Fates parallel vol 2, p.18
Fates Parallel Vol. 2, page 18
She kept her expression neutral as she stood straight again, and saw that Jia was still smiling at her as if nothing had happened. Eunae’s mind worked furiously to try to understand what was happening. Had Jia suddenly lost control of her aura technique? That could have something to do with her breakthrough, but it didn’t quite seem to fit.
If nothing else, surely Jia would notice that her aura was leaking out and apologize or explain, but she seemed completely unaware of it. Or maybe she was just playing coy and getting a little bit of revenge for being interrupted—no, Jia wasn’t like that. Then what purpose could she possibly have for using her aura here?
A cold sweat began to form on the back of her neck as Eunae came up with a possible answer. What if Jia couldn’t control her body, but could still control her aura? Eunae was certain that she had checked for any mana influencing Jia, but her domain was impossible to detect via mana sense and Eunae had very little experience with spiritual arts. What if whatever was controlling her didn’t require a constant link?
She only took a short moment to consider all of this—the thinking speed of a mage was nothing to laugh at—but even Jia had noticed the sudden pause.
"Eunae? Is something wrong? Your face has gone pale."
Eunae swallowed hard—her mouth had gone completely dry. She knew what she had to do, and hoped—prayed—that she wasn’t off the mark. A second chance was already more than she deserved, she had no expectation that she would get a third.
"Jia...if I am wrong, please—no, never forgive me for this. I’m sorry."
"Eunae? What are y—"
Before Jia could finish speaking, Eunae steeled her resolve, opened her eyes, and met Lee Jia’s bright, golden gaze.
18. Compromise
It had worked! Lee Jia had nearly panicked when Eunae turned to leave—that was her only chance, about to walk out the door. Eunae had clearly been suspicious about something, and Lee Jia had noticed her searching around with her mana sense. However, Yan Yue had done a remarkable job at imitating Jia—from her mannerisms, to her posture, to the way she treated her friends. It was uncanny—was she really that easy to predict, or was Yue just that good?
Jia thought that everything was lost when Eunae seemed convinced by Yue’s performance, and in the last moment, she had taken a huge risk. Since she still had control over her domain, she reasoned that even if she couldn’t access her dantian or her body directly, she should still be able to do so through the connection to her domain.
It was awkwardly performed, but she managed to reach down through her meridians, past the heart, and all the way to the dantian. From there, she could circulate her qi and activate her noxious aura. She had been a little leery about guiding the corrosive energy up through her body—and particularly past her heart—but it had worked without causing any harm or alerting Yue to what she was doing.
The effect on Eunae was immediate, and Jia felt a bit bad for subjecting her friend to such an unpleasant experience. She knew just how gross it felt from some of her failed attempts in practice, and she hated to subject anyone to it without a good reason.
Yan Yue immediately noticed that something was wrong, and Lee Jia heard her voice echoing from all sides.
"Is this you? Did you do something to alert her? Whatever you’re planning, Jia you should give it up now, or else I—"
Yue’s threat was cut short by Eunae whispering quietly, her expression a complicated mix of sad determination.
"Jia...if I am wrong please—no, never forgive me for this. I’m sorry."
A cold sweat formed on Jia’s body as Yan Yue began to panic.
"Eunae? What are y—"
Before Yue could finish speaking, Eunae raised her head and opened her eyes.
The entire world around Lee Jia was blown away, as if it had been made of dust and a sudden gale swept past. In its place, she saw Eunae’s beautiful, piercing blue eyes staring into her own. She could feel the power of Eunae’s gaze boring into her soul, but she didn’t care. She was so relieved—so happy. Her Eunae had rescued her, and now she would do anything to repay her mistress, even if it meant her death.
"Are you Lee Jia?"
Eunae’s voice was like the most beautiful song Jia had ever heard, and for a moment she just wanted to lose herself in the rapturous sound of it. However, her mistress had asked her a question, and she couldn’t keep her waiting.
"Of course I am!"
