Prince Yuen's pavilion was not hard to find. One of the smaller black birds that Zen had noticed flying about the day before seemed to have no issue guiding them straight to the other man's home.

Several sets of guards attempted to block their way, but when the little bird flew down to perch on Zen's shoulder, they immediately gave their apologies and let them through each time. He had no doubt that the bird was either one of the prince's familiars, or possibly, even an extension of he, himself. Either way, it made what could have been a frustrating endeavor, much less stressful.

Starting up the long flight of stairs leading into the massive pavilion, Zen looked at his master, who was walking only a step or so head of him. He could tell that he was still feeling uneasy about what they were doing, but both of them were curious, and if the prince really did have information about what had happened in their pasts, they wanted to know.

They stopped abruptly at the top of the stairs as the little black bird on Zen's shoulder tweeted loudly, then flitted off somewhere out of sight.

"Enter," came a chilling, yet familiar voice from beyond the closed doors before them.

Zen stepped forward first, blocking his master mostly from view in case there was a trap of some sort. He reached forward slowly, pushing one side of the doors inward. The scent of pine trees and honey mixed within the faint brush of warm air that met them as they stepped inside.

The man's main greeting room was large but busy, with plants of all sorts taking up much of the extra spaces. He knew from watching his master's work that many of the plants could be used for spells, and were not just simple decoration.

Polished hardwood covered the floor beneath their feet and bamboo screens with intricate designs of exotic birds stood as doors to other rooms. Several of the windows far off to either side were partially open, allowing for the feathered animals to come and go as they pleased.

"Come, sit," prince Yuen said as he gestured toward the chair beside his own that mirrored its carved design of a peacock with its feathers slightly unfurled. He was wearing a long black robe with the design of a flying hawk across the right side leaning up toward his shoulder.

Qi stepped forward politely, but then hesitated and looked over his shoulder. Zen bowed his head with a small smile and moved to stand beside the chair. Reassured, his master gracefully settled into it, then turned his full attention to the prince who had been watching them lazily, his right leg crossed over his left knee. He was also leaning on his right hand that was propped up by his elbow on the intricately carved armrest.

The man, literally, looked quite at home.

"Xiao niao told me bits and pieces of what you wish to inquire, but his memory is a tad fleeting. Please, do tell me what you wish to know, my prince. I will answer what I can... for the right price, of course," prince Yuen said with a content smirk.

Zen watched silently as the little bird who had guided them there, Xiao niao, landed on the man's armrest and began nibbling playfully at a length of his hair that draped in front of his shoulder.

He let it be, clearly far more interested in hearing what Qi wished to ask, and, no doubt, decide how much he could request in return as payment.

Unfortunately for him, neither of them had any money on them.

"I'm afraid that I did not even bring enough money for our trip here, let alone to buy information," Qi said, seemingly split between relief and discomfort.

The other prince seemed to think his words were humorous, because he gave a content chuckle as soon as Qi finished speaking. It honestly irked Zen to have his master laughed at for his funds. Money was not important to either of them, and they rarely carried more than what they thought was absolutely necessary. At the end of whatever venture they were on, they would even donate the remaining coins to any beggars they found before returning home.

"Money is not something I am in short supply of, good prince. What I want..." prince Yuen let his sentence drift off into silence as he lifted his free hand and pointed lazily at Qi.

"I want you."

Zen's fingers itched to draw his sword. No one owned his master, let alone tried to bargain for him like a slave!

"I'd like to look you over, frown the waist upward," the prince added, seemingly trying to sell his deal.

And I would like to carve you, from the neck down.

Prince Yuen slowly let his eyes drift to the side, then up, offering Zen a smirk that made his skin crawl.

"Your pet is quite aggressive when it comes to your dignity. While I am very interested in doing many things to you, I know that I have no information you want that will ever take things that far," he said honestly, drawing a faded pink color to his master's face while, at the same time, making a wave of fury crash through Zen's mind.

