Book 9: Chapter 14: We Should Tell Them
Sen had hoped that things would calm down a bit after the semi-disastrous meeting with Winds of Winter. He’d talked it over with Master Feng, Auntie Caihong, and Uncle Kho, and they all seemed to think that it wasn’t that bad. They even seemed a little optimistic about it. Noticing his obvious confusion, Uncle Kho explained.
“While we knew about Falling Leaf, this is the first hard evidence we have that this Beast King has made a habit of culling dissenters. It’s also the first sign of any kind of real division in their ranks.”
“Didn’t we already know about that first part? I mean, the same thing happened to the nine tail foxes. I guess it wasn’t as effective with them, but we did know.”
When that statement was met with three blank stares, Sen realized that he might not have told them about that.
“I didn’t mention that?” asked Sen, feeling sheepish.
“You did not,” said Auntie Caihong. “Although, I suppose we can’t be too angry about it. It’s not as though the foxes are reliable.”
“I thought you liked Laughing River,” said Sen.
“I do. I always have. He’s funny. Liking him isn’t the same thing as trusting him, though. And it has almost no bearing on trusting the nine tail foxes as a whole. Maybe you should tell us the whole story.”
Sen related the tale of what happened to the foxes as he had heard it. The meeting, the slaughter, Laughing Riven essentially abandoning his people, and his granddaughter’s quest for vengeance. He rounded out the story with his suspicion that Laughing River was, probably at that very moment, killing people who had spread the false tale about him. The three nascent soul cultivators traded inscrutable looks. They were those annoying looks that were really conversations he was being excluded from. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, and he doubted it would be the last, but it still bothered him to be left out.