Severing Time & Space

Small Talk, Part I

It was decided after having their fill of refreshments that they would head to their own buildings, change into something more suitable for dinner, and meet back up at the dining hall.

Wu Meiying walked alongside Hou Jingshu. The young princess had her own housing unit, but it was closer to Wu Meiying’s residence than Wu Jian’s. It still looked the same as every other building though, with a slanted roof, dragon statues on either end, and columns holding up the extended ceiling.

Dragons were deeply rooted symbols of Shang Kingdom culture and were long associated with the Emperor. The imperial throne was even called the dragon seat and the emperor’s ceremonial robes were called dragon robes.

There was a story from long ago that said the Shang Kingdom was founded by a great dragon named Huanglong. Before ascending to heaven, he appointed a man with the surname Hou to be his successor by allowing the human to drink his blood and gain the strength of a dragon. Thus the Hou Family line had been born.

Whether this story was historically accurate or not was unknown since, if it had truly happened, it would have been thousands of years ago.

Either way, since the Shang Kingdom worshipped the dragon Huanglong, many clans, families, and sects decorated their compounds with dragon statues.

“Do you think I’ll be allowed to participate in the tournament?” asked Hou Jingshu.

Wu Meiying pursed her lips for a moment. “Perhaps… if you ask, but I don’t know. Uncle Yōushì is pretty strict when it comes to propriety and tradition. Since you’re the princess of our nation, I’m not sure he’d let you take part in a dangerous tournament that you might result in you getting injured.”

“Oh… that is true.”

Hou Jingshu’s shoulders slumped. Feeling bad for the girl, Wu Meiying smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“That said, if you train hard and prove that you’re strong enough to compete, I’m sure we can convince him. Worse comes to worst, we can ask Aunty Àiliàn for help. She’s always been good at making Uncle see reason.”

“So there’s a chance I might be able to participate?” asked Hou Jingshu.

“Possibly. Yes.”

That seemed to be enough to satisfy her. With a smile back on her face, she followed Wu Meiying as they walked down the path to their respective buildings.

However, about halfway there, someone stepped in front of the pair. He had short black hair, dark eyes, and a slim build. His body was adorned with the standard white hanfu of a Wu clansman branch member. It took Wu Meiying a moment to put a name to his face. She was not very good at remembering people she had no interest in.

“Wu Ming, can I help you with something?”

Once upon a time, Wu Ming had been one of Wu Yong’s flunkies. He followed Wu Jian’s older half-brother like an obedient dog, did everything the other boy bade of him, and often picked on Wu Jian. That was probably the only reason Wu Meiying recalled his name. She was good at remembering the names of people who hurt her Wu Jian.

She was also good at holding a grudge.

“The clan head and elders are calling for you,” he said.

Wu Meiying furrowed her brow. “Just me?”

“Just you,” he said with a nod.

Something didn’t feel right about this. She was never summoned by herself. At the same time, she could not disobey a direct summons from the clan head or elders. Now would have been a great time for her prophetic visions to kick in. It was too bad the heavens didn’t hear her plea.

She turned to Hou Jingshu and smiled. “Why don’t you go on ahead? Tell Wu Jian I’ll meet up with you two soon.”

“Um. Okay.”

Perhaps Hou Jingshu sensed the tension in Wu Meiying’s voice. She swallowed once and nodded.

Wu Meiying turned to Wu Ming. “I’ll meet with the family heads now. Lead me to them.”

“Follow me.”

Leaving Hou Jingshu to watch them, Wu Meiying trailed behind Wu Ming and carefully watched where he was leading her. However, it turned out the place where she was being led was actually the meeting hall. She would have sighed of relief, but the moment she walked inside, the door slammed shut behind her.

The room was darker than normal. Several sky lanterns drifted through the air to illuminate the interior, but it was not enough to show everything, and dark shadows stretched from the columns lining the room. Standing at the end of the hall were two people. Both of them were old, with gray hair and wrinkles lining their faces. She recognized Wu Wei and Wu Nin, the first and second elders of the Wu Clan.

They were two people she secretly detested.

“I was told the clan head and elders needed to speak with me, but it is just you two. What is the meaning of this?” asked Wu Meiying, furrowing her brow.

Elder Wu Wei smiled, though she couldn't say it was a pleasant expression. Something about it made her skin crawl.

