Qinglong's Breeze

The great equalizer between the city of beasts and the city of humans are Spirit Stones. The blue coinlike currencies filled with qi, both of them can use it to further their cultivation or simply use it for trade. The thing is, even though Zhen had an abundance of it, she still garnered malefic stares from the other patrons and servers alike.

Wodan's Prime establishment, Qinglong's Breeze, named after the Divine Beast's Sovereign, the multi floored tower took the combined growth of 3 gigantic trees to produce a grandiose restaurant with a design that would put human architect's to shame.

Inside, the shouting of a certain foxian echoed as she told off a young man with the tail and ears of a raccoon.

"What do you mean leave!? My lover and I having a blast and you want to kick us out!? Shame on you!" Daji lambasted the sacrificial lamb of the servers, tasked in kicking Zhen out. After raising her voice at the crew, Daji turned to Zhen right beside her. "Here, Zhen, try this roasted duck."

Through Daji's chopstick, she fed her lover with one of her favorite food to order here in this restaurant. The rich flavor of the duck meat, seasoned and roasted until golden brown, the delicious meat melted in Zhen's mouth.

"It tastes wonderful, thank you, Daji. But can you please, do feed me when it is just the two of us."

"Oh, what's this? The great Ice Empress is embarrassed?" Daji teased, pouring her and Zhen's cup with the golden apple wine.

"Please, listen to me..." The restaurant crew pleaded. "...You can stay here, mistress Daji, but the human needs to leave! Baxia is just below this floor, he is rallying the other spirit beasts to get rid of this human."

"Baxia!" Daji laughed as soon as she heard the name, a mocking crescendo that would infuriate whoever it was directed at. "Am I supposed to fear the name of that weakling porcupine now!?"

Daji and Zhen both raised their cups for toast, thriving and having fun in this hostile ambience.

Suddenly, a rain of needles assaulted their table, their food and wine all rendered wasted.

"You would do well to fear me. Since your departure, brother Xuanwu has taken me under his wing...er, I mean shell! I have ascended into a true immortal!"

Not far, the shirtless spirit beasts had a slew of needles protruding from his back, extending all the way up into his arms pointed right at the lovers. Behind Baxia, there is a slew of cultivators all with animal features, all eyeing Zhen and Daji with ill-intent.

"Even back then, most of us never liked you, and now you come back here with a human in tow! You shameless fox! We heard the news of what you're up to in the Heavenly Realm! How dare you whore yourself to humans and even have the audacity to come back here!?" Baxia glared at Daji and the human.

"You have ascended into an idiot, if you can't discern how strong we are, then not even Xuanwu can help you." Daji retorted.

"You dare bluff before us!? Hand over that human to us and maybe, just maybe, we shall spare you since no matter how much of a bitch you are, you are still our fellow spirit beast!"

Daji took a deep breath, the slit in her beast eyes held fiery rage, ready to be unleashed and char Baxia into ash for daring to call her a bitch.

But Zhen stood, hands behind her back, she slowly approached the congregation of Spirit Beasts, and most of all, Baxia.

Zhen glanced behind and gave Daji a smile, you only need one foot to stomp an ant, a smile that says she should leave this Zhen. Daji relaxed in her seat, how will Zhen handle these unruly beasts?

Zhen let a smidge of her cultivation slip, a gust of coldness that escaped from her dantian that hid her ravaging blizzard within, and yet these cultivators all trembled backwards at the fierce cold.

"You want me? Here I am. Come, friends, let us see how well you all fair against this lone human."

"You ice witch! Your kind does not belong here in Wodan!"

Zhen glanced up and down, left and right before mocking the porcupine, "I see no sign here that says humans are not allowed."

"You want a sign!? Here!"

Baxia's fists pointed at Zhen, from his wrists up to his shoulders, the porcupine blasted Zhen with an array of needles! Each flying faster than an arrow, the needles buzzed as they hit Zhen! Or did they!?

The sound of his needles thumping as they pierced their target made Baxia celebrate, laughing as an icy mist spread from the impact of his needles.

"Take that you arrogant wench! My needles can pierce even armor, you had no chance!"

His spikes immediately replaced by pumping qi into his skin, Baxia had been firing endlessly for about a minute now, sure this human is covered from head to toe with his spike? Baxia halted his assault.

The human should be dead, but what was this uneasy feeling that made even his bestial instinct tremble? Like the jaws of a mighty dragon ready to snap shut and swallow him.

"Armor!? Please, such bar is not worth to measure against my ice."

The mist faded, revealing a layer of ice, thin enough to make it transparent and to produce the illusion of Zhen being hit when all of Baxia's needles stuck in Zhen's defense.

"Impossible, h-how!?" Baxia panicked, his arms pointed again at Zhen.

Ah, but the porcupine had his fun, it was time for Baxia to answer for his disrespect. The thin ice shattered with tremendous force, unbalancing Baxia for a split second. And that split second was all Zhen needed to slam her knee straight into Baxia's stomach. The porcupine lurched from the pain, he was about to fall forward but Zhen extended a most cruel assistance as her hand prevented Baxia's collapse by choking him and raising him up to the air.

The spirit beasts around them quivered in fear, who was this human for her to handle Baxia this easy!?

Zhen tossed Baxia beneath Daji's feet. There, Baxia groveled to the very woman she slandered.

A blade made from ice touched Baxia's neck, drawing a drop of blood, sending an terrifying chill down the porcupine's spine.

"What do you say, my dear Daji, shall I behead this beast?"

Like ice, Zhen knew when to embody its coldness, a merciless blizzard, she will behead this porcupine if Daji wills it. Zhen's tempered fury differed from Qiyue but it still as vicious.

"Sister Daji." Baxia held his hands together, pleading and kowtowing, the mortal reminder of what will happen if he failed to earn Daji's forgiveness hanging over his neck. "Everything I said before was a bluff, we missed you! Please, don't let this human kill me!"

Daji's sadism flared, her villainous laughter grazing everyone's ear. His life is in Daji's hands, Zhen truly knew how to get her going.

"So now I'm your sister? Hmmm, let me see." Daji crossed her legs, deep in thought. "Your blood will simply sully Zhen's ice and I don't want to tarnish my name further with this being my favorite place and all. Since you're my fellow spirit beast, I shall let you live."

Upon hearing her lover's words, Zhen grabbed Baxia by his throat, throwing him into the group of frightened spirit beasts.

His fall softened not by the group, but by the hands of a seven-foot-tall divine beast. Behind him, a blue fortress that he carried wherever he went.

"Brother Xuanwu, it's them! They're the ones wreaking havoc in this restaurant, they even tried to kill me when I stepped in to stop them!"