A not-quite-so-simple teahouse brawl.

As the Hounds of Jin entered the tea house, Li Huang quietly sipped his tea, the scalding warmth a blessed contrasting relief as it flowed down his throat and spread throughout his core, stilling his shivers momentarily and disturbing the gatherings of cold yin qi in his meridians. He thought back to exactly what had driven him to this place, so far from his home and family.

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Northern Territory, Veiled Moon City - Golden Pixiu Teahouse
A few months ago
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Li Huang was quietly seated, enjoying the calm atmosphere of the teahouse while his cousin Li Xin excitedly talked with a friend of his. He came here often to relax, and his cousin happened to come in at the same time today, and ended up joining him. The two of the younger cultivators were chatting over some adventure they’d had, but Li Huang paid it no mind. He didn’t mind the company, exactly, but the energy the younger teens held bouncing between the two of them was just a bit unapproachable.

So he simply sipped at a cup of tea, eyes comfortably closed.

At least until a raucous voice entered the tea house. “How awfully provincial!” It loudly announced, masculine yet higher-pitched. It could even be described as nasal. The atmosphere of the tea house died down, but nobody spoke up to respond to the voice. Li Huang noted the new presences with his spiritual sense, a quiet wave that passed through the room nigh-imperceptibly.

There were three of them, all cultivators. Two at the Pure realm, one at the late Spirit Essence realm, judging by the feeling of their auras. Not particularly uncommon, but Li Huang opened his eyes nonetheless, casting his pale gaze over at the three of them. The quality of their stances spoke to a high level of training or skill, despite the indolent nature of the one at the front. Most cultivators would have a hard time fighting them.

The two younger cultivators with him, seemingly unaware of the newcomers or the shift in atmosphere, continued their emotive conversation, bursting into joint laughter at a particularly amusing part of their shared journey.

Li Huang watched as the gaze of the first newcomer, the one at the Spirit Essence realm, immediately snapped over to the table he was seated at. A very slight crease formed in his brow on his otherwise neutral face, which passed as a frown for him. The three newcomers approached the table, while the two youngsters remained oblivious right up until the leading figure announced himself by speaking directly to them in that nasally voice.

“You peasants up here really don’t know what to do when royalty visit at all, do you? So loud and obnoxious, like mangy dogs yapping at each other in an alleyway.” He haughtily said, interrupting the conversation.

Li Xin’s friend immediately went still, eyes widening ever so slightly and flicking to the boy who had spoken to him - because it was indeed a boy, or perhaps a young adult. Around Li Huang’s own age of nineteen years, perhaps a year or two younger. He was good looking, well-kept and well-dressed, but the arrogant look on his face marred his attractiveness. Probably didn’t stop many girls. He wore fanciful clothes, white with a gold trim, obviously very expensive fabric, and rings adorned his fingers. At least one of the rings was a Heaven-rank storage treasure, which spoke immediately to this boy’s vast wealth. Even great clans had trouble securing treasures of that level.

Li Xin stood up and cupped his fists together in a traditional martial artist’s greeting, inclining his body, but only to a polite angle, and definitely not deep enough that one would expect for royalty in a setting such as this. “My apologies,” he started, his voice even, boyish in quality but tempered in measure. “I must not have been informed. You may call me Li Xin, and on behalf of the Li Clan, I welcome you to Veiled Moon City.”

His words were of the utmost politeness, but the tone had a bite to it, a certain steel that spoke to his unafraid nature, almost like a warning that he wasn’t one to be easily bullied. The boy huffed out an almost-laugh as a sneer formed on his face.

“Wasn’t informed? About the arrival of the Twenty-seventh Prince of Jin, Jin Jie? That would be a convenient excuse, wouldn’t it. All is forgiven, worry not. In accordance with your family’s status, I’ll let it slide at three kowtows at my feet.”

If the atmosphere of the tea house could be called tense before, it was as if a bucket of ice-cold water had been thrown over it now, as Li Xin’s face couldn’t help but scrunch up in anger.

It was at this provocation that Li Huang stood up himself, gently placing his teacup on the table, before smoothly stepping around to place himself between Li Xin and this arrogant prince, Jin Jie.

