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rainbowfic2024-04-26 10:55 am
ilthit) wrote in rainbowfic2024-04-26 10:55 am
Electric Sky #2: Martial Arts & Midwifery (Lin Moniao Series)
Name: Martial Arts & Midwifery
Story: Lin Moniao Series (AO3 link)
Colors: Electric Sky #2 (Quark)
Supplies and Styles: gesso, nubs; interactive art, portrait
Word Count: 5,798
Rating: teen
Warnings: Childbirth, supernatural creatures, reference to past abuse, knife fight.
Summary: Shen Shanwei returns to Anqing just in time to assist Yuwen Duyi in delivering an unusual child.
Note: Co-written withminutia_r . This is a scene between the events of Chasing the Bat and Mid-Autumn Festival. Also available on AO3 here.
Mods - I accidentally tagged this mural, could you remove that tag?
*
Shen Shanwei looks up at the treacherous sky, his wide-brimmed hat slung behind his back by its strings. It looks like the clouds could erupt at any moment.
The land around the city of Anqing is broken up into ragged lakes, with the river flowing through, and the waters are now dull under heavy skies. Boats are docked and their sails tightly bound in anticipation of inclement weather. At least cover will be available soon, provided that Shen Shanwei and his horse manage to squeeze through the crowd milling at the city gates.
Xiao Bao, a dun workhorse who has been faithfully and steadily carrying him all the way from Kaifeng, flicks his ears, eyeing an open bag of fruit on the back of the cart up ahead. He takes a prancing step forward and closes his teeth around a persimmon. The cart rolls on. Shen Shanwei pats the animal's neck, not bothering to reprimand him for the theft. He could use a snack himself.
So close to home, and yet it will still be several hours' ride beyond Anqing before he can reach his sect brothers at the Illustrious Qilin Villa. The storm looks like it won't last the night; maybe there is still a chance to make it tonight, even if he has to scale the walls to get in.
Shen Shanwei prides himself as a man of reason, not sentiment. Still, the thought of coming home brings on a strange consternation. He's been away long enough on his mission in the north that he cannot quite say how things might have changed. He may have changed too much himself. And while he's chosen to come back to the sect and to Yuwen Duyi, and never expected to choose otherwise, there's a pang of regret at the narrowing of the choices he still has available to him.
No point in dwelling on any of it, he tells himself sternly as the bottleneck breaks, and he and Xiao Bao slip into the press to enter the city.
People on the streets are rushing to finish their business or to return to their homes before the storm hits. Even the proprietors of food carts are packing up their wares and folding their awnings as Shen Shanwei rides past, taking with them any hope of snatching some roasted peanuts or fried eels on the way. The temple's peaked tower is visible between the buildings of the main street, and at the corner, just ahead, savory-smelling steam wafts out the front door of a dumpling shop.
It's a shop well known to members of the sect visiting the town on errands, and it's too much to resist. Xiao Bao may have to get his tail wet, judging by what little space there is left for animals under the shades even as customers disappear. Shanwei had meant to leave offerings and seek shelter at the temple, but it will still be there after he's filled his belly, won't it?
The horse whinnies a complaint at being tied up; Shen Shanwei soothes him and promises to be back with a snack, and pushes through the door into the shop, following his nose.
Some of the customers are heading out, but others are apparently determined to wait out the storm here; most of the tables are still occupied. Among the mixed clientele, one richly-dressed woman sitting alone at a table stands out, in sky-blue silk robes and white jade combs holding up her steel-gray hair.
There probably isn't much chance of seeing a familiar face from the sect here today. Shen Shanwei doesn't look like a follower of Yu himself right now--he's still wearing his traveling robe and carrying a bulky bag, though he's tied his uniform's black belt with its red embroidery around his waist, and the sect's signature dagger hangs on his hips.
The proprietor bustles up, an apron tied across his broad frame and his hair tucked up under a kerchief, looking somewhat harassed. "Welcome to the young master--apologies for the--" Then he gets a closer look at Shen Shanwei. "Young Master Shen? It is Shen Shanwei?"
"Yes, hello, Meng Wanjing," Shen Shanwei says politely. "I'm glad to see you are still doing such good business. If there are no tables available, I can wait." He is speaking to Meng Wanjing, but his eyes stray towards the woman in blue. With the way she carries herself, she strikes him as a cultivator, but which cultivating sect dresses in blue and white?
"That's just it," Meng Wanjing says, following Shen Shanwei's look. "The lady says she's answering a call from the Qilin Villa for a spiritual healer. This humble one gave her directions to the Villa, but she says no, she's wanted in Anqing."
In that case, sect brothers must be nearby, and he can't ignore her. He thanks Meng Wanjing and approaches the lady, putting his hands together for a bow. "Madame, excuse me. I am Shen Shanwei of the Illustrious Qilin Villa Sect."
"Oh?" She looks him up and down, eyes crinkling in some hidden amusement. Up close, her dress is even more ostentatious, with long gold earrings dangling from her ears, an embroidered scene of pine forests on her lapels, cuffs, and sash, and a pair of waist ornaments hanging from it, one of white jade with a snow-white tassel, and the other agate with a flame-colored tassel. "You're not quite what I was expecting, which just goes to show one shouldn't assume. I am Kun Xuerong, and I have come in answer to your call for a healer. Are you a midwife, Shen Shanwei?"
"Forgive my ignorance of the details." Shen Shanwei hopes his face does not betray too much of his mortification, and he clasps his hands again as a kind of a ward between the two of them. "I have just returned from a long journey. You must be looking for my shijie."
Yuwen Duyi is the only female cultivator currently in residence at the Villa, since Sect Leader Niu is on her way to Kaifeng if not already arrived, and also their most accomplished physician. However, this healer looks far too expensive to have been called in just to help with a delivery. Perhaps the family in question is very wealthy.
"Ah. I hope the weather hasn't delayed her. Have a dumpling in the meantime," Madame Kun says, pushing her half empty plate of dumplings towards him, then picking another one from it for herself.
Every instinct tells him to treat this lady with reverence as someone higher in rank, but with the shop this busy, it might otherwise be some time before he can get a bite to eat, and so his stomach makes the decision for him. He sits down, with thanks, and picks up a dumpling.
A pair of waiters are rushing between tables, and from the kitchen comes the sound of banging pots, spitting oil, a muffled slap and a hissed threat, "If I see another lizard around here--" Shen Shanwei twists around restlessly, and just then the door bangs, and he sees Yuwen Duyi with an oilskin hood up over her bald head hurrying into the shop, a large bag at her side.
He would know her shape and brusque manner anywhere. He's half out of his seat when she sees him. "Duyi!"
A moment of stunned silence, then she rushes up to crush him in a hug. She holds him at arm's length and looks him up and down. "They let you come back! What happened to your uniform? Have you been eating?"
"I always eat." He grasps her elbows and squeezes, throat constricting. It's good to see her so well. "Duyi, this is the healer, Madame Kun."
He moves back, pushing Duyi towards the lady. What a terrible impression she must be getting of the sect, all unkempt youths barging about. But Duyi's manner changes immediately, and though she still squeezes his arm (too hard), her face goes carefully professional and she bows to Madame Kun.
"Thank you for answering my summons. My apologies for tardiness."
