Xun Moyu's Relationship Chart!!!
The Octopus opened his eyes. Had he not felt the movement of his skin, he wouldn't have even noticed the difference.
An endless expanding void stretched as far as the eye could see. Which was to say, nowhere at all. There was no light. No solace. No reference point to orient himself in this prison of absolute darkness.
A tentacle moved through the space, sluggish, as if through molasses. The Octopus moved it in front of where his face should be. He couldn't see the suckers, couldn't see the arm, couldn't even perceive the movement. Only the vague, kinesthetic sense of limb displacement told him he'd moved at all.
The Octopus closed his eyes. There was no difference.
All was consumed within the endless dark expanse.
Where was he? Was he dead?
The Octopus didn't know if Demonic Beasts had souls that could be cleansed in Diyu, but if they did, he wouldn't be surprised that this was what awaited a being that had committed as much evil as he had. But no. This couldn't be death. Even if his eyes failed him, the rest of his faculties were operating just fine. He could move his arms, feel his skin change texture when he willed it to, sense the shadows flow over his gills like water. He could even move forward, suckers gripping onto a 'floor' that felt like solidified ink beneath him.
The Octopus dragged himself blindly through the darkness, praying to hit a wall, bump into a creature - anything to ground himself, give him some kind of orientation in this realm. Some proof that space still existed beyond his own body.
It felt like days of crawling through the void before the Octopus finally slowed, sinking to the ground in exhaustion. No, not exhaustion. That was the strangest part. He didn't feel a hint of fatigue or hunger. Could breathe despite clearly not being anywhere near water. His body functioned perfectly. A cruel joke, when everything else had been stripped away.
What was this place? How did he end up here?
The Octopus thought back to before he was trapped in this hell. His last memories were of fighting that child. A haughty brat in green robes, bearing the insignia of the Xun Clan.
Yes... The Xun Clan... The Octopus was beginning to remember now.
He had been told of the fortunes held in the mountain temple that the cultivators called their home. Texts that could be sold for countless spirit stones. Artifacts and talismans to be wielded by cunning beasts like himself. And hundreds of powerful bodies, ripe for slaughter and feasting. The Octopus was sent to scout the sect, to identify their vulnerabilities and weaknesses. The odd cult who had told him of the Xun would give him his payment - and after they had finished their raid, would allow him to feast on the countless bodies they left in their wake.
The Octopus, of course, hadn't even made it past the front gate.
He had taken the form of a rock dove, had flown in the dead of night, had even gone so far as to request concealing talismans from the cult. How did the scion of the Xun Clan see through him so easily? The green-robed girl called out to him as he flew overhead, yelling obscenities and launching a sharpened blade at the Octopus before he could enter the sect. The blade had penetrated his 'lungs', forcing him to return to his natural form.
Killing the human child shouldn't have been difficult, not for an Abyssal Assassin Octopus, one of the strongest aquatic Demonic Beasts.
He didn't last three minutes against her.
Hundreds of flying blades punctured every inch of his body. A tiger's claws tore the arms from his torso. And a swarm of crows consumed the scattered flesh with gluttonous calls, squabbling over the choicest pieces.
The last thing the Octopus remembered was bleeding out as the child approached, laughing and pointing at his shattered body with childish glee.
Ah... so he was dead. Yes, the Octopus should have known this from the start. There was no other explanation.
The Octopus sank to the inky ground, eyes still closed. Not that it mattered, but it was an instinctual movement. Of course it was too good to be true. That cult would never give him his payment. He would never consume the flesh of Xun. And the mighty Demonic Beast had fallen to a mere child.
The Octopus did his best to allow his mind to drift, to find some semblance of rest in this place.
But sleep would never come to him.
Time lost all meaning in the darkness.
The Octopus tried to count the seconds at first. One. Two. Three. The numbers marched forward in his mind, a desperate attempt to impose structure on the void. He made it to eight thousand and ninety before he lost count. Started over. Made it to six thousand three hundred and eight. Lost count again.
By his fifth attempt, he didn't even reach two thousand before the numbers slipped away. Like water through his tentacles.
He gave up on counting after the eighteenth time.
Instead, he focused on memory. Recounting every hunt, every kill, every moment of triumph in his long existence. But even those began to blur together, becoming indistinct and dreamlike. Had that been a ship he'd sunk off the eastern coast, or the western? Had he killed twelve sailors or twenty? The details escaped him, leaving only vague impressions.
The Octopus began to fantasize about what he would do to the child - if he escaped or, more likely, when she found herself in this hell with him. How he would kill her. How he would torture her, make her scream in agony, watch the expression on her face as he ate her alive. He catalogued every possible method of inflicting pain, drawing on his centuries of experience as an apex predator.
That, too, proved temporary.
No matter the atrocity he envisioned, nothing he could inflict would come anywhere near the pain she was inflicting on him right now. His fantasies of revenge began to ring hollow, pathetic. What good was imagining her screams when he couldn't even hear his own thoughts properly anymore?
Wait.
The Octopus tried to speak, to call out into the void. His beak moved - he could feel it move. But no sound emerged. Or perhaps sound emerged and he simply couldn't hear it anymore. He couldn't tell the difference.
Panic seized him. He thrashed in the darkness, tentacles flailing, but the impacts against the floor made no sound. His breathing (did he even need to breathe here?) was silent. The rush of shadows through his gills, previously a constant companion, had vanished without him noticing.
The Octopus pressed his tentacles against the ground and tried to feel the texture. Solid. Definitely solid. He could still feel, at least. That was something. That was-
When had the ground stopped feeling like anything?
His suckers pressed against the surface, but the feedback was wrong. Distant. Like touching something through thick leather gloves, or feeling texture through numbed flesh. The Octopus lifted a tentacle to his face, pressed it against his beak. He knew he was touching himself. His body told him his limb was in contact with his face. But he couldn't feel it. Not really.
The absence spread like frost across water.
Touch faded by degrees, a slow withdrawal that he only noticed in retrospect. First the fine details disappeared - the subtle texture differences, the temperature variations. Then the pressure sense dulled, requiring him to press harder and harder to feel anything at all. Then even that began to slip away, leaving only the ghost of sensation. A phantom feedback that his mind supplied out of desperate habit rather than actual stimulus.
The Octopus didn't notice when even that vanished completely.
He floated - or perhaps he stood, or perhaps he swam, there was no way to tell anymore. Whatever he was doing, he did it in absolute nothingness. No sight. No sound. No touch. He tried to move his tentacles but couldn't tell if they obeyed. Tried to breathe but couldn't feel his gills expand. Tried to scream but had no confirmation that his beak had even opened.
Existed.
That was all that remained. The fact of existence, without any evidence to support it. No input. No feedback. No connection to anything beyond the closed loop of his own consciousness, which itself began to feel increasingly suspect. Was he thinking these thoughts, or merely remembering thinking them? Was there a difference anymore?
No, he had to be real. Had to be. He had memories, and thoughts, and even if he couldn't feel his body, he knew, knew, logically, that it was still there.
The Octopus attempted to count again. Not seconds this time. Just... numbers. Any numbers. One. Two. Three. The sequence continued for some unknown amount of time.
He reached 832.
He lost count.
Started over.
693
Lost count again.
Eventually, he lost the ability to care that he'd lost count.
Eventually, he lost the ability to care about anything.
Eventually-
"WAHAHA!!! Look at this miserable wretch! I bet you regret darkening the doorsteps of the mighty Xun Moyu, do you not!?"
The Octopus snapped to something approaching attention. It took him several long moments to realize his eyes were closed. When he opened them, the Octopus saw something in this realm for the first time since his imprisonment began.
Standing in the infinite void, seemingly unbothered by the darkness, was the green-robed Xun child. His killer. His captor.
She was the only thing visible in the entire realm. Not glowing, not emanating light - if she was, he would have been able to see his own body. But despite it not making any logical sense, she was there. Solid, and real. Her green robes hung perfectly despite the absence of wind. Her face wore an expression of smug satisfaction. Behind her, the darkness continued infinitely, but she stood in stark clarity, every detail crisp and defined.
The Octopus could see her.
The realization hit him with the force of a physical blow. He could see her. After god knows how long, he could actually see something. Someone. The relief was so intense it nearly floored him.
"You... What have you done to me...?"
He could hear himself speak. He could hear his own voice. The sound of it nearly brought him to tears.
