Sen breathed a sigh of relief as the gates to the Golden Phoenix sect slammed shut behind him. Lai Dongmei, true to her word, had summoned people to clear away the remains of her bed at the same time that she was escorting him out. Sen had rarely been on the receiving end of so many murderous glares. Although, it was far less nerve-wracking than it had been in the past. Then, those looks had felt like a threat. Now, they were just a frustration. There were probably a few people in the sect who could still pose a threat, but he doubted most of them were going to go that far out of their way to infuriate the sect matriarch. Beyond them, unless the entire sect rose up to come after him, he was pretty sure he could fend off any love-sick idiots that came looking to issue pointless challenges or launch ambushes. Not that he let his guard down, but that would have been true regardless. There was no telling who the other large noble houses might hire to try to get rid of him. Plus, he’d gotten the feeling that Master Feng’s brother was still holding a grudge. That was a challenge that Sen would just as soon not take up if at all possible.

His first instinct was to go back to the manor, but Glimmer of Night was still at the inn. That brought on a little stab of guilt. Sen hadn’t meant to leave him there for so long, but events had raced ahead of him too quickly. Then, tasks had piled up so fast that it had honestly just slipped his mind. At this point, though, it was just taking money out of Jing’s pocket. Not that anyone had said anything, but the spider could hide in a room at the manor just as easily as he hid in a room at the inn. As he landed outside the inn, he was surprised to see that the royal guards were still stationed there. They snapped to attention when they saw him. Sen cocked his head and just stared at them for a moment. He shook off his confusion and approached the men at the door.

“Haven’t you heard the news?” he asked.

“Yes, Lord Lu,” said the man on the left as he offered a deep bow.

“That’s not exactly what I meant. I’m just surprised that you’re still here. Didn’t anyone relieve you?”

“We were told to stay until your last companion departed.”

Sen nodded. He didn’t think Glimmer of Night truly needed anyone’s protection, but it was still a kind gesture from Jing.

“I’ve come to collect him. So, I expect you can all return to the palace now.”

“Of course, Lord Lu. Thank you.”

Sen went inside and found the staff standing around and looking intensely bored. There was an unwanted round of bowing and polite greetings to get through. Followed by a cup of tea that was actually quite good. Those courtesies out of the way, Sen found out which room the spider was in. He knocked on the door and called out.

“It’s Sen.”

“Come in.”

Sen entered the room and found Glimmer of Night hovering in the center of something. The web qi was recognizable by feel, by the threads of it were gossamer thin. The web construct was so complicated that it actually hurt Sen’s eyes to look at it for more than a few seconds at a time. He finally held up a hand to shield his eyes.

“What is this?” he asked.

“A facet of truth,” said the spider with total conviction.

“What truth?”

“The truth. Although, I suppose you would think of it as speed.”

“I see. Congratulations?”

“Not yet. It is still imperfect, although it may prove sufficient for now.”

“Sufficient for what?”

“To keep pace with you.”

That brought on a number of questions that Sen decided not to ask. It wasn’t a lack of interest. He simply wanted to get on with relocating Glimmer of Night to the manor.

“I apologize for leaving you here for so long,” said Sen.

The construct vanished and Sen blinked a few times. He wondered just how close the spider had come to a perfect representation of speed for the sight of it to leave Sen feeling like it had been etched onto his eyes.

“The time was helpful. Things are always so chaotic near your academy.”

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“And Ai is always distracting you,” said Sen.

“Yes,” said the spider, “Although, I find her absence… It is uncomfortable.”

“It is,” agreed Sen. “I miss her, too.”

The pair fell into a brief silence.

“Is it time to return to the academy?” asked Glimmer of Night.

“Sadly, no, but it is time to show to where we’ll be staying for now.”

“Your fortress of doom?”

“My fortress of what?” demanded Sen.

“Did I use the wrong words? I’m sure I heard the servants here calling it that. Lord Lu’s fortress of doom.”

Sen closed his eyes and took a few steadying breaths. Fortress of doom, thought Sen. Great! That’s just what I need people calling the place. That doesn’t make me sound like some mad conqueror at all.

“It’s not a fortress of doom,” said Sen. “It’s nothing more than a manor. I just made the place a little more secure.”

The spider’s face was unreadable, as he was still in his black chiton form, but Sen could just sense that the spider didn’t believe him. Sen felt compelled to keep talking.

“You’ll see for yourself when we get there. The walls are just a little higher than people are used to. That’s all. It’s not a fortress, and certainly not one of doom.”

The spider peered at him with those liquid black eyes and then raised his shoulders in a shrug.

