Chapter 52: Killing and Politics ( Part 5 )
'Damnit. This thing is so tight, can't even breath properly. They like to hurt themselves or something ? How is that even considered a good outfit ?' Uma thought as she fixed her robe.
The robes worn by the noble ladies of the Peizhi Kingdom were quite infuriating to a woman like her. They had taken to wearing insanely tight robes, the like of which would just make it impossible anyone wearing them to breath properly.
She wondered who even had the idea to wear this on such occasions. The birthday parties of the noble heirs were usually used to show off your offsprings and prove just how superior they were to all the others. However those parties were also a great way for cultivators to scout talents, and as such many masters were there.
This resulted in the parties being insanely long, with everyone just preying on each other and partaking in war of words, while the heirs did the same between themselves.
Uma had no idea how she would survive this day, but she would. For she had been invited here by the fourth prince of the Kingdom, and he seemed to have something quite interesting to tell her. Something that required the presence of the Sea Sword Sect's patriarch.
She could barely wait. She knew things would be good for her here, but this was incredible. Then again a sect like the poisonous raja was pure gold to the nobles here, and actually....Some sects also showed interest in her. For being an ally of a sect that survived a war against a dozen of other sects was rather enticing. However contrarily to the noble families, the sects decided to wait until they had concrete proof.
After all, they didn't blindly trust the knight orders. It was a rather clever choice, however it would also leave the field open for the families. And if the raja sect did end up surviving, those families would have already gotten close to Uma and the two disciples she brought with her.
However that was just the thing. She could go to them, the sects would get close to the disciples. Because while Uma seemed like she could act like a representant of the sect, the two were just disciples. Uma would be hunted down, but even if the Raja Sect disappeared, the two disciples wouldn't be hunted.
As such, whoever got their hand on them in such a situation would have the last two Raja's disciple. Considering the Raja sect was one of the only sect that worked with animal techniques and poisonous techniques, it was an amazing occasion.
Zhao Shu and Jian didn't know it, but they already had countless eyes preying on them. However the sects would go through some troubles contacting Zhao Shu and Jian. In the few days the group of three had been here, Zhao Shu just ignored all the disciples sent to talk to him, while Jian was simply nowhere to be seen.
Then again, they didn't have a clear description of this Jian, since he wore a cloak the first day he arrived, and no one saw his face clearly. Zhao Shu was rather easy to spot though, since Zhao Warriors all had this particular savage style.
Coming back to Uma, she was watching a few heirs talking to each other. She had to occupy herself until the prince arrived. Now what truly surprised her was that she actually saw a few heirs that actually had potential. Not to say that the Peizhi Kingdom was a weak country, but when a country has a leading family composed of weaklings except for the leader of said family, you don't except anything good to come out of this country.
However some of those heirs were rather...Special. Especially a certain girl who kept to herself, merely glancing at whoever talked to her before dismissing them with a small glare and a turn of her head. She seemed like the perfect ice queen, however that image was destroyed by her playing with a little bear doll while sighing to herself.
' Ah...I did hear about it. The Jin family originates from this country, and while most of it's members moved to the Li Zhang Kingdom, some of them stayed behind, refusing to abandon their home. The Jin family of Peizhi became insanely weak. However Jin Bao announced quite proudly to the patriarch that the Peizhi branch of his family birthed a genius and that she could become a disciple of the raja's sect as soon as she became 18. This is good....It's an insane opportunity even. The Jin family is sure to back me up since I'm from the Raja Sect.....But I can also get that girl on the way. She should be 18 soon enough....She certainly look a bit older than that, so she can't be less than 17.' Uma thought, before asking a servant passing-by.
She was then told that Jin Hee was in fact 17 and her birthday was soon to come. Seemed like the Raja Sect was truly cursed, getting attacked just months prior to getting such a talented recruit.
For Uma had also confirmed Jin Hee's talent. The nobles talking around her were singing the girl's praise. It was actually quite scary. The other heirs were rarely the topics of the older nobles' conversations. They only spoke about Jin Hee.
She knew one thing, she had to get the girl, no matter what. She didn't seem to just be a random genius, no this one was the real deal. This one wasn't Zhi Li, Wei Lu, Huang Lei or even Jin Wang....She was on the level of perhaps Karasu Shina. Which meant she could reach the Laws Realm in three years at most.
Uma was brought out of her musings when she saw the looks a few guests were giving her after seeing the prince coming her way.
She had to hide her surprise when she saw an actual look of lust thrown at her. It was so rare it actually made her heart beat. Then again she knew the dress she was currently wearing actually showed her curved that had been hidden by the servant's dresses she wore all the time. However this look lust wasn't even contained. This was pure lust, something she could sense even when she wasn't directly looking at the person throwing her that look.
However what shocked her the most was that this stare came not from a man, but from a woman and not any woman at that.
