[Editor: Author, Ajax Flameborn, and Sapling Grammar Checker]

Fu Jing was still conversing with the sons of the Fairy Emperor when he tensed, his head whipping around. He had suddenly sensed something powerful heading their way, like a ball of massive energy hurtling straight towards them. Without realizing it, he stood up and turned to face it.

“Something... strong is coming.” He spoke through clenched teeth, his body bristling in both fear and anticipation.

The fight-loving twins, the chatty De Tongran, and the two littlest brothers immediately scrambled over to his side, eager to try and sense what he was sensing. Fu Jing, still on heightened alert, cast these boys a look of alarmed exasperation. They weren’t the slightest bit afraid or cautious. He quickly used his arms to shoo them behind him.

The other young men hadn’t risen but cast out their senses to try and figure out what had alarmed their Uncle.

The twins, De Taihua and De Weishan saw their Uncle trying to protect them and immediately began arguing with him about it:

“Uncle, we’re not helpless! Don’t worry, we’ll protect you!”

“That’s right Uncle, no need to fight alone. We De twins aren’t weak!”

“You two—” Fu Jing sighed. It was hard to say if they really wanted to protect him or if they were just eager for a good fight. “If I can’t beat them, how can you beat them?”

De Taihua knew his Uncle wasn’t a weakling and looked astonished, “Eh?! You can’t beat them?!”

Lu Shao’s brow furrowed, puzzled. He was sitting with Yan Li and De Ming Yu. He leaned over to Yan Li and whispered, “What’s Uncle sensing? Is it dangerous? I don’t sense anything unusual…”

Yan Li had narrowed his eyes. “There’s only one strong “thing” coming this direction.”

“Ah,” De Ming Yu suddenly understood. “Isn’t he just confused because they haven’t been properly introduced yet?”

“That’s right!” Lu Shao snapped his fingers and suddenly laughed. “He WOULD be alarming if you’d never met him.”

Yan Li eyes relaxed and he gave a slight huff of amusement. Not wanting to alarm their Uncle anymore, Yan Li immediately walked over to the older man, patting his shoulder once.

“Ah, Uncle, it’s only the Old Man. That is, it’s just Father.”

Fu Jing blinked in surprise at this news. De Taihua and De Weishan stared at their Uncle in amazement.

“What do you want to fight the Old Man for!?”

De Weishan shook his head. “Not worth it, not worth it.”

“No, I—” Fu Jing began to say, when he felt a pull on his sleeves.

The second youngest, De Zhou, lowered his hand, eyes wide with curiosity. “Are you a ma… masochist?”

Fu Jing’s mouth fell open. All the men burst out laughing except for Lu Shao and the youngest, who obviously didn’t understand the word used.

Lu Shao was almost choking. “Where did you learn that word?!”

“Huh? Uncle* Wei Sheng uses it all the time when the Old Man is getting hit by Mother…”

[*Note: Wei Sheng is Yan Li’s son. Those sons who are younger than Wei Sheng call him Uncle and those older call him Nephew.]

“Arg, next time I see him, I’m going to throttle his—”

“Big bros, is Mommy coming too?” De Qiang asked loudly. As the youngest, he was used to having to raise his voice to be heard over the din.

Yan Li tilted his head, blinking, and then nodded.

“She’s coming too.” He pat his youngest sibling on the head affectionately.

Their Father’s aura was so strong that from a distance their Mother’s aura was completely overshadowed. It was only because of his cultivation strength and a keen awareness of his Mother’s aura from years of being around her that Yan Li was able to tell.

“Hurrah, Mommy’s coming!” The little boy grabbed De Zhou’s hand saying “Come on!” and the two youngest boys immediately ran away from the group. They found a spot and began running in a circle excitedly.

Lu Shao walked over to Yan Li with a scowl on his face, “Older Brother, what are you teaching your son to say in front of children—?”

Yan Li stiffened. Why was he getting blamed for that little punk’s mouth?! Ever since his son discovered he was faster than all his Uncles except Shan Hui, he’s been an incorrigible brat that only listened to his Grandma and Mother.