"Impressed, are you not? Welcome to the Shadowed Menagerie of Diyu, my Chenmo!" The girl's voice rang out clear and bright, every syllable a treasured gift. "Normally I would have slaughtered an insolent beast that sees fit to invade the home of Xun, but in my infinite mercy, I have decided to allow you to repent by serving the precious jade of the Xun clan, Xun Moyu! I was busy for the last few days, but now you may receive the undivided attention of the precious jade of Xun!"
Serve...?
The Octopus was beginning to understand now. This cultivator hadn't killed him. She had used some kind of technique to bring him into this accursed place, was attempting to domesticate him, like some kind of simple Spirit Beast!
Deep in whatever remained of his pride, something stirred. Defiance. Rage. The natural response of an apex predator being caged by prey.
"Chenmo...?" The word tasted like ash in his beak. "You dare to grant me such a childish name...? Release me at once, human brat. If you do, I shall make your death painless."
A lie, of course. She would suffer an excruciating death if he had his way.
Moyu's face scrunched in a look of disgust, as if she'd found something rotten in her dinner. Like she was looking at garbage, or a pile of manure.
It was only then that Chenmo questioned how he could see her so clearly, yet his own body remained shrouded in darkness. When he looked down, he saw nothing. Not even the faint outline of his tentacles.
"YOU DARE!?" Moyu's voice cracked like a whip. "You are courting death, beast!!! First you deny the name I so painstakingly thought of for you, and now you insult the one who has spared your life!?"
She pointed at him.
The pain arrived instantly.
It was nothing like the void. The void had been absence, a slow erosion of sensation until nothing remained. This was presence, an overwhelming flood of agony that filled every space where sensation had been stripped away.
Burning hot spikes drove into his eyes, but he could still see the girl clearly. His beak was torn out with pliers, though it remained attached. Every chromatophore was replaced with white-hot coals, searing from within. His suckers peeled away one by one. His tentacles were flayed. His organs boiled. Every nerve ending screamed in perfect clarity.
The Octopus screamed and writhed on the inky ground, his misery doing nothing to soothe the wrath of the child.
He could feel again.
Oh, ancestors, he could feel again.
It was the worst thing that had ever happened to him.
"You clearly do not appreciate what I have done for you," Moyu said, her voice carrying that same petulant tone she might use when denied a sweet. "We'll see how repentant you are in one week's time, Chenmo!"
"AAAHH!!! W-W-WAIT!!! MAKE IT STO-"
The Octopus could not finish his plea before the child disappeared.
And the pain continued.
His tentacles flailed for something, anything to ground him in this eternal darkness. To prove this was real, that the pain was real, that he existed beyond just this endless suffering.
The Octopus found nothing.
The pain lasted for what might have been a day. Maybe less. Maybe more. Time remained meaningless, but eventually the agony faded, leaving him gasping on the ground.
Or perhaps he wasn't gasping. Perhaps he was perfectly still. There was no way to know. His senses had abandoned him once more.
The darkness was worse now than it had been before.
At least before, Chenmo could hear his own words, could feel his arms move through the darkness, could touch his own skin. The memory of sensation, even if distant, had provided some small anchor to reality. Now, having experienced the return of sense, only to have it stripped away again...
Before, he hadn't known what he was missing. Now he did.
Now he knew exactly what was being withheld from him.
Chenmo tried counting seconds again. One. Two. Three. Lost track before he reached one hundred. Started over. Lost track again. The numbers became meaningless syllables, disconnected from any actual passage of time. He might have been counting seconds or hours or heartbeats - assuming his hearts still beat, assuming he still had all three. There was no reference point to calibrate against.
He contemplated revenge again. Imagined killing the child, torturing her, making her suffer as she'd made him suffer. But the fantasies felt hollow now. Thin and insubstantial. How could he torture someone who could damn him to this nothingness? What pain could he inflict that she could not return a hundred fold?
What was revenge worth when he couldn't tell if he was alive or dead?
The thoughts began to spiral.
Was he Chenmo now, or still the Octopus? Had he ever been the Octopus, or was that a dream? Was Chenmo a name or a prison? Both? Did names even mean anything in a place without sound? If he couldn't speak the name, couldn't hear it, did it exist?
Did he exist?
Eventually, even these spiral thoughts faded. Not from resolution, but from sheer exhaustion of the concept of thought itself. His consciousness became something closer to a steady-state. Not thinking, just existing.
Floating in the void.
Alone.
Forever.
When the girl eventually returned, Chenmo didn't fly into a rage.
He didn't lunge to rip her to shreds.
He didn't curse or threaten or promise vengeance.
Instead, he was filled with a sense of wonder and awe. After a week (though he could only take the girl's word for it, he had no concept of how much time had passed) without any stimuli whatsoever, the beautiful girl before him was a blessing of unparalleled scope. She was real. She was visible. She was present.
She was everything.
"Well, Chenmo?" Her voice rang out like temple bells, each word a treasure beyond measure. "I'm sure you have contemplated on your sins. If you kowtow one hundred times while praising the mighty Xun Moyu, I shall still allow you to serve as my pet."
Every shred of dignity in Chenmo's being demanded that he rebel. That he curse at the girl, lunge forward with his powerful tentacles, tear her to shreds as he'd imagined so many times in the void. His pride as an apex predator screamed for defiance.
But he could not.
Not after a week of nothingness. Not after experiencing the absence of all sensation, after he had lost his mind. Even if this child annoyed him to no end, her cruel abandonment was infinitely worse than her chiding and arrogance.
Slowly, deliberately, Chenmo lowered himself. He could feel his head now, could feel the pressure of the inky ground against his flesh as it slapped against the surface with a soft thud.
The sound was beautiful.
"I... This... Chenmo... humbly apologizes... for disrespecting the mighty Xun Moyu..."
He felt something roll down his face. It took a second to identify it. Tears. Over the centuries he had lived, he had never cried a single time. Now, just hearing his own voice was enough to bring him to tears. He had forgotten what he sounded like. Had begun to doubt he'd ever had a voice at all.
Soft footsteps approached - he could hear them, each one distinct and precious. When they reached him, a pressure came to rest on his head as the child stomped her foot on him.
"WAHAHA!!! Much better! I had thought smarter beasts would be harder to break, but you were quick to recognize my superior existence!"
She continued to laugh, her voice grating but infinitely preferable to silence. Chenmo did not interrupt her. He merely complied with her demand, rising before kowtowing once more, offering a different praise with each repetition.
For the mighty Xun Moyu.
The beautiful Xun Moyu.
The wise Xun Moyu.
Whatever she desired to hear, so long as he would not return to that hell.
After his hundredth bow, the child's fury was finally sated. She waved her hand dismissively at him, like his suffering was meaningless to her.
"Very well, Chenmo. In my infinite generosity, I forgive you for your transgression! Be sure not to do it again!"
Chenmo remained silent, head lowered in submission. When he rose from his final kowtow, he looked down and saw his body for the first time since awakening in this hell. His blue skin was unmarred from the fight that had led to him being claimed, and despite not eating at all, he seemed perfectly healthy.
At least, physically.
The girl standing before him snapped her fingers, and Chenmo felt an indescribable pulling sensation. An instant later, the void was no longer empty. The tiger and crow from his battle with Xun Moyu materialized beside her, dismissive of the Octopus as he stood meekly before their master. An assortment of items littered the surroundings - barrels of baijiu, dozens of parcels of rations and opulent meals, hundreds of outfits hanging from black poles. There were a small mountain of spirit stones, so many that Chenmo believed this child could outright purchase a minor sect if she truly wanted to.
She had filled the void with treasures, yet had left him in emptiness.
"W-Where am I?"
The girl clicked her tongue in annoyance, and Chenmo was quick to add: "-M-Master?"
A smug smile crossed her expression, and she held her arms outward, as if standing before a grand temple rather than an empty void decorated with her possessions.
"I have already told you, but it seems you lack the intelligence of Xun Moyu... Very well, but listen closely this time! You are in the Shadowed Menagerie of Diyu, Chenmo. You shall spend the rest of my life here, serving me in any way I see fit."
The girl snapped her fingers, and a large mirror manifested in the air. It shimmered for a moment before an image was displayed. A human silhouette, though making out any concrete details was impossible.
"Before I feel confident in allowing you outside once more, I must inform you of your new allies. If you disobey me and attempt to attack without my order, you'll be punished - quite severely as well!"
