> If, by Dan Heng logic, Taoran remains guilty after reincarnation, then so should Dan Heng. If Dan Heng really believes he's guilty of Dan Feng's crimes, then he should be sending himself back to prison.
No, Dan Heng is saying that if Taoran is going to take the out they forced onto him, then Taoran should be treated like him.
Remember, Dan Heng remained in jail after rebirth for a long time, serving Dan Feng's sentence. And then was later exiled, as part of a commuted sentence, but still a sentence.
Taoran, OTOH, is saying that he expects his "fixed" molting to completely clear him of all charges after his rebirth, and that he'll walk away scott free afterwards as per normal Vidyadhara rebirth procedure.
> But if that's the case then he shouldn't be running off with the Express team, since he's a moral character, hence ought to act like he needs to redeem his crimes.
Uh... Dan Feng trying to "redeem" things is what started the whole mess. What exactly does Dan Heng "redeeming" himself involve? Him being on the Luofu itself is a potential powder keg, and the last time it involved in different factions trying to assassinate himself and Bailu in order for rulership to return to the one true ruler.
Right now Bailu is the official high elder. If Dan Heng expects to remain on the Luofu, he'll need to oust her (likely resulting in her death) or figure out to transfer the rest of his powers to her (likely resulting in his own death, or some other unexpected result given what happened the last time the Arcanum was messed around with). The best he can do here is to stay away, or at least maintain his distance as outsider of the Vidyadhara social circle/leadership, and allow Bailu time to grow into a proper high elder, which will take a lot of time given lifespans.
Dan Heng accepting Dan Feng's guilt just means he can accept the sentence that was carried onto him after Dan Feng's forced molting. But at the current point, he has served that sentence. Going forwards, he will help out the Luofu when called on, such as when he did during the Arbor crisis. And more recently as witness on Jing Yuan's behalf, and for taking down Taoran in the Hoolay mess. I don't see how else he needs to "redeem" himself without retreading Dan Feng's footsteps and trying to solve the Vidyadhara reproduction problem (which is the real root of the Preceptor's downward spiral).
And honestly, speaking from the political side of the Xianzhou's government, Dan Heng is currently more useful as a member of the Astral Express than as an source of polarization/factionalization among the local Vidyadhara population.
Like, the Astral Express may only be a few people right now, but it represents by itself a major faction among the cosmos. The revolution of Penacony from rebellious prison colony to the modern luxury world was led in part by a band of Nameless who stayed with the planet after leaving the Express. The cosmic mega conglomerate, the IPC, went out of its way to be friends rather than enemies (despite being perfectly able to kick our butts when we interceded against them on Belobog's behalf). In the political standoff between The Family and the IPC over Penacony at the end of that arc, both sides eventually agreed to allow the Express take 5% of total ownership, as the neutral party both sides will trust. We have direct lines to multiple members of the Genius Society, who often don't give mere mortals the time of day, and are often individually treated with more care than major heads of state. We're close to the once-considered impossible Emanator of Nihility. There's multiple Memokeepers on our heels. There's a good reason this is the faction that the Protagonist(s) belong to.
no subject
No, Dan Heng is saying that if Taoran is going to take the out they forced onto him, then Taoran should be treated like him.
Remember, Dan Heng remained in jail after rebirth for a long time, serving Dan Feng's sentence. And then was later exiled, as part of a commuted sentence, but still a sentence.
Taoran, OTOH, is saying that he expects his "fixed" molting to completely clear him of all charges after his rebirth, and that he'll walk away scott free afterwards as per normal Vidyadhara rebirth procedure.
> But if that's the case then he shouldn't be running off with the Express team, since he's a moral character, hence ought to act like he needs to redeem his crimes.
Uh... Dan Feng trying to "redeem" things is what started the whole mess. What exactly does Dan Heng "redeeming" himself involve? Him being on the Luofu itself is a potential powder keg, and the last time it involved in different factions trying to assassinate himself and Bailu in order for rulership to return to the one true ruler.
Right now Bailu is the official high elder. If Dan Heng expects to remain on the Luofu, he'll need to oust her (likely resulting in her death) or figure out to transfer the rest of his powers to her (likely resulting in his own death, or some other unexpected result given what happened the last time the Arcanum was messed around with). The best he can do here is to stay away, or at least maintain his distance as outsider of the Vidyadhara social circle/leadership, and allow Bailu time to grow into a proper high elder, which will take a lot of time given lifespans.
Dan Heng accepting Dan Feng's guilt just means he can accept the sentence that was carried onto him after Dan Feng's forced molting. But at the current point, he has served that sentence. Going forwards, he will help out the Luofu when called on, such as when he did during the Arbor crisis. And more recently as witness on Jing Yuan's behalf, and for taking down Taoran in the Hoolay mess. I don't see how else he needs to "redeem" himself without retreading Dan Feng's footsteps and trying to solve the Vidyadhara reproduction problem (which is the real root of the Preceptor's downward spiral).
And honestly, speaking from the political side of the Xianzhou's government, Dan Heng is currently more useful as a member of the Astral Express than as an source of polarization/factionalization among the local Vidyadhara population.
Like, the Astral Express may only be a few people right now, but it represents by itself a major faction among the cosmos. The revolution of Penacony from rebellious prison colony to the modern luxury world was led in part by a band of Nameless who stayed with the planet after leaving the Express. The cosmic mega conglomerate, the IPC, went out of its way to be friends rather than enemies (despite being perfectly able to kick our butts when we interceded against them on Belobog's behalf). In the political standoff between The Family and the IPC over Penacony at the end of that arc, both sides eventually agreed to allow the Express take 5% of total ownership, as the neutral party both sides will trust. We have direct lines to multiple members of the Genius Society, who often don't give mere mortals the time of day, and are often individually treated with more care than major heads of state. We're close to the once-considered impossible Emanator of Nihility. There's multiple Memokeepers on our heels. There's a good reason this is the faction that the Protagonist(s) belong to.