[centre][img]https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/divinus-iii/images/d/df/Shengshi-logo.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/310?cb=20190112093445[/img][/centre]

[centre][h2]Shengshi[/h2][/centre]
[centre]0MP/0FP[/centre]

Xiaoli could not seem to fall asleep, despite her weary body. The revelry that had followed the arrival of K’nell and Shengshi to the mansion grounds had been tear-jerkingly joyous, purveyed with conjured drinks and foods for all to enjoy. K’nell had sadly left a little early, and Shengshi had retired to his designated guest room in the youth of the night - leaving the river girl with a somewhat anxious weight on her heart.

She shot a glance through the darkness over at the quietly snoring Hermes on the opposite side of the bed. Xiaoli sucked a quiet breath through her nose, gave the back of Hermes’ head a little peck and silently rose out of bed. She quickly undressed and redressed into some more appropriate clothing, slid the door aside and snuck out.

The cool, damp moss kissed her naked feet a few times before it gave way to the prickly gravel of the courtyard. Xiaoli looked down and winced - she would definitely cover this with tiles eventually. Her quiet steps brought her across the courtyard to the guest house, which door she gently pushed aside. The inside was dark, the hallway leading to three lesser rooms. Xiaoli stepped in, took a step forward and pushed the middle door aside quietly. Her eyes blinked and shot glances left and right.

Shengshi was nowhere to be seen - any proof of his presence had been erased through neatly folded bedsheets and blankets; the rice paper and ink stone on the desk had been replaced; the curtains had been pulled aside to let in the fuzzy gardenlight.

Xiaoli felt the weight on her heart grow, complemented by a boiling sensation the heart’s centre. How could he have simply left?! Without saying goodbye, no less! Had all this talk about learning and adapting been lies and deceit?!

[right][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbCjceRPXyw]Gao Shan Liu Shui, performed by Xiang Si Hua[/url][/right]

Then came a sound - a sharp, yet light sound, barely audible, like the faint song of a harp string. Xiaoli’s eyes blinked and she quickly slid the doors shut and ran from the mansion complex. She crossed through the undergrowth and overgrowth of the surrounding woods, her gait turning into a sprint. The branches bit and clawed at her face and clothes, but she pressed on all the same. After a few moments, she reached the edge of the woods - the tree-eater plains. There, by a watering hole surrounded by resting saplings and watchful mother trunks, the snake sat plucking at his harp in the gardenlight. A curious elm trundled over and caressed the snake’s back with its trunk, to which the snake chuckled before gently pushing it away. Xiaoli blinked a few times before she made her way over.

The snake’s music halted for a moment as the footsteps approached, but promptly continued, albeit with a quieted volume. Xiaoli said nothing, but sat herself down in the sweetgrass next to the snake, admiring the reflection of the Garden in the water. A sapling awoke at her presence, its roots tripping over one another as it ran for the safety of its parent. 

For a long moment, the only presence in the empty soundscape was the snake’s claws skipping between the harp strings, the calming song complementing the entrancing light of the Lustrous Garden in the sky. Xiaoli let out a somber sigh, her arms holding her knees against her chest.

“What is the matter, my dear?” the snake spoke softly through the notes. Xiaoli turned her head slightly and glanced upwards at him. While his eyes followed the strings, she felt his attention on her as if they sat face to face. She sighed again.

“My lord, I-... I am conflicted,” she said shamefully. The snake nodded. Xiaoli continued:

“One thought have clouded my mind for a month now; another, for a day.”

The snake hummed. “Share your second qualm, then, for it may be easier resolved.”

Xiaoli’s mouth straightened and she faced forward again. For a moment, she said nothing; then, she asked ever so softly: “My lord, how much of you is in me?”

The snake’s fingers froze for a moment and he looked down at her with pursed lips. As he began to play again, he squinted pensively at the waterhole ahead.

“Your body and mine have little in common, as you no doubt realise. Your form is composed entirely of the materials in that little beck in the jungle. However, your soul is so much more.” He pulled a few strings particularly hard, stirring some of the surrounding saplings to life. The snake gestured to the sparkling Garden in the sky with one hand.

“Your soul, dear Xiaoli, is large fragment of my own, extracted and shaped with the purpose of creating a near-equal - one who could counsel me and act on my behalf. That was your original purpose, remember?” The snake flashed her a wry smirk. Xiaoli looked down in shame.

“Are you ashamed of me, my lord?” Xiaoli asked as her forehead fell upon her kneecaps. The shake chuckled and shook his head.

“How could I be ashamed, my dear?” Xiaoli slowly looked up at him, her eyes glittering with tears in the faint light. The snake put his guzheng away and turned to face the girl.

