~~~

“Weakness is the worst of crimes,” Liu Jin tells his men once everyone has seen the City Lord’s merchandise. They are gathered outside the hideout, waiting until the Brotherhood decides what to do with them.

“A weak man cannot protect his property. He cannot protect his wife, his parents, or his children. A weak man is of no use to anyone, not even himself. Thus, by virtue of being weak, he has committed a crime against himself and his fellow men. That is why those stronger, thus more virtuous than him, are free to take everything that belongs to him, even his life.”

Liu Jin looks at the faces of his soldiers as he speaks. Some are grim, others confused, and others still try to appear uncaring.

“You all know this, of course. That is why the City Lord’s actions should not come as a surprise to any of you. He is strong, and the strong take what they want. Surely you have done the same.”

A twitch here. A frown there. Liu Jin continues.

“You have all killed before,” Liu Jin says. “You have all stolen. Almost certainly. You needed something and took it. That is the way of things. City Lord Lei is no different. He wanted more money, more wine, and more women, so he took his own people and sold them like cattle. He has power, so that’s permissible to him.”

Liu Jin pauses for a second before asking a question.

“So why are you bothered by it?”

Furrowed brows, darting eyes, and fidgeting hands are all the answers Liu Jin gets. That’s fine. Liu Jin already knows why, even if the soldiers are unable or unwilling to voice it.

It is one thing for prisoners of war to be made into slaves and sold. They are the enemy, so their suffering is cause to rejoice. It is unimportant if beggars are taken off the streets and made to fight for the amusement of a crowd. They are beggars, after all. No one cares for them, or else they wouldn’t be beggars.

But an entire village, a village made up not of foreigners or wastes but of their fellow citizens, people of Murong Bang’s territory who are supposed to fight Murong Bang’s enemies.

That hits a little differently.

Somehow, it manages to feel like a betrayal.

“How many of you come from a small town or village like the ones we passed by?” Liu Jin asks. More than one winces. “How many of you still have families waiting for you there? Did you send letters back home letting them know you had been made into soldiers, hoping your meager prestige would act as a cloak for them? That was woefully naive of you. It’s fine, though. You are young.”

They are young, and because they are young, Liu Jin believes he has a chance to reach them. Maybe. They are relatively new soldiers who have not yet been instructed in the countless atrocities Murong Bang’s army commits on a regular basis. They are not yet desensitized to it.

“You joined the army because you recognized your weakness. You sought power by allying yourselves with the strong, but more than that, you sought protection. You expected mercy from those who have none. You expected gratitude from those who only think of themselves. You expected your loyalty to receive some sort of reward. You expected to be treated differently, and even now, some of you probably still believe you are different from the villagers sold as slaves. You are not. You will never be.”

No one says anything. Somehow, everything has gone quiet.

“We will stay with the Brotherhood of Thunder until they decide what to do with us,” Liu Jin says. “There is no need for you to worry about it. You are all under my protection, so feel free to use this time to think. Of course, there is really no need for you to think. You can just keep living as you have, striving to be as cruel as your superiors in the vain hope that it somehow amuses them enough to not treat you as they do everyone else.”

~~~

The Brotherhood repurposes a few small houses to serve as temporary jails for Liu Jin and his men. The following day, Liu Jin is summoned for an audience with the leadership of the Brotherhood.

“Qing Jin, emissary of General Nie Dan, disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan, why have you come to the Brotherhood of Thunder?”

In front of Liu Jin are the four highest-ranking members of the Brotherhood of Thunder. One of them is the brown-haired man in the True Realm Liu Jin spoke to the previous day. Another one is the axeman that was freeing the prisoners yesterday. There is also a woman with gray-streaked hair done up in a bun. Both are weaker in cultivation than the brown-haired man.

A paper screen hides the last person from Liu Jin’s sight. However, Liu Jin does not need to look at the man to know he is very old and very weak. The man's Qi says it all.

“First of all, I thank the Brotherhood of Thunder for granting me this audience,” Liu Jin says, his hands clasped together, and his head bowed.

The brown-haired man snorts.

“What is the point in feigning politeness after bringing one hundred men to our doorstep? We are only hearing you out because you have made an utter nuisance of yourself.”

The axeman smiles. “I don’t know, Leader Liu. I think it shows gumption.”

Leader Liu glances at the man out of the corner of his eyes. “Of course you would.”

The woman claps her hands gently, perhaps hoping to bring some order. It gives Liu Jin the opportunity to hide his surprise at sharing a family name with the leader of the Brotherhood.

