Wudu Palace

Jade found her Master sitting in the small garden back of the side hall, she sighed placing the tea tray on the table, ShuîYuê looked up from the book in her hand,
"Thank you," ShuîYuê said as Jade poured tea into a cup, "Did Jīnyú take his medicine?"

"Yes, Master," Jade answered, placing the cup on a saucer before handing it to ShuîYuê.

"He had it with milk ?" ShuîYuê questioned taking a sip of the medicine.

"He did," Jade replied, standing straight up as ShuîYuê leaned in her chair, taking a deep breath when the breeze blew through the trees, "You prefer nights to mornings?"

ShuîYuê averted her gaze from the stars to Jade's face, "I don't like mornings."

"Why? It's so beautiful in the morning, sunlight, birds twittering, people," Jade counted as ShuîYuê smiled at the last part, "You don't like them just because of people?"

"Well that's not the sole reason," ShuîYuê moved her hair to the front as the cooling sensation of breeze tickled her nape, "It's just too bright in the morning."

"It feels exposing?" Jade asked softly as ShuîYuê nodded her head, "You like nighttime better because you feel like you don't have to be more than what you want to be?"

"Yes, in mornings, it's like everyone is out to get you; the sun is in the face shining brightly; it's annoying," ShuîYuê said, making a face as Jade chuckled.

"You just don't like being around people," Jade commented shaking her head.

"Not all people," ShuîYuê corrected swiftly as she stood up.

"Yes, Wind Master and Prince Jīnyú are the exceptions," Jade remarked, watching ShuîYuê stroll around.

"They aren't the only ones," ShuîYuê replied staring at her reflection in the pot filled with water, "There are others too."

Jade hummed as she thought of that day when she had found ShuîYuê crying in her sleep. She wondered if her Master hated or loved that person, they had left her but she didn't want them to, and because she was so desperate to stop them she must have loved them a lot, but Jade had a feeling that her Master despised that person a lot too, "I guess you have found more to care for."

ShuîYuê turned to Jade who stood behind a chair, "It's not finding new people to love and care, that's not important," she walked towards Jade, "What's important is loving and caring continuously for those who stick around, you can make a thousand new friends but can you be sure that all those will stay your friend?" Jade shook her head.

"Sometimes you put effort and care for years only to realise that the person you love so much doesn't care about you like you do for them," ShuîYuê smiled bitterly, "It all becomes a distant bitter memory, one you can't forget no matter what, it stays rooted in your heart, reminding you cruelly of your huge mistakes."

"Is that way you don't let anyone in?" Jade asked staring at ShuîYuê, "Because they hurt you when you let them be close to you?"

ShuîYuê's soft expression turned hard as she averted her eyes, "It's late; you should go to your room; I have some more work," ShuîYuê said, leaving hurriedly as Jade stared at the book left on the table.

"You don't have any work, Master, you just don't want to admit it," Jade said to herself as she picked up the tray before leaving.

ShuîYuê walked past Jīnyú's room, stopping a few seconds later to walk back; she entered his room to find him sleeping with his arm dangling from the bed, drooling on his pillow. ShuîYuê touched his forehead with the back of her hand; he had stayed a little longer in water and caught a fever, and his temperature was a little high; she filled a bowl with water and dipped a towel in it before wringing it and placing it on his forehead.

"Why are you so silly? You caught a fever now," she scolded him as he slept peacefully, "You worry me a lot, Jīnyú," she added, dipping the towel in the cool water again before placing it on his forehead.

ShuîYuê sighed, thinking about Jade's words and how accurate they were; she didn't want to think about those memories anymore; that nostalgia never brought her happiness. It always left her feeling empty, and a poem whispered from her lips.

"Nostalgia is a liar
Does it make me recall the memories of my past?
It does
Do I like it?
Probably not
Why?
It doesn't bring back the joy of the memories I hold
Brings back the pain of the emptiness in my soul
Reminds me once again how lonely I am
I wanted to go back to those moments and pretend I ran
To the depths of my heart, the pain lasts
Making me want to drown in my memories of broken glass
Does it still hurt? The feelings are fresh
Leaving scars on the skin of my flesh"

She couldn't help but smile bitterly; bitterness was the only taste left she could feel other than joy sometimes; Jīnyú stirred in his sleep. He fluttered open his eyes, staring sleepily at ShuîYuê, "Ibbb yuuuuu Masssssta?" He asked hazily.

