“Relax,” Wang Jun said. “Sit down.” Then, seeing that the man wasn’t going to play along, he pointed his finger downward. Shadowy tethers wrapped around the man and forced him back into his chair.
“Guards!” Zhen Fa shouted. “Guards!” He looked around worriedly, as neither his wife nor the guards showed any signs of responding.
“They can’t hear us,” Wang Jun said. “But don’t worry, I won’t be here long. I just wanted to have a nice chat with you in private. It wouldn’t be good for either of us if this conversation leaked out.”
Zhen Fa struggled for a few moments, unleashing his power as an initial-core-formation cultivator to struggle against his bonds. The shadows surrounding him held fast. “What do you want?”
“I came across some interesting things lately,” Wang Jun said. “Exhibit A is a letter I’m sure you’re familiar with.” He tossed an envelope to the man, who opened it slowly and gasped as he saw the contents.
“How could you possibly have this?” Zhen Fa said hoarsely.
“Money can accomplish many things,” Wang Jun said. “Here’s another.”
He tossed him a black ledger containing transaction records from the same time period. The man’s eyes widened as he realized what the documents detailed.
“Oh, and I almost forgot.” This time, he walked up to the man. Three glowing blue gems showed different records of a cloaked, semitransparent assassin entering his victim’s household. They detailed his journey through each stage of the murder, ending with the assassin retrieving the gems. The same gems he’d given to Zhen Fa to prove the murder had been completed as requested.
The final item was a letter from the Spirit Temple confirming the deed had been done. “I burned this!” Zhen Fa exclaimed. “I crushed those! How can you possibly have them?” By now, all color had left his face, and his hands were trembling. He was livid, unable to calm himself. “Who are you?”
“Who I am doesn’t matter,” Wang Jun said, scooping up the items. “What you need to know is that I have these and could easily restart the inquiry. The penalty for having a clergyman assassinated is quite steep. I’m sure you’d rather avoid it.”
Zhen Fa’s shoulders slumped. “What do you want me to do?” he asked.
“I want you to cancel your weapons-purchasing contract with the Wang family,” Wang Jun said. “Then, I want you to engage in negotiations with the Brightmoon Trading Group and the Long family. Negotiate hard, but ultimately, award a sole-source contract to the Long family.”
Zhen Fa frowned. “That’s it?”
“That’s it,” Wang Jun said. “As the owner of one of the continent’s largest mining companies, you spend a substantial amount of money arming both your guards and your miners. The profits involved are substantial.”
“And you’ll give me the evidence?” Zhen Fa asked.
“No,” Wang Jun replied. “That, I’ll be keeping safely. It’s worth far more than a simple trade contract.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Zhen Fa said. “How do I know you won’t just come back and threaten me again?”
“You don’t,” Wang Jun said. “But you’re hardly in a position to bargain.” He bowed a deep, mocking bow before turning around and stepping into the shadows. “I look forward to hearing the good news, Zhen Fa,” his voice called out as the shadows receded.
A few minutes later, Wang Jun sat inside his room, panting heavily. The ability he’d used, Shadow Fate Redemption, was a draining one. By using the powers of shadow and fate, he’d retrieved objects that had been lost to all but memory, regardless of whether they’d been destroyed. Space and time might have lost them, but shadows remembered. By tapping into the imprint these objects had left in the shadow plane, he’d created identical copies of them.
It wouldn’t work for everything, of course. Living things were impossible to retrieve in this way, and anything stronger than a spirit treasure was too powerful to copy for him. But simple things like papers and low-level recording orbs? A piece of cake. Or at least it would be, once he’d completely mastered the ability.
“Was I right to threaten him like that?” Wang Jun said. “Even though he was a bad man?”
His master, Daoist Obscurus, appeared on a chair inside his room. He was reading a book with black pages and shadowy writing. He flipped a page, which let out an inaudible rustle. “It’s not like he didn’t do anything wrong,” the dark man said. “Shadow Fate Redemption only works with real things. He did something, and it’s come to bite him back.”
“I’m hardly suited to dispensing justice,” Wang Jun said.
“This has nothing to do with justice,” Daoist Obscurus said, closing the book in a silent paff. “We’re using information to get something done. You asked if you were wrong to threaten him, and the fact stands that he deserved to be punished. Therefore, why bother with silly things like whether he deserved to be punished by you or the clergy? Isn’t it good enough that you did what you did, and he’s hardly undeserving?”
“But—” Wang Jun started.
“Enough,” Daoist Obscurus said. It was difficult to disobey such a direct command. “Do you want me to teach you or not? If yes, shut up and do what I tell you. If not, just say the word, and I’ll leave with not another peep. Are we clear?”
Wang Jun took in a deep breath, then breathed out slowly. “Yes, we’re clear.”
“Excellent,” the man said. “Now rest up. We’ll have many busy days ahead of us. That man wasn’t the only one in this city keeping a secret. We’ll tackle them one by one, and soon, every corrupt man in the Golden Kingdom will be dancing in the palm of your hand.”
Wang Jun closed his eyes. He thought about what he’d done, and though it didn’t feel terrible, it was a dull ache that kept prodding his sensibilities.
You’re just learning, he told himself. You did nothing wrong. The man deserved it. You did nothing wrong. He repeated these words
