Min already had her hand on the door to open it when Chang-li's voice sounded behind her. "Where are you off to?"

  She whirled, feeling a flush come over her face. Her husband looked her up and down. "You look very nice. Is that an official meeting?"

  "Oh," she said, her heart racing just a bit. "Some sect business."

  He nodded, seemingly accepting her answer. "Right. I had hoped to maybe see you this afternoon. I've got another batch of the licensing paperwork finished and thought maybe we could get one of the higher-ranked disciples to file it this time. Or I can take it when I go for my next cultivation license next week." He stifled a yawn and rubbed his bloodshot eyes.

  Min knew he was working even harder than she was. She would wake in the early hours of the night to find him sitting in a corner of their room cycling. He had claimed not to need as much sleep as she did, thanks to his newly enhanced-with-Lux body, but he was clearly under significant strain. They all were. If they could just shift a few of these tasks off their plates... which was exactly what she meant to do this afternoon.

  "Oh, and Brother Stone keeps trying to meet with me. I need to make myself available," Chang-li said. "Do you know why?"

  "Uh..." Min blinked, looking for the right words to say. She suspected Stone wanted to talk to Chang-li about the increased threats that had been building up against Morning Mist over the last week. It had started with notes slipped into their deliveries, escalating to hateful threats painted on the compound walls. Just yesterday, a couple of the junior disciples had been roughed up in the market.

  She had directed Stone to speak with Joshi about the sect's protection. Since coming back from his extended stay at the Imperial Grounds, Joshi had been withdrawn and surlier even than usual, but between him and Stone they ought to be able to come up with a plan to defend the sect.

  Chang-li cocked his head. "Is something wrong?"

  "No," she said quickly. "Uh, I'll speak to Brother Stone and find out what he wants. If he needs to speak with you, I'll arrange that."

  "All right, then." Chang-li smiled. "I'll see you later, I suppose. Don't work too hard."

  She barked a short laugh. "Look who's talking."

  "It's for the sect," he said seriously.

  "For the sect," she agreed. As he turned and headed for his scribe’s den, she slipped out of Morning Mist’s headquarters.

  She was wearing her best sect robes and carrying a basket under her arm. As soon as she was a few steps past Morning Mist's door, she pulled the length of cloth from the top of the basket and tossed it around her neck. A long, drab woolen cloak fell almost to her ankles. She arranged it over both shoulders, concealing Morning Mist’s distinctive pattern beneath it. She was hot under that heavy layer, but she wasn’t nearly as notable.

  She also had a small book of pages in her basket, written in the Brotherhood's own secret script, and even then, devoid of any clue as to what the words meant. Satisfied she was still on time for her clandestine meeting, Min scuttled off toward town.

  She had spent many hours in the capital by now: paying calls on other sects, attending a few social events, and assisting with the shopping in the markets. Mostly she had stuck to the Rainbow District, where the more well-to-do sects had their holdings, or the Market District. Now, as she entered, she turned north along one of the smaller streets and made her way into the Drab Quarter.

  Here, the buildings were shabbier, without much exterior decoration. They stood three stories tall with narrow windows, looming in toward the street, blocking out much of the afternoon sunshine. Snatches of song and low arguments drifted out of taverns. Shops had paper in their windows, hiding their contents from display. If you were not meant to be here, you wouldn’t find any clues to help you on your way.

  Min knew exactly where she was going. She made her way to a square buried deep in the district. A well stood in the center of the square, with people around drawing water for their jugs. Most of the other districts in the capital had indoor plumbing drawn from the river by lux. Lux filtered and purified the water, and kept the sewage from making people ill. Here, the town's citizens had to fetch their own water and make use of outhouses or a public privy. Someone in this district had the task of emptying those toilets and dealing with the waste.

  That someone likely had a representative with the people Min was about to meet.

  She felt a qualm of conscience and stepped on it hard. She wasn’t going behind Chang-li's back. Noren had asked her to take care of the business of running the sect while he and Chang-li shored up its licenses and training. Chang-li had enough already on his plate without asking him to worry about areas he had no experience in.

  Min rapped three times on the dingy brass plate beside the door. It slid open. A wizened old woman in a faded grey dress ushered her inside without a word.

  This building was a full four stories tall, and Min was directed up to the very top. The whole floor was one enormous room, surprisingly light and airy. Floor-to-ceiling windows stretching all the way across three of the four walls. Rather than paper, they had tight fitting slats that allowed the occupants to observe the street, but not be seen.

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  The floor was covered in neatly woven rugs. Her expert eye detected that they were a bit threadbare but impeccably clean. The fact that none of the rugs matched confirmed her first suspicion; they were second-hand. The furniture, too, was mismatched. A low antique table held a porcelain tea set whose cups had three different patterns on them, but all of the highest quality workmanship. Along one wall ran three chest-high wooden tables. The legs on one were ornately carved, the other two plain, all of different woods and finishes, but covered in an assortment of bottles of wine and spirits. None of the bottles were sealed.

  There were low couches, some square, another with curved arms. None had cushions that matched the rugs. Some of the windows had hangings around them, while one whole wall stood bare.

  Min noticed all of that with a quick sweep of her eyes around the room. Then she focused on the people waiting there for her, who rose from the low couches to greet her.

  Two men, two women. The eldest of the men, about the age of her grandfather Jiang. The younger of the men was barely her brother’s age. The two women both appeared to be in their forties. None of them had a hint of cultivation. Their cores were empty and undefined. These were the sort of people Min had been brought up around.