The Octopus should have been terrified. Was there punishment more severe than what his 'master' had already inflicted upon him? But rather than fear, Chenmo shivered with anticipation.
Outside.
The world of the living. Away from this world of darkness, and pain, and solitude.
"I am ready to learn, Master..."
The girl smiled, pleased with his obedience.
The image in the mirror began to move.
Main Branch:
The Xun clan - the strongest sect in the Northern Territory! And, with my birth, the strongest in the world!!! I need not mention the Patriarch - I'm sure even a beast like you is aware of him. Instead, I will tell you of my cousins, uncles, and aunts. Perhaps if they study and train all day and night, they'll capture a small fragment of my nobility and grace~!
Xun Yi
The main gate of the Xun compound opened slowly, the ancient hinges groaning. A loud whinny pierced the chilled air as a pair of Obsidian Flamehorses charged through the entrance, drawing an opulent and heavily armored carriage behind them. Their coats gleamed like polished volcanic glass, and small flames danced along their manes.
A young girl suddenly jumped directly into the carriage's path. The driver, initially paying little mind and preparing to simply barrel over the obstacle, went pale when he realized the child was none other than Xun Moyu. He pulled hard on the reins with panicked strength, but the carriage stopped mere inches from the girl for an entirely different reason.
The Flamehorses bowed their heads low before the young Moyu, clearly submissive to a girl who had yet to even reach the Foundation Strengthening Realm. They trembled slightly, as if in the presence of something far more dangerous than a child.
The carriage door opened with more force than necessary, and an annoyed Fengqi hopped out. When he noticed the cause of their abrupt stop, he sighed deeply and shook his head, already attempting to mentally move past the situation. Arguing with his niece in matters related to beasts was an exercise in futility.
Xun Yi followed shortly after her husband, far less bothered by the girl's antics. A faint smile touched her lips when she saw Moyu - a rarity for those outside her direct family. Perhaps she was reminded of Ming and Chizi in their youth?
"My little Moyu, how much you have grown..." Her voice was soft but carried an underlying coldness, like wind over ice. "Fufu, you are growing into quite the beauty!"
Yi closed the distance between them in smooth, gliding steps and embraced the young girl. Moyu immediately stiffened, her triumphant expression transforming into shock and discomfort. A biting cold seeped through her robes, chilling her to the bone. It felt like being embraced by a corpse. She fought against the grip, to little effect.
"Brrrr! R-r-release me, auntie! It is u-understandable to embrace one as cute as I, X-xun M-m-moyu, but you are f-freezing to touch! I d-d-demand a cup of green tea and bowl of t-tangyuan at once!!!"
Yi gave a final squeeze, either oblivious to or uncaring about the girl's discomfort, before finally acquiescing. Moyu immediately jumped backward, diving between the Flamehorses for warmth. The beasts moved to shield her protectively, though they would prove utterly worthless as a barrier against the Barbarian Queen.
"Of course, my little Moyu. I'll make some as soon as I greet my beloved children. You'll be a kind young lady and show me where they are, won't you?"
Moyu puffed her chest out with pride, the cold already fading enough for her ego to reassert itself. She nodded and grabbed the very edge of Yi's robe with just two fingers, careful to avoid any skin contact.
"Fufu, I am as kind as I am strong, and smart, and cute. So very! Come, Chizi is over in the courtyard practicing their sword style, while Ming is reading in the library-"
The girl babbled incessantly (mostly about herself) as she led Yi deeper into the compound.
"My aunt, Yi-ayi."
Moyu visibly shivered despite the comfortable temperature within the Shadowed Menagerie, rubbing her arms as if warding off a remembered chill.
"Brr... Just thinking about her makes me cold! She is... very strange. Like a statue carved from ice. Beautiful, yes, but so cold it feels like she is closer to a corpse than a living person. Uncle Fengqi's flame qi must be incredibly powerful to survive sleeping next to her every night..."
Chenmo remained silent, sensing the genuine discomfort in his master's tone. This was not fear - he was unsure if Moyu could experience that - but neither was it the casual warmth she held for Heinrich or Wen.
"She was a queen of some savage mountain tribe before she married my uncle. I suppose that is why she is so... intense. Her smile is rarely shown to anyone besides her family. Of course, she would never harm one as cute and important as me! She is always very kind, praising my beauty and bringing me delicious food. Her tangyuan is almost as good as the palace chefs'!"
Moyu paused, her expression softening for just a moment before her usual pout returned.
"She is a good aunt, but I prefer it when she praises me from a distance. Mohen's fur is much warmer than her hugs. If she ever tries to touch you, Chenmo, I permit you to hide. I will not punish you for fleeing from that."
"Thank you for your mercy, Master," the octopus said. He didn't particularly care about being cold - aquatic Demonic Beasts rarely did - but any excuse to avoid physical contact with a human was welcome.
Xun Fengqi
"Waah!"
The young girl fell backward as the man executed a smooth circular motion, his blade meeting hers and redirecting its force entirely. Their swords separated, and Moyu's balance broke completely. Despite their weapons being of similar quality and the man clearly restricting his power to the Qi Refining Realm, the difference in skill was far too great for Moyu to overcome.
"Fengqi-shushu! You cheated again! This time, you're not allowed to do that circle thingy!!"
The older man sighed, his expression tired but patient. He extended his hand down to the girl, offering to help her to her feet.
"If you wish to improve as a sword cultivator, you must learn from loss rather than decry your opponent for it. That was Hua - to dissolve, to neutralize. By using a circular motion when meeting the opponent's blade, you redirect their force away from you. This unbalances your opponent while conserving energy that would have been spent on Ge, a hard block."
Moyu sneered, smacking aside her uncle's hand with the flat of her blade and pulling herself to her feet without his aid. She gripped the Thousand Man Arming Sword more tightly, holding it toward her uncle as if the spar might turn deadly at any moment.
"I demand we spar again! On the name of Xun Moyu, I shall reign victorious over you, uncle!!!"
Fengqi sighed again, clearly losing interst in a student that refused to learn the lessons he tried to impart.
"We've already been going for the last three hours..."
"And we shall continue for three hundred more, if that is what it takes for you to stop cheating and lose!"
Fengqi looked at his niece's determined face, then at the sun beginning to set, then back at the girl. His shoulders slumped in resignation.
"...Very well. Once more."
"...Of course, my persistence paid off! After another five hours of sparring, I was victorious! I'm surprised it took eight hours for me to completely eclipse my uncle in the art of the blade, but then again, he has been practicing his whole life. I suppose it is only natural it would take some time to beat him, even for one as talented as me!"
The man threw the match, Chenmo thought immediately. Obviously. The girl would have continued pestering him until she "won."
Of course, he would never voice this suspicion.
"I estimate there are only around five swordsmen in the entire Northern Territory on the level of Fengqi-shushu - one of which is his child, Chizi, and another, of course, being me, Xun Moyu!"
Moyu puffed her chest out in pride, having almost certainly placed herself at the top of her imaginary list of master swordsmen.
"Uncle Fengqi is a bit annoying sometimes, but he cares deeply for his family and agrees to spar with me whenever I ask. Of course, it is much easier to defeat Jian in a sword duel, so I much prefer to battle him. But he is not always available. And Fengqi can teach me- I MEAN remind me of some of the finer points of swordsmanship!"
Moyu twirled her Thousand Man Arming Sword in a practiced flourish, as if to reassure herself of her skill with the blade. She repeated the motion twice more as she continued, clearly pleased with how it looked.
"Fengqi leads the expeditionary forces through the Ghost Domain. I have been told by the Patriarch that it is quite dangerous, and that Fengqi is a powerful warrior to survive such frequent visits. I dare not question the honorable Patriarch, so I am inclined to believe his assessment of uncle... though personally, I think embracing his wife is a much more treacherous experience."
Moyu shivered again at the thought, and the mirror shifted once more.
Xun Chizi
The mirror's surface rippled, showing a sun-drenched training courtyard bathed in afternoon light. A young Moyu, brandishing her Thousand Man Arming Sword with far more enthusiasm than skill, faced a solitary figure across the stone pavers.
Xun Chizi stood opposite her, holding a strange, formless blade that shimmered like a sliver of water caught in sunlight. They were perfectly still, their expression serene and unreadable. Like a porcelain doll.
"HIYAAA!" Moyu screamed, charging forward with a clumsy overhead strike. "Taste the might of the Xun clan's greatest genius!"
