Meiling always thought it was fun gathering mushrooms. Wandering the forest and finding food never failed to put her in a good mood. While most of the fungus was from the mushroom farms they had decided to expand their search, simply walking together through their home.

It was good to see her husband at peace and smiling. It suited him best, instead of his brow furrowed and his body tense.

He even had his silly grin back on his face as he cheerily narrated a battle between two Great Hornbeetles.

“And the Green Thunder has the upper hand! Can the Crimson Demon hold on?!” he shouted. The bugs rammed against each other, until the smaller of the two managed to get under the larger. “Oh, what an upset! The Crimson Demon takes the win!”

Meiling held out her hand as Jin slapped a mushroom into it. Meiling was the winner of their little bet. She smiled up at him, his green eyes sparking with mirth.

“Ah man, I totally thought I was gonna win that one.” Jin sighed as good natured as ever in defeat.

“I’ve got a good eye for these things, you know.” She said with a smirk. “My little brother has his own little cabal that he thinks I don’t know about. He bribes Yun Ren to cover for him and then he takes the ones he rears to Verdant Hill. The Crimson Demon’s horn had a better hook to it.”

Jin let out a laugh as they held hands again and wandered through the forest, rays of light penetrating the canopy from the afternoon sun. The massive Emperor Woodpeckers, as big as eagles, looked intently at them as they passed before the birds resumed their hammering. The normally elusive creatures were brazen here, carving out nests or looking for food with thundering reports.

So they wandered. Jin had a lot of land, and even he didn’t know everything about it. He’d only been here for a year and a half, and they still found new little nooks and crannies to explore or rocks to clamber upon. Springs to inspect and trees to climb.

It was a bit like being young again, when she was more inclined to follow the Xong brothers directly.

But eventually they did have to head back home. They had dinner to cook and mouths to feed. It was a lot of work… But she could never say she hated it.

They wandered back to their house, which Meiling still thought looked better than the palace in Verdant Hill. It was a little bit strange, it defied every other building plan she knew of, and yet… it worked. It worked, and now she could barely imagine living without a river inside the house or the lovely little upstairs library already swelling with scrolls. Jin was even making noises about something he called a skylight, once they had enough glass, and that just sounded ridiculously appealing.

There was a sound of encouragement and combat from the house. Previously, Meiling would have raced to see what was happening… but she was slowly getting used to that.

Tigu was jumping around the courtyard, followed by a small streak of black and silver.

“You’re getting better at this!” the orange-haired cat-turned-girl called as she dodged again, the little rat accosting her missing completely. Ri Zu’s needle attempted to follow her, but it was to no avail. Tigu was just too fast for her, her yellow eyes easily tracking the rat’s movements. Her tanned skin and muscles flexed as she moved, dancing around the tiny silver needle. She was smiling as well, her grin looking remarkably like Jin’s. The other of their number was sitting off to the side, in conversation with Bi De. The rooster stroked his wattles sagely while Xiulan nodded to him. Their conversation apparently over, the woman noticed their approach as she turned. Her eyes brightened as she rose to greet them. Their friend was currently wearing one of the green tops Meiling had made for her.

If Meiling had to admit it to herself, she was a tiny bit jealous of Xiulan. The other woman was absolutely gorgeous, even more so than Meiling’s childhood friend, Meihua. Her eyes were crystal blue, her features delicate and refined, her skin pale and unblemished, and her brown hair, done in a single simple braid today, was like touching fine silk. And, well, the less said about the difference in their body types the better. Meiling was thin like a reed. Xiulan was… Xiulan.

Really, Xiulan’s top needed nearly three times more fabric than Meiling’s did.

“Master Jin. Senior Sister.” she greeted, but there was a teasing lilt to it.

Meiling rolled her eyes. While the respect that Xiulan gave without question at first had been gratifying… it was good that Xiulan was moving past it.

Jin just waved, while Meiling opened her arms.

“Senior Sister indeed. This Hong Meiling has heeded your dinner request. You may kowtow before me for my generosity.” She declared pompously.

Xiulan chuckled, a throaty thing, and embraced her. Meiling hugged her back. Her husband was a very touchy man, quick to hug or embrace. Terribly improper, but Meiling was certain he had the right of it.

She pulled back and smiled at Xiulan. “How was your time?”

