Chapter 93 - Power in Turning Leaf Town

"Within Turning Leaf, there are both internal and foreign powers," Wan Yue continued in much the same tone that she used while instructing the City Lord's children. "Internally, there is only a single source of legitimate ruling governance within Turning Leaf, the City Lord's manor. In bigger cities, you would see multiple subordinate offices holding this power but here, for a mostly mortal city, the Zhang family has been responsible for managing all the core services of the town for generations. My husband is single-handedly responsible for the common defense of the city, its day-to-day operation, providing high justice, and all of the other official functions of the city."

"That sounds like a lot to manage," Ao Wen said, never having truly considered what went into being a City Lord. 

"It is, and that's part of why he's felt so much pressure to nominate a Deputy City Lord," Wan Yue said. "There is actually a great deal that he delegates to other members of the family. While she lacks the title, Big Sister Ju Tse can be considered as his First Deputy. As a Warrior, she manages all members of the city watch, both the mortal constables and those who police cultivators. Her mission is to keep the peace within the city. Zhang Yao, my husband's younger brother, took over responsibility for the town's Public Works when his uncle passed some twenty years ago. He's the only other third-stage cultivator in the Zhang family and he's an Independent Scholar who studies Constructs and Engineering. The town's walls, waterways, sewage, roads, the inspection of buildings, and recording of deeds… Many of the people who work in his offices are mortal clerks but he also has a few Initiates who study under him including husband's second son, Zhang Buwei." 

"So the reason that City Lord has been looking at Feng Lieren and Long Ma for the position of Deputy City Lord is because he needs someone to take charge of matters outside the city? Things that happen in the Thundercloud Forest, protecting against external threats and things of that nature?" Ao Wen asked, beginning to see the gap.

"Exactly so," Wan Yue replied with a grin. "Feng Lieren and Long Ma represent the second type of Internal Power, the power of established cultivation families. The Feng, Long, Tang, Mo, Su, Dong, Fei, and Wu families are all long-established families in Turning Leaf that have produced at least one if not two or more cultivators per generation. Each of these families benefits from the long lives of cultivators to establish themselves in ways that mortal families or families like the Ao family who only produce cultivators every few generations just can't compete with. Most of these families have their own specific interests and don't interfere much with each other or with the official business of the city, but they all have considerable strength and the ability to influence decisions within the city."

"My family has never followed a single cultivation path," Wu Lin spoke up, joining the conversation. "I'm the first Alchemist in my family for generations. We're descended from the Molten Iron Serpent which gives us a range of cultivation paths that can form profitable businesses or strong fighting capabilities. My father is close to becoming an Inspired Artist and his jewelry business produces both mortal jewelry and cultivation treasures like defensive amulets. Even in Grandfather's generation when he followed a martial path, my great aunt forged armaments until she became an Inspired Artist and left Turning Leaf to further her cultivation."

"Each family does what they want and they have their own rules," Wan Yue said, resuming her explanation. "You can think of this as soft power. If you intrude on the interests of a member of one of these families, you may risk drawing reprisal from other members of the family so it's best to be cautious. They don't have any official role in the town but you shouldn't treat them the same as you treat more isolated cultivators like Aesthete Qing Chen or Mao Ailum," she emphasized. The Mo family had withdrawn from their conflict with the Tang family precisely because it was a clash between local juggernauts and one the Mo family was likely to lose given how many people held Tang Qui in high esteem. Had Ao Wen treated a member of the Fei or Dong families like she'd treated Aesthete Qing or Mao Ailum, she might have found herself outnumbered and suppressed before she understood the kind of enemy she'd provoked with consequences that wouldn't be limited to just herself. Wan Yue desperately wanted to ensure that the occasionally hot tempered young woman understood this point before the evening's banquet. 

"I'm not unfamiliar with handling powerful families," Ao Wen said with a smile. "Even in the sect, you'd find the children of Elders or Grand Elders, even entire families that had established themselves within the sect," she explained, though she didn't mention that as the adopted daughter of Cong Houzi, she'd been on the inside of such circles in the past. "Truthfully, I prefer to keep out of those struggles. I just want to take care of people in Turning Leaf while I'm here and get ready for the journey in the spring."

"That will work for most people," Wan Yue agreed with a nod. "But it makes handling the foreign powers a bit more important. Offending the Holy Light Abode may result in offending the Holy Light Temple and you'll encounter disciples of that sect all over the continent. It's best not to make enemies of an entity that can haunt your every step. Likewise, you still haven't registered with the Association of Loose Cultivators but until you join a sect, you should. While husband doesn't require it in Turning Leaf, many towns outside will only allow cultivators in good standing with the Association into the town and virtually every large city requires that entering cultivators carry some form of identity."

"I thought the Association of Loose Cultivators mostly functioned like the Alchemy Consortium," Ao Wen said. "Aren't they basically a governing body for cultivators that work as mercenaries?"

"No, though they do accept missions from both common people and cultivators and function as a gathering point for mercenary work," Wan Yue corrected. "Their biggest actual role is to ensure that cultivators follow a general set of rules when they travel the world. Not abusing cultivation powers against mortals is one of the common rules they enforce but there are others. In many places, they can act as mediators of disputes, particularly disputes that involve cultivation resources. They also circulate many foundational cultivation techniques, organize loose cultivators for common defense against sudden threats, and most importantly, maintain identity registries about cultivators the world over. It's an organization that believes it is better for loose cultivators to police themselves than submit to the rules of anyone else. By making their own set of rules that give members the most freedom possible while providing an enforcement mechanism to hold members accountable, association members are kept free from other abuses that have occurred in the past," the historian continued. "I won't go into too much detail but there have been cities and even kingdoms where only certain cultivation methods were allowed, or people were prevented from breaking through without becoming part of a government agency… all sorts of restrictions have been leveraged against cultivators to keep their growing power in check or to make it available to the whims of one ruling faction or another."

"Sounds like good thing then. Nothing I've done so far should offend them, right?" Ao Wen asked. 

"No, I don't think it's them you need to worry about at the banquet," the older woman replied. "You should expect some challenges to come your way though. At the very least, expect some probes from the cultivation families and the Holy Light Abode. You don't have to worry about the Alchemy Consortium since Alchemist Wai has secluded himself in the hills, but expect that when he returns, you may have offended him greatly given what happened with Mao Ailum."

"About that," Wu Lin said softly. "I have bad news. Master returned this morning. When I entered the shop in the morning, he was already there, discussing a concoction with Dragon Soldier Long Ma. It seems like Long Ma is looking for something to enhance his bloodline in an attempt to become a Warrior by by the New Year. They both got quiet when I showed up but when I told Master I was coming here this morning to finish concocting mortal medicines with Novice Ao, he didn't exactly look happy," the older novice said with a helpless expression. 

"If that's true then tonight may be even more touchy," Wan Yue said, growing genuinely concerned as she looked at the young woman who had changed her fate so dramatically. She hoped that tonight would be a happy celebration but it increasingly looked like a gathering of hawks and vipers. Someone was bound to come away wounded!