Jiaguo had changed quickly in the time that Rika had been away. As she walked through one of the nicer parts of town, it struck her just how much it had changed. There hadn’t been a nicer part of town—it was just a small collection of people living in whatever house they’d decided to repurpose for themselves.

Since then, the city had grown in population, size, and sophistication. It could be roughly divided into five parts—or six, depending on how one counted. The first two were familiar to Rika, as she’d had a hand in creating them. The government district was centered on the area that had once been the girls’ dormitory in the old academy. This, because of the hilariously whimsical decision by Yoshika to insist on living in their old dorm house, completely unrenovated.

Because of that, they’d been forced to build around her—since they couldn’t have the heads of state living in a dinky little shack among the academy students. Yoshika’s domicile was cleverly hidden as a single building within a larger complex of important administrative buildings and dwellings for government officials. Rika herself had a home there, and it’s where most of the final decisions were made so that they could turn into policy.

Then there was the academy district. Being at the center of Jiaguo, both physically and politically, the academy was where most of the city’s major landmarks existed. The assembly hall was the largest building in the city, used for both school lectures and council meetings. The dormitory districts housed the students, both local and those who’d come from abroad. Finally, Qin Zhao’s famous garden-turned-park was a popular gathering spot for students, city councilors, and regular citizens alike.

The commercial district was only somewhat new to Rika. What had once been a single large square for trade caravans to set up during their seasonal visits had expanded into a bustling hub of commerce that extended all the way to the city gates. Permanent stores and traveling merchants traded goods and served the day to day needs of Jiaguo’s people.

Beyond the gate, the so-called ‘outer city’ had cheap and affordable housing for new arrivals. It wasn’t a slum like the shanty towns that cropped up around Goryeon cities, but rather a carefully managed outer district with its own newly built set of walls and regular patrols to protect from wandering beasts.

Which finally led Rika back to her present surroundings—the inner city. While there wasn’t a huge disparity in the living conditions between the two major residential districts, Rika still felt the class divide. Those living in the inner city were generally the ones who had moved to Jiaguo early on, and they’d had more time to establish themselves.

The inner city was home to successful merchants, well-established cultivators, academy teachers, and city councilors. The last one came as something of a surprise to Rika. Council representatives were completely voluntary. While people like Lin Xiulan or the An Family were already independently wealthy, and could afford to spare some of their time on the council, the same couldn’t be said for Pan Zixin.

Pan and his wife, Shi Jingua, had been among the first immigrants from Qin. While their fellows had generally gone on to either become academy students or return to their callings as rice farmers, Jiaying’s parents found another calling. Somehow, Pan Zixin had made his fortune as Jiaguo’s first career politician.

It turned out that as Jiaguo developed its policies and slowly turned the many informal conventions that kept it running into concrete laws, there were more than a few parties who were willing to invest a great deal just for a chance to have the ear of someone in a position to influence them.

Rika wasn’t sure what to think about that. She’d heard a lot about Jiaying’s parents since her arrival back in Jiaguo, but she was determined to reserve judgment until she’d met them herself.

Their house was a fairly humble dwelling, by the standards of the district—a simple two-story estate with a small private garden and a courtyard that it shared with its neighbor. Rika braced herself for what was to come and stepped up to knock on the door.

It was quickly answered by a surprisingly tall man with a solid build and a rugged complexion. It wasn’t often Rika met people as tall as she was, and the first thing that occurred to her was that Pan Zixin didn’t look at all like a politician. She reconsidered when he gave her a gentle, disarming smile that didn’t match his appearance in the slightest.

“Hello? How can I help you, Miss...?”

Rika placed her hands together in front of her and bowed in the style of Qin. While she hadn’t gotten as brutal an etiquette lesson from Yue as Yoshika had, Rika was still a diplomat herself, and she had paid attention during her time abroad.

“Greetings, Councilor Pan Zixin. I am Commander Takeda Rika, of Jiaguo’s city watch.”

He frowned slightly as he returned her bow.

“Miss Takeda, that’s quite impossible. The city watch isn’t an official organization, and has no commander. We’ve managed to get by with just a few local volunteers, so far.”

“My apologies! I’ve been away on deployment for the last year, and a lot has changed. But I assure you, I’m not misrepresenting myself.”

Rika produced Yue’s seal and presented it to Pan. His eyebrows rose as he eyed it.

“I suppose not! What brings you to my humble home, Commander? I trust we haven’t done anything to draw unwanted military attention?”

“Not at all! If anything, your conduct has been nothing short of exemplary. I just have a few things I need to discuss with your daughter.”

He blinked, then narrowed his eyes.

“What do you want with Jiaying?”

