Beware Of Chicken

The warm sunlight streamed through the windows of his office as the Lord Magistrate worked. The beads of the abacus he was using clicked across the frame in rapid succession. The Lord Magistrate was confirming the upkeep for Verdant Hill, a routine task. Seeing his numbers line up with what was already written down by his clerk, Tingfeng, he nodded, satisfied.

His subordinates were by and large competent, yet he always made sure everything was in order himself before he commanded it be done. Patience was a bitter plant, but its fruit was sweet.

He let out a sigh and turned back to look out of the window, reflecting on the past several weeks. With most of the cultivators gone, it had been largely quiet. No sudden roads appearing out of nowhere, no new reports of tainted wells, and no spirit beasts walking around doing who knows what, but Hong Meiling, or “Sister Medical Fairy,” had visited his wife last week. Out of all of them, she was the least concerning. He could at least still pretend that she was just a villager, and his wife enjoyed her visits, so he turned a blind eye.

That and the girl had been treating his beloved. He’d do more than turn a blind eye for achieving the results she had.

The “Medical Fairy” had brought along some new medicinal draught in her most recent visit. It had improved his dear’s condition immensely. He had watched as some of her old vigor returned to her. His wife was downright energetic, which was both surprising and welcome. It was good to go on walks through the town with her as a more daily occurrence, rather than something reserved for special occasions. She had even made noises about taking up riding again, instead of being carried in a palanquin.

For that, Hong Meiling would have his eternal gratitude. Her husband was a gut-churning menace but she was obviously the milder, more gentle of the two, no matter what the rumors about her “poison tongue” said. They were obviously mistaken. The girl was a gentle healer, and likely as mild in temperament as her father. A good man. Fools, the lot of them!

Indeed her visit had been most pleasant. Not just for the healing his wife received but the other gift she had given his wife in private.

That wonderful outfit.

He didn’t know why it had rabbit ears, but the overall effect was quite appealing—er—of course, cultivators were deviants, one and all. The girl had obviously been corrupted by Rou Jin. No wonder they had such… depraved garments. The fishnets on the legs were an inspired idea however.

It would be a bit awkward to commission the fishnets in that manner though. Or he could try his hand at it. He had made most of their ropes to his exacting standards.

He was wondering how such a thing would look on his own legs when a gentle rap at the door alerted him to his head dispatcher, Muyang. The man came in with the reports from the transmission stone. While the larger towns and the cities normally had messages come in at all hours of the day, unless it was an emergency the stone at Verdant Hill only got messages once a week. His town was too far away and the stone too unreliable for more than that.

What followed was a standard report from Pale Moon Lake City. The Lord Magistrate listened with half an ear to his man as he summarized things. Reports on what the predicted tax total would be, several obituaries of more prominent clerks or members of the court, a report on several areas that had been experiencing weather difficulty. Following this was a reminder to file taxes appropriately, and that next year a random sampling of villages would be visited by the Auditors.

All very standard and nothing to be concerned about.

“That concludes the official governmental reports. Onto other matters of importance. There was a transmission from the Azure Jade Trading Company. They say that they will be sending an important representative to the north and will be seeking an audience with yourself.”

That was mildly concerning. But the fact of the matter was that if they were coming for the reason the Lord Magistrate thought… it would probably be for the Gold-Grade Rice.

“Is that everything for today?” the Lord Magistrate asked.

“There was one last report, sir.” Muyang said, “The results of the Dueling Peaks Tournament.”

For a moment he considered just waving his man off. He didn’t particularly care who won what, but it was good to be informed just in case one of them decided to visit or something. In the past he would have thought it impossible… but that was the past. Now he had an entire sect’s worth of cultivators barely a week away.

“Let us hear which of our virtuous protectors gained merit then.” He decided.

“In First Place was Cai Xiulan, the Demon-Slaying Orchid.”

The Lord Magistrate nodded and picked up his tea to take a sip.

“And in second… a Rou Tigu was the runner up.”

Every muscle in his body clenched, but the Lord Magistrate managed to resist the urge to spit out his tea, instead, he forced himself to swallow. “From the—ah, no sect listed, Lord Magistrate.”

Rou Tigu. The cultivator’s cat had placed second in the Dueling Peaks Tournament. The Heavens truly wished to see him cry, did they not?

“Hmm. Interesting,” the Lord Magistrate said instead as sweat beaded on his forehead.

“Finally, there was some kind of minor altercation? The reports are a bit unclear, but there was some manner of drunken brawl that was resolved before it could do any damage.”

“Thank you, Muyang,” he said, dismissing the man before leaning back into his seat and groaning. The Azure Jade Trading Company wanting to talk to him, the cat nearly winning the biggest tournament in the Azure Hills—!