ShuîYuê patted his head as he slowly drifted back to sleep, She changed the towel again sitting beside him as she moved his hair out of his face, Jīnyú was very precious to her, a sunshine and an angel, and ShuîYuê was going to protect him at all costs, "Do you miss your mother Jīnyú? Because I do, I miss my mom a lot," she whispered pulling his blanket to his chin before checking his temperature with the back of her hand.

'I should leave; I still have a meeting at Martial Hall tomorrow; his fever is down; he should be fine with a few doses of medicine,' she thought, closing his windows and leaving his room.

Palace of Shù Zìrán

Yìfēi chatted with Xiàn Fèng about the new clothing shop that had opened recently in the Capital City, They were at Earth Master's Palace for a group discussion on important matters assigned to them by senior official Jang, Earth Master had also arranged a small banquet in the evening which Ghost King was going to attend, and one which ShuîYuê had no idea of, Yìfēi didn't let Xiàn Fèng spoil the fun of her best friend who had been avoiding Ghost King skillfully for the last few weeks, Yìfēi wanted the two of them to speak to each other there was some weird awkwardness between them suddenly which Wind Master couldn't figure.

The meeting with Earth Master ended a little sooner, and ShuîYuê was all ready to return to Wudu Palace, "Stay a little while, YueYue; I need some scrolls from Earth Master," Yìfēi spoke hurriedly when ShuîYuê stood up to leave.

"Yìfēi I can't keep my eyes open anymore," ShuîYuê complained sleepily as she plopped beside Xiàn Fèng, a group of maids suddenly adding more tables to the main hall.

"I know, just a few minutes," Yìfēi requested batting her eyelashes as ShuîYuê huffed in annoyance before finding interest in Xiàn Fèng's jewel-adorned robes and distracting herself by playing with the chains on his shoulder.

"I believe the Crown Prince will show up as well," Xiàn Fèng put forth as Yìfēi glanced at ShuîYuê, who was engrossed in staring at the maids.

"I agree," Yìfēi nodded watching ShuîYuê stuffing food in her mouth with a satisfied look on her face.

"She's going to be cross with you," Fire Master predicted, glancing at ShuîYuê, who was playing with the chains of his clothes while staring at maids with googly eyes and also stuffing a variety of dishes in her mouth, not even questioning why the maids were placing different food plates in front of them.

"She can't stay mad at me for long," Yìfēi assured biting a rose cake herself as Xiàn Fèng shook his head.

ShuîYuê felt Xiàn Fèng standing up; She turned her head to glare at him. She had just managed to unclip the chains of his robes and was going to take them out when he stood up. She noticed Earth Master entering the main hall with Crown Prince beside her; ShuîYuê stood up reluctantly and bowed her head as Crown Prince walked past and plopped down, going back to her previous tasks at hand.

Earth Master lost the Crown Prince's undivided attention the second they entered her main hall, he was staring at Water Master who was taking off the chains of Fire Master's robes and making some weird-looking bracelets with them while eyeing the maids working around and munching on snacks, she didn't even care to correct her posture in Crown Prince's presence feeling too sleepy to care about proper manners.

Shù Zìrán pursed her lips in a thin line knowing none of her words was catching GuānYû's interest, She clapped her hands, and a group of maids rushed inside placing wine jugs and dishes of delicacies in front of the Crown Prince

"Your Highness, all these dishes have been prepared from the ingredients of our forest and lands, we have lotus roots braised with soy sauce, lotus roots stuffed with glutinous rice, lotus root chips, stir-fried lotus roots with vegetables, fried lotus petals, snow fungus soup, stir-fried ganba mushrooms, pork rib soup with oyster mushrooms, kudzu root tea, I hope you'll enjoy the dishes prepared by my Palace they are not luxurious like those of Central Palace but they are rich in nutrients," Earth Master spoke bowing her head at last.

