Sun Hua fingered her contingency ring as she glanced nervously around the tea shop. As much as she’d been embarrassed by having a full squad of guards and two Foundation Establishnt cultivators protecting her on her previous visit, it felt weird and a bit dangerous not to have anyone with her.
Since Senior Brother had been knocked out of the tournant the previous day by Kang Lin, Senior Sister had not been acting like herself. Sun Hua had gone to Senior Sister to ask permission to go to the shop, and instead of demanding a truly mortifying number of guards for an escort, she’d simply said, sowhat coldly, “Go. You’ll be fine.”
Sun Hua did not feel fine. Sure, she had the ring that would summon Master instantly if sothing went wrong, not to ntion a stack of easily accessible talismans that could, apparently, destroy a good portion of the city if she wanted. But she was not a fighter. If soone truly ca after her, she suspected she’d simply freeze up.
A few minutes later, Wu You walked in, though, and he appeared to be alone. He looked around, spotted her, waved, and walked in her direction, soon taking a seat opposite her.
“I have to admit that I was shocked to get your ssage,” he said after they’d exchanged polite but sowhat awkward greetings.
Luckily, he ant the calm, asured note that she’d composed, not the crazy and embarrassing ss that Senior Sister had teased about sending.
“What changed your mind?” he said.
Sun Hua wasn’t sure that honesty was the best policy in that situation, but she wasn’t one to mince words. “Our allied sect investigated you, and your story held up.”
“That’s … blunt.” The ends of his lips curled up slightly. “But I don’t see any guards. That’s very trusting of you.”
Sun Hua didn’t know how to respond to that. As much as she liked the idea of finding a companion, the actual thodology both scared and confounded her, so she simply sat there.
He smiled, seeming quite comfortable despite her unease. “Have you already ordered?”
“This Assistant didn’t want to presu.”
“Is there a particular blend that you like? If not, there are a few that I can recomnd.”
She gave him permission to order for her, and he selected an oolong for both of them. It was light with a slight floral note.
“I’ve never had oolong,” she said. “It’s quite nice. Gratitude for your selection.”
“Never? It’s quite common.”
Sun Hua told him that the selection of most items was quite limited in the small village where she’d grown up, which had led to him asking more questions. So she’d naturally shared a few stories from her childhood, ones that did not feature her mother. Before she knew it, they’d been chatting for over half an hour. She wouldn’t have believed how easy it was to slip into a conversation with a strange man.
“Do you go on a lot of dates?” she said. “You seem quite accomplished at it.”
He grinned. “Believe it or not, you’re the first since … Well, you know.”
To that point, she’d avoided saying anything that touched on his being a widower, and she ntally kicked herself for doing so in that instance.
“Apologies, if this Assistant’s clumsy language…”
“Nonsense. It’s not an easy subject, but it’s not one to avoid. She was a big part of my life. If we are to truly get to know each other, it’s inevitable that we talk about her.” That heavy topic wasn’t right for such an initial phase of getting to know each other, though, and he quickly moved past it. “What about you? Considering your position and obvious value to your sect, I would have expected you to be more comfortable entertaining suitors.”
Apparently, he’d just moved from one uncomfortable topic to another instead. If there was one thing that Sun Hua didn’t want to discuss on a date, it was her lack of experience. Trust had to start sowhere, though. She explained more about the conditions in the village, including the fact that, prior to it being completely surrounded by spirit beasts, brave young n would try to hunt for food outside the walls and thus tended to be killed at higher rates than young won who weren’t expected to risk themselves in such a manner.
“That sounds horrible!” he said.
“Mother and I weren’t affected as much as so since we didn’t directly lose anyone, but hunger and fear beca constant companions in the last couple of years before Master appeared. The village owes him much.”
The somberness of the last couple of conversation subjects cast a pall over the table, and the two lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. She felt bad for her role in creating the depressing atmosphere but didn’t see a way should could have avoided it.
“Well, last ti I told you what I was looking for in a potential partner and why,” he said. “Could you share so of your thoughts?”
Though he brought up the subject in a gentle manner, it still wasn’t sothing that was easy for Sun Hua to talk about. It was a sign of just how badly she wanted things to work that she actually gave answering him a chance.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“I’ve always wanted children,” she said.
He grimaced.
Her admission didn’t feel like a great thing to say to a man who was interested in her. After all, she probably wouldn’t react well if a man told her that he was only interested in her due to a factor than any random woman could fulfill rather than a particular trait of hers. On the other hand, she felt that starting off a relationship by being dishonest wasn’t the correct way to go.
“I think companionship would also be a positive,” she said quickly. “And other … stuff.”
She was acutely aware of how absolutely inadequate her answer must have co across to him.
“It’s not that,” Wu You said. “It’s the … dical issues involved.”
Oh. Well, that wasn’t so bad. She understood the difficulties, too.
“Of course, it’s not a given that we’ll be able to … conceive, but I’d like to at least try.” Her face heated as she realized how her comnt could have been interpreted.
“And if we do conceive? What then? Will I have to watch you die as well?” His voice was filled with anguish.
Sun Hua could only sit there, stunned. She never thought about how her desires would sound to a man who’d lost his wife and child in the way Wu You had.
