"Please, you don't have to come with me to my first class!" Chen whines as Mimi fusses over her hair and adjusts the scabbard on her sister's waist for probably the eighth time.
"I thought I was the cool sister," Mimi grouses, her tails fluttering about her excitedly.
"You can come!" Dumplin steps out, and to Chen's relief, Mimi begins tugging at Dumplin's ribbons, making her more presentable.
"Okay, how about I walk you to class?" Mimi comprises pouting at Chen.
"I guess that's okay," Chen sulks, but inside she is happy her eldest sister is taking such an interest in her education.
With fifteen minutes until their private lessons begin, Mimi tugs her sisters out of the residence and moves across the grass.
"I am so excited," Mimi wraps her arms around Chen and then bends down to hug Dumplin, "My sisters are going to be tough killing machines!"
She leads them over to the cultivation fields where she sees the clan leader warming up. Sensing her appraising stare, the clan leader looks over and smiles at the three sisters.
"Your early," the clan leader smiles at them.
Mimi bows, "Thank you again for agreeing to teach my sisters, clan leader."
The clan leader bows as well, but as she is about to rise, he reaches out and gently touches her hands in greeting.
He looks over at her sisters, "Why don't you take a lap around the field, and we'll start warming up."
Having missed out on her sisters running the day before, Dumplin immediately sprints off with a spring in her step. Mimi watches in amusement as Chen struggles to catch up with her sister.
"Will you stay?"
Looking away from her sisters, Mimi turns her attention back to the clan leader, "I would, but I promised Chen I would only walk them here," she shrugs, "children, you know."
"Sometimes children need the space to grow," he says, smiling at Dumplin, who is practically skipping along the grass.
"Yeah," Mimi stares affectionately at her sisters.
"I will take good care of them," Lan Xichen promises, and Mimi smiles at him, but it does not reach her eyes.
"I was thinking of going to town for supplies," Mimi awkwardly looks down at her claws, "When can I come back and pick them up?"
"Three hours? I thought I would review the basics and maybe bring Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi to practice with them."
"They will be gentle with my sisters, right?" Mimi asks at the same moment that Dumplin grabs hold of Chen's legs and drags her to the ground in a tackle.
The clan leader raises his eyebrows at the surprising ferocity of the youngest Shen, "I think my disciples may have more to worry about."
Mimi looks over her shoulder and sees her sisters rolling on the ground.
"Hey, you two, play nice!" Mimi shouts, and her two sisters immediately get up off the ground and fall in line beside their sister.
"I guess I will leave them in your capable hands," Mimi grins at the clan leader and reaches over to grab hold of Chen before she could slink off.
"Have fun! I will be here when you get done," Mimi kisses her sister's cheek and nuzzles her nose against her sisters.
Thoroughly content with embarrassing Chen, Mimi turns to Dumplin, who already has her arms outstretched for a hug. She never had to worry about embarrassing this one, Mimi thinks happily. Mimi hugs Dumplin tightly and kisses her cheeks before nuzzling her nose, "I want you two to behave and listen to the clan leader. I am so proud of you, cubs! I will see you later."
Mimi returns to the residence and immediately goes into her bedroom. Pulling up a floorboard, Mimi removes the red casket.
"Mameki?"
The parasol hesitantly appears before her and crosses his arms as he looks upon the casket, "Mameki, think this bad idea."
"I know it is a bad idea. It's a really stupid idea. But I have to do it," Mimi opens the casket and the strange scent of the incense fills the room.
"Your mate here. Cubs here. Why do dangerous thing?"
Eyes filling with tears, Mimi grips the casket, "And what happens when I return? What happens when I outlive the clan leader? What happens when he is reincarnated and . . ." Mimi can't say the words, but they hover between her and the parasol.
"Let Mameki help!"
"I don't know what will happen when I light this incense," Mimi says, "But if I am out for more than three hours, I want you to do whatever you have to. Just wake me up. I don't want the girls worrying about this. I . . .just need to do this five times, and I'll have The Reverent. Please, Mameki."
"Mameki, do this."
