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Treasures of Heaven and Earth

Apologies to my Readers Real Life issues have caused me to decide to place this book on Temporary hiatus. I will resume when I have a sufficient buffer of chapters to ensure the situation does not reoccur --- Why is it, that no matter how many world shattering heroes rise and fall, no matter how many times a realm is said to be depleted of resources, a hero rises again - burning all the resources they find as they go? Another inheritance is always found, another spirit herb, magical artefact... and no one asks why they never seem to run out... ...what keeps creating all these fortunate encounters? Why? And what happens if it stops? --- Warning, this book is a slow burner - rather than a fast paced DBZ style novel

WheeledWriter · Eastern
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152 Chs

Xuánwǔ and Quilin

Chún's eyes were crossing as he tried to follow the movements of the woman's weapon without moving. His eyes widened as the length of black reared up much like a striking snake in front of his face - as Tai's 'voice' rumbled out around them - and then he realised that the 'weapon' was actually a thick braid of the woman's hair, not a whip as he had thought.

This close, he could see that her hair was woven through with a delicate, black, filigree chain - its links worked very much like snake scales - down the length of the braid, leading into an elaborately sculpted snake head hairpiece, made of the same metal.

The eyes of the hairpiece were not sculpted, but the same flat, intent, black that he had seen looking back at him in the larger Essence illusion just moments earlier. The snake swayed from side to side as it focused on him, the hair caught up in the chain filigree coiling like the body of a cobra as the mouth of the hairpiece suddenly shifted into a fanged gape;a wisp of dark yin shaped like a serpent's tongue, briefly drifted outward along with a sharp hiss.

The Xuánwǔ's hair ornament must be similar to Bái Hǔi's 'Tiger Headdress' when the Tiger Prince was in his 'Human' form, Chún thought idly as he concentrated on keeping his body absolutely still; his experience with Cobras during hunting and gathering had taught him that any movement could cause a reflexive strike. If this was a normal cobra or even an Essence Beast cobra below Sky Level it would not be a concern, but he was pretty sure that this snake's fangs would inject Pure Yin, which would definitely injure him.

"Who sspeaks?" the woman asked sharply. This close to the 'hairpiece', he could hear a second voice with a slight hissing accent coming from the snake's mouth underlying the woman's alto. He grimaced and struggled to breathe as the pressure from her foot increased, feeling the ground sinking beneath him as his body was pressed downward by a force far in excess of what the slender, almost androgynous, black-cloaked figure standing above him might reasonably be expected to be able to exert.

Chún was suddenly glad for his Sky level of Cultivation and body tempering - he had no doubt the average Earth level would have been crushed by now, to say nothing of a mortal.

Yet, he got the distinct feeling that she was very much in precise control of her power - for one thing, the pressure from her aura on his link with Tai was much less oppressive, unlike his experiences with Prince Bái or His Majesty Flood Dragon - which could mean she was weaker - but if anything, she had dealt with him quicker than the Tiger Prince had, even if Bái had been holding back during their 'spar'.

"I am Tai, The Hidden Mountain - and the Planet on which you currently stand," the rumble of the ground as it shifted and quivered, the sound of the wind blowing through the grasses and a roll of thunder from the sky combined to form the words that boomed and echoed around them, "Give me some face and permit my True Cultivator to rise, Lady Xuánwǔ."

The snake hair-braid reared back in startlement even as the weight vanished from his chest; blinking, Chún took a deep breath in and sat up, leaving behind a deep, body-shaped depression on the ground behind him.

The woman was watching him warily, just out of reach of a lunge at full extension. Dark eyes narrowed above her black mask and focused on his movements, with the eyebrows drawn together - presumably watching for a retaliation.

The young teen True Cultivator decided it was probably better if he established his bonafides - slowly and carefully holding up a palm politely, he grounded the World Tree Staff as he stood. The black-cloaked woman shifted restlessly, her cloak rubbing together with a near silent rustling that reminded Chún of scales rubbing together.

Choosing to ignore that, he closed his eyes and focused on cleaning up the storm of Wild Essence that the brief but intense fight had released, re-opening his eyes as he felt the familiar rush of tangled Essence energy flowing into him, then passing through the World Tree Staff and back out into the ground as pure unaligned Essence, washing away his own injuries in the process.

