Chapter 227: Brotherhood

~~~

“Weakness is the worst of crimes,” Liu Jin tells his men once everyone has seen the City Lord’s merchandise. They are gathered outside the hideout, waiting until the Brotherhood decides what to do with them.

“A weak man cannot protect his property. He cannot protect his wife, his parents, or his children. A weak man is of no use to anyone, not even himself. Thus, by virtue of being weak, he has committed a crime against himself and his fellow men. That is why those stronger, thus more virtuous than him, are free to take everything that belongs to him, even his life.”

Liu Jin looks at the faces of his soldiers as he speaks. Some are grim, others confused, and others still try to appear uncaring.

“You all know this, of course. That is why the City Lord’s actions should not come as a surprise to any of you. He is strong, and the strong take what they want. Surely you have done the same.”

A twitch here. A frown there. Liu Jin continues.

“You have all killed before,” Liu Jin says. “You have all stolen. Almost certainly. You needed something and took it. That is the way of things. City Lord Lei is no different. He wanted more money, more wine, and more women, so he took his own people and sold them like cattle. He has power, so that’s permissible to him.”

Liu Jin pauses for a second before asking a question.

“So why are you bothered by it?”

Furrowed brows, darting eyes, and fidgeting hands are all the answers Liu Jin gets. That’s fine. Liu Jin already knows why, even if the soldiers are unable or unwilling to voice it.

It is one thing for prisoners of war to be made into slaves and sold. They are the enemy, so their suffering is cause to rejoice. It is unimportant if beggars are taken off the streets and made to fight for the amusement of a crowd. They are beggars, after all. No one cares for them, or else they wouldn’t be beggars.

But an entire village, a village made up not of foreigners or wastes but of their fellow citizens, people of Murong Bang’s territory who are supposed to fight Murong Bang’s enemies.

That hits a little differently.

Somehow, it manages to feel like a betrayal.

“How many of you come from a small town or village like the ones we passed by?” Liu Jin asks. More than one winces. “How many of you still have families waiting for you there? Did you send letters back home letting them know you had been made into soldiers, hoping your meager prestige would act as a cloak for them? That was woefully naive of you. It’s fine, though. You are young.”

They are young, and because they are young, Liu Jin believes he has a chance to reach them. Maybe. They are relatively new soldiers who have not yet been instructed in the countless atrocities Murong Bang’s army commits on a regular basis. They are not yet desensitized to it.

“You joined the army because you recognized your weakness. You sought power by allying yourselves with the strong, but more than that, you sought protection. You expected mercy from those who have none. You expected gratitude from those who only think of themselves. You expected your loyalty to receive some sort of reward. You expected to be treated differently, and even now, some of you probably still believe you are different from the villagers sold as slaves. You are not. You will never be.”

No one says anything. Somehow, everything has gone quiet.

“We will stay with the Brotherhood of Thunder until they decide what to do with us,” Liu Jin says. “There is no need for you to worry about it. You are all under my protection, so feel free to use this time to think. Of course, there is really no need for you to think. You can just keep living as you have, striving to be as cruel as your superiors in the vain hope that it somehow amuses them enough to not treat you as they do everyone else.”

~~~

The Brotherhood repurposes a few small houses to serve as temporary jails for Liu Jin and his men. The following day, Liu Jin is summoned for an audience with the leadership of the Brotherhood.

“Qing Jin, emissary of General Nie Dan, disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan, why have you come to the Brotherhood of Thunder?”

In front of Liu Jin are the four highest-ranking members of the Brotherhood of Thunder. One of them is the brown-haired man in the True Realm Liu Jin spoke to the previous day. Another one is the axeman that was freeing the prisoners yesterday. There is also a woman with gray-streaked hair done up in a bun. Both are weaker in cultivation than the brown-haired man.

A paper screen hides the last person from Liu Jin’s sight. However, Liu Jin does not need to look at the man to know he is very old and very weak. The man’s Qi says it all.

“First of all, I thank the Brotherhood of Thunder for granting me this audience,” Liu Jin says, his hands clasped together, and his head bowed.

