“Who is he?” Yu Di asked.

  “He’s the high priest, Kutan Yazdani,” Ying Fusu said. “Don’t say anything. Let me handle it.”

  The man walked right toward Yu Di and Ying Fusu. His armed men made an opening for him to walk through as if he was a king. He didn’t need to anyway. The other patrons moved away as if their mere presence would hurt them.

  Yu Di knew why. Other than the man in white, all his men were in the second realm or higher. When he last visited the city, there was no one who had any cultivation other than the Goddess and a few random visitors like himself. When did this city suddenly develop this talent?

  “Good morning high priest Yazdani,” Ying Fusu said.

  Kutan eyed Ying for a moment before his gaze landed on Yu Di. His smile dazzled brighter than the sunlight.

  Yu Di knew the type. This man’s appearance hid his arrogance, despite having no personal power.

  “Good morning brother Ying,” Kutan said. “Care to explain what happened?”

  “What do you mean?” Ying Fusu asked. “We have been here all morning. Nothing special happened. You can ask any of the other patrons.”

  With that mention, all the other patrons looked away. Some on the fringe shuffled away as quietly as they could.

  “There was a strong burst of Qi this morning at this caravanserai,” Kutan said. “Since we’re under siege, we have to be extra careful lest a spy let the enemy in.”

  “We didn’t see any spies.”

  Kutan smiled wider. “You think that we can’t tell the difference among you?” Kutan grabbed Yu Di by the collar and yanked him to the ground. “He was not here before. His clothes are different. And he smells different.”

  Yu Di looked between the high priest and Ying Fusu.

  Kutan pushed him down with his boot. “Are you a spy?”

  Yu Di breathed in as much of the Qi as he could. Igniting his core before dying seemed like such a good idea. A small little flourish at the end of his life. Except he didn’t die. Now he was running on empty. He didn’t have enough to retrieve any of his items in his storage ring or strengthen his body.

  “I beg your forgiveness,” Ying Fusu said. “As you can see, this man is one of mine. I had an emergency that required his presence.”

  The boot got off Yu Di’s back. Another hand lifted him up by the collar. This time it was Ying Fusu.

  The young man casually tossed Yu Di against the counter. Ying Fusu’s eyes turned cold as he stared at Yu Di, a slight frown forming. “I didn’t expect this fool to arrive and make such a mess of things,” He sat down and poured a cup of tea before pushing it toward Kutan. “The mistake was completely mine. If you would be so kind as to overlook this incident, I would greatly appreciate it.”

  Kutan’s smile tightened. “Ying Fusu, you are like a prince among my people. Your aid to this city under siege the past year has been tremendous. But this is too much to overlook.”

  Yu Di bowed low, head touching the ground.

  “I apologize to Master Ying and high priest Kutan. Might I offer something to show my sincerity?” Yu Di reached into his chest pocket, but was really reaching into his storage ring.

  A sword stabbed the ground right beside Yu Di’s neck. A hair to the left and it would have cut his head off. The sword radiated the Qi of a person in the second realm.

  “Slowly,” Kutan said.

  Yu Di pulled out a bag of gold bars and a cultivation elixir for restoration. He slowly put it down beside his head right by the sword and kept his hands flat on the ground.

  “This is a gift from Master Ying’s father and partners back in the Celestial Jade Empire,” Yu Di said. “Consider the gold as tax for my entrance fee. The elixir of restoration is my personal gift to High Priest Yazdani for his magnanimous treatment of foreigners and visitors to this beautiful city.”

  A gloved hand picked up the bag and elixir in one swoop. He placed both items onto the table beside the cup of tea Ying Fusu poured.

  Kutan waved his hand and the man sheathed his sword. “It seems that you know basic courtesy at least.” He opened the bag of gold but his smile didn’t waver. He tapped the elixir of restoration and it disappeared, most likely in his storage ring.

