The rest of the night went by quietly. The caged man glared at me while the slaves stared expressionlessly toward the cage. As the first light of morning touched the eastern sky, I heard murmuring and the sound of Meera's giggles coming from the coach. Soon the giggling turned to shrieks of laughter before the coach door banged open, revealing a grinning May and a determined to escape Meera. Meera jumped down, forgoing the steps stumbling slightly with her landing before dashing my way as fast as her tiny legs could move. Which, as it turned out, was rather fast, I found out as she dove headfirst into my stomach at full speed before I could react. As soon as she came to an immediate stop, she dashed behind me, peering over my shoulder at May, who walked calmly toward us a small yellow dress folded in one hand and a towel in the other. I turned my head to wink at Meera before grabbing her and swinging her around onto my lap. "I bet you will be as pretty as a princess in that dress and even prettier with your hair washed and combed." I laughed at the dejected look she gave when she understood I wasn't the savior she thought I would be.

I watched the pair walk toward the stream, noticing the leering face of the caged man at the same time. Frowning, I pulled another seed from my cloth sack. This vine has no purpose I know of. I like the massive leaves that grow from it, and that's enough of a reason to keep some of their seeds, in my opinion. After covering a full half the cage in wide leaves, I started making breakfast once more, growing everything but the rice and water myself. After several minutes a thought struck me. Is it safe for a child as young as Meera to eat Qi enriched food like this? I better ask May when they get back, but I will grow some more berries just in case. Man, whoever stops here next will not have to go far if they are the foraging type. A few minutes later, I took the pot of porridge off the fire to let it cool. (I really need to learn to cook other foods, but this is what Gramps taught me to make.) When the two ladies got back, I slapped my thigh to imitate a clap and whistled at them. Meera smiled brightly while twirling around and giving an awkward curtsy. May only blushed slightly somehow she had found a matching dress to the yellow sundress she clothed Meera in. Not sure how I feel about May using Miss Jacynth's clothes so soon after her death, but she looks nice, so I suppose that's all that matters. After thinking about it for a second, I decided they were probably from Meera's stuff. Most likely, the dress belonged to her mother.

"Before we eat, I have to ask, is it safe for Meera to eat qi infused porridge?" Apparently, I had nothing to worry about because May explained that, in fact, eating qi-infused food is the primary method the rich and noble families keep their kids ahead of the commoners. While Meera can direct the qi herself, yet the qi itself will strengthen her body on its own the more she eats, the better her foundation will be when she learns to cultivate on her own. May even explained how even the king's children don't eat qi infused meals except on special occasions. "Well, that's good, if I'm going to take care of our little princess here. I want the best available for her." Meera was already happily spooning the food into her mouth, but I noticed how she was far more careful not to make a mess this morning than she had been last night. I suppose she doesn't want to make a mess of her dress. While we ate, May continued to explain that the food is also beneficial for the two of us. For her, it will help clean up all the built-up impurities she got when she reinforced her foundation using various pills back in the sect. While it will help me the same way, it does Meera since I am technically still building my own foundation. Or at least she thinks so since she isn't sure as she can't sense any qi in my body. (I didn't know then that unless you know to look for it, a person cant sense elemental qi.) As soon as we finished eating, May handed me a lump of soap and the dishes and told me to wash them as well as myself before our guests arrive.

When I climbed from the stream, I found a set of linen clothing folded on a stone. Next to them was a tall grey fur-lined cloak. I was further surprised by how well they fit once I put them on. Strange, I am taller than either of the old men, so where did May find these. Unless she carries men's clothing in whatever magical place she makes objects appear from. I want to ask about that, but it seems like something that one would want to keep a secret, so I shall refrain. At least for now, I can't guarantee my curiosity won't get the best of me at some point. I headed around the cage, finding both girls wearing identical cloaks to my own. I smiled inwardly. This is probably Meera's idea to make us look like a real family. When I returned to the campfire, I suddenly realized it had burned all night without adding any fuel. May handed me a cup of water with some plant shredded in it and told me to rinse my mouth with it.

While I did that, I listened to Meera talking about her old village. "Most of the other kids didn't like to play with me, but Sara always let me play with her when her Daddy came over to our place at night to wrestle with Momma." I sprayed the mouthwash all over May when I heard that, and the look on May's face made me roar in laughter till I was bent over clutching my side. We were so preoccupied we never noticed the group of surly soldiers enters the camp from inside the woods until one of them with silver knots tied on his shoulder coughed to get our attention.

