Newsprint #10, Psychedelic Purple #26: The White Cloud Technique (Lin Moniao Series)

[ilthit]

Name: The White Cloud Technique
Story: Lin Moniao Series (AO3 link)
Colors: Newsprint #10 (Savor kindness because cruelty is always possible later.), Psychedelic Purple #26 (my heart is filled with things to say) 
Supplies and Styles: gesso; chiaroscuro, interactive art, life drawing, mural, silhouette
Word Count: 42K
Rating: explicit
Warnings: (spoilers covered) Minor violence, sex without romance, romance without sex, implications of sexual slavery involving minors, cult practices, honeytrapping, manipulation, bullying, characters with sex-negative attitudes, unhealthy/abusive relationships, unwanted sexual touching, drugs, murder, pregnancy, discussion of abortion, character death.
Summary: Soon on the heels of his previous mission, Lin Moniao is sent to keep an eye on one of his sect's masters--who has come, unofficially, under suspicion of treachery.
Note: Co-written with minutia_r . Also available on AO3 here, with some more notes and art.


Prologue: A Faithful Disciple

Kaifeng, the capital, surrounded by tall packed-earth walls, with the sprawling grounds of the Dragon Pavilion nestled in its very center. Canals run through it, bringing cool air and taking away what is given them, overlooked by watchtowers of the imperial guard and the towering Iron Pagoda, which can be seen even before one enters the city gates, and only hidden behind rooftops when passing through the regimented grid of the streets.

Unlike busy Handan or industrial Cizhou, here the hand of the empire is ever present, not the least in the form of the gold-trimmed guards. Manors and fine houses crowd around the palace, pushing trade, pleasures and restaurants to the sidelines. Palanquins are not just for wedding processions, but can clog up a fine street corner as too many lords try to enter into the same theater all at once. But people are people, and so the city is just a city, noisy and alive and full of the same smells and sounds, some more pleasing than others.

The house of Master Wu Zhenghao of the Illustrious Qilin Villa Sect is not far from the palace, nor is it built right next to it like the house of a distinguished inner circle official might be. It is a respectable compound for a single gentleman of means to entertain guests in, with an inner courtyard, a temple at the back, and a second courtyard for martial training. When the weather is fine, banquets are laid out on the wide inner porch, but there is also a hall for private gatherings, where Lin Moniao has often sat with Master Wu's guests and other disciples, going through sect business or simply enjoying the pleasure of tea and conversation. Disciples do not enter there, however, at those times when Master Wu is entertaining important guests.

Things are different now. Lin Moniao is no longer a disciple, but a full member of the Qilin Villa and a servant of the God Yu, entrusted to go on important missions on his own, and he has been invited especially to give his report.

Approaching the main entrance of Master Wu's house, after parting from Shi Jia, paying respects to his mother, and changing from his travel-stained clothes into something more appropriate to visit his master in, Lin Moniao feels his stomach sinking like it used to when he was coming here for lessons and he hadn't memorized the reading he was supposed to. An association of the place, surely. He hasn't been here for so long, and he has become different since he was last here, but the place has stayed the same.

Really, that's all it could be. He has no reason for nerves now. There were some complications to his mission in the North, but wasn't it a success in the end? And the information about the Bat, and Liu Xiuling's schemes with regard to Xie Lijuan--incomplete as that information might be--is an unexpected windfall. Master Wu will be pleased with him, what else?

Straightening his robes and checking that none of his hair has gone astray, Lin Moniao lifts his chin and walks up to Master Wu's door.

He is welcomed at the gate by an old friend. Dong Yuan opens the door, his square and weather-beaten face lighting up in a grin. He pulls Lin Moniao into a bear hug and beats his back. "Master Wu said you'd be coming! We meet amidst golden jade and wind dew, eh? How are you? Where have you been?" As he talks, he pulls Lin Moniao into the gate room. The paintings on the inner walls have been renewed since he was last here, showing a peaceful forest scene in muted shades of blue and teal.

Lin Moniao laughs and slaps Dong Yuan's back in return, glad that he's not the one--or at least not the only one--who's forgotten his text today. "Close enough. I've been here and there. Beijing, mostly." That much at least is no secret. "And what about you? Have you been here this whole time? Taking in the entertainments of the capital, drinking the most expensive wine..."

"I did at first, but Master Wu eventually showed mercy and shoved me on a horse. I've just come back from the southwest! Your shixiong has been looking for some secret monks in the jungle... No luck, by the way. I brought back some trinkets, but other than that it was just a lot of scrambling about with wild animals and wilder rivers." He seems enormously happy about this, as if there could be no better way to spend one’s time than almost drowning in rushing water. "I'm staying here in a back room and serving shifu until something else comes up. Soon, I hope."

Beyond the gate house and the yard, they enter into the social room. Everything here is as it was before, with a tea table in the middle surrounded by eight sitting cushions, and everything else perfectly symmetrical and in harmony, including the wooden screens that trammel in the table. But here, too, the paintings on the walls are different. They continue the forest scene from the gate house, but here more depth is added to the blue and teal, then other colors added as the scene continues along the wall and turns into the shore of a lake. The painting flows, adding more color until at the very opposite end of the hall where the sides meet, it shows a lifesize parrot with spread wings, flying over a calm lake. All color seems to flow from this parrot, painting the scenery with the flap of his wings. The painting is new, it is masterful, and it must have cost a fortune.

"Wait here," says Dong-shixiong. "I'll let him know you're here. Let's do things properly."

"Yes, it can't all be scrambling through undergrowth," Lin Moniao agrees. It sounds ghastly; better Dong Yuan than him.

While he waits, he takes the opportunity to examine the paintings more closely, wondering if they're the work of an artist he recognizes, or if this is some new, impressive talent. The brush work is distinctive, graceful, on closer inspection. He does not recognize it, but if he sees it again, he thinks he very well might.

Will he be invited into the study? That happened sometimes when Master Wu was busier than he was social. But instead, after a moment, the master strides into the room from the back. Dong Yuan waves at Lin Moniao one more time over his shoulder, then makes himself scarce.

Master Wu smiles and reaches for Lin Moniao's elbows, pre-emptively stopping a bow. He looks the same as before, gruff and handsome, with a touch of wicked humor in his eye and the corner of his mouth. His robes today are green and black, trimmed with yellow. "Lin Moniao." His eyes run over Lin Moniao, taking in the state of his clothes, his weariness. "Words need not be wasted over how happy I am to see you safely back."

"Then you will easily understand how glad I am to be back." Lin Moniao looks up at his master through lowered lashes. "I regret I was gone so much longer than expected."

"You were injured." He cups Lin Moniao's face, runs the pad of his thumb over his lips. "Don't be so careless next time, or this master will be tempted to lock you up in the treasury at Qilin Villa to keep you safe."

"A thousand apologies for Master's worry," Lin Moniao murmurs, shivering slightly under the touch. "But if you locked me up in the treasury, I couldn't bring back anything else to keep there, could I? Not that I... have brought back anything as such.... but I have discovered some things that I hope will interest you."

"The most important thing is you're here, and whole. Sit, tell me all. I've called for tea." He settles down himself on one of the cushions by the tea table and pats the one next to him.

At the invitation, Lin Moniao sinks onto the cushion, pressed up against Master Wu's side and resting his chin on his shoulder. "Well, when I arrived in Beijing, I had nothing much to go on but a report that the Shadow Manual had been there. I kept an ear out in places frequented by members of the jianghu, trying to pick up rumors without revealing my own purpose. After a few days of this, I was approached by a man of unsavory appearance, but considerably more refined speech. He showed me a token to prove that he was affiliated with the Qilin Villa, and seemed to know quite a bit about me, though I'd never met him. But from what he said, I'm convinced that you have. Beggar Huang is what he called himself."

"Hmm, yes," the master hums. "I meant to tell you about him and his friends. Shifu has some reporting to do, too." He rests a hand on Lin Moniao's thigh. "Go on, darling."

"Mmm." Lin Moniao brushes a kiss against his master's ear before continuing, "Beggar Huang said it was lucky you had sent me, because he had tracked the manual down to a certain tomb, which had been constructed in such a way as to deter grave robbers, and he'd been having trouble gaining access to the inner chambers. He thought a person of my particular unorthodox talents might be able to help. Between the two of us, we did manage to retrieve the manual. If it's not in the treasury already, you need only ask Beggar Huang; he's sure to have it or know where it is."

Master Wu curls towards him, and as he talks, both of them seem to maneuver closer until it is a matter of one tug to pull him fully into Master Wu's lap, until he is straddling his thighs.

"I see. As it happens, I've not seen a page of the Shadow Manual, though the gentleman in question passed by not long ago." Master Wu tuts, shakes his head. "Either he saw no reason to mention it, or he is keeping it secret for some reason. We will have to ask him about it when we next see him. What else?" He presses a kiss on Lin Moniao's neck and runs a hand down his back, along the spine. "Tell me everything, Moniao."

Lin Moniao presses up against Master Wu, trembling deliciously, and a wordless whine escapes his throat. How is he supposed to concentrate on his report like this? It is, he supposes, a discipline like others Master Wu has taught him, not to let lust distract him from his work. Useful--probably one he needs more practice at--but he doesn't like it.

"That's--odd," he gasps, trying to process what Master Wu is saying. "I'm sure he had it-- but I--"

He pulls back ever so slightly. Is it better, or worse, to confess to failure with Master Wu's mouth busy on his neck? "I was careless, it seems, disabling one of the traps meant to deter grave robbers. I triggered it on the way out, and a wall collapsed, and... I think Beggar Huang must have pulled me out? It's all fuzzy." Admitting this is perhaps less pleasant than admitting to making a mistake with the trap. A mistake could happen to anyone, but having a portion of one's memory missing is disconcerting. "I don't remember anything clearly until I woke up in bed, being tended by a disciple of the Ancient Willow Sect."

Despite himself, Lin Moniao smiles. That is a more pleasant memory.

"Beggar Huang saved you? Then he can keep the damn manual." Master Wu's voice gains a dangerous edge at that. His hand continues down until it comes to rest possessively at Lin Moniao's seat, and he brushes a stray strand of hair from Lin Moniao's neck. "And did the Ancient Willow Sect make you pay for that service? Their prices can be steep." Patient, dry little pecks, up from Lin Moniao's throat to just below his ear.

Lin Moniao shifts his hips and rises up on his knees to give Master Wu better access, balancing himself with his hands on his master's shoulders, firm muscles beneath soft silk.

"Ah--not so much." A quiet puff of laughter. "It was more of a mutual payment, in the end."

A laugh rumbles through Master Wu's chest. "Of course, of course. A clever man pays himself twice." He raises his head from Lin Moniao's neck to look at him in the eyes, fond but searching. "Did they... try to get any information out of you?"

"Not more than ordinary curiosity, I don't think." Lin Moniao meets his gaze frankly. "In any case, I didn't reveal any secrets."

"So, you left them satisfied with you? And then, was the journey back uneventful? Anything else I should know before I--"

There was a polite knock on the door and a muffled voice. "Master? This disciple has brought tea."

Master Wu takes a breath through his nostrils and blows it out. With regret, he deposits Lin Moniao back on the pillow next to him and brushes the front of his robes down. "Come in."

Following Master Wu's example, Lin Moniao pulls his robes straight, whether or not they need it, and arranges himself properly on the pillow with no more than a soft noise of protest. He can't remember when he's ever wanted tea less.

The disciple who enters is not one Lin Moniao has met before, and Master Wu does not let him stay long. However, the interruption has ruined the mood somewhat. Master Wu clears his throat and picks up a cup. "So. Anything else of interest?"

"Ah. Well." Lin Moniao tries to shift his attention to his own tea, the sharp, floral aroma of the steam. It is, at least, better than the tea he's had on the road these long months, easily as good as what the Sword Goddess serves to her guests; Master Wu always has the best of everything. "An odd thing did happen once I reached Handan. I was starting to get low on funds, and I only thought to pick up a simple courier job that was being advertised, but it turned out to be more complicated than that. Has Shifu heard of the Obsidian Bat?"

"A treasure?" Apparently he has not.

"So I hear. In fact, I can't be sure if it exists or ever existed--certainly, the item I was tasked with delivering was a forgery of no intrinsic value. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me tell it as it happened."

The first part is easy enough to tell. His first meeting with Wan Lang and Wang Xiaonan. The attack by the Bat King, Wan Lang's treachery, his own and Xiaonan's flight and arrival in Cizhou.

"And then, as it happened, we ran into an old friend of mine at the inn. I don't believe Shifu has met Shi Jia--he had already left Kaifeng by the time I met you. But before that, we both studied under Master Fa."

Master Wu strokes his chin. "Mm. Master Fa has accomplished students. I have not had the pleasure but I do think he mentioned Shi Minshan's son. Uppity, disobedient, disrespectful boy? I know of his father, and his uncle. This meeting was significant?"

Lin Moniao has to laugh. He remembers very well Master Fa's dislike for Shi Jia, and Shi Jia's disdain for Master Fa, though he's never quite understood the reason for it. "That's not necessarily how I would describe Shi Jia. But then, I've never had to try to teach him. It was significant in that Shi Jia was familiar with the legend of the Obsidian Bat, which helped us understand why our cargo was so sought after, and had heard rumors about happenings at the Handan Escort Company, which I still don't fully understand, to be honest. He was also traveling in the same direction as we were--he's in Kaifeng right now--and so he traveled with us for the rest of the way. He and his bodyguards." Lin Moniao swirls the last of the tea in his cup thoughtfully. "I had not mentioned he was traveling with a pair of bodyguards. That's because I didn't realize it myself at first. He prefers to pretend they're not with him. He's a clever young man, and he has some martial training, but it didn't... take very well, in terms of being able to fight, and the fact embarrasses him."

He finishes his tea, and looks back at Master Wu. He hasn't lied to him, or broken his promise to Shi Jia, yet.

"You suspect he is affiliated with a sect?" Master Wu frowns. "Oh... oh! I remember now. I did not connect Master Fa's student with the scandal at first, but it must be the same boy. Oh, Moniao." He laughs and slaps his own thigh. "Shi-gongzi, ah! Everyone knows Shi Minshan somehow paid his son's way through the exams. I don't even know which bureau they shuffled him off to to keep an eye on him, but I don't think it will be long before proof is found and he is permanently disgraced. But it is rather interesting that he has been nosing around after such a widely-desired object. He may be trying to win some acclaim while he can. What did you find out about him?"

When Lin Moniao had told Shi Jia that he didn't believe his father had needed to bribe anyone, that had been more in the way of a compliment, and an attempt at comfort--he hadn't given much thought in the moment to whether it was true or not. It's only now that he realizes that he meant it. Shi Minshan may well be corrupt--Lin Moniao has never met the man--but Shi Jia is observant, has an endless memory for facts and a remarkable facility for putting them together. How dare Master Wu, or anyone, imply that he hasn't earned what he's got?

However, letting this reaction show now would not do either Shi Jia or Lin Moniao any good.

"Ah," he says, letting his eyes rest on the brushstrokes behind Master Wu's head for a moment before returning to his face. "I hadn't realized how widespread those rumors were, but he is embarrassed by them too. And he is quite nosy. I wouldn't be surprised if Shifu is right about his motivations for that."

That last statement, unfortunately, is a lie. But as lies go, a fairly safe one. In Lin Moniao's experience, even the most suspicious person is inclined to believe you when you tell them they're right.

Master Wu nods; he is indeed quite sure he is right. "Perhaps I overstated when I said everyone knows. It certainly made a ripple on many levels at the time. The only other man who passed them so young in the last few generations is Prince Kai--what are the chances? But go on-- So, you had in your hands a replica of the Obsidian Bat. I assume it was safely delivered, seeing as you are here with all your limbs still attached."

"Well, there was another close scrape--" Here Lin Moniao tells Master Wu about their adventures in Anyang, only not quite filling in all the details about Wang Xiaonan's connections with Madame Jin's. "But eventually, yes, we delivered it. It seems like Chief Ban Fei had sabotaged it in revenge for what the Sword Goddess had done to his men and his company--assuming that it was he who sabotaged it and she who killed his men, which both seem likely but not certain--but the trap didn't go off, and she didn't blame us for it. In fact, she rewarded us quite handsomely. She is still interested in finding the original, which she claims to have possessed at one time, and in tracking down Xie Lijuan. Shi Jia offered to help with the latter."

Master Wu shakes his head. "I wish I could say I don't believe it of Liu Xiuling. Nobody in the capital wants to start a scrap with her, I imagine, but she should exercise some restraint. Really, it will be much more convenient for everyone to say it was Xie Lijuan." He finishes his cup, and holds out his cup for more. Master Wu always had an eccentric taste for the dregs in a drained pot. "Hm, if that boy finds the Heartless Dagger when she doesn't want to be found, he may win some acclaim yet. Invite him over some time, Moniao. It wouldn't hurt to feel him out.

"And that brings us to today, I believe?"

Lin Moniao busies himself with the teapot. He has no particular wish for Shi Jia and Master Wu to meet, but Master Wu isn't wrong--feeling Shi Jia, out or otherwise, has seldom hurt. "Yes, that brings us to today."

Master Wu nods decisively. "Then, I have some things to tell you as well. Master Gao is in town, and I'll be meeting him and some other friends two days from now. I'd like you to come along. Forewarned is forearmed, there have been some accusations leveled against him that threaten the sect's prestige, so it will be a delicate social situation. Long story short, Master Xie is no longer a friend of the sect."

Master Xie had been invited to the sect not long before Lin Moniao had left. At the time, his acquisition had been considered something of a scoop. Master Wu certainly had some reason to crow--a first-rate scholar with a precise and uncompromising mind, joining the Qilin Villa to instruct its already accomplished disciples, the best of whom had been handpicked by Wu Zhenghao himself. What wonderful young men and women they might have molded them into!

Master Wu climbs to his feet and begins to pace the room, back and forth. "On the day, your task will be to observe, and turn heads if you can, and smile--not very exciting, I know. But this is your first time in Kaifeng as a full member of the sect. You must be seen. Do make a splash if the opportunity presents itself, but no pressure--there is time. That face of yours may alone repair some of the damage done by Xie Song. You don't have any other engagements, do you?"

"No, I'm free to be decorative in the service of the God," Lin Moniao laughs, with a little toss of his head. "That's unfortunate, about Xie Song. What happened? An embarrassment for the sect is bad. An embarrassment for Master Gao could be... well, the God sees far, eh?"

Master Wu shoots him a wry smile. In-fighting in the sect is not a good thing, but if it has to happen, it's better to be on the winning side.

"Master Xie called into question Master Gao's intellect and achievements, which would have been bad enough had it stayed within the sect. But then there was a public debate in Jinan, at the Five Phoenix Manor." He stops pacing and shakes his head. "Master Gao was an idiot to take part. It doesn't make one stupid not to be in the same league with a scholar like that. It does, however, make one look very stupid to try to debate him. He overestimated himself. But... I have to say, some of Master Xie's accusations worry me. He said Master Gao has not the medical expertise of a village doctor, that the tales he tells of his background teaching in a distinguished manor in the north cannot be true, and that the theory behind his pulse-reading technique is laughable. He was very convincing. Either Xie Song is set on tearing the sect apart or--" He shakes his head again and starts to pace faster. "Unity must be fostered, but at what price... You see? A delicate situation."

"Delicate, yes. I understand," says Lin Moniao. "A public humiliation for Master Gao is a humiliation for the whole sect. And to say that he is an idiot, or that his origins are lower than he claims, may only be amusing, but to call his techniques into question..."

Lin Moniao remembers how terrified he was during his own interrogation by Master Gao, how it felt like the old man could see into his soul. If it was all only pretense... well. It will certainly be a problem for the sect, either way, if new disciples go into their interrogations believing that.

"Is this gathering, do you think, appropriate for a respectable widow? I can ask my mother if she's free."

"That would be wonderful. The charming Madame Zhu can only make the occasion more delightful." Beautiful words, though he still seems to be distracted by thoughts. After a moment he stops and smiles at Lin Moniao. "A resilient woman, too. I suspect she could handle worse than a few rowdy poetical sorts. But indeed, we will be meeting in mixed company at Yang Yu's restaurant. I must warn you, Fa Ren might be there as well. He has changed since you last saw him. Yu Yanlong and Ding Yuan as well, so you won't be entirely stranded without youthful company. He's been with me here for a few months now."

He offers Lin Moniao a hand up. "Speaking of which, you must be looking forward to seeing your martial brothers again. I won't keep you--I ought to make note of what you've told me and meditate."

Lin Moniao takes Master Wu's hand, and doesn't let it go immediately upon standing. "Of course. I oughtn't disturb Master's meditations."

"Good," and there is a faint sense of 'good boy' in the intonation. "Dismissed."

Master Wu lets the hand go mercilessly and sits back down, swirling the dregs of tea in his cup. He sips, then says sharply before Lin Moniao can make it out, "One more thing. Getting hurt like you did at that tomb in the north was careless. I expected better. After you've seen your friends, go wait for me in the bedroom for further instruction. You do not have any other engagements today. Understood?" He turns his head slightly back, to wait for an affirmative response.

"Of course, Master," Lin Moniao says faintly, bowing as he backs out of the room. He knows that anticipation is part of the punishment, but the knowledge doesn't make it less effective, or stop a flush from rising to his skin and heat gnawing at his belly, part dread but the larger part desire.

He had damn well better be disturbing Master Wu's meditations too.


Chapter One: Yang Yu's Restaurant

If there is one uncontested opinion throughout all of China, it is that Yang Yu's restaurant in Kaifeng is the best there is. It towers, much like the Iron Pagoda on a smaller scale, to honor the gods of harvest and artistry that bless the dishes served there.

There is a two-level outdoor dining area attached to the tower of the main building, with a wide interior dining area on the first floor. Above, the restaurant offers partitioned alcoves and rooms for private parties. Almost any dish is served here, though customers might well want to request the specialities: flaming ox tail, plum cake soup, Dapeng egg, or their famous braised duck.

The weather is warm but moderately so despite it being the height of summer, and Yang Yu's prices are surprisingly reasonable for the quality, and so the outdoor areas are noisy and crowded as dinner hour begins. Master Wu's retinue passes them by and climbs the wooden staircase inside the tower to their reserved rooms on the fifth floor.

Dong Yuan nudges Yu Long as the big youth climbs up, pressed up against a railing, trying not to take up too much space on the staircase. "Hey, you've eaten here before, right? You know the number one rule at Yang Yu's?"

Yu Long nods. "Don't badmouth the food."

"Don't badmouth the food, damn right. I hear the proprietor can be fierce!"

Lin Moniao suppresses the urge to do his usual hair-check as they go into the restaurant; his mother did his hair, so he knows it's perfect, and she'll be annoyed if he touches it.

"I'm sure none of you young gentlemen would be so uncouth as to insult an establishment's food while you're there." Madame Zhu's tone is gently teasing. If Lin Moniao's hair is perfect, hers is flawless, swept up and held into place with jeweled combs, and lacquered to a high gloss. Her makeup is understated, according to the current fashion: white face powder and a touch of red lipstick. The skirts of her peach-colored robes, and the ends of her sleeves, sweep the restaurant's stairs as the party climbs up, and the fan tucked into her blue sash doesn't look like a weapon. "But do tell me more about this fierce proprietor."

Dong Yuan starts a little as Madame Zhu speaks, and then looks guilty. He had forgotten Lin-shidi's refined mother was close enough to hear his rough language. But guilt never rests long on Dong Yuan, so he laughs. "Madame, we would be lucky to catch a glimpse of her! They say she wears a mask to make herself look mysterious, and only passes around to meet the most important guests, or those she considers the most important. I heard she once snubbed a first class bureaucrat to go see a food connoisseur whose opinion she values!"

"I heard Yang Yu doesn't even serve her best dishes," says Yu Long. "They're only for her close friends."

"Hm. Intriguing. Yang Yu sounds like a valuable friend to have." Recognizing the acquisitive glint in his mother's eye, Lin Moniao has no doubt that she will make friends with Yang Yu, though it may not happen this evening.

"If her reputation holds, even her second-best dishes are well worth eating," Lin Moniao says. "And the sooner we go in, the sooner we can find out."

Their group reaches a landing and a waiter in modest black with his hair swept up under a hat gestures for them to enter a room. It is wide and occupies all of one side of the tower. The windows have been thrown open, since there is no wind today, and the air is soft as milk. Only the subtlest breeze flutters the hung silk curtains. The tables are laid with empty dishes; the food is not yet served. A finely dressed couple turn to greet Master Wu warmly.

"Madame Zhu, how lovely to see you again," says the woman, Xi Xiaolian, her hands held out to grasp Madame Zhu's elbows. They have been introduced before--she is a writer of morality plays and instructional booklets for women. Her handsome husband is busy greeting Master Wu. Other fine guests are either there or coming up the staircase behind them.

"Madame Tong! What an unexpected pleasure." Madame Zhu squeezes the woman's elbows lightly. "I read your latest with interest. I've certainly met many young women who could use your advice."

