“As if I paid that much attention to you.” Yin Xue snorted. “I have better things to do. Like breaking into the Energy Storage stage. And gaining more contribution points.”
Wu Ying frowned, then let his gaze roam over Yin Xue again. His eyes narrowed as he noted how the nobleman’s son wore plain Sect robes, not the upscale robes sold in the armory. In addition, Yin Xue lacked the usual assortment of jewelry that many of the nobles wore. No jade amulets or bracelets, gold hair pieces, rings, or belts except for a single necklace that Wu Ying caught peeking out of Yin Xue’s collar. More than that, as Wu Ying let his aura sense expand, he realized that Yin Xue had made a little dig at Wu Ying. For Yin Xue was in the beginning stages of Energy Storage, unlike him.
“Then why tell me?” Wu Ying said.
“My father has blocked all communication. By the time you learned of it, it would be too late,” Yin Xue said.
“You want something.”
“So distrustful. Can I not be sowing seeds of karma?”
Wu Ying pursed his lips but finally nodded thanks. “Do you have more details?”
Yin Xue shook his head. “It was a passing note in a letter from home.”
“I see.” Wu Ying grimaced. He wished he had more details. How had Lord Wen stopped their planned migration? Had he hurt anyone? How did he do it? Why would he do that?
“Are you that dumb?” Yin Xue said. Wu Ying blinked, realizing he had spoken the last question out loud. “What use is a lordship when there is no one taking care of the land? A village without villagers offers no tax. Of course he would stop them.”
Wu Ying twitched. He had considered every aspect, every possible issue from the villager’s perspective. He had checked with the Elders and the magistrate. He’d even set aside a store of funds so that he could pay for food during the first winter. It was expensive, but compared to the price of the spiritual herbs he sold, it was something he could afford. He’d even sent enough funds to purchase the travel passes for the entire village. But not once had he considered how his actions would be seen from Lord Wen’s side.
“Can you guess what he would do?” Wu Ying said, subdued now. Worried.
“It would depend on how angry he is. But most likely? Confiscate the funds you sent and place restrictions on their travel. Without a pass, no ship will take them on,” Yin Xue said. “He might punish your Chief though. It’d depend on how angry he was.”
Wu Ying nodded, understanding the point. Initially, the travel pass would have been easy to acquire. After all, with Chief Tan coming too, he would use the seal provided with the village’s huki[7] and stamp all the necessary passes from the village. After that, they only needed to receive a stamp at each city they entered—which was a formality so long as one had the funds. It was the first seal, with the approved travel destination, that was the hardest. As a Sect member, he bypassed all these restrictions, only having to flash his Sect seal—if his robes by themselves were not enough.
“Thank you.”
If Yin Xue was correct, it relieved Wu Ying’s mind a little. Hopefully Lord Wen had not been too angered. After all, many others would have taken steps to send away their most vulnerable. This was just a little more ambitious.
Having said his piece and answered the questions, Yin Xue turned and left. Wu Ying called out one last thanks, though the nobleman’s son did not acknowledge it, leaving Wu Ying to stare at the empty courtyard. He frowned pensively, debating what to do, what he could do, as the day grew dark.
***
Hours Wu Ying spent pondering his problem. What could he offer? What could he suggest to get his family to leave? The problem, as he saw it, was two-fold. Firstly, his family—the village—would refuse to leave if they did not have to. There was too much in their village to make leaving easy—from the graves of ancestors to farmlands painstakingly cared for over generations. Just getting the soil right would take decades, generations of work.
The second problem was more complex. When, and if, they decided to leave, Lord Wen would not let them go. How Wu Ying was to convince him otherwise, he did not know. What did nobles want? Other than their taxes. It was a different world from the Sect, where face and one’s dao were most important. As different as his life as a peasant.
In time, Wu Ying walked out of his residence in search of knowledge. Knowing who to speak to was the start of the solution, and of those he could ask, one stood out in his mind.
“Senior Yang,” Wu Ying greeted his senior sister when he was allowed into the moonlit courtyard of her residence.
Unlike his own residence, Yang Fa Yuan’s had multiple buildings formed into the familiar multiple courtyard-style residence with walkways connecting each building. It created a sprawling mansion, one that had multiple larger, open-air gardens between each walkway. The gardens themselves followed a variety of themes that represented the four seasons. But it was the internal courtyard of the main building that Wu Ying was shown to where his Senior sat, surrounded by a pair of other Elders.
“Elder Shih. Elder Pang,” Wu Ying said.
The male Elders glared at Wu Ying, but Fairy Yang smiled demurely. She quickly made excuses, sending the two Elders off as she “had to deal with her junior brother.” Only when they had left and she had turned on the privacy formation did Fairy Yang flop back onto her chair and groan.
“Thank you for coming. If I had known it was that easy to get rid of them, I would have made you visit me more often,” Fairy Yang said.
“Senior?”
“They will not stop courting me.” Fairy Yang rolled her eyes. “As if I ever showed any interest in them.”
Wu Ying prudently kept silent as his Senior groused about her suitors. He waited until she ran down her complaints, making sure to nod when necessary even as impatience gnawed at his control.
“Enough. You do not need to be hearing this about your Elders. Remember—do not repeat anything I said.”
Wu Ying hastily agreed. He did not need to anger Elder Pang any further.
“Now, why have you visited me?”
Wu Ying quickly related what he had begun with his village and what Yin Xue had told him, ending with a simple question. “Can I trust what he said?”
“Of course not,” Fa Yuan said. “Though I would be surprised if he had lied to you. Especially as he must have known you would tell others. Fights in the outer sect are expected. Some might even say encouraged.” Fa Yuan’s gaze shifted to where the two Elders had left. “There are arguments to be made that the competition makes for stronger inner sect disciples. But such underhandedness is expected to be set aside in the inner sect. At least for the most part. Competition is still encouraged of course, but there is too much to be done for that kind of distraction. In theory.”
Wu Ying cocked an eyebrow at Fa Yuan, who shook her head, apparently disinclined to expand on her words. “Then what do you recommend I do?”
“You cannot leave this alone? Let your village, your parents, fate play out as it should?” Fa Yuan regarded Wu Ying as she spoke. Seeing his answer on his face, she continued. “A pity. Our Master would recommend that course of action. Your attempts are already being foiled, perhaps by fate itself. It could be argued that it is their destiny to be in their village.”
“Could it not be argued that it is my destiny to change theirs? That I am meant to save them?” Wu Ying said.
“Maybe.” Fa Yuan opened her hands wide. “Fate. Destiny. Karma. They are… difficult concepts to grasp. Still, if you are resolved, then you should speak with him directly.”
“Him?”
“This Lord Wen,” Fa Yuan clarified. “I cannot say what he wants. If you were older, stronger, more reputable, you could trade a favor in the future. Perhaps you still can. But nobles generally care for three things: their lineage, their land, and their wealth. Often in that order.”