"This isn't over Zhen Liu!," Zhen Xing said as he lifted himself off of his subordinate, "I'll put you in your place soon!"
'Of course he's anger shouting,' Zhen Liu thought as he rolled his eyes at his cousins' ranting. Surprisingly, Zhen Xing did not walk off after vowing vengeance, but kept ranting and raving. Zhen Liu decided to make the smart move.
[Bored now. Nepherage?]
[Finally.]
In a flash, Nepherage materialized from the jade bracelet as Zhen Liu made a series of gestures that were absolutely pointless to him. To everyone else, it looked like he just summoned his aether puppet. He then made a gesture that made it look like he was willing her to rush forward, which Nepherage did.
"Shit!"
Zhen Xing and his lackeys proceeded to vacate the training area as Nepherage rushed at them, unaware that she had already stopped half way. Zhen Liu wanted to scare him, not put him in a medical bed. Once Zhen Xing and his cronies bailed, Zhen Liu took a ready stance that Nepherage mimicked.
[Thank you Nepherage.]
[Anytime milord.]
The other disciples and clansmen in the training ground couldn't help but stare at the Fourth Young Master and his "puppet", curious as to what he was going to do next.
[The others appear to be staring...mind sticking around for a bit? I have an idea.]
[Of course milord.]
_________________________________________________
In a hallway off to the side, out of sight of the people making use of the training grounds, a middle-aged woman and her pet tiger were having a short exchange.
"Hmmm. It appears my darling boy is much strong than before and is more in control of that creature than I give him credit for. Do keep an eye on them for me though, won't you Trixie?"
"Growl!"
At her master's command, the Jade-Clawed Tigeress began to shimmer with an odd light and disappear from sight. Daria then turned her attention back to the training grounds so that she could watch her son and his "puppet" practice forms.
Daria had no reason to be standing and watching, in fact, she was just passing through this area when she heard the commotion and saw her beloved little Zhen Liu about to throw down with Zhen Xing. She had fully expected her son to make use of his so-called "puppet" to teach his nasty little cousin a thing or a two. Instead, she has witnessed her once handicapped son thrash Zhen Xing like he was a ragdoll. Witnessing this act gave her some mixed feelings.
On the one hand, there was pride. Her son could now hold his head up high and reach unimaginable heights now with this mysterious formula he was given.
On the other hand, doubt. She was pretty sure Zhen Liu was lying to her about the formula and the "puppet".
'I know what I sensed that day. But what kind of creature enables an aether connection like that?,' Daria thought to herself as she focused on the demonic warrior woman "puppet". 'Guess I'll just have to wait and see what comes from this...'
Daria let out a small sigh before continuing on her way. While she wanted to watch Zhen Liu practice until he was finished, she still had business to attend to.
_________________________________________________
In the deeper parts of the Zhen Clan compound, away from the eyes of outsiders and some of the other clansmen, was a small, unassuming building.
From the outside, this unassuming building looked nothing more than an ornate looking hut that was probably used for storage of tools, especially due to it's location of being in a rather nice looking courtyard garden. To the Zhen clansmen however, it was actually something much more terrible.
This little building was actually the entrance to the Zhen Clan dungeon, a horrifying underground where the clan kept dangerous aether beasts, bandits, thieves and rule breakers locked up. There were also enough torture devices lining its walls to make even Vlad the Impaler blush.
In the depths of this dungeon, the former right-hand man of the Zhen Clan patriarch Moka, was currently chained to a wall, awaiting his fate at the hands of his former employers turned captors...or so they thought. Right now, Moka looked to be deep in thought with his closer, or even sleeping. In reality, he currently chatting with his real master through unknown means.
"My dear Moka...how could you fail so badly? You had every possible advantage we could give. A weapon that could inflict incurable wounds, poison that had no known antidote and a target that was like a fish in a dry barrel. How could you fail?"
"Master, it wasn't my fault!," Moka pleaded, "It was the boy, he somehow-"
"I know what happened! He made it painfully obvious that he somehow returned from the grave, despite all of our insurances! What I need to figure out is how he did it and where he acquired such a powerful weapon...," his master growled and sighed.
Moka wanted to offer words of servility, promising to get to the bottom of this mystery himself, but was cut off before he could do so.
"Moka. Do not tell the Zhen Clan worms a single thing, understood?"
"Yes my master! Your humble servant's will is strong. I promise not a single word will escape my lips," Moka promised.
"Good. But if things do go wrong...you know what to do."
"Yes my master. I know what to do."
As Moka's conversation with his master came to an end, he slowly opened his eyes and the connection abruptly came to an end. At that exact same moment, Zhen Long and Zhen Jin entered the dungeon and approached Moka's cell.
"Hello traitor, ready to talk?," Zhen Long asked. In response, Moka just spat at him.
"Piss off you filthy Tider!"
"Of course...Zhen Ye, did you bring your partners?"
"Of course big brother," Zhen Ye said as he lifted a sleeve and revealed an arm covered in snake shaped bracelets. "Something that chokes or something that stings?"
"Dealer's choice?"
"Burning it is."
A red colored bracelet in the shape of a cobra began to glow at Zhen Ye's mental command, causing Moka to pale at the realization.
"Master...your servant is strong!"