Treasures Of Heaven And Earth

The sky was just lightening with the first brushstrokes of pale morning light as Dàilán rose to begin her day. Given the amount of training she had been going through lately she had not organised a sparring session for later in the morning - the extra time was needed to go through had that she needed to complete before she had to report to her Father's study - unfortunately, with all the events and sudden additions to her schedule over the past week, she had not found the time to complete her analysis and recommendations of all the reports her Father had assigned to her last week.

She slid into a basic tàijíquán set that let her mind focus while her body stretched itself. As she moved silently over the carpet at the foot of her bed, she considered.

She had managed to grab an extra shi or two most nights and mornings by rising earlier and sleeping later - so all the reports had been worked on, there were only a couple incomplete.

Her major concern was her analysis of Heir Ji's report on the financial information that she had provided during the visit to House Ji's compound. He had passed her his report during his first visit to the Clan Guan Compound, disguised as a small gift - as part of the tradition of bringing greeting gifts that was customary when visiting a household.

She had focused a great deal of the extra time she had been able to steal from the mornings and nights on analysing Fatty Ji's report, which is why she was still behind on some of the less important reports.

Heir Ji had included some of his own data from his House's far-flung merchant interests, which made clear that the price manipulation and fixing being orc.h.e.s.trated by the problematic individuals in the Clan especially Second Uncle, was part of a much larger network funnelling funds from a number of different groups that she now suspected all led back to the Grass Cult.

Of course there was also evidence that the Second Elder had been secretly building his own martial force. Money was going to hire mercenaries in small groups and individuals, though none of them had been spotted near Hujian. There were also indications of the purchase of weapons, medicinal and cultivation resources; though each purchase was nothing significant by itself, together they would be enough to equip either a small group of True Earth level Cultivators - or a much larger group of Peak Mortal or Low Earth Cultivators.

Dàilán suspected that Second Elder's backer had demanded that the majority of the diverted funds and materials be delivered to them - otherwise he might have amassed a much larger force.

As she completed the set with her body tingling pleasantly from the exertion in the cool dawn air swirling in through the open window, she shook her head and seriously considered taking her new force of bodyguards and scooping Second Uncle up along with his adherents before he could execute his plan.

She moved to the bathroom and sighed as she ran a quick bath to wash up for the day. Unfortunately, without irrefutable proof all of Guan Clan's Cultivators would doubtless react violently to what they would see as an attempt to take over the Clan by an outside force - ironically, exactly what Second Elder was most of the way to accomplishing.

She had to give the information to her Father and let him present it to First Uncle without Second Elder - so that the Clan Head could declare Second Uncle a traitor before he had a chance to gather all his forces - and have the majority of Clan Guan's Cultivators willing to fight against whatever support and forces Second had organised. Then the Enforcers could tip the balance.

Otherwise there would not be a Clan left it came to Knife Sect vs Guan Clan - and the numbers disparity meant that she doubted Third House or her forces would survive - perhaps the BloodWitch might make it out, but otherwise...

Washing herself briskly, she shook the depressing thoughts away. She still had those other reports to finish - and she needed to do it before whatever reports or duties the Senior Enforcer had mentioned arrived.

---

A knock at the door of the study broke Dàilán's concentration as she worked on the final touches of the last report. She looked up, absently noting the morning crow-light streaming into the study via the windows behind her and the lack of steam rising from her morning tea service as she pushed Essence into the treated scroll to lock the ink into place.

"Come," she ordered. The small figure of the Senior Enforcer bowed as she entered the study, obviously carrying a dispatch satchel.

"Heiress, the Sect matters the Head has requested you review." The smaller Cultivator removed the satchel and placed it on the desk as Dàilán blew out a breath, rolling up her last scroll and adding it to her own satchel that hung off her chair.

Glancing out the window at the water clock in the courtyard she tapped her fingers on the desk, thoughtfully, then picked up both satchels.

"It is reaching Sì Initial," she remarked, "I have been working on these reports for two Shi and I have not yet eaten the morning meal. I have a shi to examine these before I must attend my Father by Wǔ Initial - I can afford a short break for a meal. Please join me."

The diminutive Cultivator bowed again, "Thank you for the invitation, Heir," she accepted softly as Dàilán rose from her knees behind the slow writing desk and moved out towards the small dining area of her suite, touching the maid call as she stowed both satchels in the pigeonholes of her secure 'bookcase' in the main living area

Chang appeared at the main entrance of the suite a moment later. "Young Mistress?"

"Please bring breakfast for myself and the Senior Enforcer, Chang," requested the young teen pleasantly. As the maid bowed and vanished down the corridor, the two Cultivators sat across from each other at the table.

