Hua thought nothing of it.
Her father was especially careful about boundaries when dealing with the opposite sex.
Even when Hua had been just ten years old, he had never held her.
When she was ill, her father carried her over his shoulder.
When she was too short to reach a chair, her father sat beside her without lifting a finger, watching her climb up little by little.
Their closest interaction had been at Hua's coming-of-age ceremony.
They had shared a dance.
Now that Hua was grown, how could her father possibly beat her?
Hua soon came up with a solution and waved a hand.
"It's fine, as long as it achieves its purpose."
"By then, the Strales will already be spent. Could he really make me tear it down?"
"I'll be in the Xuling. Would he really come all the way from the Luofu to beat me?"
"Besides, there's still the Reignbow Arbiter."
At the mention of the Aeon, Hua fell into thought.
Whether her father had been the Marshal or a Diviner, he had mentioned the Reignbow Arbiter before parting with her.
Her father wanted to broaden the Aeon's Path.
Even now, he had not given up. He was even willing to become part of the plan himself, playing the so-called kept man to lure enemies into the Xianzhou and make them new targets for The Hunt.
From Guan Liang, Hua had also learned that her father was unwilling to put Xianzhou natives at risk. He wanted to use Aha in their place to help him carry out this plan.
Hua found it utterly inconceivable.
According to rumor, Aha believed joy was a privilege unique to intelligent beings.
That did sound like a god with some humanity...
But rumors were the least trustworthy things of all.
Aside from