"Young women are typically very foolish," Madame Tong agrees happily. "That is why they need us experienced ladies around."

Everyone is introduced. There is a mix of Kaifeng socialites, bureaucrats and poets. Master Fa is indeed there, dignified in his grays and blues, deep in conversation with a younger teaching master. But Master Fa is not the same. He is thinner, older, and instead of speaking, he signs and writes. The conversation, even so, seems lively. The only one late is Master Gao--but then, the food is not due to be served in a while yet. The name, however, appears on many lips.

"Master Wu said I would find Master Fa different than I remembered him, but I didn't realize how," Lin Moniao whispers to his mother. "What happened?"

"It was a qi deviation. He's entirely lost the facility for speech, though his mind remains as sharp as ever." She taps her lips with her fan thoughtfully. "I hadn't heard he was cultivating, but he is a scholar of many arts. If he had recently come into a manual, or a new teacher... gossip is silent about it."

"I suppose I ought to pay him my respects." Lin Moniao gives a slight shrug. He never butted heads with Master Fa the way Shi Jia did, but he's never been especially fond of the man, either. Still, it would be polite, and after all, he's here to be seen, and maybe the young teaching master that Master Fa is in conversation with is someone interesting.

Madame Zhu nods and waves him off, already gravitating to a group discussing poetry.

Master Fa recognizes Lin Moniao immediately, his eyes as bright and intelligent as ever, and exchanges a silent greeting. He motions to his companion. "Han Yuefang," the man introduces himself. He does not need to say he is a teaching master; everyone had overheard him argue with Master Fa about the value of question and answer versus note-taking in memorization. His hair is tucked neatly under a felt hat, and though he cannot yet be anywhere near forty, his face is already set in a permanent look of disapproval.

Lin Moniao bows to Master Fa, and more shallowly to Han Yuefang. "Lin Moniao," he says.

Catching sight of his mother mingling, he knows what she would do: talk on a subject of interest to her interlocutors. Pedagogical methods are dull enough when one is being subjected to them; must he discuss them at parties as well? Well, he can escape this conversation soon. In the meantime he smiles and says, "I was once a student of Master Fa's, and so I'm bound to say his methods are best. After all, they produced me."

Han Yuefang looks from Lin Moniao's smile down to Master Fa. "Well, in that case, Fa Ren, we can put our theories to the test. No, no, I won't interrogate him--our earlier conversation."

Master Fa gives him a flat look, without even bothering to sign.

"Yes, yes," Han Yuefang says testily. "But you cannot say it isn't a good test. We will simply see how he fares and take what queues we can out of that."

Fa Ren inclines his head in agreement and turns a gleaming eye at Lin Moniao.

"Master Fa requests that his former student Lin Moniao produce four lines of poetry to be read after the first course." Han Yuefang seems very pleased at this prospect. "I will submit something new as well, of course, and so will a number of others, I am sure. I will see if our host will agree to set a subject once all the guests have arrived. Exciting, isn't it?"

"Thrilling." Lin Moniao bows again and adds, "I will be sure to do Master Fa credit."

He may or may not make the splash that Master Wu requested, but at least people will be looking at him. As for the verse itself, he feels confident that he can come up with something passable. Even if he will never be a great poet, spinning bullshit on the spot has always been one of his talents. With that, he drifts away from the teaching masters, seeing if he can find a group who seem a little more fun.

Xi Xiaolian is eyeing Lin Moniao with interest, and can be seen to lean towards her husband and speak to him behind her sleeve. Though the look had not been so obvious as to have been uncouth, it was there.

---

"'In the wake of a swallow'--isn't that a sharper image, crisp and clear?" says a rich, voluptuous voice as Madame Zhu approaches. She has heard Sha Haotian speak before, and it is always like a heavy trickle of honey on the ears. The man himself is an eccentric, wearing his hair in complex braids and his clothes in a faux rustic style. Yet, he is known as a highly productive poet, and often a guest who is asked to recite.

"The imagery is air, wind, playfulness," says someone with a far more unfortunate voice. "Isn't this poem supposed to be about war?"

"The play of war?" Sha Haotian strokes his beard.

"A swallow suggests speed. A wake in the air is a contradiction," Zhu Chen muses. "A wake can be seen on water, or a track on the ground, but the air holds no visible traces. And yet it is by perceiving these unseen currents--the play between all things--and moving with them, that victory is achieved. Isn't it so?"

"Unseen currents," Sha Haotian says, pleased. "Yes, yes! The current can be felt, but not seen, ah... The strategist perceives the motion of small particles...?" His hand pauses on his beard and he frowns, apparently lost in metaphor once again.

"Do not confuse him further, I beg, dear madam," says a dry voice. Sha Zhengtian, Haotian's brother and very much like him in all but dress and manner--with the same round features, heavy brows and sweet mouth. But he is neither an orator nor has any passion for poetry, but works in the imperial bureaucracy's treasury department. "You are too clever for him."

Sha Haotian frowns at him for this, but does not pursue the matter of the swallow.

"Sha Zhengtian is a flatterer," Zhu Chen says, inclining towards him with a complacent smile. "And truly, I didn't mean to disparage the value of that which can be measured and weighed, even if it's not often the subject of poetry."

"Shixiong!" Master Wu's strong voice speaks, and many eyes turn to the double doors. He sweeps forward to welcome Master Gao and his retinue at last.

Master Gao heads the group, being the first up the stairs despite his advanced age. He is dressed in layers of green, red and gold, more magnificent than Master Wu's sedate dark teal and silver, which had seemed so fine a moment ago. In fact, he looks rather like Master Fa, now the two are in a room together; only Master Gao's nose is wider, and his chin not so pointy.

He and Master Wu greet each other while two of Master Gao's favorite disciples follow him in and bow to their shishu. There is Yuwen Duyi, sour as ever, hawkish and angular, dressed not in the Qilin Villa black but in rust-coloured civilian robes and trousers. Of course, even for a fine party, she refused to wear a dress. Next to her is her usual accomplice, the narrow but graceful Shen Shanwei, in black with gold and green highlights.

Lin Moniao sweeps over to stand behind Master Wu, bowing respectfully to Master Gao and keeping a wary eye on his disciples. Yuwen Duyi meets his eye with a silent challenge, but only for a moment.

"This shidi is happy that shixiong could make it, so close to his departure," Master Wu says and invites Master Gao further in. "You have met the Sha brothers?"

Master Gao exchanges greetings around the room, but his eyes make long suspicious sweeps around, as if to figure out who has been talking about his recent embarrassment. He mellows in time, though, and greets Zhu Chen calmly, if not warmly, enclosing her hand in his clammy ones. "Madame Zhu. Wu-shidi speaks highly of your accomplishments."

"Wu Zhenghao is very kind," says Zhu Chen, with a gentle pressure on his hands. "But is Gao Chengyi leaving us so soon? I hadn't heard of it until this evening. Will you return to Qilin Villa, or do your travels take you elsewhere?"

"Only to Nanjing," he says stiffly. "There is an auction of items this master believes will benefit the sect."

He is lying.

"How interesting. I wish you every success in obtaining them. Do your disciples travel with you as well?"

"Thank you. Only a few. Duyi is my assistant, of course." He glances at Yuwen Duyi, who is approaching Master Wu's disciples along with her shidi, and there is something like pride in that look. "A couple of new disciples, so they do not neglect their lessons, and Shanwei for the educational value of the exercise. Besides, Duyi would miss her friend." In fact, Master Gao is known never to go anywhere without at least a handful of his favorite students to provide for his daily needs and protection. He is a physician, not a fighter, and the martial world can be dangerous.

"Wise. The experience will no doubt prove enriching." Zhu Chen follows Gao Chengyi's glance, wondering how many of the people accompanying him know their true destination and purpose, and which of them might be persuaded to divulge it. It is understandable that the new disciples weren't invited to an event like this, but what a shame, in this case.

"Greeting Dong-shidi, Yu-shidi," Yuwen Duyi says in her rough voice, bowing shallowly to Master Wu's disciples. She throws Lin Moniao a typical look of distaste. "Lin-shidi."

Everyone bows to the exact same depth. There is tension in the air, but Dong Yuan surprises Duyi by grasping her elbows. "Hey, none of those looks. We are friends so long as there are those ugly rumors still flying around. Sect first, right?"

A little dazed, she nods. "Sect first. Of course."

Lin Moniao throws a glance at Dong Yuan--sneaky! How did he not think of it himself?--before realizing that Dong Yuan is, in fact, painfully sincere. He'd known that Dong Yuan was willing to fight over the rumors, but that itself doesn't say much. But if he's also willing to not fight over them, he must find them truly upsetting.

He slings an arm around Dong Yuan's shoulders and says, "Dong-shixiong's loyalty does us all credit," with a smile at Yuwen Duyi that's more of a baring of teeth. She probably wouldn't have believed "sect first" from him anyway.

She crinkles her nose at him. It may be an itchy nose, it may be a suppressed snarl.

Master Wu raises his voice at the gathered people. "Thank you again, everyone, for coming. The first course will be brought in soon. Before we sit down, a little friendly poetry competition has been suggested." There was a ripple of excitement from the back of the room. "I have been asked to select a subject, so..." He presses his fingertips together in front of him in a V, "as Master Gao is sadly departing Kaifeng, let the name of the city be the subject. Those who are willing, may pen four lines on the subject of 'opening the border', to be recited after the first course."

Zhu Chen runs a finger down the spine of her fan, covertly observing Shen Shanwei. He's the youngest of the disciples--the youngest of the guests here at all, and despite his outward pride, might one guess that he's feeling some degree of unease? And he hasn't the reputation of fierce devotion to his master that Yuwen Duyi does. It's possible that he might be inspired to seek some motherly advice, especially as Wu Zhenghao has provided such a fortunate subject.

Turning from him, she takes Xi Xiaolian's arm as everyone makes their way to the tables. "What do you think the first course will be? I've heard such wonderful things about the food here."

"Oh, I do hope it's her marinated mushrooms." Xi Xiaolian sighs and smiles as if at a happy memory.

Lin Moniao sits down with his martial brothers, carefully arranging his robes as he does, mentally composing lines and discarding them, considering assonance and meter. "Will either of you be taking part in the poetry competition?" he asks.

Yu Long looks somewhat alarmed at the suggestion. "Do you think I should?"

Dong Yuan flops down beside the table and tilts his head, pursing his lips. "Should I? I bet I could." His poetry has always been more enthusiastic than good. He slaps Lin Moniao's shoulder. "You know what, I will! Yu Long, don't make that face. No one will force you."

There are two tables of eight to seat all the guests. Master Wu and Master Gao sit side by side as the twin hosts of the meal, being of equal rank; Sha Zhengtian sits closest to them, having the highest rank by far due to his position in the imperial court. Madame Zhu sits with them; the young are sequestered around the second table.

As soon as everyone is seated and has stopped fussing with robe hems, black-clad waiters come in with dishes of--happy day!--marinated mushrooms, fresh rolls, rice balls and sauces, as well as bottles of wine and ale, and distribute the dishes on the tables. Everything smells heavenly. The mushrooms' texture is silken, the salt-savory flavor cut with a hint of sweetness. "Your advice is invaluable as always," Zhu Chen tells Xi Xiaolian. "Truly exquisite."

Lin Moniao tries to sample everything at once. It's all so good! Thoughts of his poem completely flee his mind for the moment.

There is very little conversation at first. After a while, though, talk turns to the poetry competition. Those who are not jotting down lines surreptitiously are making suggestions or ragging the candidates. Master Gao visibly relaxes as nobody brings up Xie Song.

Han Yuefang and Yuwen Duyi fall into a conversation about medicine, at first stilted, then livening up when it touches upon internal alchemy. Shen Shanwei looks bored, his eyes stealing towards the window and the darkening sky outside. Dong Yuan and Yu Long are stealing food off each other's plates, and Lin Moniao's.

Once the first course has disappeared, Master Wu calls out for attention. "Are we ready for the poetry? Shall we go in order of seniority, youngest first?" It will save older poets from being upstaged after the fact by the young.

The youngest, then, is Lin Moniao, followed by Dong Yuan, a landowner and his sister (in that order), Han Yuefang, Xi Xiaolian, Zhu Chen, and finally Sha Haotian. All other guests have declined the honor.

Lin Moniao consults his scribbled notes. He was too distracted by the food to polish his wording, but it's the central image that matters, right? He rises to his feet and starts to recite:

My lover's robe has an embroidered border
I tug on the long silk--

There's a suppressed snicker from somewhere further down the table, and Lin Moniao stutters to a stop, realizing what he's said. He just meant--undoing a tie on a robe, not--anything else. Flustered, he looks to Master Wu, which is exactly the wrong place to look, under the circumstances. Somebody's amused, but Master Wu isn't. It's bad. Everything's bad. He still has to say the last two lines.

Despite the interruption and his embarrassment, he gets them out passably well:

His body is revealed to me
A delight to look at

He resumes his seat and lifts his chin, refusing to acknowledge how badly he wants to sink into the floor.

Xi Xiaolian brings up a non-folding fan to cover her mouth. Master Wu's face is impassive, which is not a great sign.

Dong Yuan pats Lin Moniao's shoulder sympathetically. "Don't worry. Shixiong's got this." He clears his throat and stands up, his notes crumbled in his hand. He sweeps his hand out dramatically and speaks with gusto.

Two long weeks separate myself and wine.
Bugs all over my bedding, I can ignore.
The tiger is bigger than a bug.
I sleep up a tree, under the spring moon.

There is more laughter, this time openly. Dong Yuan bops a showy bow. The poem was doggerel, but the performance went down well.

"You have bugs on the brain," Lin Moniao mutters to him as he sits down. And then, reluctantly but sincerely, "Thank you." Dong Yuan nudges him back with a pleased grin.

He is followed by the young landowner, who matches Dong Yuan on enthusiasm, but whose imagery is finer, and so he receives some polite murmurs and nods of heads. The mood is catching, and so his sister delivers her rather cliched offering with grace. The company is entertained; that is the main thing.

Han Yuefang stands up proudly, a gleam of something like excitement in his eyes, and clears his throat, and delivers a poem about returning to your old village after war. A passionate subject, but the choice of verbs and metre... and his carriage is stiff, his voice dry... it's a bit... boring! Still, as a composition, it isn't too terrible. He receives polite applause.

Xi Xiaolian is next. She keeps her fan in front of her mouth as she readies herself, eyes demurely lowered.

The mother hands her daughter to her mother-in-law;
The mother-in-law holds her, like clay, in her hands,
Yellow or brown, the shape of it to be decided.
Only time hardens the pot.

She sits down with equal grace, but as the room stays silent, she glances up sharply, seeing heads shaken and eyes averted. The poem is cliched, didactic, unromantic, and speaks of women's matters in mixed company. It is just embarrassing. Her nose crinkles in silent fury before she hides her face again.

It is Zhu Chen's turn.

Zhu Chen gives Xi Xiaolian a sympathetic glance as she sits down. True, the poem was a bit stiff, but if they must listen to poems about war, why can't men listen to poems about daughters and mothers-in-law? Not that Zhu Chen, strictly speaking, has experience with either of those. Still, she feels warm towards Xi Xiaolian; her own offering is bound to come off better in comparison.

Sorrow weighs upon me
My heart holds a secret
I would open my lips and let it fly
Finding shelter in the ear of a friend

At first, she keeps her eyes lowered and her voice soft, but she looks up when she speaks of opening her lips, her whole manner growing lighter as if a burden has really been lifted from her. As she does--for a moment, as if by accident--she meets Shen Shanwei's eyes directly.

Throughout the competition, Shen Shanwei had been drawn from his apparent boredom to listen properly, and make remarks to his friend and to Han Yuefang. He has been listening; his eyes widen as she looks at him, and a slight color rises to his cheeks, a moment of openness passes between them.

He is not the only one looking intently. The performance has given the company the opportunity to look at Zhu Chen, and her beauty is enough on its own to transfix. Besides, the poem was without a doubt the best of the night.

The silence breaks into applause. "Well done! Well done!"

"Madame Zhu, very good!"

Sha Haotian has a tough one to follow. The room is cooler now we are closer to evening but he wipes a touch of perspiration from his brow as he leafs through his notes.

Zhu Chen bows to the company, adding an extra dip of acknowledgement towards Sha Haotian, ceding the stage to him. When the guests begin to circulate again, she's confident she'll hear something interesting from Shen Shanwei; in the meantime, she wonders what will be served next that can possibly exceed the flavors of the first course.

Across the room, Lin Moniao is as enraptured as anyone else by his mother's performance; no matter how often he sees her recite, she's always engaging. It's not quite enough to make him forget his embarrassment, but maybe it will be enough to make others forget.

He's also familiar enough with the way she operates to tell that she's after something, but what it is, he's not sure.

"She's good," Yuwen Duyi mutters and glances at Lin Moniao. There's a hint of a mean smile on her lips. The comparison is clear.

"She is," Lin Moniao answers Yuwen Duyi, only a little nettled. There's no shame in being worse than his mother, everyone is worse than his mother.

"That writer lady was the worst," Shen Shanwei bursts out. "She didn't say anything she really believes in. Even Dong-shixiong's was better."

Dong Yuan laughs and raises a cup of wine at him in acknowledgment.

Sha Haotian stands up and clears his throat. His beautiful voice spills out from his lips.

At the end of the day the fields sway,
waves calling ships to shore.
They will come home bearing strangers.
Silver flows like rain-water.

The company looks from one to the other. It was beautiful, that voice was pure bliss on the ears, but what did it mean? There is applause all the same, just in case it was good and the listeners simply stupid (they wouldn't want you to know that).

Master Wu stands and raises his cup at Zhu Chen. Everyone else follows suit. Sha Haotian looks put off for a moment--he is the poetical one here, the one everyone knows as a poet--but decides in the end that there is no shame in losing to a charming woman, and joins in on the accolades.

The first course's dishes have been cleared away, and the next is yet to come. Night is falling fast, and someone points out that the moon is full. This prompts people to gather at the window, and move freely amongst the tables. Sha Zhengtian crosses over and pats Lin Moniao's shoulder paternally. "Your poem was the only one with any spice in it," he says, approvingly. "Maybe less jade stalk and more steamed buns next time." He says no more, fatherly advice imparted.

Lin Moniao bows in acknowledgment, not trusting himself to speak. He's tempted to stay at the table and keep drinking, but that would be admitting defeat. He goes to look at the moon and mingle instead. It's probably safe to pay a compliment or two to the landowner and his sister on their poems. Not that he's avoiding Master Wu, or the teaching masters, or anything.

--

Zhu Chen crosses to the window, fetching up next to Shen Shanwei. "It's beautiful, is it not? And it's a comfort, when one is traveling, to know it's the same moon everywhere," she says. "Master Gao tells me that you're accompanying him to Nanjing."

"It's not the same moon," Shen Shanwei says in an agitated tone. "Today it's full, tomorrow gibbous. And then smaller and smaller until it's gone. By the time we get to-- by the time we get back--" He bites his lip, but it doesn't seem to help. "Madame Zhu, having secrets is terrible. You must know that, because you could write a poem like that. And it's all secrets on top of secrets until you don't even know who you are anymore."

"Ah," says Zhu Chen softly. "It's difficult, when one must show a false face to the world. But one's own true face is never really lost, you know. And if you need a mirror in which to behold it, I hope I can be a sympathetic and discreet listener."

As she speaks, she looks around for a corner of the room where they might be seen by the other guests, so there's no question of impropriety, but not overheard.

"Isn't it?" he asks, distressed, then chokes out, "I could use a mirror, Aunt-- Madame."

The room is a simple square space, large enough for three tables of eight but with only two set, with windows all along one side and tall ornate double doors that lead to the hallway. There are silk curtains and decorative silks hung around the room, and fixed wooden dividers on both sides. These offer the best option for privacy, unless they wish to wander into the hallway and seek an empty room or balcony. Zhu Chen leads Shen Shanwei towards one of the wooden dividers. "You're my son's shidi, aren't you? Of course you may call me Aunt."

Shen Shanwei follows eagerly and almost before they are out of sight, he begins confessing quietly. "My mother wove silk, and I helped her. My father was the one who wanted me to be a warrior. I joined the sect because I wanted to become something important, and I was so happy to be accepted, but Master Gao doesn't teach the warrior's way. He doesn't even teach medicine. Shijie taught me. And now, with these rumors... You know the rumors? It feels like it's all falling apart. If Master Gao is... if the sect rejects him like they did Xie Song, what will happen to us? I talked to Shijie, and she said..." He presses his lips tightly together, as if to stem the words, but they are safely behind the screen now, so he looks aunt right in the eye and leans in, speaking even more quietly, "Shijie said we follow Master Gao, not the Illustrious Qilin Villa. And if the sect leader rejects him, she should not be a sect leader anymore. I don't know what to do!"

"You really are in difficulties," Zhu Chen murmurs, buying herself a second to think.

It's an odd story, to be sure. What mother would raise her son as a weaver? And what father would let her, even for a time? If Shen Shanwei were a daughter--Zhu Chen is reminded of Xi Xiaolian's poem. Yellow or brown, the shape of it to be decided. But Shen Shanwei doesn't have the look of one who has hardened into a different shape than the one they were first made in.

That Yuwen Duyi has been speaking treason against Sect Leader Niu--that Gao Chengyi has apparently been teaching his students nothing, not even his own methods--that does lend credence to the accusations against him, but there doesn't seem to be any point in telling Shen Shanwei so, not now, anyway.

"When you have two parents, and you are just one son, how can you please them both? And it's the same for sect leaders and masters, I suppose. I'm surprised to hear your shijie spoke as she did--but maybe I shouldn't be. It's well known that she's devoted to her shifu, which is very proper, and she's a young woman of strong feelings. Likely she spoke more rashly than she truly meant. I don't see, in any case, how it would ever be put to the test. Wasn't Xie Song removed from the sect for speaking against Master Gao? Doesn't that show how valued Master Gao is, and that the sect leader is as loyal to him as he is to her?"

"You think she didn't mean it?" He looks very relieved. "You're probably right. It's only words. We are all one sect." He puts his hands together and bows to her. "Thanking Madame Zhu for her insight. This one is unrefined, but will strive to improve."

---

Master Wu catches up to Lin Moniao, stopping him with a touch of his folded fan. A moment ago he had been talking to Fa Ren. He spoke quietly. "Moniao, go back to Sha Zhengtian. Rescue something from this mess. Han Yuefang is also pleased with you, for having proven his point. He will be intoxicated before midnight, but I won't ask you to strain yourself in that regard. He is not important."

"Yes, right," says Lin Moniao. On consideration, if he made a positive impression on the highest-ranking person here, that's something, isn't it? And if Sha Zhengtian wants steamed buns, well, there's no harm in talking to him, anyway.

Finding the official again, Lin Moniao says, "I was wondering--if I might ask such an impertinent question--did you understand what your brother's poem was about? One doesn't like to admit it, but it was somewhat opaque to me."

Sha Zhengtian is surprised but not displeased to be addressed. "Lin-xiansheng is too polite. I only understand because I was sitting next to him while he was composing. I think it was an attempt to make Han Yuefang's poem more... poetical. A village with fields, sons away at war on the sea, returning home wealthier but changed, that sort of thing. There is no point in asking him, typically any interpretation is more forgiving than his real thinking." He looks at Lin Moniao curiously. "You were Fa Ren's student too, then? Have you tried for the exams yet?"

"Yes, I studied with Master Fa when I first arrived in Kaifeng. It's been... almost two years now since I tried for the exams. I will try again, when Master Wu decides I'm ready." Lin Moniao looks over to Master Wu, and then to Sha Haotian. "And did Sha Haotian really compose that in between the time Han Yuefang was called upon to recite and when he was? Remarkable! No wonder it didn't make much sense. It sounded good, though."

"More than that, I believe he made half of it up as he was speaking," Sha Zhengtian replies. His voice is dry, but he looks almost proud. "He is productive, at least. My brother always had odd ideas; useless for serious study. But productive, in his chosen field. Good for him. He'll never amount to anything else. You know, passing isn't everything. Many who pass, are swiftly made magistrates; others shuffled off on probation until the upper levels decide what to do with them, like that classmate of yours, Shi Minshan's boy; and more magistrates made of men who only passed on the prefectural level. Master Wu would do well to let you try to make a name outside of the classroom for a year or two more." As he speaks, his eyes drift towards Zhu Chen. He looks between mother and son, contemplative. "Are you ambitious, Lin Moyuan?"

Lin Moniao follows Sha Zhengtian's gaze. Well, if he's comparing Lin Moniao to his mother--even if she is a better poet than he is, there's one field where he doesn't have to take second place. She's a fine woman, even at her age, and she knows every trick of dress and makeup and carriage to make her appear to her best advantage. But Lin Moniao is always pretty.

"This Lin Moniao has some ambitions," he admits cautiously, as if Sha Zhengtian had said his name right in the first place.

