Psychedelic Purple #29: Journey to Poyang Lake (Lin Moniao Series)

[ilthit]

Name: Journey to Poyang Lake
Story: Lin Moniao Series (AO3 link)
Colors: Psychedelic Purple #29 (I thought I knew you)
Supplies and Styles: gesso; interactive art, life drawing, mural, silhouette
Word Count: 32K
Rating: explicit
Warnings: Minor violence, sex without romance, cult practices, manipulation, characters with sex-negative attitudes, jealousy, mild BDSM, power imbalance, casual attitude towards murder, reference to underage sex, reference to prostitution.
Summary: After the events at the White Cloud Bathhouse, Lin Moniao's master has come to take him and his sect siblings home to the Illustrious Qilin Villa, for the funeral of his shibo.
Note: Co-written with minutia_r . Also available on AO3 here, with some more notes and art.


A Meeting and a Parting

The note arrives at the White Cloud Bathhouse five days after Lin Moniao gave a courier a letter to deliver to Master Wu in Kaifeng.

Lin Moniao--Stay where you are. I am coming to you. If you must go, leave word with Bai Weiyun's people to say where you are going. Wu Zhenghao

It's a brief note, and it only takes seconds to read it once. Lin Moniao sits by his window much longer than that, reading it over and over.

Master Wu is leaving Kaifeng. Coming here, to Lin Moniao. It's unprecedented--but so is Lin Moniao killing a master of the sect.

Is he in trouble?

Impossible to be sure what Master Wu has concluded, correctly or incorrectly, from Lin Moniao's discreet letter. The fact is that Lin Moniao wants badly to see him. Of course he enjoys Master Wu's company, but generally on the road he also enjoys being far away from anyone who can legitimately give him orders, free to do as he pleases and justify it afterwards. Now... now he would like not to be the one in charge, for a bit.

That doesn't mean there isn't a kernel of fear lodged in his stomach when he wonders what the consequences of his actions will be. At least Yu Long and the juniors won't suffer them. Shen Shanwei and Yuwen Duyi--will they be gone by the time Master Wu arrives? Should he make sure they are? Master Wu didn't say anything about them. He ought to let them know, anyway.

Yuwen Duyi has been packed and ready to go for a while, waiting for the physician to declare her injury healed enough for a long ride. Shen Shanwei is only waiting to say good-bye to her before heading off in his own chosen direction. Lin Moniao finds both of them in Duyi's room, sitting by the window, curtains pulled aside to take in the magnificent view. A gentle rain has started up, but the sun is already shining through it.

Yuwen Duyi is splayed all over the floor, while Shanwei sits primly on his knees. The tea things are spread out messily, crumbs spread over the low table. She scowls at Lin Moniao, while Shanwei inclines his head coolly. "Shixiong."

Well, if that's the way Shen Shanwei wants to play it... Lin Moniao leans carelessly in the doorframe. "I've had a note from Master Wu. He's on his way here. I thought you might like to know."

"Well, I can't wait around for him," Duyi snaps. "It's you he'll want to see, anyway."

Shanwei pretends to sip from an empty cup to keep from meeting anyone's eye.

"What?" Yuwen Duyi asks Shen Shanwei, and a kind of a telepathic conversation happens between them, and then she groans. "I'm injured. You're bullying an invalid."

"She should be building bridges with Master Wu," Shen Shanwei explains to Lin Moniao.

"Leave me alone. I won't do it. I'll leave tomorrow morning. Tell him I had urgent news from my family. Tell him I died."

"I won't tell the master you died!"

"Traitor."

"I'm sure Master Wu will be disappointed to miss shijie's delightful company. But I won't ask you to stay." As if she would, for him. Lin Moniao flips his Beauty Dagger in the air, catches it in his other hand. "I'll be happy to fill him in on what you've been up to, instead. Just as well you'll be far away when that happens, eh?"

"I've done nothing but follow my master," she scoffs, but then hesitates and looks at Shen Shanwei, who plays with his empty cup and looks back gravely. More telepathy occurs.

He speaks first. "We are all going back to the Villa anyway, to pay our respects. We will see Master Wu soon enough. No reason it should be... here."

"Lin Moniao," Yuwen Duyi says, "get lost, will you?"

From shijie, this is practically polite. Lin Moniao gives them both a shallow bow, and leaves.

A day and a half after the note arrived, on a cool clear evening, Master Wu's carriage pulls up to the White Cloud Baths. Up on the hill, word arrives ahead of him: a gentleman of the Illustrious Qilin Villa is going to pay his respects to Master Bai before collecting his people. There he is now, climbing up the winding path with a black-clad disciple at his side, being led by a high-ranking physician. Before he reaches the Tranquil House, something even more remarkable happens: Master Bai and his wives come down from their private residence to greet him.

Physicians and attendants gather in orderly rows on the inner porch of the Tranquil House, which surrounds the garden, as the Master enters and stands waiting. He is in his early fifties, straight-backed and handsome, dressed in snow-white robes, but his most remarkable feature is his white hair, which he keeps pinned back to a headpiece and flowing down his back. His wives, each of them beautiful and at least two decades his junior, are in white and blue dresses of exquisite design, accentuated with silver and sapphires.

The scene is arranged in theatrical precision, Master Bai at the foot of the stairs leading down to his beautiful garden, his guest entering through the central hall directly from the door. Wu Zhenghao is tastefully dressed as always, if slightly rumpled from the road, only hastily smoothed down before arrival. Mu-shidi follows at his heel, carrying an ornate box.

It's an impressive sight, but lost on Lin Moniao, who only has eyes for his master. As soon as he enters, he drops to his knees--trying not to favor the injured one, because he didn't mention that in his letter either--and touches his forehead to the ground. Behind him, Shen Shanwei drops into a deep bow, Yuwen Duyi beside them following with some hesitation.

Master Wu stops in the hallway and turns to the three servants of the Parrot God clustered on the side. He opens his palms towards them, his distant expression melting into a smile. "Stand up, all of you. Lin Moniao. I am very glad to see you all looking well."

But he has already broken protocol and cannot keep his host waiting, so he turns away and walks the rest of the way to exchange bows with Master Bai. Mu Liqiang hangs back in his stead, joining his sect siblings in their little black-clad huddle.

Lin Moniao rises to his feet--not favoring his knee, because it's fine--dizzy with relief. Mu-shidi stares him down like a cat.

Lin Moniao had never met this shidi before his last stay in Kaifeng, and hadn't had much reason to pay attention to him. He is tall, broad-shouldered and good-looking, with curling hair, evidence of mixed ancestry. It wouldn't be a surprise if he has also passed the provincial exams--Master Wu has his priorities when it comes to recruiting, after all. Now he looks like he has a million questions he would like to ask, but holds his tongue.

"My condolences for the loss of your sect brother," Master Bai is saying.

"My thanks for Sect Leader Bai for taking care of our people at this difficult time," Master Wu replies. There is no vagueness in this exchange about Master Bai's rank, or the White Cloud enterprise's status as a minor cultivating sect. They go through a few more pleasantries, until Master Wu beckons Mu Liqiang forward. The youth appears promptly beside him and bows low to offer the box he was carrying to Master Bai. He accepts it, gives his thanks, and passes it on to the lady on his right.

"Will Wu Zhenghao be staying long?"

"We must hurry back to Poyang Lake to pay appropriate respects to the dead. You understand."

Master Bai does, and the formal exchange is finally over. The three retreat back through a hidden gate at the far end of the garden, and Master Wu returns to his disciples.

"I hope shifu's journey was uneventful," says Lin Moniao. "It was good of you to come. Will you rest before we leave again? They have some fine gardens here, one can see the whole place from them." Meaning, he would have spotted anyone spying when he'd talked to Shen Shanwei there. Also meaning, it might be counterindicated to climb into Master Wu's lap while making his report, but compromises must sometimes be made.

"Moniao." Wu Zhenghao clasps Lin Moniao's head between his hands and searches his face, affection and concern open in his eyes. Master Gao's remaining disciples shift uncomfortably.

Lin Moniao gives a long, satisfied exhale at Master Wu's touch. They're in public, and making everyone uncomfortable, and he does not care.

"It was hard riding all the way," Mu-shidi says mildly. "I will go arrange master's bed." He bows and retreats, but the interruption serves to steal Master Wu's attention.

"Yuwen Duyi, Shen Shanwei." They bow. "I am sorry for your loss. You may consider yourselves under my protection for now. Call me shishu or shifu, as you prefer."

"Shishu."

"Shi... shishu."

Shen Shanwei doesn't know where to put his eyes. Yuwen Duyi stares down with a kind of a constipated flush on her face, her eyes red.

Master Wu visibly suppresses a touch of amusement, but the two bowed down in time to miss it. "Didn't you hear? Moniao wants to show me the garden. Dismissed."

They go. Wu Zhenghao turns back to Lin Moniao. "It would almost be funny, if it wasn't all so grim, wouldn't it? Moniao, what on earth... No, let us go into the garden first."

Lin Moniao gives his head a slight shake, bringing himself back to his senses. "Yes. Right. It's not far," he says, leading the way.

They set off down a pathway, a reasonable distance from any potential hiding place, though it does seem rather absurd to expect spies crouching in bushes in such a serene place. Wu Zhenghao lowers his voice all the same. "Your letter told me remarkably little. Even so, traitor or not, natural causes or not, Gao Chengyi's death has solved several problems, some that hadn't even appeared when we last saw each other. Regrettable, of course, but that is simply how it is... why don't you start with what you think I most need to know." His tone is business-like, but he keeps reaching to touch Lin Moniao, his sleeve, his waist, brushing their hands together, as if to make sure he is still there.

"What you most need to know..." Lin Moniao tries to focus, though Master Wu's touches are nearly as distracting as climbing into his lap would have been. Not that Lin Moniao is complaining. "They have a technique here. Dual cultivation. It lets one partner give energy to the other--Gao Chengyi had been using it regularly, to compensate for his lack of... abilities. Yuwen Duyi was trying to reconstruct it, but I believe she's lost the motivation to continue the work." He shrugs and looks away. "It's almost a shame. It would have been an impressive accomplishment, to reconstruct such a thing through nothing but observation."

"That... would indeed have been impressive." Wu Zhenghao's gaze turns inwards. "So that was how he passed the sect leader's test. She read his internal energies, and they were strong, but then he could have simply borrowed them. Am I correct?"

"It seems likely," Lin Moniao acknowledges, and picks up his thread again. "My mother was right that Hu Qiu and Yang Xiuxing had no training in external arts before Yu Long started working with them, but their internal arts are very strong. It would have been necessary for them to learn the technique, which it seems is what Gao Chengyi intended. It appears he had already lined up a buyer for one or both of them, as well as I don't know what secrets of the sect. I haven't been able to find out who." Shen Shanwei is the one who intends to do that, but that's a different subject, and not one Lin Moniao is ready to bring up at the moment.

"A buyer." Wu Zhenghao stops in his tracks and joins his hands behind his back, his posture suddenly stiff. He thinks about it for a moment. "Oh. I see. That's... ghoulish. But of course. I knew they were offering sexual cultivation aid here for exclusive customers, though I didn't know they had developed it into a system of actually lending internal elixir to another. But if a person had someone under their power, and could gouge elixir from them regularly..." He clicks his tongue, disgusted. "Of course, a lot of people would pay a lot of money for that. I don't know why I didn't think of that. Gao Chengyi was always picking up strays and slaves and bringing them into the sect. I thought that was one of his good sides." He shakes his head. "This puts many things in perspective. Do you know if he had already been selling sect secrets to outsiders, or was he just planning to?"

"As far as I can tell, it was only a plan. I can't be entirely sure." Lin Moniao sighs heavily. "If Gao Chengyi had a single good side, it's news to me."

Master Wu's typical calm seems to have been shaken. "The sect leader and Master Guo must be informed. No one else. This changes some of our plans. Go on, what else?"

Lin Moniao nods, and brushes the back of his hand against Master Wu's leg, as if by accident. What else, that he needs to know? "Much of what I've told you, I learned, or had confirmed, by a man named Hua Yan, called the Little Raksha. He was acting as a go-between between Gao Chengyi and his buyer, and as far as I know he's still around here somewhere. He is not trustworthy, and he knows more about our sect business than one would like, but I believe I left him well-disposed towards me, at least." Lin Moniao drops his eyes and gives Master Wu a sly, sidelong smile. "I also took something of his, which he won't miss, because he still has it. I only made a copy."

From out of his sleeve, Lin Moniao draws a tightly-rolled sheaf of papers. He'd taken them from Yu Long's things that night when he'd been prowling around, fretting about Shen Shanwei, and it was the painstaking work of copying down the manual from Hua Yan's chest onto them that had finally calmed his mind and his hands enough to let him sleep. "The original is tattooed on his chest. I told shifu I would bring him something for the treasury, didn't I?"

It's an incidental thing, but he hopes Master Wu is pleased with it; it's the one thing about this mission that feels like an uncomplicated success.

Master Wu's takes the papers gravely, but his expression changes as he looks through them. "A manual! Ah, this won't only go in the treasury, but on the practice plan. Very good." The sect has been looking for manuals to add techniques to their roster; many skills had been lost during the sect's long decline, before the discovery of the God's current incarnation and the new leadership under Beauty Niu.

He rolls up the papers and sticks them under his arm. "The Crazed Raksha Style is nothing to laugh at. Until now, it has only been known to Hua Yan. There are rumors that he has powerful allies, some say with a secret cult that follows no laws, others with the imperial government itself. I should dearly like to know which it is, if either. But we will bring the question to the sect leader. Now." He takes a deep sigh. "I assume Yuwen Duyi doesn't know what you have discovered, or she would not have stayed at such close proximity to our blades."

"She--I don't believe so. I know what she's done is unforgivable, but... I've been trying so hard to keep everyone safe..." Lin Moniao tucks a stray lock of hair back into his topknot, takes a breath to compose himself. "Apologies. It's shifu's call, of course. You should also know--the physicians here have confirmed that Gao Chengyi died of natural causes, and whatever else one may say about them, they know their business. But when she discovered him, Yuwen Duyi was convinced I was somehow responsible. It was only later that she was able to listen to reason, and I swore to her that I'd been nowhere near him when it happened. Which is true, and she knew it, so she had to accept it."

"I suppose I will have to talk to her. Let me be frank, by all accounts she was a traitor right along with her master and the punishment for that is clear. But you also say she almost reconstructed a technique through observation, and that would make her an excellent help for one of Master Guo's projects, or in incorporating Hua Yan's technique..." He waves a hand. "We'll take her to Poyang Lake and see. It's best she keep thinking she has not been discovered. What's your read on her? How likely is she to look up Hua Yan now and continue Gao Chengyi's work?"

"Ah. Well. About that, you really ought to talk to Shen Shanwei. He does know what I've discovered. He didn't know about it before; he had some ideas of what was going on but was unaware of the specifics. I told him he could rely on you, and I know--" Lin Moniao swallows. He blinks his eyes, which are starting to sting, and finishes, even more quietly than the two of them have been speaking until now-- "I know shifu will not make a liar out of me."

"Moniao, the things you've been through." Wu Zhenghao pulls him into a hug and keeps holding him as he continues, "I will never turn on one of our own if they haven't turned on us. And I trust you, and your judgment. Everything's going to be alright."

Permission granted, Lin Moniao clings to Master Wu and buries his face in his shoulder, shaking with tears. He hadn't meant to, but--it feels like he's been holding himself in check for some time, and now he no longer needs to.

Master Wu pets his hair and makes the occasional soothing sound, then separates them to press his lips on Lin Moniao's forehead. "You did well, darling. Come, let's get some privacy and something to eat. I'm starving, aren't you?"

"Oh no." Lin Moniao wipes his eyes with a wet, hiccuping laugh. "I should have told you--but I had no notion you would be coming here--but there really is nothing to eat. Cabbage and pickles and not enough of either. They claim it's healthy. There is an inn down the road that does takeout."

"You have been through it." Wu Zhenghao looks shocked. "Thank goodness for takeout. I'll ask Mu Liqiang to bring us a pot of mustard on top of the meal."

They return to the house undisturbed by spies, and find Mu-shidi has arranged one of the guest houses for the master, while the others are allowed to stay in the simpler rooms at the Tranquil House, if they wish.

Master Wu informs the other disciples that everyone will be returning directly to Poyang Lake with him, to be with Master Gao's remains as soon as possible. When Yuwen Duyi fidgets, he shuts her down: she will be coming with them, or she never has to return at all. That settles the matter. She would not leave before she has ensured her master's rites have been correctly conducted and paid her proper respects.

They will set off the following day, unless the physicians strongly recommend otherwise. The physicians look as if they would like to, but there are no medical grounds by which to do so anymore, and so all is agreed and arranged.

No one imagines Lin Moniao will be staying at the Tranquil House, not when Master Wu is here.

Lin Moniao is perhaps uncharacteristically quiet as everything is arranged. There doesn't seem to be anything left for him to do. It's his last night at White Cloud, and his master is here, and there will be food, and soon he'll be going home.

Master Wu has his meeting with Shen Shanwei later that night, after dinner, and returns satisfied. He will go to Shanghai, as he wished to. The official story, though, is that he is going back to Kaifeng to watch over Master Wu's house while most of the sect is recalled to the Villa for the extended funeral.

Mu Liqiang brings their dinner, obedient and silent, but still staring curiously, and hangs around a little too long until Master Wu kindly sends him on his way.

Then he brings Lin Moniao to his bed, but spends a long time simply sitting by the bed, carding his hands through Lin Moniao's hair and telling him about the house in Kaifeng, and how he is considering new decor for his office, and of the latest society gossip. "Oh--your mother has received an unofficial proposal from Sha Zhengtian, and is thinking it over. She also left Kaifeng on sect business. I sent Dong Yuan with her. There isn't much point in sending a messenger after her now, I suppose. ”

"Oh. Ah. Right." It's not exactly a surprise, about Sha Zhengtian. Lin Moniao hopes it goes well, whatever well would be. When he made his threat to kill Sha Zhengtian if it didn't, he'd never actually killed anyone. He still means it just as much, but now he has a better idea of just how awful it would be. When he registers the part about leaving Kaifeng on sect business, though, he raises himself on one elbow and looks at Master Wu through narrowed eyes. "Nothing dangerous, I hope?" Then he has to laugh at himself. "I must sound like her any time you send me somewhere." He doesn't really mind. There are worse things than sounding like his mother.

"Your mother will be fine," Wu Zhenghao says soothingly. "The location is a little rowdy, but her mission is in no way dangerous. She's making an offer to buy a certain treasure from Sun Lan, the poet, and if Sun Lan rejects it, she is simply to return home. You worry because you are a good son, but I value her, too. A little too much to be entirely happy to see her wed, but... that's her decision. I expect her back in a few weeks, well in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Which is good, because--" His hand stops. "Well, you'll see."

"Wait--what will I see?"

Wu Zhenghao gives Lin Moniao's head a little scratch and smiles. "Don't you like surprises?"

"Depends. If you say I'll like this one, I believe you." Lin Moniao rubs his head against Master Wu's hand with a pleased hum. "Come to bed?"

"It's a good thing, I promise. It's very good." There is excitement at the edges of his voice, and it carries over to the way he kisses Lin Moniao, bending over him on the bed. He runs his thumb over Lin Moniao's cheek, fingers curling against the side of his neck. There is something of his previous uncharacteristic clinginess in that touch: he is here, he is fine.

