~~~三~~~

~~~千禧节~~~

The two males had returned to their own clans to prep for the opening ceremony a little bit past noon; however, the Second Princess didn't have to start worrying about her own preparations until late afternoon.

"This is so stupid," the ravenette huffed as she did her hair up with golden hair pins instead of her normal hair clip, "Why couldn't father have told Dìqiú to dance with Kōngqì?"

"Well, he certainly wouldn't look as good in the outfit as you do, but I don't understand why you would go with this one instead one that shows more skin," Wūsé commented while placing his hands on her shoulders, earning a glare from the female as she looked down at her clothes.

It consisted of a gold collar and chains to hold up the black leather bodice with a purple skirt and flowing purple sleeves that left the skin of her hips and shoulders exposed.

"You know very well why I chose this one instead of one similar to what my sister will be wearing," Mei Lián said as she clasped her jade pendant around her neck, before moving to do her eyeliner.

"A-Lián, you shouldn't worry about that," the male spoke as he leaned forward to rest his chin on the woman's shoulder and wrap his arms around her waist.

"If anyone looked at you in the wrong way then I would just gouge out their eyes," he continued, unconsciously tightening his grip around her with a cruel smile.

Seeing the male's expression in the mirror, the ravenette quickly finished applying her makeup with dark red lip stick before bringing a hand up to cup his cheek.

"A-Sé, it's things saying things like that, that got you kicked out of Qing Qiu, isn't it?" she asked, letting the male lean his head on hers, "You can't go around just killing everyone you don't like."

"Who cares what those elders think? I'm not even connected to them anymore," the fox immortal muttered as he met honey-golden eyes in the mirror.

"As long as I have you then nothing else matters," he continued, smile softening into something that the female rarely saw, something genuine.

"I, uh..." she uttered, looking away from the mirror as she spun out of his hold to face the entrance of her hall, "The opening ceremony is going to start soon, so I need to meet with my siblings."

"Ah, is A-Lián embarrassed by my words?" the male mused, walking in front of the woman as a smirk crept onto his features.

"Of course not!" she huffed turning to her right only to be followed by the male, "You just need to transform back into a fox so I can get this dance over with! We can't go out with you like this."

"Oh? And why can't we?" Wūsé questioned as he took a step towards the female who only took a step back in return.

"You-" "Mei-Mei, are you ready to go?!" a female voice called from just outside her hall, "The ceremony is going to start in fifteen minutes, we need to go!"

With a look from the ravenette as she put on a purple veil to cover the lower half of her face, Wūsé's form shifted down into the fluffy black fox everyone saw by her side at all times and just in time as the elder princess walked in.

Her outfit was bright red and consisted of a cropped chiffon top decorated with golden coins and a matching skirt held up by a belt made of black chiffon.

"I had a feeling you wouldn't wear the traditional costume, but you look good," Kōngqì stated as she scanned her sister's appearance, before taking her by the wrist.

"Now come on, let's go," she continued with a smile as she led the younger female out, "Huǒ and Dìqiú are already waiting for us in the main courtyard."

When the girls arrived at the courtyard, all of those present sat at small tables that were arranged in a circle around an open space that would serve as the stage for their performance.

With a nod from their brothers, the females got in their starting poses across from each other and the music started.

The dance the women were performing was known as the Dance if the Phoenix, dedicated to the heavenly creature and used the performers' own grace and skill to depict it alongside the powerful music it was paired with.

The guests gave loud cheers as they danced across the stage, their flowing clothes giving the the appearance of flight before they ended back to back with an arm extended up to the night sky.

Their heavy breaths turned into fog as applause erupted from around them before the women lowered their arms and gave each other large smiles.

"That was a beautiful performance, Jiějiě," the ravenette complimented as she gave a bow to her elder sister with her hands held out in front of her chest.

"The same could be said to you, Mei-Mei," the twenty-three-year-old commented as she reached out to place a hand on the other's shoulder, "You performed the dance much better than I could have and I've been practicing for a month."