Madame Kun inclines her head. "I understand it's a delicate matter. But wherever we're going, we had better get there quickly. Perhaps you can explain along the way."
"Yes, madame. It is not far."
The storm is now fully upon them, the rain slamming down on the empty streets and the wind rattling the roof tiles, but Shen Shanwei has his hat and Yuwen Duyi her oilskin cloak. Madame Kun has a cloak as well---white fur, and the rain seems to barely touch it. Shen Shanwei regrets leaving Xiao Bao, but the horse is better off where he is, huddled under the wooden shades outside the shop.
The patient, Duyi explains, is a commoner, and is due any moment now, but her pregnancy is unusual and threatens the mother's life, beyond the skills of an ordinary midwife. She is alone in the world, and the sect has agreed to help. "And as Madame Kun surmised, it is a delicate matter." Through the roar of the rain and wind, Shen Shanwei just hears Duyi tell the healer, "The father is a demon."
--
Two weeks earlier in Anqing, though the market stalls were full of paper creations for the Hungry Ghosts Festival that was due in just a few days, there was an impromptu party of a different kind in progress. Not much work was getting done with the masters of the Illustrious Qilin Villa Sect in town; instead, the people crowded the steps of the temple where Master Wu and Master Guo held court, to bring their petitions and complaints, to touch the masters' sleeves, or simply to be able to say that they had seen them.
The masters were flanked by their students, and Yuwen Duyi. She'd fought hard for a place among Master Wu's disciples, afraid of being cast aside after the death of her own Master Gao. She'd pushed herself to a spiritual breakthrough, heedless of the consequences--a qi deviation that had left its marks on her body and spirit. Her lost hair, she didn't miss. She'd never been a beauty anyway. She'd never been sweet-tempered either, but she still found herself disturbed by how close to the surface anger and violence boiled afterwards. And while Master Wu had accepted her, she knew she didn't belong among his students. She had never belonged anywhere but with Master Gao, and he was gone.
Among the crowd on the temple steps, Duyi's eye was drawn to someone else who was also set apart, in the crowd but not part of it. While some people pushed to the front, clamoring to be heard, one hung back at the fringes, darting wary glances at the cultivators while seemingly trying to evade notice herself: a young woman with a broad face and hunted eyes, wearing a short robe which had seen better days, and leather leggings beneath it, her hair twisted into a knot at the top of her head and woven through with a red ribbon.
It was only when the masters had gone into the temple to make their offerings and the young men's attention was drawn elsewhere that she dared to approach, falling to her knees in front of Yuwen Duyi. Then it became obvious what hadn't been apparent at first glance--the young woman was pregnant, the apron of her robe cinched above the gentle but unmistakable swell of her belly as she leaned over it to touch her forehead to the stones of the temple steps.
"Begging young mistress's indulgence," she said. "This humble one feared to speak to the masters, but she has heard that a physician of great renown lives at the Qilin Villa, and that this physician has a talented student, a young woman. Then, young mistress must be the one spoken of."
"Yes, my master was Gao Chengyi." The name still filled her mouth with the taste of resentment and grief, but Duyi ignored it and reached her hands towards the woman to help her back up. "Stand up. I'm Yuwen Duyi. Let's talk privately. I'll help you if I can."
There must have been a reason she had sought out a woman physician. From what Duyi could see, the pregnancy was advanced, but there were still things that could be done relatively safely to end it. It was just gruesome work, and privacy would be of utmost importance. But then, just because Duyi herself had been dwelling on the subject of induced miscarriage recently did not mean that that was what this young woman was asking for.
The woman took Duyi's hands and stood. "Mistress Yuwen is very kind. This Lei Peizhi has a room, not too far, but she shouldn't trouble--there must be somewhere nearby we can talk--" Her eyes darted towards the temple garden by the side of the steps.
The garden was open, and the crowds were starting to disperse, but there didn't seem to be anyone else there at the moment. "Come along." Duyi tried a smile--it may not have reached her eyes, her heart was still too broken, but she hoped it would calm the patient down. She hovered a hand by Lei Peizhi's arm as they walked together into the garden and found a quiet spot in the lee of a tall statue. "I will not betray your trust, Mrs Lei. What troubles you?"
"I haven't known where to turn--" Lei Peizhi hugged her arms over her chest. "My family lives far away, and my husband has been--missing for some time. And the child's time is coming, and I'm afraid it won't be a normal birth." She dropped her eyes and spoke barely above a whisper. "My husband is not a man."
"I see," Duyi said, though she wasn't sure she did. That could mean a few different things. In any case this wasn't the time to break out of her professional demeanor. "What complications have you been experiencing?"
"I have been carrying it since before the Spring Festival, and it's still so small. But so active--sometimes I feel it will tear me from the inside--and I cannot sleep, though I'm tired all the time--I've been sleeping with a wool blanket even in the summer, and my hands and feet are always cold--I have to pee so much…" She bit her lip and color rose to her face. "Maybe you will say these are all ordinary things. But what will happen when the time comes and I call for the midwife and she sees the child's demon nature? Mistress Yuwen is a cultivator. She will know what to do."
Duyi tried her best to control her tone. "The father is a demon? Of what nature? How--"
"He was--he is a fox demon. He left on a hunt shortly after we learned…" Lei Peizhi hugged her belly protectively. "It's been so long. Maybe he met with some accident. I know he'll come back, he always has, but in the meantime…"
Some accident, or else he just got bored, or was unwilling to shoulder the responsibilities of fatherhood. Demons could be fickle. So could men. But all Duyi said to the anxious mother-to-be was, "Mrs Lei was right to tell us. You will need a cultivator when the time comes."
She needed a miracle. Yuwen Duyi was a physician, not a spiritual healer. Still, if the child would wait a little longer, she had time to send for one. "I will come back to examine you after the Hungry Ghosts Festival, and I will be there when the time comes."
"Yes. Thank you." Lei Peizhi knelt again, clasping her hands in front of her, eyes shining with relief and gratitude. "I know it will be alright now."
--
"Foolish girl," Madame Kun says, her lips pinched in irritation. "These couplings between demons and humans are nothing but trouble."
"She may not have had much say in it." For the first time, Duyi's tone turns harsh, and Madame Kun gives her a hard look in her turn. "Even if she thinks they are married, fox demons are tricksters and manipulators. He could have made her believe whatever he wanted."
Shen Shanwei touches her hand, though she may not even feel it through the chill of the rain.
Demon sightings are rare; it's always something that happens to someone else's cousin or aunt. He has never seen hide nor hair of one himself, despite all his time in the sect. Neither is he any use at a childbirth. There isn't anything for him to say, so to busy himself in the moment of silence he peeks into his bag. He thought he'd noticed something small slip in as he picked it up--and right enough, there's a small gecko blinking up at him. He puts a finger down tentatively to see if the creature might want to climb out. The gecko approaches the offered hand and flicks its tongue at him, but doesn't seem inclined to leave the safe, dry confines of the bag, so he lets it be.
Duyi leads Shen Shanwei and Madame Kun to a house that may once have been fine, or at least respectable, but is now ramshackle and divided into many individual rooms crowded around a central courtyard. There is no guard or housekeeper at the gate, and they can walk right through, though on a less stormy day there would certainly be neighbors peeking from every window to see such an unusual group approaching, especially with Madame Kun in her finery. Today, however, they will likely pass unnoticed.
