Xiaoshi’s concentration was absolute, as he did battle with his hated enemy. His strikes were perfect, slashing a thousand times in the blink of an eye. It was artistry, pure and simple as he dismantled his foe, cutting him down. But as always there was a legion to take his foe’s place.

He took a breath, and surged ahead, prepared for the next bout.

“That's it for today, My Lord.” Kongming said kindly as Xiaoshi sighed and set down his brush.

“I should have punched you in the mouth the second you opened it that day.” Xiaoshi shot back.

“And give him one from me too,” Tianlan grumped, taking a moment from her sulking in her domain. His dear friend wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about paperwork.

His Prime Minister laughed.

“And that is why you are the most suitable for the Role, My Lord. The Heavens lead, and the Earth follows. This is the way of the world. Without a guiding star, how are we to prosper?” Kongming asked, his smile warm.

Xiaoshi just sighed. Why did Kongming have to be so damn earnest? The man chuckled as he left, heading for the scribes.

Xiaoshi sighed and rose, staring out the massive window out into the capital.

The weeks after the Emperor’s death were the most grueling in Xiaoshi’s life. Fixing every problem, appointing advisors, helping out the injured, issuing pardons… It was all one big blur, even with Tianlan encouraging him all the way, despite her distaste for what was happening.

But after that, his work wasn’t done either. He had been concerned by the Emperor's vision… but when he had gone and felt out the Mist Wall, it had been as strong as ever.The Bastard despite all that he had done… had reinforced it, before he died.

Xiaoshi didn’t exactly know how to feel about that.

He saw the people of the city eagerly scraping his name off monuments, and burning books that extolled his virtues. Xiaoshi hadn’t ordered it… but the rage of those the Emperor had wronged demanded justice.

So he said nothing, and merely watched on.

Even the environment was changing. The area around the capital was getting colder. A lot colder, and more in line with the rest of the province. The strange leafy plants were dying, and this high up in the mountains, the land itself would soon be poor to farm.

There were already talks of changing the location of the capital city.

But that was an issue for later.

“Let's go home, Tianlan.” he finally said. Things were calm enough, now.

===============================

The dreams started happily. On one of the best days of Tianlan’s life.

“Looks just like we left it.” Tianlan whispered, as she stared out at the little village.

In the distance she could see a figure, probably Boyi, in the watchtower scanning the horizon, smell the cookfires and hear Linlins sweet voice carried by the gentle breeze. Xiaoshi’s emotions swelled in time with her own, they had made it.

Home.

It had been a hectic few months to get back here, especially after Xiaoshi had started being Emperor.

Really, the Emperor? She still couldn’t tell why exactly he had agreed to the position. Neither of them really wanted to be sitting on that stupid chair. She could feel that much. He hated most of the time his butt was parked in that chair, working through papers, and studying every book Kongming had given him.

He said it was his duty. That he owed it to everybody, and he needed to become their pillar, so nothing like this would ever happen again.

Xiaoshi was trying to be something he wasn’t, and she didn’t know how to feel about that.

Tianlan knew Xiaoshi was annoyed with her, from how often she prodded at him to at least send a message… but he wanted to do it himself, instead of just sending a messenger to pick their friends up from their far flung, hidden village.

He was studying the old Emperor’s notes, too. He had visited a bunch of places, and used their Qi to reinforce the Mist Wall, to stop the demons.

Their connection was… tense, these days. Something told Tianlan to break it, but she easily pushed the thoughts aside. He was her Connected One. The first person to share everything with her. To let her feel the world.

She would stay with him until the end, no matter how bad things got. That’s what friends were for! Or so everybody she had heard talk about friends, said.

She liked the sentiment.

Still, he was calming down now, as he almost hesitantly approached the village. He was turning back into his old self. He looked up at the guard tower again, where a man squinted down at him—and then his eyes opened wide with surprise.

“Hey! Hey! Xiaoshi is back!” Boyi shouted from his watch tower.

There was a great cheer from the village.

Everybody dropped what they were doing, and surged forward, Linlin in the lead. Her eyes were wide, and full of hope, as she leapt into tackle-hug.

As hands clapped his back.

There was no weariness. There was no decorum, like the other people in the capital.

They were simply home.

Tianlan’s heart felt like it was going to burst.

She wanted to meet them. Meet them properly.

No, she needed to.

She knew she shouldn’t. She knew that it was best for her to stay within her domain.

But the call couldn’t be denied. Their war was over. It was won, for now.

And Maybe… maybe, if she had a body, she could help Xiaoshi out better. In here, she couldn’t really act.

So she pulled herself out of her domain.

The ground cracked and rumbled. Stone flowed like water, into the shape of a woman. It gained definition, and colour.

And then, out of the dirt, came Tianlan.

She blinked at the silent crowd, a bit disoriented at, for the first time, being alone in her head.

“Hello everybody!” She shouted eagerly, announcing herself. Her Qi filled the world… and suddenly, they knew who she was.

The looks on their faces were priceless.

Almost as priceless as when, later in the night, Xiaoshi finally told them what had happened.

