I landed softly.
Nia was asleep. She'd clearly had a troubled existence, and the burden of her accumulated stress had left her exhausted for most of her life. It was a wonder she wasn't infested with heart demons already.
She snored gently, though it sounded more like a cute whistle than anything.
I stood in the courtyard in front of my hut, wondering where to put the girl, when my wife tore out of the nearby forest and skidded to a halt in front of me. Her eyes bulged as she saw the bundle in my arms. I saw them glitter dangerously, but her words tumbled with care from her lips.
"Husband! I heard you went to the Fire Plum sect! Are you hurt?" She grabbed my arm, gripping it like steel. "I have a pill for you!"
"Really? I smacked my lips. "What pill?"
Her eyes flicked to Nia. "1st Grade Earth Healing Pill," she said sweetly. "I refined it with great care and have been preserving it for you all this time. It has 50-year-old lemon in it, too. It will keep you safe from chills!"
Lemon?
Ho ho, little wife, I thought. I fell for your lemon once before. I won't do that again.
I like my lips on the outside of my face.
"I'm fine," I said dismissively. "I didn't even get a scratch."
"Are you sure?" She leaned close, inspecting my face carefully. "This little one worries you caught a chill while flying. The valleys are very cold this time of year. Please, take my pill. And eat it for your little flower."
"Nonsense," I growled. "The currents were quite pleasant. And the sun was shining. I feel very warm. Feel my forehead."
She touched my head and let out a small sigh. "Husband, it is hard to tell if you have a fever or not. We should be sure." Her eyes glittered with steel as her cupped hands held a little pill out for me. It radiated sour energy. "Eat my pill."
"Bah," I pushed past her, heading towards the hut. "I don't have time for this nonsense, woman. I have to report to the Sect Master. I stopped here to tuck this good girl away."
"What good girl?" She blinked, looking around with exaggerated curiosity. "I see no such good girl with you, Husband. I see only a lowly insignificant worm cradled in my husband's arms like precious jade. A worm dares to gnaw at the root of your little flower? Let me put her where she belongs for you, Husband. With the chickens so they can peck her eyes for daring to look at you!"
I paused, looking over my shoulder at her.
She crossed her arms and tapped her little foot.
"Are you jealous, wife?"
"Jealous of a young little girl you are taking into our home with the intention of laying in our bed?" Her jaw tightened firmly. "I am your little flower, Husband. Your obedient wife. Why would I be jealous? I am here to obey. This little girl might be called your little flower, but she is not so delicate!"
"Good."
"But Husband! Isn't she too young for dual cultivation? Are you that kind of pervert?"
"Outrageous!" I hissed. "Have a care, wife. Your tongue is sharp, but my legs will take me far enough not to hear such cruel words. The girl was destined to be a furnace and has little strength to resist her fate."
"You say this," she closed her eyes and tossed her head. "But it does not explain why you carry her tenderly through the sky when you never carry your devoted little flower in this way."
"She is little!"
"Am I not?"
"You are little in a precious way," I said through gritted teeth. "She is little in a cultivation way. Now, cease this ridiculous prattle. Pointless jealousy will give you a heart demon and stunt your cultivation."
"Hmph."
"And she will need a healing pill. And don't be stingy. Nothing less than a 5th Grade will do. She has had a hard life, and her meridians are in a shocking state."
"You want me to give her my pill?" My wife's mouth dropped open in shock. "You will give her my bed and my pill? Shall I wash her feet and call her Mistress, too?"
"Wife," I growled. "She is Fire Plum sect's princess. Daughter of the Sect Master."
"Compared to this, I am trash?"
I closed my eyes.
And pushed the chi through my body in a calm manner which smoothed the cresting waves of my inner sea.
"Wife," I said slowly. "You are comparing yourself to her. I would never do such a thing. But she is sick and is now our burden."
She pursed her lips. "Our? Our burden?"
"She gave herself to me."
"Whore!"
"As a slave! To save herself from being used as furnace!"
"What?" My wife's eyes widened in shock. "Husband! How dare you take advantage of a little girl! You are a molester! Let go of her immediately! I will take her! She must be protected from your old pervert hands!"