"Moniao? Ah, right! Well, that's good to hear. What were you thinking, local governance or a position in the capital? What about marriage, children? Madam Zhu is very, very charming, but she has no relations, and relations always help." He pats Lin Moniao's shoulder again. "New ones can be made, though. But it is early, still... Master Wu should let you come to me if he ever means to put you forward, exams or no exams. I can prepare the way, figure out where to put you."

Lin Moniao bows deeply enough to cover a moment of confusion. That escalated quickly! "Sha Zhengtian is very gracious. This one would be sorry to leave the capital, but there are opportunities for advancement in the provinces as well. One must be flexible. As for marriage and children, this one has not been in a position to even consider it. As Sha Zhengtian says, without relations it is difficult. But difficulties can perhaps be overcome when one has generous friends. I will certainly relay your words to Master Wu. Thank you."

Marriage! Children! It's been the last thing on Lin Moniao's mind, but his mother would help Master Wu drown him in a bucket if he showed any reluctance now.

Unless Sha Zhengtian meant his own marriage to Lin Moniao's mother? It could be beneficial, if only he will treat her well. He seems affable enough. And if he has a taste for steamed buns, Lin Moniao has never known his mother to be the jealous type.

The second course is being brought in as they speak, and guests settle into their places. Duck and steamed vegetables, deliciously fluffy rice, tea and more, all of it melting in the mouth. More wine has also been drunk, which loosens the atmosphere.

"Are you sure four will be enough for your retinue?" Master Wu asks Master Gao mildly. "The sect will happily provide more security."

"I would not impose on shidi's household," replies Master Gao with dignity.

"It is no imposition," Master Wu counters smoothly. "I have an excess of young members under me here in Kaifeng. Yu Yanlong is long overdue a mission."

At the other table, Yu Long almost chokes on his tea. The Qilin Villa youths fall quiet to listen.

"Nothing is more important than shixiong's safety. I am sure that in an equivalent situation, you would part with your favorites, too."

"Favorite?" Master Gao says sharply. "You have not offered me Lin Moniao."

Master Wu narrows his eyes, smiling. "Would you like him? Take him."

Master Gao has no immediate reply.

Lin Moniao straightens up indignantly. Okay, he screwed up with the poem, but he also got proposed to! Or something! He didn't do so badly that Master Wu has to send him off with Master Gao.

But a moment's thought tells him that this was what Master Wu was angling for with his mention of favorites, that he was trying to maneuver Master Gao to a point where it would be difficult for him to refuse the company of Master Wu's students. He must have had this in mind before the gathering even began, and before Lin Moniao ever recited anything. Well, fine. If this is his mission, and not a punishment, he supposes he can stand the company of Yuwen Duyi and her henchman and whatever snot-nosed kids they've brought along with them.

"I insist," Master Wu says as the silence stretches. "Yu Yanlong and Lin Moniao will accompany you to Nanjing, and may escort you further if you wish. Just have them back before the Mid-Autumn Festival."

"I am sure it won't be so long," Master Gao murmurs. "Shidi is most thoughtful."

Master Wu fills Master Gao's drinking bowl with wine, and so the matter is closed.

Dong Yuan nudges Yu Long and whispers, "Fancy him letting you out of Kaifeng at last."

"Fancy that," says Yu Long, dazed, and gives Lin Moniao a helpless look.

Across the table, Yuwen Duyi is glaring daggers. But what can any of them do about it?


Chapter Two: A Hasty Departure

"So," says Madame Zhu, as she and Lin Moniao leave Yang Yu's and start making their way through the streets to her house. Lin Moniao will return to Master Wu's afterwards, but first he has to see his mother home. "You are going to Nanjing. And further, if Master Gao wishes. I imagine it won't surprise you to learn that he's not simply going to Nanjing to acquire some items at an auction."

"Not entirely," says Lin Moniao. In fact, he hadn't been paying enough attention to learn that Master Gao was ostensibly going to Nanjing for an auction in the first place, an effort he now feels entirely vindicated in not making. "But how does Mother know?"

"Hmph! You would know it too, if you had spoken to him. Someone with such a reputation for internal martial arts certainly ought to be better at hiding his intentions. But one hears nowadays that his reputation has been exaggerated."

Lin Moniao looks sharply at his mother. "You believe the rumors."

She nods, tapping her fan against the inside of her elbow. "Before tonight I had no opinion one way or the other. Now I'm nearly convinced they're true. Be careful of Yuwen Duyi—she has no loyalty to the sect, but only to Gao Chengyi. I wouldn't worry too much about the younger disciples. It's a shame how he treats those young people!" she bursts out. "And a shame for the sect too, if people can see its disciples have no training whatsoever."

"No training?" She must mean the younger ones, who weren't at the banquet. Obviously Master Wu's training is superior to Master Gao's, but Yuwen Duyi and Shen Shanwei aren't untrained. And yet—Lin Moniao remembers seeing them working long hours together at Qilin Villa. It could be that she was his only teacher. "Did you really discover all this from talking to Master Gao?"

"Shen Shanwei is troubled by what's happening in the sect; naturally he sought out advice from an older person who isn't an outsider, and yet isn't directly involved either," Madame Zhu says complacently.

"Since when does Shen Shanwei—" Lin Moniao narrows his eyes, recalls a line from his mother's poem. "I would open my lips and let it fly—so that's what you were up to!"

Madame Zhu smacks him upside the head with her fan. "And what were you up to with your poem, may I ask? Not your best effort, Moniao." The scolding is somewhat spoiled when she bursts into giggles. "The pun was amusing, I admit, but the venue was inappropriate."

"It was an accident," Lin Moniao protests, dragging his hands down his face. "I didn't know what it was going to sound like until I said it."

"A poet must always have control over their words, not the other way around," Madame Zhu proclaims, lips still twitching with laughter. "Well. Nevertheless. You ought to be friendlier with Shen Shanwei. He doesn't know which way to jump, but it would help if he thought he had friends and support within the sect he could count on if he doesn't follow Gao Chengyi into treason, should things come to open conflict. And it wouldn't hurt for you and Yu Yanlong to take a big-brotherly interest in those poor youngsters' neglected education as well."

"Yes, Mother. I'll see what I can do," Lin Moniao sighs. If he had wanted to teach children, he could already have gotten a job as a teaching master. As much to change the subject as anything else, he says, "Mother—do you like Sha Zhengtian?"

"Hm? He's a well-spoken, educated man. Highly placed in the treasury department. Not at the highest levels, but still, he has a good income and a fine house. Why do you ask?"

None of that actually answers what Lin Moniao asked, but never mind. "Well—he was saying he'd sponsor me if I was seeking an appointment. Talked about marriage and children and how new family could be acquired—but he was also looking at you."

"Ah." Madame Zhu folds her arms and walks in silence for a minute, her face, illuminated sporadically by an occasional lantern burning in an entrance gate, an unreadable mask.

Finally she says, "Sha Zhengtian is a widower with three daughters, two of them still unmarried. Either would be an advantageous match for you. As for myself—it's difficult to have a secret from one's husband, where one must always fear exposure. To find a husband who would take me as I am, and guard the secret with me—is even more difficult. I don't know that Sha Zhengtian is such a man."

"There is that," Lin Moniao says. They're approaching Madame Zhu's own gate. "If he harms you—if any man you marry makes you unhappy in any way—I will kill him."

"Yes, I know. You're a good son." Madame Zhu puts a hand on the back of Lin Moniao's neck, pulling him down towards her so she can kiss him on the forehead. "We'll discuss it when you come back. And you will come back." She throws her arms around him. "No more of this almost dying, do you hear me, Moniao?"

"I hear you, Mother," he says softly, moving his chin out of the way so he doesn't disturb her combs as he holds her. "I really will do my best."

The dinner party ended late; now it's very late. Even in Kaifeng, most lanterns have gone out, and the sky above is stained with stars, with the first faint light of the coming dawn already on the horizon. Lin Moniao has full entry to Wu Zhenghao's house, but not to the extent of bearing a key, and the doors have been locked since sundown. However, a light is still showing through the windows. Master Wu is expecting him.

Stifling a yawn, Lin Moniao knocks on the door. Whatever hesitation he might feel on account of the disastrous beginning of the evening is overshadowed by the knowledge that he has some things to tell Master Wu that he definitely wants to hear.

Yu Long answers the door. He looks hours overdue to bed, eyes red-rimmed. "He had me wait up for you." His steps, as he ushers Lin Moniao in, shuffle like a sleep-walker's. "I think he wants to brief us together."

Master Wu is once again waiting in his reception room, writing in a book and drinking at the table. He somehow doesn't look like he's been up most of the night. Yu Long picks himself up and stands up straight, paying attention.

"There you are," Master Wu says as they enter, blotting his ink and closing his book. "You saw your mother home safe, then, Moniao?"

Lin Moniao dips his head in acknowledgement. "She had some enlightening conversations with Master Gao and Shen Shanwei."

"Did she? How proactive. Maybe I should send her to travel with Gao Chengyi instead." He rubs the skin between his brows and sighs. Maybe he is feeling the late hour after all. "Moniao, do not put too much weight on what I just said. It is late. Tell me, what did Madame Zhu discover?"

"It is late, and Shifu works hard." Lin Moniao shrugs. It's as much of an apology as he can expect, given the circumstances, and the fact that Master Wu is making it at all means that he's not as annoyed with Lin Moniao as he could be. "She says that Yuwen Duyi has no loyalty to the sect, but that Shen Shanwei is conflicted and might be persuaded to choose the sect over Master Gao. She also says that Master Gao hasn't been teaching his disciples, and that she's inclined to believe the rumors about him."

Yu Long looks at Lin Moniao, frowning in disbelief, but Master Wu nods. "Good groundwork. We need proof, of course. Nothing, you say? More likely, he gives them manuals and leaves them to figure it out themselves. I wonder how much of his expertise is fake? Does he fear them surpassing him?" He paces a few steps. "But then, this is why we are here. I hardly need to instruct you... If you discover proof of treachery, don't let him know, but report back. If you find out he is being set up, that would be the best possible outcome. And we are still, officially, hunting down Xie Song for the offense. Delicacy is the key."

With this, he looks pointedly at Yu Long. "Your shidi takes the lead on this. Understand?"

Yu Long flushes red, but puts his hands together and bows to his shifu.

Master Wu clicks his tongue. "Yu Yanlong is capable and intelligent, but Lin Moniao has a mind better suited for intrigue. It is nothing to be ashamed of."

Yu Long nods and straightens up. Lin Moniao mirrors Yu Long's bow, glowing with pride and only a little uncomfortable that it's coming at Yu Long's expense. "I'll do my best to justify Shifu's confidence."

And straightening up, he adds to Yu Long, "I couldn't do it without you, Long-shixiong. You have such an honest face and reputation for decency, who would suspect you of anything? And we'll have to watch each other's backs."

That only makes Yu Long pinker, but he nods and turns those honest eyes to Lin Moniao. "Of course, Lin-shidi. Shifu. I won't let you down." He is big, and there is nothing wrong with his martial arts, but it's true that he is unthreatening, like a large but friendly dog.

"Anything else you would like to know or say at this point?" Master Wu says, taking a deep breath that may have been masking a yawn. "We can prepare more tomorrow."

"No, Shifu," says Yu Long, who is visibly struggling not to mirror that almost-yawn.

"Tomorrow," Lin Moniao agrees.

---

Wu Zhenghao's household rises early, regular as clockwork. The disciple in charge of waking everyone up, wakes everyone up; the one in charge of the keys unlocks doors, leaving only bolts in place between the house and the outside. In the kitchen, fires are lit for hot water.

There is only one more day before Master Gao is set to leave. Yu Long, who is not afforded the courtesy of a long sleep even after a late night, yawns his way through putting on his clothes, then through packing his most important belongings, and only wakes up all the way when the bright glare of the sun greets him as he enters the backyard training yard, his daggers in his hands. One is his own, the other an old one of Dong Yuan's, straight instead of curved, and he's hoping to learn to throw both together as accurately as just one. Doesn't hurt to try, does it? He doesn't have the head for meditation, and it will still be half an hour at least before the kitchen has produced breakfast and it's time to sit down.

He's busy shaking off the last of his sleep with a trick throw into a swinging puppet, when Dong Yuan comes half-running into the training grounds. "Come, quick! It's now!"

"What?"

"They're leaving now!"

---

There is a banging on Master Wu's door. The sun is up, and so any self-respecting scholar would be as well, so as not to waste daylight, but Wu Zhenghao is still deep under light summer covers, teal silk and soft cotton, one arm thrown over his lover. He stirs reluctantly and raises himself on his elbows. "Stop that racket!" he bellows. "Wait."

"Master! Master!"

He gets out of bed with the resignation of a parent whose child is asking for water for the third time in the night, grabs an inner robe to wrap around himself, and goes to the door.

Ordinarily, Lin Moniao would have returned to his own bed for propriety's sake, but last night--or rather, earlier this morning--they had both been tired enough that there had been no lovemaking, just a comfortable drifting off to sleep in each other's arms. Now Lin Moniao grumbles and burrows deeper beneath the covers, settling into the warm spot recently occupied by Master Wu, and wishing the most dire punishments on whatever unruly disciple is making so much noise.

Dong Yuan's voice reaches the ornate canopied bed from behind the divider. "Mu-shidi went over to the inn first thing after dawn, like you said, and he says Master Gao and his disciples are leaving now! Their carriages are being packed!"

"Son of a-- Thank you, Dong Yuan. Take Yu Long if you can find him and take him there, now. Make apologies for the delay. Make sure they don't leave yet."

"Is Lin--"

"Go."

Dong Yuan goes.

Okay, Lin Moniao doesn't actually wish dire punishments on Dong-shixiong. Master Gao can have them instead. Damn! He was at the same party they were all at, how does he have the energy? Maybe his reputation for internal martial arts isn't as exaggerated as all that.

Be that as it may, Lin Moniao stifles his curses and drags himself out of bed, scrambling for his clothes.

Wu Zhenghao is also pulling on clothes with practiced speed. "We'll both go." There goes the relaxed, private man; with every new layer, he puts on another aspect of the master. His hair no longer has the texture of a young man's, but he swipes it up with two drags of a comb into a guan. "Master Gao has been staying at an inn just a couple of blocks from here, it will be faster to walk."

Lin Moniao pulls his own hair up, sighing, "Yes, Shifu." He's got his daggers, he's got his token, he's dressed--it will have to do.

"I'll send word to your mother," Master Wu promises as he marches out.

The inn is a particularly splendid one, with gilded lettering outside with the inn's name--Spring Mountain--and fresh paint on all the tall window frames. Dong Yuan waves at them as they come down the street. "Here, they're still here!" He points at the street a little further down, where a carriage with two horses stands waiting, with Shen Shanwei and a young disciple already on horseback beside it. Yuwen Duyi stands next to her mare and whips around at the sound of Dong Yuan's voice.

They catch Master Gao just about to step into the carriage. "Shixiong. I'm so glad we did not miss you."

"Shidi." They bow to each other in silent fury.

Lin Moniao bows deeply, taking in the scene at the same time. Yu Long must be around here somewhere if Dong Yuan is, and there was supposed to be a second disciple... maybe they're in the carriage already? There's no horse for Lin Moniao, naturally, and he's not looking forward to being jammed in a carriage with so many people on top of everything else.

Dong Yuan rushes to the door of the inn and hangs on the door frame, gesturing inside.

"This shidi must have been mistaken. I thought you were not intending to leave until tomorrow."

"Ah. That explains the tardiness."

"My sincerest apologies."

Another cold silence.

A very brown, very beautiful disciple rushes out of the inn and bops a bow at Master Gao. "This disciple is sorry! I just... He just..."

Yu Long follows him out and also bows. "The fault is mine. My pack ties kept coming untied. Yang-shidi was helping."

Lin Moniao manages not to laugh. And here Master Wu said that Yu Long had no mind for intrigue!

"I see," says Master Gao. "But I see neither of your students have horses, Wu-shidi."

"Unfortunate," says Master Wu complacently. "But I am sure they will be no trouble, riding at the back of your carriage until suitable mounts can be found."

"No trouble at all," Lin Moniao says. "Apologies for our lack of preparation. We certainly won't delay you any longer."

"I see. Then we should really be going, before the streets become blocked with even more traffic."

"Of course. Wishing shixiong a safe journey."

"And shidi a fruitful enterprise in these coming weeks."

The masters incline their heads and Master Gao climbs into the carriage. The young disciple named Yang climbs onto the driver's seat, shame-faced and hunched, and takes up the reins.

"Get on, then," Yuwen Duyi calls out harshly and mounts her horse. There is no question of riding inside the carriage. Yu Long climbs on the back with his little pack, now well secured, and settles his big frame in as well as it will fit. It will be a dusty ride.

Lin Moniao jumps on the back as well. He doesn't actually mind riding in the back--as long as it doesn't rain--but he does eye Yu Long's pack with a little envy.

As they pull away, the last sight of Master Wu shows him standing tall and dignified with barely combed hair, Dong Yuan beside him waving them off with a grin.

The streets are already thick with people, but orderly, and such a fine carriage passes without much trouble. The sky above is blessedly overcast, lending relief from the coming heat. Out of the tall gates, against the tide of incoming merchants, they find the road turning south.

There is nothing that can be said privately, so Yu Long silently shares his water and a round of flatbread for Lin Moniao's breakfast.

"Bless you, Long-shixiong," Lin Moniao says, devouring his share of the bread in a few bites. "I told you I wouldn't be able to do it without you, didn't I?"

The young disciple on horseback eyes them curiously, but likely judges shijie would not appreciate it if he spoke to the intruders, and keeps to himself, following his elders' lead. Lin Moniao catches his look of curiosity and wariness, remembering his mother's advice. Maybe he should have saved some of the bread, at that. Although, even Master Gao must feed his disciples, and if he'd been trying to rush out of town without breakfast, they'd have left even earlier.

Maybe other opportunities will present themselves later, or Lin Moniao will make them, but for now he just meets the disciple's look with a friendly nod, not quite a bow. The disciple is surprised into bowing back. He looks of age with disciple Yang, and dark enough to be his brother, but has none of his striking looks.

Yuwen Duyi gallops up and down beside the carriage. It becomes apparent why when she does a quick turn and her horse kicks dust right up at the back of the carriage. Shen Shanwei laughs, and the young disciple smiles.

It's a good thing Madame Zhu didn't tell Lin Moniao to make any overtures towards her; he would hate to be unfilial.

Yu Long picks pebbles off what's left of his loaf and sighs. "It's going to be a six days' ride to Nanjing."

"It's not going to be six days of this," Lin Moniao mutters to Yu Long. "We'll figure something out."


Chapter Three: Sparring

Master Gao does not intend to waste time, it seems. They ride hard when the road is good, slow when it is crowded or uncertain, and stop only to water. Lunch is eaten in motion, and Master Gao makes no appearances, except to ask for Yuwen Duyi's company for a game if weiqi around lunch time. By the end of the day, the horses are exhausted, but Master Gao must know this road well, because they stop at a village--a small town, really--built around an off-shoot of the Yellow River. On their approach, they see the lush forest turn into a walled settlement, the waters of a lake behind it, shimmering under the evening sun. The fishing there must be good; indeed, the white peaks of sails can be seen poking up out of the smooth surface.

Yuwen Duyi directs Yang Xiuxing to drive to the gate, where guards in simple gear already stand ready to close it, though sundown won't be for a while yet. Money paid, they ride on through the town to an inn built around a canal; or rather, the canal is built around the inn, surrounding it on all sides and providing fresh air to all three floors of the narrow inn, its many gables sloping gracefully towards the sky. It seems like it’s the best building in town.

The water is as clean as the silty river's off-shoot could be, and the tired horses are received by stable hands as Master Gao steps down from his carriage, supported on the step to the ground by Shen Shanwei's hand.

Lin Moniao jumps down from the back, looking around the inn courtyard. It's a pretty little town, but not a very promising place to steal horses; too few horses, and too few people, for that to pass unnoticed. Buying them seems equally unlikely, unless Yu Long has more money on him than Lin Moniao thinks. His own reward from Liu Xiuling is still back in Kaifeng.

What he wouldn't give to run into Shi Jia in this inn, ready to pay for all sorts of things! But he's back in Kaifeng too, and Lin Moniao didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to him.

The long ride after a late night has taken its toll on everyone. Master Gao may have napped in the carriage, but even Yuwen Duyi's edges are softened by exhaustion. She barks orders anyway, and the disciples line up in an orderly fashion behind the Master as they file in. Rooms have been prebooked. Master Gao will have the finest one in the inn. "Send word when my guest arrives," he says and makes to climb the stairs.

"Your guest is already here, honored master," the innkeeper says, putting her plump little hands together. "He is having his meal now in our restaurant, I believe. A... formidable hero in Indian dress?"

Master Gao inclines his head. "In that case, send up your excellent soup and dumplings and let him know I will be waiting for him, at his convenience."

A hero in Indian dress? That doesn't sound like anything to do with an auction in Nanjing, although Lin Moniao hasn't actually managed to learn any details about what that was supposed to be. Lined up behind Master Gao, Lin Moniao looks surreptitiously to either side, trying to figure out if this is a surprise to any of Master Gao's students.

He also wonders whether the excellent soup and dumplings apply to them as well as to Master Gao, and if not, what they're going to eat. It doesn't seem likely that he'll let them go to the restaurant and get a look at this mysterious guest.

Yuwen Duyi gestures at Shen Shanwei, and follows the master up the staircase. Shen-shidi stops the others with a hand, and leads the way through the lobby. He must have been here before. The lobby leads out to several rooms arranged in a geometrical shape like a flower, dining rooms divided by arched doorways. The staircase winds up through the middle of the building--likely upper floors are similarly arranged. A waiter in dark robes meets them and guides them to a round table.

The restaurant is hardly full; a pair is having a heated conversation about fishing at the next table. If this formidable hero is here, he must be in the next enclosure.

"Rice and fish," Shen Shanwei orders.

Though Yu Long is the oldest here, he does not challenge his shidi taking over, but looks hungrily at the meal laid out over at the next table.

"Shijie will take care of everything tonight. No running around, all right?" Shen Shanwei glances at Yu Long and Lin Moniao--is that twist in his lip a sneer?--and adds, "The rooms were already paid for weeks ago. You two will have to pay for one for yourselves, or sleep on the floor. But I guess you can dine on sect expense with the rest of us."

"Master Wu only sent us along to help protect Master Gao. How could we do that if we ran around?" Lin Moniao asks innocently. "We might do a little practice in the inn yard before we go to bed, is all. You're welcome to join us, if you like." He looks around the table, including the young disciples in the invitation as well. "I do regret that the hasty arrangement of all this has made your duties more difficult, Shen-shidi."

"Oh, I want to see--" says Hu-shidi, but Yang-shidi tugs at his sleeve.

Shen Shanwei crosses his arms. "Oh I am not going to any extra trouble for you two, so save your regrets, Lin Moniao. I just hope you brought enough money for your own comfort."

Ugh, Lin Moniao is trying to be nice, why is Shen Shanwei making it so difficult?

Yu Long looks at Yang-shidi with his kindest expression. "We could help the young ones with their martial arts. I think that's a good idea, shidi."

His tone is mild, but suddenly everyone looks uncomfortable.

"Yes, where's the harm?" Lin Moniao puts in. "You can come too, Shen Shanwei, to make sure we're not corrupting your juniors."

"...Let's just eat." Maybe he doesn't want to make a decision without his shijie, but certainly no permission or encouragement has been given to the young ones.

Yu Long tries to coax Yang Xiuxing into conversation, but the boy has turned shy. Just then the rice arrives, with delicious-smelling strips of fried fish and fish sauce, and a crayfish soup and wine. Both of them, as well as the other young disciple, Hu Qiu, seem happy enough to dig in.

Yuwen Duyi follows the waiter in and plunks herself at the table without ceremony. "The master is with his guest," she tells Shen Shanwei.

Immediately, he offers, "Lin-shixiong and Yu-shixiong are offering to practice with the shidis after dinner."

Yuwen Duyi snorts. "That's stupid. They need to rest up."

"How thoughtful of you to be concerned about us, shijie! It's true, we all had a late night last night, but one cannot let that interfere with training. If you're not too busy, you could join us." He leans his chin on his hand and grins at her. "It's been some time since you and I sparred. I confess I miss it."

She huffs and narrows her eyes at him, but there is a hint of smile on her lips. "Maybe shidi has a point. It has been a while. I hope shidi has been applying himself in the meantime."

"They said no fighting in the back garden after last time, shijie," Hu-shidi pipes up.

"Who's fighting? It will be training. Right?"

"Naturally, it will be training." Lin Moniao's grin widens. "I already promised Shen-shidi I wouldn't corrupt your juniors."

Master Gao stays upstairs. The food is very good, the fish very fresh, but the company tense; the young ones whisper together but mostly stay subdued. Yuwen Duyi seems to be executing a one-sided stare-off with Lin Moniao over her fish and rice. Yu Long just sighs and makes soft-voiced attempts at small talk.

"You'll be rooming with Shanwei," Yuwen Duyi tells them after they all stand from their dinner. "I'll take care of the juniors. Come on." She turns to go without checking if she is followed.

