Listen to your enemies before you listen to your friends.
Unknown Sage
Tez' Mu had Sari send Dor' Yan's horse back and instead boarded the carriage the servant came with to fetch him, with a bitter expression on his face. The carriage rolled out of Joavir and towards Muii, on the eastern outskirts of the capital, the district of the Mu family.
As is often the case with looming unpleasant events, the journey ended far too soon. The carriage rumbled to a stop before the towering gates of the Mu Manor, having crossed the capital in its entirety. The carriage door was opened from the outside and Tez' Mu, who had his eyes closed throughout the journey, opened them and gazed with bleary eyes at his home.
Today, the protective hue surrounding the manor was thick, lilac in color. Tez' Mu got down from the carriage and walked up the daunting steps leading up to the gates. The two guards manning either sides inclined their heads as he passed by them.
"Ke."
He stepped into the humongous courtyard. It was a stark contrast to the one he was just coming from, which could barely hold ten people. The Mu front courtyard stretched, unending, having every single imaginable comfort. There were several pavilions and gazebos that could be seen from a distance, a well-groomed garden with a maze hedge, a fountain in front of the main house, a bridge over an artificial pond on the left side leading to the stables.
There were about twenty buildings in the Mu Manor, as each member of the household had their own personal courtyards. There were training grounds, archery ranges, viewing towers, and what not. It was expected of a noble House several generations old.
Tez' Mu turned his steps towards the main house. Dinner was already over; it was currently the hours between saorou, dinnertime and sisaru, bedtime; so he reckoned his father would be in his study.
He stepped through the main entrance, slipped off his sandals, and crossed the hall. The air inside carried the scent of burning resin, a fragrant offering meant to ward off restless ill luck. The carpeted floor's intricate weave depicted the Mu lineage in silver thread, generations of ancestors watching from beneath his steps.
He walked down a corridor, passing under a wooden arch carved with the Four Oaths, the sacred promises of honor and duty that every Mu child memorized by age six. Finally, he arrived in front of a heavy brown oak door inlaid with the family crest—a roaring black tiger. Taking a deep breath, he knocked, the polished wood cool beneath his knuckles. A heartbeat later, a low voice answered.
"Enter."
The door creaked open, revealing his father's study—vast yet austere, its walls lined with towering bookshelves. Candles flickered atop a polished desk stacked with military reports, their glow casting restless shadows across the map spanning the far wall. A brazier smoldered in the corner, faint embers crackling as they fought against the evening chill.
Raq' Mu, his back turned, studied the map. His hair, the same dark red as Tez' Mu's, had been unbound, and it cascaded down his back. He was only wearing tunic trousers; his upper body was bare. The candlelight caught on his powerful frame; broad shoulders, a torso lined with scars and the deep red of cultivation essence coiling off his skin in slow, deliberate waves.
Tez' Mu stared in surprise at this, before recovering himself and bowing, although his father couldn't see him.
"This child pays his respects," he said, breathing deeply.
Raq' Mu turned around slowly, crossing his arms over his muscular chest. His stern eyes, black as night, raked over his son.
"Where have you been?"
Tez' Mu lowered his gaze, suddenly aware of his own disheveled state—his tunic rumpled from the day's outings, a fine layer of dust clinging to his feet. "I was out with Sister Royan'," he replied.
"I was made aware of that." Raq' Mu said, striding forward slowly, "However, Royan' Mu returned while you didn't. Where else did you go?"
A lump formed in Tez' Mu's throat. "I visited a friend."
Raq' Mu let out a slow breath, "I can understand, but you see them every day. How about giving your father who has been away at war proper respect and welcome?"
Tez' Mu stared at his bare feet, twiddling his toes.
"I have told you before," Raq' Mu continued, his voice heavy. "The Mu army is watching you and your attitude. I don't expect you to have the ability to lead them one day—but did it never occur to you that, with your brothers gone, you may have to?" His tone sharpened. "Tez' Mu! Why are you so stupid?"
Tez' Mu flinched at his raised voice. Raq' Mu hardly shouted, even though he had a bad temper. He had crossed the room and now stood in front of his son. Tez' Mu involuntarily took a few steps back.
"Stop moving!" Raq' Mu snapped.
