Jun Wu's study, Central Palace

Elementals stood in a line in the Emperor's study when he arrived with the Crown Prince behind him, "Your Majesty," They bowed their heads, "Your Highness," followed by another courtesy to the Crown Prince.

"At Ease," Jun Wu waved his hand as he walked past them, they stood up straight,
"I want you four to visit Lord Ping with GuānYû, I want to make sure we are still allies with him, not that he would dare to ever defy us, but with Ghosts here, I don't want any chances," Jun Wu ordered leaning against his seat.

"When do we leave Your Majesty?" Fire Master asked bowing his head.

"This afternoon, you'll be staying at their place until I receive a report of surveillance. I'll send a horse rider, and that's your cue to leave," Jun Wu explained, picking a few rolled papers.

"How many days at the maximum? Your Majesty," Earth Master questioned appearing bothered.

"Five maximum, three minimum," Emperor answered as GuānYû took the papers from his father's hand.

"We have to investigate their place as well?" Earth Master inquired curiously.

"If possible, do it; other than that, he'll take you a lot to a mountain forest; that's where you'll be needed; some disturbances have been occurring in those mountains." Jun Wu sat in his seat as GuānYû handed a bunch of papers to each elemental.

"Lord Ping has requested me to send some officials to investigate, I want you to solve that issue, threaten Lord Ping politely," the Emperor gave a firm glance at Water Master who looked away, "And remind him where his benefit lies, GuānYû is going as royal ambassador, for official purposes," he added offhandedly.

"Understood Your Majesty," Wind Master said with a smile.

"Fire Master, Wind Master," Jun Wu gave a hopeful look to the both of them, "Handle the talking part and Earth Master," Shù Zìrán sighed, "Don't start the conversation with interrogation and correcting them on their speech," she nodded her head.

"Water Master," Jun Wu spoke sweetly. ShuîYuê gulped, "You, in any condition, no matter what, do not go around memorising Lord Ping's place's entries and exists, definitely not the one through rivers; you can breathe underwater. Others can't." Water Master opened her mouth to defend herself, "And do not go around threatening his guards or flirting with the maids!" Emperor added with a glare.

"GuānYû," Jun Wu called. Crown Prince turned around and finished handing out the papers to the elementals, "Take care of everything else; you are responsible for all of them," Crown Prince bowed his head, and Jun Wu stood up from his seat.

"That's all, go pack your things and be at the Central Palace gates in two hours, you'll take a distance shortening array and then a carriage," he came to a halt beside Water Master and turned his head towards her, "Keep your friends from trouble, you are responsible if they get injured, and help GuānYû with the negotiations if needed, I am counting on you Water Master don't disappoint me," he added in a whisper before walking away.

"I'll see you later. Pack a few sets of clothes, and I am sure we won't need other things," the Crown Prince advised before leaving.

Wudu Palace

"Master, should I pack your green robes or the blue ones?" Souxin asked conflicted.

Water Master was lying on her bed as her maid fussed around to pack her bag,
"Whatever you like, I don't care. Just make sure there are at least three extra sets of clothes for emergencies, and I'll pack the rest myself."

"When will you pack Master? Half an hour is left for you to leave," Souxin chided as she folded the clothes neatly into a bag.

"I'll do it," Water Master waved her hand turning away from Souxin and snuggling her pillow, "My lovely bed, I'll miss you a lot, and my fluffy pillows I love you, my soft blanket I love you too, don't miss me too much, you are going with me but still," she whispered smiling against her pillow before Souxin screamed at her to get up, "How are this woman's vocal cords still functioning?" ShuîYuê asked under her breath.

Jade watched from a distance; Aunt Rong Pei was checking if Water Master had everything packed and was staring at the lunch box Mei held; Souxin was patting her creased clothes so she could appear more presentable.

"Master Don't forget to eat, and don't eat too many bitter things, your body heat increases and then you can't sleep at night, also don't eat cold things you'll catch a cold, don't forget to wear a cloak at night if you are outside, I heard Shaulon Town has a cooler temperature due to all the forests and lack of sunshine," Souxin rambled as ShuîYuê snatched the lunch box from Mei's hand, heaved her bag pack over her shoulder waved at them and was about to leave when Prince Jīnyú arrived.

"Master!" He shouted, running towards ShuîYuê and tackling her in a hug; she stumbled backwards before regaining her balance, "Master, will you bring me plums from Shaulon Town? They are delicious!"