“Please, we are making a poor impression on our guest.” She gives Liu Jin an apologetic look. “We are, of course, grateful for your help as we do not know if we would have found that caravan so quickly had you not informed us about it. However, you must understand that your presence raises many questions.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Leader Liu says, crossing his arms. “You claim to be an emissary of General Nie Dan, but it was that monster Murong Bang who sent you here so you could help the vile City Lord. You and your men have visited numerous towns looking for us, but now you say you wish to offer your services? Why should we believe you?”

“I understand your hesitation,” Liu Jins says. “The circumstances that have placed me before you are most unusual, and even after hearing them, you might have trouble believing me. Nevertheless, I ask that you hear my tale.”

“Go on, then,” says the old man behind the paper screen. His voice is kind but tired. Visible alarm appears on the faces of the other three leaders as he speaks, perhaps out of concern for his health. “Explain yourself to us, young man.”

“I was originally sent here as an emissary of the Eternal Flame Clan to General Nie Dan,” Liu Jin says. “You might not know this, but the Eternal Flame Clan-”

“The Eternal Flame Clan profits by bleeding our resources dry while we kill each other,” Leader Liu says darkly, meeting Liu Jin’s eyes. “Do not assume us to be uneducated.”

“The thought never crossed my mind,” Liu Jin says. “And I will not deny that the Eternal Flame Clan has unfairly taken advantage of this country. However, things have changed. Lord Feng Gui, the man who will be our next Patriarch, wishes to end the needless civil war. He sent me and others here to incentivize General Nie Dan to defeat the other two generals.”

The leaders of the Brotherhood do their best to keep calm, but it is clear Liu Jin’s declaration has unsettled them. Hearing someone speak so casually about something they have only dared to imagine cannot be easy.

“General Dan was starting to assemble a large force to attack Murong Bang with-”

“Is that true?” Leader Liu asks, cutting him off. “Is what you are saying true? Is General Nie Dan preparing to attack?”

“Unfortunately, things have changed, Leader Liu,” Liu Jin says, bowing his head. “We found out General He Bin is cooperating with a powerful enemy.”

“We have heard rumors about that,” the woman says, her lips lightly pursed. “People say that Murong Bang spoke to a crowd about a group called the Death Scripture.”

“Bah, those are just tales made up to scare the people,” the axeman says.

“I don’t know,” Leader Liu says, frowning thoughtfully. “Is Murong Bang the sort who needs to lie to create terror?”

“I am afraid they are quite real, as is the threat they pose,” Liu Jin says. “They are real enough that General Dan sent me here to negotiate a temporary truce with Murong Bang while he prepares to deal with them. Unfortunately, though Murong Bang accepted General Dan’s proposal, he has decided to amuse himself with me by holding the truce hostage. If I do not do as he says, he will attack General Dan.”

As one, the three people in front of him tense up. No one moves, but the merest spark could set off a roaring blaze.

“I have no intention of fighting you,” Liu Jin says.

“Why?” Leader Liu asks him. “You just said your truce depends on doing what Murong Bang wants.”

“Because Murong Bang did not only ask for your heads,” Liu Jin replies. “Murong Bang wanted the heads of the bandits and every single person who cooperated with them.”

Liu Jin sighs, defeated.

“I realized it when we were visiting the villages. They are all cooperating with you, aren’t they?”

There is a slight pause before the woman with gray-streaked hair replies.

“Occasionally, we have given some aid to the villages. Some might feel thankful to us. To what degree, I cannot say,” she says.

Liu Jin immediately understands she is understating things. It is probably because of the Brotherhood stealing from the City Lord and giving to the needy that those villages are still standing. To say nothing of the gratitude they must feel whenever they rescue those about to be sold into slavery.

The few people who had come forward with information when they were asking around had probably been trying to lead them astray or lure them into some sort of trap.

“There is no need for you to say more,” Liu Jin says. “Fulfilling the duty given to me is impossible without shedding innocent blood, and I do not dare lie to Murong Bang’s face.”

Especially since Liu Jin is fairly sure that Murong Bang is not ignorant of what has been happening here. In fact, Murong Bang probably sent him here because he knew the situation would develop like this. It is just like in the arena. Liu Jin could have won easily if he allowed the people in the stands to die, but he chose to protect them and, by doing so, made the fight harder on himself.

Similarly, if Liu Jin kills all the members of the Brotherhood and the villagers, he can return to Rainstorm City and go help with the Death Fashioning Scripture. Otherwise, he’s stuck here until he reaches gold lightning. Murong Bang seems to like pushing him towards these sorts of choices.

However, for Liu Jin, it’s no choice at all.

“The actions the City Lord has taken against his own people are completely unacceptable. Being complicit with them in any way would be a betrayal of myself. That being the case, the only thing left for me to do is to offer my services in your fight against the City Lord.”

“That does not help you in the task Murong Bang set out for you,” the gray-haired woman notes.

