The emissary of the southern isles arrived without announcement or fanfare. She simply appeared one day, as though she had been there all along. Disconcertingly, nobody noticed Long Xiaofan’s arrival until she revealed herself to them. Nobody knew who she’d already met with or how long she’d been present. Yue whistled appreciatively as she and Jia prepared for their own meeting with the draconic emissary.
“Evidently my ancestor is well versed in imperial politics. I wonder if she has a history here?”
Jia shrugged, putting together a spread of dishes to welcome their guest—recipes she’d gotten from Ruiling.
“Her daughter—your great grandmother—married a traveler from Qin, didn’t she? Maybe she learned from her son-in-law.”
Yue covered her nose and edged away from the food—apparently fiends quite enjoyed their spices.
“Perhaps. There aren’t many records from that far back, and fewer living witnesses. Perhaps only the god-emperor himself or Long Xiaofan know for certain.”
Their guest announced her arrival with a polite knock on the door, and Yue swept off to answer it while Jia prepared herself. They’d elected to host the emissary within Yue’s rooms, since Xiaofan gave them very little time to make arrangements.
The ancient dragon in human form stepped gracefully into the room and swept her cold gaze across them. She was tall! As tall as Rika before even counting her antler-like horns, and her imperious expression reminded Jia of meeting Qin Zhao for the first time. Jia stood and bowed, and Long Xiaofan returned the gesture with a fractional nod of acknowledgement.
“Well met, young sovereign. I thank you for the hospitality you’ve given the youngest of my brood.”
“Of course. Long Ruiling is a welcome guest and friend.”
The dragon’s eyes slid down to Yue, who bowed hurriedly. Long Xiaofan gently placed a hand on Yue’s head, and though she didn’t smile, her voice was gentle.
“Not only her. I treasure every drop of my blood, no matter how ‘diluted’ my brother claims they may be. I was sorry to hear of your brother, Yan Yue. You have my sincerest condolences.”
Yue rose as her ancestor withdrew her hand, averting her eyes awkwardly.
“That’s very kind of you. If you’ll pardon my ignorance, how might we address you?”
“A name should speak for itself. I am Long Xiaofan, and you may refer to me by name, or by any title or epithet you consider accurate.”
She strode into the room and took a seat across from Jia, eyeing the refreshments.
“You’ve done your research. It’s not quite food from home, but I could hardly expect you to have ingredients from the divine realm. The Draconic Empire is my new home, and its cuisine is a welcome greeting.”
Jia smiled brightly as Yue took a seat next to her.
“I’m glad you like it! Please help yourself, Lady Xiaofan.”
She did, taking a spicy skewer of meat and dipping it in an even spicier chili sauce before delicately taking a bite. Yue tried not to grimace as the dragon lady savored the tongue-searing snack. Long Xiaofan was not an expressive woman, and her aura felt subdued to Jia’s senses, but she nodded appreciatively.
“This is excellent. You’ve done well to replicate the original flavors with more local ingredients.”
Yue smiled sardonically.
“I’m amazed fiends can taste anything at all if that’s their usual fare.”
Jia chuckled and shook her head.
“Don’t mind Yue. She dislikes spicy food—and flavor.”
Yue smacked her in the arm, eliciting a rare smile from Long Xiaofan.
“You’re surprisingly comfortable in my presence. Your mother was more tense.”
“You’ve spoken to her?”
The comment caught Yue off guard, and Long Xiaofan nodded as she enjoyed another bite of her skewer.
“Indeed. I rarely have cause to visit the mainland, and I wished to take the opportunity to meet my descendents. You may relax in my presence—we are all family.”
“Even Yoshika?”
“Your betrothed? Only naturally. You should have told my brother, empress. The Dragon Lord cares little for my exiled daughter’s brood, but he is considerate of me at least.”
Jia scratched her head and smiled, turning red with embarrassment.
“We weren’t engaged yet when I spoke to him. I was a bit slow to realize my feelings.”
Yue shrugged.
“As was I. You must understand that same-sex engagements are something of an issue in the Heavenly Empire.”
“I see. It’s rare among the dragon clan—we are very particular about blood—but the fiends living among the isles of our empire are a diverse lot. When one’s every neighbor is an entirely different species, gender is a distant concern.”
“Well, I suppose I’ll take whatever support we can get. Speaking of which, can I take this to mean that you’ll be taking our side during the assembly?”
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Long Xiaofan finished her snack and washed it down with some wine that Jia had poured for her.
“That’s a complicated question to answer. My understanding is that the primary subject of this summit is to negotiate the terms of Jiaguo’s surrender to Qin. Obviously, you are taking advantage of the assembly to raise other issues, but the Draconic Empire has no standing in a war between mainland powers.”
Jia sighed. She’d expected as much, but she’d hoped for more enthusiastic support for her attempts to bring the great powers of the world together long enough to save them all from destruction.
“Lady Xiaofan, when I spoke to him, the Dragon Lord intimated that you would support me in my efforts to prevent the cataclysm facing us. I got the impression that his hands were tied by old promises, but yours aren’t.”
“Of course. But you must first bring an end to the hostilities between you and the Heavenly Empire, and there’s little I can do to aid you in this as my brother’s representative. However, I may be able to grant you a personal favor if you would do the same for me.”
“A favor? What can I do for you, Lady Xiaofan?”
The dragon lady finished her wine and leveled a piercing glare at Jia.
“Is it true that the Demon of Blades, the Bloody Sovereign’s Sword, Jianmo, is among your servants?”
