Fair Trade Ch 56 - Dawning Fangs

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Dark clouds loomed over the palace as what little sun was available leaked through just briefly. Shizhe couldn’t help but sigh at the unfortunate timing of the rain that was threatening to fall. She wasn’t entirely surprised that her bed was empty that morning either, though it was also a little disappointing she knew Xinhua was working hard to make everything easier for Xueye. She no longer felt bone tired so it was all the more reason to get up and look for those she needed to speak with to try and get her lover to rest that much sooner, guessing that Xinhua had probably only gotten a handful of hours of sleep if at all.

Shizhe was a little surprised to find the General in her foyer as she descended the stairs. He was pacing around like he was unsettled. She was starting to wonder if Xinhua had spoken to him yet.

“Oh, good you are awake,” Huoyuan sighed in relief upon seeing her. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t want to bother you since you’re supposed to be resting but, I’m not sure what to do about this.”

“Well I was going to see if I could speak with you today anyways,” Shizhe smiled reassuringly. “What’s on your mind?”

“Well, it may be better to just show you, if you feel up for a brief stroll,” Huoyuan gestured towards the door.

“Fortunately, I slept quite well last night and have energy to spare,” Shizhe smiled and they moved to leave her home.

Despite the storm on the horizon it was pleasantly warm, so despite the fidgety General it was a rather pleasant stroll. 

“I feel I should be concerned that you are so unnerved,” Shizhe eyed Huoyuan suspiciously. 

“Well can you blame me? The training room is locked that usually isn’t but if anyone gets near it they are repelled.”

“There’s no way…” Shizhe narrowed her eyes. When Jinse told her of his plan to handle Yushi she hadn’t expected them to still be at it so early.

“I figured you would know what’s happening!” Huoyuan clapped his hands together. “What weird sorcery is it?”

“It’s complicated,” Shizhe shook her head, upon seeing the crowd of onlookers. “Is Lord Qiuji around?” 

“Can’t say I’ve seen him yet,” Huoyuan shrugged.

“Have someone find him and clear the area, please,” Shizhe closed her eyes and pinched her brow. She didn’t know what to expect inside and certainly didn’t want any rumors to be circulating from this.

“Everyone, out!” The General commanded loudly. “We will handle this.” He grabbed the arm of one of his nearby subordinates before they could shuffle off too far. “Set up a perimeter in the area, the last thing we need is an audience right now. Also, have someone bring Lord Qiuji.”

“Yes, sir!” The subordinate responded and set off to do just as asked.

Shizhe walked up to the door once everyone cleared out and reached out her hand. Sure enough it was repelled from even touching the door. Not harshly, it was like the air itself wouldn’t let her get close.

She groaned quietly, “Are you two really still in there?” It was then she saw a faint glow from above, a feather drifted down towards her. Shizhe held out her hand and it landed in her palm. The glowing feather dissolved and in her hand instead was a talisman and a thin note.

“Master Diviner, here’s the key!” The note was signed with a little drawing of a sparrow. Shizhe couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Even Wuye predicted this and left her a way in. She looked around briefly to see if anyone other than the General was still around before looking at the talisman.

“What is that you got?” Huoyuan noticed she was studying the thin sheet of yellowed paper.

“The key apparently,” Shizhe held it up to the door and a faint pulse emanated from where it touched and the barrier dissolved. Cautiously she reached for the door. She was able to touch it and she slid open the door slowly, peeking inside. Clawed fingers grabbed the door keeping her from opening it further. It startled her at first with how sudden it was but when she saw Jinse peeking through she relaxed. “Jinse, you startled me.”

“How’d you open this? Maque said only I could,” Jinse brushed his hand back over his head to ensure his vulpine features weren’t showing more than the bare minimum he could never will away.

“He left a key for me,” Shizhe smirked, holding out the talisman. “Have you two been here all night?”

“Obviously,” Jinse shrugged. He glanced at the General who looked rightfully confused. “You tell him yet?” Jinse asked Shizhe, nodding his head in the General’s direction.

