Fu Ruolan glared at Sen. “You invited them here?”

“No! No, no, no,” said Sen. “I just sent them a letter telling them what’s been happening to me in recent… Um, years. It’s the first time I’ve been stationary for a while.”

“You should have told me they were coming.”

“I didn’t know they were coming.”

The awkward conversation was mercifully cut short as Ma Caihong and Kho Jaw-Long descended from the sky supported by nothing but the power of their qi. They alighted on the snowy ground outside the galehouse and looked around. Uncle Kho seemed very interested in the practice hall. Auntie Caihong smiled at Sen. Neither of them seemed terribly concerned by the thunderous look on Fu Ruolan’s face, which Sen wasn’t sure was altogether wise.

“Do you two make a habit of invading other people’s territory?” demanded Fu Ruolan.

“Be still, Ruolan,” said Auntie Caihong in a bemused voice. “We aren’t here about you. We came to see Ai.”

“Be still,” said Fu Ruolan in an icy tone. “How dare y—”

Her voice choked off as Uncle Kho went over and pulled the woman into a hug.

“It’s good to see you again, Ru. Even if that temper of yours hasn’t improved at all.”

Sen stood in mute shock as Fu Ruolan’s cheeks turned bright red. Then, a lot of hazy things snapped into sharp focus. The woman’s constant comparisons to Auntie Caihong. The quiet resentment that Fu Ruolan seemed to hold for Ma Caihong. Sen had always just assumed it was jealousy over Auntie Caihong’s talent, and that may have been a part of it. As he watched the woman slap at Uncle Kho in a way that looked more playful than serious, it became evident that wasn’t all of it.

“Let me go, you lightning-wielding oaf,” chided Fu Ruolan, while she didn’t actually do that much to escape.

Sen traded a look with Auntie Caihong and saw the truth in her eyes. She knew, and she was wholly unperturbed by it. It was also evident that Uncle Kho didn’t realize it. Sen wasn’t sure he’d share Auntie Caihong’s calm in similar circumstances, but he guessed that she must have long ago worked through any doubts she had about her marriage. Uncle Kho released Fu Ruolan from the hug and stepped back. She tried to glare at him but only managed a weak, sour expression.

“You could have at least sent word you were coming,” she complained.

“To where?” asked Auntie Caihong in a slightly too-sweet voice.

The women locked gazed for a moment and universes of information passed between the two in that brief look. Sen resolved, then and there, that he would never, ever, for any reason, ask any of them a single question about what he had just figured out. There was the very pertinent reason that he simply didn’t want to know, followed by the profoundly pressing reason that he didn’t want to get involved. He’d seen what happened when Master Feng and Auntie Caihong argued. He had zero desire to be present for a similar performance between Auntie Caihong and Fu Ruolan.

This absence of desire was fueled in no small part by the knowledge that Master Feng’s self-control was substantial, while Fu Ruolan’s was not. After all, Master Feng had retained his wits enough to go take out his anger and frustration on dangerous spirit beasts. Those beasts probably hadn’t had it coming, but it was better than obliterating a small town. He had his doubts that Fu Ruolan would show similar restraint if pushed to her breaking point. Yet, the sometimes-unstable nascent soul cultivator surprised him with her reaction.

“You obviously knew where to come. You could have sent a message to him first,” she said, pointing at Sen.

“Sen is rather famous for his wandering ways. There was no way to be certain that any message we sent here would actually reach him,” murmured Uncle Kho absently, wholly oblivious to the undercurrents in the conversation as he stared at the training hall. “Sen, what is that?”Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Oh, how Sen wished he shared that ignorance. However, the question gave him the golden opportunity to change the subject, and he seized it like a starving man seized food.

“That’s the training hall,” said Sen, and then he kept talking to prevent anyone else from saying anything. “I put it up so the mortals would have somewhere permanent to train. I went out and found some fire treasures to put in the floor to keep it warm in the winter. I thought about using a formation, but I couldn’t work out how to make formations that the mortals could easily use and adjust. But you’re here now, Uncle Kho, so I’ll definitely want to see if you have any ideas that might work. I’ve been training the mortals with the spear. I imagine you’ll want to take a look at what they’re doing. I mean, clearly, they can’t meet cultivator standards, but they all work hard, and I’d appreciate any advice you could give me. I’ve never really trained people before, so it’s been a steep learning curve. I certainly have a new appreciation for how patient all of you have always been with me. I—”

“Sen,” interrupted Auntie Caihong. “Are you feeling well? You’re babbling. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you babble before.”