They ascend the winding staircase to find that the rooms upstairs are indeed arranged in the same fashion as the restaurant downstairs. They have two rooms on the left, rather fine, with windows opening to the back. "Wash up and dump your bags, and meet us in half an hour in the back garden." Yuwen Duyi marches the young ones to her room, leaving Shen Shanwei shoving the door open. At least he lets them both have keys.

There is a wide canopied bed in the room, and plenty of room on the floor. Shen Shanwei stomps to the end and drops his bag beside the bed, clearly annoyed.

He is the shidi. He should be giving up the bed. It is rather shameless not to.

Well, one problem at a time. If only one of them is to have the bed, it wouldn't be Lin Moniao anyway, and Yu Long isn't likely to assert his rights. Also, if Lin Moniao were inclined to try to claim the bed, he doesn't have a bag to do it with.

Yu Long goes to the dresser at the end of the room and sets his bag inside. There doesn't seem to be much point in unpacking just for one night, especially if they are going to be sleeping in their clothes on the floor. He takes out the wash basin and sets it on the table under the window, beside the container of water for washing their hands and faces.

"Shen-shidi must be tired," he says gently, as Shen Shanwei looks even more constrained--now his shixiong is preparing the wash basin? He eyes Yu Long warily as the big man sets out the towel, pours the water and sprinkles leaves on it. "Lin-shidi and I have been passengers all this time, while you have been riding. You should take the bed. And here--your hands must be sore from holding reins. Go ahead."

How much face does he expect Shen Shanwei to have? "There is room for at least two of us on the bed," he says weakly. "You--you wash first." Then he sits down heavily on the edge of the bed and crosses his arms with a mulish expression.

Yu Long gives him a kind smile and a nod, and washes his hands and face.

...or maybe Yu Long will. Damn! Maybe Master Wu put the wrong person in charge of this mission after all.

"We'll make sure Yuwen-shijie knows how nasty you've been to us, if that worries you," says Lin Moniao, as he washes up. "And Yu-shixiong doesn't kick in his sleep. Much."

Shen Shanwei looks like there are several things he would like to say to that, but in the end opts for haughty silence.

Fresh water, fresh leaves, and all of them are looking somewhat more gentlemanly now. Half an hour really isn't a very long time. Yu Long does unpack some of his pack, which has two changes of clothes and some more snacks, clearly stuffed in in a hurry that morning from Master Wu's kitchen, and a manual for training.

When the time is up, Shen Shanwei knocks on the others' door, but there's no reply. Making their way down to the back gardens, they find Yuwen Duyi already guiding the young ones through some basic--very basic--hand-to-hand combat forms.

The back garden is gorgeous and spacious, surrounded by high walls with climbing vines, and benches set around in a circle in the middle of the open courtyard. There is a space perfect for training behind the benches, and a bamboo fountain connected to the canal, clacking peacefully as the water flows through it into a small decorative pond.

Lin Moniao meets Yu Long's eye. If nothing else, they've gotten confirmation of how much training the young ones have had, and it isn't much.

Picking out a spot where the others can see them, Lin Moniao suggests to Yu Long that they go through some combat forms of their own--preferably ones that look impressive.

"Daggers in sheaths, or out?" Yu Long asks quietly. They're both good throws, but there isn't any target here that wouldn't count as damaging the property. They could do a few passes of standard engagement. They both have the sect's special Curved Beauty Dagger as well as a regular straight blade. Practicing two daggers on two daggers is always a little more dangerous, especially if the blades are out of their sheaths; but then, perhaps that is also more impressive.

Lin Moniao flicks a glance over at Yuwen Duyi. "Let's take them out."

Yu Long takes in a deep breath, following the glance, but nods and picks his daggers out of his belt. His straight dagger has a wide and short blade and two sharp edges, a long handle made of reinforced wood and wrapped in leather.

Shen Shanwei's gone over to the other group and is purposefully ignoring them. Yu Long waves, and Yuwen Duyi gives them a cursory nod. Hu-shidi gets knocked on his nose when he looks at them instead of Yang-shidi's fist, leading to apologies and shijie sharply ordering them back into positions.

Yu Long suggests a taolu they have done before. It will be a dance, not a combat, since both of them know every step, but a mistake will easily lead to injury, and it certainly looks impressive. It also relies on both of them taking into account their size difference.

Dagger thwacks dagger, forearms connect, boots draw figures on the gravel. The first round of movements, with Lin Moniao 'attacking' and Yu Long 'defending', goes off without a hitch; Yu Long's movements are smooth and strong, graceful. The sun catches the bare blades, sparking flashes.

The gardens were almost abandoned, but a middle-aged couple stops near the stairs up to the restaurant to watch. The young shidis don't even pretend to be focusing on their own exercises, despite shijie's exasperated huff. But she's watching, too.

The second round is faster, all the more impressive, as Yu Long's part is to push Lin Moniao back. And the third is the most complex of all, where the 'combatants' begin to match one another, ending in an impasse with both arms crossed and blocked on either side.

There's a moment, moving in the familiar pattern, when Lin Moniao stops thinking about impressing the juniors watching, and finding out what Master Gao is up to, and maneuvering his way into being one of the ones riding a horse the next day, and only thinks about where to put his feet and how to move his arms. A moment later, and he stops thinking altogether, and only moves.

It doesn't last--he's not as in practice as he should be, and there's a moment in the third round when he falters. He's thinking again, not moving, and if it wasn't Yu Long facing him, there might have been a bad accident, but the two of them have done this so often that Yu Long compensates for it so smoothly that maybe not even Yuwen Duyi will have noticed that anything went wrong. At last they reach the end of the form, arms interlocked, and Lin Moniao throws back his head and grins at their audience, in invitation or challenge, and even still, in joy in a thing well done.

Hu Qiu is gaping, starstruck. Yang Xiuxing grins and turns pleading eyes to Shijie, who crosses her arms sternly. There's an appreciative ooh! from the old couple. Shen Shanwei is refusing to look.

"Shijie, can you teach us to do that?"

"Hnh. Didn't Yu-shixiong say he would train you today?" Without waiting for reply, she shakes out her hands and squares her shoulders, and marches over to Yu Long and Lin Moniao.

"Not bad," she tells them. "Not new, not impressive, but at least you had the guts to do it with bared blades." She yanks up Yu Long's hand, still holding the unsheathed dagger, and inspects it--maybe she thinks it's a theater prop? She drops the hand after a moment and turns her eyes to Lin Moniao. "Lin-shidi promised me a sparring session, didn't he? Maybe now's the time, while Yu Yanlong instructs our juniors."

"I'm at your disposal, Yuwen-shijie," Lin Moniao says with a bow. The arrangement suits him very well. With her attention on him, she won't be able to interfere with whatever Yu Long does with the juniors, which is part of why he suggested it--the larger part being so that she wouldn't put her foot down on the whole idea altogether--but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to this fight.

Training, of course. Not a fight at all.

Yu Long jogs towards the juniors with a friendly wave. He will have his job cut out for him keeping them focused, though. Hu Qiu keeps throwing glances at Lin Moniao and Yuwen Duyi. "Let's see, did you two get a chance to work on using internal energy to direct a blow? Yang-shidi, you first..."

Yuwen Duyi locks eyes with Lin Moniao in a challenge, smiles, and with a snap of her wrists, manifests two daggers from her loosely cuffed sleeves. One, a Curved Beauty Dagger, as expected. The other, a short, light blade with a short hilt, ideal for throwing. A thin chain runs from its hilt under her sleeve.

"Unfortunately, shijie has not trained with shidi often enough to execute such a flawless form. We shall have to take a more... freeform approach."

Lin Moniao shifts involuntarily onto his back foot, suddenly reminded of all the times he didn't come out well in... training... with Yuwen Duyi. And if she "accidentally" injures him, who's going to take her to task for it, Master Gao? Maybe this wasn't one of his better ideas.

In any case, it's too late to back down now. Looking over her stance, her grip on her weapons, for anything that might have changed since the last time they faced each other, he lifts his chin and meets her smile for smile. He shifts his own daggers into a more offensive position and says, "It's a good thing, then, that we have such well-trained physicians with us. In case something unfortunate happens."

"Of course. We wouldn't leave our dear sect brother bleeding to death in a gutter, would we?" She tosses her Beauty Dagger once and then readies her weapons. "Go on. I'll let you have first go."

Lin Moniao steps in a wide arc, trying to get some distance without opening himself up to an attack, then throws his off-hand dagger at her, aiming for her right shoulder. She jerks to the side, but too slow, taken by surprise. The dagger thunks into her shoulder, piercing cloth and sinking into flesh. First blood.

She grits her teeth in a snarl. In one movement, she shakes out the dagger and crosses her arms to slash both of her blades at Lin Moniao in a vicious down-thrust. He shifts away with an economy of movement that makes it seem like he's hardly moved at all, and, at the same, swipes at her chest with his own Beauty Dagger.

If the swipe goes wild--well, they are only practicing, right? But Yuwen Duyi turns her backwards dodge into a kick aimed at Lin Moniao's kneecap, her daggers held defensively over her body and face. It connects with a sickening crack.

Lin Moniao goes down onto his back, hard, and when he tries to get to his feet to take another swipe at her, his vision whites out with pain for a second and he finds himself right where he started.

Fuck! When he said he'd find a way out of spending another day on the back of the carriage, this was not what he meant.

Yuwen Duyi's eyes widen and she backs up a step, lowering her weapons.

"Lin-shidi!" Yu Long rushes up. The juniors sprint after him and gather around Lin Moniao with expressions of concern. Shen Shanwei hesitates, following more slowly and coming to stand behind Yuwen Duyi's shoulder.

Yu Long looks anxiously between Lin Moniao's face to his leg, his hand hovering, as if he wants to touch the injured leg and feel for the damage. Yuwen Duyi's mouth forms a hard line, then she lets out a puff of air and hides her weapons back in her sleeves. "All right, stand aside, you dolts. He's not going to die." She crouches down on her heels. "Don't move. Let it rest."

"I'm fine," says Lin Moniao through gritted teeth, obviously not fine. "It was an accident."

It turns out to be right what he said, about it being a good thing they have well-trained physicians around. As long as she doesn't take the opportunity to stick a poisoned needle in him. He smiles up at her weakly. "I don't suppose you could spare me any of the good drugs, eh, shijie?"

She gives him a grim, crooked smile, and pats his shoulder. She hesitates and seems about to say something else when a familiar, thin but raised voice interrupts them. "What's the meaning of all this?"

The hems of Master Gao's fine robes brush against the cobbled pathway as he walks down from the steps into the inn. His wrinkled brow is knitted and his dark eyes grim. A few steps behind him follows a large, bearded man in Indian dress, a nasty big blade strapped to his back. He chuckles at the sight of the disciples gathered around their fallen comrade.

The disciples who can stand scramble up and bow to the master. Yuwen Duyi barks out, "Master Gao. This disciple apologizes for the disturbance."

"Apologies," Lin Moniao adds. "We were only--training."

It could be worse, after all. It could be him standing over an injured Yuwen Duyi.

"Training. Scrapping like dogs, more likely." He looks around, and sighs. "Duyi."

She cringes at the disappointment in his voice, remaining bowed with her hands together.

Yu Long steps forward. "Master, they were sparring, and misjudged one another."

"I see. And you all say it was an accident."

The juniors quickly agree. "Yes, master," says Yuwen Duyi, and taking her cue, so does Shen Shanwei.

"Yes, Master," Lin Moniao puts in. As satisfying as it might be to get Yuwen Duyi in trouble--his knee still hurts like a son of a bitch--it wouldn't do him any good with anyone here.

"Then, what else could it have been?" Master Gao raises his white eyebrows. His tone still isn't kind, but Yuwen Duyi's shoulders sag in relief.

Master Gao strolls forward, one hand behind his back, and puts his hand on her shoulder, looking down at Lin Moniao. "How bad is it?"

"He needs to rest his leg, at least for five days, preferably seven or ten."

The master nods and considers Lin Moniao with his cold eyes, calculating. "Well. Let him rest, then, and see to the injury. We will see about accommodating Lin-shizhi tomorrow morning. And perhaps next time our host specifies 'no fighting in the back garden', consider that to also apply to sparring."

With that, he turns and sweeps slowly back towards the inn. His companion follows him. The man goes as far as to touch his shoulder rather companionably with another laugh, though Master Gao's answering look at this familiarity is not too friendly. Nonetheless, the pair continue together.

Yuwen Duyi draws in another breath and pulls her usual haughty mask back on. "Yu Long!" she snaps. "I suspect he would rather that you carry him than that I do. Let's get him up."

"Thank you," says Lin Moniao, accepting Yu Long's help to pull him to his feet--foot--and setting his teeth against the fresh pain the movement causes. He leans heavily on his arm. Yu Long is tall enough that leaning on his shoulder is out of the question. It takes a moment, but Lin Moniao finds his balance.

With Yu Long's arm looped around him, and the occasional steadying hand of Yuwen Duyi, they manage to get Lin Moniao to the lobby, up the stairs, and to his room. It is slow work, and a bit of a spectacle, with customers and staff stopping to stare and whisper. Yu Long pays them no mind, and winces every time Lin Moniao does. The juniors get sternly told to go to their room.

There is no question of Lin Moniao not taking the bed now. Yuwen Duyi gingerly places his foot up on a pillow. "Here." She reaches into a pouch on her belt. "Yu Yanlong, water." Lin Moniao is presented with a frankly oversized black pill and a cup of water. "It will take the edge off. Break it up if you can't swallow it."

Lin Moniao has apparently underestimated how much goodwill he's won from Yuwen Duyi by letting her break his kneecap and then covering for her with Master Gao about it. On the one hand, that's good. On the other hand, he asked for the good drugs because he thought it would make her not give them to him, and now she's called his bluff.

Taking the edge off sounds very good right now, but he doesn't want his thinking muddled yet, when he still has things to do tonight--not that the pain isn't doing that on its own. Still. He'll take the medicine later. He breaks up the pill and drinks the water, surreptitiously hiding the fragments of pill in his sleeve.

There are plenty of people who would not believe in Lin Moniao's inability to swallow large things, but luckily none of them are in this room.

Yuwen Duyi sits back with a stern expression. "All right, before that takes effect, let me say what I need to say."

Shen Shanwei crosses his arms in the back and stalks farther towards the window, uncomfortable. Yu Yanlong stays sitting by the bed in quiet anxiety.

She glares down at Lin Moniao, and her words are clipped. "I don't like you. I don't understand what Master Wu sees in you--or rather I do, and it's disgraceful. But what happened today was my fault. I was the elder, I was responsible, and I knew better. I should never have got carried away just because I can't stand your stupid face. Master Gao was right to be disappointed."

At those last words, her face crumbles, but she schools it back into rigidity and puts her hands together, bowing forward in her sitting position. "I sincerely apologize to Lin-shidi."

Lin Moniao knows that Yuwen Duyi thinks he's nothing but a pretty face and a tight asshole. It shouldn't bother him--at least, it shouldn't bother him any more now than it did an hour ago, or a year ago.

"I don't like you either. And I can't hit you for calling my master disgraceful, because you broke my damned knee." He leans back, closes his eyes with a sigh, and continues in a more conciliatory tone, "I believe you didn't mean to do it. And I'm sure Master Gao won't be angry with you for long; he values you too well."

He doesn't want to be on this mission, spying on his sect brothers and sister, gathering evidence for his master's eventual disgrace. He doesn't like Yuwen Duyi, or Master Gao, or Shen Shanwei, but Dong Yuan was right--it shouldn't be this way.

Yuwen Duyi nods, and eyes him suspiciously, as if expecting something worse, some snide comment she can rightfully disdain. But since that seems to be it, she climbs on her feet. "Don't do anything stupid with that knee. We don't want you holding us back longer than necessary."

She slams the door slightly on her way out.

Yu Long nudges Lin Moniao's side and hands him back his dagger, the one that had drawn first blood. He's already wiped it off.

Shen Shanwei hesitates, ambling in place indecisively for a moment, then makes a beeline for the door. "I'll be back later. You two just--do whatever you want."

Once he’s gone, Lin Moniao jerks his chin in the direction of the door and mutters under his breath, "Is he lurking in the hallway waiting to see what we'll do?"

Yu Long stands up and pads softly to the door--as softly as a big man who's never been very light on his feet can be--and listens. There's a bang, and voices, which soon get muffled.

"I think he went to the other room," he says quietly and returns. "I don't think he knows what to do if shijie isn't around to lead the way. I'm not sure I know what to do now either. It... I understand why you did it, it could have worked out. If you won, she would have lost face. Does it, does it hurt a lot?" It's an inane question to ask. He looks dejectedly at Lin Moniao's leg, as if he could make it better by fretting.

"Yes, it hurts." Lin Moniao swings his legs over the edge of the bed and lowers himself to the floor, scooting over until he can reach the dresser. "What we do is what we were going to do anyway. I don't think Shen-shidi would have left us alone with anything sensitive, but we might as well look through his stuff."

"Shidi, come on, don't!" Yu Long looks like he wants to pick Lin Moniao up bodily and dump him back on the bed, but they both know there's no way to do that without hurting him. "I'll get you whatever you need. Here, let me. You sit down."

"I'm already here. I might as well go on. You can get the higher drawers." Lin Moniao jerks open a drawer irritably, even as he knows Yu Long is the last person he should be snapping at. He usually has a better rein on his temper than this. "Look, I'm sorry, Long-shixiong. I messed up. I was reckless and irresponsible and made our mission more difficult. Let's just get it done, okay?"

In the drawer are a couple of manuals, one martial arts and cultivation, one astrology, and a novel. Shen Shanwei was carrying a backpack and a side-bag, and the latter lies unopened in the drawer. The pack has been partially spread out: shaving kit, writing implements, indoor slippers, hairbrush.

Yu Long stops for a moment, then opens the upper cabinet and starts taking down the few folded clothes Shen Shanwei had set aside for the following day. "It wasn't reckless, it was brave," he says gently. "It was decisive. That's why you're in charge, and not me. And shijie doesn't know you. She only dislikes someone she made up in her own head." He shakes out the clothes, and finding nothing, starts folding them again. "You're brave and competent. That's why Master Wu likes you so much. And you're kind, which is why I do."

There's nothing more in the upper shelves. Yu Long crouches down. "Find anything?"

"Nothing. Probably." Lin Moniao pages through the books, in case there's something to them beyond what's immediately obvious, although he doubts he'll find anything--Shen Shanwei is not Shi Jia. "You think I'm upset because of what shijie said? Well, maybe I am."

"Nobody likes being disliked for no reason. Or... for a reason." He shakes his head. "Didn't you say your mother thinks Shen Shanwei is still loyal to the sect? He might still carry something secret, if Yuwen Duyi asked him to."

The packs reveal more clothes, an empty notebook, and in an inner pocket, a woman's carved wooden comb, such as could be kept as a memento.

"Or if he didn't know what it was he was carrying. But then, we also wouldn't know what it was he was carrying." Lin Moniao replaces Shen Shanwei's possessions back in the dresser carefully, just as he found them, and adds, as if he is making a great concession, "All right, you can help me back to bed. How much money do you have, incidentally? I didn't like to ask in front of the others."

Yu Long half-carries him to bed as respectfully as possible and deposits him down carefully. "Dong Yuan donated everything in his pockets just before we ran off. Let me see."

He goes to his pack and finds the inner pocket, drawing out strings of coins, dumping them out on the small table and emptying his pocket-pouch next to them. He shifts through and counts. "Four hundred and twenty copper coins. Twenty six. It won't buy us a horse..."

"If you can convince Shen Shanwei to give you the bed, I hope you can convince one of the juniors to give you a horse. It's for their own good, after all; people will think they have no manners. And Yuwen-shijie won't spray them with pebbles, probably. How did it go, with the juniors?"

"Shen-shidi gave up the bed because he already felt bad, though. I just pushed him a little... It's yours now, anyway.” He scratches the back of his neck, thinking. "Well, I didn’t get much time with the juniors. Yang-shidi was very keen on learning our form. I told him we could look at the manual together later. I asked Hu-shidi how long he has been with the sect, and he said two years. It really is too bad. But I think they would give up their beds and horses and some of their least favorite rations for a chance to do some real training.

"I think if we want to find anything out, we either have to ask point blank or eavesdrop. Or um... well, Master Wu says force or trickery is justified when your intent is worthy... What are you thinking, shidi? What's the plan? What should I do?"

"I don't think there's anything else we can do tonight, anyway," Lin Moniao lies. In fact, eavesdropping is exactly what he's been planning on doing, and he doesn't intend to let a busted leg stop him. He may never get a better chance, now that Shen Shanwei isn't shadowing them, and everyone will assume that his injury and Yuwen Duyi's pill are keeping him in bed. But he doesn't want to test exactly how far he can push the authority that Master Wu gave him. If Yu Long's intent is worthy, he will probably have no compunction about sitting on Lin Moniao and preventing him from moving until the morning. "Let's not argue about the bed, eh? There's plenty of room for two. You're not really going to kick me, I just said that to tease Shen-shidi."

"All right," Yu Long agrees easily. "I am sure they can find a bedroll for Shen-shidi. And you should get rest. Can I get you anything?"

"Just sleep." Lin Moniao's yawn is not entirely feigned. "Did you ever hear of such a person as Master Gao's peculiarly-dressed friend? I suppose he's not as much of a secret as I thought, since Master Gao brought him down to see us--unless it was that he insisted and Master Gao couldn't stop him. They did seem to be on such terms that... Master Gao didn't feel free to object to his familiarity, even though it was clear he didn't like it. Does he have some hold on him, do you think? Damn! If only I'd thought faster, maybe I could have tried speaking to him, or at least getting his name, and Master Gao couldn't have stopped that either... oh well."

"You were injured, how could you talk to him?" Yu Long shakes his head. "There must be more than one hero in the Jianghu who has spent enough time in India to adopt the dress. He's not a merchant or a monk, not with that kind of a weapon. A mercenary, maybe?" He frowns at that and shakes his head again. "Why would Master Gao... He could be independent, and Master Gao could be cultivating another notable ally for the sect, such as Master Xie was before he was invited to join. That would explain him being tolerant, and if they are new friends, the hero would not yet understand what touch is welcome and what is not. I have never seen him in Kaifeng, in any case, and I have been there for over a year... so I don't think he is one of Master Wu's friends. Does that help?"

"It's good I have you around to remind me that there can be innocent explanations for things," Lin Moniao laughs. "And I suppose you're right--if all else fails, we can just ask."

Yu Long huffs a breath out at that. "Well. I just think it makes more sense."

He goes out soon after that to look for Shen Shanwei, and the two return together with a bedroll from the staff, both yawning. The inn is not sleeping yet--there are voices still wafting up from the restaurant and the porch through the cracked-open window--but they did start off early and ride hard for a long day. After all the excitement, Shen Shanwei looks ready to drop, and doesn't even make any more comments about the arrangements.

It has barely got dark outside by the time Lin Moniao is the last one in the room still awake.

Hopefully he's not too late to find out anything interesting. Careful not to wake Yu Long, he lowers himself to the floor like he did before. What he really needs is a crutch, but he doesn't have one, so he'll have to make do. He might not be able to move as quickly as usual, and scooting around on the floor is hardly dignified, but after all the whole point is for no one to see him. He lets himself out into the hallway and shrinks back against the wall, listening for sounds of conversation from any of the rooms.

The next door from theirs is the one that was taken by Yuwen Duyi and the juniors. It is quiet at first, but creeping closer, Lin Moniao can make out a familiar harsh voice snapping, "Xiuxing, focus. I know it's late, but you have to complete the exercise."

A moment more silence.

"Hu Qiu, you're done. Good work. Now rub your palms, open your eyes. There you go. Get on up, you can wash up and go to bed. When your shidi's done, shijie needs to go check on Master Gao."

Lin Moniao smiles to himself. Although, maybe he shouldn't be so cynical; if Yu Long were here, he would certainly argue that shijie must have been teaching the shidis meditation all along, and it has nothing to do with his and Lin Moniao's presence and offers of instruction. And maybe he would be right. But Lin Moniao's cynicism has served him well more often than not.

Now he has until the end of the meditation exercise before Yuwen Duyi comes out and finds him sitting in the hallway. Descending a few steps on the central staircase puts him safely out of sight, unless she plans to go down, which seems unlikely, as all the bedrooms are on this level as far as Lin Moniao can tell. Or unless someone else comes up in the meantime, which is a risk he'll have to take. And it should give him a good vantage point to see where she goes next.

He doesn't have long to wait. After a while, Yuwen Duyi leaves alone, closing the door behind her quietly, and goes across the hall. She's preoccupied, so it is not difficult to avoid her eyes by scooting quietly around the column as she moves. She stops in front of a door across the hall, hangs her head and sighs, then squares her shoulders and knocks. "Master?" She opens the door at a word from inside and enters.

