Heavenly Shae

Chapter 30: "From the Walls."

When Inspector Choun led her outside Shae discovered that Second Captain Lou was the same guard who picked her out of the queue. She gave him an apologetic bow from behind the inspector as they approached.

"Second Captain Lou, you've met Wise Zhi. She was interested in the layout of the city, and I thought you would be an excellent choice to show her along the wall." He pointed up at it, as though the Captain needed the clarification.

"Inspector." He nodded in greeting. "I'd rather be here at the gates, just in case."

"Worry not, I'll be staying to cover the gate."

"Couldn't we send Guard Bai?" Lou pointed over his shoulder, the man in question waved and smiled.

"Well I suppose. Yet, you are more knowledgeable on the current goings-on." He both winked and tapped his nose at Lou.

"Alright." He sighed through his teeth. "I suppose there is a chance I might spot something as well." He gave Shae a glare when Choun looked away.

She looked down and kicked the dirt.

"Right this way. It was Miss Shae, wasn't it?" He waved her onwards as he took the lead.

"Yes, thank you for remembering, Captain Lou."

"Just Second Captain, unfortunately."

"Very well, Second Captain Unfortunately."

"Ooouagh." He groaned and shook his head without looking back.

Shae smirked.

Second Captain Lou led her back inside then down a different hallway. "It's rather tight up there so you'll need to drop your pack. We have lockers, though, and I'll personally guarantee the safety of your belongings."

She nodded and loaded up the locker, it was a tight fit.

"Oh, you should bring your bow. Good to have on the wall."

She started a glare that she quickly flattened. He hid his smirk well, but eventually let it show briefly just to make sure she saw it. This was followed by another dozen breaths of shifting her gear around, and then they were on their way.

"I was really hoping you would distract him longer." Lou muttered while they walked up the guard tower stairs.

"Did you get many through?"

"Yes, and a few of the larger wagons that he would have held up forever."

"I didn't really mean to put my nose in this, or drag you away."

"Yes, I got that from your reaction out there. This past week has been hell for us, though. If you can do something, please do. Even get in a fight with the fool and cut his head off."

"Captain!"

"Hmm? Ah, apologies. I guess you are not the type for that anyway. Peace-bound sword and all."

"Yes, I'd rather delay my first brutal slaughter as long as possible."

"Heh." He chuckled, she did not. "Oh, you're serious?"

"Taking a life is always serious, no?"

He coughed. "Of course."

They let the silence stretch.

Breaking out of the dim tower into the bright sunlight and onto a beautiful vantage point over the city was pleasant enough to bring both their moods back up.

Lou sighed. "I really need to come up there more often."

"I might need to insist on the same, next time I'm in the city."

"Ah, yes, you were on your way out. Heading to the sect?"

"That's the idea, though they seem to be trying hard to convince me otherwise."

"Oh? There's definitely a story there. Who's the they?"

She frowned. "The several sect elders I've met. Mostly I'm just feeling a bit bitter."

"Not living up to the expectations of cultivator stories and legends? Those are stories for a reason. We don't get cultivators like that often."

"Hwaah." She exhaled. "Partly, though I do know how to manage expectations. They have been a lot less violent, and with minimal absurd conflict, which I appreciate. However, while the Elders have attempted a certain air of mystery, their wisdom has been lacking."

"Heh. That's a nice way of saying they fucked up. Euh, pardon the language. In the fairness of all things, mistakes do happen, we all make them." He shrugged. "Without the details, I can't say if you should forgive and forget. Even with that info, it still wouldn't be my place to say."

She looked at him sideways. "Why not? Surely your opinion would be valuable; you must be at a higher stage than me. I'm not sure I follow all the deference that I'm receiving."

He nodded, "I am, but my path has already narrowed. I'll not see my cultivation much further, whereas you could go all the way."

"So... you're hedging your bets that I'll surpass you?"

