Unintended Cultivator

Sen made a point to enter the room with an air of calm, controlled confidence about him. A feat made easier by the fact that he was actually relaxed for once. He hadn’t gotten even a sliver of sleep the night before, but that turned out to be an exchange that was well worth it. He could shrug off a night without sleep. Even one that had proven to be quite vigorous. He didn’t care how anyone viewed him, except for those he held as family, but he knew that appearances mattered. Of course, in this case, the way he chose to present himself was more for the benefit of everyone else than it was for him. His demeanor was meant to reassure them about their place in things, not his place.

He glanced around the room and saw more or less what he’d expected to see. Jing was standing near the head of the table with several older soldiers in robes that Sen assumed had military significance. Generals, probably, he thought. However, he didn’t approve of those uniforms. They were too unwieldy in their excessive ornateness to be practical in combat. Among the sect elders and even the patriarchs and matriarchs he’d met, their robes were often exceedingly fine but never made in a way that could inhibit their ability to fight. They all understood. A single truth had been ground so deeply into their beings that it influenced everything they did on some level.

Death can come for you at any time.

It seemed that these generals thought that such threats had been left behind as they assumed leadership. Foolish, thought Sen. Especially now. He could also see that there was a clear line of demarcation between those who were in favor, or at least who had been in favor prior to his own arrival, and those who were out of favor. He was displeased but unsurprised to see that General Mo Kegong was in the group of soldiers, aides, and functionaries who had been pushed to the outer edges of the room. Farthest from the perceived center of power.

There was a commonality among the officers who were out of favor. They all wore grim expressions and far more utilitarian robes. The kind of robes that they could fight in. He didn’t think that any of them wanted a fight to the death, but they were all ready to fight if the need arose. It didn’t escape his notice that those men were clustered close to Mo Kegong. Sen supposed it might be a show of solidarity, but his instincts told him it was more than that. Those men were acting as Mo’s bodyguards. If they felt the need to do that even in the palace, it wasn’t a good sign.

His eyes traveled over the faces of the people clustered around Jing. They wore unctuous smiles that failed to ever reach their cold, cold eyes. His superior hearing picked out their words from the steady drone of many people talking. The words were flattering but empty. The kind meant to express interest and communicate loyalty without ever actually committing the speaker to be loyal. It was clear to Sen that these men weren’t ready to fight. They were, however, ready to kill if it would provide them benefits without creating too much personal risk. They struck him as the kind of people who were very capable at sliding knives into people’s backs.

That sight made him want to kill them all on sight, but he wouldn’t. At least, he wouldn’t do it immediately. No one needed to explain to him that destroying so much of the army’s leadership in one blow would create chaos. As untrustworthy as these people clearly were, they were what he had to work with. For now. He’d just have to make sure the least trustworthy of them joined him on his campaign to secure the kingdom and its borders. Even generals could die in battle, especially if he ordered them to lead their men from the front. With any luck, they’d have capable and more reliable subordinates he could promote.

Sen loathed being that cold-blooded. He despised that he was essentially plotting to murder some of these people. It still remained that he could not leave people like that in charge of large numbers of troops. Not when he was going to be away from the capital for so long, and they would be at least partially responsible for the city’s security and defense. It didn’t take any imagination to picture them trying to oust Jing or simply marching their soldiers somewhere else in a doomed attempt to set themselves up as petty, would-be kings. They didn’t dare try that now because Sen was still in the city. Their memories of what he’d done were far too fresh.

Unfortunately, fear tended to fade when the cause of that fear was absent for a time. Sen hadn’t guaranteed no future spirit beast attacks on the city, but he expected it would be some time before they came again. If they ever did come again. If there were no spirit beasts to remind them of the danger, and no Sen to personally frighten them, he could see any number of people in the room who might decide that it was an auspicious time to crown themselves king. Nor did Sen expect that the sects would step in to prevent it. They might be nominally loyal to his cause, but he wasn’t naïve enough to imagine that their loyalty extended to him.

They’re loyalty extended to their own lives. They were rightly terrified of Master Feng and Uncle Kho’s vengeance. Using that as a starting point, they probably wouldn’t act against him directly. But that was an achingly long distance from actively providing him support and aiding his allies if they should get into a bad situation. Failing to provide such support might look suspicious, but it would be hard for Sen to punish anyone for it in a way that mattered.