  She carefully removed her concealing cape, allowing her Morning Mist robes to speak for themselves. The younger man and both women bowed to her; the older man merely inclined his head. Min made her own bow, not as deep as the first three, not as shallow as the old man.

  "Welcome, Guo Min of Morning Mist and the Oaken Band," the oldest man said. "I am Eldest Brother Hong. This is Eldest Sister Dia and Eldest Sister Zhi. Elder Brother Su is here with me."

  Min nodded to each in turn. When he introduced Elder Brother Su, she fixed a sympathetic smile and said, “I had heard of the unfortunate demise of Eldest Brother of the Alley Rats. My condolences, and hope that your Brotherhood chooses again soon."

  She watched their reactions, saw no flicker of surprise. Eldest Brother Hong gestured for her to sit. She perched in a straight-back chair cushioned with a thin gold pad as they regained their seats.

  She knew who each of them and their fraternal organizations were. They knew who she was, and the offer that had been initially made. She had come into their territory for this negotiation. Now it was their turn to make a move in this game. It just remained to be seen whether they were playing shogi, chess, or something much more deadly.

  "First, let us express our admiration for what the Oaken Band has done," Sister Zhi said. "For being in an outer province and not the most powerful, they have made quite a mark.”

  “Of course,” Elder Brother Hong took up. “A Brotherhood inventing a sect is not unheard of. Finding a handful of talented cultivators to head your sect, though...” He inclined his head. "My most sincere admiration to your Eldest Brother."

  Min raised her chin and met each of their gazes. "Before we discuss any further, I must make sure you all understand: Morning Mist is not a front for the Oaken Band Brotherhood. Morning Mist is a sect with roots going back hundreds of years. The sect has fallen on hard times as of late, yes, and my Brotherhood was happy to provide aid and support for them to re-establish themselves. Morning Mist has allowed some members of the Brotherhood to become disciples." She spread her hands, palms upward in an appealing gesture. "In doing so, each member has made an oath to Morning Mist. They are true disciples."

  "Yes, but it is understood that they are not required to relinquish their previous allegiances," Eldest Sister Zhi replied.

  "Relinquish, no," Min shook her head, "but should there be a conflict between the interests of the Brotherhood and the commands of Morning Mist, Morning Mist will prevail.”

  The others appear skeptical, and rightly so. They knew there was no truly leaving the Brotherhood. The Oath of Loyalty had no expiration.

  She leaned forward. “The leadership of the sect is wise enough to be sure no such conflict will ever arise. The debt has been balanced.”

  Now the looks of doubt and confusion were replaced by knowing smiles and a nod.

  In truth, her grandfather had taken advantage of the chaos following the near destruction of the Riceflower to seize command of Varden City with an iron fist. Though the Brotherhood was in name diminished, in truth, every single lesser Brotherhood in the city had been absorbed into the Oaken Band. It was merely more convenient to leave their existing structures in place, at least nominally.

  They had also shored up the city's government, getting their own agents wormed well into place. Morning Mist was a big part of that. Everyone in Varden City knew that Oaken Band members were being trained as cultivators. It was both a promise and a threat.

  Keep in line, and they too might get a chance to learn cultivation. Clash with what the Brotherhood wanted, and a cultivator might swoop down in the middle of the night and take vengeance.

  It was not a precisely comfortable situation for Min, or for the Oaken Band. They were stretched thin. If anyone realized that, it would be hard to prevent an enemy from moving against them.

  Min's allegiances twinged sometimes, but she was Morning Mist through and through. If there were ways she could aid the Oaken Band, she would, but only if it benefited Morning Mist. So she had no qualms of conscience as she spoke to the four. "Because Morning Mist is not a front for any Brotherhood, we are able to potentially offer you aid as well," she said. "Morning Mist offers cultivation training for your members."

  "What good does that do, if they become your members as soon as they're trained?" Brother Su demanded.

  Min wasn’t looking at him, but at Eldest Brother Hong, the person who had a faint smile on his lips. So he understood what she was doing here.

  "You are favored here in the capital with views of powerful sects a hundred times as large as Morning Mist. I am sure you want nothing to do with their squabbles. What I am suggesting is a hidden knot."

  Eldest Brother Hong inclined his head, considering. “A debt unclaimed? An owing in shadows? Interesting.”

  The Brotherhoods operated through the web of debt and the balance of oblation. A debt like the one she was suggesting was something rare but not unheard of. A secret debt had limited use and was more one sided. It held an ominous power, one that clearly had appeal to them.

  "And what is it that you wish in exchange?” Eldest Sister Zhi demanded.

  Min leaned forward. "Personnel. Literate scribes and clerks to assist our senior scribe, for one. For another… as you all know, our senior disciple Joshi is marrying an Indigo Princess next month. We are hosting a fete in their honor."

  There was a murmur. Clearly, that news had not yet gotten out.

  "Morning Mist needs people we can trust to set up the festivities, serve the guests… watch for trouble.”

  She could see all of their minds working and allowed herself just a moment to enjoy being in the presence of proper businesspeople. These were the kind of folk who could manage vast sums in their heads without resorting to advocates and understood the intricacies of scheduling and personnel management.

  For a moment, Min was vaguely nostalgic. But she reminded herself that she had a lot more concern right now and returned to her planning.

  “I think our people are well equipped to help you,” Eldest Brother Hong said. “Speaking for my own Brotherhood, of course.”

  The other three rushed to assure Min of their support. She allowed herself a brief moment of triumph before settling down to work out the details.

  One task down. A thousand more still waiting.