“I can feel it, you know: your undying love for dear, young Hermes.” Xiaoli blushed and looked away, a small smile forming on her lips. The snake chuckled and gently caressed her black hair. “It pulses through your essence like ripples in a lake for all divines to see.” He gave the flushed river girl a knowing smirk. 

“R-really?” Xiaoli almost whimpered. The snake let out a hissing laughter.

“No, I am just playing,” he snickered and flicked his tongue at her. Xiaoli faked a scoff and rolled her eyes. The snake’s snicker turned to a chuckle, one Xiaoli joined in on.

As the laughter calmed down, Shengshi gave her a soft smile. “I do not think the others can feel it, but our two souls are of such a common origin that our essences are near indistinguishable. You are me, Xiaoli, yet you are your own soul - simultaneously me, my sister and my child.” The snake sighed and faced the Garden in the sky again.

“I suspect the reason you are asking relates to the life growing within Hermes as we speak, yes?” The snake gave her a knowing look. “My most sincere congratulations on that, by the way - remind me to send Arae a gift for her trouble.”
Xiaoli blinked and then nodded enthusiastically at Shengshi. “Yeah, I will! Thank you, my lord.” Her smile waned a little. “Yes… I wanted to know so-... So I could be certain of whether our children will have divine souls. To be born divine, yet have mortal origins - it would doom them to a life of turmoil and escape from other unsavoury parties. I-... I don’t want that for my children.” Xiaoli looked down at her kneecaps again. The snake hummed.

“Their origins will not be mortal, dear,” the snake said. Xiaoli looked up. 

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Yours will be among the first children upon this world. They have yet to be born, yet already are they legends among their future people - the first to trace their roots back to Hermes, the First Dreamer, and Xiaoli, the Avatar of Shengshi. Their origins will be immortalised throughout history - regardless of their ability to bring about miracles or not. With your lineage, their race is tied to me in blood and spirit. -That-, dear Xiaoli, is the true relationship between our two souls.”

Xiaoli blinked. “So you’re saying…”

The snake nodded. “Nevermind the potential for your powers to transfer over to them, which, frankly, I do not believe will happen. The very process of you two…” He paused. “... Forming such a child under your circumstances likely requires so much divine energy in itself that little to nothing remains for the actual child.” He pointed a clawed finger at her heart.

“No, the divinity that you will be passing on to the Dreamers is my undying loyalty as their protector.”

Xiaoli felt her eyes well up. “M-my lord, do you mean it?” she said through the quiet whimpers. The snake nodded, his smile waning.

“No one and nothing shall undo the Dreamers so long as I exist. This, I swear.”

Xiaoli could not help herself. She rocketed to her feet and jumped at the snake’s chest, wrapping her arms as far around him as she could stretch. The snake snickered and closed his arms around her, too.

“Thank you, my lord… Truly,” Xiaoli said.

The snake shook his head. “It is the least I can do for my own blood. Now, what was the second query?”

Xiaoli’s smile waned, but slowly returned to a wrier state. She pulled away and put her hands on her hips. “I see you couldn’t let the moment last a little longer?” The snake raised a brow and smirked.

“You know I am not too fond of hugs, after all. Now speak your mind.”
Xiaoli sat down again and drummed her hands on her thighs. “Well, my lord, this question has been with me for some time… It relates to loyalty.” The snake craned his head backwards and let out a drawn-out “oooh”. Xiaoli nodded and continued:

“A month ago, Hermes and I were discussing the ideals of the Flow - particularly in relation to respect and loyalty. Long story short, the discussion made me doubt the idea about absolute loyalty to one’s master, regardless of atrocities or crimes. Am-... Am I wrong to doubt, my lord? There are just so many instances now where my actions of respect towards the Exalted Creators have been looked upon with skepticism, or been outright rejected. I feel so… Confused.”

The snake laced his fingers and placed his chin on top of them. “No… No, you are right to doubt,” he said. Xiaoli looked up with blinking eyes and slightly parted lips.

“M-my lord?” she said.

“I’ll admit I was green still when I thought up that particular rule. A few points of wisdom had not yet occured to me at that point.” He raised one finger. “Firstly, a drop of clear water in a pool of mud does not make the mud clear; neither can a speck of mud in a crystalline river soil the entire stream - meaning that a consistently cruel master will not be worthy of anyone’s loyalty despite occasional efforts to compensate; and that a consistently good master will still be worthy of loyalty despite occasional atrocities.” 

Xiaoli nodded slowly. “Iiiis… Is that a new addition? I cannot seem to remember it.” Shengshi nodded and raised a second finger.