There was something of a startled sound from the demi-god level legendary Essence Beast; Chún had to jerk his head back as her face suddenly appeared next to his, close enough to see that the strip of white 'skin' visible between her mask and the wide headband was actually made of very fine, tiny, white scales and the delicate 'eyebrows' made of dark scales. Her eyes were more like a turtle's than a human's - with a pronounced roundness and dark colored outer part that was only slightly lighter than the black of her irises.

"Hmph." She snorted softly and Chún stepped back carefully, bowing as he did so, "My apologies, Lady Xuánwǔ - we appear to have gotten off on the wrong foot," he stated blandly.

"Your skills are passable," the woman answered abruptly, "Inadequate from a True Cultivator with a powerful locus though."

The critique was delivered flatly and the body language - Chún was confused, because it seemed almost absent, except for a very slight tilting of the head - he would not have noticed that without his Sky Level Cultivation and accompanying improved senses.

"Chún only awoke me forty-four days ago," Tai's voice was measured, despite the implied insult "before that day he had no cultivation to speak of - beyond some instinctive ability to release small amounts of Essence."

The Xuánwǔ straightened her head, but her 'hair braid' was a lot more expressive - sliding up behind her back to appear over her shoulder to stare at Chún. "Impossible," it hissed flatly. The woman's hand reached up and patted the snake 'hairpiece' almost absently as her eyes blinked slowly at the young teen.

"Excuse me, Tai," Chún spoke aloud for the benefit of their audience, "I understand the Dark Lady here is a very powerful and legendary beast. But you keep telling me about be careful with whom I share that sort of information with - and yet this is the second time in less than a week we have shared this information with a relative stranger," he bowed carefully in the direction of the lady watching him with that curious intensity, "no offence intended to you, Empress of the Northern Heavens."

"Princess," was the short reply, "No Heaven yet," was added after a brief hesitation, Chún could swear the slightly softer follow up comment was almost embarrassed.

"Oh - just like Prince Bái…" Chún blinked. Then scratched his head, "Tai, I know I am not a genius, but - it strikes me as unlikely in the extreme that we suddenly conveniently have younger generation representatives of the Four Heavenly Guardians appearing."

"Well…" Chún could swear Tai sounded a little strange, "I will admit that I had not thought any would arrive so quickly after I advanced past a hidden land, let alone one after the other, but…"

"How long?" broke in the woman brusquely, but the tone held a definite note of curiosity, from the woman standing across from Chún, still watching him as if he was a particularly interesting puzzle.

"It has been around two weeks since I broke the first Celestial Chain, Lady," replied Tai in a respectful tone - and that was odd to hear in the rumbling of the earth - thought Chún in bemusement at just how odd his life had become, as his friend continued, "the World Tree grew some time before that, I will admit - but as I said - less than two months ago I was merely a small mountain on the Golden Crow Planet."

The hand petting the hairpiece stilled and a feeling very much like shock emanated from the still figure as Chún rubbed his forehead, "is there a reason you are explaining all of this to the powerful being who could do us serious harm? I mean… I sort of slipped up with Prince Bái, but…"

"Xuánwǔ would not hurt new world, young boy," interrupted the woman, "We were right. There is great treasure." She reached up and unwound the cloth covering her lower face - and somehow her forehead and neck - at the same time.

Chún blinked in surprise. The young woman had delicate but strong features that somehow straddled the line between masculine and feminine - if it was not for the lack of a throat knot he would have said she was a měishàonián, rather than a girl. The thought strongly reminded that he too had become much less overtly masculine looking himself recently and he realised he was surreptitiously touching his own throat knot in reassurance.

This person's appearance reminded him of characters from a particular sort of story that he had heard once when Chún had sneaked into Granny Chu's house to listen to the Storyteller tell tales to the village women, curious as to what he was missing out on.

Granny Chu's house was where the younger village women congregated during the day once their individual chores were done - gossiping, sowing, and working together on 'women's work' that needed several sets of hands - and drinking Granny Chu's tea.

Instead of the stories of Immortals and clever Essence Beasts that the Storyteller told the small children at the village temple courtyard, or the stories of battles and adventure he recited for the men at the wine house, at Granny Chu's he told stories where Court Scholars and male immortal fairies had all the women swooning after them, even as they had secret affairs with each other instead.