Approaching like mist over the surface of a lake, Li Huang softly placed his hand on Jin Jie’s shoulder. “That’s enough.” he whispered, his voice hard-pressed to go above this volume, “It is one thing to act like this in your Central Capital, but there is no reason for this pointless provocation against our clan in our own city.”

Jin Jie was staring at him with a hard glare, and it was only now the two men flanking him, most likely elite soldiers assigned as bodyguards, startled into action, having not been put on alert at Li Huang’s approach.

“Unhand the Twenty-seventh Prince of Jin at once, northerner, or you will face dire repercussions!” the one on the right shouted, slightly older with a more solid cultivation base. The one on the left merely placed a hand on his sword hilt menacingly, his message obvious.

Li Huang slowly raised his hand off the prince’s shoulder, his emotionless gaze passing from one bodyguard to the other, only pausing on the prince’s face for a moment, before he turned to Li Xin.

“Return to the Clan. Inform father and the Patriarch of the Prince’s arrival.” Li Huang softly asked of Li Xin, who hesitated for just a second, his face still red with anger, his breath heavy, but he nodded in the end, tugging on his friend’s elbow and rushing at a fast walk towards the exit.

Jin Jie, completely not used to being ignored in such a fashion, was absolutely livid. As soon as he found the wherewithal to talk, he began to spin around to shout after Li Xin, “How DARE you walk out on-” he started, but never got the chance to finish as a hand caught his shoulder.

Li Huang, the owner of that hand, kept the prince from turning around, as he did a very simple thing. He cocked his leg back, circulating his qi as he did, and launched it forward.

There was a crunching sound as his kick impacted directly between the prince’s legs, the force of the kick piercing through instead of being translated into motion. The prince’s face went from bright crimson to deathly pale in an instant, with only a quiet whimper escaping his lips as his knees clenched together in astounding pain.

He collapsed to the floor in a frozen moment, as everyone in the teahouse looked on in horror.

Then the moment exploded into action as both bodyguards drew their weapons and flung themselves at Li Huang with a fervour one might see out of zealots. They moved in perfect unison, obviously used to working in groups, unleashing a flurry of slashes and thrusts, coming from left and right with perfect tempo to match the other.

Two Pure Realm experts, against one young Spirit Essence Realm cultivator? This would surely be a slaughter. One old man in the corner sighed and closed his eyes, shaking his head at the loss. “Those poor fools…” he lamented.

Every flick and stab found no mark, like trying to fight mist itself, as Li Huang stepped from side to side, backing up a step, turning and leaning like it was the most natural thing in the world. These Pure realm cultivators had incredible teamwork, and a natural tempo which would allow them to cover each other’s openings and defences with an ease that defied common sense.

But to the Lunar Mirror Eyes that Li Huang possessed as part of his Sun Devouring Inverted Moon Physique, such a tempo was like an invitation, an announcement of every attack and every withdrawal. Light on his feet, he slowly gained space against the two cultivators intent on cutting him down.

‘I could simply wait for an opening and cripple one with the Sixteen Mysterious Lunar Kicks, but that would take time. There are likely more soldiers as part of the prince’s entourage. No time to waste with these two. The disadvantage is too clear.’ Li Huang thought, before he took a more deliberate step.

As he stopped in his flowing motion suddenly, losing that bit of ground he’d gained so far, several flickering images appeared around him. More Li Huang’s! They split, leaping to walls, to the ceiling, even to other tables in the tea house, before turning and all converging on the two bodyguards. In unison, they slashed out, cutting off the direct attack before covering each other’s backs, stepping in a curved path, crossing from left to right and vice-versa! Triumph at last, they thought! Until they realised there was no attack. Every Li Huang they had cut down had been a false image, and when they looked back to his original location - he was gone. They cast out their spiritual sense, and found him already out of the tea house, down the road, moving at an incredible pace, but not one they couldn’t match…

But if they left the prince here, lying undignified in the center of the tea house, it would be their heads. They quietly cursed their luck and returned to their charge, quickly ferrying him away.

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Northern Territory, Veiled Moon City - Li Clan Manor
Just a few minutes later
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Li Huang arrived at his home, a leap carrying him over the walls of the compound, and qi gently cushioning his fall. Li Feng, the Patriarch of the clan, was already coming to meet him, his steps quick but not quite hurried.

