Meanwhile at the hot springs...

Feng Jiu was playing the recent events in her mind. She was trying to make sense of the weird sensation she felt in her veins. She looked at her arms to see if her veins were intact. "Indeed, I'm fine, I feel fine. Hmmm who would have thought that I will be here in Dijun's hot spring all to myself." Feng Jiu smiled.

"Ahhh let me relax a bit, after all, my muscles and my legs are killing me." The water temperature was ideal to relieve her sore muscles. She put a small towel on her eyes and dozed off and fell asleep submerged in the water at the steps. She was in her birthday suit.

A few hours passed and Mo Yan and Zhe Yan promised Dijun to check in their ancient records for an explanation of what happened to Feng Jiu. They left Tai Chen Palace.

Dijun wanted to see if his little fox finished her relax time so he went to her room to check up on her but find her room intact. He asked himself where could she be? He closed his eyes to find her essence.

"She stills at the hot springs. Let me check on her." He materialized at the springs and told the maids to go. He found her sleeping on the steps of the springs. The water was crystal clear, so he saw all the features of her beautiful body. His eyes were slowly scanning her and his breathing came uneven. He closed his eyes to control his urges. Only his little fox has the power to make him reach insanity.

"Jiu'er, wake up, Jiu'er please wake up." He loudly said.

"Uh, Dijun? What are you doing here?" Feng Jiu was confused.

"I came to check on you little fox and then I found you sleeping submerged in the water. You could have drowned." Dijun was still staring at her, making her feel conscious of her nakedness. Her face turned red.

"Dijun why are keep staring at me, turn around."

"I have seen it all already." He mentally said. He smirked at her.

"You are shameless!" She decided that he have seen enough so she swam to the other side of the pool where her clothes were at, but she couldn't find them.

"Dijun where are my clothes?"

"You mean these? Come and get them", he said smiling at her.

Feng Jiu was paying for her sarcasm earlier on for calling him an old man. "What a predicament, what am I going to do?" She asked herself.

She swam back where Dijun was, got out of the water with a smile, grabbed her clothes from his hand and slowly walked to the changing room to dress up.

Dijun couldn't take his eyes off Feng Jiu. He loved her boldness. She felt his breathing change.

"Seen enough?" Feng Jiu asked him.

"Don't tempt my limits little fox, and get dress, we need to talk."

"I changed my mind". Instead of dressing in the dressing room, she decided to slowly dress in front of him.

Dijun was losing his patience. Feng Jiu gave him the show of his life.

"Have you ever done this before?" Dijun asked her surprised at her boldness.

"Nope, you are the first one that I have the courage to try this with." Her face was beet red but she didn't back down.

Dijun sighed and decided to wait for her outside.

When she was done, she slowly walked out of the hot springs and saw him meditating. She smiled. "I guess I won this round", she mentally smirked.

"Dijun, I'm done, what is it that you want to talk."

"First of all, Jiu'er don't test my patience like that again."

"Well you shouldn't hide my clothes in the first place. You should have turned around when I asked you to, yet you refused. You didn't give me a choice but to get out of the water and get my clothes. That was very shameless of you!" She glared at Dijun and crossed her arms.

She is getting really good at her responses, Dijun thought smiling internally at her. The master manipulator was thinking about of what to say next. He couldn't lose this argument to her. "You could have used your magic to get them Jiu'er. Why didn't you? Hmm?" He raised an eyebrow to her and stared at her face.

"I didn't think of that, Feng Jiu mumbled and lowered her face." He was right, "I was even shameless than him." She thought. "I'm sorry Dijun if I disturbed your peace and made you lose your control. Please forgive my boldness."

"Are you truly sorry Jiu'er?" He gave her a serious stare, but in his mind, he was smiling.

"Yes Dijun", she refused to meet his eyes. She was truly embarrassed.

"Then you are forgiven", he was enjoying teasing her. "Now let's go to my study, I want to discuss something with you." He lead the way, and Feng Jiu followed him to his study. He wanted to make sure that she was behind him, so he suddenly stopped and Feng Jiu bumped into his back. "Like old times," he smiled.

Feng Jui was caught by surprise and the only thing she could do is gather her wits and gasped. She was staring at his beautiful face. Dong Hua was also staring at her and wanted to kiss her, but held on. They continued walking until they arrived to his study. "Let's continue walking"

"Please sit. Would you like some tea? Are you hungry?"

"I will take a cup of tea, please."

"Same as always?" He remembered.

