Fates Parallel Chapter 347 - Opportunity

“With the increased demonic activity in the east, cooperation with the beastkin mages could help curb the casualty rates.”

Half-spirits, not beastkin.

“Are you insane? We’ve already gotten reports of demons and awakened beasts working in concert—for all we know the beast tribes are already aligned with the demons and this is all some sort of ruse!”

It took every ounce of Seong Misun’s willpower not to put her own head through the table. How did he manage to get so many things wrong in one simple sentence? She wanted to throw her drink in the ignorant elder’s face and tell him that half-spirits had nothing to do with beasts or fiends, that her country wasn’t organized into tribes, and that if she was working with demons she wouldn’t have wasted her time on petty political maneuvering with a bunch of morons who thought that spending a thousand years locked away in their little mountains somehow granted them wisdom.

Instead, she had to quietly grin and bear the constant insults while the imperial elders squabbled amongst themselves, trying to use the issue as a proxy for their own personal differences. Between everyone at that table, perhaps only four actually cared whether they came to a treaty, and she wasn’t among them.

Misun couldn’t blame Yoshika for running—actually, scratch that, of course she could. How dare those arrogant little brats leave her alone to deal with these ignorant, perverted old bastards?!

She wished she could tell what was happening up on that peak. There had been far too many lightning strikes for a normal tribulation, and she worried that something might have gone wrong. Unfortunately, she couldn’t be too flagrant with her domain in the presence of so many powerful enemies.

It was ironic that Yoshika could get away with it simply because she was too weak to actually present a threat—from anyone else, the way those two threw their domain around would be considered an act of aggression.

Misun polished off her wine then stood to address the moron who’d accused her country of collaborating with the demonic invaders when she noticed that the one that had been staring at her since the beginning had finally moved his attention elsewhere.

The doors to the grand hall slammed open, and a black robed man came tumbling through, followed immediately by—

Misun did a double-take. Ancestors, was that Eunae?! Her clothes were still tattered and scorched from her tribulation, but her tails were positioned to save her from any immodesty. Five of them. She’d only had three before, and she was supposed to be fully grown—that should have been the end of it.

The Seong clan didn’t take on extra features like some of the others did when they had stronger bloodlines—they simply grew more tails. Misun was quite proud of her six, her aunt—the clan matriarch and queen of Goryeo—had eight, and little Haeun had managed to grow four by the time she was eight years old, the little prodigy. Everyone expected Haeun to grow up to be the next matriarch.

Yet now here came Eunae—talentless, worthless Eunae—who’d been so weak that there had been some debate about whether she should even be accepted as a main branch member or sent off to live with her father. In the end, Eunae’s unique power was deemed to be too dangerous for the branch families, and she’d been allowed to stay.

Somehow, that talentless weakling who’d only had two tails at sixteen and barely managed to squeeze out a third before reaching adulthood now had nearly as many as Misun did.

Then, as Eunae stood over the strangely dressed cultivator and scowled, Misun noticed it—the pale green flickers that emerged from between each of Eunae’s physical tails. They weren’t real, but the symbolism was clear. Four more tails, made of Soulfire—a total of nine. As many as their ancestor, the Kumiho, more than any matriarch of the clan had ever had.

Misun didn’t know what to think. Obviously they didn’t count, and she’d be damned before she let herself be jealous of both her little sisters. But what did it mean? Her family was going to have a fit when they found out.

After what felt like minutes of awkward silence, Qin Yongliang finally spoke.

“Princess Seong Eunae, this is a privileged discussion. Your presence was not requested, and I must ask you to explain your interruption before leaving.”

Eunae grit her teeth, looking more furious than Misun had ever seen her.

“You tried to murder me. Is this the kind of protection Qin’s hospitality offers? A warm meal and then a knife in the back?!”

The room went quiet again. That’s what had caused Yoshika to run off like that? Misun glanced down at the sleeping avatar, only to realize that she wasn’t sleeping anymore. Yoshika’s eyes were focused directly on the imperial prince.