"Is this how you've been earning money, Mei-Mei?" she continued, moving to place the female of equal height into a headlock, "By dancing for men?"

"Excuse me?!" the ravenette squealed with a horrified expression as she wormed her way out of the First Princess' grip, "Who do you think I am?!"

"Relax, Mei-Mei, it was just a joke," Dìqiú chuckled as he came up from behind and rested his elbow on the shorter female's shoulder, holding a Xiao over his right shoulder.

"Indeed, Mei-Mei, we know you wouldn't stoop to something so debaucherous just for money," First Prince Huǒ stated before gesturing to the empty tables in the circle, "Now let's sit and enjoy the rest of the performances for tonight."

With words and nods of agreement, the four royal children of the Long Clan took their seats with the other children of clan leaders, their parents stiting at the front of the arrangement.

Wūsé was quick to curl up in her lap as soon as the youngest sibling took her seat, but she couldn't help but notice that she was seated right next to Kang Yuan.

Eyes flicking up to her father who was seated in between Clan Leader Kang and Clan Leader Fei, Mei Lián made eye contact before subtly nodding to the male next to her with a raised brow.

Knowing he'd been caught since her sudden return to the main hall after breakfast that morning, Long Bai merely coughed and turned his head to the side to break eye contact.

'Unbelievable!' she thought with a huff, 'The almighty King Long Bai can't even try to act like he isn't trying to play match maker.'

Her eyes drifted over to the stoic male to her right and she thought, 'He's so rigid. This man will only go insane if he has to marry me.'

A deep voice quickly brought the eighteen-year-old out of her internal commentary as it simply asked, "What is it?"

The female blinked before looking at the next set of performers once she realized she was looking straight into cold, brown eyes.

"Nothing," she mused with a nervous chuckle before her mind went back to the conversation she had accidentally overheard when they thought she was gone.

"So... What did you think of the dance?" Mei Lián questioned as she absent-mindedly scratched her fox companion behind the ears, deciding that she should at least try to make some conversation so the situation wouldn't be awkward.

The male's eyes scanned her form, lingering on the ebony fox who was staring intently at him, for a moment before saying, "It was good."

"That's good, I was a bit worried," the ravenette chuckled as she removed her veil and set it down beside her, "It would have been quite embarrassing if I fell in the middle of it."

"You didn't," he replied, watching as the woman poured herself a small cup of the peach wine that was in front of her, "You performed well."

"Thank you, Second Young Master Kang," the princess replied with a small smile as she took slow sips of her drink.

"Feel free to stop me if my talking becomes bothersome, but what do you think of Guangzhou so far?" She asked, looking back at him, "Is it your first time here?"

As their younger sister tried to keep a conversation going with the male, no matter how quiet he was, the three older Long children had mixed reactions.

'Why the hell is she talking to him?' Dìqiú hissed to his older siblings through a special telepathic spell developed by the Long Clan with his wife sitting next to him at the double table, 'She doesn't like talking to people!'

'It appears that Mei-Mei has discovered what we were discussing when she left,' Huǒ replied as his daughter of two years of age climbed into his lap.

'She's trying to get a gauge on him to see if she'll at least be able to get along with him,' Kōngqì explained as her eyes drifted over to her younger brother, 'You know she won't deny if father tells her to marry as long as she doesn't despise the person.'

'She's extremely loyal to our clan even when she isn't here, shown through the information she always provides us from her travels,' she continued while her husband poured her a cup of wine, 'So as long as it's for the clan, she won't be completely opposed. You know how she is.'

The elder siblings kept going back and forth about the situation; however, their mental conversation was soon interrupted as a male in red and gold walked up to their younger sister.

"Mei Lián, you did good tonight!" he chirped, plopping himself down at her left, right in between her and her brother, to share the double table she would have otherwise occupied on her own, "and you didn't even use your cultivation, did you?"