It had all seemed very unlikely to Chún, even as a young boy, that any man could look 'even more beautiful than a jasmine flower', no matter how the woman giggled and blushed - and asked the Storyteller to keep telling more tales. He never bothered to listen to the stories at Granny Chu's again - the clever Essence Beasts who could talk or the battles were much more interesting!

"Mountain Planet. Your Northern Heaven is unguarded?" The Xuánwǔ's body language shifted to a tenseness that was all the more obvious for the lack of previous overt body language, with arms held stiffly by her sides and clenched fists in the black gloves that creaked under the force.

"It is. Do you have other obligations?" Tai's 'voice' was solemn now and Chún could feel a familiar pressure building that he remembered from when the Tiger Prince had sworn to become the Guardian of the West.

"Tai…?" Chún spoke carefully, bowing respectfully towards the young woman who somehow conveyed the definition of 'quiveringly still' - perhaps it was the agitated shifting of the hairpiece that gave it away - "is this wise?"

"We apologisse." The woman spoke abruptly, bowing sharply at the waist, "True Cultivator - we undersstand your concern. We assk - do not deny uss." Even as she spoke the pressure that his link with Tai was under - as controlled as it had been - vanished.

"You seem to be rushing this, Tai," Chún sent quietly in the link as the woman remained in the bow, "is there a reason she must become your Xuánwǔ?"

There was a heavy silence in the link, then Tai replied, "For there to be a Xuánwǔ… it seems almost impossible. Do you know how rare it is that a true Xuánwǔ is born? I did not expect to see one for a million years - I had merely hoped that the World Tree and having two Guardians would be enough to keep my Heavens stable until one appeared."

"Are you sure about that?" questioned Chún, "I mean, the Tiger Prince just showed up…"

"And that was also unusual - most Tiger Princes are killed by incumbent Tiger Emperors, dying fighting for mountains - or take over another's Tiger's mountain after killing him. I had expected to have to wait for one of my own Essence Beast tigers to advance into the form of a White Tiger in a few thousand years or so…" Tai paused, his tone almost desperate, "Xuánwǔ are very blunt - even more so than White Tigers - if she swears to be Guardian then she is trustworthy - if you turn her down, I may never find a Northern Emperor before I destabilise!"

"That is another question - are not Xuánwǔ normally primarily male?" asked Chún, "I mean - she could pass for male, but…"

"That would be a question to ask her," pointed out his locus, "but I would be careful..."

Chún sighed and gestured politely towards the still bowing young woman, "Please do not - there is no need to bow, Princess… truly, I merely wish a chance to speak with you and determine what sort of person you are - before - you are made responsible for holding up a quarter of my partner's sky.

A shùnqǐng later and the woman was again standing straight, watching him silently, "We are… Princess Bingqiǎo," she said slowly, after a long moment, "This young planet is your locus, True Cultivator?"

"I thought that was the sort of thing Legendary Guardian Beasts sensed instinctively?" asked Chún with some sarcasm, then winced, "Apologies, that was... unmannerly of me."

A very quirking of those eyebrows indicated the dual-aspected demi-god had not taken offence, "No less than our earlier lack of attention," she let an almost imperceptible sigh slip out from between thin lips, "singular focus is a failing of ours."

Chún let his own eyebrows rise, "Ironic."

The oviparous hairpiece coiling over her shoulder hissed in clear amusement and after a heartbeat, Bingqiǎo inclined her head slightly, "travelling to particular destination?"

Chún blinked and let out a short laugh, "I have no fixed destination - just going north. I have not explored this way since - well, actually, not ever - even when Tai was just a small Mountain, I never had reason to go to the north side. But Tai asked me to check the north and try and fix any issues left over from the Heavenly Tribulation…"

The Dark Princess blinked slowly, then let out a soft laugh that sounded remarkably like the chiming of icicles brushing together in a winter breeze, accompanied by the amused hissing of her hairpiece, "Accompany you, True Cultivator? We have expertise regarding - Northern climes."

Chún looked at her carefully, "Your word that you will not attack me without warning, Lady Bingqiǎo," ignoring how she stiffened and the snakehead went still, both staring flatly at him, he held their gazes solidly, not being overtly offensive, but refusing to back down.