“It doesn’t,” Liu Jin admits. “I am still figuring that part out.”

The old man behind the paper curtains laughs. Not scornfully or mockingly, but gently.

“You have told us quite the tale, young man,” he says. “I do not believe you to be lying. However, we must deliberate carefully and-”

The man’s words are lost as he starts coughing and wheezing. Leader Liu immediately stands up and hurries to him.

“Father!”

The axeman and the lady with gray-streaked hair stand up as well. The axeman goes to help Leader Liu with the old man. The lady moves in front of Liu Jin, blocking his view.

“You have heard the elder’s decision,” she says as the old man keeps coughing. “Please, leave us to discuss your case in peace.”

However, Liu Jin does not leave.

“I am a doctor,” he says.

The lady blinks. “What?”

“I am a doctor,” Liu Jin repeats, loudly enough to be heard over the old man’s coughs. “I know this is rather forward, but I believe I can help that man if you allow me.”

The lady frowns.

“I do not believe that is a good idea,” she says.

“Let him,” the old man says at the same time.

“Father!” Leader Liu yells. “You cannot mean that. He’s a stranger!”

“He’s someone trying to earn our trust, is he not? Why not allow him to prove himself?”

The other three leaders of the Brotherhood of Thunder look at each other helplessly.

“Very well,” says Leader Liu at last. He glowers at Liu Jin. “If you try anything, it will be the last thing you ever do.”

“I would never hurt a patient,” Liu Jin says, rising to his feet. He moves slowly and carefully, as if in front of wild beasts rather than three thinking adults. Their care for the old man feels genuine, which makes them naturally wary of a stranger like him.

When Liu Jin steps behind the paper screen and sees the old man, he understands exactly why they are so worried about his health. The man is old. Very old. His skin is a mass of wrinkles, and his head is only covered by the faintest wisps of hair.

He probably does not have long to live.

“Could you please give me your hand, elder?” Liu Jin asks the old man, holding out his hands. “I need to see the state of your meridians.”

The old man weakly raises a bony hand, allowing Liu Jin to grab it.

“I see,” Liu Jin says as he takes in the state of the old man’s body. “Respiratory problems seem to be the main problem. Those are easy enough to deal with. Do I have your permission?”

The old man nods, and his coughing stops almost immediately as Liu Jin’s Qi starts working inside him.

“Incredible,” the lady whispers.

“There is something more…” Liu Jin frowns. “A birth defect of some sort?”

Leader Liu bristles. “How dare you?”

However, the old man merely laughs. “Yes. A doctor told me I was born with several defects in my meridians. Unfortunately, I only learned that when I was already old. Otherwise, I probably would have been more careful when having children. My son was born big and strong, but my poor daughter ended up inheriting my condition. She had it even worse. The poor girl.”

Liu Jin closes his eyes. “I am sorry.”

“Don’t be. Things happen. The doctor that detected my condition said it could be fixed but only with a lot of money. Unfortunately, I was not born with money.”

Liu Jin frowns. “I beg your pardon, but that doctor probably lied to you, or maybe he didn’t know any better. Had your problem been found out when you were still a child, it could have been fixed. However, at the age you describe, trying to fix it in any way would have killed you. One would need to find a way to somehow replace your meridians entirely, and even then, you wouldn’t survive the process.”

The old man smiles. “Good, because that’s exactly what that doctor said. It seems you are truly a skilled doctor.”

Ah. Test. Liu Jin smiles. The man might be old, but his brain is still sharp.

“I am stimulating your meridians a little. At the very least, I can help your lungs and blood flow. I’ll prepare some medicine later. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do for old age.”

“Oh, that is fine.” The old man waves his hand. “As I said, things happen. Age is one of those things.”

“I am sorry you had such a burden placed on you, elder,” Liu Jin says. The old man laughs.

“Such a proper young man. You almost remind me of Doctor Jiang.”

Liu Jin freezes.

“Doesn’t he remind you of Doctor Jiang, son?” The old man continues, heedless of Liu Jin’s shock. “He even looks a bit like him.”

Leader Liu squints at him a little. “I suppose. Other than the hair, I guess. His was black. Calling him a doctor is a bit much, though. He was just a beggar that happened to know a few things.”

“Don’t mind him,” the old man says. “He never likes to speak of the doctor. My daughter married him, you see. It was not expected she’d live long, but they were happy together. They left our village a long time ago to spare us the sorrow of seeing her fade away.”

The old man sighs, a sorrowful look on his face.

“Forgive me. I tend to ramble a little more each day.”

“No, don’t apologize,” Liu Jin says, his body utterly still as he stares at his grandfather's face. “It is no trouble at all."

~~~