The man deserved to die for such talk. Prince or not!

He was just beginning to remove his blade from its scabbard when Qi lifted one hand, immediately making Zen slide his sword back into place with a scowl.

"May I ask what you are looking for in your examination?" Qi requested, seemingly considering the offer.

The other prince sat up straighter, clearly surprised that he was being taken seriously.

"I just want to confirm something, is all. I won't curse you or try to harm you in any way. Your faithful bodyguard wouldn't let either of those things happen, anyways," he said with a knowing look to Zen that he returned with a sneer beneath his mask.

"I accept your offer. I would like to know what your role was in mine and Zen's meeting many years ago," Qi asked, not holding back his main reason for coming there.

His master never did like beating around the bush. And considering the payment option he had to do, it wasn't worth it to ask multiple questions. They weren't given an actual number that the other prince would answer, either, just that they would have to pay for whatever information he did decide to give with the exam.

The prince's face actually held a hint of surprise, no doubt from his master's question, before he quickly managed to conceal it beneath an entertained grin.

"I've always admired that about you," he eventually said, then added. "You don't waste your words."

Glancing around the beautiful main entry room, prince Yuen seemed to think for a moment, then stood from his decorative chair.

"Now then, this is not the place to speak of such things. You have two horses, do you not?" he asked, making Qi and Zen both look at each other in confusion.

The man wanted them to leave the palace grounds? Was that even possible?

"We do," Qi said, returning his attention back to him as he stood as well.

Prince Yuen shed his intricate robe and hung it up on a set of hooks before turning back toward them to reveal a black crossed shirt with the outline of a vulture flying with its left wing tip starting on the bottom left and its right one ending on the top right. It had every single feather and detail sewed into it as well, but most of that was only visible when the light hit it just right.

He had a long belt tied tightly at his waist with a pendant with three black feathers hanging down over his flared pants, too. After tying a simple dark red coin purse to his waist, he headed for the door.

Zen furrowed his brow in confusion, but when his master began following the other prince, he didn't hesitate to fall into step right behind him. They ended up taking a different route, eventually ending up behind their pavilion back by the hot spring instead of at the front entrance.

As they'd approached, Zen had sent out what remained of his spiritual energy to summon their two horses. They appeared moments later, still chewing on some fresh grass they had been busy partaking in.

Prince Yuen easily swung himself up onto Feng's bare back as his own master calmly mounted Kongqi. Once he was situated, Qi reached down and offered Zen his hand. The gesture made him uncomfortable, as he'd never riden with his master in such a way, but with prince Yuen already on his horse...

Reluctantly, Zen accepted his mater's proffered hand and swung up behind him. He immediately pinned his arms to his sides, refusing to hold onto the man in front of him as their horse began to move, following the other prince's.

They rode in silence once they left the palace grounds through an unfamiliar, overgrown exit. They soon came across meadows of roses and peonies that stretched on as far as the eye could see. The fragrance was divine, though it was surprising to see such flowers right before winter was due to set in.

"Spiritual spells, of course. This entire land is controlled by my father. All of the plants grow to his will. Of course, forcing something to do what it was not meant to weakens its lifespan greatly, but whatever makes his harem happy, makes him happy," prince Yuen explained as he nudged his horse to speed up, moving from a walk into a slow trot.

He seemed to be testing Zen's horse as he directed it this way and that, then asked it to speed up or jump a simple obstacle. Feng was being surprisingly docile with the other man, as it never let anyone but him ride it, but Zen secretly hoped that the animal would return to its normal stubborn self when it came to strangers and throw the prince with a snort and a buck.

Just as he was going through the mental images of such a thing happening, he had to jerk his arms forward and wrap them tightly around Qi's waist as the man sped up their stallion quite abruptly. It turned out that while he wasn't paying attention, prince Yuen had pushed Feng into quite a fast gallop, and forced Qi to spur his horse on or risk falling too far behind.