"I am more than pleased to see that you didn't arrange the usual heavy banquet meals," Crown Prince smiled leaning back in his seat.

ShuîYuê was more than glad at the sight of more food in front of her, She happily sat up straight before her mind started working, 'I don't trust Earth Master in the slightest, but she won't add anything suspicious to this food, Crown prince is here as well she wouldn't dare in front of him,' Water Master deemed the food safe to eat before she picked up a bowl.

She was halfway through her meal when Ghost King walked in with his three friends who followed him like shadows all the time, ShuîYuê sat up straight, and Yìfēi rolled her eyes at ShuîYuê's attempt of presenting to be mannered when she was slouching just a few seconds ago in front of Crown prince without care, "Ghost King is late," Crown Prince sneered as the four elementals bowed to Ghost King before he sat down.

"Crown Prince," Huá sat down placing his scimitar beside him, "Guests shouldn't arrive before the host is ready, don't you agree?" Ghost King asked with a smug smile.

GuānYû didn't reply purely because he didn't want to be speaking to this walking, talking filth, "Your Highnesses, please enjoy the dinner," Earth Master chimed in quickly, sensing the tension between the two males.

General Yông sat beside Huá a crossed look on his face, he was getting irritated day by day by these banquets, if Huá didn't need to be patient for knowing the secret Zìxìn would have killed all these pompous people of Heaven in a second, MíngLóng, however, was enjoying meeting new people with a vast variety of personalities, Water Master was slightly mysterious to her and MíngLóng wanted to know more about the person who had defeated her brother in a battle when her brother had never lost once in his life.

Shù Zìrán was grateful to Wind and Fire Master for keeping the atmosphere of the Main hall bright and welcoming, Crown Prince and Ghost King had a mutual dislike towards each other. General Yông despised everyone from Heaven, Ghost King's assistant Baō YànQīng was never one to speak, and the Water Master was never going to make an effort to be warm and welcoming.

Junior General of the Ghost army, along with the two fellow elementals of Earth Master, were the only ones keeping awkwardness off the table by constantly talking and jumping from topic to topic.

Shù Zìrán narrowed her eyes at Water Master, who was busy drinking kudzu root tea, and once again, the Crown prince was engrossed in watching her with a careless smile on his lips; Earth Master moved her fingers as the vines of poison ivy carefully hovered over Water Master's nape.

ShuîYuê rubbed the back of her neck before focusing on the miniature steam buns Earth Master's Palace had prepared, They were adorable and bite-sized, and she had decided that she was going to have Souxin make them for her in this small size from now on, food is delicious and even more when it looks cute, Water Master's liking for small things didn't escape Crown Prince's observant eyes, she would often stop and stare at the tiny plants growing in the narrow streams of Central Palace.

GuānYû wondered if she liked small things because she was tiny herself, for Crown Prince ShuîYuê was adorable in every way possible from her big eyes to her round cheeks he loved every part of her, but he greatly despised the fact that she saved Ghost King that day injuring herself, that cruel Chéng Huá didn't deserve kindness in the least the only possible reason GuānYû could figure why ShuîYuê saved him was that she was just kind, GuānYû didn't want to think of any other reason no matter what.

Xiàn Fèng glanced at ShuîYuê who had been stealing the chains of his robes to make some stupid-looking bracelet and showing it to Yìfēi proudly who also complimented ShuîYuê instead of telling her how horrible that bracelet looked, he squinted his eyes, his fingers moving the robe away from her nape, "Water Master," he called pulling her robe a little to expose her neck, "You have rashes on your skin."

ShuîYuê turned her head to look at Xiàn Fèng but she couldn't see where he was pointing to not having the ability to turn her head three sixty degrees, "Where?" She asked touching her nape only to hiss at the flaming red blisters on her skin.

"Don't touch it!" Xiàn Fèng chided, swatting her hand away, "Yìfēi, look isn't this from poison ivy?"

Wind Master leaned over to peep at ShuîYuê's neck, "It is; why did you touch poison ivy, YueYue?"

