Li Meirong climbed to her feet with Feng Huang clasped safely in her arms. With one hand, she brushed the accumulated peach blossom petals from her hair, shrugging them off her shoulders.
The meadow was blooming with life. Not only with vegetation, but also with little critters, roaming and flying. Butterflies, bees, mantises, and likely more that she couldn't see. In the field in which she stood were a mixture of flowers and herbs, each more precious than the last.
She wished that Chou was awake to teach her more about the different types of plant in the field. Having a plant spirit able to communicate with others of its kind made herbal studies easy for her.
Unfortunately, Chou was still knocked out cold. Nevertheless, even with her very limited knowledge, it was easy to guess this place was a treasure trove.
"Where are we? This place… it's amazing." Her awe evident, Li Meirong stared ahead at the shrine entrance.
This couldn't be the "storage place" she had heard of. This here was clearly an actual piece of land! Otherwise, how would living organisms grow there?
Interspatial rings provided a cultivator with their own dimensional space, where they could leave important items to carry them safely and with ease, but it wasn't an actual location to live and grow flowers in!
Feng Huang raised her long neck to look up at Li Meirong's pointy chin, and happily answered the question.
"We're inside your dimension!"
Li Meirong dazedly stared around in disbelief, unable to believe the turtle. Perhaps it was some sort of a storage place, but whatever this place was, it couldn't possibly be hers.
She took note of the signboard hanging beneath the shrine's roof, studying the finely engraved calligraphy.
"It says this place belongs to the Bai Clan," Li Meirong mumbled.
Why did that name sound so familiar to her? She must have heard it before, but where…?
Feng Huang snorted, wriggling her shell left and right until she managed to squeeze herself out of Li Meirong's hold. She might have been a slow and small animal, once, but now that she was a mighty demoness, hovering above the ground was an easy feat.
"We will change it soon, don't you worry. Let's call this place the 'Feng Huang Clan' from this day."
"..." said Li Meirong. Truly, the turtle managed to leave her speechless!
With a shake of her head, she followed Feng Huang's hovering shape towards the shrine.
As they walked closer, the place grew thick with mist, causing the encompassing air of mystery and wonder to swell.
They reached the main entrance. A door befitting a giant stood in front of them, and atop the door were vines, twisted and tangled around the whole establishment. White and purple flowers sprouted from the tendrils. It looked gorgeous, but it also indicated that the place had not been used in a very long time.
"I think this place is abandoned," Li Meirong said softly.
"Not anymore! The new owner has just arrived!" Feng Huang was grinning from ear to ear, obviously gleeful.
The ruby-shelled Feng Huang flew forward into the entrance hall as Li Meirong pushed open the magnificently carved door. It creaked loudly, definitely unused.
To one side of the hall was what appeared to be a lounge area, painted in crimson and gold. A polished, wide tree stump served as a table, surrounded by a collection of soft-looking cushions atop wooden chairs in matching colours. A full tea set was placed in the centre of the table. Lotus-shaped lanterns hung across the entire hall, suspended from nothing.
Hesitantly, Li Meirong went to sit in one of the cushioned chairs. She looked around curiously as she did so, still wondering where she was. Feng Huang had already disappeared, presumably to explore and find items to take as her own.
On the table, near the tea set, sat a blank, beige-tinted scroll.
Curiosity piqued, Li Meirong reached out her delicate hand to grab it.
As soon as her fingertips made contact, the scroll filled with ink. Characters formed into elegant shapes on the scroll's surface.
Eyes wide, she read the written text aloud.
"Welcome back. How may I be of service?"
Her response was blurted out impulsively.
"This is my first time here. Where am I?" she asked aloud.
~In your dimension.~
'So it can hear what I say? Can it read my mind too?' Li Meirong wondered.
The characters changed once again.
~Of course. You created this dimension; it is a part of you. ~
She flinched as she read this new information. What was this monstrosity?!
Her hands shook, and the scroll dropped to the floor.
Taking a deep breath, Li Meirong tried to calm herself. She had just been pushed into a volcano, and had met an animal that turned out to be a demon. What was a dimension in comparison to that? No big deal! Just another day in her crazy, crazy life.
Slowly, her fingers crept around the scroll. There were already characters written on it this time.
~Please don't do that. ~
"Sorry…"
~It's fine. How can I help you? ~
"Can you prepare Oolong tea for me?" She preferred to speak her wishes, rather than have them read from her mind, and she wanted to check the limits of the place. It had been a long time since she had last had anything to drink, and the tea set looked very inviting.
There was no written response, however as soon as she finished her question, a kettle filled with hot water materialized on the table. No hands held it, yet it gradually poured its contents into the teacup.
When it was done, Li Meirong brought the porcelain teacup to her lips. Noticing the steam rising from the water, she blew over the tea to lower the temperature, and then took a small sip.
Sure enough, it was Oolong tea! Brewed to perfection, too.
Pleased at the result, Li Meirong probed further.
"Could you prepare me a lobster dish?"
In a puff of white smoke, a plate appeared beside the tea set. It was filled with tasty-looking morsels, an exquisitely prepared chef-grade feast.
A second later, she asked for chopsticks, and when they appeared, she started to eat.
Once she was done, well-rested and well-nourished, she made her next request.
"Could you bring me a computer or cell phone?"