While it was a little disappointing, Sen couldn’t pretend surprise when a few people declined to take the vow. He supposed they didn’t have children, or common sense, or both. Then again, maybe they just thought it was better to die immediately than take their chances out in the world with all the people they’d wronged. Those were the easy ones to deal with. The ones Sen found less easy to deal with were the people who mouthed the words of the vow, seemingly believing that saying it was enough. It didn’t occur to him until after he’d executed the very first person in line, the very first liar, that these people had probably never seen or given a true vow to the heavens. He fixed the entire group with a hard look. He spoke to them in words that were as cold as the northern winds in winter.

“A true vow to the heavens requires commitment. There are signs when the vow takes hold. If you thought just mumbling the words at me while planning your betrayals was going to work, discard that idea.”

The next person who came up to Sen did so with a ghostly complexion and sweat beading on their brows. They, at least, meant the words when they said them. When a brief glow descended on the man, Sen nodded.

“Good,” he said. “Now, leave your coin purse, jewelry, and any weapons you may be carrying.”

“What?” asked the stunned man.

Sen gave him a level look when he said, “Those don’t belong to you. They belong to the House of Lu. Be grateful that I’m letting you take the clothes you’re wearing. That goes for all of you. And, if any of you were thinking you’d run to the nearest banks and make hasty withdrawals, you will be denied. My agents have already seized any private residences and business holdings of the former House of Xie. Any attempt to enter those properties or seize assets will be met with immediate, lethal violence.”

The man directly in front of Sen looked like he was on the verge of an apoplectic fix when he snarled, “How do you expect us to live? How will we eat?”

Sen looked to his side where a stone-faced Long Jia Wei reached into a pouch and removed two copper tael. The ex-sect member held out the pittance to the furious man. Before the enraged Xie man could speak, Sen cut him off.

“It’s more than I had when I lived on the streets and nobles made a sport out of beating me.”

One glance at Sen’s face after he’d spoken ended any additional outcry against the orders. Sen watched the man in front of him swallow his words like they burned.

“You said that you might let some of us stay,” said the man.

Long Jia Wei coughed, loudly, and gave the man a meaningful look. The Xie man’s face went a shade of purple before he offered a deep bow and managed to push two words through his clenched teeth.

“My Lord.”

“I might, but you’ll have to come back tomorrow and detail to me what value you might offer to the House of Lu.”

The message was clear enough to the remaining Xie family. Today, you get to reap the consequences of every cruel, thoughtless whim you ever indulged in while thinking your position would protect you. Survive until tomorrow, and the Lord of the House of Lu might, might, just think about offering you his protection. Sen knew that there was a chance that some of them would try to get accepted into the other major houses in the city, but he was willing to bet that the rest of the nobility weren’t going to be in a hurry to tempt his fury as word spread. He’d made certain that copies of the proclamation were delivered to all of the noble houses and sects. A few of these people might find shelter somewhere but not many. With nothing else to do, the Xie man took the two copper tael and walked out of the shattered gates with a fearful expression. Sen watched him go before he turned his gaze on the rest of them.

“Next,” he said.

Most of the Xie family at least survived the vow-giving process. Sen didn’t make a production out of it. If the vow didn’t take immediately, the person died immediately. He did have to stare a few people down to get them to cough up money, weapons, or other treasures they’d secreted about their persons. He’d gone back and forth about how to deal with people who did that and ultimately decided that simply depriving them of those things was sufficient. He’d spilled more blood than he wanted to already. As the last of the Xie family, the adults at any rate, scurried through the shattered gates, Long Jia Wei gave Sen a long, evaluating look.

“What?” asked Sen in a tired voice.

“I thought your battle with Tseun Rong was terrifying, but I think that this was a far more frightening display.”This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“You found this more disturbing? Why?”

“Because you simply killed Tseun Rong. But with this,” said Long Jia Wei, “you broke them. You broke a great house of the kingdom. I doubt that half the people who walked out that gate will live to see the dawn. And, with everything else you set in motion, you’ve made yourself the only port in the storm. They’ll do anything, agree to anything you want, just to survive.”

Sen wasn’t quite sure how to take what the man was saying. He couldn’t tell if the man was disagreeing, chiding, or something else entirely.

“You disapprove?” asked Sen.

“Quite the contrary. It’s really quite masterful. It will be a long, long time before another house dares to make anything like an open move against you after this. Although, it does beg something of a personal question on my part.”

“Personal for who?” asked Sen.

“Personal for me,” said Long Jia Wei. “You could have demanded a vow from me like the one you demanded from them. You could have demanded slavery from me, and I would have been in no position to decline.”

