Volume 2-Chapter 11.

Chapter 11

~~~~Ya Xue~~~~

Master Shen Xifeng has told us that cultivators grow crazier the more we cultivate, as our minds are not meant to handle Qi or the enhanced lifespan of cultivators. Our minds adapt, naturally, the human being able to adapt to many things, but it can’t do so in a vacuum.

She told us that the easiest thing we could do to help our minds adapt to cultivation is pick a craft, it doesn’t matter which one or if it’s useful or not, as long as we pick one to focus on. I decided to continue woodcarving, the smooth repetitive motions of my tools cutting into wood always managing to calm me down.

Da Xiu still hasn’t found something he can be bothered to learn and Mei Lin and Tai Su have both decided to pick up talisman making as well as handling people, their mindsets eerily suited for the second.

Seeing Tai Su work his craft would never cease being unsettling, because with a few simple words, a joke or two, the bold woman walking on the tight rope between carelessness and rudeness was turned properly respectful. There was no shouting, no overt threats, not even a veiled threat of giving a bad report to the sect for her near-threat. Just cordial words and jokes and this Kim Anh Xie was now properly respectful.

It was a change the others in her group noticed, and their rather loud boasting and celebrations turned more subdued. They didn’t stop even after hours of walking, as they were still happily talking hours later, but I could see the wary looks they threw our way grew as time went on.

“We are close to the encampment honored ones.” Kim Anh Xie declared, her voice far more subdued than a few hours ago.

“Thank you for informing us Kim Anh Xie.” Tai Su replied amiably.

“Finally, we’ve been walking for half a day.” Mei Lin whined.

I knew what she was doing, she was testing the waters as always. Tai Su and senior allowed dissent up to a point, the issue was that said point came abruptly. One time one could make a joke or a snide comment to someone else and the playfulness and indulgence ceased. Neither Mei Lin or I knew where said point was yet, but Mei Lin was always the one wishing to push the boundaries and find out.

You don’t complain or whine in front of strangers, this was something my mother drilled into my head for years and it was something I carved deep into my soul, but the ice-blooded will do as she will and finds useful.

“Yes, taking a break is probably needed.” Tai Su said agreeably.

I sighed in relief. Just because I can walk for a few more hours, does not mean I want to, and the silence was getting to me. The tribesmen were loud and being forced to listen to their boasting and cheers in silence while not able to join in was tiresome for all of us I imagine.

There's few things worse than standing awkwardly silent as others celebrate.

“What will we do once inside their camp?” I asked.

The tribesmen in front of us noticed my question and seemed to be paying more attention now, their ear standing at attention and their tones lowering slightly.

Tai Su shrugged, his body language unbothered in the slightest by the tribesmen tensing up.

“We greet the clan head, politely inform him of our purposed here and ask for accommodations for the duration of our mission. Then Da Xiu will officially confirm whether the man in front of us is the same man we’re after and tomorrow we talk with him. We’ll see what happens next tomorrow. morning” He answered.

“I don’t need to, the man smells from here.” Da Xiu interjected just after Tai Su finished speaking.

“Truly?” Tai Su asked, his tone shocked.

“Yes.” Da Xiu replied bluntly.

“Very well, that’s one issue taken care of. We’ll still need to do the whole ceremony as protocol dictates, but that’s a formality.” Tai Su answered.

“Can’t we get rid of it?” Da Xiu grumbled.

I nodded at his words. I could commiserate with wishing to get rid of useless formalities, especially when the role they fulfilled was accomplished.

“I’m wondering that myself.” I commented.

Da Xiu looked at me and nodded, a gesture which I returned.

There is a time and place for protocol and formalities among the banners, that time is always when someone that cares for it is nearby and the place is always where they can notice. Any other time and place and formalities are just things you joke about.

Tai Su sighed, it seemed that he disagreed.

'Just my luck.' I whined to myself.

“I wish we could do that, but formalities are needed, because if we won’t do them on our first mission, then when will we? Our first mission is easy, there’s no reason to skimp on such things just because we feel like it.” He declared and that was that, the formalities will happen.

On paper we were equals, with him being the first among equal out of all of us.

In practice, even excluding Mei Lin and I’s status as concubines, all of us have decided to follow Tai Su. We did so, because he, unlike the rest of us, is both willing and capable of looking after our best interest.

During the Trial he was the one that held the group together, and when we entered the Illusion he was the one that broke us out of it and prevented us from nearly starving like idiots in it. Even before that, he was the one planning our course and his ideas, starting from the very first day even, granted us a massive advantage over everyone else.

If he says the formalities are needed then the formalities are needed, no matter how much I'd rather not bother.

“How annoying.” I grumbled.

“Yes.” Tai Su replied with a chuckle.

It will always feel strange I think, being somewhere where complaining about something was allowed and even encouraged. We were still expected to do as we were told as is normal, but this freedom to grumble whenever was relaxing in a way I didn’t expect life as a concubine or a cultivator could be

I quite enjoyed it.

