Sen took a deep breath as he stared out into the wilds beyond the edges of his sect compound. He’d take up station on the wall that would be the second line of defense if the place ever came under attack. The first line of defense was a series of formations that he and Uncle Kho had been developing, on and off, for the better part of a year. Sen didn’t like working that way, but there simply hadn’t been enough hours in the day. Plus, he didn’t want the details leaking. A few people that there were formations, but he’d kept the specifics to himself. The time crunch had only intensified as he prepared for his one-man war against the Twisted Blade Sect, which was why he standing on the wall.
He supposed it probably seemed odd to the members of the sect but very few people were likely to question him directly about it. Then again, they might all just think he was doing something complicated to advance his own cultivation. He wasn’t, but it probably wouldn’t hurt people to think he was being proactive. No, he just wanted a few moments of calm. Despite his best efforts, he kept finding himself getting sucked into the minutia of things and slowly getting dragged into the minor political problems that, he had been assured, were common in any sect. They were distractions.
Unfortunately, being distractions didn’t make them entirely unimportant. Details mattered. When people stopped paying attention to details, problems inevitably occurred. He had learned that in life and in sect building, much as in alchemy, it was always harder to fix a problem than prevent it. Fixing problems always meant spending time and energy that could have gone to something else. That inevitably meant putting off something else, also probably important, and it often spiraled out for weeks before things got back to what passed for normal. It was always infuriating because someone doing their job properly was all it took to avoid that slow-moving disaster.
Preventing the newly forming sect from splintering into hateful factions was crucial with the war coming. Whether they knew it or not, this little sect was going to be crucial in ensuring that what he cared about was protected when he couldn’t be there to do it himself. Grandmother Lu had been working tirelessly to make his spur-of-moment demand for a noble house into a functional reality. Yet, she was also the most vulnerable person in a lot of ways. Sen hadn’t discussed it with them, but he’d gotten the impression that Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho had simply decided that one of them would always be nearby to keep Ai safe. Everyone else he considered family were all dangerous in their own right. So, he needed to get enough cultivators up to an acceptable level to protect Grandmother Lu. Still, it was all just so very tiring.
“You have the look of a man with troubling things on his mind,” said Bahn Huizhong, hopping up on the wall beside Sen.
Sen decided that the word hopping wasn’t really adequate. The wall was close to fifteen feet tall, making the jump a physical impossibility for a mortal. The other cultivator had made it look like a hop, though. I think I might need an hour or two of sleep, thought Sen. If I’m getting stuck on something like the right word, I’m more tired than I thought. Pushing away the question of hopping as the right word, he gave his friend what he hoped looked like a smile. He wasn’t sure precisely when he’d decided that Bahn Huizhong was his friend, but he had decided it somewhere along the way. He thought that their relationship was a bit like what he imagined an older and younger brother might be like. The other cultivator served as a steady presence that helped to balance Sen’s tendency to jump to a decision or action. Not that he thought Bahn Huizhong wouldn’t take action in the right circumstances. He’d heard about what the man had done to that elder at his own sect, after all.
“I’m mostly trying to avoid having those thoughts for a few minutes,” said Sen, turning his eyes back out to the wilds. “It looks peaceful out there, doesn’t it?”
Bahn Huizhong looked out at the forest.
“It does. It even can be. It’s not all death and violence in the wilds.”
“Isn’t it, though? Nature isn’t particularly kind, not if you look at it closely enough.”
“Then, don’t look so closely. Seems simple enough.”
Sen felt a little smile on his own face. It was a simple enough solution. He didn’t need to let knowledge poison everything for him.
“You’ll be leaving soon, won’t you?” asked Sen. “With Master Kho coming with me, there’s no real reason for you and Li Yi Nuo to stay.”
“I expect so,” said Bahn Huizhong.
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Sen nodded. He’d been increasingly dreading this day, so he’d avoided asking about it until now.
“I don’t suppose you want to join this sect?” asked Sen. “I hear the patriarch makes excellent pastries.”
“I do love pastries,” said Bahn Huizhong as he took on a contemplative air. “I wondered if you would ask.”
“I wasn’t going to. It felt a little unfair to put you on the spot like that. I also know that there’s really no benefit in it for you. It’s not like I can offer you resources,” said Sen before adding something. “Well, probably not. We never really talked about it. I just assumed that the Vermilion Blade Sect could offer you things I can’t. Unless you need some particular elixir. In the end, I figured that there was no harm in asking.”
“It’s not a small thing to leave a sect. That’s not entirely true. It’s simplicity itself if you’re an outer sect disciple. It gets very complicated for core members and elders. You know a lot of secrets.”
“What? You mean like this?”
Sen drew his jian and sent a copy of the vermilion blade the sect took its name from flying into the forest. Bahn Huizhong stared after it with a look of consternation on his face.
“I’ve kept myself out of it. That’s between her and Uncle Kho.”
“He won’t tell you?”
“He probably would if I asked, but it’s not like I have any right to know. A friend of mine told me once that curiosity alone isn’t a good enough reason to pry into other people’s lives. If I asked him, he’d probably give me details. If I ask you, you can tell me to mind my own business or filter the amount of detail you provide.”
Bahn Huizhong fell silent for several minutes as he gazed out at the wilds. Sen let the man think it over.
“She’s learned a lot from him. Although, she always looks like she’s five seconds from death every time she comes back from a training session.”
“Ha! I bet. He sets high expectations.”
“I won’t lie, though. I am a tiny bit jealous of you both. For any spear user, getting personal training from Kho Jaw-Long is the impossible dream. What do you think he’d say if I asked him for some advice?”
“That, I can’t say for sure, but I get the impression that he withdrew from the world in part to avoid those kinds of requests.”
Bahn Huizhong made a disappointed noise but nodded in apparent understanding.
“It’s like that as an elder. Everyone is always scrambling for your attention, hoping you’ll take them as a direct disciple. It makes you want to say no to everyone.”
“You took on Li Yi Nuo,” observed Sen.
“She was a special case. I thought I was dying. I wanted to take on one last student.”
“You look fairly healthy to me.”
“It seems like the world is about to get very interesting. I wouldn’t want to miss out on all of that.”
“Madman. I wish I could miss out on all of that.”
“You could if you wanted to. You could sit it out. No one is making you get involved.”
Sen gave the man an incredulous look before his mind made the connection. Then, he started laughing. Bahn Huizhong gave him a questioning look.
“Sorry,” said Sen. “I just forgot that you haven’t been around that long. Let me put it this way. If there’s a war happening, it is an absolute certainty that I will be involved. And if I try to stay out of it, I’ll get dragged into it in the most inconvenient way possible.”
“That seems unlikely.”
Sen looked at his friend and said, “I will bet you a thousand gold tael that you’re wrong.”
Bahn Huizhong stared at Sen for most of a minute.
“No bet.”