Yu Di took a gamble. “Yes, she’s right. I was the Demigod that fought the Goddess all those years ago in Miryana.” Yu Di steeled himself. If Ying Fusu attacked, he’d still have enough time to counter. He wasn’t going to die to a second realm Immortal, even if he had the most oppressive glare he’d ever seen.

  Ying Fusu bowed his head. “Thank you for the truth, my fellow countryman.”

  “He admits it!” Vimala yelled, spittle coming from her mouth. “Kill him now before he threatens the city. Before he threatens us.”

  Ying Fusu turned toward Vimala, this time his glare focused on her. He somehow towered over her, despite being shorter than her. “Vimala Janavati, are you questioning my decisions?”

  Vimala shrank further, pulling her head down. She took two steps back and held her arms against her chest. She shook her head.

  Yu Di needed to learn that for his daughter. If he could get his daughter to be even half as cowed, he wouldn’t need to worry about all the pranks she played on him.

  “Right now, the only people who know his identity are in this room,” Ying Fusu said. “Make sure it stays that way Vim, or I will be very upset with you.”

  Vimala nodded, but her head shot up. “Why are you protecting him?”

  “I have my reasons.” Ying Fusu’s gaze softened. “But if you want one, then I can tell you right now despite Yu Di being in a weakened state, he can still wipe out this city with one thought. Isn’t that right, Senior Yu?”

  “You are the first person to have seen through me,” Yu Di said. “But this doesn’t mean I trust you. I still need to leave this place as soon as I can.”

  Ying Fusu chuckled. “It’s not hard when you flare your Demigod Qi like that. But I’m afraid there is no leaving this place unless you have a Demigod item that allows you to break through the barrier.”

  “I’ll worry about that later. First, I want to leave this caravanserais. I don’t like the way she glares at me and I definitely don’t trust her.” Yu Di nodded toward Vimala.

  Vimala spat on the floor and left the room.

  “You are free to leave if you wish,” Ying Fusu said. “Just know that there are no other places to stay within the city. The Shah Amir al-Rahman has effectively blocked everything coming in or out. That includes any food or essentials from the city’s trade partners.”

  “That’s nothing special,” Yu Di said. “Mortals are always doing silly things. That has nothing to do with us.”

  “Normally I would agree, but the suffering of the people here weighs heavily on me. It has been a year and the people are starting to get desperate. If a Demigod like you were to help me, I’m sure we could resolve this peacefully.”

  Yu Di snorted. He tried really hard not to laugh. “I’m sure by now you can sense that my weakened state is not a ploy. I really am this weak. Despite whatever you know of me, I am of no more use to you than that woman.”

  “I was afraid of that.”

  “If there is nothing else, I would rather take my chance out in the city,” Yu Di said. He cupped his hand and bowed his head. The faster he got out, the faster he could find a way home. Second rate Immortals couldn’t find a way. It should be easy for him once he knows what he’s dealing with.

  “I would never dare hold a Demigod, even if one has been weakened,” Ying Fusu said. “Just know that should you ever need to come back, our doors are always open to you. I promised to protect you while you were in this city and my word is worth all my gold.”

  “Thank you.” Yu Di cupped his hands. He walked out of the back room. The inn’s patrons were chatting away. He did a quick scan of everyone there. Everyone was a mortal. So at least no one there would try to stop him.

  Yu Di walked past Vimala. He gave her a wide berth in case she decided to spit on him. He had enough of that from the camel.

  Ying Fusu’s bodyguard nodded to him as he walked past them through the gate. The roadside inn was located within the city proper along one of the main roads. The closest building was a temple some distance away upon a hill.

  Yu Di looked south and saw the large mountains looming at a distance. That was where he fought the Goddess, far enough away that wouldn’t affect the city. He wanted the power, but he wasn’t a monster to destroy the city.

  At least that’s what he told himself now.

  Yu Di walked down the main road toward the affluent part of the city. There had to be an inn or even a private family willing to take him in. If nothing else, he could buy his way in with both his mortal and Immortal wealth. He saw the way that high priest stared at his elixir.

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  A large gate came into view when Yu Di followed the main road. That wasn’t there the last time he was there. The gate was a part of a large wall structure that surrounded the inner parts of the city where the Pavilion of the Goddess’ Grace stood at its center. If he remembered correctly, this was where most of the rich people lived.

  “Halt,” a guard shouted from atop the gate. “Do not take another step or you will be shot.”

  Yu Di raised his arms.

  “I’m looking for lodging with an old friend near the center of the city.”

  “No foreigners are allowed into the center of the city,” the guard shouted back down. “Turn around.”

  If Yu Di was a mortal, he would have needed to squint to see how far the man was on that wall. There was no way they would have any archers that could fire that far away, at least not with any accuracy. Yet he didn’t want to test the city’s defenses.

  If they also included the Immortals that were with Kutan, the high priest, then he wouldn’t stand a chance.