"I didn't touch it!" ShuîYuê cried in her defence feeling itching and burning sensations on the back of her neck.

"This needs to be treated as soon as possible, these rashes spread everywhere if not treated properly," Wind Master said with a worried expression.

"Earth Master!" Fire Master called loudly gaining the attention of everyone in the main hall, "Do you happen to have some concentrated peppermint cream?"

Earth Master pretended to look confused, "Why?"

"Water Master has rashes on her nape from poison ivy," he explained, keeping a firm hold on ShuîYuê's hand as she was attempting to scratch her nape.

"What is poison ivy doing here?" The Crown Prince asked puzzled.

"Earth Master would know," Fire Master answered glaring at ShuîYuê to sit still.

Shù Zìrán began to panic under GuānYû's gaze, "I don't know where-"

"Earth Master," he interjected, "Please help in treating Water Master first," Crown Prince ordered as Shù Zìrán nodded her head slowly.

"Follow me," She said to ShuîYuê, Wind Master and Fire Master stood up, "I can take care of her alone, don't worry yourselves; besides both his Highnesses are here. It would be impolite of us to leave."

Yìfēi was reluctant, ShuîYuê was fine when it came to drinking bitter medicine, and she was even fine with bearing pain effortlessly but she wasn't easy to handle when it came to applying ointments which stung, Yìfēi had first-hand experience in everything that included ShuîYuê getting injured in every way possible and she could assure her best friend was a three-year-old child who threw tantrums when it came to applying ointments and since her rashes were itchy Yìfēi doubted ShuîYuê wasn't going to draw blood out of them.

"Fèng can stay here, I'll come along," Yìfēi insisted.

"No, I'll take good care of Water Master, don't worry," Earth Master told sternly before grabbing ShuîYuê's wrist and sort of dragging her out of the Main hall.

Yìfēi glanced at Xiàn Fèng with a reluctant look in her eyes, "Wind Master, don't worry. Earth Master is also a doctor; she'll take better care of Water Master," Crown Prince assured. Yìfēi sat beside Xiàn Fèng, waiting for Earth Master to get irritated and call for her.

"Earth Master, slowly," ShuîYuê requested finding it difficult to keep up with Shù Zìrán's fast pace.

"Your short legs can't keep up isn't my fault," Earth Master hissed as her grip on ShuîYuê's wrist tightened.

ShuîYuê pursed her lips in a thin line not having the energy to argue anymore, Earth Master dragged her inside a room before leaving her alone. ShuîYuê fisted her hands trying to control the extreme urge to scratch her nape. She hissed as her robes kept rubbing against the rashes; Earth Master returned sometime later with a peppermint cream in her hand, using a q tip to apply it on Water Master's nape, who kept inching away, "Stay still!" Shù Zìrán snapped losing her calm.

"It stings," ShuîYuê mumbled in a small voice with a pout on her lips.

"Why did you scratch your neck then? Of course, it's going to sting, it's highly concentrated peppermint!" Earth Master hissed glaring at Water Master.

"Give it to me," ShuîYuê opened her hand.

"I'd rather not, His Highness will blame me for not taking care of you, who's a twenty-year-old over-pampered child!" Earth Master spat with narrowed eyes.

"I am not over-pampered!" ShuîYuê shouted getting annoyed with Earth Master constantly trying to pull her clothes.

"Stay still!" Earth Master scolded, accidentally tearing Water Master's clothes, who froze, feeling the cool breeze on her shoulder. Shù Zìrán blinked her eyes,
Scars of stitches covering Water Master's shoulder and arm, her hands hovering over Water Master's nape as the latter turned around quickly glaring at the taller woman with anger blazing in her brown eyes, "I'll have someone bring a new set of clothes."

"There's no need," Water Master remarked in an icy cold tone, which had Earth Master take a step back, "You don't like me, perfectly fine; there's no need to go around trying to humiliate me in front of others."

"It was accidental; I didn't do that on purpose," Shù Zìrán said, keeping her ground despite the silent fury she was receiving the heat off.