All three of the Bo brothers fainted in sequence.

=========================

It was strange, having his thoughts to himself after what felt like an age… but he was glad that Tianlan was enjoying herself. They were still connected. He could still call on their combined Qi.

He was happy that she could live her life, without being so tied to him. Seeing her smiles always brightened his day, as she found something new to taste test, or some new dance Ruolan had shown her.

Xiaoshi governed as best that he could. He taught the people to honor the earth, and receive its blessing. To love the ground you lived on.

He stayed for two years with Atlan’s tribe, and did what the prior Emperor never could, convincing them to join his banner through bonds of brotherhood. He held great conclaves, to speak with the people, and listen to their ills, with Tianlan often at his side. The Spirit Beasts had their territory protected. And all the while, he was supported by his Prime Minister, and Tianlan.

At first people were a bit confused by her presence, but explaining her away as “a valuable companion who aided me against the Emperor” eased their worries.

When it came time to move the capital, Xiaoshi chose his old home Pale Moon City. It had quite a few advantages and was already a bustling city from the trade in ore and mining. There was another reason too. Maybe it was a bit petty of him but watching Wu’s face as he had to kowtow before the new Emperor had been an utter delight.

Yet even as the realm prospered, he still felt a nagging worry in the back of his head, that sent him back to his private quarters at night. That had him pulling open a secret compartment, and taking out a map.

A map of the Azure Hills, with twenty eight constellations drawn on it. A grand formation that had been in the process of being carved into the Earth by the Emperor.

Carved into the Earth, and inlaid with Pale Moon Ore, it would be used to reinforce the Mist Wall.

He would not simply wait for things to get bad. Xiaoshi would stop them.

He would never subject his people to the treatment the Emperor of the Azure had given.

The Emperor of the Azure had laid the groundwork of the formation. He would take it, and use it for his own ends. Instead of taking… he would empower the land. He would empower the people, so that even if he fell, they could continue to ward off the Demons.

And thus, he commissioned his largest projects yet.

A mountain that would be a place to train the future, just in case… and a grand formation, to Empower Tianlan.

Lady Cao Li, and the monkeys of the Crystal Mountain, provided their assistance and teachings.

He commanded villages to be built, in order to facilitate his grand design. Each one was given a title… and each chief took that title as their name.

He hoped his preparations were enough, or better yet, unnecessary. That the last vision the Emperor had given him had been just out of spite.

But he knew in his bones this was coming.

========================

She remembered the blessed life she lived.

Tianlan traveled the length and breadth of the Azure Hills. Sometimes with others, and sometimes alone. She met a hundred thousand people and a hundred thousand Spirit Beasts.

It was the happiest time of her life.

She helped farmers take in their harvest and went into the depths of the earth with miners, aiding them in dredging their ore and gems. She worked marble with masons, and hauled wood for architects.

Each day she learned something new, she found something else to try.

They called her the Green Lady, Mother Earth. People recognized her by the mud on her shoes and the dirt smeared across her face, even while she wore the fine clothes Xiaoshi had gifted to her.

She loved the people who lived in the Azure Hills, and they loved her.

But she kept one thing secret. One thing sacred. No matter how much she wanted to connect them all to herself, that bond… it was for her and Xiaoshi alone. The man who had shown her all of these wonderful feelings in the first place.

Each and every time she returned to Xiaoshi, who listened to her tales with a smile. He built her a grand palace, and entertained any request she had of him.

Any request, save spending more time together, like the old days.

Her Connected One was very, very busy, keeping the Azure Hills together. But every time she asked if she could help him, she got the same response. A loving smile.

“You should live life how you please, Tianlan. I’ll be fine.”

===============================

The world in the crystal accelerated into a blur, as a rooster watched, reduced to flashes of scenes and emotions.

Playing with the Temple Dog pup, that he named Dian.

Carving a mountain in two, and using it as a place to unite them all. The Dueling Peaks.

Visiting the orphanages with Tianlan, and drinking with her under the stars.

Hunting with Atlan, as they swung through the trees.

Composing absolutely horrible poems with Kongming. The man howled with laughter at Xiaoshi’s every attempt… even if his own weren’t any better.

Attending The Ascension-day festivals with Tianlan and Linlin undercover, only to be found by Ruolan, Kongming, and Atlan.For the first time in a long time, they all felt like children again as they ate the greasy food, and drank the cheap rice wine.

Ruolan and Linlin were wearing nothing but smiles, as they beckoned him closer.

Rumblin’ Yao making new roads for his people. The Massive Wreckerball teaching the Earth-Wrecker Stance to a blind boy, so that he could see the world through his feet.

Listening to a rather amusing tale, from the Eighth Correct Place. He and Tianlan had dredged up the Silver of the earth, so that they would know prosperity for their stubborn resilience. Xiaoshi would never abandon them, or fail to reward a servant for their hard work.

The world sung the praises of the First Emperor. There obviously had been nobody before Xiaoshi.

And then, one day, there was a black, corrupted spot on the ground.

The Demons were getting through the Mist Wall again.