Li Meirong sighed helplessly. She had already picked up Snowball against Chou's wishes, and knew it wouldn't be easy to convince him to accept yet another family member, but she owed Feng Huang far too much to give up easily.
Guiltily, Li Meirong examined Feng Huang's dejected expression. Her head was aimed towards the ground, purposefully avoiding her line of sight, and Li Meirong was sure she was upset at not being allowed to join their family. She was unaware how far off the mark her conclusions were.
Feng Huang was indeed dejected, but not for the reason Li Meirong believed. It was her newly-discovered emotion, guilt, eating her away from the inside. She lifted a pair short, stubby feet to her eyes, hiding the salty tears that began to roll down her face.
"I'm sorry," she managed to say through her sobs, "I have been dishonest!"
Chou rolled his eyes at the turtle's charade. There was only so much nonsense a person could fall for, surely! He had sensed the turtle's thoughts before he had hopped out of Li Meirong's sleeve. Feng Huang wanted to use Li Meirong as a blood supply so she could grow more powerful!
Chou did not consider that he had, once, done that very same thing. At this point, he was deeply attached to his silly Master, and did not recall his initial motives.
After rolling his eyes, Chou felt his body get squeezed tightly against the hard, crystal-rock shell of the turtle. Li Meirong had grabbed Feng Huang and himself into a tight embrace against her bosom.
"Eep!" Chou squeaked in alarm. 'What's going on here?'
He was fine with being squished by Li Meirong, but being squashed against this lying turtle was a whole different matter!
"Master, Chou does not like this! Let the turtle go!"
There was no way Chou would tell his Master to drop him to hold the turtle who wanted to take his place. Between him and Li Meirong, there was no room for a turtle!
"Chou, you have to stop acting so selfish." Li Meirong reproached the plant spirit, scowling.
"Look at her, she's crying so badly." She kept on saying. Then she addressed the turtle, and her tone changed. It became a soft, silken hum, cooing to the sobbing turtle. "Shh… shh… calm down. Don't worry. It's alright, we just need to be honest with each other from now on. Don't cry."
Gradually, the turtle calmed, and her sobs faded until only short sniffles could be heard.
'It is most certainly not alright!' Chou thought, fuming. The turtle wanted to take his place!
Now, instead of one Snowball enemy, Chou had a Snowball enemy and a Feng Huang enemy!
Chou realized that he did not have an easy life; no, not at all!
"You had better confess all your lies! Don't think Chou is fooled by this wicked act!" Chou spat out vehemently, and wriggled back and forth in Li Meirong's embrace.
Unfortunately for him, Li Meirong squeezed them both tighter as she made her way back into the building.
When Chou felt his precious plant body painfully pricked by the red, rock-sharp edges of the turtle's shell several times, he pitifully stopped his attempts at shoving the turtle away.
Li Meirong went inside the building she had deemed a shrine, and seated herself on a soft, feathered cushion at the luxurious lounge.
She summoned a silken napkin and wiped Feng Huang's runny nose with one hand, while the other held the captives in her arms.
"I wanted to rob you of your treasure because the other cultivators always carried precious items with them, so I knew you'd have something!" Feng Huang began to confess, once she had calmed down. "But then we went inside your dimension and I realized this whole place is peerless in wealth, and… well, I wanted to grab that, too! But, then… then as you were dying, I ended up inspecting your blood while you were in your meditative state. I found out about your unique spiritual essence, and I did want to use you, but that was then!"
Feng Huang paused, bowing her head again. "In order to repent, I will give you my knowledge of barriers. You will easily be able to escape the volcano with it, just… please, keep me with you."
Li Meirong set aside the moist napkin and beamed at the turtle, revealing a pair of cute dimples. She was already aware that Feng Huang saw her as a tool, and except for having her blood taken, none of what she had mentioned came as a surprise.
Feng Huang reminded her of the cats she had owned in her previous life. Back when she had first adopted them as young kittens, they demanded to be cared for, but gave no sign of affection in return.
