The clouds were thick and heavy. Even though the afternoon was, in general, quite sunny, rain was still threatening to make its imminent appearance with an evident display of grey, looming clouds. 

Just as Li Meirong was able to spot her cabin in the distance, a voice rang out in the increasingly foggy air, calling her name. 

​​

The dense mist scattered across the landscape, shrouding the cabin and everything surrounding it.

Snowball landed with great precision right in front of the cabin's door, his fur bristling as his bright eyes bore into the person concealing themselves in the mist. Li Meirong dismounted Snowball's back and lifted a hand to her forehead to shade her eyes from the afternoon sun as she visually scouted the area.

With her wind-tossed hair draped down her back and coiling about her shoulders, a threatening beast at her side, and her body adorned with battle garments, Li Meirong made for a fierce sight. She resembled a feral huntress, appearing ready to leap into the forest at any moment and disappear into the wilderness.

"Sister Meirong, it is I, Mo Jing," Mo Jing called out as he emerged from the fog. He bowed politely once within her sight. 

Snowball let out a low, threatening growl. 

Mo Jing looked up at the sound, his face growing pale. "If my presence is unwanted, or if I have come at a bad time, then we can speak at a later date."

"Brother Mo," Li Meirong interrupted, before he could ramble on any longer. "What brings you here?"

Mo Jing opened his mouth, only to close it again almost immediately without speaking a single word. He cast his gaze downwards, clearly hesitant. LI Meirong waited patiently for him to speak while she patted Snowball's back, stroking firmly over his raised fur to brush it down to its usual appearance.

 The growling quieted, but did not vanish entirely.

"It was not my intention to bother you, particularly not after how our last encounter ended," he said, finally. "But my brother… he is not doing well." 

Mo Jing sounded as though the words were being dragged out of him, like an unwilling confession.

Li Meirong eyed him with heavy skepticism.

"I hope you don't take offense to my words, but I don't see what Brother Mo's condition has to do with me, or with your visit today?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"If possible, I would like to speak to you on this matter within a secluded area," Mo Jing hedged.

"Hmph! You and your kin are not welcome here! Foolish little-" Snowball's clenched-teeth roar was interrupted by Li Meirong's firm but light voice.

"Alright, then. Follow me," she said. She had issues with Mo Cheng, that much was true, but Mo Jing had always been good to her. He had helped her many times over in the past, and it would be both unkind and against her morals to turn him away without listening to him at the very least.

Unnoticed by her went the cold, deadly stare Snowball sent her way. 

The look was filled with a promise of retribution, but Li Meirong missed the expression entirely.

'Inviting other men into our residence?' Snowball thought furiously. 'My wife most definitely needs to be punished for this.'

As the three entered the cabin, Snowball "accidentally" brushed against Mo Jing, bumping into him hard enough to make him stumble slightly. He turned to look at the spirit beast, and Snowball turned his head to return the stare, flashing a very sharp set of teeth in a clear threat.

Feeling the intense hostility radiating from the oversized spirit beast, Mo Jing gulped heavily and had to force himself to continue walking, despite his better judgement.

Once inside, Li Meirong offered Mo Jing a seat, but he refused the offer politely. 

For his own safety, he kept himself stationed by the doorway, ready to flee should the spirit fox make any physically threatening move towards him.

"I hope you will forgive me for not standing on ceremony," Li Meirong stated tiredly, bringing forth a stool and seating herself a yard or so from Mo Jing's stiff, still-standing figure.

"Please do not mind me," Mo Jing assured her hastily, clasping his hands together in front of himself. "Make yourself comfortable, and do not feel the need to adhere to formalities. I am glad to see you doing well for yourself lately," he added with an awkward little smile. "Winning as you have done in this tournament is quite the impressive accomplishment." 

Snowball shrank down to his cub-sized form and jumped up onto the bed. He lounged there in a snit, making a displeased snort as his tail swished angrily. 

Li Meirong's eyes were a pair of clear pools, matching her calm demeanor, but her tone was as sardonic as ever.

"Sometimes it's terrible and sometimes it's grand, but my reputation in the sect always manages to precede me, no matter how farfetched the tales about me may be."

Even though Mo Jing appeared to be made greatly uncomfortable by her words and tone, his soft smile showed only kindness. He regarded Li Meirong carefully before speaking up in answer.

"I have known you since before we joined this sect, and never once have I thought the rumors about you to be true. In my eyes, you are and have always been virtuous. Even when I behaved in a spiteful manner towards you, it was at your hands that my life was saved. You have ever repaid my enmity with extraordinary grace."

Mo Jing's heartfelt words gave Li Meirong pause. She looked at him with a strange sort of wonder building inside her, her heart growing softer at his sincerity. She had thought that whatever bridges she had built with the three companions she had once befriended at the sect's opening ceremony had been long since burnt, but it appeared that Mo Jing's friendship remained loyal and true.

She couldn't help but tear up a bit at her friend's declaration, and could not find the words to properly express her appreciation. Instead, she covered her eyes and wiped at them roughly with the back of her wrist to prevent her tears from falling.

"Thank you," she said quietly. It was a short and simple declaration of gratitude, but his words had struck her deeply. Mo Jing's good opinion of her meant a great deal more than she could ever hope to convey, or wished to have him know.

As Li Meirong became emotional, Mo Jing felt his own set of waterworks begin to form in the corners of his eyes. He knew all too about the prejudiced treatment Li Meirong had suffered in the sect, all due to a fact that was far beyond her control: her metaphysical disposition. It was no fault of hers that she was a furnace, but she suffered ill treatment and ridicule for her condition.

He reached out one hand to give her a gentle, comforting pat on the back, but before he could do more than begin to reach out, the little fox spirit beast appeared out of nowhere to block his path. He stood on Li Meirong's lap, fur bristling, and hissed at him like a feral kitten. 

The fox spirit swiped at Mo Jing's reaching hand with an outstretched paw, his claws bared, and then proceeded to rub the top of his white-furred head beneath Li Meirong's chin.

'When did this little beast even get the chance or time to jump from the bed to her lap…?' Mo Jing thought to himself in bewilderment, clasping his arm to his chest to keep it well out of harm's reach.

"What is it you came here to speak to me about?" Li Meirong asked quietly after recovering her composure. She cradled her fox spirit beast in her arms, holding him close. Seeing her calm expression, Mo Jing relaxed a little.

"My brother's master has confined him to his residence," he told her. "My brother officially may not leave his abode until the last round of the tournament. It is a good thing, too," he added, "for otherwise I fear he would have come here himself."

Li Meirong had little interest in Mo Cheng or in hearing about his affairs, but at Mo Jing's declaration, she straightened her spine and focused on what he was saying.

Who in the sect remained unaware of the fact that Mo Cheng was the pride and joy of the Sword Bearers' division? The Sword Bearers' Grandmaster doted on him excessively, bestowing upon him everything he wished for and more. 

Besides, for the Sword Bearer Grandmaster to confine Mo Cheng to his residence surely meant that Mo Cheng had done something horrifically, terribly wrong.

Mo Jing turned away from Li Meirong's gaze in shame.

"You see," he said quietly, sadly, "my brother has gone mad."