A Song For The Ages

Xu's territory, once Hu Zhao's stronghold, had become the Red Lotus Mercenaries' new base of operations. The former officers, those who had killed their former master, now served under careful watch. Their loyalty was manufactured through mutual interest, their ambitions tempered by the hands that fed them. Jue Qingling and Ba Shanyue had quickly repurposed the city's command structure. What had once been a military capital was now also a staging point.

With access to smithies, alchemical labs, strategic trade routes, and stockpiles of essence stones and ores, the Red Lotus Mercenaries had little reason to leave. Missions would come to them. And more importantly, they now had the leverage of being an established power in the region.

Feiyin stood on the balcony of a refurbished merchant guildhouse, his gaze sweeping across the lower districts. Smoke curled lazily from forges and kitchens, children played in the narrow alleys, and wagons rattled along the stone roads. The city was alive. Cautious. But alive.

Behind him, the merchant coughed politely.

"Are you certain you want this passed through our network, honored cultivator? It's a risky route."

Feiyin turned, wearing the same simple robe he always used when moving in disguise. His eyes were calm, voice soft. "I'll pay triple the usual courier rate. If there is proof of delivery, written confirmation or any small token, I'll add a personalized pill of high quality."

The merchant's brows lifted. "A... pill? Not gold?"

"You should know that Alchemists are rarer than coins. You'll find someone willing to trade well for it."

The man licked his lips, clearly intrigued. "Where is the message to be delivered?"

Feiyin held out a slip of paper, bound with a single red thread. The script was simple:

I'm alive and well. Don't worry about me, I'll see you soon.

The merchant tilted his head. "No seal, no name?"

"The recipient will know."

There was a moment of pause, then the merchant bowed. "As you wish. I will send word through our branches with the descriptions you gave me. We have partners who work the southern reaches of the Azure Cloud kingdom. If your family still lives there, we'll find them."

Feiyin nodded. "Thank you."

He left quietly.

By the week's end, the mercenaries had received their next slate of missions.

This time, they had the luxury of choosing.

In the council hall, maps were spread across the war table. Routes, territory borders, beast reports, and ore transport charts cluttered the surface.

Jue Qingling pointed lazily at one. "This one's straightforward, escort a caravan of refined lumber to the southern lake ports. No beast reports."

Ba Shanyue grunted. "Not enough action for me."

Ruan Lianhua sat with her blade across her lap, listening as Jue Qingling continued. "This one has more meat to it. A region with reported wyvern sightings. Dangerous, but nothing we can't handle. And it's close to some cold essence lakes."

Feiyin stood slightly apart from the group, arms folded. His gaze moved over the options, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He had long since decided that his next step after Earth would be Metal. According to the Five Element Creation Cycle, Earth gave rise to Metal. Metal refined from earth was a natural progression, and he wanted to pursue this path not just in theory, but in essence. It was the logical next step. His Earth elemental intent would bring him closer to unlocking Metal elemental intent, a step that would deepen both his alchemy and combat potential.

After his recent breakthrough, had taken precautions as usual, his presence altered subtly, the oscillation patterns of his body intentionally dulled. Anyone scanning him would read him as a cultivator still steady in the Qi Flow realm, nothing more.

Their group didn't need to move as one anymore. With their base established, members of the Red Lotus could now take missions alone or in smaller teams to increase their reach. It was a strategy Jue had endorsed herself.

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Feiyin found what he was looking for.

"This one," he said.

The others turned.

He pointed at a contract halfway down the scroll: Map the mine near the Ashen Spine mountains. Local beasts expected.

"Solo mission?" Ba raised a brow.

Feiyin gave a small nod. "I'll handle it alone. Shouldn't be too difficult."

Ruan leaned back while closing her eyes, while Ba Shanyue smiled. "Try not to vanish into the mountains forever."

Feiyin's lips curled faintly. "I'll be back."

Feiyin traveled alone.

There were no wagons, just his own shadow and Baiyu, the white serpent coiled silently around his shoulders like a living sash. She flicked her tongue every now and then, sensing the shifting air and the subtle vibrations in the stone beneath.