“No,” Shizhe shook her head. “I just got up. General Liequan, this is Jinse. He will be assisting His Highness in regards to a threat that has been brought to our attention.”

“Why is this the first I’m hearing of it?” Huoyuan crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. 

“We were made aware just last night,” Shizhe stated. “I had hoped that Xinhua would have informed you but it seems she’s working on something else… Quite alright, I don’t mind explaining it later.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to take up the space for so long,” Jinse glanced behind him to where Yushi was asleep on the floor. “It took a lot longer to wear him out than I expected. At one point I knocked him down and he ended up just passing out on the floor. By then it was daylight but I didn’t want anyone to just spot us.”

“He probably had more pent up energy because of the incoming storm,” Shizhe stated looking up at the clouds. “He’s always been especially restless during rainfall.”

“Back up a second,” Huoyuan held up his hands. “You’re saying you knocked His Highness out and Shizhe, you allowed this?”

“General, last time you spared against him you fractured your arm,” Shizhe crossed her arms and raised a brow.

“That’s what I’m confused about!” Huoyuan pinched his brow. “The fact that there is anyone that can keep up with him at all, let alone seem completely fine. On top of that the fact you let some stranger fight him, unsupervised. I know you’ve been struggling to use that ability of yours.”

“Worried I’m going to kill him?” Jinse chuckled. He stepped aside from the door, “You can check on him if you want.”

“Jinse, please don’t make this worse,” Shizhe sighed. “General, I trust Jinse a great deal. I would not have invited him to the palace if I didn’t. If it wasn’t for him and his subordinate Maque, I might have killed Xinhua last night, maybe more…”

“Did he threaten you with that?!” Jinse looked downright furious. Now he understood why the Water God was messing with Shizhe’s mind so badly. She would be the perfect pawn given how many people trusted her and the fact that she could easily get to both Xinhua and Xueye.

“It’s okay, Maque ensured that I’m safe. I actually managed to rest better than I have in a long time, which is proof enough his method worked,” Shizhe smiled. 

“What is happening here?!” Riluo’s voice startled all of them. Not one of them heard Riluo approach, not even Jinse’s sensitive hearing.

“So kind of you to join us, Lord Qiuji,” Shizhe smiled sweetly at him. “We have much to discuss, first I think it would be best if you and the General help His Highness to his room to properly rest.”

“Glad to see you’re doing better,” Riluo said to her as he approached the door.

“Thank you,” Shizhe smiled.

“Do you want me to stick around?” Jinse asked her quietly as the other two closed the gap towards Yushi more than half way across the length of the long room. 

“No need, if they have questions I can’t answer then I’ll ask you later,” Shizhe shrugged. “Hopefully with more rest I’ll be able to see more than the scraps I have been anyways. I’d say you should go rest but I’m guessing you are going to go check in on Xueye.”

“Guilty,” Jinse smirked. 

The patter of the first few raindrops started echoing off the roof top of the training hall. Riluo paused as the General reached Yushi’s side. He noticed Yushi’s restful expression quickly contorted to something darker and angry. There was a faint twitch and a clench of fists each step the General took closer. Something wasn’t right and Riluo knew it.

“Huoyuan, stop!” Riluo held out his hand.

“What? Why?” Huoyuan glanced back at Riluo confused. His eyes widened a moment later, he felt that same chill he usually got when Yushi was truly angry. However, it wasn’t just the usual anger that came with the rain. This was worse, a way that reminded him of a time Yushi nearly killed the whole camp, both friend and foe. He didn’t even look in Yushi's direction just stepped closer to Riluo.

Jinse’s attention snapped to Yushi, noticing the commotion. He also sensed the change in the air that was almost enough to make his fur stand on end if it were manifested. He noticed a blur of movement behind Huoyuan and Jinse moved to intercept. A deep, beastly snarl reverberated through the massive mostly empty room and deep within everyone’s chest. Jinse fortunately was able to grab Yushi’s now clawed hand as it was about to carve into Huoyuan.

