Wayfarer

Chapter 602: Recruiting Dayin's Immortals

Within a hall, a Dayin Immortal whose cultivation had been sealed and whose body was bound stared fiercely forward. Wen Zhong stood before him.

Behind Wen Zhong was a group of young scholars, the likes of which he continued to foster.

"You want to turn me into your spy? Dream on! I lived as a general of Dayin and will die as a ghost of Dayin. I'd never betray my empire!"

"Chen Shiwu, right? Your father is the city lord of the Immortal city of Luye. He must be a rather high-ranking official if he's in charge of a city himself," Wen Zhong murmured, smiling.

"How did you know?" Chen Shiwu narrowed his eyes. "It must be the other Immortals who were caught alongside me—they must have betrayed my identity! How could they turn against their empire?!"

"Chen Shiwu, if your father's the city lord of the Immortal city of Luye, you must have quite a few members of your family there as officials," Wen Zhong continued.

Chen Shiwu bared his teeth. "Do you intend for me to convince my clan to betray Dayin? What a joke!"

"Does Dayin deserve your family's loyalty?" Wen Zhong asked.

"The Chen clan is forever grateful to the Immortal Emperor for what he's done for us. Do you think an ordinary empire like yours would be worth our betrayal?" Chen Shiwu scoffed.

"Is that true? Do you owe Yin Shenhua such loyalty? I think not." Wen Zhong laughed lightly.

"You'd best save your breath. I'm not going to be moved by your provocation."

"If I'm not mistaken, every year, Dayin hosts a competition to secure talent from all over the empire. Those with unique constitutions are recruited to join a secret organization in Dayin, and few ever make it back after their recruitment. Isn't that so?" Wen Zhong asked for confirmation.

"They were sent on special missions! Are you trying to fool me into thinking that they've perished? Plenty of cultivators from the Chen clan have participated. If there truly were a problem, would anyone from my clan attend?"

"Countless cultivators are chosen for this secret organization every year—and not just in your Immortal city, but across all three hundred Immortal cities of Dayin. How large would this secret organization be if it kept accumulating more members year after year?"

"You have no evidence to back up your claims, do you? What makes you think I'd believe such conjecture?"

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"Just think about it. As for whether or not I'm telling you the truth, you'll hear plenty of compelling arguments soon enough." Mr. Wen turned to his students. "Untie him."

The students untied the bindings on Chen Shiwu's body, taking him by surprise. Even so, Chen Shiwu's cultivation was sealed, and he wouldn't be able to take on the gathered cultivators.

"What are you intending to do?" Chen Shiwu demanded.

"We'll talk later. I'll let you have some time to chat with whom I'm sending in," Wen Zhong replied.

Wen Zhong and his students left the hall. At its entrance, Wen Zhong said to a woman veiled in white, a conical bamboo hat covering her features. "Miss Chen, I hoped not to bother you, but your identity was particularly crucial. I thank you for accepting my request to save more of the innocent."

"And I thank you for not killing my brother, Mr. Wen," the woman choked out.

Within the hall, Chen Shiwu blanched. He stared at the woman in disbelief, his body trembling.

The woman stepped into the hall as Wen Zhong secured it from the outside, leaving Chen Shiwu and the woman as its sole occupants.

The woman removed her hat. Tear tracks lined her face. "Brother!"

"Nuo'er! You're still alive?" Chen Shiwu was overjoyed.

"Brother!" The woman leapt into his lap.

"Don't cry, Nuo'er, Nuo'er! We all thought you had died. Thank goodness you're still alive. Father and Mother will be glad beyond belief as well. Mother always cries whenever she's reminded of you," Chen Shiwu exclaimed.

The woman continued to sob, as though she had to drain her body of the pent-up grievance she had accumulated over the years.

It took long moments before the woman finally calmed down, though tears continued to well up.

"Don't cry, Nuo'er. Where have you been all these years? And where's Zhi'er? If you're alive, then surely she is too? Where is she?" Chen Shiwu asked gently.

"My sister-in-law, she—she was unable to bear the shame of what had happened and committed suicide!"

"What? What happened?!" Chen Shiwu exclaimed.

"That year, for the talent recruitment, Father picked out all manner of cultivators from the city bearing unique constitutions. Among the delegation sent from the capital was a female official who spoke to me and my sister-in-law. She had a conversation with us and examined our constitution," the woman began.

"That official? I remember she offered to take you and Zhi'er as disciples, but you refused. Things were settled then, weren't they?"

"No. Afterwards, she kidnapped my sister-in-law and me."

"What?!"

"She was a disciple of the Buddha of Dual Cultivation, whose sole purpose was to help the Buddha find female cultivators who had unique constitutions. After we were captured, we were trapped in the Buddha's Grotto and repeatedly..." The woman began to cry once more as she described what she had suffered.

"What? You and Zhi'er—were raped?!" Chen Shiwu's eyes were red with anger.

"After my sister-in-law awoke, realizing that she had been violated, she committed suicide out of shame. Before she died, she repeatedly called out for you..."

