Chapter 230: Greed

~~~

Weeks have passed since the Brotherhood of Thunder released him and his men. Since then, Liu Jin has been traveling the countryside, making his men fight Spirit Beasts to protect the towns and training his Lightning affinity. Officially, he is still looking for bandits, something his many reports to City Lord Lei can attest to. But really, he is just making time until he has a working plan.

And, far more often than he should, he is visiting Elder Liu.

“…Of course, my little Fei Fei was not going to let us get scammed. She had a plan,” Elder Liu narrates from his bed. “You might not know this, but sheep are not the cleverest of animals. Very dim-witted. That night, my daughter sneaked into the farm and led the sheep out one by one. You can imagine the surprise of those at the farm the next day, and…”

Liu Jin listens to his grandfather’s story with all the attention in the world. Not when even his father or Old Jiang were teaching him medicine was Liu Jin so captivated. Elder Liu’s stories paint a picture in his mind, an image of his mother in a space that until now has been empty.

It pained his father to speak of her, so Liu Jin never pushed him to do it. The more he hears Elder Liu’s stories, the more Liu Jin regrets not inconveniencing his father a little more. Hearing about his mother is not the same as having met her, but it almost feels like it.

“That was quite daring of her,” Liu Jin says when Elder Liu finishes his tale.

“My daughter was like that,” Elder Liu says proudly. Something shines in his eyes, but he wipes it away. “I thank you, doctor. I think I have spoken more about my daughter over the past few weeks than I have in years.”

Liu Jin shakes his head. “Nonsense. I am grateful Elder Liu has chosen to share stories of his family with me.”

“Oh, I am an old man, Doctor Qing,” Elder Liu says. “I do not need a reason to talk someone’s ear off, merely a willing listener. Sometimes not even that, as my son can attest to. It is because you make so much time for this old man that we can speak like this.”

“You are my patient, Elder Liu,” Liu Jin says. “It is natural that I would make time to see you.”

That is a lie.

Elder Liu is not in danger of running out of medicine anytime soon, and his condition is perfectly stable. There is no need for Liu Jin to visit as often as he’s been doing. Liu Jin even tested Elder Liu’s blood and that of his son without them noticing just to make sure he wasn’t wrong about their relationship.

That is how deeply Liu Jin is aware of his grandfather’s health.

“Besides,” Liu Jin adds. “Your son keeps complaining you do far too much.”

“Oh, what do the young know of the burdens of age,” Elder Liu says, snorting and waving his hand dismissively. “If I want to take a walk around the city and let the sun warm this old body of mine, that’s my business.”

“That might be true,” Liu Jin says, “but remember, you might feel better thanks to the medicine-”

“But I’m still a tired old man who’s not growing any younger. I know, doctor,” his grandfather says. His smile is full of melancholy. “Trust me, I know. I am thankful that I can walk without pain and speak without having to worry about choking on my own spit. But don’t make me feel healthy, then ask me to live like a sick man.”

Liu Jin closes his eyes, not knowing what to say. His knowledge of medicine is profound, but his experience addressing the worries and fears of patients is lacking.

His father was the one who handled those things.

“I apologize, Elder Liu. It seems I am still ignorant.”

“Don’t apologize, Doctor Qing. You’re just looking out for my health,” his grandfather says. “How about I tell you another story? I just remembered a really good one.”

Liu Jin smiles.

“I’d love that.”

Hours later, Liu Jin leaves Elder Liu’s room, his grandfather asleep and tucked into his bed. Liu Jin finds Leader Liu waiting for him outside, not that it is a surprise. Liu Jin noticed the man’s Qi a long time ago.

“Why are you doing this?”

“He is my patient,” Liu Jin replies. “Seeing to his health is my duty.”

“No,” Leader Liu says, shaking his head. There is not a hint of doubt in his eyes. “That’s not it. There’s something else.”

Liu Jin fights the urge to frown. It is annoying how certain Leader Liu sounds. At first, Liu Jin assumed it was simple distrust that caused the man to question everything about him, but it seems the man’s instincts are just that annoyingly good.

“I lost my family a long time ago. Some of them, I never knew,” Liu Jin says, deciding some degree of honesty would work best. “Being with Elder Liu makes me think of what being with my grandfather would have been.”

“How surprisingly childish of you,” Leader Liu says, but his gaze does soften a little.

“I do not mind being thought of as childish,” Liu Jin replies. He waits for Leader Liu to move out of the way, but the man stays in front of the door with his arms crossed.

Liu Jin takes the opportunity to ask a question. “Have you thought about my proposal?”

Leader Liu immediately scowls at him.

“You have a lot of nerve calling that thing a proposal.”

Liu Jin raises his hand in a placating gesture. “I apologize if the language I chose was too blunt. Considering the situation, I thought it best to be direct. Leader Liu must have noticed it as well. The way things are is untenable.”

Every time the Brotherhood rescues people, their city grows in population. It is not as if those people have anywhere else to go, and trying to mobilize entire towns worth of people would be too difficult,

“The more people you rescue, the harder it will be to keep this place hidden,” Liu Jin says. “The only reason the City Lord’s soldiers have not yet found it is that the people here are too weak for them to sense properly. That will change eventually. Even their sensory skills aren’t that lacking. You have to-”

“I know!” Leader Liu snaps at him. He winces, conscious of his volume, and spares a glance toward the door of his father’s room. When no sound comes out, he continues in a much lower voice. “I know, but directly fighting the City Lord means going against the Lei Clan!”

“You have been fighting against the Lei Clan all this time, then,” Liu Jin points out. “So far, you have benefitted from the City Lord’s incompetence, but as long as the Brotherhood is committed to stopping the slave trade-”

“It always will be.”

“Then you must eventually turn to the root of the problem,” Liu Jin says. Leader Liu frowns and rubs his forehead.

“… I’ll need to think about it,” he says.

“That’s all I ask,” Liu Jin says, sensing the conversation is done. Once more, he waits for Leader Liu to move out of the way.

Once more, Leader Liu does not.

“Is there anything you wish to talk about?”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Leader Liu does not answer right away. He stays in place, hesitating and vacillating before finally asking the question.

“How is he?” he asks, his eyes fixed on the door to his father’s room.

Liu Jin’s reply is immediate.

“Stable.”

Leader Liu snorts. “The more you use that word, the more I realize how little it means. Do I really need to say it?”

“No,” Liu Jin says, shaking his head and grimacing. “You are right, Leader Liu. Forgive me. It’s a bad habit of mine. He is not in pain, but he’s not well, either. Based on his current condition, I’d say he has a few weeks left.”

Leader Liu inhales sharply. His body lightly rocks back, and his nails dig into his arms.

“I see…” His voice sounds hollow. “Thank you for being honest.”

He glances at his father’s door. “Does he know?”

“He does.”

Leader Liu takes another deep breath.

“I see.”

Liu Jin says nothing back. There is nothing more to say. Leader Liu finally moves out of his way, and Liu Jin walks out.

Yes, Liu Jin is deeply aware of his grandfather’s health.

That is why he has to make sure to spend time with him before he passes away.

~~~

Rainstorm City is an ugly little thing. Bright and gaudy where it isn’t dark and miserable. The people are self-important idiots, the servants are barely competent, and the cage matches below the casinos are dreadfully boring. Living here is so very tedious.