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Being a heavenly official sucks.
Lí Huā knew she had to work but she certainly wasn't expecting this type of mindless busy work. Fetch reports, sort prayers, grab this, clean that, write down dictations of missions from the higher up martial gods and their missions doing real stuff like hunting monsters and saving people.
What she's getting at is that this bureaucratic nonsense is not what she thought being a god would be about.
She wants to help people not listen to gossip about who was seen with who and General Ming Guang's newest conquest and the Windmaster giving out merits while she sorts through reports, reports, and MORE REPORTS!
Lí Huā was maybe losing it a little. She wasn't meant for paperwork. She missed traveling with her baba. She missed the wind in her hair and the grass under her feet before he told her to put her shoes back on. Lí Huā liked helping people on the road and all the little misadventures that occur amongst the common people.
Doing all this writing left her wrist sore, and she hated the stuffy, tight, scratchy, pokey, awful way she had to dress up here. It felt like she had joined a flock of peacocks all trying to show off how many layers or gold or jewels they had regardless of how it looked or felt.
She loved her pretty baubles too but this was too much! It looked ridiculous! She could hardly even move in these robes. They really were made for people who sat around and did errards all day.
Lí Huā groaned loudly from her seat. Luckily she had muscled her way to get one by the open window. With all the scrolls he had assigned her you would think Mù Qíng was the god of paperwork. But no, they apparently had one already and her name was Líng Wén.
Poor thing, that seemed like a dreadful domain to rule over.
Anyways for a martial god the palace of Xuán Zhēn certainly had more paperwork than it knew what to do with. And this was after the god of paperwork took on most of it. Lí Huā had overheard that most of this stuff isn't even necessary, Mr God of busywork was just picky about his things.
Crazily enough he seemed to find a whole palace of people who agreed with him. The fact that some of her fellow deputies enjoyed this work and didn't consider it to be a divine punishment in itself was madness to her.
Lí Huā slammed her hands in front of her, stretching out her arms and sighing loudly. This got her a few annoyed looks but not much else. She wished the other deputies would do more than talk shit quietly around her.
Tell Mù Qíng! Kick her out! She wants to be demoted please!
But still no one had even enough of a backbone to reprimand her. Everyone seemed to believe that Mù Qíng had favoritism towards her. The way he rolls his eyes and scolds her every time they meet would suggest otherwise. But Lí Huā can't stop people from being wrong.
She put her elbow on the table and leaned her cheek on her hand. She stared out the window, watching the wind blow through every flourishing tree of the heavenly capital.
Lí Huā watched the heavenly officials stroll their perfect utopic capital in their fancy clothes and higher than thou attitudes and was just itching to do something. At this point she'd rather plow fields again rather than doing nothing.
In her idle watching she noticed something odd. In the courtyard of a nearby palace she watched as a man went up against a large spiritual beast. It was a majestic tiger, bright orange and deep onyx stripes, and much larger than a normal tiger. Its head already reached the man's shoulders and it was still on all fours. Truly a formidable beast!
The man wasn't to be outshined though, he was obviously tall since the large tiger hadn't completely towered over him. He was lightly armored in a way that showed more nobility than military might. Only covering his shoulders, forearms, and boots. His hair was brown with a copper hue, done up in a high ponytail secured with a tall regal looking crown.
He was well built and a good enough fighter to be wrestling with a goddamn tiger but Lí Huā didn't think he really seemed like the type who was meant to fight often. Between the fancy hair and armor that left more unprotected than not it seemed like the man was going to have a harder time than the tiger did in this match.
She watched as the man grappled with it bare handed, hastly dodging and wrapping his arms around the tiger's head to redirect it as it charged at him. The two circled each other for a while, the man spent his time only just moving out of the way in time as the tiger lunged at him.
Lí Huā watched them go on for a bit. Part of her wanted to jump in because she didn't think he could hold out against the spiritual beast. (The other part was just bored but no one needed to know but her) She knew better than to judge the people here by mortal standards. They were all much closer to her in physical ability than she was used to, so she still had a hard time remembering that they could handle themselves. Still she watched intently, half worried for the wellbeing of the stranger she was watching.
Then in a flash she had leapt out the window, leaving a flurry of papers and brushes in her wake. The people nearest to her shouted in surprise but she was gone before she even heard them. She could already see the tide of the battle turning. The man was dodging slower and made a sharp right only for the tiger to feign him out and lunge right in his direction.
Seeing where this was heading Lí Huā moved without thinking. The tiger would rip him to shreds, and Lí Huā could hardly sit back and watch it happen. In the span of seconds she was out of the building and trapezing over to the courtyard the two were in.
She was so quick and fluid in her movements that no one had even realized she arrived until she was already there. It seemed to be a blink and a gentle floral wind swept the area.
She leapt in between the two fighters, a blur of colors, the long fabrics of her robes fluttering around her and jewelry in her tightly bound hair reflecting the light. She quickly grabbed the tiger by its face, firm but not painfully hard, and used the momentum of her body to force the tiger away from its original target.