The Lord Magistrate reached out and poured some wine into his tea. He groaned. Maybe he should have become a farmer. Then he wouldn’t have to deal with any of this. He had seen Rou Jin’s home, it was quite idyllic, and he could have probably created something just as beautiful.

It was good land, now that it was cleared. And it would be quiet, with a mild woman like Hong Meiling tending to it…

Ah, well, a man could dream.

===============================================

“If you please, Wa Shi!” Meiling commanded. The dragon obliged her by opening his mouth and issuing forth a torrent of lightning. The blue bolts of energy split the air with a loud crack and left the vessel he had hit steaming.

It had been mostly an accident at first. Meiling had asked Wa Shi to start a fire for her when she was experimenting with Jin’s spiritual herbs. The lazy fish had just blasted the general direction with lightning and some of the Qi discharge had struck the herbs.

Instead of being ruined, the resulting extract took on a greenish glow as if lit from within. The extract had much more potency… or at least seemed to work faster. It almost felt like Meiling’s own medicinal Qi, though purifying in a different way. After several tests on herself and some unfortunate fish… she had deemed the mixture suitable enough to attempt to purge the last dregs of foreign Qi out of Lady Wu’s system.

The results had been better than even Meiling could hope for once administered through acupuncture deep into her muscles.

Now Meiling was doing what Jin always said. Repeatable, consistent results.

“Hmmm. It's consistently different from using fire, it produces more liquid for one thing… Mark down the hair-root fungus for this one, please, Pi Pa,” she asked and the pig obligingly wrote something down on a piece of paper. “I think I know what Ancestor Hong Xian the Thirty-Second was saying about the liquid. He must have gotten a batch that was struck by lightning, or at least in proximity to the strike.” She trailed off as she examined the fungus.

Another question lingered, what else changed if struck by lightning? Most of the time she ended up with nothing but charred remains, but she had an inkling that perhaps she could get better results out of some of the herbs with a lower, more consistent application. A lower charge over a longer period of time.

She had little idea how to go about that though.

Meiling sighed and sat back, humming as she thought on what to have for lunch… when a scent was carried to her on the breeze. Or several scents.

The warmth and the harvest. The slightly medicinal smell of Hong Yaowu. An undercurrent of fox. High notes of the moon.

A smile broke out across Meiling’s face and she sprang back up, her grin widening.

‘Home! Home!’ Chun Ke oinked happily.

Meiling grinned and scratched his mane.

“Yes, home very soon,” Meiling agreed as she pulled off the thick mask she used to cover the bottom of her face. Right outside Hong Yaowu, or maybe even in it. The range that smells came to her was a bit… inconsistent at times, but she was getting better at guessing the distances.

She had work to do! Everybody was coming back home!

Meiling planned a feast for everyone and began by pulling the fermenting “pizza” dough from the river. Wa Shi filled pots for boiling. Pi Pa scurried around placing ingredients for Meiling to cut and stirring pots for stew, and Chun Ke helped as best as he could, shuffling around cheerily.

The scent got closer and closer, after it stopped for a while in what she thought was the village. With most of the prep work done, Meiling set out of the house, took a seat on the porch, and simply waited.

She did not have to wait long.

With what seemed like a sigh, a breeze flowed through the farm. The bees as one buzzed into the air. The cows and the sheep ceased their play.

Meiling stood up as Jin crested the hill, pulling his enormous wagon. His eyes were tired, yet they widened with happiness at his home. His gaze, after jumping around the farm, settled squarely on her.

The look he gave her was filled with pure love and relief, and it washed away some of the tiredness in his eyes. He leaned on the handles of the cart, as they smiled at each other across the hill.

Chun Ke was off like a rocket as he squealed happily, the land thundering beneath his trotters.

Equally, from Jin’s party, there was another squeal.

“Miiiiiiisssssstrrrreeeeesssss!” Tigu yowled as she shot down the hill, her legs pumping. Both she and Chun Ke leapt at the same time.

Jin caught a boar bigger than he was with a laugh, as Meiling opened her arms.

Tigu slammed into her, though lighter than she was expecting. Enough momentum so that Meiling could spin the girl around, but not enough to knock her over. Tigu, however, didn’t let go, so Meiling shifted her arms, resting the girl who was just barely shorter than her on her hip as Tigu rubbed her cheek against Meiling’s. Ri Zu hit next, squeaking happily.

Meiling giggled as Ri Zu leapt off Tigu to run circles around Meiling’s shoulders, before burying herself into Meiling’s hair.

Gou Ren and Yun Ren were trotting past Jin as well, after having greeted Wa Shi and the rest.

