"Husband!" My wife stood on the porch of the little hut, her face shrouded by shadows. I was unable to see her expression.
Only the glint of her eyes and the pale white gleam of her perfect teeth.
"Wife," I greeted as I lowered myself to the ground. "How is our guest?"
"She is very sleepy, Husband," she said, crossing her arms. That wasn't good. "I have given her a healing pill."
"I have a bit of a headache," I said, putting my hand to my forehead hopefully. "Do you have a pill for me?"
"Oh, Husband! If only your little flower had known, she would have saved you one." She didn't move. The breeze made a nervous effort to go around her without disturbing her. "Unfortunately, your little flower had to share the pills with your little girl who was very sick with shame and sorrow. I knew you would not want her to manifest a heart demon."
"She's not my little girl."
"She says she is, Husband. She says you took her from her home and made her your slave. She will serve you forever now. She is grateful for this chance."
"That's not how it happened! I told you they were going to use her as a furnace!"
"She has promised to call you master and bow at your feet." She still hadn't moved. "She calls me Mistress."
I inched closer, like I was approaching a deer and didn't want to startle it. "All I said was I'd bring her with me and give her to you-"
"Husband is so thoughtful," she said crisply. "With such a kind heart, why will he treat his little girl as a piece of furniture? Shall your little flower call her to the yard so you can sit on her while she weeps tears for her lost freedom?"
I stared at her.
She stared back.
A bead of sweat crept down the back of my neck.
The wind chilled my skin and goosepimples tickled my flesh.
"I think you're taking this a little bit too far," I said slowly. "You know why I did what I did. Do you wish me to return her and let them use her as a furnace?"
"I wouldn't dare question your intentions, Husband," she said meekly, though her crossed arms implied nothing meek about her. "If my husband wants to bring home a little girl as a slave, who am I to speak against his wishes?"
I stamped my foot. "She is not my slave! You are putting words into my mouth!"
With that, I took a firm step towards my house.
She put a hand to her mouth in shock. "Where are you going, Husband?"
"Inside. I would like to wash my face. I would also like to eat rice!"
"Impossible."
"Why?"
"Your little girl is sleeping."
"So?"
"Did you not say she was not your slave?"
"I did!" I shook my head, a little confused now. "Didn't I?"
"Then she is a poor vulnerable girl," my wife said, blocking the door. "Will you pour dirty water on her character? What will the people say if they know my Husband spent the night with his little flower and his little girl? In the same house? Alone? Will you inflict such scandal upon her? Regrettably, you should build her a new house before you can sleep here again. I think over there beside the apple tree is a good place for it, don't you? With your kindness and generosity, I can't wait to see what a lovely cottage you will build for her. And don't forget the furniture, too."
"Then where am I supposed to sleep?"
"There's a cave in the hills, Husband," she said brightly. "It is in a nice quiet place, so your cultivations isn't interrupted by your little flower humbly caring for the little girl you enslaved. This little flower hopes you will gain some profound insight within it."
"Insight?" I frowned at her. "Into what?"
She turned and went inside, gently closing the door behind her. I heard her sweet-toned murmur as the lock clicked into place. "Cultivate very hard, husband!"
Her words were like a dagger to my heart.
I know she was upset about something, but I couldn't think of what.
"Tch."
Giving the door a scowl, I turned to the nearby hill. She said there was a cave there. Maybe I should go see it. There really was nothing wrong with a nice cave.
Hopefully it had a spring.
If I was lucky, the spring might even provide some benefit to my cultivation.
Excited at the thought, I swept myself into the air and flew through the brittle cold breeze above the trees. It might have been my imagination, but I thought I heard two little giggles as I left.
Swooping through a small cloud of twittering bats, I batted a few of the more curious creatures aside and dropped gently to the ground in front of the cave mouth.
It wasn't very small.
The opening was actually much taller than I was.
At first, I thought it might be home to the little swarm of bats I had just passed through. But there was no trace of their foul excrement, which was a bit of a relief as I entered the dark tunnel.
Following it in, I felt the air grow warmer.
I put my hand on the wall. It indeed felt quite warm.
Perhaps there was a pool of molten rock within the cave! That also could give me some benefits. However, I couldn't smell any sulphur.
It was very strange.
A little further in, I was delighted to find some crystals buried within the wall. Most were only small. Less than the length of my little finger.
But they were spirit stones!
They glowed with soft blue light. It was indeed a lucky cave. My wife had done me a great favour, and I would thank her when I returned.
I plucked one of the crystals from the wall, feeling the flow of energy cycling within it. I could use these to cultivate with. I should also some home and let my wife sell them for us.
She would like that.
It might convince her not to cross her arms at me.
I tossed a few into my spatial ring for now and continued onward. I had a good feeling about the cave now. Given how warm the walls were, I was sure there should be something more beneficial up ahead.
After all, only somewhere with a constant and powerful energy source could grow spirit stones. I should be able to find it!
Curiously, the tunnel was still quite tall and wide. I noticed many scores in the stone, too. As though it was not a natural tunnel.
It looked like someone had dug into the rocky hill with purpose.
This only made me more determined to find the source of energy. For someone to go to the effort to build such a large tunnel could only mean one of two things.
That they needed the room to haul a large quantity of material from the hill.
Or…
A sudden roar blew past me on a fierce wind thick with fire chi. I winced as the hot wind tried to sear my flesh. Thankfully, I had become resistant to such weak attacks long ago.
However, the roar had confirmed my second suspicion.
Only one creature other than man would need to dig a tunnel this large.
A dragon.