"Miss Uma, I am sorry to have made you wait " The Fourth Prince, Liu Khuzen, said. He was followed by a middle-aged man who looked like the exact image Uma had of the man who lead such a peaceful sect. He was the prim example of calm. Not a trace of anything could be found on his face, he was as relaxed as humanly possible. His every steps carried a sense of confidence Uma had never seen. He knew nothing could get a rise out of him, and that simply something you weren't supposed to find in a sect's patriarch.
He seemed rather similar to the prince actually. He was in a sense, an older looking version of the prince. Both had long brown hair tied in a high ponytail, both had amber eyes and both wore comfortable black robes. Actually the prince was different, for he seemed to have picked the wrong size for his robe. That or he liked looking like a flag.
However it didn't ruin his look in the slightest, for he was simply too handsome and sharp looking for it to change anything. The same went for the patriarch.
"Had I known you would bring such an handsome man, I would've dressed nicer." Uma joked. The two men chuckled, before the patriarch shook Uma's hand.
"Well let's cut to the matter at hand, Miss Uma. While it is nice to meet you, I am not a big fan of being glared at by the Queen herself. That and my grandchildren were left with my youngest daughter....And I happen to not have a single ounce of trust in her ability to handle young babes." The patriarch said, surprising Uma.
' Grandchildren ?.....Okay this one is weird. He is way too relaxed and lives the life of a good grandparent....Either Giran is the weirdest patriarch ever, or it's this guy....I can't choose between the two. However this whole thing with the Queen is scaring me a bit....What is her problem ?!' Uma thought. She was slightly panicking due to the way the Queen was glaring at the patriarch of the sect the royal family was the closest to. She looked like she was ready to pounce on him, and actually she most likely would've so if he wasn't much stronger than her and her fourth son wasn't making gestures with his hand to tell her to stop.
Uma picked up on those gestures and was now sure that something was weird with this family. The son was entirely too used to his mother's shenanigans. Uma was from the Twin Sisters however, so she wasn't new to women being attracted to other women...However she also happened to know that the Queen wasn't even supposed to be aware of who she was. So this wasn't some sort of ploy or anything....She really didn't like where things were going.
"A family man, huh ? You're becoming better by the second Patriarch...."
"Ha ! You're funnier than I thought Miss Uma !" The fourth prince exclaimed, getting a few stares on him and Uma as well. Instead of being embarassed by the stares, she merely took the time to carefully analyze the looks thrown her way. Most seemed curious about who she was, while some gazed at her with eyes full of barely hidden greed.....
" Xin Deshi. As I said, I would like to quickly get on the matter Miss Uma. I will get to know you later anyway, as this little brat will most likely drag you through many of those parties, and I am always here." Xin Deshi said. Uma was rather happy he would go straight to the topic too, for while she had been complimenting him, she was also getting impatient with the look the Queen was giving her.
" Very well then. Why was I invited here, Fourth Prince ?" Uma asked as the prince grinned while taking out a letter from his robe.
" This letter was sent to me by a certain son of a powerful family. Said son recently became the main focus of his family after his older brother died due to an unfortunate accident....However it seems like this wasn't so much of an accident. The older brother was murdered, and the man who gave the order calls himself 'The Crow'. Now you can imagine my surprise when I read the letter and discovered that the Crow showed an interest in you and asked the little brother, who became his protegee so to speak, to get close to you. Now Patriarch Xin here was already interested in the older brother, and now that only the younger brother is left....He has to go with what he has on his hands, right ? Now here is the thing....We are quite interested in this Crow fellow, for he seems to have a a really skilled assassin working under him.....But not only that....With how interested he seems to be in you.....Well you can easily see what this is all leading to. We all have different interests, but we know how to keep secrets, and we would definitely benefit from helping each other. We won't ask you who this Crow is to you, but we will definitely need to hire him for his service....And we could always help you a little in exchange, you know ? As good friends of course." The Prince said while Uma tried to take everything in.
She could always think of one thing at the moment.
' The Crow....Jian you little dumbass ! I know you can't just become a shadow mastermind instantly...But.....Thanatos help me.....I am so dead if I don't play my cards well.'
*************
(With Jian)
"Arghhh ! Damn ghosts !" Jian cried out as a blade slashed his thigh. He swung his halberd around but touched nothing except air.
Another attack hit him, piercing his hand this time.
" AH ! Gotcha...." Jian breathed out heavily. He glared at the transparent being who groaned at him before pushing the blade forward.
Jian's eyes widened as he found out he couldn't actually block it. The blade just kept going and his strengh wasn't enough to stop it. It was now piercing through his other arm and going straight for his throat.
"Damni-"
*Scrrrrrrrrsh*
*Thud*
The halberd hit the ground, and silence ensued.