I came back from the tour with Ellen to a desk covered in waiting paperwork. I’m about three quarters of the way through it and have finally reached the reports from Tai.

Then Zhen barges into my office and now that the door is reinforced, it stays attached to the wall. He sits down on the other side of my desk and props his feet up. Narrowly avoiding dripping mud over the out pile, he sets two glasses in front of us on the desk.

He watches me carefully as I read through the rest of the report. Since it was written by Tai, it’s succinct. But it’s not like I invited Zhen, so I take my time.

As I sigh, sign and put it on top of my out pile, Zhen fills the glasses. After putting the out pile a safe distance from Zhen’s feet, I take a sip.

You never know what Zhen will bring to drink, but he will take offense if you don’t empty at least one glass. Tonight, it’s a surprisingly pleasant wine. He’s planning something he knows I won’t like.

I lean back into my chair and wait for him to start. We look at each other in the eye for a moment and Zhen is the first to look away.

I take another sip. He starts with saying, “Brother,” and I know he doesn’t want to have this talk either. “How was your romantic getaway?”

I chuckle and he manages to hide his grimace. The only one who doesn’t get unnerved by my laugh is Ellen. Probably because she doesn’t know better.

“I can see how it could appear that way. But I assure you, nothing happened besides work.” How did Luan and Tai pressured him into having this talk?

“So, the news of romantic views and you taking the tenderest care of Ellen are all figments of the local imagination?”

“It was a work trip. There is much to do to get everything ready so we can take back the Golden Bamboo Palace. And as you know, Ellen is staying here to manage this end of our supply line.” I down half the glass to calm myself and he doesn’t interrupt me.

“But really, nothing happened. I have been treating Lady Ellen with the utmost respect. We both know how fragile mortals can be, so I was careful.”

With a knowing smirk, he says, “I think you were more than careful.”

I try staring at him again and this time he doesn’t flinch. “She’s still adjusting to her new life here. I certainly enjoy spending time with her, but I’m not rushing into anything right now. I certainly don’t need an additional distraction.”

“So, if I took her out for drinks?”

Given Zhen’s history, he really would. “As if you could get her to agree to such a thing. And I warn you that should you treat her with anything less than the respect due to the Lady of White Fang, you might find yourself in an unfortunate situation, like never needing another drink again.”

Zhen’s booming laughter fills the room like my threat was a love confession. He leans so far back in his chair I’m surprised he doesn’t end up on the floor. Only Zhen laughs off threats as if they were compliments.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“Congratulations brother on finally find a woman you like, if only a little bit. Heaven knows many have tried to chase you, but I’ve never seen you show even a hint of interest.”

He refills our glasses and continues, “I was starting to wonder if you were planning to stay alone forever.”

I take another sip and say, “It wasn’t that bad back at the sect.”

He laughs again, this time hard enough to start spilling wine on the desk. “Yes it was. Remember that rumor about how you must have taken a vow of celibacy for rejecting Lady Xixi.”

“You can’t be serious. I’ll grant you that she’s pretty, but I’ve had better conversations with a horse.”

He laughs again. “Well, I wish you luck, since you have no experience courting women. The more I get to know Lady Ellen, the more I’m sure that I’ve never met anyone like her. She thinks about things in such an odd way. I never know what she’ll say next.”

I nod. “She is an excellent conversationalist, but she is also comfortable with silence. Truly, lacking in neither skill.”

He smiles as he says, “You certainly like her. Personally, I think my ideal woman will be able to snap my bones clean through on a whim. But I wish you luck with Lady Ellen.”

Of course, you would like someone who casually threatens you. That’s how you like to spend your time.

“I don’t need luck for that, and I don’t have time for distractions.” I empty my glass and slam it upside down onto my desk, so he can’t refill it.

He laughs some more as he empties his glass and leaves. I wait a moment before following him from the roof tops.

I might not be as sneaky as Tai, but I can hide my presence well enough to eavesdrop on Zhen. Unsurprisingly, he meets up with the rest of my brothers in a room the furthest away from my office they could find.

If I’m careful and don’t get too nosy, Tai probably won’t notice me over Zhen’s loudness.

He quickly rehashes our conversation emphasizing that he thinks that though I like Ellen, I haven’t actually done anything. Summarizing my relationship as, “They are taking a work first and everything interesting later approach.”

Luan says, “He found her in a dungeon! Am I to believe that the man who turned down scores of the most attractive and powerful ladies our sect has to offer is suddenly smitten by a mortal with a past so mysterious that even Tai hasn’t figured it out yet?”

It really wasn’t that bad. I was just waiting to meet the right person, and I thought Luan of all people could understand that. Instead his paranoia has increased.

Zhen tops off his glass and tells him to have another one. Tai is the next to share his perspective. “I’ve looked through all your data and you proved that she couldn’t have seduce him with chi. Heaven knows that she was not attractive in the state he found her in.”

There’s a pause as they all take a moment to remember her condition when I carried her out of the dungeon. Not attractive is putting it nicely.

Tai continues, “Also, he appears to know the source Lady Ellen learned all her strange information. It isn’t a secret to him and maybe that’s why he’s interested.”

Apparently, Tai’s paranoia has decreased. But it’s true that I still remember those details of the wonderous place from her previous life, Nebraska. A land with fields as far as the eye can see and even mortals fly through the skies.

She can decide who and when to share such information. It’s not my place to tell such secrets.

Ming is next. “He must see something in her that I’m clearly missing. She’s a mortal that has done almost nothing besides sleep and read since he took her in.”

Tai catches him up on the whole zero incident. Ming ends up asking for more details and Tai says, “I’ll show you, but I haven’t been able to find anyone who does calculations similarly. However, Jun wasn’t surprised at all. He’s expecting more from her, but I can’t guess what.”

They speculate wildly about Ellen for a bit but none of them have any ideas beyond doing what I asked when they volunteered to follow me, trust me.

I leave when Zhen waxes on about how he thinks I’ve been lonely for female companionship for a while, but I am too much of a workaholic to attend to those needs.

If they have this much time to discuss my sex life, then I think I can move up the campaign by at least a week.