Sky Pride

Chapter 8- Cruel Treachery

Tian wasn’t sure how he felt. He felt too many things to be only feeling the one thing- frustrated, furious, sad, curious, resentful, and perhaps above all irritated. At this point, his bowl was overflowing with more good things than he could realistically eat in a short time. He didn’t care about the Sky Treading Art. Maybe it was amazing. Maybe it was the best qi-and-shen art this side of the Celestial Court. It didn’t matter, because he didn’t have the damn time!

The root of it was that they were jamming him into a relationship he didn’t want by holding hostage all the relationships he did want. Rui was using soft methods, as soft as he could, and doing it as politely as he could, but it was still extortion and manipulation, and not very subtle at that. Nevertheless, the two bowed, and went.

They walked for half an hour, following the pull of the talisman. “Why now?” Liren asked seemingly out of the blue.

“Why what now?”

“Why is he forcing this now? Why not in a week, or a month, or a year? He doesn’t know about Voidcatcher’s deadline. As far as he knows, we are stuck on the mountain indefinitely with the rest of the Monastery. So why does it have to be practically as soon as we arrive?”

“He needs an achievement. Something to solidify his position in the sect, and mark a real change. More than that, he needs some tangible proof that what he is offering is worthwhile. If two big holdouts against the previous… regime? Administration?”

Liren just shrugged, not caring what Tian called it. She worked through the social math. “If we accept, we are saying we wouldn’t accept being taught by the former sect leader, but will accept being taught by Sect Master Rui’s master, and by extension, him. We won’t be part of Starsieve’s lineage. We will be part of Cruel Treachery's lineage, with the added benefit of you bridging the gap thanks to your father being Starsieve’s disciple. We will help legitimize him, and stabilize his administration. It will be a big boost for morale too.” She put the rest of it together.

Living in the City Lord’s palace had been an education on top of the one they had already gotten in the Monastery. It helped when you could snoop on all the parties to a conversation, and see the schemes they thought went unseen.

They let the conversation fall fallow. The mountain was no less beautiful than they remembered. Each leaf and branch of each tree seemed to seethe with life. The vibrancy of the water-thick and towering trees, the sweetness of the reeds in the morning sunlight, so different from the steppe grass and myrtle around Burning Flag City. The thought made Tian smile, then laugh.

“We are half way up a magic mountain, and still breathing mortal air. What fine reclusive daoists we are. What superb mountain ascetics!”

The two walked until late afternoon, not rushing, not going slow. The token led them to a half-hidden valley, more of a fold in the rock than anything else. They were slightly spooked when the token dissolved a concealing array on an unremarkable stretch of the rock face. They hadn’t even suspected it was there.

“Juniors Tian Zihao and Hong Liren have come to greet Daoist Master Cruel Treachery." Tian announced, standing by the entrance to the cave.

There was a long silence, then a subtle beckoning. No words, just a feeling they should enter. Tian glanced at Liren, who glanced back. They went in, side by side.

The cave was shallow. They were only a dozen yards in, when they found Cruel Treachery. She was sitting on a worn and ragged prayer mat at the end of the shallow cave. The space around her was narrow, she could have touched both walls stretching out her arms, and she wasn’t a big woman. She was, to Tian’s quiet surprise, entirely bald. Her robes were the blue and white of the Monastery, but of a material so fine, Tian couldn’t even guess its name or nature. Some manner of celestial silk, perhaps. It carried no ornamentation. It didn’t need any. Simple quality of materials and perfection of craftsmanship said everything necessary.

“Once you have achieved a certain degree of mastery over shen, the so-called silent communication used in the Heavenly realm is no different than shouting. I mention this so you will understand. Your thoughts are heard here. Your words to each other are heard. And yes, I heard you as you walked up the mountain.”

Her lips weren’t moving. Her eyes didn’t open either. She remained sitting in lotus, her breath slow and steady as the mountains’.

“Your deductions were correct, as far as they went. You forgot the other question you should be asking. ‘Why send you to me?’”

Tian blinked. He thought the answer was quite obvious.

