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Unintended Cultivator Vol 12: Chapter 2 – The Time for Patience Is Over
🕑 Added 2025-04-22 18:14:02 +0000 UTCEvery cultivator in the room went silent as Sen lifted a hand and began to rub at one of his temples with two fingers. Grandmother Lu had been able to make excuses about needing to return to Lu Manor and departed almost the moment they got through the city gate. Lai Dongmei had been able to follow a similar path by citing the need to check in on her sect. They had been polite about it, but they had both abandoned him. Even General Mo had said something about seeing to the new recruits and fled. Not that Sen could bring himself to blame them. He just wished that he had been able to make similar excuses. Instead, he had returned to the palace as the representatives from the sects had trailed behind him like a flock of wayward birds.
He could have ordered them to return to their sects, but there was just too big a risk of one of them doing something stupid in regards to the shadow constructs. Sen had thought that bringing them in and offering some explanation would be sufficient. Instead, they had spent an hour peppering him with questions that they had to know he would never answer. Sen considered just explaining the entire process to them. It was doubtful any of the sects had someone who could replicate the feat. He had refrained because he didn’t see much value in demoralizing them. There also wasn’t any value in giving that knowledge away. On top of all that, it was his secret. He’d earned it through a lot of hard work. They’d have to put in the work if they wanted to make one for themselves.
“I have explained as much as I intend to explain about how the constructs were made,” said Sen.
His voice was calm. Very calm. Threateningly calm.
“Lord Lu,” said one excitable cultivator who hadn’t understood that the conversation was over. “If you’d just answer one more question.”
“No. I will also add that any attempts to inspect or interfere with my constructs will be taken as a personal attack on me,” Sen answered.
He could see the frustration on the cultivators’ faces, which told him that every single last damned one of them had likely planned to do exactly that as soon as they left.
“Nor,” he added, “would I recommend sending any your juniors to do the work for you. I will hold entire sects accountable. Now, unless you have some other business with me, I suggest you return to your duties.”
Sen had no idea what those duties might be. He didn’t particularly care, either. But all of these cultivators were strong enough to be elders. It was impossible that they didn’t have something else they were supposed to be doing at the moment. Everyone hovered for a few moments, maybe hoping he’d change his mind, before they drifted out of the room. When only two people remained in the room, he looked at Bey Peizhi.
“Is it because you don’t trust us?” asked the Lunar Tiger Sect elder.
“Is what because I don’t trust you?” asked Sen, just wanting to be done with this so he could find out what other miseries were waiting to pounce on him.
“Is that why you won’t share the details of creating the constructs?”
Sen thought it over for a moment before he shrugged.
“It wasn’t my main motive, but it’s certainly true that I don’t trust the sects.”
“I don’t understand. You have a sect. How can you not trust us?”
“Of course, you don’t understand. That’s part of the problem. Bringin up my sect isn’t a good strategy for convincing me of anything. My sect bears almost no resemblance to yours. As for why I don’t trust you. Have you forgotten about when you sat idly by as another sect cultivator effectively called me a liar in a sad attempt to undermine my authority? You know, right before you learned that everything I said was true?”
Bey Peizhi winced.
“I won’t deny it,” he said. “But that fault lies with me alone.”
“Of course, it doesn’t. Do you think I’m so naïve that I don’t know you were acting on orders? Do you think it escaped my notice that your sect patriarch has not chosen to grace me with his presence?”
Bey Peizhi winced again.
“The patriarch—”
“Will very soon find that he no longer controls a sect.”
“What?” asked Bey Peizhi, his face growing pale.
“Did he believe that I was going to leave without addressing the problem of a sect that clearly has no intention of following my orders? He will be dealt with. The rest of you will be joining me on the campaign.”
“Lord Lu,” said Bey Peizhi, a frantic note in his voice, “that would cause chaos in the city?”
“I’m sure that’s true. Even so, it will be less chaos than leaving an enemy faction here to undo all the work I’ve done. I’ve been more than patient with him. The time for patience is over.”
Sen watched as the other cultivator tried to process the dire consequences that were about to descend on his sect. By the looks of it, he wasn’t enjoying the experience very much.
“To answer you other question about why I don’t trust sects, it’s not that difficult to grasp. Sects are arrogant, entitled, and often either directly or indirectly malicious. I grew up as the exact kind of person that you and yours would have happily stepped on, or spit on, or simply killed out of hand. I tolerate the continued existence of sects only because it is the lesser evil. That should not be interpreted as me condoning what you do or how you behave. I am well aware that if you all believed you could have survived the attack on the city by sacrificing the mortals, you would have.”