Qin Yongliang frowned slightly.

“A dire accusation, but as you are not privileged with the right to bring such matters before this council, it will have to wait until after—”

“I am.”

Yoshika pounced on Qin’s words like a hungry predator, too eager to even avoid the impropriety of interrupting the prince.

“I was invited to this table, and I have the right to raise issues, do I not?”

Qin raised an eyebrow at her.

“That remains to be seen. The matter was tabled after your sudden departure.”

“Then I haven’t been ejected yet. As such, I move to accuse Su—”

Misun slammed her hands on the table to interrupt.

“Wait!”

Yoshika whirled on her with a betrayed look. The brainless moron had no idea what she’d almost done. Misun quickly put the pieces together. The way Sun Quan of the Silver Orchard had been staring at her, his sudden distraction before Eunae interrupted, the assassination attempt on Eunae—it formed a simple pattern, and Yoshika had been about to waste one of their best weapons.

Everyone at the table already knew Sun Quan had sent the assassins. Most of them had probably known before the attempt was even made. Hell, their hosts may well have known and just let it happen—Misun wasn’t about to trust them, even if they were nominally on her side.

Accusing him now gained them nothing. He’d maintain enough plausible deniability to evade major consequences, but still be held responsible. He’d have to pay some kind of reparations to the Spiritual Flowing Purewater Sect and lose a bit of face during the summit.

That was worthless. Embarrassing Sun Quan didn’t gain them anything, but threatening to embarrass him? Yoshika had a lot to learn about politics.

“Eunae, be more clear please—explain what happened and give us only the facts. I’m not interested in your conjectures.”

Her little sister should at least be smart enough to understand. Eunae narrowed her eyes at Misun, but nodded.

“During my tribulation, I was attacked by numerous assailants. They were coordinated, focused, and armed with direct countermeasures against me including the removal of their eyes. Thanks to the intervention of Yoshika and my retainers, I managed to survive both the attack and my tribulation.”

“I see. I assume the one on the floor is one of them, but what of the others?”

“One was slain in battle, two more took their own lives after being disabled, one was taken prisoner, and the last—the one I’ve presented before you—temporarily enthralled.”

Misun’s eyes widened. That was a surprisingly bold move from Eunae, and Misun wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Better control and a willingness to actually use her power was good, but only so long as she wasn’t slipping back into her old habits, or worse—turning into another Seong Heiran.

She’d have to deal with it later, though—there were more immediate problems to face.

Misun looked around the table and saw the old schemers calculating, planning out their best moves to take advantage of this development. She had to beat them to the punch.

“I see. That will be all, then. Go tend to your wounds, Princess—we’ll discuss this matter later. Congratulations on your breakthrough.”

Eunae’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“What? But—”

“Go, Eunae.”

Yoshika shot Misun a furious scowl, and she could practically feel how much of a nuisance she was about to make of herself.

“I accuse—”

Misun snapped her fingers, and a bubble of perfect silence formed around Yoshika’s head.

“Ienaga, control your student or I’ll have to have her ejected. Eunae, leave now before you or your friend do something stupid and irreversible. Honorable Elders, my sincerest apologies for the interruption.”

Yan De bowed graciously.

“Not at all. It is warranted, given the circumstances.”

Eunae huffed angrily and carried her prisoner off, slamming the door behind her. Yoshika, meanwhile, had figured out a counterspell for Misun’s impromptu cone of silence and was about to cause more problems.

Just as she opened her mouth to protest again, Ienaga Yumi cuffed her in the back of the head.

“Listen to the princess, Yoshika. She knows what she’s doing.”

The little brat grimaced and crossed her arms, but remained silent, for now.

Qin Yongliang quietly raised a hand to restore order.

“Let us resume—I believe we were discussing the matter of the eastern frontier.”

Misun bowed.

“Indeed we were. As I was about to say before my sister interrupted, I think we should hear Elder Sun Quan’s opinion on the matter. It is, after all, his territory, and he is the man most familiar with Goryeon affairs among this council. It’s strange that he hasn’t said anything so far.”

