'These people are just... weird.' were the first thing the toon thought once the question sank in. Pan-Yang's mom clearly was worried he was expecting to be paid for teaching, which he wasn't but it seemed everyone was looking at him like he was the waiter with a large bill. The kind of bill that people suddenly became building inspectors for they'd stare so hard at the ceiling, floor, or anything but the table.

"Well, I'm not really looking for money or anything. He wanted to learn. I wanted to teach and he's willing to work hard instead of kashmigaligamoigaling around so…" He shrugged, digging a pinkie in his ear and flicking away what came out. Pan-Yang was gonna be a good student, he could tell. The kid had a latent talent and a desire to listen, learn, and practice to get things right all but glowing from those brown eyes. The cat didn't have a chance to point it out at the time, but the boy managed to pull off the first punch of a TNT Tornado combo pretty well for the first day. You didn't find many like that nowadays. Heck, it took nearly half the summer of babysitting to get Paulie enthusiastic for just about anything.

The woman almond shaped eyes crinkled at the corners, but then her sharp brows turned down and she stopped fanning herself, looking confused. "Then… what do you ask for in return, Honored Master?"

There was a weight to the question Spoony couldn't have missed less than an anvil to the foot. He decided to help these people without a set end in sight. The only real thing he wanted was to get his paws on a seashell, preferably a conch. Yet he couldn't miss how everyone was looking at him as if her were a sleazy car salesman, ready to tap out the ashes of a cigar as he prepared to swindle with extra payments.

The presumption was kinda yanking his tail at this point. Well, best he figure something to ask for and nip this all in the bud. Otherwise, he might be dealing with this the entire time he was here. When in Rome… or wherever the heck he was and all that.

"Alrighty-then," he muttered under his breath, squinting his eyes in thought, "High time I come up with something to ask for. Hold your horses!"

As Pan Xinyi opened her mouth to inquire about his muttering, he swiftly interrupted her with a dramatic finger to the lips, signaling for silence. Well, it was more like his finger pressing the fan to her lips but the effect was the same.

Spoony rubbed his chin in thought as he looked around. He scratched his head to ponder. He drew in the dirt with a finger as he mused. Steam leaked from his ears as the train of thought left Wonder station. He hummed in consideration as his mind turned over and over.

Pan Xinyi's question lingered in the air; nervous eyes locked on him from behind her fan and the multiple arms doing their own thing, including the one still holding her mouth shut.

"Oh, excuse me. Bad habit." Spoony explained, letting out a chuckle, a slight blush on his face. He gave his arms a quick shake and the extra hands that sprouted while he was looking for an answer went right back up his sleeves. "Got that from my dad."

Then it came to him on a breeze. Literally. He felt the warm breeze tickling his toes ever so lightly. "Shoes…" He said slowly, tasting the word before nodding and snapping his fingers as it came to him. "I need shoes."

"I…uhmm… I don't follow." Somehow, she managed to look even more confused than she already did, clearly trying and failing to understand his request.

Spoony couldn't help but laugh. It would've had his head spinning too if the… heh, shoe was on the other foot. He raised his foot, gesturing at the red slipper like shoe which chose that moment to start hanging in shredded ribbons of confetti. "If you got any in my size that'll be enough." Now that he was thinking about it, Zi-Zi said something about her owing him too. He'd have to get that straightened out. Preferably over a cup of coffee. Actually, that brought him back to the pot still brewing in the backseat.

Spoony finished yawning. "Wuh-huh? Sorry? Could you repeat that?" He shook his head vigorously to clear out the cobwebs weaving in his skull, each movement sending his red hair flying in all directions and flopping his straight ears.

"Ah, thank you for your understanding, Honored Master," Pan Xinyi said, bowing her head slightly in gratitude. "I will see to it that a pair of suitable shoes is delivered to you as soon as possible. And please, call me Xinyi."

Hopping to his feet, Spoony grinned and extended a hand, or rather two, to shake hers. "Pleasure doing business with you, Xinyi. And call me Spoony." His gaze shifted down to his feet, where the tattered remains of his… well, they looked more like black satin loafers gave one last gasp of effort then puffed into dust. "If you can get me good solid leather ones, we call it square."

The woman eased herself up to her feet, her traveling robes flowing up with the movement and, he was just noticing it now, her fan never moving lower than just past the tip of her nose. It emphasized her sharp cheekbones and the rather angular highlight of her features. Though the toon guessed she was his mother's age; she moved so gingerly that she seemed much older.

He barely managed to hold himself back from offering a hand. Not because he didn't want to but so she didn't start thinking she owed him again, not to mention there was something. Though when she swayed uneasily, he eased over and put his arms out just in case. Xinyi regained her balance but didn't fail to miss his motion.