Tez' Mu forced himself to still, even though every cell in his body was itching to flee.
"I am extremely outraged with your behavior. I will not have you; even if you disrespect me; I will not have you disrespect the Mu army! Do you hear me?"
"Yes, Father," Tez' Mu mumbled, still looking down.
"Raise your head!" The first blow landed, a slap across his cheek. Eyes smarting, Tez' Mu raised his head and looked into his father's angry eyes for the first time that evening.
"I will not; listen to me, Tez' Mu: I will not raise a foolish child. You will become who you are supposed to become: a true son of Mu; facing your fears and overcoming them. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, Father."
"So, are you afraid of me?" Raq' Mu crossed his arms.
Tez' Mu paled. He shook his head, involuntarily looking down again. The second blow landed.
"Look up! An offense gives rise to another! What you did is no longer the point. What I hate the most is what you're doing now. Look up at me!" Another strike. Heat flared across his cheek. Again. Again. Tez' Mu bit his lip hard enough to taste blood. If as much as a sob of pain escaped, all hell would break loose.
Raq' Mu grabbed his chin and yanked it up. Making sure Tez' Mu's eyes were locked with his, he spoke.
"A true son of Mu is not a coward. I may be the mainland's strongest mage; but I am still your father: I will not kill you. I may hurt you, but it is to bring out your true nature. I will not allow you to fear me. Do you understand?"
"Ye—yes, Father," Tez' Mu gasped, his eyes reddening from the grip.
"Good," Raq' Mu released his chin, and Tez' Mu rubbed it, feeling the ache already.
"Tomorrow, you will apologize to the generals you disrespected," Raq' Mu walked away back towards the map, "whatever punishment they see fit to give you, you will accept. Understood?"
"Yes, Father."
"I don't have to tell you something like this must never happen again. Leave."
Tez' Mu bowed, and then turned around to exit the room. He was at the door when Raq' Mu spoke again.
"I changed my mind," he said, "We'll go now."
Tez' Mu's heart fell to the depths of his stomach.
***
The dim glow of dusk filtered through the lattice-carved window screens, casting intricate patterns across the walls.
"My lady is at the door," Sari said to the figure curled up under the sheets.
"Oh no; not her too," Tez' Mu groaned, voice muffled by the pillow. The door creaked open. Sari bowed and excused himself as Essa-kest' Mu swept into the room. She crossed the space with purpose, her sharp eyes scanning the half-open drawers spilling dog-eared books and thick bound parchment, before landing on the boy buried beneath the sheets. With a decisive tug, she pulled them back, revealing Tez' Mu's bare back, crisscrossed with swollen, purple welts.
Without a word, she placed her hands over his injuries, and a soft glow spread as medicinal aura seeped into the wounds.
"Did the generals do this?" she asked after a while. Her tone was gentle but carried a sharp edge.
Tez' Mu didn't answer. His eyes were squeezed shut, and the pillow beneath his head was damp.
"It was silly of you not to be at home—"
"I know, I know! Enough of it," Tez' Mu snapped, tugging the covers back up to his chin. "You don't have to rub it in. I've learned my lesson. I won't do it again. That's what you want to hear, no? Well, fine. You can go now."
"Tez' Mu—" Essa-kest' Mu sighed. Tez' Mu did not say anything, and rolled further away from her.
She rubbed her temples as she glanced toward the low lacquered table, littered with half-unrolled scrolls and a cold, forgotten tea cup. In the farthest corner, beyond the wooden screen depicting the first Mu lords, a single candle burned, its flames flickering.
"Would you like to go visit my father on my behalf?" Essa-kest' Mu asked suddenly, her voice low. Tez' Mu frowned.
"No. I have work at the Academy. Sis Royan' is also getting married. There's no time to make it to Darin and back."
"I'll give you a teleportation scroll," Essa-kest' Mu said, shifting closer and resting a hand gently on the back of his head, "I know that your bottleneck has been bothering you—"
"Hah. No it hasn't," Tez' Mu scoffed.
"—listen to me," she said, her fingers pressing more firmly now, "There are a lot of resources at the Kest Manor; you should be able to find something. And while you're there, take all you need. My father and brother owe me that much."
