Author's note: Sorry for the VERY long delay in updating, guys! I've been extremely busy with my published works this past year. I promise I haven't abandoned this fun project. I want to see it finished, too!

...

Marinette was rather pleased with her little experiment. She'd been nervous going through with her plan, but now that she'd done it, she felt a giddy sense of victory.

Adrien's reaction had been almost perfect. Almost, because even though she'd hoped that he would invite her to come into the shower with him, he hadn't.

Oh well. It was a long shot after all. And she knew this was a war of attrition. She had to wear him down over time until he didn't have any fight left. That meant she would have to be patient.

When Adrien emerged from the bathroom, hair darkened and spiky from being towel dried, Marinette grinned at him from the bed.

"Well, the shower is all yours now." He smiled and chuckled nervously.

"Thanks." Marinette hopped off the bed and paused on her way to the bathroom to give Adrien a kiss which he cautiously returned, eyeing her suspiciously.

When she had finished washing away all the makeup and product residue in her hair, feeling more like herself again, Marinette left the shower and wrapped an enormous towel around her body. She dried herself off a bit, then stood at the bathroom door, hesitating.

She'd purposely not brought any clothes into the bathroom with her so she couldn't chicken out. But now she was faced with the moment of truth. She would either have to walk out into the bedroom wearing nothing but a towel, or she'd have to call him through the door, pathetically begging for some clothes to put on.

"Ugh, don't be stupid. Just do it!" She finally growled to herself under her breath.

She straightened her shoulders, held her chin high, pushed open the door and walked out.

"He's not here," came a sleepy familiar voice came from the bed. Tikki was relaxing on one of the pillows, a little red and black lump tucked into the clean white fabric.

Marinette let out a huge breath, not sure if she should feel relieved or frustrated. "Where did he go?"

Tikki yawned. "I think he went down to the lobby. He said something about us all going out to see the sights."

Marinette stomped her foot. "What? We just got here!"

Tikki sighed and gave Marinette a look that said, you know why he's doing this.

"Fine. I guess I'll get dressed." Marinette rummaged through her luggage until she found a stretchy dress and comfortable but stylish walking shoes, clothes she'd packed for whenever they happened to be in civilization.

Once she had her clothes on, Tikki settled into her bag while Marinette twisted her damp hair up into a bun, and they headed out of the room.

Adrien was waiting in the lobby of the hotel when she got there, reading a pamphlet. He looked up and smiled when she called his name. "I was thinking that we could walk around the city for a bit and maybe get some breakfast."

Marinette sidled up to him and peeked at the pamphlet he was reading. It was all written in Chinese, of course.

"What are you reading?"

He unfolded the pamphlet so she could see the pictures inside. "Just some advertisements for local shops and attractions. There's an antique store nearby, a few good places for char siu bao, a zen garden, and of course the old city wall. Did you know it's over seven hundred years old?"

Marinette was starting to get a little interested in spite of herself. "That does sound fun. But let's not stay out too late. I want to get some sleep before our flight tomorrow." She yawned, adding emphasis to her words.

Adrien grinned. "Of course!"

The ancient city was fascinating, beautiful, and intimidating. It seemed like everyone stopped to openly stare at them as they walked down the street together. Some people even brought out cameras and took pictures.

"Are you famous in China, too?" Marinette asked. She didn't see any posters of Adrien, the super-hot fashion model, plastered anywhere.

"No, I think it's probably because I have blonde hair, actually. It's supposed to be lucky or something." He ran a hand through his golden hair and chuckled.

Sure enough, Marinette saw a couple with a camera snapping pictures of Adrien and animatedly making motions to his hair.

"Wow," she breathed.

"Hey, are you hungry?" Adrien had stopped in front of a shop in the wall of the stone building they were walking past. Steam was billowing out of an opening above. One side was open and a young Chinese lady was taking orders. Behind her, a man was working, quickly placing buns in round bamboo baskets and then stacking them over pots of boiling water.

"That smells wonderful," she answered.

Adrien smiled and took her arm, leading her up to the window.

The lady behind the counter smiled expectantly at Marinette and looked a little surprised when Adrien placed their order instead, in perfectly fluent Mandarin.

When their order was ready, Adrien handed a couple of the steamed buns to Marinette. "Zhūròu bāozi is my favorite. Be careful, though. The inside is scalding hot."

"You have to know how hot it is when you do that," she muttered, gingerly picking at the dough to let out some steam.

Adrien started in surprise and blushed. "Huh? When I do what?"

"Speak Chinese all smoothly like it's no big deal, even though I'm the one who actually has ancestors from this country." She nudged his side with her elbow and smiled as she took a bite of her bun. Adrien was right, the meat and liquid fat inside was hot enough to burn her tongue. But it was also incredibly delicious.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Then he cleared his throat. "How about we look around at some shops? You can practice your Mandarin some, too."

Marinette chuckled. "You should have seen me the last time I tried to learn Mandarin. My poor uncle probably thought I had Tourettes."

Adrien laughed with her as she took his arm again and they walked down the row of buildings.

The streets were narrow and packed with people. Every half block or so there were street vendors selling grilled meat or rice bowls or fried dumplings. Marinette even spotted a few random chickens strutting around like they owned the place. But the strangely congested streets didn't stop cars, mopeds, and bicycles from squeezing through.