"Thank you, Zhang," the ravenette replied, causing the others around to to look with wide eyes at how casually the two addressed each other, "And no one needs to know how to cultivate in order to properly embody a character and perform."

"So, is that the only reason you came over here or did you have something else you wanted from me?" she continued with a small smirk as the male took a drink from the wine he brought over himself.

"Ah, Mei Lián, so you think that I'm just a shady figure that goes to people when they need things?" he almost whined while slinging an arm around her shoulder.

"Pàn Zhang! What do you think you're doing?" the male in white hissed as the fox in the woman's lap tensed and began growling at the other.

"Kang Yuan, what does it look like I'm doing?" the Pàn Clan representative asked with a smile as he rested his head on top of the female's.

"I'm just spending time with a new friend, isn't that right?" he continued while looking down at the female who was busy trying to keep her furry companion from biting him.

"I honestly don't mind as long as you don't try to stir up any trouble," the ravenette replied as she lightly moved his head off of her and gestured to her fox, "I already have one mischievous companion I need to keep out of trouble."

"Trust me when I say, I don't need another," she continued with a chuckle as she held the growling fox up to her eye level and gave him a pointed stare.

"If you don't behave, then I'm locking you in Yuèliàng Hall for the rest of the time we're here," the female warned, only for the fox to bark before it latched onto her wrist.

The two males and her siblings let out a gasp as they watched blood drip down her arm from where the vulpine's teeth dug into her skin.

"That dirty little-" "It's fine, Ergē," she muttered through gritted teeth, cutting off her second brother and slapping away the hands that tried to assist her as she took hold of the scruff of her companion with her free hand.

"I deserve this," the woman continued before the fox released her, licking the blood from its teeth, "We both have our limits and I knowingly crossed one of his."

With a sigh the princess placed her non-injured hand on Wūsé's head and apologized before looking up at the others while holding up her bloody wrist to say, "I'll be back, I'm just going to go clean and wrap this."

Without a word, the two young masters from the Kang and Pàn Clan rose from their seats to follow the female as she retreated back to her Wǔyè Palace with the fox at her heels.

"I can treat this myself, you know?" Mei Lián questioned as the four waited in Yuèliàng Hall for the maids to bring back a basin of water and the bandages she requested, "Neither of you had to follow me."

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay, that did look like a nasty bite," the male in red commented as he gently took her bleeding wrist and looked it over.

"Why do you keep such a wild thing with you?" the male in white questioned as he glared down at the fox who was laying on his bed, tail lightly thumping against the mattress as he met the gaze.

"Wūsé is my important friend who I promised to keep by my side for all eternity," the younger female responded as one of her palace maids returned with the water and bandages, "We're both wild by nature and that's why we decided to stick together."

"But that's why it also makes sense that we clash every now and then," she continued with a chuckle while washing the blood off of herself, "Although I have to admit that he hasn't bitten me like that since I was a child."

The vulpine only let out a low grumble, turning over to lay on his back as the eighteen-year-old began wrapping her wound, not allowing the males to assist at all.

Meanwhile, King Long Bai sent a pointed stare to Clan Leader Pàn who sat on the other side of Clan Leader Jin with a dark smirk on his face.

"Your Majesty," he started, turning to the male who sat in the center of the clan leaders, "It seems that our children get along well, wouldn't you say?"

"If your second son is as mischievous as the rumors say, then I can't say that I'm surprised," the older male commented with a straight face.

'But don't be surprised when your plan ends up failing,' he thought as he took a sip from the wine in front of him, 'My Mei Lián has a keen sense of character. She'll know that she's being played and will beat you at your own game.'

When the three returned, the female still wore her dance costume but her right wrist was wrapped in white bandages and she had decided to abandon her shoes back at her palace.

The rest of the night was filled with fine food, alcohol, and stunning performances brought up by the surrounding townspeople of Guangzhou.

During the last performance Zhang tapped the shoulder of the Second Princess and whispered, "Do you think you could show me around the town tomorrow?"