"Fine," Tez' Mu muttered, "can you leave now?"
Essa-kest' Mu rose silently. "I'll ask Sari to bring you something to eat," she said.
"I've eaten at the Rion house. That reminds me: ask Sari to send two wedding invitations to House Rion and Tutor Sal's House Ruan."
"Isn't there only one House Ruan, though?" Essa-kest' Mu wondered aloud.
"Whatever. Make sure to mention they're allowed to bring two extra people."
"Tutor Sal will definitely be invited already," she pointed out.
"I'm not thinking about Tutor Sal. I'd prefer if she didn't come if it was up to me."
"Is there any of your other friends you'll like to invite?"
"No, that's all. Jun' He will probably come with his uncle, but to be safe let's send him one as well."
"Alright," Essa-kest' Mu turned and left. Tez' Mu waited until the door had shut then gritted his teeth as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Shaking, he grabbed a cloth and spat into it, his head pounding like a war drum. He rose from the bed and tottered to a small drawer on the floor next to the folding screen, rummaging through the junk; discarded pieces of used scrolls, broken matrix gadgets, quills snapped in half, scraps of paper...until his hand clutched a gray pill bottle at the very back. He grabbed it and quickly pulled out the stopper, and turned the bottle over in his hand. One blood red colored pill rolled out. Tez' Mu shook the bottle in disbelief.
"Damn!" He swore, and then threw the last pill into his mouth, chewing with a pained expression. The door creaked open.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing." Tez' Mu shoved the bottle back into the drawer and slammed it shut. He turned around mid-squat. Sari stood there, holding a tray of food, the aroma from the steaming aluminum plates quickly filling the room.
"I said I've eaten."
"Young miss is outside," Sari reported.
"Who, Royan'?"
"No, it's me." The youngest Mu swept into the room in her magenta uniform, as though she had just finished her etiquette lessons; hands at her hips, the silver circlet atop her head half-lost in the thick locks of auburn hair that spilled over her shoulders. Sari bowed and left with the tray.
Tez' Mu slumped against the drawer, his voice tired. "What?"
"Is it true Father had the generals punish you?" She asked with a frown. Tez' Mu did not reply. His breath was shallow, his face pale.
"How dare they!" Chan' Mu growled, stamping her bare feet. "I'm the only one allowed to bully you!"
Tez' Mu managed a weak grin. His face was losing color faster and faster. Chan' Mu frowned, and traipsed over to him.
"You're burning up." Her fingers were cool against his forehead. "I thought Mother already patched you up."
"Yeah— but I have other problems—"
Chan' Mu raised her nose up into the air. "Take mother's offer and go to Darin. They're sure to have a breakthrough pill or something."
"Go away, Chan'." Tez' Mu mumbled.
"Why?"
"I'm about to puke."
Chan' Mu's put on a disgusted expression, and then took several steps back.
"Go away!"
"Go on and puke," Chan' Mu raised her hand and drew a simple matrix formation in midair, "I won't be able to smell it."
Tez' Mu groaned. "Just leave. What else do you want?"
Chan' Mu pursed her lips. "Are you hiding something from me?"
Hrk—! Tez' Mu threw up both the pill and a mouthful of blood. Chan' Mu gaped as he dug through the clump of blood to retrieve the pill...
"No! Eww! Stop! How valuable is the dirty thing? Our house can afford two shiploads of it; throw it away!"
Tez' Mu ignored her, sifting through the bloody mess with trembling fingers. He started to cough, his body convulsing with each draw of breath.
Chan' Mu terminated the matrix around her and spun on her heel, shouting, "I'm getting Mother!"
As she ran out, Tez' Mu's vision blurred, and his body sagged against the floor.
He awoke to a burning sensation in his chest, the kind that happened whenever he tried to cultivate. Voices murmured nearby; two people moving about. He groaned as a fresh wave of pain shot through his chest.
"Tez'?" It was his mother's voice. Then was the other person his father? Tez' Mu moaned, already dreading facing him. If not that he'd been seriously wounded by the blood thirsty generals of the Mu army in the name of apologizing, why would his oasis be as badly damaged as this?
"Tez', can you hear me?" Essa-kest' Mu asked again, her voice cracking.