The patient's room is on the second floor, up a rickety staircase which must have been a later addition to the house.
Duyi knocks on the door. "Lei Peizhi? I've found us a healer. Can I come in?" Now, there is no harshness in her. Shen Shanwei smiles to himself. Not a many people get to see Duyi be this gentle, but it's important to her to be a good doctor, and this is part of it.
Lightning flashes, and the three figures on the stairs are lit up starkly, as if on a cloudless day. Sounds of shuffling come from inside the room, and a thin voice: "Mistress Yuwen! I knew you'd come." The door unlatches and is pulled open, and behind it stands a young woman, her eyes sunken and exhausted, strands of hair plastered to her forehead with sweat. She's dressed only in a short inner robe, the front of which is soaked through. For a moment, her face clears, seeing Duyi, but then she takes in the others with her and shrinks back. "Madame," she says faintly.
"Silly girl." Madame Kun sounds like an indulgent auntie now, something rich and satisfied in her voice. "I'm here to help."
Lei Peizhi nods, not saying anything else, but she clings tightly to Duyi's hand with both of hers, which are icy cold.
Shen Shanwei can't help but stare at the soaked-through robe. He knows very little about childbirth. What--is it happening now? Why isn't anyone panicking?
The crack of thunder splits the sky, rattling the staircase.
"Alright, let's have a look at you," Duyi says, rubbing Lei Peizhi's hands. She hands Shen Shanwei her bag and indicates Lei Peizhi should sit down. "Shanwei, make up a bowl of warm water for washing. Madame Kun, the patient has been suffering from chills and heightened yin, and a long and restless pregnancy."
Obediently, Lei Peizhi sits, bracing her back against the wall. Madame Kun kneels beside her, shedding her fur cloak and rolling back her sleeves, but otherwise showing a shocking lack of concern for her fine clothes. "Of course she has." She shakes her head, looks back up at Duyi. "If you can bring her energies under control, I will try to see how far things have progressed."
As Madame Kun moves around Lei Peizhi, the young woman reaches towards her as if to grab something, but Madame Kun clicks her tongue and Lei Peizhi grabs a fistful of her own robe instead, then throws her head back with a groan.
"It hurts," she gasps. "Yuwen-jie, help--don't let--" The rest of her words are cut off in a cry.
"Mrs Lei, hold my hand," Duyi is saying. "Breathe steadily."
Peizhi tries to follow Duyi's instructions, but her breath is coming short, her eyes wide and terrified. She makes as if to scramble backwards and away when Madame Kun kneels between her legs, but she's already backed up against the wall.
Shen Shanwei is busy searching around frantically for a bowl to pour the hot water in and mix with the cold for something slightly warmer than skin temperature. He opens a window to shove a bucket outside in the rain to replenish the stores. He's helped Duyi out with patients before, but--baby! Demon baby! Duyi and Madame Kun are fussing over the mother, and all he can do is try to follow instructions as promptly as possible.
Unnoticed among all this, the gecko slips out of Shen Shanwei's bag.
"Madame Kun, how does it look?"
"It's not likely to be a long delivery. The trouble with human babies is they all have such large heads, and I don't think that's the case here. However, human babies also generally lack claws."
"Shh, it'll be alright." Shen Shanwei can see Duyi is trying to soothe the patient, but she keeps thrashing, and their connection cannot be stable enough for her to balance the mother's energies. "We're here to help."
Poor woman, Shen Shanwei thinks as he looks down at his useless hands. She doesn't trust anyone but Duyi. Madame Kun could really stand to act a little kinder. He shouldn't be here, but he can't leave, either. Maybe he can... mop up the blood afterwards... His stomach lurches. Dear heaven.
If this is a short delivery, Shen Shanwei should really never attend a long one. It seems to last forever, time only marked by the mother's periodic heart-rending screams. But presently, after a particularly drawn out one, Madame Kun says, "Ah, there's the crown. And the ears."
She leans forward, perhaps to catch the child, but in that moment something crosses the floor in a blur and Madame Kun startles back, brushing at the front of her robes, and it's up to Duyi to complete the delivery.
She's there with her hands held out, keeping up an encouraging monologue for the mother. Shen Shanwei can't be sure when it's done, but then he sees Duyi pick up the knife she'd had him sear in fire before and—that must be tying off the umbilical cord… he picks up the clean clothes and yet another bowl of lukewarm water and approaches cautiously.
In Duyi's hands is a fox kit, round and brown and covered in fluids. He still can't quite believe it. If it was anyone else, he'd say the kit had been stashed in Duyi's bag and the whole thing had been elaborate theater. Duyi's already wrapped up a lot of mess in cloth on the floor, but the mother's thighs are still bloody. Shen Shanwei puts another cloth over her.
"Here, give me that," Duyi demands, grabs one of his cloths, and wipes down and wraps up the newborn kit, then presses it directly on the mother's breast. "Lie back now. You did well."
With a soft sigh, Peizhi relaxes, closing her eyes and stroking the kit's back.
Then Madame Kun says, "Let me examine the child, dear."
Peizhi's eyes snap open. "No," she whispers, but her hands are already scooping up her kit, removing it from her breast. There is something unnatural in the motion. The fox-child, its eyes still glued shut, lets out a thin whine of complaint.
Madame Kun's mouth stretches into a wide, pointy-toothed smile. "Good girl."
"Who are you?" Peizhi's voice cracks as she slowly holds out her child. "Why do you wear my husband's talisman?"
"Your husband! What nonsense," Madame Kun says briskly. "You're just some scrap of a human girl my son picked up, no different than any other. And once the child is gone, he'll forget you quickly enough."
Duyi steps in between them and pushes the kit back to Lei Peizhi's breast. "Madame Kun, you tricked me! Grandmother or not, newborns need their mothers. Mrs Lei needs to nurse. Stand back."
Her voice is professional but firm, but Shen Shanwei knows her well enough to recognize that she is furious. It sets his teeth on edge, and he's already up with his arms out, ready to soothe tempers. Ever since Duyi's qi deviation, once that emotion is in motion, there is little stopping it, and they'll end up in a brawl right in front of the mother and newborn if he doesn't calm things down first. "Madame Kun, there is plenty of time to inspect the, the child. Here, wash your hands at least. Have some water. There is still some boiling, I can make tea."
Lei Peizhi might not have any tea leaves, but he might have some still crumbled up at the bottom of his bag...
His bag. Where had that little gecko gone, he wondered? He thought he'd seen it rush out in the middle of the birth. But just as Shen Shanwei remembers the creature, he feels something scamper up his back and settle into his collar. He bats at his neck.
"Do you think you can stop me?" Madame Kun laughs, a series of short, sharp barks, and her fingers elongate into claws. "Fly along home, little birds. This is none of your concern."
Duyi's face cracks as her composure gives away at last. "You will harm the child if you take it, you stupid old bitch! Do you even have a wet-nurse waiting? Get out of here!"
Heaven protect them, they cannot fight a demon--can they? It doesn't seem to be a question of choice anymore. With those claws out, Duyi is going to get herself ripped apart.
