“There are only two kinds of men in the world,” he said. “Those who act on what they believe should be done and those who don’t. Sometimes, overcome by passion, a man will behave differently, but that’s not the same as a man who has time to consider all the consequences of his actions and then moves ahead, whether minutes or years pass between the cause and its effect. When such a man also possesses intelligence, he’ll be respected. If fortune favors him, he’ll acquire power. There’s no shame in being the other type. It’s simply how you’re made.”
He shrugged so gently I couldn’t be certain that I’d seen it.
“Ko tried to warn me,” he said. “I don’t understand why you allowed that traitor to beg for what no longer belong to him. How did he persuade you to give him time to prove his innocence? Was it your old friendship? It doesn’t matter. If you had trusted my judgment, then nothing he said could have made you so weak. I sent Ko as soon as you told me what you’d done, but it was almost two days before he made his way through those who took in your friend. Some of my associates are complaining that Ko acted too harshly. Well, people always talk. That kind of talk fades away. However, Ko believes cleaning up after you was beneath him.”
He looked down at his hands.
“I don’t need to tell you that Ko will always act on his beliefs.”
I also looked at the old man’s hands. In the past, I’d imagined him to be immortal, but suddenly I noticed that he was showing his age. I realized how much his disappointment in me had contributed to that and I was ashamed.