Lin Moniao runs his hands down Master Wu's back, pulling him closer. It's strange to have Master Wu turning to him for reassurance, as strange as Shen Shanwei turning to him for orders. It's all right, though. He can give reassurance at the same time as taking it. They're safe, they're together, it's good.

Wu Zhenghao allows himself to be pulled closer, and goes further: Climbing up on the bed at last, he lifts one of Lin Moniao's legs to the side to make room for himself between them, bringing their bodies tightly together. He sinks into a long series of kisses, grasping the curve of his lover's thigh, tearing cloth aside and running his fingers, sometimes nails over exposed skin, savoring and greedy at the same time. It is often like that--he will hold back for a while, and then take what he wants in the end.

Lin Moniao returns his master's kisses with equal heat, rutting against him heedless of the layers of clothing in between. More than the press of his body or the sweet sting of his nails, Lin Moniao savors Master Wu's hunger, as if it had been years they were apart and not less than a month. He's a desirable man and he knows it, but he never gets tired of being wanted by Master Wu.

Wu Zhenghao calls his name like it is half admonition, half a demand. He dips down to nip at Lin Moniao's neck, and stays there a while, mouthing at the sensitive spot while he matches the motions of his hips with his own, rutting himself into hardness. "Look at what you do to me." He lets out a breathy laugh that turns into a grunt of pleasure, and his fingers tighten where they hold Lin Moniao's hips in place. "Would you like me to fuck you tonight, darling? I should like that."

Taking him at his word, Lin Moniao draws back for a moment, taking in the flush on Master Wu's skin, the disorder of his clothing, the glitter in his eye, and feeling very satisfied with himself.

"Yes," he sighs happily. "You know I would."

That makes Wu Zhenghao laugh again. "Good boy." He, too, is very satisfied with Lin Moniao.

--

Chei Yinyan, physician and cultivator, sets her brush down on its holder and sits back on her heels. She arranges her snow-white sleeves neatly and smiles up at her visitor. "Has our esteemed guest thought our offer through some more?"

The girl--woman--Chei Yinyan supposes every woman under thirty is a girl to her now--shakes her head mutely. She is standing stiff as a board before Chei Yinyan's desk, and the physician can't help but take pity. She rises to her feet and comes to her, squeezing her elbows. The woman's eyes are haunted, but she has more color on her face now. She has been healing well. "Very well, I won't try to convince you to join anymore, but won't you at least stay with us? Let us forget about costs. You must know--with what agreement we had reached with your late master--that you cannot expect to be safe among your own sect now that Wu Zhenghao is here."

"I'll be fine," Yuwen Duyi speaks at last, grasping Yinyan's elbows in return.

Yinyan nods, resigned. "Just know that you can always find a place with us."

Yuwen Duyi's breath escapes her in a puff. "But, doctor, I could use a little... help. To defend myself, if things go badly. I cannot improve my skills at a moment's notice, but my elixir..."

Yinyan takes her face between her hands, her heart growing tender. She had been expecting to take this girl--woman--as her pupil, to guide and nurture her towards the light and bliss that was complete harmony with one's energies, buoyed by the delicious fulfillment of having another's energy course through one. She had witnessed the stiff and mechanical way Yuwen Duyi had worked to balance her late master's energies to prime him for Yinyan's attentions, and she had to bite her tongue to keep from advising out of place.

Yuwen Duyi grasps her wrists, her eyes dropping down. "Please."

"Come with me," Yinyan says, and takes her hand, pulling her towards the treatment area.

Soft pillows and bedding turn the box bed into an inviting nest, but Yinyan knows exactly where the various ointments, pills, potions and tools to ease the administration of their cure are arranged in its practical inner drawers. Not that she expects to need any now. She turns to Duyi and tilts her face up to kiss her as they stand before the bed. Duyi curls down to meet her mouth with a searching desperation and a little too much teeth.

It really is a beautiful technique they are blessed with. What is love, but this reaching into another and becoming one with their essence? Now, Duyi is responding in the right way. Perhaps fear and loss have torn down that hard protective barrier she keeps around her qi.

Yinyan pushes Duyi's layers of robes off her shoulders, unties her belt and reveals her breasts, the nipples dark against her white thumbs. Duyi makes a sound like a sob and steps forward, crushing Yinyan to her chest.

That is not a bad thing. The desire to become one is where it starts. Yinyan tells her as much, unable to stop herself from teaching.

Down to their undergarments, they tumble on to the bed. Duyi holds and admires her body like a treasure, then her mouth follows her hands, making Yinyan hiss at the touch of teeth. Good, good, whatever brings her to the boil is good.

Yinyan guides Duyi's hand, opening her own legs, letting her feel how much she already wants this, wants her, loves her, as she loves all her patients, as Master Bai teaches them to. Duyi keeps half sobbing against Yinyan's breast as her fingers sink into her, and it becomes difficult for Yinyan to think. "Ah, ah... gently, slowly," she coaxes in a breaking voice, and the jabbing motion turns into a caress. Yinyan's head begins to spin. So she opens herself spiritually just as she has opened her body, and reaches into Duyi's qi, holds it as she holds her.

Her body, keyed up, convulses in pleasure, but she hangs on to their connection as she rolls them over and Duyi's fingers slip out of her. Yinyan rearranges them, one of Duyi's legs over her shoulder, and connects their bodies at their wet centers. Duyi's face twists and she makes a sound like pain and pleasure mixed, but she is opening up, flowing. Yinyan rolls their hips together, and adds the soft touch of thumb between them.

They both come together with Duyi's soft, broken cry and a whole-body tremble, Yinyan's clench and stutter, fast and hard, like a pair of virgins. They are mingled, mingling, strengthened by one another beyond what either could achieve alone. This is the technique.

Yinyan pushes and rolls them over again, heated mouth and nips of teeth consuming the salty sweat on Duyi's skin, on the light layer of fat over her abdominal muscles, and nuzzles her nose into her scent. She tastes bitter and real; she is sopping wet, and Yinyan clings to the heady pleasure of being able to please.

The night grows later, and Yinyan has forgotten why they are continuing apart from the impossibility of stopping, as Duyi hugs her leg and nips at her calf. Her legs twitch in another orgasm, and the bubble of pure sexual energy around them seems to intensify and shift. Duyi collapses against her, groaning as in pain.

She is in pain.

Yinyan sits up and gathers her to herself. Duyi is stiff, then trembling, then convulsing. Her qi is changing, folding in on itself at her lower dantian. Something's gone wrong. Or, rather...

Oh no. Master Bai will be so upset.

"I got it," Duyi says, a wild smile blooming on her face, and she kisses Yinyan, her tongue still tasting of salt. "I got it!"

"D-Duyi," Yinyan asks, trepidation dispelling the moment. "You'll-- You'll stay with us, then, won't you?"

Yuwen Duyi shakes her head, and kisses her again.

"Yuwen Duyi, you can never tell anyone..."

"It's alright," Duyi says tenderly, disentangling their limbs. "If you feel like you are no longer safe among your sect after this, you can always find a place with the Qilin Villa."

With that, she stands up shakily and picks up her clothes, and walks out of the bedroom, leaving Chei Yinyan robbed.


A Roadside Inn

Master Bai appears again the following morning to meet with Master Wu in another formal performance of proprieties, and then their group packs up to go. Yuwen Duyi keeps her hood up the whole way through, hiding her eyes; she is silent and seems a little stiff, and none of Shen Shanwei's gentle coaxing gets her to say more than an assenting "Mm."

Master Wu is perfectly capable of riding a horse, but as a matter of propriety he climbs into the carriage; there are three horses for riders, but also plenty of space inside, so he gestures for Lin Moniao to climb in and rest his leg. Mu-shidi claims the driver's seat, and so the two friends will follow behind on horseback, down the sloping hill and into the shade of the trees.

Lin Moniao slides into the carriage beside Master Wu. "I can ride. Probably. I haven't actually tried yet. But I'm healed, really, the physicians here say so, it's only a little twinge when I put too much weight on it or, ah, strain it in an unusual position." He rests his chin on Master Wu's shoulder. "I do like spending time with shifu, though."

Wu Zhenghao puts an arm around him, pulling him comfortably against his shoulder. No one is here to see them, after all. "You can, but should you? A fight is a fight. Recklessly risking your knee when it's still healing is another." He drops a kiss on Lin Moniao's temple. "You should have told me about it before I put you on your knees."

"Apologies," Lin Moniao says, not very contritely. "I really did mean to tell you, it just slipped my mind."

The whip lashes and the carriage jumps forward as the horses whinny. Master Wu looks up and sighs, then says more quietly, "I may just leave Mu Liqiang at Poyang Lake. He has... gotten some funny ideas."

Lin Moniao snuggles closer and whispers, his lips almost touching Master Wu's ear, "Oh? How so? He seems... all right. Quiet. Observant."

"Don't be alarmed, darling," Master Wu whispers, "but I think he's angling to become the next Lin Moniao."

Lin Moniao draws back so he doesn't laugh directly in Master Wu's ear. When his laughter subsides enough for him to talk, he whispers, "Good luck to him! I'm unique. Is that why he's been watching me so closely? Observing his model?" He chuckles a bit more, shakes his head. "I might have been alarmed," he admits, "if you hadn't threatened to leave him at Poyang Lake for it. As it is, I'm inclined to be generous. Have you taken him to bed?"

"Ah... not all the way, at any rate. And now I regret encouraging him at all. Moniao, he is terribly flirty when we're alone, and it is rather flattering, but he's not you, for many reasons, and should curb his ambition before he embarrasses both of us."

"You can't blame a man for trying. But if he's been pestering you, then yes, by all means leave him at Poyang Lake to cool off for a while." Lin Moniao stretches, a bit like a cat. "Should I take him to bed, do you think? Take his mind off things. He is rather good-looking."

Master Wu laughs, loud enough to be heard by the driver, but he continues more quietly. "You fox demon! That would certainly rearrange some of his funny ideas." His hand sneaks up on Lin Moniao's thigh, grasping it possessively. "But then how could I resist seducing both of you at once? And then, what use would I be for anything else?"

It's an arresting image, especially combined with the pressure of Master Wu's fingers. "Shifu is right, one must get one's work done somehow," Lin Moniao sighs regretfully. "Truly shifu lives the ascetic life of a scholar, a state to which this one can only aspire."

"Well, one must be allowed a few indulgences." His hand moves up and he leans in to mouth at Lin Moniao's ear. "Do you think you could do it, darling? Wring your shidi dry and bring him in line for me?"

"Oh, I think I could," Lin Moniao breathes, melting into Master Wu's touch.

"Mm, and this is why there is only one Lin Moniao." He brings his hand up to rest fully on his favorite's crotch.

Lin Moniao pushes up into his hand and stifles a groan against his neck. "My master," he whispers, with just a hint of teeth against skin.

Wu Zhenghao reacts to those teeth with a small low noise, opening his neck. "Mmm." Then he turns Lin Moniao's face towards him and kisses him, all the while moving his hand slowly, touching him through his clothes. There isn't much room to maneuver in the carriage, and Master Wu has already told him not to strain his knee, so the best Lin Moniao can do is shift in his seat to turn slightly towards Master Wu, reaching up to draw his thumb down the side of his face, fingers brushing against his hairline.

After a moment, Master Wu breaks them apart. He is hardly unaffected, his breath fast and his eyes misted with want. "We are coming to the crossroads soon, remember. You will--want to say goodbye."

"Oh! Yes." Lin Moniao's hands go to fix his hair as he blinks, dazed, trying to refocus his attention. He's already said his real goodbye; this one won't be nearly as enthusiastic. Shen Shanwei will probably look down his nose and sneer at him. It's actually quite endearing, at least with the intent behind it that Lin Moniao knows is now there.

By the time Mu Liqiang's voice calls out, "We're here," Master Wu's hair is back in order and his robes tucked down, his expression once again grim and serene. The carriage pulls up by the road, letting others pass by as the horses gather around. Yuwen Duyi throws her hood back. She looks pale and wan, and her head is completely bald, as if she had never had hair at all. She smiles, though, dark and triumphant, as Master Wu's expression crumples into surprise.

Mu Liqiang shares that look. Shen Shanwei slides off his horse and claps her on the back. "You did it, didn't you, shijie?"

She really did!

Lin Moniao is sorry to have given what turns out to have been an inaccurate report to Master Wu, but otherwise... well, it's a good thing that Shen Shanwei is grinning and congratulating her, because Lin Moniao can't, nor would she welcome it from him, but... she really did. He knew she had it in her. All that excellence, given to a worthless person like Master Gao--but not anymore.

"A qi deviation," Master Wu mutters. "Yuwen-shizhi--ah, Yuwen Duyi must have pushed herself." He turns to Lin Moniao. "Would you like to try that knee on a horse after all? I think I should have another private word with your shijie."

"Yes, that seems wise," says Lin Moniao. "I apologize for not--well." He ventures a rueful look at Mu Liqiang. Maybe they can commiserate over both being shut out of Master Wu's company, for now. Mu Liqiang seems to take it as a request, and slides over on the driver's seat, patting the seat beside him.

Yuwen Duyi bows and ties her horse up behind the carriage. Then she turns towards Shen Shanwei, arms reaching out, and the two embrace tightly.

There's not much more to say. Shen Shanwei gives the others a bow, which they return, including Mu Liqiang in an awkward sitting angle. Yuwen Duyi closes her eyes and turns away to wipe her nose, so Shen Shanwei throws Lin Moniao a quick wink and a smile.

Warmth flares in Lin Moniao's chest as he returns Shen Shanwei's smile. And that's it. Shen Shanwei gets up on his horse and peels off with a wave, Yuwen Duyi climbs into the carriage with the master, and they have another stretch of southwest journey to go before the night.

Lin Moniao watches him out of sight before turning to Mu Liqiang. "Well!" He's whispering again, this time to keep his words from reaching the people inside the carriage. "That is a thing, eh?" There are quiet voices from inside the carriage, but no meanings can be made out.

Mu Liqiang leans closer and lowers his voice accordingly. His hair carries a scent of oils. "So she had a breakthrough, what's the big deal?"

For a moment, Lin Moniao just looks at him. Is this what Master Wu meant--is Mu Liqiang perhaps not very bright?

But, of course, he doesn't know. And how much ought Lin Moniao to tell him? As much, at least, as will soon become common knowledge in the sect.

"It's not just a breakthrough. It's a new technique. As Master Wu said, she must have pushed herself to learn it. It was quite a risk, at her level. And she didn't learn it from a manual, or a master, she just--did."

Mu Liqiang eyes widen, then he frowns. "Yuwen Duyi did? I didn't know she was a prodigy. Is this something Master Gao was working on?"

"Sort of," says Lin Moniao. How completely incapable Gao Chengyi was of doing anything of the sort--is not something Mu Liqiang needs to know.

Mu Liqiang falls back, reins held loose in his hands. The horses know what they're doing. "I guess he wasn't a fraud after all. Well, it's good to have proof! And Master Xie still needs to sleep with one eye open."

"Mmm, yes." Delicate, is what Master Wu requested, and Lin Moniao delivered. Protecting Master Gao's reputation means protecting the sect, and the juniors and Shen Shanwei and Yuwen Duyi. It's a shame that the sect can't have Master Xie rather than the memory of Master Gao, but that's simply how it is. He owes no loyalty to Xie Song--the man must look after himself.

"A new technique. That'd be something." Mu Liqiang's eyes light up, though he keeps them on the road, and he forgets to keep his voice low. "I have been studying Acupoint Defense myself... the sect leader's technique still won't be taught to anyone else, more's the pity. Has Master Wu been teaching you the Slaughtering Blade style?" He looks a little wistful and glances back towards the carriage--though, of course, they can't see a thing.

"Yes." Lin Moniao leans back on his hands, a bit smug, but then admits, "It will be a while yet before I can do it. Shijie has a will of steel, but--" he laughs and tucks a stray lock of hair behind his ear, "I don't think I'd do what she did."

"Hmh." Mu Liqiang gives him a sidelong look, purses his lips together, and smacks the reins.

He drives on quietly for a while. The landscape is evening out.

Master Wu is not in such a hurry as Master Gao had been, and they stop well before nightfall, and before their poor horses are run ragged. Yuwen Duyi has returned to riding by then, though Master Wu, perhaps wisely considering what even just a little privacy had reduced them to, has not invited Lin Moniao back into the carriage.

The River Yangtze is visible from the man-made packed-earth hill that the roadside inn is built on, snaking through the landscape in its changeable bends and loops. Master Wu and his retinue are greedily received, and though they had not booked ahead, the proprietor assures them rooms can be found--one for the master, one for the two young male disciples, and one for Yuwen Duyi. Master Wu laughs at this offer and accepts the arrangement, sending Duyi straight up to her room. "You need a great deal of rest now, dear girl," he tells her, and she actually smiles faintly at the address, though her eyes remain haunted. She bows and obeys.

Master Wu leans closer to Lin Moniao to whisper, "We are both trying, you know, she and I, but I don't think I will ever quite be her Master Gao. I'd love to hear what more you've found out about the relationship between those two. But now... you have a bedroom to choose, don't you?"

"I'm glad," Lin Moniao whispers back, looking after Yuwen Duyi. "That you're both trying, I mean. And--"

He turns to consider Mu Liqiang. It wasn't the most promising start, perhaps. Subjects he hadn't wanted to talk about had made him reticent, and he might have seemed unfriendly, or--he's not sure. Still. It could have been worse.

"I suppose," Lin Moniao says under his breath, "I'll see shifu in the morning, then." And if Master Wu misses him (he'd better), it's his own fault. He shouldn't dare Lin Moniao to do a thing if he doesn't want it done.

Mu Liqiang notices him looking and lopes a little closer. He is taller than either of them, but curls in on himself as if to make himself smaller. "Shixiong must be tired. After all, he looked after shifu all night last night. He can have the room for himself, and get a good night's rest. This shidi can attend to the master's needs tonight." He gives Master Wu a sidelong glance under lowered lashes.

Master Wu folds his hands before him and looks at Lin Moniao with a sparkle of humor in his eyes, as if to say, see what I have to put up with?

Lin Moniao remembers Yuwen Duyi hauling her own shidis upstairs by the ear and feels an unexpected pang of sympathy for her. "Shidi is very considerate, and I'm sure he's no trouble at all to share a room with," he says instead. "We both ought to go up and put away our things first, anyway."

"I will be quite alright by myself for one night, Mu Liqiang." Master Wu's voice is dripping with suppressed laughter. "Good night, you two." He makes a shooing motion.

Mu Liqiang looks like he wants to argue, but how can he? His brow darkens, but he gives the master a respectful bow.

The room is up the stairs and to the side, with a view out towards the river, and the sounds of the rather rowdy dining hall muffled through the bulk of the building. This inn serves not only travelers along the road and the river but off duty bargemen and people from the surrounding villages; it is nowhere near fine enough for Master Gao's taste, but they have the best rooms in it. There are two beds, each framed and canopied.

Mu-shidi drops his bag on the floor next to a bed and sits down heavily on the side, crossing his arms with a scowl and letting out a big puff of air.