Shen Shanwei is not strong enough to grab the grandmother and throw her bodily out the window, and he gets the feeling this fox demon could stop him just with the force of her magic if she got the chance. There is no tricking her, nor any time for any elaborate plan. Shen Shanwei draws out a thin needle hidden inside his belt and launches himself at the demon's back.
Distracted as Madame Kun and Duyi are with each other, and with her elegantly swept up hair, a moment of focus is all it takes. The needle sinks into the acupoint at the back of her neck and as it does, the light of Madame Kun's commanding will goes out of her eyes, replaced by feral rage.
The Big Hammer Acupoint dimmed, her mental powers have diminished. Even so, she swipes at Duyi's belly with her claws, and while Duyi manages to back away enough to avoid getting disemboweled, it still staggers her.
Peizhi, scrambling away backwards to try to escape the brawl, shielding her baby with her arms, screams, "Miss Yuwen! The talisman, get--"
"Silence, girl!" Madame Kun hisses, and Peizhi's mouth snaps shut.
Talisman! There are two hanging at the lady's belt. Shanwei sees Duyi notice them too. In a flash, her dagger is in her hands, but then she stops, shocked, staring into Madame Kun's face as the demon approaches her, claws still out.
Shen Shanwei curses. He'd guessed Madame Kun would try something like--like--he nearly topples to the floor himself when he sees, in profile, the face Madame Kun's magic has given her. Those are Master Gao's piercing eyes, and Master Gao's lined, sharp features. Shen Shanwei remembers the last time he saw those eyes and it's a wonder he gets his own limbs to move at all.
Master Gao had saved Shen Shanwei from a ditch, and had finished raising Duyi, had won her whole heart and used it for his own gain. The greedy, lecherous old fraud. For a moment he is back in the room where Master Gao died, leaning over him on the bed. With the alcohol he had poured into him, the acupoints he had blocked, he still had to watch him to make sure he would never stand up again.
Knowing Duyi would never forgive him if she found out.
"It's magic, Duyi!" he cries out in frustration. "Master Gao is dead! It's not him!" But Duyi only takes a step back.
In desperation, he draws his dagger and stabs it down towards the demon's back.
The blade slices clean through Madame Kun's sash, and the ornaments hanging from it clatter to the floor. She turns to him with a furious howl, but as she does her body is already shrinking, changing, until he's facing the bared teeth of a snow-white vixen.
Snarling, the vixen gives him a glare before pouncing towards the fallen talismans, but before she can reach them the gecko pelts down his sleeve onto the floor--
And a handsome young man dressed in hunting leathers, with a reddish-tinged beard and reddish-tinged hair caught at the base of his neck in a ponytail, stands up, one talisman in each hand. He fastens the flame-colored one on his own sash and holds the snow-colored one above his head.
"Just try it, mother," he says grimly, drawing a long, thin staff from where it's strapped to his back.
The vixen looks from him, to Shen Shanwei, to Yuwen Duyi, to Peizhi and the baby huddled behind them, and, with one last frustrated growl, turns tail and leaps out the window.
It's over so quickly. Shen Shanwei sheathes his dagger. He turns to Duyi, and sees the lost look in her eyes. "That was a cruel trick." He goes up to her side and tugs at her sleeve. "Duyi, it's over, you did it, you protected them. She's gone."
Duyi touches his hand on her sleeve and he releases it, seeing her pull herself back together. "You're the husband," she says to the man, still suspicious. But she's already turning back towards Lei Peizhi and the fox-child. "Are you alright? You didn't get hurt?"
Shen Shanwei can't stop looking at Lei Peizhi's demon husband. He has never seen hair like the man has, but it makes sense: a red fox with red hair, a white fox with white hair. He puts his hands together and offers him a bow, though it is belated, considering they have been traveling together since the dumpling shop.
Peizhi shakes her head and opens her mouth to speak, but no sound comes out. She puts a hand to her throat, her eyes going wide with shock--but then her husband kneels next to her and scoops her and the baby up in his arms and carries them to the bed. She snuggles against his chest, a blissful smile spreading across her face, too happy in their reunion to be troubled about her sudden inability to speak.
She lies back and the child curls on her chest, fastening onto her breast at last. Her husband sits next to her for another minute, gazing down at the two of them and petting her hair, before standing and bowing low to Yuwen Duyi and Shen Shanwei. "I am Diao Fengmin. Thank you for protecting my family."
Duyi says, "Diao Fengmin, your wife appealed to the Illustrious Qilin Villa Sect for help. It's our duty as cultivators to protect the people." Which sounds very fine, considering what they both know cultivators get up to, but in Anqing at least, when it comes to the Qilin Villa, it's not far from the truth. "I'm afraid your mother put a silencing spell of some sort on Lei Peizhi. I hope you will be able to protect them from here on."
"But the sect will help, if needed," Shen Shanwei adds.
"I will protect them," Diao Fengmin says with determination. "My mother--I thought I could convince her to accept my marriage if I proved I was old and wise enough to take different forms, but she stole my talisman and trapped me in the most helpless one. I won't be caught again. And I am in your sect's debt. This isn't enough to repay it, but--" He offers the snow-white talisman. "It won't let you change shape if you're not a demon already, but I'm sure you can find a use for it. It's pretty, anyway."
Shen Shanwei accepts the talisman and holds it up, dangling from its string, for a better look. The masters wouldn't object to adding another treasure to the vault at the Villa, maybe even to trade it to another fox demon later. Master Wu would trade with the King of Hell himself if he could get a hold of that august person, he's sure. One demon's favor and another's displeasure--at least the scales are even.
"Let me have a look at her," Duyi says politely but firmly, and with Lei Peizhi nodding assent, she kneels next to her bed to look her over. When he dares, Shen Shanwei creeps close to get another look at the fox kit. As loving as mother and father are to the child, it does not even seem so strange anymore to see the furry nose pressed up against the mother's chest.
"Never let me attend one of these again," Shen Shanwei tells Yuwen Duyi after they say their goodbyes and leave the new parents with instructions. They are heading back to the dumpling shop to rescue poor Xiao Bao, if he hasn't been stolen yet.
Duyi barks a laugh. "Well, one more at least."
"How is it going?" Shen Shanwei looks down at her waist. With the loose robes and the wide belt, there is no discernible difference there yet.
"Stubborn. I have had a qi deviation, a spiritual breakthrough, and several fights, and the little beast still persists." She puts a hand to her belly. "You know, I think I felt a kick the other night?"
A kick! He feels the need to sit down, but if she's not keeling over, he won't, either. "Stubborn," he repeats. "Like you. I'll have my hands full."
"You'll have the stubbornest family under Heaven."
He reaches a hand out questioningly. Duyi clicks her tongue, but takes his wrist and presses it up against her taut stomach. He flattens his palm against it, but if there is any kicking going on, he's not feeling it yet.
They still have a lot to talk about and to plan for in the upcoming months, but at least the manipulative monster who might come and lay claim to Duyi's baby is well and gone. Shen Shanwei made sure of it.
And she's here, now, smiling through tired eyes. For that, he'd do it again.
