The worst seemed almost inevitable to Bahn Huizhong. Lu Sen might not be a nascent soul cultivator, yet, but that hadn’t stopped him from killing one in a straight fight before. There were persistent rumors that he’d killed another, but the details were murky. It hadn’t been a duel. That was all anyone knew, or all anyone was willing to say. At the very least, the man’s power dwarfed Li Yi Nuo’s strength. That alone was enough reason to show at least some courtesy, even if a prior relationship existed. Beyond that, though, he was a patriarch standing at the gates of his own sect. It might be a new sect, but it was always precarious to be disrespectful to a patriarch on their ground.
Bahn Huizhong did not want to fight with this man. He wanted to spar with him, certainly, but not fight. The outcome of that battle was hazy at best, particularly given the stories he’d heard. He was also having a hard time getting a clear sense of Lu Sen’s exact level of advancement. It felt like there was something actively concealing at least some of the man’s strength. Still, it seemed there was nothing for it. He prepared to start cycling his qi when something happened that he hadn’t anticipated. Lu Sen huffed out a little laugh, and a bit of that displeasure faded away.
“Well, aren’t you just as charming as the first time we met,” said Lu Sen.
A slight blush of embarrassment rose in her cheeks, but Li Yi Nuo regrouped quickly.
“You sent me to the far side of the kingdom for nothing,” she said and poked the man in the chest. “Kho Jaw-Long wasn’t there.”
Bahn Huizhong almost choked at that sight. Clearly, the man had more tolerance than most patriarchs, but there were always limits. Again, the man surprised him. Instead of striking Li Yi Nuo down, he gave her an intense look.
“You shouldn’t touch me anywhere you wouldn’t like me to touch you.”
There was a quality to the young man’s voice, an undercurrent that seemed to promise all kinds of inappropriate things while also serving as a tiny bit of a threat. It was an open question as to whether it was something that the man practiced or if it just came naturally to him. It’s probably a bit of both, thought Bahn Huizhong. Not that it really mattered in terms of results. Li Yi Nuo’s next words turned into incoherent splutters, and her face turned bright red. Bahn Huizhong burst into laughter. He couldn’t help himself. The poor girl had never really excelled at social situations and seeing her so immediately flustered was entertaining. Lu Sen, on the other hand, seemed to have gotten some instruction from someone well-versed in managing social situations somewhere along the way. Li Yi Nuo turned a betrayed look toward him, which just made Bahn Huizhong laugh even harder. Lu Sen lifted an eyebrow at him, but there was an amused twinkle in the man’s eyes.
“I am,” Lu Sen let out a small but audible sigh, “Patriarch Lu Sen of the Deep Wilds Academy. I’m clearly familiar with Li Yi Nuo, but I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“I am Elder Bahn Huizhong of the Vermilion Blade Sect.”
He offered the Patriarch a shallow but respectful bow. Lu Sen nodded in return, although a certain chilly quality had entered his expression at the word elder. Mixed into the many stories about the man, there had been a few about spectacularly poor encounters with various sect elders. Apparently, those stories were also true. It seemed that those other elders had poisoned the well. What was also patently obvious was that Lu Sen did not want them there. He had been generally polite and dismissed Li Yi Nuo’s behavior without a second thought, but he had not invited them to enter the… The man had called it an academy, but Bahn Huizhong knew a sect when he saw one. This place was definitely a sect. And inviting people inside was usually the first thing that was done when cultivators arrived from sects that weren’t actively hostile toward your own.
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Then again, thought Bahn Huizhong after a moment of insight, maybe he thinks that our respective sects are actively hostile or are about to be. We did send someone to capture him, and then I show up at his door. This could well look like the opening of some kind of formal hostilities. This wasn’t exactly a common problem, but it wasn’t unprecedented either. It was easy to misinterpret a sect’s intentions when you’ve had nothing but poor interactions with them in the past. He just wasn’t sure what the best approach to alleviating those fears would be.
“Aren’t you at least going to invite us in?” demanded Li Yi Nuo, having found her voice. “It’s been a tiring journey.”
“I suppose that depends on what you want, and who you represent. I have a good idea about why Li Yi Nuo is here. I’m less clear about your arrival, Bahn Huizhong. Are you here as an official representative of the Vermilion Blade Sect?”
Li Yi Nuo’s eyes moved from Lu Sen to him. He had been vague with her about why he was coming along. It hadn’t been anything sinister. It just amused him to play the mysterious master and let her think that he was executing some inscrutable plan of his own. He wasn’t here to officially represent the sect, but he also was just by virtue of being an elder. It got tricky to separate the two once you acquired a certain level of authority. However, he had the distinct impression that if he was there on official business, this would be the first and only time he had a chance to speak with Lu Sen. He decided to hedge on the side of caution.
“I was not sent here by the sect or told to accomplish any specific mission,” he said.
“Then, why are you here?” asked Lu Sen, his expression going even icier.
Bahn Huizhong was momentarily baffled by the other man’s apparently increasing hostility before understanding bloomed. He thinks the sect sent me here to kill him, unofficially, thought Bahn Huizhong. A quick little revenge killing that lets the sect keep its hands clean. He wanted to feel offended on the sect’s behalf that Lu Sen thought so little of them and their honor, but he couldn’t quite muster the emotions. He knew that there were plenty of sects that would do something exactly like that. It was one of the many things about sect behavior that he found both troubling and pointless. As though you could preserve honor with such an obvious fiction.
He decided that there was only one path forward with any real chance of success. Brutal honesty. If that wasn’t sufficient, then this would just have to be a nice walk through the countryside for him. There were far worse experiences than getting out and seeing new things.
“I just wanted to meet you,” said Bahn Huizhong.
“Oh,” said Lu Sen, confusion shattering the ice in his expression. “I… But why?”
It took a lot of effort not to laugh again. The young man’s question was laced with a kind of innocent bewilderment that just wasn’t seen with most elders and never with patriarchs. They always wanted to appear in perfect control. It was another illusion. One of those fantasies that some ancient cultivator had dreamed up about absolute mastery of the self. Maybe it was possible, but not if one also wanted to keep laying claim to the title of human. Human beings were surprised sometimes, or angered, or any of the myriad other emotions that came with being born to the human form. He had his doubts that those rare, transformed spirit beasts had the same experiences, but that was a question for cultivators with far different interests than him.
“Why not?” asked Bahn Huizhong. “You’re interesting.”
“I see,” said Lu Sen, although he clearly didn’t understand.
There was a long pause where no one said anything. It was the moment of truth. Lu Sen would either send them both away, let them both in, or maybe let Li Yi Nuo stay and dismiss him as having no business there. He was hoping for the second option. Unfortunately, that depended a lot on how much the young patriarch believed him. He watched as Lu Sen glanced at Li Yi Nuo, perhaps looking for some assurance that her elder’s words held value. The girl was standing almost rigidly straight, her face locked into a neutral expression. He supposed she didn’t want to unintentionally be responsible for having her master sent away. He knew he wouldn’t want to be put in the middle of that decision if he was in her shoes, not that he’d blame her for the outcome. He had invited himself along for selfish reasons.
“Well,” said Lu Sen, “I suppose you better come inside.”
It wasn’t the warm welcome that Bahn Huizhong might have hoped for, but it was still an invitation. That was enough to build on.