[ xie lian falls quiet, for a moment, and looks down at the teacup in his hands. ]
... I don't like to kill anyone, good or bad. That isn't to say that I have not done so before - I have fought in wars, where I was required to. Even still, a life is a very precious thing - even someone as rotten as Qi Rong's. I would have preferred to simply put him in a prison cell. [ he. sighs. san lang, currently a ferret and almost invisible under xie lian's hair, makes a soft chittering noise. ] ...but even so, had that been all that happened, I am not sure he would have learned a lesson, and he may have taken another life the moment he was able to break free.
It is all rather complicated, I think, Miss Rika. [ this feels like an inappropriate conversation to have with an eleven year old but here we are. ]
It's true. [ all he can do is what he can do. it's not a lesson xie lian has ever been good at learning, but that's alright. ] Still, in this case, it was something like staunching the bleeding. He surely would have lashed out again. And, besides... there's a likely chance that he isn't even truly dead. The only way to kill a ghost in my realm is to destroy its ashes - not its Dust.
[ so, there's that.
there's a moment where he - huffs, a little? and there's a smile on his face, as he does, though. ] ...You sound a bit like my guoshi, Miss Rika. He'd say something very similar.
Then maybe next time he comes back, he'll learn his lesson.
[ maybe. it's hard to settle on a faith in fighting, however long it takes - and feeling as if some things are unchanging, no matter how many times they repeat. ]
[ he acknowledges the lesson learning with a soft nod, but focuses on the second part, instead. ]
My teacher and advisor. [ nostalgia flickers across xie lian's face. ] A very wise man indeed, who often gave good advice. Advice I was not always so good at heeding, but wise advice, nonetheless.
[ this is a joke. (kind of.) he laughs, gentle. ] But that's alright - perhaps I was simply just stubborn, too. It's up to us to decide what is or is not good advice on our own, isn't it? Whether we give it or receive it.
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I don't have to be as afraid of the spectres as everyone else. I think.
[ so there's that. ]
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[ quiet, for a moment longer. ]
And about what happened, beyond that?
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[ there's no reason for her to feel anything about that at all.
better not to say that. she still looks subdued, because she knows that xie lian isn't pleased by it. ]
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[ xie lian falls quiet, for a moment, and looks down at the teacup in his hands. ]
... I don't like to kill anyone, good or bad. That isn't to say that I have not done so before - I have fought in wars, where I was required to. Even still, a life is a very precious thing - even someone as rotten as Qi Rong's. I would have preferred to simply put him in a prison cell. [ he. sighs. san lang, currently a ferret and almost invisible under xie lian's hair, makes a soft chittering noise. ] ...but even so, had that been all that happened, I am not sure he would have learned a lesson, and he may have taken another life the moment he was able to break free.
It is all rather complicated, I think, Miss Rika. [ this feels like an inappropriate conversation to have with an eleven year old but here we are. ]
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It is complicated.
[ she'll concede that much. she can simplify it for herself, but of course she can. it's not anyone she cares about. ]
But all you can do is what you can do. Your options were limited.
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It's true. [ all he can do is what he can do. it's not a lesson xie lian has ever been good at learning, but that's alright. ] Still, in this case, it was something like staunching the bleeding. He surely would have lashed out again. And, besides... there's a likely chance that he isn't even truly dead. The only way to kill a ghost in my realm is to destroy its ashes - not its Dust.
[ so, there's that.
there's a moment where he - huffs, a little? and there's a smile on his face, as he does, though. ] ...You sound a bit like my guoshi, Miss Rika. He'd say something very similar.
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[ maybe. it's hard to settle on a faith in fighting, however long it takes - and feeling as if some things are unchanging, no matter how many times they repeat. ]
Guoshi?
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My teacher and advisor. [ nostalgia flickers across xie lian's face. ] A very wise man indeed, who often gave good advice. Advice I was not always so good at heeding, but wise advice, nonetheless.
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My advice isn't always worth following. But I try not to mislead anyone.
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[ this is a joke. (kind of.) he laughs, gentle. ] But that's alright - perhaps I was simply just stubborn, too. It's up to us to decide what is or is not good advice on our own, isn't it? Whether we give it or receive it.
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... no. If he was going to, he would have a long time ago.
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That is very true - though, admittedly, I have always been very, very stubborn. [ he smiles at her after! joking on himself. ]
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