Claddings of Light : Book 12 of Painting the Mists Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Author’s Note and Acknowledgments

  Dedication

  Previously in Painting the Mists

  Prologue

  Chapter 1: Pressure

  Chapter 2: Undercurrents

  Chapter 3: Zheng

  Chapter 4: Chased

  Chapter 5: The House of Mirrors

  Chapter 6: Plans

  Chapter 7: Shimmerwing City

  Chapter 8: Research

  Chapter 9: Bifang

  Chapter 10: Fighting Blind

  Chapter 11: The Kennels

  Chapter 12: Speed Learning

  Chapter 13: Auction

  Chapter 14: Runic Cauldron

  Chapter 15: Hidden Enemies

  Chapter 16: Demonstration

  Chapter 17: A Taste for Mayhem

  Chapter 18: The Five Burnings

  Chapter 19: Ashes

  Chapter 20: The Alligator and the Crackling Crane

  Chapter 21: What Friends are For

  Chapter 22: Old Tricks

  Chapter 23: Instinct

  Chapter 24: Progress

  Chapter 25: Break-In

  Chapter 26: Fallout

  Chapter 27: State of Mind

  Chapter 28: Rend the Mind, Flay the Spirit

  Chapter 29: Rescue

  Chapter 30: Stacked Odds

  Chapter 31: Darkness

  Chapter 32: The Fox and the Piper

  Chapter 33: Dazzling Light of the Weeping Flame

  Chapter 34: Prize

  Chapter 35: A Year in Ten Days

  Chapter 36: Traps

  Chapter 37: Battle

  Chapter 38: Claddings of Light

  Chapter 39: The Way

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  A Note to Readers

  Further Reading

  The Cultivation Systems

  Claddings of Light

  Book 12 of Painting the Mists

  by Patrick G. Laplante

  Copyright © 2021 by Patrick G. Laplante

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of brief quotations in a book. Requests for permission should be addressed to the publisher.

  Claddings of Light is a work of fiction. Names, organizations, places, and incidents portrayed in this novella are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual, events, locales, or persons is purely coincidental.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  Published by: Patrick G. Laplante

  First edition, 2021

  ISBN: 978-1-989578-20-9

  Other Painting the Mists books:

  Clear Sky

  Blood Moon

  Light in the Darkness

  Pure Jade

  Corrupted Crimson

  Kindling

  Shifting Tides

  Shattered Lands

  Edge of Oblivion

  Words of Creation

  Crown of the Starry Sky

  Claddings of Light

  Echoes of Divinity (Forthcoming)

  Author’s Note and Acknowledgments

  I don’t have much to say this time around, so I’ll keep it short. I’m currently between Draft 2 and Draft 3 of Painting the Mists 12: Echoes of Divinity and looking forward to taking a small vacation. Life is good, and summer is upon us, though I’ll miss the spring. Not because it’s intrinsically good, but because I don’t like winter.

  The same can be said for moods and their cycles. Sometimes, people just hit a winter in life, and when spring comes along, it’s a wonderful feeling. There’s nothing better than the feeling of being on an upswing, as much as the high point, summer, feels nice.

  But that’s enough of a tangent. You want to read the book, and I don’t want to stop you, so I’ll proceed to the obligatory thanks. Thank you to my wife, Xing Wen, for encouraging me on my journey. Thank you to my parents for supporting me and actually reading my books. Thank you to my brothers and my sister and all of my friends.

  This book’s beta readers were Aljoscha Volk, Drew Kennedy, John Wilson, Peter Zandvliet, and a new addition, Carson Tews. The feedback was comprehensive, and I had to make a lot of changes this time around. So good job, guys. I’m sure this book is all the better for it.

  Many thanks to Crystal Watanabe again for her editing of the series. Thank you to Samuel Alves for the wonderful cover. I wasn’t sure how you were going to incorporate iridescence and alchemy into a cover, but it looks epic.

  Last but not least, thank you to my readers. I write to tell people stories, and a story is worth nothing if it isn’t shared. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it.

