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Conn looked after her and sighed.

I moved to the second chair and motioned him to come sit on the couch. “Sit with us if ya can stand to watch us eat. I’m sure Mulan went to see if Rasmus was right.”

Conn’s chuckle was soft. “Did the two of you finally settle things between you?”

I rolled my eyes at a smirking Rasmus. “Let’s just say the guardian and I are adept at reaching truces.”

“What she means is that Aran and I have an understanding,” Rasmus said to the most important demon in my life.

“Is that the understanding that you both have needs that only the other can meet, which you finally decided was more important than your grievances?”

I rolled my eyes at Conn’s summary. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rasmus grin at Conn and nod.

Mulan rushed back into the room. She threw herself on Conn and kissed his face. When he kissed her back, I actually blushed.

Where was the reserved Wu Shaman today? Not in my sitting room. That was for sure.

She finally turned to look at me and Rasmus. “Guardian is right and I know many fixes. You can help me. We do more Wu Shaman training. This satisfieseveryone.”

More fascinated with Mulan’s excitement than my food, I set my plate down and stared. “So Rasmus is right?”

“Yes. Most jiangshi were hunted and killed. Chinese emperors paid magickals to destroy them for good. Our jiangshi was never captured. He possessed a demon, which is why he has a demon form now. It all makes sense. And seems right,” she said, patting her chest.

Mulan didn’t have an artifact there, but she used the energy of her heart in her work.

To my utter shock, Mulan jumped up again and ran to Rasmus. She took his plate away, set it aside, and slid onto hislap to hug him. “Thank you, guardian. Thank you. This solves all problems for me.”

“Uh...” Rasmus uttered in shock as he awkwardly patted Mulan’s back.

He stared at me over her shoulder with pleading in his gaze. Conn and I both dipped our heads to hide our smiles. Mulan was happy, which was a very rare sight. Rasmus would just have to suck up the embarrassment of hugging her.

Then, just as quickly, the happy Wu Shaman slid off his knees and nearly skipped back to the couch. She put a hand on Conn’s shoulder. “I go tell family now.”

“I’m going to be unhappy with them if they don’t go along with your plan.”

Conn gazed up at Mulan in adoration as he spoke. I was glad that I’d stopped eating because my throat closed up with emotion. I would have choked if I had tried to swallow.

Mulan squeezed his shoulder. “Rasmus and Aran trust me. You trust me. I am Wu Shaman. I will do what is right no matter what my family thinks. I bend to them no more.”

Conn nodded. “Then that makes all this torment worth it.”

“When you feel better, I will apologize well for pain they caused you.”

Conn’s chuckle seemed to be all the response she needed to her coy offer. She reached into her bra and pulled out a decorative fan. Flicking it out while she smiled at me, it transformed into her staff. “Thank you for dinner, Aran.”

“Ya’re welcome, Mulan. If yer family business doesn’t take long, come back.”

“I will because I must take Conn home after. My demon needs pampering.”

“Good Goddess, Mulan.Neversound that eager. It goes straight to a man’s head.”

“I know, silly witch. It goes to other places too,” she said with a giggle before trotting out.

This...thiswas exactly why I’d made the stupidest deal of my life with these people and now lived in a stupid museum of a house. They provided me with both a family and fun.

The love they had for me equaled my own for them. It provided me with the most essential thing a person could ever discover in any lifetime.

I wiped away a tear before noticing Rasmus and Conn were both staring at me. I extended my finger and pointed it between the two of them. “If ya say one word to Mulan about me crying over her being happy, I’ll torture the two of ya until ya beg me to end yer lives.”