"Sure thing, and don't cause trouble; listen to Aunt Rong Pei; both Yìfēi and I are leaving. Don't leave Wudu Palace at all; don't throw tantrums," ShuîYuê said sternly as Jīnyú nodded his head, "Take care all right."

"I will, you too, Master, and come back soon," Jīnyú replied as ShuîYuê patted his shoulders before speaking with Aunt Rong Pei quickly. A guard came to pick up her two other bags and walked away.

"I should leave, I am so late!" ShuîYuê shouted running after the guard.

"Take care, Master, bye-bye!!" Souxin shouted; a few seconds later, Water Master ran back inside and rushed to the West chambers. Souxin followed her, asking what she had left, to which her Master didn't reply, she ran out five minutes later with a cloak in her arm, "You forgot your cloak! Are there other things you haven't packed yet!" Souxin scolded as ShuîYuê smiled sheepishly.

"No...just....this," ShuîYuê said in between breaths and turned around to leave, Jade sighed from behind the column and as if her sigh was loud enough Water Master turned her head towards Jade who froze in her spot, "Bye take care," she added to Aunt Rong Pei, Souxin, Prince Jīnyú and Mei before she waved at Jade and ran away, Souxin narrowed her eyes towards the other side of the corridor wondering why her Master was waving in that direction.

Jade smiled to herself as she stared at the flowers she had picked, "I'll just put them in her study; I'll feel like she's still there working on scrolls," she mumbled to herself, holding the flowers close to her heart.

Central Palace Gates

Water Master arrived, and with a single look, anyone could tell her had run from West territory distance shortening array to Central Palace one's, "YueYue, you are just in time; Crown Prince is about to arrive," Wind Master informed as ShuîYuê panted.

"You were lazy and had to pack at the last minute," Yìfēi stated, noticing the creases on ShuîYuê's clothes.

"I was just thinking... on my bed," Water Master replied patting her clothes.

"How troublesome," Wind Master sassed, ShuîYuê nudged her shoulder in annoyance before Xiàn Fèng took out some leaves from her hair.

"You ran here from a forest or what?" He asked trying to pat ShuîYuê's hair.

"Not my fault it was the shortest way," ShuîYuê shrugged noticing servants holding everyone's bags and taking them to the Central Palace distance-shortening array, "Are our things going to be in the carriage already?"

"Hmm, we are waiting for the Crown Prince's arrival; they are already taking our things to the carriage of Shaulon Town's distance-shortening array and from there, we'll travel to Lord Ping's place via carriages," Xiàn Fèng explained.

ShuîYuê sighed. The Crown Prince hadn't arrived yet; it's been twenty minutes already, "When will he arrive?" She whined next to Yìfēi.

"He has other important things as well," Earth Master defended swiftly.

"Then why call us here so early?" Water Master questioned in annoyance; Yìfēi grabbed her arm and placed her hand on ShuîYuê's head, pushing it to lean on her shoulder.

"There, there, just hang on," Wind Master comforted, ShuîYuê rested her head on Yìfēi's shoulder while hugging her arm.

GuānYû arrived five minutes later; he had run since he was panting lightly, "Let's go," he said without any delay and placed his hand on the distance-shortening array. A blue light emerged, and they were standing in Shaulon Town's borders.

"Get on with the carriage; I'll be behind you shortly," he added before disappearing to speak with some general; ShuîYuê huffed loudly before she stepped inside the carriage and immediately sat near the small cut in the carriage working as a window.

Earth Master entered next, "Move," she told ShuîYuê looked up at her from her seat and pointed to the other seat across from her; Earth Master shot her a glare before settling down.

"Yes, yes, we'll arrive in three hours, there are no distance shortening arrays anywhere near, so we'll have to take a carriage," the Crown Prince's voice was heard speaking to someone else.

Wind Master entered next and sat beside ShuîYuê, "This carriage is spacious," she beamed as her eyes wandered around.

Fire Master entered next, looking at Earth Master to scoot so he could sit, she however crossed her arms and placed her bag next to her occupying all the space, Xiàn Fèng rolled his eyes before sitting beside ShuîYuê, "Look Fèng, YueYue, the window's right behind her," Yìfēi gushed pushing ShuîYuê out of the way so she could peep outside.

"What's there to see?" Earth Master asked, closing her eyes. Wind Master glanced at her. Xiàn Fèng shook his head, so she let it go.

