━━━𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒
❝the woods have remembered you
ever since the first time you got
lost in them.❞
Fate knows what it's doing. When fourteen-year-old Su Lin breathed her last as a mortal human and ascended after successfull...
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LING WEN SIGHED AS SHE exited the spiritual communication array. She sat with her elbows propped on her desk and her palms pressed to her eyes, an air of defeat around her.
"If it weren't for Xuan Zhen, that might have gone better." She said and lifted her head to look at Xie Lian. "Though, seeing as Su Lin has returned from the mortal realm, you'll still have assistance with this matter."
Xie Lian waved away her concern and said, "The reaction was understandable. If others thought it was to do work for the Emperor, of course they would've come. But if they came and discovered they'd be working with me, there would be a riot."
He could see it happening, vividly even, and it just wasn't worth it, not when there was an urgent matter that needed to be dealt with. But, as Ling Wen said, he would have someone willingly helping him ... Xie Lian then paused and tilted his head.
"Ling Wen, who is Su Lin?" He asked. "I don't think I remember him, but somehow the name is familiar."
The crown prince watched as the corners of Ling Wen's lips curled into a fond smile, though her tone remained neutral as she explained, "Su Lin is better know by his title, General Tan Peng. He is the martial god of forests."
"Ah, that..." Xie Lian felt his eyes widen as the realization washed over him. It was technically true that he did not remember Su Lin. He had never actually met the god. However Xie Lian did remember why the name was so familiar. "... that makes sense now, why he might offer to help. I've been given shelter in a few of his temples before."
Xie Lian didn't know if any other gods did something like that with their temples, but Tan Peng allowed for people in need of shelter for the night to do so in his temples. It was a kindness the crown prince was grateful for on many counts when he traveled around collecting scraps.
Ling Wen hummed thoughtfully, but before he could interpret what it meant, someone entered the Palace of Ling Wen carrying a stack of scrolls.
They looked to be around sixteen or seventeen years old with dark brown hair pulled back in a simple ponytail. They wore a dark tunic under a dark green, half-length mantle cape with grey fur trim around the collar, and it was positioned slightly askew in such a way that it exposed one of their shoulders. A black quiver of arrows was slung across their back along with a beautifully crafted bow, but what really caught Xie Lian's attention were the flowers.