"An interesting choice of style, Heir," remarked the BloodWitch, indicating the male robes and men's hairpiece that held her hair upward and back in a classically male topknot.

"It makes it easier for the Clan members to recognise I am performing the duties of the Third Heir as opposed to being the Mountain Orchid of Hujian or the Third Heiress on days like today," answered Dàilán, "it is interesting to see how differently I am treated as a 'man' sometimes."

The older woman grunted dismissively, "Noble foolishness. If you chose to be Sect Heir exclusively, such pretense would not be required for you to be treated with appropriate respect."

Dàilán inclined her head, then paused as Chang and Biyu returned with a simple meal, waiting until they were finished laying out the dishes, "Thank you, we will serve ourselves," she said quietly and with a chorus of "Young Mistress" the two young maids left.

The two of them started eating, and Dàilán concentrated on the food for about a kè, before she put her chopsticks down and offered to pour another cup of tea for her guest. Once both of them were settled back and digesting with cups of hot tea held meditatively in their hands, the teenage Heir asked, "Senior, are there any Sect reports that should not leave the suite?"

"I was not informed of particularly s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e reports in this delivery; however, you should probably still check the contents of any report prior to bringing it elsewhere," responded the other woman.

Dàilán twitched slightly then inclined her head in acknowledgement at the gentle reprimand, then took a sip of tea to gather her composure before continuing, "Is there anything else you can tell me about the situation with Grass?"

"No additional information at this time, Heir," answered the Senior Enforcer formally, "I have been instructed to accompany you to convey the Sect's appreciation for Third House's assistance to your Father and answer any additional questions he might have."

Dàilán blew out a relieved breath, "Most appreciated. My Father and I have been both too busy to have an in-depth discussion about recent events, so I was anticipating that our normally relaxed planning session would have been strenuous today - possibly due to questions I would not have the knowledge to answer - as opposed to yourself."

There was a twinkle in the Senior Enforcer's eyes as she bowed from her seat, "Honoured to be of service, Heir."

Dàilán rolled her eyes and put the teacup down, "I should review those reports." She stood from her chair and bowed formally to the other lady who rose and returned it, "You are welcome to remain here until I go to meet with Father, of course." She turned and took a couple of steps to trigger the maid call again.

"Thank you, Heir, I shall," responded the diminutive woman as Chang reappeared and began clearing the remains of the small meal from the dining table.

Dàilán went to the bookcase and pulled out the satchel containing the reports from the Knife Sect and returned to her study. Behind her, the Enforcer quietly took up station at the study door.

---

The chimes of the courtyard water clock were just sounding the beginning of Wǔ as Dàilán reached the front portico of her Father's quarters, greeting the stout, balding older man who stood to the right side of the entrance, as she did every week.

"Greetings, Majordomo." She bowed her head politely. "Third Heir to see Third Elder."

"He is waiting for you in the study, Heir," the older man intoned gravely as always, a flicker of concern in his eyes as he took in the sight of the Senior Enforcer at her side. After a beat he bowed in return. "I will escort you."

Dàilán bowed her acceptance, careful not to dislodge either of the satchels she wore crossed behind her back and followed a pace behind the older man as he led the way into the main mansion, the BloodWitch pacing her.

Preoccupied with the details of the reports she had quickly reviewed in the last shi, she paid little attention to the interior decorations. She did notice that the Bloodwitch seemed unimpressed, which on reflection was not terribly surprising - the Guan Clan was a Second Rank clan of a third Rank City in a mid-ranked Empire; doubtless the older Cultivator had seen many more impressive homes among mortals, to say nothing of Cultivator abodes.

As they reached the main intersection that led off to the other House compounds she slipped into a watchful guard, which did not go unnoticed by her companion, "Trouble?"

It was the Majordomo who answered disapprovingly, "The First and Second Heirs have been acting like lowborn ruffians of late - they tried to cause trouble last time Third Heir travelled through here on business."

"That explains the small groups of vermin I am sensing hanging around just out of sight," remarked the BloodWitch. A heavy pressure spread out with her words and Dàilán felt her Essence circulate through her meridians faster to counteract it as the majordomo stiffened slightly.

There was a muffled commotion somewhere from the corridor just beyond the next rooms, Dàilán could make out the word 'Expert' along with some high pitched, panicked shouting among the shouting, followed by the sound of many people vacating the immediate area.

She let herself grin although she did say in a mild tone of voice, "Unfortunately, I cannot just use force to get them to stop being nuisances, without provoking retaliation from their backers - Second Elder particularly."

"Then you are not using enough force," replied the BloodWitch with a disturbing grin, "use enough that their backers will be too cowardly to respond, obviously."