Chizi didn't move to block the incoming blade. They simply took a single, small step to the side. The motion was so fluid and economical that it seemed effortless, like watching a leaf drift on water. Moyu's sword slammed into the stone pavers where Chizi had been standing a heartbeat before, sending up a spray of stone chips and dust. The force of the missed blow threw Moyu completely off balance, and she stumbled forward several steps before catching herself.
She spun around, face flushed red with anger.
"Stop dodging! Fight me properly! Kowtow and accept your defeat!"
Chizi said nothing. They merely raised their watery blade slightly, shifting their stance with minimal movement.
Moyu charged again, this time unleashing a furious flurry of slashes - a dozen strikes in rapid succession. Each one was met not with a clash of steel, but with a soft, guiding touch from Chizi's blade. It was as if Chizi knew exactly where Moyu's sword would be before she did, simply placing their own weapon in the way to redirect the momentum. The blows were turned aside with minimal effort, flowing around Chizi like water around a stone.
It was like fighting a river. Moyu's strength was swallowed, her attacks rendered meaningless against the flow.
This one-sided exchange continued for nearly an hour. Moyu attacked relentlessly, and Chizi simply evaded, moving only the minimal distance required to escape Moyu's crude attacks. Few opponents lasted that long against Chizi, but Moyu's stubborn pride kept her swinging long past when any reasonable person would have given up.
Finally, Moyu threw her sword to the ground in a fit of rage, her chest heaving with exertion.
"THIS IS BORING! You're not even fighting! You're like a training dummy that moves! It's no fun at all!"
She stomped her foot, pointing an accusatory finger at her cousin.
"I'm going to find Jian! He's a much better sparring partner! At least he knows how to lose properly!"
Moyu stormed away, leaving Chizi standing alone in the courtyard. Chizi watched her go for a moment, something unreadable flickering in their eyes, before they simply turned back to their solitary practice as if nothing had happened.
"Hmph. My cousin, Chizi."
Moyu's voice was laced with an unusual mixture of annoyance and boredom. She idly tossed a spirit stone from one hand to the other as she spoke, the rhythmic motion seeming to calm her.
"They are the child of Fengqi-shushu and Yi-ayi. I suppose they are skilled with a sword... if you find standing perfectly still and letting your opponent tire themselves out to be 'skillful.' Personally, I find it to be a cowardly and exceedingly dull way to fight. Not dynamic at all..."
Chenmo tilted his head slightly. The memory he'd just witnessed painted a very different picture. That level of control, that perfect economy of movement. Far more likely that the only thing they could have gained against such an unskilled opponent was practice evading strikes.
"Sparring with them is a complete waste of my precious time," Moyu continued, oblivious to her pet's thoughts. "It's like hitting a wall. A very boring wall that doesn't even have the decency to crumble when a genius like me strikes it! They just stand there with those empty eyes. Like a doll. Creepy!"
She shuddered dramatically, the spirit stone dropping from her grip.
"What a waste of talent! If I had their level of control, I would be challenging every expert in the Four Territories and making them kowtow to my greatness! But Chizi never boasts, never demands tribute, never even gets angry when I insult them! I do not understand it at all."
Moyu sighed, kicking the spirit stone. It rolled gently on the floor, eventually meeting its many fellows in the small mountain of similar stones.
"That is why Jian is a much better companion. He has spirit! He gets frustrated, he complains, he tries his best to win even though he knows he can't possibly defeat me! That is a proper fight! I don't bother Chizi much anymore. It's no fun when your opponent doesn't even care that they are being graced by the presence of a peerless jade like me."
'No', Chenmo thought, 'it's no fun when your opponent is so far beyond you that they don't need to care. The doll-like one could have ended that fight in seconds. They chose not to.'
He wisely kept these observations to himself.
Xun Ming
(TBA)
Xun Linghao
The dead of night blanketed the Xun compound in comfortable darkness. A shadow streaked across the sky, a flap of wings being the only thing the break the silence of the night sky. It landed in the courtyard with barely a whisper of sound, and the figure clutched their side, clearly injured.
Xun Linghao took a shaky breath, wincing at the pain. That had been too close. The Yao Clan's formations were more sophisticated than he'd anticipated, and that last guard-
"HALT, FOUL BEAST!!!"
Linghao nearly jumped out of his skin as a small figure burst from behind a decorative shrub, arms spread wide in what was presumably meant to be an intimidating pose. His hand went to his weapon before he recognized the green-robed menace.
"Moyu!? What the hell are you-"
"Ahhh..." The girl's triumphant expression melted into disappointment as she squinted at him in the moonlight. "It's just you, Linghao. I was certain that flying shadow was a Shining Lightninghawk! Those are worth at least 1000 spirit stones if you can tame them! Tch, what a waste of my time..."
Linghao pressed his hand more firmly against his bleeding side, hoping she wouldn't notice in the darkness. "Moyu, it's the middle of the night. What are you even doing out here-"
"What's in the bag?" Her eyes had already locked onto the satchel slung over his shoulder, and she was approaching with the single-minded determination of a shark that had smelled blood.
"Nothing. Just some-"
"Is it a present for me?" She reached for it, and Linghao pulled it away, wincing as the motion aggravated his injury. "It IS, isn't it!? What is it? Spirit stones? Talismans? Oooh, is it that Shining Lightninghawk you ACTUALLY caught and are hiding from me!?"
"It's not a present, Moyu. These are things I... borrowed... from the Yao Clan."
The girl's eyes widened with delight. "You STOLE from the Yao Clan!? Wahaha! That's hilarious! Those stuffy old- wait." Her expression shifted to something more calculating. "If the Elders find out, you'll be in soooo much trouble, won't you, dear cousin?"
Linghao's jaw tightened. Here it comes.
"Don't tell the Elders."
"Fufufu~ And why shouldn't I? After all, I am a loyal and obedient jade of the Xun Clan, who would NEVER keep secrets from the honorable Patriarch~"
She was already grinning like a cat with a cornered mouse. Linghao sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat.
"What do you want?"
"I'm so glad you asked!" Moyu clapped her hands together. "First, you must pay the Moyu Tax!"
"The... what?"
"The Moyu Tax! For my discretion and benevolence in keeping your secret! It will cost you... hmm... thirty - no, FIFTY spirit stones! And..." She leaned in, eyes gleaming with curiosity. "You must tell me how you snuck past the Yao Clan's formations!"
Linghao stared at her for a long moment, weighing his options. The spirit stones were replaceable. His freedom from imprisonment was not.
"Fine. Fifty stones. And I'll tell you in the morning, when I'm not bleeding and exhausted..." He reached into his pouch and counted out the stones, wincing with each movement. "Here. Take them and let me go."
Moyu snatched the spirit stones with glee, counting them twice to ensure he hadn't shortchanged her. Satisfied, she looked up at him with that insufferable smirk.
"What a kind cousin you are, Linghao~ Always so generous to your beloved Moyu!"
She said it without a hint of irony, apparently fully believing he was motivated by familial affection rather than self-preservation. She rustled through a pouch at her side, tossing a few small green pills at Linghao's feet. Before he had the chance to question her, she spoke again.
"These are from Shahua's supply. She gave them to me when I cut my hand earlier, but I, the great Xun Moyu, do not need pills for every minor scrape! Enjoy my scraps, Linghao! Wahahaha!!!"
The girl sauntered away while laughing loudly. Linghao looked confused as he grabbed the pills, unsure if this was her attempt at kindness, or another insult.
"Linghao is a criminal," Moyu stated matter-of-factly, though there was no condemnation in her tone, only amusement. "He is always stealing things, running away, or getting into trouble."
She gestured at the mirror as Linghao vanished into the night.
"He is currently hiding in the compound because he stole a technique from another clan. Can you believe the audacity? Stealing is such a lowborn thing to do!" Moyu paused. "Unless I do it. Then it is merely 'reclaiming treasures for their rightful owner.' But Linghao lacks my grace!"
"He seems... agile," Chenmo noted.
"He is fast, I will give him that. And skilled, and intelligent. I'd say he is the most naturally talented of all my cousins, though still far below the great Xun Moyu! When he sneaks out he often brings me interesting trinkets from the outside world - to buy my silence, as I am careful to watch for his return."
Moyu leaned in, whispering loudly as if sharing a great secret.
"Between you and me, I think he is just lonely. He sits on roofs and watches people. It is pathetic, really. He wishes he could be as popular and beloved as I am! If you see him lurking in the shadows, toss a rock at him. He likes the attention."