  Cheers,

  Patrick G. Laplante

  To the broken, who are just trying to catch a break and piece things together.

  Previously in Painting the Mists

  Cha Ming and friends have safely arrived in the Burning Lake Prefecture after disrupting the plans of the White-Eyed Tiger Clan and slaying Dao God Ember Lake. Wei Longshen returns to his clan while Cha Ming keeps to the Kingfisher Guard. Though he would love to roam freely, Ember Lake’s father, Lord Dripping Blade, is stalking his every move. The Guard is the only entity that can keep him safe.

  Unfortunately, their protection only extends so far. Lord Dripping Blade and Lord Burning Lake share a complex relationship, and the law is on their side. They attempt to capture and kill Cha Ming and Huxian, who are able to use their deeply hidden abilities to escape. On his return to the Kingfisher Guard, Cha Ming receives an offer they can’t refuse from a man named Captain Xing.

  A spot in the prestigious Crimson Division has opened up, and as long as Cha Ming joins, he will enjoy comprehensive protection. He is offered a mission with far-reaching consequences as an entrance exam. The mission starts with only a single hint: to investigate the disappearance of caravans to the north of the Burning Lake Prefecture.

  To complete this mission, Cha Ming recruits a small team of elite individuals: Dao God Killjoy, Daoist Crying Toad, and Daoist Special Night. Huxian, Lei Jiang, and Silverwing, as well as a member of the Golden Dragon, Shneraz, join him as well. Mi Fei, Yu Wen’s reincarnation and Daoist Eternal Song’s ex-fiancée, also applies for the mission along with her demon companion, Xiao Bai. Though he initially rejects her, he is forced to ask for her forgiveness. He needs all the help can get to complete this mission.

  Using Dao God Killjoy’s information network, they set up an ambush for the raiders targeting caravans traveling to the Star-Eye Clan and the Iridescent Clan. They manage to disrupt the raids, but the key culprits escape. What remains are a few hints: the involvement of the White-Eyed Tiger Clan, the participation of a member of the Golden Dragon Clan, and a chance encounter with Silver Fish, who has secretly been disrupting the raiders. Their target is a strange group of variant Star-Eye Monkey clansmen called the inkborn.

  Cha Ming, Shneraz, Mi Fei, and Xiao Bai travel to the Star-Eye Clan while the others gather information and protect the inkborn in the Burning Lake Prefecture. Cha Ming and Shneraz discuss the matter with the Stargazer Chieftain and uncover a deep-seated hatred between their clan and the Iridescent Clan. Mi Fei and Xiao Bai discover the importance of the inkborn from an exhausted elder. The situation in the Star-Eye Clan isn’t a good one. The warrior caste has suppressed the builder caste and is thirsting for battle. It’s only a matter of time before a large-scale conflict erupts.

  Upon thei
r return to the Burning Lake Prefecture, Cha Ming discovers that the inkborn demons they rescued are a handful. Huxian and friends have been guarding them and trying to put them to good use in Gua and Mr. Mountain’s tailor shop. Unfortunately, they are different than normal monkey demons. After much experimentation, Cha Ming discovers that they are proficient in runic arts thanks to a timely runic puzzle he receives from an old teacher from the mortal realms, Elder Ling. The inkborn have a talent for creating enchanted cloth with ink and runes.

  Eventually, the caravan raids begin once again. This time, members of the Iridescent Phoenix Clan go missing. Cha Ming and friends journey to the Li Clan, the owners of the caravan, to find answers. While there’s something suspicious going on, they fail to uncover anything concrete. They can only pursue another lead.

  Cha Ming follows Shneraz and Special Night’s instructions and visits the member of the Golden Dragon Clan they intercepted in the raid. She goes by the alias Pale Lady and lives in the slums. Contrary to what he expected, she is a sickly demon and denies any wrongdoing. Moreover, the law is on her side.

  Cha Ming leaves her with information to consider, as well as the hidden spirit of the Clockwork Ancestor. On his way out, he is ambushed by a group of powerful criminals. He only escapes thanks to quick thinking by Mi Fei and some tricks with the Space-time Camera. While Cha Ming fights poison from a stab wound, Mi Fei takes the opportunity to browse the Space-time Camera, shattering a seal separating this life’s memories from her past life’s.

