6.23 - War Council

He Yu stood with the others in the main hall of the Li estates. The hall was a study in contrasts compared to the Tan palace he’d spent the past years at. Where the palace of Jade Mountain Citadel was warm and functionally austere, the Li home was as cold as it was ornate. Murals adorned the walls and guardian statues lined the garden pathways of the central courtyard, but it all felt sterile. Like winter had once gripped the home in years past, and then never let go. Even the lanterns seemed muted, their light more pale than orange.

The interior room was large enough to fit them all, and well furnished, as one might expect. He Yu didn’t care for it. It didn’t feel lived in. More like it had been decorated because that was the expectation for a family of the Li’s standing. He supposed that, in a way, it was just one more little piece of the puzzle to Li Heng. He Yu flexed his spirit to push away the ever-present cold of the central room as they gathered for what could only rightly be called a war council.

The others stood with him, arrayed in a semicircle before Li Renshu. The patriarch sat in an ornate chair facing the rest of them, having reasserted his position as head of the Li family now that he’d emerged fully from his seclusion. Tan Zihao quietly conferred with Li Heng’s father, Li Bao, off to one side. Yan Shirong stood with He Yu and Zhang Lifen. It was well past nightfall, and they waited for Li Heng and Tan Xiaoling to return.

Li Renshu and Tan Zihao had been the first to arrive after Zhang Lifen and He Yu. Long Tingguang had fled when Li Renshu joined the fight, and Tan Zihao had admitted he’d been glad for it. Although he’d spend time enough fighting Long Tingguang to take the other expert’s measure, he had to admit that he’d likely have lost as things dragged on. Both experts had chased Long Tingguang for several hours after, but soon gave up as it had become apparent he was the faster. An unfortunate outcome, to be certain, but an understandable one.

What wasn’t understandable, at least in He Yu’s eyes, was the task Tan Xiaoling and Li Heng had set themselves to. When the imperial army broke, throwing down their weapons and banners before abandoning the siege, Tan Xiaoling had left in pursuit. Li Heng followed, with Yan Shirong given command over the Jade Kingdom’s army in the princess’s absence. Although nobody had said it, He Yu knew well enough what business they were about. And he didn’t like it.

At least Zhang Lifen had picked up on his discontent and had done her part to distract him. He welcomed it, in part because he didn’t want to think about the slaughter occurring as they waited for the others to return. But also because it was simply good to see her. Good to catch up. Good to know that someone other than his immediate circle of friends had escaped the sect without swearing themselves to Jin Xifeng.

It was still a bit of a shock that he’d surpassed her in advancement, though. In his mind, he was still the same young man he’d been when they last spoken. Ignorant in the more advanced ways of cultivation, and uncertain as to his way forward. In his mind, she was still his shifu, ready and eager to dispense her lessons and wisdom so that he might stumble a few steps further along his Way.

Much had changed since the Shrouded Peaks Sect fell at the hands of Jin Xifeng.

“Oh, it’s not that complicated,” she said after he admitted his uncertainty to her. “I am still possessed of all the same charm and wisdom I had before. You can treat me as a peer if that’s more comfortable. I know I’d prefer it that way.”

He Yu allowed himself a smile at that. At least her sense of humor hadn’t changed in all this time.

At long last, the doors to the main room of the Li estate swung open and admitted a blazing desert and the silence of winter. Tan Xiaoling strode forward, her head held high and her wild hair streaming behind her, only barely held back by the silk tie she’d taken to wearing. Li Heng was with her, his expression grim but no less triumphant. Tan Zihao turned to his daughter and one eyebrow lifted in a silent question.

“It is done,” she said. “This army won’t reform. Jin Xifeng will have to raise another.”

“Not as large an obstacle as one might think,” Li Bao said, commanding the attention of the others in the room. “The empire could raise a hundred such armies before Jin Xifeng’s ascension. With her arts that command the undying loyalty of those sworn to her, I’ve no doubt she can raise a hundred more just as easily.”

