While she waited, her gaze landed on a polished round shield. She stepped up to it and looked closer.

Ming floated down next to her. "What are you looking at this rubbish for?" he said.

"Well... I don't want to die. Wouldn't a shield be good with how dangerous this world is?" she asked.

"No. Forget that worthless trash. If you don't want to die or get hurt then don't get hit. Lightning is unrestrained, swift, and powerful. Your defense is in destroying your enemies before they can even touch you.

"I've looked over everything else, and I think you should pick the heavenly moon pills over there. They'll help your cultivation. None of these weapons or anything will be any good to you for long at the rate you're progressing. Our end goal is much higher than this," he said.

Jie nodded. "That makes sense," she muttered, "I'll do it."

Vaultmaster Song raised an eyebrow, and Jie blushed.

She turned away from the shield and walked over to the bottle of glowing white heavenly moon pills.

A stone on one of the shelves caught her eye. Jie stopped in her tracks and looked at it. It was a dull silver color... maybe some kind of metal rock instead of a stone... but it was just so beautiful.

"What are you doing? Let's get the pills and go," Ming said.

Jie took a step closer to the stone. It wasn't a dull silver... it was the most beautiful silver in the universe! How could anything compare to such a wondrous object? She licked her lips as she stared at it, unable to look away.

"Kiddo?" Ming said.

"It's too beautiful. I'm taking it. I want it. I need it," Jie said.

"What? That... that thing? That disgusting little pebble? Why would you want that?" Ming asked.

Jie gritted her teeth. "How dare you! You apologize for that!" she snapped.

"No! It's putrid! Revolting! I hate it!" Ming said.

Jie ignored him and picked up the stone. A shiver ran through her whole body. It felt so right. So perfect. Yes... she needed it. She needed it more than anything.

She glared at Ming and held up the stone. "I choose this," she said.

"No!" Ming yelled inside her mind. His aura spilled out, and she crumpled to the floor. The treasures around them rattled like a hurricane was blowing through.

As quickly as Ming's oppressive power appeared, it vanished.

"Jie? Are you okay?" he asked without a trace of anger.

Vaultmaster Song rushed over. "What is it child?" he said, bending down and offering her a hand.

She took it, and he helped her up.

Vaultmaster Song looked at the stone in her hand and leaped backward in a blur of motion. "Keep that hideous thing away from me!" he shouted.

Jie looked down at the stone and blinked. She still wanted it. In fact, she'd never ever let it go. But, she'd returned to herself enough now to realize just how weird this was... to provoke such a reaction...

Despite that... she found herself unable to resist...

"This is what I choose as my reward," Jie said, holding up the stone.

Fear gripped her heart. Who knew what this thing did, but she just couldn't let it go. Even now, her knuckles were white as she clutched it as tight as she could.

"Don't ridicule our Crimson Vault! We would never keep such worthless trash among our shelves! Take it out of my sight and choose your reward!" Vaultmaster Song bellowed.

She turned around, and Ming hissed at her. She backed away from them both and put the stone away. All that mattered was that it was hers!

Ming stopped hissing, and Vaultmaster Song became utterly impassive.

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"Are you going to pick the pills already?" Ming asked, "I thought you wanted to get back to cultivating as soon as possible? I promise they're your best choice."

"I... uh... yeah... sure," Jie said.

Ming chuckled. "Did the sight of all these treasures make your brain melt with greed? One day you'll have much more than this, I promise," he said.

"No... it's just... that was kind of weird before," Jie said.

Ming frowned. "What was weird?" he asked.

"How you and the elder reacted to that stone... it was... scary," she said.

"What stone? Are you okay? Maybe you need some sleep... get the pills and let's go check out your new home, kiddo," he said.

Jie's mouth opened and closed. She checked her storage treasure, and sure enough, the stone was there... she hadn't imagined it had she?

She picked up the heavenly moon pills with shaking hands.

"I choose this," she said. Her mouth was dry.

Vaultmaster Song nodded. "A wise choice for a young genius," he said, "I'll make a note of it. Off you go now."

Jie walked back the way they'd come and left the building. Shivers ran up and down her spine.

Part of her wanted to throw the stone as far away as possible before she had to see something so scary again... for it to wipe Ming's memory...

What the hell was this thing?

But... she knew she couldn't let it go... just the thought was like considering cutting off one of her limbs! She couldn't do it...