Odd.
She just had to probe by touching his arm to know he was fine.
"I didn't know it was this bad," he heard her murmur to the other person in the room. "To think he's been keeping it to himself. What did you call the name of that pill again?"
"Oasis Repressor." So the other person was Royan' Mu. Tez' Mu was relieved. He opened his eyes slowly. The light stung.
"Tez'!" Royan' Mu was at his side in an instant. "Are you feeling better? Does your oasis still hurt?"
Tez' Mu tried to sit up. He did not answer the question.
"The pill," he was surprised that his voice came out so hoarse, "where is it?"
"Tez', you can't take it anymore! Instead of helping you, it's damaging your body! If your oasis collapses completely, you might never use magic again, Tez'!" Royan' Mu shuddered, "Where did you get it from? The person making such a thing should be imprisoned!"
"Where—where is it?" Tez' Mu croaked again, his eyes dilating, "Please, let me have it. That's—that's the only thing that helps. If it wasn't for that pill, I would have—"
"Tez'!" The two women cried together as Tez' Mu fell back onto the bed, limbs falling limp like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Royan' Mu quickly covered both her hands in healing essence, and placed it on his chest.
"You too, mother!" She said urgently to her mother. Essa-kest' Mu joined her, hands trembling as she summoned her own energy.
Slowly, very slowly, color returned to Tez' Mu's pale lips, and his ragged breathing steadied. Sweat glistened on Royan' Mu's brow as she pulled back.
"What do we do, mother?"
Essa-kest' Mu looked aghast, almost as pale as her son. "I am going to talk to your father," she said, clasping her hands tightly.
***
The world had the audacity to move forward as though nothing had happened.
Tez' Mu moved through the manor, giving orders and making preparations alongside the others as the household bustled in preparation for the wedding party between Royan' Mu and Dor' Yan.
As he passed by the main house, he ran into Chan' Mu. Tez' Mu immediately turned around, however, he didn't escape the hawk eyes of the little girl.
"Tez'!" Chan' Mu called out, hands on her waist, "seems like you're fine already. I want you to do something for me."
"Shut up," he snapped, not breaking stride. "I'm going to Darin now."
But Chan' Mu would not be ignored. Snapping her fingers, she conjured an array beneath his feet. Tez' Mu struggled against the binding force but couldn't move. She strode up to him, grinning triumphantly.
"How about now?"
Tez' Mu scowled. He could fight this—could demand she leave him alone—but the last time he had snubbed Chan', it had taken a week to clear the scorch marks from the west corridor. He wasn't in the mood for another spectacle. "Fine," he sighed, "what do you want?"
"Do you know where that ship model Vin' Hai made Father is kept?" Chan' Mu asked.
"It's probably in his study. And Vin' Hai didn't make it for him. It's a royal tribute. Father intends to give it to the Dowager on her birthday."
"I don't care about all that," Chan' Mu rolled her eyes, "find it for me. Quickly!" With that, she snapped her finger and Tez' Mu was freed from the effects of the matrix. As she walked towards her chamber, she said over her shoulder.
"I'm not very patient today, brother."
"What do you want with it, anyway?" Tez' Mu frowned. Chan' Mu did not reply. She swayed her tiny hips as she sashayed away. Her cultivation prowess was still a mystery to Tez' Mu. One night he had gone to bed and his sister was still learning how to say his name; and he woke up the next morning to see her casting sigils and matrices left and right.
Giving up his plan of going to his mother's chamber for the teleportation scroll that would take him to Darin, Tez' Mu instead entered the main house. His father was out with the army, so this was perhaps the best time to snoop around the study. To be safe, however, he knocked twice on the door.
Satisfied with not receiving an answer, Tez' Mu creaked the door open. His father's armor stood on a pedestal next to the wall map needing polishing, a red robe thrown over one shoulder. Tez' Mu gave the study a sweeping look. Nothing was out of place, and this was definitely not where the model was kept.
His gaze turned to the door hidden in plain sight behind his father's desk. Tez' Mu knew exactly which knob to turn to enter the enclosed space where Raq' Mu kept his treasures. Did he dare...?
