Book 6: Chapter 68: Temporary Solution

Book 6: Chapter 68: Temporary Solution

Sen stood on the opposite side of the road from Glimmer of Night. The two were tossing a spent beast core back and forth. Well, thought Sen, I guess its tossing for us. In reality, the core was zipping back and forth between the two so fast that it looked like a vibrating blue rope connected their hands. Still, it was more interesting than just standing around and waiting. Sen had a suspicion about what was going to happen and about fifteen minutes later, he was proven right as a little girl toddled into sight with an expression of grim determination fixed on her features. It took her longer to see Sen with her mortal eyes, but her face lit with joy the moment she did. She ran at him with her little arms and legs pumping for all they were worth. Sen sighed and tried to decide on the right course of action.

From the moment the villagers had been freed from those cages, the girl, who Sen finally learned was named Liu Ai, had simply refused to be separated from him. Shed sneak away from the other villagers to go look for him. On the rare occasions he slept, hed invariably wake up to find her sprawled across his chest and gently snoring. Hed eventually concluded that it was just safer to keep her close at hand than having her looking for him in the wilds. While he considered the area where they were traveling all but tame, it was a different story for mortals. A child that small could and would get eaten by something if she kept leaving the group. By the time theyd gotten back to the road, he was getting worried.

Hed escorted them to a nearby village where one of the people hed rescued had a few family members. It was also big enough that absorbing a few more adults and one child shouldnt be an issue. Particularly since they had the money from the bandits. It wasnt a fortune, but it was enough to let them start new lives. Sen had planned to leave Liu Ai with the other rescued villagers. They, at least, knew her a little bit. When it had become clear that he meant to leave her behind, the girl had been inconsolable. Left with no other recourse, Sen and Glimmer of Night had simply left. It seemed that the girl had not only evaded the adults that Sen had expected to take care of her but everyone else in the village. People who should have been mindful of children wandering beyond the relative safety of the village.

The problem was that if she had done it once, it was entirely possible that she would do it again. Except, next time, Sen wouldnt be waiting just down the road. Sen was rubbing at his eyes when the girl crashed into his leg and started trying to hug the leg and do a little dance at the same time. She beamed up at Sen before she looked across the road.

Hi, Glimmerite! she cried happily.Thi/s chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.co/m

It was apparently the closest she could get to the spiders actual name. Sen had worried that Glimmer of Night might be offended, but hed seamlessly adapted to the mangled form of his name without comment. The spider lifted an arm and waved at the little girl.

Ill be right back, said Sen to the spider before hoisting the little girl up.

Her lip started quivering as soon as she realized that Sen was carrying her back to the village.

Dont wanna go to the village. Wanna go with you, she said in a tiny voice, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

Sen knew that it was a terrible, terrible, horribly awful idea to bring her with him. What did he have to offer a little girl? A life of constant fear and cataclysmic dangers she had no hope of defending herself against. On the other hand, if the destruction of her village proved anything, it was that there was no promise of safety if he left her behind either. He wrestled with the decision as he walked back to the village. When he got there and did not find people frantically searching every nook and cranny for the missing child, he felt his anger flare. He marched up to the house where the rescued villagers were staying and, not trusting himself, he knocked on the wall of the house. The entire structure rattled. The older man who had been the sole surviving elder of the town hesitantly opened the door. He looked from Liu Ai to Sens furious eyes and went pale.

Get her things and bring them to me, ordered Sen in a voice that quivered with rage.

***

The rest of the trip back had been a learning experience for Sen. There had been one heart-stopping moment where hed put her down for a second to buy some fresh fruit from a stand. Hed turned around to give her a piece of the fruit, and shed just been gone. Sen had almost lost his mind in worry before he remembered that he was a damn cultivator and washed the entire town in his spiritual sense. She had been less than a hundred feet away. Hed all but flown to where she was only to find her in an alley, hiding behind Glimmer of Night. The spider had bodily lifted a man by the throat and pinned him to a wall. Sen lifted an eyebrow, but hed come to have a little faith in the spiders instincts for danger.

What happened? asked Sen.

Ai thrust a finger at the stranger. He hurt me!

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Sen lifted an eyebrow. Are you saying that youd let something happen to her?

Dont be stupid. Of course, Im not going to let anything happen to her.

Sen did everything in his power to keep his expression calm and neutral. Fu Ruolan was not fooled. She rolled her eyes.

Dont be smug, complained the nascent soul cultivator.

Sorry, said Sen. It could be worse. At least shes adorable.

You were probably adorable at that age, too. Look how you turned out.

A dashing hero who saves little girls from bandits? Yeah, Ive really come down from being adorable.

She shot him a skeptical look before she sighed. No, thats fair.

The pair stood there and watched as Ai demanded that Glimmer of Night pick her up. The spider dutifully lifted her from the ground and settled her on his hip. Falling Leaf turned and shot Sen a look that was easy to read even from a distance. What in the hells were you thinking? Fu Ruolan snickered.

What? asked Sen.

Im just taking comfort in the knowledge that your wife over there is going to give you an earful about this.

Shes not my wife.

Sure, she isnt. You realize that Im not going to go any easier on you just because you brought a stray home.

It was Sens turn to snicker.

What? demanded Fu Ruolan.

Sen just smiled a little as Ai ran up to them to thrust a tiny wildflower at Fu Ruolan. The nascent soul cultivator looked taken aback. Helpless before the power of innocent adorableness, she leaned down and took the flower.

Thank you, little one, she said, before shooting Sen a death glare. Not one word.