Still is."

Zhang made a strangled noise, as if the words physically pained him. "You talk about it like it's nothing," he said. "Do you have any idea how rare it is to be accepted? The chance to join a Sect is something even nobles would sacrifice for. Commoners would give their lives for a fraction of the opportunity you were given. And you see it as nothing more than a means to an end?"

"Good for them," Jiang said, sifting through another drawer. "If that's what they want, fine. I never cared much for chasing glory or power. I just want my family back. After that…" He shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

Zhang stared at him, torn between disbelief and fury. "You'd throw it all away. The instruction, the cultivation resources, the reputation—"

"I didn't have any of that before, either," Jiang cut in. "I was a peasant hunter before I became a cultivator. It was a hard life, certainly, but that doesn't make it a bad one. If I can provide for my family, make sure my mother and sister have enough to live well…"

He shrugged again. "What more could I possibly need?"

The simplicity of it seemed to offend Zhang more than any insult could have. His mouth opened, then closed again, like he couldn't decide which rule of decorum to invoke first.

Li Xuan, however, looked thoughtful. He tapped a quill against his chin. "You don't resent the sect, then," he said at last. "Not really."

Jiang frowned. "Why would I?"

"Because most men who walk away from power do so with hatred in their hearts," Li Xuan mused. "It's the only way they can live with giving it up." He set the quill down, his gaze sharp and direct. "So, once your family is safe, and your debt to them is paid, what then? Would you return to the Sect? Of your own free will?"

Jiang considered it. He thought of the rules, the bowing, the endless, petty politics he'd glimpsed. Saying he hated it would be step too far – more accurate to say he simply didn't care for it, found it rather pointless and a bit annoying. And then he thought of the safety of the Sect's walls, the resources, the simple, undeniable fact that no bandit crew would ever dare to threaten a family under the protection of the Azure Sky Sect. He thought of his own surprising, grudging enjoyment of the power he now wielded, the freedom it offered. If the price of his family's absolute safety was following a few stupid rules… was it really a price at all?

"Yes," he said, the answer surprising him with its own simple certainty. "I would."

Li Xuan looked… satisfied. A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips. "Good," he said. He turned to Zhang, who was still standing there, looking utterly baffled by the entire conversation. "Then the matter is settled. Junior Brother Zhang, you and I will accompany Jiang Tian. Gao Leng is still our priority for now, but as soon as we are done with that, we will assist Disciple Jiang in retrieving his family from the city of Biragawa. Once that is done, and his heart is settled, he will return to the Sect with us."

Zhang's jaw dropped. "Senior Brother, you can't be serious. While his reasons for leaving are perhaps understandable, the fact remains that he is a rogue disciple! Our mission is to—"

"Our mission," Li Xuan cut him off, his voice once again sharp and authoritative, "is to secure a valuable asset for the Sect. Jiang Tian's loyalty is conditional upon the safety of his family. Therefore, ensuring their safety is now a matter of Sect priority. It is a logical progression."

It was, Jiang had to admit, a surprisingly straightforward and effective solution. He'd get the help he desperately needed, and in return, the Sect would get… him.

"There is one problem," Jiang said, feeling the need to be honest, at least about this. "Mistress Bai has already made a similar offer. She's agreed to help me in exchange for a favour down the line."

Li Xuan waved a dismissive hand. "I am aware. I have already spoken with her. She is… territorial. Her 'favour' is her way of staking a claim, ensuring you remain in her debt and thus within her sphere of influence." He gave Jiang a sharp look. "So long as the favour she asks does not conflict with the interests of the Sect, we have no objection. Consider it a… local tax."

Jiang didn't know what to say to that. He just nodded.

"Then it is agreed," Li Xuan stated, as if closing a business deal. He turned back to the drawers, his interest in the conversation apparently exhausted.

Jiang stood there for a moment, his mind reeling. Just like that, it was settled. He now had the backing of an Inner Disciple of the Azure Sky Sect and the most powerful independent cultivator in the city, all aligned to help him rescue his family. It was more than he could have ever hoped for.

In fact, it almost felt like things were going a little too well.

Almost as if on cue, a distant noise rolled through the silence above them – a faint roar, barely audible muffled by the floors and walls as it was, but unmistakable. Jiang froze, tilting his head. It sounded like… cheering. And for it to reach all the way down here, it had to be thunderous.

Li Xuan grimaced. "Ah," he said, voice dry. "Of course."

Jiang frowned. "Of course what?"

"Of course my life couldn't be simple," Li Xuan said, tone bordering on resigned. "If I'm not mistaken – and I doubt I am – that is the sound of the other sect's grand arrival, here to help us deal with Gao Leng. They do so love to make a spectacle of themselves."

Zhang blinked. "Already? I thought they hadn't even been notified yet, and even if they were, surely they wouldn't be expected for another few days."

"Actually, technically speaking the message was sent out a few days ago," Li Xuan said, looking faintly embarrased. "You see, when you reported the possibility of a demonic cultivator operating in the area via transmission stone – back when you first encountered the bandits – the Elders naturally turned to any disciples that were in the area. Such as myself. And I may have used it as an excuse to get out of a diplomatic mission to the Ironwood Pavillion Sect."

Zhang levelled an incredibly flat look at the senior disciple.

"It was a valid reason!" Li Xuan defended. "Demonic cultivator are a serious problem, and certainly more urgent than endless conversations with no real point."

"Shouldn't they have alerted Mistress Bai of their arrival in advance?" Zhang asked, pointedly not adressing Li Xuan's poor excuses.

"Yes, they should have. Which is precisely why they came early," Li Xuan replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "To flaunt their discipline, their power, their numbers, their shiny banners – anything to secure the city's attention before the rest." He sighed. "And to complicate my life, naturally."

Jiang glanced toward the ceiling. The noise swelled again – laughter, shouts, the faint thrum of drums. "That's going to make finding Gao Leng a bit harder, isn't it?"

Li Xuan gave him a sharp look. "Harder? No. Messier? Absolutely. Half those sects would gut each other for the chance to claim something unusual." His gaze lingered on Jiang. "I'm sure I don't have to explain why that's a bad thing."

Jiang felt his stomach tighten. "Right."

He really should have expected things to go wrong by now.

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