Chapter 77 - Start Of Childhood Arc... Wait, What?
(Lian Li POV)
I pulled aside the curtain to glance outside the carriage that our little group was seated in, watching the paddy fields roll past us.
When Delta had woken up, we had handed her over to a few of our people to send her back to our headquarters, the elf having already regained her sight. We made sure to swear her to silence about Master's current condition, in exchange for some… Future materials.
My younger brother… I mean my Master is currently seated on my lap, playing some form of clapping game with Cai Hong that was seated on Manami's lap across from me.
It had been an uneventful two days since we left the Heaven Sect for Master's hometown, a trading town on the other side of the mountain that Heaven Sect had been built into.
Master had approached the Sect Master to inform of his plans right after he had declared his intentions.
There was a little bit of confusion as to who the Sect Master was speaking to, but our presence quickly shut him up.
The Sect Master had just taken one look at us and promised that he would have his courtyard restored as soon as he could.
It was quite obvious he was afraid that Master was going to leave the Sect for good and that promise was just a poor attempt at retaining him.
Master had said it was not a big deal and to concentrate on restoring the Sect first. He said he would just be going to visit his family and would return sooner or later.
Of course only Master would be so benevolent.
And to further prove my point, Master had then hired a luxurious coach that would send us all the way to Master's hometown, ensuring we would travel in comfort.
Throughout this journey, the girls and I alternated having Master sit on each of our laps. He had rejected us at first, but Cai Hong helped immensely by climbing onto my lap and insisting Master did the same opposite her on Eris's lap..
I must admit, having Master in this form is both frustrating and incredibly alluring.
We get to pamper Master as much as we wanted and however we wanted. His expressions were just too cute to the point that I suffered multiple heart palpitations way too many times.
Manami already had an entire stock of the new pictures just focusing on Master's adorableness. We collectively decided that these pictures should only be circulated privately amongst us and never be distributed.
Except a private stock to Delta as promised, of course.
Sometimes Master would indulge in our selfish requests and call us big sisters when we ask for it, Diao Chan had passed out from excitement the first time he did it.
But on the frustrating side of things… Our night activities basically grinded to a halt, though there's admittedly not much to complain since Master still slept with us, letting us cuddle him to sleep.
All in all, it was the best days of our lives.
"Dear passengers, the village is just up ahead, we'll reach in another five minutes or so," The coachman called out from his little window.
I pulled the curtain further to view the front of the coach. Sure enough, just in the distance was a rather decent sized, walled town sitting at the end of the path.
Come to think of it, we've never thought of finding out Master's roots. We hadn't even known that he still had a family before this.
"Master?" I called out, letting the curtain drop back in place to cut off the interior from view.
Master paused his little clapping game with Cai Hong to look up at me with a tilt of his head.
Not good… Must resist desire to pinch cheeks…
"Umm… I fear this may be a little too late to ask this but… What is your family like?"
Master tapped his chin in thought, his other hand busy with patting Cai Hong's head, "A normal one I suppose? My parents run a small merchant company that trades with Jin city. The town here provides food from the farmland and raw materials from the mines behind the town in return for daily necessities and luxury goods. Their main trading partner is, of course, the Xi Family, though I suspect things would change soon since two of their enforcers have been outed as Dark Sect members."
I frowned at that little bit of information, if Master's family is important, we would need to alter our plans in destroying that little meddlesome Xi Family.
"Other than that," Master continued. "I have an older brother and sister alongside a younger sister I suppose."
"Ara? Master is not the only child?" Manami asked, a little surprised.
Master shook his head, "No, my brother is the eldest of us at twenty-five this year while my sisters are twenty-three and twenty-one."
Eris tilted her head, "Master left… Why…?"
Master shrugged his shoulders, "My older brother was set to take over the family business anyway and I didn't really have much going for me there… So I set off on the Practitioner path when I became of age."
I shared a glance with my sisters, the feeling of there being something more behind the story prevalent in the air.
"My older sister works in the family business as an accountant while my younger sister had just started learning under her when I left my home back then. I wonder how they're doing now?"
"Does Master not maintain contact with them?" Diao Chan asked.
"Mmm… It's the occasional letter during the special occasions like New Years and birthdays, but they were mostly just greetings and nothing more than that though."
I grew rather nervous, "Umm… Should we have prepared some gifts, Master?"
"I already got that covered for you girls," Master patted my leg assuredly. "Why else did you think I told Eris to bake a few more pastries than usual?"
Master… Did I say that you were the most benevolent being? I did, didn't I? Well I have yet to say it enough times yet.
Cai Hong pulled at Master's hand, "Should Cai Hong call Papa 'big brother'?"
Master patted her head, "Just stick to Papa, hmm?"
"Okies. Cai hong likes Papa!"
I smiled at the heart-warming scene just as we reached the gate. I heard the guards calling the carriage to stop while they moved forward to inspect us.
Master had warned us about this before since he wasn't about to start trying to convince everyone who he actually was.
"Too troublesome, and it just invites more unnecessary trouble," He had said.
We would have just eradicated any of the troubles though, but I suppose Master was just being his usual considerate self.
Master should be a little more selfish in my opinion.
The guards checked with the coachman first before moving towards us.
The door to our carriage was opened to reveal a lean man wearing a breastplate with a short sword strapped to his hip. He had a rather pretty face that was clean shaven and devoid of any blemishes.
I had half expected the guard to start ogling at us but he just had just leaned against the doorway noncommittally and asked, "Who are you and what's your purpose of coming here?"
"We're Master Lin's disciples," I explained, flashing Master's personal seal. "We're here to check on his family here."
The guard narrowed his eyes at the seal before giving a nod of approval, "'aight. Ain't gonna cause trouble for the number one Practitioner on the continent, his place is the largest building at the end of the road, can't miss it. Go on through."
That went way smoother than I thought it would.
The guard closed our door shut and shouted the all-clear to his mates, stepping aside for the coach to enter the town.
The coachman guided the carriage through the gates unmolested, continuing our way towards our destination.
A comfortable silence descended within the interior of the coach, the only sounds were the rhythmic clapping coming from Master's and Cai Hong's hands.
"He's gay," Master explained after a while. "He has a husband who works as a receptionist at the local Adventurer's Guild too."
Ah, that explains the guard's reaction.
"Should we prepare for anything, Master?" I asked, this was a town none of us has yet to visit.
Master shook his head, "For this one, let me do the talking. My family has a… Different… View on the world than others. As you might be able to see from the building itself."
I pulled aside the curtains to reveal a large ornate mansion at the end of the road, the coach moving slowly up a small hill to reach its gates.
The building itself was nothing that we've ever seen before, the walls were white and smooth and the windows had panels of glass embedded in them.
It didn't take long before the coach stopped in front of the mansion.
We disembarked from the carriage, thanking the coachman for his services before looking up at the wrought iron gates.
"Well, let's go then," Master told us cheerily, pushing open the gate to step in.
Right after that, a dozen or so people dressed in plate armour appeared all around us, half of them with blades drawn and the other half pointing strung bows at us.
"Stop right there, criminal scum!"