"Hey! This window is for me," Water Master yelled pushing Yìfēi back in her seat.

"But I wanna look too!" Wind Master pouted.

"Go sit with Earth Master, I came here first!" Water Master said stubbornly.

"YueYue! This is not fair, I want to sit next to the window as well!" Wind Master demanded.

"Girls, girls, stop fighting," Xiàn Fèng placed his hand in between to push them both far from each other.

"This is my seat!" ShuîYuê shouted.

"I want to sit too!" Yìfēi snapped, glaring at ShuîYuê, who returned the favour.

"What's happening here?" Crown Prince questioned as he peeked inside the carriage.

"Fight over window seat," Earth Master answered giving a stinky eye to Water Master and Wind Master, "Do you mind if I sit with you in your carriage? Your Highness," Earth Master asked looking irritated.

"Sure," Crown Prince agreed, walking away; Earth Master picked up her bag and left the carriage. As soon as she was out, Yìfēi and ShuîYuê grinned at each other and high-fived.

Xiàn Fèng looked between them confused for a while before his eyes widened in realisation, "You two were just pretending to fight so Earth Master would leave?" He asked in bewilderment.

Yìfēi stood up and sat in Earth Master's spot, crossing her legs, "Sometimes you have to play dirty," Wind Master stated, flipping her hair.

"And we specialise in it," ShuîYuê added proudly; Xiàn Fèng shook his head at the two girls, and the carriage began to move.

After three hours spent playing games and eating snacks, ShuîYuê had fallen asleep just half an hour ago and they had arrived at Lord Ping's place. The Crown Prince stepped out of the carriage offering his hand to Earth Master whose cheeks were flushed, she took his hand and stepped down, and Fire Master stepped out as well, "We'll enter together," the Crown Prince told decidedly.

"Yes, Your Highness," Xiàn Fèng replied loudly; Yìfēi shook ShuîYuê's shoulders, trying to wake her up.

"Come on, YueYue, get up, you lazy bum!" Yìfēi scolded shaking her best friend's arm furiously to wake her up, ShuîYuê opened her eyes slowly and stared at Yìfēi for two minutes wondering why Yìfēi was waking her up so early, "We have arrived at Lord Ping's place, get up," Yìfēi informed pulling ShuîYuê to sit up who looked around dazed. Yìfēi tucked ShuîYuê's hair behind her ears, patting them so it didn't look like she was sleeping, and then dragged her out.

Earth Master glanced at Water Master, who was beside Wind Master, who was smiling brightly as they walked towards Lord Ping's house; Shù Zìrán scoffed at Wind Master's stupid attempts of trying to hide her best friend's sleepy face. The Crown Prince didn't comment anything and just ignored them as a servant showed them the way; Fire Master looked around the house. It was quite spacious and well taken care of.

Lord Ping was waiting in his living room for the Crown prince's arrival, GuānYû entered with the four elementals behind him, "Your Highness, what a pleasant sight to behold," Lord Ping greeted warmly.

GuānYû gave him a polite nod, "Hope we didn't keep you waiting for long."

Lord Ping immediately shook his head, chuckling lightly, "Of course not; you arrived just in time; would you like to have some tea first?"

GuānYû nodded his head, and they sat down, "I am more than grateful for His Majesty's generous help; these disturbances in the mountains are terrifying my people day and night," Lord Ping expressed his gratitude.

"Lord Ping, we are allies, and your town is in Heaven's borders; your issues are our issues; there is no need for formalities," the Crown Prince responded, sipping tea.

A sweet aroma of honeysuckle fanned the living room with the breeze, a young girl entered the room her clothes swaying with the wind, ShuîYuê placed her cup of water on the table as she stared at the girl, "Good evening, Your Highness," she bowed her head stopping in front of GuānYû who nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"This is my daughter, Yinsu," Lord Ping introduced his daughter who gave a small bow to the four elementals sitting beside the Crown Prince.

"Your daughter was very young when I last visited," the Crown Prince commented with a smile.

Lord Ping chuckled patting his daughter's head as she sat beside him, " She has indeed grown up," he spoke with sad eyes.

"We'll investigate the mountain tomorrow morning," the Crown Prince said, placing the teacup on the table.

"As you see fit, I have prepared rooms for all of you; please freshen up and rest for a while; we'll call you for dinner," Lord Ping said warmly.

GuānYû nodded his head and stood up; the elementals stood up hurriedly, along with Lord Ping and his daughter, who was looking at each of them curiously; she had met the Crown Prince before, and he looked even more handsome and stronger than before.