The man narrowed his eyes at her, but stood and bowed, following the same boring rote protocols that every other speaker adhered to before responding.

“The Silver Orchard manages its own affairs. We will perform whatever duty the empire requires of us. Our elite demon hunters are prepared to assault the demonic enclave, sparing no expense—I do not believe that we require the aid of foreigners.”

He spoke in an even tone, but Misun was surprised at his boldness. Still, it wasn’t a surprising answer, and she knew just how to respond.

“Is that so? Because according to our reports, your so-called ‘demon hunters’ have been wasting their time harassing travelers. One particularly grim case involved none other than our Lady Ambassador, here. Yoshika, why don’t you tell the Elder what happened when you encountered his precious elites?”

Yoshika’s eyes widened with what Misun desperately hoped was finally a hint of understanding, and she nodded.

“A group of elite demon hunters under the command of Sovereign Shen Yu attempted to assassinate Lady Hayakawa Kaede while she traveled with us to Goryeo. The moment we identified ourselves as a diplomatic convoy, they signaled Shen Yu and attacked. Unfortunately, due to the strength of the opponents and the civilians we were protecting, we were unable to hold back, and the demon hunters were slain to the last.”

A heavy silence fell on the council before Sun Quan responded.

“Those men were slain by the sword demon of Geumji, who has been a primary target of my sect ever since you and your fellows unwittingly unleashed it on the world. Or perhaps not so unwittingly.”

Yan De stood and frowned at the elder.

“Sun Quan, I remind you that it was my late son who broke the demon Jianmo’s seal. Do you accuse him of willing collusion with demonic forces?”

Sun Quan bowed.

“No, of course not—my apologies. However, I find the girl’s story unconvincing. It’s quite the coincidence that she would be present for both of the major incidents involving the demon. That she tried to take credit for its crime is also damning.”

Misun pursed her lips. That didn’t go quite the way she’d hoped. Yoshika cleared her throat for attention before the elders could start bickering any further.

“I’m not trying to take credit for anything. Jianmo did appear, but her target was Sovereign Shen. I felt the sovereign’s domain watching us the entire time, but he didn’t intervene until after the men were dead, and Jianmo’s arrival followed that.”

Sun Quan stared at her for a long moment.

“Preposterous. The sovereign assured me that—”

Yan De scoffed.

“Oh come now, the girl is practically an open book, and I didn’t detect a hint of a lie. Let’s not waste our time on this.”

“Fine. Her story is true then. What of it?”

Misun jumped at the opening—it was time for the finishing blow.

“Forces like that are wasted on petty border disputes and assassinations. Sun Quan, you are clearly a man with the wisdom to understand the value of holding back your best tools until the most opportune moment. Cooperation with Goryeo and the removal of the demonic threat would enable you the freedom to use your most powerful forces where they are most effective, rather than allowing them to be wasted.”

She grinned internally at the tiny twitch of his eye when she complimented his restraint. It was time to twist the knife.

“Without the pressure from the east, you could focus on rooting out corruption like the flagrant violation of imperial law that took place in the attempt against my sister’s life today. As a show of good faith, you will have our full cooperation in rooting out whoever is behind it. That they would go so far as to blind themselves indicates a distressing level of premeditation. It’s just as well that my sister’s power has surpassed that of her predecessor—otherwise, who knows what kind of tragedy the architect of this attack might have brought upon these peace talks?”

Sun Quan clenched his teeth and turned to Qin Yongliang.

“Your Highness, I move that we adjourn for the day. These developments have given us a great deal to consider, and while I can speak only for myself, I do not believe that I can come to a decision without time for further deliberation.”

There was a round of murmured agreements and the prince nodded once.

“Very well. We will reconvene in two days.”

The dismissal had hardly left Qin’s lips before Sun Quan stormed across the room towards Misun. She gave him her most polite smile and bowed as he approached, smirking internally.

Heh. Got him.