It took them a few months to open up to her and show even a little bit of fondness. Her past experience had served her well; she knew feelings grew with time.
Everyone looked out for themselves at first, and only after beginning to care for others would they take their wellbeing into consideration too. So, she wasn't angry at all. She understood.
Chou and Feng Huang stared at Li Meirong in avid anticipation, awaiting her decision.
Gently, Li Meirong patted the turtle demoness on the crown of her head. Her faint smile left her companions momentarily dazzled by how beautiful she became with a simple tilt of her scarlet lips.
Li Meirong believed it would be best if Chou and Feng Huang remained safely inside her dimension. She certainly didn't want to jump into the lava with them in her arms. What if they burned to death?
"Let's put the past behind us. I am truly not mad at you, and from now on we'll be true friends!" Oblivious to the sway she held over her companions, the raven-haired human girl explained her plans. "Actually, I'm uncertain how strong my shield can be, so if you could lend me your barrier, Feng Huang, I'd feel safer. It also seems this place is suitable for your growth, and since this is my dimension, the both of you should stay here and cultivate. Become fearsome monsters, but still get along with each other. That way, no one will be able to bully us in the future. How does that sound?"
Chou's button-like eyes widened in astonishment. He couldn't believe it! After everything his Master had discovered, she still didn't care about being used!
Ah, the amount of work he had ahead of him with such a silly Master…
Reluctantly, Chou ceased his attempts at shunning the turtle, relenting to Li Meirong's obvious acceptance.
Unbeknownst to her, Li Meirong's words had created a flame igniting in her companions' hearts.
'We must strive to become invincible!' Thought Feng Huang and Chou in unison. Knowing that their Master was a silly, gullible girl, made them all the more determined to grow stronger.
The pitcher-plant's hostility subsided as he concocted future plans; Chou needed to have more confidence in his Master. He was her first and most important family member, and no one could jump in and take his place.
Besides, if the turtle joined, Chou would be her senior!
'Humph, humph! she better behave. If not, Chou will not hesitate to inflict familial punishment!'
In the meantime, outside, at the peak of the volcano, a certain snow fox impatiently waited. He wondered, what type of seasoning would be best suited to a vegetarian soup…?
Li Meirong quickly made her preparations to head out. She ate another meal made of seafood, cleaned her dirtied robes, and made sure that Chou and Feng Huang would have every comfort they required.
Then, she made a blood pact with Feng Huang, just as she had done with Chou previously.
Feng Huang placed her stubby foot on Li Meirong's forehead, and transmitted the knowledge for her barrier technique. Li Meirong, much to her surprise, found it rather easy to perceive and master newly-acquired skills. She speedily grasped the technicalities of barrier creation.
Now that Li Meirong's dantian was full of spiritual energy, it made her wonder: what else could she be capable of?
Finalizing the exchange, Li Meirong made her farewells.
"Remember, take care of yourselves, and get along with each other. I will come get you once I reach the sect, alright? Be good!" She hugged them both affectionately, one at a time, and then left the shrine.
She went back to the flower field, sat down with her legs crossed, and shut her eyes. Sweat trickled down her forehead as she focused her mind, forcing her consciousness to leave the dimensional space.
Both contracted, plant spirit and turtle demoness, watched as their Master's figure slowly disappeared while she meditated in the field. Scattered peach blossom petals encircled her as her skin turned transparent, dense aura fading.
Once Li Meirong's form had dissipated, Chou's subservient attitude switched to one more suited to a spoiled, unruly young master.
"Now that Chou's in charge, you must do as Chou says!" he declared imperiously. "There is a library to clean, and ponds filled with shrimp and lobsters to tend to. We are not going to just use Master's generosity without reciprocating. It's time to tidy this place up! Also, you had better find a proper skill to hone, because Master works hard at the sect and will require our assistance!"
"…" Feng Huang was at a loss for words. It was as if this spirit plant had already made plans to bully her!