Lin Moniao sets his own bag by the other bed--and how nice, to have a bag!--and leans against the wall, crossing his own arms with a smile. "Well, so you would rather be in Master Wu's bed. So would I. We might as well make the best of it. May I take down your hair?"

"No!" His hand flies to his hair. The wind has long since blown it out of the tight bun he had tried to contain it in, loose strands curling against his neck. He tucks them back self-consciously and turns his scowl at Lin Moniao. "Doesn't it bother you at all? He can send you away at any time, he can pick someone else right in front of you, and you'll just have to take it. What if he'd picked me right now? What would you do?"

"Spend the night by myself, probably. I do do that sometimes, whatever rumors you may have heard about me. I could try finding someone else on my own, but if you and he were both occupied, the pickings here are rather slim. I would not recommend trying it with shijie." Lin Moniao bites his lip and doesn't laugh; Mu Liqiang may not be stupid, but there's been no sign that he has a sense of humor. He seems deathly serious now. "Either way, it wouldn't worry me, not like it would if I thought I'd lost his regard. Mu-shidi--if you want a faithful lover, or--or one on a more even footing with you, you can find one easily. Why on earth are you chasing after Master Wu?"

"Who's better than shifu?" Irritated with his own hair, he takes his hairpiece out himself. It's a metal ring tightened with a leather strap, and he's added several braids to aid it, but it's still barely done the job, and he throws it on the bed in frustration, curls spilling loose. "If he's so unfaithful, why won't he be unfaithful with me? Especially if you don't even care. I can't just go downstairs and pick someone. I've already made my choice."

"He is rather wonderful." Lin Moniao sits down on the same bed, leaving enough space between him and Mu Liqiang to hopefully not spook him. "But if that's the way you feel, he would make you unhappy even if he did take you to bed. He isn't going to become a different person because you love him, any more than you will become one by slouching."

Mu Liqiang leans back with a suspicious look at Lin Moniao, but he is listening. "Well... well..." His eyes shift, as if looking for a way to refute the truth in what Lin Moniao is saying, and then they fill with tears. "Well, even if it's impossible, I still want it. I can't be you but I can be as good as you. Better than you! You'll go away again and he'll get lonely."

"He will. And you'll have better luck if you're not trying to be me. You are quite lovely yourself, you know. But then I'll come back and he'll want me again. And if that doesn't bother you, we can all be happy. But if it does, you're better off choosing someone else."

Mu-shidi is thinking, calculating, looking somewhere over Lin Moniao's shoulder. "Fine," he says at last. He runs a hand through his hair and kicks off his boots to bring his legs up on the bed. "Part-time is fine. I'll lay off while you're here and try again when you're away. Good?"

"It's truly alright if you try when I'm here too." Lin Moniao scoots closer, the arm he's leaning on resting against Mu Liqiang's back as if by accident. "It's not that, it's--don't try to be me, and don't try to replace me, and don't come on so strong, eh? I think... shifu thinks... you're trying to take on things you're not ready for, not in bed but in the sect. But I know there are things you want to learn, and... shall I tell you a secret?"

"Shixiong can be generous because shixiong already won," Mu Liqiang mutters darkly. (Not stupid at all, Lin Moniao has to admit to himself.) But his interest perks at the mention of a secret and he looks up to find Lin Moniao closer than he expected. He blinks at him, shifting, eyes wide. "A secret? Tell me."

"Yuwen-shijie isn't the only one who brought a new technique into the sect. I may not be a prodigy like she is, but I have my own methods. If you want--I can ask shifu, and if he agrees, the two of us can study the manual together. Just don't push yourself too hard, eh?" He takes a lock of Mu Liqiang's hair, stretches it out, and lets it spring back into a curl. "We wouldn't want you losing your hair."

"A new technique that even shifu doesn't know." He grins, the first time Lin Moniao has seen him smile. "Yes! Please! Shixiong is generous, and kind, and shidi apologizes for being jealous... I will take instruction from now on." He pulls his hair back away from Lin Moniao's fingers, but looks at him from under his lashes, not unlike he'd looked at Master Wu earlier.

"That's what I like to hear," Lin Moniao laughs, and kisses him on the nose.

Mu Liqiang touches his nose, surprised into a laugh. He scoots back a little and gets on his knees, puts his hands together and bows to Lin Moniao.

Lin Moniao catches him by the elbows, grinning. "All right, rascal, apology accepted." He gives him a light shove, enough to topple him over onto his back, if he wants to go.

Mu Liqiang goes down obediently and looks up, a faint questioning smile on his lips.

Bracing himself with a hand, Lin Moniao leans over him, kissing the corner of his mouth, his ear, his neck. With his other hand, he tugs on the fastenings of Mu Liqiang's robe, lifting his face to ask, "May I?"

Mu Liqiang turns his head to give him access, rising slightly to meet the touch, but grasps his sleeves to stop him. "Wait. Does shifu know you're doing this?"

Lin Moniao sits back up, giving Mu Liqiang space, even though his own breath is still coming a little fast. "He knows."

Mu Liqiang draws in a sharp breath and exhales, "You talked about it." His fingers grip Lin Moniao's sleeves harder and he pulls him back down, curling up to meet him.

Lin Moniao goes eagerly, setting his lips against Mu Liqiang's ear. "He also said," he whispers, "that if we did, he might have to take both of us at once."

"Mhm, oh." Mu Liqiang is gasping, flushed. He presses his heels into the bed and ruts up against him, but slips his hands between them to pull own belt strings open. "Really, really... would you like that? Would you make this shidi wait his turn?"

Lin Moniao laughs, pushing aside Mu Liqiang's robe to run a hand teasingly down his chest before dipping below the waistband of his trousers. "You are going to take instruction from now on, remember?"

He responds to every touch, and curls up again when Lin Moniao's hand goes under his waistband, muffling a little cry against the crook of his neck. He nods eagerly. "Yes, yes, this one will thank shixiong for guidance." He's shamefully hard.

"My goodness, shidi, is this what you've been hiding down here all this time? It's huge. You could have led with that, you know." The cock that Lin Moniao's questing hand encounters is a proper handful, with a length to match. What he doesn't find, as he strokes down the heated shaft, is a foreskin. It shouldn't be so surprising--Mu Liqiang may be a servant of the parrot god now, but apparently he was once the servant of some other god. "Take all that off." Lin Moniao leans back on one hand and gestures with the other at Mu Liqiang's rumpled, half-shucked clothes. "I want a good look at you."

Wouldn't that have been something, if Mu Liqiang's sales speech to Master Wu had included a description of his piece? He had arched up to the touch, and makes a little unhappy sound at being deprived of it, but scoots back just enough to wriggle out of his robes and trousers and kick them to the end of the bed.

His low-lidded glance at Lin Moniao's face now looks more genuinely shy than flirty, but he shakes it off, literally shaking out his hair, and leans back on his elbows, nudity on display. "Is it--does shifu--it's good?"

"You're a beauty," Lin Moniao assures him. For a few seconds, he greedily devours with his eyes the breadth of Mu Liqiang's chest, the definition of his stomach, the hollows of his hips and the truly impressive jade stalk jutting between them, the long, lean muscles of his thighs and calves. Then he cups Mu Liqiang's chin in his hand and kisses him deeply, lingering before moving down to taste the skin of his chest and belly, kissing, nipping, licking. He slips his hand inside his own clothes to stroke himself as he does.

"Shixiong is the beauty," Mu Liqiang purrs, clearly pleased with the compliment regardless. He parts his lips for the kiss, tongue soft and yielding. His hands dare wander delicately to Lin Moniao's hair, stroking it reverently as Lin Moniao moves down. "Is shixiong sure he doesn't want this shidi to... serve him?" A sweet offer, when his whole body is signalling please continue.

Lin Moniao finally arrives at Mu Liqiang's member and flicks his tongue lightly across the head, looks back up with a slow smile. "Shifu will like it very much."

"Shifu will like it!" he murmurs, falling back against the covers, weak with lust. His hands go to the bedding, grabbing it hard to keep himself grounded under Lin Moniao's tongue.

"Easy there. Wait your turn." Lin Moniao takes his hand off himself in order to squeeze Mu Liqiang's hip. "And here's me forbidden to go on my knees--as you know because you were listening in, rascal. Here, we'll do it like this. Make room."

Lin Moniao nudges Mu Liqiang over onto his side, facing away, then quickly peels off his own layers. Mu Liqiang goes obediently, still flushed and very pleased, but then pushes back up to grab at his bag, still by the bed. "Shixiong, I have things to ease lovemaking. I may have more need of them than you... as you saw."

"Ah. Yes." Lin Moniao huffs an amused breath. "Confident, aren't you? Well, and you were right to be. Good thinking."

Mu Liqiang smiles, unashamed and a little smug. He pulls himself up to the edge and fishes out a white ceramic bottle, then comes up to drop kisses on Lin Moniao's shoulder and neck. "Shixiong is so pretty."

"Mmm," Lin Moniao hums, arching his back at the attention. He lets it go on for a while longer until the desire for more overtakes his enjoyment of what's happening already, and he gives Mu Liquang a little push to get him back in the previous position, the bottle still in his other hand. "You can admire me some more later, go on."

There is a little scrape of teeth against his neck, almost a nip, before shidi melts back into position, tucking his hair out of the way under his shoulder. He's smiling but there is some tension of anticipation in the line of his shoulder.

Lin Moniao snuggles up against Mu Liqiang's broad, warm back, nuzzling his shoulder blade, about as far up as he can reach in this position. "Squeeze your thighs together for me, will you, shidi?"

"Mmhmm." He arches and pushes back as well. "I like it like this, shixiong. Is this good?"

Pouring a little pool of oil into his hand, Lin Moniao slides it between Mu Liqiang's thighs--he may not need it, but that doesn't mean he's not going to use it if he has it. Once that's done, he presses up against Mu Liqiang's back, pushing himself into the hot, slippery space with a moan. "Oh, yes. Yes, like that, do that some more."

Mu Liqiang doesn't need guidance on this. He ruts back against him rhythmically, pulling him in up against the top of his thighs. It's a helpless position, he can't turn, can't put his mouth on him, all he can do is reach a hand back to grab Lin Moniao's hip and pull him up tighter against himself, making small delighted sounds and gasps. With his hand still slick with oil, Lin Moniao cups Mu Liqiang's balls and squeezes gently, thumbing at the sensitive spot behind them. Thrusting into Mu Liqiang as he pushes back against him, their bodies starting to stick together with sweat, Lin Moniao's breath comes faster and harder, his climax building.

He's so sweet, Mu Liqiang thinks, which is as much as he can think in this delicious haze. He has been put in his place and is being used and played with, and it fills him with warmth and gratitude. He doesn't deserve to feel this safe and good. It won't last. He wants it never to end. The touch is not enough and yet exactly as much as it should be. "Shixiong," he calls in a breaking voice.

Lin Moniao's arm tightens around Mu Liqiang, and he cries out as his hips jerk forward again and again, spilling between Mu Liqiang's thighs. He clings to him, shuddering, until the last of it washes over him, and finally his grip loosens.

Mu Liqiang wriggles around and kisses him hard, but not for long. He nuzzles against his chest instead, lets him rest. He reaches down to touch his own thighs and feel how wet they are, and hums happily. "Mm, shixiong really is generous!"

"I suppose I am." Lin Moniao rubs his cheek against the top of Mu Liqiang's head, grinning at the soft, springy texture of his curls. "We don't even need your bottle anymore, do we?" There's still a film of oil left on Lin Moniao's hand, but he reaches down and drags it through the mess on Mu Liqiang's thighs for good measure before taking him in hand. "Your turn, shidi."

Mu Liqiang's mouth seeks Lin Moniao's again, now soft and sweet, then open and gasping at the touch of his hand. He thrusts into it, hips rolling. "T-tell me to. Tell me when."

"I will," Lin Moniao promises between kisses, keeping his strokes slow and firm. "Let me know when you're close, eh? I've got you."

He rests his forehead on Lin Moniao's and nods earnestly. A kiss, one more, and then his muscles tighten; his readiness is evident also in Lin Moniao's hand. "Shixiong, please, ah, soon, please tell me."

Lin Moniao gentles his touch, pulling back to just a brush of his fingertips. "A little longer. You can do that for me, can't you?"

Mu Liqiang whines audibly, nods assent, but then pleads anyway, almost sobbing: "Please, please, this one wants to come, pretty shixiong, good, kind shixiong..." He drops kisses on Lin Moniao's chin and neck and chest.

Still drifting in a happy, spent haze, Lin Moniao is torn: how can he refuse when Mu Liqiang is asking so nicely? But how can he not want such lovely begging to go on for hours? Soon enough, he relents; takes a firmer hold on Mu Liqiang's shaft, moves his other hand to cradle his balls, and whispers: "Now."

"Th-thank--" Mu Liqiang grasps the bedding on either side of Lin Moniao's head tight and throws his head back, his mouth falling open, hips pumping helplessly as he spills all over his shixiong's hand, his abdomen. When the last stutters subside, he attempts to kiss Lin Moniao one last time, but it turns into drunken, exhausted slide to his side, ending with his face buried in Lin Moniao's shoulder.

"Mmmuhh."

"You did very well," Lin Moniao murmurs, rubbing Mu Liqiang's back with his somewhat-less-sticky hand. "Unfortunately," he says after a little of this, "Somebody will have to clean this up, and I'm not entirely convinced you can move, so you're going to have to scoot off of me, Mu-shidi."

Mu Liqiang lifts his head and gives him a shocked look. "What? No, no, shixiong mustn't. Please. This one will take care of everything." He mouths briefly at Lin Moniao's neck, runs a hand down his side, kisses his chest, tongues his nipple... but eventually lifts himself off him with obvious reluctance. "One moment, I will get a wet cloth."

"Well, alright, then," Lin Moniao says agreeably. He certainly doesn't want to move.

The water is cold, nothing to be done about that, but Mu Liqiang still apologizes for it when he comes back with a cloth. When they are clean, he sits up, leaning on one hand, and looks Lin Moniao's body over with no shame, a little pleased smile on his lips. Shixiong did say he would get to admire him later.

He runs a finger along Lin Moniao's thigh. "Next time, shixiong must use my mouth and not let me come at all, so there will be no mess."

"Don't tell me what I must do, rascal," Lin Moniao laughs and turns his head to kiss Mu Liqiang's hand. "Maybe. We'll see."

Mu Liqiang beams at that and crawls into bed, wrapping himself around his shixiong like an octopus.


Wuhu

Wu Zhenghao has no love for early mornings, and Yuwen Duyi has no reason to come and bother her shidis, so no one knocks them up in the morning. The sun is allowed to climb up and up, and it isn't until the smells of breakfast start wafting in through the partially opened window that Mu Liqiang sits up in sudden panic. "The master! I haven't checked up on him! He could need me! He could need... tea!" He rolls off the bed and is up within moments, pulling on trousers and hopping on one leg to the washbasin to slick down his hair.

"Must you make so much noise in the morning, shidi," Lin Moniao complains, pulling the covers over his head to block out the sunlight. Then it registers just how much sunlight there is to block out, and he pokes his head out again and sits up, yawning. "Well, he might want tea by this point," he acknowledges, reaching for his clothes in no particular hurry. "But let me give you a piece of advice, Mu-shidi--of all the ways I have ever disappointed shifu, it has never been by failing to bother him at dawn."

Mu Liqiang pauses with his hands in his hair and hesitates. "He does look a little annoyed in the mornings. More than usual."

"Ah." One reason that Master Wu might want to leave Mu Liqiang at Poyang Lake has suddenly become clear. It seems that Lin Moniao has done good work in more way than one by tiring the abominably energetic young man out last night. "Don't do that. It's late enough now, but really all this dashing about is unnecessary. Though you do look fetching with one leg out of your trousers, I will say."

That breaks Mu Liqiang's worrying, and he laughs. He does, however, put his trousers on the rest of the way. "This one thanks shixiong for his guidance."

He still remains antsy through the rest of his dressing up, bouncing to go, and is soon out the door with his hair still wet from being wrestled down. Master Wu's door is not that far from theirs, but time passes and passes, and he does not return.

Lin Moniao could get used to having as much time to himself as he wants in the morning--and maybe he has, during his stay at the White Cloud bathhouse. It's too late for him to fall asleep again, but he takes his time washing up, getting dressed, and putting up his hair. It's only once he's done all that that he sticks his nose out of the door to see who else is stirring, hopeful of breakfast and tea.

He has been forgotten, it seems. The doors in the hallway remain closed. However, the restaurant is only a staircase and a hallway away, and the tables spill out into the inner courtyard's porch, hence the tempting smells from the window. He could knock on Master Wu's door--he can't help but be a little curious about what's going on in there--but maybe he should take his own advice about not bothering Master Wu, and also, breakfast.

With that decided, he goes downstairs to the restaurant.

The restaurant is wide and high, with a floor and a half dedicated to serving customers. Last night, the place had been bustling. Now, there are only a few diners, but conspicuous among them is a party in familiar colors--entirely in black, with touches of red here and there.

Lin Moniao does not need to see parrot tokens to recognize some of the disciples from his own cult. And there, surrounded by six servants of the God Yu, there is Master Guo, taking tea, holding the bowl between two stubby hands.

Guo Siyu, the third teaching master of the Qilin Villa, is a small and fragile man with a large forehead, clever and always gently smiling. The impression he gives is somewhat misleading--although he has always focused on managing the Villa's daily affairs and the running of what is after all a rather spread out organization, when he has shown up on the training field, he has shown that he knows what he is doing. Even so, among Master Wu's disciples, those picked out and trained by Master Guo are thought of uncharitably as pen-pushers and sycophants.

What are Master Guo and his disciples doing here?

Yuwen Duyi sits with them, and is the first to spot Lin Moniao and wave him over. He ought to warn Master Wu--but it's too late, Yuwen Duyi has already seen him, her courtesy almost as unexpected as Master Guo's appearance.

"Greeting Master Guo. This one apologizes for his tardiness," says Lin Moniao with a deep bow before sliding into a seat and looking to see what there is to eat.

Master Guo acknowledges him, as the disciples part to make him room and a shidi pours him a cup of tea. "Is Master Wu not coming down yet?"

"Ah--he's meditating." Always a safe excuse, though when he comes down with Mu Liqiang, there will be rumors--it doesn't matter so much when Lin Moniao knows the truth of the situation, but he has enough vanity to find it annoying anyway. Well, nothing to be done. "I am sure he would have been here earlier if he knew Master Guo was here. Shall I let him know?"

"No need," Yuwen Duyi says, pointing behind him. There is Wu Zhenghao, serene as ever, Mu Liqiang at his heel. The serenity is shattered into surprise as he stops and sees them, but turns into a smile as Master Guo stands up and the two bow to one another.

"Shixiong is here? How?"

"Word travels too slowly. This shixiong was visiting Lu Ren. We are both on our way back to the Villa, then."

Mu Liqiang wriggles his way in between Lin Moniao and an elder servant of the parrot god and nudges his shoulder with his own, pleased as a cat. Lin Moniao bumps Mu Liqiang's shoulder back, smiling. Yuwen Duyi looks between them and wrinkles her nose, but doesn't say anything, just turns her eyes away.

"Walk with me?" Master Wu requests, and Master Guo nods, and the two leave the lower ranking servants of the God to their meal, though not before Master Wu gives Lin Moniao a little reassuring pat on the shoulder. Yuwen Duyi notices that, too.

