Yu Zhu couldn't bring herself to go back to the oak tree after listening to Lin Yu's story. For days she spoke little and ate even less. Lin Yu was worried, but Grandfather only shook his head and told her to leave Yu Zhu alone. she looked as lost as she did when she came to the cottage four years ago.
Slowly, Yu Zhu seemed to get better. Yet sometimes, Lin Yu caught Yu Zhu staring at the direction of the forrest. One day, Yu Zhu looked out the window and realized that she hadn't been back in the forest for half a year. On some nights the acorn floated like an ethreal dragonfly around her room, trying to lead her to the forest. Yu Zhu threw it away in annoyance, determined to forget about the glowing god in the forest.
Yu Zhu pushed herself into her martial arts studies, learned medicine, and fought against Ho Pa Lai whenever he tried to bully the weak. On a lazy summer day, Lin Yu spied that Yu Zhu was staring at the forest again and decided to distract her.
Lin Yu hugged Yu Zhu's arm, and realized that Yu Zhu had grown so much taller in the last four years and a half years."Yu Zhu, let's go to the market. We can go see Wan Tu today." Yu Zhu looked so lost for a moment, not comprehending what the snake demon girl said.
But then it was as if a mask came back on and she smiled, "Yes. Let's go. We can bring him some fresh buns" The two girls chatted happily, Yu Zhu seemed to be back to normal in Lin Yu's eyes. They walked into out of the cottage, through the willows and into the the the busy market.
"Get your fresh vegetables here!" A ruddy young boy of thirteen or fourteen hollered at the top of his lungs, his monkey tail waving happily over the crowd of demons, "Nightshade, watercress, and fresh demonsgrass from the sea!" He shook flaming purple plants above his head as he smiled cheerily.
Lin Yu waved to Wan Tu and summersaulted across a sea of people and into his sparse little stall. "Wan Tu! we brought you buns." The young boy smiled as he saw the two girls. His smile widened as Yu Zhu held out two gigantic white buns filled with savory meat. "We thought you'd be hungry."
He eagerly grabbed them, "Yu Zhu, how is it you can read my mind like that. What kind of demon are you?"
Yu Zhu and Lin Yu exchanged a worried glance. Wan Tu was too busy to notice as he happily chomped on a bun.
Lin Yu took over and began yelling at people to come buy fresh lily buds and cattail roots. Yu Zhu sat with Wan Tu and asked, "Has Ho Pa Lai given you any trouble?" Wan Tu picked at a piece of meat stuck in his teeth as he answered, "Not since you gave him a black eye and wrote "dead pig" on his head with that near-permanent ink. With that trick, you basically protected all of us poor folk from him. Of course, it also helped that after you and Lin Yu hung his lackies by their feet over the town walls."
Yu Zhu nodded, "Good."
Wan Tu wiped his mouth on his sleeve, "You know, the first time you rescued me, I thought Ho Pa Lai would've killed you. But it's been four years and you've managed to make him suffer for every beating that he's given to all of us beggar kids. Half the town admire you, the other half think you'll be spinsters the rest of your lives."
Lin Yu turned around and corrected him, "You aren't a beggar kid anymore, you're a respectable young businessmen."
Wan Tu snorted and nearly choked on his bun, "I'm a six hundred year old monkey demon who use to be a beggar and now own a small vegetable stall that I practically live in on the open market. The only respectable thing about me is that I don't steal anymore." He thought about it, "Well, less than you two troublemakers anyways."
A commotion erupted in the market. Ho Pa Lai and ten of his lackeys walked by, pushing people out of Ho Pa Lai's way. They stopped by the plain little stall. Lin Yu's eyes narrowed and Yu Zhu stood up.
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Daughter of Heaven
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