"Prudent and logical," she allowed after a moment, "we swear, on our honor, that we will not allow any harm to the True Cultivator."

Chún bowed back carefully, "I am Rén Chún, Lady Bingqiǎo. I likewise swear on my honor to act fairly with… both of you. I would welcome your company."

A measure of the tension the woman was displaying relaxed. Taking that as an agreement, Chún took a moment to establish his cycle of Essence through his Essence Seeds and then rose back into the air, setting back off in the direction he had been travelling earlier at a comfortable speed.

---

Chún looked over at his silent companion who was keeping pace with him by his left shoulder. A kè or so had passed with the two of them flying northward in silence, the grasslands passing underneath their feet steadily.

"My locus tells me that Xuánwǔ are rare. It seems odd to me that I would meet two Guardian Beasts in less than a week," he remarked casually.

"The other was White Tiger,"observed the woman flatly, "taught you the Sacred Style."

"There is also a Flood Dragon living on the Mountain," Chún added casually as he nodded agreement, "according to my locus he has been here a very long time - so it is probably not the same - but technically, I have managed to meet three myths in less than two months."

"True Cultivators considered myth also, so not strange," answered Bingqiǎo, "but accepted White Tiger quickly, why hesitate to accept us?" There was a clear tinge of coldness in her voice.

"He at least introduced himself and explained his reasons before he attacked me," answered the young teen ruefully, "truthfully, I am slightly suspicious of such good fortune - Tai has told me he had hardly hoped for a Xuánwǔ to appear after a millennia - I find it unusual that an unattached Xuánwǔ just happens to wander onto the Planet."

"En," agreed the personification of everything cold and dark reluctantly after a moment, "suspicious."

They flew onward in silence for another kè until she sighed slightly, "Only learnt Sacred Style last week?"

"Last three days or so actually," admitted Chún, "I apologise for not being able to give you a better fight, Prince Bái only gave me a day or so of instruction before he left."

That faint hissing which indicated amusement from her snake half sounded out, "We apologise - under the circumstances we are forced to incredulity at how far you pushed us." She paused for a few moments, then muttered under her breath, "We are curious how you would grow under a proper teacher. Hmph, Bái Hǔi - always leave without caring for responsibilities."

"As to that - he did happen to mention that a Xuánwǔ would be a much more appropriate teacher," Chún agreed, feeling a slight embarrassment at mentioning it, "I do not know any formal martial arts - certainly no one would teach a orphan boy any such thing," he said with slight bitterness, "I have been trying to meld what I have been taught by the Tiger and the Snake… with observations of my own - mostly watching monkeys and bears to create a way to fight - since I seem to be constantly getting into fights since all this started."

"Truly? Tell us, what have you observed… monkey, of course! That was what was mixed in with the other movements!" there was a slap of fist in palm and Chún blinked, glancing over in startlement, caught aback at the sudden animation and interest in the previously almost apathetic voice and body language.

He almost stumbled in mid-air to see large, sparkling eyes staring at him and taking up almost all of his vision. Was that glitter coming from those oversized eyes?

She returned to her previous position in a shùnqǐng - if it was not for the slight flush on high cheekbones - he would have thought he imagined it. She lifted one small, black gloved hand and coughed delicately, "apologies - we enjoy discussing martial pursuits - although we enjoy learning anything new."

"That does fit with the stories I have heard of Xuánwǔ… although I never heard of any female ones," Chún flushed, "ah… I did not mean to…"

The laughing chime of icicles interrupted his embarrassment again, "gender fluid at Immortal levels of Cultivation. Ask Bái Hǔi."

Chún's eyes widened, "He might have… alluded to something of the sort… possibly."

There was a definite sense of amusement coming from her although her body language and voice had reverted to the previous restrained forms, "This form we were born to - most comfortable. Considered unusual - although, Xuánwǔ are personifications of Yin - we are almost always male, though Xuánwǔ can pass quite easily for either."

"You are all měishàonián, in other words," Chún could not keep the embarrassment from his voice.

"You, also?" she asked pointedly and Chún flushed, "I am still not used to how Cultivation has changed me," he muttered.

"So you attacked me because you like to fight and were too focused on the treasure you were looking for to realise I was not just a - Consumer," concluded the teen, "thank you for not simply killing me in the first blow."

"No need - preferred interesting fight," answered Bingqiǎo.

