The swimming competition began under the fair judgment of the two referees, Mu Yang and Yaojun.
As it turned out,
There was no way the beast could win against a koi in the water.
Even if she had secretly learned from Mu Yang how to take human form
And tried to cut corners by using it.
Fujin was, after all, a fish.
So, in the end, Lingyuan lost.
The blue-haired, wavy-locked beauty climbed out of the water.
Mu Yang quickly turned his face away to avoid any impropriety.
This "beauty emerging from the bath" scene was not something he should be looking at.
As for the said beauty,
She wore a dejected expression,
Grabbed a straw hat woven by Mu Yang nearby,
And haphazardly plopped it onto her head.
The loss had been too humiliating.
Without this hat to cover her shame,
She wouldn't have known what to do with herself.
Fujin, however, had no intention of letting her off.
She poked her head out of the water,
As if flaunting her victory in this contest,
Her multicolored scales glimmering brilliantly.
Then she leaped out of the water,
Swimming circles around Lingyuan,
Looking utterly pleased with herself.
Mu Yang and Yaojun exchanged a smile.
They had seen this scene play out countless times before.
Lingyuan stewed for a long while,
Finally grumbling resentfully,
"So what if you can swim? I curse you to drown someday!"
Of course, Lingyuan was only joking.
After all, how could Fujin possibly drown?
Right?
That was just how Lingyuan was—her temper flared up quickly but faded just as fast.
Soon enough, she was getting along with Fujin again.
——————
Mu Yang had fallen asleep again.
This time, when he awoke,
He could feel that the bond of friendship between the four of them had deepened further.
His memories also now held many more fragments of the Adepti—
Those of Cloud Retainer and the others.
That day, the four of them had wandered a bit too far on their outing,
Arriving near Mt. Aocang,
Where they happened to run into Cloud Retainer and her companions, who were also out on a trip.
And just like that, they became friends.
Now, it was a new point in time.
The ancestors of Chenyu Vale had already migrated from The Chasm.
Fujin had always been quite interested in human life.
After observing humans for a while,
She decided to take human form
And live among them.
As she put it,
The cries of children broke her heart,
And the fragmented memories of the elderly filled her with sorrow.
She couldn't just leave them be.
She wanted to help them.
Similarly,
Yaojun shared the same sentiment.
Taking human form,
She used her knowledge of nature to concoct medicines and heal the sick,
Writing prescriptions, preparing herbs—
For such tasks, the dexterity of human hands was far more convenient than her serpentine body.
Thus, both of them went to live among humans.
Only Mu Yang and Lingyuan remained in the mountains.
As soon as Mu Yang stepped out of the small wooden house,
Lingyuan, who had been waiting for him for a long time, spoke up.
"Are you going to live with the humans today?"
Mu Yang sighed.
"No. And this is the 78th time you've asked me that."
Mu Yang searched his memories.
Ever since Fujin and Yaojun left the mountains,
Lingyuan had become paranoid,
Afraid that Mu Yang would abandon her too.
Every day, she would come guard the door of the small wooden house and ask this same question.
Even though Mu Yang had reassured her many times
That he preferred the peaceful life in the mountains—
Where he could practice his swordplay undisturbed
And not disturb others either—
She still insisted on waiting for him every day.
Mu Yang leaped down from the wooden house
And sidled up next to Lingyuan.
"If you miss them so much, why not go visit them?"
Lingyuan turned her head away.
"No! I don't like humans."
"They're always taking too much, hoarding too much."
"Forever craving things beyond their needs, forever ignoring the needs of those who lack..."
When it came to listing the flaws of humans,
Lingyuan could go on for three days and three nights without stopping.
She simply couldn't understand
Why Fujin and Yaojun would go so far for humans.
She knew Yaojun took human form for practicality's sake.
She just didn't understand why Yaojun would do it, that was all.
"Mu Yang, you know a lot. Can you explain it to me?"
Of course, Mu Yang couldn't give her an answer.
After all, everyone had their own reasons.
Just as Mu Yang was pondering how to respond,
Fujin returned.
At the sight of her long-absent friend,
Lingyuan didn't react with joy—
Instead, she sulked.
"What are you back for? Didn't you have fun being human?"
Fujin had long since learned how to handle Lingyuan.
She simply ignored Lingyuan's tantrum,
Walking up to the two of them with a smile
And pulling Lingyuan into a hug.
"Hehe, I'm taking you guys to see something cool. Come on, let's go!"
With that hug,
All of Lingyuan's earlier resistance vanished into thin air.
She asked happily,
"Where are we going?"
Mu Yang shook his head helplessly.
She was completely under Fujin's thumb.
There was no way she'd ever turn the tables now.
"You'll see when we get there!"
Fujin led the way,
And the three of them arrived at the Ancient Tea Tree Slope.
Yaojun was already waiting there for them.
Yaojun's human form was tailor-made to appeal to Earthlings—
Long white hair, ruby-like pupils,
And an extraordinarily beautiful face.
Also, she didn't like wearing shoes.
Probably because she was a snake.
In any case, if miHoYo ever made her playable,
Players would probably gain yet another "waifu."
At first glance,
Many might mistake Yaojun for a cold and aloof person.
But in truth, she wasn't an ice queen.
She often cracked witty remarks,
Though not as boisterously as Fujin.
And when Fujin and Lingyuan did something silly,
She would sigh in exasperation
Before laughing along with them.
Seeing the three arrive, Yaojun spoke up.
"Finally, you're here. Now, can you tell us?"
"Why did you call us all the way out here?"
Fujin walked mysteriously into the open space,
Then snapped her fingers.
"Ta-da—!"
With that snap,
The sound of bubbles popping echoed around her,
And the surrounding space seemed to distort.
It turned out she had cast an illusion.
But what was the illusion meant to conceal?
A tiny, newly sprouted sapling.
Lingyuan frowned. "I hadn't even decided what to plant here yet."
"How did you beat me to it?"
Fujin spread her hands. "Since when do I need your permission to plant something on my own mountain?"
"Your mountain???"
Lingyuan looked at Mu Yang.
Whenever she thought Fujin was lying to her,
She instinctively sought his help.
And most of the time, Mu Yang was fair.
Searching his memories,
He recited matter-of-factly:
"On [XX date], Fujin and Lingyuan competed in swimming, with a mountain as the wager. Fujin won."
Fujin put on an innocent face.
"So it's my mountain. No mistake there."
In reality, she was barely holding back her laughter.
Watching this scene,
Yaojun felt a pang of emotion.
It had been so long since the four of them had gathered like this.
Mu Yang asked,
"What kind of tree is this?"
Fujin: "It's a tea tree."
"Once it grows a bit more, I'll pick its leaves and brew tea for all of you."
"We'll gather right here, invite Cloud Retainer, Mountain Shaper, and the others..."
Lingyuan lowered her head and muttered sulkily,
"Hmph, planting a tree on someone else's land in secret, and still having the nerve to say that."
Mu Yang knew
Lingyuan wasn't actually a sore loser.
She was just grumbling for the sake of it.
In her heart, she was probably already imagining the fragrance of that tea.