Eunae’s eyes grew misty and she bit her lower lip. Oh no! Had Lee Jia answered wrong? She had made her mistress sad! Immediately, she began to contemplate ways that she could atone for her sin. Surely she should pay with her life for such a grievous transgression! Yes, she still had Eui’s extra knives in her ring, she would—
Suddenly, Jia’s thoughts went blank for a moment and she forgot what she was doing. She realized that Eunae had closed her eyes, and a few tears were streaming down her cheeks. For a second, Jia was shaken—she had been so happy a moment ago. Enraptured, even. As her thoughts returned to normal, she realized that a small part of her missed that feeling—wanted to go back. Eunae’s trembling voice drew her attention away from those dark thoughts.
"Jia, I’m so sorry. I’m such an idiot, I should never have—"
Jia shook her head—there were more pressing matters right now. She grabbed Eunae’s hand and pulled her towards the bedroom.
"Forget it, Eunae, you were right! You just saved me, but Eui’s still in danger—we have to move!"
"Wha—!? But I thought that—wait, what’s going on?"
Eunae sputtered in confusion as Jia dragged her along and threw open the door to the bedroom. Inside, they were met by an empty room and an open window. There was no sign of Yan Yue within—nor An Eui.
"Damnit!"
Jia cursed as she let go of Eunae’s hand and dove through the window, rolling to her feet and searching for any sign of Yue or Eui. Without any sight of them, Jia instead closed her eyes and focused on her sense of smell. She was quickly able to pick up the distinct scent of the perfumed soaps that Yan Yue had borrowed from Hayakawa and prepared to take off after them.
"Jia, wait!"
She paused and turned to see Eunae standing at the window with a look of consternation.
"I don’t know what’s happening, but if Yan Yue fled, then she’ll be expecting you to follow. If you chase after her now, you’ll be running headlong into a trap."
Jia hesitated, glancing in the direction that Yue had fled in before turning back to Eunae.
"We don’t know that! She’s been following us around for days—when would she have had time to set up a trap?"
Eunae shook her head ruefully.
"Long beforehand. That’s how Qin operates, Jia. If she’s a trained infiltrator, then she’ll have a safe place to retreat to—maybe even a place she’s intentionally let slip the location of. Do you know whether she’s working alone, or are there others?"
Jia blinked at Eunae in surprise and confusion.
"U-uh, she has allies. Two boys, Han Yu and Zheng Long. How do you know all this!?"
"I know I don’t act like it, Jia, but as much as it chagrins me I am a member of the ruling class. I’ve been educated on matters of warfare."
"Warfare!?"
Jia was shaken—it felt like the situation had suddenly grown far, far beyond anything she was equipped to handle.
"Don’t panic. It sounds like they are only a clandestine scouting unit—and one still in training, at that. I doubt that their activities here are sanctioned by the imperial family. No, I would guess that their presence here is for an entirely private matter."
Eunae stared pointedly at the hand where Lee Jia wore her dimensional ring, and in response she held it up to her chest defensively.
"It’s—more complicated than that, I think."
"No doubt. Chasing after them is not going to get us anywhere—if anything, running into a trap like that will ruin any chance we have at rescuing Eui. If they plan to harm her, then they will have already done so, and nothing we can do now will prevent it."
Jia clenched her fists and stared at the ground angrily. If they did anything to Eui she would—she didn’t know what she would do, but it would be unpleasant. Eunae smiled gently at Jia.
"I doubt they will hurt her, at least for the moment. So why don’t you come back inside and explain the situation to me from the beginning?"
Lee Jia cast a forlorn glance back in the direction that Eui had been taken in, but with a resigned sigh she nodded her head.
"Alright. Can we do it at your place? I want to fill Rika in as well. I think we’ll need all the help we can get."
"Of course, but are you sure you want to leave your dorm unattended?"
Jia shrugged and shook her head.
"Only Yue can get in uninvited, and I don’t think she’s planning on coming back in the near future."