Story: Lin Moniao Series (AO3 link)
Colors: Electric Sky #2 (Quark)
Supplies and Styles: gesso, nubs; interactive art, portrait
Word Count: 5,798
Rating: teen
Warnings: Childbirth, supernatural creatures, reference to past abuse, knife fight.
Summary: Shen Shanwei returns to Anqing just in time to assist Yuwen Duyi in delivering an unusual child.
Note: Co-written with
minutia_r . This is a scene between the events of Chasing the Bat and Mid-Autumn Festival. Also available on AO3 here. Mods - I accidentally tagged this mural, could you remove that tag?
*
Shen Shanwei looks up at the treacherous sky, his wide-brimmed hat slung behind his back by its strings. It looks like the clouds could erupt at any moment.
The land around the city of Anqing is broken up into ragged lakes, with the river flowing through, and the waters are now dull under heavy skies. Boats are docked and their sails tightly bound in anticipation of inclement weather. At least cover will be available soon, provided that Shen Shanwei and his horse manage to squeeze through the crowd milling at the city gates.
Xiao Bao, a dun workhorse who has been faithfully and steadily carrying him all the way from Kaifeng, flicks his ears, eyeing an open bag of fruit on the back of the cart up ahead. He takes a prancing step forward and closes his teeth around a persimmon. The cart rolls on. Shen Shanwei pats the animal's neck, not bothering to reprimand him for the theft. He could use a snack himself.
So close to home, and yet it will still be several hours' ride beyond Anqing before he can reach his sect brothers at the Illustrious Qilin Villa. The storm looks like it won't last the night; maybe there is still a chance to make it tonight, even if he has to scale the walls to get in.
Shen Shanwei prides himself as a man of reason, not sentiment. Still, the thought of coming home brings on a strange consternation. He's been away long enough on his mission in the north that he cannot quite say how things might have changed. He may have changed too much himself. And while he's chosen to come back to the sect and to Yuwen Duyi, and never expected to choose otherwise, there's a pang of regret at the narrowing of the choices he still has available to him.
No point in dwelling on any of it, he tells himself sternly as the bottleneck breaks, and he and Xiao Bao slip into the press to enter the city.
People on the streets are rushing to finish their business or to return to their homes before the storm hits. Even the proprietors of food carts are packing up their wares and folding their awnings as Shen Shanwei rides past, taking with them any hope of snatching some roasted peanuts or fried eels on the way. The temple's peaked tower is visible between the buildings of the main street, and at the corner, just ahead, savory-smelling steam wafts out the front door of a dumpling shop.
It's a shop well known to members of the sect visiting the town on errands, and it's too much to resist. Xiao Bao may have to get his tail wet, judging by what little space there is left for animals under the shades even as customers disappear. Shanwei had meant to leave offerings and seek shelter at the temple, but it will still be there after he's filled his belly, won't it?
The horse whinnies a complaint at being tied up; Shen Shanwei soothes him and promises to be back with a snack, and pushes through the door into the shop, following his nose.
Some of the customers are heading out, but others are apparently determined to wait out the storm here; most of the tables are still occupied. Among the mixed clientele, one richly-dressed woman sitting alone at a table stands out, in sky-blue silk robes and white jade combs holding up her steel-gray hair.
There probably isn't much chance of seeing a familiar face from the sect here today. Shen Shanwei doesn't look like a follower of Yu himself right now--he's still wearing his traveling robe and carrying a bulky bag, though he's tied his uniform's black belt with its red embroidery around his waist, and the sect's signature dagger hangs on his hips.
The proprietor bustles up, an apron tied across his broad frame and his hair tucked up under a kerchief, looking somewhat harassed. "Welcome to the young master--apologies for the--" Then he gets a closer look at Shen Shanwei. "Young Master Shen? It is Shen Shanwei?"
"Yes, hello, Meng Wanjing," Shen Shanwei says politely. "I'm glad to see you are still doing such good business. If there are no tables available, I can wait." He is speaking to Meng Wanjing, but his eyes stray towards the woman in blue. With the way she carries herself, she strikes him as a cultivator, but which cultivating sect dresses in blue and white?
"That's just it," Meng Wanjing says, following Shen Shanwei's look. "The lady says she's answering a call from the Qilin Villa for a spiritual healer. This humble one gave her directions to the Villa, but she says no, she's wanted in Anqing."
In that case, sect brothers must be nearby, and he can't ignore her. He thanks Meng Wanjing and approaches the lady, putting his hands together for a bow. "Madame, excuse me. I am Shen Shanwei of the Illustrious Qilin Villa Sect."
"Oh?" She looks him up and down, eyes crinkling in some hidden amusement. Up close, her dress is even more ostentatious, with long gold earrings dangling from her ears, an embroidered scene of pine forests on her lapels, cuffs, and sash, and a pair of waist ornaments hanging from it, one of white jade with a snow-white tassel, and the other agate with a flame-colored tassel. "You're not quite what I was expecting, which just goes to show one shouldn't assume. I am Kun Xuerong, and I have come in answer to your call for a healer. Are you a midwife, Shen Shanwei?"
"Forgive my ignorance of the details." Shen Shanwei hopes his face does not betray too much of his mortification, and he clasps his hands again as a kind of a ward between the two of them. "I have just returned from a long journey. You must be looking for my shijie."
Yuwen Duyi is the only female cultivator currently in residence at the Villa, since Sect Leader Niu is on her way to Kaifeng if not already arrived, and also their most accomplished physician. However, this healer looks far too expensive to have been called in just to help with a delivery. Perhaps the family in question is very wealthy.
"Ah. I hope the weather hasn't delayed her. Have a dumpling in the meantime," Madame Kun says, pushing her half empty plate of dumplings towards him, then picking another one from it for herself.
Every instinct tells him to treat this lady with reverence as someone higher in rank, but with the shop this busy, it might otherwise be some time before he can get a bite to eat, and so his stomach makes the decision for him. He sits down, with thanks, and picks up a dumpling.
A pair of waiters are rushing between tables, and from the kitchen comes the sound of banging pots, spitting oil, a muffled slap and a hissed threat, "If I see another lizard around here--" Shen Shanwei twists around restlessly, and just then the door bangs, and he sees Yuwen Duyi with an oilskin hood up over her bald head hurrying into the shop, a large bag at her side.
He would know her shape and brusque manner anywhere. He's half out of his seat when she sees him. "Duyi!"
A moment of stunned silence, then she rushes up to crush him in a hug. She holds him at arm's length and looks him up and down. "They let you come back! What happened to your uniform? Have you been eating?"
"I always eat." He grasps her elbows and squeezes, throat constricting. It's good to see her so well. "Duyi, this is the healer, Madame Kun."
He moves back, pushing Duyi towards the lady. What a terrible impression she must be getting of the sect, all unkempt youths barging about. But Duyi's manner changes immediately, and though she still squeezes his arm (too hard), her face goes carefully professional and she bows to Madame Kun.
"Thank you for answering my summons. My apologies for tardiness."
Madame Kun inclines her head. "I understand it's a delicate matter. But wherever we're going, we had better get there quickly. Perhaps you can explain along the way."
"Yes, madame. It is not far."
