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“Zichen! Help me!” A sharp voice yelped as a blur sped past Song Lan causing him to look up.
Silky white robes fluttered in the wind as a young man with panicked eyes raced around the yard, dodging a group of persistent chickens.
“Xingchen, what’re you doing?” The older man called out in pure exasperation.
“They won’t leave me alone! Stop chasing me! I don’t have anymore food for you!” Xiao Xingchen wailed.
As the younger man circled past once more, Song Lan reached out and grabbed him by the waist, pulling him back to hide behind himself. The hoard of chickens clucked and advanced menacingly and Xiao Xingchen whimpered, clutching Song Lan’s robe.
“Th-they’re so mean! And their beaks hurt!” Xiao Xingchen whispered, “That one there, that’s the ringleader. Get him, Zichen!”
The rooster that Xiao Xingchen pointed to was the largest one in the group. He took a few steps forward and Song Lan could swear that his beady little eyes narrowed in a glare.
“I thought you were helping Mrs. Jia with the laundry, how did you get involved with the chickens?” The older cultivator asked as he and Xiao Xingchen slowly backed away, trying to retreat into the small hut behind them.
“She said she didn’t need help hanging the clothes out to dry, so I offered to feed the animals instead,” Xingchen explained, “The bunnies were so friendly, but these chickens, they’re ruthless!”
Soft laughter drew their attention from the advancing birds to an elderly woman who had come around the hut to see what the noise was.
“Leave the young men alone, go, go find worms yourselves,” she admonished as she waved her hand and shoo’ed the chickens away.
Song Lan felt Xiao Xingchen breath out in relief as the birds scattered, slumping down on a little stool. His hair was dishevelled, robes in disarray, and there was smudge of dirt on his cheek.
“I’m so sorry, I should have warned you. The chickens can get a bit agitated. They’re lazy and don’t want to go look for their own food,” the elderly woman explained as she turned to the two men.
“Mrs. Jia, you must be very strong to face them every day,” Xiao Xingchen said as he straightened his clothing, “Even when facing spirits I did not feel such fear.”
Song Lan coughed to hide his laughter, trying to school his features into some semblance of neutrality behind his sleeve.
“Oh, they won’t hurt me, they know I would not stand for their nonsense,” Mrs. Jia replied with a chuckle, “In any case, thank you both for helping me with my chores today, it has certainly made everything go faster.”
Both young men bowed in respect.
“Think nothing of it, Mrs. Jia,” Xiao Xingchen told her, “We should be thanking you for letting us stay at your house. We have been walking for days, but there’s hardly anyone in these mountains and with the rain last night we would surely have been miserable if we had had to sleep outside.”
Mrs. Jia smiled and dusted off her hands, “Well, it’s not common for guests to come through here, especially two such handsome young men.”
The two cultivators shared an embarrassed glance and laughed awkwardly.
“Are you sure I can’t persuade you to stay longer? I’ll keep the chickens away from you,” Mrs. Jia teased, her voice light with mirth.
“You’re very kind,” Song Lan replied, “But I’m afraid we must be on our way. There are rumours of a resentful spirit over the next mountain and we’ve heard that it has already caused many deaths in several villages in that area.”
The woman sighed and nodded, her expression clouding over, “It’s true. I’ve heard the rumours too. They say the spirit wails for justice because he had died an unjust death. Recently he’s become violent and started attacking. Such a tragedy, really. There’s so much injustice in this world.”
Xiao Xingchen made a soft sound of sympathy, his gaze turning sad. He hated hearing this sort of thing, it always both angered and saddened him that the mortal world was so entrapped by tears and bloodshed.
“Do you know anything else about this spirit?” The younger man inquired, “Did he have family during his life?”
Mrs. Jia shook his head, “I heard his entire family was killed. His wife was kidnapped by a rich landlord in his village and he...he soiled her dignity. She took her life in shame. When the husband took the landlord to court the landlord gave money to the judge so he was found not guilty. The husband decided to punish the landlord himself and had made plans to kill him, but...but before he could there was a fire at his house and he died in the flames.”
Song Lan sighed as he heard the story, unfortunately it wasn’t an uncommon theme. The rich and powerful often bribed and protected each other, leaving the regular citizens to suffer.
“What a coincidence that there happened to be a fire,” the elder cultivator commented skeptically, “And I would wager the authorities did minimal investigation into the cause.”
Mrs. Jia nodded, “Absolutely. I heard the authorities didn’t even check, they just said it must’ve been a cooking accident. When you have money and power, what can’t you get away with?”
