"Should a message be sent to your father?" Tianjin asked me as I walked out of the room.
"I already spoke to the Governor," I said as we stopped outside the door to talk.
"I mean about your situation." He furrowed his eyebrows. "It is going to be a big mess here in the North if the Hu can come so far. And the Governor has been in ill health."
Keeping my face straight is proving difficult, given the seriousness of Tianjin's face and the circumstances we face now. The Governor has been malingering for his own reasons, and dumped the decision making on me for his own convenience.
Ask my daddy if I should go home. He meant well, being a father himself.
"Have you asked your younger disciples around my age to speak to their parents yet?" I neatened my sleeve and watched for his reaction.
"They are not the same. Your position is precious. Your father left us with strict instructions to keep you safe and to send you back if we can't protect you."
"And tell my father what? Just roughly," I said.
"Well, I can tell him that refugees are coming in from Beihou because of unrest in the province. The Hu has entered our province and we are sending you back for your safety."
"Then what is going to happen? The military troops stationed in Beihou would be at maximum now. Doesn't your sect need to be involved? And if one of my brothers is placed in charge…," I halted at his stunned look.
Yeah. Thought so. Governor Zhao had told me that Beihou's military troops were the strongest of the Northern provinces. Sending more to them would leave the other three vulnerable, should Beihou fall.
One of my brothers will need to channel their military troops here and it is far more unlikely that they are going to 'lend' me any if my father goes mad and makes me a commander.
I could spot the slight tremor in Tianjin's hands. His head had drooped down. He knows the inevitable when push comes to shove. They will draft all males of the entire sect into the military. The draft will include Lianfeng, his son, under one of my brother's command.
My brothers did not care for Xuanlong sect, courtesy of the Governor's words.
Several other sects backed my brothers in different provinces. Xuanlong sect will be cannon fodder.
Sending me back is telling the King that something is very wrong with the North.
"We will discuss it later." I stepped out of the door to the smoky smell of burning bamboo and hog.
The Hu men had already prepared the hog while we were inside. They were now washing their hands and tops at the side, talking to one another. Ten buckets of water shared among them. How hygienic can that be?
The decapitated head was already roasting over one fire place. Its mouth was opened in a silent scream. And the body was spit roasting over another, with two men watching over it.
The skin was flayed and cleverly tied to the poles, forming a bowl. In it laid the bloody mess of guts, liver and heart placed on it. Perhaps they were going to cook it in this style.
No seasoning and no spices made the gamey smell even worse.
We walked to the entrance with no attention paid to our small group. Each to their own. Along the bamboo groves surrounding slope, I could see a bunch of hacked spikes with yellow tuffs of bamboo remains. And a few bald patches of dug soil.
Perhaps the Hu like bamboo shoots. We walked down and around the bend, only to have the sight of a small armed group of four guards waiting for us below. Their uniforms were that of the Governor's guards. Xuanjing was there, pacing back and forth in front of them. Beside him was Tianxiang.
"What's the meaning of this?" I looked at Xuanjing.
"Governor Zhao is with us now," he replied and bit his lips. "Someone sent three assassins after him. I ran into him and the guards fleeing the abode."
"And the three assassins?"
"Dead, but to be safe, we brought him here."
Xuanjing moved away from Tianxiang. It was a hint, and I followed. He slipped into his pocket and showed me a blue stone pendant. The symbols carved was a two entwined dragons - the symbol of Shuanglong Kingdom, the one who bordered us.
Frankly, I rather wished that it was one of my brothers. Unfortunately, the game has intensified. Why Governor Zhao and not me? Still too early to say.
Xuanlong sect is now at a large disadvantage - all possible targets have been herded in one spot.
I could spot the worried faces of Tianjin conversing with Tianxiang. The two masters were aware of it.
"Keep it," I whispered, and pushed his hand away. "What else have you found out?"
"It surprised his physician that Governor Zhao can survive for so long. Death is expected." Xuanjing pulled out a folded paper from his sleeve pocket and passed it to me.
