Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
92. Descending The Mountian

“That mountain over there is meant for the Vice-Sect Leader, but Master never uses it. She always stays with Sect Leader Chen.”

Biyu pointed toward a nearby peak neighboring the one they were currently descending.

Jin Shu glanced at the smaller mountain and chuckled.

“I bet she said something like, ‘I won’t be put at the bottom.’ Right?”

“Um… Hm? What did she say…?” Biyu murmured, thinking back. “Oh, right. She said, ‘I don’t mind being under Ai Yun, but I’d rather we switch the top and bottom every now and then.’ I’m not entirely sure what she meant by that.”

Jin Shu nearly tripped off the mountain path.

“She said what…?!” He ran a hand down his face. “Actually, no, on second thought, that is exactly the type of joke she would make.”

“What’s that mean?” Li Xue asked, bouncing up to his side and casually hanging off his arm.

“Uh… you’ll find out when you’re older.”

“What? But I am older! Actually, all of us are older than you.” She gestured to Biyu, Tian Li, and herself.

Shaking his head, he countered, “Not true. I’ve lived three different lives, so that makes me older.” He nodded sagely.

“How do you know we don’t have past lives, huh?” Li Xue stopped swinging on his arm and fixed him with a serious look. “Maybe we’ve lived hundreds of different lives. We just aren’t like you—we drank the soup.”

She stuck out her tongue.

“Cheater!” she shouted, then took off running with a giggle.

She caught up with Yin’er, who was flying ahead, and the two immediately began to bicker.

Jin Shu turned to Tian Li. “See?” he said, gesturing toward the arguing girls.

But Tian Li didn’t respond. She wasn’t even looking at him. Instead, she stared off into the distance, her expression blank.

Frowning, he nudged her shoulder.

“Hm?” She turned, blinking as if waking from a trance.

“Are you… okay?”

She stared at his face for a moment, her eyes unfocused. Then, suddenly, she blushed and looked away.

“I… I’m fine… Just still thinking about… you know.”

Jin Shu hesitated. “Do you want me to change back? Or should I wear a veil like my mom suggested?”

“N-No! I like this better!” she blurted, waving her hands frantically.

Biyu turned, glancing back at them with curiosity.

He smiled and waved.

“What are you two talking about?” she asked as she slowed her pace to walk alongside them.

“Love,” he said matter-of-factly.

Both women gave him strange looks.

Tian Li’s expression was a mix of surprise and something almost like betrayal.

Biyu, on the other hand, looked intrigued—though Jin Shu caught a flash of something else in her gaze. Irritation? Jealousy?

He decided to ignore it and pressed on.

“Neither of us really knows what love is. Even with three lifetimes' worth of memories, I still don’t have an answer.”

Biyu blinked. “Love?”

“I KNOW!”

A high-pitched shriek rang out right behind his head, nearly deafening him.

Jin Shu spun around—only to find Yin’er, face as red as a tomato, pinning an equally red-faced Li Xue to the ground.

It was a bizarre sight. The one doing the pinning was a three-year-old, tiger-turned-human child. The one being pinned? A fully grown twenty-one-year-old woman.

“What are you two doing?” Jin Shu asked, shaking his head at their antics.

“Li Xue wouldn’t give me any more of those little pouches of smelly stuff,” Yin’er huffed, crossing her arms.

“Smelly… pouches?”

Li Xue rolled out from under Yin’er, flipping effortlessly to her feet. Her once light pink dress was now streaked with dirt, turning it into a dusty, brownish-pink mess.

“She means the scent pouches, like the one I gave you when we first met,” Li Xue clarified, brushing herself off.

“Oh.” Jin Shu nodded in understanding.

He drew on the Wind element, creating a small vacuum over his palm as he ran his hand over her dress, pulling away the loose dirt.

Li Xue beamed. “Thanks!”

Before he could react, she stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek in gratitude.

Jin Shu tapped his other cheek expectantly, a silent request.

She grinned. “Sure.”

Just as she leaned in, pursing her lips for another kiss on his cheek, he turned his head at the last second—stealing her lips with a kiss of his own.

She blinked up at him, wide-eyed.

Chuckling, he pulled away with a playful smirk and turned around without a word.

As he walked off, he scooped Yin’er up from the ground, dusting off her robes in the same way he had for Li Xue.

“Mommy, I know what love is,” Yin’er announced, picking up their earlier conversation.

“Oh, you do?” Jin Shu looked at her with amused curiosity. “Well, why don’t you enlighten Mommy then?”

“Okay!” She nodded vigorously, her small tiger ears bouncing with the motion.

Unable to resist, he gave them a gentle pet. She instantly purred, her whole body relaxing into his touch.

“Love is… love is…” Her voice trailed off, her thoughts seemingly dissolving under the pleasure of the head pats.

Her purring grew louder as she snuggled closer, completely forgetting what she was about to say.

