A productive week passed. Tian and Liren focused on their respective arts and cultivation. If the equipment was lacking, they could only make up for it in other ways. The increasingly noticeable absence of Redspear and Stonesplitter weighed on the city. It wasn’t that the mortals, or even most of the immortals, were aware they were garrisoning the city. It was the increasing presence of nomadic bands outside the city. The Great Wolf Tribe had been butchered, but that just meant more meat for the others.
Tian made a point of visiting Hanshen. He found the pale man in the shrine to the Martyr Venerable. Not kneeling or worshiping, just sitting on a bench, looking at a painting of a small man, covered in rags and a ruined basket hat, holding a broom handle as a staff, and facing demonic gods without fear.
His face was still, and his eyes didn’t slide around. Still, Tian could feel the thoughts moving inside the Censor. Slow, but deep.
Tian sat down next to him on the bench. “I’m starting to learn how to use a staff.”
“What happened to the rope dart?”
“Cut up by a sword cultivator. And I’ve grown. I’m not sure it’s still a useful weapon for me.”
Censor Henshen nodded. “Do you know the story?” He pointed at the painting on the wall.
“Intimately.”
“What do you make of it?”
“He was sincere.” Tian smiled. “I can’t say much else, but I can promise you this, his words were sincere, as were his actions.”
“You think he came to the city looking to die?”
“Of course not! He wanted to live. An ascetic’s life is full of sweetness, though you might not think so. He wasn’t indifferent to living or dying. He wanted to live.”
“He sacrificed himself for the girl. He threw open his arms and let himself get stabbed in the chest with a cursed weapon.” Hanshen argued.
“This and that are two different things. He wanted to live, but he could accept dying. He could look at what he was doing, see the whole situation, and say “Alright, if that’s what it takes. I sure hope it isn’t. But it’s fine if it is.”
“A hero.” The words lingered softly on the air. Hanshen’s voice, always high pitched, seemed a little deeper, a little longing.
“I am sure he didn’t think of himself as such.”
“No, I don’t imagine he did. The real ones never do. He was simply doing what was necessary, which happened to be the right things, for the right reasons. Whatever his motives, he was willing to sacrifice himself for that duty.” A longing blended with bitterness. The emotions bled through the dry words, coloring the censor’s voice.
Tian struggled to put into words what he had been thinking and feeling. “Censor, I imagine you understand quite a bit about hate, these days.”
The censor closed his eyes. “Oh yes.”
“Well, I don’t know anyone who hates like Liren hates bandits, but the little monk had seen heretics at work. He knew exactly what the consequences were of letting Jin live, and letting the girl die. It’s not the angry kind of hate, or the obsessive kind. It’s a bone deep refusal. It’s the kind of hate that is willing to put in the work. He knew what it would cost. He hoped he would live. But even if he didn’t, the price was fair.”
Hanshen sat with his eyes closed, hands clasped in his lap. Even in the shrine, his sword rested within his reach, and his gauzy civil servant’s hat was pinned to his bun. He looked jaundiced in the yellow light of the oil lamps.
“Censor… is the price fair? Will you get what you wished for?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know. If it was just me paying the price, I would say yes. I am proud of my work, and I do my duty gladly. But it won’t just be me that pays.”
Tian sighed. “I don’t have friends abroad, but I expect Liren and I could get your family out, should it come to that. The Crane is still behind the ward. Did you know she ascended too? She did, and took the name Burning Heaven. I don’t expect the ward to come down any time soon, but there is at least a chance she could be let out early. With her around, getting them out of the country would be trivial. But even if she can’t, I have a good boat, and Liren has a strong back. We could row them all the way to Green Dragon Country and the sea.”
“And the price?”
“We’re keeping your Immortal Beseeching Token. I’d always planned to give it back once we reached the Capital, but I’m pocketing it now. The materials are expensive, and I’m very poor. Flat broke, in fact.”
“You should take bribes. I don’t, these days, but I can tell you it is very lucrative.” Hanshen’s voice was light, high pitched and airy. Tian let their sounds echo in the hall, then fade away. The Censors shoulders started to shake, then hunch forward. He covered his face with his hands. There was no sound. Tian looked away. When the Censor had gathered himself, Tian asked,
“How are they doing? Your wife’s name was Xinyi, right? And the boys… I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten their names. Remind me?” Tian lied.
“Wenkai and Dexing. We kept their names the same when we adopted them. Brilliant boys. Brilliant. Wenkai just passed the provincial level exam this year. We celebrated for three days! Dexing tries hard, but he doesn’t have the same social graces as Wenkai, which will hurt his prospects. In any other time, I’d be confident about him climbing the ranks at least a little way. A good, stable career. He would have three wives, and perhaps a concubine when he got older. He would have many children. So would Wenkai, only he’d have just one wife but four concubines.”
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Tian snorted. “Is that how that works?”
“I arranged his fiancee personally. A charming girl, from an excellent family, and a snob to the very middle of her bones. She would enjoy having inferiors do the heavy work of producing children, so long as she bore the heir.”
“Charming, eh?”
“Really. She’s lovely to everyone she can look at in the eye, and even nicer to those whose eyes she cannot meet. She’s just a bit strict with those she looks down on.” Henshen closed his eyes again. “If you can’t get out their fiancees, just Xinyi and the boys will be more than enough. In the very worst case…” His voice choked off. Tian reached over and patted his hand.
“I have been studying medicine these last few years. Last year I studied under someone who is easily the best doctor in the Kingdom, and probably for eight nations around. Once they are in my care, they will not die easily. I can’t promise perfect safety, but I can promise that much.”