The brown-haired man snorts.

“What is the point in feigning politeness after bringing one hundred men to our doorstep? We are only hearing you out because you have made an utter nuisance of yourself.”

The axeman smiles. “I don’t know, Leader Liu. I think it shows gumption.”

Leader Liu glances at the man out of the corner of his eyes. “Of course you would.”

The woman claps her hands gently, perhaps hoping to bring some order. It gives Liu Jin the opportunity to hide his surprise at sharing a family name with the leader of the Brotherhood.

“Please, we are making a poor impression on our guest.” She gives Liu Jin an apologetic look. “We are, of course, grateful for your help as we do not know if we would have found that caravan so quickly had you not informed us about it. However, you must understand that your presence raises many questions.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Leader Liu says, crossing his arms. “You claim to be an emissary of General Nie Dan, but it was that monster Murong Bang who sent you here so you could help the vile City Lord. You and your men have visited numerous towns looking for us, but now you say you wish to offer your services? Why should we believe you?”

“I understand your hesitation,” Liu Jins says. “The circumstances that have placed me before you are most unusual, and even after hearing them, you might have trouble believing me. Nevertheless, I ask that you hear my tale.”

“Go on, then,” says the old man behind the paper screen. His voice is kind but tired. Visible alarm appears on the faces of the other three leaders as he speaks, perhaps out of concern for his health. “Explain yourself to us, young man.”

“I was originally sent here as an emissary of the Eternal Flame Clan to General Nie Dan,” Liu Jin says. “You might not know this, but the Eternal Flame Clan-”

“The Eternal Flame Clan profits by bleeding our resources dry while we kill each other,” Leader Liu says darkly, meeting Liu Jin’s eyes. “Do not assume us to be uneducated.”

“The thought never crossed my mind,” Liu Jin says. “And I will not deny that the Eternal Flame Clan has unfairly taken advantage of this country. However, things have changed. Lord Feng Gui, the man who will be our next Patriarch, wishes to end the needless civil war. He sent me and others here to incentivize General Nie Dan to defeat the other two generals.”

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The leaders of the Brotherhood do their best to keep calm, but it is clear Liu Jin’s declaration has unsettled them. Hearing someone speak so casually about something they have only dared to imagine cannot be easy.

“General Dan was starting to assemble a large force to attack Murong Bang with-”

“Is that true?” Leader Liu asks, cutting him off. “Is what you are saying true? Is General Nie Dan preparing to attack?”

“Unfortunately, things have changed, Leader Liu,” Liu Jin says, bowing his head. “We found out General He Bin is cooperating with a powerful enemy.”

“We have heard rumors about that,” the woman says, her lips lightly pursed. “People say that Murong Bang spoke to a crowd about a group called the Death Scripture.”

“Bah, those are just tales made up to scare the people,” the axeman says.

“I don’t know,” Leader Liu says, frowning thoughtfully. “Is Murong Bang the sort who needs to lie to create terror?”

“I am afraid they are quite real, as is the threat they pose,” Liu Jin says. “They are real enough that General Dan sent me here to negotiate a temporary truce with Murong Bang while he prepares to deal with them. Unfortunately, though Murong Bang accepted General Dan’s proposal, he has decided to amuse himself with me by holding the truce hostage. If I do not do as he says, he will attack General Dan.”

As one, the three people in front of him tense up. No one moves, but the merest spark could set off a roaring blaze.

“I have no intention of fighting you,” Liu Jin says.

“Why?” Leader Liu asks him. “You just said your truce depends on doing what Murong Bang wants.”

“Because Murong Bang did not only ask for your heads,” Liu Jin replies. “Murong Bang wanted the heads of the bandits and every single person who cooperated with them.”

Liu Jin sighs, defeated.

“I realized it when we were visiting the villages. They are all cooperating with you, aren’t they?”

There is a slight pause before the woman with gray-streaked hair replies.

“Occasionally, we have given some aid to the villages. Some might feel thankful to us. To what degree, I cannot say,” she says.