“Do not be like that, Mei’er,” Elder Wu Wei said in a grandfatherly voice. “We are all members of the Wu Clan, are we not? We just wished to speak with you.”

Using the clan head’s authority to summon her was against clan laws, and they had to know that. No one except the clan head could summon a member of the clan except in emergency situations. A sense of foreboding filled her. However, she strode boldly forward despite that. She could do nothing else, and she knew they would not harm her. Her foresight was too valuable.

“You are not allowed to call me Mei’er,” she said coldly. “The only people who can call me that are Jian and Aunty Àiliàn.”

Wu Wei’s right eyebrow twitched as a vein throbbed on his forehead, but he took a deep breath to keep his composure and smiled like a grandfather might when looking at his disobedient granddaughter. She realized that was why she didn’t like his smile. Wu Wei was not the type to smile like that for no reason.

He wanted something.

“I had not realized calling you by your name was a right only a select few were allowed. I’ll remember that in the future,” he said.

“See that you do. Now, what is this about? Why have you summoned me?” asked Wu Meiying.

“Can you not guess?” Elder Wu Wei spread his arms wide. Despite being an older man in his nineties, he stood with his back straight and bearing strong. “I want you to use that special power of yours to predict the future for me.”

Wu Meiying sighed. “I had already guessed as much.” She gave him a cold look. “I’ve told you this before, but my powers do not activate at will. I have no control over what I see or when I see it.”

“Surely, you are just saying that because you do not want the clan head to a***e your abilities,” Elder Wu Wei said. “It is okay. I understand why you would lie about this. If it became known that you could look into the future at will, Wu Yōushì would surely a***e your powers to his heart’s content. However, you do not need to worry about that happening with me. I only want to know one thing.”

Whenever people were presented with a unique power, they would always covet it. Wu Meiying had feared this would happen when her ability to predict the future came out. Had it not been for the fact that the future she had seen if she had done nothing ended with her being forced to marry Ming Shen, she would have never revealed her abilities to the Wu Clan.

“Unfortunately for you, I am not lying,” Wu Meiying declared. “My powers are not controllable. The visions come and go at random. If I could predict the future at will, I would have already used that power to help Jian become clan head. Elder Wei, you are wasting your time here.”

Wu Meiying felt a small thrill race through her spine when a dark expression appeared over Wu Wei’s face. She knew that look. It was the expression of the unresigned. Wu Wei was not going to give up no matter what she said, and if she didn’t do what he wanted soon, he might try something drastic.

Unfortunately, Wu Meiying was telling the truth. She could not control her power. Perhaps that was because she was only at the Body Forging Realm. Without the ability to control her chi, she could not use any techniques. She herself did not even understand how she could see into the future the way she did. It was simply a unique ability that she had been born with.

“Girl, I know you are lying to me.” Elder Wu Wei said in a dark tone as shadows from the floating lanterns created a stark contrast with the white skin of his face. “I suggest you cooperate willingly. It would be in your best interest.”

Wu Meiying narrowed her eyes. “Are you threatening me?”

“Threatening? I am merely stating a fact. You are still just a child, so you do not understand how this world works. You might be valuable now, but once you come of age, your only true value will be as a bride. Wu Yōushì will marry you off to a branch member so he can tie you to the clan. Meanwhile, your beloved Wu Jian will marry Princess Hou Jingshu. Surely, you don’t want that? Help me become the clan head, and I will make sure you and Wu Jian remain together forever.”

Enticing words, but Wu Meiying was not one to believe someone who used trickery to try and convince her to do something she couldn’t even do in the first place. It was clear what would happen if she helped him become clan head. He would marry her off to his grandson and banish or kill Wu Jian. Keeping the previous heir around was much too dangerous.

As if to further reinforce her own thoughts, a vision appeared in her mind. She was dressed in a resplendent wedding gown, but her eyes were blank, her expression downtrodden, and standing beside her was not the one she loved. Wu Meiying blinked several times as the vision vanished like whisps of smoke.

I’m sure Jian and Jingshu will realize what’s happening soon. I need to buy enough time for them to get here with Uncle.

Wu Meiying knew Wu Wei would never believe her words no matter how many times she tried to tell him. People who coveted another’s power only ever believed what they wanted to believe. The only thing she could do now was stall for time, so Wu Jian and Hou Jingshu could bring the clan head here.

She didn’t want to think about what would happen if they didn’t arrive in time.