The three of them shared a moment of silence as each pondered over the sad fate of the spirit in question. How could anyone not be resentful after all that suffering? And yet, Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen knew they couldn’t leave him be. They couldn’t let the spirit continue to wander in agony, taking out his anger on the innocent.
Mrs. Jia sighed deeply then clapped her hands, “Well, in any case, let me go and make you some food to take on your journey. You have a long day ahead of you, best get plenty to eat for energy.”
Despite Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen’s protests that they have intruded enough, Mrs. Jia was insistent. While Song Lan went into the hut to help her with the food, Xiao Xingchen went around the back to play with the bunnies. He stayed as far from the chickens as possible, keeping a wary eye on them the entire time. Finally, Song Lan and Mrs. Jia emerged, the older cultivator holding a bundle that he strapped to his back along with Fuxue. Xiao Xingchen gave the bunny he was playing with a final pat on the head before standing up.
“You boys be careful out there, and you’re welcome back anytime,” Mrs. Jia kindly told them.
The young men bowed low and expressed their gratefulness.
“Thank you so much, Mrs. Jia,” Xiao Xingchen said as they headed for the small gate in the wooden fence, “You’ve been most kind to us. We will surely remember all that you have done for us.”
“It was no trouble,” the elderly woman replied, “And thank you for helping around the house, I apologize for my chickens.”
Song Lan quickly turned his head away to hide his smirk at the memory. Xiao Xingchen gave him a light shove before hurriedly reassuring Mrs. Jia that he held no grudges against her chickens.
As the younger cultivator headed back onto the trail that passed in front of the yard, Mrs. Jia gently tugged on Song Lan’s sleeve, signalling for him to hold back for a moment.
“You take care of that young man,” she advised quietly, motioning to Xingchen who had already walked a few paces away, “He’s a sweet boy and there is an unbreakable core within him.”
Song Lan blinked in surprise at her observations, then nodded, “I will. He’s...the most important person to me.”
Mrs. Jia nodded, “Be careful, though. Such a strong sense of righteousness will lead him to much sorrow in this world we live in. Shield his heart from shattering, keep it safe.”
The older man bowed his head, “I promise to you that I will protect him with my life. His heart, his spirit, I will ensure that they are safe.”
“Zichen! Are you coming?” Xiao Xingchen’s voice called out as he finally realized his companion had not been following him.
Mrs. Jia took a step back and Song Lan gave a final bow before turning to catch up to Xingchen.
“You take care of yourself, Xiao Xingchen!” The woman called to the younger man, “And stay away from chickens in the future!”
Soft laughter followed her words as the two men continued on their journey, slowly leaving the small hut in the mountains behind.
“What were you and Mrs. Jia talking about?” Xiao Xingchen asked when Song Lan had finally caught up.
“Hm? Oh, nothing,” the other man replied.
“Zichen,” Xingchen pouted, “Don’t keep secrets from me.”
Song Lan gave his companion an unimpressed look, reaching up to smooth away the dirt smudge on his cheek that was still there from his earlier run-in with the chickens.
“We were conspiring to hide a chicken in my sleeve just to scare you,” he deadpanned, then faked reaching into his sleeve for something.
“Zichen! No!!” Xiao Xingchen cried out, jumping back like he actually expected the older man to produce a chicken.
Song Lan bit down on a smirk, but the corners of his lips still tilted upwards at how panicked Xiao Xingchen looked.
“Zicheeeenn!! That’s so not fair!” The younger cultivator whined, “I think I’m now traumatised of all chickens.”
“Fear not,” Song Lan reassured him, “Fuxue will protect you from all beaked creatures in the future.”
Xiao Xingchen laughed, “Poor Fuxue, relegated to bird duties. I don’t think he’ll be too happy about that.”
“Cutting through evil and protecting those I care about, that’s what Fuxue is for,” Song Lan replied.
Xiao Xingchen blushed pink, turning his gaze away shyly, “Th-that’s...that’s...very noble,” he managed.
“Shuanghua is the same for you, isn’t he?” Song Lan asked.
The younger man reached behind his back, gently touching his precious sword that never left his side.
“Of course. I’d use him to protect you against anything, Zichen.”
Song Lan paused his steps and turned to look seriously at Xiao Xingchen.
“Including chickens?”
Xingchen burst out laughing, the very idea of Song Lan being chased by chickens making him break his composure.
“Zichen, I’ll chase away all the chickens in the world for you!” He proclaimed proudly, earning himself an amused smile from Song Lan.
The two continued on their way, steps sure and steady as they climbed through the forest, heading to their next destination.
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