"I am going to die here, staring at your stupid face!" Lan Jingyi yells, punching a bookshelf.
"Wait," Lan Sizhui taps his hand against Lan Jingyi's back, "Didn't Zewu-Jun tell us once that kitsunes could be put within the categories of demon or spirit?"
"Have you gone mad with starvation already?" Lan Jingyi gripes as he contemplates eating the book in his hand.
"No. What I am saying is that since Lady Gusu is a kitsune. Can we not summon her with Inquiry?"
The light in Lan Jingyi's eyes returns, "We need something to bring her here. Do you have any more blank talismans?"
Pulling out the pockets in his robes, Lan Sizhui shakes his head, having used them all in the battle.
"We can use books! Rip off a couple of pages of the books! No, here is an old manuscript of the Gusu sect rules," Lan Jingyi is so excited he could cry.
"That's a great idea. Zewu-Jun would kill us, "Lan Sizhui says hesitantly.
"Why? We've copied it enough times! This is an emergency, and I don't want to starve to death here!" Lan Jingyi starts systematically ripping pages and arranges them into a circle.
Lan Sizhu quickly locates some ink and adds them to the mess of inscriptions on the floor.
Mimi and Qiaolian stand in front of the blazing Shen Manor.
"I didn't think it would burn so easily," Mimi says, watching the spirits still residing in the walls scream and burn.
"Thousands of years of magic in those walls," Qiaolian says, "Magic is extremely flammable."
"Do you hear that?" Mimi turns her head, listening to the strange song. She was almost sure it was a guqin.
"No, I don't hear anything?" Qiaolian looks around, scanning the area for potential traps.
"I just thought I . . ." Mimi is sucked into a vortex of energy with a high pitch scream. Qiaolian is too shocked to react, and in a second, Mimi is gone.
Mimi falls from the ceiling and lands heavily on the ground of the library.
"It worked!"
Mimi blinks in surprise as Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi immediately go to hug her with relief.
"Hey . . . cubs? Did you just . . . ouija board me?"
Mimi looks unsettled as she looks down at the makeshift spirit board below her. Then she sees the ripped book pages, "When the clan leader finds out . . ."
"I'm sorry, Lady Gusu, but we had no idea what to do!" Lan Jingyi cries.
They both begin talking at once, and finally, Mimi puts her hands out to stop them.
She points at Lan Sizhui, "Explain."
Lan Jingyi interrupts, "Ugh, we don't have time for this! Lady Gusu, Zewu Jun, HanGuang Jun, and Master Wei have been kidnapped! They stuck us in here!"
Mimi stands, immediately alert, "What happened?!"
"The sick nag came back! They wanted revenge!"
"We were betrayed!"
"Lord Qiren is dead!"
"We're locked in!"
"They took the townspeople too!"
The boy's voices grew stronger and more scared with every interjection.
"Okay, cubs. It's going to be okay," Mimi gathers the boys to her and gives them a hug, "I am going to get them back."
Looking them over assessing, Mimi asks, "Are either of you hurt?"
They shook their heads, and Lan Jingyi looked like he is ready to cry. Mimi presses her hand to the hidden latch, and indeed it does not work. She experimentally pushes against the door, but it refuses to move.
"Okay, boys, get behind me," Mimi sizes up the door and looks around for a suitable shadow but finds none.
Already knowing that being between Mimi and somewhere she wanted to go would be disastrous, the boys cluster behind her like ducklings.
"Xichen forgive me," Mimi prays and blasts the door open with a column of foxfire.
"Whoo!" the boys cry around her as the entrance to the library is revealed, along with several burned books.
Mimi holds them back with her hand, "I'll go first and see if it's safe. I will call you."
"But Lady Gusu! We need to protect you!" Lan Sizhui says, jutting his lip out in a pout.
"Honestly, I would rather stand behind Lady Gusu and watch her kill everything in sight," Lan Jingyi mutters, crossing his arms over his chest.
Grinning at Lan Jingyi, she pats his arm and looks over at Lan Sizhui, "Just stay here, cubs. You have done enough. Let me take care of this."
Shifting into her fox form Mimi sneaks up to the top of the stairs. Two nags were weakly batting at the foxfire that had struck them directly, burning them to nearly a crisp. Mimi bites the throat out of the weakest one, and lashing out with her tails binds the other. Carefully looking around, Mimi summons six foxfire globes and sends them about Cloud Recesses to check for survivors and spy. Dragging the nag behind her, Mimi steps carefully into the library. Not seeing anyone, Mimi throws the nag out of the pavilion to be dealt with later.
Sneaking around the library, Mimi does not initially see anyone. The library is a mess. She is about to leave when a ball of foxfire hovers around a toppled over bookshelf. It circles the shelve round and round until she approaches. Mimi sees a foot sticking out from beneath a bookshelf. Fear clutching her heart, Mimi shifts into a human and lifts the bookshelf. It is Lord Qiren.
Trying to be careful, Mimi kneels over Lord Qiren and checks his pulse. It is faint, but it was there. Mimi looks down and sees that he is wearing the robe she gave him. Putting a hand on the robe, Mimi quickly sees that he only had a couple of broken ribs. He must have summoned the robe after being attacked, Mimi thinks. The robe has protected him from further damage. Mimi gathers a ball of foxfire and begins healing him. When there is nothing left she can do, Mimi bundles him close to her. Mimi drags him into the shadows and appears in a spare room of her sister's manor. She carefully lays him down on the bed and disappears again.