“Huang’er*, you got into a conflict with the prince of the Jin Empire?” Li Feng asked, his tone concerned. Li Huang simply nodded, a short dip of his chin. Li Feng allowed a sigh to escape his lips, expressing his disappointment. Nonetheless, he swept his hand in a gesture for Li Huang to follow. “Then, we have some preparation to do. Describe to me the situation.”

“He wasn’t living up to his name.**” Li Huang stated, his voice quiet and subdued. In any other person, it might be construed as guilt, but it was always hard to tell with Li Huang.

“What did you do after Xin’er* left?”

“I made sure his bloodline wouldn’t continue.”

That got a dark, almost sardonic chuckle out of Li Feng, with just a pang of regret and loss.

“I have to punish you for this, Huang’er.” Li Feng said, his tone of voice resigned. Li Huang merely nodded. “Naturally, you’re going to be kept imprisoned here until you can be handed over to the Jin Empire.”

Li Huang nodded, though his thoughts were troubled. If his Patriarch, his grandfather commanded so, he would walk to his execution with head held high.

The two of them approached the medicinal storage shed, and Li Feng wasted no time to start sorting through pills, picking out supplies and waving his hand, storing them within his spatial ring storage treasure. Li Huang watched, curious, but didn’t dare open his mouth to inquire about it. He knew he’d committed a serious offence against the Empire they lived in.

It wasn’t until Li Feng turned around, and pressed the storage ring into his hands that he really got confused.

“It’s a shame I wasn’t able to catch you before you left the city, don’t you think, Huang’er?” Li Feng said, and suddenly, Li Huang understood. He nodded with a quiet affirmative sound.

“Go, get your leg guards and flee. Li Xin did nothing, so I can protect him here, but if I try to stop them from taking you after you laid hands on an Imperial heir, I will be declaring war on the Jin Empire. In my ring is the Sublime Misty Lake Shield. Use it to save your life when you must. Go.”

Li Huang bowed deeply to his grandfather, then left as fast as his legs would carry him.

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Northern Territory, Veiled Moon City - Li Clan Manor
The next morning
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“Search every room, every hall! Leave no place for the criminal to hide!” The vice-commander of the Hounds of Jin shouted out, his men swarming through the manor like locusts. Li Feng stood politely by, hands clasped behind his back.

“Like I said, honourable Xiang Jian, were he here, I would be handing him over. The Li Clan are a part of the Jin Empire, are we not?” Li Feng talked calmly, like he wasn’t talking about handing his own blood over for execution.

Xiang Jian turned to look at him with a scowl. “I am sure your patriotism here in the north is as strong as in the heartlands of the Empire, but we are talking about your grandson, so you must understand our thoroughness.”

At this, Li Feng shrugged, the very image of an aloof cultivator. “Li Huang will die in a decade anyways. I have no reason to hold any attachment to him. I have other grandchildren, after all.” Some of the nearby Hounds of Jin couldn’t help but glance at the Li Clan Patriarch at that statement, just like they couldn’t help but shiver at the icy indifference his expression exuded.

Li Xin stood to the side of the courtyard, watching the Hounds of Jin search his home with a troubled expression.

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At the border between Territories - Teahouse of Unknown Name
Present time
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Li Huang tilted his wide-brimmed hat slightly lower as the Hounds moved through the teahouse. It had been some time since his flight from his home, and the medicine granted to him by his grandfather had run out. Qi Replenishment Pills and Wound Mending Pills, gone to pull him through previous encounters with the Hounds. His special medicine for his physique-related illness? Ran out a few days ago. Yet he still hadn’t managed to find a safe haven.

He of course knew of the Divine Origin Palace and their medicinal prowess, so that was his initial goal. He would need that prowess for his illness, and how he’d been pushing his body without enough medicine, but with every day, it seemed like he would not be able to reach Divine Origin Mountain, let alone be in any state to convince them to help him.

‘I should try to leave the teahouse before they notice me’, Li Huang thought to himself as the Hounds approached the other man at the counter and began talking to him. ‘It’s such a shame, too. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to enjoy a cup of tea.’