Going down the stairs jolted Lin Moniao's knee at every step; going up does it again, and as he clamps his mouth shut to avoid making any noise at it, he's reminded of her admonition that doing anything stupid on his knee means it will take longer to heal. She was being an ass, but she was probably also being honest. Well, if she wasn't involved in shady dealings, he wouldn't have to do stupid things on his knee to spy on her, would he? He creeps closer to the door where he saw her go in.

"Is that better?" says Yuwen Duyi's voice behind the door.

"Yes, thank you."

Then, after a while: "Is there anything else?"

"Duyi."

"...Yes, Master."

"Explain."

"...It really was just what it looked like. I lost control. It..."

"Don't tell me it won't happen again. This master knows Duyi has a temper. ...There now, don't be like that. I am not angry. If you are never ready to be a leader, then so be it. I will not send you away."

"Master..."

"Enough of that. How are the young ones?"

"Hu Qiu is almost ready. Yang Xiuxing is restless, but still obedient."

"Well, we've only just started with him."

"Master, what will we do with Lin Moniao now?"

"We can't send Wu Zhenghao's favorite back injured. It will look bad. I suppose we will drag him along, as in the original plan. If we could leave them at Bai Weiyun's, that would be ideal, but I am not inclined to inconvenience Bai Weiyun at this point. The trouble is that the Little Raksha has decided to travel with us. I'd have to have them both ride with me in the carriage or lose speed."

...or maybe Lin Moniao wasn't being cynical enough. What on earth does it mean? Yuwen Duyi hates him, but he would have sworn she was genuinely distressed at injuring him. She wouldn't do anything to harm young men--barely more than children--in her care. Would she?

One thing seems clear--Lin Moniao hasn't wasted his only chance to speak with Master Gao's hero friend. He'll have to think carefully about what to say to him.

He's heard enough. It will have to be enough. As tempting as it is to wait and see if there's any more--and as disinclined as he is to move--if he's caught now it will be very bad.

He scoots back along the corridor to his own room, promising himself that he'll take his pill once he gets there. Just a little further.

Inside, all is quiet. Shen Shanwei has begun to snore in a halting, wet way, his mouth hanging open where he lies on the bedroll, hair spread out like spider web and spilling on the floor. Yu Long lies turned to the wall, as Lin Moniao left him, trying to tuck himself small, breathing slowly. Neither of them stirs as he makes his way back.

There's even water left on the side table, and Lin Moniao pours himself a cup and takes his pill. Getting into bed proves to be an unexpected challenge. It's higher than a step, and he doesn't have Yu Long to help him like before. Of course, he could poke Yu Long awake, but the thought of his disappointed, sad-puppy face is enough to make Lin Moniao discount the idea as soon as it occurs. It works just as well on Lin Moniao as it does on Shen Shanwei, and Lin Moniao is only imagining it!

By the time he manages to get into bed, he's light-headed. With the effort, he thinks, but the thought doesn't bother him, in fact, it's kind of funny... his leg still hurts, in a distant way. It doesn't matter very much.

Then he has to muffle his laugh with his sleeve as he thinks of something really funny. The Little Raksha! Of course! There was this girl once... Lin Moniao can't remember her name, but she wore jasmine perfume and had the most enchanting voice... he can still remember her telling him about her encounter with Hua Yan, called the Little Raksha, a wild creature in battle and a wilder one when he's having fun.

Well! Maybe Master Wu wasn't wrong to send his little whore on this mission, eh, shijie? Speaking of stupid things to do on a busted knee. Still, sometimes one must use a little creativity, is all...

And Bai Weiyun... hasn't Lin Moniao heard that name before, too? There's a certain bath house, between Kaifeng and Nanjing...

And chasing that thought, Lin Moniao drifts off to sleep.


Chapter Four: The White Cloud Bathhouse

The morning’s dim and gray light has crept into the inn room. Shen Shanwei is on his haunches by the bed, poking Lin Moniao's arm. "Hey, you. Are you still breathing?"

Yu Long stirs with a groan, but sits up obediently, blinking at Shen Shanwei, who is fully dressed, brushed and buckled. "Get up if you don't want to miss breakfast. See you down in five." He stands with a self-satisfied smile, waves, and walks out the door. Yu Long wipes at his eyes, yawns, and falls back into bed.

"Ughhhhhhhh," Lin Moniao groans. The medicine has worn off, and his knee is happy to remind him of everything he put it through last night. If anything, it feels worse than when Yuwen Duyi first kicked it. "I don't suppose you could bring the wash basin over here, could you, Long-shixiong? I'll do your hair if you do mine."

It is apparently too early for small talk. Yu Long drags himself up and climbs clumsily over Lin Moniao's legs to get their preparations done.

Five incense sticks' time is far too optimistic, especially with having to figure out how to do it around the injury. Before they're done, the door opens (someone, it seems, has extra keys) and Yuwen Duyi marches in without even knocking. Yu Long makes a startled grab at the collar of his inner robes, like a maiden caught in half-dress. Yuwen Duyi laughs at him. "I'm just here to bind shidi's leg. Don't worry, I won't eat you." She is carrying a bag beside her, and reaches in for a set of bandages. "Ready? I promise I'll be gentle."

"I'll believe that when I see it," Lin Moniao mutters. He opens his hands in surrender. "All right, do your worst."

Binding the leg takes another short while, but while Yuwen Duyi's work is brisk, it is careful, and the few twinges of pain probably couldn't be avoided. In the end, the knee is supported in place. It is less likely for Lin Moniao to twist it accidentally, now, though he still can't put weight on it. "I've asked a boy to go buy you a walking stick, too, and to hurry up."

"Thank you, Yuwen-shijie," Lin Moniao says sincerely. He really could use a walking stick; he's already tired of having to be carried. But since it can't be helped, he'd rather not let on that it bothers him.

"How will he ride?" Yu Long asks. "Is, are any of the horses particularly gentle?"

She lets out an irritated huff. "You'll see. Pick him up. You're as big as a horse, anyway."

Lin Moniao lifts his arms towards Yu Long like a child asking to be picked up. "You know, usually when someone says you're as big as a horse, they mean it as a compliment. Maybe shijie likes you."

Yuwen Duyi looks like she would like to break the other knee, too, but just stomps off with a muttered, "Stupid!"

Yu Long picks Lin Moniao up under the shoulders like a toddler and sets him up on one knee. "You know, this would be faster if I could just toss you over my shoulder. Would you mind...?"

"Please leave me some dignity," Lin Moniao sighs.

"Fair enough."

They hobble downstairs to find the breakfast still on the table, despite Shen Shanwei's threats--they wouldn't leave before Shijie's had a bite, after all. Unfortunately for Yu Long and Lin Moniao, Yuwen Duyi seems satisfied just chomping through some eggs and flatbread and quaffing a weak ale before getting up to go. Yu Long is still wiping off crumbs when they get to the stables. At least a boy rushes up in time to hand Lin Moniao a walking-staff--no more sticking to shixiong like a limpet.

The carriage is already waiting. Master Gao draws back the curtains and leans out. "Duyi, there you are. Have you seen our guest? We are still waiting for him."

Yuwen Duyi's face falls. She bows quickly and runs back into the inn. Master Gao sighs. "Lin-shizhi. Get in."

Lin Moniao bows, bringing his hands together as well as he can without letting go of the staff. "Thank you. Apologies for causing Master inconvenience."

Shen Shanwei opens the door, and Yu Long helps Lin Moniao and his staff in. He is seated with his back to the front, opposite Master Gao, who is sitting poised and unreadable in splendid robes, a heavy incense burner by his side, already lit and wafting a sweet smell into the interior of the carriage. Between them is a piece of furniture that acts as both a table and a storage box. There is room to stretch his leg out, at least, and for Hua Yan to squeeze in next to him, if he shows up. Master Gao sits smack in the middle of his bench, apparently unwilling to be squeezed in next to.

It is dim inside, but only a curtain separates them from the activity in the yard. "Did you boys sleep well?" Yu Long is asking, to a chorus of yesses. "Can you show how many times you can hit my hand before shijie comes back? No points for style, go on."

"Hey, you can't just start training them in the middle of leaving," Shen Shanwei's voice complains, but there is already a smack of a fist on a flat hand. "Stop that! Hu Qiu, check your saddle one more time."

Master Gao opens his eyes and lets his cold gaze fall on Lin Moniao. "No need for shizhi to apologize for an accident."

Lin Moniao dips his head without saying anything else. If Hua Yan doesn't show up, this ride is going to be really unbearable.

"Unless shizhi has done something else to inconvenience this master?" He holds out his aged, long hand with the fingertips square as shovels. "Should we see?"

Master Gao's pulse readings are always done in private, but perhaps he thinks this is private enough.

Lin Moniao flinches, hand tightening on his staff, and it doesn't require an expert in pulse reading to read his fear.

He's a fraud, Lin Moniao tells himself. It's all smoke and mirrors, designed to make people betray themselves. He can lie to Master Gao as well as he can lie to anyone. The main thing it needs is confidence.

He lets out his breath slowly, centering himself, and offers his hand. "Why not? I've done nothing disloyal to the sect."

Master Gao studies him, then takes his hand between his, feeling for the pulse on his wrist. "It is good to clear the air, and re-establish trust, shizhi." He looks serene as he finds the pulse and half-closes his eyes. "Let us begin with something easy. What did the Parrot God tell you?"

"Something that wasn't meant to be repeated to anyone not present," Lin Moniao answers. What sort of a test is this?

"I already know," Master Gao said drily. "You have a destiny in Kaifeng. It will not be what you expect it to be."

Lin Moniao nods. It sounds so much less grand, coming from Master Gao. He tells himself it doesn't matter how Master Gao knows, but he can't help wondering: Did Master Wu tell him? Did Sect Leader Niu, or the God? Or does he truly have some uncanny source of knowledge of his own?

His fingers tighten on Lin Moniao's pulse. "Is shizhi not wondering how this master knows?"

Just then, from outside, comes the cry of "He's here!" Master Gao lets go of Lin Moniao's wrist and sits back, straight-backed and dignified.

"Master Gao," says Yuwen Duyi's voice behind the curtain, slightly out of breath, before the big man in Indian dress yanks open the door without asking for leave.

"Gao Chengyi! What's the meaning of this! Who leaves before breakfast? What's the goddamn hurry?"

"Hua Yan. So good of you to join us."

Lin Moniao runs his own fingers over his wrist without thinking, unsettled. Did Master Gao really pick that thought from his mind? Smoke and mirrors, he tells himself, but the confidence behind it is gone. If Hua Yan hadn't arrived when he did, Lin Moniao might have told Master Gao everything, out loud or otherwise.

He makes a seated bow as Hua Yan enters the carriage, examining him through lowered eyes, preparing to find something to admire if he possibly can.

The Little Raksha climbs in, grumbling, and drops himself down next to Lin Moniao. The carriage shifts and shakes under his weight. "If if wasn't so damn early, I'd be out there riding Spring Thunder instead of catching a nap at your expense. Ah, what the hell." He laughs, a big roof rattling laugh. "It will be worth it when we get to the White Cloud Springs!"

Certainly there are things to admire about Hua Yan, though he is not beautiful. His arms bulge with muscles, his manner is confident, and he is practically brimming with Yang energy, radiant as the sun. He is also very neat, with the scent of sweet oils about him, and looks like he could crush a skull between two of his toes.

"I am so glad," says Master Gao. "Shizhi, this is Hua-gongzi. Hua Yan, you remember Lin Moniao. His circumstances place him with us. I hope Hua Yan does not mind."

The Little Raksha looks at him with curiosity, up and down. "The more the merrier. Hello there." He laughs again, though nothing is very funny--it seems to be a persistent habit.

Lin Moniao could scoot over to make more room for Hua Yan, but he doesn't. Being squashed up against him is not at all unpleasant. Up close, even Yu Long would seem small and delicate in comparison.

"Pleased to meet Hua-gongzi." Lin Moniao smiles up at him. "The circumstances that compel me to ride with you are unfortunate, but perhaps the company will be some compensation."

The Little Raksha tilts his head, and though his smile does not change, there is a gleam of interest in his eyes. "I did hear Qilin Villa is rich in beauties. The rumours have not been exaggerated. Some good things can happen in the morning too, eh?" He pats Lin Moniao's thigh affectionately--of his good leg.

Master Gao heaves a barely perceptible sigh, his thin chest rising under the fine silk. "Lin Moniao is a favored student of my shidi, Wu Zhenghao. He has been lent to us for the duration of this trip, despite how it must have torn my shidi's heart to part with him."

"I see! I see!"

Yuwen Duyi calls from outside. "Master, we are ready to go."

"Then go!" Master Gao snaps, raising his reedy voice. The carriage jolts forward, and they are off.

And if Lin Moniao holds onto the Little Raksha for balance as the carriage starts moving, who could blame him? He is injured, after all. (The only trouble is that he is injured, and he can't help but wince at the very unromantic pains that shoot up and down his leg at that first jolt.)

"Master Wu is very concerned for Master Gao's safety," he says, once he recovers. "And he never minds parting with me for a little while, as long as I come back. But, because of a miscommunication between the masters, I'm afraid our parting was very hasty and unprepared--I didn't even know Master Gao's friend was going to accompany us. Are you also interested in the auction?"

"Auction?"

"There is one in Nanjing," Master Gao says. "Art objects, mainly."

"Oh, no, no. I'm only traveling with you until the bathhouse." Somehow his hand has found its way back on Lin Moniao's thigh. "Pity! I hope you will get to enjoy the springs at least for a night, Lin-gongzi. I'd stay there even longer if the food was better. But there's more than one way to please the body, isn't there?"

Master Gao looks like he would very much like to throw both of them out of the carriage.

"That would be nice," Lin Moniao sighs, leaning against the Little Raksha. "However, it all depends on Master Gao's schedule. I believe he's in something of a hurry--hence the whole morning-ness of it all." Inclining his head in Master Gao's direction, he adds, "I'm surprised--pleased! but surprised--that Master Gao has found time for a visit to a bathhouse at all."

"Ah! Gao Chengyi likes the fine things in life, don't you, old man? And then there's the cure."

"Speaking of pleasures," Master Gao says dryly, "I believe Hua Yan promised me a game of weiqi?"

"Ah! I did!" Hua Yan takes his hand back from Lin Moniao's thigh to rub his hands together. "I bet your set is very fine. Let's have a look. May I?" At Master Gao's gesture he opens the box-table to reveal a board and white and green jade tokens in two cups. "Hah! Hua Yan is always right."

"Please."

Hua Yan plays a dark green token, and they are off.

The game is clearly intended to cut off Lin Moniao's line of questioning and prevent Hua Yan from revealing more than Master Gao would like. If it's also revenge on Lin Moniao for annoying him by flirting with the Little Raksha, it's effective--there's nothing worse than being a captive audience to someone else's game of weiqi. At one point Lin Moniao nearly confesses to his excursion last night simply to alleviate the boredom, but fortunately he manages to refrain.

Outside, the sound of hooves and the rattle of the wheel. The road is not bad, but there is no way a carriage ride like this is entirely without bumps. When they stop to water, Master Gao and the Little Raksha both leave the carriage, the former to "speak to Duyi", the other to "stretch his legs and have a leak, and go see Thunder". Spring Thunder, it turns out, is a large black roan, and has been lent to Yu Yanlong for the first stretch.

The ground here is getting higher, though there are no mountains on the route until they get closer to Nanjing, and all that can be seen outside is the tops of lush forest trees and blue sky.

Both riders and horses enjoy splashing a little in a cool spring, and Yuwen Duyi checks the carriage reins with Yang Xiuxing, who's due to take over driving from Shen Shanwei. Yu Yanlong comes up to the carriage to help Lin Moniao down, if he wishes it. Yuwen Duyi calls an order from the front, "Take him to that quiet bend. The cool water will be good for his knee."

Even with the staff, getting down from the carriage is difficult, and Lin Moniao accepts Yu Long's help, although he shakes him off once he's on level ground.

"Cool water sounds wonderful. Are you coming, Shixiong?" Lin Moniao looks out towards the quiet bend that Yuwen Duyi has indicated, trying to decide if it's far enough off from the others to risk a frank conversation with Yu Long.

Yang-shidi, dismissed, heads off to join Hu-shidi in splashing where the spring runs shallow. Shijie joins the master on a stroll. Everyone seems preoccupied, and the bend is private enough, but they won't have much time if yesterday is anything to go by.

"How was it?" Yu Long asks as soon as they get settled.

The cold water is soothing on Lin Moniao's knee, but he can't relax and appreciate it properly.

"Did you know we're going to a hot spring to find a cure for Master Gao? A cure for what, I don't know. Shijie visited him to attend to some illness last night. Before that she had been guiding the shidis through a meditation--yes, I was snooping on them, don't scold, we don't have time--and it seemed ordinary enough at the time, but when she spoke to Master Gao--" Lin Moniao can't remember the exact words, and he struggles to convey just how sinister the conversation sounded. "It was all, will they be ready, and this one is restless but that one is obedient, and--I know this sounds stupid. But I'm really afraid they're in some danger. I’d like to know what she's been teaching them."

Yu Long opens his mouth to 'scold', but there are more pressing concerns. "They're practicing internal arts and neglecting physical cultivation? That would not be so strange. The sect leader's strongest skills are in internal alchemy. It could be a way to speed through their education, to focus on one area. Master Gao is rather frail to be teaching physical arts, too. But, ready? Ready for what?"

He sits back on his haunches and chews the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. "I will sneak them out to train when I can, and I'll see what their internal arts are like. But I have been thinking, if Master Gao feels... he has no future in the sect... he could be thinking of seceding and taking his disciples with him. He would want to be sure he only brings obedient ones with him?"

He shakes his head, as if it sounds weak even to him. It doesn't explain what they should be 'ready' for. "They're so young," he concludes. Both he and Lin Moniao were older when they were accepted.

"Yes," says Lin Moniao. It's only Master Gao. It's absurd to imagine him as some demon out of legend, sustaining itself on the life of youths. But... after what happened in the carriage before Hua Yan arrived, not so absurd. What if he isn't a fraud? What if he's something worse?

Lin Moniao can't think of a way to say it without sounding more unhinged than he's already sounded. And the others are already coming out of the water, leading the horses back towards the carriage. All Lin Moniao can say is, "Don't--let anything happen to them."

Yu Long shakes his head, brows furrowed. "I won't."

Hua Yan has decided he has had enough of being cooped up and reclaims his horse, so it's back to the back of the carriage for Yu Long. At least today it will only be half a day's ride. Upon entering the carriage, Master Gao announces that he will meditate. It is not going to be a very exciting time.

Yuwen Duyi rides up just as Yu Long is helping Lin Moniao back into his seat. "Hey, you. Are you going to be obnoxious or do you want this?" She holds out another pill on the palm of her hand. Master Gao pretends not to hear as he settles his robes on his seat.

"Yes," says Lin Moniao, because he does want it, but he's also probably going to continue to be obnoxious, by her standards. He takes the pill from her before she can change her mind. "Thank you."

Master Gao meditates; Lin Moniao drifts in a sleepy haze, the pain reduced to a minor annoyance even when the carriage rocks and climbs, climbs down, and climbs up again. The effect is starting to fade, however, by the time the carriage pulls to a final stop. Yu Long is one step behind the Little Raksha, who opens the door and offers Lin Moniao a hand down with a grin. "We're here!"

It's late again, nearing sunset, but outside is almost as bright as midday, with countless white lanterns hung on strings outside and already lit for the night. They are still surrounded by forest, ahead and behind, making the view wonderful, but their destination sprawls on a sloping upwards hill, a series of fine white buildings of various sizes connected by strings of more lanterns. The buildings are nestled between high cliffs, with a refreshing wind blowing from the east. From their vantage point, they can just see puffs of steam rising from the spread of interconnected rocky pools in the middle of the loose compound. There are no walls, no gates, only a guardhouse with a stable near the road, and several pairs of servants ready to welcome guests. There is another carriage pulling up just as theirs does, and a wealthy elderly couple disembarking.

"Master Gao, it's so good to see you back," says an elderly servant, bowing to Master Gao with a brilliant smile as Shen Shanwei helps him down. "Let me show you and your people to your quarters."

Lin Moniao throws the briefest of apologetic glances at Yu Long before turning his full attention to the Little Raksha, leaning heavily on him as he comes down from the carriage. "You were right," he says. "It is beautiful here."

"Hua Yan is always right." He sneaks a hand on Lin Moniao's waist before settling him down with a chuckle.

Yu Long slinks back awkwardly. Shen Shanwei gives them all a look one by one and then turns away with disgusted expression.

Master Gao inclines his head to the servant, then turns to address the group. "Everyone is to go directly to the rooms prepared for them and stay there until it is time to go. This is not a pleasure jaunt."

"Aww, can't the kids play?" Hua Yan asks.

"They can not. Tonight, I expect them to practice discipline and prudence, and to be in bed at a reasonable hour." Master Gao draws himself up and turns to the servant, who opens her arm to lead them deeper into the compound.

Hua Yan leans in a little closer to Lin Moniao and mutters, "What do you think? I can come and break you out once that old cunt is asleep."

"Yes, let's," Lin Moniao whispers back, keeping the grin off his face and only letting it into his voice.

As they are led up the path, it is quite clear who the bath-house servants are. They all wear the same white robes with the same pale blue lotus embroidered on the sleeves as they go about carrying towels and trays. The guests, on the other hand, are in varied colors and styles. When they pass the buildings surrounding the steaming springs, they can see people pad about outside on the grass in simple robes and slippers. The Little Raksha leaves Lin Moniao to fend for himself and chats up the elderly servant, making Auntie put a little hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.

The very first stop is one of the self-standing buildings, a two-floor house, small, but with an inner courtyard. "This will do for your disciples, I hope, master."

"Mm." It should do. It's extremely fine, and... is that hot spring steam wafting up from the inner courtyard? Master Gao does not scrimp!

Well! Maybe the kids can play a little, even without the Little Raksha coming by to break them out. Lin Moniao still hopes for a chance to speak--as well as other things--privately with Hua Yan, but in the meantime, as he himself said, there are other ways to please the body.

Maybe even Shen Shanwei will calm down. Lin Moniao has made some progress on finding out what's going on, and Yu Long on establishing a rapport with the young disciples, but Shen Shanwei remains even less won-over than he was at the start.

"The house the esteemed master reserved is just up the path," the attendant continues, and points to a smaller house shaped like a squat pagoda, within sight of the larger house.

"Yes, yes," says Master Gao impatiently. "I would like to see one of your physicians, at their earliest convenience, and you may let Master Bai know we have arrived. Duyi, come with me. Shanwei, keep them out of trouble. You're in charge."

"Yes, Master," the disciples chorus.

"Yes, Master," Lin Moniao adds, bowing respectfully and trying to look like a person who never gets into any trouble ever.

"Someone will be along shortly, young masters," the attendant promises, handing Shen Shanwei a set of keys, before bowing again to Master Gao an Hua Yan, and leading him and Yuwen Duyi up the path.

"Every bird into his cage, eh?" Hua Yan laughs, winks at Lin Moniao, and waves as he strolls off in the direction of the baths.

"Everybody in. You heard what the master said." Shen Shanwei makes ushering motions.

Inside, the entry lobby is done up in soft white, blue and gray shades, with two screens on either side, and a raised dais with a table, on which an incense burner is lit, and two thin books lie side by side. Beyond, wide doors open into the garden; on either side, stairs lead up behind the screens.

The juniors looked a little put off at the idea of being locked in, but now they rush forward to admire the spring. Their own hot spring! It's a small natural rocky opening, around which benches and trees have been artfully arranged, with stone seats sunk into the water, and a little carved staircase leading in. Up above, inner balconies look down into the garden.

Hu Qiu sits on a bench and starts taking off his boots to test his toes in the water. "Don't be a monkey!" Shen Shanwei tells him. "Go pick your room! You too, Yang Xiuxing. You can soak later." Hu Qiu makes a face but puts his boot back on. Shen Shanwei turns to the other two and eyes them warily.

Lin Moniao looks longingly at the hot spring--his last pill seems like quite a long time ago, and he's not looking forward to stairs. But all he says, in reassuring tones, is, "You don't need to concern yourself about us, Shen-shidi."

And bites his tongue on any comments about birds or monkeys, because he is trying! To be nice!

Shen Shanwei lets out a puff of air. The juniors are racing each other up the stairs, so for the moment, it's just the three of them. "Look, you... you should just stay out of Master Gao's business. Shijie's not going to make things too difficult for you now, after what happened. Okay? Let's just... let the masters sort out their business for themselves, follow the God’s way and stay out of trouble, and everything will be fine!"

Yu Long gives him a sad, compassionate look. Shen Shanwei's face scrunches up. "What's that face supposed to mean?"

Yu Long steps forward. "Shidi's tired too. It's alright. The juniors just want to relax a little. You really don't have to worry about anything this time."

"Is that a promise?" He tosses his head proudly, but it lacks some conviction.

"It is." Yu Long nods his head and smiles. "We'll think about all the big things tomorrow. Tonight, it's just sect brothers together. All right? And shixiong will help you put everyone to bed on time."