“Just put on your human disguise, and I’ll show you,” said Sen.

The spider complied, and Sen led him out of the inn, stopping only long enough to assure the inn’s owner that everything had been excellent and, of course, he would recommend the place to everyone he knew. Glimmer of Night followed Sen’s lead in making a qi platform, and they soon arrived outside the manor. Sen could feel the spider examining the formations while also peering up at the walls and the spikes that adorned the top of those walls. The spider was silent for an uncomfortably long time before he turned to look at Sen.

“This is not a fortress of doom?”

“It isn’t,” said Sen.

The spider looked at the walls again.

“Perhaps I’m confused. What does doom mean to humans again?”

Sen grumbled some unkind things under his breath before he said, “Let’s just go inside.”

No sooner had they cleared the gates than Lo Meifeng was there, smirking at Sen.

“So, I hear that Lai Dongmei swept into the party and plucked you like a piece of ripe fruit. Did she eat you all up?”

“I honestly don’t know how to respond to that,” said Sen, and walked past the laughing woman.

She soon fell into step beside him, giving him an extensive list of all the things he needed to get done that day. All of which made Sen ever more regretful that he hadn’t let himself be a little weaker back in Lai Dongmei’s bedroom. Sen mostly just nodded along, while giving Glimmer of Night a very short tour and pointing out a few key things to Glimmer of Night. Mostly, he just wanted to find a room for the spider, but that took care of itself. They were walking down a hall when the spider came to a sudden stop, only to backtrack and open a door. Curious, Sen went back and looked into the room. It was so empty that Sen struggled to glean its intended purpose.

“Can I use this room?” asked the spider.

Sen traded glances with Lo Meifeng, who just shrugged.

“That’s fine,” said Sen. “Can I ask why?”

“It’s tuned correctly for my needs.”

Sen once more found himself not asking questions because there was so much else to get done. Glimmer of Night promptly disappeared into the room, and Sen felt web qi spring to life on the other side of the door. Well, as long as he’s happy, thought Sen. He turned to find Lo Meifeng looking around and rubbing her arms like they were cold.

“You alright?” he asked.

“Yeah, I just… It’s nothing. Just a chill, I guess.”

Sen suspected that she was reacting to the web qi, but that was a long conversation for another day.

“Can you tell… can you tell whoever needs to know that they shouldn’t disturb this room?”

“If I can figure out who that is, sure,” she said. “Now, it’s time to get to work, your lordliness.”

“Oh gods,” moaned Sen as Lo Meifeng cackled in glee.

The rest of the day soon turned into a blur of decision after decision that Sen doubted he would ever be able to remember. It wasn’t until Pan Shiji came into the room with a strange look on her face that the world came back into the sharp focus Sen was used to. It jarred him a little bit.

“Yes?” he asked.

“Lord Lu, there is a disturbance at the gates. I was told that you were needed.”

Sen jumped at the chance to go do something that didn’t involve sitting and making decisions. Lo Meifeng looked like she wanted to object, but Sen was already through the door. He shouted back toward the door over his shoulder.

“I’ll be right back!”

Sen activated his qinggong technique and flew through the manor, deftly weaving around people. Although, he did hear a few startled squeaks from people who hadn’t expected a sharp breeze to spring up around them. He stopped just short of the gate to find Long Jia Wei there. The man looked over at Sen’s arrival and inclined his head.

“Lord Lu. Thank you for coming so quickly. I believe this matter requires your personal attention. You have, I suppose the right word would be guest.”

Not sure what to make of those words, Sen walked over the gates, grabbed them, and casually swung what was probably several thousand pounds of stone out of the way. He froze in place. She looked younger than the last time he’d seen her. No older than someone in her mid-thirties. It was probably a side benefit from the pills Auntie Caihong had made. Even so, he’d recognize her anywhere. A huge smile erupted across his features.

“Now, why have you called me to this city, boy?” demanded Grandmother Lu.

Sen leapt through the protections and scooped the woman up into a great hug, lifting her off the ground and swinging her through the air. Grandmother Lu swatted at him a few times.

“Put me down, boy! Respect your elders!” she admonished him, even if was clear her heart wasn’t in it.

He dutifully put her back on the ground. She eyed him up and down.

“You’re taller,” she said. “I don’t how that’s possible, but you are. You finally filled out properly, too.”

“Righteous living,” he said.

She snorted and gestured at the manor.

“What’s all this?”

“Grandmother, let me welcome you to the noble House of Lu. Consider it a decade’s worth of belated New Year’s gifts.”