Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Du Min Gyu sat alone inside his tent, sipping tea as he ruminated on the days events, staring at Kai's weapon, all that remained of his disciple. The reports sat in a neat stack at the corner of the table, each page read several times as he had spent the day frantically searching for inconsistencies, and when unable to find any, he had resorted to bullying soldiers, interrogating them as to their whereabouts and the sequence of events that had led to Kai's death.

The story that he had pieced together differed only slightly from the reports, Kai holding the hill as the anvil against the Defiled while Akanai rode in over the river as the hammer, thoroughly routing a cavalry force that outnumbered them with minimal casualties. A clever usage of the odd creatures these barbarians rode, a good stratagem that had worked well, but in the end, the battle had cost Min Gyu his first Disciple, and that was unacceptable to him.

The death should not have come as a great surprise to him. For weeks, he had followed his jade compass, keyed to Kai's blood, forever pointing in his direction since it's creation decades ago, a yearly ritual for him to meet with Kai and his family to refresh it. The compass had stopped working several days ago and he had prepared himself for the worst, but hearing it confirmed so callously had raised an anger in him that he had not thought possible. An old, world-weary man, that he was able to feel so many powerful emotions came as a surprise, and he found himself consumed by them

For all Kai's faults, he was devoted to his family and Min Gyu had been part of it ever since he had accepted little Kai as his first disciple. Smiling at the memory of the young boy kneeling at his doorstep for days on end, begging to be taught by the vaunted Hero of the Empire. Seeing only a spoiled child of luxury, he had dismissed Kai and ignored him for days, but he had not given up, kneeling in the mud and rain, unflinching and unwavering for almost a week before Min Gyu had finally relented, offering to test the boy.

The tests had been harsh and grueling to the extreme, a measure to dissuade Kai, send him back to his mother's teat, ridding Min Gyu of the inconvenience of a disciple. He was a private man, and preferred his solitary life, always training to improve himself and reach the pinnacle of strength, with no time or inclination to deal with others, family or otherwise. The testing went on for weeks, Kai failing over and over again, his clothes torn, his body battered, his pride trampled and still he returned each morning, carrying a home cooked meal for his teacher, always happy to begin the arduous testing.

Somewhere in the midst of all the testing, he had grown fond of the boy, only realizing it after Kai succeeded for the first time, standing in horse stance for three hours, carry buckets of sand in the sweltering heat. The jubilation on the boys face had been mirrored in his heart, and without understanding why, he had immediately told the boy to kneel and kowtow, formally naming Kai his first disciple.

Kai had grown into a dutiful and powerful young man under his tutelage and had repaid him by treating him as an esteemed family member. He had swelled with pride at Kai's promotions through the ranks, sat at a seat of honor during his wedding, and been the first to hold his son at the full month's ceremony. Now that prideful, stubborn boy had died a man, a soldier, killed in battle with not even a corpse left behind, and Min Gyu had lost the closest thing to a son that he would ever have.

Without little Jin Tok here, there was no one to perform the funeral rites at Kai's final resting place of his disciple, to kneel in place for seven days, keeping incense lit at all times, and pray once every seven days after. To send slaves to do so would be an empty gesture and, as his Mentor, his hands were tied in the matter. How could the Mentor kneel for the disciple, or wail in public at his passing?

In a fit of rage, he smashed aside the teapot, sending it hurling to the ground, his cup following soon after. Breathing heavily, he sat in his chair and held back his tears as Kyung entered the tent to ensure there was no threat, before quickly scurrying about to pick up the shattered pieces of porcelain and tea leaves, soaking up the water with his cloak, all in complete silence. After the mess was cleaned, Kyung signaled that all was ready and quickly stepped out, as Min Gyu allowed his tears to flow freely, the private display of weakness all that he could afford his Disciple.

There would be a reckoning for his death, Min Gyu would make sure of it. Composing himself, he stepped out of his tent, directing his attentions to the aide that had been provided to him. Instead of lowering himself to speak to her, he spoke to Kyung. Have the little aide guide us to where my Disciple died. His venerated status had been greeted by a mere Senior Captain, who then fobbed off this half-beast child on him, all a backhanded slight to his honor but he kept his temper. If blood was to flow, he would not spare a single one, but he would need justifiable and defensible reason to do so.

The girl led him dutifully through the camp and across the hill without a word, a slave following at her heels. He took stock of the camp as they strolled easily, his hip throbbing in pain after the day of rest. Odd how the body could push on when there was need but now that he had rested, it was all the more difficult to continue, age having rendered his body weak and frail.

While there were some deficiencies in the camp that could be easily fixed, overall he was quite surprised by how defensible the location had been made. A high hill overlooking a grassy field, water in two directions, and mountains in a third left only a single approach for most standard armies. The tents were neatly clustered together in the middle of camp, surrounded by cooking fires and defensive emplacements, fences, ditches, and embankments, all positioned to hide the light from their fires. Open areas to the north and south housed their furred mounts, complacent animals that groomed each other in groups, making squeaking noises of contentment as they sunned themselves upon the grass. Wonderfully stable creatures to ride, nothing like being bounced around on horseback, he decided that he would procure a few for the return home.

The mood of the camp was one of relaxed efficiency, the mercenaries and soldiers working together with little disruption, keeping the camp safe and ordered. Idle soldiers gambled in groups and moped alone as they were inclined to do, many moving out of the way or stopping in their tracks to offer a salute, but the barbarian mercenaries hardly batted an eye at his passing, not even moving aside, requiring his guards to forcibly clear the way through the crowds.