“I wouldn’t call them a servant. Jianmo is a friend, and free to do as they please.”
“If you summon it, the demon will heed your call. You’ve wielded their blade before, and likely will again.”
She didn’t phrase it as a question, but she wasn’t wrong either. Jianmo was free to choose, but they’d chosen to remain with Yoshika. Xiaofan’s insistence made her uncomfortable, but there was no harm in hearing her out.
“If your request involves Jianmo, then the most I can do is ask. I can’t guarantee their cooperation.”
Yue bit her thumbnail, glancing nervously between them.
“Is this about my brother? I made my peace with Jianmo a long time ago.”
Long Xiaofan gave her an approving nod.
“Your mercy does you credit. My request is simple—call the demon here so that I may make my own peace.”
Jia pursed her lips, considering it. Xiaofan didn’t seem to have violent intentions, but her aura was so restrained that it was hard to tell.
“I’ll ask, but in the interest of good faith, I will tell them who is asking after them and why.”
“That is acceptable.”
“One moment, then.”
It wasn’t difficult to find Jianmo. Kaede and Eui were both in Jiaguo, and Jianmo, for all their immortal boredom, was a creature of habit with only a few places they liked to spend their time. He was waiting for her, in male form, at the prison where the demons who hadn’t yet been approved for rehabilitation were kept contained and—hopefully—comfortable.
He didn’t take much convincing. In fact, he was suspiciously prepared—as though he’d known that Yoshika was meeting Xiaofan, and that he’d be called to face her judgment.
Moving Jianmo through her soul realm wouldn’t be easy, even after her transformation, but he knew how to spirit walk on his own, and her soul was like a beacon for him to follow. Altogether, it only took a few minutes for Jianmo to join their meeting, stepping out of the air behind Jia and bowing graciously to the dragon lady.
“Lady Long Xiaofan, of the Draconic Empire. I am Jianmo. We haven’t met, but I did unwillingly enjoy your brother’s hospitality for a few thousand years. To what do I owe the honor of your call?”
The dragon met his gaze impassively, ignoring the slight edge to his voice as he alluded to his ten thousand years of imprisonment.
“I have been visiting my great granddaughter and her family. I understand that you had a chance encounter with one of them just over a decade ago.”
Jianmo dug at his ear with a pinky finger, staring off into the distance as if trying to recall what she was talking about.
“Hmm? Ah yes, the delightful young man who freed me from your brother’s seal. In hindsight, even weakened as it was by the fire elemental, I did think it was odd that a brat like him could break it.”
“His blood would make no difference. It was either fate or coincidence that you were freed by a descendent of the one who imprisoned you. Was it a coincidence that you killed him?”
He paused, crossing his arms and looking down at her with something between a grimace and a sneer.
“I don’t hate doting grandmothers, Lady Long, but have you actually spoken to any of the witnesses? Yoshika was there for the whole thing.”
“I want to hear it from you.”
“Ugh, dragons. Fine. I woke up after ten thousand years in a shitty cave. The fire elemental that was supposed to free me decided I made a better snack. By sheer coincidence, a bunch of children stumbled into my cave and freed me. Then some snot-nosed brat who smells ever so faintly of dragons starts barking orders to kill the ones I owe my freedom to.”
Jianmo shrugged helplessly.
“I tried to be patient with the kid, really. But I was a bit tetchy after all that, and he was a very poor listener.”
Xiaofan’s lips drew into a thin line as she stared up at the demon.
“Then you have no regrets for murdering my kin?”
“I don’t mourn the flies I swat for buzzing in my ear, no. Had I known Yan Yue, I might have given him more leeway, if only because I like her and she doesn’t deserve to grieve over a wastrel like that. I doubt it would have saved him. Had I known he was connected to you and your brother?”
He scoffed.
“I might have killed him without a word, gratitude or not. I don’t fear the wrath of dragons, Long Xiaofan. Not yours, not your brother’s, and not your father’s. Surely you’ve seen how this goes? Grudges that escalate further and further until the great sovereign of dragons himself moves to avenge some random insignificant speck he’s never heard of. I’ve been the blade to start such grudges, and I’ve been the blade that ended them. Your father has the scars to prove it. So ask yourself now—is Yan Zhihao worth it?”
Even Jia was sweating nervously after that. She had expected some kind of confrontation, but not for it to grow so heated so quickly. Jianmo was fickle and violent, but actually quite slow to anger—Yan Zhihao had caught him at a bad time. Why, then, was his tone with Long Xiaofan so hostile?
For answer, the dragon emissary bowed her head.
“No, of course not. I appreciate your honesty, Jianmo. I believe that will satisfy any doubts my great granddaughter has about the fate of her son. Empress Yoshika, you have earned your boon. I suggest you wait until the summit gathers to invoke it.”
With that, she stood, bowed politely and swept out of the room without another word, leaving Jia and Yue in stunned silence. Once she was gone, Jia turned a questioning look on Jianmo as he grinned down at her.
“What the hell was that?!”
Jianmo winked at her.
“Dragons. They’re a prideful lot, and they hate prevarication. If they want something, they go straight for it and damn the obstacles. Say, do you suppose I can stick around to watch things unfold here?”
“You’re not exactly welcome in Qin—you might have to stay in sword form for a bit. Why?”
He chuckled and rubbed his hands together gleefully.
“I don’t hate the way you invoke chaos, darling, but do you have any idea what you’ve started by inviting a dragon to Qin? This might be the most fun I’ve had in ten thousand years!”
!
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