Chapter 118 - Gift of Appreciation

“White Maiden,” The old monk kept his hands raised in a prayer position as he smiled, “Please accept my sincere gratitude. To be blessed by fate is a rare fortune.”

Blessed by fate? Do I even know you? Yuzu blinked in confusion. She frowned as she didn’t immediately recognize the monk. She only had a vague sense that she’d seen him somewhere before.

“When I lost the vial over the edge of the mountain several nights ago, I lamented my bad luck. However today I’ve learned that my pupil has used the catalyst I prepared for him to ascend to Candidate.” Ming Ru continued, “He told me that you were the one that delivered it to him. Now I understand why the monks of Cloud Peak refer to dropped items as ‘gifts to the gods’.”

Ah! Yuzu’s memory caught up with her as she finally recalled his identity. This was the old monk who had appeared in the lodestone.

So this is Edwin’s Master... Yuzu nodded to herself, taking in his appearance.

The old man conducted himself with a humble dignity, showing his propriety towards Yuzu by keeping his head bowed and remaining in a praying position. At the same time he didn’t kneel but remained standing. A powerful aura radiated off of his body. His silver string of fate was thick and full of vitality.

This was a man who respected the White Maiden, but was not subservient to her. He gave off a completely different aura compared to Medusa, Firuzeh or Char Char. Though he had an outwardly gentle demeanor, Yuzu subconsciously felt a great deal of pressure from the man.

Her intuition warned her that he was incredibly dangerous!

Yuzu cautiously observed him, her eyes focusing on the four faint threads wrapped around his thick silver fate thread. She reached out to them once more, and again only saw visions of darkness. From the nature of the threads she knew that these threads belonged to people, and that they were currently on the plateau with Ming Ru.

Yet in the physical world they were nowhere to be seen.

Yuzu touched one of the white threads and spoke to it, “Hello?”

“Who’s there!? Help!” A scared and trembling voice replied from within, “Please help me!”

A glimpse of a Kumin woman with black hair tied into a bun and large, scared eyes appeared in Yuzu’s mind. She was dressed in a police officer uniform as she floated in a well of endless darkness. Yuzu nearly jumped back in shock as she released the thread.

On the plateau Ming Ru’s eyes narrowed slightly as he sensed the change. He kept his expression friendly as he said, “Ah, please don’t bother the spirits. They’re easier to handle when they’re calm.”

Yuzu’s lips were dry as she tried to come up with a response. She opened her mouth but no words came out. In the end she didn’t say anything.

The old monk stayed motionless for a few moments, listening for a reply. When nothing happened he casually reached into the inner pocket of his robes and pulled out a small item. He strolled up to the offering table and placed it down in the center, “Esteemed White Maiden, to show my gratitude for your assistance to my pupil, I have come today to offer you a Pearl Lotus Blossom.”

A white string separated from Ming Ru’s silver string and coiled up in front of the shrine. As a spiritual object its string had a different feeling to it compared to fate threads that belonged to people.

In the physical world, this object was the size of an apple and was wrapped in leaves and twine, concealing its appearance. However making contact with its string, Yuzu could see its appearance clearly.

The pearl lotus blossom was a large unopened bulb with many layers of heart shape petals. A soft light permeated from deep within the bulb, the light ebbing and flowing at a steady pace. Though Yuzu did not know anything about the bulb or its usage, she felt drawn to its gentle energy. Her intuition told her that this was quite a special item.

Taking a step back Ming Ru touched the tips of his fingers together and bowed again, “Please accept my offering.”

Yuzu didn’t know what a pearl lotus blossom was. She could only assume that it had great significance. Though she wanted to ask Ming Ru what it was, this was not possible for her to do as the White Maiden.

If she asked the question, Ming Ru would certainly wonder - How could a powerful being that could effortlessly save the lives of hundreds not know what a pearl lotus blossom was?

Perhaps she is not as powerful as she pretends she is.

Such a conclusion would be the worst case result for her.

Moreover, this is not just a gift of appreciation… It’s also a bribe. Yuzu couldn’t take her eyes off of the four threads that were tied around Ming Ru. After receiving the vision through the string Yuzu had a better understanding of what was going on. These were people’s souls, ripped out of their bodies and trapped by some mystical power held by the monk.

The woman that I saw was a police officer… What about the others? She wanted to discover more about them, but Ming Ru would obviously be able to sense any disturbances.

Though he seemed relaxed, the old monk was on alert after noticing that she disturbed the threads. Yuzu had thus far not provided any response to the monk as he prayed to her, but she felt that if she didn’t provide a response, he might take her silence as an act of hostility. Though she doubted that he had the ability to enter or sense her actions in the aetheric plane, she did not want to end up on his bad side.

In the end, Yuzu simply replied, “Very well.”

This simple answer drifted softly into Ming Ru’s ears. It was an acceptance of his offer, and an unspoken promise not to interfere with his business. His shoulders relaxed as a smile returned to his lips.

“Esteemed Maiden, I will be sending my pupil away from the city shortly. Before he leaves I will tell him to come once more to pray.”

He completed the prayer and bid her farewell. A wave of colours washed over his body as he vanished into the spiritual world. Yuzu no longer could see or sense him in the physical plane, though his string in the aetheric plane remained.

Yuzu watched his string depart from the plateau with a frown.