After a particularly heated encounter in which his guards almost came to blows with the mercenaries, the situation defused with a word from their tiny guide, Kyung approached his elbow, projecting his deep, gravelly voice for all to hear. Master, these savages disrespect you with their actions. Allow this lowly slave to kill a few and educate them on how to properly greet a man of your venerated status. Glaring viciously at the mercenaries, Kyung was growling once again, unable to contain his inner beast. His slave's eagerness for blood almost brought a smile to his face as he toyed with the thought of allowing his guards to vent their frustrations. They had spent weeks upon the dusty roads, traveling with all haste, following his compass without detour through thick forests and hills, abandoning their horses days ago, the beasts no longer able to continue through the terrain. Between the bugs and wild beasts, as well as the constant threat of ambush, none of them were in any mood to be slighted.

The little aide quickly produced a chair for Akanai and was dismissed with a wave, moving back to watch the proceedings along with the other mercenaries. He continued to eat his noodles, studying his opponent, sizing up this barbarian general. Dressed in soft, black leather armor lined with black fur, her clothing seemed a second skin, her leggings almost indecent. With strong facial features and a stern bearing, she sat with her back ramrod straight yet still giving the illusion of being at ease, her fingers interlocked atop the table, staring right into his eyes. Her attitude demanded obedience, her gaze sharp and confrontational, she was a beautiful and thorny flower, emanating with pride and anger.

Sighing inwardly, Min Gyu offered a small complaint to the Mother at the injustice she inflicted upon her natural children. This woman was older than he yet appeared young enough to be his great granddaughter. He envied the long lives of the half-beasts, something he grew more bitter over as age continued to rob him of his strength, but what good was long life without family to share it with? The lesson had been learned too late, and now he was left with nothing but a worthless weapon, a stark reminder of the boy he had raised and the man that he had become.

Putting aside his grumblings, he continued to eat in leisure as the silence wore on, comfortable in the status quo, enjoying the inaudible power struggle between the two of them, a worthy opponent. Her attitude spoke volumes, that she had come to meet him not because he had demanded it, but because she wished it, and was waiting for him to acknowledge and greet her. However, to greet her first meant that he took a weaker position, but he could tell that she was stubborn enough to sit here all night.

Unfortunately for her, so was he, and he was far more practiced with veiled insults and silent struggles. Motioning to one of his still conscious slaves, he signaled for more food to be brought to feed both himself and the General, as well as the little aide and her slave, flipping the situation. No longer was he a guest in her camp, but rather she a guest at his table. She took the gesture in stride, whether graciously accepting the change in position or just accepting the food, he could not tell. A worthy opponent.

His dinner finished and his hip twinging in pain, he had one of his slaves fetch his pipe, packing it full and leisurely puffing away, enjoying the sweet, musky smoke, letting the medicine do its work and relieve his pain as he reminisced of better times spent with better company. The little aide once again set up her game of chess and a sharp look from him set her to grumbling, but a second look from Akanai had her sheepishly putting the board game away as she whispered condolences to her slave. Foolish child, playing at being friends with her slave. A slave's place was to serve and to treat her as a friend would give rise in resentment and unhappiness when ordered to carry out unpleasant tasks. Better to have clear delineations in treatment and allow the slave to know her place.

His mood lightened as he continued to smoke beneath the heavenly canopy of stars, staring up into the stars of the night sky, wondering if Kai was looking down upon him at this very moment. A story he had heard in his youth, some claimed that the stars were windows to the Mother's cove, where she stayed and watched over her children and creations, the twinkling stars signs that she was looking through her windows at them. It was a child's fancy, but as good an explanation as any. Perhaps they were giant ever-burning fires, to light up the night sky, an even more fanciful idea, causing him to chortle to himself.

His attentions returned to the little aide, standing silently behind Akanai with a sulky pout upon her face, her slave clutching the chess set to her chest, her little cat ears pressed against her head. He rather liked the expressive ears and tails of half-beasts, amusing to him to see their emotions so openly displayed. Cocking his head, he studied her oddly familiar face, unable to place where he had seen her before. His pipe in his mouth, he continued to smoke in peace, his mind fixated on identifying the girl.

On the floor where his guards had moved him, Kyung groaned quietly as he regained consciousness, his head in his hands as he tried to stand. Quickly looking at his prized slave to ascertain his condition, his memory jolted in recognition of the little aide's slave. Slapping hard against the table, he roared in delight. Of course, of course, you are of the same lineage as Kyung! I bought and trained you for Jin Tok, you were to protect him during the contest, a talented little slave. What are you doing here? A goofy grin was spread across his face, delighted that he had remembered who she was, but he quickly returned to a stoic, stern look, anger quickly rising up in his chest.

These Father-damned barbarians let Kai die alone and then they plundered his valuables? They stole his slave and flaunted her in front of him! Smacking the table once more, he broke the tiny piece of travel furniture and roared, this time in anger. You will return Kai's property to me immediately or I will see you all dead!

Summoning the Divine Wind, the air around him began to move, slowly, ponderously, slowly building up speed as he readied himself to lash out and kill. These savages had no respect for the dead, and he would pile their corpses upon Kai's death grounds as high as they would stack, a tribute in honor of his memory.

Standing tall, he watched as Akanai narrowed her eyes, still seated and calm. I refuse. Li Song is a Khishig and -

Then die. The world exploded into motion as everyone reacted to his words, and a tranquil vigil quickly degenerated into chaos and violence.

Excellent. He needed to work out a few of his frustrations.

Chapter Meme