I’ve been expecting the question that comes up first.

“Okay… I can somewhat understand why Yalei and Jin Chin would come along, considering their personalities and strength, but why He Wen?”

Ai asks the question.

“You can probably guess based on some plans, but we’ll need a qi treasure creator. He seems like a start toward that goal, as long as I can train him myself.

“That’s especially important, since I’ll need to create so many dedicated items that will be tough to replicate without instruction. Having someone learn that from me directly as we go along will speed things up. I don’t know about you guys, but I rather have access to an internal qi treasure creator, that isn’t me, within a year.

“And if we don’t do this way, it might take more than a decade.”

Their faces twist a bit at this, both in thought and displeasure. Shi doesn’t seem too bothered, but both Ai and Lin seem to be anxious about it. I have an idea why, but it might be best to let them vocalize it.

Lin steps up on behalf of her sister.

“… are you sure it’s okay, though? I’m not sure having another guy in our personal group is the best choice.”

And this is the other element that I somewhat noticed, but hadn’t paid attention to.

I hadn’t been getting much resistance from Ai and Lin regarding adding Shi, Mei Lin, and even the others as potential romantic interests.

In a lot of ways, I feel like they are encouraging it, but with moderation and after getting to know themselves better before others.

But never guys. Even now, Ai seems to avoid guys, though she doesn’t flinch and can talk somewhat normally to others within the group. My guess is that she hasn't fully accustomed herself to it yet.

It is not beneficial for Ai to exclusively spend time with women and me, who is romantically attracted to her. She needs to get used to be friendly with other guys, as well.

That’s the other aspect of this inclusion that I wanted to bring in. Having someone she's not interested in romantically in her general sphere, to get comfortable with.

Surprisingly, Ai speaks up to mirror my thoughts.

“Lin… thank you. But I think I need to do this. I want to get to know some of the others a bit more, but it’s been a bit difficult. Maybe this He Wen will be a good choice to add?”

She sounds very unsure and for the first time, seems to be asking if my scan confirms this. Her eyes turned up and wavering, show me that this is a precious question for this moment.

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After a quick double check, I give her a smile and a nod, to which she seems to relax a bit. I spoke up a bit.

“That’s not to say there won’t be some stressful times between all of us with him, but this will definitely help you with your goals and in approaching others.”

“Okay. I can handle that then.”

With Ai saying that and placing a hand on Lin’s arm, this seems to assuage Lin from her current protective mode. Shi stays quiet during this entire exchange. Out of consideration for their personal circumstances.

The quietest one of them all is Mei Lin, who has just been watching all of us interacting. Staying close to Shi’s side. And during this time, holding onto and reading the plans I handed over.

Even though she is just a kid, I can tell her mind is going through various possibilities and results from our discussions. A little genius in her own right, I could imagine that she’s already been seeing through the choices made in my writings.

I hear her voice subtly rise after a natural pause concluded from the last talk.

“I see here that you are giving my family a superior spirit stones for ‘personal investment’? On top of the two superior spirit stones of ‘directed investments’.”

“Does this mean they can use that as they want, with no restrictions?”

Her nose is a little scrunched up in confusion. An adorable look on her tiny face.

“… I love my family enormously, but I don’t think giving them that much without restrictions is a good idea. Unless you had something else in mind.”

I give her a smile, as it’s clear that with how smart she is, she is looking past the obvious message, bundled within this investment.

“The message isn’t what they do with it. It’s that I’m giving all of this in the first place. Especially with you as my declared sister.

“I understand that there are other elements in your family, but giving out funds like that without restrictions sends the message that the relationship between us is strong. And specifically, that it is a great relationship. This will give you a bit more power in your family, as a whole.”

Her eyes widen, letting me see her fall back into thought.

As she goes silent, I wait for any additional comments or thoughts before changing us over.

But after this discussion, it seems everyone has something to think about. So, I end up making some small talk before we each went our separate ways.

Thus, I began the final preparations for leaving.

After some work on this floor, I head down and see how late it’s gotten. Meaning, that I’ll spend the rest of the day and night creating more spirit stones and jade slips for training purposes.

It feels like an eternity. One which I’m caught in my own thoughts. But there are a few things I find myself grateful for.

Thank goodness Sister Nuan got me all of these jade slips. I knew they’d come in handy after our first time logging the information in it for the OCS cultivation method.

What keeps getting me, though, is how she’s continually anticipating what I might need before I even ask for it. Sometimes I can’t tell if it is her vast genius or if it’s some type of divining technique. Either way, though, it is worth it.

I still have so many empty jade slips, ready to have information recorded in my bracelet. Each of which carries an enormous cost. One which couldn’t have been easy to bear for her. Even if she has an increased budget and hadn’t spent anything for disciple funds since she’s joined as an elder, it probably wouldn’t be enough to cover all of this.

She used her personal funds, without a doubt, as a supplement to pay.

I'm profoundly grateful.

And also, wary.

How will she react to the actions that I take with Ai, Lin, and Shi in the privacy tent? I know she is deeply intrigued by me.

Or have Ai, Lin, and Shi already resolved it, like their previous interactions? To where I don’t need to worry about it.

Sigh. I guess I’ll figure it out as I go, as it seems this isn’t the right time to be thinking about that.

With that clearly in mind, I descend to the first floor.

Which is where I find the two people I mentioned would come with us to Monchon City. Both of whom seem to have a side-eyed glare at each other.

Yalei and Jin Chin.