“True,” said Sen.

“Why didn’t you?”

“Oh, well, that’s simple enough. I know they can’t be trusted. Every last one of them would have betrayed me at the earliest opportunity. So, I made the cost for even trying it so high that only someone with a legitimate death wish would even consider it.”

“And me?”

“I’m uncertain if you can be trusted.”

Long Jia Wei stood in thoughtful silence for a moment before he said, “So, you’ve left me free to either prove myself or sign my own death warrant.”

“See? Not that complicated.”

“I suppose it isn’t. And what’s next on your list of things to do today, my lord?”

Sen looked around at the mess that was the courtyard. “I clean up. And then we go inside.”

While Sen didn’t think much of the Xie family members, he did at least do them the courtesy of burning their bodies and offering up the requisite prayers. He did expedite the process by burning the bodies with his fire qi, which took seconds instead of an hour. He dumped all of the coin purses, weapons, and treasures into a storage ring. He took a moment to shape stone replacements for the gates he’d destroyed. He didn’t want anyone thinking this was an ideal time to try to loot the Xie manor. He stopped short at that thought. It’s my manor, now, isn’t it? Sighing, he walked over to the door with Long Jia Wei trailing two steps behind him and entered.

Sen saw the boy who had been in the door earlier, staring at him with huge, frightened eyes. He also saw a young woman who took one look at him and immediately scurried away, no doubt to fetch someone more senior. Sen looked at the boy. Well, he supposed he had to start somewhere.

“You there,” he said, waving a hand at the boy. “Come here.”

Sen felt torn as the kid took halting, uncertain steps. He was old enough to understand what had happened and bear a grudge, but young enough that Sen prayed he wouldn’t have to do anything to him.

“Yes, my lord,” said the boy in a quavering tone.

“You understand what’s happened here?”

The kid nodded and said, “I do.”

“Very well. Here are your choices.”

Sen laid out the options. The kid could take the one vow and leave, take the more stringent vow and remain in service to the House of Lu, or he could die. Then, Sen just waited while the kid made up his mind. Please, make a smart choice, Sen begged the boy in his mind. The boy finally looked up at him and made his choice. By the time the young woman came back with the woman who had taken charge outside, the boy was standing at his post. And if he looked a little torn, he also looked profoundly calmer. The senior servant glared balefully at Sen.

“So, the upstart—”

“Spare me your sanctimony,” said Sen. “Your employers were cutthroat bastards who sent assassins after me for no reason. You don’t have a leg to stand on.”

The woman’s glare intensified, but she changed subjects.

“Where are the children’s parents?” she demanded.

“I imagine some of them are dead. The rest are out in the city somewhere, no doubt enjoying exactly the level of goodwill they earned,” said Sen, and continued before the woman could explode into vitriol. “Now, we come to the problem of you. One look at you tells me that you’re unsalvageable. You’re pure poison, and I have no need of your services.”

It seemed the woman hadn’t considered the possibility that she would simply be dismissed out of hand. She lost the color in her face and her hands started to tremble.

“My Lord—” she started.

“Save it. You have two choices. You can take an incredibly constricting vow to the heavens or you can move on to your next life. Pick. Now. Or I’ll pick for you.”

All of the bluster gone from her demeanor, the woman took a vow to the heavens that made it all but impossible for her to even think bad things about Sen and the House of Lu, let alone to act against them. Sen wasn’t wholly without compassion, though. While he knew that this woman couldn’t be allowed to stay, she was, in the end, just an employee of the Xie. After relieving her of keys to almost every room in the place, he sent her on her way with a sum that made Long Jia Wei eye him askance.

“She probably expected to die in the relative comforts of this place,” said Sen. “I doubt she even has a home away from here. I gave her enough to ensure that she doesn’t starve to death or die of exposure.”

The young woman who had fetched the senior servant was staring at the door the older woman had gone through with a look of almost incandescent joy. I guess that woman wasn’t particularly popular, thought that Sen. He sent the young woman to fetch the other servants one by one. A few refused to stay. Two men tried to attack him and were cut down by Long Jia Wei. The rest looked to have mixed feelings but seemed to decide that the promise of steady pay outweighed any lingering loyalty they might have felt to the Xie family. When the only person left was the young woman, Sen didn’t even need to bother explaining the choice. Except, things didn’t go quite the he expected. Before he could stop her, the woman vowed her undying loyalty and service to him, personally, rather than the House of Lu. As the glow surrounded the woman, Sen reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“Oh, this is going to be a pain in my ass,” said Sen. “I just know it.”