BOOK 11: CHAPTER 44: RETURN THEM TO THEIR FAMILIES

Sen took to the air on a qi platform to return to the palace. He could have truly flown and been there in a fraction of the time, but he wasn’t anywhere close to that eager for what came next. His only consolation was that this was the last time he would have to oversee such a thing in the capital for a long time. After this, it would fall to Jing to enact such justice if it could even be called that. He’d had several long talks with Jing, Lai Dongmei, General Mo, and even Misty Peak. He’d always intended to make Jing his voice in the capital, but he also knew it was going to be a thankless job. It was only fair to at least seek other people’s advice before he made the decision final. They had almost all agreed that leaving Jing in charge would probably create the least amount of friction. The sole holdout had been Jing himself.

“You cannot be serious,” said Jing. “I’m the person you ousted from that very throne. You also can’t say that I was doing a great job of ruling this country before you showed up.”

“No one would have been able to do that job. You were literally in an impossible position. You had an enemy you couldn’t fight and no real support from the sects.”

“You did it.”

“Only after the two scariest men in the world showed up and issued death threats against anyone who didn’t go along with it. Even after that, it’s not like everything has gone smoothly. How many people have I had to kill since I got here?” demanded Sen.

Jing winced and said, “A frankly chilling number of people.”

“And things will be different moving forward. For one thing, the sects will prove substantially more helpful.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I’m taking a lot of their disciples with me. They’re going to be much more invested in the security of this city since they won’t be able to hold out alone the way they thought they could before.”

Jing gave him a skeptical look and asked, “They just went along with that?”

“They did,” said Sen before reluctantly adding, “eventually.”

“I suppose they wanted all kinds of concessions from you.”

“They certainly did.”

“So, what did you have to give up?”

“Nothing,” said Sen.

“But you said they wanted concessions.”

“Wanting and getting are two different things. In the final analysis, I’m in the stronger position. If they don’t help and I succeed, they believe my very next move will be crushing every sect that didn’t help me.”

“And where would they have gotten that idea?” asked an amused Jing.

“Probably from the moment when I said that my very next move would be crushing every sect that refused to help. Now, that by itself might not have been enough to convince them. So, I also reminded them that if I fail, there will be armies of spirit beasts roaming the continent and looking for humans to kill. If that comes to pass, it will also mean that there’s likely no Judgment’s Gale to rally behind. It will likely also mean that Feng Ming and Kho Jaw-Long are dead. Factors which will decidedly turn things in the favor of the spirit beasts.”

Jing swallowed hard at that bleak prediction of possible future events.

“That’s a very threatening position to argue from.”

“It wouldn’t be so threatening if they didn’t see it as a distinct possibility.”

“Do you see it as a distinct possibility?”

“That we’ll lose and the spirit beasts will kill whoever is left? Yes, I think that’s entirely possible. We, all of us, mortals and cultivators alike, have been very slow to do what we need to do to survive. Honestly, I’d be shocked if we can actually do more than secure our borders on this side of the Mountains of Sorrow.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I’ve never been to the other side of those mountains, but my teachers have. There’s a lot more land on that side. That means a lot more spirit beasts. I don’t know if there will be enough of us left to have a chance of conquering all that territory.”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“You don’t think there will be people there fighting back?”

“Maybe. It’s hard to know what to expect from places ruled by cultivators. But I can’t count on getting help from anyone there.”

“Would you crush the sects that didn’t help you?”

Sen paused at that question. It was something he’d given a lot of thought to.

“As I am now, probably not. It was just a threat. By the end of the war, I might feel far less charitable. But none of that has anything to do with you being in charge here while I’m gone. As I said, you’ll have more help from the sects, and you’ll have General Mo here.”

“You’re not taking him with you?” asked a shocked Jing. “I mean, you said something about that before, but I assumed that you’d change your mind.”

“Oh, I’d love to take him with me. But I need someone here in charge of the military that I can trust won’t betray you. He’s the one general I know won’t do that. As for the rest of them, well, they’ll just have to do. But I’ve found that wanting to survive is a powerful motivator. After everything here, I doubt any of them will want to test if I’ve got the resolve to remove them by force.”