“Only partially obvious, Junior Tian. The part you are leaving out is that I trained Disciple Rui. I’m the one who showed him the virtue of the thinking that led to your beloved West Town Outer Court. I am, rather directly, the reason Disciple Rui put the policies into place that he did. If the hell of your childhood can be traced directly to the policies of old Starsieve and… do you really think his name is Dog Nose? That’s hilarious.”

Her face didn’t so much as twitch.

“I’m not telling you his real name.”

Tian struggled mightily to keep his mind empty.

“Anyway. If the worst things in your life can be traced back to them, your happiest childhood memories, the best part of your time in the Outer Court, the foundation of the rising strength in the sect, can all be traced back to me. It may be arrogant to say, but it is those who follow my teachings who are the hope of creating the sect as you wished it was. This is your opportunity to make it as you wish it to be.”

“Or else.” Tian didn’t let the words escape his lips, but the difference was nil.

“Or else, yes. We won’t be cruel about it, but you will be saying, very directly, that you do not wish to be associated with what truly makes us a sect. What would you do in our place?”

“What would your requirements of us be?” Liren asked. She spoke softly, but her words echoed off the narrow walls, filling the space with the weight of the question.

“Be filial.”

Tian controlled his snort. He really was trying to be polite, but his endless education on what ‘filial behavior’ meant left him unwilling to entertain the opinions of others on the subject. Nor was he willing to pledge it to a stranger.

“You know I can feel your neck stiffening. It’s usually a metaphor, but in your case, both your cases, I can feel it’s literally true. My disciple really didn’t exaggerate. You aren’t overawed by my cultivation either, because you have seen, and studied under, beings far more powerful than I. Nor are you particularly worried about punishment, given the circumstances and the notorious outcome of Junior Tian’s last public correction. What a day for laughs.”

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Treachery’s face remained still and impassive. Perhaps she was laughing on the inside.

Tian didn’t say anything. He was too old a hand at meditation to think he could silence his thoughts entirely, so he turned them to cultivation instead. Verdant Spring was an old friend. He could cultivate that while doing almost anything else, short of fighting.

“What would you ask of a student? What would you demand from a disciple?” Treachery asked.

The memory of Han in the courtyard flashed into Tian’s mind. “Be true to yourself. Conduct yourself in the world in a way that won’t make me ashamed to acknowledge you as my student. Do your best to uphold the virtues of compassion, humility and frugality.”

The silence hung heavy on them again. He had the uncomfortable feeling that she was dissecting the fleeting memory he had revealed, picking it apart and trying to understand him.

“And you, Junior Hong?”

“The same.”

“Really the same?”

“More or less. I’d have skipped the three supreme virtues. I think they are implied by the previous sentence.”

“Heavens.” The thought sounded simultaneously indifferent and helpless. “You do understand that the practical difference between what you and I asked for is nothing, and the symbolic difference is everything.”

“Phrasing matters. I was told so repeatedly.” Tian’s voice was prim, though still polite.

“You left out the other part of what you told that mortal boy. The bit about consequences finding him quickly.”

“I did, Daoist Master, yes. It seems redundant at the moment.” Tian nodded.

“I suppose it is. How amusing. All these years of cultivation, of discarding vanities and trivialities, and now it’s my neck stiffening. The phrases “Junior, you dare,” and “Courting death” do keep leaping to mind.”

Tian nodded. He had long since accepted that he had that effect on people.

“Daoist Master-” Tian started, soft and gentle, trying to ease the tension without yielding ground.

“You can call me Elder for now.”

“Elder Cruel Treachery, may I offer an observation? So long as we are part of the sect, we are subject to the laws of the sect which govern behavior. As to practical differences, what would be the difference between us following the sect’s rules and agreeing to be filial towards you specifically? I believe it would be very little. The symbolism of accepting you as a master should be enough to cover all political issues.”

“I am more concerned about the symbolic distinction to me. Your rejection of filial connection severs the lineage I represent.”

“How so? Would you not be our teacher, and we your students? Would we not receive your teachings, and carry them on to the next generation?”

Treachery fell back into silence, then said “Student Hong, you have let Student Tian speak for for the both of you. I want you to speak now. What do you want? What do you feel?”