The storm is now fully upon them, the rain slamming down on the empty streets and the wind rattling the roof tiles, but Shen Shanwei has his hat and Yuwen Duyi her oilskin cloak. Madame Kun has a cloak as well---white fur, and the rain seems to barely touch it. Shen Shanwei regrets leaving Xiao Bao, but the horse is better off where he is, huddled under the wooden shades outside the shop.
The patient, Duyi explains, is a commoner, and is due any moment now, but her pregnancy is unusual and threatens the mother's life, beyond the skills of an ordinary midwife. She is alone in the world, and the sect has agreed to help. "And as Madame Kun surmised, it is a delicate matter." Through the roar of the rain and wind, Shen Shanwei just hears Duyi tell the healer, "The father is a demon."
--
Two weeks earlier in Anqing, though the market stalls were full of paper creations for the Hungry Ghosts Festival that was due in just a few days, there was an impromptu party of a different kind in progress. Not much work was getting done with the masters of the Illustrious Qilin Villa Sect in town; instead, the people crowded the steps of the temple where Master Wu and Master Guo held court, to bring their petitions and complaints, to touch the masters' sleeves, or simply to be able to say that they had seen them.
The masters were flanked by their students, and Yuwen Duyi. She'd fought hard for a place among Master Wu's disciples, afraid of being cast aside after the death of her own Master Gao. She'd pushed herself to a spiritual breakthrough, heedless of the consequences--a qi deviation that had left its marks on her body and spirit. Her lost hair, she didn't miss. She'd never been a beauty anyway. She'd never been sweet-tempered either, but she still found herself disturbed by how close to the surface anger and violence boiled afterwards. And while Master Wu had accepted her, she knew she didn't belong among his students. She had never belonged anywhere but with Master Gao, and he was gone.
Among the crowd on the temple steps, Duyi's eye was drawn to someone else who was also set apart, in the crowd but not part of it. While some people pushed to the front, clamoring to be heard, one hung back at the fringes, darting wary glances at the cultivators while seemingly trying to evade notice herself: a young woman with a broad face and hunted eyes, wearing a short robe which had seen better days, and leather leggings beneath it, her hair twisted into a knot at the top of her head and woven through with a red ribbon.
It was only when the masters had gone into the temple to make their offerings and the young men's attention was drawn elsewhere that she dared to approach, falling to her knees in front of Yuwen Duyi. Then it became obvious what hadn't been apparent at first glance--the young woman was pregnant, the apron of her robe cinched above the gentle but unmistakable swell of her belly as she leaned over it to touch her forehead to the stones of the temple steps.
"Begging young mistress's indulgence," she said. "This humble one feared to speak to the masters, but she has heard that a physician of great renown lives at the Qilin Villa, and that this physician has a talented student, a young woman. Then, young mistress must be the one spoken of."
"Yes, my master was Gao Chengyi." The name still filled her mouth with the taste of resentment and grief, but Duyi ignored it and reached her hands towards the woman to help her back up. "Stand up. I'm Yuwen Duyi. Let's talk privately. I'll help you if I can."
There must have been a reason she had sought out a woman physician. From what Duyi could see, the pregnancy was advanced, but there were still things that could be done relatively safely to end it. It was just gruesome work, and privacy would be of utmost importance. But then, just because Duyi herself had been dwelling on the subject of induced miscarriage recently did not mean that that was what this young woman was asking for.
The woman took Duyi's hands and stood. "Mistress Yuwen is very kind. This Lei Peizhi has a room, not too far, but she shouldn't trouble--there must be somewhere nearby we can talk--" Her eyes darted towards the temple garden by the side of the steps.
The garden was open, and the crowds were starting to disperse, but there didn't seem to be anyone else there at the moment. "Come along." Duyi tried a smile--it may not have reached her eyes, her heart was still too broken, but she hoped it would calm the patient down. She hovered a hand by Lei Peizhi's arm as they walked together into the garden and found a quiet spot in the lee of a tall statue. "I will not betray your trust, Mrs Lei. What troubles you?"
"I haven't known where to turn--" Lei Peizhi hugged her arms over her chest. "My family lives far away, and my husband has been--missing for some time. And the child's time is coming, and I'm afraid it won't be a normal birth." She dropped her eyes and spoke barely above a whisper. "My husband is not a man."
"I see," Duyi said, though she wasn't sure she did. That could mean a few different things. In any case this wasn't the time to break out of her professional demeanor. "What complications have you been experiencing?"
"I have been carrying it since before the Spring Festival, and it's still so small. But so active--sometimes I feel it will tear me from the inside--and I cannot sleep, though I'm tired all the time--I've been sleeping with a wool blanket even in the summer, and my hands and feet are always cold--I have to pee so much…" She bit her lip and color rose to her face. "Maybe you will say these are all ordinary things. But what will happen when the time comes and I call for the midwife and she sees the child's demon nature? Mistress Yuwen is a cultivator. She will know what to do."
Duyi tried her best to control her tone. "The father is a demon? Of what nature? How--"
"He was--he is a fox demon. He left on a hunt shortly after we learned…" Lei Peizhi hugged her belly protectively. "It's been so long. Maybe he met with some accident. I know he'll come back, he always has, but in the meantime…"
Some accident, or else he just got bored, or was unwilling to shoulder the responsibilities of fatherhood. Demons could be fickle. So could men. But all Duyi said to the anxious mother-to-be was, "Mrs Lei was right to tell us. You will need a cultivator when the time comes."
She needed a miracle. Yuwen Duyi was a physician, not a spiritual healer. Still, if the child would wait a little longer, she had time to send for one. "I will come back to examine you after the Hungry Ghosts Festival, and I will be there when the time comes."
"Yes. Thank you." Lei Peizhi knelt again, clasping her hands in front of her, eyes shining with relief and gratitude. "I know it will be alright now."
--
"Foolish girl," Madame Kun says, her lips pinched in irritation. "These couplings between demons and humans are nothing but trouble."
"She may not have had much say in it." For the first time, Duyi's tone turns harsh, and Madame Kun gives her a hard look in her turn. "Even if she thinks they are married, fox demons are tricksters and manipulators. He could have made her believe whatever he wanted."
Shen Shanwei touches her hand, though she may not even feel it through the chill of the rain.
Demon sightings are rare; it's always something that happens to someone else's cousin or aunt. He has never seen hide nor hair of one himself, despite all his time in the sect. Neither is he any use at a childbirth. There isn't anything for him to say, so to busy himself in the moment of silence he peeks into his bag. He thought he'd noticed something small slip in as he picked it up--and right enough, there's a small gecko blinking up at him. He puts a finger down tentatively to see if the creature might want to climb out. The gecko approaches the offered hand and flicks its tongue at him, but doesn't seem inclined to leave the safe, dry confines of the bag, so he lets it be.
Duyi leads Shen Shanwei and Madame Kun to a house that may once have been fine, or at least respectable, but is now ramshackle and divided into many individual rooms crowded around a central courtyard. There is no guard or housekeeper at the gate, and they can walk right through, though on a less stormy day there would certainly be neighbors peeking from every window to see such an unusual group approaching, especially with Madame Kun in her finery. Today, however, they will likely pass unnoticed.
The patient's room is on the second floor, up a rickety staircase which must have been a later addition to the house.