“No, I don’t expect that will be a problem. Especially with Kang out of the way,” said Jing, his mind obviously on something else. “Let’s say I embrace your madness and accept this position. Just what will my role here be?”

“Basically, the same as it was before. You’ll just be—” Sen struggled to recall the proper term for it.

He was certain he’d read it somewhere in one of those historical scrolls that Uncle Kho had made him read. It was an old word. One that hadn’t been used since the last empire, which had fallen a long time in the past. The term finally rose from the hazy depths of his memory.

“A governor,” said Sen with a snap of his finger. “An imperial governor.”

“You need an empire to have imperial governors,” noted Jing.

“That’ll happen soon enough.”

“Very well. I’ll become your imperial governor. I’ll have you know that I expect to be rewarded greatly for this dubious honor in the future.”

“All the moon cakes you can eat,” said Sen.

Jing grimaced and said, “I hate moon cakes.”

The memory of Jing’s distaste for the treats managed to lighten Sen’s mood slightly as he landed outside of the palace. However, the moment was soon dashed as several grim-faced men and women in army uniforms approached him. He smoothed his expression and walked over to meet them. He knew why they were there. There was only one reason for them to be there, waiting for him. He recognized most of them at this point, but the only one he knew by name was General Mo’s favorite.

“Li Chanchan,” he said with a gesture that she should come forward.

Hurrying forward, she said, “Yes, Lord Lu.”

“Is everything prepared?”

He knew the answer already, having surveyed the entire area with his spiritual sense. However, Mo had told him very directly that he needed to let the junior officers explain things. Apparently, it served to keep them accountable, but it also served as a way for them to be seen by their superiors and receive praise for their hard work. Sen didn’t know if that was all true, but he was willing to take the vastly more experienced general’s word for it. Li Chanchan didn’t seem especially happy to be reporting about these preparations, and he understood why.

“Yes, Lord Lu. The prisoners have been prepared. The square outside the main gate has also been cleared. Are you sure we don’t need anything else? It would only take your word.”

He knew that she meant they could call in people to carry out the executions for him. He had been so very tempted to allow others to carry out the deed. Mo and Jing had both suggested it. However, that very temptation was what made him decline their offers. He couldn’t ask others to spill blood and stain their karma if he wouldn’t do the same. Beyond that, these nobles had conspired directly against him and would die by his decree. It was only right that he be the one to end their lives. He could take some tiny solace in the knowledge that doing it himself meant that they wouldn’t suffer.

“No. I do appreciate the offer, though,” said Sen gently before raising his voice. “Thank you all for your diligence in this unpleasant task. I know it wasn’t easy.”

Those words didn’t do much to lift their grim expressions, but he did see some backs straighten and a few of the junior officers squared their shoulders.

“Thank you, Lord Lu,” said Li Chanchan, and was soon followed by the rest.

“Have the prisoners taken to the square.”

A short line of nobles with their hands tied and their mouths gagged was marched out of the palace and through the front gates. They were lined up to face the crowds that were being kept at bay by soldiers. Unlike when Kang had made his slow march through the city, there were no shouts or thrown objects. The crowds were almost eerily silent. Sen didn’t want to drag this out, so he raised his voice.

“These men and women conspired with General Kang to discredit General Mo, a hero of the land. In doing so, they conspired to weaken the army and to undermine me. The sentence for these crimes is death.”

Sen walked to where he could turn and face the line of nobles. Some of the men were trying to scream through their gags. Some of the women were crying. Several of the prisoners wore expressions of disbelief, as if they thought that this was all some terrible dream that they would wake up from. Sen made himself memorize their faces. Once he was sure he’d remember them, Sen reached out with his qi. He’d learned so much about how bodies worked that what he was about to do was almost trivially easy. He reached inside those frail mortals.

“Die,” he said, just loud enough that they could all hear him.

Then, he stopped every life-giving process inside of those nobles who had meant to disrupt his rule and his goals. They collapsed to the ground in a nearly perfect, utterly macabre unison. He didn’t need to do anything more to know they were dead. They had all vanished from his spiritual sense. He looked to the nearest officer.

“Return them to their families for proper funerals,” he ordered.

The soldier offered him an unusually deep bow and whispered, “Yes, Lord Lu.”