Chen Shiwu's body trembled. "Zhi'er was calling out for me as she died?!"

"The Buddha of Dual Cultivation is Yin Shenhua's subordinate. I saw Yin Shenhua more than once while trapped in the cave."

"Impossible. Impossible! The Chen clan has been loyal to the throne and are skilled custodians of the city granted to us. His Majesty would never do something so treacherous!"

The woman continued to sob. "During the annual talent recruitment, all those cultivators with unique constitutions were sent off to the various Buddha's Grottos. That year, plenty of women ended up in the Buddha of Dual Cultivation's Grotto. Because my sister-in-law and I refused the offer to participate, we were kidnapped by force. We..."

"Nuo'er, please, tell me everything. I can't believe this! I—" Chen Shiwu trembled, not daring to believe what he was hearing, but his sister's sobs left his mind in disarray.

After consoling his sister, Chen Shiwu coaxed more of her account out of her. Overwhelmed by the evidence, he had no choice but to face the truth. If not for Xiao Nanfeng's assistance, she too would have perished, with him none the wiser.

Chen Shiwu's sister's suffering had clearly taken a toll on her. Just recollecting what had happened left her in a wrack. In the end, with her brother's arms tightly wrapped around her, she fell asleep in tears.

Even so, in her dreams, she murmured and shook uneasily, as though she were haunted by nightmares even then.

Chen Shiwu continued to hug his sister tightly, his features clenched in rage and shock and anger. What loyalty he bore his empire was cracked and tarnished beyond repair.

Two hours later, the doors to the hall creaked open.

Chen Shiwu set his sister aside and stood up to bow to Wen Zhong. "I apologize for my misdeeds. Please, convey my utmost gratitude to Emperor Xiao for saving my sister."

"Chen Shiwu, I sympathize with your sister's plight. I did not wish for her to have to revisit such fresh wounds, but it was unavoidable if I wanted a chance to convince you."

"That I was able to see her again is beyond what I can repay in gratitude alone." Chen Shiwu shook his head, then sighed. "The Chen clan was once a noble clan whose lands contained draconic veins. Even if we hadn't joined Dayin, we would have fared no worse than an ordinary Immortal sect. Yin Shenhua's repeated entreaties finally persuaded us to join Dayin. We believed that he valued our clan in earnest, though I only now realize that he was taking advantage of our clan's local influence to control the land. My sister was not the only one to suffer at his hands. Countless talents of the Chen clan have likely perished—and I survived solely because of my ordinary talent. The Chen clan will stop at nothing to take down Dayin. I am willing to aid the Imperial Court against it."

Mr. Wen nodded. "It's good that you understand. I do have to inform you that, owing to your clan's particular importance in Dayin, Dazheng's assassins have already marked your clan as targets. If I were unable to convince you, then what awaited you back home would have been disaster."

Chen Shiwu blanched.

"I state this not to threaten you, but to explain why you might sense Dazheng's assassins skulking about on your return. Do not resist them—consider yourself lucky, I suppose. We didn't expect to have caught you, nor that your sister was one of the lucky few rescued by His Majesty."

"I understand. Thank you, sir," Chen Shiwu replied gratefully.

"I'll need you to return to your clan and convince the clan head—your father," Mr. Wen continued.

Chen Shiwu glanced at his sister, sleeping beside him. He nodded. "Very well. I ask that you take good care of my sister in the meantime. I will persuade my father to turn against Dayin at greatest haste."

"There's no need to worry. We don't need your sister as a hostage. She's already suffered more than enough. I hope she'll be able to reunite with her loved ones."

"What? Aren't you afraid I'll go back on my word?" Chen Shiwu exclaimed.

"Your clan is hardly the only one in Luye who has suffered to such an extent." Mr. Wen smiled mirthlessly.

Chen Shiwu belatedly realized the truth. Other clans in Luye had surely been co-opted by Dazheng as well. The Chen clan played an important role in Dayin, but it was hardly an irreplaceable asset to Dazheng, and could be replaced at any time. A similar situation was occurring in the other Immortal cities of Dayin; of that there could be no doubt.

"Thank you for your honesty, sir," Chen Shiwu said.

"When you return, do not show yourself in public, lest others notice what's going on," Mr. Wen warned.

"I understand." Chen Shiwu nodded firmly.

Mr. Wen then explained the situation to Chen Shiwu, informing him how to contact the spectral guards in the city when he returned. Then, he unsealed Chen Shiwu's cultivation and had him leave with his sleeping sister.

He was currently in one of Dazheng's five thousand cities, one that was unremarkable and largely ordinary in every way. Chen Shiwu's departure didn't draw particular attention.

After leaving the city, Chen Shiwu slid an errant lock of hair behind his sister's ear as he teared up once more.

"Zhi'er, I promised to guard you for life. What sort of useless husband am I, to have been working for your killer all along? How can I face you and Nuo'er? On my life, I swear to take revenge." Chen Shiwu wiped away the tears on his face, gritted his teeth, and flew off.