Duyi knocks on the door. "Lei Peizhi? I've found us a healer. Can I come in?" Now, there is no harshness in her. Shen Shanwei smiles to himself. Not a many people get to see Duyi be this gentle, but it's important to her to be a good doctor, and this is part of it.
Lightning flashes, and the three figures on the stairs are lit up starkly, as if on a cloudless day. Sounds of shuffling come from inside the room, and a thin voice: "Mistress Yuwen! I knew you'd come." The door unlatches and is pulled open, and behind it stands a young woman, her eyes sunken and exhausted, strands of hair plastered to her forehead with sweat. She's dressed only in a short inner robe, the front of which is soaked through. For a moment, her face clears, seeing Duyi, but then she takes in the others with her and shrinks back. "Madame," she says faintly.
"Silly girl." Madame Kun sounds like an indulgent auntie now, something rich and satisfied in her voice. "I'm here to help."
Lei Peizhi nods, not saying anything else, but she clings tightly to Duyi's hand with both of hers, which are icy cold.
Shen Shanwei can't help but stare at the soaked-through robe. He knows very little about childbirth. What--is it happening now? Why isn't anyone panicking?
The crack of thunder splits the sky, rattling the staircase.
"Alright, let's have a look at you," Duyi says, rubbing Lei Peizhi's hands. She hands Shen Shanwei her bag and indicates Lei Peizhi should sit down. "Shanwei, make up a bowl of warm water for washing. Madame Kun, the patient has been suffering from chills and heightened yin, and a long and restless pregnancy."
Obediently, Lei Peizhi sits, bracing her back against the wall. Madame Kun kneels beside her, shedding her fur cloak and rolling back her sleeves, but otherwise showing a shocking lack of concern for her fine clothes. "Of course she has." She shakes her head, looks back up at Duyi. "If you can bring her energies under control, I will try to see how far things have progressed."
As Madame Kun moves around Lei Peizhi, the young woman reaches towards her as if to grab something, but Madame Kun clicks her tongue and Lei Peizhi grabs a fistful of her own robe instead, then throws her head back with a groan.
"It hurts," she gasps. "Yuwen-jie, help--don't let--" The rest of her words are cut off in a cry.
"Mrs Lei, hold my hand," Duyi is saying. "Breathe steadily."
Peizhi tries to follow Duyi's instructions, but her breath is coming short, her eyes wide and terrified. She makes as if to scramble backwards and away when Madame Kun kneels between her legs, but she's already backed up against the wall.
Shen Shanwei is busy searching around frantically for a bowl to pour the hot water in and mix with the cold for something slightly warmer than skin temperature. He opens a window to shove a bucket outside in the rain to replenish the stores. He's helped Duyi out with patients before, but--baby! Demon baby! Duyi and Madame Kun are fussing over the mother, and all he can do is try to follow instructions as promptly as possible.
Unnoticed among all this, the gecko slips out of Shen Shanwei's bag.
"Madame Kun, how does it look?"
"It's not likely to be a long delivery. The trouble with human babies is they all have such large heads, and I don't think that's the case here. However, human babies also generally lack claws."
"Shh, it'll be alright." Shen Shanwei can see Duyi is trying to soothe the patient, but she keeps thrashing, and their connection cannot be stable enough for her to balance the mother's energies. "We're here to help."
Poor woman, Shen Shanwei thinks as he looks down at his useless hands. She doesn't trust anyone but Duyi. Madame Kun could really stand to act a little kinder. He shouldn't be here, but he can't leave, either. Maybe he can... mop up the blood afterwards... His stomach lurches. Dear heaven.
If this is a short delivery, Shen Shanwei should really never attend a long one. It seems to last forever, time only marked by the mother's periodic heart-rending screams. But presently, after a particularly drawn out one, Madame Kun says, "Ah, there's the crown. And the ears."
She leans forward, perhaps to catch the child, but in that moment something crosses the floor in a blur and Madame Kun startles back, brushing at the front of her robes, and it's up to Duyi to complete the delivery.
She's there with her hands held out, keeping up an encouraging monologue for the mother. Shen Shanwei can't be sure when it's done, but then he sees Duyi pick up the knife she'd had him sear in fire before and—that must be tying off the umbilical cord… he picks up the clean clothes and yet another bowl of lukewarm water and approaches cautiously.
In Duyi's hands is a fox kit, round and brown and covered in fluids. He still can't quite believe it. If it was anyone else, he'd say the kit had been stashed in Duyi's bag and the whole thing had been elaborate theater. Duyi's already wrapped up a lot of mess in cloth on the floor, but the mother's thighs are still bloody. Shen Shanwei puts another cloth over her.
"Here, give me that," Duyi demands, grabs one of his cloths, and wipes down and wraps up the newborn kit, then presses it directly on the mother's breast. "Lie back now. You did well."
With a soft sigh, Peizhi relaxes, closing her eyes and stroking the kit's back.
Then Madame Kun says, "Let me examine the child, dear."
Peizhi's eyes snap open. "No," she whispers, but her hands are already scooping up her kit, removing it from her breast. There is something unnatural in the motion. The fox-child, its eyes still glued shut, lets out a thin whine of complaint.
Madame Kun's mouth stretches into a wide, pointy-toothed smile. "Good girl."
"Who are you?" Peizhi's voice cracks as she slowly holds out her child. "Why do you wear my husband's talisman?"
"Your husband! What nonsense," Madame Kun says briskly. "You're just some scrap of a human girl my son picked up, no different than any other. And once the child is gone, he'll forget you quickly enough."
Duyi steps in between them and pushes the kit back to Lei Peizhi's breast. "Madame Kun, you tricked me! Grandmother or not, newborns need their mothers. Mrs Lei needs to nurse. Stand back."
Her voice is professional but firm, but Shen Shanwei knows her well enough to recognize that she is furious. It sets his teeth on edge, and he's already up with his arms out, ready to soothe tempers. Ever since Duyi's qi deviation, once that emotion is in motion, there is little stopping it, and they'll end up in a brawl right in front of the mother and newborn if he doesn't calm things down first. "Madame Kun, there is plenty of time to inspect the, the child. Here, wash your hands at least. Have some water. There is still some boiling, I can make tea."
Lei Peizhi might not have any tea leaves, but he might have some still crumbled up at the bottom of his bag...
His bag. Where had that little gecko gone, he wondered? He thought he'd seen it rush out in the middle of the birth. But just as Shen Shanwei remembers the creature, he feels something scamper up his back and settle into his collar. He bats at his neck.
"Do you think you can stop me?" Madame Kun laughs, a series of short, sharp barks, and her fingers elongate into claws. "Fly along home, little birds. This is none of your concern."
Duyi's face cracks as her composure gives away at last. "You will harm the child if you take it, you stupid old bitch! Do you even have a wet-nurse waiting? Get out of here!"
Heaven protect them, they cannot fight a demon--can they? It doesn't seem to be a question of choice anymore. With those claws out, Duyi is going to get herself ripped apart.
Shen Shanwei is not strong enough to grab the grandmother and throw her bodily out the window, and he gets the feeling this fox demon could stop him just with the force of her magic if she got the chance. There is no tricking her, nor any time for any elaborate plan. Shen Shanwei draws out a thin needle hidden inside his belt and launches himself at the demon's back.
