Wu Ling waited longer than it would take a stick of incense to burn before Jin Wuya returned to the hut along with Su Xiang. Zhang Buyan, however, was nowhere in sight.
"Sister Hua," Jin Wuya said when she reached Wu Ling. "Here, here are your measurements," she said, passing over the slate with a deep pink blush coloring the tips of her ears.
"I take it that your appearance had an effect on Brother Zhang?"
"Um, I think you can say that," she said, her ears growing even redder.
"You should have been there," Su Xiang told Wu Ling. "Sister Jin and Brother Zhang made the most beautiful sight when she took his hands in hers and carefully measured each finger. When she was finished, Brother Zhang begged off from the rest of our sparring session, saying that he needed to use the tide of the lake to restore the circulation of his energy. He said something about standing at least waist deep to restore himself."
"Pfft," Wu Ling fought desperately to hold back his laughter but ultimately failed and let out a bubbling giggle. "Sister Jin, do you believe me now that Brother Zhang's eyes truly are fixed solely on you? After all, you didn't need any sorcery to capture his eyes, just a bit of paint."
"Sister Hua, I'm so sorry," the young woman said. "I lacked confidence in myself but I directed my feelings at you and…"
"It's fine," Wu Ling said gently. "Take it as my apology for failing to control my aura and causing problems the other night. I never intended to do harm, but that doesn't matter when I hurt someone that I trust and care about. Now, would you like to see yourself?" Wu Ling asked, holding up a polished mirror.
"Please," the golden-haired woman replied. When she saw her appearance in Wu Ling's mirror, however, she let out a startled gasp, raising her fingertips to her lips and touching her face several times as if to prove that the warrior goddess in the mirror really was her. "Is this, is this truly how I look?"
"If you'd like, when we get to Bufa City, Sister Xiang and I can go shopping with you for a dress that suits you. Then, after we leave, I'll find an opportunity to paint you a portrait the way you look now. Two of them if you'd like," Wu Ling added with a wink. "After all, you might want to give one to Brother Zhang."
"That would be very nice," Jin Wuya said, still looking at her reflection in the mirror. "But are you sure it won't trouble you?"
"You know, Sister Qianhu is very good at painting portraits for women seeking a match," Su Xiang teased. "She painted a portrait for my cousin to help her meet Brother Fang. Without that portrait, we'd never have met Brother Zhang, or you and any of the others. So, Sister Jin, you can trust in Sister Qianhu's painting skills."
"Then I accept," Jin Wuya said, finally gaining control of her features and normal color returning to the tips of her ears. "But, you're doing a great deal for me. You're carving me a totem, you've made me feel truly beautiful and you're offering to paint for me. What have I done for you to earn all this? How can I pay it back?"
"Who said you needed to earn any of it or pay any of it back?" Wu Ling asked. "You're my friend, aren't you? Why should I withhold the good things from my friends?"
"Sister Qianhu," Su Xiang scolded from the side. "You keep going like that and she's going to tear up and spoil her makeup. You have to let her feel like she's giving back or she won't sleep easily."
"In that case," Wu Ling said, calling out Hou and sending the Golden Crow to perch on Jin Wuya's shoulder. "Share some of your flames with this glutton," he said with a smile. "And while you're at it, explain to me how your energy circulation works. I'm trying to make this totem for you but it's very, very challenging," he said, pulling out the unfinished hairpin.
"What's challenging about it?" Jin Wuya asked, trying to make out the design but finding that Wu Ling hadn't progressed beyond roughly shaping the slender pin and a large disk at the top of it.
"I actually had to confer with Brother Yu about this one," Wu Ling began explaining. "I attended Big Sister Yeyan's lecture about beasts altered by the eclipse but she was generally speaking to alchemists and mostly alchemists that were Alchemy Novices or above. Some of her references and examples went right over my head."
"The essential part comes down to this," he continued. "The Blood Moon Mist Wolf differs from the Red Mist Wolf in that it has become bound not just to the moon, but to the Blood Moon of the eclipse. That's important in a number of ways according to Big Sister Yeyan. The reason I'm using the Blood Moon Mist Wolf bones for you and Brother Zhang isn't just so your totems match you know," Wu Ling teased with a wink.
"It's because the moon is the source of the tides and since your Martial Art is grounded in the tides, I can make a stronger totem for you using these bones than any others."
"I see," the golden-haired woman said, nodding along with the explanation. "Is that why you want to understand my energy circulation?"
"More than that, because yours is complicated," Wu Ling admitted. "During the Blood Moon, Lunar Yin gives way to Lunar Yang. Where water is yin and fire is yang, I'm hoping to use the Lunar Yang energy trapped within the Blood Moon Mist Wolf's bone to allow tides to empower your flames. I know you've worked hard to harness the power of the tides to fuel your flames already," Wu Ling added.
"So, rather than build something different, I want to understand how your energy flows for you, and more importantly, the emotions you feel when you release your energy."
"I see," Jin Wuya said. "You know, even though I connect to the energy of tides, I never think much about the moon. I'm always chasing the sun, looking for the push of the waves to drive me higher. It's like when the tide rolls in and each wave reaches a little bit further up the beach, that's what I feel when I gather my energy. Only, I don't gather water, I gather heat. The more heat builds up, the more it explodes forth when I finally release it," she explained.
"I see," Wu Ling said, thinking about her words before asking another question. "And what do you feel when you release your flames? Anger? Pride? Something else?"
"Not anger," Jin Wuya quickly answered. "Pride, a little bit. After all, the Golden Crow's flames are the pure flames of the sun, the mightiest of all flames," she said with a radiant smile. "Isn't that why Sister Hua chose to paint Hou as a Golden Crow instead of painting him as a Phoenix or Vermillion Bird? The sun burns hot enough and bright enough to banish darkness from the whole world."
"I think that's really what I'm feeling with my flames," she continued. "I want to banish the darkness, the things that threaten my friends or make me afraid. If my flames burn hot enough and bright enough, then nothing can bring harm to me or the people I care about. I don't know if I thought about it that way before," she added.
"But, talking to Sister Su, seeing the way she uses light to protect the ones she loves… it gives me a very warm feeling. I want to be like that in my own way, at least a little bit," she said, the tips of her ears reddening as she glanced at Su Xiang.
"Sister Jin, I think we should practice more together," Su Xiang said, reaching out to take the other woman's hands. "We can help each other to protect the ones we love."
"Mmm, I'd like that," Jin Wuya said, smiling brightly.
"I think that tells me what I need to know," Wu Ling said with a smile of his own. "Give me another few days and I should have your totem ready."
The following day, Wu Ling had returned to his spot by the lakeshore when Zhang Buyan took the opportunity to approach him.
"Sister Hua," Zhang Buyan said, his voice a touch uncertain. "Do, do you have a moment?"
"You were never this hesitant to approach me before Brother Zhang," Wu Ling said, putting down his work and turning to face the older man. "How can this sister be of help?"
"To be truthful, my mind has been in a bit of chaos since yesterday," Zhang Buyan said, keeping a respectful distance between himself and Wu Ling. "Did you truly send Junior Sister Jin to measure my fingers for rings?"
"I did," Wu Ling said, gesturing to the rough ring-shaped pieces of bone sitting next to him. "I'm stretching the definition of a totem somewhat by making this piece for you but as long as I can pair it up with a simple enough ritual I think it will work out."
"Sister Hua," Zhang Buyan began awkwardly, his face turning slightly flushed as he recalled Jin Wuya's appearance the day before. "Why send her to do it? Why didn't you come to take the measurements yourself?"