Book 9: Chapter 28: Plans and Promises
Sen’s first reaction was to say yes, emphatically. What better help could there be with destroying a sect than a nascent soul cultivator who hated sects? That notion was immediately followed by an intense desire to say no. Sen had made this problem. He should solve it. It wasn’t Uncle Kho’s responsibility to fix things for him, even if the man was willing, eager even. He didn’t imagine that destroying another sect would help Uncle Kho. If that could help him, it would have done so long before now. Of course, turning down the help wasn’t just turning it down for himself. If he declined the help and failed, it would almost certainly mean his death.
Whoever was left of the Twisted Blade Sect was unlikely to see his death as sufficient. They would no doubt seek out Sen’s sect and kill whoever they could. At which point, Uncle Kho would likely intervene and kill them all anyway. Either to protect the people here or simply to take vengeance for Sen’s death. If that was the case, then accepting the offer of help was probably the right choice. Sen felt frozen in indecision. Neither choice seemed like the right one. He wasn’t too good to take help. He had gotten a lot of help along the way. He just wasn’t sure that it was the right thing for Uncle Kho. Would he just be feeding that hate? But wouldn’t he just be feeding that hate if he got himself killed by saying no? There had to be a better choice or at least another choice.
“I—” Sen hesitated and inspiration struck. “I’d like to try to do this myself. It’s ultimately my responsibility, but I’m not so stubborn to turn down help if I need it. I’d like it if you came along. If I can’t get the job done, then I’d appreciate any help you’re willing to offer.”
Uncle Kho gave Sen a small smile.
“I thought I broke you there for a moment. You looked like your head might explode.”
“I was trying to figure out the best course of action. It was… It was more complicated than I expected.”
“I imagine it was,” said Uncle Kho. “I’d like to say things get less complicated as you gain experience, but life isn’t like that. Figuring out what the right or wrong decision is only gets more complicated. For what it’s worth, I’m glad you thought about it. Most people would have agreed without a second thought.”
“I almost said no,” admitted Sen.
That seemed to catch the older cultivator off guard. He just stared at Sen for a while before he finally asked an obvious question.