"I am Sergeant Brightstone, Lady Chen, I presume." The sergeant walked right past me without so much as looking in my direction and held out his hand for May to take. She didn't. She only nodded then waved them toward the cage and group of collared slaves. Yeah, this guy barely spoke and already pissed May off. I shrugged while taking Meera's hand to leave May to deal with the pompous soldier. But May told me to stay. Then she introduced Meera and me as her husband and daughter. Somehow I managed to keep my face impassive while Meera smiled brightly. I wasn't trying to hide my missing arm, so when the Seargent offered his left hand to me. I didn't move, only stared impassively into his eyes for a long moment. This seemed to rile the young man because he tried to press down on me with pressure made up of his qi, which felt dirty to my senses. True I got the same feeling from May's but not nearly as bad, and her aura actually felt cleaner since we met last night. I didn't budge nor change my expression, but when Meera fell to her knees crying in pain, I pushed back with my air qi since it is weaker than my earth qi. The sergeant crashed to the ground bypassing his knees landing flat on his face, unable to move a muscle. May swept her gaze over all the soldiers when his men tried to intervene. They froze in place, not daring to move.

I nodded to May, then picked Meera up, handing her over before turning. I got down on one knee next to the sergeant's head and lifted it until we looked eye to eye. He practically exuded hatred from his gaze, but I didn't care, nor did my face change. "I don't care if you are from the imperial army. If you harm so much as a hair on my wife or daughter, I will crush you into paste slowly. Do I make myself clear?" Something in my eyes must have made my point better than mere words because his face turned white before he nodded. "Great, oh, by the way, I am not sorry about the broken nose." He gave me a confused look before I slammed his head into the earth, burying it up to his ears before standing up and returning to May's side, accepting the outstretched arms of Meera. May did an outstanding job of hiding it, but I still caught the subtle movements of her face as she tried to hide her surprise.

The moment I let the Seargent go, he jumped to his feet, grabbing the hilt of his sword. He would have drawn on me if not for a voice from the tree line telling him to stand down and check on the prisoners. The man was dressed in silk robes trimmed in silver and gold. He was definitely one of those people Gramps warned me to stay away from if at all possible. He stopped briefly to examine the iron vine cage, and when he turned back, I noticed far more respect in the man's eyes as he looked at May. I snorted and walked back toward the coach, placing Meera inside. Rather than return to May to join in on what I assume was the pretentious prick waving his dick around. I sat on the step, glaring at anyone that looked this way. Except for the pissed-off sergeant, I smirked at him any time he looked my way. I found it hilarious how red his face got each time we met each other's eyes.

It was interesting watching the soldiers. One had a clear crystal in his hands that he pressed to the back of each prisoner's collar. When the crystal turned red, they would order him to one side. If it turned green, the sergeant would cut the collar off and send the person to another spot where another soldier, I assume a medic, did a thorough examination before having them drink something that put them to sleep. I hadn't noticed any sleep since they arrived in the clearing, so I suppose it is for their own good. Shouting from the well-dressed young man got my attention after a few minutes of watching the sorting of prisoners. The man was shouting something about May being too stupid to accept an offer most would kill for. Also, something about wasting her potential to play house with a disabled person and a halfbreed freak. That was as far as my patience went. I dropped a considerable amount of earth qi into the ground forcing the gravity to rise exponentially under the man's feet, forcing him to his knees instantly. He tried to stand but failed, and soon blood began to pour from his nose and mouth. I continued to push more until he fell face-first into the dirt.

The clearing became silent except the whimpering of the man in front of May. Sergeant Brightstone stared open-mouthed at his superior before turning to me, face completely white, knowing I could keep my promise to him if he pushed me. As I walked toward the downed man, the coach door banged open, and Meera ran forward to hold my hand. However, when she looked at my face, she flinched and instead ran to May, who picked her up. May's eyes were wide as saucers as she looked between the downed man and me. I heard the sergeant telling the medic that he thought my power must be at least ninth grade Zhuji. I really need to ask May about these rankings as they make little sense to me. Then the medic scoffed at the sergeant, saying that's unlikely as I am probably only sixteen, eighteen at the most. The sergeant shot back something about his highness being blocked at the peak of Zhuji for nearly five years already.