The tiger, taken off guard by the surprise redirection, used its front paws to skid the two of them to a halt. It bared its teeth at her, a threat made of the intruder. Lí Huā took this as her moment to get out of dodge herself. She channeled qi into her foot so as she hit the ground she could use her power to throw herself up and over the tiger.
With all the quick sudden movements, Lí Huā heard the tell tale rip of her tight robes giving way to the movement of her body. It left her with slits on her back and around her arms. The delicate fabric left flowing strands of shimmering thread trailing behind her. Her back was exposed and her newly mobile sleeves dropped further down her arms. Despite her disheveled state she really looked like the type of enlightened spirit that people made murals of to encourage inner peace.
She noticed the attention she had gathered by grabbing the tiger, attracting onlookers to the courtyard. She also saw the wide eyed awe the man she saved looked at her with. With this many eyes on her Lí Huā might as well treat this as a performance. That was something she could do well.
The ball of her foot lightly touched the ground and using her qi she threw herself up with a small gust of wind. The tiger stopped short, confused by the sudden disappearance of its new target. Lí Huā was on top of the tiger's back, balancing herself on one hand. She reached her other hand out to the audience, waving to onlookers who seemed uncomfortable to have been noticed.
The man who originally was fighting the tiger straightened up. He stared at Lí Huā, at first in disbelief before humor colored his gaze. Lí Huā gave him a coy wink before continuing her show. She had already turned her attention back to the greater audience before she could see the shocked and flushed expression he made.
Lí Huā soon pushed herself off the back of the tiger as it tried to shake her off. So started her dance. Where before the man had jumped out of the way and left a wide berth, Lí Huā always teattered on the edge of capture. She gracefully spun and leaped away from the tiger. Sometimes even making a point to stroke its fur as it flew past her or going over it and striking poses on its back.
She flipped and danced around the spiritual beast as its ire slowly turned to amusement. It seemed the big cat had taken a liking to her flippant ways. She got more reckless with her performance, allowing the tiger to have closer calls catching her.
She allowed the tiger to grab her sleeve with its teeth, it was drooping down since she broke the seams by her shoulders and covered her hands. It gave the illusion of the tiger catching her hand. She heard the crowd gasp before she swiftly pulled herself away, leaving the tiger with her loose sleeve and herself having a newly bared arm to the public. This somehow caused a bigger commotion.
A swipe of paw that ripped a new slit in her skirt, she stuck her face near the tiger's maw to place a kiss, and ducked only just in time for the tiger to leap over. That last trick causes all the baubles keeping her hair bound to fall loose, freeing her long dark locks. The loose hair and tattered dress just added to her beauty. The flowing movement gives her the majesty of a willow tree.
She could tell the show would end soon. The tiger was getting tired, reacting slower and getting lazy with its attacks. It even stopped a few times to get distracted by her jewelry around or trying to chase the fabrics of her torn dress instead of her.
Suddenly there's a whistle and the tiger stops, eyes wide and ears at attention. It obediently trots towards the source of the noise. The man it had been fighting to begin with!
“I would've stopped everything sooner but after that first move I just had to see what you'd do.” He said, a wide dopey grin on his face as he scratched the tiger's chin.
Lí Huā was a bit embarrassed, she hadn't meant to fight the guy's pet after all, and she had probably interrupted their bonding time. But she really did think he was in trouble, she couldn't have waited a second longer if he was really in danger. Still it was a bit of a silly situation she found herself in.
“I hope it was at least entertaining.” She smiled as she spoke. Smoothly masking any embarrassment she had.
“Oh definitely! I haven't seen moves like that in years. You were amazing! I'd love to take you on myself. See what you're like in a real fight instead of playing.”
Oh wow… This mystery man sure is forward. Still Lí Huā finds herself blushing. She's been pursued many times for her beauty. She had inherited her father's good looks, the type that could bring kingdoms to waste, so she was no stranger to the honeyed words of men.
But these words praising her skill, promising a chance to show more of it, did make her stomach flutter.
The tiger at his side chuffed, pushing past him to sniff at Lí Huā before giving her face a lick.
Lí Huā giggled at the kitten-like behavior of such a large spiritual beast. The man laughed heartily at the sight of his pet being so affectionate with someone who just spent the better part of an hour toying with it.
“ChénChén seems to like you. It's not everyday there's someone who's willingly to play with him long enough to tire him out. You did good! Even put on a show for the rest of the palace.”
Oh right. This was someone's backyard wasn't it.
“Sorry that I interrupted his playtime.” Lí Huā scratched her cheek, faux bashful.
“I just thought that you were in trouble. I just saw him lunge at you and that it would hit. I couldn't just watch and do nothing. My body just moved before I could think.”
“That's nothing to apologize for.” The man responded quickly, cutting off any further apology.
“If it were anyone but me against ChénChén they would be in trouble. It's good to know that there's someone who would jump in to help. It's a good trait to have!”