“More than enough. More than enough.”
No words of thanks were said. No promises, no tokens of gratitude. Such fragile things couldn’t bear the weight of the moment.
The censorate was always the weapon of the Emperor, used to find and punish abuses by the civil service. Once Hanshen had fulfilled his purpose, or once the emperor could no longer tolerate such a powerful eunuch, he would be discarded and killed. The details could change, the who, what, when, and how still fluid, but the “why” was obvious to anyone who read a history book.
Tian had read a lot of history books. Hanshen had read even more.
“I’ll leave you to your meditation. I’m not following you when you leave the city, but I need to keep your sword attendant for a while longer. I’ll send him back to you once the time is right. Good enough?”
Hanshen nodded. “He has started eating enough for six men, has a godly physique, is more flexible than an eel and his martial arts are advancing at a rate that makes me jealous. Hard to say he’d be better off sticking with me. I’ll leave him with some books to study. A man should know ethics as well as martial arts.”
“You say that, but what if he believes what he reads? I dare to guarantee nobody will be happy if he actually practices what has been preached to him.” Tian shook his head and pulled a letter from his pocket.
“Here. I wrote this using some special ink I made. Should it come up, you can show it to the Heavenly or Earthly cultivators you might run into. I don’t have a name anyone knows, certainly not a feared one, but it might do you or your kids some good. Might be useful in court too. But that’s not something I’ll stick my nose into. I’m busy enough as it is.”
Tian stood up and dusted himself off.
“Should the worst come to pass, have them take the letter to Mountain Gate City. It should keep them safe enough in the lower town, even if it can’t get them into the city proper. I expect that whatever happens to you won’t be quiet. I’ll hear about it, and come looking for them. Little Han will be a help to your kids, then.”
Hanshen nodded. “He’s another young hero. One with enormous potential, should he live long enough. We have so few heroes left. I would trade my right arm and all my martial arts for just ten more.”
The air felt heavy with his words. The two sat in silence, until the Censor shook his head and freed himself of the dark land his thoughts wandered through.
“I’m leaving in two days. The city will likely come under attack within three months. The army is being mobilized, but what can be sent is a fraction of what would be needed to crush the Boruski. At best, we can hold the city and patrol the road to Red Reed Crossing.”
“Mmm. Sounds tough. Lucky it’s not your job to fix things here.”
Hanshen snorted, then chuckled. “Yes. Lucky me.” He blew out a breath. “The local Censor is a beast unchained, and I mean that in the best way. He’s been hanging heads that I wish I could have hung myself. I’ve sent back glowing reports to the Capital. The Red Plume General is another rare hero, and his continued loyalty is a source of continuous relief. His Red Plume Army is the last real nail holding down the Kingdom’s claim to the Steppes, even if effective control stops a hundred miles from the city. If you can help them, please do. I’m going to put on a show tomorrow, just to drive home a few things.”
“I’ll be watching. Discreetly.”
Tian told Liren what he had arranged, and she kissed him hard on the lips. “But why didn’t you offer to rescue him? If anyone deserves saving, it’s him. We don’t even know his family.”
“He wouldn’t go. If the Emperor needs him to die, then he needs to die. If the Emperor wants his family dead, Hanshen should let them be killed too. He can pay the price with his own life. He’s not willing to pay with his family’s life. So he’s being a little bit of a hypocrite.” Tian smiled happily. “I like him better for that.”
“The Emperor would be crazy to kill him, or let him be killed. Crazy. Killing a loyal subject, who has so many merits!”
“And if his head is needed to buy peace? There may be rebels who are willing to submit, so long as they know the King of Hell won’t be coming to find them in this life. And what about when he starts butting heads with the nobility? It’s coming. You can’t clear out that many merchants and senior officials without rubbing up against some titles too.”
Little Han came later that evening, carrying his luggage. They got him squared away, and settled back into their routines. The next day, they watched Censor Henshen bestowing the Governor, the Red Plume General, and a hundred randomly selected people with “Two lifesaving manuals, the grace bestowed upon the People by the Son of Heaven. With these, the body can be strengthened, while disease and injury are resisted. Even plague and famine may be beaten back. Let no one say the Immortals have forsaken the Broadsky Kingdom. Let the slanderers and fools read these, and dare to claim the pillars of heaven shake!”
Han was giving Tian quite a bit of side eye, when he thought he wasn’t being watched. Tian glanced over at him, and said “I heard it was the Beggars Guild spreading them around. A manual that teaches you how to live on scraps. That sounds like something the beggars would invent, even if the Son of Heaven would deny it forever.”
That made Han jerk, then narrow his eyes with suspicion. Liren snorted, and bumped Tian’s shoulder with hers. “Yes. It’s the kind of manual a junkyard rat might use to survive. And to thrive.”
“Copies of these manuals are to be printed at Imperial expense, and each household is required to obtain copies. Practice is mandatory, and inspectors will circulate to see that they are being put to use! Practice sessions will be organized, see your street captains for when your area is required to gather!” The Governor had taken over. “This is part of your corvee, and failure to attend will be harshly punished! Each week the street that shows the best improvement will be rewarded with meat and grain!”
Little Treasure was safely in the Monastery, so there was no one living who could see the shower of golden merit drizzling down onto the city plaza. He probably would have complained about the way the Censor, once quite easy to look at, was glowing brightly, and he definitely would have complained about Tian blazing like the sun. However, even he wouldn’t have been able to see the ancient ghost making rude gestures towards the sky, as merits fell on him like a summer storm.