“It was very good, Sister. I can feel my strength regrowing already.” Xiulan said with a smile. “I’m nearly at the Fourth Stage once more.” Her friend touched her chest, where a small golden crack lay under her clothes, a wound that one of those bastards at the Dueling Peaks had inflicted on her. The translucent, metallic thing seemed to be benign, and acted perfectly like Xiulan’s own skin.

It was cultivator strangeness. But from what Xiulan was saying, it was a miracle that she was able to heal at all considering what had happened to her. A burnt out cultivation.

Xiulan herself, however, had endured the ordeal remarkably. She hadn’t had any nightmares at all, unlike the ones she used to have about Sun Ken, and when they talked at night the other woman opened up easily about it.

It was something that calmed them both, talking through it together.

“And how did Tigu do?” Meiling asked, curious about how the excitable girl, who was now sitting on Jin’s shoulders, handled meditation.

“Tigu is a natural.” Xiulan stated simply. “She doesn’t complain, or even move at all. I must confess I was a bit surprised, but she's good. Better than Junior Brother, at least.” she said the last part with a smirk.

“Gou was never good at sitting still.” Meiling stated, shaking her head and clapping her hands together. “Now, let's get started on dinner!” she commanded, and everybody snapped to attention.

=================================

Many hands made for light work. Dinners were always fast when Tigu or Xiulan could cut everything up in seconds, and Wa Shi eagerly got her all the water she needed.

Meiling had started practicing her own knifework. She was the lady of the house and she wasn’t going to get shown up completely, damn it!

She hummed to herself in the crowded kitchen. It was much bigger than any other kitchen she knew, but with a pig, three humans, a fish, a rat and a monkey, it was starting to feel just a bit cramped.

And this was after Jin had been kicked out to go and get the boys.

She hummed as she worked. Tigu hummed with her, her voice just slightly off key, but making up for it in enthusiasm.

Meiling pulled the wok from the stove, smelling the aromas, and then handed it to the monkey waiting by the door.

She was still getting used to the monkey. “Huo Ten” was a quiet creature and spent all his time around that strange crystal Bi De had brought home, occasionally chipping in to help with household chores. Meiling was still sussing him out and wondering what would make him open up.

It was something for later. Soon enough all the food was done and they carted the feast outside to the enormous table Jin had set up.

A table that could accommodate six humans, a boar the size of a small house, a dragon, an ox, and several other animals, all with room left over. Meiling deposited her load on the table and sat down in her place.

“Yup, it's looking good! I made some improvements to the hammer!” a voice said, full of good cheer. Meiling glanced to where Bowu was getting a ride from Gou Ren, cheerfully sitting on his shoulders. Liu Bowu was at that awkward teenage stage of looking like he was mostly composed of his limbs. He was gangly and thin, but still had whipcord muscle in his arms and good leg from the fact that he still kept up his sect’s exercise routine. His hair was tinted blue, with a bit of a wave to it, and his eyebrows were rather large.

But the kid seemed inordinately happy. Jin had to drag him out of the forge he had built most nights, the kid tinkering with pipes and the drop hammer constantly.

“Thanks, Bowu, Gou. All those gears give me a damn headache.” her husband replied, nodding to them.

Gou Ren nodded and set his charge down.

Her childhood friend looked good these days. Oh, for sure he still looked quite a bit like a monkey, but he was less scruffy and comical looking with his trimmed sideburns and close-cropped hair.

He’d even gone off and really become a man. Little Gou, managing to woo a cultivator of all things.

Of course, if Liu Xianghua hurt him, Meiling would hunt her unto the ends of the earth… but from what she had heard the woman had put her life on the line for them.

Next to arrive was Yun Ren, the fox-like man settling down and yawning. His ponytail was a bit disheveled looking and he had bags under his eyes. “Got the last of ‘em done, Meimei.” he said with a sigh. He was referring to a set of images he was recording for her, of various medicinal plants and mushrooms. The pieces were then placed onto paper, Yun Ren’s Qi fueling the transfer.

Meiling perked up. “Thank you, Yun Ren.” she said, but her other childhood friend waved her off, making a vague dismissive gesture.

“ All good.” he muttered, clearly tired. He set his sword in a chair next to him and almost absently poured a cup of tea, setting it in front of the blade.

The sword, Summer’s Sky, rattled in a way that Meiling could only interpret as happiness.

The final ones to arrive were a snake with terrible burn scars across his body, a missing eye, and a broken back. He arrived riding a rather sooty looking silver rabbit.

