After what felt like hours, Mo Jing took a reluctant sip, and Li Meirong echoed his action with a sip of her own.

"It is very good," Mo Jing exclaimed with a smile. "No wonder my Grandmaster has been asking for your recipes. Perhaps you would have done even better for yourself in my division."

​​

"Perhaps." Li Meirong laughed softly. "But then I would not have been so fortunate as to encounter my familiars. I trust them with my life, you know? I agree with those who dare say spirit beasts are better companions than men, as they are loyal to a fault and would never betray their masters."

Mo Jing was quiet, staring at the steam wafting up from his cup with the utmost fascination.

"What do I know of familiars?" he muttered finally. "My affinity is with plants. My companions are the herbs and flowers in my garden. If I have shown you my garden, then I have shown you my wealth."

"Oh, you know that's not fair," Li Meirong complained lightly, going along with the line of conversation that Mo Jing seemed to be aiming for. "I can't argue with that; your garden is perfect to a fault." As she spoke, she carefully observed him through slightly-narrowed eyes.

"Speaking of which," Mo Jing began, "there is a special garden on my division's island that produces flowers so rare they only bloom once every few hundred years. It is a sight you would not soon forget, I guarantee you." He stared out the window as he spoke, as if envisioning the garden he spoke of. "Since you have invited me into your home so hospitably, it would only be right for me to reciprocate. We could go view that garden today, if you are otherwise unoccupied."

It was very subtle of him, but Li Meirong was not so unelightened anymore. She noticed immediately how expertly Mo Jing had navigated the course of the conversation to a different subject.

She did not answer him immediately, blowing gently on the surface of her tea and making it ripple.

"Will any other spectacles await me in this garden?" she asked casually, tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear innocently. She had yet to change her robe or brush her hair, and in her own opinion looked no better than a wild woman. Yet Li Meirong's unkempt appearance didn't seem to bother Mo Jing in the slightest; he was more concerned by and focused on her reaction.

"Of course not," he protested. "It would just be the garden. What kind of interesting event could possibly happen at the herbalists' island?" He raised his chin and barked a sharp, sudden laugh.

It sounded false to Li Meirong, though. Her eyes hardened. 'Let's see what will he come up with next.'

"I will have to decline your invitation," she said, tone calm but firm. "It is not appropriate for me to visit this garden. It is a well known fact among the disciples of other divisions that no intruders are permitted. No one is allowed to step foot there except for your fellow herbalist disciples."

Mo Jing's false laughter died away. He banged his fist on the table, making the teacups and teapot shake.

"As a disciple responsible for the care and maintenance of the herbs and flowers in the sect, I am allowed to extend an invitation!"

Li Meirong simply stared at him, disappointed that he had been so easily and swiftly riled up.

"When you tell only half the truth, you tell a whole new lie," she said softly, and lowered her gaze to her knees. Snowball stepped between her shoes and gazed up at her from below, golden gaze searching. She offered him a halfhearted smile.

In the end, it was just as she had said: spirit beasts were far more reliable than men...

Snowball hopped up on the table as if enacting a plan of his own, somehow managing to avoid knocking either teapot or cups off the small table with careful placement of his tiny paws. He had observed Li Meirong's reaction closely, and now turned to stare silently at Mo Jing.

Unsuppressed rage was visible in their golden depths.

Mo Jing stilled in his seat; he was entirely unmoving, as if frozen, cup still in hand.

The fox spirit did not say a word, but Mo Jing could clearly understand what he meant to convey by his fierce stare. 'You made her sad; now you need to fix the situation or I will make sure you regret it', his eyes seemed to say.

Mo Jing was not an expert fighter, and actively sought solitude, avoiding confrontations whenever possible. So when he suddenly experienced the strangest feeling of looming danger, all lurking in the fox spirit's ominous aura, he had an immediate change of heart.

Goosebumps covered his arms; he had a strong feeling that if he did not speak up, this spirit beast would find a way to torture him when he least expected it.

With a deep sigh of defeat, Mo Jing placed his cup down and closed his eyes momentarily.

"It is a regrettable fact that I have never and will never be as clever as my brother," he admitted. "I did try, but I am not so sneaky as to be able to trick you into cooperating with me."

Li Meirong's head lifted and she blinked twice, a look of obvious surprise covering her face.

"Whatever do you mean?" she asked him.

"There is no further need for a roundabout story between us. The reason I came here today was not only because of Shu Qianqian's plots." Mo Jing could not meet her eyes as he confessed the truth. "Throughout my whole life, I have looked up to my brother. I have always been proud of his accomplishments, even more so than my own. My brother was the pillar of support for our entire clan." He took a sip of tea as if to calm his nerves. "Now everything has gone awry. My brother speaks nonsense and destroys his own abode in fits of rage. I cannot bear how much he has changed."

Mo Jing sounded defeated as he continued to speak. "But he has promised me that everything will go back to normal if only I bring you to his side."

The cup still in Li Meirong's hands shook briefly before she tightened her grip. Mo Jing hurriedly continued his speech, words falling from his lips in a rush.

"He also banished Shu Qianqian from his residence, and promised that everything would be explained if you went to see him, just once."