'He definitely does not,' Chenmo thought.
"Yes, Master. I shall... acknowledge him."
Wen's Branch:
One of several branch families, led by my aunt, Xun Wen. While they are not the most powerful, they are notable for being my favorite! And... no, that's about it. If I told you the names of every branch family to the Xun, we'd be here for days, and my time is far too valuable for that, Chenmo! Be satisfied I tell you of this one at all!
Xun Wen
The mirror shimmered, displaying a scene from several years prior. A much younger Moyu, dressed in an ornate hanfu, ran up to a woman with narrowed red eyes who was in a fevered discussion with a small group of Xun artisans. The woman, Xun Wen, paused mid-sentence and knelt to meet the child's gaze, her expression shifting to something softer.
"Wen-ayi! What presents have you brought for your most beloved niece, Xun Moyu, this time!?" Moyu's voice was even shriller as a child, if such a thing was possible. "Skin-clearing ointments? Ying-Infused Cosmetic Pills? Oh, perhaps a new hanfu from those multi-armed seamstresses of yours!?"
Wen smiled. A rare and genuine expression that softened her usually stern features. She produced a small, intricately carved wooden box from her sleeve. Its surface was a dizzying array of geometric patterns that seemed to shift and fold into one another, hurting to look at for too long.
"A gift worthy of a clever mind, little Moyu. It is a tesseract-fold puzzle box. To open it, one must trace the primary fractal sequence without breaking the pattern."
Moyu snatched the box, her brow furrowing not in concentration, but in annoyance. She shook it violently, hearing the rattle of pills inside. With a huff, she raised it above her head, preparing to smash it on the stone floor.
"This is too slow! I shall simply open it with my strength!"
Wen's hand shot out, gently catching the girl's arm mid-swing. "Patience, niece. Brute force is for those without intellect. Surely the smartest of the Xun can solve a simple-"
"SIMPLE!?" Moyu shrieked, her pride wounded more deeply than any blade could cut. "I, Xun Moyu, am a peerless genius! I was merely testing your reaction! Of course I can solve this childish toy!"
She sat down with a dramatic pout, tracing the lines with her finger for several minutes, growing visibly more frustrated with each failed attempt. Wen watched with barely concealed amusement before finally tappung a small, almost invisible notch near the corner.
"The beginning of any pattern is often the most humble part, is it not?"
Moyu's eyes lit up with understanding. She quickly started tracing from the notch - following the fractal once she was given a point to start was a matter of perception rather than intellect. After only a minute of fiddling with the device, the box clicked open with a soft hum, revealing a dozen shimmering, pearl-like pills. She snatched them up immediately, popping one in her mouth before looking back at her aunt with a triumphant grin.
"Fufufu~! I knew that all along! I was simply giving the puzzle a chance to challenge my great mind! You must make the next one harder if you wish to make me struggle, Wen-ayi!"
Wen simply chuckled and patted the girl's head before turning back to the bewildered artisans, who had been standing in awkward silence throughout the entire exchange.
"My aunt, Wen-ayi. She is quite intelligent, especially in areas related to numbers and mathematics. I must admit, I am not fond of the scholarly arts - though, if I really wanted to, I could eclipse even Wen-ayi's genius with minimal difficulty."
Yes, I'm sure, Master, Chenmo thought sarcastically. But what came out was: "Y-yes, I'm sure, Master."
Moyu smirked, pleased at her new pet's response. She continued, eyes closing as she praised her relative with the air of someone bestowing great honor.
"Her talent with formations and talismans is quite impressive, and few within the Four Territories can match her in that regard. I have, of course, received many gifts from her over the years - do not tell Chizi, or Ming, or Linghao, but I am confident that I am Wen-ayi's favored niece!"
Moyu extended her arms to draw attention to her hanfu, spinning to show it off to her beasts. Mohen raised his massive paws and almost clapped them together, while Chenmo and Sanmo stared in awkward silence, unsure if participation was expected or forbidden.
"For example~" Moyu continued, running her hands down the fabric, "this hanfu was sewn by her seamstresses! And every time she comes to visit, she brings plenty of delicious dumplings! Oh, oh, and she even offers me cultivation pills - you'd only give those to your favorite, right? Right!?"
"Y-yes Master, I'm sure she favors you the most!" Chenmo did his best to keep the fear from creeping into his voice.
"Good, you're smart! I knew I chose well to take you into my Shadowed Menagerie~." Moyu's expression shifted slightly, becoming more thoughtful (a rare occurrence). "Wen-ayi can be strange, though. A bit... progressive. Desiring more say in the function and actions of the Xun sect. I don't really understand it myself. Why would one deliberately pursue more responsibilities when all their wants and desires are already catered to? She is only a branch member, after all."
She paused, tapping her chin. "I doubt I will put up so much fuss when I'm her age, but then again, I wouldn't want to be forced to marry someone like Heinrich-shushu..."
Moyu's eyes suddenly widened as if realizing she'd said too much. "Ah, don't tell him I said that, okay Chenmo?"
"Yes, Master..."
Heinrich Gotthelf Humboldt
A foreign man appeared in the mirror. Tall, with a thick beard of brown hair and a pale complexion that was rarely seen on any but the highest nobility or foreigners from distant lands. His garb was unlike anything commonly seen in the Four Territories - made of unfamiliar fabrics and cut in strange patterns, a far cry from the flowing hanfu worn by the Xun. He was looking down at the young Moyu with a paternal smile, one hand gently patting the girl's elaborately braided hair. The mirror jostled slightly as the girl violently smacked the hand away, her voice shrill.
"Heinrich-shushu! Do not ruffle my hair!!! Wen-ayi spent an hour braiding it for me, and I do not wish for your paws to mar my beauty!!!"
The foreign man laughed, a deep, warm sound, as he held his hands up in mock surrender. He reached into the bag at his side as he spoke, his accent thick and his pronunciation awkward, seeming to struggle with the tonal language of the Four Territories.
"My apologies, little Moyu. I have brought you a gift, so perhaps you can find it in your heart to forgive this uncle, ja?"
He pulled his hand from the sack, and a blade came with it. A jian, its dark metal shining in the candlelight. It was slightly over two feet long, and the young Moyu visibly strained under the weight as it was handed to her. A cumbersome weapon for a child, but one she would surely grow into. Her eyes lit up as she grabbed it greedily, clearly eager to begin miming her uncle Fengqi's sword styles.
"Wow!!! Thank you, uncle!!!"
The girl threw her arms around the man in an uncharacteristic display of affection before quickly letting go and swinging the blade enthusiastically in the direction of some terrified house servants. They immediately scattered, clearly familiar with Heinrich's inventions.
"Look! Look at the might of your favored niece, Heinrich-shushu! I'm the coolest!!!"
"Very fearsome, little one," Heinrich said, still smiling despite the servants fleeing for their lives.
"Heinrich-shushu is my uncle, having married into the family via my aunt, Wen-ayi. He is a man from a foreign land known as Havelberg, and while I care little for a land without spirit beasts and cultivation techniques, he has been kind enough to share many dishes and sweets with me and Mohen! Mmm... Sauerbraten..."
Moyu paused as she reminisced, actually drooling slightly. The large tiger, Mohen, was similarly lost in thought, a low rumble of pleasure emanating from his throat. Moyu snapped back a few moments later, rubbing at her mouth with her sleeve in a decidedly unladylike manner.
"A-anyways, you would be wise to listen to his theories - I have met few scholars comparable to him in the sciences. If he studied for another decade or two, he may even know more than I do!"
Moyu put her hands on her hips and puffed her chest out in pride at her completely incorrect assertion.
"He was the one who produced my Thousand Man Arming Sword, which I am sure you are intimately familiar with." A cruel smile played across her lips at the memory of their battle. "While it is by far his greatest creation, he has some others that are... perhaps comparable. If I were as weak as you, I would refrain from testing his patience - I do not wish for him to test his inventions on you and leave me without a pet until you regenerate!"
Chenmo flinched at the word 'regeneration', but before he could contemplate too deeply on her words, Moyu snapped her fingers again, and the image in the mirror shifted once more.
Xun Ri
A young woman with vibrant red hair and a body covered in dozens of intricate tattoos stood attentively before one of the Xun compound's guest houses. She guarded the entrance, allowing her mistress privacy while remaining alert. Her posture was perfect, almost statuesque. A young girl poked her head around the corner, watching the woman stand motionless. Moyu's face broke into a mischievous smirk before she lunged forward, swinging her new jian through the air with unpracticed clumsiness.