* * *
Before leaving, they closed and locked the doors and windows, and Eunae set up a simple alarm spell that would last for a few hours, just in case. Then, they went back to Eunae and Rika’s house, where Jia explained to them everything that had happened over the last few days, from their kidnapping, to their uneasy alliance with Yan Yue, to her sudden betrayal at the mention of Eunae.
"That fucking bitch! I cannot believe the nerve of her! If Eui doesn’t do it, I’ll gut that little harlot myself!"
Rika expressed her displeasure loud and clear, and Jia wondered if perhaps Eui had been a bit of a bad influence. Eunae was frowning as she held a hand to her cheek and pondered the situation.
"If what Yan Yue says is true, then she is playing a very dangerous game. She can’t afford to lose us entirely as collaborators, and her only allies are actually enemies to her true cause. I had initially expected that she would retreat to her safe house and call on her allies, but from what you’ve told me, it’s possible that she may continue to act alone, using Eui as a hostage to force us to act on her behalf."
Lee Jia’s head was spinning as she tried to understand Yue’s motives and predict her actions.
"What does that mean for us?"
Eunae wobbled her head back and forth a bit as if trying to make up her mind on something.
"I’m not entirely certain, but I suspect that she will continue to hold Eui hostage—at least until she feels that her position is safely unassailable. She’ll make deals for her release, but she’ll continuously renege on them in order to keep her leverage over you until such time as she feels she no longer needs it."
Jia clutched her head in her hands and groaned.
"Uuugh, what are we supposed to do, then?"
Rika slammed a fist on the table.
“Isn’t that obvious? Now that Jia’s been freed from that body-snatching piece of human filth, we can take this straight to the deans! Ienaga and Hwang won’t tolerate this, and even if we can’t trust Elder Qin, even he at least has to maintain his image.”
Jia bit her lip. Rika was right—the deans wouldn’t tolerate the kidnapping. At a bare minimum it had to break the rule about ‘undue oppression.’ But if she did that, then Yue’s betrayal of her sect would be revealed. She would be returned home and sold off to serve as a baby factory for some crusty old sect master. It was a fate that Jia wouldn’t wish on her worst enemy, but now—with Eui’s fate on the line—she found her conviction wavering.
“I—I can’t do that to Yue. Not if we can get Eui back without throwing her to the wolves.”
Rika’s jaw dropped, and she stared at Jia incredulously.
“Are you kidding!? After what she did to you, you’re still worried about her? Why!?”
Jia stared into her lap, thinking about her adopted big sister and the fate that they had almost shared. She blinked back tears and shook her head.
“I just can’t. Not if there’s another way.”
Rika looked like she was going to argue further, but Jia’s face gave her pause and she sat back down with a frustrated huff. Eunae tapped a finger on her lips thoughtfully.
"I think the answer to that comes down to two things—Yan Yue’s next action, and whether we can convince Hayakawa Kaede to cooperate with us."
"What do you mean?"
Eunae had an unusually intense expression on her face, as if she was concentrating on a particularly vexing puzzle.
"Yan Yue must be feeling quite desperate right now. With her secret exposed, she’s at risk of losing everything. In the worst case, she may choose to simply cut her losses and abandon her chances at freedom for a relatively comfortable position within her sect as Zheng Long’s wife."
Takeda scoffed and crossed her arms with a frown.
"So? Serves her right. Why does that matter to us?"
"Unfortunately, it’s not so simple. Yan Yue can’t so easily undo the ruse she’s already established. She promised a mountain expedition to search for signs of Jianmo, and failing to deliver on that would require her to give a good reason. Furthermore she has to prepare against her sabotage of the mission being discovered.
"At this point, she’s forced to pick one option and pursue it to the exclusion of the other—either she continues to pursue her freedom, or she abandons it entirely to secure an unassailable position in Zheng Long’s good graces. You know her better than we do, Jia—which path do you think she would take?"
Jia considered the question for a moment before shaking her head in dismay.
