The stars in the Lantis Republic were the same as the Himmel Empire. Due to the headquarters remote location, there weren't any man-made city lights that would cloud the gorgeous blanket of stars. Shin laid down on the grassy patch of his private veranda, gazing up with a troubled expression.
After meeting with Longyu Dao, the congregation were whisked from place to place, leaving no time for rest, particularly for the star of the show. Shin had the limelight shone primely on his body from the first second he stepped foot on Longyu Reef. He was welcomed by one of the four Spirit Saints in the Lantis Republic. The streets were cleared out to grant him safe passage. He met with the highest authority on the island. He was given this luxurious apartment that somehow boasted an intricate garden even though it was fifty metres above the ground. And finally, he was treated like a Prince during the banquet the Longyu Clan had hosted.
Hundreds of Longyu Clan eyes, each one bearing some resemblance to his own, were attached to his body, never willing to let go. To make matters worse, Longyu Tian had separated Shin from Kanari, Lady Seph and the others, bringing him to meet many of the Longyu Clan's most exquisite maidens. Since Longyu Tian didn't know whether Shin preferred younger or older women, she prepared a vast majority. They varied from sixteen to twenty-six, the ideal age range for the twenty-year-old. All of them were great beauties in their own right, and any man would dream of holding them in their arms. Unfortunately, Shin already had other ideas for his love life.
It was awkward, turning down one beauty after the other, especially when the whole ballroom was looking at Shin. Eventually, even Longyu Tian turned a little frustrated and allowed the youth to have a breather. She still had five years to change Shin's mind. There was no rush. In the end, the hectic day ended with Shin escorted to his room by Longyu Tian herself, leaving behind his companions to attend to the diplomatic matters.
Shin's chambers were in a different castle from Lady Seph and the others. In fact, there were even plans for the members of the Himmel Empire to live in a separate mansion altogether, while Shin remained firmly in the Longyu Clan Headquarters. That suggestion was struck down immediately, of course. Neither Lady Seph nor Kanari could trust that the Longyu Clan wouldn't lock the youth inside, isolating him from the rest of the group. In the end, the Longyu Clan and the Himmel Empire delegation decided to reach a compromise.
Shin would stay the first week in the Headquarters, and the rest of the time, he would live alongside Lady Seph in her mansion. However, the boy would have to follow the itinerary that the Longyu Clan had laid out, at least for the next three months.
The youth sighed as he gazed up at the moon and turned to the only company he had left.
"Yip, yip?" Rudely awakened from her slumber, the snowy white gerbil looked at Shin with confused eyes. Being a Tier 8 Spirit Beast that wasn't politically motivated, the Longyu Clan allowed Lady Seph's request to keep the Kamaitachi on Shin's person at all times. This way, even if the Himmel Empire members weren't present, Shin would still be well-protected.
It was a win-win-win for all. Shin would be protected, Lady Seph would be assured, and Bingbing would get to stay by Shin's side for five long years.
"Bingbing, what should I do?"
"Yip, yip, yip!!!" The gerbil chirped happily as if telling him that everything would be fine.
"Haha, I wish that I had your optimism..." Shin bitterly smiled and laid down with Bingbing rolling on his warm chest. Since the topic was too meddlesome to mull over, Shin decided to just stare at the gorgeous stars blankly, praying that his problems would all disappear.
All of a sudden, as if something had disturbed her peace, Bingbing jumped to her feet and chirped wildly at the entrance. Shin's trance-like state was broken, and he instantly sat upright, confused. "What's the matter?"
The man turned around, only to see a gorgeous maiden with sky-blue hair leaning on one of the wooden pillars. Though her element was ice, she wore one of the warmest smiles that Shin had seen thus far. A lot of the Longyu Clan members he'd met also put on a smiling mask during their short interactions with Shin. But the youth wasn't ignorant enough to believe that there weren't any ulterior motives behind their facade. They were probably ordered to make the youth feel at home with some obvious benefit behind their actions. Otherwise, why would they treat a complete stranger with a familiarity only reserved for their families?
Bingying, on the other hand, Shin knew that the sister that mentored him over the four years would speak to him from a genuine place.
"I see that your relationship with Bingbing is still as strong as ever!" The Pearl in the East looked at the Kamaitachi, her arms folded and cheekbones raised.
"Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip! Yip yip, yip!"
"I know, I know! You're the best Bing'er!"
Meijing Bingying rolled her eyes in protest when she heard the Kamaitachi claiming her superiority. Shin chuckled, amused by the constant strife between woman and beast. When Bingying first met with Bingbing, the Kamaitachi was worried that the foreigner would steal her place in Shin's heart. After all, they both had 'Bing' in their names and were experts in the ice-element.
Even though Meijing Bingying had never intended for it, she ended up competing with the gerbil and had even picked up how to speak the language of yip.
However, Shin wasn't worried about their war. At this moment, he wanted to learn more about his companion's situation. "Sister Bingying! They allowed you to come up here? Where are the rest?" Excited, Shin jumped into the corridor, hoping to spot either Kanari or Lady Seph, but only to see a patch of darkness.
"They're not here," replied the maiden, shaking head. "The Longyu Clan is really adamant about having you alone in this place."
"I'm not really alone though..." Shin's enthusiasm was curbed, and his smile dropped. Still, he was happy to have someone familiar around him, so he put on a brave front. "Bingbing is with me, and later on, Saint Longyu Tian would move into the next apartment."