"Sure, it's been awhile since I've been at a festival in Guangzhou," she chirped in response before applause rang out around them, signaling the end of the first night of the Millennium Festival.

"Tonight was fun, but I'm going to go to bed now," the ravenette stated as she turned to the two males at either side of her, "Have a good night, Second Young Master Kang, Zhang."

"You too, Mei Lián," the male in red responded as the taller male just gave a silent nod before she took her leave with the fox at her side.

Upon arriving back to her personal hall, the ravenette sat in front of her mirror and began undoing her hair as a familiar male formed behind her.

"A-Lián," he started while gently taking her bandaged wrist and bringing it up to his lips, "I'm sorry, that I hurt you."

"No need to apologize, it didn't even hurt and a little blood means nothing to me," she replied while turning to face him, hair brush in her opposite hand, "I already said that it was my fault for provoking you, so there's nothing to be held against you."

"I still shouldn't have done that," he stated, taking the brush from her and running it through her hip-length hair, "That bite was meant for the bastard who was touching you."

"A-Sé, he has no ill intentions, he's just naturally playful," the woman chuckled as she closed her eyes, letting the male play with her locks.

"Playful isn't the word I would use," the male scoffed, taking care to carefully remove any tangles without hurting her, "He was downright flirting with you."

"Like you don't?" she mused in return, opening her eyes once the fox immortal was finished and stood to collect her night clothes that were folded nicely on her bed.

"And that other guy too," he hissed as the princess moved behind a paper screen in order to change into her night clothes.

"And what complaints do you have about the Second Young Master Kang?" she questioned with a chuckle as she let her dance costume pool around her feet, "I was the one who did most of the talking."

"He's just so rigid and is always looking at you," Wūsé replied, just listening to the sound of shuffling fabric, "I don't understand why your family would want you to marry someone like him."

"Well, he is from a well known clan, is a prodigy of said clan, and is actually quite popular amongst other women my age despite his indifference," the ravenette stated as she came out from behind the screen wearing silky black robes, "It would be good for a public clan alliance."

"Plus," she continued while dropping herself onto her bed, "At least he's actually making an effort to get me to like him instead of being an asshole about it."

"Are you actually going to agree to the proposal?" her travel partner asked with wide eyes as the female draped an arm over her eyes.

"Who knows?" she shrugged while rolling over to make room for him, "He still has time to back out after getting to know me better, so it might not even happen... Only time will tell."

The next morning started like any other with the female slowly worming her way out of her fox's lazy grip, changing into her clothes, and eating her breakfast in her hall with Wūsé in his human form.

At around ten in the morning Kang Chen and Kang Yuan were both led over to the Second Princess' courtyard by a maid only to gasp when they saw Pàn Zhang sitting by the koi pond.

"How dare you break into Guǐ Palace!" the maid exclaimed with wide eyes as she pointed an accusing finger at the male.

"Me?" he mused, ignoring the glare and confused expression from the Kang brothers as he stood up with a proud grin on his face.

"I didn't break in, she invited me here" the male explained with a smile as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Mei Lián said she was going to take me around Guangzhou today so I'm just waiting for her."

"That's impossible!" the maid huffed with a glare as the other maids gathered from other areas of the small palace, "If you were invited here, then why weren't we notified?"

"Well-" "Zhang, I specifically said not to cause trouble, didn't I?" Mei Lián groaned as she came out of her hall with Wūsé at her heels as her right hand rested on her hip.

"Mei Lián, how's your wrist?" the nineteen-year-old asked, walking around the seven maids who glared at him as he took the female's hand.

"I'm fine, Zhang, but you could have just called for me like a normal person instead of breaking into my palace again," the princess replied as she took her hand back.

"Again?" Kang Chen parroted with a raised brow as his brother placed his hand on his sword with a glare aimed at the male of similar age.