Water Master pulled her half-torn robe over her shoulder without a word, "I'll send Wind Master," Earth Master added at last before scurrying away,

Wind Master looked at Earth Master the second she entered her main hall, "Wind Master, will you please help Water Master," Shù Zìrán requested,

"What is there that Wind Master can do but not you?" Crown Prince asked puzzled as Earth Master averted her gaze to the floor,

Yìfēi knew exactly why, "It's all right, Your Highness, I'll tend to YueYue; she's a little angsty when it comes to ointments," Yìfēi added with a forced laugh before she hurried away.

She found ShuîYuê standing by the window, gripping the curtains to keep the urge to scratch her rashes, "YueYue, you threw another tantrum, didn't you?" She asked softly noticing the tear in Water Master's clothes, "What happened?"

"Nothing," ShuîYuê answered stiffly, Yìfēi could sense the same anger steaming from ShuîYuê's ears when Jade had accidentally seen her in the bath.

"It's not that big of a deal," Yìfēi placed her hand on ShuîYuê's shoulder gently.

"It's big enough of a deal for me, reminds me perfectly well of my stupidity whenever I look at myself," ShuîYuê said with disgust.

Wind Master sighed, "I am sure it has faded, it's been four years already."

"It's never going to fade, Yìfēi. This scar of mine is permanent," Water Master murmured, staring at the night sky.

"I don't even remember it; it's all hazed-up memory," Yìfēi expressed, gently applying the stinging peppermint cream on ShuîYuê's nape.

"It's pretty cruel isn't it?" ShuîYuê asked with a scoff, "You don't recall any of it and I can't forget it no matter how much I try,"

Yìfēi stared at the curtains in front of her. She could never forget that day when her best friend had lost it all, but Yìfēi couldn't even let ShuîYuê cry on her shoulders since she couldn't keep her tears at bay; she shook her head immediately, "Ghost King is here."

ShuîYuê didn't reply, keeping quiet, "You two have been acting weird whenever you see each other. Did something happen?" Yìfēi asked curiously.

Water Master never told anyone of saving Ghost King when the bookshelf had fallen on her, the Crown Prince didn't let anyone know of it either, and ShuîYuê had lied about the injury, not understanding how to feel about her actions.

"Nothing happened," Water Master denied hurriedly.

"You are usually staring at him," ShuîYuê turned around to glare at Yìfēi, "I mean, you are observing him most of the time," Yìfēi corrected hurriedly, "And you didn't even look at him once at the Senior official Jang's banquet, so I was curious."

"Yìfēi don't get lost in some imaginary story; nothing like that is happening, nor will it ever," ShuîYuê said sternly as Yìfēi nodded her slowly.

"All done," Yìfēi announced wrapping a bandage over ShuîYuê's neck to keep the girl from scratching her neck.

"Thanks," Water Master said trying to keep her robes over her shoulder.

"Let me pin this," Yìfēi offered expertly, adjusting ShuîYuê's torn robe on her shoulder, securing it with safety pins, "See, no one can tell it ever tore," she gushed, admiring her work.

ShuîYuê looked at herself in the mirror, "Thank you, Yìfēi," she thanked, turning around to check if her robe was pinned safely.

"I am your fashionable best friend; of course, I know how to handle situations like these," Yìfēi flipped her hair, smiling proudly as they left the room.

Crown Prince stared at ShuîYuê, who walked in with Wind Master, "Are you fine, Water Master?" He asked softly, ShuîYuê nodded her head in response, and he sighed in relief.

"Your Highnesses, we would request our leave," Wind Master spoke bowing her head, Huá looked around for a way to stall time, he needed to speak with Water Master and end the awkwardness between them, he would be arriving at Wudu Palace soon and he couldn't have ShuîYuê be uncomfortable with him at all.

"Wind Master, I need your advice on an urgent matter, You can leave half an hour later," the Crown Prince informed as ShuîYuê nudged Yìfēi to go ahead without her.

"Wait for me alright," Yìfēi whispered before leaving with the Crown Prince.

ShuîYuê was about to sit back with Fire Master when he was called too; he walked past ShuîYuê, giving a gentle assuring squeeze to her shoulder before leaving as well; Water Master had no intentions of being in the same room as Earth Master and obnoxious General Yông she swiftly left the Main hall.