  They ultimately survive the altercation, and since time is short, they immediately visit a representative of the Iridescent Clan. There, they discover an old grudge between the Li Clan and the Golden Dragon Clan, as well as an antagonistic relationship between the Star-Eye Monkey Clan and the Iridescent Phoenix Clan.

  The Iridescent Clan holds the Star-Eye Clan responsible for the raids and their captured clansmen. They are on the brink of declaring war. Before they can even think of setting out to stop it, however, they discover that the Pale Lady is in trouble. Confused by Cha Ming’s revelations, she went to investigate the Li Clan, whom she was working for. There, she discovered a shocking secret. Demons, especially inkborn, are being gathered like livestock and sent to secret locations. The Golden Dragon Clan agrees to part with precious dragon metals, which are essential to their clan’s development and monopolized by the Li Clan, to heal Serrendil, the Pale Lady’s true name. In doing so, they discover that she, like the strange Star-Eye clansmen, is an inkborn demon.

  As much as they want to pursue this link with the Li Clan, there’s no time to waste. Cha Ming takes Huxian and a portion of their companions to head over to the Star-Eye Clan to prevent war while Silver Fish and Killjoy hunt down the caravan raiders using a special tracking poison. The Star-Eye Clan refuses to compromise, and Sun Wukong is forced to step in as an elder of the Monkey Clan and uses his King’s Crown as collateral to send Cha Ming and Huxian to the Star-Eye Ancestor’s inheritance trial. As for the remainder of the group, they are required to stall for time.

  The first trial is a strange maze with no obvious path forward. Using a hint from the Star-Eye Ancestor, Cha Ming discovers a way to focus his Eyes of Truth and track karma. This culminates in an ability that can be used to see through disguises. As a reward for his effort, Cha Ming is gifted with the Sage’s constellation and a vision ability, Sage’s Sight, which grants him enhanced intuition.

  The second trial is a fight against his mirror self. Cha Ming uses the energy in Sun Wukong’s King’s Crown to channel starlight and increase his mental capacity. He uses this boost to fuse three concepts and optimize his techniques. Since he isn’t used to the strain of starlight, however, his mind shatters in the process. Thousands of divergent thoughts run wild.

  Cha Ming is ultimately able to break free, but only at the cost of Sun Wukong’s crown. He uses his gains to defeat his mirror self and advance to the next trial. His reward is the untainted marrow from the Star-Eye Ancestor’s Tree of Life. The third trial still remains.

  To pass the third trial, Cha Ming must endure a baptism of starlight and condense his own king’s crown. He channels the starlight into his marrow, modifying his internal universe, and in doing so, gains a divine ability: Crown of the Starry Sky. He uses this moment of enlightenment to gain the Concept of Starry Sky but also improves his cultivation method, his techniques, and advances his cultivation to the late-rune-carving realm. Then, together with Huxian, who has similarly advanced, he returns to the mortal world.

  Following to the Star-Eye Clan’s post-feast tradition, Cha Ming’s friends have been fighting. Serrendil, Xiao Bai, and Silverwing have already been defeated, and Mi Fei is barely holding on. Cha Ming arrives just in time, and now, a final battle must take place: a fight to the death between himself and the Stargazer Chieftain.

  The Stargazer Chieftain is far stronger than Cha Ming, and he is only able to defeat him using the authority granted to him by the Crown of the Starry Sky. He spares the chieftain, and upon finishing his battle, he discovers a disturbing fact: Silver Fish and the others have interrupted a ceremony, whereby members of the White-Eyed Tiger Clan forcefully retrieve the ink from inkborn demons to gain stripes and become rakshasa.

  Ultimately, Cha Ming brings the Star-Eye Clan to battle, but before the battle can even begin, he colludes with the First Feather of the Iridescent Phoenix Clan to expose imposters in their midst using his newly obtained ability to see karma and unravel disguises. Several elders on each side are long dead and have been replaced by hated rakshasa demons, which have been instigating a war between once-friendly clans. A bloody battle ensues, but they are successful in eliminating these traitors. But that is far from enough to resolve Cha Ming’s mission.