"If My House had the ability, rest assured my long-time friend, we would have done so," Dàilán's Father stepped out from the corridor that led to Third House with a welcoming smile, gesturing dismissal to the Majordomo who bowed and left quietly. Dàilán blinked in surprise at her Father's expression - then fought to keep her face blank as the BloodWitch took a couple of steps forward to meet him with the arm-clasp of a comrade-in-arms, "It has been too long, brat," the young looking woman laughed as they embraced.

"Says the woman who insists on looking half my daughter's age," snorted her Father, then mock-glared at Dàilán, "speaking of which, she never mentioned meeting you at all."

"Ahh - you coddle her too much, kid. She probably thought you would ground her for life, if she mentioned our little sparring match."

The teenager winced, but her Father simply raised an eyebrow and started walking towards his study. "Since you decided to visit, I assume she gave a good accounting of herself."

"Better than you did when we first met," replied the Senior Enforcer, "so I volunteered to oversee the enclave here."

"That gives me some confidence," admitted her Father as he walked through the antechamber and opened the door to his study, "but our situation here is still difficult, as you just witnessed."

He walked around behind his large writing desk, piled high with various reports and scrolls and knelt down behind it, as the Bloodwitch stopped in front, Dàilán standing patiently a pace behind.

"It is not good," admitted the Senior Enforcer, the levity fading from her voice. "Unfortunately, Enforcer Fuan returning from her recovery and her two escorts will be the limit of personnel we can afford to station here for the foreseeable future." The Bloodwitch's face settled into grim lines, "the Knife Sect is currently in a state of undeclared war with that idiotic death cult and simply does not have the resources to send additional manpower at this time."

The expression on her Father's face tightened and he ran his hand down his face, "I wish to the hells I knew how they are doing this. The expenditure alone to carry on such a sustained campaign should be beyond a minor death cult like Grass."

Dàilán stepped forward pulling the combined report and analysis from herself and the Ji Heir out of her reports satchel, "I may have part of an answer to that, Elder, Senior." She laid the hefty scroll on the writing desk and stepped back as the diminutive Cultivator stepped around the desk to read over her Father's shoulder as he unrolled the scroll and began to read.

---

"This is excellent work, Heir," said her Father approvingly as he laid the scroll down almost a kè later.

"Is it enough to take it to your Eldest brother and have him imprison the other as a traitor?" inquired the BloodWitch.

Dàilán's Father sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "Can the Knife Sect provide their own evidence of the Grass movements threatening Guan and Second Elder's collusion with them? Without that… he is more likely to simply lose his position as Elder and Clan Treasurer."

Dàilán frowned, "The purchases of weapons and mercenaries are not enough to prove that he seeks to force a change in the leadership of the Clan?"

"Doubtless he has some plausible reason for his actions, even if it is threadbare to us who are aware of the larger picture," answered her Father, "Clan Head will be reluctant to order his own brother killed, if there is any possibility of innocence."

"Your eldest brother is weak and foolish," said the Senior Enforcer bluntly, "if it were not for the fact that we do not have the forces to support it I would recommend you demand he step down and have the other arrested, both on charges of endangering the continuation of the Clan."

"Bring the report to Grandmother," answered Dàilán firmly, "she has the authority in the Clan to enforce such an action and the other Clan Cultivators would not choose sides as they would if it was just between you and the other Elders."

Her Father started then nodded, "That would work. Mother will not tolerate any more foolishness especially as it would jeopardise the alliances with the most powerful Clan and ric.h.e.s.t Merchant House in Hujian."

"You need to have everyone move very quickly," warned the diminutive Cultivator still standing beside her Father, "the Sect suspects Grass is planning to attack openly within the month - if the Second Elder is colluding with them to take leadership of the Clan - his own plans must be similarly advanced."

"Which also means we have to keep this quiet and separate him from his supporters when we do this," the Third Elder frowned, "or he might just start his takeover early." He rose to his feet and looked down at the BloodWitch beside him, "I will take this to Mother immediately. Come with me so you can present any evidence you might have from the Sect's investigations."

Dàilán blinked and reached into the satchel holding the reports from the Sect, pulling out three scrolls and handed them to the Senior Enforcer, "Senior Enforcer, from my review, these reports are relevant to this subject and do not contain any s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e Sect information."

"Thank you, Apprentice," the cold voice from the battle arena was back as she opened the scrolls and scanned through them quickly. After a moment, she nodded, "Yes, these provide evidence of the connection between Guan and Grass if one pays attention."

"While we are gone, these reports need to be reviewed and recommendations made," instructed her Father, passing over a pile of scrolls and papers.