"HIYA!!!"
The red-haired woman easily blocked the blade with her own sword, angling it to redirect the girl's strike to the ground rather than clash directly. Her weapon was of much poorer composition and would likely shatter in a direct collision with one of Heinrich's creations, but her skill was enough that she could avoid a clash. The Thousand Man Arming Sword bites into the earth with the sound of metal on stone.
"A valiant attempt, Lady Moyu. Had you not called out your strike, I would not have had time to react."
A transparent lie to appease the young girl. The woman could have stood completely still and let Moyu wail on her for several minutes, escaping with little more than flesh wounds. Ri knew well of Moyu's temper tantrums, however, and was careful to avoid triggering them. She pulls on the handle of the blade, freeing it from the earth and holding it towards the young girl.
"Why don't you go play with Jian? I'm sure he would appreciate the company while I wait for Lady Wen."
The girl scrunched her nose, clearly annoyed as she took her blade.
"I tried, but the elders are seeing him right now. It's not fair that those oldies get to play with him while the noble Xun Moyu is stuck out here by herself!"
The girl's expression shifted to a pout before suddenly brightening when she noticed the tattoos visible beneath Ri's robes. She reached up without permission, sliding the fabric aside to reveal a koi fish swimming up Ri's shoulder. Moyu gave the guard an exasperated look that was almost comical on a child's face.
"You mar your flesh with inks and dyes!? Such a thing is unthinkable for one with skin as perfect as my own..." She paused, her expression shifting as an idea clearly formed. "Ah, I've got it! You can tattoo my likeness on the backs of my servants! They get a reward for their service, and I get entertainment! Fufu, my genius stuns even me!"
A grimace flashed across the guard's face, clearly not seeing how a back tattoo of a little girl could possibly be a 'reward'. She adopted a strained smile, her tone soft and placating as she gently pulled away and fixed her robe.
"A-ah, Young Lady Moyu, perhaps I can... oh, I could paint you a mural in your room instead? Surely you'd appreciate looking at that more than the backs of your staff..."
The young girl put a hand to her chin, considering carefully.
"Hmmm... Aha! Instead of covering the bodies of my weak servants in ink, we shall etch my beauty into the durable walls of the Xun clan's palace! I am truly the smartest to have thought of such a plan! Very well, Ri, I shall commission you at once!!!"
Ri sighed in visible relief, seemingly unbothered by Moyu taking credit for her idea and simply grateful to avoid tattooing hundreds of men against their will.
"Ri is the guard of Wen-ayi. If you dare disobey your cute master and go after the Wen branch, and you somehow manage to slip past their formations, then she is likely the one to put you down." Moyu's tone was matter-of-fact, as if discussing the weather rather than Chenmo's potential execution. "Her bodily refinement and skill with the blade eclipses most, making her a swordswoman comparable to my uncle Fengqi!"
Chenmo narrowed his eyes, confusion crossing his features.
"Body Refinement? A parlor trick for those who have failed to reach the Pure Realm. Why should I fear a cultivator who relies on such things?"
Moyu's hand snapped up, finger pointing at the octopus. He writhed in agony, the now-familiar sensation of having every nerve set ablaze washing over him.
"Don't question me, mollusk! Ri's inks are powerful, and while I would never mar my own beautiful skin with them, they are enough to allow her to fight above her station. A-ah, still nowhere near me, however!"
Moyu dropped her hand, and Chenmo visibly relaxed as the pain faded. She glared at him for several more seconds, but when he prostrated without her needing to command it, she relented and continued.
"I don't know her as well as I probably should, considering how often I've seen her. When she visited in the past, I spent most of my time with her brother, Jian."
Xun Jian
Moyu climbed the side of a pagoda, feet kicking in the air as she pulled herself toward the third floor with determined grunts of effort. She sighed in relief as she managed to haul herself over the edge, carefully crawling forward until she reached the nearest window. Peering through the glass into the room beyond, she spotted her prize.
Sitting in the center of the third floor was a young boy, gently strumming a simple erhu. His youthful features were marred by the scales that covered his skin, and his clothes had been modified to allow the serpentine tail to snak out from his backside. The sound echoing in the room was soft and mournful, like a dirge for something only the boy could remeber losing. It was beautiful in its melancholy, each note perfectly placed and filled with sorrow.
Moyu clearly couldn't care less.
She hammered on the glass windows with her small fists, shouting to be heard over the music.
"JIAN!!! The great Xun Moyu demands you leave that musty room at once!!! I require a sparring partner so I may master the blade, and Chizi refuses to play fair!"
A look of annoyance crossed the boy's face as his song was interrupted mid-strum. He sighed deeply before setting down his instrument and approaching the window. Opening it, he stared at the girl clinging to the outside wall with a mixture of exasperation and resignation.
"I've asked you not to interrupt me, Moyu. It's not safe to interrupt me while I play... and it's dangerous climbing up here..." He gestured at the three-story drop. "And besides, I'm busy. I must stay here and wait for the elders. They have taken me into the Xun clan, so participating in their tests is the least I can do to repay their kindness."
Moyu groaned, arching her back dramatically.
"BOOOORING!!! Those old fogies can run their experiments after we've played! How can they expect the great scion of the Xun clan, Xun Moyu, to grow to her full potential without a proper training dummy!?"
"I thought you said you needed a sparring partner, not a training dummy..."
Before Jian could close the window, Moyu grabbed the hem of his robes and began pulling him through with strength that should not have fit her small frame. He resisted, and the pair struggled for a moment in the window frame before Moyu suddenly fell backward, dragging the young boy with her. They tumbled over the edge of the pagoda together, the mirror's view shaking violently as they plummeted.
THUD.
They hit the ground hard, Moyu landing directly on top of Jian, who had broken her fall with his body.
"Luckily, Jian broke my fall with his body." Moyu stated this as if it were the most natural thing in the world, completely unbothered by injuring her friend. "He is my most loyal ally, even if he can complain quite a bit. I doubt a beast like you reads much, but he is like the dopey sidekick in novels that exists to make the main character look even more fantastic! Ah, I'm the main character, if that was not obvious."
"Yes, Master..." Chenmo said dutifully.
"I hold Jian to quite a high standard - after all, of all the Xun clan, he is the one closest to my beloved beasts!" Her expression brightened considerably. "He even saw fit to acquire his own spirit beast, clearly inspired by my own marvelous performance as a tamer! Be sure to play nice with his Dashan - while I am somewhat ambivalent towards the dog, Jian is quite fond of it, and I would prefer to avoid upsetting him."
"Yes, Master..."
"I must say, Jian is quite the depressing man to have hanging around. Always sulking about his condition and playing his erhu. If I could spend every day playing with a jade-like beauty as breathtaking as me, I would be praising the heavens for my fortune every waking hour! Hmph, clearly he has eyes yet cannot recognize Mt. Tai. Is that right, Chenmo?"
"Yes, Master..."
"Still, he is better company than most - even if he complains and moans over the slightest inconvenience, he always relents to my commands. I can scarcely remember a single time I made a request of him that he did not fulfill. Surely it is because he knows that I, Xun Moyu, know what is best for him! He's been my loyal follower since we were children, and as such, of all the members of the Xun family, he is the one I am most fond of."
Moyu's expression became unusually serious for a moment.
"If I had to choose between you or Jian, I would choose him every time. So be sure to sacrifice yourself if he is in danger, understood?"
Chenmo hesitated for just a moment too long.
"...Understood?"
"Y-yes, Master..."
Hired Help:
Individuals from outside the Xun family, whom serve under us in one way or another. From merchants and warriors that serve to fill and defend Xun's coffers, to the filthy commoners that toil and perform the work that is below the outer disciples. There are even some auxillary clans that serve under the Xun, basing their entire existence around supporting one facet or another. I only mention the notable ones to you, Chenmo - the vast majority are no names, destine to live and die like blades of grass before the might of Xun!
Fei Cangqiong
The image in the mirror shifted to a raucous gambling den in one of the seedier districts of the city. Xun Moyu sat at a Pai Gow table, a deep pout on her face as she slammed her dominoes down with excessive force. Across from her, a handsome blond man with a roguish grin effortlessly laid out a winning hand, raking in a small pile of spirit stones with practiced ease.