Crossing the room quickly, Tez' Mu reached behind the draped curtains by the window and turned the small knob kept just out of sight. The hidden door slid open with a low hum. Tez' Mu entered swiftly, leaving it slightly ajar.
The secret room smelled faintly of damp parchment. Scrolls and files lined the shelves. An ornate scroll rested on a pedestal, glowing faintly in the dim light. It was Raq' Mu's Technique Scroll, chosen decades ago. Tez' Mu stared at it briefly before shaking his head. He wasn't here for that. It was preposterous to think that the legend of some scrolls being heritable would suddenly come to play here. Besides, what would that do to his cultivation bottleneck?
Best to find Chan's model ship and get out of here. Tez' Mu quickly hurried down the rest of the small room but found nothing of the sort. Eventually, he pressed his lips tight with a frown as he returned to the middle of the room and raised the leather mat that covered the trapdoor entrance to the Mu underground network of tunnels.
One good thing about Raq' Mu's secret storage, though, was the absence of booby traps. Tez' Mu jumped down into the second level and dusted himself as he rose up from his crouch. The tunnel was lit with twinkling lunar stones in the brackets lining the walls on one side. The other side was devoted to shelves. He traced his fingers along the grooves in the walls, vaguely recalling how the tunnels linked to one another from the times he and his elder twin brothers used to sneak in here looking for ancestors knew what, racing through these passages. Back then, it had been a game. Now, he walked alone.
Tez' Mu turned around, finally deciding on the northwest fork from among the four paths that led out of the landing. Walking through this path, he noticed a difference in the contents of the storage as opposed to what it used to contain back then when he and his brothers used to come in here. Back then, his grandfather had just died and Raq' Mu was still in the process of taking control of the army, so the storage mostly contained documents, letters, weapons and curious substances in glass phials.
Now, however, the shelves had portrait scrolls, maps and on the ground; plain wooden boxes marked Mu and Ji, silver bordered wooden boxes marked Zi, and golden bordered oak boxes marked Tribute; stacked together and on top of one another.
Tez' Mu raised his eyebrows and made towards one of the boxes marked Tribute. He pushed the lid to one side and gold stared back at him. Gasping, he closed it quickly. Ochelon was a mainland country, and the few mines it had yielded iron, jade and copper. What were fat blocks of gold doing under Raq' Mu's study?!
Tez' Mu opened the second box and the same yellow light shone out. So did all the boxes marked tribute. He smirked. Raq' Mu was intending to give all this to the Dowager Queen? No wonder his father was her favorite subject!
Rising from the boxes Tez' Mu wondered then, if the model ship was supposed to be tribute too, where was it? He went down the passage and then stopped short, freezing. His breath hitched in his throat as he stared at his own unfinished portrait hanging from the wall where the shelves ended. The heavy hand in the lower left corner of the portrait was Raq' Mu's, written in Miyuan letters.
Of the noble house of Mu
The fourth offspring,
Tez' Mu
He was also wearing robes from the eastern kingdom in the painting, something he had never worn in his life. The relaxed expression on his drawn face was also unsettling. What was this? Why did Raq' Mu order his portrait to be drawn as if he were a prince of Miyuan? To what purpose? And why was it unfinished?
The painting stopped at the clasp of the Miyuan robe at his chest. His lower body remained to be drawn. Tez' Mu frowned. When had he even modeled for this portrait without realizing it? Or had the painter drawn him from memory? It didn't seem so. The natural parting of his polled hair slightly at the left side of his head above his ear was a detail that had to be seen firsthand.
Raq' Mu's storage was full of surprises. Tez' Mu turned away from the portrait and looked around the rest of the room, now conscious that he had spent a while. And finally he saw it. The ship, Arkan, sitting on a rocky ledge just a little way away. Its sails were flying, as if the very wind of the sea were blowing them. Vin' Hai's craftsmanship was indeed unrivaled in Ochelon. Personally, though, Tez' Mu figured that the gold would please the Dowager Queen more.
Chan' Mu had said to find it, and definitely not to take it. Tez' Mu noted the model's location and then turned around. He took another glance at the portrait of the smiling stranger with his face and hurried out of that passage. Just as he came to the entrance of the main tunnel, he froze.