Lin Moniao's smile widens when Master Wu pats his shoulder. Let Master Guo and his disciples draw whatever conclusions they want, and shijie too. Lin Moniao sips his tea, entirely at peace with the world.

Master Guo's disciples don't seem in any hurry to wonder, but begin to chat animatedly as soon as the masters are out of earshot.

"This means everybody's coming back," says one. "I'll see my brother for sure."

"Good, that guy owes me ten copper coins."

"There's going to be some kind of an announcement, for sure. I bet you another ten copper coins it's going to be a new master."

"You're on. It'll be something to do with Kaifeng and the Mid-Autumn Festival."

"Or we're going back for a funeral?" snaps Yuwen Duyi, which quiets down the chatter, and for a moment everyone just eats in awkward silence.

Trust Yuwen Duyi to kill the mood--although, considering who Lin Moniao has killed, he's not really in a position to criticize.

"Either way, it's good to have company," he says as the awkward silence stretches out. He rests his chin on his hand and favors her with a sideways half-smile. "Unless you preferred the cozy little company we've had until now?"

The truth is, it is rather inconvenient. As much as he would rather not, the two of them do need to talk privately.

She stands up with a clatter and stares him down. Someone sucks in a breath. Mu Liqiang gives Lin Moniao a sideways glance and touches his elbow discreetly--does shixiong need backup? Then she jerks her chin towards the porch. "Walk with me?" she mimics Master Wu with a mild tone of mockery.

Lin Moniao brushes Mu Liqiang's knee under the table in what he hopes is a reassuring fashion. Then he stands, bowing. "Of course."

The inner courtyard is not particularly lovely. Too many feet have trodden through there too often, and the stone artwork was not very exemplary in the first place. It's quiet and private enough, though, and the masters are nowhere to be seen. She runs a hand over her newly bald head, frowning. "Look, I'm not picking a fight. For once, seriously. And I don't care if you sleep your way through the whole sect, it's none of my business."

Lin Moniao raises his eyebrows. "But?" He knows what he has to say to her, but he's interested to hear what she has to say to him.

"Not my Shanwei. Alright?"

The words are out of Lin Moniao's mouth before he can stop them, as impossible to hold back as it would have been not to rise to Master Wu's challenge yesterday. "Or else what?"

Her expression darkens. "We will have a real problem."

"You will have a problem. I will have--"

Shen Shanwei's haughty expression as he dismissed Lin Moniao, and the wink and smile he threw him before riding off down the road. The grace of his movements in dance, and the clumsiness of his kiss.

Shijie's only friend, who Lin Moniao stole from her at the same time he killed her master.

She draws her lips back in a snarl and shoves him in the chest, taking a step forward. "What, fun for one night? Fuck you. What do you even care? I care. I'm his friend."

Lin Moniao plants his feet but restrains himself from shoving back. He is not going to do this. He is going to behave.

"Why are we arguing over this, anyway? He's not even here. And he--" He may never come back, is the fear that has Lin Moniao by the throat. But he can't say that. As far as Yuwen Duyi knows, he's only going to keep an eye on Master Wu's house in Kaifeng. "He's not your Shanwei," is what he says instead. "You don't get to decide what he does and who he does it with. And I don't chase after people who don't want me. I don't need to."

She shoves him again. The anger has her in its grip now and it won't let go, but her words are tight and measured. "I'm saying it now because he's not here and so it's between you and me, you absolute ass. If he ever loses his senses enough to come to you, you say no, all right? Because he's stupid and naive and he'll think you care. And I am going to break every bone in your body if you hurt my Shanwei."

"He's not stupid." Lin Moniao shoves her back, hard. "Don't talk about him like that."

Her eyes grow wild. She raises a clenched fist and throws an artless punch at his face, all fury and no skill.

He steps aside easily, letting her momentum carry her several steps past him. "Do we have to do this, shijie? Do we need a repeat of the last two times we fought? Maybe we could not?"

She lets out a cry of frustration and presses two fists to her temples. "Why won't you just... do what you're told?"

"I--" Lin Moniao takes a deep breath. Sets his teeth, lifts his chin. "Apologize. For my rudeness." Taking a page out of Mu Liqiang's manual and thanking shijie for her instruction would probably be going too far.

She mirrors him, taking a deep shuddering breath and letting it out slowly.

"Accepted. I... apologize for trying to hit you. And I've said what I wanted to say." She turns to go back inside.

"Yuwen-shijie, wait," he says. "There's something else we have to talk about."

"Hmn." She stops, sniffs, and turns back, arms crossed over her chest. He's on thin ice.

It's not a great time for either of them. But the way things are now, there may never be a better one. Nothing to do but get it all out, bluntly. "Master Wu has asked me how much I've found out about your relationship with Master Gao."

She clicks her tongue and looks away. "You mean the pregnancy. Fine, you can tell him. Tell him it was an accident, happened in the pursuit of the technique. There was no--our relationship was master and disciple. That's it."

Lin Moniao nods. "I haven't told him anything yet. You could... get in with it first. If you wanted."

"Fine." She uncrosses her arms, then, with obvious effort, adds, "Appreciated. Anything else?"

"No, that was it." He tucks a stray lock of hair back into place and looks away. "I don't like having to pry into your business. Thank you for understanding."

"Good." She marches back into the restaurant, seems to change her mind, and heads for the stairs.

Master Wu and Master Gao have finished their walk and and are just settling down to finish breakfast.

Nobody's in a hurry, but before long they break up and get ready to go, now a party of ten, with two carriages and several horses between them. Yuwen Duyi is there, having packed and been ready to go before anyone else, sour and uncommunicative, but what else is new?

The journey now takes them down the river, with a view of cargo ships and fishing boats gliding by or anchoring down in the distance where the river grows wide. Master Guo is, if anything, even more leisurely than Master Wu, and calls for a stop to admire a view as they come across a spot where the river looks particularly beautiful under the sun. After all, Master Gao's not getting any deader, and they have time still before the Hungry Ghosts Festival.

Lin Moniao is still banned from horseback, so he has his choice between riding in or driving a carriage. Unfortunately, having told Yuwen Duyi that she could tell Master Wu about her pregnancy before he did, Lin Moniao will now have to avoid being alone with him until she gets a chance to, which means no carriage ride. He hopes she appreciates just how much his generosity is inconveniencing him, but somehow, he doubts she does. Mindful of the eyes on him, he climbs up onto the driver's seat like a normal person instead of leaping into it like he would have done last month, and gathers the reins in his hands.

Later, as Master Guo admires the view and horses rest, water and graze what grass has been spared by the summer heat, Master Wu approaches Lin Moniao regardless, keeping a perfectly respectable distance and his hands behind his back, his voice lowered. "What's wrong, darling? Was it that bad?"

"What? No." For a moment, Lin Moniao is flustered. How can he explain himself? But then, perhaps he doesn't have to. He lets a slow smile spread across his face, not difficult when recalling the night before. "It was quite nice. I'm looking forward to my promised reward any time now."

"All in good time." He smiles. "Well, I'm glad. Won't you ride with me, then? Although, if you tell me there is a good reason to keep your distance, then this master won't insist."

"You should talk to shijie," Lin Moniao says, not seeing any help for it. Now Master Wu will know that he spoke to her before he reported to him; hopefully he won't mind too much, especially since he's not actually concealing anything. Nothing that he knows for sure.

"Are you--hm, well. I will, then." He studies him curiously, but still with a small smile.

When they leave again, he invites Yuwen Duyi to ride with him in the carriage.

Well, Lin Moniao has done what he can, now he will just have to wait and see how things fall out--or not see. Though he cannot help, driving the carriage, trying to catch some of the conversation from inside.

As before, the conversation is conducted in low voices for privacy's sake. It is only once that Master Wu's voice rises sharply, and Yuwen Duyi replies automatically louder as well. "Don't be foolish!" he warns. "What would you have me do?" she responds, frustrated. Their voices resume their more sedate tones after that.

They push on a little longer that day, if only to reach Wuhu, a river port city. Here, within its walls, there are more entertainments to pursue, but of course it would be unseemly to indulge while the sect has recently suffered a loss. "Well, a little walk is good for one's limbs, and perhaps there will be a temple to offer a sacrifice in," Master Guo declares, and takes three of his disciples with him to go see the city.

What a shame that Lin Moniao is seeing Wuhu at a time when he can't enjoy it--but after all, seclusion has its charms as well, when the company is good. One way or another, a quiet evening in will probably not be too onerous.

Unlike Master Gao, Master Wu takes his dinner with the other sect members by preference, and is as good-humored, even-handed and unreadable as ever, but as the dinner concludes, he holds a hand up to Mu Liqiang and crooks his fingers to Lin Moniao to come with him upstairs. No-one pays much mind; rumors aside, everyone knows a master is usually attended to by someone at bedtime, if only to take his notes or shave his beard.

"Now, Lin Moniao--" his full name, and Master Wu is still all business-- "I did not think it mattered very much, but I think you ought to tell me exactly what happened to Master Gao. Yuwen Duyi's version of events was so convincing I could almost believed it myself."

"Surely if Yuwen Duyi's account is so convincing, that's all the more reason that it doesn't matter very much whether it's true?" He looks at Master Wu with wide-eyed appeal for a moment, but he knows it's futile. If Master Wu weren't set on knowing, he wouldn't have asked. There's a sort of sick relief to it. As much as Lin Moniao has been glad to hear that he did well, there's been the question: if Master Wu knew the whole of it, would he still think so? That, at least, will be answered one way or another now. He drops his eyes, takes a breath, and begins his true, full report.

"The evening we arrived at the White Cloud bathhouse, I had already begun to work out some of what was going on. Yuwen Duyi and Master Gao were staying in a private house some way up the hill, the rest of us were in a larger guesthouse. And then Hua Yan paid us a visit." He goes on to describe everything that happened that night, as far as he knows it: Hua Yan's revelations, the plan they had worked out, Shen Shanwei's departure, Yuwen Duyi's arrival. He doesn't feel the need at the moment to dwell on the details of his encounter with Hua Yan, but he doesn't skip over it either, setting out everything until he finished copying Hua Yan's manual and fell asleep. And then the events of the next morning, until Yuwen Duyi was taken to the Tranquil House.

There are points where Master Wu steeples his fingers, or presses his lips together, but he waits for Lin Moniao to finish. "Good, good. Two points: Yu Long went along with the plot because you told him to. That's... excellent news. He is too soft-hearted, as you know. Secondly, if Shen Shanwei did it... I wasn't sure about him. You see, sending him out was a low-stakes gamble. He has nothing to sell. On the other hand, I agreed with him that the opportunity to find out who Hua Yan's contact is was too good to pass by. I gave him what support I could--the token to access Beggar Huang's network, advice to contact our people in Nanjing via them... you see how it would be different depending on whether he was a wronged disciple possibly looking to avenge his master, or a loyal servant who actually did the deed. Thank you."

"I'm glad Shifu is pleased," Lin Moniao says quietly, and he really is. He can't agree that sending Shen Shanwei out was a low-stakes gamble, when what they're risking is Shen Shanwei, but he sees what Master Wu means, and it's good that he considers him reliable, rather than someone who's prone to murder another master at any moment. "If--if I could ask a favor--don't send Yu Long on another mission like this one if you can help it. It was hard on him. Surely not everyone has to be hard-hearted."

"A warrior must be," Master Wu says, but not without sympathy. "He, too, has a foretold destiny. I do not intend to bully him; still, it is good to know he can follow difficult orders, when needed. It is one thing less to worry about."

"Yes, I see that." A memory comes to Lin Moniao, of the night they were confirmed as full members of the sect, and Yu Long's unhappiness then. If he had thought about it, he would have hoped that at least now that unhappiness was explained, and was behind him, but Master Wu's words suggest that it's still to come. "Anyway." Lin Moniao rolls his shoulders, trying to shake off the mood. "I don't know if Mu Liqiang told you, but I said I would ask if the two of us might study the Little Raksha's manual together. I don't know, after all, if he hasn't brought me into line instead," he adds, laughing at himself. "You have been severe on him, and he's only in love with you."

Wu Zhenghao's laughter is immediate and infectious, signalling the end of official business. "Brought you in line! Haha! Yes, you have to watch out for that one. He needs a firm hand. Fortunately, he also wants one." He takes Lin Moniao's hand and pulls him closer, kissing the corner of his mouth. "Ah, he did tell me about your offer, and I think it's an excellent idea, darling. It will give him something else to focus on. I am too old and too busy to be Mu Liqiang's only concern. Well, I promise you all sorts of things, don't I? Should we call him up?"

Lin Moniao rubs his cheek against Master Wu's happily. "He is a lot, isn't he? In more ways than one. Shifu, have you seen--well, if you haven't, you will. I'll go get him right away."

"I haven't, but I can guess," he murmurs, one hand wandering. "Go."

Master Wu isn't making it easy for Lin Moniao to follow his order, but after a second he pulls away and goes out to look for Mu Liqiang.

The inn is smaller and narrower than the last one, but very fine, almost Master Gao's taste. Rooms had been divided once again, with the masters' suites much larger and on a higher floor and most others sharing. It had made sense to put Mu Liqiang in with Lin Moniao again, even if it meant that room might stay empty that night.

That's where Lin Moniao finds him, in an upside down meditation pose, perched on his head and hands. He blinks out of whatever trance he may have achieved the moment he hears the door go, and unfurls back into a lotus position. "Shixiong. You're here." He bites his lip, and turns his eyes down. "Shifu said not to presume." But the glance he throws up from under his lashes is still rather presumptuous.

"Well, I won't contradict shifu. However, tonight you're in luck. Come along." Lin Moniao offers him a hand up.

Mu Liqiang, to his credit, tries to dampen down his own excitement, but it still vibrates off him as he clings to shixiong's hand all the way up to shifu's suite. They find Master Wu serene and dignified, pacing the length of his reception room with his hands joined behind his back.

Wu Zhenghao takes one look at him and lets out a disappointed sigh. But there is something theatrical to it; Lin Moniao knows him well enough to know when he is pleased. "Mu Liqiang, look at you. Your qi is all over the place."

Mu Liqiang drops into a bow, hands joined. "This one is sorry for not controlling his energies better."

"Never mind. Shifu will help you." He turns to Lin Moniao with a mischievous smile, and holds his hand out to him. "Thank you, darling. Come over here."

Lin Moniao crosses over to Master Wu, taking his hand and snuggling up to his side, propping his chin on his shoulder. He's not exactly sure what Master Wu has in mind, but it's sure to be entertaining; it's entertaining already.

Wu Zhenghao rests his head against his affectionately and covers his hand with his. "Let's be clear, this one by my side is my lover. That one by the door is a plaything. And since he has so much trouble with his energy, having his hands tied should help ground him, for a start."

He points at Mu Liqiang and then to the bedroom, snapping his fingers. The young man is flushed but almost trips over himself to obey. Wu Zhenghao sighs again, and shakes his head, but he's smiling. He tugs on Lin Moniao's hand to follow at a more leisurely pace.

The bedroom's not as fine as the one at his own house in Kaifeng, but still luxurious, with embroidered silk drapes around the bed and ornate carved furniture and window frames, done up in rich greens and blues and yellows. "Take off your belt, Mu Liqiang, and give it to shifu." He lets go of Lin Moniao's hand only so he can receive both the leather belt and the softer fabric belt underneath. He inspects them while Mu Liqiang holds his hanging robes up to his body, tense with anticipation.

"Moniao?" Wu Zhenghao meets Lin Moniao's eyes. It isn't an order, but a question.

Lin Moniao nods, his mouth gone dry, and takes the fabric belt from Master Wu. "Shidi? Give me your hands."

It comes out gentler than he meant. He can't help it; he wants Mu Liqiang to know how good he is. He strokes the soft skin on the inside of Mu Liqiang's wrist with his thumb before he loops the fabric around, threading it between his wrists and pulling it around several times before tying it off. "There you are. That's better, isn't it?"

Mu Liqiang gives him a grateful look. "Thanking shixiong," he says softly.

Wu Zhenghao hooks a finger under the binds and pulls, testing it. "Try it." Mu Liqiang pulls against the fabric, but it doesn't slip off. Likely if he tried harder, putting his martial prowess behind it, it would budge, but he does not. A hazy, distant look fills his eyes, and a faint smile plays across his lips.

"Good. Now kneel." Mu Liqiang goes down so quickly it's a wonder he doesn't knock his knees.

Wu Zhenghao pulls Lin Moniao onto the bed beside him and kisses him softly once, then once again, and then deeper. He's in no particular hurry. Lin Moniao presses up against Master Wu, taking his cue from him and the pace he's setting, even if he's hungry for more. It's no different than what they might do any night--except for Mu Liqiang kneeling by the bed, radiating want like a furnace radiates heat; except for the suspense and anticipation of what's to come.

Wu Zhenghao kisses him until his breath starts coming short, desire overwriting the need to keep control. The change is not subtle. He pushes Lin Moniao down on the bed and yanks his belt open, his mouth seeking his out as he does, deep and hungry kisses. There is a whimper from beside the bed, and Lin Moniao can feel Master Wu's mouth curve in a smile against his, the breath of a laugh. Master Wu sits up and reaches over to Mu Liqiang's tied hands, tugging him up by the belt. "All right. You too. Come over here."

Mu Liqiang scrambles up on the bed and is pushed down on his back next to Lin Moniao. Master Wu gently guides his bound hands over his head and presses them against the bed. "Do I need to use the leather belt, or can you keep your hands to yourself?"

"This, this one will try." Mu Liqiang is flushed and breathless, and the open robes do nothing to conceal his state of excitement.

Master Wu unties Mu Liqiang's inner garment, running his hand down the strip of exposed skin, and stops at the ties of his trousers. He smiles at Lin Moniao, toying with the strings. "Shall we see what Moniao has brought me?"

"Yes, let's." The heat of Mu Liqiang's body alongside Lin Moniao's own is intoxicating, but he pushes himself up onto an elbow so he can run a hand along Master Wu's thigh and look down at Mu Liqiang. "I'm sure you'll like it. I always bring shifu good things."

"You do very well, darling, it's true." Wu Zhenghao's composure is skin-deep as he unties the strings and tugs the trousers down. Mu Liqiang presses up against the bed to help him take them off, but once they're down at his thighs he curls in on himself, equal parts embarrassed and delighted to be embarrassed. His elbows come up, but Master Wu pushes at one gently, forcing his hands back down over his head.

Master Wu raises eyebrows at Lin Moniao. "Oh, my." He uses one finger to press the long, hard piece down against Mu Liqiang's navel. "Impressive. Pity it's largely decorative, isn't it?"

"Yes," Mu Liqiang agrees, gasping for breath, his eyes glazed. "Useless."

"Oh, can't I have it?" Lin Moniao pouts. "I found it, after all."

He hadn't quite dared last night--he wasn't sure if Mu Liqiang would have the face to either fuck his shixiong or refuse him--but now that it's not his decision anyway, he might as well ask for what he wants. He's never had anything that big inside him before.

"Moniao, be sensible, we will be on the road tomorrow." Master Wu's tone is perfectly cultured but there is a catch in his voice and he stares at Lin Moniao like he wants to devour him. He traces the length down with his finger while Mu Liqiang curls up again helplessly, heels pressing into the bed. "Look at the size of this thing."