She smiled at Dijun. "Yes please. Thank you."

"If you want anything in particular to eat, let me know and I will order it for you. What would you like?"

"Some porridge will be fine for me."

"Ok. Zhong Li please have the chef make her highness and myself some porridge."

"Yes Dijun." Zhong Li bowed to them and left them alone.

"Dijun are we going to talk about what happened earlier in the garden?"

"Yes. It seems that you were able to unlock your inner powers. I would like to know how exactly that happened since I personally locked your magic before we started our training."

"All I remembered was that you were being attacked from behind. Seeing that you were in danger, I felt the urge to protect you in some way. It started like fire spreading thru my veins. It was consuming me from within my core trying to come out. I felt stronger and my mind got sharper. All my senses were honed to the point that it was taking control of my movements. It felt like another person inside me was coming out to fight for you. That is the best description I can give you."

"And then what else do you remember?" He attentively asked her.

"When the fire reached its peak, I felt power coming out of me. Waves and waves of power. Raw force gravitating from my body."

"Did you learned how to unlock this raw energy from within you from a scroll?"

"No Dijun. It has been the first time that I have experimented this."

Dijun went pensive. He was the reason her dormant powers manifested. "I would like to try something else with you if you allow me."

"Like what?"

"I want to go with you inside the realm of serenity."

"For what purpose?"

"For you to be able to find the source of this raw energy. The universe and everything in it are both constant and cyclical. In this infinite cycle, one force dominates and is then replaced by the opposing force. There are times when one person will have more yin energy and others will have more yang energy. There are also times when those combined energies may have more yin energy than yang energy and vice versa. A yang person has high energy levels and is constantly on the go. There is a strong creative streak that demands expression. The yang energy can become overwhelming if not balanced with yin energy. Too much yang energy will make the person very aggressive and demanding. A yang person appreciates the talents and gifts in other people and a yin person can often stabilize a yang person by providing restive nurturing. If you are able to balance your chi then you should be able to stabilize and control your powers without causing harm to yourself and to others."

"Do you think that my chi might be unbalanced?"

"It is a possibility; this is what I want to go with you. I'm more experienced and I can guide you to achieve this but only if you want to attain it. I will not force you to do something that you don't want to do."

"I guess Mo Yan wanted to do that with me, but he wasn't able to achieve it."

"It takes time to be disciplined as Mo Yan and myself. You can reach that level of restraint if you are willing to invest in it."

"Would that be considered as part of my training with you?"

"Hmm only if you see the need to use this raw power in the future while you are reigning as the queen that you are."

"In that case, then yes. Qing Qui people depend on me, and I would like to attain a greater level of self-discipline so my actions will not shame my subjects in the future. When do we start?"

"Tomorrow. You need to rest and let your mind at ease, so we don't hinder any progress. Sleep well."

Zhong Li arrived with the porridge, and they began eating in silence.

"Dijun can I ask you for something before I retire for the night?"

"Ask away."

"May I have some of your white sandalwood incense in my room?"

"Why Jiu'er?"

"I will sleep better." She lowered her voice. Feng Jiu wanted to say "to feel that you are with me in bed", but she held back.

"I think lavender will be better." He knew why she wanted his scent.

"I prefer your white sandalwood incense please." She refused to meet his eyes. Her cheeks were flushed red.

He smiled at her, "Very well. I will prepare some for you and have it delivered to your room."

"Thank you Dijun."  They finished eating their dinner and Dong Hua was just in awe of his little fox. He knew she wanted to sleep next to him, like when she was in her fox form and loved to snuggle with him.

Feng Jiu slept all night breathing the white sandalwood incense in her room. She thought that Dijun was sleeping next to her. He indeed put a sleeping spell on her and laid down with her. They both slept well. Her room smelled like him. He rose earlier than usual and left her room, he widely smiled at her. "Only my little mischievous fox."

When she woke up, she stretched in her bed: "Wow this incense is great. I will ask him to give me the recipe so I can make some when I go back to Qing Qui. That way I can think of him every night." She giggled. She got up and went to the garden looking for Dijun.

Zhong Li was waiting for her with breakfast.

"Your highness, Dijun asked me to take care of you while he prepares for this morning training."

"Where is Dijun?"

"He still in his chambers."

"Oh, okay, then I will wait for him here. Thank you, Zhong Li you may leave."

"If there is anything that your highness requires, there is a maid to your service at the garden entrance. She has instructions to take care of you."

