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That Wu Xie.
Really, that boy was ... special.
Sometimes a special brand of idiot, sometimes genius.
While he might have only been a resident of Wushanju a bit over ten years now, the spirits of the house had a lot of stories to share of THAT kid.
After they had stopped trying to wrangle HIM in submission and acknowledged his superiority, that his.
Wushanju might be several hundred years old, but he clearly had seniority over them by far.
He might have been stuck in a way too small and uncared for domain, before the boy had somehow taken notice and ah... literally taken matters into his own two hands, but once, he'd been hailed and favored by many and worth shipped as he deserved.
Not that he had made it easy for the young Wu boy. He still had his dignity after all, and he would not allow himself to be manhandled like that by just ANYONE. And he hadn't known the Wu heir at all back then, other than a fleeting glimpse and some overheard conversation.
And besides. His domain might have been unfitting for someone like him, but it had still been HIS domain. And one could never know what young kids these days might get up to. One of the young koi forced to live in his domain had mentioned that she had been forced to swim in a tiny tank of some wannabe-fancy restaurant, with barely enough space to turn and human children pushing their ugly mugs against the glass and knocking at it.
Hmph. If that had befallen him, he probably would have cursed the building to near ruin, no matter if this set him back in his plans to reach dragonhood.
The nerve of those humans.
Bad enough that there were few nowadays, worth more than carrying the title of peasant.
But! He was getting distracted.
That Wu Xie. One would believe he would learn. It wasn't like he was a little tadpole anymore. By all means, he was considered an adult by human standards - obviously faulty and low as those were. But no, this one just DIDN'T learn.
Aside from him picking up strays left and right - albeit with often remarkable results of true 'I am willing to die for you' loyalty - he just couldn't stay away from danger or attracting it.
It was like he was a bright light, attracting the most filthy flies to try and take him down.
It had been bad enough, that once he had settled into his new domain - not quite as magnificent as when leaders from kingdoms and tribes had worth shipped him as he deserved, but better than what he had been living in for... several hundred years - he'd made sure to properly check the boys Qi, when this one finally had tired himself out, in his search for 'XiaoGe'.
The result was, that the boy simply was a very mundane human being. Well. Not that mundane. He could tell there were higher forces involved manipulating his fate - and if there was anything divine about the youth at all, then it was his sheer dumb luck at the most unbelievable times, being balanced out by the worst luck at other times. That and his incredible thick headedness. In regards to being stubborn as hell and slow to the uptake - at least concerning the matters of the heart.
He would scoff, if he were wearing a human shape. But as he was not, so some bubbles getting exhaled in a rush would have to suffice.
Now where had he left off?
Ah, right. His collecting habits for one.
Wushanju might be larger in the back, than the front, that now posed as an antique shop, might led people assume, but it didn't mean it was endlessly providing empty rooms.
Well. Not if he, along with the smaller spirits representing parts of Wushanju, didn't will those into existence.
Speaking of the spirits: The original one was still present, but with each addition for the humans of the Wu family, it had gotten a tiny bit weaker, as it had given a tiny bit of it's core to the younger spirits birth, who each brought very different parts into being. His favourite - obviously - was the one homing the large inner garden, that contained the connected ponds for him and his young koi... co-inhabitants.
Hmph. Wu Xie had only gotten them out of pity - AND with the excuse that surely HE would feel lonely without others by his side. Stupid sentiment.
But he supposed he could appreciate the thought and gesture. He hadn't eaten them yet, after all.
Thought he might have had to make certain they knew not to challenge his dominance.
Back to the collecting part thought.
At first, Wu Xie had been happy with doing his part in the family. Antiques and old scriptures.
Not always buying, definitely not always keeping, but he did enjoy laying his hands and fingers upon them. Perhaps that was his subtle way of 'branding' them, like saying 'I touched this'. He'd still been mostly a child back then, so that kind of childish behavior was not so surprising.
The slave of Wu Xie - ah, 'employee' wasn't it now? - so Wang Meng, EMPLOYEE of Wu Xie was harmless. Someone needed to do the menial work after all. And he actually had a talent for it. Some people were simply born to serve and Wang Meng certainly fulfilled that role well.
Anyways, the youth had then gone on his first tomb exploration with his 'uncle three' and... well, it hadn't started right away, but something had changed in him. There was something not only in his body, in his blood, but also leaving a tiny mark onto the soul. Not a curse. But a connection. Like a bond.
But these days people knew nothing of bonds anymore, so to the spirits of Wushanju this had been quite the oddity.
It was more or less alright the next time too, except the wheels of destiny seemed to be constantly spinning, twisting, changing.
Then this 'Xiaoge' went missing and soon this 'PangZi' person pretty much became a permanent addition to Wushanju, with his own room and all, thought he pretty much had made the kitchen his own domain. The fates seemed to slow down in their rapid spin, but they never reached the usual pace most mortals had going for them.