“No!” Yin’er shook her head, using her tiny—but surprisingly strong—hands to pry Jin Shu’s off her head. “Mommy, you’re distracting me!”

“Am I? But I’m just petting my cute daughter’s head,” Jin Shu said innocently.

At first, she smiled at the compliment, but then she huffed, puffing out her cheeks, and turned away with an exaggerated pout.

“Who dares to make my cute little princess angry?!” Jin Shu declared in mock outrage. “Show them to me, and Mommy will beat them up!”

Yin’er’s head whipped back so fast it was a wonder she didn’t get dizzy. She stared up at him, her golden eyes shimmering—no, literally sparkling—as her Qi surged in excitement.

“Yin’er is a princess?!”

Jin Shu cupped his chin in thought, then nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. I’m a prince, so that means you’re a princess too.”

His gaze flickered to the small tiara nestled between her ears. He tapped it lightly, still baffled by how she had used the transformation technique to turn the mark on her forehead into an accessory. Then again, since the Qi manipulation of the technique allowed for the creation of clothing, why not accessories? He shrugged, deciding not to overthink it.

“Hehe!” Yin’er giggled. “I’m a princess!”

She got lost in her daydream for a moment, swaying happily. Then, suddenly, her ears perked up, and she turned back to him, eyes wide with realization.

“Wait! How’s Mommy a prince? Shouldn’t Daddy be the prince and Mommy the princess?”

Jin Shu blinked, then grinned. “Oh, you’re right! Since I’m your Mommy now, that makes me a princess too. We’re both princesses!” He ruffled her hair. “Yin’er is such a smart girl.”

“That’s right!” She nodded smugly, a radiant smile taking over her tiny features, her eyes curving into two happy crescents.

Jin Shu glanced over his shoulder to check on the others.

Biyu and Tian Li were walking a short distance behind, their voices hushed in conversation. A little further back, Li Xue trailed behind with a dreamy expression, absentmindedly running a finger over her lips.

“That girl is oddly obsessed with kisses…” he muttered under his breath.

Looking further down the mountain path, he noticed the sun cresting the distant peak.

“We should probably hurry up. Otherwise, it'll be well past midnight by the time we reach the main sect area,” he called out.

Li Xue perked up. “Should we run?”

“Uhm… no, I’ve got a better way.” He waved a hand, summoning a rippling, watery portal in the air.

Biyu’s eyes widened. “You can bring all of us through your technique?”

“Yup. As long as you hold onto me.”

Tian Li eyed the swirling portal warily. “Is it… safe?”

Jin Shu hesitated. “Uh… define safe.”

She blinked at him, then took a slow step back.

“No, no, it’s fine,” he reassured quickly. “Just don’t let go of me. Oh, and if you see any tiny blue sprites, let me know the second you spot them.”

“Tiny blue sprites?” she repeated, frowning.

“Yeah. They’re Water Sprites—basically, the Water element given life. Some people call them Water Elementals, but they have a bunch of lesser-known names that don’t really matter.”

“Are they dangerous?” Biyu asked, peering at the shimmering portal with renewed caution.

Jin Shu shook his head. “Not unless we attack first. But I’d like to capture a few if we find them.”

“Are they powerful pets?” Li Xue asked.

“Yes, but more importantly, bonding with one can give you access to the Water element—like what happened with me and Yin’er.”

Biyu gave him a surprised look. “Wait, you’re saying you want to give those Water Sprites to us?”

“Yeah. You three, Yin’er, my mom, and Aunt Chen.”

A faint blush dusted Biyu’s cheeks, and she nodded. “Oh…”

“What if we only find one?” Li Xue asked, tilting her head playfully. “Who gets the first pick?”

Jin Shu glanced between the three women and then down at Yin’er, unsure how to answer.

Li Xue laughed. “Relax, I’m just kidding! Obviously, Momma gets the first one.”

“…Momma?” Jin Shu raised a brow. “Since when did you start calling her that?”

She just shrugged with a mischievous grin.

Tian Li cleared her throat. “Um, I think we got a little distracted. We should probably leave soon—the sun’s already setting.”

Jin Shu exhaled, waving them forward. “Right, right. Everyone, hold on.”

He lifted Yin’er onto his shoulders, making sure she had a firm grip around his head before reaching out to Biyu and Tian Li on either side.

“Li Xue, climb onto my back.”

She pouted. “How come I don’t get to hold your hand?”

Jin Shu raised a brow. “Do you want to hold my hand?”

“No!” She huffed, then leapt onto his back with a mischievous grin.

“Oof—!” He nearly stumbled forward as she wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing herself snugly against him.

Then she leaned in close to his ear, her voice dropping to a whisper. “How do I feel?”

She blew a warm breath against his ear, clearly expecting a reaction.

Jin Shu tilted his head, completely serious. “Stiff.”

“What—?!”

Before she could finish, he smirked and stepped into the portal, cutting off her indignant shout.

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