The lady next to him had dark glossy skin her eyes were sharp like a snake's, emerald in colour, she would look like a reptile if she had slits in her eyes given how serious she appeared, strong body structure with a straight frame, hair in dreadlocks with golden rings in it, the only thing that was warm or soft about her was her full lips.

"This is Earth Master of North territory," Crown Prince introduced to Lord Ping, who gave a polite nod to Earth Master; Shù Zìrán noticed Lord Ping's daughter staring at her, and the instant their eyes met, his daughter visibly gulped.

"This is Fire Master of East territory," the Crown Prince informed, this man had blonde hair and golden eyes, his hair was tied at the top of his head and the rest flowed down his waist, face sculpted in symmetric proportions, eyes warm and curious like fire, skin pale and had a slight golden glimmer to it, wide shoulders and stood at equal height to Earth Master, his clothes were bright in shades of orange and red, a gold sword at his waist, he had a warm smile on his peachy lips as he gave a polite nod to Lord Ping and then to his daughter Yinsu.

Beside him stood a beautiful female clad in light blue robes; her eyes were cyan and held a lot of love, and her skin was just as pale as Fire Master. She held a fan in her hand, her black hair was open a beautiful hairpin at the back of her head, and her jewellery jingled with the breeze.

"I am Wind Master of South territory, Yú Yìfēi," she introduced herself brightly with a friendly smile on her red lips, she was a few inches shorter than Fire Master but her lean body made her appear taller, and her voice also very sweet and welcoming, Lord Ping smiled at her and gave her a nod.

"Water Master of West territory," the Crown Prince informed looking at the woman beside Wind Master.

Yinsu noticed how his voice was softer when introducing the last person, she looked at the black robbed lady whose dark brown or black hair, Yinsu wasn't sure due to the lack of proper light was slightly messy, her hair was in a long braid and most of her hair locks were framing her round face, she was shorter than Wind Master and slightly paler than her like she was suffering from blood deficiency, her dark brown or black eyes once again Yinsu wasn't sure lacked the sparkle and warmth the two elementals she had just met held, they were, however curious and a little puffy, her lips were also chapped and peachy, she gave a nod to Lord Ping and then to Yinsu before she stared at her shoes.

"It's wonderful to meet you all; my servants will show you to your rooms," Lord Ping said with a smile, and they left.

ShuîYuê yawned as she plopped on Yìfēi's bed who was looking around her room, "This place is good," Water Master commented, hugging a pillow; Yìfēi turned to her.

"Get out of my bed! Go sleep in your room," Wind Master told sternly.

"Yìfēiiiiii~ I don't want to walk another corridor to reach my room; my stuff. It's here as well; let's just share, all right?" Water Master pouted with puppy eyes.

"Not! You will stay up reading all night and then sleep in the morning; you'll also hog the blanket and pillows all to yourself; I am not sharing my room," Yìfēi stated decidedly.

"Fine, I'll go in a while," ShuîYuê huffed, sitting up; Yìfēi hummed in satisfaction as she picked her clothes and went to bathe; as soon as Yìfēi was out of sight, ShuîYuê checked all the windows and doors, casting a protective charm to the room.

Yìfēi found her resting on her bed when she came out of the bath, "YueYue! Get up you sleepy head!" She snapped, flipping her wet hair in ShuîYuê's face, who scrunched her face in annoyance.

"I wasn't sleeping!" ShuîYuê yelled sitting up and wiping droplets off her face.

"Go bath!" Yìfēi snapped, glaring at her best friend, who picked up her clothes lazily and closed the bathroom door; Yìfēi patted her hair to dry them, "Wait, she's bathing in my bathroom! I swear YueYue is gonna crawl in my bed too!" She fumed silently.

ShuîYuê walked out some half an hour later, "You are not sleeping in my room!" Yìfēi yelled the second ShuîYuê was in sight.

"I am not so bad," Water Master whined drying her hair with a towel.

"Yeah? You take the whole bed all for yourself and then cuddle me to death?" Yìfēi asked narrowing her eyes.

"All right, fine," ShuîYuê huffed, taking her bag and leaving; Yìfēi pouted, feeling a little bad for kicking ShuîYuê out of her room.

'It's fine. I'll ask her nicely, and she'll agree,' Yìfēi thought, smiling to herself.