She received their hugs with grace, as well as her own little brother’s, who had evidently tagged along with the cart.

“Hey, Meimei,” Yun Ren whispered gently, as he breathed in deep, pressing against her. Gou Ren said nothing, simply leaning in and pressing Tigu more forcefully into their side.

They stayed for a moment before they released her, going off to talk to Wa Shi, and dragging Tigu with them, the girl grumbling for only a moment, before heading off to shout at “that fishy bastard!”

Meiling shook her head, as a wall of water slammed into Tigu, and a fight broke out.

They were back for only a moment, and already, chaos had broken out.

It was fun.

Next was Xiulan. She had her hair styled differently, a single, long braid down her back. She also smelled different. No longer was Blade oil part of her scent—just pleasing wildflowers and fresh grass… But it was a lot less intense than Meiling remembered it being.

They embraced for a moment, then pulled back.

“It's good to see you again, Meiling,” the other woman whispered. Her eyes seemed a bit watery.

Meiling’s smile brightened. “Oh? No Senior Sister?” she teased, even as her hands lifted to cup the other woman’s face. Xiulan let out a throaty chuckle, as she laid her hand on top of the one on her cheek.

They pressed their foreheads together, and then Xiulan slid out of her grasp too.

She bent down, to greet a cheerful looking rabbit and an old snake who was riding upon her, who were past her quickly. Bi De, a package upon his back, swept into a bow.

Finally… finally there was one last hug waiting for her.

Jin scooped her up into his arms. He buried his nose in her hair for a brief moment, as they both inhaled with contentment, then he pulled back. They gazed into each other’s eyes.

His smile at seeing her was bright… But she could nearly feel his exhaustion.

“I missed you,” he whispered, as he leaned in for a kiss.

Meiling obliged him.

Heavens, she had missed this. For a brief moment, everything was perfect. Cradled in Jin’s arms, until he pulled away with a sigh.

He kept one arm around her shoulder as he turned though, and Meiling got a look at the cart.

Sitting within it was a monkey and a boy.

“Oh? More strays?” she whispered in Jin’s ear, with a teasing lilt. First Yin the Rabbit, and Miantiao the Snake. Now a monkey and a boy. “Are we going to add to our house after every journey?”

“Maybe,” Jin said with a shrug. “That one is Huo Ten, and this…” He gestured to the boy, who was carefully getting out of the cart. Meiling nodded to the monkey, who nodded back politely, then turned her attention back to the boy. One of his legs looked to be injured, though the injury itself looked to be quite old already. Meiling frowned at the action, as the boy went to bow deeply.

“This Liu Bowu greets you, Great Healing Sage,” the boy intoned. “It is an honour to meet your…. August self?” he was definitely stretching, saying the last part like that.

Meiling remembered Xiulan’s story about fighting a woman named Liu Xianghua…

“It's nice to meet you,” she said, returning the bow, though she was wondering why he was here—

“He’s Gou’s woman’s little brother,” Yun Ren called from the side. “Or rather than her being his woman, he’s her man.”

Meiling whipped around to stare at the brothers.

Gou Ren flushed, but didn’t deny it. Meiling’s eyes widened.

“Yup! Little brother has become a man! I’m so proud,” Yun Ren heckled again.

Things devolved from there. Bowu looked a bit lost as to what to do… Until he was scooped up onto the back of a boar, and held on for dear life as they went cantering around the field.

There was laughter and cheers. Yun Ren went sailing into the river.

It was loud, and chaotic, and, heavens… it was home. She leaned into Jin’s side for a moment longer.

“Now. I think everybody is going to be hungry.” She declared.

“Do you need any help—” Jin started to ask, but she just pushed him away.

“Go and sit, husband. You look tired. You look like you’ve had a long hard road—so just let me take care of everything, okay?”

It seemed like he wanted to object, but when they hit the house, she pushed Jin into their hanging seat, brewed him some tea, and went to get everything ready.

He didn’t get up. He still seemed a bit tense… but as he watched the others play, Tigu stripping down and tackling the dragon into the river. Yun Ren managing to get Gou Ren into a headlock, before the flailing dragon hit all of them. Chun Ke aided the apprehensive Bowu into the water, far away from the roughhousing, while Xiulan sat on the edge of the river… and laid down, apparently deciding to take a nap.

At least until Tigu grabbed Xiulan’s leg and pulled her in. Even Bi De and Ri Zu decided to join in, while Miantiao the snake was deposited beside Jin, watching on with fatherly eyes.

Jin exhaled, and slowly leaned back into the cushions.

It didn’t take very long to finish everything up, anyway. The stews, the potatoes, even the cheese for the pizza, no matter how... fragrant the cheese was.

