Chapter 38

Renton smiled as he watched the children eating dinner. Tan hadn’t experienced any particularly profound breakthrough during the day, but Renton knew that it would have been the epitome of arrogance to expect that he could trigger such an event in one day. He was happy to have simply given the boy a nugget of something to chew on, and he was hopeful for the child’s future growth.

The twins were bickering, with Tan goading them on. Pao was eating in silence, reflecting on something that the boy no thought was very important or profound, based on his expression.

Renton paused. Or was he? Perhaps that was just what the boy’s resting face looked like.

Either way, he was pleased with the family his brother had established for himself, and, as he sensed the resonating echoes from the earth, he realized that his time alone with his nephew and his friends was coming to an end. Nobody else noticed the subtle reverberations, but to Renton it was clear that his brother was moments away.

He excused himself and stepped out into the courtyard. He flared his Qi briefly, announcing his presence to anyone who cared to look for it.

A moment later, Tren was there, a guarded expression on his face. Renton smiled.

“Hello, big brother. It’s nice to see you again,” Renton said, genuine happiness in his voice.

“Renton,” Tren said. “You promised to stay out of my way if I stayed out of yours. Why are you--”

“Oh relax, I’m not here to cause you problems. I just heard that my family had grown and came to see my nephew,” Renton said. He smiled. “I’m not the arrogant little brat you remember, Tren. I understand you better now than I did back then. I couldn’t understand why you’d step away from everything. Not until I had that weight on my shoulders did I see the appeal of what you chose for yourself. Now, I’m a little envious.”

Tren paused. He studied his brother in more ways than one. “You’ve grown. I sense a bit of wind in your Qi, and a faint trace of the earth. You’re developing into a proper master.”

Renton grinned. “There is only one.”

“There is more than one, but there is only one,” Tren said, and the men stood silently for a moment.

Abruptly, Renton stepped forward and embraced his brother. Tren was startled, but he sensed no spirit of malice from his brother, so he accepted the hug, waiting for his younger brother to break it. When Renton stepped away, he nodded.

“You have grown,” Tren admitted. “I approve of this side of you.”

“I was an arrogant little brat and I know it,” Renton admitted. “I’m sorry. For everything.”

“You were what your environment made you,” Tren argued. “Our father pitted you against me to try to make you grow into more than you were destined to become. I saw what he was doing and hated him for it, but never you.”

“Yes, something that I couldn’t understand until he was out of the picture, rest his soul. Poisonous bastard that he was, rest his soul,” Renton said.

“Rest his soul,” Tren agreed. “You’ve been doing well in his absence, from what I hear.”

“Not as well as you would have in my place,” Renton admitted.

“I never had the taste for that sort of power,” Tren argued.

“That’s what made you so good at it,” Renton argued.

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Tren chuckled. “Yes, you maybe right. There’s a certain satisfaction of throwing everything on the table in a gamble where you truly don’t care if the opponent calls your bluff or not, because you know you’re not bluffing.”

“I wish I could do that,” Renton said. “Just threaten to walk away from it all like you did if I didn’t get my way.”

“Why don’t you?”

“I actually care about what would happen if I left a power vacuum at the top,” Renton answered. “You had me to fill your shoes, eagerly and grateful for the opportunity. I have nobody. Or perhaps, I do. What would you think of sending Tan to visit his uncle at the old family home?”

“I don’t want him getting a big head,” Tren answered. “He’s a fine boy and he’ll be a finer man. But I don’t want him to know who he really is until the foundation has set and he’s ready for the burden of that knowledge. I hope you didn’t tell him.”

“I made some allusions, but he was too focused on other matters,” Renton admitted. “Do you think that he’ll come to resent your decision to raise him as you have?”

“He’s had a happy childhood. He’s stronger than any of the children who might have been his frenemies if I’d told him the truth. He has true friends, ones who aren’t scheming behind his back to exploit their friendship for themselves or their families. Hopefully, when the veil comes off, he’ll appreciate what Wensho and I have tried to give to him. But I suppose you’re right, I won’t know until we tell him.”

Renton nodded. “It’s been nice to see you and Tan, brother, but I should get going. My duty calls.”

“If you ever find another break from your duties, come visit,” Tren said. “You have a niece who wouldn’t mind meeting her uncle as well. Just you, no retainers. And if you stay for more than a day, I plan on putting you to work.”

Renton grinned. “That sounds magical.”

He abruptly turned into lightning, shooting off over the horizon.

Tren watched his brother vanish. He cracked a smile, and went in to see the children. They called out at the sight of him, and each rushed to share the insights that they’d gained over the last eleven days.

The servants, knowing full well who they were serving but determined to maintain the Shen family’s privacy, pretended that he was nothing more than a visiting cultivation expert. They remained a polite and respectful distance away as he listened to the children eagerly regail him with their lessons and insights from the last two weeks.

When night fell, he announced that it was time for the children go to sleep, and they all reluctantly obeyed, returning to the bedrooms next to their cultivation chambers. When he was alone, Zenith approached the hidden master that was Tren Shen and bowed respectfully.

“My Lord, the emperor wishes to see you and make a request. Will you listen?” The master of the guard inquired.

“After he has hosted my son and his friends for a week, during which it sounds like they have made tremendous progress?” Tren asked. “Why would I listen to a word he has to say?”

Zenith grinned, and showed the earth master into the formal court room. It was empty, for a moment. Then Zenith stepped behind the screen that separated the emperor from his subjects and sat down in the cushion.

“It was good to host your family.”

“Oh? You’re not using a proxy?”

“When someone knows the truth, the little games are somewhat less important,” Emperor Zenith said. “And it could be considered something of an insult, no?”

“I wouldn’t see it as such,” Tren assured him. “You have respected my privacy, and so I would respect the games that you use to ensure yours. What is it that you wish to ask?”

“I have a niece. She has bonded an earth spirit. And a nephew who is one with the water. I would ask you and Wensho to return the favor that you have asked of me,” Zenith explained.

“Your family is welcome in my humble home at any time,” Tren said. “Although I would ask that you send word ahead to expect them. And that you prepare them. If they spend two weeks with us, it will be two weeks without servants. And they will work.”

“I believe such an experience would be most beneficial to them,” Zenith said. “The next time they are at a bottleneck in their cultivation, I will have them seek you out. Thank you for this boon.”

“When gold is worth nothing, time and favors are the only currency that matter. You have given much of your time to my son, can I do any less to you, Air Emperor?” Tren asked.

“Right, that’s enough formality,” Zenith said, standing up and walking out from behind the screens. “Let’s get drunk.”

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