“Jin, calm down!” Mei Hua bit her lip, anxious. If even she could feel how angry he was, she could only imagine how bad it was for everyone else.
He simply nodded, breathing deeply a few times. The pressure he was radiating retracted. When he finally lowered his hand, he was giving Shuya a furious glare.
“You…”
“Eh? Me? Why me?!” Shuya looked genuinely surprised.
Grabbing the Seal from Mei, he leaned over his wife and held it up, almost squishing it into Shuya’s face.
“This thing’s existed for over ten thousands years,” He said in a cold hard voice, “and where was it when my Mountain Flower was in a coma? All this about you being her teacher, caring for her, but you just let her waste away 19 years? Hah!”
Xui Shi was sweating heavily. Jin’s fingers were bearing down on his Seal form so tightly it hurt.
“Waste away?!” The Tree Spirit returned his furious glare with her own. She shoved the Seal back towards him and out of her face.
When she did, Mei Hua grabbed the Seal back from Jin. She’d seen Xui Shi starting to panic as Jin’s grip tightened. The Seal’s cloudy human form looked noticeably relieved once back in Mei’s hand.
“You think he was joking about hiding, about being a Jianghu treasure?” Shuya ranted at Jin. “You know what they call him? One of the Jianghu’s ‘Eight Lost Treasures’! Until a week ago, I didn’t even know if he really existed— I thought he might be a myth or exaggeration at best. Imagine my surprise when a legend walks up to me out of nowhere and asks for a new home!”
“Even if he was just a myth or legend—”
“Eh, eh, what’s that? Up until I just told you, you didn’t even KNOW about the Eight Lost Treasures of Jianghu, did you? No? Then what right have you to criticize me? At least I KNOW things about the world! What can you say? Waited until someone lashed out at you, only then did you care? A little late to care after the fact, don’t you think? Look what you got for it! Harrumph! Dare to accuse me! At least I didn’t wait until my precious person got skewered and almost died to pay attention to things outside of myself!”
Jin’s whole face cramped and he ground his teeth. This tree was so hard to get along with! He was already frustrated to the point of wanting to strangle someone, anyone, and now she was bringing up past faults he couldn’t change, much less argue against!
In the audience a buck’s eye twitched and his glare managed to grow even more intense.
Shuya stealthily avoided his glare by tilting her head away then clearing her throat. She folded her arms across her chest and raised her chin, giving Jin the finishing blow, “How about, instead of taking your frustration out on me for something I had no control over, you be thankful I found a legendary item that will keep your wife safe from everything but divine interference! How about you do that, huh!”
At this, Jin looked down, shoulders heaving and hands clenched. Shuya leaned back slightly, wondering if he was going to start yelling. Unexpectedly, his body relaxed and he looked at Shuya with calm, clear eyes instead.
“…you’re right.”
Shuya’s folded arms loosened in surprise.
He lowered his head, just enough to show it was a bow, and said in a serious voice. “Thank you for finding and bringing this Seal here, to give to Mei. With this, a great weight will be lifted from my mind.”
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Shuya almost choked from shock. This impossibly proud arrogant guy, who was only ever gentle to his own family, actually lowered his head. Even if by an inch! He still lowered his head to show gratitude to someone who’d done nothing but antagonize him.
She thought back to years ago, when that silly buck had answered her call and then immediately picked a fight with her. What had he said?
“My Lord has changed, give him a chance.”
For the first time, Shuya really did believe it.
“That is… you… erm...”
Shuya cast Jin an awkward look. Even with her promise to Mei, her hatred for Jin hadn’t magically lessened. But now with this single act of humility, her centuries old hatred was crumbling at the roots. She didn’t know what to feel anymore.
“…I guess…” She finally muttered and immediately look away as if she was shy, “You’re welcome.”
Mei Hua glanced between them and grinned from ear-to-ear at their exchange. She knew better than anyone that, right then, they’d taken a real step towards friendship. Or at least not strangling each other, which was almost as good.
Jin raised his head, giving a slight nod to Shuya. Then, as if none of that had happened, he turned to the smoky figure of the Bloodstone Seal.
“Will you make the Queen Consort your Master?” He asked.
“Answering his Imperial Majesty: Yes, without question!”
“…do it now.”
Before Mei Hua could say anything, something sharp pricked the hand that was holding the Seal. It didn’t hurt enough for her to drop it, but it did startle her. A tiny splatter of her blood smeared across the inky surface of the Bloodstone Seal. A flash of light emanated from it, followed by an intense heat.
The smoky figure before them condensed at the same time the Seal glowed. The heat in the Seal vanished along with the pin-prick wound on her finger, just as the man, Xui Shi, condensed into a solid form.
Floating peacefully in the air, Xui Shi the Bloodstone Seal gave a deep bow from the hip, hands cupped before his head.
“Xui Shi welcomes Master.”
“Er.” Mei Hua fumbled for something to say. “W-welcome too?”
Honestly, she needed to sit down with Shuya later and have a serious discussion at what defines a ‘gift’. That does not, nor has it ever, included clans and objects that gained sentience!
Shuya had regained her composure and leaned forward to say, “Xui Shi, this Ancient One appreciates you keeping your end of the deal. As I’m sure you’ve noted, I didn’t lie and this place fits your request perfectly. As to the last part of the deal from my end, rest assured, I haven’t forgotten.”
Xui Shi smiled happily, his sharp features softening, and gave a slight bow of thanks.
“Truly thankful, Great World Tree. It’s as you said!”
“Mei Hua, put him in—” Shuya paused for a moment and gave her Little Sister a knowing look. “—your secondary home. Where the children are playing.”
“Ah.” Mei Hua nodded in understanding. “Will he be able to handle the… children?”
Shuya turned to Xui Shi. “How far apart can you keep yourself from your main body?”
“Quite a distance. It’s part of how I was able to stay ‘lost’ in the cultivation world.”
“Then, do that here as well and keep your human and Seal form separate as much as possible. But if you decide to return to your original form, be warned. You will be surrounded by very VERY curious children.”
“...eh?”
Shuya ignored the Seal and turned to Mei Hua with a smile. “See? It should be fine. Just put the Seal somewhere the children won’t think to look and he shouldn’t suffer any damage.”
Jin’s eyebrow rose, “What children?”
Xui Shi’s eye widened “Damage!?”
“Ah… don’t worry, they aren’t that bad and,” Mei Hua patted her husband’s arm and smiled reassuringly. “I’ll show you later…”
Then she turned to the Bloodstone Seal in her hand and pretended to ‘put it away’ in her robes. With a slight crinkle of her forehead, she concentrated on the location she wanted to send the Bloodstone Seal to. An instant later, it disappeared from her hand before getting close to her clothes.
The floating man with dark red eyes seemed to teeter in the air for a moment and then stabilized. He blinked several times and then gave a hesitant smile, bowing with great sincerity to both Mei Hua and Shuya.
“The World Tree truly keeps her promises! Not only is this land filled with divine energy, the… other location… is also filled with fine, pure energy and… doesn’t seem dangerous.... This one has no complaints and will serve the Queen Consort well in the future.”
With that, he gave a final respectful bow to Jin and floated down to join the foxes. Several of the Lotus Valley Sect stealthily tried to get themselves closer to Xui Shi. It was said just being near him was enough to give one’s cultivation a boost. They didn’t know if it was true, but it seemed foolish not to test it.
As Mei Hua watched him return to the others below, she finally understood why Shuya had insisted before leaving her world that they should keep it a secret. At the time, she couldn’t comprehend why anyone would care about that world of hers one way or the other. But now… if she was hiding a great treasure there…
The fewer that knew about her world, the better.