~~~

“That was somehow more exhausting than fighting Han,” Liu Jin says once the day is over.

It is only him and Lei Kong in the room now. Big Sister has left to “inspect” Thunder Blade Fortress. No doubt, she is rooting out some injustice. Maybe several.

“Nevertheless, you did wonderfully, my lord,” Lei Kong says. “The Lei Clan understands your authority now.”

Liu Jin raises an eyebrow. “Do they? Or do they merely understand a Heaven Realm cultivator was always standing behind me?”

“You do yourself a disservice, my lord,” Lei Kong says. “Lady Bai is a strong cultivator, but she never once flared her aura. It was your authority that the Lei Clan yielded to.”

Liu Jin looks at Lei Kong in silence for several seconds.

“Lei Kong, do you resent me?” he asks.

“What?!” Lei Kong crinkles his brow in confusion. “My lord, why would you ask me that?”

“You spoke very little about it, but I know what the Lei Clan did to you,” Liu Jin says. “You probably thought about taking revenge many times. I cannot imagine seeing it all resolved like this has been satisfying to you. Do you resent me for it?"

Lei Kong smiles and shakes his head.

“My lord, you have only shown me the ghosts from my past were much less frightening than I believe them to be. The Lei Clan has been punished. I am content.” He frowns. “However, I fear what will happen next.”

Liu Jin can only agree. He made several bold declarations, but that’s all they were. If Murong Bang decides he does not want him in charge of the Lei Clan, that will be it. And even if Murong Bang decides to humor him, Liu Jin cannot stop Murong Bang from dealing with slaves. At best, he’ll just have stopped the Lei Clan’s participation in the trade.

“Having their children hostage may keep them compliant for some time, but it might also make them reckless,” Lei Kong warns him. “The leader of the Brotherhood seems like a good man, but he will have his hands full dealing with the normal citizens. Without anyone overseeing them, the Lei Clan is bound to try something eventually.”

“I am glad you brought that up,” Liu Jin says, grimacing. “I have been thinking about it too, and I believe I have a solution.”

“Oh?”

“Leader Liu needs someone to help him. I believe we can all agree on that,” Liu Jin says. Lei Kong nods. “I have a person in mind. Someone strong, competent, and loyal. Someone who is already familiar with the Lei Clan and their land. With this person in charge of Lei Clan, there would be no need to fear any complications.”

“Is there really such a person, my lord?” Lei Kong asks him.

Liu Jin looks at Lei Kong.

Five seconds pass by before Lei Kong understands.

“My lord, no!” Lei Kong shouts, frantically waving his arms in front of him. “That’s not… Surely, there is someone better?!”

“Who?” Liu Jin asks him. “Who else could I trust to do this other than you? You are a Lei, which gives you some legitimacy, and being in the Earth Realm means you are strong enough not to worry about an uprising.”

“I did not enter the Earth Realm to defeat my family!” Lei Kong shouts desperately. “I did it to help you, my lord! I did it to be useful to you in your travels!”

“And you will be useful to me,” Liu Jin says sadly. “Here."

“What of you, my lord?" Lei Kong tries, searching for a way to refuse. "What of the war against the Death Fashioning Scripture?”

“When the time comes, I fully expect Murong Bang to send the Lei Clan to fight,” Liu Jin says. “However, after that’s over, assuming it ends well, I will need you to return here.”

Liu Jin does not say for how long. He does not need to. He and Lei Kong understand they are not speaking of weeks or even months. Lei Kong might need to stay here for years.

In the house of the family that he hates.

“I always expected you to punish me for my transgressions against you, my lord,” Lei Kong says. His voice sounds weak. “But this punishment is too heavy.”

“It’s not punishment!” Liu Jin says, guilt worming inside him. “It is…”

“This is unfair, my lord.”

Liu Jin looks away. “I am becoming a very unfair person. I am sorry if that disappoints you.”

“No, you could never disappoint me, my lord.” Lei Kong manages a smile. “I always knew you would become something great, and watching it happen has been this Lei Kong’s greatest pleasure. That is why the idea of not being by your side anymore is so painful. I wished to keep seeing your rise, my lord. To be honest… shocked as I am that you can wield purple lightning; it also felt completely natural. Does that make sense?”

Liu Jin takes a deep breath. Right, there is still that matter.

“My father was the Black Dragon,” Liu Jin says. “That is why I can use purple lightning.”

“Oh,” Lei Kong says.

It is a very small oh.

“I realize how it sounds. I realize how it looks,” Liu Jin says. “But I do not wish to conquer. I do not wish to kill or make anyone suffer. I just want to make this a place where people like Murong Bang or your family won’t be able to hurt others again. That is why I need you to do this, Lei Kong. Please.”

Like he has done countless times in the past, Lei Kong kneels before him.

“My lord, I live to serve.”

~~~

It feels weird to leave Thunder Blade Fortress without Lei Kong.

Big Sister Bai is at his side, the soldiers are behind him, and the children of the Lei Clan keep glaring at his back. There’s no reason for him to feel alone.

This won’t be the first time Liu Jin is away from Lei Kong. Considering the coming conflict with the Death Fashioning Scripture, it won’t even be the longest time they have been apart. He even left one of his soul fragments behind in Thunder Blade Fortress, so it is not as if they won’t be able to communicate.

And yet, this separation feels more final all the same.

To think the mere sight of Lei Kong sickened him when they first started traveling together. However, Lei Kong proved himself doggedly persistent, and being angry at someone all the time was so very tiring. Once Liu Jin realized Lei Kong’s devotion was not fake, he began to depend on him, and over time, he grew to trust him.

“Do you feel saddened?” Big Sister Bai asks him.

“I just said goodbye to a friend,” Liu Jin says. “Of course, I feel sad.”

“We are cultivators,” she tells him in a comforting tone.

“I know,” Luu Jin replies, perhaps a little too sharply.

“No,” she says, making him turn to her. “You do not. You’re still young, so you have not experienced the many benefits of longevity. You dread a separation of mere years, but you will soon learn that it is but the blink of an eye for us. We can encounter countless people, say goodbye countless times, and then greet each other as though the sands in the clock stopped falling just for us. That is our privilege.”

Liu Jin does not reply right away. Instead, he mulls over those words for over a minute before opening his mouth.

When he does, his heart feels a little lighter.

“Thank you, Big Sister.”

~~~