Li Yu looked up at the darkening sky, then at Tekton, then back at Gale.

  "How long until they realize you're gone?" Li Yu asked.

  "As long as I am alive they will not realize it soon. Their spies and scouts might realize it sooner if I am gone for too long." Gale said miserably. "A few weeks to a few months?"

  Li Yu sighed. He scratched the back of his head and was looking annoyed.

  "You know," Li Yu said to Si Luo, "this is why I hate getting involved in politics. It’s never just punching the bad guy. There’s always more to things and it’s never simple."

  "What will you do?" Bai Ruo asked softly. "Keeping him as a servant protects his family for now. However, who knows how many families he had killed throughout his life."

  "And killing him dooms further innocents," Si Luo added.

  "I'm not going to kill him," Li Yu said. He pushed himself off Tekton's leg and stood over Gale.

  "Gale. Look at me."

  The old man began to look up. It didn’t feel like he was going to look up at the eyes of a young human. It was the eyes of the reaper himself. His sentence was absolute. Gale forced himself to look up, terror warring with hope in his eyes.

  "Go home," Li Yu said.

  Gale was surprised. He froze, sure he had misheard. "M-master?"

  "Go back to the Western Crags," Li Yu clarified. "Go back to your mate and your cubs."

  Gale stared in confusion. "You... you are releasing me? But... I am your enemy. I tried to kill your army. You aren’t going to keep me here to serve you?"

  "Yeah, you did. And you failed miserably," Li Yu said. "You go back. You tell everyone your ambush failed because the humans were prepared and had hidden forces. Talk up the human forces so they seem even stronger and more terrifying than what you thought. You retreated to protect your remaining forces. Be the Emperor and spread the word."

  Gale continued to be confused. He had submitted but he had been prepared to be rejected and die. "Why? Why would you show such mercy? I am a monster."

  "I'm not showing mercy," Li Yu said flatly. "I'm managing the situation."

  He paced a few steps. "I’m not a hero, Gale. I’m not here to save the world or redeem your soul. I’ve gotten older and I’ve realized something about the world. It runs on balance."

  He pointed a finger at the old man. "If you disappear, a power vacuum opens up. The Magma Lords or Thunder-Rocs move in. A massive war starts in the Beast Territories. Thousands more die. The instability spills over into the human lands. It’s a mess. I hate messes."

  Li Yu leaned down and his eyes were cold again. "An enemy I know, an enemy I have beaten and now is at least bound to me is better than a chaotic unknown. You go back, you keep your territory stable. You keep the other Emperors in check. That helps me."

  Gale finally felt that it was real. He fell to his knees and was sobbing openly now. The relief was so sudden that it looked painful.

  "Thank you... thank you, Great One. This servant... this servant will never forget this grace. My life, my children's lives, are yours."

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  "Just do a good job and try to be kinder. I understand the world is a nasty place. I have killed as well to make sure revenge isn’t taken upon me. Just do your best to limit it and do so out of need instead of out of want." Li Yu waved him off.

  "Just remember the conditions. One: You stay in your territory. No more flanking maneuvers. Two: You keep the peace on your side of the fence. Three: Enjoy your time with your family and remember the time you have taken away from other families. Let that be your guiding light moving forward."

  "I swear it on my soul! I swear it on the heavens!" Gale cried out even though he was actually bound to it by the contract with Li Yu already.

  "Good. Now get out of here before I change my mind. Go spend time with your kids."

  Gale scrambled to his feet. He looked at Li Yu, overwhelmed with a mix of fear, gratitude and confusion still. Since he was already a servant of Li Yu’s, he thought of another way to help secure his family some help for the future. A future where he might not be there.

  "Great One," Gale stammered. "My gratitude cannot be expressed in words. I... I have nothing to offer you but my loyalty and actions from now on. But... perhaps..."

  He hesitated while looking nervously at Si Luo and Bai Ruo.

  "My daughter," Gale blurted out. "She is... she is of age for marriage. She is a rare Wind-Spirit variation. Very powerful. And... among our kind, she is considered a peerless beauty. Her fur is the color of storm clouds and her eyes are like polished jade."

  He looked at Li Yu and now stood taller. His chest puffed out slightly. It was clear he was proud and cared for his daughter. "If the Great One desires a... a concubine... or a powerful mount... she would be honored to serve you. It would be the greatest honor for my bloodline to be joined with yours."

  Li Yu blinked, it was his turn to be stunned. He stood there for a moment, processing the fact that a terrifying Beast Emperor had just tried to set him up with his daughter. This wasn’t Gale throwing his daughter away to try to win favor. This was the love Gale had for his daughter.

  He has seen how strong Li Yu was. If she were to be with him, he would not need to worry about her safety again. She would need to sacrifice her choice of love but that was something that was most likely going to happen anyways. Royalty often married for politics rather than their first choice at love. It was one of the ways to stay in power for such a long time.

  Si Luo stepped forward with a smile on her face. She hadn’t teased Li Yu for a while and it became an itch for her. One that she had to scratch.

  "A peerless beauty, you say?" Si Luo’s voice was deceptively soft. She looked at the old man. "Tell me, Emperor of Wind. Is your daughter... prettier than me?"

  Gale froze. He looked at the stunning girl who looked ready to execute him on the spot depending on his answer. Then he thought of his daughter.

  He opened his mouth. Closed it. Sweated profusely. It was the most dangerous question he had been asked all day. There were no correct answers here, only failure.

  Bai Ruo covered her mouth with her sleeve, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter. Tekton let out a low rumbling chitter that sounded suspiciously like amusement.

  Li Yu, having regained his own composure, chuckled out loud. This broke the tension. He patted Si Luo on the shoulder.

  "Easy, Princess. Let's not start a diplomatic incident over beauty standards."

  He turned to Gale with a wry smile on his face. "Thank you for the offer, Gale. Really. Perhaps, if fate allows it. Until then, take care of your family. Now go."

  Gale understood his intentions. Li Yu was not of royalty and had no desire to be with someone he didn’t want to be with. He didn’t need to secure alliances or plan for future generations. Gale was a bit envious of Li Yu for it. He had once been the same but had changed over time as his responsibilities increased.

  He turned and dashed toward the edge of the balcony. Without hesitation he leaped into the sky. His human form dissolved in a swirl of grey wind. He quickly transformed back into the massive and terrifying Grey-Wind Emperor.

  With a silent roar that shook the clouds, the Emperor turned once again and shot toward the horizon. He has had his fill with the human world. He was desperate to return to the only thing that mattered now.

  Li Yu watched him go until he was just a speck against the twilight.

  "You are too soft," Si Luo said but there was a smile on her face. She too hoped that if something like this happened to own father, the person would act how Li Yu did.

  "I'm efficient," Li Yu corrected while stretching his arms. "I just outsourced the babysitting of the Western Crags. Now, come on. Let's go see if Grandmaster Pan has that array running yet."