My Little Shifu

Little Upstart

Far Northern Estate

The Far North was a place of wild beauty, where the mountainous regions rose so high, that in some parts, they completely blocked out the sun for miles, and in others, the wild flowers and even the birds, added their lovely rich colours to the vast spray of natural flora that grew in abundance, while trees of every kind hid the wildlife that was Bai Zhen himself bred in order to the keep the forests alive and flourishing.

And it was while he was out on a short excursion to settle in a small family of beaver, that a courier arrived at his barrier.  To outsiders, his barrier gave the illusion of a rugged and uninviting mountain range with nothing much else to look at, let alone visit, however, this visitor was not only tapping on it, but he knew it was there which soon had him releasing his little beaver family to investigate.

The young courier had visited Bai Zhens estate in the past, so he knew that all he had to do was make a wave in the barrier and then wait, only this time the wait time was far less that previous visits because this young Lord did not like visitors, so would sometimes make him wait for the entire day.  Only he seemed to have arrived at a good time because it was less than few minutes before the familiar flash of blue energy erupted beside him.

"You have a message for me?" Bai Zhen asked without preliminaries.  He remembered the courier well so did not waste his breath on unnecessary small talk.

"Yes My Lord." he merely replied before handing him the sealed piece of rolled parchment which carried Haodes unique white rose seal, though seeing it was addressed to Zhe Yan, he did not open it, instead he gave the courier a small luminous pearl seeing as the trip would have taken him the entire day.  

It was worth far more than what the man earned in a year, so the gift was greatly appreciated and with a tray of iced juice and small refreshments to take with him, Bai Zhen left the man bowing behind him, whose estimation of this young lord rose significantly.  It wasn't often that the Celestial couriers were rewarded for their efforts, but this young Lord was known to, so being chosen to deliver anything to him, saw the couriers gambling for the right.

Now heading back to his mansion to find Zhe Yan who had taken himself to the back of the property to check on his peach trees he had planted there, Bai Zhen was soon hovering over his shoulder to see what was so important that Haode needed to send a courier across the vast distance.  Especially seeing as the Peach festival was in just a few days and Bai Zhen had already confirmed his and his sisters attendance, he could talk to them then, because Zhe Yan had suggested he might go just for the fun of it.

"It seems there is an issue in the grove and he wants to discuss it with me." Zhe Yan frowned and though the letter didn't specify what the problem was, immediately both mens minds moved to Bai Qian.  If anything was amiss, then they knew without a doubt that she had something to do with it.

"Alright.  I suggest we go straight to Haode before we approach her.  You know what's she's like, every excuse under the sun will on her tongue, so its best we approach her prepared." Bai Zhen sighed.  

Their break away from the Grove had been wonderful, with no little impish sprites or unruly sister to interfere in their precious time alone.  Now seeing as the holiday away was over, both men set about preparing themselves for war, because if Bai Qian had Haode sending him a request to present himself at court, then it could only mean she had offended the man which also meant both of them might have to take responsibility.

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Queen Wang Jiu

The Far South was in deep contrast to the Far North.  Rather than beautiful mountain ranges covered in all manner of flora and rich with the colours of every manner of wildlife known, ice and snow covered everything for miles upon miles.  Sometimes a forest would appear though the deep crevices gouged into the steep peaks, only they too looked just as isloated and desolate as the cold sun that barely broke through the dense clouds that never moved.