Against my expectations, the Lord had not given me an answer immediately. Instead, both me and Yin had been moved to the waiting room where Yan Yun, Zhang and Labby were. Unable to rest despite my best efforts, I paced around the halls, feeling agitated.
What I was bringing to the Lord wasn’t just a weapon, but the knowledge and understanding to create far more things further down the line as well. Given enough resources, just this knowledge alone could be enough to dethrone the Jade court, even with the power of the Divinities at their side. Gu-nukes were afterall, merely the start, created from alchemy and spirit herbs. If far larger and more potent quantities of Gu and Qi could be merged within a controlled device… there would be no telling what someone could do with that kind of ability.
I paced harder as my thoughts continued to spiral.
“Brother Jie, I don’t mean to presume what causes you such trouble. But you should calm down,” Zhang said, before turning his head sideways to where the servants meant to look after us were.
The mortals stood huddled together, with looks of terror. A moment later, I realised the cause from my flaring Chi, and the imprints I left on the floor from my steps.
“Apologies. I lost control,” I said, pressing my fists as I bowed to the servant.
The action only seemed to further send them into a panic, but I did not have time to console them, and let them move about on their own. Trying to distract myself, I glanced at Zhang.
“How’s your training with the villagers going, Zhang?”
“They’ve been learning. It’ll be a long time before they are capable of fighting on their own, but all of them show drive,” Zhang replied.
“That’s good to hear. With the plans I have, we won’t need them to be superhuman, just disciplined, willing to listen to orders, and capable of following instructions,” I said, before reaching out to my pouch instinctively to check for the gun I’d kept.
A moment later, I realised it was still with the lord, and my unease grew once more.
“Forgive me if I’m overstepping brother Jie, but… what do you truly intend to do with the mortals?” Zhang asked.
“I never did explain fully to you guys, did I? I plan to form a militia with the villagers. Just three for now, so barely any, but we’ll get more and more people soon as time passes. The first step will be training them traditionally so that we can get through the winter solstice.”
“I understand your intent Brother Jie, but… these are still mortals. Demonic beasts are not something to be taken so lightly.”
“You’re right. And it’s why I’ll be giving them weapons that’ll allow them to be as capable as any cultivator in defending themselves from the monsters, and attacking them. Once they’ve been in combat, they’ll be fit to take charge as more people join. Profits from the Qi crystals should allow me to pour in more and more resources into the development of a stronger militia, and perhaps even something more organised over time.”
Although all of that depends on what the Lord decides.
Satisfied, Zhang nodded and didn’t question me any further. Feeling a bit better, I went and took a seat, trying to calm down a little. I closed my eyes, meditating as I cycled my Chi, focusing inwards. The calm didn’t last long, but I managed to settle my restlessness somewhat.
Opening my eyes, I noticed Labby being oddly quiet as she sat in a corner all by herself. Glancing in her direction, I tried to see what she was doing, when I noticed something small and grey sitting on her fingers, and sniffing around.
“Labby. Is that a rat?” I asked, sending my words directly to her.
Labby jerked in response, the little rat scampering up her sleeves as little sparks of purple lighting buzzed around her.
“Umm… yes, Master,” she admitted, looking away with guilty eyes.
“What were you doing with it?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.
Labby averted her eyes, not replying.
“Labby? What did I ask?”
The little girl fidgeted.
“I won’t give you any more treats if you don’t tell me.”
The threat worked instantly, as Labby broke under my unrelenting gaze.
“Labby is sorry! Labby got bored and… well. This rat was here, so Labby decided to grab it, but then she found out that she could understand the rat, and Labby started talking. It had a lot of stories to tell about this place!”
I got up from where I sat, walking closer to Labby. “Can you show me?” I asked, as Labby extended her hand. A moment later, a tiny rat peeked from underneath her sleeve, sniffing at the air, and at me.
“Hmm, it’s not a spirit rat. Just a normal creature. Can it really talk?” I asked, looking at Labby.
“It can’t talk. It’s not smart enough. But… Labby can understand what it wants to say,” Labby said, as the rat let out a squeak.
“What did it say?”
“It said, master smells delicious,” Labby replied.
I looked at the little rat in Labby's hands, humming in thought. As far as I was aware, very rarely did wards try to keep out mundane creatures like rats. Not only because it took a lot of work to stop something without Qi from just walking in undetected, but also because it was simply not worth the effort.
As such, a rat could probably get into a lot of places without trouble. And if Labby could understand them…
“Can you ask this rat to go and see what the Lord is doing?” I asked, looking at Labby.
“Labby could try,” she replied, before looking down at the rat. She brought the rat close to her mouth, and whispered something in its ears. The rat’s ears perked up, as the creature stood on its hind legs.