“Fury. Utter fury, which I am only keeping leashed by practicing the meditation discipline taught to me by Venerable Merciless. Not because you have lied to us, you haven’t, but because of the sheer falsity of the situation. You want to teach, we are willing to learn, the sect wants us to be the standard bearers for the new generation, we don’t want to leave our people. We all want the sect to change for the better, yet this one thing, this one detail you argue is semantic and symbolic, is enough to derail the entire project and put the whole future of the Monastery at risk! If the difference is so irrelevant, why must we be the ones to bend our necks, when we are the ones being strong-armed into this role? And how dare anyone ask us to treat them as a parent, when they contributed to our families' extermination?”

The temperature of the cave dropped sharply. Tian noticed his breath was condensing into fog, something he could never remember having seen before. Quite interesting.

“You play a dangerous game, girl.” Treachery’s voice was colder than the cave. “Don’t mistake my calm for a tolerance of naked disrespect. Slandering a sect elder- you know the punishment.”

“Is that what you want from your disciples? That we live in fear of you? Do you think so little of us that only the threat of death or imprisonment would make us behave properly? If you think we would betray you, don’t teach us. Just send us away. If you think we would be a credit to the monastery, teach. I am entirely respectful and sincere in saying this.” Liren did just manage to keep her tone civil.

The coldness hovered a moment longer, then dispersed.

“How amusing. How utterly absurd. Disciple Rui really didn’t exaggerate things. You really would leave the sect. You would pay the price in pain and just go. I can only imagine the sort of parents you will be. Your children are going to be an absolute nightmare for you, once they reach about ten or eleven years old. All your words will be thrown back into your teeth.”

Tian didn’t know how to answer that, so he opted for silence instead.

“Do you know why Disciple Rui had such a menial position in the Outer Court? Why he, a dignified Direct Disciple, never referred to himself as such, or was referred to as such by others? Why he is the weakest sect master in the history of our Monastery?”

Tian had learned to recognize rhetorical questions. He kept his mouth shut.

“I raised that boy, from his days as a mortal, right through to when he ascended with a true revelation of the Dao. I was so proud, I thought my heart would burst. Naturally, I put forward my claim to train him. And I was refused. Politics. A different faction had some squabbles with him, and didn’t want him coming under my protection and adding to the power of my network. Old Huangfu’s lineage. He’s in death seclusion now, but he was meddlesome enough at the time.” She snorted, the irritation still fresh after centuries.

“Two daoist masters, who to choose? They split the difference and sent him to an elder of no particular standing. He was taught the Sky Treading Art, but his attainment in it is simply unspeakable. His main shen art is some lesser thing, picked up who knows where. The elder in question passed shortly after passing on the chant. Junior Rui mourned for a year, then asked to renounce his position as a Direct Disciple, as he could no longer receive his master’s teachings. Naturally, I couldn’t replace the elder, even informally! Old Huangfu couldn’t have that, or what would have been the point of all his previous efforts? Until everything had gone on to long for such a thing to matter.”

Tian nodded slightly. Filial, sort of. And a very pointed protest. A cultivation career cut short, or at the very least, delayed brutally, over nothing that really mattered. But when Rui spoke of a master, he only mentioned Cruel Treachery. That was very filial indeed, even if it was debatably proper.

“The word ‘filial’ matters because it means you are part of a family. A family that originates with the Ancient Crane, and each subsequent generation choses, and is chosen by, the next. A created family, built on respect, tradition, and shared beliefs. You wish to move the relationship from family to something more impersonal, a sort of institutional lineage.”

Tian sighed internally. Brother Fu was first his teacher before becoming his father. He could see how Rui’s pain drove him to make the improvements to the Outer Court that he did. She probably would be a fine master, in that parent-child tradition. It didn’t change what he intended to say. “Respectfully, Elder, did you plan on being a teacher to me, or a mother?” Tiand cupped his fist and asked. Liren bowed with him.

Tian had the feeling of standing on a razor’s edge. Not metaphorically, the literal sensation. He recalled the Metal cavern in the Six Turns Cavern. He literally stood on razor’s edges and the tips of needles, to better understand the truth of metal. It was an element that demanded focus, precision, that tested you constantly and forced you to discard what did not survive.

Cruel Treachery snorted, and opened her eyes. They were entirely sky blue, without a pupil or sclera. “I suppose you can call me Master, then. We will follow your terms. One day, I hope you can appreciate what you just lost.”