Heart pounding, Mimi nods and light the incense with her foxfire. She lays down on her back and tries to relax. Mameki hovers over her worriedly as the fragrance creeps towards her. As the incense penetrates her nose, a burning sensation spreads across her left wrist. Letting out a yelp, Mimi holds up her arm. Redness insidiously wraps about her left wrist and inches towards her elbow. Dizzy, Mimi rips her sleeve as lines and colors begin exploding upon her shoulder in painful bursts. As she watches, a white snake slowly emerges from her skin. Peonies bloom around the snake. The snake twists about her left wrist and winds about her shoulder. When the tattoo is complete, Mimi can no longer keep her eyes open, and she falls into a deep slumber.
The room is dark when Mimi wakes up. Looking around, Mimi realizes she is no longer in her room but in the spirit realm. Mimi shakily gets to her feet and looks at her arm. The tattoo is complete. It would have been beautiful if it were not forced upon her. Studying the tattoo, Mimi looks up, half expecting to see a snake floating in front of her with a luminescent sign that says, "slay me." Mimi scents the air and recoils. A sickly smell of decay permeates what Mimi realizes is a clearing. Not knowing what else to do, Mimi follows the scent. Her eyes water. Yuanjun's body had smelled of this, Mimi remembers. Clicking her tongue nervously, Mimi brandishes her claws as the smell becomes even more substantial. Holding out her claws, she effectively slices through the tree branches that block her passage. The cut branches turn into mist and float away. Soon Mimi comes to a river. But it is unlike any river she had ever seen. It is as if hundreds of years of sewage and garbage gathered and began to flow downstream. Mimi doubles over and vomits from the horrible stench. When she looks up, there is a strange wriggling worm sliding towards her. Not thinking twice, Mimi throws a ball of foxfire at it.
The worm lets out a horrifying cry before expiring in a spiral of smoke. Silence. Mimi decides to follow the river upstream. Running along the river, Mimi watches half a toilet float by with what appears to be a human hand sticking out of the bowl. Keeping a steady pace, Mimi soon finds herself next to a pond. The smell emanating from the pond ate at her skin. Not being able to think with the godawful smell, Mimi covers her nose and carves the same symbol into the ground over and over. The characters sink into the earth and slowly move to the pond. The reaction is instantaneous. Little peonies spring up along the bank of the river like pink pom poms. Clearwater seeps across the pond, purifying the water. The sewage and the garbage disappear. Mimi keeps digging her fingers into the ground, carving the symbol over and over. The emblem does not stop at the pond. With Mimi's assistance, the pond overflows into the river, pushing it violently downward, purifying everything it touches.
After several minutes Mimi stands up and stares into the water. There is nothing at the bottom of the pond. Huffing in disappointment, Mimi decides to follow the river downstream. Running downstream, Mimi watches as her purifying water continues to work its way down the stream. When Mimi reaches the end of the stream, she pauses. The air is still. Suddenly a giant snake erupts out of the stream. Striking her in the chest and throwing her against a tree. Gasping for breath, Mimi stares in horror at the giant snake. Brandishing her claws, Mimi readies herself for the next strike. Rising with some difficulty, the snake again hurls itself in her direction, and Mimi drives her nails into the skin. The snake screams in pain, and the sound chills her heart. It is a man's scream. Kicking off the snake's head, Mimi notices a large sword embedded deeply in the snake's side.
Huh, that's interesting, Mimi thinks. Momentarily distracted the snake coils around her with its silkily white body. Mimi buries her claws deep into the creature's skin. The snake screams once again and dives towards the stream. Kicking the snake's coils away from her body, she wriggles out and wraps her hand around the hilt of the sword. Her claws immediately spark. Ignoring this, Mimi uses all her strength to pull at the blade. It refuses to budge. The snake twists its head around, hissing violently at her. Summoning balls of foxfire to distract the snake, Mimi uses her own momentum to kick off the snake, throwing herself back into the stream. The sword in her hand. The gaping wound sizzles, and green puss oozes out of it. Screaming, the snake hits the ground. As Mimi watches, the skin of the snake slough off, and the stomach is exposed. A figure inside struggles within the stomach and the form of a fist strike the snake from the inside.
Not even thinking, Mimi shouts, "Watch out!"
Using her claws, Mimi cuts through the stomach as if it is old cheese. Carving out a good size hole, a human hand appears. Mimi grabs the hand and pulls until a small man emerges from the snake.
Aching and nauseous, Mimi staggers away from the man, brandishing her claws in warning.