Moreover, it just wasn’t their way to intervene in mortal politics. His own actions were the anomaly, and he knew it. He was the one who had broken tradition. Inaction on the part of the sects would likely be considered expected and proper. It was up to the mortals to sort out their politics while cultivators pursued ascension. At least, that’s how it would be seen on this side of the Mountains of Sorrow.

It also made for an excellent excuse not to do something they didn’t really want to do. Most of the sects would likely celebrate if some of Sen’s allies died. Such losses would weaken him in the long run, which would make it easier to destroy him after the war was over. Not every sect would be looking for that outcome, but enough of them would. Enough that he was already trying to devise more strategies to divide the loyalties of the lower-stage cultivators between the sects and him. If or when that moment of betrayal came, he wanted to make it as hard as possible for the sects to succeed. He wanted their foot soldiers to have doubts, to see him as a legitimate authority, if not the rightful leader.

He pushed those thoughts back. They were important, but they were secondary concerns for the moment. He had to survive long enough for the sects to betray him. A possibility that was not even close to a foregone conclusion. Right now, he had less dangerous predators to deal with. Best if he started by muddying the waters. He walked across the room, offering Jing a nod but ignoring all of the oily generals clustered around the mortal king, and strode up to Mo Kegong.

“General Mo. It’s good to see you again,” said Sen, offering the general a deeper nod than mere politeness required.

The general seemed momentarily stunned, but recovered his balance in a second or two. He bowed to Sen, an action replicated by all of the nearby officers. The aides and functionaries were a few heartbeats slower.

“Lord Lu. It is a great honor to see you once more,” said Mo Kegong.

It sounded a little stiff, but that was to be expected. Sen knew the man wasn’t given to flowery speech, preferring direct conversation over comments that veiled a dozen other agendas. Even going that far was a signal to everyone in the room that Mo Kegong had chosen a side. Sen choosing to speak with the general before anyone else in the room was also a sign. It was a sign that he had his favorites, and that courtly duplicity was not the way to become one of those favorites. Of course, there was always one. Sen didn’t know why, but there was always one.

“Lord Lu,” said a much smoother and more practiced voice.

Sen turned to see one of the generals with ornate robes and an oily smile. The man offered him an elegant bow. Sen did not nod to that man. Instead, he turned his attention back to General Mo. The old man was practiced enough to keep his expression restrained, but Sen noticed a few expressions of pure, malicious joy on some of the younger officers nearby. He didn’t exactly approve, but he could guess well enough where those feelings came from.

“General, I’m glad to see that your injuries have healed so well.”

“Thanks to your elixir, Lord Lu,” said Mo Kegong. “Again, my gratitude. If there is some way I can repay you—”

“There is nothing to repay, General,” said Sen with a wave of his hand. “Loyal service is often overlooked, but I do my best to reward it.”

“Lord Lu,” interrupted the other general. “I’m sure you must wish to join the conversation with the more senior—”

The man’s words faded to nothing as Sen turned to look at him again. This time, his expression wasn’t indifferent or dismissive. It was cold, and it was angry.

“Did I invite you to speak to me?” asked Sen.

“I— That is— No, Lord Lu,” stammered the man.

“Did you not see me speaking with General Mo?”

“I did, Lord Lu.”

“Then, explain yourself.”

“Lord Lu?” asked the other general in a weak voice.

“Why did you interrupt my conversation?”

“I simply wished—”

“Is it perhaps because you dislike General Mo?”

It was brief, but Sen saw the other general’s eyes flick toward Mo. He saw the look of hate. General Mo remained calm, though Sen thought he saw something stirring in the man’s eyes. Sen continued before anyone else spoke.

“Your face betrays you. I see that I’ve found the cause. What to do? You have offended me, but it strikes me as inappropriate to challenge you. You have no hope of prevailing against me.”

The ornately dressed general sagged in relief.

“Thank you, Lord Lu.”

Sen ignored the man and turned to General Mo.

“General Mo. Your conversation was interrupted as well,” said Sen, smiling brightly at the man. “Would you care to challenge this man?”

For the first time since Sen entered the room, General Mo smiled.