Yu Di laughed on the inside as he sent the bunny charging at his daughter. This was going to be fun. He remembered how much he loved training how to fight with his fellow disciples.

  Bai Feng swung her sword only to be tossed a couple of feet away. She rolled on the grass until she was far away from Yu Lin.

  The bunny swung its wooden sword at the little girl.

  Yu Lin screamed and ran away from the bunny.

  “Little Lin, remember how we told you not to hit others?” Yu Di said. “Hit this one.”

  “I’m scared Baba!” Yu Lin wailed as she ran.

  Yu Di paused the rabbit.

  Bai Feng wrapped Yu Lin in her arms.

  “This is not how you teach children.”

  “This was how I was taught,” Yu Di said.

  “You had giant monsters running after you, trying to kill you?” Bai Feng patted Yu Lin, soothing her sobs.

  “Not exactly.” Yu Di had older and more established disciples trying to bully him. They were stronger, but he knew where they slept. It was a lot of back and forth, before Yu Di befriended them.

  “Then why did you think your daughter would be fine with that?” Bai Feng sat Yu Lin down. “Okay little Lin, how about we do some meditation instead?”

  Yu Lin nodded and sat down next to Bai Feng. They both practiced their cultivation.

  Yu Di looked away and focused on his own cultivation. Maybe he’d try later. He needed his daughter to be able to defend herself as soon as possible. After losing so many years to the crawlspace monster, he couldn’t afford to wait anymore.

  Hours passed by easily. He hadn’t practiced his own cultivation for a long time. Wait… he hadn't had peace like this in a long time.

  Yu Di maintained his focus on the silver chain, but he stopped his cultivation for a second. For the first time in a long time, he was at peace.

  Was it this sect?

  Was it because he started on his journey to breaking the curse?

  Or was it because for the first time in so long his daughter was nowhere near him? That little girl sure does like moving around a lot, making a lot of noises, and poking him.

  Yu Di smiled.

  Someone knocked on Bai Feng’s door.

  “Senior Bai and Senior Yu, we’ve come back,” a woman’s voice called out. It was the same servant woman from this morning.

  “Time to leave,” Yu Di told the two within the pocket dimension. With a bit of conscious effort, he opened the realm wider. He needed to do it fast or else the visitor would discover his secret. He pulled the two out and deposited them on the mat in front of him.

  Dense Qi flowed around them as they continued to cultivate, moving it through their meridians and body. Bai Feng’s home lit up from the Qi, glowing with different colors matching the five elements.

  Yu Di took a deep breath and closed the pocket dimension.

  That was his first mistake.

  The dense Qi invaded his body, seeking his dantian.

  The second mistake was that he tried to cycle it through his body without thinking. He couldn’t help it.

  The feeling of the dense Qi was like a long lost lover’s kiss. He yearned for it, despite it being a pale comparison to the Qi he once wielded. Except even this Qi was too much for his body.

  His meridians enjoyed it at first before they began screaming for more. The Qi suffused his body so easily that it gave Yu Di the euphoria of leveling up.

  For a brief moment, he was back to the second realm of Qi wielding.

  Then the agony started.

  Yu Di’s meridians all screamed for more! But none was coming. Not only that, if he tried to absorb more, his dantian would shatter, rendering him a vegetable.

  “Baba, are you okay?” Yu Lin asked.

  Yu Di opened his eyes before he spat out blood. He had to bite his own cheek to break him out of the flow state.

  “Auntie Bai, help Baba!”

  Bai Feng rushed over and pressed a hand to Yu Di’s chest. A soothing Qi entered his body, to dispel the dense Qi.

  Yu Di fell backwards onto the mat with his arms out. He took deep breaths.

  “That was close.” He closed his eyes. “I almost died from Qi Reversal.”

  “What is Qi Reversal?” Yu Lin asked.

  “It’s when the Qi you are cycling throughout your body goes the wrong way,” Bai Feng said. When Yu Lin looked more confused she explained further, “It’s like combing your hair the wrong way. The brush pulls on your hair and if you do it hard enough, you’ll have no hair.”

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  “Oh. That must hurt.” Yu Lin bent down and kissed her father on the chest. “All better.”

  Yu Di hugged Yu Lin to his chest.

  “Yes, all better.”

  “What happened?” Bai Feng asked.

  “I tried to absorb the dense Qi that you two brought out from within the realm.” Yu Di rubbed his chest again. “My body decided it wanted more. It almost killed me.”

  “The curse?”

  Yu Di nodded.

  “What’s a curse Baba?” Yu Lin sat down on his lap.

  “It’s something that is hurting Baba. I’ll explain it to you when you get older.”

  Yu Di didn’t want to say if he got the chance. Even without looking at his jade tablet, he knew he lost at least a few months there.

  “Anyway, the other servants are back,” Yu Di said. “We should let them in and then do a little planning.”

  “I’ll go greet them.” Bai Feng got up. “You rest.”

  Yu Di laid down onto the mat. If only it was that easy.

  Yu Lin laid down next to her father.

  “Baba, the place with the grass was fun.”

  “Even the rabbit?”

  Yu Lin shook her head.

  “No, that rabbit was scary.”

  “Little Lin, sometimes we have to face what is scary to get stronger. Do you think you can fight it the next time you’re in the grass place?”

  Yu Lin hid her face in her father’s gray tunic sleeve.

  “No.”

