“Not something like. Exactly as if. He has the king’s seal,” Chao Kun said. “This is big. The entire time I’ve been here, I’ve never seen an envoy before. This is big.”
“You said that already,” Li Yao said. “And of course it is. The Six Jade Gates Set has gained multiple peak Core practitioners. The kingdom will suffer greatly if we do not commit our own Core cultivators.”
“Isn’t that what the entire expedition was for?” Wu Ying said, shaking his head. “I’m sure Elder Po at the least would join. And both Elder Dong and Wei managed to ascend. They’re in secluded cultivation now.”
“All the good that’ll do the kingdom,” Chao Kun said. “Even Elder Li has spent much time reinforcing her cultivation. And you know she will not be at the forefront of the war. Only Elder Po would be ready to help right now.”
“Kind of makes it seem as though everything we did on the expedition was a waste,” said Wu Ying. “We suffered a lot for such a minimal increase to our strength.”
Wu Ying looked at his friend, who had managed to heal for the most part. The ex-monk had never complained about the long hours he had spent healing after the expedition, but Wu Ying knew that the injuries still bothered him at times. It was only the progression in his cultivation stage that allowed Tou Hei to continue without any external effects. Of course, Wu Ying had to concede it could be that the experience and enforced rest had helped push his friend ahead too. Cultivation could be strange like that sometimes.
“In the short term, probably. But we are cultivators. We should not be thinking only in the short term,” said Chao Kun. “Once the elders stabilize their cultivation, we will have a much stronger Sect.”
“That does remind me,” said Wu Ying. “Why do we dislike—no, not dislike—fight the Six Jade Gates Sect?”
“It is because certain cultivators who should know better keep interfering with the mortal world,” said Li Yao. “Their Sect leader is the State of Wei’s king’s ancestor. It’s why the Six Jade Gates Sect throws so much support behind them.”
“I believe it is more complicated than that, Li Yao,” said Chao Kun. “I have heard rumors that the Sect Elder of the Six Jade Gates’ dao is that of conquests.”
“I heard it was domination,” said Tou Hei.
“Sounds the same to me,” said Li Yao.
“Only to someone who isn’t paying attention,” said Chao Kun. “One requires you to constantly grow, to continually battle. The other only requires you to own.”
“Own what?” said Wu Ying.
“Everything.”
Chao Kun’s pronouncement silenced the group. It also helped that they had finally arrived at Wu Ying’s residence. Together, they retired to Wu Ying’s greeting room, taking seats among all the wooden furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl. After spending over a year in this residence, he had grown quite comfortable with it. Even if it was still the smallest, least ostentatious, and farthest inner sect residence, it suited him. He could have gotten something a bit larger, especially since the competition to add additional members to the sect had finished last fall, but he felt uncomfortable pushing himself forward that way. This was more than sufficient for him. Once the group settled, Ah Yee arrived with her usual efficiency and supplied the group with snacks and tea.
“I don’t really care what his dao is,” Li Yao said as she snacked on roasted sunflower seeds. “I just don’t want to get involved in the war. I’m here to be a cultivator, not a soldier.”
“So you’re not interested in joining the expedition?” said Wu Ying. “I understand that the volunteers often receive a significant number of contribution points. I would think, with the king’s envoy here, the rewards would be even greater.”
In truth, that was one of the reasons Wu Ying was interested in the war. As a peasant, he did not have the riches many of his compatriots did. And while all inner sect members receive a stipend, no ambitious cultivator—and all cultivators were ambitious by definition—would suffer themselves to be slowed down by the minuscule amounts they received.
“You can’t spend anything if you are dead.” Li Yao took a deeper breath and added, “Not that I expect us to die, but it is a war. I can’t help but think that taking part is probably a bad thing for one’s dao, unless it was aligned to something like this.”
“Li Yao is a well-known objector to the war,” said Chao Kun.
“I just object to how much help we provide to the kingdom,” said Li Yao. “The state of Wei is already overextended. If we let them fight our mortal armies, they will eventually tire themselves out. They cannot hold this much land. It is basic strategy.”
“And how many mortals would die following this strategy?” Wu Ying frowned at his girlfriend and her callous dismissal of those who would have to fight.
“Well, that would really depend on the generals involved. General Jin has a tendency to fight losing battles, but General Zhen is much more prudent. He’s more likely to pull back before things grow too damaging.”
Wu Ying shook his head, once more remembering the things that stood between him and Li Yao. His village was one of those that would be taken, be sacrificed in her strategy. Li Yao, on the other hand, came from the north, her home safe behind the river that bisected the top third of the nation. Like Lord Yi, she and her family would never really have to deal with the armies of Wei. In fact, the rich silver-loaded mountains in the north made the entire region almost autonomous from the kingdom of Shen. There was probably more to the politics involved, but Wu Ying was still learning his way around these facts. As a former peasant, his local politics involved chickens, the occasional cow, and drainage. A lot of talks about drainage.
“Well, what do people think? How many core Elders will the Six Gates send? And did anyone hear how they did over the winter? Did they manage to promote anyone else?” Tou Hei said to return the conversation to their initial point.
Chao Kun pursed his lips. “I heard some rumors that the Six Gates might have had a few more fortuitous encounters. They managed to promote six new members to the first stage of Core development.”
“Six!” exclaimed Tou Hei.
“Won’t they need a long time to stabilize their cultivation?” Wu Ying said.
“It will be shorter. Depending on the individual, it could be as short as winter,” Li Yao said. Of the group, she and Chao Kun were the closest to achieving Core cultivation and would have more information on the requirements. “After you form your Core, the initial period requires you to fill up your meridians and Core with chi. It is not—as my Master informs me—very hard. Other than that, they would need to gain an understanding of their new strength and learn a new, more suitable, martial technique.”
“Which is easier on the battlefield,” Chao Kun pointed out, waving his teacup.
“Only for those specializing in martial areas.” Wu Ying chuckled. “I don’t think Master Li sees any point in expanding her understanding of the martial arts.”
“Har. No. Though with her skills…”
The talk turned to more speculation as the group threw out names of Elders, wondering if they would be added or subjected to the call for volunteers. The addition of Core experts to the force was a certainty. How many and who was the question.
And in between, Wu Ying was forced to wonder. Why did his fate-believing, karma-loving Master decide to join the war two years ago? It was very uncharacteristic of him.
***
Elder Li was the first to find Wu Ying a couple days later. The discussion with the king’s envoy had continued in the upper levels of the sect and had, at first, been all that everyone discussed. But days after his arrival and with little word trickling down, the normal business of the Sect had reasserted itself. Elder Li thus found Wu Ying tending to a pair of early blooming magnolias, pruning branches and checking on the soil.