White Tiger

Majesty gave the Shen permission to spend a human lifetime with the woman.’
    John dug his chopsticks into the noodles. ‘And there were quite a few noses out of joint.’
    ‘A great many of his advisors wanted the Shen thrown from Heaven.’
    ‘There are always people who want me thrown from Heaven. I am what I am. But I am also a good General and the best Heavenly Administrator. No one can fault my performance. The Northern Heavens are the best run of all.’
    ‘The Shen returned to his wife and child. The wife was killed by a demon. The Shen was given permission to stay with the child.’
    ‘Good thing, too,’ he said through the noodles. ‘I would have stayed with her anyway, regardless of orders.’
    ‘You are absolutely incorrigible,’ she said.
    ‘That’s why you like me.’
    ‘And that’s why I love him.’
    ‘You, Emma, are just as bad.’ Her voice softened. ‘And now he has done this.’
    I understood. My Regency. His oath to me.
    ‘You are in very serious trouble, aren’t you?’ I said to him.
    ‘I don’t think even he realises the depth of the trouble he’s in,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘Tell me the worst.’
    ‘You are in danger of being demoted, Ah Wu. You may lose the Northern Heavens.’
    ‘Good,’ he said crisply. ‘The Northern Heavens are a hell of a lot of work and take up far too much of my time. If I didn’t have to do that, I could spend more time with my family.’ He smiled at me.
    ‘You may lose your Mountain, dear heart.’
    His smile disappeared.
    I knew how much his Mountain meant to him. It was a part of him. The damage caused by the demons still tortured him.
    ‘Can he take it all back, Ms Kwan?’
    They both stared at me.
    ‘Don’t you want to marry me and live on my Mountain, Emma? Why didn’t you say so?’
    I tapped his arm with the ends of my chopsticks. ‘Of course I do, don’t be ridiculous. But I don’t want you to lose your Mountain for me.’
    John and Ms Kwan looked at each other, then back to me.
    ‘Don’t sacrifice your Mountain for me. I can’t bear the thought of you losing what you love. If you can take your oath back, then you should.’
    I turned to Ms Kwan. ‘Please, tell the Jade Emperor that this was all a big mistake. He’ll forget about me and return to his duties. If it costs him this much suffering, then it’s not worth it.’
    John looked away, his face full of pain.
    ‘You are truly worthy,’ Ms Kwan whispered.
    He slammed his chopsticks onto the table and rose.
    I put my head in my hands. ‘Oh no, here we go again.’ I slapped him lightly on the behind. ‘Sit down, Xuan Wu, there’s no need for theatrics. Let’s just talk about this.’
    John sat back down with a bump. ‘I stand by my oath.’ He picked up his chopsticks. ‘Theatrics or no. She is mightily worthy, as you have seen. I want her by my side. If it means losing my Mountain, then so be it.’
    ‘If you lose it, then how can we go live on it?’ I said. ‘Maybe we should just let our relationship go.’
    ‘No. The Jade Emperor can go to hell,’ John said. ‘I stand by my oath. Emma deserves nothing less.’
    ‘You are a tremendous fool,’ Ms Kwan said. ‘But I’ll do my best for you.’
    ‘I’m an even bigger fool,’ I said. ‘You warned me what I was getting into, and I walked into it with both eyes open.’
    ‘We’re a pair of fools together,’ John said.
    ‘You forgot happy,’ I said.
    ‘Eat your noodles,’ Ms Kwan said, sounding like a long-suffering mother. She disappeared.
    We ate in silence. Words weren’t necessary.
    The next day Gold returned and we resumed training. We only had a few more days in the house on the hill and there were still things we needed to learn.
    ‘Only Emma can do the first exercise—it’s energy weapons,’ John said. ‘You’re not big enough to do this sort of weapons training yet, Simone. You can stay back here with Leo if you like.’
    ‘Can we come and watch?’ Simone said.
    ‘No need, guys,’ I said.
    John shrugged. ‘If you want.’
    ‘Oh no, please.’ I ran my hands through my hair. ‘Do you have to watch?’ ‘Yep,’ Leo said.
    We went to the top of the hill. Gold stood me about twenty metres from a straw dummy and passed me my sword.
    ‘Stand well clear,’ John said, moving Leo and Simone away from me. ‘This could backfire. Emma, please be very careful.’
    I glanced at him, concerned.
    ‘You’ll be fine, just take it slowly.’
    I shrugged and turned back to the