After a few long moments, he let his cup of tea sit on the counter, before he stood from the seat with a smooth motion, and made for the exit at a sedate walk.

He didn’t get very far before one of the Hounds called out to him, stopping him in his tracks.

“Hold on a moment, there! We’re hunting a criminal of the Empire. You wouldn’t want to leave without helping us in our noble cause, would you?” He asked, his raised voice carrying across the teahouse.

Li Huang placed a hand on his hat, and took it off his head, placing it on a nearby table as he turned around. He’d been caught, and now it was time to fight his way out.

“You’re right. Allow me to help your cause; here I am.” he softly replied to the Hound who had called him out, his quiet voice almost inaudible despite his effort to raise his vocal volume. His breath misted the air as he began to circulate his qi in preparation, feeling it burst and scatter as he attempted to marshal it.

He forced it to circulate anyway, as he always did, even as the music in the background picked up in tempo and tension.

The Hounds began to spread out now, their spears dropping into readied positions, aiming straight through him. He watched them anyways, noting where they were forced to thin out due to table placement, even as customers of the teahouse began to scatter away from him and them.

Just behind him, he noticed a table of women, the girls who had been watching him since earlier. Most were backing away quick enough, but one had barely stood up, glancing around at the Hounds in uncertainty and confusion.

He glanced back at the Hounds, their leader tensed like a spring and about to pounce.

“Damn you and your callous nature.” Li Huang cursed quietly, turning and forcing his qi into his legs as he stepped. He didn’t do this lightly, but trusted in his body. He quickly arrived at the woman, and swept her into his arms.

Then, he twisted into a leap, dodging away from the spear aiming for his heart. It pierced through his arm instead, tearing out through the meat and then snaking down, smashing the table away as it retreated, sending a shower of splinters everywhere.

Gently, Li Huang placed the woman down with her friends. “Stay out of the way.” He instructed in his soft, whisper-loud voice, his words blunt and cold.

Immediately after telling the women to get to safety, Li Huang leapt back at the Hound who had engaged him even as the others rushed to surround him. He lashed out with a simple kick to force the Hound backwards, then back-pedalled to avoid the rest of the Hounds.

One of the flanking Hounds on his right, the further one, tripped with a crash into a table. Li Huang gave it no thought. Instead, he was concerned with the other cultivators.

A number of times when he previously clashed with the Hounds of Jin, it was an opportunistic attack from a bystander hoping to get in the Jin Empire’s good graces that truly injured him, and there were quite a number of other cultivators if his measure was right.

His evaluation of the situation was… mostly right. To his left, he spotted the two women who were previously in a drinking contest get up, one grinning in what appeared to be anticipation, and the other looking directly at him with what seemed like utter disdain. He paused for a moment, vaguely recognising the woman by her appearance. Hong Zhentou, of the Hong Clan? He immediately dismissed the thoughts of their similar station and shared homeland granting him any reprieve here.

However, just as Hong Zhentou was about to charge him, the other woman stepped in front of her, performing a customary martial artist’s greeting, before taking a fighting stance. Li Huang couldn’t hear their voices from where he stood, but it seemed he had something of an ally, at least for the moment.

However, this moment of evaluation had cost him tempo, and given the Hounds time to close in. Four on one. If he was in his prime condition, even with their cultivations outweighing his, he would favour his chances, but as it stood, he could barely stop the shaking in his limbs. He exhaled slowly as he shifted his stance, lowering his center of gravity.

The fighting broke out for real, all at once, with the two women trading blows, and the Hounds all lunging at once. Li Huang had to try and keep them at bay, but the concentrated effort of four skilled martial artists, one of whom was at the Pure Realm, made things quite difficult. Wide, sweeping kicks, each dangerous in their own right, but only designed to pressure the enemy and let him step backwards, extending his life for one more heartbeat. It was a siege, and with each step he felt his breath hitch. He had to make an opening and escape with the Myriad Stride Illusory Art before-

“How bold of you, Hounds, to act like this so far away from home!” a voice from Li Huang’s right called out. Another woman, standing up from a chair and taking out a giant fan and opening it with a snap. She joined the fray, flanking the Hounds, her steps light and dance-like, and her attacks both forceful and graceful.