"Thank you, Zhong Li, I am fine for the moment." He bowed to her and left.

"Let me do my stretching routine before Dijun comes in." Feng Jiu magically changed her clothes for a comfortable white tunic and yoga pants and started to practice her Tai Chi routine. She tuned out everything around her and became one with the wind and the earth beneath her bare feet. She loved Tai Chi it gave her the stability that she needed in the mornings.

That's how Dijun found her. He was so proud of his little fox. He was eyeing her choice of clothing, so he decided to change also to match her and joined her. Both of them were in sync with their movements. The energy flowing from them was feeding the garden. All of the flowers bloomed and their colors changed. The nature around them responded back to them with splendid harmony. Dijun has never seen anything like it in his long existence. He was aware that his surroundings were changing from their flow of energy. But never imagined that he could experience this type of connection with his little fox. When done with their practice both ended in a lotus position facing each other.

"Jiu'er are you ready?"

"I'm ready Dijun."

"Clear you mind of any distractions. Think of a quiet and serene atmosphere. Place yourself there. Slow your breathing and relax." Their breathing was in sync.

"I'm there Dijun," she telepathically told him. He was surprised that Feng Jiu could communicate with him like that.

"Wait for me Jiu'er." He responded back to her.

They were both on a top of a high mountain. They could see everything from there. The scenery was breathtaking.

"Where are we Jiu'er?" Dijun asked her. He was not familiar with this place.

"It's my special place. I come here when I need to get away from things and people."

"Is this actually a physical place?"

"Yes. I've been coming here since I was a kittling."

"I can sense her essence here. It's strong." Dijun said in his mind.

"Let's come down the mountain, I will show you around."

"Okay lead the way Jiu'er"

They materialized at the base of the mountain. "I see why you prefer this place. It's remarkable. I can feel energy coming from the ground."

"The very first time that I came here, I felt the same thing. I never got tired of walking around. This place is magical. I haven't explored all, but the places that I have been are beautiful."

"How big is this place?"

"I don't know how big it is. Perhaps bigger than Qing Qui. I don't stay long."

They walk to a waterfall, the place had every type of exotic plants, herbs, trees and flowers. Dijun was not familiar with the flora. He was slowly taking everything in. Sensing the energy around. Enjoying their surroundings. For some reason he remembered a similar place like this from his childhood, but it was not the same place.

"I always come here and sit here when I want to experience the benefits of meditation. It's a great spot."

"All right Jiu'er let's seat for a while and go from there. I would like to go inside your mind here." He pointed at her forehead where her birthmark is.

They sat facing each other. "Jiu'er water it's an energy conductor. Do you think you can concentrate in the flow of the waterfall?"

"I will try." She closed her eyes and opened her mind channel. She could feel Dijun coming inside her mind. It was a strange feeling. When he arrived, he encountered a labyrinth inside of a garden on Feng Jiu's mind.

"Jiu'er where are you?" He was looking for her.

"I'm next to you Dijun, let's go." She was in her fox form leading him thru the labyrinth. She used her fox senses to guide them thru the maze. When they reached the inner level; at the center there was a gigantic translucent sphere. It was Feng Jiu's core. Dijun could sense a raw powerful energy inside. He went close to it and try to reach out to touch it, but there was a forcefield around it preventing him to come close to it. He saw a person inside the sphere. The forcefield was blocking him to see the appearance.

"Who are you?" Dijun asked.

"What's the former ruler of the universe doing here?"

"I came here with Jiu'er and would like to know what is the relationship that you share with her."

"I'm afraid that is for her to find out. But she has not yet discovered how to let me out."

"Was that you trying to manifest the other day when we were training?"

"You could say that. Dong Hua Dijun, you are full of questions. Have you forgotten that we already met long time ago?"

"When and where exactly?"

"In your dreams. Since you are so eager to help Feng Jiu, I will give you with a riddle, if you are able to solve it, then you will have your answers. It goes like this: What did you get, that you took, and then it left you?"

"I don't know." Dijun responded.

"Then you might have to seek the answer. Think Dong Hua Dijun, think." The being inside the sphere raised a hand, and suddenly they were back at Tai Chen Palace garden. They both gasped as they opened their eyes.

"Are you okay Jiu'er?"

"Yes, you?" He nodded to her. They went back to training for the rest of the days before the ceremony. Dijun constantly was thinking about the riddle and was troubled cause he couldn't figure out the answer. And Feng Jiu was perplexed by it but never mentioned it to Dijun. She chose to concentrate on her training.