This Venerable Demon is Grossly Unqualified

I’d been worried that it would be difficult to figure out which villa belonged to Elder Liang. I shouldn’t have been. It was the very first one I went to inspect, the largest and most ornate compound bordering the plaza. Two of my little house could have fit within its front courtyard, and half a dozen more within the cavernous main house. The sloping roofs of the three story edifice were lacquered a brilliant crimson.

A golden plaque sat to the left of the gate, emblazoned with the character for Liang.

Nobody accosted me at the courtyard gate, so I just walked in. I passed a rather tasteful carp pond, filled with a dozen fat fish who radiated what I suspected was qi of their own. The stone paving stones terminated at a stately pair of double doors, wrought from black hardwood. Each side had a knocker wrought in the shape of a lion's head grasping a ring, coated in gold.

Was I supposed to knock? Before I could, the door slowly creaked open. The same disciple who'd helped me in the library, and delivered the invitation, stood within.

"Liang Tao greets Elder Hu. Allow me to show you to the solar, where Elder Liang awaits you."

I followed him quietly. It was nice, to finally have a name to put to the face, and without asking to boot. I wondered if he was one of Elder Liang's children, or if it was simply custom for some disciples to take their master's name. Either seemed plausible.

We passed through a dizzying array of hallways, near identical stretches of dark wood only distinguished by the occasional ornamented door, or a potted plant or piece of artwork set into an alcove. Despite the formality and opulence of the mansion, there were signs of life. I could hear whispers from behind some of the doors, and even the giggle of what sounded like a child. One older woman in the rough linen robes of an outer disciple scurried down the hallway, murmuring a quiet 'Elder' as she passed.

We ascended a narrow flight of stairs, took a pair of lefts, and then Liang Tao stopped before a door. He didn't knock, just waited for a moment. I wracked my mind, trying to hear whatever qi based sign he was no doubt waiting for, but all I felt was a vague sense of… connection, between him and the contents of the room.

Without fanfare, he opened the door and ushered me in.

"Elder Hu, I'm so glad you could join us. We of the senior generation don't get together often enough."

The speaker, a woman sitting before me, I assumed was Elder Liang. I'd seen the phrase jade beauty applied to female cultivators before, but that didn't really fit Elder Liang. Her skin was smooth and pale, but translucent in a way that seemed almost more milky than jade like. Her features weren't classically beautiful, but instead sharp and strong, dancing up to the line of outright androgyny, but never quite crossing it. Indeed, if not for the generous curve of her chest apparent under her robes, I wouldn't have been completely certain she was a woman, and not a very pretty man.

Like me, she wore black robes, but where the traditional secondary color of the sect seemed to be dark blue, her trim and embroidery was all gold. And there was a lot of it. An embroidered dragon rose along the front fold of her robes before curling around her collar, it’s head resting just above her heart. A sort of abstract root like design graced the lower half of her robe, and golden phoenixes completed the effect, filling almost every open space.

And then there was her smile. It would have been far more appropriate on a brothel patron than at a tea party. Her grin left me feeling dirtier than three days wandering about the sect without a real shower had.

"Brother Hu! It's good to see you again!" The man seated to her left said with a far more wholesome grin. From the presence of some sort of stringed instrument across his lap, I assumed he was the Elder Xin that Su Li had mentioned, the musician.

Elder Xin was the only member of the sect I'd seen so far whose robes were not primarily some shade of black or blue. His were white, with little in the way of embroidery. But the longer I looked, the more I saw the subtlety of the dye job, what began as a brilliant dentist-white in his inner robes, slowly saw shades of gray and turquoise worked in as it moved towards the outer layers. It was most apparent in his sleeves, where the subtle dye work intensified to something almost like murky water.

As I took the seat to his left, across from Elder Liang, I realized that he towered over the rest of us, 6’6 if he was an inch. His long black hair was bound up in a simple tail, which rested over one of his shoulders. He sat cross legged on the floor, his back held so erect that mine ached just looking at it.

On the other hand, Elder Liang was by far the shortest of us, only a few inches taller than Su Li, but her head rested near the same height as Elder Xin’s, because she’d eschewed the floor for a short stool and a veritable mountain of red and gold cushions. I had to look up ever so slightly, to meet either of their gazes.

"It's just Elder Li we're still waiting on now. I imagine the new disciples are keeping him quite busy. A pleasant surprise, seeing you arrive on time Elder Hu." Elder Liang said.

I held my tongue, unsure if that was a subtle insult, or just friendly banter. Elder Xin at least, seemed friendly to me. I wasn't sure about Elder Liang.

