Chapter 103: Keep this to Yourselves

Father called all of his children "kiddos" or "kid" if he was upset with them. It didn't matter if they were a few days old or over a thousand; they were all kiddo to him.

Paike was sure that it wasn't because he couldn't remember all of their names. Once he had asked Mother why. She had told him it was a custom from wherever Father was from. It was a term of endearment for children. He said it helped remind him and all of them of their familiar connection.

There was a bit of embarrassment in front of outsiders, but he was so powerful now that it hadn't been a real problem in a very long time.

Father was full of these odd mannerisms. His speech was still strangely free of any accent, despite some odd customs that didn't match those of the empire's high families. He was present enough in all his children's lives that Paike hadn't even realized it was odd until he was much older. Despite how many children he had over the millennia, he saw them all at least once a year, if their duties allowed.

In all that time, only a few of his children had fallen. If they fell in battle in an honest fight, they were mourned, but the two times they were killed by cultivators of a significantly higher realm via ambush or assassination, vengeance was terrible. The first time, the entire offending family had been massacred to the last. It was a large imperial family stretched nearly ten generations. Every branch and offshoot was exterminated. The second time, nearly an entire province had been wiped out.

It almost reached two percent of the empire's population, as Father was insistent that the world hadn't learned its lesson the first time, and that not only the family but everyone and everything they ruled over needed to be destroyed. The fourth emperor himself had to step in and put a stop to it. Even then it almost came to blows. The last of the offending family was executed by the emperor himself.

There were now laws preventing higher-realm cultivators from killing those of lesser realms without cause. It was far from perfect, but most followed it for all, not just the Kong family. The grand sect moderations came downstream from such efforts, as it became clear how much this helped cultivators survive in the lower realms.

The respect they all showed him was natural. Not once had he insisted on it, and sometimes he even told them to tone it down a bit. All his children, though, learned from their siblings. On top of that, they were raised on tales of his power and great deeds that fit in, if not eclipsed, any of the tales of the heroes of the empire.

Quickly, the father who tossed them in the air as little children became larger than life. While he was present as much as he could be, especially in their early years when they were forming their first memories, he was a very busy man. Between his cultivation and work for the family and the empire, he was gone for much of each month. And there were many children.

"Why don't you introduce me to your friends?" Father asked with a smile.

Paike stepped forward. "This is Li Feng from the Li clan."

Li Feng bowed low. "Patriarch Kong, it is an honor."

The tales of Father's deeds had spread wide; even rival families knew of him well.

"Haha. I'm no patriach." Father waved it off. "Don't put that curse on me yet. I still have a long time before I need to duck that responsibility. Still, it is well met, Li Feng. I would test your sword if I had time. Next time, be ready."

"I will train twice as hard for the opportunity." Li Feng promised, his hand on his sword and an eager look on his face.

Paike wasn't sure why he had stopped by, breaking several sect rules, if he didn't have time. Family or not, non-members of this grand sect were not supposed to be on the mountain. Still, he continued on with his introductions.

"This is my roommate, Guan Li."

Guan Li imitated Li Feng but had nothing to say. It was clear that Father's fame didn't extend that far beyond the cultivator world. Cultivators preferred it this way, but it was also hard for mortals to connect events that might have happened thousands of years apart to the same person. Only when they entered myth after they died did they become known for all the deeds they had done throughout their lives.

"Ah, the natural cultivator that you mentioned in your letter?" Father asked Paike.

"The same," Paike said. There was a moment as Father studied Guan Li with his signature intensity that no one Paike had ever met could match.

Eventually, it became clear that Guan Li was becoming uncomfortable, and Paike needed to break the silence.

"Not that it isn't good to see you, Father, but why are you here? How?" He asked.

"Well, a few days ago I received an interesting letter," Father teased.

Paike suppressed a sigh. Father was a stickler for not answering questions directly if he found it even the slightest bit amusing. It was clear that Father was holding back his laughter and found the whole situation hilarious for some unknown reason.

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"Mother just sent a response; why did you come yourself?" He reworded his question.

"Ah, you see, I actually was coming here anyway. So I thought I would stop by and see for myself what you have become. But I could have sworn you were Early Topaz?" Father rubbed his chin in mock thought.

Paike could never have thought having a father of such prestige could be so embarrassing. Why did he have to do this in front of his friends?

"A recent development," Paike said. "And yes, there is a lot I would speak with you about. More than in the letter, but again, recent developments."

"Well, we don't have too much time before we have to head out, so let's get your stuff ready, and you can tell me all about it on the way," Father said as he turned towards Paike's home and motioned for them all to follow. Liming hesitated at the arch leading into the boys' housing section, but Father waved her in and did something with his qi that let her come as well.