Lu Shao was usually very easy going in a lot of ways, but when it came to the younger generation he was a horrible nag.

“Look at that, ah.” Yan Li pointed to the leafy ceiling, “I think I see them coming now.”

At that moment a gust of hot wind pressed down through the ancient tree’s branches, scattering bits of this and that all over the place. The children’s sixth sense proved accurate and they had managed to find the exact spot where the wind would be the strongest. They were immediately bowled over from the strength of it. Instead of being alarmed, they only squealed and laughed.

The tree branches separated and a shaft of gold light pierced through. Two figures holding hands came sailing down from the light, their clothes billowing around them.

Fu Jing could only stand there mutely. It was like a painting of celestials descending from the heavens. Not only did they have an otherworldly glow, the man imitated such a strong aura Fu Jing felt his knees wanting to buckle.

“Boys!” The woman called at the children below, waving her hand exuberantly at them and breaking the illusion of otherworldliness.

“Mother!” “Mommy!”

The two youngest waved back at their Mother. The young men who’d been with Fu Jing ran over to their younger siblings, forming a small crowd. The woman sped up her decent and almost fell into them and was then promptly smothered in hugs and laughter.

Fu Jing’s eyes flickered to where the Emperor had been, only to realize he wasn’t there. The next moment two iron hands gripped each of his arms and lifted, as if he were no more than a child. He felt all the air in his lungs suddenly get sucked out of him and he couldn’t breath.

It was as though an immense force was pressing on him from all sides. His body broke out into goosebumps, as if something very dangerous had gotten far far too close to him much too quickly.

“I see, I see.” Two glowing gold-blue eyes looked up at him with eager curiosity. “Yes, now that I look closely, her marks are definitely there—”

Before Fu Jing had time to collect his thoughts and start struggling, he was gathered up in a hug, another man’s face rubbing against the top of his head. His whole being screamed out in rejection of this action. Besides it being humiliating in every possible way, it was as if his entire spirit was repulsed by the contact.

And, most importantly, he still couldn’t breath!

“Old Man, ah, Uncle Fu’s going to suffocate if you keep that up.” Shi Ji had wandered over, having finally woken up from his exhaustion-induced nap. He was scratching his cheek and yawning, not at all perturbed by what his Father was doing to their new found relative.

The Emperor tilted his head, “Is that so?”

“Hn, get any closer and even Mother is gonna get jealous.”

The Fairy Emperor gave his son an alarmed look and immediately set Fu Jing. Suddenly released without any warning, he landed on his feet awkwardly before taking a large step backwards.

Fu Jing finally regained the ability to breathe and did so with gusto. It took him several seconds before his breathing was normal again. When he looked up, he saw the Fairy Emperor was watching him with longing, as if he wanted to embrace him again. The hairs on Fu Jing’s body stood up in alarm and he took another step back, prepared to run rather than endure that terrifying embarrassment twice.

The Fairy Emperor saw the intense look of displeasure on Fu Jing’s face and his own face fell. He looked all the world like a child who’d been rejected by someone they liked.

Shi Ji watched this silent interaction and felt awkward for everyone involved. He cleared his throat and said with a hint of helplessness, “Old Man, this is Shu Fu Jing, husband to……. Auntie. Uncle, this is our Old Man. Since you’re family, you can call him Huang Jin. That alright Old Man?”

“Hn.” Jin only nodded once but didn’t move. His expression was gentle as he talked Shu Fu Jing, like he was speaking to a small scared animal, “Shu Fu Jing I was too excited and behaved inappropriately, I apologize. I will not touch you like that again.”

Fu Jing squinted his eyes at Huang Jin, feeling the phrasing was not quite right. But this was their first meeting and at least one of them ought to be sensible. It also wouldn’t do to be outright hostile in the face of such… over enthusiasm. It might have been unpleasant, but it was clearly not meant to antagonize. He managed to give a stiff but perfect bow, proving that years in the Imperial Court had not failed him.

