With her anger quelled, Juying merrily returned to Xuanji Palace to resume her chores. Gone were the peach blossom wine and plate of desserts from the stone table, and the candle flames had been extinguished, however, everything else remained as she had left it the night before. The Light Immortal felt a twinge of gloominess at the thought of having to take down everything, reverting Xuanji Palace back to it plain, barren state.
Entering the main hall of Xuanji Palace, she stumbled upon Kuanglu who was busy cleaning the Heavenly Emperor's desk. She called out a cheerful greeting and Kuanglu rose to greet her. "The Light Immor- Juying looks happy this morning," she smiled. "Looks like your plan was a success?"
"Oh, not at all," Juying smiled, conjuring up a cloth so that she could assist Kuanglu with the cleaning. "It was an absolutely disaster."
Kuanglu stared at Juying as though she had grown another head. "Th-then why is Juying so happy?"
"I brewed some delightful tea," Juying answered casually. "That man is rich whose pleasures are the cheapest." Kuanglu nodded slowly, still wearing a confused expression, and returned to her work.
The crafty fire qilin knew that there was no way the Heavenly Emperor could swallow his pride and have his men arrest her. That would be admitting to the Six Realms that he had gotten outsmarted by an immortal thousands of years younger than himself. That would be accepting that Juying had come out victorious in his unwarranted battle against her.
"This morning, the Heavenly Emperor instructed me not to take down the floating candles or remove the butterfly koi. That's why I assumed that he was pleased by Juying's surprise," she explained.
Taken aback, Juying halted wiping the desk. She thought that he'd hated the set-up. If he truly didn't... then why had he reacted so strongly the night before? "Is that so? Well, that's certainly news to me." She stood up and transfigured her cloth into a broom, "I... I'm going to sweep the courtyard."
---
Lost in thought, Juying absentmindedly swept fallen leaves into neat little piles. She made six piles in total, all in a neat little line along the length of the courtyard. However, something peculiar happened.
When she turned around to appreciate her progress, she realized that a seventh pile, not in line with the other six, had haphazardly been made. Slightly unsettled, Juying chalked up the strange occurrence to the winds having mercy and assisting her with her task.
As she continued to work, the Light Immortal would occasionally look back and wonder if it was just her imagination, or if the mysterious pile was actually getting bigger.
All of a sudden, she heard a rustle in the shrubbery behind her. Startled, she whipped around, only to see that the movement had subsided and all had gone silent. "K-Kuanglu?" Juying stuttered.
When she received no response, the Light Immortal went cold with fear. What if it was the enraged Heavenly Emperor trying to get back at her? Juying then quickly reassured herself, "No, no. He'll be out of commission for at least the next few hours or so. I still have some time to plan my escape."
Moments later, she heard it again. Her heart lept into her throat and she turned around again, this time conjuring a fireball. "Who dares to trespass into Xuanji Palace?"
The person, no, creature, got spooked and burst out of the shrubbery before sprinting away. It was the most beautiful deer that Juying had ever seen, with a snowy white pelt and icy blue antlers. "No, wait!" she called out, picking up her skirt and running after it.
Juying must have chased it around Xuanji Palace's entire perimeter at least twice, apologizing and reassuring the deer that she wasn't trying to hurt it, before Kuanglu finally entered the courtyard to see what the commotion was about. The deer barrelled straight for Kuanglu, hiding behind the fairy, albeit not very well given its large size.
The exhausted Light Immortal rested her hands on her knees, panting heavily, "Tell... tell it that... that I am... not trying to hurt it."
"I see that Juying has met the Yan Beast of Dreams. This is the Heavenly Emperor's pet," Kuanglu smiled and turned to the creature, stroking its face comfortingly. "Don't be scared, this is Juying, the Light Immortal. She only wants to be friends."
The Yan beast ducked its head and released a bleat, taking a few steps back. Kuanglu shot Juying an apologetic look, "He's tends to be quite shy when meeting people for the first time. Come closer, and stretch out your hand."
Juying conjured some grass and offered it to the Yan Beast. It jerked its head away, releasing a disgusted bleat. "You don't like grass?" she asked, astonished. Thinking for a moment, she then conjured a Lingzhi mushroom and offered it to the creature, approaching it cautiously.
Now curious, the Yan beast peeked out from behind Kuanglu and approached Juying. It sniffed the Lingzhi mushrooms, then nibbled on one. Its soft ears perked up in delight and began eating from the Light Immortal's hand more eagerly. Juying took the opportunity to pet its head. "Guai,*" she praised.
Glancing back at the peculiar pile of leaves, Juying connected the dots and crooned, "It was you who helped me clean up the leaves, wasn't it?" As if to answer her question, the Beast of Dreams bleated in acknowledgement. "Such a darling!" she exclaimed and produced more mushrooms. The fire qillin wondered to herself how such an ill-disposed master was able to raise such a well-behaved pet.
---
Juying sped through her chores in the hopes of completing them before the Heavenly Emperor returned to Xuanji Palace. In the evening, just as she was hanging the last calligraphy brush on the holder, Kuanglu burst into the main hall in a hurried manner. "The Heavenly Emperor is looking for you. He says its urgent."
The Light Immortal visibly paled, "What... what kind of mood was he in?"
"He looked quite serious, he's waiting for me to escort you to the courtyard," Kuanglu bit her lip, then burst out worriedly, "Oh, Juying, have you done something to offend him again?"
"What if I pretended to pass out right now?"
"Kuanglu can't carry you out myself," she said, petrified. "I'd have to get help from the Heavenly Emperor."
"Then... then what if you tell him I'm elsewhere running errands?"
"The Heavenly Emperor is stubborn. He'll go look for you." Translation: he would hunt her down no matter where she went.
Giving a sigh of half-resignation, half-determination, Juying stood up and smoothed her skirt down. "Alright. Juying is not a coward. Take me to him."
Although concerned for her friend, Kuanglu obliged. The two ladies entered the courtyard and approached the Heavenly Emperor, who was sitting serenely at the stone table with a Go set in front of him.
"Juying greets the Heavenly Emperor," she said, willing her voice not to shake.
He glanced up at her with an unreadable expression, containing no trace of the agony and anger from earlier. "Kuanglu, you may take your leave," Runyu said without breaking eye contact with Juying.
The fairy servant looked between her friend and her master with uncertainty. "But, your maje-" she started, but was cut off with a simple "Go," from the Heavenly Emperor. Kuanglu shot a terrified look at Juying before hurrying off.
YOU ARE READING
Embers of Love
Fantasy"When I found you, the sun found me." ~ It has been 2000 years since Runyu's ascension to the Heavenly Throne. Citizens of the Six Realms are beginning to question the Heavenly Emperor's ability to cope with both Heaven's affairs and his old duties...