  “What if Senior Bai helps you?” Yu Di patted her head. He hated himself for forcing his four year old to do this. Never had he thought that he would have to do this, but their situation was too tenuous.

  “Maybe,” Yu Lin said.

  “Okay, that’s fine. At least you are considering it. That’s all I can ask of you.” Yu Di closed his eyes for a moment.

  “Senior Yu, I’ve come to greet you,” a woman’s voice said above him.

  Yu Di opened his eyes to see the servant woman from before. She was the first to sign the contract without reading it.

  Yu Lin got up and ran away. For some reason, it seemed like she didn't like this woman.

  “Greetings,” Yu Di said. He sat up again, every part of his body screaming for him to lie back down. “I’m not your senior. I joined the sect later than you.”

  “Oh no, your cultivation level is higher than mine, so it would only be proper for me to call you senior,” the woman said. She cupped her hands and bowed her head toward him.

  Yu Di returned the gesture.

  “You can just call me Yu Di.”

  “I’m Fu Homei.”

  “Thank you for joining our faction. Where are the others?”

  “They’re eating outside with Senior Bai and your daughter. I came first to greet you.”

  This woman came earlier than the others to greet Yu Di? He’s a nobody.

  “I must ask though, why did you decide to join our faction now?” Yu Di asked.

  Fu Homei’s lips curled up in the slightest smile. She cast her eyes down to the floor.

  “I have no talent for cultivation. But when I saw you and your daughter’s increase in cultivation despite joining not too long ago, I knew I had to take advantage of this opportunity. It’s well known that Senior Bai is a great teacher.”

  “She’s also very gullible,” Yu Di said. There was a weird feeling at the back of his head, like a danger warning coming from this woman. He only ever felt this when he was about to fight for his life. Yet the woman before him was very weak.

  “She is.” Fu Homei chuckled. “I know some of my fellow servants would kill to have her secrets.”

  “Good thing I had you sign a Qi contract.”

  “Yes, your Qi contract. It’s no joke. I especially like the clause where you force everyone to serve your daughter.”

  “You noticed that part.”

  “I noticed a few other things as well. That’s why I wanted to meet with you. Senior Bai doesn’t have the imagination to think many steps ahead. She had stagnated for years until you came. I want to connect with someone who has the means to change the mind of that stubborn woman before they become a dragon within the sect.”

  This woman was both cunning and eager. Yu Di knew many people like that and he could use her. It would make his plans easier in the future.

  “Fine, then let’s not mince words.” Yu Di stood up. “You cannot tell anyone any of what I am about to tell you or else you will have to kill yourself if you try.”

  Fu Homei arched her eyebrows.

  “Secrets already? Aren’t you worried I would leak them out in other ways?”

  “Kill yourself if you try to leak them in any way. Keeping these secrets would benefit Yu Lin's interests.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, Yu Di felt the weight of the Qi contract settling down on Fu Homei.

  She only responded with a bigger smile, her eyes opened wide.

  “I felt that.” Fu Homei shifted her tunic around her neckline. “If I didn’t know any better, you are planning something devious.”

  “That’s one of the secrets,” Yu Di said. “I’m not planning on anything. I just want a peaceful life here and if it means I have to train you servants and Senior Bai to ensure that then I will do it.”

  Fu Homei took a step closer.

  “Train us?” she whispered.

  “You can stop whatever you’re doing.” Yu Di took a step back. “I only want to protect my daughter.”

  Fu Homei laughed. She tucked her tunic back in place.

  “Thank you Senior Yu for teaching me two things. One, you are a simple father. Two, you are the reason why Senior Bai has been growing in strength. You must have solved the stone stele as Sect Leader Gu suspects. Meaning you have ways to break into the second realm of Qi Wielding.”

  Yu Di narrowed his eyes.

  “Who are you?”

  “Since we're sharing secrets I thought I'd give you one too.” Fu Homei took a ring off her finger. Her cultivation level shot up to the first level of core formation. That made her below Bai Feng. Her face shifted, almost like how Yu Lin squished buns. It changed her face just slightly to be unrecognizable. “I am Grand Elder Fu’s personal disciple and granddaughter. He told me to investigate you in case you’re a spy for another sect. It turns out, you’re just a foolish father with a lot of secrets.”

  Yu Di rolled his eyes. Sect politics. That’s the last thing he wanted to deal with right now on top of Bai Feng’s duel with the Elders.

  Yu Di cupped his hands and bowed.

  “I greet Senior Fu.”

  “Oh, that’s too late for you. I’m going to report you to Grand Elder Fu and he will deal with you.”

  Fu Homei took a step forward, then dropped to her knees. She gripped her chest.

  “What did you do to me?”

  Yu Di hovered over the woman. He had hoped it didn’t turn out like this, but this was a golden opportunity.

  “That feeling you have is trying to go against the Qi contract.” Yu Di grabbed the woman by the hair and yanked it back, exposing her neck. “Since you’re only thinking about betraying Yu Lin, it’s only hurting a little.”

  “But my cultivation is higher than yours,” Fu Homei gasped. “It should have broken the contract.”

  Yu Di let go of her hair, letting it flop to the ground.

  “The contract binds anyone up to the demigod level. It was created by the Emperor himself, may he live ten thousand years.”

  “Who are you?” Fu Homei collapsed to the floor.

  “I am as you say, a simple father,” Yu Di said. “And I will kill anyone that dares threaten my daughter or my own safety for that matter.”