They seemed to be heading for a large forest at the edge of the meadow, but right as their horse leaped over a fallen log to follow the other prince, who had already disappeared into the underbrush, it suddenly lost its footing... because there was nowhere to land! They dropped as their horse's hooves slipped right through a warping, twisting ground of dark greens, browns and black. It felt like Zen's breath was suddenly sucked out of his body as they fell, but before he could truly panic from the darkness, thousands of faint lights appeared beneath them.

They both braced for a hard landing, but as Kongqi's hooves touched down, a brief gust of wind slowed their descent just enough to save the horse from injury. They landed as if on a cushion, drawing Zen's eyes to the side and downward.

Moss and mud?

Their horse seemed uneasy about the uneven ground, at first, but it quickly regained its composure as it saw Feng standing off in the distance.

Massive vines swirling with dark energy hung from a ceiling so black that it was impossible to see where they truly came from. Little feathered creatures ran about on the lengths above them, looking over the edge every few moments at their odd guests.

The creatures themselves were strange enough to make Zen tilt his head with curiosity. They had the bodies of birds, though a bit more bulk was present in the front. Their wings were also slightly farther back on their bodies with another set of taloned feet protruding from either side of their front that had a sort of folded wing attached and tucked in.

What odd creatures.

"Why did you bring us here?" Qi asked as they approached the other man slowly.

Prince Yuen grinned and turned his horse as he began to guide them down a damp tunnel. Having no choice but the follow, Qi calmly directed his horse to move forward, making them leave behind the glowing lights.

With the darkness taking over his eyesight, Zen tugged his master closer and borrowed a small amount of energy to allow him to scan their surroundings. What he found had his eyes widening in the darkness. They were inside of a damp, mossy tunnel that was actually slowly shrinking, then expanding, as if it were breathing.

"Welcome, dear friends, to a curse master's lair," prince Yuen finally said as vines abruptly unwound from a wall ahead of them, a damp breeze brushing past them as if beckoning the group to step inside.

Prince Yuen didn't hesitate, and soon, he had vanished again, just like he'd done when he'd darted into the forest earlier.

Not wanting to get left behind a second time, Qi spurred their horse on as Zen tightened his grip around his waist further, focusing all of his attention on his sensing ability. There were hundreds, if not thousands of strange tunnels and creatures lurking about. They truly couldn't risk getting lost in such a place.

As they entered the tunnel, their horse suddenly began floating. Zen looked for any vines that could be causing the odd action, but he couldn't sense anything. Unfortunately, with no way to stop it, they began drifting upward faster and faster until their horse's head suddenly burst free of a marshy swamp, quickly followed by its riders as they all sputtered and coughed.

Kongqi hurried awkwardly up the overgrown bank, shaking his mane out as he went. Zen felt like a wet rat, but he immediately slid from the horse as soon as they were on solid ground and offered his master a hand down.

He didn't recognize their surroundings at all, and as he sent out his sensing ability, he realized that they were nowhere near a field of any sort. They were actually quite deep within a forest. He did, however, find a cottage-like home not far off and gently guided his master in that direction, since the other prince seemed to have disappeared. He had no doubt that he would return to them when he wished to, so Zen paid it no mind.

After a fifteen minute walk they stepped through some thick underbrush and were rewarded by the sight of a well-built house on the other side. It was made of wooden logs, likely from the massive trees that had grown in its spot. The wood was a natural dark amber in the dim light and welcoming smoke slowly rose from the chimney, meaning a fire was roaring inside, hastening their footsteps.

The moment they stepped through the door Zen saw prince Yuen enter the room from a different area. He had changed out of his wet clothing and was now wearing a simple black robe with his hair tied into a partial bun on top of his head with a decent amount of tendrils falling here and there.

He was carrying several folded towels and calmly walked over to offer both of them to him.

