"Yes," Cang said. He looked at Liang with the flat, unhurried attention of someone examining something they have already assessed and are confirming the prior conclusion. "He has an immortal advisor. Which means he has a patron. Which means if he acts, we get the patron's response eventually."
"So we address it now," Chen Yun said.
"Or," Cang said, "we leave him with the specific knowledge that addressing it would be inadvisable."
Wei Lingyue looked at him.
"You want him to be 'afraid' of us specifically," she said. "Not just aware of our cultivation."
"Fear is a better deterrent than destruction," he said. "Destruction generates investigation. Fear generates avoidance." He paused. "Also it costs less energy."