Raq' Mu was shuffling idly through a book, his eyes on the passage Tez' Mu had just emerged from. He glanced over at Tez' Mu when he appeared with a searching expression, which soon disappeared.
"I suppose nothing interested our pilferer among the treasures of the lord general Mu," Raq' Mu sneered. "How disappointing."
Tez' Mu's mouth went dry. "I—" he murmured, "I wasn't going to take anything."
"Then," Raq' Mu closed the book he was holding with a snap that made Tez' Mu flinch. "What are you doing here?"
He did not have an answer.
"So you fell in?" Raq' Mu scoffed, placing the book back on the shelf. "You hardly wander into my study of your own accord except you are summoned for punishment. Not like Royan', who regularly greets me, or even Chan', who comes to play."
Play? Play?! Chan' Mu, playing with their father? What kind of play was Raq' Mu capable of doing? Tez' Mu's head was swimming. And did that also mean the monster could have done this herself? Why did she ask him to do it then?!
"Or is it that I am raising a spy under my own roof, in my own name?" Raq' Mu was still speaking, his eyes were now flashing with some degree of irritation, "After all, with the crowd you mix with in Joavir, someone might have conned you into turning against your own father."
"No," Tez' Mu murmured. It was all he could say, "I'm just—" he swallowed, "looking for something."
Raq' Mu stared at him, raising his eyebrows.
"The Arkan," he gave up, "I...I wanted to see it again."
"I had no idea you had an interest in craftsmanship," Raq' Mu sneered, and put the book in his hand away, "Well, I hope you've seen your fill. It's time to get out of here now," he gestured towards the trap door.
Tez' Mu hurried forward, just out of reach of his father should he be intending to swipe at him, and climbed out using the retractable steps that Raq' Mu had triggered when he had come down. Raq' Mu was close on his heels.
Tez' Mu left the secret room quickly and stepped out into the study. His father emerged behind him just as he wondered if he should make a dash for it. He watched as Raq' Mu sealed the secret entrance shut.
"Well," Raq' Mu walked over and sat in his high backed chair, sneering lightly, "What now? Do you want me to call Vin' Hai to take you as an apprentice or what?"
Tez' Mu frowned as he shook his head, wondering why his father would have such an absurd idea. The purpose of the portrait was itching at his mind, but he had never gone out of his way to ask his father a question before. He hesitated. Raq' Mu seemed to be in a fair mood today, though, as he had not spoken so far of punishment.
"I—there—there was a portrait in the storage—"
"Why are you stuttering?" Raq' Mu, who had closed his eyes and leaned back into the backrest when Tez' Mu did not reply his question, opened them and frowned. Tez' Mu caught his breath.
"There was a portrait—of me—in the storage," he repeated.
"Yes. So?"
"It—it was unfinished. And I was dressed in Miyuan." Tez' Mu, in spite of himself, said the last statement with an incredulous tone. Raq' Mu was not amused.
"That it is unfinished is your own fault. You were not present at the family dinner on the day I arrived."
Tez' Mu looked away. Oh. But where in plain sight did the painter hide whenever the Mus had their meals?
"But why…" he paused, pulling in a breath, "Why was I dressed in Miyuan? Ochelon doesn't even have a treaty with them," Tez' Mu pressed. His father sneered.
"We don't. But that does not stop us from marrying them."
Tez' Mu froze. What does that mean? Was he—going to be betrothed to some Miyuan princess? But that wasn't right. He was already engaged to Keiran' Ru, the daughter of Lady-general Ru, the third great general of Ochelon.
"Marrying them?" Tez' Mu couldn't believe it.
He barely saw Keiran' Ru, let alone spoke to her, despite attending the same Imperial Academy of Cultivation. Yet, he liked her. She was beautiful, gifted in cultivation, and, most importantly, the heir presumptive of her family.
Tez' Mu knew he had no real claim to his family's wealth. The estate would go to his older twin brothers, and Royan' would also inherit a portion, supplemented by her mother's Kest lineage, though her true fortune would come from her future as Lady of House Yan. Chan' Mu's fate would follow a similar path.
He had nothing to rely on. His brothers would see to that.
Marriage to Keiran' Ru was his best chance. As her husband-consort, he would gain wealth, power, and security—without the crushing expectations that came with leading a great house.
And now, Raq' Mu expected him to throw that away for a Miyuan princess he had never even met?
No. Absolutely not.
Raq' Mu did not care to know what was going through his son's mind. He turned the book in his hand over.
"Yes. Your grandmother's family requires your portraits. They want to include you in the royal genealogy of Miyuan; because of my influence no doubt."
Tez' Mu blinked twice, then let out a turbid breath. He had forgotten completely that his paternal grandmother had been a Miyuan princess. Perhaps his friends were right, and he really tended to overthink things.
"Oh. I—I had no idea," based on Raq' Mu's expression, he had overstayed his welcome, "I have to go now, Father," he glanced at the door.
Raq' Mu let out a humorless chuckle. "You have to go?"
"Yes. Mother asked me to visit the Kest Manor for her. She must be waiting for me."
"I doubt. I activated a transportation scroll that conveyed Essa-kest' Mu to her father's house an hour ago."
Damn Chan' Mu.
"Oh," Tez' Mu was crestfallen. "I guess I'll go some other time. Your leave, Father," he bowed.
"Why are you running away?"
Tez' Mu blinked, shocked. "I'm—not."
Raq' Mu rose. Tez' Mu stiffened.
"I think you hate me."
Tez' Mu was caught off guard. "No, I don't."
"Don't you? You always do stupid things and I always have to correct you and that's all there is between us. I'm certain you like me less than even your instructors at the Academy—if you like me at all, that is," Raq' Mu had crossed to the dusty armor and was looking it over. He pulled the red robe off the shoulder.
Tez' Mu didn't know what to say. He hated to admit that Raq' Mu was right, but whose fault was that?
Raq' Mu turned and crossed the room. Tez' Mu shuffled his feet nervously. His father didn't stop until he stood in front of him. He raised his hand and something billowed over Tez' Mu's head. Opening his eyes (Tez' Mu did not even know when he closed them) he realized Raq' Mu had draped the red cloak over him.
"Tezihoyi Anraon, son of Mu," Raq' Mu placed his hands on Tez' Mu's shoulder, "from what it seems, you will have to lead the Mu Army."
Tez' Mu blinked. "But—"
"But nothing. Your brothers have founded a mercenary company over in Jahha. I don't know which one of them will hold on to that and which one will return; but, for deserting the mainland they will have to suffer the humiliation of deferring to you. You will lead the Mu Army."
Tez' Mu stared at his father in shock.
"But I can't—I mean—I have a cultivation bottleneck," he finally managed to breathe out. Raq' Mu did not react.
"As long as you keep yourself alive you will surely overcome it one day. It takes more than cultivation to lead an army, and that is what I am going to start teaching you. Do you understand?"
Tez' Mu nodded, totally speechless. To his surprise, Raq' Mu's face relaxed into a smile.
"Good! We can achieve something before the Dowager Queen's birthday. This is what we'll do—when is the Academy resuming?"
"On the first day of Rin," School started on the first day of spring. Tez' Mu was advancing by one level at the Academy, even though ironically he remained stuck at the same cultivation stage.
"That's a month after Royan's wedding. I see," Raq' Mu nodded, "on schooldays you are exempted. Every other day at dawn you must come here. I will train you."
Tez' Mu held back an outcry.
"Yes, Father," was all he could say. But no way would he allow Chan' to get away with this one. "Father," he shrugged off the robe as Raq' Mu turned around to return to his seat.
"Keep the robe," Raq' Mu said.
"Oh? Yes, Father," Tez' Mu piled the robe on his arm, "Um," he looked sheepish as he wondered how to say it, "Father, have you never wondered about Chan's cultivation?"
"What's there to wonder about?" Raq' Mu raised his eyebrows.
"Well—it's really strange. Father, she's—she's just nine!"
"Starting cultivation early is nothing strange in our House. Several of our ancestors have done the same," Raq' Mu waved his hand dismissively, "It's something to be proud of, rather."
Tez' Mu frowned. Not in a hundred years, had the world seen a prodigy like his sister. Her progress unsettled him, and made him suspicious of outside involvement.
But his father would never think otherwise, would he?