"I got lucky?" groaned Chún in realisation.

"Yes." There was a definite twinkle in her eyes at the reply and Chún rubbed his forehead in an attempt to push away a growing feeling of helplessness. Instead, he lapsed back into silence and focused on flying northward as he considered furiously.

---

Several kè passed before Chún felt able to articulate his thoughts again. "You seem… eager to become a Guardian," he said eventually, looking over his left shoulder again and choosing his words carefully.

"True new worlds, rare. We are young… and female primary. The chance to be accepted as Empress is unlikely. Other Xuánwǔ would insist we are unsuited - place their sons to take the position," the young woman said shortly.

"I thought free Xuánwǔ were rare," asked Chún, "if you are here then, who would be more suitable?"

"Other Black Tortoise - not yet true Xuánwǔ. Sons of other Dark North Lords. New Planet, chance to advance to true Xuánwǔ - a few thousand years," she explained, that cold bitterness seeping through again.

"They did not like it when you became a Xuánwǔ faster than their sons, I take it," remarked Chún, remembering various village arguments that erupted whenever a woman proved better than a man at doing anything considered 'man's work'.

Part of him found the thought of Tai being put in danger, being forced to wait, just so someone else - with a 'better' status - could have a chance to advance, a profoundly foolish notion. Someone like that probably would probably not be happy with having to work with an ex-peasant either, True Cultivator or not. Tai's own feelings in the link could be summed up as, 'why wait?'

"We adventure and study… experienced fortunate encounters," shrugged Bingqiǎo, "envy is..."

"And it is important to have a Heaven if you are Xuánwǔ?" speculated Chún, "only… it seemed more than the opportunity not being available that bothers you - and I remember what Prince Bái said about White Tiger Kings and their mountains."

Bingqiǎo hesitated, then her shoulders dropped slightly, "Without Heaven - all Essence Beasts with Guardian potential vulnerable. Xuánwǔ more. Others escape hunters easier than Tortoise-Snake. All defence fails eventually."

Chún's mouth dropped open, "Who would hunt Demi-God Essence Beasts?"

"Other Gods. White Tiger root, Black Tortoise-Snake soup, Dragon pearl, Phoenix egg, feather… Guardian blood. Powerful materials - help immortal advancement. Without Heaven - Guardian beast's powers restricted. We are not true Xuánwǔ, without a Heaven," her voice was flat, almost monotone, "female Xuánwǔ - very pure Yin - very rare. Highly prized."

"They will not find you easily here," reassured Chún, "Tai already has a World Tree - it would take a high level Immortal to break through without his consent."

"On the other hand," remarked his locus in the link, "the longer she remains in one location without a Heaven and her full powers restricted, the more chance it will attract the attention of someone willing and able to break through - this delay is unwise."

Chún blinked even as the woman looked over at him with a knowing gaze, "Ah… I suppose... even so - it might eventually attract unwelcome attention."

She nodded, satisfied that Chún was not completely naive and he sighed, "I do not suppose you might know of a Phoenix that is also looking for a home? Only, I worry that we have filled the cold and wet elements quite quickly - there might be some imbalance if it stays that way too long."

"En… world dry. Needs Dark North for rainfall balance - Flood Dragon too weak still," Bingqiǎo's voice was still matter-of-fact, but held a confidence, "call Phoenix later."

"Tai, is she right? Are you still having water issues?" asked the teen True Cultivator in concern, through the link.

"After the first stabilisation of the gate between here and Golden Crow, there was an increase in precipitation, but it has begun to drop off again - I had wondered why," agreed his locus, "perhaps this is why I feel so urgently about this."

Chún stopped in midair and Bingqiǎo halted beside him, "it appears that my concerns are foolish - indeed, it is possible we need both of you, as much as you need us," he admitted softly, "would you have time to teach me still if you become a Guardian, Lady Bingqiǎo?"

"Important we train you," her voice was distant and deeper than the previous alto, "many strands twine around you. Perhaps - why Guardians were born - and why We are female," a quirk of lips passed for a smile, "Quillin and Guardians so far, male - too much Yang. Bad balance. Phoenix needed soon."