“Agreed,” said Uncle Kho with a worried look on his face.

“Did you break him?” said Auntie Caihong as she turned to look at Fu Ruolan.

Except, Fu Ruolan was staring at Sen like she’d never seen him before. Instead of answering Auntie Caihong, Fu Ruolan spoke to him.

“Did you suffer a head injury recently that I’m not aware of? I know cultivators are resilient, but you shouldn’t ignore those.”

“I’m fine,” said Sen.

He would much rather that they thought something might be wrong with him than continue down their previous conversational path.

“Are you sure?” asked Auntie Caihong, as her spiritual sense and qi washed over him. “Well, I don’t sense any injuries.”

She gave him a speculative look that let him know they would be discussing his current condition in more depth later. Sen realized that he might have glossed over a few too many details in that letter he sent.

“Well,” he said, putting on a forced smile, “let’s go see Ai. I’m sure she’ll be excited to meet new people.”

Suiting actions to words, he started walking toward the galehouse and hoping that the power of adorableness would distract everyone even more. He felt a little bad using Ai that way, but it was going to happen anyway. So, he might as well put it to productive use. As soon as the group entered the galehouse, Sen remembered that there was another guest already inside. Shen Mingxia looked like she’d just swallowed something very sharp and jagged as the presences of two more nascent soul cultivators were added to Fu Ruolan’s presence. Before Sen could do or say anything, Auntie Caihong grabbed his arm.

“There are two of them?” she asked, her eyes sparkling.

Sen didn’t quite know what she meant until he followed her gaze to where Ai and Li Zhi were using bits of charcoal to draw on paper that Sen had purchased. It only occurred to him now that whoever made that paper would probably be horrified to know that Sen used the ridiculously expensive product to keep small children entertained.

“Oh, no,” answered Sen. “The one on the right is Ai. The one on the left is Zhi, her friend from the town.”

“They are so precious,” said Auntie Caihong in a hushed whisper. “Introduce me.”

“Ai,” called Sen. “Come here, please. I want you to meet some important people.”

Ai looked up, saw the new people, and immediately jumped to her feet. She ran over to them. She immediately started asking questions before Sen got a word in.

“Who are you?” she asked Ma Caihong. “Where are you from? Why are you so pretty?”

Sen cut in before the torrent of questions could continue.

“Ai, this is my Auntie Caihong.”

“Your Auntie?” asked Ai.

“Yes,” said Caihong, kneeling down. “I’m Sen’s auntie, and I’m very pleased to meet you, Ai.”

Caihong reached out a hand and gently touched Ai’s hair.

“Oh, you have such beautiful hair.”

Ai suddenly found her shyness, because she ran over to Sen and hugged his leg while smiling at Caihong. Sen reached down and ruffled her hair, which made the girl giggle.

“There’s someone else I want you to meet,” said Sen and pointed. “That is my Uncle Kho.”

Uncle Kho beamed. “Hello, Ai. You can call me Uncle Kho too.”

She gave Uncle Kho a little wave before she whispered in a voice that everyone could hear, “Uncle Kho is tall, but not as tall as you.”

The two men traded questioning glances before Sen asked, “Am I taller?”

Kho got a thoughtful little frown and shrugged like it wasn’t that important.

“Probably.”

Sen heard another whisper then, one he was pretty sure no one was meant to hear. But cultivator-enhanced senses being what they were, everyone heard it.

“He’s going to get me killed.”

Whatever color Shen Mingxia had left in her face drained away as three sets of nascent soul eyes turned to her. Then, Auntie Caihong got a vaguely predatory look that sent chills down Sen’s back.

“Hello dear,” said Auntie Caihong as she stood back up. “I’m Ma Caihong. And who might you be?”

The only reply she got was a tiny, little squeak.