Chapter Text
Ye BaiYi was exhausted. Not even simply because it was late and he was still awake. All he had ever wanted was some peace. Instead he had this thorn in his heart that grew sharper every day. Rong Xuan was a double edged sword. He was a handsome and clever young man. Ye BaiYi loved the boy like he would have his own child. He watched the baby grow up into a confident and boisterous boy. When Rong Xuan was old enough to start learning martial arts Ye BaiYi was asked to be his master. He wanted to refuse, even tried to multiple times, but ChangQing was so certain no one else would be a better fit. Teaching required a sternness that Ye BaiYi found impossible to subject Rong Xuan to, but despite any faults in his teaching Rong Xuan had still developed into an incredibly powerful young man. He had let himself hope he hadn’t made too much of a mess out of being a shifu.
Mrs. Rong was a kind woman. He couldn’t be mad at the way she indulged Rong Xuan. He indulged Rong Xuan too. He couldn’t even begrudge her what he had spent so long yearning for. Rong Xuan took after her in some ways. Every child takes after their mother, but it was the parts of Rong Xuan that he got from from his father that sent Ye BaiYi reeling. The brat was so determined to learn the cursed technique no matter how many times he was denied. The image of his disciple as close to death as ChangQing had once been had kept him up at night since the first time Rong Xuan asked to be taught the damned thing. He had been sitting in his bedroom wishing he could drink himself into oblivion when the slightest shift in the air had him on edge. He got out of bed and headed to where he kept his most valuable things. There were 3 other people on this mountain. There was no reason why any of them should be sneaking around at this hour.
When he made it to his destination he found none other than his beloved disciple snooping through his things. He knew what Rong Xuan was looking for immediately.
“What is the meaning of this?” He asked, letting cold fury sharpen the words.
“Shifu! I-” Rong Xuan whipped around. He schooled his expression and declared “You won’t teach me it so I’ll teach myself!”
“Do I have to destroy the damned thing?” Ye BaiYi demanded. “How many times do I have to say it’s dangerous before you stop? What about the fact that it almost killed your father is not being understood?”
Rong Xuan opened his mouth to reply, but Ye BaiYi cut him off. “Your father was determined to figure out the Six Harmonies technique, a lot like you are now actually. In his attempts to master it he went into a qi deviation. Your mother ran around frantically visiting healers and trying anything she could think of. Nothing worked. She finally got desperate enough to climb this mountain. I had been living here by myself for a while before she arrived carrying a friend of mine who was on the brink of death. We went through every remaining option until I got desperate too.”
His voice sounded strange in his ears, but he kept talking. “I have never been a healer. I did the only thing I could think of. I took his damaged qi and replaced it with my own. I couldn’t tell you how long it took, but it worked. I let the wave of relief take me under. When I woke up your father was sitting at my bedside. He told me that I had scared him, that between the suddenly snow white hair and the way I collapsed so completely he thought I had died. The way your mother tells the story I might as well have for how little life there was left in me. Either way it was your father’s turn to save me. He was smart enough to figure out a balance that kept us both alive.”
Desperation and pain coalesced into a lump in his throat. “I lost my mortality. I had to give up warmth. I could never regret saving him, but it’s a steep price. Why would you ever want this for yourself?”
“I’m so sorry shifu.” Rong Xuan cried. He kowtowed at Ye BaiYi’s feet, hands clutching the white fabric. “I’m sorry. I really am.”
Ye BaiYi sighed and knelt down. He pulled the brat into a hug. “I don’t want you to be sorry. I need you to understand. I’ll teach you anything else, but not that.”
“Alright.” Rong Xuan said.
Ye BaiYi finally believed him.
“Good.”
“Shifu?”
“Yes?”
“What will you do once dad is gone?”
“I’ll look after you and your wife of course.”
“And after us?”
“Your kids will be as silly as you. I should stick around to keep my eye on them too.”
Xuan-er giggles at that, but he makes a token protest anyway. “My kids will be the cleverest!”
“You’re right,” Ye BaiYi concedes. “The smartest. I apologize.”