My Qi was too frayed to use the teleportation ring, so I requested one of the household's servants to prepare a carriage for me.
Dido approached me as I waited. Her warm face held concern.
"I heard there was an incident in the dining room." Dido said.
I nodded.
"I was discussing your son, and I mentioned Uncle Himet." I stated.
Dido frowned.
"Isn't Hanno far too young for any comparisons to your uncle to be made."
"I wasn't trying to make comparisons to your son. I just wanted to give my father a sense of urgency. He has plans to train Hanno as an heir, but he was waiting for him to mature. I think it's best to start training him now." I said without hiding anything.
I had already injected myself into how two parents should raise their son. If I wasn't honest with my reasons, mistrust would spread quickly.
Dido pondered my remarks as her eyes turned away from me. I waited in silence. I believed that Dido was more aware of her son's needs than my father, so I didn't doubt she would take my side.
She looked back at me and reaffirmed my belief. "I shall thank you then on behalf of your brother." She said with a smile.
"Your personal guidance would also be welcomed." She added.
My return smile was half-hearted.
Dido has always hoped to deepen the bond I had with Hanno.
Compared to Hanno, Sophia was much easier for me to connect with. There were only thirty years between us, and her birth marked the return of our father's genuine smile.
She had been a carefree little girl who briefly made it possible for us to forget our burdens.
Although she is now an adult with responsibilities of her own, my consciousness still fondly holds onto the memories of her youth.
Hanno and I didn't have such a connection, nor did he have a carefree youth. He's the Heir Apparent of House Hesk. His days were spent studying, and mine were spent on my own duties.
Our time together was short, and it seemed far too late to make up for lost time, and I had far too much to do.
Hanno had my protection that would have to be enough.
"I don't believe my advice can match the quality that he already receives from father and his instructors. Besides, I'm already struggling to provide proper guidance to Ari's girls." I stated.
Dido gave me a sheepish look. The most recent favor I had done for her was taking on her niece's girls as my disciples.
"My niece and her girls are very appreciative of your efforts. They chatter about you every time I visit."
I gave a weary sigh. Although I enjoyed being the girl's master, I now felt the burden of time.
"I'll visit them tomorrow. It's been far too long since I last checked on their progress."
Dido, ever able to read a room, caught onto my weariness.
"I'll write to Ari to expect your visit then." She stated. She then said farewell to me and left.
Soon after she was gone, Alma came to inform me that the carriage was ready.
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"We're here, My Lord." Arlo told me as the carriage came to a halt.
The warm early morning light poured in as soon as I opened the carriage door.
Before me were a modest wooden gate and a low stone wall. Visible beyond the wall was a cluster of five buildings centered around a courtyard. The compound was an unusual sight inside the Ancestral Lands as there were obvious signs of age. The Ancestral Lands are only home to the upper houses, but it was clear that this property belonged to a house in decline.
I could see Ari walking toward the gate with her two girls. Two female servants unlocked the gates and pulled them open.
The looks of the three women were strikingly similar, indicating at a glance that they were a mother and her daughters.
However, the skin tone and eye color were different. Ari exhibited all the characteristics a person with Kadar Lion's blood should have. Dark brown eyes, tan skin, and black hair. Her two girls had the same hair color, but they had a much lighter skin tone and blue eyes.
The three women's bodies also varied in shape, but this was due to their differences in age.
Ari possessed the excessive curves of a fully grown woman. Nira, her oldest daughter, exceeded what most women possessed but fell short of her mother. Talia, Ari's youngest, was still in the budding phase of adolescence.
"Salimu, Elder Hirom" Ari greeted me. Her daughters echoed her greeting.
"Salimu." I returned to their greeting with a gentle smile.
"You don't need to mind the title. You and the girls can speak as freely to me as you always have." I added.
"As you wish, Elder Hirom."
I continued to smile, but Ari seemed strange. Her stiff expressions mired her beautiful face.
Ari's youngest showed none of her mother's awkwardness as she ran up to me and announced.
"Uncle, I've reached peak Body Strengthening Realm." Talia informed me with obvious excitement.
"That's excellent progress. Shall we head in and see how close you are to attempting a breakthrough?" I asked.
Talia glanced at her mother, who nodded. She then took my hand and guided me past the gate and up the cobblestone path that led to the buildings. Her mother and sister followed us. Talia didn't release my hand until we entered her meditation room.
Talia sat on the stone floor with her legs crossed. She adjusted her sitting posture before casting a bright blue gaze my way.
I gave a genuine smile. The girls' relaxed demeanor around me and their eagerness to learn were the reasons I enjoyed teaching them.
I positioned my hand in the middle of Talia's back as I sat down behind her. I gently poured some of my QI into Talia and started to observe as she began to circulate her Qi using the method, I taught her. The Qi easily circulated through her meridian system.
I frowned as I sensed something that shouldn't be there.
"You still need a month or two before you attempt a breakthrough." I announced.
Disappointment permeated the room. Talia's shoulders slumped. Both Ari and Nira looked troubled.
"Uncle… Other girls my age have already begun to enter the Qi Foundation Realm." Talia said, sounding uneasy.
"I've already told you not to compare yourself with others. Every critical step in cultivation is one you take alone, and you must be certain of who you are. You cannot find this in the reflection of others."
"Yes uncle." Talia said, her head bowed.
"I understand your impatience, but progress in cultivation is first measured in months, then years, then decades, and then in centuries. What you're building now is the groundwork for that advancement. What costs you a few months now will save you years in the future."
"Yes, uncle." Talia said again, her head still bowed.
I sighed. Eagerness is a double-edged sword.
The ring on my right hand flashed, and a milky blue pill appeared in my hand.
"Take this, it's a Water Marrow Pill." I told her.
Talia's eyes lit up as I handed the pill to her.
"Thank You, uncle." She said.
Eagerness is also easy to manipulate. She'll need a few days to properly absorb that pill.
"Nira, let's check your progress." I said as I got up from the floor.
Ari, Nira, and I left Tali's meditation room as Talia digested the Water Marrow Pill.
"Is Talia alright?" Nira asked me as we walked towards her meditation room.
I nodded.
"She's fine."
Nira searched my face for clues, but she wasn't going to find any there.
We went into her meditation room in silence. Nira and I repeated the same process I had just completed with Talia.
Fortunately, I sensed nothing wrong with the circulation of her Qi.
I frowned.
The father of Talia and Nira belong to an external clan that followed the old ways of worship. The old blood was thick in both girls which is why their skin tone was lighter than their mother's.
The girls' cultivation path is murky due to their mix of old and new blood, for neither clan possessed cultivation techniques that were well suited for them.
But of the two, Talia with her Water and Dark Qi should have an easier path through the Body Strengthening and Qi Foundation Realms. The antiquated cultivation technique she is using, The Dark Water Reflections, is a more appropriate cultivation method for her needs than anything I could find for her sister.
I also knew this cultivation method well as I have also used it.
It was why I found the abnormality in Talia's Qi so troubling.
Two manuals and a white pill that chilled the air around it arrived in my hand as my ring flashed once again.
"You're progressing well. Consume this Yin Bone Pill and practice the two techniques in the manuals. I'll return in a week to see how much you comprehend." I told Nira while handing over everything in my right hand.
"Thank You, uncle." Said Nira while bowing her head.
Compared to her younger sister, Nira was much more reserved and solemn. I wonder to what extent her Ice Qi contributed to that.