THE REAL PROTEGE

Shinsei's voice carried the serenity of waterfalls in winter.

"The aura surrounding Pharsa is not accidental. She has become a spiritual beacon, unintentionally resonating with forces drawn toward imbalance. This... Enchanted Dale, as Otako said, is tapping into an ancient rite — corrupt and deeply elemental."

Ling Li leaned forward. Her knuckles pressed against the lacquered table.

"What exactly does he want from Pharsa?"

Shinsei reached into his ceremonial pouch and produced a parchment painted with circular seals, each one vibrating faintly. "Not just her virginity. Not just her birth sign. He wants convergence — a rare triune of elements, virtue, and timing. She is a vessel for amplification. If he succeeds in sacrificing such vessels, he won't merely gain strength — he'll disrupt the elemental balance."

The room fell into stunned silence.

"Then she cannot fall into his hands," Old Master Li said, voice grim.

"She must be protected physically and spiritually," Shinsei continued.

"The wedding will help. But even consummation alone won't break the resonance. We must perform a binding ritual, one that folds Pharsa's elemental essence inward, cloaking it from being seen."

Chatty squeezed Pharsa's hand beneath the table. She didn't look up.

Suddenly, from just outside the paper-screen doors, a small whisper:

"Did he say ghosts?"

A beat, then another voice, louder:

"And rituals? Let us in! We know how to be quiet!"

The adults turned toward the sound.

The screen slid open, revealing Kim Kim and Chin Chin, their eyes wide, determined, and utterly failing to look apologetic.

"We followed you!" Chin Chin announced proudly.

"We want to help Aunt Pharsa. We saw her scary aura too — a little!" Kim added, puffing her cheeks.

Shinsei offered a chuckle as light as falling ash.

"Curious hearts see more than cultivated eyes," he said. "Come in, young dragons."

Madam Li started to rise, but Ling Li gestured for her to stay.

"Let them witness," she said softly. "They may not be ordinary children, but their innocence may guard us better than our wards."

Shinsei nodded in agreement.

Kim Kim settled between Four Eyes and Ling Li, her slingshot still tucked in her sash like a warrior's talisman. Chin Chin sat beside Chatty, eyes fixed on Shinsei like a student awaiting a master's secret.

"We begin the preparation for the ritual tonight," Shinsei declared, unfolding the final seal onto the table.

The twins leaned in together and whispered, their eyes dancing with wonder:

"Do you think it'll glow?"

"Wait until the ritual tonight," Ling Li said with amusement.

"Oh," both twins replied.

Later, as dusk approached, the estate's northern wing was transformed into a sacred space. Silken drapes in deep midnight blue and ash-white were hung from the ceiling beams, inscribed with protective runes in silver ink.

A wide copper basin sat at the center of the ceremonial chamber, filled with crystalline water freshly drawn from the spirit-fed spring near the cliffs. Pharsa's reflection shimmered in it like something barely clinging to this realm.

Ling Li stood beside Shinsei, now dressed in ceremonial robes threaded with cloud patterns and bone-colored cuffs —a manifestation of the harmony between water and wind.

Shinsei traced circles around the basin with powdered moonstone while softly chanting in an ancient dialect that only Ling Li fully understood.

"Every element must respond," he said quietly. "Tonight, we fold Pharsa's essence into stillness, masking her vibration from the echoes Enchanted Dale seeks."

On the outer ring, Chatty placed three small ceremonial blades — not for harm, but as symbolic cutters of tethered fate. Each was embedded with different stones: obsidian for truth, rose quartz for choice, and aquamarine for clarity.

Pharsa stepped forward, her garments now white with midnight trim, symbolizing neutralization. Her pulse was rapid, yet her steps were steady.

Madam Li adjusted her veil, tears quietly running down her cheeks as Old Master Li laid a protective charm of woven threads across Pharsa's shoulders — an ancestral blessing passed through bloodlines.

"Pharsa must speak her rejection of the curse aloud," Shinsei explained to the gathering. "Words carry power — especially those forged in fear."

Pharsa's voice shook, but she stood tall.

"I reject the claim made upon me. I refuse to be a vessel of blasphemy. I belong not to ritual, but to my choosing."

A gust of wind flared through the windows despite their being shut. The basin pulsed once, the water rippling in defiance.

Shinsei nodded. He began marking Pharsa's forehead with crushed starlotus sap and ash from moon-blessed cedar — the binding seal, an ancient and deeply spiritual symbol.

Suddenly, the chamber door creaked open and two small heads peeked inside.

"Mom said we could watch!" Chin Chin stage-whispered.

"Is it glowing yet?" Kim asked, clutching her slingshot as though ready to strike invisible enemies.

Mushu attempted to shush them, but Shinsei raised his hand and smiled.

"Let them witness." His eyes gleamed. "Even the smallest hearts can fortify a barrier."

"...."

Ling Li's mouth twitched — part fondness, part awe.

As the final sigil was drawn in light across Pharsa's chest, the air turned electric. Candle flames flattened, then twirled upright with unnatural precision. Everyone held their breath.

"The seal is complete," Shinsei said solemnly. "Her elemental signature has been woven into concealment."

Pharsa exhaled deeply, her knees trembling slightly before Chatty caught her, steady as a pillar.

Outside, thunder rolled low beneath the horizon. Somewhere, the world twitched in irritation — as if a predator had sensed its quarry slipping from view.

Kim Kim leaned over to Chin Chin.

"So… she can't be ghost-snatched now, right?"

Chin Chin crossed her arms. "Not unless the ghost is REALLY dumb."

The room erupted with soft laughter — weary, hopeful, human.

==========

Elsewhere, as moonlight deepened the shadows of the southern mountain…

Inside a remote chamber drenched in pungent incense and layered spells, Enchanted Dale stood bare-chested before a scrying mirror. Around him, arcane markings pulsed along the stone floor — each rune drawn in mixtures of blood and powdered silver.

His eyes were narrowed in concentration, lips moving in guttural recitation.

For days, Pharsa's spiritual thread had pulsed clearly — fragile, luminous, ripe. But tonight…

The air around the mirror warped.

The image flickered. Pharsa's outline dimmed. Her aura, once like a beacon, collapsed into mist and vanished.

Dale snapped upright, fingers twitching.

"No!" he muttered, stepping forward. "Where is she?"

He struck the mirror with his palm.