Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation

Jin Shu woke early the next morning, but didn't move. He didn't want to disturb the two women still resting peacefully against him. So, he lay there with his eyes closed, silently listening to the sound of their calm, steady breathing.

Eventually, he felt them stir.

They shifted off of him slowly, gently, and before he could say a word, he felt two soft sensations press against his cheeks.

A kiss from both sides at the same time.

Then the warmth of their presence receded. He heard the rustling of cloth, soft footsteps, and then silence as the door closed behind them.

His eyes flew open.

"Damn!" he muttered, placing a hand on each cheek.

"What, don't like getting kissed by two pretty women?" Gold's voice teased in his head.

"You know it's not that," Jin Shu groaned. "I've already got those three… and now I'm getting entangled with these two."

"So?" Gold asked, amused.

"So…?" he echoed, frustrated. "It's not fair. To any of them."

"Man, you live in a world where you could either die tomorrow or live forever," Gold said. "Don't overthink it. Just live your life to the fullest. Right, Long?"

"As Gold says," Long Jinshu agreed. "Don't limit yourself. Live freely."

Jin Shu sighed. "Easy for you two to say. You're not the ones involved."

"We are literally you," Shuang chimed in. "And you are us."

Jin Shu narrowed his eyes.

"Alright, fine. But would you all be saying the same thing if the girls wanted to take other lovers? Would you let them?"

"""No!""" all three souls answered in perfect unison.

"…Hypocrites," he muttered.

Not that he could really talk. If someone asked him the same question, his answer would've been exactly the same.

Jin Shu climbed down from the bed and made his way to the door, casting one last glance over his shoulder at the shelf holding the two rifles. The tag still dangled from the barrel of Liu Hua's rifle, swaying slightly as if mocking him.

"Seriously… why would she name the rifle after me?" he muttered. "Maybe because I never told her its actual name?"

That must be it, he nodded, convincing himself.

Shaking his head, he left the bedroom and stepped into the living room. Off to the left, he saw Feng Lian's door still shut tight. Apparently, she hadn't woken up yet.

Turning toward the scent of breakfast, he followed it into the kitchen, where Liu Ying stood at the stove, stirring something in a skillet. The scene reminded him of his first night here, the same warm smell and quiet routine.

"Jin Shu?" Liu Ying called, not turning toward him. "Can you set the table?"

She pointed toward a neat stack of plates and utensils on the counter, without ever once facing him. Not that she needed to. She had no eyes to see him with.

His hands clenched briefly at the memory of yesterday's story, her trauma replaying in his mind. That monster had taken her eyes when she was still just a baby… and Jin Shu couldn't help but grind his teeth in quiet rage. If he ever met that man, he'd—

"Jin Shu?"

He blinked. "Right. Yeah… set the table. Got it."

As he moved to set the dishes, his eyes scanned the room. "Where's Liu Hua?"

"She had to go to the pagoda. It's payday for the staff," Liu Ying said as she flipped something sizzling in the skillet. "She'll be back soon."

"Pagoda…?" he echoed absently, before the memory clicked. "Oh, right. The Resting Phoenix Pagoda. Do you two… work there or something?"

He remembered Liu Ying as a waitress, but hadn't figured out the full story. Her sister had said something about her being the manager, possibly?

"Not exactly," she replied, shaking her head. "We're half-owners. The building used to be Master's, but she got bored of managing it and passed it down to Big Sis and me."

"…Why would the Grand Elder own a restaurant?" Jin Shu frowned. "Isn't she a blacksmith… or a runesmith? Wouldn't a shop selling her weapons make more sense? I bet her stuff would sell like crazy."

Liu Ying giggled softly. "Master isn't just a blacksmith. That's just her current obsession. Before that, she was a chef—she's the one who taught me to cook. And before that, she was a formation specialist. And before that…" she tapped her chin, "I think she was a musician?"

Jin Shu blinked. "She… what?"

"And she was pretty good at all of them, too," Liu Ying added proudly.

He frowned. "Why does she learn so many things? Actually, how does she have time for all that if she's always asleep?"

"I don't."

The voice came from behind.

Jin Shu turned with a start—and there stood Grand Elder Feng, awake and alert. Or, at least as alert as someone with her perpetually half-lidded eyes could appear. Liu Ying giggled quietly, clearly not surprised. She'd probably known her master had been there the whole time.

"G-Good morning, Grand Elder Feng," Jin Shu said quickly, dipping into a formal bow, sweat forming on his brow.

Aside from her appearance at the Elder Council, this was their first actual meeting since it was revealed that he was a man. And if what his stepmother had told him was true, this woman hated men. Murderously so.

Grand Elder Feng tilted her head, studying him with what looked like mild curiosity. Then her brow rose.

"Why are you so nervous?" she asked. "It's not like stating the obvious—that I sleep often—would offend me."

"Well… that's not why I'm nervous," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh?" She blinked slowly. "Then why?"

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Hesitating, he wasn't sure if he should say. But decided to just bite the bullet in the end.

"Um… I heard that you had a… strong dislike for men. And, well… I am a man, so…"

She stared at him blankly.

"I don't hate men," she said at last.

"…You don't?"

"No." She shook her head slowly. "Who told you that?"

