Jin Shu trudged through the forest, carrying two blood-soaked, squirming children—one a husky-sized tiger cub, the other a chick-sized golden sparrow—in his hands. He stopped at a small waterfall that spilled over a cliff face into a crystal-clear pool. The sight was beautiful, serene… and a perfect place to wash the two hellions.

Without thinking, he began to strip off his outer robe so it wouldn't get soaked. When his hands moved to his waistband—

"Oooh~!" Li Xue's voice sing-songed behind him.

He froze, hands lifting away from his pants, and turned with a flat stare.

"I swear, if you record me again, I'm going to…" He let the threat hang.

"What? I wasn't—well… maybe I would… but…" Li Xue squirmed under his gaze.

Jin Shu turned away, rolling his eyes and grabbed the two would-be escapees, rolled his pant legs up, and waded into the icy water. Once it reached his knees, he dunked both of them under at once.

"Ahh! Coooold!!" Yin'er shrieked, thrashing like a drowning cat and splashing water everywhere.

"C-c-cold…" Ji Ji trembled, feathers puffed out until she looked like a golden pom-pom.

From his earring, Jin Shu produced soap and a cloth scrubby. Lathering it, he began scrubbing blood from fur and feathers while the two squirmed desperately to get free of the freezing water.

"This wouldn't have happened if you two listened," he scolded evenly. "What did I say? Don't play in blood, and don't eat raw food. And what did you do?"

"…Played in blood," Yin'er admitted with a pout.

"…And ate raw meat," Ji Ji whispered.

"You're both lucky I don't wash your mouths out."

Hic!

Ji Ji hiccupped in fright, clapping her wings over her beak. "Nooo! I didn't say any bad words!"

Jin Shu tilted his head. "So you get your mouth washed out with soap when you curse?"

She nodded quickly, eyes wide.

"Well, I won't do that. So don't worry."

Her head lifted cautiously. "Really?"

"Mhm."

By then they were as clean as they were going to get, so Jin Shu carried them back to shore. Producing a towel, he began drying them off.

From beneath the towel, two bright flashes of gold and silver flared. A moment later, instead of the tiger cub and sparrow he expected, two little girls' heads peeked out—humans, or rather spirit beasts that had taken on human shapes.

It was the first time he'd ever seen Ji Ji's human form, and it wasn't what he'd expected. She had told him she was eight years old, but the two girls were the same exact height… and Yin'er was only three.

She was very small for her age. Still, standing side by side, they looked like sisters—adorably mismatched ones. Ji Ji's golden hair contrasted Yin'er's silvery locks, both framed by round cheeks so soft they seemed to beg for pinching. Together, they were simply too cute.

"Aww, they're so cute!" Tian Li squealed.

Before Jin Shu even realized it, the three women had crowded around him. Tian Li plucked the girls straight out of his arms and, with practiced ease, bundled them tightly in the towel so they couldn't escape.

Her expression was utterly smitten, and the other two weren't far behind.

"They're such little cuties!" Biyu cooed.

"If we had kids, do you think they'd be this cute?" Li Xue asked, eyes sparkling with mischief.

Tian Li blinked at the bundled girls, her gaze glazing over. "Kids…?"

"Yeah. You know how to make them, don't you?" Li Xue teased.

Yin'er tilted her head innocently. "How are kids made?"

"I know!" Ji Ji declared proudly. "Momma said immortal storks bring babies to a mommy and daddy who love each other very, very much!"

Li Xue and Biyu burst into giggles.

"That's right," Biyu said, patting Ji Ji's golden head.

"Will my babies really be this cute…?" Tian Li whispered dreamily.

When she glanced up at Jin Shu, her eyes carried a strange, almost feverish gleam. It was enough to make his stomach tighten. He took an instinctive step back, searching for an escape. His heel brushed the edge of the water.

"Hm. This water is unnaturally cold," he said quickly—half as an excuse, half in genuine realization.

He hadn't noticed before, assuming it was just his own difficulty circulating qi in his body. But now that he remembered Yin'er and Ji Ji crying about the cold—even with their qi-hardened constitutions—something didn't add up.

"I saw something above when we were approaching earlier. I'll go check it out. You all… have fun."

With that hasty excuse, he turned away.

Coming to the foot of the cliff, he spotted a narrow, winding pathway that snaked upward almost to the top.

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"I said it as an excuse, but I really do wonder why that water is so cold," he muttered aloud.

"Maybe it's melted ice water from the mountains?" Shuang offered.

"I don't know. Those two exaggerate sometimes, but I'm fairly certain they were being genuine. That water was painfully cold… more than what melted snow could explain."

"Be careful. It could be the work of an ice-type beast," Gold warned.

Jin Shu nodded and drew his new Desert Eagle, sliding back the chamber to check. Loaded. Ready.

At the end of the path he had to climb the rest by hand. He tucked the pistol into his waistband for easy access—only then realizing, belatedly, that he had never put his robe back on.

He scaled the cliff bare-chested, armed with nothing but his pistol and trousers. He wished for his robes—not only to avoid looking half-naked, but because Tian Li had inscribed them with defensive runes, making them a kind of body armor against blades and claws.

At last his head crested the cliff edge. He froze. Another pool waited above, fed by a taller waterfall that disappeared into clouds. Mist rolled across the stones, warm against his skin.

Steam?

The pool shimmered beneath a thick white haze, more hot spring than icewater.

Blinking, Jin Shu climbed over the edge and stretched a hand into the mist. Heat licked at his palm.

"A hot spring? Then why…?"

"Who's there?!" a voice snapped from within the haze.

He stiffened. He knew that voice, though he couldn't place it. The steam obscured everything.

"I mean no harm," he called back, softer. "I'm Jin Shu, of the Immortal Phoenix Sect. Are you on the extermination mission too?"

"Jin Shu?" another familiar voice echoed.

"Is that really him?" A third voice, faintly recognizable.

"I can't see…" came a fourth, uncertain.

Four of them. A squad. All women, judging from their tones.

"Turn away from the spring," the first voice commanded.

He blinked—then it struck him. They must be bathing.

"…Right. I'm facing away."

Behind him came the splash of bodies leaving water, rustling of clothes, soft footsteps on stone… and then a distance crash.

"You can turn now."

He turned, and blinked again.

Four women stood before him, curious eyes fixed on his bare chest. He recognized two instantly: Bing Hou and Zhu Ren. The other two he couldn't recall by name, but he remembered their faces. Both had ranked in the top four during the tournament—one the girl with manga-like paintings, the other a twin-blade fighter.

The artist. He suddenly remembered he'd never tracked down the scroll she'd mentioned in the library. What had happened to it?

"So it is Jin Shu." Zhu Ren twirled a dagger between her fingers—his dagger.

His brow twitched. He'd almost forgotten he'd accidentally given her his entire set of knives.

"Why are you here, Jin Shu?" Bing Hou demanded, a sword dangling at her side in a way that looked far too ready to swing.

He threw his hands up in mock surrender. "I was at the pool below. The water was freezing, so I came up here to investigate."

And to get away from a lunatic woman who looked ready to jump me and have my children… he added silently.

Three pairs of eyes immediately cut toward Bing Hou, who flushed and looked away. "I… don't like heat," she muttered after a moment. "So I froze the water around me…"

"I see." Jin Shu raised a brow, curiosity flickering across his face. Just how cold did she make it?

With nothing else to add, he fell into silent observation. Finally remembering the names of the two women. Mei You Ren—the artist—and Wudao Jia—the swordswoman—looked much the same as they had during the tournament. Only now Mei You Ren wasn't encased in ice, and Wudao Jia had traded her dancer's skirt for a plain robe.

Then there were Zhu Ren and Bing Hou. They too were unchanged, though it wasn't as if much time had passed. Barely over two weeks, yet to Jin Shu it felt like an eternity with all that had happened. He had glimpsed them again during his rebirth, but had been in no state to notice details.

"What's that between his legs? A weapon?" Mei You Ren whispered—loudly enough for him to hear.

"His legs?" Wudao Jia followed her gaze downward, and her face flared scarlet.

Bing Hou and Zhu Ren caught on at once, their weapons snapping toward him.

Jin Shu blinked, baffled. The only thing between his legs was his Desert Eagle. Sure, it was a weapon—but hardly something to panic over. Until he glanced down and realized it had slipped from his waistband, bulging awkwardly sideways inside his trousers.

"Wait—" he began, but a blade and a dagger pressed to his throat cut him off.

"Were you peeking at us?!" Bing Hou accused.

He wanted to deny it outright, but faltered when he noticed their wet robes clinging to every curve. Still, he hadn't peeked.

"No, it's my weapon—"

"It's a weapon, alright…" Wudao Jia muttered.