"I am looking," Lin Moniao says greedily. "I'm not allowed to ride a horse anyway, am I not to ride anything?" He flops back down on the bed with a dramatic sigh. "Well, shifu knows best."

"Mm, that's another point, your knee. You'd have to take it lying down." He rubs his chin, hand closing possessively on the item under discussion, making Mu Liqiang make a small choked sound. Finally he relents and looks up at Mu Liqiang's face, and his expression shifts into something a little more tender. He brushes a stray lock of hair from Mu Liqiang's forehead; his hair is quickly coming loose against the pillow. "Would that be all right? Shifu would be there to guide you, make sure you don't hurt him too much." His hand traces down Mu Liqiang's face, thumb stopping at his lips. Mu Liqiang nods, and flicks a tongue out to lick the thumb.

"You'd do that for us? And be good and listen to instruction?"

Mu Liqiang swallows and nods again. "Yes, shifu."

"Well, then..."

"Thank you." Lin Moniao lies back with a pleased wriggle, grinning widely. "Shifu is so good to me."

Master Wu gives him a wry smile and pulls Mu Liqiang up by his bound hands. He undoes the ties, then holds Mu Liqiang's chin in place to press his lips lightly to his. Mu Liqiang nearly crumbles. "I'll be just one moment. You lie down and be nice to your shixiong."

Mu Liqiang wriggles the rest of the way out of his trousers and snuggles up to Lin Moniao, dropping kisses on his jaw and neck while Master Wu potters about.

Wu Zhenghao finally unpins his own hair and lets it fall loose, setting aside his hairpiece; he throws off his robes, leaving him in his undergarments, which are still fine, with subtle pattern of birdwings around the back. "Hmm, now, let's see..." Of course, everything is available at hand's reach at the headboard shelf; he still makes a show of picking out the right oil, smelling it, and testing it between his fingers.

Lin Moniao palms the back of Mu Liqiang's neck, runs a hand down his back, whimpering at the soft touch of his lips, rocking his hips up against nothing, that magnificent cock just out of reach. He knows that Master Wu will make sure he's taken care of, but does he have to wait so long?

"Now who needs to settle down a little?" Master Wu places a calming palm on Lin Moniao's chest. Focus has shifted from Mu Liqiang to Lin Moniao, as Master Wu strips off his clothes and nudges his knees apart. Mu Liqiang's kisses grow more heated, and he presses his cock up against Lin Moniao's side, stealing delicious friction.

"It's not too late to back down," Wu Zhenghao reminds him as he strokes his thumb lightly over balls, slick fingers massaging him open. "But if you're sure... then relax."

Lin Moniao steadies under Master Wu's hand, forcing himself to breathe deeply and be still even as Master Wu's fingers breach and stretch him, lighting up all his insides, and the hardness of Mu Liqiang's cock against his side makes tantalizing promises. "I will, I can take it, please."

"Mmm, we'll see." He does not scrimp on the oil. Eventually even he is satisfied, however, and retreats, letting Mu Liqiang take his place between Lin Moniao's legs. Master Wu positions himself behind him. Snuggled up against his back, on his knees, he can reach around him and take firm hold of his cock. He did promise he'd guide him, didn't he?

Mu Liqiang is leaning over Lin Moniao, eyes dreamy, radiating happiness. "Shixiong looks so good. Is it really alright?"

"It's alright," Wu Zhenghao answers for him, and kisses Mu Liqiang's shoulder. "Go on." He pats his thigh and uses his body to press him forward, and in, slowly. Mu Liqiang groans and hides his face in Lin Moniao's shoulder.

"Moniao? Should we slow down?"

"It's good, it's good, it's good," Lin Moniao babbles. He's so ready, and they're already going so slowly--though really, he couldn't wish for them to be going any faster. His thighs are trembling, and he already feels full, burning with a sweet ache, and there's still the whole width of Master Wu's hand to go.

"My Moniao always was an ambitious one." There is a smile in Master Wu's voice. He pushes his legs a little further up to ease them together. "Well done, well done. I'm proud of you both."

Lin Moniao shivers at Master Wu's words, at the warmth and approval in his voice. His own untouched member jerks against his belly, and he pushes his hips up to take Mu Liqiang deeper.

"Tight," Mu Liqiang gasps.

"Mmhmm. Move now."

Mu Liqiang mouths at Lin Moniao's neck and fucks into him, trembling with the effort to take his pace from shifu.

"Oh!" Lin Moniao gasps. So much, he can't, he'll burst, and Mu Liqiang hits the sweet spot inside and Lin Moniao clenches around him in a dizzying wave of heat and pleasure. "Oh, shidi."

"Shixiong feels so good," Mu Liqiang moans, eyes squeezed close. His carries his own weight on his elbows, curved over Lin Moniao. The master has positioned them so he would be sure to bring Lin Moniao pleasure, and he knows how good that can feel, and he wants to serve, wants to please, but it also just feels so good, and despite the tightness, the oil means nothing is stopping him from picking up pace. He follows Lin Moniao's reactions, as far as he can without losing his mind.

Wu Zhenghao slips away from Mu Liqiang's back, just keeping one hand on the rounded curve of his bottom, watching both of them greedily. His other hand goes to Lin Moniao's hair, petting and soothing.

"Shifu, ah," Lin Moniao murmurs, nuzzling his hand. With Mu Liqiang above him, saying such sweet things as he drives into him, and Master Wu beside him, there's nothing Lin Moniao needs to do but luxuriate in the sensations and the attention, the brush of Mu Liqiang's belly against his cock not nearly enough to bring him off, just enough to add a lovely floating feeling to the whole thing.

A touch coaxes Mu Liqiang up so his master can claim his mouth. Master Wu has only kissed him lightly before, rewards and inducements, but now there is real filthy need behind it. His hand leaves Lin Moniao's hair to slide down across his chest and belly, and finally take him in hand.

Mu Liqiang's thrusts are getting uneven, frantic. Wu Zhenghao's hand is steady and skilled; furthermore, he knows Lin Moniao's body.

"Do you want to come?" Wu Zhenghao asks Mu Liqiang, his voice dark and deep.

Mu Liqiang whines and nods, grabs Lin Moniao's thighs to anchor himself, pounding in deeper. Wu Zhenghao tugs at his messy hair, hard. "You wait until your shixiong is good and ready.

"Moniao?"

Held as he is, Lin Moniao can't move much, but pushing against Mu Liqiang's hands he manages to thrust into Master Wu's warm, practiced grip. "Please," he groans. Mu Liqiang may like to wait, and he can wait for hours some other time, but Lin Moniao wants it now. "Yes, yes."

"Did you hear that? Your shixiong says yes. Go on."

Even if Mu Liqiang had wanted to hold back, he no longer can. He slams in over and over, fingers digging bruises into Lin Moniao's thighs, until his body goes stiff and he spills, hips spasming to pour it all inside.

"Shifu, shixiong," he almost sobs.

With every jolt, Lin Moniao is driven up against Master Wu's hand, chasing his own climax. His head falls back and he gasps for breath--it's there, just there. When Mu Liqiang stiffens and cries out, his own hips jerk, and he comes, shudders, comes some more, held between the two of them until the last tremors of it die down.

In a mirror of last night, Mu Liqiang slumps over Lin Moniao, kissing his neck before melting into a nerveless lump.

Wu Zhenghao drops down onto his back and presses the heel of his hand on his own crotch, muttering a curse, legs curling up. His breath is short, but he gathers himself through a sheer force of will and uncurls, breathing heavily.

"Good--good work." He pats Mu Liqiang's waist, the closest part in reach. "Not entirely--useless."

"Didn't I say so?" Lin Moniao, sated and smug, snakes a hand out from beneath Mu Liqiang's bulk and brushes a lock of hair out of Master Wu's face. "Someone ought to attend to shifu now." His grin broadens wickedly. "And shidi is tired and deserves to rest."

"Oh, to be young," Master Wu mutters. He pushes lightly at Mu Liqiang, who rolls off obediently, but does not seem inclined to argue or move any more at this time. "Get over here."

Lin Moniao scoots closer, draping one arm and one leg over Master Wu, laying kisses on his chest. "Mine," he sighs happily.

"Behave." He kisses the top of his head and then pushes it downwards along his body. Despite all the effort to pull himself back from the brink, Wu Zhanghao is undone, his motions jerky, control shaky, and his barely touched cock is bulging in his pants. "Go on, attend to shifu."

Unrepentant, Lin Moniao wriggles downwards and hooks one leg around Master Wu's again, eases him out of his pants, kisses the hollow of his hip, and takes him in his mouth.

He does not have to work very hard or very long. Wu Zhenghao cards his fingers through Lin Moniao's hair until they clench in it. "Ah, that's--ah."

Even coming, he is contained; he does not pull or push or tear, but clenches his pleasure inside of himself as if someone might steal it. He does gently tug at the back of Lin Moniao's head when they are done, to bring him back up for a kiss.

Lin Moniao pulls himself up on his elbows to claim his reward from Master Wu. He's going to be very sore in the morning--he's already beginning to be sore now--but it was worth it.

Wu Zhenghao takes his time kissing him and petting him, lazy in his satisfaction.

Mu Liqiang has shifted, and they can only ignore his low-lidded staring for so long. Master Wu grunts and becks him over, granting him a kiss of his own. It seems to be all he needed. Mu Liqiang beams and snuggles up against his other side.

"Hm. At least I won't be cold, even if you steal my blankets, darling."

"Mmmm," Lin Moniao agrees sleepily. It's no use apologizing for stealing Master Wu's blankets, he's just going to do it again anyway. The only way to prevent it would be for him to return to his own bed, but if Master Wu isn't going to suggest that, Lin Moniao certainly won't.

The morning still finds Wu Zhenghao's side cold; on the upside, there is a bowl of warm water to wash in, and the manuals he'd taken out the previous night and left haphazardly on the desk are neatly arranged, with a fresh pot of ink and clean brushes in case he should want them. He discovers this while yawning his way through his morning routine, having left Lin Moniao in bed. It occurs to him, as he looks through his notes from last night, that he really is fortunate that Mu Liqiang is reliable.

Even without Master Gao's supposed pulse reading technique, he is sure of it. He knows his parents, and moreover his parents' ambitions. The only unknown is that grandfather of his, but that old Ningbo merchant has no hold on his offspring anymore. Far better Mu Liqiang or Lin Moniao than picking up some outsider who could get up in the night and look through his things. After all, isn't that how Lin Moniao gained the Crazed Raksha Style?

He really should get a start on that, shouldn't he? They'll have to test it to make sure Hua Yan didn't inscribe the real thing with some kind of a trap or trick. He scratches his chin, drops his notes, and yawns again. Breakfast first.

As he guessed, he doesn't have to wait for long before he can hear Mu Liqiang returning, bringing with him tantalizing smells. He smiles to himself, and prepares a mild admonition for tardiness.


Tongling

They move on when the sun is already high and the last of Master Guo's disciples have been accounted for, some of them squinting painfully at every ray of light that escapes through the clouds. Lin Moniao, for reasons that need not be made public, will be riding in Master Wu's carriage.

Wu Zhenghao takes the opportunity to go through the roll of papers containing the manual, though the motion of the carriage makes it impossible to copy anything, or do more than scribble plans for a training schedule. After some time traveling, however, he drops them in his lap in frustration. "This is ridiculous," he sighs, looking out the window. He has drawn the curtains now that a subtle rain has settled the dust. "I am perfectly capable of riding a horse. We would be in Tongling in a matter of hours."

"I would not," Lin Moniao laughs, looking up from the training schedule. "Shifu was perfectly right."

"Ah." Wu Zhenghao smiles. "When you put it like that, how can this master have any regrets? Even so, I find myself longing for a fine view to come along, so we could stop and stretch our legs..." He thinks for a moment, and leans out the window. "Guo Siyu! Shixiong!"

The rain has mostly stopped, but the misty gloomy weather does not invite one to stop for viewing the scenery. Master Guo's disciple drives his carriage closer, and he, too pulls back his curtains.

"We're stopping at the next inn. I'm bored and thirsty."

"Oh! Um, oh, very well."

Lin Moniao would also rather do anything rather than sit for a bit (as long as it's not riding a horse). He peers over Master Wu's shoulder to the window. "I wonder what sort of inn we'll find out here."

What they find is little more than a roadside wine shop, neither fine nor particularly decrepit, but it has a roof and tables, and sells baijiu, so who is going to complain? Well, Gao Chengyi might, but he is beyond such earthly matters now. Master Wu gets a table in a corner by a window and calls up his disciples--which somehow now seem to include Yuwen Duyi--up to review their training plans.

"I do wish you would coordinate with your shibo regarding the training of new medics," he tells her, "but more than that, I need you to write the manual for the White Cloud Technique. Ask help from anyone you need and then--pick your apprentices."

Yuwen Duyi nods, speechless. Even under Master Gao, as his favored and most senior disciple, she had never officially had apprentices.

"Everyone, have a look at these notes and tell me if anything stands out as unusual." Master Wu spreads out Lin Moniao's copy of the Crazed Raksha Style. "Mu Liqiang expressed some interest."

"None of this seems impossible," Yuwen Duyi says after giving the salient parts a quick look-over. "The effects though... you have to be a little crazy." The corners of her lips twitch up.

Mu Liqiang leans over her shoulder. "I can do that..." She snorts. "Eventually!" he modifies.

"It is rather in shorthand, isn't it? There was a lot of space to write it on," Lin Moniao says with a reminiscent smile, "but perhaps not as much as a standard manual, even so. We'll have to fill in the gaps when copying it out if we want disciples to understand it. And--" He glances out the window, then bends over the table, his head close to the others'. "Don't look now," he says under his breath, "but someone is casing our carriages."

Indeed, outside, a slender and tall woman with a traveler's walking stick is paying particular attention to the carvings and decorations of their two carriages;

Master Wu puts down his bowl of wine with a clatter. "Oh, for--! Go deal with it, all of you. Well spotted, Moniao." Yuwen Duyi shakes out her daggers. "Gently," Master Wu instructs her, and she reluctantly slips them back in their holders.

The master remains with his papers. The three of them are more than enough.

Lin Moniao ought to, properly, let Yuwen Duyi take the lead on this. And he has been trying to get along with her better... but if they don't want this to turn into an all-out brawl (and Master Wu has said he doesn't) then he had better start talking first. He stays one step behind her until just before they reach the carriages, then put on a burst of speed and pulls ahead, interposing himself between the stranger and the carriage she's looking at. Yuwen Duyi startles, but falls back, giving him that first move without a fight. She knows she's not a talker. If he wants to talk, let him talk.

"Hello," he grins, bowing shallowly. "See something that interests you?"

The woman had stiffened without turning, sensing their approach. She turns now, big round eyes blinking innocently at them. She is quite pretty, in a sweet way, and as she drops her hood they can see that her hair is looped in elaborate braids. She's not much older than Lin Moniao himself. "Oh! Are these yours? They are quite wonderful for these parts. My, and so are you! Such a fearsome group of wealthy traveling warriors!"

"Watch out," Yuwen Duyi mutters in Lin Moniao's ear, taking her place behind him. "She's tougher than she looks." Mu Liqiang stands on Lin Moniao's other shoulder, not crouching now--shoulders squared, at ease and with a serene expression reminiscent of Master Wu, his athleticism on display.

"Well, if you're only here to admire, don't let me stop you." Lin Moniao looks the stranger up and down. "You're not bad to look at yourself. I don't know if we're so very fearsome or wealthy, but I'm wealthy enough to buy you a drink, if you'd like."

She turns her head half-way to the side, a smile lurking at her lips. "Not bad to look at! If you were any less handsome, I'd have to slap you for that. But you are handsome, and A-Ling likes pretty things, so I won't spoil your face." She joins her hands behind her back and takes a rolling step towards them. Yuwen Duyi steps back into a wary pose. "I wonder if you have any other pretty things to show me? We could drink and compare. I'll show you mine if you show me yours, and once we have determined which one has a nicer thing, we'll play for it. What do you say?"

Mu Liqiang has the nicest thing, but Lin Moniao won't embarrass him by saying so in company (he'll embarrass him by saying so in private later). That doesn't seem to be the sort of thing A-Ling means; how would she keep it, if she won it?

"Certainly," he says, leading the way back into the wine shop. "This one is Lin Moniao, and my companions are Yuwen Duyi and Mu Liqiang, and it will be a pleasure to play with A-Ling."

"Li Ling." She bops a little bow. "How nice to make new friends!"

Yuwen Duyi taps Mu Liqiang's arm and pulls him down. "Do you have any nice things?"

"Well, maybe," Mu Liqiang says, but he doesn't look happy about it. All of them follow Lin Moniao, one stalking, one wary, one cheerful.

Lin Moniao catches Master Wu's eye as they come in, but, in the absence of any instruction otherwise (Master Wu merely raises his drink at him and goes back to his papers), leads the four of them to an empty table and signals a waiter for a catty of baijiu. "So, what did Li Ling have in mind to play?" he asks. "I can't help but feel that the terms you proposed were a little unfair; the one with the nicest thing will gain nothing even if they win, so why should they risk it? Should we say that whoever loses has to give up a nice thing to the winner, instead?"

"Lin Moniao makes sense! But only if the nice things are worth gambling for. A-Ling will go first." She swings her traveling bag from her back to her side, and winks at Lin Moniao, though she wipes the look across the other two, too. "Now, don't tell anyone I have this. That wouldn't be very gentlemanly."

Instead of opening her bag, however, she pulls aside her cloak and shows them what is inside. Her robe is nothing remarkable, but flat against the inside of the overcloak, there is a second one. This one is made of leather and decorated with fangs and must be far too hot for summer; but it is old and thin, worked fine what must be decades, if not centuries ago and well-kept ever since. "Can you guess what this is?"

"I think that I regret my words of a moment ago, even if they do make sense." Lin Moniao rests his chin on his had and smiles wryly at Li Ling. "I think Li Ling must be very confident of winning."

"It's the best thing I ever... acquired." She leans back with a smug little wiggle. "But maybe I will wait to see what you have before I tell you more."

Yuwen Duyi and Mu Liqiang look at one another. "I'm not saying I'm playing it," Duyi says cautiously. "But I do have this." She pulls back one of her sleeves and detaches the dagger held in place there. A fine, strong chain connects the hilt of the dagger to the holder, which she unsnaps and lays on the table between them.

Li Ling leans over it and examines it. "Hmm, ah, not too bad... I've seen one of these at a wine shop near Nanjing. Is that all?"

Mu Liqiang crosses his arms mulishly. Li Ling raises her eyebrows at him. "I think didi here has something. Don't you, didi?"

"I'm not your didi."

"Well, I have this." Lin Moniao takes out a bronze hand mirror, embossed on the back with designs recalling flowers and vines, offering it for Li Ling's inspection. It had been with his things in Kaifeng when he left, and happily Mu Liqiang, or whoever had packed Lin Moniao's bag, had packed it too. "It's especially pretty when I look into it, but it will be very pretty when you look into it too."

Li Ling giggles. "Oh you are terrible, Lin-didi." She leans over and presses her cheek against his, turning the mirror in his hand until it reflects both of them. "What do you think? Is that sight worth the cloak of Qin Shihuang?"

"That is not the cloak of Qin Shihuang!" Yuwen Duyi bursts out, incredulous. "That belongs to the Palace!"