"Yeah, he got lost and 'accidentally' broke into my courtyard yesterday when I was talking with Xiǎo Lǎoshǔ," the ravenette replied as the Pàn Clan member looked at her with wide eyes.

"Shameless!" scoffed Kang Yuan about to draw his sword before the female appeared in front of him and held his wrist in place.

"Second Young Master Kang, he apologized yesterday and I already forgave him," Mei Lián explained as she backed away a few steps, "So what did you need from me?"

"Your Highness, we were about to go walk around town and wanted to invite you," the older Kang brother answered with his usual smile.

"Oh? Well that's great!" the ravenette chirped as the male in red and her fox walked over to stand next to her, "We can all walk around together, then."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," Zhang agreed as he took the female by her uninjured wrist and began leading her out, "Let's go now!"

As the two walked ahead of them Chen looked over at his brother who was glaring daggers into the back of the man dressed in red and gold.

"Yuan, you don't have to keep trying for her if you don't want to," the elder brother whispered as they walked behind the others, "We can just explain it to father."

"No," the male answered simply, earning a sigh and nod from the other before they closed some of the distance.

"So, Mei Lián, where are we going first?" the Second Young Master of the Pàn Clan asked once they exited the main gates of the Guǐ Palace.

"That honestly depends on all of you," the woman replied, turning to look at all of her guests, "What would you like to do first?"

"The townspeople have many stalls and special items and events set up for the Millennium Festival," she explained while gesturing to the busy streets, "We even have some merchants from outside of the continent here for the week."

"Wow, really?!" Zhang gasped with eyes wide like a child met with a cake the size of himself, "Does that mean there are good wines for sale?"

The ravenette let out a chuckle as she brought a hand up to hide her mouth with her sleeve, but before she could answer a familiar voice cut through the air.

"Jiějiě!"

"Xiǎo Lǎoshǔ," the female replied with a nod of acknowledgement when he walked up to the group with a large smile on his face.

"Are you all going around the town?" he asked while looking at everyone in the group, "Can I come with you? I heard there's a popular gambling parlor that's open right now!"

"Ah, that's right," the ravenette mused, pupils dilating slightly as she slowly cracked her knuckles one by one, "The parlor is open, isn't it?"

"Ah, Mei Lián, I didn't take you to be the gambling type," Pàn Zhang commented with a knowing smile as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Who says I wasn't?" she asked, something dangerous floating in her tone before she shook her head and took a deep breath.

"But I'll only head there today if Young Masters Kang are okay with it," the woman continued as she turned to the two males in white, "It would make me a bad hostess to just leave them to go off and gamble when I said I would accompany them for today."

"Actually, I just remembered that father would like me to help him with something today so I'll be leaving Yuan in your care if that's alright, Your Highness," Kang Chen said as he looked over at the ravenette.

"Oh? Well it can't be helped of you need to assist your father," she replied with a smile, "I promise to keep Second Young Master Kang safe."

"Thank you, Your Highness, I'll be on my way then," the taller male spoke, giving a bow to everyone before making his way back into the main palace.

"So, off we go to the gambling parlor then!" Zhang spoke as he walked over and grabbed the other Kang's wrist before walking in a random direction.

"Jiějiě," Fei Ming called as the female opened her weapon of choice and began fanning herself, "Is Zhang walking in the right direction?"

"Surprisingly, yes," she replied with a raised brow as they began to follow before a smirk formed on her features, "We'll see how good his intuition is."

The group arrived to the gambling parlor within ten minutes, earning a slow clap from the Princess of the Lomg Clan as she said, "Wow, I'm impressed you found it this quickly without having been to Guangzhou before."

"Mei Lián, if there is one thing you must know about me, it it that my gut is never wrong," the male explained once they found a table with open seats.

The ones who would be participating in the game would be Fei Ming, Pàn Zhang, and Long Mei Lián along with one random person while Kang Yuan stood back to watch with the fox sitting by his feet.