  Yu Di turned and walked back toward the caravanserais. There had to be another place that was taking in rich people. Don’t these people want his gold? Or better his alchemical concoctions? He had pills and so many things that mortals would never see in their lives.

  Yu Di walked through the industry section of the city. Most of the stores were closed. There was no need for jade working or carpets since no trade was going in or out of the city. Many of the homes seemed abandoned as well.

  Where did they go?

  Maybe this was his lucky chance. Without anyone to occupy these places, he could temporarily live in any of these homes.

  Yu Di walked up to one of the stores and noticed they were locked with Qi artifacts. He could break them, but then they would alert the authorities. Every single store had a lock on it.

  A worn notice hung outside one of the stores that had a tent that shielded it from the elements. It read:

  Notice: All proprietors are to vacate this area. All businesses will be locked up and all resources dedicated to the siege effort. Anyone attempting theft will be met with lethal punishment.

  Yu Di stepped back from the door in case his own Qi activated it. He couldn’t stay here unless he chose to stay under the tent. That wouldn’t be very pleasant and he can’t be sure the shoddy Qi artifacts they used to lock up the stores won’t just go off.

  Which made Yu Di pause. Where did Miryana get all these Qi artifacts? Years ago when he was there, they didn’t have many cultivators that weren’t a priest of the Goddess. Now they had mercenaries from other countries and had bought many different Qi artifacts. Had the loss of their Goddess affected their city so badly that they’re nothing more than scared, paranoid children without their mothers?

  Yu Di wondered if the same would happen to his country if the Demigod Emperor didn’t establish tight control over the government. He was always amazed at how well the man structured his government so that even if he were—

  The Qi artifact lock snapped off the door.

  “Wait, what?” Yu Di said to himself.

  A loud blaring siren went off.

  “But I didn’t even touch it. I wasn’t even looking at it!”

  Loud stomping footsteps approached.

  Yu Di took off in a dead sprint with as much of his Qi he could muster into his movement technique. He really should have prioritized absorbing Qi before anything else. Now all he could do was a half sprint, half shuffle away in hopes that mortals were chasing him.

  After a dead sprint, he arrived back at Ying Fusu’s caravanserais. Yu Di was out of breath. When was the last time he was ever out of breath? Then again, when was the last time he had to run for his life because he was actually scared of dying?

  Not even in the ‘Forgotten Spirit Sect’ was he ever afraid of any of the children there.

  Yet here, this city brought a chill to his very core. It was like dreaming of somewhere familiar that had turned into a nightmare instead.

  Yu Di looked at the caravanserais. This roadside inn was very uniquely placed. It was like the center of the city itself where it was the crossroads of the affluent neighborhood, the industry sector, and the poorer district beyond the temple he saw earlier.

  He wasn’t going to give in so easily and go back with his tail between him. He wouldn’t give that Goddess, Vimala, the satisfaction. Who would want to take refuge where a viper lived?

  Yu Di took the third path, away from the affluent gate that threatened his life, away from the industry sector that also threatened his life, toward somewhere that hopefully didn’t threaten his life as much. He could probably live with that.

  The moment he walked past the temple, he regretted it. This part of the city made his heart ache.

  There were swaths of rubble where buildings once stood. The others that still stood bore marks of attacks from an enemy that cared not for who they hit. Only a few people braved the streets with bowls to beg in the rubble.

  Still, the resilience of people shined where people continued living their lives despite the ruin. People moved about in the open markets, wearing shabbier clothes than the ones in Ying Fusu’s inn. There was a vibrancy among the people who fought against this miserable fate.

  Yu Di hurt the most seeing little beggar children lining the streets with their bowls. They all looked stick thin, where their ribs all showed. Most of the people walked past them without even a glance.

  He imagined these kids as Yu Lin. It enraged him. Almost enough to end Shah Amir al-Rahman’s life and his entire empire with one strike.

  Yu Di steeled himself and took a step back. No, it would only solve this crisis at the cost of his life. He wouldn’t be around to fix the next person to attack this city or siege it.

  Was this his fault? If he had never come all those years ago, seeking another hit for his addiction, these people wouldn’t be suffering right now.

  No, it was that stupid Goddess. All she had to do was share the secret of her power, whatever it was. Yu Di wasn’t going to take it away. He was just curious.

  If the Demigod Emperor of the largest, most powerful country across the land could share, why couldn’t she?

  “Mister, can you spare anything?” a beggar boy asked. He held out his bowl.

  Yu Di pulled out a bun from his storage ring and gave it to the boy. It was a bun that Yu Lin had stuffed into his ring before he left for the competition.

  The boy eyed the steaming bun with large round eyes. He didn’t say any thanks before biting into the bun.

  “Eat slowly boy or you’ll choke,” Yu Di said.

  When the other children saw the white bun in the boy’s hand, they swarmed Yu Di.

  “Can we have some too? Please mister?” they all chanted.

  Yu Di sighed. He couldn’t save them all from this desperate fate, but at least he could help these children today.

  He reached into his storage ring and pulled out a bun for each of the children.

  Curse unlocked: .4% lifted.