The next morning, after my training, I popped into a certain ink and quill shop, looking for the proprietor. I was hoping to get back to it and by the smile on her face when she recognized my robes, she was probably very happy to see me.

Her makeup was flawless, as always. I dutifully did not mention it whatsoever, taking a seat on the side as she worked to finish whatever it was she was writing. The walls were covered in intricate painted scrolls.

"Paper isn't free, you know," she said once she was done.

"I'm aware. I don't even know where your paper comes from," I replied.

"There is a mill that my fathers business partner, you know what that is irrelevant," she said, pulling a hair back into place, "I need to talk to you about my mother."

"Oh?"

I hadn't expected this.

"She wants to know who my mysterious benefactor is. She says 'Our benefactor,' but I didn't want to tell her too much. That's okay, right?"

I gave her my best disapproval look. I didn't want to meet yet another clan member, but if it helped her? That would be interesting. Her mother had her cultivation destroyed at some point in time. Egiya said that it had been traumatic. She had some unresolved issues with her father still a cultivator out doing who knows what, apparently leaving her mother to tend the home.

"How is she?" I asked, trying not to seem eager.

"She told me that I needed to redo my makeup twice this morning, so the fire is still there, but some days good, some bad. It has been pretty good recently, all things being equal."

Is...is your mother here with us? In this room?" I looked around like I was in a séance.

"She's upstairs. Her... attendant checks on me periodically, I can have him tell her that you're here."

I nodded.

"So long as I get some paper and ink, you can tell him," I said.

She smiled, pointing to a stack I hadn't noticed before. A travelers bag near the door had an unfamiliar character on it. The angular lines were accented by several circles. It was leather or something close to it.

"It's approximately what you got the first time I met you, with a little custom item."

It looked like I would struggle to pack the thing back together-a father with two daughters can tell this instinctually-so I decided to open it when I got to the safe house. It would be the right thing to do according to the Fei, at least. Gifts were something that you opened later in confidence, at least in Western Jewel.

"I would be happy to meet with your mother," I said, smiling widely.

She returned the smile and got back to her work. I quietly walked over to examine it.

She was copying something with a large ink brush. On her left, a large paper contained a novels worth of ink. It was gorgeous. On her right, she dutifully copied the page.

I couldn't read it because I was in the wrong direction. It was one thing to be able to speak and understand spoken language. It was a more difficult thing to be able to read it upside down. I wasn't there yet, making out only one out of every five or so characters.

Still, it was a work of art and she had made accents for the corners. My ex wife would have out it up in her bathroom without hesitation. Lauren probably would have also. It looked like she would be able to roll it up like a scroll when she was done. I doubted that whatever she had written was a secret so I ambled around the page, trying to read it for real.

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See life before the emperor! Cultivators defy the Earth so that those today can defy the heavens!

Every sixth day at the blue house theatre!

I recognized the purple trim after that. I had seen it before but still was unable to place it.

The dark off black robes and cloak that I wore fluttered as a gust picked up and the door opened. I could see a slim man with long grey hair in a straight line. His white beard complemented his hair. He wore a simple tunic and white pants.

"Jae," she said rising,"is mother well?"

"As well as can be expected, Mistress. Is this the cultivator? Shall this one bring him to Madame Kang?"

I sighed. It was loud enough for them both to hear. Neither of them were expecting it, if their faces were to be believed.

"Take me to her."

The stone and wooden first floor of the three story building had a wide staircase on one side. The solid boards went between her building and the next, leading to a second story landing that went to either building. The landing stretched for the entire block. I could see dozens of clothes lines sitting the wooden frames. People walked down the path with a purpose.

I hadn't seen such a nook anywhere else. It was delightful. The whole pathway activated my inner child in a way that I hadn't experienced since arriving.

"This way," the gaunt man said, turning to a door that opened on the second floor pathway. Egiya arrived, having taken enough time to close the door and still her feelings.

We had spoken about this specific thing earlier. She had to take some time with her feelings and process them, instead of rushing from place to place. She was running herself ragged, treating everything like an emergency.

She was in effect, playing gasso-brako, a game that my ex wife like to play.

This was not really a game, but something she did with any rental car that she would get anytime she would be out of town. When she hit an open highway, she would lock her right foot down on the gas, then then modulate her speed with the brake. It was an apt metaphor for her life, rushing around like everything was on fire.

The door opened to a half lit room. Inside, the thin woman who greeted me looked up, both eyes glazed over. It took nearly a minute for her to focus, but when she did, you could tell.

"Daughter, this is the one?" She said in a crones voice.

It took everything inside of me to not crack up upon hearing this.

"This is Cultivator Pidge Joseph and yes, without going into too many of the details, he is the one who is assisting the Moon clan with their... business," Egiya said, with a deference to her mother that made it feel like she was talking to someone she feared.

"Hmmm...Kang Egiya. A pleasure." she said absentmindedly.

She gave me the look I gave my daughters before they decided to dress themselves entirely in pink or black. It wasn't disapproval, but it was an open question as to what they were doing.

"Second realm. Impressive. And she just met you while you were at the peak of first. Oh. Oh! You're almost at the peak of second," she gasped, "Daughter, did you know this?"

Both women stared, seemingly into my soul.

"This is new," Egiya said, scrunching her face up, "You're going to need to see if you're ready."

"How can you both see that? I thought you were at the foundation level," I asked them.

Jae had disappeared as we talked and now returned with a tray of steaming tea.

"Cultivators are always looking for that little bit of extra, trying to accomplish it all, but perhaps you might benefit from some more personal instruction."

"Madame Kang, what do you mean?" I said, my voice even.

"I was third realm when..." She said.

Her eyes were downcast.

"You were third realm. When it happened? I'm so sorry."

She nodded. I hadn't expected the sobbing. I really hadn't expected her daughter to be the one sobbing at first either.

Her coffee table that we sat around had a vintage plate which I recognized.

'See life before the emperor! Cultivators defy the Earth so that those today can defy the heavens!Every sixth day at the blue house theater!''

"If this is too personal or too painful, we don't have to-" I started. This tin etching was nearly the exact thing I had just witnessed.

"No. You are a guest in my home and you have given my daughter hope for a bright future. I shall not turn away help in our hour of need. I only wish that I hadn't been so blind to help before. Pain numbs so much," she said, grabbing her tea, "but a cultivators mind must be sharp, for they protect the people."

It hadn't gone beyond my notice that she had said, our hour and not her hour. There had been a lot of give and take and I was uneasy about adding more to my plate. I would do whatever the old woman asked-for certain- but I didn't need to fold immediately.

"You're admiring the plate I see. It's ancient and was a gift from the Taoist clan, which I aided once pushing back a spirit beast attack. I saved four families," she said.

I'm an honest man. I see an opening like this? I take it.

"You fought spirit beasts? I would love to hear about it."

"Well in that case," she said, brightening for the first time, "Did you have dinner plans?"