The game they would be playing was based off of the western card game known as poker; however, instead of cards they would be using dice and a cup.

Each player had a total of six dice in their hand, five of them would be rolled in the cup and kept private while the sixth would be rolled outside for all the other players to see.

Each player could reroll one dice in their hand per round and the one in the end with the highest valued hand won.

The order of hands from lowest to highest went; high card (nothing), one pair, two pairs, three of a kind, triples (two sets of three of a kind), straight, four of a kind, full house (four of a kind and one pair), and a devil (all sixes).

Now Fei Ming wanted to gamble, but now that he was sitting at a table with the Second Princess, he was feeling a bit apprehensive and the feeling was justified.

He knew that the female made most of her money in her travels through gambling since she was rarely home and hated asking for things from others, but he had never seen her in action much less played against her.

After about twenty minutes of playing she had practically drained the others of most of their money even if she had lost a few rounds herself, all with a sly smile on her face.

"How about we call it a day for now?" Mei Lián suggested as she set her cup and dice down, "If this keeps up then you won't have enough money to buy anything from the other stalls."

"Mei Lián, how could you?" whined Pàn Zhang, staring down at his five remaining pieces of silver with a pout as the female stood up from her seat.

"Jiějiě," Fei Ming started as he sat in disbelief of how little of his money he was left with before looking up at the older female, "You really are brutal."

"Here's a tip if you're gambling," she chuckled while holding up her right index finger, "You need to know when to quit, even if it's before you sit down."

"Ah, Mei Lián, you better pay me back for this," Zhang spoke as he packed up his silver into a pouch and tucked it back into his robes.

"What do you mean pay you back? You're the one who decided to play with your money," the ravenette mused, tossing the pouch filled with her winnings and catching it in the same hand.

"Plus this is what's going to be used to pay for our food, snacks, and drinks for the day," she continued with a small smirk before making her way toward the exit, "So let's get going!"

"Since we basically dragged him over to the gambling parlor, how about we have Second Young Master Kang decide what we do next?" the female suggested once they were out on the street again.

"Mei Lián, I wouldn't count on him to suggest anything," Zhang commented as he looked over at the male in white and blue, "Yuan doesn't know how to have fun."

"Aish, be nice!" she hissed, smacking the playful on the arm before turning to face the tallest male with a bright smile.

"I'm pretty sure they have some stalls that have some nice teas and multi cultural items if you wanna check those out," the woman suggested, earning a nod from the male in white, "Alright, let's go!"

The group got many stares as they walked through the streets, many of the people recognizing everyone as the children of the main five cultivating clan leaders.

Just as the four and the fox made their way to a stall that was selling products from an island chain just off the continent, their attention was brought to a familiar couple dressed in red and gold.

Upon realizing who the pair was, Mei Lián couldn't stop her eyes from narrowing as she muttered a quiet, "Ew."

"I couldn't agree with you more," Pàn Zhang sighed as his older brother began walking over with an arm wrapped around the shoulders of his wife.

"Your Highness, I didn't expect to see you here," the older male spoke with a smirk, the female backing up in response as he finally looked to the others with her.

"Second Young Master Kang, Second Young Master Fei, and my Dìdì, you're here as well," he greeted as the other males tensed up.

"Greetings, Gēgē." "Greetings Young Master Pàn," the males replied with bows while the ravenette just stood off to the side with her fan covering the lower half of her face.

"What do you think you're doing?" Miho spat as she looked at the other female, "He's the first son of the Pàn Clan, show some respect and bow."

"Bows are indeed used for those whom you show respect to, but why would I bow to someone who I don't respect at all?" the younger woman replied with a raised brow, earning an offended gasp from the majestically dressed woman.

"I only give respect to those who know respect and from what I've heard of him and seen from you, neither of you understand it," she continued, lightly fanning herself with a look of complete indifference, "Plus why should a princess bow down to someone who doesn't even has the courtesy to bow to her first?"

~~~Fin. Chapter 3~~~