"You saved me?" the man gasps, his face confused.
"Who are you?" Mimi demands, unwilling to drop her guard this time.
The man takes the skin from the snake and wraps it around himself, "I am the snake."
"Are you really?" Mimi looks him over skeptically, "Because it seems that you were inside the snake."
The man looks at the sword and screams in agony. Mimi realizes it is the same scream from the snake.
"Please take that away," the man puts his hands over his face and begins to sob.
Not knowing what else to do, Mimi leaves the sword on the ground and goes to comfort the man.
Wrapping a hesitant arm around his shoulders, Mimi asks, "What happened to you?"
He shakes his head and strokes the snake's body, "A beautiful woman with green eyes left me here to die. She looked like you."
An idea forming, Mimi takes hold of the man's hand and pulls him up.
"Here, help me with this," Mimi uses her claws to cut the stomach out of the snake, grabs hold of the snake, and begins pulling it towards the pond.
The man tries to help. But apparently, being stuck within oneself for who knows how long had affected his strength. Dripping with sweat, Mimi drags the creature to the pond. She shoves the head into the crystal-clear water. The peonies along the bank unfurl, and the petals drop into the pond. With one final push, Mimi struggles to shove the rest of the snake into the pond. The man steps beside her, and they both stare as the water begins to glow. Before Mimi can say anything, the man dives after the snake. At first, Mimi thinks that the man wants to pull the snakeskin from the pond, but then the snake and man begin to merge. The peonies swirl and coalesce around the two individuals until the snakehead once more emerges from the water.
Unsure, Mimi backs away from the healed snake. But it bows its head, and the man's voice emerges from the snake's mouth, "Thank you. You have saved me. This task is completed."
Mimi is violently thrown back into her body and gasps as fresh air once more fills her lungs.
"Cub!"
Coughing, Mimi grasps at herself, tearing at the blankets that had been tucked around her body. Rolling onto her side. Mimi is greeted with the sight of Mameki leaning over her and the sword lying beside her.
"Please, open a window," Mimi coughs as the incense around the room nearly suffocates her.
With unexpected strength, the parasol drags her from the bedroll and puts her head out the window. Mimi breathes in the air until her coughing subsides.
"Cub fine?" the parasol hands her a glass of water.
Gratefully taking the water, Mimi sips at it before waving her hand in a circular pattern, ensuring the rest of the incense filters out the window. She rests against the wall with her knees drawn up to her chest.
"What time is it?" Mimi rasps.
"Hour till cubs need pick up," Mameki garbles, still staring at her in panic.
"I'm fine," Mimi does not feel fine. She felt like someone has hit her with a truck and then backed up into her repeatedly.
"What happened?" Mameki garbles purple arms flailing.
"Fought a snake, healed the same snake, did my part for global warming," Mimi wheezes, "long story tell you later."
Mameki sits next to her and wraps a scaly purple arm around Mimi's shoulders.
"Cub win?" Mameki asks with confusion.
Curious, Mimi lifts her arm and realizes the tattoo has disappeared. At least that is one thing she did not have to explain.
"Ohh yeah," Mimi rests her head heavily against the parasol, "I kicked butt."
Mimi nearly nods off when she realizes the parasol is trying to spoon-feed something into her mouth. It is porridge. After what she has just been through, it is the most delicious thing she had ever tasted.
"Food help," Mameki grins as Mimi leans forward, eagerly seeking another mouthful.
When she finishes the porridge, Mimi runs her fingers through her sweaty hair and casts a refreshing spell on her person. Getting shakily to her feet, Mimi changes her dress as well. Mameki hovers next to her, arms ready to catch her if she falls. Mimi looks down at the parasol, and the image of her cartoonishly falling upon the fragile umbrella pops into her head.
"I'm going to see if I can make it to the cultivation fields," Mimi says, walking a little more evenly.
"Sure?" Mameki stares at her with something like horror.
"Yup, I promised," Mimi steps out the door, and being surrounded by the mountain air seems to revive her, "Listen for a thud."
Taking a deep breath, Mimi winces as her chest twinges. She would be feeling this tomorrow.