Shen Shanwei's shoulders sag, his resistance broken. Who could resist Yu Long’s honest face? "All right. Sect brothers."

Yu Long's smile brightens, and he pats Shen Shanwei's shoulder. The younger man actually looks relieved.

"I could show the juniors a few things this evening. If you don't mind," says Lin Moniao, as if he's having an idea--which he is, although Shen-shidi would not like the whole idea he's having. He gestures to his injured leg and laughs. "They can't expect me to demonstrate martial techniques now. And I can serve as an example of why they should perhaps be a little quieter."

Shen Shanwei looks like he wants to say something catty back at that, but Yu Long speaks first, addressing Lin Moniao. "It's not a bad idea. They'll have some fun and keep occupied."

"Fine, okay," Shen Shanwei says, and then to Lin Moniao, "You already know they're not very good. Just stick to basic stuff."

"And maybe Shen-shidi will finally let me teach him weiqi?" Yu Long says.

"You two are being way too friendly," says Shen Shanwei suspiciously.

"Well... we're stuck with each other, aren't we? We might as well try to get along; it's boring to fight all the time." Lin Moniao shrugs uncomfortably. "Also, my mother said I should be nicer to you."

Shen Shanwei looks just as uncomfortable. He's never been even half-way nice to Lin Moniao. There is a knock on the door, so they are saved from any more conversation.

Shen Shanwei opens the door to let in two attendants. These are younger women, one soft and motherly, perhaps in her thirties, the other slim and smiling, and they come carrying trays of... Well, it is sort of like food. It seems to be mostly cabbage, with no meat in sight. "Master Bai is happy to see so many guests at the bathhouse," says the older woman. "Please, we have brought you your evening meal. Is there anything else you require?"

The younger begins setting the meal on the front room table, while the elder picks up the manuals that had lain there besides the incense burner, now expertly extinguished and set aside to make room.

Lin Moniao pokes glumly at the cabbage with his chopsticks. Hua Yan is always right--or at least, Lin Moniao hasn't found him to be wrong yet. The prospect of eating nothing but this for days on end would be enough to drive anyone away from this otherwise very pleasant place (or to subsist entirely on the life force of young men).

"Tea?" he asks hopefully. Baijiu is presumably out of the question, but tea is medicinal, right?

"Of course, Meilin will prepare it for you." Meilin, the younger attendant, bows and busies herself with making tea, black and strong by the look of it. The older attendant also sets down several bottles. "This is herbal wine from our own recipe. Master Bai recommends half a catty a day for digestion, a whole catty for spiritual anguish or problems with the spine and limbs."

She holds out the manuals. "Please consult these for Master Bai's techniques of meditation for various levels of experience to gain full advantage of the White Cloud healing springs."

Shen Shanwei takes one and thanks her. Yu Long takes the other. At the Villa, there would be absolutely no reading at the table, but now Yu Long sits and leafs through the manual.

Lin Moniao picks up a bottle and examines it. The word wine sounds promising... the rest of the description, less so. "Thank you," he says, "and please extend our thanks to Master Bai for his hospitality as well.".

The attendants bow and leave, just as the juniors bowl down the stairs, shocked into silence by the sight of the meal. "Where's the rest of it?" Yang Xiuxing asks innocently.

"This is it," says heartless Shen Shanwei as he sits down and distributes bowls. "Careful with that wine, it's got a kick."

"It's healthy. Allegedly," says Lin Moniao. "Yu-shixiong, do you still have any of those snacks you packed? This is an emergency." Distributed between five people, they wouldn't make much of an addition to the meal, but it would be a show of good will, anyway.

"We ate it all on the first day…”

Yang-shidi pours everyone a cup of wine and piles his own plate with fresh cabbage. Little or not, he's a growing boy! Hu-shidi looks at his pickles with a dubious expression, but happily drinks the wine. The face he makes after is a sight. "Ugh! I think I'd rather be unhealthy!"

Shen Shanwei doesn't complain, but sips his drink calmly. "You get used to it! Shijie and I have been here loads of times now. Clean your plates!"

Yu Long finishes his meal quickly, but it can't have been enough. The juniors don't quite manage to finish the bitter dish before lawlessly excusing themselves to finally go and soak their toes in the hot water. Though it's summer, the night has brought coolness, which the gentle moist heat counteracts.

The "wine" is oddly thick and tastes a bit like rotting garden refuse smells, and it doesn't take the edge off as well as opium, but at least it's something. Which is more than can be said for the meal. Lin Moniao eats it nevertheless, because he isn't likely to get anything better--unless the Little Raksha has snuck in any food he intends to share. And if he has, eating the dinner will hardly ruin Lin Moniao's appetite.

Afterwards--leaving his inner robe on but taking off his trousers so he can soak his whole leg--he plops himself down by the spring with the juniors. The water is heavenly; there must be some healing virtue in it even for people who haven't studied Master Bai's manual.

"All right, I'm in charge of teaching you this evening," he announces. "Yu-shixiong and Shen-shidi need a break from you hooligans."

Yu Long has indeed already enticed Shen Shanwei further into the house for a game of weiqi; neither is in sight, and the leftovers are still on the table.

Yang-shidi has stripped off the rest of his clothes and sunk into the water up to his ears, with just one foot sticking out and wriggling the toes. Hu-shidi, his trousers rolled up, is playing catch with the foot, the rule apparently being that if it is under water, it is safe. It is a splashy sort of game. They both sit up at the mention of teaching, suddenly good little students again. "What are we learning? We already know a lot about meditation..." There is a note of complaint in Xiuxing's voice. He would rather not learn any more about meditation.

"Really?" says Lin Moniao skeptically. "Why don't you show me what you know, then."

They look at each other, then Yang Xiuxing climbs out of the water and shakes out his hair, and the both of them settle beside the hot spring in practiced meditation poses, but don't begin yet. "Master Gao has all kinds of manuals, and shijie says we can borrow any of them so long as we bring them back in one piece, but no more than two at once, and we had to get a lot better before she gave us some of the more advanced ones. But the stuff we work on most is internal elixir, isn't it?"

Hu-shidi nods eagerly. "Shijie says if we cultivate internally, we'll have a good base to learn any internal alchemy technique out there. She says..." He trails off, looking shy.

"The basics of internal alchemy are essence, energy and spirit. Umm..." Yang Xiuxing chews his inner lip and then recites, "Making one's essence complete, one can preserve the body. To do so, first keep the body at ease, and make sure there are no desires. Thereby energy can be made complete..."

"Shixiong doesn't need the whole litany!" Hu Qiu scolds.

"No, go on," says Lin Moniao. So far it isn't anything very out of the ordinary. Maybe he has been worrying over nothing. "If you can convince me you have a really solid foundation in internal arts, I'll teach you something else instead."

He casts his eyes around the courtyard, trying to think of what that might be.

But Yang Xiuxing has grown shy and tongue tied, so Hu Qiu demonstrates instead. "Shijie said not to, but..." He closes his eyes, raises his fingers in front of him in a sutra, and focuses.

There is no technique, no flashy effect, but the drops of water in the steam around them shift and expand; even the surface of the pool ripples. Energy brushes up against Lin Moniao, yielding, leaving no mark. It tastes like eternity, as qi does. Then it returns, folding back into Hu Qiu. The boy releases the sutra, blinks his eyes open and smiles.

"That's... very impressive," Lin Moniao says. He can't do that, and he’s a trained martial artist; his internal skills are nothing special but nothing to be ashamed of either. Someone who doesn't know the most basic martial forms should not be able to do that. There's supposed to be a balance.

Maybe Master Gao is simply hurrying the boys through their internal training in order to teach them some new, special technique. But is it a technique to benefit them, or only to benefit himself? Lin Moniao has no idea how that would work. But he no longer thinks he's been worrying over nothing.

"All right, we won't learn meditation. Instead I'll teach you--" He looks to the gate of the guest house with a grin. "How to pick locks."

Both the boys' mouths drop open. Yang-shidi snatches up his trousers and pulls them on, though he's still wet from the bath. "Oh yes, please!"

Lin Moniao pulls his own trousers on, picks up his staff, and makes his way slowly over to the gate. "A lock like this one has a series of tumblers in it, and the teeth of the key are meant to raise the right ones to the right height in sequence. However, if you don't have the key--" He slides a pin out of his hair. "It's useful to keep a bent hairpin on you, but if all you have is a straight one, what you need to do is bend it like this, and then you can lift the tumblers with it. The trick is to be able to feel when they're in the right position..."

Yang Xiuxing has steady and nimble fingers, and learns quickly once he can get started on it. Hu Qiu on the other hand has an excellent memory for what Lin Moniao tells him, and little aptitude in actually getting the lock open.

With instruction, they manage it. The lock clicks open and the juniors tumble out in surprise as it swings back, drawn open. The Little Raksha is holding the handle, and he bursts into laughter at the sight of them. "And here I thought you boys needed help getting out of here!"

The night outside is brighter than it should be, thanks to all the lanterns. The door to the disciples' guest house is not directly in view of the little pagoda up the path, nor is it entirely hidden. Up in the pagoda, a dim light is still shining from the first floor windows. The ‘old cunt’ is probably not quite asleep yet.

This is an unexpected complication. Lin Moniao hadn't thought the Little Raksha would be lurking out here already--though it is flattering. And his laughter is infectious; it's impossible not to be happy to see him, even if the presence of the juniors makes it awkward.

"I was only teaching my shidis useful skills. Apologies for not mentioning--I didn't want to spoil the fun of being stolen away by a big, strong hero." Lin Moniao laughs and adds, "What with one thing--" flicking his eyes towards the juniors-- "and another--" looking up at the pagoda-- "we should see each other later, eh?"

"Understood. Hua Yan can always come back later. Or you could invite me in?" He reveals that in the hand behind the door, he has been carrying a tiered box with a delicious smell. Where has he got a take-away box here in the middle of nowhere? "The Master didn't say you weren't allowed guests."

Lin Moniao shouldn't--Shen Shanwei could be back at any moment--but oh, proper food, and the juniors are giving him the most pleading eyes, and he's supposed to be winning their trust, isn't he? He steps aside from the door with a bow. "I would hate to be inhospitable to such a gracious guest."

If the juniors didn’t love Lin Moniao before, they do now. The leftovers are quickly swept aside while the boxes reveal dish after dish, rice, chicken, sauteed mushrooms, strips of deep fried meat, and mango and tanghulu... Really, where did he get all this?

"That wine will go down better with a little fruit," Hua Yan promises, and waves a tanghulu stick at Lin Moniao with a wink.

"I gotta tell the seniors! They must be hungry too!" Hu Qiu says and sprints off to the stairs.

"Wait--" says Lin Moniao, but it's too late; Hu Qiu is already gone.

Okay! He can work with this.

Hu Qiu comes back dragging Yu Long and Shen Shanwei, but Shen Shanwei doesn't look angry or outraged or even stressed out about Hua Yan sitting comfortably in their supposedly prudent and disciplined house. His eyes and nose are red and he looks tired and subdued. His eyes widen at the sight and smell of the food, though.

Yu Long is a step behind him, and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Hua-gongzi!" He sighs happily, and his belly audibly growls. Shen Shanwei actually laughs at that.

"I told you!" Hu Qiu says.

"You were right," Lin Moniao acknowledges, raising his chopsticks, with a piece of fried meat held between them, in salute. "Come have some food, you two."

Has Shen Shanwei been crying? And it's calmed him down somehow? Lin Moniao doesn't know how Yu Long does what he does, but he's very glad to have him along.

Shen Shanwei doesn't offer a word of protest as everyone digs in. He even pours out new bowls of the medicinal wine, and when Hua Yan offers him a sugared grape off a stick to balance the taste, he eats it without thinking. If Hua Yan meant that as flirtation, it does not seem to register with Shen Shanwei.

The food is rich, but good, a complete opposite of what the White Cloud bath house recommends for ideal balancing of the energies. "Couldn't stand thinking of you boys stuck here with nothing to eat," Hua Yan answers to Yu Long's question. "There's an inn down the road that benefits off of all the hungry White Cloud customers. Some people have a mind for business opportunities, haha!"

"Some people are both well-informed and generous." Lin Moniao makes a seated bow towards Hua Yan. "And what others don't know won't hurt them, eh? How did you ever meet Master Gao, incidentally? The two of you seem, if I may say so without offense, quite unlikely friends."

"Friends are made through common goals," Hua Yan says enigmatically, but follows it up with, "It's a business relationship. It's not even my business--a friend of mine is interested in what Uncle Gao has to offer, and since I was going this way, he asked me to convey an invitation. And so here we are."

"Does it have to do with the White Cloud Sect's special technique?" Shen Shanwei asks.

"Oho, so you know about that, do you?"

"Not a lot," Shen Shanwei admits. "Just that Master Gao has been benefiting from it for a while, and he wants..." he grows embarrassed, and stops talking.

Hua Yan laughs and pats his shoulder. "I think if my friend was interested in Bai Weiyun's technique, he would ask Bai Weiyun about it, eh? Let the masters worry about their own matters. Have another mango."

Yu Long leans close to Lin Moniao as surreptitiously as he can. "Master Gao wants his students to learn the White Cloud special technique."

Unfortunately, he is a big guy and they are in front of a group of people, so it is not very surreptitious. Shen Shanwei gives him a sour look, a little betrayed. But he does eat the mango.

"Wait, I'm confused. The White Cloud technique can't be such a secret, can it? They brought us those manuals with the meal. And in any case, surely the technique is Bai Weiyun's to offer, not Master Gao's, so what does Master Gao have to offer?" Lin Moniao holds out his cup to Yang Xiuxing. "Maybe if I drink more wine it will make more sense."

"The physicians' arts aren't on the brochure," Hua Yan explains. "Most of what's in there will make you happy or aid your cultivation, or make you suffer for your health in a way that some people seem to enjoy. And the physicians here are well trained in acupuncture, moxibustion, medicines and so on, for those who have real ailments. The special technique is for special customers."

Hu Qiu nudges Yang Xiuxing. "That's for us, then! That's the new skill the master wants to bring into the sect!" Yang Xiuxing nods, chewing thoughtfully.

"I really don't know what it is, exactly," Shen Shanwei says, shaking his head. "It is a qi treatment that relies on strong internal elixir. Master Gao has been trying to get his hands on it, but Bai Weiyun won’t budge."

"Shall I tell you what it is, what it does?" Hua Yan grins, clearly drinking in the attention. "Or can you guess?"

"I can't imagine." Lin Moniao gives Hua Yan a curious look over the rim of his cup. "Unless it has to do with the cure you mentioned...?"

"Dual cultivation!" He laughs as if this is the funniest thing, even as the disciples' faces go slack in shock. "But not just any dual cultivation, no no... It gives elixir to those who have none, so they can cultivate at a higher intensity! Old Gao is addicted to it... because he doesn't have any! He's raising these fluffy little sheep to be reusable cauldrons! Haha!"


Chapter Five: Unfilial Conduct

And shijie called Master Wu disgraceful! She's an ass, and a killjoy and a bully, but Lin Moniao hadn't thought that she was a hypocrite.

Or... is it hypocrisy? He remembers sitting in the corridor outside Master Gao's room, listening--his stomach sours and he finds himself wishing he'd stuck to health food after all. If that was what was going on in there--if she doesn't like it-- it's not the same as it is between him and Master Wu. Not at all. But if she thinks it is, then she might well call Master Wu disgraceful.

Still, she is a grown woman. The juniors are not.

"And is that what Master Gao has to offer?" Lin Moniao asks coldly, no longer pretending to idle curiosity. "His students?"

"At this point, what wouldn't he offer?" Hua Yan’s laughter has a mean edge to it.

Hu Qiu wrinkles his nose. "What? I don't want to do that."

Shen Shanwei covers his face with his hands and curls into himself. Yu Long pats his back, but he looks shocked, too. "Shen-shidi was worried that Master Gao is being ousted, and is preparing to leave the sect... That he's making connections outside the sect so he'll have protection if the sect turns against him."

"It's true, isn't it?" Shen Shanwei chokes from behind his hands.

"Pity," Hua Yan says contemplatively, leaning back on one hand and taking a gulp of wine. "If he'd gone to my friend a little earlier, he could've been well paid for years, keeping him updated on what the Parrot God’s people are up to. You lads will have to decide where to turn those fancy daggers of yours, once it all goes down. For now, why not enjoy yourselves? He's not out of the sect yet."

Lin Moniao can think of a pretty good place to turn his dagger, but it's not something he wants to discuss in front of Hua Yan. And if Hua Yan has forgotten that Master Gao told him that Lin Moniao isn't his student--well, he's not sure, but if he has forgotten, Lin Moniao won't remind him now.

"Hua Yan is right, as always," he murmurs. "We don't need to worry about something that may not happen soon, or ever."

Yu Long, he thinks, will follow his lead, even if he's not sure where he's going. The others--he doesn't know.

And indeed, Yu Long looks at Lin Moniao twice, then a third time, before choosing to keep his mouth shut and to continue rubbing Shen Shanwei's curved back.

"He's not actually selling us then? Hua Yan was joking?" Xiuxing asks.

"Sure," Hua Yan says indulgently. Hu Qiu still seems to be processing the idea, one hand resting protectively on his dantian.

"I'm gonna throw up," Shen Shanwei says weakly and climbs onto his feet, looking green. Yu Long scrambles up after him and follows as he makes a beeline to the thicker part of the garden bushes.

"Ah, the universal sign that it has been a good party," Lin Moniao sighs, meeting Hua Yan's eye and trying to see if he's still after what he came here for. He himself has cooled on the idea somewhat, but he's willing to do whatever will get rid of the man the fastest. He wants to speak frankly with his sect brothers.

The Little Raksha looks back at him and laughs. "Party's over, eh? It doesn't have to be."

"Well." A smile plays across Lin Moniao's lips. "It could be a more private party."

"Not a bad idea, Young Master Lin." He grins and raises a bowl of wine to him. "Hua Yan will follow your lead. I would hate to outstay my welcome."

"Hua Yan has caused quite a stir. I ought to get the young ones settled, at least." Lin Moniao puts a hand on the Little Raksha's thigh and leans over to whisper in his ear. "Come back in a couple hours, eh?"

Hua Yan agrees easily. Details discreetly verified, he pushes himself up, makes a pretty goodnight to the company as Yu Long and Shen Shanwei return to the light, and departs with the last tanghulu stick, humming happily to himself.

The juniors put the dishes together with rather glum expressions.

"Sorry about... all that," Lin Moniao says to Shen Shanwei as soon as he's sure that the Little Raksha is gone. "But you see now why I wanted to cultivate him, I hope."

"That's what you were doing!" Shen Shanwei sits down heavily. The food is more or less gone, but he picks up half a cracker and chews it. Getting the taste out of his mouth, probably. It hasn’t been a great night.

"Of course that's what I was doing!" Lin Moniao lets a little exasperation creep into his voice. "All right, I was having fun also, but really. What do you think I'm here for?" He turns to Yang Xiuxing. "I regret to say that Master Gao does intend to sell you. However, we are not going to let him. Now we need to talk about how we're going to accomplish that."

Xiuxing looks deflated and a little teary, but he sets his jaw and nods. Hu Qiu touches his arm comfortingly, as if he himself wasn't the first in line to be sold.

"We can leave right now," Yu Long says promptly. "Sneak out, make some excuse, take the horses and ride back to Kaifeng."

"Shifu has money," Shen Shanwei says. "Lots of money to hire people to ride us down."

"We'd have a night's head start."

"And we'd be tired at the end of it! None of us has slept."

"Here's what I think," says Lin Moniao, settling his elbows on the table. "You all know that those who betray the sect must be punished. Selling one's disciples is a betrayal of the sect. And the three of us," he gestures between himself, Yu Long, and Shen Shanwei, "are full members of the Qilin Villa, empowered to enforce its rules. I think it's clear what our duty is, in this situation. And here are some more facts: Master Gao is old, and in poor health. He's been frequenting a hot spring known for its miraculous cures. If he dropped dead, it would be very sad, but it would hardly be a surprise. It wouldn't tear the sect apart, or cause its members to turn our daggers on each other. Not if his own closest disciples agreed that that was what had happened. And here's another thing, if we can believe what Hua Yan has told us: he has no martial resources of his own."

Shen Shanwei stares at him, but then his eyes shift; he is thinking.

"But..." Yu Long scrunches his face. "If he has no martial skills, he's just an old man. And he's our master. We should rather... remonstrate with him." What he says is correct, of course, but is this time to recite etiquette instructions? Even he seems to realize how inadequate proper conduct is for the current situation.

"Juniors, to bed," Shen Shanwei commands sharply.

"But..."

"Go! Sect member business. It is late, go to your rooms. Clean your teeth, wash your faces. You look like greasy pigs."

For a moment, Lin Moniao is tempted to argue with him--they ought to be part of this, it's literally their asses on the line--but Shen Shanwei is probably right.

Seeing no one is going to speak up for them, the juniors slink off obediently. Well, more or less. Their footsteps pause behind the screen, but Shen Shanwei shouts at them until they go up the stairs.

He turns back to the others only once he is satisfied. "There's the other thing Hua Yan said. What wouldn't Master Gao sell? How about sect secrets and techniques? Even if he is exposed and cut off from the sect now, and we get Yang-shidi and Hu-shidi away, we can't let him go meet this friend of Hua Yan's."

"I agree. We have to act quickly. Shen-shidi--do you think there's any chance of convincing shijie to go along with us? It will be difficult to do it without her cooperation. And I don't think that much of what we've learned will come as a surprise to her. I know she won't listen to me. But you--you're her closest friend. Her only friend, maybe."

"I can try." Shen Shanwei crosses his arms and shakes his head. "We're not like you two. Master Gao didn't pick us out from among talented youths who would have had a future with or without the sect. Yang Xiuxing's been sold before--Master Gao bought him straight from the slavers. Duyi and I are runaways. We don't have anything but--him. Him and the sect and the skills we've gained here. She--she feels that gratitude keenly."

Yu Long is silent, but his mouth is set in a stubborn line. He's going to hear them out before arguing back.

"You have us," Lin Moniao answers automatically. "No, but you do. And if we do it like this, you will still have the sect; no dishonour will attach to you if your master is never publicly discredited. As for gratitude--I should think she's repaid him in fucking full." Lin Moniao sighs. "But I don't have to convince you, do I? You're already on board. You have to convince her."

"And if he can't?" Yu Long says, voice tight. "Will you kill her too?"

Shen Shanwei frowns. "No! Look, could we convince her it was old age and illness? Then we don't risk her refusing to go along with it."

"Hold on, I didn't say I was going along with it either!" Yu Long protests.

"But you will," Shen Shanwei says, as if it's a matter of fact.

"Look, Long-shixiong, what do you think is going to happen if we do remonstrate with him? Really?"

Long-shixiong crosses his arms stubbornly. "Can't we kidnap him, then? Take him somewhere he can... reflect."

"How? And where?" Lin Moniao takes a deep breath. He's been reluctant to pull rank over anything important in this mission, and especially now--because it's a big enough thing that it feels wrong to force Yu Long to do it if he doesn't agree, because he isn't certain that Yu Long will listen if he decides it's against his principles, because if Yu Long does do it against his principles he may cause problems down the line--and because maybe convincing Yu Long will silence the doubts in his own mind that maybe Yu Long is right. But maybe--maybe what Yu Long needs is someone to tell him what to do. "Long-shixiong--I can't say that I'm sorry that you were sent on this mission. I've needed you, and you've done incredibly well. I know you hate the necessity of this. I don't like it either. But Master Wu put me in charge, and I will take responsibility."

Shen Shanwei sucks in his lower lip, not saying anything. Shidi is in charge. Yu Long sags, his arms falling into his lap.

"Um... Shixiong, it's for the juniors,” Shen Shanwei tells him in a humbler tone, to give the poor man at least some face. “Not just these ones but for the next ones he'll find. It's what he does. Huh." His blinks, staring at nothing. "That is what he does. He finds kids and he uses them, or discards them if he doesn't think he can control them. All those candidates he's rejected..." His voice trails off. "Yeah, we're killing him. Sorry, Yu-shixiong."

Slowly, Yu Long nods, though he still doesn't look happy.

"So," Shen Shanwei asks Lin Moniao, "any ideas how?"

Lin Moniao gives a brief, bitter laugh. "Do you know, one of the preparations that I had planned to make for this trip, if Master Gao hadn't tried to steal a march on us, was to ask my mother for some needles and poison? Just in case. Ah, well, no use pining after what could have been. I suppose--if we're not confident enough that we can get shijie on our side--you'll have to distract her. Tell her I taught the juniors to pick locks and they've let themselves out and are running all over the grounds and you need her help tracking them down. And then Yu Long and I--" he gives Yu Long an apologetic glance-- "punch him until he's stupid enough to walk into a hot spring and drown, I suppose."

Shen Shanwei bites his thumb, teeth sinking in until the skin is pink. "No, I should do it. Think about it. You're injured, the master wouldn't trust you to get close without making a racket, and anyway, Duyi's much more likely to believe in natural causes if the only people who have been alone with the master are me and her.