The man's boisterous energy was infectious. Lí Huā felt amped up just talking to him! She could feel the blood rushing to her face and was a little light headed. It was like when she was able to capture a monster that terrorized a village or help with the work that only men were allowed to do and everyone looked at her shocked. She loved this feeling.
The man continued on speaking to her,
“We really need to get together some time to spar! You seem like you'd be a fun fight. Who's palace are you from? How long have you been in the capital? Are you a martial official? You move like one but you look more like a civil official.”
He continued on a mile a minute, as his questions continued he had grabbed her hands and was holding them between the two of them. Like this Lí Huā was able to get a good look at his face.
He had strong thick brows and a high bridged nose. All his features were strong and hearty except for his soft round cheeks, it gave him a boyish air about him. His bright charming gaze made it look like he had stars in his eyes, wide and sharp as they were, he almost resembled his tiger.
Everything about him seemed strong and proud with just a tint of childishness. Truly a handsome young man! Even Lí Huā could understand swooning over someone like this, and her father had long taught her how to resist any sort of fleeting temptations like beauty.
He seemed to realize that he had rambled on and not let Lí Huā get a word in this whole time. Not that she really minded, his voice was a cheerful and clear tenor, the type you would imagine making grand proclamations before a performance. She wouldn't mind just listening to him go on for a while.
“I've gone on all this time and we haven't even introduced ourselves! That's my bad. I'm-”
“Lí Huā!” A piercing, pissed off, shout cut through the amicable atmosphere the two had made.
Ugh her warden was here.
Lí Huā turned to see Mù Qíng approaching her. The crowd of people parted for him as he moved through them. His brows were pinched together and she swore she could see the veins on his forehead about the burst. Lí Huā was really in trouble, huh?
He stopped a few steps away from her, blatantly looking Lí Huā and her mystery companion up and down like he's sizing them up to fight. His gaze handed on where their hands were still clasped together and he grimaced, like someone had just dropped something unpleasant in front of him, before rolling his eyes and focusing his glare on Lí Huā exclusively.
“Now would my newest deputy official care to explain why I got multiple reports of her shrugging off her duties to meddle in the affairs of other gods?” His tone was harsh and mocking. The question wasn't really ‘why’ as much as it was ‘I'd like to see how you explain this.’
Lí Huā ends up being the one to pull away from her new acquaintance, turning towards Mù Qíng's cross armed disapproval, as she tensed her stance.
“I saw someone fighting a tiger. I couldn't just sit around and wait for them to get hurt-”
“Oh and it sure looks like they needed help taking down that ferocious beast” Mù Qíng gestured towards ChénChén who, utterly bored by his owners fascinated questioning, had gone to where all of Lí Huā hair ornaments had fallen and was now rolling around as he played with the shiny baubles.
“I looked worse than it was. How was I supposed to know that people here just keep giant spiritual tigers as pets! I'm not used to this weird heaven stuff. I only did the right thing by interfering before anyone could get hurt.” Lí Huā huffed indignantly, now mirroring Mù Qíng's crossed arms as she turned away with her cheeks puffed out.
“Plus isn't it your job to teach me this stuff? So if I made the wrong conclusion here isn't it your fault for being a bad General-”
Lí Huā suddenly couldn't speak. Mù Qíng flat palmed attached a silencing talisman to her back before taking a hold of the back of her head and forcing her to bow.
“My deputy and I, sincerely apologize for the trouble she has caused. Please find it in yourself to excuse her, Your Highness Tài Huá. I promise she will be punished appropriately.”
The man, His Highness Tài Huá apparently, raised his hands up. Very much confused at the turn of events
“No it's really fine! I was actually wondering if maybe me and Lí Huā-”
“We will be taking our leave now. My deputy and I have matters to attend to at the palace of Xuán Zhēn.” Mù Qíng responded coldly, not leaving any room for discussion. Tài Huá, a bit oblivious, was confused by his fellow god's sudden possessiveness.
Lí Huā for her part had spent her time silently trying to rip the talisman off her back. She wanted to yell and argue and make a scene but her voice would! Not! Come! Out!
Mù Qíng grabbed her by the ear and roughly started pulling her away. The pair looked like a disgruntled mother dragging her scolded child home. Lí Huā still didn't give up her struggle, but whether she was struggling away from Mù Qíng or to get the talisman off was anyone's guess.
Mù Qíng took the opportunity to finally scold her without interruption.
“You abandon your duties and mess with other god's palaces, don't tell anyone where you went or why, and make a spectacle of yourself for a fight you didn't need to be in! Do you just want attention that badly? And you look like a mess! You would think my palace clothes it's officials from the trash. You drop all your expensive jewelry and leave your hair loose, your robes and torn all over and shedding as we speak! You look indecent and inappropriate for normal company, much less the heavenly court. Do you ever think-”
Lí Huā finally gets the talisman off and screams.
Further away, His Highness Tài Huá, Láng QiānQiū watches the girl fondly. He hopes they meet again. ChénChén quite liked her.
He picks up some of her hair pieces from the ground, ChénChén watching all the while.
He still has to return her things after all.