Grandmother Lu’s eyes traveled over the walls, the open gates, and the people inside pretending not to be watching, all before they traveled back up to his face. She closed her eyes, shook her head a little, and sighed.
“You didn’t listen to a word I said about practicalities, did you?”
Sen took a moment to look at the walls before he said, “I know it’s a little big, but it does come with benefits.”
There was a pause where Grandmother Lu looked a little stunned before she reached up and cuffed the back of his head.
“You know that’s not what I meant,” she huffed, while Sen laughed. “Well, I suppose you better take me inside and explain this gift to me. I have a feeling that it’s going to be less of a gift than an ongoing headache.”
Sen pulled out a talisman that he’d made into a kind of necklace and gave it to her. Grandmother Lu held it in her hand for a moment as she studied the small gem.
“This is pretty,” she said with a little smile.
“And practical,” announced Sen. “It’ll let you pass through the defenses until I can modify them. After that, you’ll just be able to walk through them, and that talisman will just be, well, I guess it’ll just be a pretty necklace.”
Grandmother Lu held up the necklace, pointed at it, and said, “This is a gift.”
Shaking her head again, she let Sen lead her inside. He reveled a little bit in making no explanations to anyone about who she was. He figured there would be some kind of grand announcement later, but he was content to let them all wonder for the moment. Long Jia Wei was trailing along behind them at a distance with a vaguely uncertain look as if he wasn’t sure whether he was invited along or not. Sen made an impatient gesture, and the man quickly closed the distance. Sen didn’t do anything like a formal tour, just pointed out a few things that would prove helpful for someone new to the manor. For example, where the kitchen and baths were. Besides, he could see her sharp eyes weighing everything and, he was sure, her excellent mind was drawing tentative conclusions. He eventually led her and Long Jia Wei into what he supposed was his office now. Pan Shiji’s eyes followed them with burning curiosity.
Lo Meifeng looked up from the papers on the table. She and Grandmother Lu seemed to size each other up in some odd way that had nothing to do with cultivation. He wasn’t sure if Lo Meifeng lost or not, but she did rise from the chair and offer Grandmother Lu a respectful bow.
“This one is Lo Meifeng,” she said.
“And that one is Long Jia Wei,” said Sen, hiking a thumb at the man. “This one is Sen.”
That got three unamused looks that just made Sen smile. He held out a hand to Grandmother Lu and continued,
“Lo Meifeng, Long Jia Wei, this is my grandmother. Grandmother Lu.”
Long Jia Wei’s eyes widened a little before he offered a hasty and deep bow.
“I greet the patriarch’s grandmother,” he said.
Lo Meifeng’s reaction puzzled Sen. She suddenly seemed hesitant and almost embarrassed. She started to straighten her robes before she caught herself doing it. She clearly made herself stop, but he could still her hands twitch occasionally. That woman is so odd at times, thought Sen. Grandmother Lu either didn’t notice or chose not to notice their reactions. She inclined her head politely.
“This one is Lu Jia,” she told them before turning narrowed eyes on Sen. “Alright, boy, I heard all manner of wild rumors on my way over here. Let’s have the truth of it.”
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Sen looked around, realized there were only two chairs in the room, and summoned two more from a storage ring. He offered the most comfortable one Grandmother Lu. She glowered at him.
“I’m old, not infirm,” she grumbled, but he caught the merry twinkle in her eye.
Sen smirked. When he saw the baffled looks on Lo Meifeng and Jong Lia Wei’s faces, the laughter bubbled up.
“It’s a long story,” he told them as called a tea set out of a storage ring and set to work. “I might even tell it to you one day. But I think Grandmother deserves a story first. She has come a long way to join us here, after all.”
“Yes, I have, and not to see Lord Lu’s Fortress of Doom, either,” said Grandmother Lu.
Sen almost spilled the water he was heating with fire qi. He shook his head.
“I’d like to note that I’m not calling this place Lord Lu’s Fortress of Doom.”
“You should. It’s imposing enough,” observed Grandmother Lu.
Sen ignored that comment and finished making the tea. He poured everyone a cup, waving off the uncomfortable looks from Lo Meifeng and Long Jia Wei. He knew that, technically, one of them should have been doing this. Barring one of them, he should have called in Pan Shiji to fetch some, but Sen knew how his grandmother liked her tea. Strong. Very strong. He handed out the cups. Lo Meifeng just held hers while Long Jia Wei seemed to be studying the innocuous liquid like it might contain dark secrets and fell wisdom. Grandmother Lu sipped hers and let out a contented sigh.
“You remembered,” she said, bestowing a smile on Sen.
“I did, Grandmother,” he said, taking a sip.
The tea was stronger than he usually drank it, but the dark brew called up old memories of nights in that little shack. Nights when Grandmother Lu would get into a talkative mood and tell him stories of places she’d seen and things she’d done while they drank strong tea. Those nights had been few and far between, but he cherished those memories. As usual, though, the needs of the present took precedence over the past. Taking one more sip, Sen began to talk. It took him a while to explain everything she needed to know, particularly when she stopped him almost immediately to demand endless details about Ai. Sen was all too happy to share them, while Lo Meifeng and Long Jia Wei waxed and waned between attention and disinterest. Sen couldn’t hold it against them. They’d never met Ai, after all. Eventually, though, he moved on to the journey to the capital, all that had happened along the way, and what he’d done after he arrived. He’d also needed to explain what he intended her role to be.
“So, my intention is for you to run this place until Ai is old enough to take the reins herself. Although, I imagine she would be quite happy to have your continued guidance when the time comes.”
Grandmother Lu sat in pensive silence for a long while after he finished. He dutifully refilled her tea as she sat and pondered. At length, she set her cup down and pointed at Lo Meifeng, who straightened up as though she’d been slapped by a domineering taskmaster.
“Spy.”
She pointed at Long Jia Wei.
“Killer.”
Sen was glad to see that she hadn’t said either spy or killer with any rancor. She was stating facts, rather than judgments. She pointed at herself.
“Figurehead.”
She finally pointed at Sen.
“What will you be doing while the rest of us are here working in this place that will most certainly be very cold in the winter? You know how I hate the cold, Sen.”
“First,” said Sen, “I can fix that cold problem for you. I can ensure that this place is never cold.”
Grandmother Lu perked up at that and said, “Really? How?”
“A lot of formations and probably some natural treasures, but I can make it happen for you.”
“Are you sure?” asked Grandmother Lu with more than a little skepticism.
“Lady Lu,” said Long Jia Wei, “if I may speak.”
She eyed him briefly but nodded.
“You saw the rather formidable walls around this manor?”
“I did.”
“From the small parts of the formations that I could understand, the spiritual protections are even more formidable.”
Grandmother Lu frowned but said, “Go on.”
“Your grandson erected all of those protections in an afternoon. By himself.”
There was another long silence before Grandmother Lu said, “I thought they were making things up. Just how far has your cultivation come, Sen?”
Sen coughed, feeling somewhat embarrassed by the question. He supposed he should have expected it, all things considered. He’d just had other things at the top of his mind recently.
“Peak core formation, or thereabouts. No one seems to be entirely certain. My body cultivation is a bit behind that.”
Grandmother Lu looked absolutely stunned. Her eyes had gone as wide as they would go, and her mouth was hanging open a little. Then, a very familiar, very grumpy expression replaced her shock.
“Peak core formation? Close to the same in body cultivation? By the heavens, what has that mad old bastard been feeding you?”
“Mad old bastard?” asked Long Jia Wei.
“She means my master, Feng Ming,” explained Sen.
Lo Meifeng choked on her tea.