"Little Tao, get the man some tea." She continued. "Now, tell me all about this new disciple of yours."

"Really Ai? Here I thought you called us here to build bridges among the senior generation. Did you really set this up just to interrogate brother Hu about the treasure you left by the wayside?"

"It's a woman's prerogative to want two things at once. Please, tell me honestly you're not curious."

Elder Xin turned to me with a pensive expression. "I must admit, I am a little curious which disciple caught your eye. Your standards have ever been more strict than even my own."

As Liang Tao stepped across the table to fill my mug, I pondered what exactly to say. In the end, I settled for honesty, with just the right amount held back. The strategy had served me well so far.

"I have elected to teach an outer disciple by the name of Su Li. I understand she approached both of you about tutelage before me."

"Really? I liked that girl, she had spunk, but sadly neither the ear nor eye for my arts." Elder Xin said.

"Her? Truly?" Elder Liang said with a sniff. "Well, you've never shied away from hard work. That's a stone that will need a great deal of polish before it shines."

I took a sip of tea, instead of defending my disciple. It was excellent, a basic green mix, with some sweet fruity notes. Blueberry and lemon perhaps? I usually took mine with a great deal of sugar, but this was already so fruity it barely needed sweetener. I still would have taken some if it was offered though. Sugar was one of my three great vices, along with alcohol and sleep.

"I assume she's stuck with the sword then?" Elder Xin asked. "I remember that. Atrocious cultivation, a downright embarrassing technique, passable swordsmanship for a mortal though."

"Passable for a mortal perhaps. I plan to start her from the very basics of martial arts, to build her foundation properly, before focusing overmuch on her bladework. In truth, I have been less impressed by her talent, than I have by her passion and dedication."

"Oh? Is that what's put you in such a good mood? Her 'passion and dedication'?" Elder Liang asked with a lecherous wink.

Anger shot through me, that she would dare to joke about that, after what she'd offered the girl. I mastered my tongue and face easily, but my riotous qi was less easily restrained. Elder Liang and Liang Tao both flinched, as wisps of power slipped out between my metaphysical fingers. I really needed to get a handle on that.

"To be perfectly honest, her passion for her path is more of a source of concern than joy for me. Already, she has shown a disregard for exhaustion or pain that borders upon recklessness. I would be displeased to see her enthusiasm transform into self destruction." I said, in as mild a tone as I could muster.

"I suppose for your arts, such a willingness to risk injury is the least of perquisites." Elder Xin mused mildly, seemingly unconcerned by my loss of control.

I watched as emotions flowed across Elder Liang’s face. Rage first, quickly smothered, then a milder irritation. And yet, before my eyes, it morphed into another smile, this one far more wholesome than the last, and to my eyes, seemingly sincere. I didn’t understand it, at all.

Liang Tao, though, just looked afraid.

“Look at you, finally starting to shed your silly asceticism. We’ll make a human of you yet.” Elder Liang said with a great belly laugh.

“I find myself curious, Elder Hu, what it was that you saw in her that finally changed your mind about taking a disciple. Certainly, thousands have thrown themselves at your feet in hopes of tutelage over the decades.” Elder Xin said. Even as he spoke, his hands gently danced over the strings of the instrument in his lap. A Guzheng? Erhu? I knew the names, but I could never remember which was which. No sound came forth, his long fingers caressing the strings, but never quite plucking them. Was it a nervous habit? It was a small thing, but it made me think the question was more significant than mere curiosity.

“Skill can be taught, talent can be earned, but even the best teachers struggle to impart motivation like that which burns in Su Li. But, she is hardly exceptional, by the standards of the sect.” I began, weaving a plausible lie from the gossamer-thin set of facts I had. “I think that my choice of student is as much an accident of timing and fate, than a product of her virtues. Of late, I have felt stagnant, too set in my ways. These coming days struck me as a fine season to walk new roads, seek new facets of the great Dao.”

Elder Xin nodded sagely, as if I’d said something profound, instead of an overwrought admission that I was having a cultivator midlife crisis.

“Interesting. It is well to know that I am not the only one who sees this as a time of great change.” He said, still stroking his instrument like a cat.

There was a knock at the door, and a moment of silence, as the person on the other side waited. It might have been protocol to wait a moment before opening the door, but I was beginning to suspect Elder Liang had some way of silently communicating with her household. I listened as intently as I could with my qi sense, but I couldn’t even catch the vague sense of connection I’d noticed before, when Liang Tao had ushered me in.