Distracted as Madame Kun and Duyi are with each other, and with her elegantly swept up hair, a moment of focus is all it takes. The needle sinks into the acupoint at the back of her neck and as it does, the light of Madame Kun's commanding will goes out of her eyes, replaced by feral rage.
The Big Hammer Acupoint dimmed, her mental powers have diminished. Even so, she swipes at Duyi's belly with her claws, and while Duyi manages to back away enough to avoid getting disemboweled, it still staggers her.
Peizhi, scrambling away backwards to try to escape the brawl, shielding her baby with her arms, screams, "Miss Yuwen! The talisman, get--"
"Silence, girl!" Madame Kun hisses, and Peizhi's mouth snaps shut.
Talisman! There are two hanging at the lady's belt. Shanwei sees Duyi notice them too. In a flash, her dagger is in her hands, but then she stops, shocked, staring into Madame Kun's face as the demon approaches her, claws still out.
Shen Shanwei curses. He'd guessed Madame Kun would try something like--like--he nearly topples to the floor himself when he sees, in profile, the face Madame Kun's magic has given her. Those are Master Gao's piercing eyes, and Master Gao's lined, sharp features. Shen Shanwei remembers the last time he saw those eyes and it's a wonder he gets his own limbs to move at all.
Master Gao had saved Shen Shanwei from a ditch, and had finished raising Duyi, had won her whole heart and used it for his own gain. The greedy, lecherous old fraud. For a moment he is back in the room where Master Gao died, leaning over him on the bed. With the alcohol he had poured into him, the acupoints he had blocked, he still had to watch him to make sure he would never stand up again.
Knowing Duyi would never forgive him if she found out.
"It's magic, Duyi!" he cries out in frustration. "Master Gao is dead! It's not him!" But Duyi only takes a step back.
In desperation, he draws his dagger and stabs it down towards the demon's back.
The blade slices clean through Madame Kun's sash, and the ornaments hanging from it clatter to the floor. She turns to him with a furious howl, but as she does her body is already shrinking, changing, until he's facing the bared teeth of a snow-white vixen.
Snarling, the vixen gives him a glare before pouncing towards the fallen talismans, but before she can reach them the gecko pelts down his sleeve onto the floor--
And a handsome young man dressed in hunting leathers, with a reddish-tinged beard and reddish-tinged hair caught at the base of his neck in a ponytail, stands up, one talisman in each hand. He fastens the flame-colored one on his own sash and holds the snow-colored one above his head.
"Just try it, mother," he says grimly, drawing a long, thin staff from where it's strapped to his back.
The vixen looks from him, to Shen Shanwei, to Yuwen Duyi, to Peizhi and the baby huddled behind them, and, with one last frustrated growl, turns tail and leaps out the window.
It's over so quickly. Shen Shanwei sheathes his dagger. He turns to Duyi, and sees the lost look in her eyes. "That was a cruel trick." He goes up to her side and tugs at her sleeve. "Duyi, it's over, you did it, you protected them. She's gone."
Duyi touches his hand on her sleeve and he releases it, seeing her pull herself back together. "You're the husband," she says to the man, still suspicious. But she's already turning back towards Lei Peizhi and the fox-child. "Are you alright? You didn't get hurt?"
Shen Shanwei can't stop looking at Lei Peizhi's demon husband. He has never seen hair like the man has, but it makes sense: a red fox with red hair, a white fox with white hair. He puts his hands together and offers him a bow, though it is belated, considering they have been traveling together since the dumpling shop.
Peizhi shakes her head and opens her mouth to speak, but no sound comes out. She puts a hand to her throat, her eyes going wide with shock--but then her husband kneels next to her and scoops her and the baby up in his arms and carries them to the bed. She snuggles against his chest, a blissful smile spreading across her face, too happy in their reunion to be troubled about her sudden inability to speak.
She lies back and the child curls on her chest, fastening onto her breast at last. Her husband sits next to her for another minute, gazing down at the two of them and petting her hair, before standing and bowing low to Yuwen Duyi and Shen Shanwei. "I am Diao Fengmin. Thank you for protecting my family."
Duyi says, "Diao Fengmin, your wife appealed to the Illustrious Qilin Villa Sect for help. It's our duty as cultivators to protect the people." Which sounds very fine, considering what they both know cultivators get up to, but in Anqing at least, when it comes to the Qilin Villa, it's not far from the truth. "I'm afraid your mother put a silencing spell of some sort on Lei Peizhi. I hope you will be able to protect them from here on."
"But the sect will help, if needed," Shen Shanwei adds.
"I will protect them," Diao Fengmin says with determination. "My mother--I thought I could convince her to accept my marriage if I proved I was old and wise enough to take different forms, but she stole my talisman and trapped me in the most helpless one. I won't be caught again. And I am in your sect's debt. This isn't enough to repay it, but--" He offers the snow-white talisman. "It won't let you change shape if you're not a demon already, but I'm sure you can find a use for it. It's pretty, anyway."
Shen Shanwei accepts the talisman and holds it up, dangling from its string, for a better look. The masters wouldn't object to adding another treasure to the vault at the Villa, maybe even to trade it to another fox demon later. Master Wu would trade with the King of Hell himself if he could get a hold of that august person, he's sure. One demon's favor and another's displeasure--at least the scales are even.
"Let me have a look at her," Duyi says politely but firmly, and with Lei Peizhi nodding assent, she kneels next to her bed to look her over. When he dares, Shen Shanwei creeps close to get another look at the fox kit. As loving as mother and father are to the child, it does not even seem so strange anymore to see the furry nose pressed up against the mother's chest.
"Never let me attend one of these again," Shen Shanwei tells Yuwen Duyi after they say their goodbyes and leave the new parents with instructions. They are heading back to the dumpling shop to rescue poor Xiao Bao, if he hasn't been stolen yet.
Duyi barks a laugh. "Well, one more at least."
"How is it going?" Shen Shanwei looks down at her waist. With the loose robes and the wide belt, there is no discernible difference there yet.
"Stubborn. I have had a qi deviation, a spiritual breakthrough, and several fights, and the little beast still persists." She puts a hand to her belly. "You know, I think I felt a kick the other night?"
A kick! He feels the need to sit down, but if she's not keeling over, he won't, either. "Stubborn," he repeats. "Like you. I'll have my hands full."
"You'll have the stubbornest family under Heaven."
He reaches a hand out questioningly. Duyi clicks her tongue, but takes his wrist and presses it up against her taut stomach. He flattens his palm against it, but if there is any kicking going on, he's not feeling it yet.
They still have a lot to talk about and to plan for in the upcoming months, but at least the manipulative monster who might come and lay claim to Duyi's baby is well and gone. Shen Shanwei made sure of it.
And she's here, now, smiling through tired eyes. For that, he'd do it again.
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Did you want a story tag for this?
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Anyway. This is such a cool little story, unexpected villain and Shanwei's "urgh"-ness and everything. Best of luck to that family and to Yuwen.
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Yes, it is; I am terribly fond of Ilthit's horse names.
And thank you! I'm glad the villain reveal wasn't entirely predictable XD And yeah, Duyi has a long road ahead but at least she's got Shanwei in her corner as long as she'll let him be there.