Under The Lake

6. In Which Wangji Inadvertently Joined A Cult.

Wangji stood at the docks for a good twenty minutes.

What just happened?

This is like that one time he went out on a night hunt and the spiritual beast just flew right at him. He didn't even need to try, and in all honesty, he felt like he cheated somehow. Both then and now.

Although, he wasn't exactly complaining.

But, now, he had to decipher just what Li Choujiao meant. Sichuan Chicken and steamed eggs.

He didn't like Sichuan chicken. Lans are vegetarian; he wouldn't like it even if he wanted to. He liked steamed eggs, though, there was this really nice place twenty minutes from here that did steamed eggs with congee and braised fish.

As much as he wanted to uphold his sect's rules, he discovered that he craved fish far too much to adhere to them.

Hm, steamed eggs. Was it a code of some sort? Sunlight fading across the lake. Sichuan chicken. People from Caiyi town rarely ate chicken, and only a few places made chicken.

One of them being right next to Meng's congee stand.

Ah, right. It's the congee stand.

Sunlight is fading; the sun should start setting in about twenty minutes.

Meng's eatery was only five minutes away. Well, this should be interesting.

Wangji quickened his pace to a brisk jog as he crossed a large bridge over a small river mouth that went over to the other side of the docks.

The sun was ever so slowly retiring from its place in the sky, and the smell of congee was wafting out of Meng's congee stand. A small stand with a rickety sign labelled Zheng's chicken stir-fry was next to it.

Standing in the middle of the two stands, he looked up and down along either end of the street.

The sun was fading, fading and at just the right moment, it hit the water and illuminated the ripples in a beautiful display. If Wangji weren't looking around every five seconds, he would most likely be enjoying it with a bowl of congee and a side of fish.

Sichuan chicken steamed eggs, and the sun is fading over the lake. There's no way he could have got it wrong. Surely, this was the place.

The sunlight was fading and fading until there was only a small glimmer on the water's surface.

He was duped. He knew it, he should have known better than to believe the words of that charlatan. Honestly, how dare he! He took the time out of his already hectic life and actually went to a congee stand! A congee stand! The Second Young Master of the Lan Clan, was lured out to a congee stand and tricked into loitering around suspiciously like some sort of jobless bum!

The absolute nerve of that slimy no good two-faced lying piece of

"I see you arrived before me, then."

Suddenly, Wangji turned around and saw that Li Choujiao was standing next to him.

Pretending not to be shocked at how quickly and quietly the man moved, he just gave a small 'Mn' as he placed one arm behind his back.

He swore there must be some sort of trick to this man's stealth.

The man stood beside Wangji and watched the last rays of sunlight fade before the sky turned dark.

"You've made up your mind, I see." The man proclaimed as he fake fussily adjusted his robes.

"Mn" Wangji nodded, not taking his eyes off the lake. He was not entirely sure why he was agreeing. Joining an organization of poachers wasn't a smart move if he was considering the fact that he was a merman.

This was akin to a fox joining a hunting club.

To take down this shady organization of wrongdoers, the best way would be to infiltrate it from the inside.

"Excellent." Li Choujiao huffed as he once again puffed out his chest in a way that momentarily reminded Wangji of a chicken when it was cold.

"Glad to hear it, Young Master. Oh, come to think of it I don't know your name young man, and I can't just keep calling you young man, now can I?"

Ah, he couldn't exactly use his real name now, could he? He was wearing Lan Clan robes, but he'd rather this man just think he was an outer disciple.

"Wang ZhengYi." Wangji responded after a brief pause.

"Hmn, 'ZhengYi' meaning justice and 'Wang' meaning king. Your parents have odd taste in names, boy. " Li Choujiao stroked his beard in intrigue, while Wangji gave him the side eye for no apparent reason.

Choujiao just sank his head into his shoulders in what Wangji thought was deterrence, but after he let out a sneeze, he realized he was simply cold.

"A good name. Interesting yes, odd, but a good one." Choujiao huffed as he folded his arms while he let out an icy breath.

Wangji wasn't sure what part of his mind he had fished that name out from, but it seemed rather appropriate, if not a little full of himself. Like a benevolent king, he was going to bring justice to every member of the Flame Chamber.

"The next meeting will be in two days in Tangshan, at the Opiant Tavern, ten o'clock. But there's a catch." The man said, which made Wangji turn to face him.

"You have to bring tribute, Young Master Wang. Something rare, something fine. Something to show your capabilities. After that, we will determine whether you are eligible to join." Li Choujiao said while Wangji gave a nod.

Li Choujioa gave an exuberant and unnecessary flick of his robes as he walked off onto a small street, leaving Wangji standing under a quickly darkening sky. The stars started appearing as people rushed around to get back home or pack up shop.

Congratulations, you've joined a cult, his inner voice snapped.

Don't remind me! He snapped at his thoughts.

At this point, he was convinced that there was some entity living inside his head and feeding him weird thoughts.

Well, it looked like this was going to be a turbulent year indeed.