She looked at him with a searching gaze and apparently was satisfied with what she saw. With a firm yet gentle grip, Pan-Yang's mom - or rather, Xinyi - took one of his hands in hers and gave them a solid shake.

With that wrapped up, the toon strolled his way back over to the caravan, sinking his toes in the dirt with every step and resisting the feline urge to find something to scratch.

The caravan hadn't spread out very much, probably since they were going to hit the road again. People were taking the time to do things anyone would at a rest stop on a long road trip back home. Food was being passed out, legs were being stretched, and the animals were being grazed and watered, relieved to be out of the cramped sledges. The kids weren't swarming the Doozy anymore which turned out to be a good thing since Spoony saw Zi-Zi standing right by the driver's side door. She was hunched over like a gumshoe on a stake out, using her sword as a makeshift cane to prop herself up and leaning on her tiptoes trying really hard to get a good look at the interior without touching.

"Hey there." He greeted, tapping her on the shoulder. "I was about to start looking for you."

Zi-Zi jumped at the sudden contact and whirled around, a guilty expression on her face. "Oh! Uh, hi, Honorable Master. I was just... uh... admiring your artifact."

"Don't let her hear you say that." Spoony chuckled, running a hand over the gleaming hood. "My mom taught me three things to never do: bring up a lady's age, weight, or money. My dad said that was nonsense since the first thing he said to her when they met was, she had too big a mouth to be as big and broke as she was."

Of course, Spoony then got to watch over a bowl of Oat-Os as dad dodged, bobbed, and weaved the everything but the kitchen sink mom threw at him. The kitchen sink actually managed to hit him dead on, sent him flying out the window, and right into the clothes' line in the backyard. "Well, she is big, but it's all muscle." Spoony added, grinning at the memory of his parents' banter. "But let's just keep that between us."

Zi-Zi looked as if she wasn't sure if he was joking or no. "Your parents sound like interesting people." She began sheepishly.

"About as interesting as anyone's, I guess. More than me that's for sure." Spoony shrugged, opening the door and reaching into the backseat. "When I get home, maybe they'll come visit this land of yours and we'll all have one big, happy family reunion. Think they'll be happy with all the extra brothers and sisters and such…"

"And where are you from, if I may ask?" With his back turned, the cat didn't notice how the woman had gone a little stiff as he spoke

Spoony perked up as his hand landed on the round bowl of the pot and he pulled it up to see… it was still boiling. He could smell the boiler compound with its nutty, almost chocolatey sweet aroma wafting up from the top. Ah, well, no problem. He'd figure out how to turn it off later. He took the pot and transferred it to his tail, coiling it around the engraved handle before going back to searching around. It wasn't that his car was messy. You couldn't be a disorganized scientist and remain one for long, but there were so many compartments and hideyholes for stuff he'd never used. His Doozy might've been the base but the Brougham package was standard for all models. Which included the complementary dining set.

Ah, good ol' home sweet home." He responded, finding the right panel and removing a pair of mugs and passing one over to Zi-Zi, who took it almost without thinking. "But hey, listen, I've got some good news for you. I figured out the favor you owed me."

Zi-Zi's eyes widened, her armor chiming as she went stiff as a board. She clasped her hands, a bit awkwardly since she was still holding the cup and bowed. "And your request, Honored Master?"

Spoony shook his head, smiling. Why so serious all the time? "Call me Spoony, remember? And what I need is you to tell me about this place. Like where are we and where are you from and stuff?"

There was silence, distantly broken by the activity of the caravan and for a moment, Spoony could feel the awkwardness hanging in the air. Zi-Zi's stern brow falling into confused expression mirrored his own feelings. He couldn't understand why their conversation had suddenly gone silent. "And we could talk about it over coffee?" He tried, wiggling his own mug for emphasis.

If anything her reaction was even more off putting. Her eyes widening as she tilted her head, trying to process his words. "You want me to... sit in your artifact?" she asked, her voice laced with disbelief. She eyed the Doozy, then looked back at Spoony with a look he knew well. She was expecting him to burst into laughter and reveal the joke.

But anything was better than the staring and he latched on to the rope she gave. "Yep! It's more comfortable than it looks. Plus, it's a great spot for a chat." He patted the passenger seat encouragingly, as if inviting her to test a cozy armchair.

Cautiously, she approached the Doozy. She reached out a tentative hand, touching the shiny red surface as if expecting it to bite. When nothing happened, she glanced back at Spoony, who merely smiled and nodded again.

With a deep breath, Zi-Zi climbed into the passenger seat. She sank into the plush cushion, her eyes widening slightly at the unexpected comfort.