Tan Xiaoling took her place next to where He Yu and Zhang stood. “The warriors of the Jade Kingdom are each worth ten from the empire.” The dry heat of the desert flared a little as she spoke, but that was the only indication of discontent.

“And the empire has a hundred soldiers for every one of yours,” Li Renshu said. “Don’t think Jin Xifeng will see this as anything other than open rebellion. I haven’t forgotten what she did to the Yi clan. She will do the same, or worse, to us.”

“Agreed,” said Tan Zihao. “With the Li swearing for the Jade Kingdom, she will come west once she’s brought the Western Passage to heel. We’ve started a war, and we need to finish it. The sooner we march, the greater our advantage.”

“You would throw your soldiers against the entire empire?” Li Bao asked. “You would send them to their deaths, and for nothing. We need to consolidate our forces. Court the other nobles of the west, and raise an army of our own. At the very least, we would deprive Jin Xifeng of potential recruits.”

“And give her time to replace the army she just lost? Give her the chance to regroup?”

The meeting descended into a back and forth between the Tan on one side and the Li on the other. Tan Zihao urged action, while Li Bao and Li Renshu advocated for measured caution. To He Yu, the point seemed rather irrelevant. Whatever they did, should they pose any real threat to Jin Xifeng’s rule, she would simply leave the capital and deal with them herself.

In passing the hours waiting for Tan Xiaoling and Li Heng to return, Zhang Lifen had filled He Yu in on the state of the broader empire. As it turned out, things weren’t as stable as he might have thought. Broad discontent among the noble clans of the east and the south meant that Jin Xifeng needed to stay in the capital to handle things personally, lest she risk rebellion. Zhang Lifen claimed this was why she’d sent Long Tingguang to deal with the core disciples.

Of course, Zhang Lifen hadn’t realized that the Li had been flirting with disobedience for years by that point, and that by taking refuge in Iron Gate City, she’d handed Long Tingguang a convenient excuse to put it under siege. But with her right hand driven off, and armies amassing in the west, Jin Xifeng would have less of a reason to stay confined to the capital, and far more reasons not to. She would take to handling things personally eventually, and when that happened, they needed to be ready to face her.

That wasn’t a prospect He Yu particularly cared for. Elder Cai’s warnings still echoed in his memory—no single cultivator could defeat her. Granted, now they had two experts at the Divine Soul Apotheosis stage in Li Renshu and Tan Zihao. He Yu was firmly in the Divine Body Attainment stage, and in the others they had half a dozen Soul Refining experts if he counted Li Bao and Chen Fei. It was, all things considered, a monstrous concentration of power.

But it wasn’t enough. Jin Xifeng had defeated the combined might of the Shrouded Peaks Sect, and she’d done so easily. Once Sect Leader Zhou and Elder Cai had fallen, the battle was all but over—and they had both been at the peak of Divine Soul Apotheosis.

As if she’d read He Yu’s thoughts, Zhang Lifen spoke up. “We should first track down Yi Xiurong and Ren Huang. Both are at peak Soul Refining, and have decades more experience than anyone here, except perhaps King Tan or Patriarch Li. In the time it will take to find them, we can consolidate our forces. Also, judging by the impression I get from Tan Xiaoling and Li Heng, both are half a step into Divine Body Attainment. Giving them the opportunity to advance wouldn’t hurt.”

“I know you want to find your sect siblings, Lady Zhang,” Li Bao said, “but are you certain they yet live?”

“Certain? No, but I am confident. When I fled the former Baroness Sha’s attack, she chased after me. During our running fight, she said that Long Tingguang had given her the opportunity to take her satisfaction against myself and the others. I do not believe that Long Tingguang would have taken that from her once given. Even if he did try to intervene against He Yu.”

“Do you truly think the addition of these two will make a difference?” asked Tan Zihao.

“Would you deny any aid at this point?” Zhang Lifen countered.