"Wait," Paike said as he trotted to catch up with Father, who was walking fast. It didn't actually tell him anything about how much of a rush they were in, as Father always walked fast. As undignified as many found it, Father always said that 'dilly-dalling' wasted time, and he had little patience for 'slow movers'. "What do you mean we have little time?"

"I’ve decided to take you on a little field trip," Father said with an excited smile and turned to Liming "You are welcome to come as well, if it might be a fun family outing."

"I must respectfully decline," Liming said with an awkward bow while trying to keep up. "I am in the middle of something here."

"Planning a coup, huh?" Father guessed.

"Actually, I al--" Paike started to explain that he was a large part of the plan and asked if they could wait a little. He was supposed to help Liming. However, his sister read his attention and elbowed him in the side, cutting him off. She glared at him, and he closed his mouth. Apparently, she didn't want Father knowing that she needed help. Besides, she could probably handle it without him.

The thought of leaving her on her own made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"That's fine. You'll have to tell me all about it when we get back. First conquests are always exciting. So many mistakes are made and so many learning opportunities. It's so much fun to watch you kiddos grow."

Li Feng and Guan Li were trailing behind, each looking awfully confused and awkward. Which made sense, since they were looking into a very private moment between family. However, they were going to Guan Li house, and Father was here in part to talk to him, even if he was taking Paike somewhere. Paike also knew better than to ask what they were doing. Father would just have fun making up increasingly ridiculous scenarios to tease him.

When they got to their houses, Li Feng excused himself and retreated to his own house next door. "I will go practice my blade in preparation."

Paike thought he looked a little pale.

Father waved goodbye, letting him go without a fuss. The rest of them entered Paike's house.

Liming had been drawing a lot of attention, but no one dared ask or approach him when they felt Father's aura. He was not to be questioned, at least that is the impression he gave off, even if he encouraged his children to challenge him at every turn. Mother said that's why he was so unserious.

Father just denied ever acting without the 'utmost dignity' when asked, even though he always failed to keep a laugh out of his voice as he said so.

When they got inside, Liming let out a breath and sank into a chair. Guan Li stood by the door awkwardly while Father strode in whistling an unfamiliar tune.

He scanned the room and made a beeline for their notes' hiding place. Clearly, their hiding spot did nothing to even slow him down. He opened it up and started flipping through them. He kept looking up at Guan Li and Paike. "Interesting, interesting."

Paike pushed Guan Li out of the entryway and toward a chair, before sitting himself.

"You two have certainly been busy. I suppose that's why you are so far behind," Father said, addressing Guan Li. "As a natural cultivator, you should be in lockstep with Paike."

The boy flushed and shrugged. "I've been focused on that and learning about meridians."

Paike, though, caught something odd about what Father said. Why should Guan Li be in lockstep with him? Was Father saying that Paike was moving maximally fast already?

"Well, there are some truly new ideas here. I'm proud of you," Father told Paike as qi flashed around him at a dizzying speed that Paike couldn't even hope to follow. After a few more breaths, it stopped.

"I could give you a few more directions to look into, but I don't want to taint your discoveries with my own insights yet. When you have been stuck for a few years, I'll give you some hints about how to affect the qi workings better with modifiers. I think you are doing quite well. However, for your meridian work, I'll say that while you are going in the right direction, generally there is a pitfall you are starting down that cost me a few centuries."

Paike swallowed. He had never felt so proud in his life. Father always gave hints and gentle corrections. He always had something to say. Some of his older siblings had made it a challenge to present him with information or theories he had never seen before, or that were so perfect he would have to think about them for some time before giving feedback. After years, when they had finally managed it, they got something similar. He praised their work and told them to keep working on it.

"You see, there aren't actually nine archetypes; there are eleven." Qi flowed in the air, drawing two new pathways that Paike had never seen before. They hardened and fell out, he said, like crystals that Father placed on their counter like it was nothing. "I would not try to carve these until you are at least Emerald. They were not actually part of the humans' ancestral tradition. I learned them from studying mythical beasts. But you will find a gap between what should be possible with qi and what you can accomplish with the human arts. These plug that gap."

Guan Li gaped, and Paike swallowed. That was incomprehensibly important and heretical. It invalidated so much theory and called the first emperor a liar and a fraud by showing that his cultivation system was not perfect and Father had dropped it on them with no warning.

"Oh, and keep this to yourselves for now. It's not widely known."

Paike, Liming, and Guan Li all nodded empathetically.