~~~Tai Su~~~

Protocol is just codified tradition, and tradition exists for a reason. Traditions are solution to problems we’ve forgotten, as well as habits nobody bothers to think about anymore.

More often than not, traditions could be changed or updated to fit local circumstances and the life of people would not change and even improve. Other times, those traditions need to be defended like your life depends on it, because the life of your descendants will and you never quite know which is which.

Some things are obvious, such as parents arranging their children’s marriages or having to live near one set of parents, either yours or those of your spouse after you got married. One ensured you actually got married and found happiness, the other ensured you always had someone there to help you with the burden of raising a family that you trusted and had experience.

Others? Others I was far less defensive of, but having memories from a life where people have deconstructed any and all traditions and norms in the search for progress, I have a unique perspective on things.

The sensibilities of my past life clashed with those of my new one, the few traditions the old me still followed being mostly incompatible with those of my new life and, despite me being uncomfortable with some of them, I’ve decided on one thing.

Traditions work, bending them is fine, forsaking them in times of emergency is allowed, but they must be upheld. If you don’t ,you get women making competitions of who can abort more babies and of men on who can kill one hundred people first.

If you forsake traditions, then you get graveyards filled with so many innocent bodies and lives filled with so much despair that the living start envying the dead. While you might get richer by forsaking tradition and even gain prosperity in the long term, all those riches will get you in the end is a better and more comfortable dwelling to be miserable in.

It is for this reason that I continue with this tedious protocol when I had every chance and the choice not to.

At least the wolf tribe had us eat dinner before I had to start talking. The stew was quite tasty, even if the meat was the sort of bone white my instincts associated with bones as opposed to meat.

“And so I, Tai Su, disciple of Shen Xifeng conclude that the words of Da Xiu my fellow disciple to Shen Xifeng, Core Elder of the Pavilion of Harmonious Cooperation and Integration of the Blazing Fist Sect are true. The discipline and character of disciple Da Xiu is without question, and so the man presented to me, the newly named Yang An Xie, formerly known as Yang An Lu and formally known as An Xie, son of Yang, is the man we were sent to find and question in regards to his past.” I droned out.

To my left, Mei Lin was dutifully writing down my words as we went about to complete a formality that wasted thirty minutes of my life. It was something a minute of conversation would have accomplished and yet it took half an hour to slog through..

A child watching us from behind Mei Lin fell asleep from the sound of my voice, that child being called Da Xiu, as only he and the smaller children did the same and decided to go to sleep early. At least he had the decency to remain kneeling and upright in his sleep.

I’m not sure I would have succeed the same if I fell asleep, so he’ll get a pass. just once.

“This Pham Trung Xie, acknowledges the end of the report and thanks the disciples of the Blazing Fist Sect and the Empress of the Empire of the Blazing Sun for one more chance to display our loyalty and good nature. May the Empress Rise Ascendant forever more and bring the world prosperity under the Blazing Sun.” The clan leader of the Xie replied in a similar tone to myself.

Another child fell asleep and this one seemed to be snoring.