I passed the girl to my wife, rolling my eyes as I did so.
"You are being melodramatic," I said, giving my little wife a pat on the head. "And quick to conclusions. The girl was in a poor situation, and I accepted responsibility as I had killed her family."
"What?" She looked down at Nia, still snoring in her arms. "What if she poisons you?"
"How will she do that? There is no poison she could find which would do more than make me burp!"
"I might give her some," my wife said sweetly. "For her protection."
"She won't poison me," I growled, rubbing my beard. "Wait for her to wake. Give her your 5th Grade Pill and let her speak. Then come find me and bow three times and I will forgive you for thinking the worst of your husband."
"Bow? For forgiveness?" She blinked at me, her innocent eyes shining bright as she twisted her beautiful face into a mask of puzzlement. "You abandon me to seek death in another valley. Then return with a strange little girl in your arms who you hold like she is a little flower you plucked from a virgin field. And it is I who must bow and beg forgiveness?"
I stared at her.
She stared back.
Her smile, always sweet and innocent. Her eyes always calm with simple intention. Her slender little body always posed with submissive adoration.
I leaned close, my nose almost pressing to hers.
"Yes," I said. "Do you have any argument?"
"I am your little flower," she said, smiling. Each word cut as though her teeth were a blade slicing through grass. "I shall obey my Husband."
"Be gentle with her," I said, turning away.
"Of course I will," she said as I rose into the air. "It's not her fault. She is the victim of a perverted old man with smelly teeth."
"I'll be back soon," I said shortly.
"Please take your time, Husband," she said. "There is no rush. It will take me some time to pack my things."
I glanced back at her as she turned away and headed swiftly toward the hut.
With a shake of my head, I soared toward the town without another word.
When Nia woke, she would explain it in that strange alien tongue only women understand, where meaning was hidden between words and around sentences. Until then, I would endure my wife's thorny words.
She was, after all, my little flower. And flowers often hide thorns.
My inner sea rolled smoothly within. I had nothing to feel guilty about. My intentions had been pure.
Still.
I really wanted to slap something.
Slowing my flight, I let my gaze instead watch the trees passing below. With my enhanced sight, I could see the moss on their trunks. The flowers beneath their canopy. And insects battling among the undergrowth.
The cycle of nature soothed my uncertain thoughts.
By the time I reached the Hall, I felt invigorated and at ease with the world around me. The way it should be.
The two guards scrambled to open the door to let me pass.
Inside, I saw Mez Kyoma was seated in the Sect Master's throne.
In front of him, a tall man with the face of a weasel stood arrogantly. Beside him, a cultivator with a heavy sabre strapped to his belt.
The cultivator glanced at me, then looked away. I was an ant in his eyes.
"Great Elder Wey!" Mez called, relief in his voice. "You have returned!"
I gave him a bow. "Disciple greets Elder Brother Mez."
"Disciple?" The arrogant man sneered. "A disciple dares interrupt my mission?"
"Honoured Guest," Mez said cautiously. "No disrespect is intended. While Great Elder Wey is indeed a disciple, he is a disciple by his own choice. The sect respects him greatly and my father calls him Great Elder, so what should I do?"
"Hmph." The arrogant man sniffed deeply. "Provincial nonsense."
"Great Elder," Mez said, turning to me, his eyes wide and desperate. "This is Vladimir Sheng. He is from the Heavenly City of the Emperor and has come to collect our Offering for the year."
"Offering?" I frowned. Then clicked my teeth in disgust. "Oh. Taxes."
"You do not approve, disciple?" Vladimir hissed. "Is the Emperor so insignificant to you that you would disregard your obligation to him?"
"My opinion isn't important," I said.
"No. It is not. And you would do well to remember your place!"
"But it is difficult to respect a thief who relies on the stealing of wealth from others to enrich himself."
"What?" Vladimir gawked at me, shock in his eyes as his guard tensed. "What did you just say?"
"If the Emperor were strong, he would not require ants to support him," I said with a shrug. "He would be able to feed himself as he should."
"Are you saying the Emperor is weak?"
"No!" Mez squeaked. "That's not what he meant. Was it, Great Elder?"
"Yes," I said. "It was exactly what I meant."