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Xing stood on the balcony of Nao Manor, embraced the girl of his dreams, and watched the storm raging outside the window. Black clouds covered the moons, deafening lightning bolts struck the ancestral shrine, ghosts flew in the sky, and frightened nature spirits jumped in every direction. An otherworldly greenish glow spilled over the ground, and the wind howled in sharp gusts.

Now he felt, not regret, but a soft light sadness. The little marsh egg had not noticed how it had first become a fish, had climbed out of the warm pond, and was now on its way to conquer its endless waterfall.

Xing didn't feel the slightest anger or hatred when teaching his younger self. Han Nao seemed to him like a sweet, goofy little brother who should be taught the right way with all the strength of a kindred love and the bamboo stick.

It took a great deal of willpower on Xing's part not to rush after Han, not to try to stop him. It wasn't his concern about violating the laws of the universe, which would surely have resulted from interfering with time, but only the realization that he had no right to deprive the younger copy of himself of an exciting journey full of adventure, a chance to become a hero. After all, the tadpole called Han Nao deserved the opportunity to become a carp and leap through the dragon gate!

Xing's unconscious fear that Mei was not what he had imagined in his dreams was in vain. As it turned out, as Han Nao, he had not gotten to know her well enough, for he had only looked at her stunning looks, but had overlooked her determination, courage, bright inquisitive mind, and playful, fun-loving disposition. And now, cradling her supple body, Xing felt as if everything in this crazy world had finally fallen into place as if something had shifted and flowed in the order bequeathed by the Twelve Gods.

"Is that it?" Mei asked. "He, I mean you..."

"Yes, I died," Xing smiled. "To be reborn again and finally find you."

"Me and two other women!" Mei slammed her fist into his side.

"You'll like them," Xing smiled. "To be honest, they both look a lot like you, even if one is over three hundred years old and the other is a scaly mermaid with a crest and sharp teeth."

"I still can't believe how stupid I was," Mei said, looking at her wrist, on which rested a dainty bracelet that looked like a work of jewelry, unlike his own, "to convince you that there were no space rings."

"They didn't exist," Xing reminded her, "until I figured out how to make them. So you were right."

"No, I'm not. Or not always right," May laughed softly. "You're forgetting that the timing of the ring is much earlier than the last time we argued about it."

"Still can't get used to all these temporary ..."

"... hardship," Mei said. "If someone, even the illustrious Grandmaster Xing Duo, had told me this before, I wouldn't have believed it either."

The madness of qi and nature, so similar to the Heavenly Retribution that Xing now knew did not exist in reality, began to wane. The wind died down, the last lightning struck, and the ghosts, having calmed down, returned to the family shrine. Xing looked around the manor with his spiritual perception and saw that the servants, parents, and guests whose qi had been filled with fear were gradually coming to their senses.

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"Let's go," Xing said, "we must hurry. Mom's pregnant, and the last thing she needs right now is news of her beloved son's death."

He headed away, but Mei held his hand. Xing stopped and gave her a questioning look. The girl's face remained serious, but her qi showed unbridled amusement.

"You must know, oh mighty Xing Duo, that I am unworthy of you!"

Xing laughed loudly, leaned over, and kissed her firmly.

"In my eyes you are worthy," he replied with the phrase of his favorite hero, "and that is enough!"

* * *

Despite the late night, Guang Nao and his wife Lihua were fully dressed. A sword created by Xing hung at the general's side, and a trusty armor was slipped over the rich robes.

Upon hearing that Grandmaster Xing Duo wanted to make an official request, the general suggested heading to the Small Jasper Reception Room - by a strange coincidence, the very room where Xing and Han had first met.

"What brings you here at this late and dreadful hour, Master Xing and Mei Lin?" The general asked in a loud voice.

Xing knelt in front of General Guang and Lady Lihua, with Mei kneeling beside him. Mistress Lihua cried out in surprise, as she was a high noblewoman, she knew that a figure of Xing's level would not kneel on both knees in front of anyone.

"It is not proper for a Grandmaster to kneel even before the Emperor!" General Guang said.

"Except that it is never shameful for a son to kneel before his parents," Xing replied. "General Guang, Father. Mother Lihua. Mei Lin and I love each other and ask you to bless our marriage."

"And what makes such an illustrious master call us parents?" Mrs. Lihua asked. "Why does he think that we, the humble members of the Nao family, are worthy of giving him a blessing?"

"Because..." A lump caught in Xing's throat, he had been waiting for this moment, and he was very afraid. He was afraid of hurting the one he loved so much, his precious mother. "Because I am Han Nao, your son."

Lady Lihua looked at him with a very strange look. There was no anger or distrust in her qi, only a strange longing, like a lingering longing.

"I've always wanted my Han to be like you someday," she said slowly. "I felt a kinship between you two as if you were siblings. But... But please, Master Xing, don't play with a loving mother's feelings."

General Guang was tensely silent. His qi expressed both disbelief and a bright, underlying hope. He wished that the words of one of the most powerful men in the Empire were not a stupid, inappropriate joke.

"I, Xing Duo! I am Han Nao! I swear before the face of the gods, the glorious faces of the ancestors of my clan, that today I have left my life to go on a long journey. Father! Forgive me for being such a troublesome son! Thank you and mother for your love!"

As before, the howling of the icy wind resounded in the room. As before, the candle flames froze with icicles and the qi lamps froze. As before, a dark hole appeared in the middle of the room, from which the writhing snake and dragon bodies of ancestral spirits emerged with a loud howl.

All the lights went out, but the dead glow spilled into the room making it seem as bright as daylight.

General Guang and Lady Lihua bowed low. Xing raised his head and looked into the eyes of the biggest and brightest ghost, the one he had once seen first by putting qi in his eyes.

"Thank you," Xing said sincerely. "Thank you for enlightening your foolish descendant. Thank you for letting me live a new life full of meaning. Thank you for guiding me with your wisdom all these years. And thank you for letting me meet you again. I Xing Duo, born Han Nao, swear before the gods and ancestors to preserve and protect the glorious Nao clan and defend it from all enemies, foreign or domestic, in life and death. Forgive me for what I was before and bless what I am now!"

The venerable Ancestor, General Liang, the founder of the Nao Clan known as the Indomitable Dragon, placed his clawed paw on Xing's head, accepting the oath he had received.

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