She looked up and around. Where was her house anyway?

"So you have your treasure? Ready to see where you'll be staying?" asked the Headmaster as he appeared next to her.

Where had he even come from?! How did he do that!? Jie thought.

Jie bowed. "Yes, Headmaster," she said. As if she didn't have enough worries without people popping out of thin air!

The Headmaster led her through the grounds and into a beautiful valley. The Essence of the Heavens and the Earth was extremely thick here, and the air smelled fresh even for this world! A small stream wound its way through the valley, bubbling and gurgling pleasantly.

The Headmaster led her up to a house. Like many things in this world so far, it was remarkably Eastern in appearance. It looked like a building one might find in ancient China... beautiful and exotic at the same time.

"Here you go," said the Headmaster.

"Which room is mine?" Jie asked.

The Headmaster frowned. "All of them," he said, confusion evident in his voice.

"Oh," Jie said.

The Headmaster gave her another look, shook his head, and vanished in a gust of wind once more.

Jie smiled and stepped into her new home. It wasn't a mansion by any means, but she'd expected cramped dorms... and this was a far cry from that. It was a simple, one-story construction with plenty of space, a beautiful bathtub, and all the comforts of home. It even had a beautifully tended private garden.

The bedroom had a bed large enough for someone five times her size. The sheets were smooth and soft. She wanted to compare them to silk, but they just weren't quite the same... whatever it was, it looked expensive. Everything did.

She ignored the bed for now though and sat on the floor.

"Do you seriously not remember the stone?" Jie asked.

"The stone again? I think you should lie down..." Ming said as he coiled up, his bulk taking up a huge portion of the room.

"No! Answer the question. It's important. In The Crimson Vault, I picked out a stone. The second you saw it... you freaked out. How can you not remember that?" she asked.

Ming frowned. "Jie... none of that happened. We went in... you got the pills, and that was that... you're not talking about that silly shield, are you? I told you, it isn't for you," he said.

"I'm not talking about the shield! I'm talking about the stone! This stone," Jie said. She took out the stone again. Ming leaped back too fast for her eye to see and he hissed at her.

"Get that thing out of my sight!" he growled.

Jie put it away.

"So are you going to try out those pills?" Ming asked.

"What about what just happened? What about the stone?" Jie asked.

"What are you talking about? What stone?" Ming asked, "Maybe you should get some rest..."

Jie sighed and dug her fingers into her scalp. This was too weird... too weird!

"For the sake of argument... let's say there was a stone that made me want to pick it up more than anything. But, anyone else who sees it freaks out and then doesn't remember it once I put it away... what is it?" Jie asked.

Ming frowned. "There's nothing like that. Is this some kind of metaphor? What are you on about?" he asked.

"No," Jie said her tone even as she pushed the rising frustration down, "it isn't a metaphor. Just think okay? This is your world... what kind of item could make someone lose their memory or compel someone to take it?"

Ming looked at her strangely. "I suppose there might be some items like that. But, to do that to me even in my injured state... they'd have to be very powerful indeed.

"Without looking at whatever it is, I couldn't tell you. But, I would say that should you ever encounter something like that... be very careful. Sometimes treasures can be deadly... or worse. But, it's extremely unlikely that you've found a treasure like that. More likely, you just need to recover a bit from all the stress. Get some rest if you can," he said.

Jie sighed. "You don't believe me," she said.

Ming shook his head. "It's not whether or not I believe you. If you really do have this powerful item, there isn't much for me to do if it wipes my memory every time I see it. You also said it makes people act strangely?" he said.

"Yeah, it made me want to keep it forever. The second I saw it, I thought it was the most beautiful thing in the universe. Even now, I know I'd do anything to hold onto it, but when you and Vaultmaster Song saw it, you both went crazy like it was the most horrible thing you'd ever seen. And once it's out of sight, you don't remember it. And if I bring it up, you keep suggesting I get some sleep and acting incredibly dismissive. It's like you'll say anything to avoid talking about it," Jie said.

"Hmm..." Ming said, "Well... I still think you should lie down. But if this isn't just your mind trying to cope with the stress of so many new things, then I'd advise you to be careful with it. Don't take it out near anyone else. There's no telling what it might make people do. Let me know if it does anything."

"I promise it's real, but I'll leave it alone for now," Jie said.