"And quickly! If you're already cleansing, you might beat me to core."

She inhaled sharply. "I didn't think I could progress that quickly."

"Heh, you might not. It's more that I'll be going quite slow." He stopped to point over the city. "Here we are, the slums."

"Yep, those are slums." She sighed.

As she feared, the situation didn't look great. It was overcrowded and only as clean as splashing a bucket of rainwater could make it. Aside from the streets, anywhere people could gather and camp out, they did.

The buildings were not as bad as she feared, but the improvised shelter style she expected from Earth was seen here too. She wondered if the thing that kept it under control, and not looking like the construction horror show of an Earth slum, was a limited access to cheap building materials like plywood and shipping pallets.

She had to admit, when compared to Blind Gregor's shack, some would call this an improvement. The smell wasn't better however.

"Any reason it's so bad? I didn't see this in Minlin City."

Lou grunted, turned and pointed outside the wall.

She expected to see houses, instead it was clear-cut forest. Further out, workers replanted trees and she thought she saw a cultivator moving from tree to tree to check on them. That individual stood out for being well dressed and clean.

"The city uses a lot of wood for the forge fires. Growing it closer is easier, but it means less housing for workers."

She spotted a few houses further out. "Does it need to be this close? The Wall could move out for more housing? Or just have more housing out there?"

"Minlin is a surprisingly safe city to live around. The predators out here are a bit more aggressive, most don't feel safe living outside the walls. Get a dozen li out and you're fine again."

"Hmm. Something in the local qi?"

He nodded. "Dead right. The qi stone mine and other metal mines dredge up a lot of qi from the world's core. So I've heard." He shook his head. "Don't know much beyond that. As for moving the wall. That way leads to politics."

Shae sighed and rubbed her head. "Someone in power owns the land and doesn't want to give it up."

"Dead right, again. At least that's the rumor."

"Ugh, well that's a problem for another day. Other people too, I hope."

"Hah. For your sake and theirs, I hope the same."

She turned back to the slums and quickly spotted a few guards lingering around one set of buildings. "That's the site of the arrest?" She pointed.

"Nah, the arrest was further down the street. That is where they lost track of him."

She frowned at the semantic correction but kept her mouth shut.

It was close to the wall, as she suspected. But not next to it, a full street was kept open along the wall, with no buildings built against it. Though, it was full of loitering peasants.

"Are there usually this many stuck inside? Unemployed?"

He shook his head and frowned. "It's worse because of the lockdown at the gate. No one can get out to their day jobs. Lines would be too long if we tried to search them all."

"Are they being fed by the city then? Given a stipend to cover lost wages?"

Lou shifted his weight.

"And this hunt for the ringleader, and his ring. Ugh, just got that." She nearly slapped her own forehead.

He chuckled.

"Someone's pocket is leaking, so they are the one pushing this garbage lockdown onto the city?"

"Interesting choice of words. It's supposed to be a thievery and taxation issue. Yet, there are always political motivations for everything big in this town."

"What's the motivation for a troll like Choun to be running the gate?"

"Heh. Family connections. His uncle's a big fish, their grandfather was a bigger fish. With the old man's passing, our Choun needs a minimum public service record to get into office." He threw up his hands in an exaggerated shrug.

"I suppose the quality of that service doesn't matter, then."

"Involved in a popular case will look good for him; for everyone involved, really."

"And how long until there are riots and the search has to be called off?"

He inhaled deeply. "They don't call you Wise for nothing, do they?" He paused for a response. "A week, I'd guess. Longer if they bothered with fresh food and water for the slums. I've not seen it ever get to that, though. We have Diviners on call for a reason."

"Ugh." Shae shuddered. "Did you just imply they use Diviners to check just how far they can abuse the population?"

"They have nicer ways of talking about it. But there's no getting around the implication."

"Disgusting." Shae slumped into the wall. "And what did their Diviners say about the smuggling ring?"

