All that could be heard was Juying's faint murmuring as she slept. Her cheeks were flushed red and her skin was slightly dewy from perspiration. As Runyu approached, he noticed the way she shivered, despite being insulated under two layers of covers.

    "You may take your leave," he said quietly to the maids in her room. They all filed out obediently.

    "A fire qilin who can't handle fire ginseng. You never cease to amaze me," he said drily and began wrapping the quilt around her tightly.

    With what little awareness that Juying retained amidst her fever dream, she smiled and nuzzled her cheek against the hand that pulled the covers up to her chin.

    Ever since she was younger, the fire qilin had a tendency to behave in an extremely coquettish manner whenever she was ill. She found that it worked wonders in inviting her parents' coddling and the sympathy of others. "Master Doumu?" she asked weakly.

    The silver dragon froze at the sound of her voice and the sensation of her warm cheek rubbing against the back of his hand. "Juying is sorry for playing in the rain. Wenshao and I promise not to do it again. Please don't cane us," she begged pitifully.

    Runyu pulled his hand away. "You should stop being so close to the Plague Immortal. He's probably the one who made you sick," he muttered.

    The voice was soft and barely pushed through the haziness of her dream. It sounded as though it had come from someplace far away. She couldn't distinguish its pitch or identify who the speaker was. "Wenshao can never make me sick; his powers only work on mortals. Wasn't Master Doumu the one who told me that?"

    Typically, Master Doumu would have begrudgingly promised to absolve Juying of whatever punishment was in store for her by then, all while caressing her hair soothingly. Contrary to her expectations, the hand was retracted and she began sniffling at the loss of warmth. "Are you very angry at me?"

    When she didn't receive a response, Juying resorted to the most rudimentary, yet effective manipulation she had mastered: crying. No one ever had the heart to resist her demands when she wept.

    Alarmed, Runyu looked around. He half-expected her maids to burst through the doors protectively, thinking that he was taking advantage of their mistress. "Shh. Be good. Don't cry," he urged, beginning to awkwardly pat Juying on her shoulder. "I... I'm not angry."

    At his words, the Light Immortal poked her hand out from under the quilt and grabbed his, lifting it to her head. She only stopped crying when he tentatively stroked her hair with trembling, uncertain hands.

    His touch was foreign; she did not recognize it. She felt cool and bony fingers that were much gentler than Master Doumu's. In her disoriented state, she believed that such tenderness could have only come from her mother. "Mother? Is that you? What are you doing here?" she asked. "Is Master Doumu really sending me away for good this time?" Juying's voice quivered in the beginnings of a cry. "Tell her that Ying'er is sorry! Tell her that I will never be naughty again."

    Feeling tendrils of panic entwining within his chest, Runyu comforted in a hushed tone, "You don't have to cry. No one's sending you away."

    "Really? That's a relief," the fire qilin relaxed. "It's great that Mother's here while Ying'er is sick. Won't you come and sleep with me?" She sniffled for some dramatic effect in an attempt to coax her mother's maternal instinct.

    Her request took Runyu by surprise. If he hadn't been flustered before, he certainly was then. "N-no!" he declined. "The other disciples will laugh at you if I do. I have to go."

    "I don't care!" she whined in response. "Let them laugh. I'm cold, and I missed you. Stay here and cuddle with me."

    For a split second, the dragon spirit entertained the idea, but chased it away as quickly as it appeared. He absolutely couldn't, it was inappropriate for an unmarried girl like her to lie with a man. He stared at her, perplexed. "I can't," he replied, half in fear, half in unease.

    The fire qilin burst into tears again. Runyu released a sigh. She really was like a child. "There's no use in crying," he said firmly.

    However, his words only served to make her wail even louder. "Mother, you don't love me anymore! Just let Ying'er cry and freeze to death," she said melodramatically.

    "Mistress, are you okay?" came the faint inquiry from outside Yongxia Palace.

    "She's fine!" Runyu hastily called out. He turned back to the weeping Light Immortal and pacified, "Alright, I'll stay for a while. Just please stop crying."

    At last! She had successfully lured her mother into patting her comfortingly again. No sooner had the words left Runyu's mouth did Juying catch him off guard, latching onto his arm and tugging forcefully. He felt the world turn upside down as she pulled him down beside her, landing onto her soft, silk quilt. For a sick person, she really had a surprising amount of strength.

    Before the Heavenly Emperor could react, he felt her arms wrap tightly around him and she buried her face into his chest. Runyu was too frightened to move.

    "You smell different," she commented, voice stifled by his robes.

    "D-do I?" Runyu stuttered.

    "You smell like ambergris, just like the Heavenly Emperor," she pressed her face deeper into his chest. "But I don't mind, I like the scent."

    "You feel different too," she murmured puzzledly as she ran her hands along the hard planes of his body. Strangely, her mother's body wasn't as soft and as she remembered. Runyu grabbed hold of her hands before they were able to wander further down south.

    "Hug me back," Juying pleaded in a small voice.

    Not wanting her to start wailing again, Runyu slowly wrapped his arms around her small frame, then tightened them after some hesitation. The sweet aroma of peach blossoms engulfed him and he felt the heat emanating from her warm body as he pressed her closer.

    "Why is your heart racing?" she asked curiously.

    "Go to sleep," he instructed and resumed stroking her hair.

    "I don't want to sleep. Mother will be gone once Ying'er wakes up," she said sorrowfully. "Let's talk a little while longer."

    Runyu felt something seize his chest at her forlorn tone. "I will never abandon you," he promised in a whisper-quiet voice.

    A long silence passed between them. "Her mind's all muddled now, it would be a good time to ask," he thought. Numerous questions had been plaguing his mind for a while. "Juying."

    "Hmm?" she asked, half-asleep.

    "Were you going to accept the Plague Immortal's Red String of Fate?"

    He received no response for a while and thought that she had fallen asleep. "Yes. No... I'm not sure," she mumbled. "I just thought that I should honour the promise I made to marry him when we were children. And he looked so hopeful then that I didn't want to disappoint him. But in all honesty, I don't think I've ever pictured myself marrying anyone but him."

    The Light Immortal hit him lightly on the chest. "Oh Mother, when will you stop trying to marry Ying'er off? At least give me a few more years. I promise that you'll still have plenty of time to spend with your grandkids."

    The silver dragon felt his stomach knot. "So you do want to marry him?"

    "Better him than all the other bachelors you've tried to set me up with, anyway," she yawned.

    He paused before asking the next question as he thought it rather rude to ask a lady about such a thing, but also because he was inexplicably anxious about her answer. "You once told me about the fire qilin clan's promiscuity... Then where does Juying stand with these values? Have you ever had... intimate relations with another man?"

    She pulled away from him and moved further into the bed corner. "Mother! How can you ask such a thing?" she scolded weakly. "Ying'er is not a frivolous girl. Haven't you always taught me to practice fidelity like you?" Juying turned away with a huff. "I don't want to talk anymore."

    "Alright, I'm sorry," Runyu said, regretting the loss of her warmth.

    He hesitantly reached an arm out towards her, then strengthened his resolve. Although she resisted, trying to wriggle out of his strong hold, it barely took him any effort to pull her back against his chest. "Don't be angry at me," he murmured against her soft, dark hair, tightening his arms around her waist.

    Eventually, she relaxed against him. "Let's just go to sleep," Juying sighed.

    "As you wish," Runyu replied softly, holding onto her until she had long drifted off.