Mimi runs back to the boys and shifts into her human form, "Alright, cubs. I am going to take you to my sister's clan. I have already taken Lord Qiren there. He is alive, and I have treated him the best I can for now. My sister's family will be able to care for you while I figure out what has happened and wait for my sister. Now, I should warn you, children. My sister's clan are jorogumo. They are as fearsome as they are kind. I would greatly appreciate it if you did not scream or talk negatively in front of them. Be as polite and respectful as you would visiting any other clan," Mimi pauses, looking at their terrified faces, "They will try and do their best to spoil you. Just let them."
"What do you mean, spoil?" Lan Sizhui asks with concern, and Mimi realizes perhaps she should have used another term.
Deciding to try a different tactic, Mimi asks, "Has Chen or Dumplin talked about their 'aunties'?"
The boy's faces lit up in recognition. Lan Jingyi says, "The ones who give them all the food they can eat?"
Hiding her smirk, Mimi nods, "Yes. That would be them. Now, I am going to use shadow travel. It would be best to close your eyes. Most people find it extremely uncomfortable for their time."
The boys dutifully close their eyes, and Mimi gently grabs their arms before tugging them both into the shadows. Mimi looks back to see the boys still had their eyes firmly closed when they appear in the manor.
"You can open your eyes, cubs," Mimi chuckles.
The boys open their eyes and gawk at their surroundings in awe.
"Come along, cubs," Mimi tugs them out of their stupor and beckons them to follow her.
Mimi steps deeper into the caves to locate the 'aunties.' The three elder jorogumo sat in a half-circle with Chen, Dumplin, and Ying. Ying is doing a strange impression of something with her arms crossed over her head and her tongue sticking out. The aunties clack their mandibles with laughter.
Chen and Dumplin immediately run over to Mimi and clutch on to her tightly.
"Your back! What happened at Cloud Recesses!" Chen asks, looking at Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi, who were appraising the jorogumo with a mixture of fear and intrigue.
"Cloud Recesses has been attacked by the sick nag, cubs. The clan leader, HanGuang Jun, Master Wei, and the people of the town have become kidnapped. But don't worry, we will take care of this," Mimi turns her attention to the aunties who were studying the young cultivators with curiosity.
"Xiang, Xiuying, Meili," Mimi says, but the eldest jorogumo quickly corrects her and says, "Please, we are the aunties."
"Aunties," Mimi corrects, "This is Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi."
To their credit, the boys immediately bow to the large spider women and do their best to look innocent and cute.
"We will keep them safe," Xiang says, beckoning to the children with a sizeable spidery hand.
Mimi summons a large platter of fruit and assorted meats and sets it on a table near the aunts. The young cultivators do not move until they see Chen swipe a peach and a piece of ham before leaning against Xiang with a contented look.
"I hope you don't mind, but I also brought Lord Qiren," Mimi scratches her head uncomfortably, "He was severely injured and needs care."
Ying gets to her feet and meanders in the direction of the spare room, "That will give me something to do."
Squinting in confusion at her elder sister, Mimi decides that it is not worth pursuing.
Bowing to the aunties, Mimi says, "I am going to return to Cloud Recesses and get some more answers. I will be back shortly."
The aunties nod to her and resume talking to the children. Mimi slips back into the shadows and emerges next to the nag, still struggling against the bindings. The foxfire that she sent out into Cloud Recesses whisper to her.
Eyes blazing, Mimi kicks the nag in the side, "My sister and I built your people an Eden even grander than our own homes. We gave you protection from future humans and cultivators. Spirits would not be able to cross the mists," Mimi intones, staring into the bloodshot eyes of the nag, "Why are you doing this?"
The nag spits at her, and Mimi's eyes burn bright, "Fine."
Mimi directs her foxfire to the nag burning his skin. He screams into the skies.
"Will your supporters hear your cries? Will they care?" Mimi asks as she heals the burns with a wave of her hand.
Another round of foxfire strikes the nag.
Two hours the nag endures before breaking.
"You will be too late to save them," he hisses finally. In a fit of rage, Mimi slashes her claws over his neck.
Covered in the nag's blood, Mimi returns to her sister's manor and is immediately tackled by Qiaolian.
"You disappear! No note! No word! Daiyu and I were worried out of our minds! And what the hell is this?! We return here, and the town is empty, and Cloud Recesses deserted! And I have to hear of your doings from a young cultivator! A cultivator of all people!" Qiaolian looks over and smiles kindly at the young cultivators who were looking somewhat nervous as the eldest fox spirit rages, "I don't blame you kids. You are wonderful and adorable. Keep on doing what you are doing,"
Mimi grits her teeth, "I am sorry, it has been one thing after another, the clan leader . . ."
Qiaolian interrupts, "I am aware. I have been organizing a rescue party for the last two hours."
Huffing, Qiaolian lets out an angry breath, and Daiyu rubs her back comfortingly before hugging Mimi.
"What your sister is attempting to put into words is that she went ballistic after you left without warning and almost decimated an entire countryside. We were very worried and are glad you are okay."
When Daiyu releases her, Mimi is tugged into an embrace by Qiaolian, "Don't you ever scare me like that ever again! We thought we lost you!"