First Connection (Part I)

In a plain and simple white dress, a young woman carefully poured a steaming, transparent liquid over a batch of flower petals and other shimmering materials. 

Very quickly, a pleasant aroma lifted and filled the room. 

Pouring some of the tea out into two wooden cups, the daughter proceeded to pour more liquid into the teapot. Then, she poured another time into two porcelain cups, creating an even stronger aroma than the first.

Instead of placing these two cups on a tray to serve, she gently cradled the cups in her hands as she walked from the hidden side serving area to the middle of the room.

There, an older man and woman were sitting down. The man looked a little pale, but the woman next to him radiated youth from her aging body, highlighted by the vibrant hue of red she wore on her lips and clothes. 

Very carefully, the young woman knelt before presenting the cup first to her father, and then to her mother. 

As the cracks of morning light drifted into the room, the parents took gentle sips from their cups. 

Despite their warm smiles, their eyes were full of bittersweetness, nostalgia passing through their minds and shining out. 

Misting at the eyes, the father gently called out. 

"Ting'er, you have grown so much… You have blossomed into my pride and joy."

He crouched over to hold his daughter, hugging her in a tight embrace. 

After lifting his daughter up to stand, he grasped her hands, sneakily passing along a small yet heavy red pouch.

Feeling the shapes and weights of the objects inside of the pouch, his daughter's eyes quickly watered.

"Father! This is way too much!"

In response, he smiled playfully.

"I couldn't very well give you four or an odd number, so take them."

"But still–"

"No buts! I know that even though you've wanted to cultivate since young, we have forbidden you to, and I can never compensate you enough for that sacrifice. So, I hope that these can come in handy when you need them. Or, you can buy whatever your heart desires."

Laughing, the young woman's spirits lifted as she cheerily responded.

"If I did that, then I'd have to come back to you for more!"

Joining in the laughter, her father joyfully responded with a cheeky smile.

"Ha! I'd just have you work for it by putting you and your memory to good use. You even increased this past year's earnings by a tenth!"

As the two smiled at each other, the father's enthusiasm mellowed as he gently gave his daughter a reminder.

"There will always be a home for you here."

"Okay, okay, it's time for the bride to get ready and for you to go! We can't let her be late to her own ceremony!"

Although she had been warmly smiling at the side, the mother realized that they were getting behind schedule, and so she had to step in. 

Nonetheless, despite his wife trying to hurry him off, the father still stood there, looking at his daughter with pride on his face. 

"Dad!" 

When his daughter joined in, he was finally able to break out of his nostalgic lull. 

"Okay, okay. I'll leave it to your mother to get you ready then."

Li Ting's mother, Li Mei, was finally able to rush off her husband before she welcomed a platoon of maidservants into the room. Judging by the assortment of goods and precious materials they brought in, they were getting ready for war. 

After most of the maidservants had already filtered inside, a few at the end carried in the largest weapon: a red dress emboldened by patterns of lotuses, silver coiling all around the sides. 

The ensuing hectic mess of preparations spun Li Ting into a whirl of busyness, not giving her much time to think about anything else. 

Finally, after the maidservants did most of the work, Li Mei rushed them out of the room as well.

Smiling, she went over to her daughter who was sitting down and relaxing from the former battle. 

Li Mei took the opportunity to pull back her daughter's hair with a comb.

"I am so proud of you, Ting Ting," she mentioned as she stood behind her.

Li Ting's immaculate face was shining, standing out even in the marvelous red ceremonial gown she wore. 

With a smile, she retorted back, "Stop it, Mom." 

Ignoring her daughter's lighthearted response, Li Mei continued combing without saying a word. 

When she was almost finished, Li Mei briefly paused, seemingly contemplating something. 

Soon after, she took out a pair of ruby-red earrings before gently attaching them to her daughter's ears. 

Continuing to smile, Li Ting watched as her mother made the final touches to her appearance.

Suddenly and mischievously, Li Mei tossed her daughter's hair in front of her face, causing them both to break out in laughter. 

"Mom!"

"Fine, fine."

However, before Li Mei put her daughter's hair back into place, she took out a glowing shard, allowing a small flurry of energy to float inside her daughter's earrings before the crystal fully dissipated.

Then, she restored her daughter's vision, pulling her hair back and combing it again to make it all neat and tidy. 

As Li Ting took in her appearance, her smiling expression faltered as she thought of the events ahead of her. 

Noticing her uneasiness, her mother reassured her, pointing out the flowers on her dress.

