Reforged from Ruin [Eldritch Xianxia Cultivation]

She senses them from halfway across the manor, now that she knows what to look for. Their auras are muted, their cultivation quiet, but she's not using arcane spiritual organs to sense them, just good old fashioned hyper-mutated super organs of the conventional kind, and so they stand out bright and clear.

There are three of them, sitting in the parlor room and facing off against Ko, while Hui Jing, the old cleaning woman who's been invaluable in communicating throughout the manor and other servants, stands to one side. She seems agitated, her normal state of background tension rising to a much more direct fear response, but at this distance, Raika can't tell if she's been hurt or what exactly happened.

The visitors, on the other hand, she can tell quite a bit about. The frontmost member of the crew seems to be somewhere in the Nascent Soul realm, and not somewhere too close to the beginning of it, while the other two stand at peak Core Formation. None of them have the same stink of impurities to them, not like she assumes must come about from proximity to a breakthrough, maybe, and they each exude a mix of wariness and easy caution that implies a level of respect for their situation, but not fear. The frontmost one in particular is doing the least to hide his cultivation, emanating a smell akin to cooked sugar and well-seared fruit, a mixture of heat and life that wafts pleasantly from him.

Peaches and cream. A dessert fit for a king.

The memory rankles, just a touch. She… she misses Kaena, even with all that's going on. She misses a lot of people. More importantly, she's learned her lesson about that sort of smell- it can hide poisons better than most.

So. She'd better make a show of it.

She throws the doors open as she strides into the room, not quite slamming them against the walls but certainly making a loud enough noise to surprise many of those in the room. She strides in with her head held high, braids of sunrise-mind rolling over her shoulders and a sort of quasi-robe, quasi-toga of material woven from her body making an impression, contrasted against prim and proper outfits. All three of the cultivators facing her react, not quite flinching- they couldn't sense her arrival. Tracking with Qi more than other senses, maybe? Good. Most people do, and it's an advantage she still has no intentions of getting rid of.

"So!" she says, smiling in a way that's not particularly warm. "What a lovely surprise, a bunch of unannounced visitors while I was busy. Do you make a habit of intruding, or am I a special case?"

Ok, so maybe she's a little irritated.

All three of the visitors make it to their feet in lockstep, all three of them bowing- though the one in the middle does so far more shallowly, a polite thing rather than a deferential one. Ko, much to her enjoyment, stays seated and glaring, for which she gives him a quick nod and gets one back.

"Honored one! I apologize for the abruptness of my visit, but I'm afraid that when I heard visions of your beauty, I had no choice but to come and see it for myself. You do not do the rumors justice, milady, for I find that you far exceed them."

She blinks. Well. Alright then.

The speaker is a young man with strawberry blond hair and bright red eyes, his pupils a pleasing carmine and standing out against richly tanned skin. He's tall, at least compared to regular humans, and like those beside him, is wearing black robes with bright cloud-like iconography, golden calligraphy detailing bolts of lightning and hints of rainfall across it. Overall, he comes across as distinctly alien compared to most of what she's seen from the Watchful Fields sect, and her first impression of him rises. Ballsy, to come up to her door to say hi while in someone else's territory. Risky for him in more ways than one, and useful for her, if she ever wants to bother Bin Wei harder about how he's been neglecting her case.

Still leaves the question of what he wants, though.

"And do you have a name to go with that apology?" she asks. "Or am I supposed to recognize every no-name dick who wanders into my house?"

She can tell the profanity surprised him, something she can't help but smile at (internally, of course. The mask is back in action!). Good. She works best when she's surprising people.

"This one is named Li Tianfeng, honorable one. My sincerest apologies for the abrupt nature of my arrival, but it is said that when the Heavens deliver rain, it falls to a fool to leave a field unprepared. Opportunities are a marvelous thing, and I would be loathe as to neglect this one."

"Weird way to start. Next time, maybe don't refer to a woman as an opportunity, nor enter their home unannounced."

"And surely I would not have, save for the urgency of said opportunity, which stands ready and able to deliver unto you far more than you know, honored one! Rather than come to ask or demand something from you, I deliver myself, humbly, as your servant in a moment of need. You see, I come with dire news about those who claim your best interest!"

Huh. If it's a performance, it's a dedicated one. The guy is still bowing, still keeping himself demure, adapting to the situation professionally. She can still sense the aura of self-importance about him in the way he's standing, the hormones and synapses crackling away in him, but she's not sensing the usual slight disquiet that comes with an out-and-out lie.

Sighting, she gives Ko a little wave, at which point he quickly vacates the seat he was in, taking his blade and its bells with him off to one side. Say what you will about how terrible he is at social cues, when it comes to signals he understands, he's quick to respond. Aria, a consummate professional at the "game", is already moving with Raika, standing behind the seat she sits down at, her posture straight and well-suited to a second in command sort of role.

Hui Jing, Raika notes, has only gotten more tense since she arrived. That poor woman- at her age, she's going to have a heart attack. It takes a much more subtle cue to signal for her to go, and the old woman briefly bows and scurries off.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

She's really going to have to give that poor girl a raise. Her stress levels haven't really gone down since she first introduced her to Ko and Aria.