“Secondly, the line between a loyalist and a traitor is as fine as Nanhese silt - the cruel master will see anyone leaving the ranks as a traitor, but those who oppose the cruel master may see the defectors as loyal to their own cause. Likewise, those who support the cruel master are seen as loyal by the master, but regarded as traitors by the oppressed. Which one of these is in the right?”

Xiaoli cocked her head to the side. “W-well, those who remain with the master are loyal to their master at least, no?”

The snake nodded, a hint of pride contrasted by a pinch of shame in his voice. “Yes, that is true, saintly are those whose loyalty remains steadfast to the good sovereign - but there is a keyword there: the -good- sovereign.” The snake leaned in. “What are the qualities of a true master, Xiaoli?”

Xiaoli blinked and looked back with firm eyes. “As a true master speaks, the voice is like the wind to the grass - with every breath, the grass bows. As a true master watches, the sight is like the light of Helipolis - all-touching, all-seeing. As a true master listens, the ears are like a flood - as it spreads, it consumes all in the four directions. As a true master acts, the hand is like the delta - it forks out in every direction, giving go all who are in need.”

The snake nodded proudly. “I could not have recited it better myself.” He clapped for the blushing girl. “Now tell me - what does all this mean?”

Xiaoli nodded. “A true master is charismatic, observant, open to criticism and requests from its servants, and generous.” 

The snake nodded. “Very good. A poor master mirrors these qualities with their opposites. An uncharismatic master gathers no support; a master blind to the affairs of the kingdom will soon see it fall; a master unwilling to hear criticism and the voices of the people invites rebellion and instability; and a greedy master warrants a replacement. Is this not true?”

Xiaoli nodded. “So it is.”

The snake nodded back and held up a third finger. “Thirdly, all masters are to be respected, but only the good ones are to be served.” 

This made Xiaoli cock her head in a confused manner. “B-but how do we know which leaders are good?” she asked.

“I believe we just defined the rubric,” the snake said with a smirk.

Xiaoli blinked. “B-but… Can it really be that simple?”

The snake made a frown and shook his head. “As some rules, this one is a rule of thumb: However, most master that match this definition of good will be worthy of loyalty; most that fit this definition of poor, will not be.”

Xiaoli blinked again and looked down. She then looked back up with a smile and bowed her torso to Shengshi. “... I… I think I understand. May I ask, though, what does ‘respect’ in this context entail?”

The snake nodded. “Act towards them as you would towards any other master - regardless of their actions and character, their position is still above yours, meaning the standard mannerisms of the five relationships apply.”

Xiaoli nodded firmly, stood up and bowed. “Yes, my lord.”

The snake smiled warmly and bowed back. “Please give Hermes my warmest regards. I must return to the ship before it hits a reef on the shore - and please, Xiaoli… Please do not forget to visit now and then.”

Xiaoli straightened back up and grinned. “Of course, my lord. We will bring the children over some day soon.”

The snake chuckled. “I am looking forward to seeing my grandchildren - or possibly children.” He gave her a knowing wink.
“Farewell,” he said, picked up his guzheng and slithered off.

“Farewell, my lord,” Xiaoli said. 

The weight on her heart had lifted, leaving only the flutter of joy and clarity in her chest. She would have to share this with Hermes soon, but for now, she felt like enjoying the brilliant light in the sky for some time longer.

[hider=The Philosophical Episode]
Xiaoli can’t seem to sleep, her heart heavy with questions. She gets out of bed and moves over to the guest rooms to talk about them with Shengshi. He ain’t there, though, but she hears harp music a little further away, so she heads over to the tree-eater plains, where she finds the Snek playing his harp. 

Xiaoli says she has two queries nowadays: How is she actually related to Shengshi, and what loyalty truly is. Shengshi tells her that they are of the same soul, but that her fears about the kids inheriting god powers is unwarranted - the divine genes will likely build into a divine legacy, which Shengshi pledges to protect.

“No one and nothing shall undo the Dreamers so long as I exist. This, I swear.” is the line.

Then they start talking about loyalty, and Shengshi tells Xiaoli that loyalty is really only reasonable if the master one is loyal to is good. They set the following ground rules for a good master: “A true master is charismatic, observant, open to criticism and requests from its servants, and generous.” 

While it’s not an absolute rule that one should not be loyal to a master who cannot meet these standards, Shengshi points out that one who meets them will be worthy of loyalty, whereas one who doesn’t may not be as eligible.

They end it on a happy note and say goodbye, Sheng saying he will return to the Foot.

[/hider]