"Tend to your master," he said simply before turning back to where he'd come from and disappearing through the doorway.

Zen looked around for a moment, noting that there were no changing screens, nor was there much in the way of decoration. A few plants sat in the far corner and there was a large bed beside them. Two black padded chairs sat opposite each other to their left, with a fire crackling in the hearth before them.

"Let's not waste time, Zen," Qi said as he quickly began undressing himself.

Zen immediately set the towels down on a chair and moved to help, but to his surprise, his master grasped both of his frigid hands with his own and shook his head slightly.

"We are both very cold. I can take care of myself. You need to get out of your clothing quickly, too," he said, making Zen hesitantly withdraw his hands and looked down at his soaked outfit.

It was odd, but he did as told and quickly removed his clothing. Thankfully, the other prince had set out two sets of simple robes for them, but Zen ignored them for the moment and grabbed one of the large towels. After wrapping it around his waist, he took the other and carefully but quickly began drying his master.

Thankfully, the fire warmed the room well, and Qi's shivering died down after only a few moments. Zen made sure to dry every single inch of him, though, before helping him into his robes, then into one of the chairs by the fire. By the time he'd finished with his duty, he was mostly dry, himself, so he only took a few moments to make sure that his hair wasn't too damp, then simply tied it up with a small length of fabric he carried with him for such purposes. His master surely couldn't have messy hair, but no one tended to mind his as long as he made it seem mostly presentable. Besides, they were not expecting guests, and the other prince didn't even seem to have paid much mind to his own style, as he, too, had just pulled his hair up to save himself the hassle.

By the time he took his spot standing beside his master's chair, prince Yuen had returned, carrying a small platter of steaming food. He set it on the table between the two chairs, then took the one opposite Qi's.

"Eat. Can't have my guests falling ill because of me," he said as he took one of the pairs of chopsticks and began eating from the assortment of food.

Qi waited for a moment, seemingly just considering the fare, though they all knew that he was checking the food with his skills. Prince Yuen made no comment about it, and simply continued his meal.

Once his master had deemed the food safe, he calmly picked up the remaining set of chopsticks and began taking small bites. He hadn't eaten earlier that morning, at least from the time he'd awoken. So it was a relief to see him eating.

Unfortunately, as the platter's contents began to dwindle, Zen found a warm piece of meat being offered before his covered nose. He truly wasn't hungry... the few slices of pear from earlier that morning had been more than enough to fill him for the day. However, he would never decline his master what he wished, and since he'd removed his damp mask so that it, too, could dry, he simply opened his mouth to accept the small bite of food.

"Do be careful not to overfeed him," prince Yuen said calmly without bothering to even look their way.

Both Qi and Zen frowned as they turned their attention to the other man. He seemed to notice their eyes on him, because he did finally look up with a quizzical expression.

"Surely you know what you have in your possession?"

When Qi and Zen just glanced at each other, then back to the man in confusion, prince Yuen leaned back in his chair and gave out a content chuckle.

"My dear prince... I thought you were coming to me armed with far more knowledge, but it seems that I am mistaken."

He waved his hand dismissively, then leaned an elbow on the armrest of his chair as he tucked one leg beneath his other.

"We shall renegotiate what information is worth my request, but for now, your previous question is void."

Zen immediately narrowed his eyes on the man, but the prince didn't even spare him a glance as he stared at his master.

"I will give you information... and you will accept that when I deem it is enough, you will give me what I had requested," he said, not seeming worried in the least that his master might decline.

Qi, to his surprise, took his time thinking over the man's words. He wished that he had declined outright, but he would never step into his master's deals... no matter how much he disagreed with them.

"Give me a small piece of information you have that would make me want to accept your new deal," Qi finally said, giving Zen at least a little relief. The prince would have to say something quite shocking to make his master trust his words so readily, especially after he abruptly changed the deal.

Prince Yuen gave an approving nod, then, finally, looked up at Zen.