Amber eyes were glowing in the darkness of the room, it glimmered off of the golden scales that crested Yushi’s cheeks. Serpentine slits narrowed upon seeing Jinse and sharp fangs were bared.

“Back out,” Jinse commanded firmly. He really hadn’t expected any transformation to manifest this soon. He fully expected to have to push Yushi’s buttons more. Jinse snatched the other hand that was about to claw at his face. He kicked Yushi’s leg to try and knock it out from under him, however he was using the same strength he was using against Yushi when they were sparring before so he was a little surprised when nothing happened. Still he adapted quickly, twisting behind Yushi and applying more strength to make Yushi kneel.

Yushi squirmed and snarled in his grasp. He was acting like the feral Divine Beasts from the Eastern Wildlands. There were no thoughts or rationality, simply the desire to kill. Jinse was curious to see what sort of power Yushi really held in this state but the room wasn’t sealed and he couldn’t guarantee the safety of anyone in the palace, certainly not the three just outside the room looking in with abject horror.

“Snap out of it!” Jinse growled with the same ferocity that Yushi was currently exhibiting. Yushi was still fighting against his grip and was almost able to wriggle his way out of it. Jinse forced him all the way to the floor, pinning Yushi’s body to the ground.

Jinse was starting to worry a little. He needed to think of a way to calm Yushi down before things got out of hand. He narrowed his eyes as an idea came to mind. It was a long shot since it wasn’t going to be the real thing but as long as it broke through to Yushi’s humanity just for a moment it should be enough.

Jinse’s wavy brunette hair paled and straightened and his frame shrank just a bit. His sunkissed skin faded to the fair skin he always loved to see turn pink. His sharp features softened and those in the doorway all gasped at the transformation.

“Shhh,” Jinse hushed but his voice was that soft melodious tone that they all heard before. Yushi froze and Jinse had hope that this could work. His arms slipped around Yushi’s shoulders in a gentle embrace from behind. Should he start lashing out again it was simple enough to restrain him like this as well. “Shujing, you have to calm down. Come back to me.”

“Xueye?” Yushi’s voice came out gravely as he looked over his shoulder at Jinse who nearly closed his eyes so his gold eyes wouldn’t give him away so quickly. 

“You’re safe, there’s no need to lash out,” Jinse flashed a gentle smile.

The tension in Yushi’s body eased up and Jinse watched as Yushi’s scales and claws vanished entirely. Jinse loosened his hold a little to test if Yushi would lash out again. 

“I didn’t hurt anyone, right?” Yushi’s expression quickly turned to worry when he caught a glimpse of the three looking in from the door.

“Not at all,” Jinse smiled and stood up, letting Yushi go. “I made sure of that.”

“I haven’t lost control like that since the rebellion…” Yushi pressed his forehead against the mat. “Fuck…”

“Enough of that,” Jinse knelt next to Yushi, running his fingers through Yushi’s messy hair.

“I appreciate your help but I know you aren’t really Xueye,” Yushi huffed looking up at the Xueye look alike but seeing Jinse’s golden eyes after feeling the brush of his claws just confirmed his suspicion. Jinse’s presence and Xueye’s were both drastically different and he could sense that even more now. “It’s rather unsettling seeing you look like him.”

“If I drop this form are you going to strike me?” Jinse’s cocky smirk looked so out of place on Xueye’s gentle features.

“Keep this up and I might,” Yushi pushed himself off the ground into a sitting position.

“As much as I love the idea of pushing you more, we are done,” Jinse’s voice and form slowly shifted back to his usual human disguise. “There’s no more barrier and you need to simmer down apparently.”

“Yeah, that may be for the best,” Yushi looked over at the other three and waved them over. Their hesitation was rather apparent until Jinse nodded at them with a comforting smile.

“I didn’t realize you could do that,” Shizhe spoke up first as they all stepped into the room.

“Handy, isn’t it,” Jinse chuckled. 

“Please, don’t do that again,” Yushi grumbled. 

“No promises,” Jinse smirked mischievously. 

“You really want to get on my nerves right now?” Yushi rolled his eyes.

