The haitang bloom, only for you

As soon as lessons had finished, the young and feisty disciple Mo Ran uncharacteristically left in a hurry.

"Where are you going, A-Ran?" piqued Shi Mei, the gentle-mannered disciple gathering his medicine books in hand.

"Uh, I have something important to do today! I'll see you later, Shi Mei!" the other called hastily over his shoulder.

Sorry Shi Mei! I'll treat you to dinner next time! thought Mo Ran guiltily as he ran towards one of the many forests situated throughout Sisheng peak.

For the past few weeks, Mo Ran had run out of lessons as soon as they had finished, not even stopping to talk with Shi Mei or bicker with Xue Meng.

Everyone had thought it strange, but casually dismissed it as him indulging in his scandalous pastimes. Little did they know that it was something much, much more innocent.

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The disciple's soft-soled shoes pounded against lush grass and hard stone until he finally arrived at the wide entrance to one of the dense forests of Sisheng Peak. Stopping for a few moments to catch his breath, he wiped sweat off his forehead with an arm before starting to run again, his memory jogging as he slid smoothly under low-hanging branches and swerved around numerous trees. He had already memorised the route, his mind going through the twists and turns many times before he went to sleep at night.

After all, he desperately wanted to see him again.

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It wasn't too long afterwards that Mo Ran finally stopped at a small clearing, deep in the forest.

The clearing glowed under the sunlight - the area was practically brimming with magical energy. And at the very centre of that clearing, where the energy was the strongest, grew a gigantic enchanted haitang tree, towering high over the other trees that surrounded it. Something like this was easily missable, despite being so large - the forest that housed it was much, much larger and dense with foliage.

The long, thin branches of the tree swayed gently in the breeze, the haitang spread along the branches bloomed brightly, the scent the flowers exuded intoxicatingly sweet as if beckoning him to come closer.

Mo Ran inhaled that scent fully as he walked over to stand beneath the tree.

Tilting his head up to look into the uppermost branches, the small disciple called in a loud voice - "Little fairy, come out! I'm here!"

At first, there was no reply.

Then all of a sudden, the small breeze that had been blowing picked up and started to become stronger, the haitang petals from the tree falling and swirling around and around beautifully in that wind, the sweet scent of haitang blossoms permeating the very air.

Finally, a miniature figure burst forth from a haitang flower and descended gracefully towards the disciple, his bright red butterfly wings flapping gently. The fairy was small in height (only four centimetres tall!) yet had the appearance of a thirty-year old man. He was beautiful as can be, his phoenix eyes alluring, his skin porcelain-white, his long hair dark and smooth, the flowing pale robes he adorned made of the softest satin, contrasting with the gorgeous red haitang that he was eternally surrounded by. He wore a small frown on his face, yet Mo Ran still found him beautiful.

Finally coming to a stop in front of Mo Ran, the fairy spoke.

"How many times do I have to say this? When conversing with one's elders, one must speak with respect," the tiny haitang fairy tittered, hitting Mo Ran softly on the nose. Mo Ran scrunched up his nose.