Dao of the Deal

It took a little more persuading, but in the end Zihan agreed to hear him out once she was sober. Getting Shuchang to the meeting was a bit trickier, but in the end he couldn't resist the lure of a solution to his romantic dilemma. He showed up to the bar at noon, together with Xiaomei.

The bartender showed the two of them to a back room where Muchen and Zihan were already waiting. Shuchang and Zihan tensed up when they saw each other. Muchen stepped forward to intervene before the situation could deteriorate.

"Relax," he said. "I can fix your problems, but it's important to clear the air first."

Shuchang gave him a searching look, then a grudging nod before taking a seat at the table across from Zihan. Xiaomei sat beside him. Muchen sat at the head of the table, taking his place between the two sides.

"Neither of you want to get married," he said.

A silence enveloped the room. Muchen was starting to wonder if he would have to prod things along when Shuchang finally spoke.

"No," he said, "no, I don't. I was willing to go along with my parent's wishes, but I won't enter a marriage when I have another woman in my heart."

Xiaomei smiled before reaching out to take Shuchang's hand. In the Qianzhan Continent, her action would usually have been about as provocative as making out with a man in front of his ex-girlfriend. Fortunately, Zihan had been even less invested in the potential marriage than Shuchang.

"I never wanted this," she said. "I don't need to find my path by selling my body for a cultivation technique."

"I'm glad we're all on the same page," Muchen said.

Zihan glared at him. "You never did tell me why you're sticking your nose into this."

"I'm a hopeless romantic," Muchen said. He coughed as the estranged couple pinned him with identical looks of skepticism.

"I do business in a lot of different areas," Muchen continued. "One of which is to keep an eye out for talents the Flower Mountain sect might be interested in."

Zihan raised an eyebrow. "Flower Mountain sect? I've never heard of it."

"That's not a surprise, in a small place like this," Muchen said. "It has remained in seclusion until just recently."

Part of telling a lie was remaining confident in the face of skepticism. Another part was maintaining a plausible mix of true, verifiable content to go along with the more impressive but unverifiable made up bits.

Scammers in the Qianzhan Continent tended to live short if spectacular lives ending in painful deaths, at least once they started dealing with cultivators. Tricks could only carry you so far in a world where the strongest fist gave you the strongest right to speak. Muchen's advantage was that he had Xinyi to back him up.

Once the strength was in place, his targets would have little choice but to believe him when he explained the rest of the sect's circumstances.

"If I can poach a promising seedling for the sect, then I'll earn a nice bonus," Muchen said. "If everybody is happy with the end result, perhaps I'll accumulate some good karma."

Now Sunchang was giving him an evaluating look. "That still sounds suspicious, to be honest."

It was remarkably convenient for Muchen to show up offering access to a cultivation technique for Zihan along with an excuse that would allow the Gao family to back off. The whole situation had the ring of untruth to it, in large part because Muchen wasn't telling the truth.

Before Muchen could say anything, Xiaomei had laid a warning hand on Sunchang's shoulder. "You wouldn't be having second thoughts now, would you?"

The warning tone in her voice was enough to put Sunchang on the defensive. He leaned back in his chair, silent for a moment as he tried to figure out how to extricate himself from the situation. Muchen took pity on him and stepped in before things could escalate further.

"Now, now, having some doubts is perfectly reasonable," Muchen said. "As it happens, an elder from the sect will be arriving in Jiaoqu Town soon. Meeting her should settle everybody's questions."

The appearance of a powerful cultivator was enough to deter most people from calling out obvious lies. In this case, there was also the happy coincidence that Xinyi's strength would suggest that Muchen's claims were true.

"She's not the kind of person who likes to have her time wasted," Muchen said, "so I'd like to meet with all of the decision makers at once."

Zihan rubbed her chin in thought. "If you know a strong sect that is willing to take me in, my father would be overjoyed. He'll be willing to meet with the elder at her convenience."

"The family elders might take a bit more persuading," Sunchang said, "but nobody wants to start a feud with a powerful sect."

Muchen smiled, glad to hear that his evaluation of the situation was on target. When the only thing holding a betrothal together was vested interests rather than affection, all that he had to do in order to tear it down was change the interests involved.

After a bit more discussion, the final meeting was set for the evening of the next day at the Gao family compound. When Muchen walked out of the bar, the smile fell off of his face.