At least it was night, and both myself and the old man in front of me could pretend this was just children falling asleep, albeit a smirk from his weathered face told me he had the advantage as his eyes turned to Da Xiu for a brief moment.

The man wasn’t old, not in the same way that Bao’s father was. He wasn’t looking to be in his sixties, but both men had the same look in their eyes, that of men that have seen too much, and the blonde man carried his scars, both physical and not, with pride and strength still.

I sighed in relief.

“Now that is done, we can do something actually productive with our time.” I declared.

The older man snickered in agreement.

Both of us rose at the same time and our subordinates slowly after, albeit Da Xiu needed Ya Xue’s help as he was a bit stiff. Around us the women were now taking their children to sleep and the men started gathering in groups to talk.

“Indeed, if you would please follow me to my tent,my daughter will show you to your own once we finish talking privately.” The man asked.

And he was asking us judging by his tone. He genuinely sounded perfectly willing to allow us to refuse.

“Please lead the way.” I replied.

The others followed me as the leader of the Xie lead me to his tent. It took us little to reach it and we entered inside of it without any words.

It wasn’t a large tent by most standards, the lack of animals of burden among the tribesmen, putting a limit to how much they can carry. It was however the largest and about half the size of my own family home, which meant that it had enough room to have thin sheets of cloth separate the rooms from one another.

Inside was a demure looking blonde woman dressed in long flowing robes, as opposed to the leathers most women in the Xie clan seemed to prefer. The robes showed strange flower patterns representing flowers I’ve never seen in my life. The largest of flowers had petals showing all of the colors of the rainbow around a red stem, while the smaller ones were mainly red and yellow.

Her hair was kept in a traditional bun and in front of her was a tea set made out of silver with steam coming out of it.

“Husband, I have prepared the tea for you and the honored guests.” The woman said demurely, her tone and body language showing the perfect image of a housewife.

It made my skin crawl and I quickly realized why.

It was her eyes, those were the eyes of a being considering all others as things to be killed or not. The persona of a demure lady did not fit this killer and yet my instincts told me it was not a disguise but something the woman genuinely wanted to be.

A killer turned housewife, there was a story there, but not one I was interested in.

“Thank you my love, I will handle the guests. Please go with Kim Anh and make sure nobody is listening in. What I wish to talk with the guests is not something snooping ears should overhear and our eldest daughter has not seen her mother in days.” The clan leader ordered gently.

It was done softly, but it carried authority and the woman obeyed without a word and left.

“Do any of you wish for some tea? I am afraid that we only have white tea, as it is the only tea plant that grows in the area that our stomachs can handle.” The man offered.

“We’ll have some if you’re offering.” I accepted for all of us.

If they want some then they’ll ask for it, if not then saying we at least told them and my host that my friends may partake if they wish to.

“I’ll pass.” Da Xiu said.

“I thank you, but I would rather not.” Mei Lin declined.

“I’ll have some, white tea is my favorite.” Ya Xue accepted.

Ya Xue and I sat near one another with me at the edge, Mei Lin to Ya Xue’s left and Da Xiu on the other end.

The clan head poured both us some tea then poured himself some.

Ya Xue and I sipped a bit and I was surprised by the taste. I’ve never had any white tea before, and the teas I did have I either disliked or had large amounts of sugar in them. This one had some sugar or honey in it, but it was far less than I was expecting. Regardless, it was quite good.

“Your wife is quite skilled at tea making, I think this is the first tea I ever had that didn’t need large amounts of sugar to turn palatable.” I praised and put the tea cup and saucer on the small wooden table in front of us.

“Yes, it is quite good tea, your wife is quite skilled.” Ya Xue did the same shortly after.

“I am glad to hear hear it, I’m sure she’ll be delighted to hear it.” Pham Trung Xie happily accepted the plate.

I almost made a comment on how it is a strange skill for a trained killer to possess, but I decided that it would be quite rude. Instead I lifted the tea cup again and took another sip.

“So if you’ll allow me, I’d rather break through the cloak and dagger stage and just ask, how fucked are we?” The man asked bluntly.

Ya Xue choked on her spit and Da Xiu gave a laugh at that while Mei Lin remained silent.

