Zhou took a deep breath and thanked all the heavens above for his good fortune. He had moved to this village because it was impossible for him to afford land anywhere else. Suddenly an investor came from the sky and built him a new home with a winemaking warehouse. Just the other day his commanding officer from when he was a recruit had appeared to wish him well. He had always admired the general. He was a man of unquestionable integrity. Though he was just a member of the military police back when they had worked together.

Now today he was going to do something he should have done when he first got here. He was going to propose to the woman that had helped him so much when he arrived. He had been injured and needed to use a cane for several years. During that time it was the soft smile of Xue that kept him moving forward.

Neither of them had families so many of the traditions could be ignored but he still planned to bring the proper gifts to her parents' graves. He had prepared his best wine and even used the last of his savings for a few other things. It wouldn't be much of a parade with only one man and his cart, but he still wanted to do everything he could.

As he left the doorway he nearly tripped over one of the workers outside his house. It seemed they were even building a proper road throughout the village. This was truly a blessed day.

He arrived at the small farm house. She had been taking care of the place alone and she had refused the offer of a new home since it was where her parents had been buried. She walked out of the entryway when she saw him arrive with his small cart of goods. It could have fit into a wheelbarrow but he splurged for the cart. She had her hand covering her mouth as she watched him. She wasn’t an earth shaking beauty but in his eyes she was more beautiful than any princess.

“Are you…” She had begun to shake a bit.

“Will you marry me?” He needed to say it fast before he lost his nerve.

“Yes!” She ran into his arms as she shouted.

The gods really were kind.

________________________________________

I had the box with the snake sculpture sitting in front of me. I tried to feel the energy around me and activate the ring I had been given but it seemed to refuse to work. I scratched at my small beard. It was nothing compared to what I had grown before but luckily my facial hair grew quickly. I stared into the ruby eyes for a few moments. It almost felt like they were staring back.

I still hadn’t opened any of the boxes but Shu was insistent that I keep them all. Long had been grumbling about the newest resident. Apparently Shu had purchased not only the land the smithy was on but the majority of the village. I didn’t feel quite as bad about taking so much money from him when I learned that but it was still a bit intimidating.

I decided to push it to the back of my mind. I had been doing that a bit too much lately. It was overwhelming being in an entirely new world. I've been trying to parse things out and accept them bit by bit but having what could only be a spatial ring on my finger made that a bit difficult. It was almost like the little walls I have been building to prevent myself from breaking down were suddenly torn apart with a sledge hammer.

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I went outside. I needed to distract myself. Fast.

I took my large axe and went out into the woods with a blank expression. I found what seemed to be the largest tree in the area. I considered chopping it down. I know I shouldn't take my frustration out on an innocent tree, especially one that I couldn't put to proper use.

"Henry?" I heard a hesitant voice. Wang Tai was coming home from one of his hunts. I looked towards him but couldn't bring myself to respond..

"Are you doing okay big guy?" He seemed honestly concerned but I still couldn't speak yet. My hand clenched tighter on the axe as I turned back towards the large tree in front of me.

"I'll take that as a no." He set down the empty traps he was carrying and sat on the large rock that was along the trail here.

"I know it's strange, but that's probably my favorite tree. So I would really appreciate if you didn't chop it down." He laughed lightly as he spoke. I nodded silently.

"I remember when Hu was born." He kept talking. I couldn't even tell him to let me be without throwing away the last semblance of composure I had.

"It felt like the entire world was going to fall down around me. Hell for a moment there I was certain it had." He pulled out his wineskin and took a long drink from it.

"Here." He passed it to me. I took a drink expecting some water and was instead kicked in the back of my throat by a burning sensation. I started to cough as I handed it back.

"Ha, that stuff will always wake you up." He laughed again as he took another drink.

"You know we might not have talked much but I really appreciate you looking out for my kid. He loves working with you and old Long." The guy was nice but I was breaking. My hands were shaking now to the point that the only reason I still held my axe was that if I dropped it I was certain it would shatter me.

My vision began to blur as I stared at the tree in front of me. My breathing was getting more ragged with every attempt to stabilize it.

"Also, I don't think I ever properly apologized for convincing the town that you were some sort of demon beast." He laughed a bit louder at that. I looked towards him. That did distract me a bit.

What an asshole.

I held my empty hand towards him and he placed the alcohol in it. I sat down on the other side of the large rock and took another drink. I let the axe fall from my hands. I was still shaking a bit.

"You know, I don't even know where I am." I looked into the distance when I started to speak.

"I just woke up in the forest around here. I fell asleep in my bed at home then suddenly I'm fighting a god damn deer with lighting powers Now as soon as I think I can accept what happened to me, everything suddenly starts changing." I passed the wineskin back. He sat silently waiting for me to continue.

"I know I should count my blessing but everything feels so, wrong. Like I'm taking something I shouldn't. Like this isn't meant for me." He nodded at my words.

"Yeah, the world feels like that sometimes. Like it keeps spinning no matter what you do. Like the good things aren't meant to be yours." He smiled sadly as he watched the tree in front of us.

"Like those few good things could be ripped away by whatever shitty god put us here at any moment." I nearly laughed at his statement. He was a bit too right.

"That's part of the reason I like this tree. It feels like stable ground. Like it's something that can't be ripped out no matter how hard one tries." He downed the last of the drink we had been sharing.

"Sadly I don't have any advice for you." His hand landed on my shoulder.

"But I think you're a good guy. So I honestly hope you can come to like your life here. It took me ages and honestly I still have those same thoughts." He smiled again as he gathered up his things.

"Don't be a stranger! Let's share a drink when they open the tavern." He waved as he made his way back to the village.

I continued to sit on the rock along the trail for some time. Then I brushed my hand against the tree and apologized as I cut down a single large branch.