"S-Saint Longyu Tian is going to live with you?!" Bingying nearly screamed.
"Not with, next to."
"What's the difference?!" The maiden hollered, though she took some time to really compose herself. "Really, the Longyu Clan is pulling out all the stops, huh? I saw the line of beauties they prepared. Heck, I'm I wouldn't be surprised if they forced one of them to become your maid or bed warmer." It was crude for Bingying to suggest such a scenario, but based on how Longyu Tian reacted, that didn't seem too far-fetched.
"Sister Bingying… You know that I'm not that kind of person..."
"I know, I know… You're the perfect man!" Bingying continued to pull the youth's leg like how a normal elder sister would.
Shin pouted for a while, his cheeks puffed up. However, after a few seconds, he remembered something vital. "By the way, how did you get up here?"
"Well, technically I'm from the Lantis Republic. So they wouldn't really mind me coming up to see you," explained Bingying, who had her finger on her chin. Then, she moved it straight onto Shin's perfectly symmetrical nose. "And I actually, I came here to say goodbye."
"Goodbye? Ah, right..."
"Yeap, I'm going back to my home, the Meijing Artics."
They had discussed this many times on the boat ride to Longyu Reef. Once they had reached Longyu Reef, Meijing Bingying and Elder Baobiao's mission to protect and train Shin would be instantly over. Elder Baobiao had longed returned to the Heigui Enclave, and it was time for Bingying to do the same. There was one additional detail, though.
"Ella… Emma… Are they leaving now as well?" Shin asked, his voice a little shaky.
Just like how Shin was joining the Longyu Clan to learn more about how to cultivate, the twins would be following Meijing Bingying to her hometown, the place where ice-elements and Ice-type Spirit Users thrived. For the twins nicknamed the Blizzard Fairy Sharpshooter and the Glacial Fairy Markswoman, it was a godsend opportunity. The ice-element was a mutated version of the water element, and it was rare to find an Ice-type Spirit User on the continent.
The Meijing Clan was the oddity. They essentially had a monopoly of Ice-type Spirit Users and had thousands of years worth of history in honing the craft. It made sense for the twins to move there to better themselves. Still, it meant that they would have to leave Longyu Reef for extended periods, leaving Shin and the rest alone.
"Yeah, they wanted to come, but the Longyu Clan is quite strict about who can meet you during this one week buffer period." Bingying broke the bad news. "However, there's no need to despair. The trip from the Meijing Artics to Longyu Reef is only a few hours by boat. They can visit you anytime they want. Also, since we still have to prepare appropriate regimens for them, they'll probably start their training in a few weeks. They'll have another opportunity to meet you after this week is over."
"This week, huh..." Shin muttered out, his voice as light as a feather. He had only spent half a day in the Longyu Clan, and Shin had met more beautiful girls his age than he'd ever done in his life. Just imagining what would happen in the next week was bringing a headache to the young man's head.
"How's Kanari?" Shin inquired, somewhat fearful of hearing the answer. Kanari just had to sit through watching Shin getting approached by almost a hundred women. Shin couldn't imagine that she would be thrilled by that experience.
"Angry, of course," scoffed Bingying. "However, you did well in rejecting them without hesitation. Seeing that really softened her tense mood, but she couldn't stop complaining about Longyu Tian, though. That girl really has some guts. Criticising a Spirit Saint right in the middle of her territory."
"I see..." Shin closed his eyes. There was so much that he wanted to say, so much that he wanted to apologise for. However, there was no way for him to do that, physically and psychologically.
"Sister Bingying, what should I do? I was the one that asked Kanari to follow me here. She left behind wealth, fame, authority, the adulation of the masses, all because of my selfish desire… If this trend continues, and the Longyu Clan continues to attempt to separate us… Wouldn't it be better if Kanari never came at all?"
"..."
Bingying watched on silently as Shin tried to work out his relationship. 'Hah… Why are you asking me for relationship advice? I can't even get my own shit together!' She thought. Meijing Bingying might be the most desirable maiden in the Lantis Republic, but up till now, she hasn't decided on a fiance yet. Bingying hasn't even cleaned up her own room yet, how could she advise someone else?
Still, she had to try something to cheer up her unfortunate younger brother. "I don't think that's true. Speaking from a woman's point of view, I would be maniacal if the person I loved was off in some far off land, being approached by hordes of women in a place that I couldn't see. At least, she saw you fending off those girls. I would be livid if Huan… I mean, my future spouse was to be hit on by some random girl, and I can't see him turning them down."
There was a minor slip in her reply, but Shin wasn't really paying that much attention.
"You really think so?"
"I know so," Bingying reassured the youth, tapping his head in the process. "How about this? You write her a letter, and I'll smuggle it out for you."
"Really? You can do that?" Shin's eyes glistened in joy.
"Of course, I can! No matter what, I'm still the heir to the Meijing Clan. The guards from the Longyu Clan wouldn't dare to check my body on a whim."
"Great!!! You're the best, Sister Bingying!!!"
Shin instantly leapt up on his feet and dashed to his table, picking out the best parchment he had. It took him fifteen minutes to write the letter, and it was filled with some of the most disgustingly sweet words that Bingying had ever laid her eyes on. She felt that her heart was beating just by carrying it on her person.
And when Kanari had received the letter, well that was a story for another time...
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