Maintiao and Yin, the glassmaker and the sun rabbit. The snake had an air of quiet satisfaction about him, while the rabbit just looked annoyed.

With the arrival of the last of them, they all settled in their seats.

The family was together for dinner.

Jin looked over them all, a smile on his face, and simply nodded his head.

While some days everybody went their own way or took care of themselves, since there was just so many of them… they all ate dinner together like this at least once a week.

Meiling let the conversation wash over her as everybody started talking, passing each other food, and generally enjoying themselves as the sun set.

The sheep and the cows grazed nearby. The talking was accompanied by an undercurrent of birdsong and the buzzing of bees.

She glanced at her husband, and at the faraway look in his eye as he looked over everybody.

He noticed her glance and he grinned at her.

Meiling smiled back.

He nodded his head and turned back to watch over everybody, his eyes full of fondness… and conviction.

==============================

The land was alive. It was pulsing. It was vibrating, coursing, and surging along a latticework of golden threads.

It was, as always, a pleasure to observe. The watcher’s senses ghosted along the coils of energy. A polite distance, as they observed the vast and unknowable.

And even now they pulsed to a familiar rhythm. They were more vital, greater than last year, and yet, the energy of the earth was slowing down. It was slight, yet it was perceptible to his senses. The coils and lattices of Qi, churning with life and power were not diminished, but their pulse was slowing.

It was preparing. Preparing once more for the cold to blanket the land. For the trees to lose their leaves and for nearly all growth to stop.

The observer nodded his head, satisfied at what he was witnessing.

Bi De, First of the Disciples of Great Fa Ram, opened his eyes to the night sky. He gazed up at the moon; Its waning crescent a sublime sliver, high up in the heavens.

How truly blessed was he, to observe a second cycle upon this earth. He noted well the differences and the similarities, trying to deepen his understanding. For another hour he sat upon the roof, deep in contemplation, yet his senses were ever open to interlopers.

He was on the night watch, guarding the flock from those who would dare harm them.

Though.., he rarely needed to be so on guard anymore. The beasts now seemed to know better than to mount an assault upon the coops, for what must have been thousands of their kin fertilized the soil. Nay, they stayed in their places. His Great Master had decreed that they be able to receive the bounty of the forests and the hills, for it was not for them alone; and so in the wild places, untamed by His Master’s iron spur, they slunk and went about their business, completing their cycle.

And thus, Bi De was largely free to gaze at the moon on these nights, contemplating the land and the changes of the moon.

It truly was a great life.

Bi De frowned as he saw his Great Master exit his mighty coop, carrying with him a scroll and a stick. His lord glanced up to where Bi De was sitting and gave him a short wave as he set himself beside the river.

His master opened up the scroll and looked at it closely before placing it on a rock beside him and taking his stance.

Bi De was intrigued as he watched him wield his wooden spur. He knew his Great Master practiced his punches daily, with a diligence and mastery Bi De strove to emulate, but he had never seen him use a spur like Sun Ken’s.

He settled in to watch, fascinated.

His master took a breath and launched into the first form.

The movements looked wrong on him. Not in the sense that they were incorrect, for Bi De could see they were fine in execution.

But the movements simply did not seem to fit him. They did not seem to fit his body.

His Great Master looked uncomfortable as he studied the scroll of bladework, as he practiced the art of war.

His master paused in his martial form, shaking himself after frowning at the blade. For a moment, he looked as if he was going to put it down.

He took a breath and started again.

The world was not kind, Bi De knew this first hand. He knew of Zang Li, his attempt upon Sister Xiulan and of his abduction of Tigu. He knew the world contained many horrors, and that it was only right to defend oneself.

Yet as Bi De gazed at his lord and his training he was struck with a mild sense of loss.

What a shame it was, that hands so skilled at making were forced to cultivate destruction.

The rooster turned his head back to the sky. He turned away from the frown on his Master’s face as he reset.

Bi De stood up.

He would call on Sister Tigu and Sister Yin to spar with him on the morrow. But tonight….

Bi De jumped, a silent shadow. He landed upon the Great Pillars of Fa Ram.

He, like the rest of his fellows, had done the bare minimum in recovering himself.

That was no longer an option. His Lord sought the path of war.

Bi De swore to himself: His Lord would never have to use such things if he had any say in it.