Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 211: Door Barrier

With Lizi’s help to sneak her into the main residence, Anji finally reached her father’s study. There was no way he did not already know about her sneaking into the main residence. As a peak cultivator, Zhao Mingfeng knew everything that happened in the sect. He simply chose to ignore most things.

"This is as far as I can bring you," Lizi whispered. "Good luck, young lady!"

Thanking her loyal maid, Anji took the basket of midnight snacks the servants normally prepared for Zhao Mingfeng on Zhao Wanting’s request. Today, Lizi’s appearance and prior information from Zhao Wanting to leave the residence unguarded. Nobody questioned it. It was not the first time the residence had to be left unattended. If anything, the maids and guards were happier to be given the night off. Zhao Mingfeng’s recent attitude was disturbing, and nobody dared breathe in his presence.

The main building had not changed that much since Anji left. It had been a year, but it was exactly the same as how Anji remembered it when she was a toddler. The only difference was how much lower the door barrier had become after her height increased. She used to struggle and trip over them all the time, so the maids had to add extra steps for Anji to cross in her usual path. The inner sect used to be strictly childproofed under Zhao Wanting’s orders. Even now, they remained.

Her father was not one for books. Anji knew people did not change overnight. Hence, when she found him staring outside the window with a pile of scrolls opened and a half-dried ink slab, she giggled. No matter how unfamiliar he behaved, he was still the same on the inside if she looked for the signs carefully. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Come in," Zhao Mingfen sighed tiredly. He already knew that Anji was sneaking in, even if his wife refused to tell him anything. Zhao Anji was his daughter, one with whom he spent most of his time and knew the best.

"How did you know?" Anji blinked innocently as she reappeared meekly in the corridor.

Despite the situation, Zhao Mingfeng felt one corner of his lips curve up a little.

"How could I not know?" he asked. "You still cross the door barrier sideways with your left leg first."

Anji paused and glanced at the new door barrier in front of her. Did she really do that all the time?

Ensuring that she did it consciously this time, Anji held onto the basket tightly and attempted to cross it facing forward with her right leg instead. Needless to say, she should have seen it coming when she felt her left foot hitting the back of the wooden barrier and the ground closing up in her face.

Zhao Mingfeng reacted quicker than his mind could catch up. All he needed to hear was that familiar thud and a small shriek for his body to run towards her. He had caught Anji many times like this in the past. Even after a year of not seeing her, his reflexes did not become any duller.

The distance he tried so hard to create vanished instantly. With a self-mocking smile, Zhao Mingfeng checked his daughter for any injury. Thankfully, the only injury was to the midnight snack inside the basket Anji carried.

"Why did you try to cross it differently?" he asked in an almost accusing tone. "There was nothing wrong with how you normally crossed it."

Sheepishly, Anji agreed. However, she also pointed out something her father had missed earlier.

"I thought I’d try something different because soon those baby steps won’t fit my shoe size anymore."

Studying her feet, Zhao Mingfeng realised that it was at least one finger bigger than the last time he saw her. If he looked closely now that she was right beside him, he would also notice how much taller Anji was. A year ago, she was at his eye level when he crouched. Now, he had to tilt his neck up slightly from his crouched position to meet her eyes.

They were all small changes, but the passage of time was bittersweet. Anji had grown up, and Zhao Mingfeng missed it all.

Burying the feelings of loss deep inside him, the father of four frowned.

"You’re not supposed to be here," he stated.

Instead of arguing back or selling her mother out, Anji pouted.

"But if I don’t sneak in to find you, I won’t be able to spend time with you at all. Please? I promise not to disturb your work. I’ll just sit in your lap like usual and watch you until I fall asleep. I won’t even ask any questions!"

Not once in his life had Zhao Mingfeng won against Anji’s genuine plea. The girl asked for so little that he would end up giving her anything she wanted if she requested it. This time proved to be no different.

Truthfully, if she came to him in tears, begging him to give her his approval for the risky operation, he could cave too easily. It was why he wanted to avoid her as much as possible while he found out more information from Yan Ping.

Why would the half-sage propose such a dangerous thing? Zhao Mingfeng thought he would send his daughter to the Mystical Qilin Sect so that they could shield her from the murim war with their strict law to never allow disciples out of the sect without permission. He was willing to lose out on seeing his daughter grow into an adult if it meant her safety was ensured. Heck, he was even willing to agree to it even if it meant she would never return as long as she lived till an old age and died happily.

"Please?" Anji begged, afraid of being turned away at the door. "I’ll fall asleep soon enough! Don’t tell Mother!"

Admitting defeat again, Zhao Mingfeng nodded and let his daughter into his study. Ordinarily, this was a restricted area because there were many top-secret documents. Even his second son was not allowed here until he founded the Gentleman Club. Anji had always been the only exception to many things. Once again, he was making the exception for her.

Placing the midnight snack down, Anji beamed and poured her father tea on the low table in the corner. Even if the children’s table meant for her had not been used in a year, it was free of dust and very well-maintained.

Instead of getting back to work, Zhao Mingfeng decided to sit down and humour his daughter for a midnight tea break. The food was definitely prepared by his wife. Although Anji said it as if Zhao Wanting had no hand in it, the Celestial Dragon Sect Leader knew better. Even if Zhao Wanting did not interfere directly, she prepared the food personally, knowing he would recognise it as a non-verbal warning to stop neglecting Anji and patch things with her.

Women were truly terrifying creatures. Before Zhao Mingfeng married, he thought he had to protect them. After marrying his wife, he learned how sometimes he needed protection from them instead. It did not make him love his daughters and wife any less. However, he knew how to surrender in a losing fight, and this was one of them.

After Anji served tea and plated the snacks that broke from the fall, they sat down at the table and ate.

Unsure what to say, Zhao Mingfeng continued to stare at Anji. The girl had lost some of her baby fat, and her face looked slimmer. She no longer had to rest her elbow on the table because she had grown slightly taller. Most importantly, he could not believe she lived past the estimated age for her death, looking healthier than the day she was born.

"Father is sorry for neglecting you," he started with a safe apology and lame excuse. "Sect matters kept me busy."

Although that was an obvious lie, Anji smiled kindly and accepted it.

"No, Anji understands. The war collaborative efforts have also kept my shifu and the elders busy. Shifu sometimes attends meetings at night because she spends the day teaching me instead."

Curious about the life Anji lived in the past year, Zhao Mingfeng asked for more details. That seemed to do the trick because as soon as Anji started talking, she kept going.

In between stories of spell disasters, cramming theories and cooks competing, the distance between father and daughter disappeared. Suddenly, the year of difference between them melted, and Zhao Mingfeng found himself chuckling at some of Anji’s outrage, recounting the failure of academic common sense in her new environment.