Interlude: The Laughing Monk II

Interlude: The Laughing Monk II

Good luck was something Song Yuelin never put much stock in. It wasnt good luck that saw him enter the service of the Southern Dragon King, nor was it good luck that his skills were appreciated by that man who raised him to higher heights and higher duties. Good luck did not have him stumble across lost treasures; he did not stumble. If he found something lost, it was because he knew where it was. Good luck certainly never helped him accomplish his missions, or refine the lethality of his powers.

Nor did Song Yuelin place any blame on bad luck. There were faces for his failures. It was his enemies exceptional cunning or overwhelming force that defeated him. It was the incompetence of his planning and staffing that bungled his schemes in the dark. It was his own limits that threw him into qi deviation or forestalled his progress.

That wasnt to say Song Yuelin did not acknowledge luck. For himself, it had no bearing, but even he could see when others were affected by the best and worst of it. He had seen the pathetic rise and mighty fall by the merest of margins. He had seen genius bloom, wilt, then rise again as phoenixes. Heavenly phenomena that brought paradise and desolation through little but the movements of the stars. Every member of his lords family who was blessed to share his blood.

Indeed for all that he himself did without it, Song Yuelin had lived well enough to see many examples of fortune and its opposite. Despite this detachment from Heavenly Chance, however, there were still moments when even Song Yuelin himself could not but say he was favored by fate.

The first instance was when he was born, for that was when a man will spend most of the luck he will ever receive.

The second instance was when a certain rat-faced manager sent a letter detailing the strange behavior of Lord Chens youngest. While he did have authority over such letters, the fact it ever reached him to be read was such a twisting feat of bureaucratic mystery that he scarcely imagined it could ever be replicated. That it led to him discovering two individuals blessed by sheer astronomical fortune could perhaps be its own separate luck, but Song Yuelin preferred not to quibble over details like that.

The third instance was quite embarrassing for Song Yuelin because it hadnt happened yet. It was a little bit of fortune he was hoping would be pushed toward a later date in the future if fate would be so kind. He wouldnt argue too much about when in the future, though. Song Yuelin was nothing if not accommodating.

These three instances would all be considered good fortune in Song Yuelins own humble opinion. Had they been the end of it, he would be a rather content man. The Heavens did like to play their tricks, however, and so Song Yuelin was sent a fourth instance of luck. Although, this one he could confidently say was quite rude and perhaps not so good. Had he the means, he would certainly file a formal complaint to the Heavens for this. As it stood, he was charging this bit of bad luck to Young Master Chens and Lady Lan Fens accounts.

After ruminating on the nature of the luck in his life, Song Yuelin pushed away the fiery skeleton of what had once been a barracks that he had been buried under. The soldiers who once occupied it had long since vacated the burning building, though many of those soldiers soon found themselves vacating their mortal coil with the help of the Empires elite Cloud Dragon Guard.

Each Guard was an expertly trained Liquid Meridian weapon, screened for their talent and loyalty, and taught the secret cultivation methods of the Imperial family. The Cloud Dragon Sutra they practiced turned their qi into fluffy white clouds that allowed them to fly under their own power without the use of a treasure and far before the Star Core realm. This cloud qi could also be easily combined to create a variety of useful cloud formations. For the birthdays of young princes and princesses in the Imperial Capital, these cloud formations would take the form of a bunny or a particularly ugly dog.

Song Yuelin furrowed his brows. You were following us.

Ive been observing you ever since you left the city like a frightened squirrel, yes. Shen Jianyu nodded. I saw you lose your little charge, too. It was the funniest thing Ive seen all year.

It seems Ive fallen prey to a simple flush and catch. Song Yuelin sighed. Even if it were Shen Jianyu, he wouldnt be able to defend himself in front of Lord Chen when he returned. Appearing to temporarily cancel the Exams was just your way to scare us out.

Shen Jianyu cocked his head. Its permanent, though? As soon as I was told to hunt you rats down in this place, I was planning to cancel the Exams.

You would cause so much aggrievement amongst your subjects just to hunt us?

Dont flatter yourself. Shen Jianyu chuckled. If I just did as I was told without causing trouble, then other annoying people might start getting the idea I can be used.

I see, Song Yuelin said. To borrow a phrase from my Young Master His knives hummed and began to flitter. Youre a dick.

You can post your complaint to a sword and send it to the neck that wears the crown. I couldnt care less. Shen Jianyus liquid qi dripped from his body like blood and formed hundreds of red spheres that fanned out behind him. I have to thank you for being incompetent enough to lose your little master. If I capture a child of Chen Qitao, my Imperial Father would be happy. The blood-red spheres shuddered and opened to reveal eyes containing ghostly white pupils. Hundreds of eyes blinked simultaneously at Song Yuelin. Shen Jianyu did not remove his hands from his pockets.

Song Yuelin set a small goal for himself to force his hands out first. Liquid shadow spilled out and engulfed him.

So much for my vacation, he sighed.