His gear was stored in his spatial pouch, as always. The guqin now rested across his back beneath his cloak, a new habit ever since he awakened his musical intent.

As he departed the city, Feiyin paused briefly atop a ridge. Smoke curled from the orphanage chimney far below, faint in the morning mist. That image was enough to center him.

He smiled faintly, caressed Baiyu's head, then, without fanfare, he turned and disappeared with a burst of wind.

The Ashen Spine mountains greeted them with wind and stone.

Rugged cliffs. Pale silver veins ran like cracks through black rock. The path wound between sharp ridges, sometimes wide, sometimes little more than a ledge.

Feiyin inhaled.

The air was thin, crisp. No particular essence lingered, yet. Not until he neared the mines themselves.

Baiyu, wrapped around his shoulders, flicked her tongue. Her body tightened slightly.

Feiyin raised a brow. He placed his palm on her side and closed his eyes. Through his oscillation sense, he felt her nervous tension. Unease. But also curiosity.

"We'll be careful," he whispered.

As they neared the mine entrance, the change was immediate. The moment he crossed the threshold of the rusted gate, a weight pressed gently onto his skin.

Metal.

The essence clung to the air inside the mine, not strong on the surface, but thickening quickly the deeper he walked. It danced against his skin in metallic pulses, resonating with the veins of ore embedded in the walls.

Feiyin's bare fingertips brushed the stone. Vibrations rippled along his skin, subtle, overlapping patterns. His enhanced sense of touch had become a revelation since awakening his Earth intent. He didn't merely feel pressure or force, he sensed shifts, flows, minute disturbances. He could feel the breathing of the tunnels, the low groan of strain along an ancient support beam, and beneath it all, the scuttling of dozens of tiny bodies against stone and ore.

His spiritual sense stretched outward as well, refined and sharp, brushing through the winding channels of the mine. It returned with clarity: ore-devouring rats, tier one and tier two beasts. Their qi signatures were clustered in nests, flowing like rivers through the tunnels.

Baiyu's head rose from his shoulder, her pupils tightening. A soft hiss escaped her, not of fear, but a shared alert. Feiyin placed his palm lightly on her smooth scales and through his oscillation sense, read her emotions, tense, ready, reactive. She felt the tremors, too.

"Ore-eaters," Feiyin whispered. "A whole colony of First- and Second-tiers. They're swarming."

He dropped into a crouch. Baiyu slithered down his arm and onto the ground, her body blending against the shadows.

But Feiyin didn't draw his weapon. Instead, he reached behind and gently unclipped the guqin from his back. Baiyu paused, glancing up at him, her crystalline scales refracting the dim glimmers of ore light. He laid the instrument on a flat stone and sat before it cross-legged.

With a deep breath, Feiyin allowed his essence qi to settle. He placed his hands on the strings and began to play.

They are merely protecting their home, after all.

The notes emerged soft, rounded, not aimed to pierce or shake, but to soothe. A melody carried on the still air, subtle in rhythm, weaving tones of earth and calm. His musical intent flowed freely into the environment, harmonizing with the vibrations of the mine. The intention of his will extended in every note, this is not a place of battle, but of peace; we are not your enemy; you may remain, but give us space.

The skittering paused. Baiyu flicked her tongue and turned toward the shadows, where the squeaking had dulled into stillness.

Feiyin closed his eyes as he played, attuning to the subtle feedback. His oscillation sense, melded now with his touch-enhanced perception, felt the way the vibrations of the rats began to change. They stopped advancing. Some shifted back, others simply halted, their natural instincts recognizing a greater presence.

He shifted the melody slightly, introducing a descending pattern, one of retreat and release. A moment later, the tunnel ahead cleared, the rats dispersing deeper into the mines, following the song's suggestion.

Feiyin finished with a final chord that dissolved into the stone itself.

He exhaled slowly and placed the guqin aside. Baiyu slithered back up his arm and settled across his shoulders once more, nudging his cheek with her snout.

"Let's go," he murmured with a small smile. "We have a core vein to find and a mine to map."

With soft steps and lingering musical intent, they continued onward into the depths of the mine, mapping as they moved, the sound of conflict replaced by the silent hum of metal essence all around.