Leaving the Nest - Cao Meili

The two men, one cultivator calm and collected, the other an old man red In the face like his head was about to explode silently stared off.

"Don't mess with me! There's no way I'm bringing her here just because you ask!" Cao Yang yelled at the top of his voice, spittle flying everywhere.

Dong Jie's brows furrowed as he covered his face with his fan, blocking it from touching his skin.

"You were nice and courteous before, why can't you be a bit calmer?"

"That was then and this is now, I don't give a shit who you are, if you touch a hair on her head…!" The elder gritted his teeth seething with anger.

"What will you do?" Dong Jie closed his fan and began stroking his whisker like moustache while awaiting a reply, though of course there wasn't one.

The old man before him was a mere mortal man! There wasn't a thing he could do to a cultivator like him; Silence fell on the room before Dong Jie shook his head and spoke again.

"You don't need to worry, I'm not here to harm her in any way shape or form" He explained.

"Then what do you want?" Hearing those words made Cao Yang calm down slightly but he was still cautious.

"What I want is to bring a potential talent to the right place" A slightly smile rose on Dong Jie's face.

"A talent…? You mean as a cultivator? She's just a normal girl, leave her be!" Cao Yang spoke with complaint.

"Why do you hate cultivators so?" Dong Jie asked out of curiosity.

"Why wouldn't i?! That damn brat took my daughter away… then after not seeing her for so long she came home in such a bad state! And then they went and left their only daughter behind, passing away! They're bad news… if she had just stayed and lived like normal… she would still be here…" Deep sorrow set in to Cao Yang's expression.

"What happened to the two was certainly a tragedy however you can't look at cultivation with a such a close-minded manner… As a cultivator you can achieve a great many things, things beyond the imagination or possibility of the mortal realm."

"If you die before it then what's the point?! The old man refuted the dream like explanation of the man before him.

"That's a risk we take, gain always comes at the risk of potential loss; To be a cultivator is to expect those risks and fight them head on" Dong Jie said before gesturing with his hand towards the room full of adornments.

"What about you? Your life must have been full of troubles, to do so well for yourself, these worldly possessions; There were always risks, no?" He asked.

"…" Cao Yang stood in silence, he couldn't refute what he said; He had made plenty of enemies and taken many gambles to stand where he is now and a lot of it was for unnecessary greed.

"Just show her here, the one who makes the decision should be the person herself and not anyone else, this is something that will decide her future after all."

"…Fine, I'll bring her here" The elder relented, it didn't seem like the man in front of him would give up either way.

…

"Grandpa, why are you bringing me here?" The black-haired girl asked, she was Cao Meili, the subject of the two's argument.

She was just past 9 years old now, her shiny black hair was tied at the back as it passed her neck and her amber coloured pupils contained a strongly curious light, in terms of height she was just over 4'1, putting her taller than Shu He by an inch.

She looked at the door in front of her with curiosity.

'Isn't this that room that grandpa always tells me to stay away from?' She was thinking as Cao Yang opened the door for her and gestured for her to walk in, she did so slightly nervous at the unusual event.

As she entered she was quickly enamoured with the expensive looking furniture and gaudy decorations as she looked around finding new things she'd never seen before everywhere.

'Is this grandpa's collection? No wonder he wanted me to stay out, this must cost a lot of money!'

Soon however she quickly noticed the man sat comfily in a seat looking right at her with a smile.

She suddenly got nervous and turned to look at her grandpa, Cao Yang and tugged on his clothes.

"You said someone wanted to see me… is it…?" She whispered to him while cautiously looking at Dong Jie.

"… Yes" He replied, still slightly disgruntled.

She gulped a little before walking over and standing in front of the strange man.

It should be noted her attire was different from the one she goes out to play in, she was wearing a higher quality white dress that wasn't usually spotted around these parts.

She lifted her skirt and bowed and courtesy before speaking shyly.

"… It's nice to meet you, I'm Cao Meili, may I ask who you are" She recited the lines like she had hundreds of times before.

"Very good" The man clapped his metal fan shut "You have some manners, how refreshing" he stood up for the first time and walked over, standing in front of Cao Meili.

"My name Dong Jie, and I'm a cultivator from the Trembling Earth Sect" He proudly introduced himself to the young girl.