Meiling called everybody in to eat. Jin looked like he was going to cry, when he took the first piece of cheese and sauce.

They were ravenous. Every last scrap of food was eaten. Their guests were quick to compliment the chef, and they even liked the cheese. Meiling tried a slice, and nearly spat it out, much to the others’ amusement. For dessert they had ice cream.

Finally, only after they were all full and Tigu was resting her head in Meiling’s lap, did Meiling ask the question that was burning in her mind.

“So what happened at the tournament?”

The good mood paused. Jin took a deep breath.

And then he started to tell the story.

============================================

Meiling sighed as she put on her nightgown, the details of Jin’s story still swimming around in her head.

The tale she had been told was terrifying. The attack of the Shrouded Mountain Sect. What they had done to Tigu and Xiulan—

The rage had made her mind go blank… then utterly clear as recipes and half-baked ideas for poisons started swimming around in her head.

She had checked all of them over after that. Aside from the strange, golden crack on Xiulan’s chest there was no evidence of the battles that had happened. Ri Zu had done a good job patching everybody up. The little rat had made her proud.

They had spoken calmly, almost clinically about the attack and everything that had happened around it, getting the bad news out of the way first.

They had obviously talked about how they should tell her… and she was kind of annoyed at them that it worked. The bad news first had certainly dulled her mood… but the bright images coming from Yun Ren’s recording crystal cheered her up in equal measure, showing her murals and smiling faces. Wa Shi finding the preserved spider legs, the fish slapping the side of his trough as Tigu presented to him his spoils of new food.

Her lips had quirked up at the image of Gou Ren kissing a beautiful, willowy woman, and then she’d laughed out loud at the next image of him looking outraged.

In the end… her family had come back safe.

Still, she was not quite willing to let things go so easily. She would be spending some time in her workshop. Her husband had given her a new library, and she would put it to good use—after she healed Bowu’s leg, of course.

She finished her evening preparations, listening to the sounds coming from downstairs. Tigu was still awake, gushing to Chun Ke about her new friends, and how she was such a good big sister. Meiling would like to meet Rags and Loud Boy. They sounded like fun.

And “Handsome Man” as well. Just to make sure he was good enough for her Tigu—

There was a sudden clatter behind her, as Jin dropped something. Meiling turned around, curious.

“What fell—” she started, when she froze at the sight of Jin.

He looked… lost. His eyes were wide, and there was a slight tremor that shuddered through his body. His Qi was bubbling, like a spring from a crack.

Jin bent down, and it took him two attempts to pick up the dropped comb, and then he turned to her.

He tried to smile, but it didn’t work. The corners of his mouth quirked, and fell.

“Ha. Sorry. Just feeling a bit off, yanno?” he said, turning away from her. “It's all catching up to me.”

After all his conversations about talking things out? She raised an eyebrow at him, and he shuffled uncomfortably.

She sighed, and clambered into bed. She patted the covers next to her, and Jin climbed in after her, and she grabbed his head, pulling him down into her bosom. She gently stroked his hair and said nothing for a moment, humming a soft song.

At first, nothing happened. His hands simply came up to rest on her back… and then they started shaking.

“Sorry,” he whispered again. “Supposed to be stronger than this.” His bark of laughter was thick with emotion. She could feel the brittleness of her husband's composure.

He said nothing as he simply held her. Held her like a drowning man who had finally been thrown a rope; like a man who had been forced to shoulder all the weight of the world. Golden lines appeared on his right arm, like cracks. They spread down to his chest. Like something that had been so compressed one couldn’t see the cracks until the pressure was released.

“It was hard, wasn’t it?” she asked.

“…yeah,” he answered after a moment.

“Was it scary?”

“Terrifying.”

“But you did it.”

“Yeah.”

“None of our friends got hurt after, did they?”

Jin shuffled, as she kept stroking his hair. “No.”

“They all got home safely?”

He nodded.

Meiling hummed. “You did everything you could.,” Sshe whispered. “Everybody is safe. You won. So let it all out. I’m here. We’re all here. Safe, because of you.”

Her shirt got damp after that. She stayed with him, humming an old song her mother had taught her, until the shaking stopped.

“...tThanks, Meimei.,” he whispered finally, as he calmed down. He pulled his head from her chest. He still looked exhausted, but there was a spark again. His lips curled into his smile properly this time.

She leaned forwards and kissed him. Slowly, he seemed to regain some of his steadiness. He took a breath, seeming to expand, his presence filling the room. His eyes were pure and clear as he stared into hers.

Meiling stared into them, a field of jade green, interspersed with tiny veins of gold. So filled with love.

What sort of woman would she be, if she didn’t return that wholeheartedly?

They lay there together, embracing, until they fell asleep.