We’re here to witness wrongdoing by a family member, Wang Jun said. They’ll be here within the hour. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.
The Patriarch hmphed and crossed his arms, but Wang Jun focused on manipulating nearby shadows into formations. He casually observed the Patriarch’s reaction—the man was evidently surprised by the news, even nervous. That could mean many things, but at least it meant he hadn’t been expecting this little show.
Strings of shadow and fate worked their way around the chapel, undetected by the few priests that patrolled its halls. Here and there, Wang Jun saw spirit scouts. While very perceptive, their intelligence was too low to detect anything amiss.
A half hour later, two formations hummed to life. One was an obscurity formation, while the other used an expensive golden treasure as its base.
“An eavesdropping device?” the Patriarch asked.
“You can’t expect them to say words out loud if they can say them mentally,” Wang Jun said. “Unlike us, who are hidden so deeply a chaplain couldn’t detect us, they still fear the Church of Justice. The chaplains might tolerate the temple’s assassins out of fear of losing their heads, but to zealots, some things can’t be ignored. It’s one of those things we’ll be witnessing tonight.”
The Patriarch didn’t say anything, and they both waited for another quarter hour. Finally, several figures filed in. Three of the men were high priests of the Spirit Temple, all peak-core-formation cultivators. Another four weren’t initially visible, but Wang Jun’s formations revealed four peak-core-formation Spectral Assassins. They and their gear were only half corporeal due to their ghostly heritage.
Another quarter hour passed before a second group finally walked in. They wore black concealment cloaks, and high-grade ones at that. Wang Jun’s formations revealed three figures—two peak-core-formation Wang family protectors and a much younger figure: Wang Ling.
I see you managed to make it—on time and unfollowed, one of the high priests said.
Our business relationship is a very important one, Wang Ling said. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
Then you have the goods requested? another high priest said.
Wang Ling nodded. He waved his hand, and seven black-and-red urns appeared between them. The third high priest grabbed one of the urns and unstoppered it. A few wailing wisps floated out from inside it, scrambling to escape.
Hmph. The high priest waved his hand and caught the escapees and forced them back inside the container. He then repeated the process for the six others. The goods are legitimate. Seventy thousand resentful souls with sufficiently dense negative karma. As promised.
I take it our goods are satisfactory? Wang Ling said.
As always, but you can understand why we want to verify them in person, the high priest said. The nature of our trades is extremely sensitive.
I understand, Wang Ling said. And the payment?
I’ve already arranged for it, the high priest said. The money will be laundered through your businesses over the course of a year. We’ll meet in approximately one year once you’ve accumulated the next shipment.
Pleasure doing business with you, Wang Ling said, bowing.
As always, the high priest said, bowing back. Wang Ling left the premises, and soon the Spectral Assassins and the high priests did as well. A crystal orb in Wang Jun’s hand stopped recording soon after. “I assume you can see the problem. The soul trade is lucrative, but failure means the eradication of our entire family.”
The Patriarch sighed. He waved his hand and urged the recording globe over. “Are you the only one who knows about it? Does Elder Bai, Wang Bing, or Protector Ren know?”
Wang Jun’s eyes narrowed. “I wouldn’t dare tell them about such sensitive information.”
“Good,” the Patriarch said. He clenched his fist, and the orb shattered.
Wang Jun shook slightly but restrained himself.
“You knew all along,” Wang Jun said.
“I did,” the Patriarch said. “And so does the grand elder. From now on, you are to stop investigating this matter and continue competing with Wang Ling using profits, not wasting your time on such petty things as justice and crime.”
Wang Jun clenched his jaw. For a moment, he was overwhelmed with an urge to just kill the man. But that wouldn’t solve the problem, now would it? He should have expected this. If the grand elder was complicit with even this, then it wasn’t surprising the council of elders wasn’t concerned about smaller issues of fraud. “I humbly request to be relieved of my position as auditor.”
“Denied,” the Patriarch said. “You chose to go against the will of our elders, the will of our family, and compete for the family leadership. You could have obediently followed your brother’s lead and helped us reach greater heights. Instead, you chose to fracture the family. If you want the family leadership, you’ll have to earn it.”
“Understood,” Wang Jun said with a quavering voice. He held out a hand and retrieved the strings of shadow and karma from the room. Then their surroundings shifted, and they were outside the chapel once more. The Patriarch flew off on his own.
Wang Jun summoned a familiar crystal sphere in his hand. The one he’d given the Patriarch was a fake, of course, leaving him with the original evidence. If he wanted to, he could incriminate his entire family. Every single one of them would be burned in the Church of Justice’s inquisition, and not even their grand elder could stop it. Sweet revenge would be so easy to obtain. All he would need to do was abandon Elder Bai, Wang Bing, and many people he cared about.
Uncertain, Wang Jun stowed the sphere and turned his attention toward a shadow making its way toward the main Spirit Temple. The shadow had been there during the exchange and had avoided detection just like he had. It made its way through various sentries, and to his surprise, it vanished. A lady in plain acolyte robes appeared and walked across a deserted street and entered the Spirit Temple through a side door.
Interesting, Wang Jun thought. He became