"The group or the spatial item?" He gave a dead smile.

She returned it. "I'd laugh but I feel like I've been kicked in the heart."

"They are expensive to hire, we only got the one reading."

"More expensive than restricting trade and employment for a week straight?"

He shrugged. "The Diviner said the ring was still in that block of housing. Said we'd find it in five days if we searched thoroughly."

"How many days ago?"

"Six."

"No way to track it with qi senses or spiritual tools?"

"Supposedly it's guarded by shadow qi, undetectable. Traces of it on the ringleader when they caught him. Maybe a nascent stage elder could do it, but why would they bother."

"Hmm. And that is the alley he used? Is it open above?"

"Yes, the one you can see. A small courtyard in the middle, with windows to several apartments. We searched the whole block, bottom to top."

Shae walked along the wall, trying to line the alley up for a better view. She saw crates stacked up in the middle, stamps on the side that probably marked them as belonging to the city guard, or inspectors, she wasn't sure.

"Emptied out the apartments?" She looked to Lou with concern.

"The individuals are being treated well. A dozen people are easier to care for than the whole district. Makes for good publicity so long as people don't look too closely."

"A dozen? Only a dozen in that whole block? Ugh, don't tell me I can guess they are only supporting those that are legally registered or something obnoxious."

Lou nodded and tapped his nose.

Shae sneered. "Shadow qi, you said? A hidden stash protected by it?"

"We have a few light qi specialists for that. Any mist or air type sensing ability works well too. Can find secret compartments hidden from sight. The inspectors do this for a living, Miss Shae."

"Of course. Now that my nose is in it, I have to do my due diligence. I don't mean to offend."

He nodded again.

"So the ringleader was a cultivator? How strong?"

"What stage, you mean? Just qi gathering. Enough to use the storage ring and provide it qi."

"Hmm, I did mean how strong." She tracked an imaginary arc from the alley, over the wall and out into the tree farm.

"Heh. Took us a whole day to think of that one. I can throw something over the wall from that alley. I doubt he could have. Still, we searched outside and the rooftops in due course. Caught a few collaborators who had the same idea."

"Back to the buildings, then. Sewer system?"

"In the slums? No. Only access is a block away."

"I assume the search was well organized? No one ran off with the ring?"

He nodded his head. "After the initial suspicion when catching the ringleader, they took great pains to ensure that wasn't possible."

"Including the Diviner, I suppose? How reliable are they?"

"In general? Hard to say. The way we use them, very."

"But he said five days. Specifically? What was searched on the fifth day?"

"Within five days. We've had that problem with searches before. The Diviner says five days, so we first check where we would have been on the fifth day. Doesn't work. At least once it's caused complete backlash. Can't have a repeat of that incident."

"Hmm. The prediction changes your search pattern, nullifying the prediction?"

"They like to make it more complicated than that, but yes." He smiled.

She turned back to face the city. "So what's changed since the prediction?"

Second Captain Lou grunted in response.

Shae thought it out and matched Lou's grunt.

They stared at the slums for a few dozen more breaths.

"Is there a way down nearby?" She looked over the edge of the wall. It was further than she would like to fall, and she wasn't sure if she could do so safely.

"We could jump?" He smirked.

She considered it. That building is a little far, maybe if I had a run. She bobbed her head side to side. "I've not practiced my falls since the incident. Could you throw me to that roof?"

"Hah! Now I need to know what this incident was. And I could throw you, but it would cave in. See the patchwork colors? Shoddy work, that is." He pulled out a thin rope from behind his belt. "We can still get down. Have you ever rappelled?"

"Let's say no. But I know the basic idea, and have one really good arm." She shook out her right hand as warm-up.

"Good. I only have the one descender, so you just hold on and kick out."

She nodded and made sure her bow and quiver were secure to her back. Then climbed up on the edge.

"You're as light as you look, right? Not full of earth qi, or something?"

