Severing Time & Space

Trouble Afoot

"Those idiots from the Ming Family are underestimating us," Father said with a scowl.

It was early the morning after Wu Jian, Wu Meiying, and Hou Jingshu journeyed into the Twin Fang Mountains in search of something they could gift to Zhou Lihua for her birthday. They had all gone to bed last night exhausted. Not only had they been attacked on the way back home, but Wu Taohua made them kill their attackers.

Wu Jian had suffered from a nightmare and woken up in a cold sweat this morning. He knew, logically, that he hadn't done anything wrong. Those people would have killed him if given the chance. They had tried very hard to kill him and the others, in fact. But deep within his heart, he still felt a sense of regret at the loss of life and his own innocence. More than that, he was worried about Wu Meiying and Hou Jingshu. Were they taking what happened as hard as him?

Wu Meiying had tried very hard to convince Wu Taohua to let her and Hou Jingshu sleep with him last night. She had kicked up a storm. Sadly, the older woman had firmly dismissed her desires. Then, as if to add salt to the wound, she ordered several extra guards to be stationed at his domicile for the night.

He really was worried about the two.

Of course, he probably should have worried more about himself. He had looked at himself in the mirror after being woken up. His skin was pale like it had been drained of blood. His eyes had the same black bags underneath them. Thick red lines like veins ran through his eyes, a sure sign of his lack of sleep and peace.

I knew I'd eventually kill someone, but I didn't think it would be so soon. I didn't think it would be so hard either. I still feel sick.

"They know we can't attack them recklessly," Wu Taohua said. "Now that the Ming and Juishi Families have allied with each other, their strength is nearly equal to ours."

Wu Jian was currently sitting in Father's reception room along with Mother, Father, and Wu Taohua. Father was sitting on a throne-like chair. Leaning back, arms crossed, expression stern, it was clear that his father was not happy about what happened the other day.

"That also wasn't their only mercenary force, right?" asked Mother.

Wu Taohua shook her head. "It was not. The group that attacked us was just a small portion of the mercenaries Tian Hao hired."

"Which means we can't attack them unless we're prepared to lose many of our clansmen," Father grunted.

The situation they were in might not be dire, but it certainly wasn't ideal. The Wu Clan might be the strongest in Zahn City. That didn't mean, however, that they could just do whatever they wanted. The Ming and Juishi Families were both rather powerful. Their combined strength was close to the Wu Clan's. What's more, they now had an alchemist who had hired a large mercenary force. An attack on them right now was suicidal.

"How strong is the mercenary force? What are their numbers like?" asked Father.

"Not counting the five we killed the other day, I would say they're about fifty strong," Wu Taohua answered.

"Our own Wu Clan has about two hundred members. The Juishi and Ming Families both have around sixty members each, which means they currently have a force of about one-hundred and ninety." Mother tapped her chin thoughtfully for several seconds. "Our numbers are about the same, but what about the individual strength of our members?"

"I'd say our strength is about..."

Wu Jian tried to pay attention as the adults continued speaking, but his vision suddenly blurred out and his head dipped. His grogginess had returned with vengeance. He shook his head once as if to clear it. It didn't help.