“Can you do that as anyone?” Riluo’s brow furrowed at the thought of Jinse using that to infiltrate the palace.

“Don’t worry, I don’t use it very often these days,” Jinse shrugged. “It’s taken me far too long to even get halfway decent with transformation. Even so, you’d be able to spot me regardless, my eyes and claws can’t be changed no matter the form I take.”

“Noted,” Riluo said flatly. He had a hard time believing that someone with Jinse’s reputation was not using that ability to his advantage. It started growing a concern that there could be a spy with the ability to change their appearance like that would be rather difficult to catch. It was a concern he’d have to bring up to Shizhe another time.

“Riluo?” Yushi got to his feet and started to feel just how sore he was. He felt like it had been a long time since he’d felt such a sensation. Yushi looked a little worried as he continued, “I have a request for you.”

“Anything,” Riluo nodded.

“Xinhua will be taking leave to escort Xueye to Vual as he seeks a remedy for the spirit that resides in his body.” Yushi placed a hand on Riluo’s shoulder. “I want you to go with them.”

“You’re worried they will be in danger,” Riluo’s face scrunched in worry. “It’s not just the Elians now, is it?”

“That’s right,” Shizhe replied instead. “Both of them are in danger from this threat. Very few people fit the need for discretion the way you do. I hadn’t even brought it up to His Highness and yet he and I had the same thought.”

“Will you go?” Yushi asked, looking like a sad puppy. Riluo wouldn’t have the heart to turn him down even if he wanted to.

“Of course I will,” Riluo nodded with a reassuring smile. Even if Riluo was hesitant about leaving for an extended period of time, it was an honor that Yushi trusted Xueye’s safety to him rather than trying to go himself. “I’m honestly surprised you aren’t trying to figure out a way to go yourself.”

“Losing control of myself just then, killed that last desire,” Yushi placed his hand on his forehead, feeling the headache onset because of the rain and lack of sleep. “How can I be near him right now when I’m more dangerous than those after him right now.”

Shizhe narrowed her eyes and they drifted to Jinse. He could see that she was skeptical that he was keeping his word but he just shook his head and shrugged. Sure he let a little slip but not the full scope.

“I’ll speak with Lady Meigui as soon as we get you to rest,” Riluo urged gently.

“He really did put you through the ringer, huh?” Huoyuan chuckled. 

“And we’ll do it again sometime after we send Xueye off,” Jinse started walking towards the door. “Gives you a chance to recover. Perhaps you should have the good doctor check in on you while you are there later.”

“You’d really let me near him after that?” Yushi chuckled in disbelief. 

“You made it apparent you wouldn’t even hurt me while I wore his face,” Jinse smirked. “There’s no way you’d hurt the real thing. Besides, being near him might help walk you back from the precipice.”

“Also he’ll be heading over there now,” Shizhe outed Jinse right away.

“Spoilers,” Jinse snickered. “If I’m not, Maque won’t be terribly far.”

“So he is different…” Yushi hummed thoughtfully. 

“You have no idea,” Jinse laughed. He waved as he stepped outside, “See you later, little dragon.”

“Don’t call me that,” Yushi rolled his eyes. They eventually settled on Shizhe, “Care to elaborate on what we are dealing with?”

“And ruin your motivation to hit Jinse?” Shizhe smirked, “Not a chance. You should at least try and get a nap in, hopefully the rain doesn’t last all day.”

“If you really have been here all night, even I have to agree,” Huoyuan crossed his arms.

“I’m not sure I can…” Yushi held his hand out as it trembled. While he was tired for once during the rain, he felt uneasy not knowing how Xueye was doing, even if he was admittedly nervous to be near Xueye after such an episode.

“Then clean yourself up and go already,” Riluo huffed. He knew better than anyone how restless Yushi got and if being near Xueye when the first rain of the season hit was an indicator of anything, Yushi would fare much better near Xueye. “The sooner you do the sooner you will be able to rest after all.”

 “I just might do that,” Yushi couldn’t help but beam. Despite his fears, he was always delighted to go see Xueye, deep down.

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