"I don’t really know. She got upset with me when I pointed out that she was using Zheng Long as a safety net—and I do genuinely think she wants to be free of her familial obligations. If it were me, it wouldn’t even be a question—I already fled a fate like that once. I just don’t know if Yue is the type who would give up her lifestyle for it."
Rika’s eyes widened slightly at Jia’s confession, but Eunae just nodded and sighed.
"Perhaps she’s feeling just as conflicted about it. In that case, I think I have an idea. We might be able to tip the scales a little bit and make cooperating with us more appealing than the alternative—or at least easier."
Takeda looked back and forth between Jia and Eunae, a confused expression on her face.
"Wait, what? I don’t get it, why are we trying to work with her? She’s brought all this on herself. All we need to think about is how to rescue Eui!"
Jia was on Takeda’s side on this one, but Eunae shook her head ruefully.
"If she continues to pursue her freedom, then that gives her reason to keep Jia’s ring secret. If she takes the safer option, it means war—possibly literally. She’ll keep up the ruse long enough for her allies to realize that there’s no sign of Jianmo on the mountain, then conveniently discover that Jia actually has Zhihao’s ring.
"Once that happens, not only will they consider Jia to be responsible for his death, but the rest of us will be judged as being complicit to it. They won’t rest until Jia is dead or they are, and whichever the result—it will become a political incident. You need protection."
Jia felt sick as she self-consciously fidgeted with the invisible ring on her finger. Why did she ever get the stupid thing? She wished she hadn’t been so greedy in demanding everything from Yan Zhihao. She definitely didn’t think that Elder Qin had done her any favors by stepping in on her behalf.
"C-can’t I just give it back peacefully? I don’t know if this thing is worth the trouble anymore. If I’d known how important it was, I would have just emptied it and given it back."
Eunae smiled sympathetically at Jia and shook her head.
"There’s two reasons you shouldn’t. One is that it’s a poor attitude to have, as a cultivator. One day, you’re going to have any number of secrets and artifacts that are coveted by other practitioners. Some of them you may have to defend with your life. That attitude will be taken advantage of by others, and open you to being robbed senseless.
"The other is that it’s too late. There’s really no version of this where they discover that you have the ring, but don’t suspect you of killing Zhihao. In all likelihood, Yan Yue herself doesn’t entirely believe your story about Jianmo—it was simply expedient for her to act as if it was true."
Takeda groaned in frustration and slumped in her seat.
"Ugh, this is all so pointless. Just because that idiot Zhihao got ahead of himself and pissed off some ancient xiantian monster. Ok, Eun-eun, what’s your idea?"
Eunae’s smile became just a little bit sinister, and Jia was suddenly very glad that she was on her side.
"Well, that’s where Miss Hayakawa comes in...you said that she was quite interested in you, right?"
Jia fidgeted uncomfortably, nodding once.
“Y-yeah, I guess you could say that. She thinks that Eui and I are going to revolutionize the cultivation of Goryeo, and is worried about one day being our enemy.”
“Good—she’s probably right. And she was close to agreeing to bring you, Eui, and Miss Yan up the mountain for a training expedition?”
Jia nodded in affirmation. Eunae opened her eyes slightly, staring down at the table, her eyes swimming as she worked through something in her head. After a few moments she nodded.
“Then I think this will work. Jia, you need protection—both immediately, from whatever Zheng Long or Yan Yue have in store for you, and in the long term from the predations of the Great Awakening Dragon Sect—in case they don’t back down after this. I think that we can secure both in a single move.”
Jia leaned forward in her seat.
“What? How? Your family?”
Eunae chewed her lip hesitantly.
“As much as I’d like to offer my own protection, I suspect that Hayakawa has much more influence within her family than I do mine. So, you will secure hers. By sweetening the deal, you can convince her to extend the offer to Rika and I—and perhaps other allies like Hyeong Daesung or Xin Wei. That will hopefully be enough to protect you in the short term during the trip.”
