There was a lot of controlled chaos below as cultivators and mortals got into position. Sen had decided that this slow slog through the countryside wasn’t just an opportunity for the mortals to gain experience with spirit beasts, but also for the mortals and cultivators to find ways to work with each other. He had, with no small amount of private joy, assigned reluctant peak core cultivators and mortal generals to work together to develop some tactics. Now, they meant to test them out on a small scale. Sen had largely kept himself clear of those discussions. It wasn’t just because he didn’t want to participate, although that had certainly played a part. It was also to force the mortals and cultivators to learn how to communicate and rely on each other.
Sen knew a day would come when he’d need to divide his forces to cover more ground. When that day came, he couldn’t afford for the cultivators to automatically assume they knew the best ways to handle everything. Nor could he afford for his mortal military leadership to automatically defer to whatever the cultivators suggested. That would only lead to failure and a great deal of unnecessary death. By forcing the issue when he was around to intimidate and, if necessary, punish people, he hoped they could establish functional relationships. Even better if they worked out functional tactics. If they could manage that before he needed to deal with soldiers and cultivators from other countries, that would be the best outcome.
As he watched the mortals form small groups around cultivators, he had to check a sigh. She was coming. He had made something of a game out of avoiding Chan Yu Ming for the last week. He’d used a combination of real and made-up excuses for why he was unavailable. Some of the made-up excuses included the need for private cultivation, meetings, and private training. One of the real excuses was his attempt to fashion something of an alchemy core to serve the army. It had sounded simple enough. The Clear Spring Sect had been heavy with alchemists, and several of the sects from the capital had sent alchemists along. What he hadn’t expected was just how jealously those alchemists guarded knowledge he considered elementary. He shook off that thought. It was a problem for later, while Chan Yu Ming was a problem for right now.
Whatever amusement he’d gotten out of thwarting her attempts to get to him had swiftly faded into something that felt decidedly like work. He didn’t need more work, so he might as well just get it over with. She rose on a qi platform and directed a furious glare at him.
“Can’t you see I’m busy?” he asked.
Maybe I’m not quite as ready to deal with her as I believed, he thought as he reviewed his words.
“You’re always busy.”
“Caught on to that, did you? It’s almost like there’s a war happening. I’m also quite certain that you weren’t invited to this war. I seem to recall telling you to go back to the capital.” Orıginal content can be found at 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡~𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚~𝙣𝙚𝙩
“You don’t look busy right now.”
“I actually am busy right now, but you’ve clearly got something you want to say. So, just say it.”
Instead of speaking, Chan Yu Ming just glared harder at him while her lips quivered. It sure looked like she desperately wanted to say some things.
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“Oh. I see. Maybe I should save us both some time.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that, despite the fact that you’ve had a week to figure out all the things you want to say to me, to say nothing of the years since you last saw me, you haven’t done it.”
“You don’t know that,” she snapped.
“Then, get on it with it,” he snarled.
Chan Yu Ming leaned back, her eyes going wide. Yet, even with that provocation, she remained silent.
“This,” said Sen. “This is what I’ve been avoiding. This awkwardness where you don’t say anything because there’s nothing for you to say. Deep down, you know there’s nothing to say. You might hate what I did, but you’re the only one left who’s still pretending it didn’t need to happen. Of course, that denial of reality means you won’t let yourself stop being angry with me. So, you feel like you need to confront me. You need to say things. You have to let me know how angry you still are about how things played out.”
“You say that like I didn’t just say that. Do you think I’m oblivious? I know you’re angry. It’s why I didn’t kill you the last time we met. It’s why I’ve put up with you acting like a damned child for the last week.”
“Yes. A child. You’ve thrown more tantrums in the last seven days than my daughter has in the last year, and she actually is a child. You’ve been loud. You’ve been disruptive to good order. This entire army is aware that you’re angry about something.”
“He was my father!” she screamed at him.
Sen hadn’t wanted to take it this far, but he supposed he’d known it would always come to something moment. He let the Lu Sen bleed away from his expression and took on that icy demeanor he’d largely adopted as his imperial persona. He felt his expression go neutral, and his voice went hard.
Chan Yu Ming recoiled as though he’d slapped her across the face. She stared at him, the pain, the hurt, and a bit of horror obvious in her expression.
“So what?” she repeated, her voice small and wounded.
“Yes,” said Sen. “So what? He was your father. Plenty of fathers in the world. Tell me this. How many fathers did he have killed? Do you imagine he would have tolerated your behaviors from their children?
“Of course, he wouldn’t have. He would have had them executed immediately for their disrespect. Tell me I’m wrong,” said Sen, fixing her in place with his gaze. “Well, go on. Tell me I’m wrong if you can.”
“You know I can’t,” she said through clenched teeth.
“I do know that. I just wasn’t sure if you did. I think the more salient question right now is, how many innocents did he murder to keep his appalling secrets? Do you know?”
“You don’t know. Here’s the thing. No one knows. The best answer anyone can come up with is too many to count,” said Sen, which made Chan Yu Ming flinch. “Feel free to sit with that piece of information for a moment.”
Sen cut her off and said, “I see you’re still confused. This isn’t a conversation. This is where I tell you that the choice you’ve made for the last few years to blame me for everything is over. He might have been your father, and I can appreciate that his loss was painful for you. But you’ve used up all of my sympathy, all of my empathy, and all of my patience. Because that man was also a twisted horror of a person who violated and murdered children, among countless other sins. The fact of the matter is that he got a cleaner death than he deserved. So, hear me now, Chan Yu Ming. It is done. No more tolerance. No more understanding. If you continue on as you have been, I will kill you.”
“What?” she whispered, her face bloodless.
“You heard me. I will cut you down without hesitation. At this juncture, you have two choices. First, you can go seclude yourself somewhere I never need to see you, and nurture your anger to your heart’s content. As long as I don’t ever have to put up with it again, I don’t care. Second, you can stop acting like a spoiled princess and grow the hells up. Now, get out of my sight until you decide.”