“I’m sorry,” he said after a brief pause. “Those wounds are fresher than I’d realized.”
“No, I understand.”
And she did. Kind of. Though who could truly relate to losing a spouse except those who had also been through it?
“Perhaps it would be best for us to et another day?” he said. “Tomorrow after the matches?”
“This Assistant would appreciate you eting again.”
He gave her a brief smile before dropping enough taels on the table to cover both their drinks and exiting the tea shop.
Staring at the door as it closed, the best thing Sun Hua could say about the way their eting had ended was that he hadn’t actually sprinted away from her. From her perspective, though, it was near thing.
Wan Ai was at loose ends. Master had graciously set up a few alchemy stations, but they were quite basic setups compared to the ones in her pavilion, aning she couldn’t do everything she wanted. Worse, Master had asked those at the peak of Qi Gathering like she was to wait until they returned to the sect to break through, aning she couldn’t cultivate. aning she had to wait to start practicing real alchemy.
She had an option of course. A talisman that would Teleport her back to the sect sat in her pocket at that very mont. A few things kept her from using it, though.
One, social weight. The other sect mbers had supported her during her contest, and even though she would have preferred they left her to compete alone, she felt so obligation to support others. Besides, no one else seed to want to leave.
Two, talismans were valuable. Wan Ai had learned enough about cultivation and sects by that point to understand that most Qi Gathering cultivators didn’t have access to the kinds of powerful inscribed abilities that Master had given them.
Of course, he really had given the talismans away. Though they’d been instructed by the other council mbers to keep them secret for ergencies, no one indicated that the devices couldn’t be used whenever its owner wanted.
Still, to use it selfishly seed like a waste.
Finally, three, Zou Tian was in the city. Even if she couldn’t see him, he still occasionally communicated with her. Being close to him was infinitely better than being far away.
So instead of going back to the sect and doing sothing much more productive, she sat in her room going over manuals. Which would have definitely been considered productive. If she didn’t already have them basically morized, that was.
A knock sounded on her door, a circumstance that would normally make her anxious. After all, she much preferred solitude to company. Not being able to cultivate had left her bored nearly to tears, though, so as she got up to answer the knock, she found herself almost welcoming the interruption.
Almost.
Sun Hua stood on the other side of the door.
Wan Ai hadn’t had a lot of experience with the other girl, usually only seeing her at etings or for one other specific reason.
“Greetings Assistant, does Master or Senior Sister have a task for ?” Wan Ai couldn’t help but feel eager at the thought, in sharp contrast to the pressure she normally experienced.
“Apologies, Senior, but this Assistant ca to ask a question about alchemy.”
Oh. Well, that wasn’t such a bad thing, either. If there was any subject that Wan Ai liked talking about, it was alchemy. “Please enter and make yourself comfortable.”
The buildings Master had brought with him for the tournant weren’t nearly as luxurious as the dwellings back at the sect. For one thing, the rooms were smaller, each containing just enough space for a bed, a cultivation mat, and a small chair with a workstation.
Not that she or anyone else would complain. The accommodations still included heating and cooling and were much nicer than anything most of them had grown up with.
She sat on the bed, leaving the chair for Sun Hua.
As the sect leader’s assistant walked across the small room, it struck Wan Ai that the two of them shared at least a couple of similarities. Both were reserved around others. Both had been lifted from unremarkable lives with few prospects to beco leaders in the sect.
It also struck Wan Ai, as Sun Hua took her ti getting settled in the chair, that she appeared nervous. The question she ca to ask must have personal implications.
“It’s common knowledge that there are complications and health risks regarding cultivators and … pregnancy,” Sun Hua said eventually, obviously uncomfortable with the subject.
“Is this sothing you’re personally worried about?” Wan Ai wasn’t aware of Sun Hua being involved with anyone and certainly not to the point of nearing marriage. The implications of her being worried about such matters might necessitate a talk with soone older and wiser than either of them.
“Yes.”
Wan Ai tried not to react, but her eyes widened involuntarily.
“It’s not like that!” Sun Hua said.
“Sorry to assu, but…”
She went on to explain, haltingly and not in great detail, about being in the initial stages of talking to a cultivator from another sect who was a widower.
“I see,” Wan Ai said. “You want children, and his experience has made him wary of even making such an attempt.”
Sun Hua nodded vigorously.
Truthfully, Wan Ai had been considering similar matters herself as of late. It wouldn’t be long until she and Zou Tian were married, even if she had to forcefully drag him to the mayor’s house. And well, the natural progression of things usually led to … babies.
“There are two pill recipes in the Foundation Establishnt level manuals Master supplied,” Wan Ai said. “One improves the chances for a cultivator to beco pregnant, and the other eases the birthing process.”
“That’s … promising.”
Wan Ai sighed. “Not as promising as I’d like. There’s a reason it’s well known that issues regarding such matters exist. I doubt either of two pills easy enough for a journeyman alchemist, at best, to make will fully solve those problems.”
Sun Hua looked disappointed. “What do we do, then?”
“What anyone in the Rising Tide Sect does when they face an insurmountable problem—we have Master give us the solution.”
Reviews
All reviews (0)