  War has been averted. Cha Ming and friends return to the prefecture. On their way there, Cha Ming convinces Captain Xing to arrest all members of the Li Clan. Using his ability to unravel disguises and the help of a high-ranking truth watcher, Cha Ming exposes an unprecedented rakshasa infiltration of humanity. The infiltrators refused to be taken as prisoners and self-destruct, completely annihilating the Li Clan in the process.

  With this, the case is closed. Cha Ming and his team have achieved great merit. Unfortunately, this means that the members of his team are no longer shielded by Captain Xing. In order to protect his friends, especially Silver Fish, from retribution from the prefecture lords, Cha Ming exchanges his companion’s safety for an agreed-upon death match in six months’ time with both Lord Dripping Blade and Lord Burning Lake, who are substantially stronger than he is.

  The crisis is averted, and Cha Ming once again finds room to breathe. Adventuring with Mi Fei, Yu Wen’s reincarnation, has strengthened a fragile relationship and weakened Mi Fei’s resolve to remain with Wei Longshen. Little did either of them know that during their absence, Wei Longshen fought his family for the right to restore their previous engagement, and in the process, uncovered hidden strength. Mi Fei is touched by his commitment, and the two get back together. Cha Ming, not wanting to interfere in their personal happiness, yields the field.

  Which is all the better, because the six-month appointment approaches, and Cha Ming is far from confident. He must dedicate himself to training to stand a chance at defeating them. Moreover, the prefecture lords have used the rakshasa incursion as a pretext to invade the demon lands. War has erupted, and for Cha Ming and friends, it’s very personal.

  Prologue

  It was early in the evening when the storm struck, flooding the streets of the Burning Lake Prefecture with wind and water and mud and sleet. The rain was uncommonly strong, to the point that even the city’s rune-worked sewers couldn’t keep up. All available street cleaners, sewage workers, and plumbers were hard at work salvaging what they could. Yet the prefecture lords simply watched them, not deigning to help.

  Even the city watch was fully occupied. Such a large malfunction could result in the deaths of tens of thousands. The wealthier districts weren’t at risk—they had
been built with such weather in mind. Instead, the watch focused their attention on the poorer districts. Even then, some areas had to be prioritized. The demon districts lost out in this exchange, as they always did.

  Barriers broke and basements flooded. Huge gushes of rainwater punished new cultivators brimming with misplaced confidence. Scores of innocent mortals drowned. The prefecture lords could have saved them, but they did not. They watched it all happen, not assisting, even now.

  “You don’t get storms like these very often, do you?” Prefecture Lord Dripping Blade asked from his vantage point at the window. He was a tall hook-nosed man who stood with a straight back as he looked down indifferently at the struggle below. His once-black hair was streaked with gray, his son’s recent death having taken its toll.

  As for Burning Lake himself, he was a wonderfully contradictory man. To the casual observer, he was relaxed and kindly. He even acted the part. He usually kept his dark-blue hair in a loose braid, and his eyes radiated warmth, as did his smile. Those who knew him, however, saw the passionate flames burning deep within his eyes. He was a bundle of repressed emotions contained in a calm outer shell.

  He was also much stronger than Lord Dripping Blade. After all, he was a Dao God, both a middle-rune-gathering cultivator and a middle-muscle-empowering body refiner. Mere Daoists or demigods of the same rank couldn’t hold a candle to him. It was for this reason, he guessed, rather than mere familial ties through his sister, that Dripping Blade had tied his fate to him.

  “Once a century,” Prefecture Lord Burning Lake answered. He sat at a small tea table with his own personal pot and personal cup. He poured none for Lord Dripping Blade, as he now knew the picky man didn’t enjoy the beverage as much as he pretended to. “Mortals forget, but cultivators like us remember. The ones who don’t perish will learn, only to forget it all when another century passes.”