"You are just like those lotuses. You've grown up pure and strong and beautiful–and everyone can't help but look at you." 

Seeing her expression regain some confidence, Li Mei gave her daughter some final well wishes before she left to greet the groom's party at the edge of the estate. 

"Don't worry. Everything will go smoothly."

———

Li Ting opened her eyes, escaping the mire of memories from the morning of the day she was kidnapped, memories that consumed her in her sleep. However, when she saw the being above, she wondered if she had never left.

A dark crack was in the sky, surrounded by 11 golden orange orbs and 1 red orb of light. 

Looking down at her was the 'eye' that she had seen a few times before, but now she was fully prepared. 

Li Ting slowly lifted her hand to her chest, gently caressing the necklace that she had worn ever since she was a little girl. 

The action helped soothe her nerves, and it was just in time. 

"Human. I've been watching you."

Although the eerie statement crept into her mind, Li Ting maintained her calmness. 

She squeezed out a thought she voiced in her mind, determined to confront the being in front of her with courage.

"What are you?"

"..."

When all that occurred in response was a silent pause, Li Ting's caressing turned erratic, playing with her necklace at a faster pace and with much greater force. 

Before she built up the courage to repeat her question, she received her response in the form of a slow, meandering whisper that echoed around her head. 

"I am a Spirit Eye."

Slowly ruminating over the reply repeated in her mind, Li Ting's courage took a blow as her face turned a pale shade. After taking a few moments to thoroughly process the information, Li Ting was finally able to voice out her thought. 

"Eh, what is a Spirit Eye?"

"..."

Similar to how the Spirit Eye had never seen a human before, the human had not seen one of the Spirit Eye's kind before either. 

The Eye considered providing his description that he had seen so many times before, but since it was revealed to him through a worldly secret, he decided to keep that part to himself, even if the human was his connection. 

He did, however, determine that he could tell the creature before it anything that wasn't a 'secret'. 

"As a Spirit Eye, my purpose is to see. Recently, I've been watching creatures like you." 

"Uh… Okay, that's a start. So, uh, what's your name?" 

"A name?"

"It's what you call someone."

A brief pause elapsed in Li Ting's mind until a reply surfaced from its deep recesses. 

"You can call me Eye."

"Umm, I don't think that's right. How about I give you…" 

Li Ting faltered as she took in the sight of the being above. Its colored orbs froze, wide and threatening like that of a lizard's opened frills. 

She immediately decided that it was probably best that she didn't offer a name of her own. She wasn't that presumptuous.

"Okay. I'll just call you Eye—that's fine, right?" 

Li Ting's voiced thoughts slowly shook as she clarified her permission. 

She couldn't mess up when facing something that looked like neither a monster nor a beast nor anything else she had ever heard or seen before. 

Meanwhile, the Eye continued to review his connection's new status in his mind. He confirmed that the creature was no longer in an abnormal state, which made him feel a tinge of relief. 

Finishing up with checking out the creature's new status, he slowly responded. 

"I'm fine with that."

Although the Eye was currently sharing her vision, Li Ting felt like it was staring down at her–trying to pry into her deepest secrets. 

On the other hand, the Eye was mildly curious over what the human before it referred to as names, pointing out in his mind that it was possible the creature also wanted to be called something–maybe it wanted to be called Human… or Man.

"What do they call you?"

"M-me? Or do you mean my kind?"

"You."

"I am Li Ting, and just so you know, I'm human."

Given the response that differed from Human or Man, the Eye noted that the applications of a name were to be used to differentiate creatures of the same kind. 

He thought back to how he had introduced his name as 'Eye,' considering it now slightly inappropriate given the circumstances, but he quickly reasoned otherwise. 

He had already given the creature before him the name to call him. There was no changing that. 

The Eye pondered more. If he met with another Spirit Eye, he would probably have to come up with a new name at that time. Or, even better, maybe the other would for him.

"Have you seen another Spirit Eye before?" 

"No. I have never seen nor heard of something like you existing before."

"..."

With that failure, the Eye questioned whether he should explicitly tell the creature before him that it was now his connection. 

The Eye hadn't told the Night Wolf before, but at that time, he had judged that from the wolf's improved ability, it likely had natural talent and quick wits. So, it would have been able to understand even if he didn't explicitly tell it.

The creature before him, however, wasn't talented. It had no abilities or skills. 

Without hiding anything, he told the creature the truth quite plainly. 

"You are now my connection."