I sighed, why can’t things be easy? His daughter should have told him they weren’t in any trouble. They had some time to talk before the clan gathered and we ate.

“Hasn’t your daughter informed you that you aren’t?” I asked him tiredly.

The man snorted.

“Cultivators don’t go to gather tea young man. If you’re here, then something needs killing, or worse something needs to be corrected.” The man answered.

Official Corrections are indeed worse than merely killing someone. Correction being applied to a settlement means that if the issues that were found aren’t fixed by the time an official inspection comes, a very irate Golden Core cultivator will come and start asking why and they won’t be polite about it.

Killing someone is a quick thing, Official Corrections can take years of punishment until the lesson is learned.

“If there is any need of a correction we were not informed of it. We are here to get used to different cultures, as we are on our first mission and the four of us are likely to become long term members of the Pavilion of Harmonious Cooperation and Integration.” I explained.

Bao, Yu Zong and the twins are likely to stay too, but they wouldn’t be dedicated to the mission of the pavilion, which was to keep the various groups operating in the Prefecture from going at each other’s throats.

That meant keeping the antipathy between the Cherry Tree and the Southern Lemon Banners from coming to open conflict, keeping the foxes from making a mess by disrupting the social order, keeping the various guilds from in-fighting too much and making sure that the Wolf Clan behaves and other duties besides.

Starting easy like this is probably a good decision, as it allows us to get used to foreign cultures in the safest way we could, but only time would tell if it will serve us well or not.

“And the disturbing stories of the young man’s past life?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“The Empress has decreed that all reincarnated individuals are free of the sins of their past lives, except for being a part of the spider clans that is. Your newest clan member’s disturbing stories are merely that as far as we are concerned, disturbing stories. We would like him to share any useful cultivation knowledge he possess and if he is aware of any outside force that may wish to visit our world. As long as he does not think to repeat the rituals of his past life, then we don’t care what he does, as long as he is not breaking any laws that is.” I answered.

The official policy of the Empire of the Blazing Sun was that as long as you weren’t a spider, it didn’t actually care what you were doing. The beast clans are restricted because their thinking does not align with Imperial Doctrine and letting them move freely will end up with deaths and anger, but otherwise the Empire does not care what they do in the territories assigned to them.

It was the same for most settlements, as long as you paid your taxes in manpower, food or money, the Empire didn’t care what you were doing in your home, village, town or even city if you didn’t give it a reason to care.

The man looked straight into my eyes and, when he saw that I was honest, sighed in relief. He finally understood that yes, we weren’t here because his clan was in trouble.

“I am sorry for doubting you, but I had to make sure.” The man said as he bowed.

I shook my head, I’ll have none of that.

“Rise, rise. I have no reason to accept your apology because you did nothing that needs an apology .” I demanded.

The man rose up and his expression was a mix of confusion and awkwardness as my response was not what he expected. I don't know what else he was expecting but I'll have none of that. Apologies have to mean something and must only be given when forgiveness is required, otherwise they are just air.

“I see.” He answered.

“I am glad to hear it, now if you would be willing to give me your impression of Yan An Xie, then I think we’ll be done for tonight. I would like to know more about him before I interview him.” I said simply.

“Did you read the report he left back at Tay Vo? It contained a brief explanation of his past life, that I believe would explain his situation far better than I could.” He asked me.

I shook my head, it seemed that he misunderstood my question.

“I have not read it. Mi Ping’s brief summary of it told me that I shouldn’t do that if I wished to sleep easily in the next few months, also that is not what I was asking. I don’t want to hear what you think of his past life, I want you to tell me your opinion of the young man that came to you in search of a people he feels like he belongs to.” I answered.

I don’t need or want to know what horrible things a demonic sect would be getting up to. I can imagine and I would rather sleep easily than hear of knowledge that will not help me at all to know. I will learn what I need to know of his past life tomorrow, who he was does not concern me, only who he is now.

The clan head seemed to catch on quickly and he started giving me his honest thought of the man that has come to his clan in search of home and I listened attentively.