Book 5: Chapter 42: Prove It

Book 5: Chapter 42: Prove It

Yan Zixin sat alone in a tea shop, watching the foot traffic of the capital city move by in great waves. A few people had tried to invite themselves to sit with him, young women mostly, but one particularly ardent young man as well. He had fended them off as kindly as he could. He might have welcomed company at another time. He enjoyed conversation and mortals were often surprisingly good at it. He supposed not spending months or even years at a time in near-total seclusion kept them in better practice. For once, though, he was too distracted for that kind of verbal play. More and more over the last months, his mind had turned back to that brief, unbelievably hostile encounter hed had with the man some called Lu Sen and some called Judgments Gale.

Zixin had heard stories about him traveling with companions, but those stories had been muddled and contradictory. Some claimed he traveled with a bevy of beautiful women, others claimed that he traveled in a small group that had both men and women. The woman who had been with him certainly had been beautiful, hauntingly so if Zixin was being honest with himself. Yet, she had been even less receptive to his presence than Lu Sen had been. The whole situation had left him baffled and off-kilter. The stories about the man had not done him justice, nor proven adequate preparation for that initial meeting. The stories painted a picture of a man as likely to work kind miracles as deliver terror. Yet, the man Zixin met had been all terror and no kindness. Looking back, he could tell that hed botched that introduction and botched it badly. He had poisoned the well by presenting himself as something other than he was.

Most people would have forgiven the minor deception once they learned who he was and what he wanted, but the conversation had never gotten that far. Lu Sen Zixin shook his head. No, that man had been Judgments Gale. The kind of man who could bully two sects into an unwanted peace. The kind of man who could call down the wrath of nascent soul cultivators on his enemies. The kind of man who could singlehandedly change the leadership in a kingdom with one damn meeting that, by all accounts, lasted less than twenty minutes. Zixin suspected that Lu Sen was the man who bestowed kindnesses on children, restored the elderly to youthful vigor, and dragged the mortally wounded back from the shores of death. He hadnt met that man. That man might have been willing to have a conversation with him.

Once he became aware of the deception, Judgments Gale was done with him. And it was all so stupidly unnecessary. Zixin hadnt actually wanted anything from the man. At least, not in the ways that Lu Sen had assumed. Although, in hindsight, it was abundantly clear that many others had abused what little trust the man had in his soul. Zixin had even heard some stories and rumors about that as well, but he hadnt given them enough consideration. Hed just assumed that the stories were overblown or that Judgments Gale would be more reasonable. Maybe he should have thought a little harder about that folk hero name. It wasnt the kind of name that suggested someone was reasonable. It made him sound more like a force of nature, and thats certainly how hed come across. Zixin had, foolishly, acted like his superior cultivation level was a trump card. That had been the moment he became aware of exactly how minor of a threat Lu Sen considered him. The man hadnt acted like he thought that he could probably beat Zixin if the fight dragged on long enough. That response could be understood in someone with a lot of strength and skill.

Lu Sen had treated victory as a foregone conclusion. It wasnt just that he was ignoring their cultivation difference. He had seen that difference and considered Zixins threat level as trivial. That kind of magnificent indifference and confidence in victory only stemmed from experience and a lot of it. That had forced Zixin to the very uncomfortable conclusion that Judgments Gale really had killed scores of cultivators who were, on paper at least, more powerful. There was always an element of doubt about what people had or hadnt done when you heard about them through stories. The revelation that it might all be true had forced him to abandon the whole encounter because, the longer it went on, the more certain Zixin had become that Lu Sen was right.

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Since Zixin hadnt gone there to start a fight, it was the only path left open to him. If he had it to do all over again, hed have taken a very different approach. It might not have succeeded, but it probably also wouldnt have closed off so many other possible avenues. Still, he was stuck with the situation that he had created for himself. If he was going to win the man over, he was going to have to do it the hard way. He just wished that he knew that pursuing that goal was for the best. Hed been told it was for the best and that they would both benefit from establishing a friendship, but divination was murky at best. The future was predictable to some extent, but it was also mutable. He had to accept the possibility that his mishandling of the situation might have pruned away that potential future. That drew a frustrated grunt and a bit of soft muttering.

Damnable divination.

When? she asked.

A few months ago.

Alive?

That struck Zixin as a particularly odd question. Yes. In fact, I got the distinct impression that man would prove particularly difficult to kill.

Prove it.

Zixin floundered for several seconds. Prove it?

How?

Tell me what happened. In detail.

Deception hadnt gotten him anywhere with Lu Sen. He hoped that honesty would get him farther with her. So, he started talking.