Chapter 116: Feed the Tiger

Paike wasn't the only one who noticed. Taka stiffened slightly beside Paike and muttered just loud enough that only Father might have overheard. "So that's their game?"

He might have been out of practice at social events, but even he knew that, among the prominent families of the empire, events like this served many purposes. One of the most prominent and important was to act as a place where the younger generations could find favorable matches.

Father called it 'speed dating,' even if no one really knew what that meant, as there was nothing fast about it.

The Kongs participated, of course. It would be rude not to, let alone remove a chance for their own children to meet kids their own age. Mother always emphasized that it was for them to make friends. And if they happened to have someone catch their eye, she could see what their family was like.

Paike was pretty sure that about half the families took that approach. Some, though, were aggressive about trying to use it to form and solidify alliances.

He wondered what way this sect did things.

Before he had a chance to think more, and once they all stood behind their seats, Sheng Gou stood and cleared his throat. It was a soft sound, but it still echoed through the hall. Paike could sense no use of qi, so it may have been just skill that cut through all the whispered conversations.

"Families of the Hidden Peak Sect, please join me in welcoming our dearest friend who helped us in our greatest time of need, Mister Kong!"

There was a cacophony of scraping benches as the entire hall stood up as one and bowed deeply to Father.

They held the position for long enough to show deep respect, but not so long that it became awkward. Father gave them all a cheery wave as if he was used to this reaction. Seeing how much he had done, Paike wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't welcomed like this fairly regularly. He hadn't traveled to an event that Father had also attended, so he wasn't sure how often it happened.

Sheng Gou continued. "Joining him are two of his sons. Kong Taka and Kong Paike. Please be welcome."

The room greeted them as well, but it was much more subdued. The perfect etiquette, from what Paike remembered. Paike felt much of the attention sweep over him and his twin. Taka received more attention, which Paike didn't mind in the least. For once, being at a lower cultivation was working in his favor.

After that, the rest of the expedition was introduced.

"From the core of the grand sect, we have Lin Yue."

Paike started paying more attention as he realized that he still hadn't gotten his companion's name. It wasn't like he had a chance, but it already felt too late to ask, even if they hadn't been properly introduced.

Taka already probably knew them by reputation from the inner sect and, with his social skills, likely knew most of the core disciples. Father absolutely didn't care at all what their names were, and each of them already knew each other. He was the only one left out.

Shen Rui, Guo Han, Zhao Mei, and Bai Lan were also introduced. Unfortunately, they weren't singled out, so he wasn't sure who was who.

Sheng Gou continued talking about their guest and dove into a long speech about friendship and good relations. Paike tuned it out, along with the rest of the younger generation.

Still, it was between listening to a long, dry speech and finally acknowledging all the attention he was getting. He started scanning the others arrayed at the table.

Surprisingly, not all the attention was on him and Taka. Most of the young men were covertly watching the three women in their group. So it wasn't just the Kong family they were interested in.

Father's voice suddenly appeared in his ear. "I won't advise you to stay away. A nice barbarian girl would bring some good blood into the family. The weak get weeded out fast out here."

"Father," Paike groaned in protest; he heard a low cackle, as if it were the funniest thing in the world. Was Father thinking of even more grandchildren at a time like this? Paike just didn't know how to deal with him.

"Just remember you have a very long path ahead of you. It would be a shame to pick someone who has no chance at keeping up." With that last bit of sage advice, Paike could feel Father's presence withdraw.

Honestly, he shouldn't be surprised that Father was thinking this way. But Paike hadn't even considered it at all. These weren't empire citizens; what would he even do with one? He supposed that he must be missing something.

Why were the Hidden Peak Sect even interested in pairing up their young with them? It wasn't like... That's when Paike got what his twin had meant by 'their game.' They somehow could get their children back into the empire if they were attached to one of them.

Paike had known that there was a trope in the stories of a barbarian bride. But that was just the stories; no one actually did that. Everyone he knew or had heard of had married in the empire, but was he wrong to assume that was always the case? Judging by the actions of those around him, apparently not.

With all the attention he had, he assumed they were going to try and trap them here, exiled from the empire, ensnared by lust. It would introduce new blood, like his father wanted, but different.

However, if their goal was to get a few of their most talented young out of here and back to the empire... Well, that was a very different mindset. It told Paike that life out here was much harder than they made it seem.

A family that had hope for their future would be trying to get some to join them, not send their most talented youths out while they could. That would remove their strongest and best able to help them survive in the future, thereby weakening their population.

The look at him started to feel less predatory and more desperate. It made him quite uncomfortable.

Paike started to dread when Sheng Gou would stop speaking, and he would have to take his seat. To either side of him were girls a year or two younger than him, and the more he learned about them and why they were there, the less he wanted to know.

He looked across the table to where his twin stood. Taka met his gaze and raised an eyebrow.

Paike could practically hear his voice like Father's. "Are you ready to work with me now?"

He returned it with a tight-lipped sort of smile. Taka would understand it as, "Yes, get me out of here."

Paike felt so far out of his depth and incredibly uncomfortable.

When he thought he would one day be a mortal, the idea of eventual marriage for the family was laughable. There was nothing he would contribute. If he did have kids, the odds of them being cultivators with two mortal parents would be higher than average due to his bloodline, but still astonishingly small. The Kongs would train them, of course, but he would be free to make his own choices for no other reason than because he wanted to.

He still had more freedom than most young scions; his family would never force him into an arranged match for political gain. However, it wasn't that simple. Now that he was not only a cultivator but one with potential. He could still make his own choices, but he would also make sure it would benefit the family. He wasn't going to abandon them or be selfish.

Father, though, had given tacit approval to anyone here, which Paike didn't think helped at all. It would have been so much easier to ignore this if he had the excuse that his family had plans for him.

Maybe this wouldn't even be a problem; he was the brother with the lower cultivation. Maybe he wouldn't have to deal with any of this. Or maybe none of them would be interesting, and he wouldn't be tempted. He could hope.

Taka seemed to have finished thinking and flicked his eyes over to Father. Paike figured he was asking if Father had given him a message too. Odds were it was the same one. Paike inclined his head a tiny fraction.

A slight tilt of Taka's head toward one of their escorts form the inner sect and got Paike's brain moving. He immediately caught on. They would place their sect mates in front of the tiger and let it feast. It wasn't a bad plan. Paike could have claimed that his family had plans for him, but that might just have encouraged the pursuit. However, if they played it as the others were the best any of them could hope for, and it would be a realistic path back to the empire; it would draw attention away from them.

Taka really understood these sorts of things so much better than he did. After Taka got that, Paike understood. he indicated the girl on his right and the one to Paike's left. They would work on each other's opponent. It would be more convincing coming from someone besides their target. It was a strategy they had run many times before.

Finally, the old man running this hidden sect ran out of words and called for everyone to be seated.

As they poured drinks around the table using the traditional method used in the empire, the introductions took place. Each poured the drink for the one to their left and introduced themselves. In such a way, introductions were spread in a circle.

Paike was working out the finer details of his plan of action with Taka via slight changes in facial expressions and almost missed the soft voice coming from his elbow.

"I am known as Sheng Yue," said the girl whose voice matched the name so well that even though the sky was hidden, he could almost feel the beams of light on his face.