"Mmhmm, yes it is." Li Ling leans back and bops Yuwen Duyi on the nose with the tip of her finger. She's fast--Yuwen Duyi has no time to respond, and can only duck back like a surprised cat. "The Thief Goddess wouldn't lie--about that. But you promised not to tell, remember?"

For a moment, Lin Moniao just stares. The cloak of Qin Shihuang! And he could win it!

But he's known since he first saw it that Li Ling has no intention of giving it up, and from what he's seen just now, they have no chance of taking it from her by force or by stealth. Anyway, Yuwen Duyi is right--it can't possibly be the cloak of Qin Shihuang. It's old, certainly, but anyone may wear an old cloak and call it the cloak of Qin Shihuang. Or call herself the Thief Goddess, for that matter.

"I don't recall any of us making any promises. However, I'm sure we wouldn't want to be ungentlemanly," Lin Moniao assures her, regardless of the impossibility of Yuwen Duyi being anything besides ungentlemanly. "As to what this sight is worth--" He flips the mirror between his fingers, front to back, back to front. "Li Ling must judge for herself. If none of us has anything worth playing for, then we can simply drink together and part as friends, eh?"

"Welllll..." Li Ling walks her fingers across the table; long, narrow, nimble. "Didi here hasn't shown us his, yet."

"I don't have anything," Mu Liqiang insists.

"Then why be so defensive?"

"I'm not being defensive. I just don't like you, or the way you were looking at Shifu's carriage."

Li Ling is taken aback. "Well, that--is uncommonly forthright of you. Hmm. Maybe you don't."

"No treasures at all," says Lin Moniao, holding up his cup for Mu Liqiang to pour. "Everything he has is completely useless."

Okay, maybe he will embarrass him in company, just a little.

Mu Liqiang's eyes widen, and he turns his face away in a swift motion. He's smart enough to keep his mouth shut, however, and merely throws Lin Moniao a flirty look once he has regained control of his expression.

Li Ling pouts, and looks around the room. Her eye catches Master Wu looking at them, and she perks up. "Is that your master? Oh, he's handsome. Maybe he will have something worth playing for." She waves at him, but he shakes his hands no with a wry smile. She deflates. "Well, how dull! But such is life! A-Ling will just have to move on."

She stands up, stretches her back. "Maybe we will play some other time."

"I suppose we will just have to finish drinking the bottle ourselves," says Lin Moniao. "What a shame."

But as she goes, he looks out the window to make sure she's really leaving, and not lurking around the carriages again. And there she is, on her way down the road, twirling her staff.

"I have a feeling we got off easy," Yuwen Duyi mutters and stands up, heading toward Master Wu. Mu Liqiang looks after her to make sure she is out of earshot before sidling up a little closer. "Shixiong, this one must unburden his heart..."

"Yes?" says Lin Moniao under his breath.

He scoots a little closer still. "What you said to that woman... a key can't be said to be useless just because it only opens one lock, is it? Useless to her, maybe..."

Lin Moniao laughs and squeezes Mu Liqiang's thigh under the table. "Well, if I was less than completely honest, it was in a good cause. I wouldn't have liked her to walk off with our nicest thing."

Mu Liqiang leans in with a pleased smile and touches his forehead on Lin Moniao's head, but that's as far as he goes; they are in public. "I do have something else, too. It's a gift from my parents, so I didn't want to show it to a stranger. So, I lied. Forgive this one's dishonesty."

"And you did it very well, too." Lin Moniao tips him a smile. "I had no notion."

He preens. "I'll show shixiong later. They're quite beautiful." He pats his waist, and his expression changes. He opens his robes and checks his inside pocket, and not finding what he was looking for, stands up fast enough to make the table and all the bowls clatter, hand already going to his dagger. In another moment, his long legs have taken him out the door. Master Wu rises to his feet. Even Master Guo's disciples, drinking at another table, take notice.

Lin Moniao takes off after him, tossing over his shoulder as he goes, "We did not get off easy."

It's the first time he's run flat-out since his injury. He could have hoped for a better reason for it--but it feels good.

Mu Liqiang runs down the road he'd seen that woman head down, taking long loping strides, feet striking up gravel and dust. Lin Moniao, shorter but faster, soon overtakes him, and they seem to be gaining on Li Ling, too. They see her haring off down the hill, but at the bottom of it the road bends, and the last thing he sees is her dashing forward, out of sight behind a copse of trees.

Here, the road goes on straight from here but she is nowhere to be seen. On one side an offshoot of the river bubbles peacefully. On both sides, fields stretch out, the crop tall on one side, the other grazed by a few water buffalo. A buffalo herder slumbers by a tree, dappled in sunlight.

Mu Liqiang comes to a stop at the bend beside Lin Moniao, taking in the scene. He growls and grips his dagger tighter. She can't be far.

"I'll take the wheat field. You take the trees," says Lin Moniao. "Shout if you see her."

Mu Liqiang nods and heads for the trees. There aren't that many, and he prowls through them quickly, and rattles a few to see if a thief will fall out. All it achieves is to wake up the buffalo herd, who blinks at them in confusion and then sits up on his haunches to watch them curiously.

Yuwen Duyi comes loping down the hill after them, two sect brothers behind her, and Master Wu follows at a more sedate pace.

Lin Moniao isn't having any better luck with the field than Mu Liqiang did with the trees; he wades through the stalks of wheat without finding any trace of the fugitive. "Li Ling, oh Thief Goddess," Lin Moniao calls. "This one just wants to talk, and would hate to be ungentlemanly."

It's not, honestly, likely to work. She does not have the robe of Qin Shihuang, and if she truly meant to keep it secret, she wouldn't have shown it to three strangers. But it's the only thing he can think of.

"If we must leave again empty-handed, then we must. But we will keep looking, and someone who knows what you have will find you eventually. Why not discuss it like reasonable people?"

"Then put your stingers away, won't you?" Li Ling's voice calls out. "That look on didi's face would scare anyone!"

Mu Liqiang whips around towards the buffalo, gripping his dagger. He's furious, no trace of sweetness left in his expression.

"Shidi, we're only having a conversation," Lin Moniao says, remembering Yuwen Duyi's warning. "For now."

Mu Liqiang grits his teeth and takes in a deep breath. He sheathes his dagger with a sharp movement, but remains tense. "Give back what you stole from me."

Li Ling pokes her head out from behind a water buffalo, and climbs up on top of it, sitting down cross-legged on its back. The animal seems to be fine with this, his mouth still chewing on a fresh apple, though the buffalo herd makes an affronted noise. She leans her head on her hand. "So many people here just too see A-Ling! Didn't didi say he wasn't carrying anything valuable? What's the trouble?"

"Madame," Wu Zhenghao addresses her, his hands behind his back and a stiff smile on his lips. "If you took something from one of us, please return it. Even if it isn't valuable." He looks around at the young heroes gathered around, and his smile turns proud. "I really rather think you ought to."

She purses her lips stubbornly, but seems to see his reason. "Fine. I just took it to see what it was, anyway." She produces a small box, about the length of her hand, latched, and tosses it to Mu Liqiang, who catches it and stashes it away.

"Excellent. Mu Liqiang, are you satisfied?"

Mu Liqiang stares at her, fury still glinting in his eye. "No, I'm not."

Master Wu lays a hand on his shoulder. "You are for now," he tells him in a low voice.

Li Ling stands up gracefully on the back of the buffalo and makes them a pretty bow. "Until next time, then, heroes." Then she springs off and sprints away across the field. Mu Liqiang makes a motion to follow her, but Master Wu's hand on his shoulder tightens, and he stays.

Master Wu looks around. "Right. Anyone else missing anything?"

Lin Moniao makes a quick inventory of his coin strings, his pockets, his sleeves, and everywhere else he keeps things. He doesn't have much on him he'd miss, but. Even some of the disciples who had been nowhere near Li Ling do the same, but it seems like that was it.

"Shifu," Mu Liqiang complains.

"The Illustrious Qilin Villa has no grudge against Thief Goddess Li, and she's not worth making trouble over." Master Wu's tone is firm. "You may pursue your grudge for yourself when it does not inconvenience the sect. Understood?"

Mu Liqiang hangs his head with a sigh. "Yes, shifu."

"Besides, in time, perhaps you'll burn less strongly." He pats his back. "Alright, let's get back on the road. That was enough excitement for the day."

The last leg of the day's journey is uneventful, and they arrive in Tongling, where all life revolves around the bronze. This is where the empire has concentrated the smelting and refinement of bronze, and so smoke and industry is everywhere. The disciples are let loose--within the confines of what is appropriate to respect Master Gao.

Master Wu declares his intention to go shopping, and orders only Mu Liqiang to follow him. He says no more on the matter, with a tilt in his chin that signals further questions would not be welcome.

Yuwen Duyi declines the call of pleasure, and instead comes to find Lin Moniao. She holds her hands up as she approaches. "I am not starting a fight."

Lin Moniao is trying to get along with her, so he doesn't point out that that's what she said last time too. He only clasps his hands behind his back and says, "I'm not either."

She blows out a sigh. "You are not interested in the Crazed Raksha style, are you? Or are you going for the Slaughtering Blade style? You brought the manual to the sect, you have dibs."

"I don't think the Crazed Raksha style would really suit me. I rely too much on not getting hit." He takes out his dagger and flips it from one hand to the other thoughtfully. "I've been studying the Slaughtering Blade style, and I might... but it will be a while before I can master either of them. I can see why you felt you needed to push yourself, and it was very impressive, but I don't plan to."

He gives the dagger one more flip and sheathes it again, giving her a sidelong smile. "I'm surprised you don't assume I'll go for the White Cloud technique. All I'm good for, isn't it?"

"Well." There's a ghost of a smile on her lips, but she doesn't look amused. "That's not far from what I was driving at. Shishu said I should pick apprentices."

He bursts out laughing. "No, really."

She rolls her eyes and spreads her hands. "Look, there's theory. I don't want to do anybody if I can help it. If anyone can figure it out from theory, why not you? Shishu's advanced internal arts should help with that, even if he doesn't care to develop the technique himself."

He stares at her. She's serious. "I didn't even mean--you don't want me as your apprentice. I never do as I'm told."

"Fine, if you don't want to and Mu-shidi wants the Crazed Raksha style, I'll just keep asking around." She sits down heavily and leans her arms on her knees. "Master Wu told me I'll have to ask nicely."

"My condolences," he says, still snickering. "No, but--I said you didn't want to, I didn't say I didn't want to. I... might."

Being Yuwen Duyi's apprentice isn't a particularly appealing prospect, but the White Cloud technique is interesting. It's only a shame for her, being stuck by circumstance with an ability she doesn't ever want to use.

She leans back on her hands. "Ughhh. I just want to unload it on someone else. Wait, did you say you might?" She looks back at him, frowning. "Well... you're on the list, then."

"Right." He blinks, not quite sure how this happened. "Ah--if you're not busy now, I was wondering if we might, ah. Train. I'm not trying to start a fight!" He holds his hands up in an echo of her earlier gesture. "I just think we ought to be able to. Without. You know. Trying to kill each other."

She taps the bench. "Hmh. Yeah, true. No blades, though. Let's do it."

He takes a step back and spreads his hands. "When you're ready."

Now when she smiles, it's dark but genuine. She shakes out her daggers, but only to detach them from their holders and leave them behind on the bench.

She rises, stretches a crick out of her neck, and falls into a pose. They're going easy--even so, she starts with a swift kick to the chest. She's holding back, but not by a lot.

He staggers backwards, taking a moment to steady himself. He knows she didn't put her full strength behind it because he doesn't hear any ribs cracking, but damn, it hurts! He launches himself at her, still hazy from the pain, and his first punch goes completely wild. He turns the swing into a spin, ducks below her reach, and gets her with an elbow to the side.

"Nice," she grunts, even as she must feel that blow. She shoots out a leg to hook it behind his ankle and drop him on the ground. He goes down, but not all the way. Catching himself with a hand, he lashes out with a low kick, which she sidesteps.

Duyi actually laughs, and it's not in any way mean. Her longer legs give her an advantage, and she uses it again to tap his back with the tip of her toes.

This time, he stays down, folding his legs into a sitting position and raising his hands in surrender. "Clearly I'm going to have to work harder at the not getting hit part," he mutters. And then, with effort, "Well fought."

"You'll get me next time." Generous in victory, she offers him a hand up.

He takes it. "I definitely will."

--

Master Wu and Mu Liqiang return later that evening, and Master Wu calls Yuwen Duyi to go with him to consult with Master Guo. The arrangements for the bedrooms are the same--Lin Moniao and Mu Liqiang are sharing.

As to where they have been, that does not stay a mystery for long, since Mu Liqiang takes the first opportunity to show shixiong the new long dagger Master Wu specifically selected just for him. "He said the Raksha style is better suited for a longer blade! And Tongling was a good opportunity to find a weaponsmith!" He pulls the bronze-hilted steel dagger half from its sheath and hands it to Lin Moniao to admire.

"Yours just has to be longer, doesn't it, Mu-shidi." Lin Moniao grins and draws the blade, turns it over to catch the light. "It's very fine."

Briefly, he's distracted by thoughts of what Master Wu might get him for deciding to learn the White Cloud technique. Strictly speaking, it doesn't require any equipment that Lin Moniao doesn't already possess, but...

In any case, he hasn't decided anything for certain. He's only keeping his options open. He returns the dagger to its sheath and hands it back to Mu Liqiang.

Mu Liqiang admires his dagger a little more--a gift from shifu!-- then sighs and puts it away. "Shixiong is so fond of making fun of this one's piece, how could I now show you what that woman stole from me without expecting more of it?"

"Well, now you will have to show me, or I'll be forced to conclude that your parents gave you a truly inappropriate gift. And one which would be very uncomfortable to have jewel-encrusted."

"Shixiong! I--it's--" He covers his face with one hand. "You can never meet my mother."

"Why not? You've met mine." And she would have thought that Lin Moniao's joke was funny, too, though it wouldn't do for Mu Liqiang to know that.

Mu Liqiang goes back to his inner pocket and brings out the box. It isn't locked, only latched, covered in embroidered silk inside and out, and inside sit two jade health balls. One is crafted from white jade, the other from black jade, and they are as smooth as glass. "They're very old. They say they belonged to the Red Pine Immortal himself."

Lin Moniao holds out a hand for the box. "May I?"

Mu Liqiang's grip on the box tightens for a moment of hesitation, but he soon hands them over. "My father says that if you practice with them every day, it will improve your health and also your understanding of a healthy body. But, the truth is, this one hasn't kept up the practice."

Lin Moniao rolls the balls in his hand, feeling their weight and their cool, smooth surfaces, before returning them to their box and the box to Mu Liqiang. "Ah, well. They're beautiful, anyway. I can see why you'd be grieved to lose them, and I'm glad we got them back."

"I could... I suppose I could lend them to Yuwen-shijie." He doesn't look very happy about the prospect, however. "She might benefit from them... well, I will if she asks." Which is as good as to say he won't, since she has no idea he even has them.

The evening turns into night and it is beginning to look like neither of them will be called to Master Wu's bed tonight. Mu Liqiang pouts just a little about it as he tugs out his braids and hair-ties for the night. "Lin-shixiong? He's not mad at us, is he?"

"This is what I meant when I told you not to come on too strong," Lin Moniao sighs. "Believe me, if he were mad we would know it. I imagine he only wants to work, or rest, without distractions. Shidi is very distracting." Of course, Lin Moniao is the most distracting, as he has reason to know. But he's being polite.

Mu Liqiang blows out a puff of air. "I just... sometimes I feel like a boiling pot," he mutters, looking at his hands.

Lin Moniao sits on the bed, swinging his feet. "I've been meaning to ask--will you teach me something?"

Mu Liqiang pulls himself up, though he can't quite rid himself of the gloom. "How can this shidi teach shixiong anything? Shixiong is smart and experienced, and this shidi is stupid and spoiled."

"Stop that," says Lin Moniao, too exasperated to even enjoy the compliment. "I don't like to hear anyone talk about my shidi that way. Anyway, what I meant was--your hair is so pretty, and I wish I could put it up for you, but I don't know how. You put braids in it?"

Mu Liqiang touches his hair and turns his face away, hiding his expression. "Um. You really think it's pretty?"

"It's so pretty." Lin Moniao makes an abortive gesture to touch it, but he'd better wait until he has permission, Mu Liqiang didn't quite seem to like it the last time he did. "Nobody has hair like it--nobody I know, anyway. I like how it springs back when you touch it."

Mu Liqiang certainly acts shy often enough, but now it looks like it may not be pretense. "Shixiong has the nice hair, so smooth and soft. Mine won't lie still without oils and braids. But shixiong can, um. Touch it if he wants to. Shixiong can touch anything he likes."

"I do want to." Lin Moniao starts petting Mu Liqiang's hair, but when he tries to run his fingers through it, they get caught, and he ends up pulling. "Sorry." He winces, extricates his fingers as painlessly as he can, and adds, with a rueful sigh, "Ah, this is why I need instruction. Also with the oils and braids and so on. Will you show me?"

"If shixiong is sure." He pulls up his bag and takes out his comb and hair-ties and oil. "If it's too tangled, I have to use the oil, but other than that, it just needs to be combed section by section, starting at the ends..." He ties up the top half of his hair. "It's so bothersome."

"I don't mind. I like doing it." Lin Moniao fits himself comfortably by Mu Liqiang's back and begins to comb his hair out. It's relaxing. Meditative, almost.

Mu Liqiang certainly doesn't complain; he even starts to hum a little happily. "Shixiong does such nice things for this one, and all this one does is make him ache all day. This shidi will certainly return the favor."

"I won't say no. It's true, I have been sore, and you ought to see the bruises you left on my thighs, rascal." Finished with his work, Lin Moniao sets aside the comb and kisses Mu Liqiang's shoulder. "It was very nice. A key that only opens one lock, really?"

"This shidi was careless and got carried away," he says happily. "Even with shifu's guidance, it was still my first time."

"Ah. What a shame for everyone else." Lin Moniao grins and stretches, quite pleased with himself.

Mu Liqiang twists around and kisses Lin Moniao's nose, a mirror of two nights ago. "Shixiong's turn."

Lin Moniao scoots around and turns his back to Mu Liqiang.

His hair is much easier to handle, even so his shidi is careful with it. When it's brushed, he runs his hands through it, scratches at the back of his head, and massages his fingers down his skull and to his neck. But he digs his fingers in just a little too hard at the shoulders.

Lin Moniao, who had been drifting, eyes half-closed, as Mu Liqiang combed out his hair, winces and twitches his shoulders. He turns his head to Mu Liqiang. "Still feeling like a boiling pot?"

He snatches his hands back, mortified. "This shidi just wanted to make shixiong feel good. Truly." He put his hands back tentatively, but now he is too careful--too much pressure is painful, but no pressure at all is useless.

Turning halfway round to face Mu Liqiang, Lin Moniao takes his hands and presses a kiss to each palm. "I know."

He wraps his arms around him from behind and hugs him close, resting his head on his shoulder. "Shixiong really is too nice."


The Heartless Dagger

The second to last leg of the company's journey down along the Yangtze river, with the sacred mountain rising gracefully against the skyline on their left and boats pushing their way past the low water on their right, brings them to the town of Chizhou. The river here is dug out wider to accommodate piers, and a constant market livens up the waterside. Preparations for the Hungry Ghosts Festival just a few days from now are everywhere, with paper goods and lanterns for the dead being sold alongside fish and wine and wicker baskets, the everyday commerce of a riverside city.

