The Childish Woman (7)

I hid myself in the crowd that was near the recruiting table. It had a good view of everything in the area, including that of a small, petite figure at the back of the line. I stared longingly at her direction, the lack of her presence by my side was discomforting.

"Had a good heart to heart with her, hmm?" A voice asked from behind me, shocking me out of my daze. I turned around to see Ellie with a playful smile.

I nodded, unfazed by her teasing. "Still wet behind the ears. Can never pass up an opportunity to teach something."

"Oh? Then that hug at the end was out of gratitude?" She asked, a finger on her chin.

"Of course not!" I declined profusely, waving my hands. "That was out of her heartfelt affection towards me!"

"Oh really?" she asked once again, her fingers scratching her chin ferociously.

I nodded. My pride as a father is being questioned. How could I not defend myself?

"You're overpraising yourself," Ellie stated mercilessly. Ouch. I felt a pang of pain in my heart. Did it really look that way? I then remembered her age and her childish antics and attacked back, sneering.

"Are you jealous or what? Apologies, but I think she's still more mature than you, although you're a decade older. And smarter. And cuter, given that she's my daughter. My genes are great." I said, giving her a look of pity.

"... shameless father," she muttered under her breath. My cultivation has heightened my hearing, and I'm catching a lot of these snarky remarks... I don't know what to think of that.

"You're a great father, actually," Ellie said unexpectedly and looked away just as fast to my utter surprise. Looks like she is yearning for her father's love after seeing Fiona being spoiled. No wonder she took up her uncle's words to join a sect and explore the outside world. Her stubbornness is really something.

I nodded with satisfaction after glancing at her. "Your old man is great too, he must have taught you. Learning to judge people accordingly is an impressive skill to have." I said, then paused. These next words came from the bottom of my heart as a father to another.

"Your old man gave up his life to transfer his cultivation to you, to let you live well. I truly respect that, and you should too."

She froze, before continuing to stare up at the sky. An awkward silence befell the two of us as my attention waned towards Fiona and the sect elder. They must be starting the recruitment process now, with the appearance of the two crystals. It looks like the boy in front of Fiona turned his crystal green. I wonder what it means, but it must've been something good considering how the elder was acting so excitedly.

"It looks like I can't compare to Fiona at being a better daughter." Ellie said with a sullen voice, drawing my attention once more.

"What, are you jealous?" I asked with a laugh. "Don't start calling me daddy though, there are a lot of things wrong with that. Reserved only for my spoiled Fiona. She's already gotten mad at you for getting close to me, you know."

Ellie chuckled. "She doesn't seem like the jealous type to me."

"Well, for her wonderful father, she'll show some repressed emotions. What a cute little girl that I have, haha."

"Don't you want to see how far she'll go with that jealousy of hers?" Ellie asked with a sly smile.

"... what?" I've got a bad feeling about this. What is she going to do?

"Daddy, I've been naughty," she said aloud, raising her voice for Fiona to hear.

BOOM. My mind exploded.

Damnit, what is this mischievous girl thinking? I just reassured Fiona about the importance of Ellie in my heart. What will she think if she hears this? What if she thinks I'm some perverted bastard who will try to touch her? I rushed to cover Ellie's mouth, as some villagers within the crowd looked at me in disgust, while some sneered at her.

A muscular man ridden with scars laughed aloud. "I knew she was a slut, giving her body away to a puny man like this while pretending to be innocent in front of us?!"

Another man chimed in. He was certainly one of the muscle head's lackeys. "Girl, you've been bad cause he can't satisfy you, am I right? Don't worry, after tonight, we'll leave you craving more!"

"Isn't she... the village guard that the chief appointed? I didn't know she was such a person." A woman sighed, shaking her head.

An old lady comforted her, patting her shoulders. "The young are like this nowadays. Don't worry about Little Yu'er, you've brought her up well. Unlike some parents," the old woman glared at me, "who practice incest with their daughters."

I ignored all the jeers and scowls and turned to Ellie. "Don't you know what you've done?"

She smirked. "Didn't you say I'm still wet behind the ears? I clearly know some things."

"..." She really reminds me of Fiona, that stubborn attitude, refusing to take any losses and my sudden urge to spank her.

"Anyhow, even without that previous comment most of the villagers will continue to treat me the same. None of them are sincere. I guess uncle is right, maybe joining a sect isn't a bad idea. They don't look bad, giving opportunities to these villagers. I checked around the scouting grounds where some members and children interact and they treat them with respect. I'll be content with that if I join," Ellie concluded, seeming to have decided already.

I would agree and reassure her about the workings of the sects so Fiona and I can go on, but her image seemed to have merged with Fiona's the more I look at her. She seemed so much like the little girl that I vowed to protect. I can't let some third-rate sect deceive her into joining, then suffer mistreatment within.

"Ellie." My words got cut off from the muscle head walking towards us.

"Hmm?" she answered, completely ignoring the approaching man. As I looked over at him, and at the corner of my eyes, I found my vision turning black. A sudden killing intent along with a chilling cold erupted from my body. Fiona was there, on the ground, bawling her eyes out with the old bastard waving his arms in front of her. What the f*ck does he think he's doing?!

"Little man, since you can't satisfy your daughter, how about giving her to me? I won't treat her poorly." The muscular man said.

"F*ck off." His words seemed to have ignited something within me. Hand Fiona over to him? Don't you even dare think about it. A wave of killing intent crashed into the direction of him.

"You, what did you say—" His words cut short, and he collapsed to the ground, trembling. The villagers gasped in shock, moving away from me, fear clear in their eyes.

Ellie widened her eyes in surprise, before composing herself amidst the pressure and chill of my killing intent.

"Why do you want to kill me?" She asked.

Yes, I wanted to kill her at this moment. Could it be that Fiona misunderstood me for covering her mouth with a hug instead and cried because of it? It seems to be so... I clenched my fists and prepared to draw my dagger. I don't care how strong she is, nor that I should repay a favor to her, but no one can separate me from Fiona, except for herself.

"I-" A bout of spiritual pressure that I was all too familiar with erupted near me. Fiona! What's wrong? My killing intent disappeared into an urgent sense of concern.

Fiona said something to the old bastard before running into the forest. I couldn't quite make it out with the mutterings of the villagers, and it frustrated me. Maybe I should've killed them all. I could even improve my cultivation by leaps and bounds.

I shook my head. I already promised Fiona to not become a killing monster. If she finds out that my sudden surge in cultivation was from killing not-so innocent humans, she'll be the one killing me in return.

Ah. Shouldn't there be another person wanting to kill me?

I turned around and faced Ellie. What to do...? How do I face her? I tried to repay her favor with her own life, that's as ridiculous as it sounds.

Looking at her standing calm and as steady as a rock reminded me of something. Her resemblance to Fiona... that means she isn't the type to cry easily. She'll face betrayal head on. I know that from her devotion at understanding her birth father's death. If she misunderstood the two of us, she'll probably question Ellie first. In that case, then that old bastard might be the reason. I narrowed my eyes. This third-rate sect really is undeserving of existence.

"Sorry Ellie, it was a misunderstanding," I apologized, giving a bow. No one wants to be threatened, even more so for top experts. I wouldn't want to offend them for as long as they don't intend on doing something dangerous to Fiona. Or anything, really.

She shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm more worried about Fiona, what happened?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Take this as a life lesson from your so-called daddy. Things aren't always what they seem. This sect..." I paused, my killing intent soaring again.

"I will eradicate it."