“Forgive me for not saying so earlier, but though I’ve presented myself officially, I’m actually a friend of Miss Pan. It’s in that capacity that I’m visiting her today.”

“I’m afraid she’s not taking visitors at the moment. You’ll have to come back—”

Rika gently stopped the door with her foot before he could close it on her, ignoring his confused struggle as she interrupted him.

“It’s not healthy to close herself up in her room all day. I’ve been there myself. At least give me the chance to petition her myself—if she tells me to leave, then I will.”

He hesitated, glancing over his shoulder nervously as if worried he’d be overheard.

“Look, I appreciate your concern, but we are perfectly capable of taking care of our own daughter. I know she’s depressed, but she just needs some time. If you’re one of...Meili’s friends, then it’s probably for the best that she doesn’t speak to you.”

Rika wasn’t quite the empath that Yoshika was, but she could still sense the genuine love and concern in his voice. But her gut was telling her there was something else.

She felt out with her domain, sensing the area around and within the house. Jiaying’s aura was there—and wow, had she ever grown. Either Yoshika was a better teacher than Rika thought or Jiaying was seriously talented. Rika wasn’t about to bet on the former.

The only other presence was a mortal one—most likely Shi Jinghua. Rika could just form one of her simulacra in Jiaying’s room, but that would be extremely rude and she didn’t think it was called for just yet. Besides, she wasn’t sure how well she could control the power of the whatever-index thing that Yoshika had given her.

“The matter I’m here to discuss actually involves Li Meili. If Jiaying won’t see me, then I’d be happy to talk about it with you—in private.”

“Ah, of course—where are my manners? Please, come inside.”

He ushered her in, calling out as he guided her to their sitting room.

“Jinghua, we have a guest. Please put some tea on.”

“Yes dear!”

Rika made herself comfortable while she casually inspected the Pan home. Aside from being a bit too large for the small family, the inside was just as humble as the rest of the house. The decorations were sparing but tasteful, and very obviously Qin. They hadn’t been wealthy for long, but as far as Rika could tell they were most comfortable maintaining the same lifestyle they’d had back in Qin.

She felt Pan Jiaying’s aura stir on the upper floor, but she didn’t move from her room. That was fine—Rika could be patient.

A few minutes later, Shi Jinghua emerged from the kitchen to serve them all some tea. Pan Zixin stood to introduce her.

“Miss Takeda, meet my wife, Shi Jinghua. Darling, this is Commander Takeda Rika, one of our military officers and a friend of Jiaying.”

Rika stood and bowed.

“A pleasure to meet you.”

Shi Jinghua was a heavyset woman with graying hair and worry lines creasing her forehead. She gave Rika a matronly smile and returned the bow.

“The pleasure is ours, I’m sure. To what do we owe the sudden visit, Miss Takeda?”

Rika thought it was a little odd how the couple neglected to refer to her by her rank. While she wasn’t especially picky about it, she had the impression that she was being deliberately snubbed.

“Well, I came to discuss a private matter with Jiaying, but in lieu of that there is a related matter that I’d like to discuss with you.”

Shi Jinghua held a hand to her cheek and frowned.

“Oh, my apologies. Our daughter’s been rather distraught since the loss of her...friend.”

Rika schooled her expression. She knew that they were Qin traditionalists, so their subtle rejection of Jiaying and Meili’s relationship wasn’t a surprise. It still irked her, but she was willing to keep that to herself for the time being.

“Right. On that note, you two have been holding on to some extremely privileged information, and while I can’t say that you haven’t capitalized on it, the fact that you haven’t shared it despite considerable incentive to do so is a credit to your honor and character.”

The two seemed surprised by the sudden compliment, and Pan Zixin bowed gratefully.

“Thank you for saying so. While we do not always see eye to eye with the current government, it is not in our nature to be so vindictive against our neighbors. Though, if I might be so brazen, I don’t believe we’ve capitalized on the knowledge as you claim.”

“No? I’m led to understand that you’re the head of a faction advocating for the most powerful cultivator to take unilateral control over the city—something that would only be possible in Yoshika’s absence. Isn’t that the same system you fled in the first place?”

Shi Jinghua shook her head.

“Firstly, we didn’t flee Lushan because it was under the control of a sect, but because it wasn’t. The death of the Elder of the Everwatching Mists led to a power struggle between sects that the rest of us got caught in the middle of.”

Her husband nodded.

“Our original plan was to leave until the dust settled before returning to serve under whichever sect took control of the mountain, but Master Xin Wei found us and offered an alternative.”

“Second, while I understand your reasons for keeping the fall of our leader secret, that’s not going to last forever. People will find out eventually, and once they do, that insufferable little brat who calls herself Prime Minister isn’t going to last a day.”

