When the door opened he saw her again. Those bright blue eyes, bright smile and soft expression were something that soothed his heavy heart. He walked in while making his face look angry.
''What kind of Goddaughter are you? I had to invite myself to this place. How mean!'' He huffed while entering but was soon confronted by three cute kids that stood there and politely bowed to him. ''Welcome home grandpa!''
He blinked. ''Since when do I have grandchildren. Who is your grandpa?'' He softened his voice but his words still were a bit sharp.
But it seems those words meant nothing to them. Like falling on soft wool or feathers it had absolutely no impact at all. A small hand suddenly appeared in his and a tiny voice started pulling him slightly towards the house. ''You are sisters Godfather but you are Elder as well. As she is our family, you are family as well. We think to call you Elder is to bad, so we call you grandpa. After all, you are old.''
Her statement made him speechless and as he was pulled he looked at Mei Ling with big eyes and earned a big smile. She rushed to his side and pulled him by his other hand. ''Godfather, the problem is, I had no idea what your name is. When we asked, no one wanted to tell us. How should we invite you?''
He was now not only speechless he completely lost his right to speak. She is right. That day he never introduced himself. And there are so many Elders on the academy. Without a name, she couldn't go and invite any. He just gave up. ''I found you...'' He said with a small voice.
She turned around and nodded, ''Mhm. You did.'' She slightly pressed his hand and looked at him with a smile. ''Indeed. You found me...''
Na'an looked at the dazed old man and shook his head. Indeed, his sister is the only one that could stop this old man from bursting in anger or sarcasm. He really found his only weak spot. And that weak spot is no one else than his own sister. How great is that?
When he entered the house amazing smell of food floated from the kitchen. On the big table already some food was already plated. Mei Ling jus sat him on a chair and patted his shoulder. ''Godfather wait a moment. We are already done with food. I just have to take it out.''
He nodded and then smiled. ''Before you leave just to ask you, do you have some tea in the house?''
She chuckled and nodded. ''We made this morning some dried flowers. I think you will like it. Let me prepare it for you.''
When she left he thought there will be silence as usual when he meets his friends and their families but these three children never stopped talking to him and asking him this and that.
Not even few moments later she came out with plates with food and Nalan Ko had plates as well. She put plates down and smiled at him brightly. ''So you are our Mikey's Godfather. Long time since we met last time... Elder.'' She was about to say Grand Elder Supreme when he started making all kinds of strange faces trying to shut her up.
He patted his chest in relief but suddenly heard Mei Lin's voice behind him. ''Are you feeling unwell? No wonder. You are already so old. Don't worry. My mother is an amazing healer. She will help you.''
He just shook his head and smiled brightly as she put in front of his tea that had a couple of cute flowers inside and had strange but at the same time addictive smell. ''What is the smell?''
Nalan Ko smiled. ''I told her that these flowers are good for strengthening body and blood so she picked the ones with the best smell in it and dried them since this morning. She wanted to try it out and keep them for later when she goes questing.''
He nodded. ''Its red Cil flowers? How amazing. We usually make potions out of them. Turning them into tea is a novelty. And healthy on top of that.''
Mei Ling brought the last plate with food and sat by his right side. ''Potions are extracts from many flowers. The tea might not have any ability or just maybe refreshing a bit. But I like the smell and taste of the tea. Godfather, let me fill your plate. And tell me how you like my cooking.''
He was stunned when he saw her filling plate to the brim with all kinds of things. From smell already he knew it will taste delicious. He nodded but turned his head towards Nalan Ko. ''She did it herself?''
Nalan Ko nodded. ''She is as good as I am. And has many ideas that I would never have. Try it. I am sure you will like it.''
He tried the food and as he had different kinds of dishes on his plate every bite was completely different but amazingly tasty. The spices, tastes, and combinations made him almost swallow his chopsticks.
They saw him eating two bowls of rice and as they wanted to give him one more he shook his head. I see you made noodles. Can I try those? He looked at the bowl with noodles and strangely was attracted to it.
Mei Ling filled his bowl with noodles and set a few different sauces to eat with it in front of him. ''Grandfather, try noodles with different sauces.''
So he did. But as he tasted bit fo this and that again the bowl went empty. He sighed and suddenly found his bowl again full. He looked at Mei Linga and saw her winking at him and smiling brightly. ''Godfather. Eat as much as you can. We have a mother and we have guest rooms. So you can rest a bit after food. Later we will pack some of it for you to take back home. Maybe share it with your friends?''
He humphed. ''Share? They can dream about it. Stuff my Goddaughter cooked only I can eat.''
Cute old man, isn't he?