"Trembling Eart-? Cultivator!" She spoke in confusion for a second, she hadn't heard of such a place but then her mind snapped to the word she hadn't expected most.

"That's right, do you have an interest in us little lady?" Dong Jie smiled, clearly happy that she wasn't disinterested.

"Uhm… Maybe… Yeah I guess" She spoke as she thought about things in her head, Dong Jie was slightly confused by her unclear answer but he decided to continue on with the explanation.

"Do you know why I'm here?" He asked.

"Huh?" She was confused as to why he'd ask that, it was obvious she didn't know; However she stopped to think about it for a second and after a minute she had a slightly sad tone to her voice when she replied.

"Is it… about my parents?" She said, lightly gripping the hems of her dress.

"Hmm, well that's close, related even; So, you know all about what happened with them then?"

She nodded.

"They left a letter for when I got older to read, it told me everything" She explained.

It was when she was 8, barely a year ago her Grandfather had finally handed her the letter left for her, when she read it she had felt conflicted but since it had been so long, and she hadn't even remembered her parents faces she didn't quite know what to feel.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing they left her, but she didn't understand the rest.

"I see, that's convenient then, I don't have to say anything about that… Now then, what I'm here for is you, Cao Meili" He pointed at her while smiling amicably.

"M-me?!" She backed away and crossed her arms over her chest while panicking.

"Not in that way, silly girl" Her grandfather stood behind her lightly slapped her on the head and reprimanded her.

She rubbed the place she was slapped and quietly apologised to Dong Jie.

"Ha-ha, it's fine I was a bit vague I guess, what I mean is I want to invite you to the Trembling Earth Sect to become a cultivator" He laughed it off while correcting himself.

"Me? A cultivator?" Her eyes seemed to blank for a second like her mind was processing what was just said "B-but I'm just a normal person! I know my parents were cultivators but they said they got lucky!" She panicked once more.

"Nonsense, in cultivation there is only skill, if something happens that you can consider lucky it was only the result of your own work and circumstances, I can tell you that not a single great cultivator got there because they were lucky, and you parents would have almost certainly been up there with them." He said with certainty.

"And also, every cultivator is 'just a normal person' before they begin, what matters is ones will" he proclaimed, he then stared at Cao Meili and asked, "So I'll ask you, what is it you want to do; what is your will?"

"Mine…" She stopped and thought.

She recalled the letters that were left to her, they weren't only detailing the beginning and then end for her parents but everything they experienced, the joy they had, the sights they saw, if anything captivated her most in the letters it was the fantastical descriptions that were written.

"If I become one, can I see what they saw? Can I experience the same wonders?" She asked.

"Meili…" Her grandfather murmured, he looked at her eyes and saw the deep desire laying within; He sighed, knowing that soon they would part.

"Only if you want it" Dong Jie nodded, holding his hand out.

Cao Meili looked at the outstretched and reached for it, eventually placing hers on top, she felt something flow into her, covering every inch of her body causing her to shriek slightly,

"It's alright, just calm yourself" Dong Jie's voice reached her ears calming her.

For a minute they stood still, neither moving causing Cao Yang to become concerned, moving closer and looking to see if they were breathing still.

Soon they both moved once more, a confused expression covering Cao Meili's face.

"What was that?" She asked.

"I was checking your potential… And it is truly great, we had a theory but this confirms it…" He said while murmuring the latter words to himself.

"Uhm… I have a request" She suddenly spoke up getting Dong Jie's attention.

"What is it? If it's in my power I'll help" He said.

"Then, can I bring someone else with me?" She asked.

"S-someone else?" It was something he hadn't expected, he had to close his eyes and tap his forehead with his fan while thinking for a while.

"You're already an exception that we made during this time… but if I explain… no with her potential it should be fine…" He whispered like he was planning something out, after 10 minutes of awkward silence and finished.

"Fine! I'll make it work, go bring whoever it is over, but at the very least they should have half-decent potential!" He said, causing a smile to bloom on Cao Meili's face.

Afterwards, the three had a long discussion on many things to come and not long after a orange haired boy was dragged in to the room with them.

In the end, Cao Meili spent a while saying goodbye to her grandpa, unfortunately he could not come with her, but she promised to send letters and come by when she could.

In the end, that day, Dong Jie left the village to head back to the Trembling Earth Sect, bringing Cao Meili and Huo Da with him.