"Let's try that place." Marinette pointed to a shop front painted red with two golden lanterns hanging outside. A white ceramic cat sat in the window, waving its paw invitingly.

The room felt stuffy and smelled of dust when they entered. An old man seated behind the counter smiled brightly and greeted them in Chinese when he saw them, but didn't move from his chair.

"Look at all this stuff," Marinette breathed. There were vases, statues, books, figurines, intricately carved chopsticks, mirrors, strings of pearls, everywhere she looked she saw more amazing and beautiful items.

"Ah, French? You speak French? " the man asked with a thick accent, smiling even brighter than before.

"Yes, that's right," Marinette smiled back.

"Good! I need practice. The other shopkeepers all learn English. But French is more beautiful language."

"Well, you certainly know beautiful things!" Marinette said, admiring a silk fan with an intricate scene painted on it. She was afraid to touch anything, positive that her natural klutziness would destroy anything she laid her hands on.

"I think someone else knows beautiful things. Yes? Your boyfriend is a very lucky man."

"Husband, actually." Marinette smiled. "What is this one?" She leaned in to get a closer look at a small figurine tucked behind bigger and flashier items.

"Ah, husband, even more lucky then." The old man's smile stayed plastered on his face as he climbed out from behind the counter to see what Marinette was looking at.

On a small shelf in the corner by the window sat a small carving that looked like it was made of onyx. Completely black. It resembled a fierce black cat with wings.

The man's smile faded when he saw the figure. "Oh, you found one of the only unlucky things in my store. This is a carving of Qiong Qi, one of the four evils of China."

"Qiong Qi?" Adrien asked, coming over to look.

"Yes. It is said that Qiong Qi is ageless and powerful. He can speak the languages of men. But he confuses people's minds and takes joy in starting wars. He is a god of chaos and destruction."

Marinette and Adrien looked at one another for a moment.

"I'll take it," Marinette said.

"But...madam. This thing may bring you bad fortune. Are you sure..."

"Yes. I'm sure. I think even gods of chaos and destruction need good homes. Don't you?" She smiled at Adrien and he smiled faintly back.

The store owner took her money, wrapped the figure carefully in a newspaper, and tucked it into a bag for her, bidding her good fortune.

They left the store and Adrien led them to the stairs that led up to the top of the city wall. Hundreds of years earlier, this wall was a major military defense for the city. Now, it remained as a beacon of pride for the people of Xi'an and no small draw for tourism.

The wall towered twelve meters high and stretched just as deep from one side to the other on top. Marinette strolled along the stone walkway behind the battlements, gazing down on the protected city below. It was still early enough that not too many people were out and about, not even tourists. Now and then a jogger would huff past them, running shoes slapping against the hard stone.

They came to a place where the wall turned a corner at the edge of the city. An ornate watchtower stretched up above them, with a swooping curved roof and detailed stone carvings. Marinette leaned against the inner battlement to stare at the impressive architecture.

Adrien followed her, leaning against the wall close enough that his arm touched hers.

"Why did you buy that figurine?" he asked.

Something in his voice told Marinette that it wasn't just idle curiosity that made him ask. She raised an eyebrow at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking that made him sound so hesitant.

"Honestly? I think it's because it reminds me of Plagg. Cat god of destruction, dark powers, kind of dangerous, you know?"

Adrien chuckled, but still seemed nervous. "I can see that. But Qiong Qi is supposed to be truly evil. I've learned about him from Chinese Mythology classes."

Marinette laughed. "But maybe he's just misunderstood."

"Qiong Qi is not evil!" A little voice squeaked from Adrien's pocket.

Surprised, Adrien and Marinette looked down to see Plagg phase into view and hover just over the stone battlement. "Just because he has dark magic, doesn't mean he's evil. I mean, come on! I have dark magic, does that make me evil?"

"Nobody said you were evil, Plagg," Marinette soothed, confused at the little kwami's irate tone.

"And nobody said it was because his magic was dark..." Adrien added. Then he blinked. "Wait a minute, are you saying that Qiong Qi is real?"

"Yeah, he's real. A lot of these creatures that you humans think are just mythological are real and wandering around the world just out of sight."

Marinette glanced at the bag in her hand, remembering the fierce pose and vicious expression of the dark beast wrapped up in the newspaper within.

"Maybe he used to be good, but I think he took his job a little too far," Tikki chimed, poking her head out of Marinette's bag. "I mean, rewarding liars?"

"Yeah, but..." Plagg started.

"Starting wars?"

"You don't understand..."

"Stealing from the virtuous?"

"You aren't going to let me say anything, are you?" Plagg grumbled, his eyes in narrow, annoyed slits.

"I don't see how you can defend that kind of behavior!" Tikki said.

"Maybe because I always understood him better than you did! He did take after me more than he ever did from you."

Tikki's mouth fell open in indignation. "I think I understand him pretty well!"

Marinette and Adrien stared at one another for a second.

"Wait a minute! 'Take after?'" Marinette demanded.

"As in, how a child takes after his parents?" Adrien finished.

Plagg and Tikki frowned at each other for a moment. Finally, Plagg looked up at them and sighed. "Yeah, that's right. Qiong Qi is our offspring."