"How about this: I go up and tell her that Lin Moniao is making trouble at the house and I can't control the situation anymore. I'll stay with the master while she comes to yell at you all to go to bed. When she comes back, she finds him asleep, breathing peacefully, and we'll say goodnight. In the morning, he's gone.

"Good, right? But we'd need either poison or a slow-acting acupoint technique..."

"That makes sense." Lin Moniao is reluctant to leave the critical part to someone else, especially someone who an hour ago he considered an obstacle rather than an ally, but it does make sense. Besides, Yu Long is miserable enough at the idea of killing an old man; Lin Moniao doesn't know how he'd handle actually doing it. And Lin Moniao himself has an appointment that he shouldn't miss. "As for the method--the only special technique I know is to block the Big Hammer point fast, which is why I suggested what I did, even if it is clumsy. Do you know anything? Your side of the sect was always more focused on medicine. There must be plenty of poisons and physicians' manuals here, the trouble is finding them and using them... and if you take anything from shijie's stash she'll definitely notice."

Shen Shanwei hems and haws. Yu Long is thinking too, but neither comes up with anything. Shen Shanwei sighs. "Okay, then, how about I hit all the acupoints? Then I might need Yu-shixiong around to sit on him, though."

"You need to block the Chest Center Acupoint first, then you can do whatever you want to him--" Lin Moniao looks from Shen Shanwei to Yu Long. Is he really the only one with medical training here? He grabs a copy of the White Cloud manual and flips through it. As Hua Yan said, there's not much useful in it, but it does at least have an acupoint diagram. "It can be difficult to do if the subject isn't cooperating, but if Master Gao really has no martial skills you should be able to do it, if you can get close enough without him suspecting you. Three quick taps here, see?

"And then, if you block all of them... that will kill him eventually, definitely. But we don't have eventually. Shijie's bound to notice and unblock him in the morning if he's still breathing. In fact, if he's not moving at all when she goes to bed, she might notice already, so you'd better unblock this one once you've done everything else you mean to do..."

Lin Moniao slides the bent hairpin out of his hair and fiddles with it absently as he looks over the diagram. "Here, and here. That will block healing and kidney function, and leave him very weak. It might do on its own--he's ill already--but we need something to push him over, to be sure."

The others lean over the diagram, Shen Shanwei nodding along. He even seems a little excited.

"Um..." It's Yu Long that offers, "well... liver and kidney... strong drink compromises those, doesn't it? And if he can't heal..."

"That could work!" Shen Shanwei bursts out. "We'll stun him, make him slow-witted, pour far too much medicinal wine into him and block his healing and the functioning of his organs... It will look like he just died of old age, I'm sure of it!" He claps his hands once. "Good! Now... timeline?"

"Why don't you go fetch the shidis down here," Lin Moniao says to Yu Long. He'd do it himself, but, well, stairs. "I'm sure it won't be too difficult for them to splash in the spring and make nuisances of themselves. And then you can lie down. You can say you're sick--no, shijie might get suspicious and check, and catch you in a lie. Just lie there looking miserable and say you're not sick, if she asks. She can come to her own conclusions about the puddle of vomit. We can make more of a mess with these scraps of takeout... and then you should go," he adds to Shen Shanwei.

Once the scene is set, Lin Moniao walks with Shen Shanwei to the gate of the guesthouse. He looks out into the bright lanterns and softly rising steam of the grounds, at the pagoda up the hill, back to Shen Shanwei.

"Are you--" he starts, but no, stupid question, the man is on his way to murder his master, of course he's not going to be all right. "Thank you. I meant what I said, you know. Whatever happens, you have us. We're not going to send you to do our dirty work and then leave you out to dry. Master Wu, too. I'll make sure of it."

Shen Shanwei draws in a breath and lets it out. He too, has been taking in the lights and the stillness of the night. Everything will change once he goes up that hill. "I... appreciate that, shixiong." It seemed difficult to say, but now it's out, he continues, "Shixiong shouldn't make promises he can't keep. It's alright, whatever happens. I'm not doing this for future security or for you, you know. I should thank you, for helping me. And coming up with the plan."

He holds his hand up awkwardly, to be grasped. "So, uh... sect brothers?"

"Sect brothers." Lin Moniao takes his hand, then pulls him into a hug. "Good luck, shidi."

Shen Shanwei hugs him back just as awkwardly and turns to go, composing himself with another breath before heading up with determination, leaving Lin Moniao behind.

--

The pagoda's first floor windows are still lit in that same low light when Shen Shanwei knocks quietly on the door. Yuwen Duyi answers, of course. If the Master is still awake, then so will she be. She looks tired and a little sad, and frowns at him. "Apologies for bothering shijie so late," he begins, then stops, the words sticking in his throat. For a moment he feels like she must be able to see Lin Moniao's hug on him, smell him on him somehow.

Why must he be like this? Why can he be so absolutely sure he could overpower and murder his shifu, but can't lie to Yuwen Duyi?

"Little Flower," Shijie says, amused. "What did you do?"

"Apologies to shijie," he says again, and sighs. "May I come in?"

"Were they mean to you?" She steps aside to let him in, and ruffles his hair on the way. "I'm sorry. Shijie's been putting a lot on you lately. Sit down for a minute. Shifu is meditating in the inner room."

So he sits by the little table in the outer room, which has manuals spread out on it, with Duyi's notebook open beside it. He sees a diagram in which different areas of the dantian are encircled. He feels a little sick again. She comes up with a bottle of sweet baijiu, nothing like the thick White Cloud swill, and he pours them each a bowl. He sips it lightly. He's had more than enough alcohol already.

"Do you want to switch?" she says kindly. "I'll go down if you keep an eye on the master. He will ask for water; that's when it's time to help him to bed."

"I'd like that," he breathes. "I'm sorry, shijie. This one is..." But his words keep failing him.

She gets up and pats his head again. "It's okay. We're all tired. I'll put them to bed and come back, all right? Then you can sleep."

He puts his hands together in thanks, and she leaves.

He listens to her footsteps retreat, mortified by the knowledge of how completely his nerve had failed him. Still, after a moment, he wills his body to stand, and goes to the door of the inner chamber.

Master Gao is sitting in a meditation pose, but he is sagging. As Shen Shanwei watches, he pulls himself back up with a frown, shifts, and squeezes his eyes shut. He has been able to sit much more still than this when he was only pretending to be meditating.

Shen Shanwei takes a cautious step forward.

Master Gao shifts and scrunches his eyebrows.

"Master?" Shen Shanwei calls softly. Master Gao's eyes blink open and narrow as he stares him down like a snake. Shen Shanwei braces himself and puts on his gentlest voice. "Yuwen-shijie has left me to look after you while she attends to a matter. It's so very late. Doesn't master want to sleep?"

He crouches down next to the master and, Heaven help, maybe this is pushing it, but he puts a hand on the fine silk of Master Gao's robe, right on his thigh. "Maybe Shanwei can help you relax?"

Master Gao's eyes widen and he looks at him with sudden intensity. Shen Shanwei smiles and puts his free hand over the master's heart, where the robe parts.

Tap, tap, tap in quick succession.

---

The night is quiet apart from the crunch of pebbles under Yuwen Duyi's boots, until she draws closer to the house. Lights are lit in the main room, she can already see, and the gate is slightly open, and she can hear voices screeching, followed by a big splash. She yanks the door open, marches in and raises her voice. "Lin Moniao! Yu Yanlong!"

There is an unholy mess of plates and papers, upended empty bottles and unwashed bowls and a damn takeout box on the fine dining table, which is even askew now in relation to the symmetry of the room. The afternoon’s elegance has been swept away. Beyond, she can see Yang-shidi dropping himself into the hot spring pool and making the water splash high, splattering Hu-shidi. Lin Moniao is sitting by with his leg in the water, unperturbed, sipping a bottle of White Cloud wine, knees bare.

She feels the electric sting of annoyance cut through her tiredness and sore muscles. "What the hell is going on here? Didn't you hear what the master said?"

"Oh, hello, shijie." Lin Moniao looks at her over his shoulder with a grin. "Something about staying out of trouble, wasn't it? Who's in trouble?"

"Take a fucking guess." She crosses her arms and glares. "Master Gao expected you to exercise discipline and prudence, and to be in bed at a reasonable hour. I have to wonder if you set yourself up to deliberately ignore every one of his instructions. If so, well done, but your time's up now. Juniors! Out of the pool! Time for bed!"

It is, in fact, quite late. What on earth took her so long? But she's here now, and she's angry about the general disorder and not anything else, so it must be all right with Shen Shanwei so far.

He leans back on one arm and takes another sip. The stuff is vile, but he can comfort himself that at least he doesn't have to drink as much of it as Master Gao.

Hiu Qiu sinks deeper into the water, pretending not to hear. Yang Xiuxing laughs at him and doesn't budge. "I said OUT, NOW!" Hu Qiu stands and shakes water out of his ears. How quickly her power over them has dissipated!

She ends up catching a slippery Xiuxing by the ear and dragging him to the shore. "Disrespect! After all Master Gao has done for you! Come on you monkey!" But her fury is reserved for the glance she throws at Lin Moniao, the obvious instigator. "I'll talk to you later."

It might take her a good time to maneuver the monkeys upstairs, but she'll do it in the end.

---

Dragging Master Gao to bed is not difficult. Though the old man is a dead weight and taller than Shen Shanwei, he is thin and frail under those fine robes, and the bed is in the same chamber he had settled down to meditate in. Shen Shanwei takes care to set him down gently on his side.

Master Gao is paralyzed, but his eyes still track him keenly, taking in his every move. He thinks of apologizing for what he is going to do, but looking down at the man who pulled him from the dusty roadside into his carriage all those years ago and has provided for him ever since, he doesn't think that it's necessary. It won't matter in a moment.

Instead, he tells him, "It's going to be okay. Just a little longer."

Why did he say that?

He feels around Master Gao's neck and finds the Big Hammer Acupoint. It's better that way.

He finds the wine in a cabinet pushed up against the wall, and the rest is easy. The skin stretched over Master Gao's bald head feels thin as gossamer under his hand as he holds it up to pour the wine down his throat. He takes care to be gentle, even when he rolls Master Gao over on his stomach and pushes his robes aside to gain access to his vital points. Then he dresses him again and pulls the covers over him, closing his eyes with his fingertips.

Master Gao sleeps, his breathing regular, though his forehead feels clammy to the touch.

Shen Shanwei should feel shame over what he has done, but he realizes that he doesn't. Maybe it will come. He puts his hands together at first, and then presses his palms on the floor, touching his forehead on the ground before the master. "Thank you for everything."

Then he goes into the front room and waits, trying and failing to sink into meditation as he listens for footsteps outside, willing the small storm inside his chest to subside.

---

Yuwen Duyi wipes her hands off as she strides back to the pool, having wrestled her monkeys to bed and barred both their doors, though there is still some knocking and wailing from above. "Now, you!" she tells Lin Moniao. "Don't try to fight me, I know exactly where to twist to make that knee feel its worst. Do you just live to make life more difficult for me? What did you do to poor Shanwei?"

"I didn't do anything to him!" Lin Moniao yelps, his outrage unfeigned because the question is so unexpected. Is that the line Shen Shanwei took? Lin Moniao understands the need to improvise on occasion--nearly always--but he really wishes Shen Shanwei had told him in advance, because he doesn't know what he's supposed to have done--

Besides convince Shen Shanwei to kill Master Gao.

That can't have been what he told her--they'd be having a different conversation if it were--but the thought deflates him, and he lapses into a sullen silence.

"Nothing, sure, just induced a minor riot on his watch, so bad he had to come for help. Aren't you tired? Don't you realize other people might be? Where even is Yu Yanlong?"

"He went to sleep, I think," says Lin Moniao carelessly, more comfortable now that they're back on ground he's prepared for. He lets his eyes travel over to the bushes where Shen Shanwei was vomiting earlier, trying not to be too obvious about it.

She follows his gaze and scrunches her nose. "In the bushes?"

"Did I come at a bad time?" Hua Yan's laugh follows his words in; his bulk makes a shadow at the stairs down to the pool. "Or does big sister want to join in?"

He steps forward, and now you can see he's dressed for the hot springs, in a single White Cloud robe and carrying a towel in a bucket. He must be a regular, if they had a robe in his size.

"Oh, there you are!" Before Hua Yan got here, Lin Moniao wasn't sure if he wanted Hua Yan to rescue him from shijie, or if he wanted shijie to rescue him from Hua Yan--but once again, as soon as he comes in, Lin Moniao can't help but respond to him. What was he so angry about before, anyway? The shidis, of course, but that's hardly Hua Yan's fault. It's Master Gao's, and Shen Shanwei is taking care of him right now--hopefully--and Lin Moniao would really like something to think about other than that.

"It's never a good time with shijie," Lin Moniao informs him sorrowfully. "But I'm glad to see you."

Yuwen Duyi turns from one to the other, choking on unspoken words. This is Master Gao's friend--this is Master Wu's little spy--but she can't speak up against the Little Raksha. "Is Hua-gongzi... Isn't it rather..."

"Let Hua Yan worry about Hua Yan, little sister." He strides down past her and pats her bottom before splashing into the pool, setting his bucket aside.

Yuwen Duyi goes stiff with outrage.

Well, if she's not going to try to stop them--she can either stay and watch, or she can check up on Yu Long (maybe under the mistaken impression that he can do something about Lin Moniao) and establish his alibi too.

With Lin Moniao sitting on the edge of the pool, and Hua Yan sitting in it, Lin Moniao can actually look down on him, an entertainingly novel point of view. He scoots closer, resting his chin on top of his head and running a foot down his side.

Hua Yan looks up with a grin, catches his wandering foot and caresses the ankle. The loose robe he's allowing to soak slips off his collarbone, showing a line of tattooed characters underneath.

Yuwen Duyi's mouth is a stiff line, then she scoffs, turning away.

"I think your shijie is jealous," Hua Yan tells Lin Moniao, turning in the water and placing himself kneeling before him, bracketing him between his arms. "Should we invite her, let her have a little fun too?" He glances at her stiff, turned back.

Yuwen Duyi mutters something angry under her breath. "Do whatever you want," she says aloud. "Yu Yanlong is sleeping? I'll just... finish the headcount and go."

She stomps off in the direction of the stairs.

Lin Moniao watches her go. Have they given Shen Shanwei enough time? Should he--no, he's pushed this as far as it will go. It's Yu Long's turn now, maybe he'll be able to delay her for a few more minutes, or else... it's enough. It has to be.

This afternoon, riding in the carriage in a drugged haze, he'd thought... she's taken good care of him. If it's because that's her duty as a physician, and not because she hates him any less, still, she has, and he ought to thank her properly. He'd do it, he decided, the next time they got a chance to talk.

He can't, now. He can't ever. This will always sit between them.

He meant to distract her. He meant to distract Hua Yan from making a connection between what he'd told them earlier and what happened to Master Gao afterwards. But he's the one who desperately needs a distraction now.

He puts his hands on either side of Hua Yan's face and tilts it upward, lowering his mouth to his.

Hua Yan makes a pleased noise in his throat and pushes up into it, responding easily and skillfully, taking his time enjoying deepening the kiss. He tugs Lin Moniao's belt loose and lets his hand inside, running up his sides greedily. "Pretty boy, good boy," he mutters when they break, and lets his mouth wander down Lin Moniao's neck.

Lin Monaio sighs happily, curling his toes in the water. His knee gives a painful twinge when he spreads his legs so he can press closer, but he doesn’t mind much. It's all sensation, now.

Hua Yan lifts his face from Lin Moniao's skin at the flinch. He laughs and taps Lin Moniao's nose. "Aren't you distracting! Hua Yan forgot all about the presents he brought."

He pulls up the bucket and lifts up the towel. There is a full opium pipe set underneath. "Let's back up a little, eh? More fun without the pain, don't you think?"

"Oh!" It would be so nice, but what if something goes wrong, and Lin Moniao is needed, and he can't? "Hua Yan brings the best presents, but I already took a pill today, and I shouldn't overindulge." He leans over to nip at Hua Yan's ear. "It's not so bad. Hua Yan is better than opium, anyway."

That earns him a dazzling smile and Hua Yan pushes up to mash their mouths back together in a rather filthy kiss.

He presses his hands on Lin Moniao's thighs lightly to keep them apart as he sinks downwards, mouthing at his chest, his intention clear. Hua Yan is nothing if not a generous lover. The water shifts and splashes gently, half covering them in steam.

After a while, there are footsteps in the upstairs balcony, door closing. The footsteps pause, then continue down the stairs. Shijie is leaving them to it.

Lin Moniao barely registers the sound, let alone what it means. The part of his mind that worries about such things is finally, wonderfully silent. He braces himself with his arms on Hua Yan's shoulders--and what shoulders, impossibly broad and muscled, gleaming in the wet--and tilts his hips towards him, breathing, "Oh, yes."

---

Shen Shanwei sighs in relief when he finally hears the door go. "He's gone to bed," he tells Yuwen Duyi. "How did it go?"

Yuwen Duyi leans back against the door and yawns, back of her hand to her mouth. "That man's a menace to society." The first yawn is quickly followed by another. "You could go back now but--" another yawn, "you weren't kidding about the Little Raksha." She snorts a resigned laugh. "They're still in the pool."

"Do you think I should go back?"

"Do you want to?"

"Not really." He knows it's true only when he says it. Tomorrow everything's going to go to shit. If he loses her over this, at least they can be friends one more night. He rises up. "Come on, shijie, you're falling down where you stand."

He loops an arm around her and she leans on his shoulder gratefully. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd be just fine," he lies, as he leads her towards the stairs up to the far more modest bedroom on the second floor. She's too tired even to ask to check in on Master Gao. She'll beat herself up about it later.

Shen Shanwei swallows bile, but presses on.

Later, when she's asleep on the bed beside him, he lies awake and watches her face in the moonlight, even as his body's exhaustion is finally starting to drag him down towards sleep. They've slept together like this many times, as platonic as brother and sister, her comforting scent and weight next to him reminding him of his mother, though she is nothing like her in any other way. Morning is not such a long way away. He'd rather hold on to this for a little longer.


Chapter Six: Shijie

Content warning: Discussion of abortion.

Yu Long wakes up with his eyes aching and a soft pounding in his head, but the sun is already climbing up beyond the elegant framework of the window in the room. Why hasn't anyone come to hurry him up out of bed yet? Then he remembers.

…Even so, why hasn't anyone come to get him up? Shouldn't there be a ruckus? Did they forget about him? He sits up in bed and pulls his inner robe tighter around him. He dreamed about people coming in and out, opening and closing doors. Was that not a dream?

He remembers Yuwen Duyi berating him for drinking too much, and giving him a pill he thinks he can still feel sitting solidly in his stomach. He gets up, stifling a groan. After all they've done, the last thing he should be complaining about is poor sleep.

He feels a new heaviness in his heart, one he isn't sure he likes.

Once dressed, he goes up to the juniors' door. The boys had chosen to sleep together in the end, crawling into one big bed and sleeping with their legs sprawled over the expanse like puppies in a pile. He lets them be. Fine, so he is the first one up.

Yu Long goes down, tidies up what's left of last night's excesses and starts up the heater to make tea. The hot spring looks inviting, and he hasn’t had a chance to try it yet, so he strips off and sinks in as the water boils. He wonders when they'll bring breakfast, or if the White Cloud physicians recommend fasting in the mornings.

And so he is quite naked when Yuwen Duyi busts down the door.

---

Ugh, why is someone pounding on the door again? Where is Master Wu finding these rude disciples?

But the bed Lin Moniao is reluctantly waking up in isn't Master Wu's, although it's nearly as comfortable. And the man in it with him isn't his shifu. And it's not his door that's being pounded on, the noise is coming from downstairs--and that's shijie's voice, shouting, though he can't make out the words--

Oh no.

Where is Shen Shanwei?

Lin Moniao swings his legs out of bed, and is reminded by a sharp jolt of pain why he shouldn't do that. He swallows curses, panic, self-recrimination, and everything else, and pokes Hua Yan in the back.

"This one is very sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Sect business, you understand." He grins weakly, even though Hua Yan hasn't opened his eyes to see it. "I believe the window is a hero's traditional exit after such a satisfying assignation."

Hua Yan grunts only once before getting up, tousled and bleary. He rubs his eyes and chuckles, already grabbing the simple robe he had on yesterday, still moist almost up to the shoulders. "Understood. Many thanks for most pleasant company and may Heaven bless us with future meetings, and so forth." He doesn't bother putting on his sandals, but does blow a kiss as he yanks open the window. This is likely not his first time having to tail it before he is even fully awake.

Lin Moniao blows a distracted kiss back and pulls on clothes, grabs his daggers and staff, and goes down to the courtyard as fast as he can--which is nowhere near as fast as usually--cursing whatever evil gods created mornings and stairs.

Shijie is yelling. "What did you do? How did you do it? Yu Yanlong, get the hell out of that pool and fucking talk to me!" Her voice breaks at that last part and she swipes her fist over her eyes.

Shen Shanwei catches up to her and puts his hand on her arm; she shakes it off. Behind them comes a worried-looking heavy-set woman in her early forties in a White Cloud uniform, her graying hair in a neat braided style under a black cap, carrying a bag over her shoulder; behind her, coming running, two white-clad assistants.

Yu Yanlong grabs his robes and wraps them around himself awkwardly, trying to keep from exposing too much of his nudity. "Um... shijie... what..."

"He's dead, he's dead!" she wails. "You killed him!"

This is a disaster. But Lin Moniao has never been so glad to see someone in his life as he is to see Shen-shidi right now.

He's all right. Master Gao is dead. Those are both good things. Shijie--is the problem in front of him.

He yawns and says, "Who? What?"

It's probably too late to fool her, but he can still fool the outsiders. This is sect business, she shouldn't be bringing it up in front of them, and he feels a flash or irritation about that even as he realizes how ridiculous that is.

She sees him and her eyes go wild. With a primal yell, she runs right at him. There is no finesse in the attack, only rage, and Lin Moniao only has to dodge to the side for her to miss him entirely and end up skidding on the moist stones. She twirls around, snarling, but by then Yu Yanlong is there, trying to grab her and hold her. But he's only half in his clothes, trying to hold his robes closed with one hand, and she shoves him down with a scoff, and he's the one who ends up slipping and falling.

But others are coming running too, Shen Shanwei with his hands up as if he's trying to calm down a raging animal. "Shijie, you're not rational-- You..."

"Fuck off, traitor!"

Yu Yanlong doesn't bother climbing to his feet but simply throws himself at her feet, trying to tackle her down. She steps out of his grasp and stomps down on his fingers. He winces and snatches his hands back. Shen Shanwei is on her next, but his grasp is weak and she shakes him off.

Lin Moniao's free hand closes on the hilt of his plain dagger, and as she turns to push Shen Shanwei, he aims it at her Big Hammer acupoint. Throwing daggers at his grief-crazed shijie looks bad, but it can't be helped; it's the only way of taking the fight out of her quickly that he knows of.

The dagger hits its mark precisely, if even too deep, sticking in the bone. Yuwen Duyi stops and feels for the back of her neck, finding the dagger’s handle and pulling it out with a sickening sound, followed by a small spurt of blood.

"Everybody stop!" the physician commands, and this time everyone does. She reaches Yuwen Duyi and gently examines her, as the younger woman starts to tremble.

"Alright everyone back up. Meilin, help me support her. She needs to lie down." Between her and the two attendants, she leads her unresisting patient into the house and lays her down on the floor, head carefully held in the physician's lap.

Shen Shanwei follows uncertainly, while Yu Long offers Lin Moniao his arm. "Is she..."

"She'll be fine. She needs treatment, that's all." The physician shoots Lin Moniao a reproving look. "You could have let me handle it! She will need to rest that neck, or she can get badly hurt."

"She attacked him," Shen Shanwei defends.

"Sloppy is sloppy!"

"Doctor is right, it was sloppy. I panicked." Lin Moniao really is shaken, he doesn't need to fake that. His hand trembles on Yu Long's arm--it's as if he's watching their fight at the inn again, in a distorted mirror. He looks plaintively around the group. "Can someone explain what's going on? She said... did something happen to Master Gao?"

Shen Shanwei steps back and hangs his head. The doctor sighs. "Yes, I'm afraid your master died in the night."

Yuwen Duyi shifts and whines, so the doctor soothes her. "Meilin, help." The assistant kneels beside them and opens the bag with the acupuncture needles, and between them they carefully put the injured woman to sleep. "Get a couple of people and a stretcher, we will take her up to the Tranquil House."

After the other assistant is gone, she turns back to Lin Moniao. "It was clear when I examined him that the death was a natural one. Age had worn him down, and he had pushed himself too hard for too long. Last night was just one time too many."

"Oh, I--" Lin Moniao isn't quite sure how grieved he should pretend to be over Master Gao's death. Vaguely dazed is probably good enough. "She was very devoted to him, it's no wonder that she-- What's going to happen to her?"

