Chapter 120: Payment in Blood

Paike felt Father's voice settle behind his ear a moment later. There was clear amusement in it as he answered. "You are mine by blood and bone if that was what you were wondering."

It faded with a laugh, and Paike chose to take that as tacit approval to make the offer. Father would honor it, or he should have given a better answer. Even if he wasn't for it, Paike thought the odds were good he would take it as a hilarious prank and play along just because he thought it was funny.

"I actually think we can help you with this problem, even if it's not the way you want," Paike told the four cousins.

Sheng Yue opened her mouth, but apparently what he said wasn't what she expected, as she was already halfway through the first sentence of her rehearsed speech before she processed her words.

"We don't need much if you could just..." She trailed off before staring at Paike. "You can?"

"Yes, but as I said. It's not going to be how you want, and it's going to cost you," Paike said. He could read the confusion in Taka's face. That was mixed with an intense frustration that only Paike could probably see beneath his mask. Strangely, Paike didn't feel bad about leaving Taka in the dark. It felt like it was his turn.

The four cousins wore looks of trepidation openly on their faces. But they didn't stop him as he started to explain. "Your biggest threat is some of the neighbors you have, correct?"

None of them dared to speak, but he could see hope growing. He just had to stoke it a little, and then he could press the price. But they all nodded, so Paike continued.

"Is there one that is particularly bad?"

Again, a round of nods.

"Tell me about them," Paike ordered. At this point, Taka seemed to catch on. They would trade them something they were already planning: the removal of one of their rivals for something... Paike could see that Taka still didn't understand what they'd get from this. While they seemed just as in sync as they used to be at times, the years apart had their impact. Even if they could fully heal the rift. If they wanted to, it would never be what it was.

Though Taka's question of what they could even get from the Hidden Peak Sect was a good one.

Perhaps they could demand cultivation resources, but that honestly had little appeal to the Kongs. If they ever truly needed something, they could get it through their family or earn it themselves. They didn't need a rare treasure right now that only this sect had. That sort of thing only happened in the stories, Paike thought.

They would secure the sect's position and, hopefully, give them enough time for someone to take over before Sheng Guo's strength failed. That they were going to do that already was irrelevant, and since the task was valuable, they could demand a price. Something they had already shown they were willing to pay. Not to become wives, but to leave their sect behind. Only this time, they would leave it in better condition. Paike couldn't guess whether that would make it easier or not.

The four of them outlied a clan of demonic cultivators that had been using a mental poison and were starting to go off the rails. At any point, the sect would be driven completely mad, and a large number of crazed demonic cultivators would rampage through the surroundings before they finished themselves off in a blaze of power.

It wasn't their only problem, but it was the immediate danger. And it sounded exactly like what had hurt Elder Ji. Now that he confirmed what they were going to do would align with their goals, he could make the offer. He signaled to Taka to make the offer with his confrontational stance he had taken throughout the whole interaction. It would make Paike's offer seem kind when he made it.

"These cultivators sound like bad news, and potentially dangerous to a part of the empire," Taka said. The implications were obvious, but he laid them out anyway. "I think that there is a decent chance we could talk Father into helping with the removal of them before they became a danger to the broader regions. It may just fall into the category that the empire would deem intervention or extermination warranted."

Paike could see hope bloom in the cousins' eyes. Sheng Yue, though, kept a bit of trepidation, as apparently she was the only one who remembered there was a price. Or maybe she just wasn't ready to pay any price for just one of their problems to be fixed. Either way, it spoke well of her composure.

"That would be excellent. Can you actually do it?" She asked. "Why would he bother?"

Clearly she didn't know Father at all, but it was a fair question. Father was powerful. So powerful that none of them could really grasp it. Why would he bother himself with the affairs of ants? His presence could be only a boon or a curse, and it couldn't be understood. His motivations were inscrutable.

But Father wasn't really like that. When asked about why others fell into this trap that he and Mother had avoided. He would talk about a concept of ennui, and how it came for those without real purpose. How many cultivators lost everything that made life worth living so long ago that they couldn't even remember. That their path to power was the only thing left, and how sad a fate that was.

Many of the active elders and older generations of the Kong family would credit Father and Mother's influence for their continued presence despite their age.

Not that anyone outside of the family could hear of that. They had a reputation to maintain, after all.

That was part of why Paike took this approach. By the time those who found out the truth did, it wouldn't matter anymore.

"See, that is where the price comes in," He said. "It may seem like a lot, or maybe not, but it is not something we ask on a whim. There needs to be a tie, or a cost."

"Which is?" Sheng Yue challenged.

"Some of you will have to come with us. Not as brides, but you will have to leave your family." Paike said, "The only thing you can really give us is your time and life. So we will adopt you into a side branch of our family, and your deeds in the empire will help the family."

A mix of emotions flickered over the cousins' faces. They were not all the same. Sheng Xue looked outraged, whereas Sheng Bai seemed a little confused. She was the first to speak. "I thought that you said there would be a price? Would you adopt us into your family as payment? That seems... backward!"

"You would go for this!" Spat Sheng Xue.

"Is it not just a superior version of what we offered them?" Sheng Bai asked.

"NO, first you would abandon your family instead of taking it to your new life. But you also wouldn't get a worthy husband. You would be doing all the work and getting less than before."

"I'm sure there are many worthy men in the empire who would love to marry a Kong," Sheng Bai said in a dreamy voice.

Sheng Xue sniffed in disgust.

The one that Paike was focused on was Sheng Yue. She was undoubtedly the leader of their little group, and it was what she said that mattered.

Her gaze was fixed on his face, but it did flick down sometimes. It seemed like she was studying his robes. The little heat in her cheek might have been anger, but she didn't look angry yet.

When she did speak after a few moments of thought, her voice was calm and measured. "How many of us would be payment? Could we really have that much of an impact?"

Paike was sure they knew some of the rationale, but he figured it would be best to lay it out as clearly as possible. There was no need for confusion about their duties if they expected.

"While lower-ranked cultivators have a much smaller impact on the empire in a material sense, that isn't true for all of them. When they are low-ranked and young, then it is a very large deal. The young are used as a proxy for the family, clan, or sect's future power. If you have many young cultivators quickly moving through the ranks, you can assume there might be one powerhouse who will be able to take over in the future.

"This lets others know which families' strengths are on the rise and who they should be careful treating with. More favorable dealings can be had if you are perceived to be strong. In this way, your joining the family is actually more beneficial than Taka and I taking strong wives in this case. We still can form alliances that way later, and your deeds will be the family's, not ours as a couple." Paike thought that was fairly obvious, but it was clear that some of the logic had been new to them, as they all seemed more understanding.

"Are we enough to make a difference?" Sheng Yue asked.

"Yes, you are all powerful. Maybe not as much as some of our family's under-25s, but compared to the other families, you are top tier. I understand you get pushed harder here, so it will be harder for you to keep the momentum in the later tiers compared to the empire after all the slackers get weeded out."

"So how many?" She asked.

Paike thought. The Kongs had more than one branch, but there were only so many under 25. With Liming being the talent of the generation, they were well positioned. Taka and one or two others were almost as impactful. A few new children at his level.

"Two, I think." He said. "More than that, and we get diminishing returns without higher power."

The four cousins looked at each other. Paike could recognize that silent conversation, even if he couldn't interpret it perfectly.

He did get the gist, and two shifted back, and two shifted forward. They had already decided who would go and who would stay.

"Before we decide," Sheng Yue said, pretending that they hadn't already made up their minds. "Where would we be ranked in the family?"