"Are you asking a lady her weight?"

"Never!" He snapped back.

"Good!" She grabbed the rope from him, wrapped it around her right arm and waist, then leaned over the edge.

"That might hurt a bit." He said as the rope tightened. He leaned back and put one foot up on the ledge.

"It's a very good arm." She pulled the trailing rope around her left side while turning to face down the wall, then began walking down it.

"I thought you said you've never done this?" He called as he let the rope out faster.

Her walk turned into a light jog with longer hops. She braced herself from spinning off the rope with her left arm, but found she wasn't facing as directly forwards as she had hoped. A bit of qi reinforcement was needed to keep her posture stable.

When she neared the ground she kicked out harder, and then let her waist unwind from the rope, putting her into an upright fall. She tensed her arm as it caught her weight, but the divinely cleansed flesh didn't complain about the abuse. The unwinding caused her to spin, her travel robes flaring out around her, blocking her sight to the ground.

Initially, her legs hit harder than she expected, but Lou expertly slowed the rope at the last beat, letting her keep her balance through the added spin.

Several people stared in awe. One person clapped.

She unwound from the rope and Lou yanked it back up. He was already running down the wall when she looked up, the rope whistling along behind him. Three more hops and he was in freefall a half dozen paces above the street. He spun much more gracefully than Shae imagined she had, and landed with a puff of dust around him.

The crowd had gasped at his descent, then cheered at his landing.

"Couldn't let you upstage me like that." He smirked.

She crossed her arms. "It's not a contest, Second Captain Lou."

"True, there never was any contest." He smirked and whipped the rope up the wall. The ripple of rope traveled all the way up and flung the end off the railing he had hooked it over. He even managed to catch it flashily as it fell.

"Are rope tricks all it takes to become second captain?"

He turned in mock hurt. "It's not the only thing. There's also the roguish charm. That takes real effort to perfect."

"Is that why you're still working on it?"

He sucked air through his teeth. "Is that how you won the sword? A battle of lips?"

"I earned this sword through wise words that helped heal the broken. But it was forfeited before that by a coward afraid of a few sparks."

He stopped grinning and stood straight. "I apologize, Wise Zhi Shae. That was uncouth of me."

She waved it off. "You're forgiven. I attacked your station first, and as cover for my ignorance. So, please, educate me while we walk: how does one advance in the guards?"

He led the way. "Bah, that's boring, and you're not getting out of talking about the incident so easily."

Second Captain Lou found the retelling of Shae's accidental fall very funny. So funny he had to duck into a side alley to laugh out of sight of the guards and inspectors at the crime scene.

"And then you kicked off the mountain towards the trees! Ah hahaha-ha!" He leaned on a wall and slapped it a few times, causing dust to fall and cracks in the player to form.

"Try not to put a hole in the wall, Lou." Shae warned.

It didn't seem to hamper his enjoyment. "Wha-hahaha. I just can't believe it."

"Well what would you have done?"

"Not fallen off a cliff! Ha ha ha!" He crouched down and slapped the dirt instead, kicking up a larger cloud of dust.

"Do you have to slap things when you laugh? And really what could I have done?"

"There's a dozen Qigong exercises -hah hah hah- and techniques just for falling gracefully." He kept chuckling.

"Well, how nice. I'll be sure to learn those once I reach the sect."

That cut into his humor, but only slightly. "Oh come on, I'm not trying to mock you. Heh heh. The situation is just funny."

"Sure, after the fact, many life threatening situations are hilarious."

"Heh, what a buzz kill."

She finally let her own smile show.

"Oh, you sneak, you're just teasing me." He chuckled again. "Well, I'll have to have a good laugh with the guards later." He winked.

"So long as it provides a valuable lesson." She smirked.

"Heh heh heh, I can think of a few." He wiped tears of joy from his face. "Alright, your teasing dug me out of that humor pit. Let's go see the scene."