18

Onari blinked, and there was a 'whoosh'. In an instant, the girl was standing in front of him, clasping his hands between her own. She was practically vibrating in place with excitement. A bright smile spread across her face.

"A visitor! We've never had a visitor before! Oh, how exciting! This benevolent young mistress graciously welcomes you to her humble abode!" the girl exclaimed in an eager and musical voice. "Ah! Where are my manners? This young mistress is Yu Wu! Be thankful, for this young mistress will do you the honor of asking for your name!"

Shocked, Onari realized something. This girl was a cultivator. Thinking things through some more, the pieces started to fall into place. Of course the supplier of esoteric and exotic ingredients and reagents useful for cultivation would be a cultivator. And, if say… that cultivator were to have children, of course he would share his way of life with them.

And that wasn't even all. Onari could feel his internal Qi reacting to the girl who eagerly shoved herself in his face in her desperate pursuit of human companionship. Something about her was calling out to him, and his Qi couldn't help but try and answer that call.

Yu Wu's smile faltered slightly when Onari took so long to respond to her spontaneous greeting. Her mind immediately started to worry that she had blown it. Isolated as she was with only her father for company, she hadn't had many opportunities for in-person socialization. Thankfully, Onari quickly put her worries to rest.

"Ah, it is a pleasure to meet you, Young Mistress Yu Wu. My name is Onari. I have come to do business with your father," Onari finally said, causing Yu Wu's smile to regain its shine.

"Excellent! I shall take you to him. And maybe we can get to know each other better along the way!"

Onari's smile unconsciously matched Yu Wu's, "I think I'd like that."

The pair started walking, and Yu Wu initiated conversation, "So… Where are you from?"

"Japan," Onari answered. "I'm a Kitsune and the son of one of the local faction leaders."

"Ooooh? A fellow young master? We have much in common!"

Onari chuckled, "I guess we do. What about you? Where were you born?"

Yu Wu didn't grimace, but the light of her smile dimmed somewhat, "I was born here in China. My mother died in childbirth, and I've been raised by my father ever since. He's kept me isolated from the outside world… But I've managed to gain some form of interaction through the glorious invention known as the internet!"

"A fellow person of culture, I see," Onari smirked. "It's nice to see that old people everywhere underestimate the value of technology."

"Hoooo? You surf the great seas of the world wide web as well? Spectacular! We must exchange information!"

"I would be okay with that. I'll admit, I didn't expect for the sole supplier of what I need to have a daughter as beautiful as you."

Yu Wu blushed, but tried to laugh it off, "Hohoho! Of course! None in the world match this young mistress' peerless beauty!"

The pair entered the house, and walked to a specific room within it. From the outside, the room didn't seem all that special. The door was made of decorative wooden panels that had been painted red for luck. The inner two panels made up the actual doors.

Yu Wu knocked on the door briefly before swinging them open almost immediately afterward. The office revealed when the doors swung open was spacious, with cream-colored walls and dark-wood furniture. A wizened yet dignified old man sat at the desk.

The man still had a full head of steely-gray hair. He kept it long, and tied up in a topknot-ponytail. A long beard reached down to the center of his chest, and looked immaculately well kept. His eyes were perpetually closed, but that didn't appear to impede his sense of vision at all.

"Father!" Yu Wu called as she entered. "Rejoice! I have brought you a potential customer!"

The old man just raised a placid eyebrow at his daughter's overly dramatic entrance. Onari took the chance to examine the old cultivator. His cultivation was decently strong, roughly equivalent to someone who was a half step away from the Fourth Stage, but Onari knew his own cultivation method was somewhat unique to this world.

He had no way of knowing the old man's cultivation method, so he could only speculate based on the density of the man's Qi. And even still, Onari knew there were other ways of expressing strength. This old man was supposed to be an alchemy master after all.

Pulling his Qi senses back, Onari had to suppress a shudder that ran through him. The old man's Qi felt… off. Like it was twisted by something the man kept hidden from the rest of the world.

Still, all Onari could do was try his best to shrug off the bad vibes. It wasn't like he was swimming in options for suppliers. And maybe the old man had just made a mistake in his youth or something. Onari couldn't afford to jump to conclusions at the moment.

Focusing his senses on Yu Wu's Qi helped. Her Qi felt refreshingly pure and attractive to Onari. Like it was familiar on some instinctive level he couldn't easily describe. Like she was a magnet of opposite polarity to him and the heavens were trying to pull them together.

"I see…" the old man said softly. "That will be all then, Yu'er."

Yu Wu sputtered at the dismissal before regaining some of her energy, "B-But… This young mistress wishes to stay!"

The old man's voice hardened, "Leave, girl. We have business to discuss."

Yu Wu's shoulders stiffened at her father's tone. Onari couldn't help but think that this seemed like a regular occurrence. That thought made him unconsciously frown.

"... Y-Yes, father," Yu Wu said, bowing to both of them and leaving the room.

Onari watched her leave in silence with the small frown still on his face, giving the old man the time to examine the young man for himself. A sinister smile briefly showed itself on the old man's face. Onari turned back to the old cultivator, missing the smile by half a second.