openmisc | Pagan/Huaisang

Nie Huaisang bows again. "If Sect Leader Min insists," he says, not arguing with the logic. It's generous, but then again, Min Pagan has always been generous.

He stands back up and gestures to the adjoining room. "Won't Sect Leader Min join me for tea? Your retinue will have been seen to their accommodations, and I will make sure refreshments and hot water for baths will be brought to them."

He nods and turns, giving silent permission for the others behind him to scamper off.

"We always welcome the hospitality of the Nie Clan. You are a better host than your brother ever was," he says with a smile, though it's gentle. He had admired Nie Mingjue for many reasons. His attention to the softer details was not the among his strengths.

"My brother excelled in other matters," he replies, also with a smile. It wasn't Nie Mingjue's strengths, but that's why he relied on Nie Huaisang as much as he did. His priorities were in diplomacy and handling the disciples; Nie Huaisang's concerns were in the frivolous.

"Please, come," he says, walking him into the secondary chambers adjoining the throne room. "What brings you here?"

He walks in like he has a dozen times over, confident and poised as ever. "Can't I simply come when I'm needed?" he wonders, his hands behind his back. "And you do seem like you need it, Xiao Nie. At least, from what I've heard."

Xiao Nie. A very tiny, shrewd smile tugs at his otherwise wide-eyed and innocent expression. "I am in over my head, this is true," he laments. "I'm not turning away any offered help, but it's embarrassing that word of my plight's gotten to your area of the world."

Pagan shrugs. "One would say embarrassing to the point of being calculated," he says and lets that hang in the air a long moment before he grins. "But wouldn't that be silly? Now. Silly politics aside. Tell me how you have been."

He settles himself down at the table expectantly. Nie Huaisang may be the leader here, but Min Pagan has never treated anyone as his better in his life.

Calculated. What a silly though indeed! He continues with an embarrassed nod, yes, very silly, and sits himself across from Sect Leader Min. He sets down the scroll and takes the initiative to pour the tea before his servant does - it's an honor from one sect leader to another.

"Not well," he admits quietly, and there is an element of truth there. "I'm not sure how my brother did all of this. There are disputes between villages in the South, and Sect Leader Jiang is becoming increasingly paranoid with thoughts of demonic cultivation, and there are my own troubles keeping disciplines."

Pagan picks up his tea and nods once. "Your brother was a formidable leader in his own right. But you, you are, too. You can be, at least. I do wonder where your thoughts have been lately. I don't get letters from you, you know."

He's worried about the others, but he's always had a special place in his heart for the Nie. Their clan and the Mins had been allies for generations, ruthless both of them to different degrees. And with different results.

"I didn't want to impose on Min Zongzhu."

But he does want to impose on the Lan and Jin. It brings him great joy to see the look on Jin Guangyao's face when he's having a very public meltdown about something stupid.

"And I can't offer what the Nie used to in terms of support."

His coffers are full, yes, but the Min never needed money. He can't spare the time to assist like his brother used to.

He waves a hand at him. "You know I have no children, Xiao Nie. I worry for you!" He leans across the table slightly, grinning over at him. "And this has never been a transactional arrangement. Not with you."

It’s good will only fostered from relationships with his father and brother, but he smiles despite that nagging reminder at the back of his head.

“You’ve always been generous with your time and money,” he says with a bow of his head. “I could use your help in a few dealings with some of the smaller clans.”

"Good, good."

He sits back. "Then we have no need to talk business. Whatever you want, it will be done."

He knows Sect Leader Min is a man of his word, especially when dealing with the Nie Clan. The others he’s cordial with, but his style couldn’t be more opposite to the Jin or Lan.

“I’ll fill you in at a later time. How long will you be staying in the Impure Realm?”

"A few days. Your home is too beautiful to take in one day."

Pagan is, above all other things, a sentimental man. He wants to talk to Huaisang's brother, to his father, in their land.

Nie Huaisang beams, and it’s not an act. “I’ve refinished a few of our gardens and pavilions. Surely a man of Min Zongzhu‘s good taste would like to tour them personally.”

And quite honestly would love to show them off. Nie Mingjue tolerated his love for gardens and decor, but it wasn’t highly appreciated. Lan Xichen loved the gardens too, but his flattery had grown stale and unwanted since his brother’s death.

"I would, but only if my guide is sufficiently entertaining about it."

He gives Huaisang a smile. He knows exactly where his strengths are. He knows where the gardens came from.

“If there’s one thing I can do it’s host,” laughs Nie Huaisang, picking up his cup and toasting Min Pagan with a bowing of his head. He drinks after a quiet toast to his health, food bringing brought out as he sets down his cup.

“Qinghe’s famous beef,” he smiles. “Enjoy.”

"I'm venturing next to Cloud Recesses, so this is much appreciated," he smiles, giving him a bit of a private wink, but he is more than happy to enjoy.

He entertains him with talks of gossip, sharing all of the rumors he's heard in a very - deliberate way. But he's enjoying himself, enjoying this mood.

He laughs conspiratorially with him. Lan food is fine for a day or two, but after that it’s just torture. All vegetables and steamed rice and early bedtimes!

He shares gossip of his own, frivolous things with no real merit in the cultivation world. Marriages and fights and snubs at banquets - stupid things that only the Headshaker would care about.

When they finish their meal Nie Huaisang invites Min Pagan to one of his gardens for a walk.

It's the best sort of gossip, really. Pagan enjoys every moment of it, grinning through his tea and his beef.

He nods and rises, walking along with him to the gardens, his hands by his sides. "Ah, now this is something to be proud of!" he exclaims. "You have transformed this place."

Min Pagan always did have a flair for the dramatic, but he believes there some sincerity behind the platitudes. He’d appreciated his work in the gardens before, and Nie Huaisang has seen his own gardens and admired them greatly.

“You’re very kind. Do you see the lotus pond? I had a difficult time getting them to grow at this altitude.”

Pagan is over the top, loud and colorful and brash. He always has been, even as a child. Min Gang had admonished his only son for so long, believing him to be different and odd and strange. And perhaps he was. But he's grown into someone who can lead with force and confidence and a light touch.

He still appreciates the finer arts.

"I did. What did you do?"

Nie Huaisang goes into details about his plant cultivation techniques, the various ways he'd needed to set up the garden to get his lotus to flourish. He walks him through to one of the pavilions where he'd set up some fine porcelain in the windows, pointing out some of his favorite pieces.

They pass a vase that's clearly been cracked and mended, and Nie Huaisang pauses just a beat before moving on.

Pagan notices it as he notices everything, but he continues walking, his hands clasped behind him. "Ah," he nods. "I will have to pass that technique along. Or perhaps I will have you over to give the directions yourself," he teases.

"I would like to travel to the Min ancestral home," he replies with a laugh. "It's been...how long? Da-ge must have just taken over as sect leader."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject