Book 10: Chapter 5: Doing It For Them
After dropping Zhi and some pastries off with the girl’s mother, Sen dawdled a little in taking Ai back. He knew any of the nascent soul demigods wandering around his sect would gleefully take her, but he resented the necessity of it. He didn’t want to go and deal with matters that threatened to shake nations and reshape history. He wanted to eat dinner with his little girl and listen to her talk about her birds. If not for the silent Big Sister Lei and her worried glances, he might well have done exactly that. That’s what he told himself, at any rate. It was a fantasy. Someone would come along to bother him. Plus, Auntie Caihong would chide him for neglecting his duties. Even so, it was a fantasy that refused to go away. Unfortunately, the sect was close. There was only so long that he could drag out the walk back.
It was Master Feng who found them first. The elder cultivator, maybe the eldest cultivator alive, had known Sen for long enough that he was very nearly able to read the younger cultivator’s mind. He gave Sen a very brief, very serious look before he put on his grandfatherly smile and scooped Ai up into a hug. She gamely planted a kiss on the old man’s cheek.
“I got pastries,” she declared.
“You did?” asked Master Feng. “And who did you trick into taking you for pastries?”
“Papa,” said Ai.
“Oh, I see. That Papa of yours is pretty easy to trick, isn’t he?”
Ai thought for a second before offering an enthusiastic nod. Sen rolled his eyes.
“I’m not sure that’s helpful,” he said to Master Feng.
Master Feng lifted his chin and assumed a haughty air.