The next day, Jin gave Mei Hua two bracelets of jade. One was gold and one was a light blue. The gold had intricate designs of deer on them, while the light blue had little flowers. These were her “betrothal gifts”, though a celebratory gift would have been more accurate.

“Where did you get these from?” She asked as she put them on, amazed at the craftsmanship.

“I… I made them from jade found in the mountain.”

She paused, blinking.

“D-do you like them?” Jin asked anxiously. He’d copied something he’d seen written in the scrolls, only with his own design.

“You did?”

“Yes.” When he saw her stare at them without saying anything, he felt worried. “If you don’t like them, I can—”

He reached out to take them off, but she hastily withdrew her arms.

“No, no! I like them! They’re beautiful, gorgeous!”

“They are?”

“Absolutely. So don’t go taking them from me.” Mei twirled one of the bracelets, feeling it’s cool touch on her wrist. “These are really amazing, so thank you.”

She spent the rest of the day periodically glancing at them and playing with them. And when she took them off at night, she spent a few minutes admiring them again.

Seeing her so pleased with his gift, Jin promised to himself to make more. There were whole scrolls devoted to jewelry written by his sister.

Now that he thought about it, his sister had a really strong obsession with anything she considered beautiful. Her writings on clothes, design, and jewelry were written was a fervent passion. Was that healthy?

———

Wu TengFei came back two weeks later with his merchant caravan. It was so small it could barely be counted as a “caravan”, much less one for a merchant.

When he’d gotten back home, it became very clear to him that a rival merchant family was trying to take over his family’s business. They’d managed to convince almost every non-bound servant to leave, and had even given money to many of the bound ones so they could buy their freedom. His family’s estate was in sorry shape upon his return, with only a handful of old, loyal servants left.

He’d shown his Grandmother and Eldest Sister-in-Law the blue jade he’d gotten from Lord Jin on the Fairy Emperor’s behalf. They’d been astonished but also very cautious too. Now that they knew most of their “bad luck” came from a rival family, they needed to make sure their enemies never found out the secret to getting across the mountain.

It didn’t even matter if their rivals were unaware of what the blue jade pass could do. They could simply find a way to snatch it from them and sell it once they were aware of it’s existence. After all, there was no identifying mark on it to associate it with Wu Clan, it would be very easy to put it on the black market. And the amount of money they got from it would be enormous. Keeping it a secret became their number one priority.

Number two priority was getting goods to the mountain. Their family contacts on the other side hadn’t heard of the family misfortunes yet, so there was not much of a chance that they’d have issues with them. But on this side of the mountain, there would be problems. Just getting to the mountain they could run into serious problems, not even counting possible bandits.

So they decided on keeping things small, but high quality. Silks, medicines, perishable seasonal foods, and jewelry they knew sold well on the east side, and they already had in stock, would be sent over. They hired body guards from outside the town to reduce the chances of betrayal. Lastly, they left at night and had Wu TengFei go personally.

It was risky sending Wu TengFei, the last son of the Wu Family. But they didn’t dare send a servant, as that would require explaining how to use the blue jade pass. The fewer people who knew at this point, the better.

When Wu TengFei’s small caravan showed up at the edge of the forest, Mei Hua went to guide them. Jin tagged along simply to keep Mei from being too friendly with strange men. Despite all that he’d accomplished and all the growth that he’d had as a human, it was not enough to outweigh his deep fear of abandonment.

Regardless, it was fortunate he decided to go. Wu TengFei’s guards had only been required to bring him to the base of the mountain. From there, they could decide to turn back or get extra pay by going over with the little master. They’d all assumed they’d be turning back. After all, everyone knew the mountains were cursed by the Fairy King.

But when they saw Jin, they changed their minds. They all had modest training in qi-based martial arts and immediately sensed their was a terrifying power within Jin. To meet a cultivator of such strength was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The Fairy King? Who’s that? With a man like this around, they had nothing to fear. If they could even learn a little bit of his martial arts…

So, in the end, their curiosity got the best of them and they all decided to go across.

This particular part of the mountain was deep, steep, and rocky. If Wu TengFei had been traveling over it by himself, it would have likely taken three days to cross over. But because Jin was there, and he wanted the least amount of interaction as possible, it took a day and night only.

