A man dressed in a splendid dragon robe appears on a mountainside sparsely dotted with trees. Two sharp and gleaming eyes look out from an impassive and stern face. His mouth twists into a sneer as he looks at the display before him.

The cruel expression melts into a warm smile as a young woman lands beside him. Clasping her hands and bowing slightly, she addresses the man. “Elder, has he been here?” She looks around and halts as her eyes land on a single, odd tree. She takes a single step towards the spectacle, only to be halted by a large hand on her shoulder.

A complex mix of emotions plays across both people as they look at each other. He woman pouts a bit. “He knows that I would find this one.”

“Remember Hinou Xianyu?”

“She broke a Dao Oath to trap him. I only left.”

“I am sure that he saw through your intentions. I would be folly to assume otherwise.”

Pensively biting her nails, she continues to gaze at the tree.

“My dear Bai-Xioa, what about old Li?”

“That stinking hermit? I know he hates people and lived alone, he is living in Dragon Gate city now.”

“He stole some items from him when they met. Li took the item on display and it cursed him to an unbearable itch, unless he is surrounded by people. He hates people and has been miserable ever since, living in the biggest city in this part of the world.”

“But I really liked him. I just couldn’t stay.” Looking at the ground, the woman clenches her fists.

“You teleported out while he slept once your mission was accomplished. No man will take that lightly.”

The woman mumbles something about not having a choice.

“Hinou got greedy and tried to sell the item, only to grow old and decrepit while being in the prime of her youth once she separated from the item that restored her cultivation. Then there is the Illustrious Sect, they decided to blow it up, not leaving a trace. That resulted in their sects biggest secret being projected onto the sky, visible for thousands of leagues around.”

“That was him too?”

The man nods sagely. “And the Sapphire Sect. They didn't always have blue skin, you know. They were the first to cripple him and found out how useless that was the next year. The rare cultivation items they found turned their skins blue permanently when used. They changed their name shortly after.”

“But why a common fir tree? And those lights are high-grade artefacts! Those balls and ornaments are the finest mortal treasures I have ever seen. Green and red wrapping paper? I do not understand the symbolism at all! Who is that old guy with a beard?” Nearly shouting now, the woman takes a deep breath, getting herself under control with great difficulty.

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The old man’s stern facade cracks a bit as he smiles. “Ah, my precious granddaughter. Always looking for knowledge. Maybe that is why he has not brought doom upon us even though we were forced to slight him.”

“SLIGHT HIM? I doomed him to a slow death! I had to poison him while smiling!” The beginning of tears now glisten in her eyes.

“A single man or our entire sect. Anyone would have made this choice. Not lightly, but still. Control your emotions lest your cultivation go wild.” The man’s face turns harsh and cruel again, all warmth bleached away by the realities of the world.

They stand there for quite some time, looking at the Christmas tree, it’s bright decorations and presents laid out beneath its green branches. Finally, the woman bows deeply towards the tree, deeper than she had towards the elder besides her. A single tear falls to the ground.

Suddenly, the lights decorating the tree start to pulse rhythmically, as if activated by the falling droplet of water. A jolly jingle starts playing, letting the sound of bells resound through the forested mountain slope. The elder immediately takes a fighting stance, ripples of power emanating from his frame.

“HOHOhoho, merry Christmas! Take this present, it’s the only one that’s not a trap. On a Dao oath, it will take care of young Xi-Xoa’s problem. Merry Christmas!”

Lights flash, bells jingle and white illusory snow descends around theChristmass tree. A single present lifts from the pile and floats towards the duo. The woman peers around the elders back, hands clasped to her mouth.

“And don’t worry about the Fing Clan, the item you stole on their behalf, my dear Bai, was exactly what they didn't want, hehe.” The jolly voice resounding through the small clearing turned from jolly to sinister midway through the sentence, causing a chill to run down the two’s spines.

The present floats in the air for a little longer. Then something gives way and the colourful spectacle disappears while the present falls to the ground. The faint lines of a formation carved in the tree fade as they lose the stored power.

The clearing dark once again, the only sound the howling of the wind and the bated breaths of two cultivators.

“That’s a Migration Nocturnal Autumn Lilly!”

The elder stops his weary vigilance of the tree and looks at the torn package laying on the ground. An orange-brown leaf pokes through a rip in the wrapping paper. His hand stretches out to hold the woman back once again.

“Let go, he gave a Dao Oath. I know one thing and is that he keeps his word. In his own way, but he keeps it. That herb will save little brother!”

“And the Fing Clan? They will know something is wrong when their poison hostage is suddenly running around fine again.”

“Grandfather, didn’t you hear what he said? I had to steal that large qi crystal from him, right? Do you know when they are going to use it to power their sect’s treasure?”

“I fear that all hope is lost if they manage to give life to that monstrosity of a treasure. It’s a spirit grade artifact, powerful enough to rule half this continent when its fully powered.” The elder slumps his shoulders as an unimaginable burden seems to weigh him down. “It needs the lifeforce of a hundred cultivators or ten thousand mortals a day to function.”

“The compass? Weren't they going to activate it tod-”

A bright flash lights up the horizon. A massive mushroom cloud rises up from the between the mountains. The old man puts an arm around his grand-granddaughter and looks at the glowing horizon with a sliver of hope in his gaze.

“That’s the forbidden mountain!” gasps Bai.

“And the location of the artefact.” grins the old man. “And the home base of the Fing patriarch.”

As the shockwave buffets the two, a bearded man slinks away unseen, whispering ‘merry Christmas’ under his breath.