The woman who’d come with Huang Jin finally disentangled herself from her sons and walked over. She took wide, unfettered steps that he was unused to seeing in women of her status and then tugged on Jin’s sleeve impatiently. “Introduce me.”

Huang Jin eyes lit up and he took his wife by her shoulders and placed her in front of him and pushed her forward slightly, saying, “This, this is my wife, Mei Hua. Isn’t she very lovely? I found her myself. She’s human, just like you. Hn, you two will definitely get along. Being human, you have many things in common.”

Mei Hua’s mouth fell open and every son looked at their Father as if he’d lost his mind. Could this be classified as an introduction? Where was the usual swagger and arrogance? And if being human was enough to unify people, would there be any wars in the world?

Fu Jing was also confused by Huang Jin’s behavior. Trying to salvage the situation, he cupped his hands and gave a very formal bow to Mei Hua.

“Greetings, Imperial Queen Cons—”

She lifted a hand to stop him.

“That is my official title and is only used in public. Between family and friends, I prefer to go by name.” Mei Hua hastily explained. “If Mei Hua is too familiar, Sister-in-law or Sister Mei Hua would be fine.”

Fu Jing almost argued but saw that she was serious and several nephews were nodding, as if to encourage him to go along with it. Even Huang Jin was giving him an expectant look.

Smiling, he started again, “Greetings, Sister-in-law Mei Hua. This one goes by Shu Fu Jing. As you say, since we are family, please call me Brother-in-law or Brother Fu Jing.”

“It is very nice to finally meet you Brother Fu Jing.” Mei Hua smiled and swatted her husband’s hands away from her shoulders, casting him an exasperated stare. “Why are you hiding behind me? Go and talk to each other. We’ll be here when you get back.”

She narrowed her eyes knowingly at her husband, “And don’t smother the poor man, Jin. Unlike me, he’s not used to you. He’s also a man. That kind of contact would be highly uncomfortable for him.”

Huang Jin didn’t meet his wife’s eyes, causing her to tisk at him in disapproval. Looking begrudging, the stifling aura Huang Jin had been emitting lessened significantly. Fu Jing felt his body relax in relief and was intensely grateful for his Sister-in-law. At least someone was looking out for him!

Mei Hua waved in a “shooing” motion to her husband and Fu Jing, saying “Away with both of you!”.

Having dismissed them, she turned to Shi Ji and began talking to him as if the two weren’t there. Fu Jing stared at her, dumbfounded at being abandoned by his ally suddenly.

Huang Jin walked over to Fu Jing, stepping a little too close. Fu Jing immediately took a step away to keep an appropriate distance from the much taller man, only just barely preventing himself from glaring. Huang Jin saw this and sighed, looking disappointed. However, Huang Jin didn’t step closer again, only motioning for them to walk. The two men moved away from the crowd of sons.

The two were silent for a long while. Fu Jing didn’t know what to say. Having grown up hearing stories about his wife’s brother, he hadn’t expected to be greeted so… intimately. There was also some lingering resentment towards him for having caused so much misery to his wife.

“Was she happy?”

Huang Jin had spoken suddenly and caught Fu Jing off guard, “What?”

“My… Sister. Was she happy?”

Fu Jing’s heart softened slightly at this question.

“Yes.”

Huang Jin nodded slowly, looking out into the distance.

“That’s good… that’s… very good.”

“She talked about you.”

“Oh?” Huang Jin smiled sadly. “I doubt it was anything good.”

Fu Jing frowned, “That’s not true.”

Though Fu Jing had always thought his wife’s brother lacked sense and had a terrible temper, that was his view. How his wife viewed her Brother was a different matter entirely and he wouldn’t misrepresent her view. He reached into his hanfu shirt and pulled out the small journal.

“Read this and you’ll see. She missed you.”

Huang Jin looked at the journal for a moment, his hands half raised and an uncertain expression on his face. Rather than taking it, he lowered his hands.

Looking guiltily at the journal, he spoke very quietly, “I… I am afraid.”