Now that everything else was arranged, all that was left was to rope Xinyi in on the final execution of the plan.

ooOoo

Xinyi had been off on some personal investigation when Muchen came up with the bright idea of impersonating a powerful sect. He'd been pretty sure she would go along with it. He would have liked to confirm her participation before the meeting at the bar, but after her late night return she had proven quite impossible to wake up before he had to leave.

Fortunately, she was still around when he returned from the meeting. She was awake, even, and willing to hear him out. Muchen did his best to relax and put the best spin on things.

Xinyi listened to his narration of the events so far with a blank expression on her face. When he finished laying out his plan for the next day, she sat in silence for a long moment. Muchen was just starting to worry that he had overstepped his bounds and caused some kind of grave offense when he noticed her shoulders were shaking.

Finally the dam broke as Xinyi could no longer contain her laughter. Muchen sat in silence and let her laugh herself out.

"You've talked your way into a mess with this plan of yours," Xinyi said, before patting herself on the chest. "Good thing you have me around to bail you out."

Muchen could have quibbled with her description of the situation. He would have come up with a different lie if he hadn't thought he could pull Xinyi in. It was true, though, that he wouldn't be able to put on the facade of a powerful sect without her help.

"You don't mind playing the role?"

"You assume I'm free to join another sect," she said, then sighed. "I suppose nobody's around to complain."

"If it makes things easier," Muchen said, "we could declare that Flower Mountain is a branch of your primary sect."

Xinyi scoffed. "That would just make things worse."

She tapped her chin in thought. Muchen watched in silence. Finally, she sighed again.

"When I think about the treasures I've been offered by recruiters in the past I really should reject you out of hand... it's a pity I'm so soft hearted."

ooOoo

The two of them walked to the Gao family compound together the next day at the appointed hour. For a meeting like this, a mule cart wouldn't exactly convey the proper image. The best method would be to arrive on a flying talisman of some kind, to overawe the locals without saying a word. Unfortunately, Muchen didn't own such a thing, and Xinyi's cultivation base had not yet been restored to a point that she could toss around displays of power like that willy nilly.

As a second best approach, showing up on foot at least had a hint of the asceticism associated with a mysterious sect. Muchen wore his best formal robes for the occasion, while Xinyi was clad in her usual dress. She carried herself with enough confidence for the two of them. It was easy to forget due to her habitual informality, but she was more than capable of putting on an intimidating facade when she wanted to. From the way she almost glided along the ground to the icy expression on her face and even the mysterious shifting appearance of the turtle shell patterns on her dress, she looked every inch the powerful sect elder.

The guard at the gate had been expecting them and ushered them inside without delay. This was Muchen's first trip inside of the Gao family compound. The hunting party had simply assembled at the gate before setting off on their journey.

The compound looked more like the fortress it had probably first been built as rather than the elegant residence the Gao family no doubt wanted it to become. Muchen could see the signs here and there of the attempted transformation in progress, in the rock gardens and the statuary put on display, but to anybody who had seen the life of the true upper class in the capital these efforts were pale imitations at best.

Still, he was the guest here. He didn't want to start things off on the wrong foot by showing disdain for his hosts' home. Muchen did his best to fix an expression of polite interest on his face as they made their way to the meeting hall.

When the servant led them inside, Muchen saw that he and Xinyi were the last to arrive. Sunchang was already standing in the position of honor, ready to welcome them into the room. Zihan's father was standing next to him, his daughter at his side. Sunchang had a group of old men standing behind him on his other side. One of them looked like his father, while the other three were no doubt the key family elders.

Xiaomei was nowhere to be seen, of course. Her impact on Sunchang's heart would be felt, but the purpose of today's meeting was to give the elders a chance to back down gracefully, not to rub their noses in Sunchang's change of heart.

"Welcome, honored guests," Sunchang said. "You've traveled far to come all the way here from Flower Mountain."

Muchen smiled, accepting the cup of tea that Sunchang held out to him and taking a sip. He couldn't hold back an appreciative sigh. Sunchang had broken out the good stuff. He really did want this meeting to go smoothly. "It's no trouble at all. Thank you for your warm hospitality."

Muchen took another sip of tea, then looked around the room. The greeting and throat clearing phase of a meeting like this could stretch on for hours, if he let it. Fortunately, everybody here looked like they were ready to get straight to business. "Let's not beat around the bush. The Flower Mountain sect is greatly impressed by Zihan's potential and wishes to recruit her as an inner disciple."