~

Yuzu closed her eyes and left the white world, returning to her physical body which was still sitting in her room at home. She felt a distinct sensation of weight and solidness as she settled back into her body. In the aetheric plane she was weightless, able to float in the air effortlessly. The transition back to the physical world felt both familiar and imprisoning every time she returned from the white world.

Yuzu stood up, stretching her legs. It was now early afternoon. Taking care of the visitors to her shrine had taken up the entire morning. Yuzu left her room and returned to the kitchen. The stew that she had left on the stove was cold. Yuzu picked up her book and sat down at the table. She cast a quick glance at the golden strings in the room. They hadn’t changed since she’d left, meaning that she still had some time before Xiang would naturally find time to leave the shop.

Yuzu opened her book and started reading at the table, but her thoughts were elsewhere.

Her recent encounter with Ming Ru left her feeling uneasy. She couldn’t shake the image of the woman’s soul suspended in darkness, her pleas crying out to Yuzu to help her. Yuzu thought back to Medusa’s words of warning last night about the monks. They were helping her to resurrect the God of Life, but they seemed to have their own hidden motives.

Regarding the God of Life, Yuzu had no desire to help him revive. She didn’t know exactly what it meant for a God to come back to life, but given that a horrible plague had broken out and vines were overtaking the city, Yuzu had a feeling that it was only going to get worse.

“I could ask Argus what to do…” Yuzu muttered softly to herself with a sigh. “But do I really want to take advice from a kid?”

Putting the pieces Yuzu guessed that Argus was probably actually hundreds of years old. His body was just in an unnatural state of youth. Therefore it would be logical to ask him for advice. However, Yuzu couldn’t stop viewing him as a child. Whenever he began speaking seriously about complicated topics, there’d always be a part of her that would think: How adorable, that little boy is talking like a grown up!

Besides… I already know that I want to stop that God from reviving. Yuzu nodded to herself. I just need to decide the best way to do this.

In this regard Yuzu was in the perfect position to take counter actions against them. After all, both the monks and Medusa had approached Yuzu under the guise of friendship.

Though she was surprised at first, Yuzu quickly understood why they had come to her. In their eyes, the White Maiden was still an unknown entity. Lord Noga, the Red Lion Security Company and the Police were on one side of the conflict. The God of Life and the monks were on the other. The White Maiden had appeared out of nowhere and shown her power, but as of yet was not officially aligned with either faction. She had helped the citizens of Noga during the Night of the Living Vines, but she had also provided help to Ming Ru and his pupil. The God of Life clearly had a positive history with Fate as well, since he had preemptively provided assistance to her without asking for any compensation.

Right now, each faction was sending its representatives, providing gifts and trying to uncover information about her. After the introductions would come deal making and bargaining to get her on their side. Each interaction, each exchange would involve many probes to figure out exactly where her loyalties lay.

Both sides were treating her with utmost respect and reverence. showing their best face to her, while keenly watching to see which side she’d eventually choose to support.

This delicate balance was both the one thing keeping her safe and the thing that drove her into ever increasing danger.

As long as she was held in reverence, these factions would not dare to investigate her too closely or ask for too much. The White Maiden represented fate, an invisible force that bound each and every being. From the tiniest ant to the mightiest God. No one would dare do something that would offend a Goddess of the Fate Domain.

But as soon as she took a side she would make enemies of the other.

The trapped soul’s pleas for help echoed in Yuzu’s mind. She had been helpless to save that woman. If Yuzu made enemies of the monks, would she be able to save herself from them? Medusa had knelt down before her, but Yuzu had felt the immense power that she commanded.

Yuzu wasn’t sure she could afford to make the God of Life her enemy, even for a goal as noble as saving her country.

However, just because she couldn’t openly choose a side didn’t mean there was nothing she could do to help. Yuzu glanced down at the black string that was still joined to her own. In a few hours Char Char would arrive to invite her to the ball. In addition to securing support for her shrine, maybe she could subtly pass a hint to an important figure or two…

A clattering at the door jolted Yuzu out of her thoughts.

“Sorry, Yuzu.” Xiang’s voice rang out as he announced his arrival, “I couldn’t get away from the till for the entire morning.”

“It’s fine.” Yuzu regained her composure quickly as she flipped to the next page in her book, acting as if she’d been sitting at the table for hours waiting for Xiang to take a break. “Food’s cold. Want me to heat it up?”

“Please.” Xiang gave out a tired but satisfied sigh as he sat down on his chair at the table. He set down a stack of the contracts that had been signed that morning.

Yuzu stood up and turned on the gas stove.

“If you’d like, I can watch the store for a bit.” Yuzu offered.

“You need rest.” Xiang grunted, “It won’t kill our customers if the store closed for an hour for lunch.”

“I’m feeling much better though.” Yuzu said as cheerfully as she could manage, “Dr. Baolan’s treatment really helped.”

“You’re lucky I even let you cook in your condition!” Xiang grumbled, his voice starting to rise as his mood took a downward turn.

Yuzu didn’t argue any more as she started stirring the pot of stew. She didn’t need to look at the future to know that Xiang was going to stubbornly refuse to let Yuzu do anything else today.

Xiang was always like this, thinking he knew what was best for everyone and forcing them to go along with his orders. In the past Yuzu would grumble and argue with him, but he would rarely change his mind.

She sighed loudly, facing away as if she were annoyed at him. However this was only to hide the grin that had formed on her lips.

Sorry Xiang, but I’ve got a party to go to tonight.