"Did you check the background of the physician?" I unfolded it and started reading.
Jeezus. Written on the paper was about a list of ailments related to several types of poisons consumed. The Governor's major organs were near failing. The meridian points were like Ji Feng's body when I first entered this body. He shouldn't even be walking unless…
"Clean. Known for being honest with the community according to our contacts. And from the bugs in the rest stop inn, nothing unusual. People recommend him for his healing skills."
***
Governor Zhao studied the young prince's face carefully as Ji Feng took a seat beside his bed.
A boy his age should be either excited or worried about an impending conflict that may plunge their region into a crisis.
"All of you may leave. I need to speak to Governor Zhao in private," Ji Feng said, and the older Master Si, as well as his bodyguards, left the room.
Turning to face him, Ji Feng grinned. "You can stop pretending now. You are not him, you are in his body. He would be corpse like by now."
"Third prince, your slave here is truly ill," Governor Zhao protested in a soft, feigned voice of the dying.
"Yes, like I am. So cut the bullshit and come straight to the point. You are one of the deities, aren't you? I don't think you are Zaixing, but Zaixing has deceived me before."
"Hahahahaha," Governor Zhao laughed. "Who hasn't he deceived? But have you decided what to do? You are prince after all."
"Every decision I make will have to depend on who I am speaking to," came Ji Feng's answer.
Governor Zhao smirked and his eyes moved to the sword in the sheath tied to Ji Feng's waist belt. He could detect the xuan qi in that weapon.
No, it can't be, he thought. Tsukuyomi has granted the infamous sword Yoturuki to this transmigrator. But why? That makes four primordial deities involved in this planet.
Without Xuan qi, Yoturuki won't allow anyone to touch it. What the hell did Zaixing do? Not even ascended deities have access to the primordial power source.
Even within the shell of the body, this transmigrator has only one hun and a single po to survive on. Most had three hun. Why can this transmigrator still function like a normal human, unless…
"If you really must know, yes. I am like Zaixing. And he isn't the one which wrought disasters upon humankind..." Governor Zhao paused.
"So what does Zaixing do? And what do you do?"
"Let's put it this way, calamity arises from mortal failures to prepare for the worst of natural and man-made phenomenon," he replied. "It isn't restricted to a species, but several and the disaster cascades down. Think of it, if there is a tsunami running down an uninhabited island, it isn't a calamity for humans but for the other creatures and plants there. Zaixing is still part of that. As for me…"
Ji Feng looked him in the eyes. A faint spark appeared. There is something else within the body. No wonder Primordial Chaos has taken an interest.
"And?" Ji Feng pushed on.
"I deal only one thing - hegemony of a Kingdom over others. You are looking at the rise of an empire in this world soon. Zaixing will come in tandem with me."
Ji Feng thought for a while and then said, "So you are the Star of Hegemony, Baxing."
Not that stupid, Governor Zhao thought. This one is intelligent, unlike most. So far, this prince has caught no attention or made any news.
"Just call me Governor Zhao or Weiliang," he replied.
The usual occurrence was that some deities would bring in an overpowered dumbass who would go around power tripping at the mildest spark of power, creating gossip among the humans in the first three weeks.
This transmigrator in Ji Feng's body has remained under the radar, unlike the other transmigrator in the same world. Only news was that he is very ill with a fragile inclination, due to repeated poisoning. The reason given for the young prince's presence at Xuanlong sect was due to convalesce.
Yet, the young prince looked very healthy.
"Clever. So you have been acting sick."
"Like you, if I don't." Ji Feng moved his hand across his neck in the motion of a slicing knife. "Better that they think of me as a very delicate flower, easy to crush."
"Clearly you are not," Governor Zhao said with a mischievous wink. "But my dear prince, it is time for you to decide how you wish to proceed with a key Hu chieftain's son. I suggest that you make a snap decision soon. Any hesitancy shown can be a detriment."