  That caught Yu Di by surprise. A mortal with a storage ring?

  “What is your purpose here?” Kutan asked.

  “I came to support Master Ying. We also came to provide aid to the city and its elite. My Master has given me many more items to pass onto the abbot of the city during my visit.”

  Kutan’s smile widened into a laugh. “Your wealth is truly immeasurable, Ying Fusu.” He passed the bag of gold to the servant that was carrying his umbrella earlier. “To think you would spend so much money to teleport a man through al-Rahman’s siege. He better be worth it.”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Ying Fusu glared at Yu Di. “He is.”

  “Then we’re done here.” Kutan stood up. “But fair warning Ying Fusu. Even your generous donations to the city won’t be enough if I catch you spying. If this man or any of you foreigners go where you’re not supposed to be, I’ll be sure to bring the Goddess’ swift justice upon your heads.”

  Ying Fusu cupped his hands. “Yes, of course. I have lived here long enough to know the temperament of the Goddess’ judgment. May we all survive it when she returns.”

  Kutan snarled but said nothing. He turned and bumped into Vimala. “Scram!” he yelled. He kicked Vimala in the leg.

  Vimala bowed low at the waist and backed away from the high priest.

  “I swear the women in this city are getting dumber and dumber,” Kutan said. “It’s like the Goddess took all her wisdom with her and left us these idiots.”

  Kutan brushed his white robe as if Vimala’s mere touch was diseased.

  The armed men left with Kutan back out the gate.

  Once his men secured the gate, Ying Fusu slammed his hand onto the table, shattering the surface. The force of his punch created spiderweb cracks within the wood itself without breaking the table.

  Yu Di could tell from that strike alone that this man was a powerful cultivator. The level of control was something beyond him. Another reason to not anger him, beside him saving Yu Di from possible torture and execution by the High Priest Yazdani.

  “Are you okay?” Ying Fusu asked.

  “I’m fine,” Yu Di said.

  Ying Fusu frowned. “I was asking Vim.” He walked over to the simple camel herder and helped her up.

  “Yes, of course,” Yu Di said. “But I thank you all the same for saving me. Why did you do it?”

  “How is your leg?” Ying Fusu asked.

  The man was ignoring Yu Di for the bar maid. Far be it for a grown man like him to be jealous of a woman, but he had places to be and a daughter to find. To be fair to the young man, Vimala was strikingly beautiful even to his Demigod eyes.

  “I’m alright, Master Ying,” Vimala said. She rubbed the back of her leg. “I’ll put an herb dressing on it later. I should get back to work. The patrons are staring.”

  Ying Fusu glanced at them and they all looked away. He smiled. “When are you going to give in and marry me?”

  Vimala blushed and looked away. “You know why I can’t do that, especially now with the siege.”

  “But Vim, it’s been so long and I’ve waited for so long. Can’t you—”

  “Take care of your new friend before he gets into any more trouble.” Vimala walked away into the back room of the inn. She slammed the door.

  Ying Fusu scowled.

  Yu Di wasn’t sure whether to walk away or hide in some corner. He could feel the Qi radiating off the young man. Wait, was this how Yu Lin felt whenever he scowled at her?

  Ying Fusu fixed his face after a short while. “Sorry you had to see that. I’m not usually so grumpy, but the siege and that high priest has gotten me on edge recently.”

  “Please, you have nothing to apologize for,” Yu Di said. “You saved my life. I’m sure if High Priest Yazdani found me first I would be dead.”

  “My friend, how did you come here?”

  Yu Di picked up the cup of tea and drank it. “To tell you the truth, I wish I knew. Right before I appeared in this city, I used the last of my strength to stop this foolish sect leader from destroying his sect. I should be dead.”

  “Then you are quite lucky to be alive then. It must have been an epic battle filled with monstrous level cultivators and Demigods.”

  Yu Di laughed. “Master Ying, you must be joking. I’m sure you can sense my level of cultivation. There is no way I could ever be in the same sentence as Demigods.”