Jin was not the Fairy Emperor (or King) of the mountain for nothing. He created a wide, gently slopping path for the caravan to follow without so much as lifting a finger. They could even travel at night for a time, because fairy lights guided them. When they were ready to camp, a ready-made cave was waiting for them to sleep in. Even the weather was pleasant.

When Mei Hua saw that the Fairy Emperor was keeping his promise, she praised him to Wu TengFei.

“It’s really surprising! This is the second time I’ve seen him be so generous. He could have just kept the wolves and bears away and considered that “safe passage”, but he’s going all out instead. He’s not even getting anything directly for this either. Ah! If you get the chance, you should find some quality persimmons to give to him as a gift.”

“…persimmons?”

“Yes. Oh. And maybe some nuts if you can find them.”

Wu TengFei couldn’t hide his confusion.

“A-are you sure he’d be happy with a gift of persimmons and nuts?”

“I’m not completely confident, but even if he doesn’t like them, the deer will.”

“…the… deer?”

“Oh yes, his deer. Keep the deer happy and the Emperor’s happy.”

“The Fairy Emperor keeps deer… for pets?”

“Hm… well, I know it’s unusual, but the deer themselves are quite beautiful. I’ve only seen one up close, mind you, but even from afar they’re amazing. That just goes to show what the Fairy Emperor’s love can do. It turns even the most ordinary animal into something extraordinary.”

Jin, who’d been ease-dropping, felt both a little embarrassed and pleased. Embarrassed that Mei thought he needed to be gifted persimmons and nuts, and pleased that she’d said nice things about his deer. He held his head a little higher, feeling pride that his years of deer raising was noticed and appreciated.

Now that he thought about it, since they were married, he should introduce her to his deer and fairies and other mountain servants. Even though both groups understood his feelings towards Mei Hua well enough at this point, officially letting them know would still be a good idea. While he was in the middle of thinking about this, the Guards had talked amongst themselves and decided to try to converse with him.

“Lord Jin, this servant hopes it’s not impolite to ask but, what master did you study under?”

“Study under?”

“Yes. We guards have naturally noticed your great power and wondered who taught you.”

Jin’s eyebrows came together. “Why would I need a master to have this power?”

The guard who’d been brave enough to speak out looked at him in astonishment.

“Does his Lordship mean to say his cultivation is self-taught?”

Jin blinked and misunderstood: The Guard must have been talking about his martial arts rather than his inner qi level.

“Ah, that. I was taught by a fairy.”

“Fairy, my Lord?”

“En. A fairy by the name of Ye. He taught my wife also.” Jin nodded towards Mei Hua, who was still talking to the Merchant. “She is good at fighting too, so I don’t recommend trying anything.”

The Guards muttered in surprise at this news. When they’d heard her introduce herself, they’d wondered if there was any relation to the one in the rumors. But hearing about the fairy cemented in their minds that the rumor was, in fact, fact.

“Lord, this servant wonders… how would one become a student of Master Ye?”

“Hm… I suppose you’d have to be able to see him first.” Jin replied after some thought. As they were adults, they couldn’t see Ye, so naturally Ye could not teach them. (Those outside the mountain had long since forgotten that fairies could only be seen by children. Jin and Ye knew this, but the rest did not. Mei had actually forgotten too, having been able to see fairies her whole life. Ye had to remind her.)

Jin thought he was lying when he said Mei was strong. After all, Mei had never come close to beating him and Ye himself said she was hopeless. He only wanted to scare the Guards a bit and put them in their place so they didn’t get any ideas about approaching her. He had no idea that outside the mountain Mei Hua was famous for her fighting.

Two great misunderstandings emerged from this first trip across the mountains:

1) It became common practice for those who neared the mountain to leave food gifts. Whether Jin wanted it or not, he became something like a wrathful god that could be appeased with persimmons and nuts. The deer and smaller critters were the only ones who benefited.

2) There is a Sect on the mountain lead by a powerful fairy named Ye. He has only accepted two students. Lord Jin, Representative of the Fairy Emperor, and the Great Mei Hua. Master Ye hides in the mountain, waiting for someone worthy to find him. If you can catch a glimpse of him, you can become his Disciple.