Even to this day it seemed they were unwilling to let Wu Xie finally rest. No, it seemed they weren't done playing with him at all. Or his friends, most of who shared the abnormal goings, thought often at a different pace.
Things went bad then for a while, but that didn't stop the stray picking. Kan Jian for one, thought he could admit the kid had some skills. Very single-minded and easily emotionally moved - PangZi was forbidden from showing him 'Bambi' or similar ever again - but loyal to a fault. Even thought he was more of a puppy in a tiger's skin. People over- AND underestimated him in equal measurements. Foolish truly.
He might not look like it, but when what he considered 'his' - family, friends, coworkers or other - were in trouble, you'd be surprised just how deadly he could be. For everything else, he just needed to focus on looking like a mean guy and keep his mouth shut. That usually did most of the work.
At least in those regards Wu Xie had taught him well.
He wasn't the only one, nor the last one.
By the time Xiaoge made a return, he wasn't even surprised to find the heir of the Wu dedicating a room for him as well.
That humanoid was an interesting one. He could feel the Qilin blood flowing in his veins - a descendant of the Zhang's, no doubt - and the radiant Qi within him. Thought it seemed its flow was stuttering and downright broken in some places. Apparently this caused him to loose all, or at least most of his memories, unless provided with triggers to regain some of them. He also carried with him a sort of aura, that could only be gained from the 'other'. And this one obviously did not only have the protection of the divine beasts blood, but also a mind of steel. Otherwise he wouldn't have managed to stay there longer than a mere human could.
Yet, when he wasn't drawn into Wu Xie's and Wang PangZi's shenanigans or was training to hone his skills, or leaving who knew where, he was more like a large cat. A picky, greedy eater and lounging around.
Having encountered real Qilin in the past, he wasn't even that surprised. When not required to be a royal pain in the ass towards humans or spirits, they could be such lazy shits.
Also, he liked to mark his property. Small notches in furniture to say 'I was here' were not uncommon. Neither was the number of hickeys on his partner.
The next notable addition, thought not permanent live-in (yet), even thought the room was there, all ready and set up, was the kid's kid. Li Cu. Totally looked like he could have been the spawn of Wu Xie and his 'Xiaoge' - which PangZi had a field day with. Or week. Or month.
There wasn't enough time to get a good feel of him, but the snake spirit certainly knew better than to challenge him in his own domain. And it had old memories, thus knowing proper etiquette. So the boy was someone he favored already.
Then... Wu Xie and his fellowship left.
Were forced to leave.
He ... MIGHT have been a tad upset about that. And there might have been a few 'accidents' and disappearances happening to those fools meaning to settle in. Obviously he and the Wushanju spirits were in absolute alignment, that those unworthy had to go.
To this day, he still didn't remember where the last of them had gone. Probably lost in a sort of subspace. Oh well. No big loss there. Just muscles and no brain. And he'd shit his pants. The smell had been... something he could have done without the spirits sharing with him. So. Good riddance.
By the time Wu Xie returned, he carried more essences with him. Not bonds - not yet, maybe not ever, as the boy didn't know what he was doing - but something that could be considered the foundation of such. Not like what he had with Xiaoge. Not quite what he had with PangZi.
But then again THOSE bonds could only be forged by surviving hell's fires.
As such, he didn't expect to see another such strand to show up in Wu Xie's lifetime. Especially since his core was rapidly burning itself out - in a manner, that even the change he'd brought within his body from the first tomb was able to counter. Only slow down.
Yet... there was another stray picked up. When Wu Xie returned, his Qi had been back to a bright glow, which had eased something in him, that he hadn't even noticed being there until then. It could be thus forgiven, that he at first hadn't noticed the most recent aquisition.
A fox. It certainly had been highly entertaining to make him yowl as he rewarded the other's curiosity with a nip to the nose. And seeing him dash around like a wet rag. He might have aided in getting 'Liu Sang' drenched like the arrogant cat attempting to move in a couple of months ago.
It appeared however, that the fox had no real sense of his 'other' self and knew nothing of proper manners regarding their spirit-kind. A human, with highly diluted fox-blood. A pity. Still, there was a lot of potential there, and he was still considered young. Despite the sheer number of scars he carried on his soul.
Different from the Qilin, which he seemed to worship a little, but no less.
The youth originally didn't move in.
But Wu Xie, Pangzi and especially Xiaoge seemed to be able to sway his originally resistance and convinced him to make Wushanju his home. A good thing too. The thin thing could do with some loving Pangzi stuffing, just like Xiaoge had.
If he was honest, he couldn't wait to see how things developed with the fox. While the original triangle was balanced, it seemed as if the fox felt tied down by the feeble bonds trying to come into being. Like caught in a net without escape. By the time he agreed to the move, however, the strings eased up, let him breath. There were some discussions about him leaving for his work on his own, but they resolved that too - for the most part anyway.
