Destiny in Cinders

What? Both An Jing and Jing Xuan are being targeted? An Jing looked troubled and almost laughed angrily. "What's the deal with this Lord Inspector of the West? Why does he have a problem with me? Isn't it enough that he has his sights on An Jing? Doesn't he know that Jing Xuan's master is a sage? He knows who Ming Guangchen is, right?"

"He does indeed. That's probably why he set his sights on you," Madam Huai said.

Oh, so I have my master to thank for this fateful twist. Though he was rather mad, he immediately understood that Ming Guangchen and the Lord Inspector of the West were already at conflict long before An Jing entered the picture. He was nothing but a pawn in their game of grudges.

"An Jing, you have to take care," Madam Huai warned, seeing his nonchalance. "The Lord Inspector of the West is not like the Lord Inspector of the North. He's someone who truly delves into evil and fiendish arts! He's a herald of disaster! Have you heard about the legends in Xishan about ghost carriages and fey birds that kidnap children at night? Do you know how the demonic cult is able to fend off both the soldiers from Dustdawn and the forces of Grand Chen? The Blood Phoenix of the Western Abyss has countless merciless outlaws under his command who are steeped deeply in blood. Being targeted by their lot is a huge deal!"

"I'm not looking down on them," An Jing said. "Instead, I take this pretty seriously. However..."

He pointed at the sky and said, "Master will be with us for the time being. Unless the Lord Inspector of the West himself comes to attack us, nobody can do us any harm."

"That's why I wanted to talk to you. According to the information I received, the Lord Inspector of the West's subordinates have entered Keensight. They are all elites that are comparable to those from Honor Pavilion."

"That's fast," An Jing said, somewhat surprised. "They're not asking for cooperation at all. It's an announcement."

It was no wonder Madam Huai couldn't wait till the next day to tell him this. Perhaps she felt that the attack could begin at any time with the Lord Inspector of the West's subordinates already nearby. It wasn't out of the question for the attack to happen without her being informed since she didn't belong to the same faction as the Lord Inspector of the West in the cult.

"Please take a seat, madam." Since the enemy could attack at any time, he invited the old lady into his room and served her tea for the conversation. "You are someone who served the Lord Inspector of the North, right?"

"Yes, you can say that. Even though the northwest is a single jurisdiction shared by both factions, these two factions are not identical. That's why I'm not aware of the details of this operation."

"What about the south and east?" An Jing realized that he had no idea about the demonic cult's organizational structure even though he used to be part of it. "Are the Lords Inspector of the cardinal directions all sages of the Treasures Realm? How powerful are the Lords Inspector of the North and West respectively?"

"Technically, there's no south or east." Madam Huai didn't expect An Jing to be ignorant of even that. Then again, he was someone who had escaped the cult before being fully groomed into their ranks.

"The divine cult does have a Lord Inspector for each of the four cardinal directions. However, the other two are known as the Lord Inspector of the Sea and the Lord Inspector of the Nether respectively. In fact, the Lords Inspector of the North and West are only colloquial titles. The real titles given by the divine cult are the Lord Inspector of the Mountain and the Lord Inspector of the Wind respectively.

"From what I know, the Lord Inspector of the West has unlocked the second of the three divine treasures before he entered seclusion. Now that he has ended his seclusion training, he probably managed to unlock the third divine treasure, putting him roughly on the same level as Sage Mystic Mirror.

"As for the Lord Inspector of the North, her power back then didn't pale in comparison to the Lord Inspector of the West's. But her western counterpart has no qualms about eating people to consume their destinies, so he grows at a faster rate. He's probably surpassed her by this point."

Madam Huai took a sip with a grim look on her face. "The Lord Inspector of the West's favorite pastime is nipping geniuses in the bud. He loves to seek out talented young children to kidnap them and use them as sacrificial offerings for a blood ritual. He absorbs their lifeforce and destiny to supplement his cultivation."

"I see. Another man-eating monster, huh?" An Jing closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. Then, he opened his eyes calmly. "Are his subordinates also like this?"

Madam Huai shook her head. An Jing took it to mean that it was a statement of her ignorance on the matter rather than a denial. She was only a person who the Lord Inspector of the North's faction protected, so she didn't know about the other factions in detail even though she definitely knew more than An Jing. Even so, this was enough information for him to get started.

"Looks like these folks are the type who deserve ten thousand deaths." An Jing nodded calmly. "I know enough. Madam, do you know where these people are gathered?"

"I do. Since Little Shu's death, I was the one who took over as the main contact in Keensight." Madam Huai nodded, but almost immediately realized what An Jing was trying to do. "Wait, are you trying to take the initiative against them?!"

"Of course." He slung the black-iron blade on his waist and turned back with a doubtful look. "Do you doubt my power, madam?"

"Of course not." She set her teacup down with a solemn look. "Even though those monsters have lifearcs, they're only at the Fortification Realm and only about as powerful as Lu Jin. They're definitely not your match. But I thought you wanted to avoid getting involved with the divine cult. Why are you risking getting tainted by these karmic traces once more? I thought I could get you and You Ruhui to hide for a bit and wait until Sage Mystic Mirror returns tomorrow to deal with them. This way, it won't draw the suspicion of the Lord Inspector of the West. You would have a much easier time too."

"Having an easier time? Haha, let me be honest with you." An Jing put on his bulletproof mantle and didn't bother to hide anything from her. "I am worried that the bargain-bin master of mine will return too soon. If he makes a move, where will I find more prey?"

The old woman was stunned by that response. An Jing put on his gas mask and appeared completely unidentifiable under his featureless bulletproof cloak. His muffled voice carried a hint of bloodlust and glee as he said, "Madam Huai, I've never been afraid of trouble. I'm also not one to hold back with bated breath. Since they came for me first, I shall strike at them with full force. Tell me where they are. I will make sure they won't see the sun rise tomorrow."

Fifteen minutes later, a shadowy figure left the four-walled compound. The old lady watched it all transpire and muttered, "Why go through all this trouble?"

Even so, she wasn't truly against it. She wouldn't have told An Jing where the subordinates were if she was. However, letting Ming Guangchen take care of the matter would've been risk free and enough to send a clear warning to the Lord Inspector of the West to reel in his filthy claws. Yet, An Jing couldn't even wait that long. For some reason, that part of his character made her feel carefree and refreshed, making her smile.

"Perhaps this is what it means to tread on the martial path." Perhaps lifearcs only manifested in people who didn't adhere to common sense, people who intentionally chose the wrong answer over the obvious correct one. It was just like how she had spent her whole life helping others and even risking everything to help You Ruhui, someone clearly mired in trouble.

The stars shone sparsely in the sky, with the moon hiding behind the clouds. It was the perfect night for a bloodbath.