Side hall

Lord Ping and his daughter waited for all of them to arrive so they could start with dinner, Earth Master was the first to arrive she didn't speak to them other than a few words, The Crown Prince was next he had short conversations with Lord Ping and then said a few words to Earth Master, a few minutes later Fire Master and Wind Master arrived they sat down, "Shall we start?" Lord Ping asked looking around.

GuānYû looked at Wind Master who nodded her head, "Yes," They served dinner some specialities of Shaulon Town like buckwheat noodles with pepper oil and soy sauce, some different varieties of potatoes and arrowheads, purple cabbage and white rice wine, Yìfēi glanced at the door wondering what was taking ShuîYuê so long.

"Where's ShuîYuê?" Xiàn Fèng inquired noticing Yìfēi's constant glances at the door.

"She bathed right after me, and it's been forty-five minutes since then," Yìfēi answered; the Crown Prince was speaking with Lord Ping, occasionally looking in the direction of the door, each time being caught by Earth Master's eyes.

"Why is she so late?" Fire Master asked puzzled.

ShuîYuê checked if anyone was in the corridor before tiptoeing across it, 'I have looked through the whole house, there are five entries and eight exist from doors alone, fifty from windows and there's a small pond in the backyard, I'll check that later, I am late for dinner,' she thought hurrying towards the side hall asking a few maids in between where it was.

She entered quietly; the Crown Prince and Lord Ping were engaged in a conversation; Xiàn Fèng, Yìfēi, and Lord Ping's daughter were speaking to each other; ShuîYuê padded inside, sitting down and picked a bowl of rice.

"Water Master, what had you occupied?" Earth Master asked loudly, ShuîYuê cursed her luck under her breath, now all the attention she didn't need was on her.

The Crown Prince looked at Water Master expecting an answer, " I got lost," ShuîYuê lied.

"It's not such a big house to get lost in," Earth Master stated, filling her wine cup; ShuîYuê's eyes twitched in annoyance, and Lord Ping looked at her with slight confusion and worry.

"I get lost easily," Water Master said, narrowing her eyes at Earth Master.

"You sure do; you'll have to be tied with a rope to one of us in the mountains unless you want to get lost and cause trouble," Earth Master replied, placing her cup on the table.

ShuîYuê bit her lips, "It's good that all of us are here; let's enjoy this delicious dinner," the Crown Prince interjected hurriedly. Xiàn Fèng raised his wine cup for a toast, and the Crown prince gladly complied.

The food was delicious. ShuîYuê could tell by everyone's expressions; she poked at her rice with her chopsticks, not in the mood to eat; she was hungry, just didn't feel like eating, 'I'll just drink some water,' she thought, feeling sleepy.

Yìfēi glanced at ShuîYuê who was eating nothing, just poking at her small bowl of rice that was all she had been eating for the last twenty minutes, all the other dishes were still on the main table and her best friend was only eating plain rice, Yìfēi drank her wine slowly wondering why ShuîYuê looked so tired.

"We'll go investigate tomorrow morning. If you could send someone with us to show us the way, that would be helpful," the Crown Prince said, smiling at Lord Ping.

"My daughter will accompany you there," Lord Ping replied smiling at his daughter.

"Will it be safe for her?" Earth Master asked in a sharp tone, "I mean, we have quite some troublesome ones in our group; I don't want to add more responsibility to His Highness's shoulders," she clarified as GuānYû shot her a stern look.

"My daughter will just show you the way, and it's five of you, I can rest assured about my daughter's safety," Lord Ping remarked.

"Of course, Lord Ping, don't worry, we'll handle this that's what we are here for," the Crown prince assured finishing his meal,
"I am done with dinner; it was delicious; I am going back to my room; I have some work," he added, standing up; others began to stand up as well, "Please sit and enjoy."

Lord Ping began talking to Xiàn Fèng and Yìfēi about his Shaulon Town; ShuîYuê looked at Yìfēi for a while before standing up and leaving with a nod at Lord Ping's direction, who smiled in response; Yìfēi stared at the empty bowl of rice.

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Author's note duty on Bunbun:

Hello~ are you guys doing well? I am thinking of giving you guys a small hint about what's happening in the next chapter, Alongside the elementals Crown Prince and Miss Yinsu go to the forest, and the Water Master meets a strange reptile, that's all!

Word count: 4150
Thank you for reading, and take care of yourself. I'll see you later. Bye-bye!!

From Bunbun, the bad bunny