"Someone is talking about me," Li Yu muttered while rubbing his nose.

  "They are," Meilin agreed. Her hearing was of course sharp enough to catch the whispers from three tables away. She was enjoying every second of it. "Current consensus is that you are my secret lover whom I am grooming to be the next Patriarch."

  Li Yu choked on his wine. "What?" He had been trying on purpose to not hear all the conversations so he wasn’t aware.

  "Some vote for 'secret son'," Meilin added helpfully while picking at a grape. "But 'boy toy' is leading the polls by a significant margin. They think I keep you around for your... aesthetic value."

  Li Yu began listening and looked at the disciples. They quickly looked away, pretending to be very interested in their rice bowls or a bug that had appeared. They were of course just gossiping and having fun. No one meant any harm or was bad mouthing on purpose.

  "This is bad for my reputation," Li Yu groaned. "Surprisingly not the strangest thing about me that I have heard but definitely sets me in a bad light."

  "Statistically," Bai Ruo interjected. She finally looked up from her moon-cake which she had now disassembled into its component crumbs. "Being perceived as the consort of a powerful Matriarch increases your social standing. It implies cunning, virility and high-level social maneuvering skills. It is a net positive for you."

  "Thank you, Bai Ruo," Li Yu sighed. "That makes me feel much better. Being a trophy husband was always my backup plan."

  Si Luo was laughing softly behind her hand. "Embrace it, Li Yu. You have worked hard. Being a 'boy toy' is a restful profession. You just have to look pretty and accept gifts. What more could anyone want?"

  "I hate all of you," Li Yu grumbled at them though he was smiling.

  He pulled out his communication token to do some serious business.

  He infused Qi into the token.

  "Commander?" Sect Master Zhou’s voice crackled through. "Is everything alright?"

  "Everything is okay. Good news actually." Li Yu said casually. "Listen, Zhou. I need you to update the guest list for the Founding Banquet."

  "Of course. Who should we add? More local clans?"

  "The Divine Wind Sect," Li Yu said. "Matriarch Feng Meilin and her entourage."

  There was a long silence on the other end. Li Yu could hear the sound of something heavy dropping, likely a stack of scrolls.

  "The... Divine Wind Sect?" Zhou’s voice squeaked, pitching up an octave. "One of the Three Great Sects? That Divine Wind Sect?"

  "Yes. That one."

  "Commander... how?" Zhou sounded faint. "Did you threaten them? Did you kidnap someone? Did you accidentally destroy one of their mountains?"

  "No!" Li Yu looked offended. They had clearly seen too much of his heavy handed tactics during their time with him. "Why does everyone assume I destroyed something? I made friends! We're allies now. They're going to back the Alliance of the Jagged Peaks so we get a chance to grow."

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  "Allies..." Zhou breathed. "Heavens. Commander, you haven’t been gone for long. How do you accidentally ally with a superpower?"

  "I have a charming personality," Li Yu said with some pride. "Just send the formal invite. Make it fancy. Use the good paper. The ones infused with spirit-scent."

  "Understood, Commander! I will write it myself! I will use the gold-dust ink! I will have it delivered by our fastest disciple!"

  "Calm down, Zhou. Just make it nice. Li Yu out."

  He cut the connection.

  "He sounds stressed," Meilin noted.

  "He worries too much," Li Yu shrugged. "He thinks I solve every problem with violence."

  "To be fair," Si Luo noted. "You do solve problems with significant violence. You, like the Meilin, punch your way out of things."

  "That was defensive violence," Li Yu clarified. "Totally different. It was tactical. There’s a deeper meaning behind all of my actions. You just need to be smart enough to see it." Li Yu concluded as he was lying between his teeth.

  The feast continued deep into the night.

  The alcohol flowed freely. The initial shyness of the disciples wore off, replaced by liquid courage. Some of the bolder ones approached the head table to toast their Matriarch and get a closer look at the "mysterious boy toy."

  Li Yu, to his credit, was a gracious guest. He drank with them. He listened to their stories about wind-surfing accidents and bad breakups. He even showed a few of them a simple trick to stabilize their Qi flow during flight, which instantly elevated him from "boy toy" to "useful boy toy" in their eyes.

  Meilin watched him. She saw how he interacted with the juniors, though many were actually older than he was. He did so without arrogance and without distance. He laughed at their jokes and treated them like people, not ants. It wasn’t that common with people that had power like he did, at least not with members of an organization that wasn’t his own.

  It was rare. Most experts of his caliber wouldn't deign to speak to an outer disciple, let alone drink with one. Not only was he speaking to them, he seemed genuinely interested in what they were saying. He was always looking to learn.

  "You picked a good one," Meilin whispered to her daughter, Feng Xi, who was sitting beside her.

  "I didn't pick him, Mother," Feng Xi blushed. "He saved us."

  "Fate picked him," Meilin corrected. "He is leaving tomorrow. It is a shame. The sect will feel quiet without him."

  "We will see him at the Banquet," Feng Xi reminded her. "And he promised to visit again when he could."

  "True," Meilin smiled. She was watching Li Yu demonstrate a card trick to a group of wide-eyed disciples. "And I intend to make an entrance at this banquet. If we are to be allies, the Divine Wind Sect must show the world exactly how much we value the alliance."

  She stood up and was raising her cup one last time.

  "Disciples!"

  The plaza went silent instantly. The crackle of the blue flames was the only sound.

  "Tonight we celebrate victory! We celebrate those that were successful during the war. But tomorrow, we prepare! The Divine Wind Sect has a new ally! The Alliance of the Jagged Peaks!"

  A ripple of confusion went through the crowd. They had never heard of it. It sounded small.

  "They are young!" Meilin shouted. "But they are led by the man sitting beside me! A man who crushed our enemies during the war and saved my blood! So hear me! His friends are our friends! His enemies are our enemies!"

  "Hoorah!" The disciples cheered. They didn't really care about the geopolitics of the Alliance of the Jagged Peaks. Most weren’t in a position that it would matter to them at all. They just knew that the guy who taught them Qi tricks was now like family.

  Li Yu stood up and bowed to the crowd.

  "Thank you!" he called out. "If you're ever near the Jagged Peaks, drinks are on me!"

  The cheer was deafening.

  As the moon climbed high, bathing the floating islands in silver light, Li Yu sat back down, feeling a warmth that had nothing to do with the wine.

  He had started this journey alone. Now, he had a Guild, an alliance and friends in high places.

  "Not a bad speech for a boy toy," Si Luo whispered in his ear.

  Li Yu kicked her under the table. "Shut up."

  Meilin laughed at the scene. The sounds of laughter and celebration carrying on the wind, a promise of good times to come.