The next morning, the girls enjoyed breakfast with Lady Tennin before preparing to return to their journey. Jia was distracted, wondering about the implications of what she had learned during her conversation with the Lady Tennin and during meditation afterwards. Before she knew it, the meal was over and it was time to say their farewells.

"It was very good to see you all! Please, feel free to visit anytime. You will always be welcome here in Urayama."

Lady Tennin and her retinue bowed as Jia and her friends prepared to leave. Jia returned the bow politely.

"Thank you for entertaining us. You are as gracious a host as ever, and you've given me much to think about."

The lady opened her mouth to respond, then blinked in surprise, glancing off into the distance toward something only she could sense. Jia felt it too a moment later—a familiar domain radiating a sense of lethargic anger and reluctant obligation. What was Seong Misun doing here?

Lady Tennin quirked an eyebrow at Jia.

"Someone you know?"

"Unfortunately…"

As Misun's aura got closer, Jia sensed the others with her. Narae was keeping pace with her flight, while Hattori Koji was lagging behind, riding his qilin shikigami. Jia's expression darkened when she realized that she didn't sense Lee Jung among them. Her concerns were only somewhat assuaged when Seong Misun came into view, flying straight down to the mountain shrine before alighting gracefully, carrying Jung in her arms. The princess had a put out scowl on her face as she strode forward and unceremoniously dumped Jung's unconscious form into Jia's arms.

"For all her bragging, your girlfriend is a shitty doctor. If she dies, don't go blaming it on me."

Jia fumbled awkwardly, trying to keep her much taller sister from falling to the floor before Eui stepped in to help. Seong Misun stormed off towards the shrine, and Lady Tennin bowed politely as she passed.

"Pleased to meet you, I am—"

"Don't care!"

The princess brushed Lady Tennin off, striding past and walking into the shrine's main building as if she owned the place. Eunae rushed to apologize, while Rika shouted after Misun about rudeness.

Yoshika ignored all of that as she checked on her big sister's condition. Jung's illness had spread faster than usual, and while it wasn't immediately life-threatening, she had a high fever and her breathing was labored. Yoshika wasted no time using her Tranquility of the Verdant Marsh to flood Jung's body with healing wood essence.

The infection was all but cleared in an instant, and Jung's breathing became steadier. Unfortunately, Yoshika knew that her sister's infection ran deeper than she was able to cure by herself. The corruption had rooted itself in her soul, and if the decline in her condition was any indication, those roots were spreading.

Narae arrived shortly afterwards, and Jia was impressed that her little sister had managed to make it the entire way while flying. Jia's own flying technique was prohibitively expensive, yet Narae made it look completely effortless. The little girl ignored everyone else, running forward to embrace her mother.

"Big Sis, Eui, is mom gonna be okay? She just collapsed suddenly, and then she got all hot, and then the mean lady just grabbed her and took off, and then—"

Jia cut her little sister off with a hug, shushing her and stroking her hair comfortingly. Eui crossed her arms and frowned, still annoyed by Seong Misun's comment.

"She'll be fine. Her sickness is progressing a little faster than expected, but she was never in any danger."

The Lady Tennin took the opportunity to come over and introduce herself, kneeling down to meet Narae's eye level.

"Hello there! You must be Lee Narae—your sisters told me all about you. I'm pleased to meet you! I am called Lady Tennin, but you may address me however you like."

Narae blinked up at the lady and wide-eyed wonder.

"Wow! Big Sis, you're really pretty!"

Lady Tennin tittered in delight.

"Why thank you! You're rather adorable yourself."

Narae preened under the Tennin's praise, her worries forgotten momentarily. Lady Tennin stood back up and clapped once to gain everyone's attention.

"Well, why don't we head back inside for tea while we get everything sorted out. Shinji, please find somewhere appropriate for Lee Jung to rest while she recovers."

The atmosphere was heavy in Lady Tennin's sitting room. Seong Misun's sheer presence was stifling, and the Princess seemed more than happy to command the shrine maidens to attend to her whims while the rest of the party sat around the table in awkward silence. The Tennin's boundless exuberance proved more than a match for the surly princess, however.

"Welcome to my shrine Princess Seong Misun! I'm happy to see you availing yourself of our hospitality. Your sister has been a wonderful guest so far—you must have been an excellent role model!"

Misun's eyebrows twitched and Rika nearly choked on her tea. Jia and Eui had to suppress giggles of their own—they hadn't realized Lady Tennin was capable of that kind of sass. Then again, knowing her it might've been completely genuine, which really only added to the effect.

Misun did her level best to ignore Lady Tennin, turning to Jia as she spoke.

"As soon as your sister wakes up we’re leaving. With wind walking we should be able to get to the border outpost by nightfall. No more delays—I want to get this over with already."

Jia bowed gratefully.

"Thank you, Seong Misun, for everything you’ve done for us."

The Princess made a sour face and scoffed.

"Not doing it for you, you little brat. I'm doing it because my aunt is forcing me to, so save your thanks."

"Maybe, but Narae told me about what happened. You rushed here as soon as Jung got sick—you didn't have to, and I appreciate it."

"Ugh, whatever. I just didn't want you blaming me if something happened to her. Enough of this, I'm going to go meditate—come get me when she's awake."

Misun got up and stormed off, ignoring the shrine maiden that had been trying to serve her tea. Eunae bowed so low that her forehead touched the table, her expression mortified.