Dàilán bowed as she accepted them as well as removing the completed Clan reports from her other satchel, "Yes, Elder. Here are the completed reports from last week. Nothing else that requires your immediate attention."

Her Father nodded fractionally as he accepted the reports and placed them on his desk, obviously distracted, "we will be as quick as possible. A short meeting is reasonably explained as my responsibility to present the commander of the Knife Enclave within the Third House to the Clan Matriarch, now that the last members have arrived - but a lengthy one would raise suspicion - as would you attending or leaving the study before your normal time."

The young teen nodded and bowed before turning and walking over to her own desk at the other side of the study as her Father and the Senior Enforcer collected reports and left.

---

The next morning saw Dàilán awoken at her regular time by a familiar knock at her bedroom door. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, her sleepy brain registered who was leaning against her door frame with a crooked smile - immediately sending a jolt of excitement through her body. She sprang out of the bed eagerly with a happy cry of "Chen'er!"

The two teens embraced, Dàilán hugging her best friend and sister-by-choice tightly before she had even consciously thought about it.

"Āiyō, Āiyō…" Dàilán leapt back in mortification as Chenli's face paled slightly, "Careful, Lan'er, I have only just left the tender mercies of the Sect Healers - they told me I still have to be careful for a few days."

"You… you should be resting," answered Dàilán worriedly, trying to tug Chenli towards the bed.

"I am O.K. You just need to watch your strength a bit, little miss Sky Cultivator," Chenli grinned, "I see you are still hiding that."

"I dare not reveal it now," admitted the Heiress soberly, but she waved it away, her face lighting up again, "It is good to see you, sister - I have been training and spending time with the others, but it is not the same."

"I spent all of yesterday trailing after your Cousins and their partners - light exercise, the healers told me - they obviously have never seen Second Heiress on a shopping trip," the young woman commented, "so I know about it - but they did not tell me much about what has been happening while I was recovering. Tell me everything, just like always," Chenli moved into the room and started their familiar morning routine - opening the shutters on the window and the dresser to select Dàilán's exercise outfit.

"Of course. As long as you tell me what is happening with the Sect. The BloodWitch has said a few things but nothing specific," answered Dàilán happily.

"Speaking of the - Senior Enforcer - you have to be ready for training in a half shi," replied Chenli reprovingly as she moved around the room, "Well, the Grass has been sending out their kill teams out - like the one we stumbled on - openly now…"

---

Another exhausting morning of training with her Cousins was called to a halt by the instructors and the three of them stumbled to a halt, collapsing on the grass of the observer's area as Chenli who had been acting purely as an observer today came over and distributed refreshingly cool drinks fortified with herbs designed to assist in easing fatigue, pain and recovering Essence levels.

"You three have definitely improved in the week I was gone, even you Mistress - your teamwork has gone up leaps and bounds while your Cousins' power and fitness has improved dramatically," observed Chenli approvingly, squatting near them as they drank.

"Both of us feel like we are close to a Cultivation breakthrough," responded Yue gesturing toward herself and Ming who nodded.

"That should raise your status with your suitors," teased Dàilán.

The other two women smiled, and Yue sighed dramatically, "You should have come with us yesterday Cousin, you need to buy things besides cultivation resources or dusty old manuals - it would have been so much fun to dress you up."

Dàilán shuddered playfully, "I had Heir work to do - something I am grateful for. But I am glad your first real courting outing went well."

"Chian overheard a few interesting things yesterday," remarked Ming, "seems that there are rumours floating around about the Wilderness of Fusou - in the direction that old peddler mentioned last time."

"Oh?" Dàilán frowned thoughtfully. After a moment she nodded, "That means that Cultivators will be going out there to try their luck soon - if they have not already. We need to work on planning that Jianhu trip with your suitors, so we have a concrete plan to present to my Father and Grandmother as soon as that peddler comes back with the additional information - hopefully something important enough to allow them to let us take the trip, but not so dangerous they will not permit it."

"Is this a good time to be thinking about going on Jianghu?" questioned Yue cautiously.

The Sect Enforcer acting as their instructor walked over and grinned down at them, "if you noble ladies have the energy to talk about going on Jianghu, you have energy to get up for lunch and get ready for the next lesson. You lot need to be a lot stronger if you want to do something like go out wandering."

"So it is a bad idea then," surmised Ming.

"How else do you plan to get stronger - just training is never enough," retorted the Enforcer, "it is a good idea - but you need to train."

"I guess that answers that," said Dàilán firmly as she got to her feet, "I am for washing and food - my Essence is low. We can start organising things with the other Heirs tomorrow. Today is for training."