Huá took this as a golden opportunity to speak with ShuîYuê alone, who was staring at the night sky again. He leaned his hands on the wooden railing beside her, and she took a step to her side, creating more distance between them. Huá wasn't sticking to her at all. He deemed the distance between them to be respectful, but Water Master seemed to think otherwise, "Are your rashes fine?" He asked turning his head to her.

ShuîYuê's heartbeats increased hearing his voice after so long, It hadn't been more than two weeks but she had missed hearing him speak, Ghost King's voice was deeply soothing to the ears, he spoke in a silvery yet soft voice which had ShuîYuê yearning to hear him speak all day, his voice got slightly sharp whenever he spoke to Emperor or Crown Prince but other than that it was very calming to hear to, it was often husky when he spoke after a long time.

"Water Master?" He called; ShuîYuê blinked her eyes, taking some longer breaths.

"It's fine," she answered mentally screaming at herself for sounding all hurt and like she had been crying for ages.

Huá noticed the crack in her voice, and his eyes instantly searched hers for tears; she wasn't crying at all, 'Maybe she's got a sore throat,' he thought, shrugging his shoulders, "How did you get into contact with poison ivy?"

ShuîYuê furrowed her eyebrow wondering the same thing, "I don't know."

He nodded his head closing his eyes as the cool breeze blew his hair locks away, ShuîYuê stared at him he was looking very calm and pleased, Her hands were itching to touch his face, but she schooled her thoughts quickly when he opened his eyes, she immediately turned her head away just escaping being caught staring at him.

"It's a beautiful night, don't you think ?" He asked looking at her.

"It's always beautiful; sometimes, when we are angry or upset, we fail to acknowledge the beauty of nature and other times, when we are pleased, it feels beautiful to us," ShuîYuê answered thoughtfully.

"Out of curiosity Water Master, do you happen to write?" She looked up at him confused, "Like poems or something?" He clarified as ShuîYuê shook her head instantly, "You don't? It's surprising given how thoughtful you are with your words, I assumed you would like to write poems or songs."

"I don't," ShuîYuê lied quickly; Ghost King sighed, staring up at the stars; they didn't speak. After that, he found it calming, and she found it safe.

Earth Master's Palace was quite scary in appearance with all the vines and branches hanging from the roof, and this place looked even more creepy at night, but ShuîYuê wasn't scared in unfamiliar places like she usually was, she wasn't sure why she wasn't feeling on edge like she always did, maybe the night was more beautiful and ShuîYuê was finding it more enjoyable due to someone beside her, who was staring up at the stars with some upset feelings as ShuîYuê could tell.

Water Master stepped back, noticing a colony of ants crawling on the railing's handle; She saw Ghost King's hand holding the railing; she pulled him back, and he looked at her with questioning eyes, "Ants are crawling over this railing," she explained the reason for pulling him suddenly.

He averted his gaze from her face to the ants crawling on the railings, he glanced at her hands holding his forearm when Water Master retracted her hand at the speed of light, "Sorry," she apologised fiddling with her rings, Huá noticed that she always fiddled with her sleeves or rings whenever she was nervous.

"You just saved me some pain from these ants and their formic acid; I should be thanking you instead," he spoke, smiling at ShuîYuê, who shook her head.

"It's all right, Yìfēi is waiting for me; I'll leave," she said, running away; Ghost King couldn't spot Wind Master anywhere in sight; he looked up at the stars again, feeling emptiness in his soul.
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Author's note duty on Bunbun:

Hello, firstly, I am no medical student, and I don't know the side effects of poison ivy, but I did search it up for the sake of the story, and peppermint is the solution to most of the problems in this story sorry not sorry I love mint too much, so apologies for any misinformation about poison ivy all I know is you shouldn't touch it, if any of you readers are medicine students studying botany or something then do correct me if you find faults, that's all I'd like to say, thank you very much for reading take care I'll see you soon, Bye bye!!

From- Bunbun ( the bad bunny)

Word count: 4850