It's busy--too busy, as they soon discover. As their little retinue rides deeper into town, inn after inn has a sign put up declaring all rooms taken. Master Wu comes to sit up on the driver's seat himself to prod at likely-looking locals until they get a tip: the Smiling Monk has plenty of rooms, they should ask over there instead of bothering legitimate businessmen going about their business.

"Ominous," Master Wu mutters, but they have little choice--after Master Guo had insisted on sketching Mount Jiuhua, there isn't enough daylight left for traveling further.

The Smiling Monk Inn sits on a slight elevation at the end of a street, and at first glance, it is perfectly delightful, with pale yellow walls and hanging plants hung around its three rows of balconies to cheer it up, the tips of its roofs tilting up with graceful curves. Even as they approach, there is nothing to complain about: It is airy, well-kept, and in an excellent position above the wind, out of the smells of the city.

Stablehands take over their horses and their carriages, and if the chief among them looks a little pale, he is at least polite. The masters enter with their disciples filing in behind them and are greeted by a pair of elderly sisters who run the inn. Room keys are distributed, and the sisters direct them towards the inn's restaurant, a wide room that opens into a small inner courtyard.

"What's the catch?" Master Wu wonders under his breath as he wanders in the direction of the restaurant. At the wide archway he stops and holds up a hand behind him. "Guo-shixiong," he calls softly behind him.

Master Guo looks around from a couple of his disciples and goes to stand beside him. Everyone follows, gathering in a black-clad cloud at the archway.

There, in a patch of evening sunlight marked by the carved frame of the courtyard window, sits Xie Song. He has turned his narrow face up to the light and closed his eyes, a book open in his lap and a bowl of wine by his hand. Beside him at the same long table, eating and talking, are four women and two men of various ages, each in a grey uniform embroidered with elaborate black thread--the colours of Xie Manor.

"I hadn't known--is Xie Song some relation of Xie Lijuan? That makes things... complicated," Lin Moniao whispers.

If the Heartless Dagger has taken offense at the Qilin Villa's pursuit of her kinsman, that's bad. On the other hand, Lin Moniao's own appetite for vengeance on the man is decidedly poor. If the presence of Xie Lijuan's people prevents Master Wu and Master Guo and all their students here from descending on a single scholar who only had the bad taste to tell the truth about Gao Chengyi in public, he cannot bring himself to be too disappointed.

If they are Xie Lijuan's people. If they're not, it wouldn't be the first time that Lin Moniao has known someone to wear black and silver in order to trade on the Heartless Dagger's reputation. But it doesn't seem to be a possibility worth betting on. His eyes dart warily around the inn as he shifts from foot to foot. "I can see why people were avoiding this place. It feels like death, and it isn't any of them. I don't suppose it's possible that she herself is here somewhere?"

Master Wu stills for a moment, opening his senses. "Good instincts, Moniao," he mutters. "I can't be sure." He gestures for the disciples to stay back. Master Guo has joined his hands before him and is standing stiffly beside Master Wu, while the others whisper.

They have been noticed. The conversation at the table quiets as the people there turn to look at them, and even Xie Song blinks out of his reverie. His beady eyes meet Master Wu's and harden, but then he glances at his own company, looks back, and smiles.

Master Wu's shoulders stiffen and a muscle in his jaw jumps, but he stretches his lips in a smile. "Xie Song. What a surprise."

"Amitabha. Wu Zhenghao, Guo Suyi. Won't you sit down and drink with us?"

"Why not?"

Master Wu turns to Lin Moniao and says quietly, "Take whoever you need, find out if she is here, then report back. We do not want a grudge with Xie Manor."

Lin Moniao nods, considering Mu Liqiang and Yuwen Duyi. Neither of them is particularly quiet, and the more people sneaking around, the more likely it is someone will make a mistake and they'll all be discovered. Really, he could to this best on his own. But they also both have hot tempers, and Mu Liqiang was muttering imprecations against Xie Song just the other day, and Yuwen Duyi is probably the only person on earth who is genuinely mourning Gao Chengyi.

Master Wu can handle Mu Liqiang. Yuwen Duyi, he's less sure of. Best to keep her out of the way entirely, if he can--besides, if something does go wrong, he'll feel better with her at his back. He tugs her sleeve and tilts his head back the way they came.

Yuwen Duyi was too far back to hear the conversation but the implication is clear enough, and she nods and follows quietly, though her eyes are sparking with anger. Master Wu joins his hands behind his back and strolls closer to the table, Master Guo following his lead hesitantly, and his disciples following. Mu Liqiang throws Lin Moniao a look back but falls in line with the others.

A few steps back take them out of sight of the restaurant. The wide front room has a staircase leading up and splitting into two overhead, leading up to the rooms, and here they can see staircases crisscrossing up to the higher floors. One of the proprietesses is watching them nervously, while the other one can be seen walking with small quick steps towards the other side, calling after an attendant.

Oh, well, maybe they should have taken the outside staircase, only Lin Moniao didn't want to walk past everyone and make it obvious where they were going. And, after all, it's not like they don't have legitimate business here. "We're just going to look at the rooms we were assigned?" he says cheerfully, without breaking his stride towards the stairs.

"There's no trouble, is there, young master?" the little proprietess asks, twisting her hands.

"No trouble at all," he reassures her.

When they reach the first landing, he whispers quickly to Yuwen Duyi, "Master Wu asked me to find out if Xie Lijuan is here. I felt something--like a killer or a battlefield--but I couldn't pinpoint its source. Can you?"

"Ugh. I felt like this place was creepy the moment we stepped in." Duyi looks around, then focuses for a moment. She lowers her voice. "Okay, yes, that feels like a person. I don't think--" She looks around again. "At the back? But I can't tell if it's this floor or the next. Ah, let's see, these are our rooms..." She strides confidently down the hallway towards the end, where it turns to the right and continues around the inner courtyard.

"Right, but the point is not to let her know we're looking for her," Lin Moniao hisses, catching her by the arm. "If you say she--or whoever--is at the back, on this floor or the next--will you watch to see if anyone is coming, and stall them and let me know if they are? And I'll go look."

"Hnh. Fine. Don't get yourself stabbed." She takes position, crosses her arms, and leans on the wall, but follows him warily with her eyes.

For a moment, he considers telling her to look less like she's standing guard, but he'll take what he can get. He creeps down the hallway in the direction she was heading, freezing when he gets to the bend and hears voices around the other side.

"But how long is she going to sleep this time? How much did you give her?" A woman's voice, tired.

The second voice is nasal, annoyed, a man. "You know the effect varies. She could be up in fifteen minutes if the pain wakes her up. But she's quiet now, isn't that the point?"

It doesn't sound like Xie Lijuan. It sounds like something that's none of Lin Moniao's business--if only it didn't feel so wrong. He lingers a little longer, waiting for anything else he might hear.

"Well, it's late. Let's hope for a quiet night. Will you sit by her tonight, Master Song, or will it be Master Xie?"

"I do have other things to do, too," said Master Song's voice.

"That's what you both say, but I sat with her all last night."

"Then make He Peng do it!"

"Shh, keep it down! You'll wake her."

There is a shuffle of robes and footsteps going in another direction, then a loud sigh and the opening and closing of a door.

Lin Moniao risks a very quick glance down the hallway, just to see if he can tell which door all this has been happening behind, or get a glimpse of either of the people who were talking. The voices sounded like they came from the second or third door down, but those are now closed. At the end of the hallway, where it bends right again, one of the last doors is just closing. Presumably this is where Master Song has gone.

Returning to the hallway where Yuwen Duyi is waiting, Lin Moniao looks for his own door, and beckons her inside. She may not be subtle, but she isn't so stupid she doesn't understand a clandestine mission, and she keeps her step soft as she follows. "Did you hear anything?"

"Yes." He closes the door quietly behind them but keeps whispering even once they're inside. "There's a... sick woman... in one of the rooms in that corridor. At first I thought it couldn't possibly be Xie Lijuan, but maybe it is? Maybe there's something wrong with her, and that's why... she may--or may not--have been looking for a miraculous healing treasure that I ran across a forgery of on a recent mission of mine. It's a long story, and not strictly relevant. Whoever it is, she's certainly connected with Xie Manor. I heard the two attendants mention Master Xie. If only I could be sure who it was! She's sleeping now, they said, but there's still a woman sitting with her. I might be able to make my way by the balconies and look inside, if the attendant could be distracted for a moment."

Duyi crosses her arms and sucks in a breath, thinking. "You won't be unseen if they have people stationed outside the inn, and the balcony door will probably be locked, unless they are very confident. But, hm." The room they are in is a good size, and opens on to a balcony that wraps around the building, with some easily traversed divisions between the rooms. She goes to the balcony and opens the doors to a view of the city. The dark has fallen, and lamplight is dotting the city below. She points down the line of balconies. "All these rooms are empty. Look. No lights. Unless there are some lit up at the other end, your route is clear. I think you could do it. I can go knock on the door and play stupid, what do you think?"

"Yes, let's." He grins at her. "A locked balcony door should not be a problem. Give me a minute to get into position, and then knock."

After a moment more discussion--which door, how long to wait--they are agreed on a plan. Yuwen Duyi closes the balcony door behind Lin Moniao, but does not lock it.

He jumps onto the next balcony, and then the next, landing lightly each time, until he gets to the first of the two which might be his target. Then he stops, looking to see if there's light from either one and listening for any sound that might help him decide, or if he can hear Yuwen Duyi's distraction.

Not long after, there is the sound of a door closing, and the voices continue muffled. The second room is lit with a low glow that leaves a golden puddle on the balcony floor. The balcony door is ajar, letting in the cooling air, and so Lin Moniao can hear a rattling, then quick heavy steps crossing the floor, and the door opening.

"Who are you?" It's the voice of the woman he heard in the hallway before. "This room is occupied!"

"Well then there's a problem," says Duyi's voice in a harsh tone. "My master specifically asked for this room. The proprietor said it was fine. What are you lot doing in here?"

The woman sputters. "This--we booked this room! Your master has to get a different one."

"I'm not going to argue about this. I'm just a messenger. Do you know who my master is?"

"Do you know who my mistress is?! Keep it down."

"Well, I mean, we can stand here and compare masters, or you can come down and help me sort it out with--"

"Would you please keep your voice down... look..."

Then, there is the sound of a door closing, and the voices continue muffled.

It's almost too easy, but Lin Moniao isn't going to complain, especially since there's no one here to admire his lock-picking skills if he did need to deploy them. He slips into the room, looking around. The room's layout is similar to the one he was in before. The light comes from an oil lamp lit on the low table, where someone has been making notes in a book. The curtains are drawn over the canopied bed, and beside it is a sitting pillow and an open layered medicine box, as well as a wide bowl of water and a stack of towels.

He can hear a soft sigh and a rustle of bedclothes from the bed, but then everything in the room is quiet again.

He's really here to look at the person in the bed--but now that he's here, he wants a look at that book, and as soon as he twitches the bed's curtains aside, he may have to run, so he goes for the book first, tiptoeing across the floor.

The book is a daily log kept in different hands. In recent entries, three names repeat as the author: He Peng, Yao Daiyu, Song Tuan. Most are by Yao Daiyu, as are the very last ones.

11th night of the 7th month. Quiet night.

-

The patient has been active for three and a half days now. Requests we head back to Nanjing. Usual cycle of good health extended by a day already.

-

Bad episode. Expelled bad blood after twenty minutes. He Peng administered energy treatments.

-

Administered three drops of Song Tuan's tincture. The patient is sleeping.

None of the names mean anything to him, except for Song Tuan. Everyone has heard of the Bone Physician, but Lin Moniao's own memory on more details is a little hazy. Still, he commits what he's read to memory; Yuwen Duyi might know more, and Master Wu almost certainly will.

Then he moves to the bed and pulls the curtain aside just as much as will give him a view of the patient.

The woman in the bed is wrapped in a fresh inner robe with covers pulled up to just under her arms, and even in the low light a light sheen of sweat is visible on her skin. That and the bruise-like shadows around her closed eyes are the only signs of illness. She is neither sickly-looking nor skinny; her body looks both soft and strong. Her face is strikingly beautiful, even like this, with dark low eyebrows and a bone structure reminiscent of a bird of prey. Her age is difficult to tell.

The inner robe is all in black, light silk, with silver threaded through.

Looking at her, a shiver runs down Lin Moniao's spine. There's little doubt that this is Xie Lijuan. What exactly is wrong with her is harder to say.

He's gotten what he came for, and he should get out. As he passes the book on the table, he quashes a mad urge to scribble a greeting from Liu Xiuling, and instead simply lets himself out onto the balcony and returns to his room.

While in the room, he had heard Yuwen Duyi and the physician, presumably Yao Daiyu, continue speaking in heated but hushed tones. It takes some time still before Duyi returns. "Oh, good," she says when she pokes her head in and then enters, closing the door behind her. "I had to let her win the argument eventually, or we'd really have to go downstairs and harass the proprietor. How did it go? Is it..." she wets her lips, "her?"

"It is," he says. He describes what he saw in the room, and read in the book. "It's only a shame you couldn't have been the one there--maybe you would have understood more. I don't know what might be wrong with her, unless it's migraines, or some poison I've never heard of."

"It sounds chronic and serious, whatever it is. Did you notice anything in the book about how long she has been sick?" She shakes her head. "That's--actually not that important now, is it. I bet the masters will like this bit of information. Xie Lijuan ill! Let's go back, come on. We have to tell them before someone throws a knife." She doesn't wait for him, but heads for the hallway.

"Master Wu did say we didn't want a grudge with Xie Manor," Lin Moniao agrees, catching up to her, and refrains from mentioning that on his list of who might start throwing knives, hers had been the first name.

When they reach the restaurant, everyone is seated and nobody is fighting, but the tension is high on both sides of the table. Yuwen Duyi catches Lin Moniao's eye and nods in the direction of Master Wu. He should give the report. She then quietly rejoins the Qilin Villa disciples. She is noticed, though--everyone is watching everyone, now.

Xie Song appears calm and undisturbed on the surface. "I am surprised to run into you coming in this direction," he tells Master Wu. The two are locked in an unspoken battle of wills. "Though I suppose I should not be surprised to meet any of your sect in these parts, so close to Poyang Lake."

"Indeed. We should make it there by the festival. I don't suppose Master Xie would be interested in accompanying us to the Villa? The sect leader would no doubt agree to extend her hospitality, for a short while."

Master Xie laughs, a nasty sound.

As he slides into place beside Master Wu, Lin Moniao nods once, in confirmation of their suspicions. If Master Wu wants a more complete report now, he'll have to make an opportunity for it--this is hardly an ideal place, no matter how quietly Lin Moniao tries to whisper. The master catches his eye and inclines his head minutely.

He then addresses Master Xie directly. "Well, it has been a pleasure catching up, but I believe we should retire now. Should you like to continue our conversation in the morning, in private, between gentlemen, then I would be happy to oblige. And the invitation to visit us at Poyang Lake remains."

Master Xie raises his bowl of wine in acknowledgment and laughs again. "A fine rest and good fortune for the rest of your journey, Wu Zhenghao, Guo Suyi."

Master Guo, who has barely said a word, rises with Master Wu, and everyone else from Qilin Villa follows in a rustle of clothes.

As they are rising to go, one of the Xie Manor disciples stretches out his legs right in front of Lin Moniao, but he's clumsy about it, telegraphing the motion far and wide, and the attempt at tripping him up remains a subtle provocation. Master Wu stops cold nonetheless and levels the man with a snake-like stare. The man's smile disappears and he pulls his legs back.

Master Wu looks around, nods, and leads everyone out.

Lin Moniao follows Master Wu up to his room, and makes sure they're alone--and that there's no one lurking on the balcony--before he gives his report.

"It might explain why Xie Lijuan was interested in the Obsidian Bat--if she was interested in the Obsidian Bat, and it wasn't all Liu Xiuling from beginning to end. Or else Liu Xiuling wanted it for her? She did ask me to locate Xie Lijuan, and now I have, so I could return to Immortal Sword Manor--or you could send someone else, if you think it worthwhile..." He lets his breath out in a sigh. "I did think--if Yuwen Duyi could do something to help her, it would be a way of showing up Xie Song that wouldn't risk a feud with Xie Manor. And she is quite good, and Mu Liqiang has a thing that might help, I don't know if he's shown you--but still, it's a long shot, we might just look foolish for offering."

Master Wu touches Lin Moniao's elbows to settle him. "If she has Song Tuan with her, we have very little to offer her by way of medical expertise. But you are right in that we would benefit from showing her some good will. The Obsidian Bat might have done it. If we had something truly valuable, if we had a cure, she might even give us Xie Song." A spark of anger lights his eyes. "That man! He may have been right about Gao Chengyi, but the arrogance...! I all but challenged him, but I doubt he'll show up for it. He's mocking us."

He starts to pace around the room. "Liu Xiuling believes Xie Lijuan would want the Obsidian Bat. Now we know why. But if we get it for her, she might give us Xie Song. He's quite right that we can't touch him if he just continues clinging to her thighs. Let me see, let me see... didn't the Sword Goddess claim she left the real one in Handan?"

"She did, but I assumed it was a lie, because she was definitely lying about some things, and I couldn't see why she would have left it in Handan with people who had neither a reason nor the ability to defend it." Lin Moniao drums his fingers on his knee thoughtfully. "Unless she meant Xie Lijuan to steal it, and she couldn't give it to her directly because of... whatever is going on between them. But either she has stolen it and it hasn't done her any good, or someone else stole it instead. But these are all just guesses, and I can't think of any way to confirm them just now."

Master Wu stops pacing and joins his hands behind his back with a sigh. "Well, we can't get it for her now, at any rate. But it might be a good idea to send a couple of agents to Handan to inquire, and leave a message at Xie Manor if we do recover the Bat. Presumably the Heartless Dagger had not been answering the Sword Goddess's messages, but she must return there eventually. It must be a worry for a later time. I suppose the best we can do is send our respects and... money? We should also acknowledge Song Tuan in some unobtrusive way. I'll write to them."

There is a knock on the door, and Master Wu himself admits Yuwen Duyi, who drops a bow with her hands joined.

Lin Moniao leans back on his hands and dips his head to her. She had meant, he thought, to leave the reporting to him... has she discovered something else?

"Shishu, this one asks permission to leave the company and follow Xie Lijuan on foot. I'm sure there will be some opportunity to catch Xie Song alone stealthily, and then it doesn't have to come to a fight between the sects."

Master Wu's eyebrows rise. "Absolutely not. No suicide missions. You are the guardian of our new technique, among other things."

"But Shishu..."

"Hush. It's not a bad idea, but I'm afraid I have no-one I am willing to spare."

Lin Moniao stays silent during this exchange. He doesn't think he has anything useful to contribute. But it fills his heart to hear Master Wu say he has no-one he's willing to spare, the same as it did to hear Yuwen Duyi ask if Yao Daiyu knew who her master was--even if she was just playacting. It's only that he had thought--he had hoped her breakthrough meant she had stopped chasing death.