"I am so, so, sorry. Misun has always been a bit prickly, and she's been under a lot of stress lately. That doesn't excuse her behavior, but I hope that you won't hold her actions against her and our clan."

Lady Tennin smiled and shook her head.

"Oh, it's fine. I understand. Besides, it's not like I'm truly a noble lady—my power and influence extends only as far as Urayama's borders. I'm undeserving of such respect for a princess such as yourself."

"I would argue, Miss Tennin, that it is not power and influence that earned you the respect of your people, nor should it be what earns you mine."

The Tennin simply bowed in response. Rika leaned back and grumbled irritably.

"If you ask me, all these noble types would benefit a lot if they just learned how to take their heads out of their asses—Seong Misun especially."

Eui snorted.

"I'll drink to that."

That got a smile out of even Ja Yun, who joined the rest of them and taking a drink—even dribbling a little bit onto Muddy, who happily absorbed the liquid. Jia took the opportunity to excuse herself and go check on Jung, leaving the others to the commiseration. To her surprise, she was joined by Eunae, who had simply followed her out wordlessly.

"Something on your mind, Eunae?"

She shook her head, then hesitated before speaking.

"I just…wanted to apologize again, on Misun's behalf. Her treatment of you and your sisters has been unacceptable."

Jia shrugged.

"I mean, she did bring Jung here for help, didn't she?"

"She also dumped her into your arms like a sack of rice. Hardly an appropriate way to handle someone who is ill."

"True…"

They walked through the halls in silence for a moment, before pausing outside of Jung's room. Eunae wrung her hands together, working up the courage to say something.

"I've really made a mess of things haven't I?"

Jia raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, this is all my fault, isn't it?"

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Seong Misun isn't really here to protect you, or to represent us politically, or as punishment for her idiocy during the coup. Her role is the same it's always been…"

Eunae's fox-like ears drooped, and she hugged her arms around herself, staring at the floor.

"She's here to be my minder—to make sure that I don't cause trouble. The Academy was a test, and I failed. I can't control my power any better now than I could before, and then it turns out that I've accidentally cast some kind of unknown geas on you? The only reason I'm here is because you couldn't leave without me—of course the Queen couldn't trust me. As always, it falls to Misun to keep me from destroying everything I touch."

Jia stepped forward and swept her friend into a tight embrace.

"Don't talk about yourself like that, Eunae. You do not destroy everything you touch. I already owe you so much. Do you remember when Yan Yue kidnapped Eui? Without you, I would've run headfirst into her trap. I couldn't have saved Eui without your help."

Eunae returned the hug uneasily, shaking her head.

"By convincing you to enslave yourself to Hayakawa Kaede! Since then, I have thought of dozens of better ways to handle that situation. I was arrogant and stupid."

"Slavery is putting it a bit strongly, don't you think? And then you helped us learn how to defend against mind magic—"

"—not that it did much good—"

"And you fought for us against Zheng Long, helped us put a stop to Sun Jaehwa's bullying, saved Eui's parents from being harassed by gangsters—ancestors Eunae, you bought me a house in the middle of the capital! You are one of the sweetest, kindest people I know, and I'm proud to call you my friend."

Eunae squeezed Jia tighter, which had the unfortunate side effect of squishing Jia's head into the taller woman's chest.

"How can you say that after—after what I did to you?"

"It wasn't on purpose. Yan Yue's violation was far worse, and completely intentional, but we still forgave her eventually. Ancestors, we’re probably going to start an international incident just to help her. The scar on our soul isn't your fault, Eunae."

The Princess huffed.

"You forgive too easily. If it were me, I—wait, what? What did you just say?"

Jia scratched her cheek awkwardly—her mouth had gotten away from her again.

"We found it—the damage from your gaze. It's hard to describe, but we saw it as a scar on our soul. I think it's caused by your Soulfire element, but it's…hard to look at. Hard to even think about, really. I don't think it's possible for us to fix it without your help."

Eunae hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"I don't know how much I can, but I'll do whatever it takes."

"Even if it means using your power on us more? "

Jia's friend took a step back, holding her at arms length and giving her a questioning look—at least as much as Eunae could with her eyes closed. Jia shrugged helplessly.

"Something Jianmo said. That someone whose soul had been altered by magic could only hope to have it fixed by another soul mage. It stands to reason that if your magic could cause the damage, then maybe you can fix it too."

"Jia, that doesn't stand to reason that all. You don't put out a fire with more fire."

Jia giggled.

"Actually, that's kind of what Jianmo said too. Still, if it's possible at all, I'd rather you be the one to do it. There's nobody else I'd rather trust."

Eunae pulled Jia into another tight hug.

"I promise to live up to that trust, Jia. You're a better friend than I could ever ask for."

Jia returned the hug, but her response was interrupted by the door sliding open with a sudden clack. Narae stood staring up at the two girls, her goat-like eyes narrowing.

"Eui's going to be jealous."

Eunae jumped back as if Jia had suddenly caught on fire, blushing bright red. Jia sighed and gently flicked Narae's forehead.

"Eui can already sense everything that I do, and was probably enjoying herself a little more than is appropriate."

Eunae reddened even further, while Narae's face twisted into a disgusted scowl as she rubbed her forehead.

"Gross. Are you two coming in, or are you just gonna stand out here and loudly talk about cultivator stuff in the middle of the hall?"

"Right, yes. We came to check on your mother. How's she doing?"

Jia's little sister shrugged.

"Same as before. Come see for yourself."