Fu Jing’s eyebrows rose and then he sighed. This time he walked forward and forced the journal directly into Huang Jin’s hands.

The moment the journal touched Huang Jin’s hands, it burst into a bright blue light. This startled both men.

The light condensed into the vague form of a small human and hovered over the journal. It reached out two smoky arms and touched Huang Jin’s face.

He instantly fell to his knees, shaking and breathing heavily. Tears began to fall down his face in a steady stream.

He choked out, “S—sister. I am sorry.”

The blue glowing figure shifted and a faint sigh could be heard. Huang Jin looked at the little blue figure and his mountain spirit that had formed itself to fit into his human body, briefly expanded and overshadowed it. He shone a blazing molten gold and Fu Jing, who’d been watching this in astonishment, was forced to turn away and take several steps back.

The small blue form and the larger gold looked at each other, the world around them fading for a moment. Then the blue figure’s form seemed to lose cohesiveness, shattering into a thousand pieces. Right before it disappeared, an earthereal voice spoke a single word:

“Rest.”

Huang Jin’s golden glow instantly snuffed out like a candle and his body collapsed into a heap.

At the same time, a woman's voice shouted, “MASTER!”

Fu Jing had too many things happen at once and didn’t know which thing to pay attention to first.

A lavishly dressed woman had sprinted forward out of nowhere, brown skinned and blue haired. Her hands had reached out to touch the blue figure, only to grasp air.

Looking at her empty hands, she sat down and promptly began to wail. A man came jogging past Fu Jing shortly after and gathered her up in his arms.

“Darling, Darling, I’m here, don’t cry, don’t cry…” The man was patting her shoulder and rocking her like he was consoling a small child.

“Why? I was right here!” Her voice was filled with bitterness and anger. “It’s always this punk who gets the attention!”

“It can’t be helped, Darling.” The man sighed. “They’ve always been like that, you know that better than anyone.”

The woman sniffled loudly, her eyes narrowed. “Let me hit him a few times.”

“Shuya…”

“Just once then?”

Fu Jing finally decided that Huang Jin was the most important problem. He went over to the man and, after hesitating for a moment, reached out and touched the collapsed Huang Jin. Fu Jing was relieved to find the suffocating feeling from before wasn’t there and so more earnestly straightened Huang Jin’s body.

“Is he… alright?” It was clear Huang Jin was still breathing, so Fu Jing knew he wasn’t dead.

The woman heard the question and frowned, “Of course that punk is alright. Master told him to rest, didn’t she? He’s resting.”

Fu Jing held up the journal that Huang Jin had dropped. He couldn’t sense anything strange in it. There was a sense of bitter disappointment and he understood the Shuya woman’s anger. How long had he been holding on to this? Yet there was no special message for him.

He blinked, “Shuya? Shuya as in the tree?”

Shuya immediately stopped crying, her face filled with horror.

“No!” She cried out and instantly disappeared.

The man who had been holding her found himself empty handed. Sighing again, he stood up and wiped off his pants.

He walked over to Fu Jing and introduced himself, “Greetings. We met previously at the entrance. I’m Wushan Lu Fan.”

“...ah, the deer.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Lu Fan looked pleased that Fu Jing hadn’t seemed overly shocked. “The women before was Shuya, the very tree whose branches we’re under right now.”

“Have I offended her in some way…?”

“Oh no, not at all. She’s just upset you saw her acting like that.”

“Upset? Why does it matter what I think?”

“Well, you know, you are the husband of her Master. She was trying to put her best foot— hm, root?— forward.” He chuckled slightly. “But now that you’ve seen her like that, how can she face you? All her hard work to be impressive has gone to waste.”

Fu Jing went silent.

So that’s what all the boys meant when they said the tree was clearly showing favorites.

“What about Huang Jin?” He finally asked, deciding to put aside the idea that an ancient tree was acting shyly around him.

“Not to worry, not to worry. The Emperor’s sister gave him the most beautiful gift.”

“Gift?”

“Hn, sleep. He will finally get some sleep.”