  Ying Fusu had a tight smile. “Sometimes we don’t know the power of our words over someone else’s fate.”

  Yu Di nodded. He poured himself another cup of tea and downed it. “Speaking of power, I would like to know what’s going on with the city and its Goddess. I have a feeling it has changed since the last time I was here.”

  Ying Fusu drank his own cup of tea before refilling it. “The city has been under siege for a year.”

  “I’m assuming because the Goddess is no longer around, there is no one to stop these sieges?”

  Ying Fusu looked toward the back room and nodded. “The Goddess has been missing for quite a few years and the surrounding cities have decided to take advantage of Miryana. I have lived here for fifteen years, seen many sieges, but this one has to be the worst.”

  “Then that’s even more reason for me to get out of this city,” Yu Di said. “I have a daughter to get back to.”

  “You have a daughter?” Ying Fusu sat up straight.

  “Yes and she’s all alone.”

  Ying Fusu relaxed. “Then I have bad news for you. The people besieging the city have locked down everything going in or out of the city.”

  “Then how did I teleport in?” Yu Di asked.

  “That is a mystery. No matter how many resources I threw at the barrier, nothing went through. It would take the power of a Demigod to do it. You wouldn’t happen to know of one, would you?”

  Yu Di smiled awkwardly and shook his head. “If I was associated with a Demigod, I doubt I would be in this mess.”

  “Such a shame,” Ying Fusu said. “I knew a Demigod once and he saved my life when I was a child. So not all Demigods are so arrogant to ignore those below them.”

  “That must have been nice. All the Demigods I have heard of are arrogant or so separated from reality that they might as well not exist. If any one of them would give us even a moment of their time, we would all be better for it.”

  “I’m not sure what happened to you to think that, but I have faith that a Demigod is closer than we think.”

  Yu Di really looked at Ying Fusu. Who was he? Did he know who Yu Di was?

  “The Demigod Emperor of Celestial Jade Empire has promised to help the city,” Ying Fusu said. “There are rumors that he’s sending his army to liberate the city from al-Rahman’s siege.”

  Yu Di breathed a little easier. That tightness in his chest relaxed a little. “That’s good then.”

  The door leading to the back room of the inn slammed open. Vimala walked out carrying a large tray of food. There were steamed buns, naan, a bowl of meat stew, and a bowl of mixed cucumbers and melons.

  Yu Di salivated at the smell. He hadn’t eaten during the competition which felt like years ago. He reached out to grab a piece of naan.

  Vimala lifted the tray and slapped Yu Di’s hand away. “Food is for paying customers only.”

  Yu Di smiled. He put his hand into his chest pocket and took out four gold coins from his storage ring. They were Miryana currency from his last visit. “This should be enough.”

  Vimala placed the tray down in front of Ying Fusu. She picked up one of the buns and exchanged Yu Di’s gold coins for it.

  “That’s it?” Yu Di asked. “I could buy a house with those coins.”

  Vimala towered over Yu Di, her green eyes glaring at him. “Be grateful I’m feeding you at all during this siege.”

  “That’s enough,” Ying Fusu said. “You can share my food.”

  Yu Di scooted his chair back away from the scary lady.

  “Listen here you little foreign man,” Vimala said. “The arrival of the Celestial Jade army is not a good thing for this city. When they come, you and all the people from that empire are going to be seen as the enemy. What do you think they will do to you while you’re living in this city?”

  Yu Di had no response to that. He knew what he would do.

  “Furthermore, the people of Miryana don’t care for help from foreign invaders.” Vimala picked up a knife from the tray. “If you are still here when they invade, I’ll make sure to come visit you.”

  Vimala stabbed the bun in Yu Di’s hand, pinning it to the table. She smiled. “Enjoy the food.”

  Yu Di swallowed. He wasn’t hungry anymore.