"There is no other option, she will have to stay with us for at least a week before that fracture is healed. On the other hand, we must arrange for your master's burial. Where is his hometown?"

Yu Long looks at Shen Shanwei, who shakes his head. "I don't know. I don't think even shijie knows."

The juniors have crept downstairs quietly as they speak. Hu Qiu is staring at Yuwen Duyi's reclining form with a mixture of fear and confusion. He's never seen his shijie like this.

Xiuxing pipes up, "Poyang Lake?"

"Yes, his home was at the Qilin Villa. He ought to be buried there," Lin Moniao agrees. "And someone ought to travel with him. Yu Long, will you take Master and the juniors home?"

Yu Long's eyes flick down to Lin Moniao's leg, and his brow furrows in worry. "Will you be alright?"

"I'll be alright. What better place could there be to recover in?" Lin Moniao assures him.

Shen Shanwei flinches at that question. "Shixiong, I'll stay with them until they're healed and look after them. It's the only thing that makes sense."

If there is something a little acquisitive in the physician's smile at that, it's soon smoothed away. Master Gao's coffer better stretch to a week at the White Cloud bathhouse.

"I was hoping you would," says Lin Moniao. "Even like this, I imagine shijie will be happier with you looking after her than me. And we shouldn't leave her alone."

It doesn't matter that it would in some ways be very convenient if she disappeared into White Cloud, never to be seen again. It doesn't even matter that odds are even that she'll attack him again as soon as she's recovered. He's not leaving any of his sect siblings with these vipers.

"Besides, if I don't keep an eye on you, Lin Moniao, you'll probably break your knee again before the end of the week trying some ridiculous stunt." The waspishness of the statement is undercut by a faint smile, before Shen Shanwei's eyes turn back to shijie and his face scrunches in a worried frown.

The stretcher comes, and the patient is carefully transferred onto it. Shen Shanwei makes to follow it, then stops, and then takes a step and stops, uncertain, and looks at Lin Moniao. "She'll be fine," says the physician. "She'll sleep for the rest of the day. You can come see her at the house at the top of the hill this evening."

"I'll go," Yu Long offers, having managed to get dressed, "just to see her settled."

Shen Shanwei tugs on Lin Moniao's sleeve. "Let's talk alone."

Lin Moniao shoots Yu Long a grateful look. "Yes, let's." And despite the gravity of the situation, and whatever Shen Shanwei wants to talk to him about, a sunny grin breaks across his face. "And I don't know what Shen-shidi is talking about, I would never try any sort of ridiculous stunt."

"Would you like to come along, too?" Yu Long asks the juniors, who are looking various shades of worried, curious, and hungry.

"You can join the staff for breakfast at the House," the physician offers with a motherly smile, and that does it. Hu Qiu and Yang Xiuxing look at each other, both thinking the same thing: Staff breakfast! Bet they don't only eat cabbage! It isn't that they are shallow, but they are young, and in their short lives they've already faced a great many hardships, a narrow escape from exploitation being only one of them; and an empty belly is an empty belly. Hu Qiu pats Lin Moniao's arm in thanks as they go, so that's something.

The three of them follow the stretcher as it is carried up the hill by strong-armed attendants. Some guests peek out of the various houses to look at the procession, and the physician bows and approaches them, answering their questions and doing damage control. No, she was not injured through any issue with the treatments. She is tired and emotional. They are simply making sure she comes to no harm.

Shen Shanwei closes the doors behind them.

Lin Moniao sinks down onto a pillow with a heavy sigh. "What a day it's been. I think I've been awake for a whole hour."

Shen Shanwei settles down opposite him, his hands folded in his lap. He's dressed for the day, his hair tied back in a simple style that would have taken only a moment to arrange, but at least he hasn't been dragged out of bed.

"I just wanted to let you know that... I don't think he suffered. And um." He looks back, as if expecting to see a forgotten White Cloud attendant still hanging around. "I didn't tell shijie anything. She just read my face."

"Ah... thank you." It's strange, to have Shen Shanwei reporting to him like this, like he's his master. Lin Moniao hasn't managed to put his hair up at all; it's still hanging loose around his shoulders. "You did well. As for what shijie thinks... well, maybe she'll be more willing to listen to reason once she's recovered. If not, at least we'll be able to break the news before she starts spreading any wild ideas. It should contain the damage, I hope. I should write to Master Wu."

"Yes, write. You are his favorite, and it was your idea, so he should hear it from you. Just be careful of what you put in writing."

"Teach your grandmother, Shen-shidi," Lin Monaio laughs, but then reflects that maybe this... accord of theirs is a little too new for him to laugh at Shen Shanwei. "I mean, yes, sorry, that would be prudent.” He stares into the middle distance, adding up the cost of a courier, whatever they charge for a week's stay at this place... "I don't suppose you have any idea what Master Gao's travel budget is like?"

Shen Shanwei draws in a breath and does a calculation in his head. "Well, he had inns prebooked all the way from here to Shanghai, plus money for expenses... He'll still have most of what he started out with, which was a hundred and twenty-six silver tael. We'll be fine."

“Good." Despite himself, he laughs again, shaking his head. "He certainly could have afforded a couple more horses!"

"It's good that you're happy, at least." There's that faint smile again, though. Then it disappears and he takes a deep breath. "All right. There's one thing I need to do. Just... sit still and shut up for a minute, okay?" He climbs to his feet, avoiding Lin Moniao's gaze.

Lin Moniao bites his lip and nods.

Shen Shanwei takes position, hesitates and deflates, then returns to it with more determination, despite an embarrassed flush creeping up from his collar. A few steps in, it is clear he is doing a zaju theatre dance, a woman's part. In a few more, the role of the dancer is clear. It is a typical role, with trope movements, the maiden waiting for her lover, unsure if she will ever see him again. He doesn't dance for long, just long enough to demonstrate skill and grace.

Having come to a stop, he drops back down on the pillow, still averting his eyes. "I don't dance like this in front of anyone anymore. I just thought--since we-- I thought we should have a better secret to share than... you know."

"That's a shame. You dance beautifully. If I'm your only audience, then... it's a great honor," Lin Moniao answers just as awkwardly. He only has one thing to offer Shen Shanwei in return, and it's not something he ordinarily would on his own authority, no matter how much he liked the person in question. But it was his mother who told him to befriend Shen Shanwei. "The reason my family name is Lin is because my mother liked the sound of it. I have no idea who my father is, and likely she doesn't either. When she gave birth to me, she was the same age as Hu Qiu is now. That's why I couldn't... I couldn't."

Shen Shanwei stares at him openly, but at least he's not avoiding his eye anymore. "That's bigger than mine. Are you trying to one-up me, shixiong?"

"What? No!" Lin Monaio starts laughing helplessly again, lowering his head into his hands. "Maybe? No, I just, it's what I have. I don't have anything in-between."

"If that's one of only two secrets you have, you're practically an open book, Lin Moniao. Well, you're not getting any more of mine today." He leans back on his hands and tilts his head. "Would it be easier if I brought your things down here so you can finish dressing? We need to get started on being properly in mourning."

"Ah... right. Yes, thank you." Lin Moniao glares in the general direction of the stairs. "I have gained a new appreciation for the evils of stairs recently."

Shen Shanwei lets out a snort of laughter. Lin Moniao has heard him laugh before, but not like this; usually, it has been at his expense. He pushes himself up and pats Lin Moniao's head on his way to the stairs.

---

The Tranquil House is built in harmonious lines, the pattern of clouds in faint grays and blues and whites painted everywhere in various stylised forms. It has small and large rooms for the confinement of patients with serious and long-term complaints, the physicians explain, and acts as a retreat to the staff while the bath house is in operation. Beyond it there are two walled gardens, the first for the patients and staff, the one beyond it closed, mysterious. Lin Moniao and Shen Shanwei glimpse the tops of the trees on the other side of the wall when they're first welcomed into the house.

The room Yuwen Duyi is resting in is arranged for two patients, with sleeping mats on a raised portion of the floor, but she is alone there with an attendant, who is mixing medicines on a mat beside her. She's awake but listless, her head and shoulders carefully arranged on pillows. She sees them come in and starts to turn her head away, but the attendant makes a noise and corrects the position of her neck.

She makes a disgusted sound. Shen Shanwei nods to the attendant and kneels beside her anyway, meeting her cold gaze and shrinking a little.

Lin Moniao hesitates in the doorway. He wants to make sure everything is alright, he doesn't want to upset Yuwen Duyi further, he wants to support Shen Shanwei, he wants his behavior to look correct to the attendant. He settles for taking a few more steps into the room, but hanging back from actually approaching Yuwen Duyi. He has an excuse not to kneel, anyway.

"Aren't you two cozy since last night," she says at last when Shen Shanwei's words keep sticking in his throat. "What did he offer you? Besides the obvious. His mouth can't be that good."

The attendant coughs, gathers up her medicines, and departs with a brief bow.

"Shijie!" Shen Shanwei’s tone is accusatory.

"Are you going to say you didn't lie to me? What was that guilty look this morning? Did you let him in, did he trick you? What..."

"Shijie, please, he can't even get up the hill without help. And you said it yourself, he was uh... with someone last night."

She glares at him, unconvinced.

Well, first of all, Lin Moniao's mouth is that good, but it wouldn't help to say so right now. Instead, he lowers himself to the floor next to her bed--keeping his distance doesn't seem to be doing much good--and says, with complete honesty, "Yuwen-shijie, I swear to you, I was nowhere near the house last night."

Not that he hadn't considered it, when Shen Shanwei hadn't come back, and he'd slipped out of bed and checked all the rooms just to make sure he hadn't missed him. He'd stood for a long time at the top of the stairs, remembering his promise not to abandon Shen Shanwei--but in the end, he'd decided that he just had to trust him, and not risk making things worse. And now he's very glad he did.

"No-one came up. I didn't let anyone in. Shijie, he died last night. I knew and I didn't tell you because you were exhausted. I wanted you to get one last good night of sleep. I'm sorry, Duyi, he asked for wine instead of water and lay down and... I'm so sorry."

She looks from one of them to the other, and tears well in her eyes. "You're lying." But she doesn't sound convinced anymore.

"Duyi, he was old."

Her mouth twists and she presses her hands over her eyes, swallowing a sob.

Shen Shanwei is so good that Lin Moniao could kiss him--except that would definitely not help right now. Damn! Lin Moniao almost believes him himself.

"I--this one is sorry too, Yuwen-shijie. For, for injuring you. I should have had better control." He means that, too, for what it's worth.

"Oh, fuck off." One way or another, on that score they're even now.

Shen Shanwei takes her hand, and this time she doesn't shake it off, but laces her fingers with his. He looks at Lin Moniao over his shoulder. "Well, you heard her. Do you need help getting out the door?"

"I'll manage. No thanks to certain people present," Lin Moniao replies, making a show of levering himself to his feet with his staff, while biting the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling or laughing. Once outside, he doesn't go too far, but lingers waiting for Shen Shanwei to come back out.

It takes a while; only after the attendant returns with prepared medicines does Shen Shanwei leave his shijie's side. He looks mildly surprised to see Lin Moniao still waiting, but doesn't greet him--walls are thin, after all. He nods in the direction of the garden, which is only a short walk down a hall and out the open sliding doors, down a couple of stairs unfortunately; at least there is a handrail.

"I filled her in on the plan,” he says once they are safely out of earshot. “She's upset that she can't be there for his vigil, but agrees that it should be Poyang Lake and that Yu Yanlong should set off as soon as possible. The doctor gave her something to help her sleep again."

"Good." Lin Moniao sighs in relief. "You were quite impressive in there. It could have been so much worse. And if you and I have to pretend to still not like each other, we can, but I will miss you."

"...Stuck with each other for a week, anyway," Shen Shanwei mutters. He wraps his arms around himself and touches his hair, not knowing where to put his eyes. So, that's the famous Lin Moniao charm, then.

"Oh, well, maybe not quite that long," Lin Moniao says, even as he can see the possibilities of being stuck with Shen Shanwei for a week open up intriguingly. "I was thinking I might go into seclusion for a few days. So much has happened, and I have so much to meditate on, and I think I may be ready for a breakthrough. But only if you have everything under control here. You won't let these people get their claws into shijie? It seems to me that she's vulnerable, and she would have some value to them... do you know if she ever learned their technique?"

"She was trying to learn it, so she could uh... treat the master. I didn't know it was that. But they don't share their manuals with outsiders. She stayed up late trying to figure it out. I don't think she would have been interested if it wasn't for the master but I also don't think she's keen to come back to the Villa, so... I'll work on it."

He pulls his shoulders up and gives him a crooked smile and an ironic bow. "Shixiong can count on this shidi. A breakthrough, huh? Good luck and watch out for those heart demons. I'd tell my grandmother so, too."

"I will. Thank you." That would seem to be everything, then, except... "You said you had inn rooms booked through to Shanghai. I don't suppose it matters now, but what's in Shanghai?"

"The Dancing Dragons Inn and the Golden Lion theater. Both booked for two nights. I suspect it's where he meant to meet Hua Yan's friend. The official word was we would be staying in Nanjing."

"Ah. Hm. Hua Yan has already been around to express his, ah, condolences. He seemed cagey about this friend of his, and I didn't want to show too much unseemly curiosity, in case he showed some in return, you know? He did suggest they were not to be trifled with. I don't suppose it does matter now." Lin Moniao worries at his staff with his thumb, frowning. Someone who intended to buy Qilin Villa disciples and Qilin Villa secrets ought to be dealt with--at least they ought to be aware of them--but there really doesn't seem to be anything he can do about it now, besides telling Master Wu what he does know when he sees him in person.

---

Master Gao's body departs that evening, shrouded in tight fragrant wrappings, after Yuwen Duyi has had her chance to say goodbye. Yu Long has plotted the route back; they'll ride as far as is reasonable at this hour and continue in the morning. There is nothing stopping Lin Moniao from going into seclusion in one of the bath house's quiet little pagodas, while Shen Shanwei stays at the Tranquil House. At least they will not be paying for the large guesthouse anymore.

When Lin Moniao leaves seclusion, he has a note from the physician asking to speak to him.

Lin Moniao picks up his staff, although he hardly needs it at this point--his knee doesn't hurt anymore unless he puts weight on it, and even then it's only a twinge--and goes to find the physician.

"Thanking honoured guest for coming." The physician gets straight to the point, crossing her hands in her lap. "Since your shijie is still mentally indisposed and you are the next most senior member of your esteemed sect, this one was wondering if you have any instructions about what to do about her pregnancy. White Cloud is prepared to handle the matter with utmost discretion."

Lin Moniao's politely neutral expression shatters, and his staff slips from nerveless fingers to the floor where he sits. Fuck. Why didn't they kill Master Gao years ago? Why did Lin Moniao ever send Yu Long away? Shijie will kill him for even hearing about this, let alone daring to make any sort of decision for her.

"Can't it wait until she's better?" he asks weakly.

"Certainly we can wait until she is better and follow her wishes," the physician says in a measured tone. "But it is sometimes easier if the person in question never finds out about the condition at all. I do not think I misunderstand her circumstances...?"

"I don't think you do." Viper. Of course she thinks nothing of simply rearranging her patient's body into a more pleasant, harmonious state, without the patient's knowledge.

Is she wrong, though? Surely shijie has been through enough the past few days already. Lin Moniao won't be doing her a favor by forcing this on her. Is there really a difference between her never knowing, and it never having been?

There is one difference, at least, because he knows, and so does this physician, and it would be very stupid of him to trust her not to use the knowledge for her own purposes, whenever it suited her. "Wait," he says. "Ask her."

"If young master thinks it best." She inclines her head agreeably. "Master Bai regrets that he has not had the chance to visit Master Gao's favorite disciple yet. I am sure when the time comes, his wisdom will help her make the right choice. Due to the mutual respect between the masters, it may even be that if he finds her suitable, we can offer her an opportunity to stay here indefinitely, free of charge, whatever she chooses to do about her condition. She is a little overaged, it is true, but she has interesting qi, which the master appreciates. I believe Master Gao greatly wished for her to learn our techniques--it would make this one glad to see his wish come true. It would be one small way we can honor his memory."

"Yuwen Duyi is a senior and valued member of the Illustrious Qilin Villa, and it would grieve us to lose her. This one would prefer to honor Master Gao's memory by returning his favorite disciple to the sect he devoted his life to... but it's understandable that our perspectives should differ." Lin Moniao offers the physician a bland smile. At least he has control over his face again, even if his heart is still hammering. "As Doctor says, it's her choice."

She keeps her head demurely lowered, but glances up at him through her lashes. "This doctor was wondering, is young master not curious about our services? What we offered Master Gao, we could also offer Lin Moniao. It need not be myself, of course. Young men have their preferences. You could choose whichever physician you feel most comfortable with."

Lin Moniao remembers Hu Qiu meditating by the hot spring, his qi brushing up against Lin Moniao, tasting of eternity. He puts his hands together and dips his head. "Your offer is very generous. I will consider it."

And then he picks up his staff and stands, making one last bow, and leaves before he can say something really unwise. Shijie's room isn't far. This isn't going to be a conversation either of them is going to like, but he thinks they're going to have to have it.

Whatever else you might say about White Cloud, their medical expertise is sound. Yuwen Duyi is allowed to sit up now, though she is still encouraged to rest her neck for a few more days. She's sitting by the small table in her room, curtains draped over the window to keep the exceptionally bright sun out. It's a cloudless day, the sky a perfect dome of blue. Her notebooks are out, but she's not looking at them. She's lifting a curtain to look out down the hill, at the treetops rolling out to the horizon and the road snaking through them.

She turns slowly and carefully and levels him with a flat stare.

"I hope Yuwen-shijie is recovering well." Lin Moniao takes a deep breath, remaining standing in front of her. "I just had the most interesting conversation with your physician. She tells me that Master Bai intends to visit you, and perhaps offer you a chance to stay at White Cloud indefinitely, and learn their technique."

Her eyes widen. "Oh! That..." Then a shadow passes over her. "The master would have liked that. It doesn't matter now." She turns carefully away again.

For a few cowardly moments, Lin Moniao thinks that after all, she's not terribly excited about joining White Cloud, so there's really not any need to tell her the rest, is there?

"But before she told me that. She asked me, as the highest ranking member of the Qilin Villa present who is currently, ah, mentally competent--" She's not looking at him, and he can't look at her. He can see plumes of steam rising softly through the treetops, just as beautiful as when they first arrived. "She asked me if I would like her to terminate your pregnancy. It would be easier, she said, if you didn't know about it. She asked me that."

She snorts a laugh. "What pregnancy? They're mistaken. I'm barren." But then it seems to sink in, and she turns back, probably too quickly for what the doctor would recommend. "Are they sure? I had some of the signs, but... really? Wait, what did you tell them?" Those last words come out harsh, suspicious.

"I told them to ask you. Do you think I want to touch that? I wouldn't have said anything to you, either, except... if you want to join White Cloud, I can't stop you. But you should know, that's what you'll be joining."

"I would have broken your other knee if you'd told them anything else!" She rises to her feet. Injured or not, there's strength in her shoulders and a threat in her stance. "But of course they asked you that. Yuwen Duyi is insane, isn't she?" She holds a hand to her stomach. "She'd just have an insane child, a worthless bastard that grows tough like a weed and infests the world with more insanity. Where am I going to go with that, Lin Moniao? What am I going to do now? What good fucking options do I have? You think the rest of the world is any better?"

Lin Moniao takes a step backwards. She could really do it, too. "I think you're my shijie, and I think you can come home. Why not?" Heat enters his voice to match hers. Disgraceful, is he? Worthless, is he? He knows his own worth, why can't she see hers? "Do you really think that your only value to the sect was as an assistant to Master Gao?"

"That was my only value as a human being! I don't give a shit about the sect, I never have!" She covers her face with her hands, and gathers herself. "l'm sorry. Thank you for telling me, and for taking care of everything. You can go now."

"That is such bullshit, shijie," he snaps, but, dutifully, he goes. He finds the same garden that Shen Shanwei led him to the other day, flings himself down on a bench, tilts his head backwards, looking at the sky. That's it, then, isn't it? That's all he can do. She was never going to listen to him.

In the next few days, Yuwen Duyi seems to calm down. Shen Shanwei still visits, but both her injury and her grief seem to be loosening their grip. At the end of that time, Shen Shanwei tells Lin Moniao that she has decided not to stay with White Cloud, despite several physicians visiting her with that idea. One even approached Shen Shanwei on the day before their set departure.

"She's not leaving the sect, but she's also not coming with us. She wants to visit her home village and leave offerings at her family's memorial slates. She's then going straight to Poyang Lake to do the same for the master."

Lin Moniao nods. "Shen-shidi's company is very welcome, of course. But you don't have to be in Kaifeng; you could go with her, if you want."

"I already asked, she said no, it's personal. She needs time to reflect. Besides..." He presses his lips together tight to suppress a smile. "I have an invitation to Shanghai..."

"Oh?" Lin Moniao asks. "What's in Shanghai?"

Shen Shanwei blows air out through his nose. "Please, I'm trying to create a dramatic moment. But fine, let's be prosaic about it. While you were in seclusion, I caught the Little Raksha trying to sneak in to see shijie. When I turned him away, he offered me the deal he was going to give her. Come meet with his mystery friend, sell out sect secrets, become fabulously wealthy. I said yes, of course, as soon as I get rid of Lin Moniao. What do you think, shixiong? Should I go?"

"'Oh! Lin Moniao! If I'm not around to look after you, you will surely pull some sort of ridiculous stunt!' Blockhead!" Lin Moniao elbows Shen Shanwei in the side. "I've read the manual tattooed on Hua Yan's chest. If he hits, he kills. He's an extraordinarily dangerous man, and he says his friend is the one to watch out for." Lin Moniao takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly, and finally smiles. "On the other hand, he is very good company. You won't need to be lonely on the way to Shanghai, if you don't wish to be."

"Ugh, I'm not doing that for the sect.” He wrinkles his nose. ”You haven't rubbed off on me that much."

"Well, please yourself." Lin Moniao shrugs, then turns to Shen Shanwei with narrowed eyes. "What is it, then? Do you think you have to do something extraordinary to demonstrate your loyalty? Or do you think that treachery and double crossing is all you're good for? Or are you looking for someone to kill you, because you don't know how to live with yourself?"

"Maybe I think I'm pretty good at treachery and double-crossing and would like to do some more? I'm not beating myself up about it, shixiong. I still think it was the right thing to do. In an underhanded, unfilial, rotten to the core kind of way." He sighs. "Maybe this is too much for a beginner. Still, what is in Shanghai? It's going to bother me."

Lin Moniao doesn't like the way Shen Shanwei calls himself rotten to the core, but he does know what it's like to be proud of what others think you should be ashamed of, so... he'll let Shen Shanwei sort this one out himself.

"Then go, if you want to. If you're successful, it will be a very good thing for the sect. If you fail and come to harm, I'll grieve and wish I had stopped you when I could have. But I won't. When I told Yu-shixiong that I was in charge and I would take responsibility, it was because Master Wu had given me authority for that particular mission. And I may have... interpreted my mandate broadly, because circumstances had arisen that demanded immediate action, but... I'm not--yet--in a position where I order people's lives and deaths as a regular thing." Lin Moniao holds his elbows, looking out onto the grounds. "I don't want to be. Not yet."

"Take it as practice. If you really want to be a leader, that's what it's all about. Well, I'm going, then." He says it like it’s a challenge. "If I die, you can tell shijie why and that it was my choice. But let's keep this between you and me for now."

"All right." Lin Moniao puts his hands on Shen Shanwei's shoulders and tilts his head up to brush a kiss against Shen Shanwei's lips, just for a moment before he steps back. "Good luck, shidi."

In the past few days, Shen Shanwei's grace has reinstated itself; the stiffness of constant worry and annoyance has disappeared, and he has walked taller. He touches his lips, newly regained confidence vanishing like a dream. He glances over his shoulder. Does he think the White Cloud attendants are masters of silent creeping, hiding in every corner?

He grabs the front of Lin Moniao's robes and pulls him back. "Do it properly, you--" He cuts himself off by kissing him back with rather more enthusiasm than expertise.

Lin Moniao laughs against Shen Shanwei's mouth, delighted, then wraps his arms firmly around him and kisses him properly.

-- end of The White Cloud Technique --

Comments

[bookblather]

SPEAKING OF RIDES, wow. I hope Yuwen can recover, because holy shit no one's been treating her well at all. And fuck Master Gao, hope he burns in hell.

Side note: this story made me so, so hungry.

[ilthit]

I am so pleased that you have read it, it was never expected to have a big audience and hasn't. And apologies for all the terrible shit that happens.

Duyi has a lot of bad shit happen to her and does bad things in reaponse, I'm a little surprised that she gets sympathy. I made sure she remains rude, bossy and aggressive for the rest of the series because I love a character who makes it difficult to love them. :)

Was it the bitter food and horrible liquor followed by takeout?