Bey Peizhi had gone absolutely still, as though he feared any movement would cause Sen to kill him on the spot. When the anticipated death did not manifest, the man took a shuddering breath.
“Why… Why reveal that to me?” asked the other cultivator in a weak voice.
“Because I want you to convey to your patriarch exactly where he stands in my regards. I wouldn’t want him to mistakenly believe that his exalted position in a sect translates to any respect for him. It does not. Nor will it stay my hand.”
“If I hadn’t stayed to hear this message, what would have happened?”
“I expect that you all would have been very surprised.”
Sen could almost see the man thinking as fast as he could, no doubt searching for some solution.
“Is there no way to resolve this?” asked Bey Peizhi.
The man sounded more desperate than hopeful. Sen stared at the man for long enough to make it very uncomfortable.
“He can willingly surrender the Lunar Tiger Sect and all of its assets to me.”
“Lord Lu—”
“I wasn’t finished. He can willing surrender the sect and its assets to me. He can take a vow to heavens to serve me. Then, he can then travel to Mount Solace and battle the spirit beasts there. If he does that, I will spare his life.”
“He would never agree to that.”
“You say that like it’s something I didn’t already know. He cares more about his pride and false honor than he does about doing what is necessary, let alone right. So, he will die, and I’ll still claim the sect. Your entire sect will still go to war with me. He will spend his life for nothing.”
Bey Peizhi wore a jumble of emotions on his face. Sen could see anger, despair, confusion, and fear. Appropriate reactions for someone who just discovered that everything they thought was firm and reliable about their world was about to disappear and be replaced by relentless warfare. All of those things had no doubt been amplified by Sen’s own obvious disdain for all that Bey Peizhi held dear. In the end, it was the anger that won out.
“And what if we don’t agree to go?”
“You can join your patriarch in death,” said Sen. “In some ways, that might be easier for me. I don’t really need the resources your sect contains, so I can just destroy it with everyone inside.”
The sect cultivator stared like he thought Sen had gone insane.
“You wouldn’t.”
“I don’t know why people need to keep learning this lesson. I will do what must be done. I might not enjoy it but make no mistake. If I need to walk over the corpses of everyone in your sect to secure this city, I will. Now, feel free to relay what you’ve learned to your patriarch.”
Bey Peizhi looked like he wanted to say a lot more, but he turned and left the room. Once he was gone, Sen summoned a chair from a storage ring and collapsed into it. Less than two weeks away and he’d let himself forget how tiring it was to be that ruthless. He pointlessly massaged his forehead and spoke into the seemingly empty room.
“Thoughts?”
Misty Peak stepped out of the illusion that she’d used to keep herself hidden. She peered at the door that the sect cultivator had walked out of before turning to look at him.
“Well, if you meant to scare the man half to death, I think you accomplished your goal.”
“I’m just hoping that the rest of the sect isn’t foolish enough to stand with their patriarch.”
“How likely do you imagine that is?”
“Not very,” admitted Sen. “Not that it matters. I cannot leave someone behind here who is so obviously, actively hostile to me.”
“You must know that there are others who just do a better job of hiding it.”
“I do. But that’s what you and Lo Meifeng are here to deal with. I don’t need them all dead. I just need them hemmed in and too nervous to act.”
“You’re expecting an awful lot from us,” said Misty Peak.
“I’m expecting a lot from everyone. I have to. I can only be in one place, and that place can’t be here. The army and the cultivators must go and fight, or we’re all doomed. The only way I can ensure that happens is to be there myself. That means I have to leave things here in other people’s hands.”
“I know. It’s just a lot of responsibility to thrust onto someone.”
“Yeah, well, there’s a lot of that going around these days.”
Comments
Palmer Evans
It’s actually kinda unbelievable that every sect and cultivator in the capital hasn’t learned that Sen is NOT someone to fuck around with even a little lol
Emily Gurnavage
That patriarch has been so quiet and out of the way that I completely forgot he existed. But that was prolly just part of the plan, stay under the radar till Sen leaves.
Barbara Collier
Oh the definition of FAFO.....it will happen to everyone bit me
Angela Roberts
Sen needs a publicist. One whose sole job is remind everyone daily that he can, will, does, and has followed through on all his threats. Repeatedly.
Angela Roberts
Right? I mean in addition to killing a magnaton of beasts in *one* attack he has never, not once, shied away from making an extremely grisly point. As the House of whoever can attest. And that nascent money loving cultivator not to mention all his minions, or the fiance of the princess, the dead King, that other House that lost its leadership... That's just the capitol!
Bunny Waffles
You'd think at some point someone would look at the literal mountains of corpses Ya Boi has left in his wake and come to the infinitely reasonable conclusion that they should do EXACTLY what he says.