Master Wu lays a hand on Yuwen Duyi's shoulder. "Duyi should stop trying to find someone to exact revenge on for a natural death. Xie Song did not cause Gao Chengyi's death, and you are not to blame either. You did well, looking after him, and he was proud of you. You can let it rest now."

Yuwen Duyi stares at him with a broken expression, then turns and flees the room, slamming the door on the way. Master Wu rubs his thumb on his palm and sighs. "We're getting there," he mutters, and turns back to Lin Moniao. "I think that's all we can do, other than prepare for attack. Would you tell everyone to pair up in threes and take turns keeping watch over one another? I write a fine letter, if I do say so myself, but better a little lost sleep than getting our throats slit in the night in case it isn’t quite enough."

Lin Moniao rises to his feet with a quick bow. "Of course. Between me and Mu-shidi I think we can sit on Yuwen-shijie--although if it's me sitting on both of them it will be a little more difficult. They are both bigger than I am."

Master Wu laughs. "Neither of them would stand a chance against you, darling. Size isn't everything." He comes up to give Lin Moniao a quick kiss and a pat on the bottom before turning him towards the door. "Go, go."

--

The night passes without incident, though many lose sleep not only due to guard duty but because of the pervasive miasma of death, and the awareness of the Xie Manor disciples just across the hall from them.

"That's why this inn was the only one with rooms left," Yuwen Duyi says after she wakes the others up in the morning, bleary-eyed and bad-tempered. "Ugh! I can't wait to get away." Even as she says it, though, the cloud seems to lift, like sunlight breaking through rainclouds, and all of them feel lighter.

Yuwen Duyi goes to investigate, but returns with no news: The servants of the Parrot God are waking, and there is movement at the end of the hall; she must still be here.

Mornings are bad enough when Lin Moniao has slept the whole night, and when Yuwen Duyi isn't there. This is unbearable. He remains stubbornly in bed holding a pillow over his head until she comes back, at which point he's forced to concede that she's right--the sooner he gets up, the sooner they can leave. He drags himself out of bed and starts looking for his clothes. How do the Xie Manor disciples live like this?

Mu Liqiang had the middle shift and barely slept before or after, and you can tell by the way he is tearing impatiently at his hair, taking it in and out of the bun to smooth it just a little bit more. Eventually Yuwen Duyi snatches the comb from him and does it for him. She's none too gentle about it. "Ow!"

"Don't be a baby. You can't let this take all morning. Shifu--Shishu needs looking after. What if Xie Lijuan sneaked into his room at night?" Finished, she drags him onto his feet.

He snatches his sleeve back, but though his eyes are sparking, hall he says is, "As shijie says," and marches out.

"Aren't you a ray of sunshine." Lin Moniao fastens his hairpiece quickly so she won't try to do it for him. "Lay off Mu Liqiang, or he won't let you fondle his balls."

She flinches and levels him with a death glare. "Excuse me?"

He smirks and holds out a hand flat in front of him, wiggling his fingers. "He's got a pair of jade health balls. They used to belong to the Red Pine Immortal, allegedly. They're supposed to improve your understanding of healing, and he said he'd let you practice with them if you asked, but he might not if you're going to be like this." Lin Moniao lets out a puff of breath. "Truthfully? Maybe we all ought to take a turn with them, just in case we're called upon to administer any first aid."

She wrinkles her nose. "Gross. I bet you've had your turn with Mu-shidi's balls already." She shuts her eyes tight and digs her knuckles into her own temple. After a visible struggle, she says, "Nnn. I mean, thank you for telling me, shidi. That--would probably be useful."

Mu Liqiang returns sooner than expected, bursting through the door. "He's going to meet with Xie Lijuan! Just him!"

"He--" Lin Moniao pushes to his feet without quite thinking about it. "Does he need... anything?"

For a wild second, he thinks, if only he had learned the White Cloud technique already--and for a wilder one, it occurs to him that Yuwen Duyi has. But it's not that much of an emergency. Probably.

"He gave me this, to give to you, to give to the sect leader." Mu Liqiang's eyes are wide and his hands shake lightly as he hands over a sealed scroll. "In case he doesn't make it out. Master Guo doesn't even know. He's--he's already gone. We can only wait."

At first, Lin Moniao refuses to take it. He's not going to take a scroll to give to the sect leader in case Master Wu doesn't make it out, because Master Wu isn't going to not make it out, that's ridiculous. But after a moment, he accepts it and makes it disappear into one of the hidden pockets of his robe, then turns his back sharply and walks over to the window. But it's only the balcony there, and the row of balconies that he traversed yesterday beyond it. He could--he could--

He can't. Not without instructions from Master Wu, and with the Heartless Dagger awake.

If Master Wu doesn't make it out, Lin Moniao will always regret not stabbing her in her sleep when he had the chance.

He takes a deep breath and turns back around. "Mu-shidi, get your health balls out. I was telling Yuwen-shijie, we should all practice with them, in case we have to administer first aid. It's better than just waiting."

It may be a testament to shock that Mu Liqiang doesn't even argue. He takes the box out of his inner pocket silently and sits by the table in their room. Yuwen Duyi huddles close and curses quietly when she sees the treasure. He only hesitates a little when she actually reaches for them.

"Don't break them."

"Don't be st--I won't. Don't worry."

Time passes by. There are footsteps in the hallway. Inside, the clacking of the balls as Yuwen Duyi meditates quietly. Mu Liqiang sneaks over to Lin Moniao and plasters himself to his side, shamelessly seeking comfort. Lin Moniao wraps his arm around him and pets his hair, concentrating on his own breathing so the only thing he projects is calm. This is also something he can do, better than just waiting.

Eventually, the door to their room opens. "Here you all are," says Master Wu. "Why wasn't anyone waiting in my room?"

"Shifu!" Lin Moniao crosses the room in one step, throws his arms around Master Wu, and presses his face into his neck, mumbling, "Apologies."

Master Wu pats his back, but his hand is unsteady. Mu Liqiang looks like he wants to start crying, but instead grabs his own head and curls up over his knees. Yuwen Duyi puts the health balls neatly back in their box.

Master Wu closes the door behind them. "Let me just say it is a good thing we do not have any secrets from the Heartless Dagger, or she would have them now. She is interested in the Obsidian Bat as well as the Heart-Shaping Crown--if we acquire either, they will go to her. She will trade either for the Asura Trident. In return for this agreement, she regrets she cannot give us her uncle, but should anything happen to him, Xie Manor will not investigate. Oh you--were you really worried? How charming."

Lin Moniao clings for a bit longer, then steps back. He takes the scroll out of his pocket and holds it out gingerly, as if it's a poisonous snake. "If shifu didn't want me to worry, he should not have given me this."

Wu Zhenghao takes it back and tucks it away. "You have a point. I thought it best to make sure. But this is all good news! What else would the sect be collecting treasures for if not to trade for good will? And with your information, Moniao, we have a good lead on the Bat."

"Yes," Lin Moniao says with a satisfied smile. He hasn't been entirely sure about anything he's been able to find out, or guess, about the Bat, but it's a good lead, Master Wu says so. "And what about the other one? The Heart-Shaping Crown?"

"That's up to your mother." He turns to the other two. "Shortly before all this excitement, Zhu Chen went to the southeast to negotiate for the purchase of that wonderful weapon. It was meant for the treasury, but I am sure the Sect Leader will agree--I have all but promised it to Xie Lijuan. We will find out if Madame Zhu was successful when she returns. Mu Liqiang, what's with that face?" He tuts.

"Sorry, shifu."

"But what if we can't acquire either treasure?" Yuwen Duyi asks.

"It would be a pity, but no cause for unrest. Then we will simply keep trying. It is rather a delicate situation if Xie Lijuan and Liu Xiuling do not reconcile, however, with the Sword Goddess's close ties to the empire, because... Well, I was going to wait until we reach the Villa, but I might as well tell you now. Once all the rites have been observed, we are all going back to Kaifeng--including the sect leader and the God Yu Himself. We have been invited to the imperial Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. The Son of Heaven wishes to meet Him personally."

"The God! The Son of Heaven!" Lin Moniao says faintly. "How did shifu manage that?"

But casting a shadow over his admiration and excitement is the memory of the God's words to him. Is this what He meant--Lin Moniao's destiny, now? What should he do? He'll be able to ask Master Wu privately soon, but it doesn't seem soon enough.

Yuwen Duyi stares, Mu Liqiang has gone thoughtfully quiet. Master Wu laughs. "Don't give me too much credit. It was a confluence of circumstances. The emperor is expected to make the new succession official shortly before the festival, and is inviting many clans and sects--those who are not openly, diametrically opposed to the Dragon Throne and pay imperial tax--to parade in front of the new crown prince. Immortal Sword Manor will be there, naturally, but also the Dragon Clan and Five Phoenix Manor, whose relationship with the Palace is more complicated... some credit must be laid on the simple fact that our sect is the only one that houses a living God. I'd say a meeting is overdue."

"Well, yes, naturally, but... nevertheless." Lin Moniao stares into the distance thoughtfully. "I don't suppose the Ancient Willow Sect will be sending representatives."

Yuwen Duyi scoffs. "If you think Xie Lijuan will need an introduction from us to the sect, don't. She will certainly have spoken to them already."

"Not what I meant." Lin Moniao wrinkles his nose at Yuwen Duyi, but doesn't elaborate; she doesn't need to know what, or who, he was actually thinking of.

"Do not discuss any of this with your martial siblings for now," Master Wu warns. "But I think we have had enough of plots and intrigue before breakfast, don't you think? Let's go eat."

That, at least, is something they can agree on.

Breakfast is downstairs with the rest of the disciples, though the masters eat together upstairs. It is interrupted by the arrival of the Xie Manor disciples; this morning, however, they are courteous, if distant, and there is no sign of Xie Song. Word comes down with them: Lin Moniao is to come and see Master Wu alone before they leave.

Despite having hardly eaten the night before, and it being late for breakfast, Lin Moniao is too nervous to be very hungry. He washes down a steamed bun with some tea and then fidgets with his empty cup until he thinks enough time has passed that Master Guo must have finished his breakfast, and then he bounds up the stairs and knocks on Master Wu's door.

Master Wu answers the door himself, and lets go of the hilt of his dagger when he sees who it is. "Come in, darling. I can tell you are simply bursting with ideas. I have some myself."

"Oh, good." Lin Moniao's hair doesn't need fixing, but he tries to fix it anyway, pacing to the other end of the room. "I do have ideas, but none of them are very clear. Is this it? I don't want to fail the God, but--what does He want me to do?"

Master Wu watches Lin Moniao pace with sympathy, but does not chase him down. "We don't know, Moniao. Remember His message. There is no point in guessing, when He has declared it will be something unexpected. But that does mean you must come with us. Yu Long as well. Mu Liqiang--of course, I cannot tell you what he was told--but his prophecy was more ambiguous, so I am thinking of sending him after the Obsidian Bat. It might take some time to chase down."

"Oh. I see. I think." Lin Moniao completes another circuit of the room. Yu Long may be too soft-hearted, as Master Wu has said, but if whatever it is will make him unhappy, that's not an encouraging sign. "I--I hadn't thought this worth mentioning before--I had almost forgotten it--but Gao Chengyi knew what the God told me."

Master Wu watches him closely, and nods silently, and his eyes shift away. He doesn't want to talk about the reason why that might be.

Lin Moniao shivers as he remembers those few minutes in the carriage, before Hua Yan had interrupted. It doesn't help much to remind himself that Gao Chengyi is dead, not with the Hungry Ghosts Festival so close. But he shakes it off and returns to his original thought. "Do you know what He said to Yuwen Duyi?"

Master Wu shakes his head. "I don't. I wasn't present. The sect leader would know."

"Yes, of course. I only wondered--it isn't important. And neither is the Ancient Willow Sect, really, I was mostly asking for, ah, personal reasons. But when Shifu mentioned the Dragon Clan and Five Phoenix Manor, I remembered--when I was working with Beggar Huang, he mentioned their close ties, and that Five Phoenix Manor is more than a simple philanthropic organization, and he showed me--" Lin Moniao stops dead in his tracks. Now he remembers why it seemed so significant, and he wishes he hadn't brought it up, but now that he's started, he has to complete his thought. He crosses to the writing table and sketches something on a spare bamboo strip: a swallow with a flower inscribed between its wing and its side. "This symbol."

The last time he saw that symbol was when Wang Xiaonan produced a token inscribed with it, given to her by the madam of one brothel, shown to the employees of another to prove her trustworthiness. Evidence of a secret information network between them. A network, he now realizes, connected to Five Phoenix Manor.

The idea that the line between courtesan and respectable lady, treated by some as an impassable iron barrier, is in fact rather fluid, is not a new one to Lin Moniao. But...

He ought to tell Master Wu. Even if it means admitting that he concealed it when he first made his report. But there's no reason to believe that it, or Wang Xiaonan, really has anything to do with this business at all, is there? Anyway, Lin Moniao knows, and he will be there, and if it turns out Master Wu really does need to know, he can confess his faults and spill Wang Xiaonan's secrets then. Until then, there's really no reason to mention it.

Master Wu peers at the drawing, shakes his head, then looks more closely. "I don't know of any clan with a swallow for a symbol, but the five-petaled flower does look like the Five Phoenix Manor's seal. Is the swallow misdirection? Wonderful work, by the way, Moniao. You are a true talent."

"Thank you," says Lin Moniao, preening a bit; his calligraphy has always been rather good.

Master Wu hands back the drawing. "I confess I do not know much about the ladies or their true agenda. They are rather audacious to select the Phoenix as their symbol. Perhaps they have some designs on influencing the Empress, or selecting the next Empress themselves? We are heading into quite a bit of intrigue, it seems."

And now Lin Moniao remembers, wasn't the mistress of the Fragrant Blossom where Wang Xiaonan worked called Madame Yan? It might have been the same yan as the one for swallow. "Yes, well..." Lin Moniao lets out a long puff of breath. "Shifu is right, if it's to be something unexpected, we will have to improvise, won't we?" He has always been rather good at improvising, too.

Since Lin Moniao is no longer running around the room in nervous agitation, Master Wu pulls him up against his chest. "Don't worry so much, darling. We are in a good position, and every new thing we learn can inform how we react in the future. Just listen to shifu and keep your head, and all will turn out right."

--

The morning is bright and cloudless, and those who have hats or cowls pull them down over their eyes as the Qilin Villa sect saddles up and sets off. Many look back even at the bottom of the hill where the city's layout hides the Smiling Monk from view, but the most anyone can see of Xie Manor's people is one lone figure leaning on the balcony on the first floor, her hair loose and whipping in a gust of wind from the river.

From the city gates, they once again follow the river as the bright, almost cool morning mellows into a warm but windy day. The river runs wide here, cooling the air, and after half a day's ride they come within sight of the city of Anqing nestled against its widest bend. It's the largest town before the lake, and many of the servants of the God Yu start chattering with excitement and relief. This is their country.

The lookout must have spotted their colors, because as they ride into the city, there are people in the throng of main street waving flagpoles with banners of the Villa, and way is made for them to pass. Women throw paper flowers at them from balconies and children run alongside the horses and the carriages, trying to touch the heroes' ankles, despite their exasperated parents calling after them.

By the time their retinue reaches the temple, people are clogging the street behind them, so the masters call for them to pull up their carriages and tie up the horses, and sit with the people at the temple steps, hearing petitions from those who couldn't travel all the way to the Villa and hadn't been able to catch the attention of the sect's representatives in the city. Some petitions are noted down, others adjudicated on the spot.

It is an easier task for Master Wu than Master Guo, who gets flustered and pedantic, but very earnestly tries to talk to everyone until Master Wu taps him on the shoulder and drags him into the temple to light incense and donate silver. This isn't a temple just for the God Yu, but he is displayed prominently, his statue as large as Guanyin's, incense and offerings at his feet.

They carry on from Anqing. More and more water dots the landscape here, as narrow lakes open up the flat land to the north, and the Yangtze continues wide despite the late summer. The road and river both are busy with carts and the smell of freshly caught fish floats up from the boats pushing and rowing down the river from the lake towards Anqing. When the night steals upon them, all of them are tired and hungry; the lake glitters under moonlight, but the mountain in the distance is a mere dark swell against the starry horizon. The Qilin Villa, which stands on the lake itself, shimmers with lights in the middle of darkness. The pagoda, the manor, the spread-out outbuildings, the long pier--none of these are visible as anything more than dark shadows.

The long bridge is not lit, but it has railings, and the carriages trundle along the planks until they reach the gates, already thrown open to welcome them home.

Lin Moniao, finally allowed to ride a horse, leans forward along its neck. He peers through the darkness to the softly lit villa beyond, trying to catch a glimpse of Yu Long and the juniors, or Hua-shixiong, or even by some chance his mother and Dong Yuan, whoever might be there.

Past the gate and into the yard, those not on guard duty mill around them as they ride in. Hands come to take the reins and clap backs as friends are reunited.

Standing in the middle of the porch on the other side is the sect leader, straight backed and dignified in her greens and golds, and though her lined eyes crinkle in pleasure over her ever-present veil, she looks almost lonely standing there apart from everyone. The God is not in sight, for once, electing not to sit on her shoulder.

As the company dismounts, they bow to her, and she inclines her head. The masters go up to join her, and the rest of the yard descends into friendly chaos.

Yu Long calls out a greeting as he rushes up to take the reins of Lin Moniao's horse. Hua Haoyu pushes through the crowd with a delighted yelp and squeezes him around the waist. They are of a height, but Hua Haoyu is thicker and softer all around, with an open and honest face that too often turns morose. He draws back after squeezing a little and looks him up and down. "Did you get taller, Lin Moniao?"

"No, it's only Hua-shixiong who must have gotten shorter." Lin Moniao laughs and puts an arm around Hua Haoyu's shoulder, and the other around Yu Long's waist, his shoulder being higher than Lin Moniao can comfortably reach. "If only Dong-shixiong was here it would be like old times. Well, I hear he was sent to the southeast; he's probably fighting pirates right now and enjoying himself immensely."

"Southeast! And I'm still stuck here," Hua Haoyu complains.

Yu Long grabs them both in a bear hug, making the horse snort and complain. He lets go immediately and soothes her. "I'll be with you in a moment. Lin-shidi, you look good." There is a note of relief in his voice.

"I always look good," Lin Moniao informs Yu Long, tossing his head.

"They've put a pot on the fire for more rice but it will be a while," Hua Haoyu tells him. "Come on, I have some snacks in my room. Master Wu won't need you for a while yet, I bet, and I want to hear everything." He tugs on his sleeve.

Yu Long gives Lin Moniao one more worried look before persuading the horse away towards the stables. For a moment, Lin Moniao looks after him, equally concerned; he wants to make sure he's all right, and hear how it is with the juniors, but there will be time for that later. In the meantime, he turns back to Hua Haoyu. "Snacks! Bless you, Hua-shixiong, I've missed dinner. Let's go, and I'll tell you absolutely everything," he lies.

Comments

[bookblather]

What an eventful journey everyone has had! I do love seeing Duyi settle a little; she deserves some peace. And I love that last line.

[minutia_r]

Hey, Ilthit let me know that a) there were comments here and b) co-writers are welcome even if we're not members of the community.

Anyway, this whole thing was so much fun to write and I'm so glad that you're reading it and letting us know your thoughts! And I'm glad you like the last line, because that is one thing I can definitely take credit for XD