"Another win for this humble servant! It seems the winds of fortune blow in my favor today." The man's smile was almost insufferably charming. "Perhaps you'd care for another round, little lady?"
Moyu seethed, her small hands clenching into fists. This insolent commoner had been winning for the last hour, not through any discernible skill, but through sheer, infuriating luck. She was about to summon Mohen to 'convince' him to lose when she noticed something important. Fei's eyes kept drifting away from the game to watch a pretty serving girl refilling tea at a nearby table.
A wicked, brilliant idea formed in Moyu's mind.
She leaned forward conspiratorially, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"Hey. That girl over there... she keeps looking at you. I think she likes you."
A childish attempt at deception, but it worked all the same. Fei Cangqiong turned his head, trying to subtly (and failing spectacularly) catch the girl's eye, a wide, hopeful grin spreading across his face. He was so preoccupied with trying to look suave and impressive that he completely missed his turn to draw a tile.
"AHEM!" Moyu barked, barely concealing her glee. "It is your turn, commoner!"
"Ah! Right, right," Fei said hastily, grabbing a tile without even looking and discarding another just as carelessly. His eyes remained fixed on the serving girl.
Moyu pounced on the opportunity like a tiger on wounded prey. With a triumphant cry, she revealed her hand - modest, but far better than the nonsense Fei had thrown down.
"WAHAHAHA! You fool!!! You have fallen for my masterful strategy of psychological warfare! Clearly, your simple mind is no match for the peerless intellect of Xun Moyu! Pay up!"
Fei chuckled good-naturedly, scratching the back of his neck as he pushed a small portino of his winning back across the table to the girl. He didn't seem bothered by the loss in the slightest.
"Yeah, yeah you got me, little lady. A clever trick indeed."
He then stood up, winked at Moyu with infuriating casualness, and sauntered over to the serving girl. His gambling loss was already forgotten, his mind entirely focused on his new target. Moyu watched him go, puffing her chest out with pride, utterly convinced she had won some grand battle of wits.
"I was told to be careful around this commoner! Heinrich-shushu called him a 'player'! I'm unsure what game he is a player of, but I'm fairly certain it is not Pai Gow, as he is quite terrible at it."
Moyu paused, drawing a domino from her sleeve and holding it to her chin thoughtfully.
"The secret to defeating him is quite simple! Merely state that a girl was giving him looks, and he will spend the rest of the game turning to watch her! It's a good thing he is a poor commoner, as he would surely lose all his wealth if such an easily exploited weakness became widely known."
She folded her arms, her expression shifting to something more contemplative and vaguely disgusted.
"While he is much more fun to drink and gamble with than someone like Jian, Fei is unfortunately afflicted with the brain of a horny monkey. He is always chasing after girls - especially the women of the Xun clan... ugh..." She made a face like she'd bitten into something sour. "Like a toad lusting after swan meat, he seriously thinks he can wed into our sect..."
Moyu's look of disgust faded, replaced with a bemused expression.
"Foolishness is to be expected of commoners, but still, it is quite uncouth... Thankfully, he has kept his gaze away from me. Perhaps I am so beautiful that even his small commoner brain understands that pursuing me would be courting death? Yes, that makes sense! Fufufu~!"
'And, y'know, you're a child and he's a grown man,' Chenmo thought to himself, careful to keep his expression completely neutral.
"Oh, while I do not wish for you to harm him unprovoked, be sure to let me know if he attempts to go after Ming or Chizi. I am unsure if he is aware of their 'condition', and it would be very funny to watch!"
Yu
Moyu pushed open the glass door to the Xun clan's medicinal greenhouse with more force than necessary, the door slamming against its frame with a loud BANG. The humid air, thick with the scent of rare herbs and spiritual plants, washed over her as she stomped inside.
She was in a foul mood. Shahua had refused to make her the specific batch of beauty pills she'd requested, claiming she needed to "prioritize the clan's medicinal needs" and couldn't waste precious ingredients on cosmetics. Unacceptable! If Wen-ayi's supply didn't have what she needed, surely the greenhouse where they grew the raw materials would!
Her attention was immediately drawn to a figure slumped in the corner near the ginseng beds. A young man with a hoe lying abandoned beside him, a straw hat covering his head and keeping the light from his eyes. He was snoring loudly, clearly asleep and ignoring his duties.
"YOU!!!"
Moyu's voice cracked like thunder in the previously peaceful greenhouse. She marched over to the sleeping servant and delivered a swift kick to his leg.
"How DARE you sleep when the Xun Clan has been so generous as to offer you shelter and employment!!! Do you know how many commoners would KILL for such an opportunity!? And here you are, wasting it by drooling on the floor like a lazy pig! Kowtow 100 times and I might leave your employment contract intact!"
The man, Yu, startled awake with a snort, wiping frantically at the drool on his mouth. He blinked up at her groggily, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the light streaming through the greenhouse glass.
"Wha... huh...?" He mumbled, clearly still half-asleep.
Then his eyes focused, and recognition dawned. He scrambled to a slightly more upright position, though still sitting on the ground, and looked up at Moyu with sudden alertness.
"Oh! Lady Moyu! My apologies, I didn't realize- wait..." He squinted again, this time with apparent confusion. "Did the sun rise twice today? It's so bright I can barely keep my eyes open- oh wait, that's just your radiance blinding me! My mistake."
Moyu opened her mouth to continue her tirade, but the words caught in her throat.
"I... ahem..." She coughed into her fist, trying to maintain her stern expression even as she felt a pleased warmth spreading through her chest. "Flattery will get a mere commoner like you NOWHERE!" Moyu declared, though her voice had lost most of its earlier venom. She stood a bit straighter, smoothing down her robes. "Though you ARE quite perceptive! I, Xun Moyu, am the cutest of the Xun clan!!! I've been using a new cosmetic pill that Shahua made for me. Clearly, your eyes are better than Heinrich-shushu's, since he claimed he couldn't see any difference!"
"Lady Shahua's pills are legendary, but even the finest clay needs a master sculptor to become art." Yu stifled a yawn, already starting to lean back toward his previous sleeping position. "If your intellect is anything like your beauty, I'm certain you could create pills that would make Lady Shahua's look like common herbs in comparison..."
"WAHAHA! You're absolutely right! If I truly put my mind to it, I could easily surpass Shahua's alchemy!" Moyu laughed, hands on her hips. "Very well, commoner! Since you have demonstrated exceptional insight and taste, I shall overlook your laziness... just this once!"
"You're too kind, Miss Moyu. Truly a goddess among mortals..." Yu's eyes were already sliding closed as he rolled onto his side. "I'll dream of your generosity..."
He quickly fell back to sleep, snoring loudly as Moyu stood there. Normally such blatant disrespect would have sent her to a fury, but the man's careful choice of words let him escape her wrath. Instead, she simply turned to leave the greenhouse with a smug smile on her face, completely forgetting why she'd come in the first place.
"That is Yú. He is a servant, and a commoner, and incredibly lazy."
Moyu sighed, shaking her head, but there was a distinct lack of venom in her voice.
"Even one of those things is terrible, so you can imagine how painful his existence must be... At the very least, he can recognize greatness when he sees it! He often compliments me when I find him slacking off, or if he requires a advance in his pay. Poor thing - he knows he can never reach my level, yet he cannot help but worship me!"
Chenmo stared at the image of the sleeping servant. The man had clearly just wanted to go back to sleep and had used the most transparent flattery possible to get rid of her.
"He... seems very devoted, Master," Chenmo said dryly.
"Yes, though I am thankful he is not under my employ. He can be quite disrespectful to others higher up in the clan. Once I've even seen him accuse an Elder or looking like a long-nosed dog! Fufu, the look on the Elder's face was hilarious~!"
"I... Assume he has never disrespected you, Master?"
"Hm? Why would he?"
Clearly, Moyu's appraisal of the man would take a sharp nosedive if he ever decided to stop his brown-nosing. Luckily, he was of little importance - Chenmo doubted he would get in much trouble with the rest of Xun if he simply ate the man.
Wen Shahua
The Xun clan's medical pavilion was quiet save for the soft bubbling of an alchemy cauldron and the scratch of brush on paper. Wen Shahua sat at a low table, carefully documenting the effects of a new pill formula, when the door burst open with excessive force.
"SHAHUA! I require your services at once!"
Xun Moyu strode in like she owned the place... which, in a sense, she did. The Wen family were servants to the Xun, after all, even if they were of high enough status to be comparable to a major clan.
