Even this year's exceptionally long dry season was already more than halfway over.
All living things were waiting for the floods from the mountains.
Early one morning, Famu visited Xing Rui's Green Marshland.
Algae filled the marsh. Xing Rui had half her body submerged in it, while the other half rested against a rock, her emerald scales sparkling in the sunlight.
Famu had brought prey, but not just any prey. He had brought the corpse of the old Crowned Heron, its deathly pale body bloated from soaking in the water.
Xing Rui was a little happy to see Famu. They hadn't seen each other in a long time, and the rainy season was approaching. When it arrived, little would be able to threaten this Black Typhon, who was as sturdily built as a female.
"I'm glad to see you're still alive, Famu. How lucky that the drought hasn't taken your strength." As soon as Xing Rui spoke, she regretted it a little. It sounded as though she were mocking Famu.
Famu put the bird's corpse down on an open patch of ground not far from Xing Rui. He climbed out of the marsh and found a shady spot to coil up.
"Heavens, how have you managed to grow so sturdy during the dry season?" Xing Rui examined Famu, her gaze involuntarily drawn to the muscles beneath his black scales. Famu's bulk was outrageous. Some fatter female Typhons could reach this size, but Famu was pure brawn.
As for the male Typhons Xing Rui knew, those fellows always cowered beneath their Sifus' bellies. Their bodies were slender and long, with no comparison to a monster like Famu.
"What did you eat to grow like this? Could it be that your Black Swamp really has abundant food that helps Typhons grow?" Xing Rui couldn't even be bothered to soak anymore. She crawled over to Famu and stroked his black iron scales with her tail, feeling the tough, powerful muscles beneath them.
"Grandmother Zonna above, I admit I've never seen a freak like you!" Xing Rui exclaimed as she felt him. "Even your scales are so beautiful!"
Famu was completely oblivious to Xing Rui taking liberties with him. He picked up the old Crowned Heron's corpse and set it in front of her.
"For me?" Xing Rui was delighted.
"A gift." Famu nodded.
"A Titan Feather-Crested Heron, no less. Few Typhons hunt these birds. They build their nests too high up, and they're extremely wary." Xing Rui seized the old Crowned Heron's corpse in her jaws, lifted her head and swallowed it in a few gulps. As for how it tasted, Typhons never cared about such things. That was human thinking.
After a moment, Xing Rui froze. She looked at Famu in surprise, with even a trace of emotion in her eyes.
"That was a Furnace-Core Creature? Grandmother Zonna, I love you to death!" Excited, she brought her head close, but Famu nimbly dodged. With his dragon-transformed neck vertebrae, it was almost impossible for Xing Rui to get close to him.
After trying a few times, Xing Rui confirmed that Famu truly had no interest in her at all and dejectedly drew her head back.
"How did you manage to hunt prey like that, and why are you willing to give it to me?" Xing Rui sounded a little aggrieved.
Famu found it hard to understand Xing Rui, who was young and yearning for love. To Xing Rui, how was Famu giving her prey of this caliber any different from pledging themselves to each other for life? This was a love token, a love token!
"It was drinking by the river. I lay in ambush in the river channel and attacked it. I've already eaten its Biological Furnace Core. I thought the remaining parts were worthy of your friendship," Famu said.
"Besides the Furnace Core, the most important part of a Furnace-Core Creature is its bones. They contain a great deal of Earth Vein Energy too. You were willing to give me this Furnace-Core Creature's corpse. It's a gift beyond measure." Xing Rui turned her head. "That was the best food I've eaten during the dry season. I'm grateful to you, Famu. If you need anything in the future, just say the word."
Famu looked at the Green Typhon beside him.
The last time he came, he and Xing Rui had been about the same length. Now Xing Rui had grown longer than him again, though she wasn't as bulky.
It was also possible that Famu was too short. He focused on the strength of his bones and muscles and hadn't deliberately tried to increase his length.
"Has your Furnace Core fully matured?" Famu asked.
"Yes, Child of the Earth. My Furnace Core maturing helped me grow a little bigger, though I still can't compare to you. It's a shame this is the dry season. If it were the rainy season, and I'd eaten a lot before my Furnace Core matured, I might have grown even better. I can only make do now. How is your Furnace Core developing? I'm older than you, after all, so I can give you some advice about it."
"I don't feel it growing much anymore. It may have stopped," Famu said.
He didn't say that his Furnace Core had already fully matured, or that he was exploring a Muerjia's skills. Xing Rui still regarded him as a sturdily built member of her own kind, but if she learned that his Furnace Core had matured during this dry season too, she would look at him as an aberration.
Famu somewhat regretted having said he was so young.
A ten-year-old male Typhon was probably not even half his size. To ensure his survival, the Staff of Life had accelerated him through his Typhon childhood. He had become a subadult almost immediately after birth, and by his second dry season, he was already an adult Typhon.
"Don't be discouraged. That's normal. You still have four years before you become an adult. When the time comes, a priest from the King's Territory might take a liking to you, and you could become a renowned high priest," Xing Rui said reassuringly.
"Couldn't I become a Muerjia?" Famu asked.
"A Muerjia?" Xing Rui was a little surprised that Famu would think that, and could only answer truthfully, "I don't know."
"As far as I know, males don't have the potential to become Muerjia. They aren't strong enough to become lords of a territory." Xing Rui shook her head. "A Muerjia's authority is limited to her own territory, but she must shoulder the burden of wars between our entire species and other species. In the past wars of blood and fire against the Dead Sun Armor, more than half the Muerjia died, and the Furnace Cores of those still alive have nearly lost their vitality. Their authority comes from their duties. Muerjia are honored lords and guardians respected by other Typhons."
"It seems your mother taught you a great deal," Famu said.
He came to the point.
He wanted to ask about a Muerjia's skill in applying power.
"No, my Sifu, who raised me, told me all that," Xing Rui said.
"What about your mother, that honored Muerjia?"
"Don't joke. My mother has lived a long life, and her offspring are spread throughout this network of waterways. She has no time to spare for those of us destined to leave and live independently. Our Sifus raise us from childhood, and when we turn three, we're driven out of the territory to fend for ourselves."
"Have you ever met your mother, then?"
"I've heard of her," Xing Rui replied without much emotion. All warriors grew up this way.
Famu hesitated at that.
He had overestimated the importance Typhons placed on blood ties. Muerjia were distant from their offspring, let alone passing on their skills. As a child, Xing Rui could only listen to her Sifu tell her stories.
"But I think you really might become a Muerjia," Xing Rui suddenly said.
"Why?"
"You're a little different from those males who inherited the shadow." Xing Rui studied Famu, looking at his iron-blue face and his thick, fearsome torso. He was like a super-individual born for war.
"And you're generous. If you become a Muerjia someday, you won't mind if I come to your territory and ask for a place to live, will you?"
"Overthrow your mother?" Famu joked.
"Sure! I've disliked the sight of her for ages!" Xing Rui nodded repeatedly.