Demonic Tribulations - Chapter 23 preview (Patreon)

**Author note - Captain Mao is a female, I do need to fix these typos since I put he instead of she. These chapters are rough drafts and in the final version this will fixed. - Tao

Chapter 23 - Captain Mao Ya Wen

The biggest surprise for Ya Wen was that it took Fang Lu Qi a whole incense worth of time before he chose to speak. By that point, the pair were back on their routine patrol around the palace. Though Ya Wen had paperwork that needed completing, none of it was urgent and while he had grown more dedicated to his job since the incident, he still could not find it in himself to care for paperwork to the same extent.

Perhaps it was wrong of him, but he was a flawed immortal.

“How is Lady Tsin?” Lu Qi began, innocently enough. Ya Wen was not fooled. Lu Qi was a nobleman and third cousin to the aforementioned lady.

“You would know better than me,” Ya Wen replied, stiffly. “We have not seen each other in a few months.”

“Really now,” Lu Qi said. “And you two were going so well, before…”

“Before I made a mistake, destroyed all hope of promotion and stained my family honor?” Ya Wen finished, sarcastically.

“I had not meant to imply that…”

“But you did.” A gesture, sideways. “I have nothing further to offer your cousin, as you know.”

“The post of Night Captain is still highly prestigious.”

“If I keep it.” The pair turned down the cobbled pathway, making their way through the expansive gardens that linked buildings within the massive palace complex. Nearby, a gazebo lay empty, flowers growing riot around the structure. Captain Mao made a note to look into the landscaping team. It might be on purpose, it might be lax efforts.

“You have so far. There is no reason to believe that you will be removed from your post at this late date,” Lu Qi said.

“No reason to believe I won’t. You know how the jockeying for posts is like. It is only a matter of time before another favored son is found,” Ya Wen said.

“It’s why you should see my cousin again.”

Ya Wen lips tightened, but he had the grace not to shake his head. Instead, he added. “How are the other Ascendants settling in?”

“The hermit is doing what all the hermits do. Staying away from everything and everyone as best he can. The servants are having difficulty making him attend classes, and we have received a half dozen petitions to complete all necessary courses via correspondence.” Lu Qi sighed. “I swear, the Ascendants who pass through the tribulations in that manner are the most difficult to manage.”

“Only until they are certifiable that they have understood the minimums. After which, you know how it goes.”

“Gone, into a mountain, only to reappear when they have to ascend to the next.” A loud sniff. “Not that any of them have joined the Three Pristine Realms.”

“That we know of.” Ya Wen pointed out. “If one of those were to ascend all the way to Buddhahood or sagehood, none of us would know.”

“It’s a strange thing, to remove oneself from all interaction. It does things to the mind which is unhealthy.” Lu Qi’s lip curled upward in a sneer. “It should not be allowed.”

“And yet, they manage to ascend following a dao. Surely that is enough proof that they there is something to their beliefs.”

“Something, but not enough. Man is not meant to be alone. We must have structure, we must have rules, we must have others around us. How else can you make a mark on this world, if you hide away in a cave?”

“Not every individual desires to make a mark. Some just desire to exist, happily.” Ya Wen smiled, nodding to one of the gardeners they passed by. He stopped the man for a few moments, enquiring about his health and the section of the garden he was tasked with, listening politely before they moved on. Once they had left, he picked up the conversation again as though they had never stopped. “You cannot say that the realms would not be a quieter place, if everyone sought the same as the hermits.”

“Quieter for sure. Still, I prefer the demonic cultivator than the hermit,” Lu Qi said. “Though, how he ended up here is still under investigation. Should they not all go to the demon realms directly?”

“In the normal course of such matters, yes.” Ya Wen sighed. “In this case, the Ascendant is balanced nearly exactly. It was why he was struggling so much, and the patrol swept him over to us, rathe than risk his continued existence in the lower realm. If they had not, he might have created even more portals into the Middle Kingdom.”

“There are enough of those already, for sure.” Lu Qi sighed. “My cousin – Fu Chin – tells me that they are tracking multiple new portals. Most should be handled by the cultivators, but a few have had to be dealt with by the patrols.

“The elemental dragons are also upset. They say that the flow of qi in the Middle Kingdom is twisted by the presence of so many breaches. Something will have to be done.” A gesture to the housing residences they were passing on the left. “Or else we shall see even more of these demonic Ascendants. And most will not be coming to our environs.”

“Not that we want them.” Ya Wen replied.

“Better here with us, where we might execute them if necessary than with the demons, bolstering their forces,” Lu Qi growled. “Have you heard?”

“About the demons?” Ya Wen nodded. “They are stirring, taking over one another in their usual orgy of violence.”

“Some are trying to escape into the Middle Kingdoms, causing the issues too. I understand many gathered at the natural borders, the portals between our realms. There’s even rumored sightings of demons in the first three heavenly realms,” Lu Qi said.

Ya Wen shook his head, aggressively. “Guard Fang, you know better than to spread such scurillous rumors. I have seen no official reports on such matters.”

“Would you though?” At the glare, he clarified. “Your role as Night Captain of the Lesser Harmonies Palace has no official responsibility over the borders or the realms. You might have been copied on previous reports before, as a matter of courtesy but…”

“But I’m now in disfavor.” Ya Wen fell silent as they continued their patrol. He preferred walking the palace to do his thinking,. It settled two bets at the same time, and allowed Ya Wen to turn over the myriad complexities of the political landscape while doing his job. In past times, he would avoided both – the politics and the work – but that had been before his disgrace. Now…

Eventually, he spoke, softly. “Very well. Tell me more about what you’ve learnt. And where you learnt it.”