Shahua didn't look up from her notes, continuing to write with careful precision.
"Lady Wen is currently in meditation. Lord Heinrich is visiting the eastern villages to treat an outbreak of marsh fever. If this is not urgent, perhaps you could return-"
"NOT urgent!? Look at this!" Moyu thrust her arm forward, revealing what appeared to be a completely normal, unblemished wrist. "I was sparring with Mohen and he SCRATCHED me! It could scar! I need your strongest healing pills IMMEDIATELY!"
Shahua finally looked up, her pale face betraying no emotion as she examined the unmarked skin. There was no scratch. There had probably never been a scratch. But contradicting Moyu directly was... inadvisable.
"I see. That does sound serious." Shahua's tone was perfectly neutral, giving nothing away. She stood gracefully, moving to one of the many cabinets lining the walls. "I have a Jade Cicada Healing Pill, that should suffice-"
"Should SUFFICE!? I am Xun Moyu! I require the BEST healing pill you possess! Not something that merely 'suffices'!"
"The Jade Cicada Pill IS our best healing pill for minor surface wounds." Shahua's voice remained calm, clinical. "Unless you'd prefer the Bone Knitting Draught, though that's typically reserved for shattered limbs and-"
"Fine, FINE! The Jade whatever pill!" Moyu waved her hand impatiently. "You Wen always make things so complicated! This is why Heinrich-shushu is my preferred physician. He simply gives me what I ask for, without all this tedious explanation!"
Shahua's brush paused for just a moment mid-stroke. When she spoke, her voice was still perfectly controlled, but there was an edge to it.
"Uncle Heinrich is indeed skilled. Though I should note that my knowledge of poisons, curses, and corpse qi makes me rather more qualified for certain treatments. Should you ever find yourself afflicted with something more exotic than an imaginary scratch."
"Are you implying that I, the great Xun Moyu, would be FOOLISH enough to be poisoned!?" Moyu bristled. "I'll have you know that I am FAR too clever to fall for such tricks! Unlike you Wen, who spend your days digging around in graves and playing with dead bodies!"
While Shahua could have mentioned the importance of the Wen in curbing the threat of undead and spirits within the Xun territories, she knew that doing so would only prolong her encounter with the Xun scion. She simply relented, sighing lightly as she held out the small bottle of green pills..
Moyu snatched the container from her hand.
"Hmph! I suppose you're useful enough. For a grave robber." She turned to leave, then paused at the door. "Next time, I expect faster service! And maybe try smiling occasionally? You look like a corpse yourself half the time!"
"I shall take that under advisement, Lady Moyu."
As the door slammed shut behind Moyu, Shahua returned to her notes, the faintest smirk crossing her pale features.
"Wen Shahua is... tolerable."
Moyu's tone carried a mixture of grudging respect and irritation, like she couldn't quite decide how she felt about the girl.
"The Wen family serves as undertakers and physicians for the Xun clan. Shahua is their youngest talented member - skilled in alchemy, medicine, and all that corpse-related nonsense they specialize in. She's quite confident for someone of her station, which is EXTREMELY annoying, as there should only be ONE peerless jade beauty in the Northern Territory, and that's obviously me!"
She huffed, crossing her arms.
"Shahua thinks she's so clever with her pills and poisons. Always speaking in that calm, controlled voice like she's above it all. Hmph! I'd put her in her place more often, but unfortunately, I am much too generous! ...And when Heinrich-shushu is unavailable, she's the next best option for medical treatment. Not as good as him, obviously, but competent. For a grave robber."
Moyu's expression soured further.
"Yes, that's right - the Wen family are grave robbers! Oh, they call it 'providing funeral services' and 'cleansing the undead,' but everyone knows they steal from corpses! Treasures, techniques, whatever they can get their pale, corpse-like hands on! It's disgraceful! When I steal- I mean, when I ACQUIRE things, it's from living people who are glad to offer them to someone as strong and smart and cute as myself! Taking from the dead is... eugh!!"
She made a face like she'd bitten into something sour.
Moyu leaned in conspiratorially.
"Between you and me, Chenmo, I think Shahua is jealous of my beauty and status. Why else would she be so snippy whenever I visit? She hides it behind that calm exterior, but I can tell! Poor thing - she'll never reach my level, no matter how many expensive cosmetics she uses. Some people are simply born inferior!"
'Or perhaps she's tired of dealing with a bratty child who treats her like a servant,' Chenmo thought, but as always, kept his observations to himself.
"If you encounter Shahua, be respectful - I do not want her to slay you and turn your corpse into a pill. But don't let her intimidate you with all her talk about poisons and corpse qi! She's not THAT impressive. Certainly nowhere near as impressive as the mighty Xun Moyu!"
Wuyu
TBA
Tsolmon
TBA
Shen Qiu
Moyu tapped her foot impatiently outside the central Pagoda of the Xun sect. In front of her a tall man with pitch black hair leaned against the doors of the Pagoda, a bored expression worn on his scarred face.
"Shen Qiu! As your Master, I order you to stand aside and allow me entry into the Heavenly Pagoda!"
The man opened one eye - the eye of a dead man stared back at her, the depths pitch black and imposing.
"No can do, Lady Moyu. Patriarch's orders. No one is allowed entry into the Pagoda while the Elders conduct their experiments. Not even you."
Moyu growled, a disdainful expression on her face. She seemed unphazed by her retainer's menacing aura.
"You dare disobey me, Shen? Kowtow 10 times right now and I might allow you to stay in my employ!"
"Nope."
He puts a small rolled paper to his lips and lit it, inhaling deep before blowing out a small cloud of smoke. Moyu coughed and waved her hands, dismissing the cloud.
"Can't move from this spot till they're done. You wouldn't want to disobey the Patriarch either, right? Sorry."
"You dare ignore my mercy? Stand aside and kowtow 30 times right now, or else I shall enter by force!"
"Nah."
Moyu bristled at the defiance, but Shen's statement rung true. As arrogant as she was, even Moyu was obedient to the Xun clan Patriarch - and while he was particularly fond of the young girl, pressing her luck by disobeying a direct command from him was something she was loathe to do.
"Grrr... Fine! But when Jian is done, you order him to see me at once! And you must kowtow to me 50 times to repent for your disrespect!"
"Fetch me some tea and I'll tell lord Jian. And I'll bow."
"20 Kowtows!"
"If you get me some of Lady Wen's dumplings too, I'll do one kowtow."
Moyu glared at the man, before stepping into the shadow cast by a nearby pillar and vanishing from sight. She returned a minute later, a small plate in her hands.
"The Black Beast of the North. Shen Qiu is my strongest and least obedient beast. If he wasn't so useful, I would have slaughtered the man ages ago!"
Moyu sneers as if the name of the man is disgusting, spitting on the ground before contiuing.
"Shen's master owed my father a great debt, and he has sent his student to the Xun clan to serve as a warrior and my retainer. OF COURSE, I am so powerful that I do not need a retainer, so he is often more of a bother that only restricts where I can go or what I can do! I must sneak around him all the time, like some runaway child escaping from their estate!"
She sighs, shaking her head a bit. Chenmo stares at the man's image - he does not appear too intimidating at first glance, but when he meets the man's gaze, a bolt of fear shoots through the Beast. Almost as if he was facing down death itself.
"T-this man... He is dangerous... Like a p-predator..."
"Tch, you're like that too? So many people are intimidated by him for no reason! I mean, he is nowhere near as terrifying as the mighty Xun Moyu, and yet every gambling den I've been to has only ever cleared my debts after he arrives and stares them down!"
Did this girl not feel the pressure this man exuded? The bloodlust that could calm a room of rampaging beasts? Or, more likely, did he purposefully hide it from his ward?
"I suppose I must admit that Shen is reliable - none of my prior retainers have ever lasted as long as he has. And of all the Xun clan, only he and Jian are willing to accompany me to the Dark Demonic Mountains whenever I ask. You're lucky I did not encounter you while I was out with him, Chenmo, as he is quite fond of eating aquatic Demonic Beasts. Says they taste succulent."
The Octopus shivered violently, clearly rattled by the thought. How the hell did Moyu manage to leash this monster...?
Misc:
Travellers, enemies, and similar ilk. Those that do not directly serve the Xun, but we interact with them frequently enough that they are notable. I am not well-versed in these individuals, I must admit - and therefore, they must not be very important!
Yuki Ashai
TBA