"I do not really understand," answered Chún after a moment, "but if you take the job, I have to warn you... the mountain has already had to fight off Destroyers once, there might be an unorthodox Consumer cult taking an interest in us - and there are apparently unorthodox True Cultivators who would like nothing more than to see Tai and I all twisted into a treasure land of destructive Cultivation - to say nothing of the crazy things I keep stumbling into - had to fight off Sky level beast wave with some sort of nasty worm creature leading it once..."

The answering smile was all fang and no humor, "World Eaters worse than Demons. Even Demons will fight them - and we kill demons. We will fight - we keep young planet safe. And train you - beat stupid Bái Hǔi."

"Prince Bái is really not that bad," rebutted Chún weakly, but a distinctly unimpressed huff was the only response as Chún bowed his head and sunk down into the grassland below them until they both stood firmly on the ground, facing each other about two chǐ apart, "in that case, I agree with my locus. We would be honoured to have Lady Bingqiǎo as Guardian."

There was an instant sensation of intensity and pressure as Tai's attention was suddenly entirely focused on both of them and the hairs on the back of Chún's neck stood up as both heads of the Xuánwǔ stared at him unblinking.

A shùnqǐng later and the young woman was suddenly on one knee, speaking with voices that shook the ground with odd resonance, despite being no louder than normal, "Our Blood and Ssword. Command Uss, Golden Quilin Emperor."

Even as the words seemed to freeze the world in place, there was a sharp ringing as Bingqiǎo's sword suddenly appeared in white jade hands that were suddenly ungloved, sliding across her palms.

Black blood spilt from the gashes. A massive wash of frozen air gushed out as the drops hit the ground, even as Tai shook like a struck bell. Chún's essence sense suddenly resonated with the now familiar sound and feeling of a great gong being struck. Tai's voice spoke out from everywhere like a rolling earthquake as the ground trembled, "Pledge accepted - Xuánwǔ of the North. The Dark Lady defends the Heavens. The Heavens must not Fall."

A rush of bitterly cold, black Yin flooded upward to form traditional Empress' crowns on both of the Xuánwǔ's heads, a fall of dark jade beads falling downward from each crown to obscure both their faces.

A massive illusion made of black Essence mist - of a Xuánwǔ with abstruse patterns on its shell that appeared to hold up the sky - suddenly appeared behind the young woman, all four of its gargantuan legs disappearing over the horizon as the snake body coiled around the pillar-like legs. Both of the mountain-sized heads of the Black Tortoise and Snake extended outward and down to look proudly at the Cultivators standing ant-like below them.

"We accept!" Her voice filled and stilled the air in time with the movement of the illusion's gaping mouths as Tai shook in response.

Chún staggered as the illusion and cold vanished leaving him standing across from - he supposed - Empress Bingqiǎo.

"That was worse than last time," he grumbled, then bowed to the new Guardian Beast, "We will do our best to prove worthy of your oath, Dark Lady."

"Quilin should not bow," a much more confident voice sounded from beneath the veil.

"I am just a young True Cultivator and barely that," answered Chún wryly, "I have some sense of my own status."

"Many sacred animals in one - Golden Quilin. Golden Emperor commands the Guardians. Golden Quilin is the center," remarked the woman whose now shimmering black cloak suddenly had faint patterns of tortoiseshell evident, picked out in gold and jade as the beads on her veil shifted aside like curtains to reveal a much more animated and suddenly striking face.

"Well, yes - that is the orthodox form of the Si Xiang," agreed Tai in the link, causing Bingqiǎo to tilt her head in acknowledgement, her eyes sparkling. Chún remembered Tai telling him that it could speak to the Guardians much like it spoke to him.

"Golden Quilin is Earth. Tai is Earth. Hidden Mountain Tai and Rén Chún are one. True Cultivator and locus together represent Golden Emperor Quilin," pronounced Bingqiǎo in satisfaction.

Chún's mouth dropped open, "so that is why Prince Bái kept calling me Boss…"

The icicle chime laughter came again as Bingqiǎo covered her mouth beneath a dainty black gloved hand and a sniggering sound came from the snakehead as it swayed over her shoulder under its own miniature crown and veil.

"Ssilly Bái Hǔi not sso sstupid… Boss," agreed the Xuánwǔ.

"Not you too," groaned the young teen, "it just makes me sound like a gang leader…!"

His only reply was a pair of laughing voices caring through the early afternoon air.