“It wants something in return,” Labby said, looking up at me.
“Tell it, If it does a good job, we won’t eat it,” I said with an evil grin. “And I’ll give him some food.”
Labby looked down at the rat, as the little critter squeaked, before glancing at me in an almost fearful expression. With a loud squeak, it jumped off of Labby’s hands and scuttled off.
I sat waiting a few minutes, before with a squeak, the little rat walked back into the chamber, and climbed up to Labby’s hands. With a sequence of squeaks, it jumped up and down, and I looked at Labby for the translation.
“It says there’s an old man, and the Lord talking. And some other things it didn’t understand, being put around the room,” Labby replied.
I hummed in thought. “If only it could understand what they were talking about,” I said.
Labby petted the little rat on its head, as it sat on her hand, eyes closed in comfort. “It said they were talking about danger.”
“Danger?”
Labby nodded. “Danger, risky. Something like that.”
“Huh,” I murmured, before glancing down at the little rat. “Do you think you can train a bunch of rats to be able to do something like that?”
“Maybe if we have enough food,” Labby replied.
“Don’t worry about that. But if you can, then this might completely change my ability to get information from various sources. It’d be a really powerful ability to have, and likely something people do not really know about since rat spirits never grow to your strength to gain the capacity to do something like this,” I said, and Labby smiled.
“Labby will try her best!” she exclaimed, and the little rat let out a cheerful squeak of its own.
After patting Labby’s head once, I got up and walked to the door. I could sense Elder Tian Feng standing outside.
The door slid open, as the Elder looked at all of us. “Follow me,” he said.
After glancing back once, I followed behind the man. It was time to hear what the Lord had decided.
Following behind Elder Tian Feng, we made our way into the chamber, where I saw the Lord standing in wait for us.
“We’ve given it quite some thought. What you bring to us is no small thing. And, making any choice on it was not easy either. But before we do anything else, we’d like for you to swear on Oath, that everything you’ve told us is the truth, that everything you will tell us about the Heavens will be the truth, and that you do not have malicious intents towards this land, or the people residing in it. Swear it on your spirit, with us, and the heavens as witness.”
“I swear it on my soul,” I replied, not hesitating for a moment.
The heavens rumbled, as my Chi pulsed out into the environment, the words I spoke ironclad in their truth.
“Very well. Then in our authority as the seventh lord of the seven celestial peaks, we grant you the title of Lord, of the house and manor of Lu, and provide you with the land under our estate that holds the village of Taizhou and its Qi vein,” the Lord announced.
I stared, dumbfounded.
“Come closer, and accept this,” the lord said, taking out a short ceremonial sword.
Moving almost without thought, I walked ahead, bending a knee, as I bowed my head and accepted the gift. “And with this, the Barony of Lu has been founded under our name.”
The heavens rumbled at the Lord’s word, as I felt something go out to the sapling in spirit. The anchor, the marker of home, became even more intimately tied with the land, as I could feel not just the creatures, but the people bound to it with my spirit now too.
“I… I’m grateful, but why name me a Lord?” I asked, still reeling from the revelation.
“You’ve extended previou knowledge and trust towards us. But in doing so, have also made enemies. You cannot expect our name to protect you forever, and this title and Barony is something we can provide to any man who we believe had served us well enough,” the Lord said, before glancing at me. “We also want to see what you do with it. Consider it a gamble, where I’ve decided to bet on you.”
I looked at the Lord, before bowing my head deeply.
“There will be many things to learn regarding etiquette, but before any of that. There’s a fund that will be given to you in the name of your house, now that you are a Baron under our name. If you require more, we can provide, but that will be your primary method to develop your Qi crystals. The weapons, we will provide both scholars and blacksmiths for, as you need,” the Lord said.
“If it may not be rude. How much… will I be provided?” I asked.
“Roughly a thousand gold pieces.”
The words were enough to leave me breathless, and I sensed Yin almost faint from the shock. I tried not to let it show on my face, as I simply nodded, accepting the words.
“It will take some time for the paperwork to be finished, but the land is as of now, officially under your name. As such, the people that reside on your land will also be your responsibility. As a newly entitled Baron with a land to his name, you are expected to pick a man to look after your manor and serve as your second in command. Normally, it is a servant that has served the family for long, but since we know you do not have any such thing. You can pick from one of our men.”
“Oh, there’s no need. I have the perfect man for the task,” I said, glancing back to Zhang. Who bowed his head to me in respect.
“Very well,” the Lord said, a glint in his eyes. “Now, with these tasks done. It is time for you to teach us what truth hides within the heavens themselves.”