The door opened, and a man flanked by two young women walked in.

“Elder Li, how kind of you to join us at last.” Elder Liang greeted him. “Little Tao, another round for the table.”

Elder Li took the seat to my left, and his two attendants took up a position standing against the wall behind him.

“Of course, Elder Liang. I could hardly decline an opportunity to spend time in such august company.”

As Liang Tao circled us with his teapot, I inspected the man I’d offended at his lecture in the woods. Elder Li looked old. Not terminally so, perhaps late fifties, but age had left tangible marks on him my fellow elders had clearly escaped. His black hair was tied up into a tight bun, and his beard was trimmed short, though both were shot with thin streaks of gray. He alone wore the same colors as our disciples, black robes with navy trim, but his were of silk and far more ornate, with flying birds subtly embroidered across his sleeves and waist in shimmering midnight blue thread. Like me, he was neither a beanpole nor resting atop a mountain of cushions, leaving the other two Elders looking down slightly at us.

“Elder Xin.” Elder Li greeted, inclining his head in a gentle nod as he turned to face him. After holding the pose for a moment, he looked at me. "Ah… It's you."

"This small one is Elder Hu Xin." I replied, inclining my head towards him as he had Elder Xin.

My guess was rewarded, as the other two elders let out a chuckle at my humble greeting, and Elder Li flushed red. I was beginning to get a sense of the pecking order amongst us, tentatively putting Elder Xin and myself at the top, and Elder Li at the bottom.

“I heard about that incident. Come now Elder Li, there’s no need to take such a joke so seriously.” Elder Liang said.

“It was a jest in poor taste, and before my students. To undermine my authority before them is to undermine the mission of the sect.”

"My apologies, Elder Li. My mind was elsewhere that day, and I was not expecting to be engaged in conversation. I will not embarrass you in such a way again.”

Elder Li looked like he’d swallowed a lemon at my backhanded apology. I wanted to mend bridges, I really did, but stretching too far before an Elder almost certainly my junior seemed dangerous in its own way.

“I suppose there's only so much social grace one can expect from a man so dedicated to battle.”

“Come now Elder Li, surely you aren't saying you view Elder Hu's more martial contributions to the sect as less than your own? Unless, perhaps you are volunteering to take on the next target Sectmaster Meng finds?” Elder Xin said, a cruel smile on his face. “Has your cultivation advanced so far you think that you can kill a false immortal?”

Elder Li paled, and shook his head.

“I did not mean to diminish your contributions honored Elder Xin.”

“Brother Hu’s words are one matter, his contributions to the sect another entirely. To insult the latter, is to offer insult to all of us. Blood shed in defense of the Night should never be denigrated.” Elder Xin said, his expression returning to placidity, his fury apparently spent. Perhaps I could rely on him, as a shield against the others.

“Elder Li has a point though Elder Xin, our beloved sect has long been denied the opportunity to benefit from Elder Hu’s wisdom.” Elder Liang said, with a wide smile on her face. “As the eldest and most advanced of us, surely he has much to teach his juniors. Perhaps Elder Hu should hold a lecture for the whole sect, and put to bed any foul rumors about his teaching skills.” I suppressed a shiver. That was not good. Having confirmation of my standing was nice, but a lecture could be a disaster.

I raced to think of a polite way to decline. I could fake sagacity before a single teenager, but an entire crowd, with several multi-centenarians present? I didn’t like my chances, if the subject was cultivation or swordsmanship. I glanced at Elder Xin, hoping my potential ally would give me an out.

“Yes, that’s an excellent idea! You were saying earlier, Brother Hu, that this seemed like a good season to explore new facets of the Dao. If you are to teach one properly, why not offer them all a taste?” The traitor said. “Perhaps I should even do the same. It’s been a while since I showed the sprouts what real art looks like.”

“Perhaps you should go first then? I’m sure the disciples would appreciate your insights.” I said, throwing out a hail mary.

“No, no, I couldn’t possibly usurp your well earned position.” He demurred. “I’m keen to see how your understanding of the sword has advanced these last decades.”

“Perhaps. I have a few other ideas that I might speak on.”

“Oh, do share with the table.” Elder Liang said.

“I think not. You can hear them at the same time as everyone else.”

“Always so stuffy.” She said with a giggle. “More tea?”

After Liang Tao refilled my cup for the third time, I took a long sip. It truly was excellent stuff.

“So, Elder Hu.” Elder Liang said with a wicked grin. “Care to explain why exactly you decided to wake the entire first plaza with a hurricane two days ago?”