Rika smiled awkwardly.

“That insufferable little brat is my friend, and while she’s had a rough time lately I have absolute faith that she’ll uphold the ideals that Jiaguo was founded on and guide it towards a prosperous future for the people living here.”

Shi Jinghua took a sip of tea and sighed.

“That’s well and good, but the fiction of this place being a sect sponsored by the Awakening Dragon lasts only as long as Yan De is willing to allow it. I may not like her, but Yoshika’s unique talent for bringing disparate groups together was the glue holding this place together.”

Pan Zixin scratched his head.

“Without her, Goryeo’s support is less certain, and with the loss of General Hayakawa, even if we win the war in Yamato we may not be able to count on their support either. This city is far too small to stand against the empire on its own, and that’s why we’ve been advocating for Lady Lin Xiulan to take over.”

Rika stopped to think about it for a moment. She could see now why the couple had become so successful in their newfound career—they saw things from angles that she hadn't considered.

“So to prevent the empire from taking action against us, you want to join it. Stop being independent entirely and just become an annex of Qin—another province for the empire.”

Pan Zixin smiled.

“The God-Emperor already rules all. To fight against him would be pure folly. Instead, we must fight to be accepted by the great sects as a peer, and integrate ourselves properly into our emperor’s domain.”

Ah. Rika hadn’t considered the way that some of the former Qin residents were squaring their new home with the ideals that they’d been raised on. She’d assumed that some of them were just younger progressive types looking to expand their horizons, but the Pan couple had reminded her of a much simpler method.

The Qin Empire had no borders. They hadn’t left the empire—they were establishing a new territory within it.

That was...something she’d have to deal with later. Or maybe tell Yue about so that she could deal with it. For now, Rika had to focus on her own short-term goals, and she had just the thing to kill two birds with one stone.

“Well, in that case, I recommend delaying those plans for now. Yoshika’s not lost just yet.”

Rika heard a thump from upstairs, and the Pan couple’s responses were drowned out by Pan Jiaying bounding down the stairs and bursting into the room.

“By the emperor, Rika—you’re supposed to lead with that!”

She snickered and waved at the excitable young woman—though come to think of it, she remembered that Jiaying was older than her.

“Hey Jiaying! I knew you were listening. Mom and Dad aren’t used to your enhanced senses, huh?”

“Yeah, thanks for giving it away, you jerk!”

Shi Jinghua glanced between the two of them, frowning.

“Jiaying, what’s this—”

“Shut up, Mom! Rika, where is she? Why didn’t she come here herself?”

Rika winced.

“Not snubbing you, I promise. She’s hurt badly—still in critical condition, but alive.”

Jiaying gave her an incredulous look, gesticulating wildly as she responded.

“Then what the hell are you doing here?!”

“Uh...I thought you’d want to know?”

“I don’t matter! She matters! If she’s alive and well then she can come tell me herself, and if she isn’t then stop wasting your time on me and go help her!”

Far from the depressed lump Rika was expecting, Jiaying was, if anything, even more fiery than usual. She raised her hands defensively under the verbal onslaught.

“Okay! Okay! I’m going! Although...do you want to come with? It might help.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

Jiaying was already halfway out of the house before her mother stood up to run after her.

“Now hold on just a minute, young lady! You can’t just go—we need to talk about this!”

“We don’t need to talk about anything, Mom. Thanks for letting me stay over, but I’m an adult. I can make my own decisions.”

“You ungrateful—!”

Jiaying whirled on her mother as if she was about to hit her, but then stopped and took a breath.

“Mom, I love you. You’re judgmental and overbearing and hypocritical, but I still love you. I know that you’re just trying to look out for me, and I really appreciate the fact that despite our differences, you still supported me while I was going through a difficult time. But you need to let me live my own life. Please.”

Shi Jinghua huffed irritably, but then swept her daughter up in a hug.

“Just promise that you aren’t leaving us again. You may be an ungrateful brat of a daughter, but I love you too, and so does your father. We’ll miss you.”

Jiaying returned the hug.

“I know. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. Take care of dad for me okay?”

Pan Zixin chuckled.

“I can take care of myself, honey. Just remember you’ll always have a place here.”

“Thanks, Dad. Come on, Rika—we’ve got work to do!”

Rika awkwardly bowed in farewell to the Pan couple as their daughter dragged her out by the hand.

“Sorry about this! Thank you for the tea!”

The couple returned the bow and waved goodbye. Once they were outside, Pan Jiaying stopped and put her hands on her hips, turning to glare at Rika.

“I don’t actually know where we’re going.”

Rika laughed. She hadn’t really gotten to know Jiaying that well during their travels, but she was really starting to see why Meili liked her.