She would actually be the hypothetical sect's only disciple, but pointing that out would hardly help his recruiting pitch.

"I'm flattered that you think so highly of my daughter," Zihan's father said.

"Indeed," one of the elders cut in, "although I must confess my ignorance. I have never heard of your Flower Mountain."

"That's understandable," Muchen said, before pausing to take another sip of tea. "The sect has been in seclusion until recently. The sect grounds are a week's travel south of Jiulu City."

"The sect must be quite powerful, to be recruiting so far from home," the elder said. He obviously wanted to dig into their background, but at least he was keeping it civil for now.

"That's hard to say," Muchen said, deflecting the question with a smile, "but Zihan is quite well suited for the sect's techniques. Completing a foundation will only be a matter of effort, and someday she should be able to build her golden core."

That got a reaction. Golden core cultivators were few and far between, the absolute elites of the Qianzhan Continent outside of a few old monsters who never left their secluded meditation. A family with a golden core cultivator could practically walk sideways across the Qianzhan Empire.

Despite knowing what was coming, despite the fact that she'd been involved in planning this meeting, Zihan's eyes lit up at hearing such a glowing future portrayed in such matter of fact fashion. Her father looked set to burst with pride. On the Gao family side of things, the reaction was mixed.

Sunchang looked genuinely happy for Zihan, though no doubt his feelings were influenced by the fact that he'd found his own happiness with Xiaomei. His father barely reacted, having been taken into Sunchang's confidence before the meeting. When it came to the other elders, skepticism was warring with greed on their faces and in their hearts.

Muchen didn't feel that he was making a particularly bold claim. The idea of a Flower Mountain sect might be a bit of a scam, but the Storm Dragon scripture was absolutely the real deal. Xinyi had every confidence that he could use it to reach the Golden Core stage and beyond. Zihan had as much natural talent as he did, and maybe more. Once he got his electrical generators running and was able to unlock the potential of the Storm Dragon scripture, she'd never be far behind in terms of cultivation prowess.

Although, now that he thought about it, if she was really going to travel to Li Village and really practice the Storm Dragon scripture, she'd be expecting to see a real sect by the time she arrived. Muchen pushed down his worries. That was a problem for the future. Today's problems were tricky enough to demand his focus.

"Can the sect initiation wait until after the wedding?" one of the elders asked.

Well, it was only natural to want to have your cake and eat it, too. The Gao family had agreed to the betrothal in the first place because of Zihan's talent, so they wanted to profit now that her talent was set to bear such spectacular fruit. Even if it should have been obvious that this meeting was unnecessary if that had been the plan. Muchen was considering how harsh he wanted to be in his reply when Xinyi took the decision out of his hands.

"A disciple must come to the sect without such personal attachments," Xinyi said. "Particularly when I'm considering whether to make her my personal disciple."

Muchen glanced over at Xinyi in surprise. She was studying Zihan with a gleam of interest in her eyes. For a moment, he wasn't quite sure if he was looking at a mother hen guarding her flock or a fox eyeing the door to the henhouse. Then the moment passed, and there was nothing more to be read on Xinyi's face than the usual self-confidence bordering on arrogance.

"If the betrothal must be withdrawn in order for Zihan to grasp this opportunity," Zihan's father said, "I don't mind giving up this bit of face."

Muchen gave him a thumbs up in his heart. He might have been a bit overbearing in how he showed it, but he really did put his daughter's future first.

"Is it so easy to go back on a promise," the same elder asked, "at the very least we should discuss compensation for such an act."

"Compensation?" Xinyi asked. "I thought that allowing you to live after wasting my time was already generous enough."

Muchen felt a gathering spiritual pressure around where Xinyi was standing. She was more than capable of executing a technique without tipping him off. This was a deliberate show.

And it was quite a show. Muchen felt the same sort of instinctive dread in his gut that he'd experienced when he saw the hill-sized monster back in the wastelands, but now it was sharper, more focused. And he was only getting the overflow. The elders in front of her had gone pale and looked on the verge of passing out.

"Did you have some other form of compensation in mind?"

Everybody on the Qianzhan Continent grew up hearing stories about cultivators with the power to wipe out cities on a whim. Only a privileged few ever saw that kind of power bared before them in a naked threat.