"My master. She said you've killed every man you met and that you harbor an intense hatred for them…"

"That little girl Ai Yun said that?"

Her expression turned thoughtful.

"Hmm... Must be that old rumor again."

She nodded to herself, unfazed.

"Honestly, you'd think people would forget after a few hundred years…"

"What rumor?" Jin Shu asked, raising an eyebrow. He considered questioning the "few hundred years" comment, but knowing she was a phoenix made that detail far less surprising.

"Oh, nothing really," Feng Lian said, waving a hand as if brushing aside dust. "I just killed a few dozen men after they confessed their love for me. Such a mundane thing. I have no idea how it became such a big deal or sparked all those silly rumors."

Jin Shu stared. No words came. Only one thought: The master is just like the disciple. They're all insane.

"Breakfast is ready," Liu Ying called, setting a large tray down at the table.

He looked at her and revised his internal statement. Okay. Not all of them.

Liu Ying was far too normal. Sweet, kind, clearly traumatized—but stable. It was hard to believe she was related to either of the other two.

As the three of them sat down, a rumble of thunder echoed outside. A flash of violet light lit the room and in the next instant, Liu Hua was suddenly seated beside him, chopsticks already in hand.

I need to learn how she does that, Jin Shu thought, blinking. Even with my ripples, I don't get that kind of speed boost that translates into such strength.

"Oh good, made it just in time!" Liu Hua said cheerfully, already piling food onto her plate at lightning speed.

Jin Shu shook his head and turned to more pressing matters now that the Grand Elder was clearly awake, and more importantly… not about to kill him.

"Grand Elder Feng," he began, "I wanted to ask, how do I get a pass to the library? It was supposed to be the second-place prize, but I never received it."

"Library pass?" Feng Lian paused mid-bite, brows lifting. "Ah, right. Your prize was switched to being allowed to stay."

She set her chopsticks down and sighed. "You know, I tried telling those little girls there was never any tradition about banning men from the sect. But they kept quoting the founding charter—saying it only ever mentioned women."

She rolled her eyes.

"The sect was founded by the female-only Phoenix Clan. Naturally, there was no mention of men. But that was never meant to be a rule. They just… took it that way."

She glanced back at him then, her gaze sharpening slightly with a curious glint.

"Your disguise was very good, though. I couldn't see through it at all. If you hadn't let your yang energy leak out, I wouldn't have suspected a thing. Still, there are some girls who practice those kinds of techniques—so I didn't think much of it at the time."

Jin Shu tilted his head, he could guess what type of techniques she was speaking about, but that wasn't important. "What does that have to do with the library pass?"

"Ah, patience," she said, amused. "When those girls asked your master whether your presence might affect the teleportation array, she couldn't lie. Their lives depended on it. So she confessed. I just hope you don't hold it against her."

"She told me," Jin Shu nodded. "I don't blame her for anything. Honestly, I only kept it secret for their sake. But… it doesn't seem like it caused the backlash I expected."

"In another sect, she might've lost her position for deceiving them. But here?" Feng Lian shrugged. "We're tight-knit. Aside from your mother and that Cha girl, there's not much internal strife anymore."

Her expression grew distant, eyes dimming.

"The last war took too much from our sect for us to waste time fighting each other. Unlike the others, who either hid their elders away or refused to participate."

Jin Shu nodded slowly, recalling bits and pieces of the sect's history. The Immortal Phoenix Sect had once been far stronger, led by a different sect master and elders with power that had rivaled legends. But during the war with the demon worshipers, many had died, and those who survived had been injured so badly that they were forced into indefinite seclusion, clinging to life by a thread.

Clap!

Feng Lian suddenly clapped her hands, snapping everyone out of the somber mood.

"Anyway!" she said brightly, flipping her hand to reveal a jade token. The word library shimmered on its surface in embossed gold. "Here you go."

She handed it to him as casually as if she were passing a napkin.

"Uhh…" He took the token, unsure what to say. She'd made it sound like there would be a whole process—then just handed it over like it was nothing.

"That's it?" he asked.

She nodded with a shrug. "That is it."

"Huh… okay."

He wasn't about to argue. With a shrug of his own, he slipped the token into his space earring and returned to his meal. Halfway through, he remembered something he'd meant to ask Liu Hua.

"Hey, Liu Hua—about that rifle I made you," he said, turning to her. "Why was there a tag with my name on it? You didn't… name it after me, did you?"

She paused, mid-bite, her chopsticks still in her mouth.

"Mmff… mmm… mmh?!" she tried to say, cheeks bulging with food.

"Huh? I didn't catch that."

She swallowed, nearly choking in the process.

Cough! Cough!

"I said, are you crazy?!" she laughed, slapping the table. "Why would I name a weapon—especially after you? I'm not some psychopath."

He opened his mouth, tempted to say, You most certainly are some psychopath. Instead, he asked, "Then why was there a tag with my name on it?"

"Did you check the back of the tag?" she shot back.

"No," he said, frowning. "Why? What's on the back?"

She laughed even harder, wiping tears from her eyes.

"It says 'Made by', dummy. Your name's on the other side."

"Oh…"

His cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"Idiot," she said, still snickering.