By forming giant orifice-flesh-portals and teleporting them in.

Yeah, she should give her a raise. She also really needs to find out exactly how valuable Qi stones are.

"If you think me an idiot, you'll find yourself surprised and me actually insulted, 'Li Tianfeng'. Do you often walk about under the impression that those who claim one's best interest are the most trustworthy of folk, or do you just assume that about me?"

Keep it confrontational. Keep him on the back foot. If he has to keep justifying himself, he might let more slip.

"On the contrary, honored one. This Li Tianfeng would only hope to add information to your arsenal, that an insight as might as yours might find the hidden truth more easily. You see, I am a representative of the Dancing Clouds sect, a sect which your chosen representatives can vouch for the honor of, and I was here on a simple diplomatic engagement when I heard tell of the story of your arrival. Intrigued, I sought on my own initiative to find out what exactly has my erstwhile allies in such a flurry of activity, only to uncover their deceit!"

She wants to sigh. She wants to sigh so, so badly. Is he just going to keep going like this?

"I have no need to pry about what it is that you delivered unto them. Clearly, it was valuable enough to spark such activity, and to grant your honored presence the rank of visiting elder, so it cannot be small. However! I have found that some of the discussions around how they might repay you are simply far too duplicitous. Whatever resource it is they have taken from you, honored ally, it is worth far more than the measly spirit stones and favor they are offering you. A meeting with a sect patriarch of an agricultural sect cannot equal the value they could offer in a direct trade, nor the value you could acquire if they assisted you in forming an auction. This Li Tianfeng was left aghast at the deception at play- a bit of ruthlessness is only natural in the Jianghu, but this is far too brazen. I had no choice but to come and deliver the news myself… and, perhaps, to propose alternate strategies to someone new to the complicated relationships the many sects hold!"

She pauses, waiting to see if he keeps going.

He waits, patiently, still on his feet and politely bowing his head.

Finally, as if inevitable, as if as inexorable as the changing of the seasons, she lets out the sigh that was building up, heavy enough that it rustles the robes of Li Tianfeng and his entourage.

Ok. If she's going to do this, she'll have to do it properly. Fuck.

Maybe, maybe, if she plays her cards right, she might be able to get a proper fight out of it. Maybe. Worst case scenario, though, she's putting herself tits-deep into the mire and mess that is politics, but worse.

Fine.

Fuck it. Fuck it.

"You seem to think that others are much too brazen, but not consider your own acts. You walk into my residence, make claims about those I have chosen to trade with, belittle the rewards they would grant me, and then expect gratitude. Is that all?"

At last, his head comes up- and smiles.

"Not at all, honored one. This Li Tianfeng would be inexcusable if he came to your residence without proof of the ways that the Watchful Fields sect has short-changed you. I have with me a listening artifact, which can-"

She raises a hand, stopping him with a hand in his own robes. "That…" ugh. She can't help it. She sighs again. "That's beside the point. I don't particularly care what they offer me for it, so long as it's what I ask. It's just a drop."

Between her complete muscular control, her ability to form micro-expressions at will, and the fact that she's telling the absolute truth… yeah. There it is. The pause is slight, but he's stopped, re-evaluating his position. The possibility that she wants something specific with this sect patriarch that he can't provide, that it's not a valuable enough resource to excuse his disrespect, on and on…

But she leans back into her seat, pulling rolling paper and her signature blend out from her meat-space. It's not technically "her" turn to be the one smoking, but, frankly, there's no way the others are dealing with anything this annoying. Li Tianfeng, smart little cookie that he is, doesn't interrupt her as she forms the cigarette, lighting it with a spark of True Flame.

Now that forces him to re-evaluate. She can actually hear the gears spinning in that pretty little "young master" head of his.

"I don't mind boldness. Fuck knows I'm pretty bold myself. But being brazen? Disrespectful? That's a whole other deal. I respect the balls it took to walk in here and try to make this deal, but I also respect desperation when I hear it. You knew that this was an opportunity you couldn't pass up. No other reason to be this brazen about shafting your diplomatic partners over little old me.

"I don't like being passed around unless I specifically request it. You're lucky. I'm being nice right now. All this politicking… It's a headache and a half, but I'm being nice, and smart, and I'm willing to play ball. So long as you know where you stand."

Or, more importantly, where she wants him to think he stands.

Ugh. It's in-sane she's not allowed to have more brains to deal with this. Then again, she wouldn't want to subject more of herself to this either.

"You're going to make me an offer."

He blinks.

"I would only be so glad to do so, honored one. This Li Tianfeng meant no offense, and-"

"Stop talking."

He does. Good. She didn't even need to flex.

"You're going to make me an offer. Eventually. First, you and I will walk over to the elders, set a meet (since you clearly have ever-so-much importance here), and announce, together, what you just tried to do. You tell them just what you told me. You can leave out the insults if you want. Then, once everyone is on the same page, you make an offer, I set conditions, and we go from there. A good old fashioned bidding war, so to speak. Or! I kill your two little friends, beat you black and blue, and send you back the way you came for being brazen and a coward. How's that sound?"

She lets out a slow exhale of smoke, smiling as he begins to sweat.