Walking across Cloud Recesses felt like walking on Mars. With every step, it felt like gravity is increasing on her. She reaches the cultivation fields and casts another refreshing charm on herself. But the sight of her sisters dueling against the two young cultivators. Energizes her enough to hasten over and settle on the grass.
"Whooo! Go, cubs!" Mimi shouts, and several heads turn to look at her with mixed expressions.
The clan leader chuckles and garners even more intrigue. He casually steps over to her and sits down.
"How are they doing?" Mimi asks, watching Chen dodge a quick sword strike and plant her dagger at the boy's neck with a smirk.
"They are very quick," Lan Xichen marvels, "When I asked whether or not they had been given any self-defense training, the youngest Shen said that you taught them something along the lines of 'kicking below the torso.'"
Pursing her lips, Mimi made a note to talk to her littlest sister about filters.
"Well," Mimi glances at him, and his eyes were glittering with amusement, "am I wrong?"
Lan Xichen appraises the woman before him, "No. Most families do not teach their daughters self-defense. It is only a select few that I have seen who have risen above that. I think it is admirable that you want your sisters trained to protect themselves and others."
If Mimi was feeling better, she might have blushed, "Thank you, clan leader."
He stands and gracefully moves over to where the children were practicing, "Alright, wonderful job, everyone. We will reconvene tomorrow."
The children bow to him respectfully. Chen and Dumplin soon race over to Mimi, nearly knocking her over with their excitement. Dumplin climbs up into her lap and wraps her arms around Mimi's waist. Mimi noticeably winces.
"I think you cubs are already stronger now than before I left," despite the pain, Mimi hugs her little sisters to her.
"Clan leader taught us how to strike with our daggers!" Chen said excitedly.
Mimi gestures for her to get up, "Well, aren't you going to show me?"
"Would you like to spar, Lady Shen?" Lan Sizhui asks, looking from Chen to Dumplin and then to Mimi.
"You have studies," Lan Xichen puts his hand on Lan Sizhui's shoulder affectionately.
"I just wanted to help the second eldest Lady Shen," Lan Sizhui smiles warmly at the clan leader, waves at Mimi before sprinting off after the other young cultivator.
Well, that is adorable, Mimi thinks, staring after him contemplatively then glancing at her sister.
"Watch me, Mimi!" Chen demands, and Mimi leans back with Dumplin in her lap.
"I'm watching cub."
Chen unsheathes her dagger and makes a simple, slashing gesture.
"How about if someone is coming towards you with a sword?" Lan Xichen unsheathes his sword and slowly moves toward Chen, who immediately blocks it with her dagger.
Both Mimi and Dumplin clap.
"How about when someone is coming at you from the side?" Lan Xichen moves to the side and slowly pushes his sword to her.
Chen blocks the sword and then points the dagger at the clan leader's heart. The clan leader glances over at Mimi and smiles.
"Are you going to show me what you learned today?" Mimi asks Dumplin, who sleepily shakes her head.
"Well, I will simply have to stay and watch tomorrow," Mimi looks over at Chen for permission, but she is nodding excitedly.
Darting over to her sister, Chen grabs her arm, "Will you watch?"
"I thought you didn't want me to watch?" Mimi teases, playfully ruffling her sister's hair with her hand.
Pouting, Chen says, "Well, I'm pretty good now."
Resisting the urge to snort, Mimi hugs her, "Yes, you are pretty good. Now, why don't we get some food in you."
"We will be having lunch shortly?" the clan leader offers.
"Alright. That sounds lovely," Mimi tugs Dumplin off her lap and holds out her hand out to Chen, "Why don't you help an old woman up?"
Grinning from ear to ear, Chen pulls her sister up, and Mimi staggers to her feet awkwardly. Her body ached from head to toe. She feels a strong hand at her elbow.
"Why don't you go ahead, ladies," Mimi gently nudges Dumplin after Chen, who is moving towards the dining hall with the walk of a predator.
When the children have walked a certain distance, the clan leader guides her slowly after them, "You are injured."
It wasn't a question.
Mimi grimaces, "I was out walking and fell near the cold springs."
He is not convinced and gently pokes her in the side. Mimi hisses in pain.
"Hard enough to strain or break a rib?" he asks, "I saw you walking towards the field. You hid it well."
"I must have forgotten that you work with children," Mimi gripes before remembering herself.
"You are certainly no child, Lady Shen."