Li Huang changed tactic. Focusing his will, he forced his qi into his legs, and stepped once, then twice, leaving afterimages in his wake, each of him launching into an assault. He stepped back on his path at random, dancing from location to location like a shadow, landing glancing or minor blows. He couldn’t quite get past their guard, even with distraction, but he didn’t need to. One Hound was already out of commission with a heavy blow to the stomach sending him careening.

The music picked up in tempo and intensity again. Was the musician really still playing in a situation like this?

The distraction cost him, as the leader of the squad of Hounds stomped his foot on the ground and launched forward like an arrow at him. Li Huang spun to the side, his feet barely touching the ground as he evaded backwards and to the side. He kicked in a counter-attack at the Hound, forcing him to retreat or suffer a heavy blow, but as Li Huang recovered from his evasive movement, he found himself under assault again - not by the Hounds, but by the two women from earlier, Hong Zhentou and the other one.

Flowing like water, Li Huang leaned back, almost falling completely to the floor, his right leg coming up to clash with Hong Zhentou’s punch, while he allowed himself to lean back and away, placing a hand on the ground for support, to dodge the other woman’s punch.

He felt the impact send a shock through his entire leg, even through his leg guards. Pain quickly followed, like he’d kicked a mountain. Surprise flickered through Hong Zhentou’s eyes for a moment, obviously not expecting him to be able to match that punch, but she was otherwise unfazed.

Li Huang swept his other foot around, kicking off Hong Zhentou to leap backwards with a flip. As he landed, he immediately stepped away to gain distance, deciding that getting anywhere near that particular duel was more hazardous than it was worth. His leg was damaged, but not quite broken, but the impact had also helped him in a way. He could feel his leg again, and his qi flowed more freely from the power of the punch.

He had to get back and help subdue the Hounds before he could make his escape. He tried to kick off into a short run, but his uninjured leg locked up, causing him to stumble and fall into a kneel. ‘Just push through…!’ Li Huang thought as he tried to force qi into his leg to banish the worst of the cold for just a few more moments, only to find the qi scattering and slipping from his grasp. He began to push himself up with his hands, only to suddenly find a supporting grip under his shoulder, hauling him up.

Li Huang glanced over his shoulder, his face as passive as ever despite his surprise. A big man, clearly a foreigner due to his dress and features. The big man laughed a deep belly laugh, and patted him on the shoulder, causing him to stumble forward half a step. “Now, who started this brawl?” the big man asked in an obviously accented voice.

Li Huang raised an arm to point at the Hounds, in their obviously matching soldiers uniforms. “The Hounds of Jin.” he whispered in response. That was seemingly all the big man needed to charge into the fray. Li Huang noted an equally-large-sized older man standing a bit behind, watching this with an amused smile. He seemed kind, but Li Huang couldn’t place his cultivation at all.

Putting that out of his mind, he turned back to the Hounds, and followed the big man into the fray. Given that it was now three on four, Li Huang was confident they could win before Hong Zhentou could disentangle from the other woman. With the sheer presence of the big man, combined with the attacks of the woman with the fan, Li Huang found it simple to target the Hounds where their defences were weakest, his feet lashing out in a flurry of kicks.

The fight ended decisively when the big man grabbed the Hound’s leader, unable to escape past Li Huang and the fan-wielding woman, and simply roared at him, a great wave of sound and qi rushing over him, blasting him through a wall as surely as if he’d been thrown, punched or kicked through it.

Li Huang was breathing heavily, his breath misting the air. He turned to the other two, cupping his fist with his other hand and bowing in gratitude. “My thanks and gratitude to both of you.” he whispered, before catching sight of the duel going on out of the corner of his eye. It still seemed to be going on on the other side of the teahouse, but he saw the gaze the woman whose name he didn’t know was casting him, and he knew when he was being targeted.

Before she could break off and engage him, he turned and made for the door; now was the time for his exit. He got three steps out the door before his vision blurred, his meridians beginning to freeze over, and he collapsed, unconscious.

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*The 'er suffix is a term of endearment, generally from a parent or grandparent type figure towards someone younger. If familiar with Japanese honourifics, it would be used similar to -kun.

**The name 'Jie' means 'hero' or 'heroic'.