Lily looked mildly annoyed, which was terrifying, because it meant the real rage was percolating beneath that gentle expression.
But instead of yelling or waving her hand and turning the boy into sparkles, she… exhaled.
Calmly.
"No need to panic. I already have a feeling what your child wants to say." Her voice was still calm.
Too calm.
"And unless he says something atrocious, like that thing over there." she gestured vaguely at the bisected corpse now cooling on the ground, "I promise, no one will be harmed. Not even a single strand of th the boys hair."
The mother, trembling, finally placed her son in front of Lily.
"Go on… speak up," she whispered, her soul clearly halfway to the heavens already.
The boy looked up at Lily with sparkling eyes.
"Sect Master of Sky High Sect… can I be a disciple in your sect?"
Before anyone could process what he said, Lily disappeared from view.
And then—bam!
She reappeared mid-hug, scooping up the boy like a cat claiming a kitten.
