Sen stared at the two cultivators who had been sent to him. Young, thought Sen. I’m not that much older than either of them. He noticed that both of them looked petrified. They stood as straight as they possibly could and both were sweating. He supposed that this was exactly the kind of attention that neither of them wanted. In all likelihood, they were probably hoping to impress him one day with their prowess. Instead, they’d gotten into trouble and found themselves facing the final authority in the academy. He could send them away with a word. He didn’t need to explain himself or give any reason. He could just demand they leave and never return. For that matter, he could kill them without bothering to offer an explanation. A fact that was probably foremost in their thoughts. The worst part was that he didn’t think he needed to ask any questions. He was pretty sure he already knew the problem.
One of the cultivators was a heavily built young man who could have been Tong Qianfan’s nephew. The other was a studious-looking girl who appeared positively underfed. It was alarming enough that Sen decided it was a matter he needed to look into separately. Still, he was pretty sure that he knew where each student put their loyalty. Sen sighed. The young man flinched, and the girl’s eyes went wide. You’d think I just announced their executions, Sen grumbled internally. Picking at random, he pointed at the boy.
“Explain the problem,” he ordered.
The young man opened his mouth, got an expression that suggested he’d forgotten how words worked, and suddenly lurched into a bow so deep that he had to be looking at the floor. The whole thing amused Sen a little, but he kept it off his face. The kid was obviously terrified. If Sen laughed at him, the kid’s heart might stop. The young man straightened from his bow and very obviously chose his words with care.
“Patriarch, I’m sure this matter is unworthy of your attention.”
“I agree,” said Sen, “but it has my attention. So, out with it.”
The young man licked his lips, took a deep breath, and said, “Disciple He spoke ill of Master Tong. I objected to it.”
Sen decided not to correct him on the use of the term disciple. It was a sect now, even if Sen didn’t call it one. Well, that was a political answer if I’ve ever heard one, thought Sen. He turned to the skinny young woman.
“Explain the problem.”
The girl, probably taking her cue from the young man, also offered one of those ridiculous bows. Once she was standing straight again, she audibly swallowed.
“Patriarch,” she said, “Disciple Chew called Master Lan’s character into question. I simply attempted to correct his ignorance.”
Not as political, but still careful, thought Sen. I guess I should have expected this.
“What very concise answers,” said Sen, pinning them both in place with a hard look.
He did not give them his hardest look. He wanted them worried, not actively in fear for their lives. Even so, they both lost some of the color in their faces.
“And which of you made the first remark?” asked Sen.
The girl shot the young man a triumphant look. He hung his head.
“I did,” he said.
“You should both consider yourself one very minor mistake away from being told to leave,” he finally said.
Both students wore expressions of relief and fear.
“Thank you, Patriarch,” said the girl.
The young man hastily echoed her words.
Sen considered them both before he said, “Loyalty has its place, but it should never be blind. Lan Shu and Tong Qianfan are both flawed. As are the pair of you. As am I. That being said, it is unwise to speak ill of those who have the power to end you out of hand. It is particularly unwise to do so where others might hear it. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
Sen felt like a monumental hypocrite uttering those words. He’d blatantly disrespected people who had the power to end him so often that people almost expected it from him. But that wasn’t a good way to live a long life, and he did want the cultivators and mortals who studied at his academy to live long and fruitful lives if at all possible. That meant that sometimes he had to give hypocritical advice. Not that the students in front of him seemed to recognize what he’d done. They both nodded like they’d just received words from the heavens. That reverence for his words just made him feel more guilty.
“Now, for punishments,” said Sen. “First, you will both assist in caring for the oxen for the next month.”
Both students grimaced at those words, which told Sen he’d picked the right task.
“I feel that it’s only fair to warn you that I am very fond of those animals. If I were to discover that you didn’t give the work appropriate attention, I would not be pleased.”
The young man tried to stand straighter, while the girl’s face went even paler.
“Next. Disciple Chew, in one month, you will come before me and explain why scholarly study is valuable to cultivators.”
The stricken look on the young man’s face told Sen everything he needed to know about the kinds of opinions that Tong Qianfan was imparting to the students. Sen turned his gaze on the girl.
“Disciple He, in one month, you will come before me and explain why martial prowess is valuable to cultivators.”
She didn’t look quite as disheartened as the young man, but she definitely looked nervous. Sen leaned back in his chair and, after giving them both a thoughtful look, he added one more thing.
“Your answers may be as long or short as you wish, but I suggest that the answers you bring me are thorough,” said Sen. “You may go.”
The pair bowed and mumbled some things that might have been polite before they fled. Sen reached up and rubbed his eyes. Assuming that Lan Shu and Tong Qianfan managed to keep their positions, he was going to have to have a long discussion with them about providing a balanced view of what cultivators did. He’d also have to go and thank Auntie Caihong for all the helpful advice she’d given him about dealing with people who didn’t get along with each other. If he’d handled the problem the way he wanted to, Sen suspected that neither Lan Shu or Tong Qianfan would have left the room unscathed. As for the students, he felt a little more forgiving toward them. They were young and inexperienced. He couldn’t expect them to make good decisions all the time. He certainly hadn’t. At the same time, he couldn’t just let bad decisions go without some kind of action. He just hoped that the oxen wouldn’t suffer too much.