Spoony grinned, clearly pleased with her reaction. "See? Not so bad, right?" He settled into the driver's seat, his hands resting on the steering wheel. "Now, let's talk." He tipped the pot over his mug. "You were going to…hmmm, uh tell me about… this place?" He tipped the pot over a little further. Nothing. He tipped it a little more. The bubbling surface remained stubbornly not pouring. He tried shaking the pot, hoping that might help. Instead, the boiling liquid sloshed around, cresting the rim yet somehow rolling right back into the center before even a drop escaped.

Weighing the risk versus the reward of finally having a cup of joe, he turned the thing upside down. The liquid continued to bubble and steam away but refused to pour no matter how much it swirled. Spoony raised an eyebrow, perplexed. He pressed a finger into the center, expecting to feel it dip into hot liquid, but instead felt like solid rock at the surface. Caught off guard, he pushed harder and harder. It didn't even budge a millimeter deeper than the warm surface allowed.

"Ah, uh, sorry about that. Still getting the hang of this contraption." He chuckled, thoroughly embarrassed.

"You've never used a three-day pill furnace before?"

Zi-Zi asked, a note of surprise in her voice. Spoony shook his head, still trying to figure out how to get the coffee to pour. "Nope, can't say I-whatdidyousay?"

He whipped around to her so fast, she jumped. He hoped he hadn't heard right. He lifted the pot towards her, his hands shaking. A sudden desperate surge of hope he still had sand in his ears coiled in his chest.

"A three-day pill furnace?" Spoony repeated, his voice barely above a whisper. "You mean this...

Zi-Zi bit her lip, her eyes darting between Spoony and the supposed coffee pot in his trembling hands. "Yes, it's a common tool for-"

He raised a hand. "No. Please tell me… is its name only just what people call it?"

Zi-Zi hesitated, unsure of what to make of Spoony's reaction. "Well, yes. It's called a three-day pill furnace because its purpose is to slowly heat and melt special cultivation pills over the course of three days."

The toon stopped trembling at the answer. With a heavy sigh, he ran his fingers through his red hair, slicking it back in a single movement. "Excuse me for one second." He stepped out the car, gently shut the door, and trotted off into the distance so fast he left a cloud in his wake.

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Stolen story; please report.

Shao Renshu was well into his second day of traveling the Ever-Reaching Steppe and he was thoroughly unsettled. The environment alone was far from pleasant. It was rich in Qi, everything from the sand to the plants to the few animals he'd seen dripping with it. Unlike the Three Ringed Peaks, however, it was wild and untamed. If the Qi in the Stellar Wing Empire was a flowing river, the Steppe was a raging torrent breaking its banks to sweep everything before it aside.

A sudden gust of wind stirred up the fine sand of the steppe, sending it swirling into a miniature dust devil. Shao Renshu shielded his eyes, squinting through the gritty air. He had always heard tales of the wild energy that thrived in this land, but experiencing it first-hand was a whole different matter. It was disorienting and unpredictable, just like the landscape itself.

He was forced to cycle is Qi through his meridians, not to cultivate but to keep himself steady lest he drown in the energy around him. The inquisitor clenched his fists as he used the basic movement technique to skim along the land. At Hawk's Tallon, he was plied with a simple map to use as well as landmarks to guide his way because the insane and foolish somehow managed to scrape out a kind of living in this hateful place.

His unease was further compounded by the fact that he was alone. In the Three Ringed Peaks, he had always been surrounded by fellow cultivators, but here he was on his own. The sects that were here were far from friendly and did not recognize any authority than their own. It wouldn't matter unless he was an imperial courier, and even then there are scavengers who would take a risk.

Despite his unease, Shao Renshu pressed on, sweeping up a dune then down the other side using his Qi to control his speed. He was on a mission, after all. In fact, he could've saved himself time by just assuming Zi Nuan was fleeing this direction instead of…

His Qi fluctuated and his hand twitched. Ribs snapping like-

He could've… should have done something different. When he heard about his cousin's capture… He'd no clue what in the hells he was thinking at the time. Convince Shao Yong to come home, yes but more than that. To make him see, to open that damned fools' eyes, but no… He recognized the resolve in Yong too late.

Renshu didn't feel the tears on his face even as he crushed the pain into a little ball, tighter and smaller than his meridians and planted even deeper. He should have simply done what he was doing now, pursuing Zi Nuan and bringing her to justice. But no, he had let his emotions get the better of him, and now he was paying the price.

It was as he crested another dune that he heard it. Something on the air… distant but… No, it must've been his ears playing tricks on him. Who would be shouting 'Are you joking' out here of all places?