The younger house spirits especially seemed drawn to the fox, materializing as black cats for him, which they had only done for Xiaoge before. Wu Xie was very jealous when he found out.
Other than those, there were various other rooms set up for those Wu Xie considered friends. One room was for the elderly Pan Zi, who'd pretty much aided in the boy's upbringing. He was still waiting on (the idiot) Wu SanXing to return and fulfill his promise of retiring together, which was the only reason he probably hadn't followed the invitation of a more permanent resistance with them. Still, he often stayed overnight when invited, so the room didn't fall into decay.
Then there was his cousin, Xie Yuchen, who certainly had the right attidude and style going on. Could do with some knowledge of the ancient time, to know how much of an honor it was, that he bothered to remember his name AND liked his style. This one stayed over more rarely than Pan Zi, yet when he did, he rarely stayed alone at night.
Hei XiaZi was the one who loved sneaking into the other man's room, despite having is own dedicated to him.
He wasn't quite certain what to make of that one yet. The shadows seemed to lovely carecess him, while there were hits of a curses remains. The spirit cats formed by Wushanju also hadn't made up their mind about him yet and thus stayed away.
What he could tell, was that he was older than he looked, but younger than Wushanju, not unlike Xiaoge. But there was no Qilin blood in this one.
Hao XiuXiu was the other person often joining Wu Xie with these two. Lovely girl, that would grow into a stunning lady - he could tell already. Also, he liked her sharp mind.
There also were rooms for Huo DaoFu - a sarcastic, but dedicated medic and Bai Haotian - a young, strong-minded maiden still in her youths, but maturing at a rapid pace, with a big heart, that could be warm as well as cold as steel if necessary. She was busy growing into her role of the one practically leading a place called 'Warehouse 11', which also connected to the two called Li Jiale and Jia Kezi, who were more or less her subordinates. And now friends? He wasn't quite certain on the details of that.
Both of the young males had clear death marks onto them, when they were first invited into Wushanju and they were fading only slowly over the following months.
Marks of people cheating death.
Not like Huo DaoFu, who seemed an expert at kicking the door to the realm of death shut, more than once.
But of people who died, yet lived.
Wu Xie, Xiaoge and Liu Sang had them as well, but they were mostly faded by now. He thought it might have something to do with PangZi and the growing bonds between the four. Sharing the pain wasn't just a saying that came to be out of nothing after all.
The rooms of the later four saw about as much use as Pan Zi's. But they were there, ready to provide a home, if needed.
And if there were two rooms next to Li Cu's, that had yet to see use... well, there was enough time for them to change that.
"Old bastard! Come here! It's cleaning day!"
If he twitched at the way he was disrespectfully called and gave a particular vicious slap of his tail on the surface... That was only a very called for reaction, to Wu Xie's lack of manners. He MIGHT actually have grown on him - a bit - but that didn't mean he would make this easy on the kid. He could use some action too, after lazying around his office and the couch for the past weeks.
Out of the corner of his vision, he watched the fox - Liu Sang - lean against a pillar with raised eyebrows, obviously here to watch the spectacle. The cats were soon joining him at his feet and luring Xiaoge from the rooftop, to take a seat at a gardening table - within easy access should Wu Xie decide to call for help - and soon with one of the cats sitting on his legs.
PangZi meanwhile was taking a seat on the next chair, munching on some nuts, while switching between cheering his Tianzhen on and laughing at his feeble efforts.
The other koi - while already used to this routine - were falling pray to Wu Xie's skills one after the other, but none went down without a fight, having learned from watching him.
If he was just the smallest bit of proud of his young kin... Well, that was his to know and theirs to never find out. Probably.
As it was, it was time for a showdown between him and Wu Xie. As always.
He lazily swam a circle at the border of the water, keeping his senses in tight contact with the Wu Mountain House spirits, to keep track of where the other three males were. Wu Xie slowly stalked closer and if he were a mere common fish, than this would actually be a good strategy. As it was, he waited just for the right timing, as the not-so-young man bend down, bring his hands closer slowly beneath him. Wu Xie snatched him, he let him have a second of victory, before unleashing the water gathered in his mouth at him and promptly was free again, back in the water with a splash, that drenched his captor-wannabe from head to toe.
If that action had made Xiaoge gap for a moment, than that alone would have been worth it. The startled pedal of laughter from Liu Sang, which surprised PangZi so much, that he nearly chocked on his own, DEFINITELY made him feel all smug. Deciding to be lenient on the Wu heir, he swam over to where the large bucket was standing outside, wiggled his tail and fins to get in the correct position, before shooting through the water and jumped, landing in the temporary settlement after a graceful flip in the air.
Wu Xie looking at him in a show of utter betrayal ultimately lead even XiaoGe to give a chuckle, along with triggering the other's hollering.
And if the cats were looking at Wu Xie as smug as he felt... Well...
Maybe Wu Xie finally understood, who the TRUE master of Wushanju was.