A brief silence descended over the room as Li Renshu and Tan Zihao both seemed to consider Zhang Lifen’s words. He Yu thought she probably was in the right. If no single expert could defeat Jin Xifeng, then they needed all the help they could get. If Li Renshu wanted to rally the nobles of the west to their cause, having the last remaining member of the Yi clan fighting with them would be a powerful symbol of resistance.

“I, for one, think Zhang Lifen’s plan is probably our best hope,” he said at length. “The more experts we have, the better. If Li Heng and Tan Xiaoling could advance, why not take the chance while we have it? It isn’t as if we’ll be able to stop and wait for advancements once we actually start this rebellion.”

“The rebellion started when I marched my armies into the empire proper,” Tan Zihao said. “You aren’t wrong, though. Higher realm breakthroughs are going to take both time and resources. Both of which are only going to get harder to come by going forward.”

Li Bao turned to his son. “Are you ready?”

Li Heng’s only response was a firm nod.

Tan Zihao’s attention shifted between father and son. Then he turned to his daughter and asked her the same question.

“My Dao is as firm as it has ever been. My Way is as clear as the desert sky. I am ready.” As Tan Xiaoling spoke, there was something of her uncle’s roar in her voice. A deep reverberation that pressed on He Yu’s spirit. If there had been any uncertainty whether she was in the right, she dispelled it in that moment.

“If Li Renshu agrees, then I suppose we are decided,” King Tan said. It was clear he didn’t like the plan despite seeing its wisdom. His Way demanded action, confrontation. He wasn’t so blind, however, that he would throw away a clear advantage.

The Li patriarch drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair. Slowly, his attention shifted from one of those gathered to the next. When it was his turn under the patriarch’s gaze, He Yu could feel the touch of his Daoist Mind—a probing of his spirit and advancement. The silence hung in the chamber for some time as Li Renshu examined each of them in turn.

“I think Lady Zhang has the right of it,” he said eventually. “I will have my alchemists begin their preparations on elixirs for Princess Tan and my grandson immediately. I expect the both of you are in possession of the proper insights for your advancement?”

To He Yu’s surprise, they both nodded in the affirmative. Tan Xiaoling, he’d expected. She had said she’d been close when he had left for the steppe. Truthfully, he was surprised she hadn’t advanced while he’d been gone. Li Heng, on the other hand, had always found all manner of difficulties in realm breakthroughs. He Yu wished they’d the time to talk. He would have liked to get a sense of what was different this time. Of what truths Li Heng had come to accept within himself to further his advancement of his Dao of Balance.

Zhang Lifen spoke up, interrupting his thoughts. “Patriarch Li, if I may. I am also ready for advancement. Elixirs won’t be necessary, but I would ask the use of your cultivation chamber. If I am to venture forth in search of Yi Xiurong and Ren Huang with my former student, I really should be at the same level as him.”

Of course she would have swept away any and all discussion of exactly how they would find the other two core disciples simply by volunteering He Yu and herself. He supposed that made the most sense, though. King Tan and Patriarch Li would be needed to organize and oversee the military planning while Li Heng and Tan Xiaoling worked on their advancements. He Yu wouldn’t be advancing anytime soon, so he was really the only one left who made sense to send. It was also preferable to sitting around while the others either cultivated or planned.

“Granted,” said Li Renshu. “That leaves only one question yet unanswered. How exactly might we find your two companions? News obviously hasn’t reached Iron Gate City owing to the siege, and any information you might once have had will be months out of date by now.”

For the first time since the meeting began, Yan Shirong stepped forward and made to speak. He Yu had nearly forgotten he was there, given that with his advancing cultivation, the shadows he carried with him only ever deepened. In the dim cold light of the Li home, he practically faded from view.

“I believe I may be of assistance there,” Yan Shirong said. Shadows deepened around him as the impression of a thousand eyes peered out from his umbral darkness. “And conveniently, my assistance would also come as a heavy blow to Jin Xifeng, as well.”