A Tear Frozen in Time

A Plan with a Purpose

Re-entering the Demon Lands was far different to her initial visit.  Not in a bad way, but certainly a different way.  Rather than a guard of honour and smiling children with flowers in their hands, the people merely cheerily bowed before quickly returning to their business.  If anything, the lack of attention was almost similar to Qing Qiu in that his people were free to live without the strict protocls of constant bowing and scraping.  Of course there was a hieracrchy and one always knew their place within it, but unlike the Celestials,, formalities were only observed when necessary.  Otherwise, the quiet peaceful entrance was the norm and exactly what she had hoped for.

From the entrance, not much could be seen, just a few homes in the distance, but as the land began to open up the closer they got to the main Palace gates, the more she could see.

It was still early morning, so the mountain mists which hovered at the edges of the vast valley had yet to lift. In the distance, she could see the smoke billowing out from a few chimneys, and those that were not already outside tending to their properties or heading to their places of work, were still tumbling out of bed.  

But what had her eyes sparkling as the large intricately carved cast iron gates came into view, was the visible lack of guards.  She knew they were there, in large numbers because a sudden ripple in the air appeared beyond the gates which seemed to envelope the entire forecourt before quickly disappearing again.  Not even the guards that had hovered over Qing Qiu for the past two weeks were seen, even though she knew they were there the entire time.  

"They only show themselves if our visitors are unknown." he informed her having watched her reaction to her second entry with interest.

She seemed more than happy with the lack of fanfare which he duly noted, though this was not put on for her benefit, rather this was the norm.  Like her, Guotin did not approve of showiness, that included a visible presence of his guards, maids or any other staff.  He much preferred the simpleness of arriving home, walking through the gate and in through his front door without the maids hindering his steps or the guards getting in his way.  Even his advisors remained distant, having learned from the outset that this Overlord would call them if needed, and if they had urgent business to discuss, then they made their presence known when he entered his study rather than jump on him the moment he passed through the gates.

Smiling at the way her steps seemed to bounce a little as the gates were thrown wide, he also noted the small smile break across her face when he physcially reached through the bars to pull back latch, rather than use magic.  Having spent enough time in Qing Qiu to learn how little magic was used, this seemed to surprise her having thought he would just wave his hand at it and guards would appear to open it.

"Like Qing Qiu, magic is only used when necessary.  Though this is because my people are currently cultivating, I do not want them to use unnecessary magic when they are more than capable of doing things for themselves." he explained before leading her in through the same large carved doors as the first time.

"I have always thought the same thing.  My people as you have seen, are much stronger for it." she replied before stopping halfway in the entrance where several of Guotins maids were seen sitting around a low table in one of the side rooms playing a game.  

From outside the main entrance, the laughter could not be heard, only the moment they stepped into the grand foyer, then the high pitched giggles and loud banter hit her almost the moment her feet stepped onto the soft plush rugs that completely covered the entire floor, something she had not noticed until then, because the maids had not heard their entry.

Expecting Guotin to demand they explain themselves, he instead leaned into the room to close the door which effectively killed the noise.  To his mind, he assumed she did not like a lot of noise seeing as Qing Qiu was relatively quiet and peaceful when Mo Yuan wasn't around.