Work Text:
Once upon a time, there lived a little boy named Liu ZhaoLan. He lived in a big house, together with his mother, his father, his sister, his grandmother, his three uncles, their five wives, his two yet-unmarried aunts, all his cousins, and all their household staff and servants.
Their house was a very big, very loud place, and Liu ZhaoLan was happy there. All his family were so good at fighting! And they would fight him every day, whenever he asked! And if one was busy, there were always so many others he could go to for a good fight!
Sometimes, people from outside would come and visit the big Liu house. And sometimes they were good at fighting too. But unlike his family, they would not agree to fight with Liu ZhaoLan.
Like these merchant twins that came to the big Liu house every summer. They looked so interesting! The brother, FengYin, had a huge metal fan attached to his belt. The sister, HuoWu, had twin hooks strapped to her back. Hooks! Liu ZhaoLan did not know anyone else who used hooks, nor fans. All his family used swords, and a few family friends used hammers or staffs, or spears or polearms.
But Liu ZhaoLan could not get these interesting twins to fight him no matter how hard he tried.
“Fight me!” said he, on his 3rd summer, the first summer he could remember.
“No, Young Master Liu,” they answered, “you are much too young.”
“I am NOT too young!” Liu ZhaoLan pouted, his little foot stamping on the ground, “I’m already a good fighter, I can beat even some of my cousins who are older!”
“But have you fought grown-ups like us?” they asked.
Liu ZhaoLan had not.
“Fight me!” said he, on his 4th summer, the first summer after he had started fighting some of the grown-ups in the house.
“No, Young Master Liu,” they answered, “you are much too young.”
“I am NOT too young!” Liu ZhaoLan pouted, his little foot stamping on the ground, “I already fight all the time, I’m even fighting some of the grown-ups in this house!”
“But have you won?” they asked.
Liu ZhaoLan had not.
“Fight me!” said he, on his 5th summer, not waiting for their answer this time. He had climbed onto the short walls that separated the big house’s courtyards, hidden himself near the entrance that the merchant twins were sure to pass, and leapt down in an ambush when his chance came.
This tactic had worked on a lot of the grown-ups who had refused to fight him at first, and he had managed to defeat a few of them too.
“No, Young Master Liu,” they answered, as they easily side-stepped him and caught him by the back of his collar, “you are much too young.”
And then Liu ZhaoLan was flying through the air until he landed with a flip onto the begonias of his grandmother’s courtyard.
On his 6th summer, his remaining unmarried aunt invited him to a spar. He was having so much fun that he completely forgot the time. By the time he rushed out to find the merchant twins, they had already finished their business with the Liu family and had already left the big Liu house.
“Don’t be so down,” his Third Uncle patted his head, “they’ll be back next year.”
Liu ZhaoLan pouted and stamped his little foot, and forlornly wandered around the entrance that the twins always passed.
What was that?
Liu ZhaoLan paused and crouched down.
There was a QianKun pouch sitting on the floor, underneath a bench. He picked it up and opened it, and found…bar-shaped things wrapped in paper. Medicine? Candy? He took one out and sniffed it. It smelled a little bit bitter, but also a little bit sweet. He put the strange bar back in the pouch, and turned the pouch around and around in his hands. The patterns sown on the pouch were strange; nothing like the pouches he’d seen his family use. It also smelled faintly of mahomory wood,[1] one of the things that the merchant twins bring to the big Liu house. It must have been them who had dropped this pouch, and the grown-ups were too tall to see it underneath that bench.
Liu ZhaoLan would bring it back to them then, that’s what an upright, chivalrous hero would do.
And so he went and found Fei, one of the Liu family’s spiritual dogs. She was Liu ZhaoLan’s favourite dog. She had shiny black fur all along her back; she was very clever and very strong. Liu ZhaoLan loved to play with her, and she loved to play with him. The two of them could play-fight each other all day if the grown-ups did not come and send them to their chores. She was a very good tracker too. Liu ZhaoLan showed her the pouch, and she took off into the streets after just a few sniffs. Liu ZhaoLan followed close behind, his little legs carrying him as fast as the wind, surprising busy shopkeepers and well-dressed ladies and bedraggled errand boys along the way.
They eventually came upon the edge of the city, near the city wall, and off to the side, a little bit away from the rest of the buildings, was an inn. The inn was very busy, a great many people wearing strange and colourful clothes came and went through its large, decorated doors. Liu ZhaoLan went up to those doors.
“Oh! What do we have here!” a well-dressed woman who reminded Liu ZhaoLan very much of a fox came and greeted him. Liu ZhaoLan decided that she must be the innkeeper.
“You must have come a long way from your home, young master. Have you lost your family in the crowd?” asked the innkeeper.
Liu ZhaoLan shook his head.
“I am Liu ZhaoLan of the Liu clan. I have come for the merchants HuoWu and FengYin. They have dropped something of theirs at my clan’s house. I have come to return it.”
The innkeeper looked surprised, but nodded agreeably, “I see, Young Master Liu, the merchants you are looking for are indeed resting in our inn. Please wait here for a moment, I will go fetch them for you.”
And so the innkeeper whispered some instructions to one of the inn’s workers, and then she left.
The inn worker was a spindly, energetic fellow, he bid Liu ZhaoLan to sit at one of the inn’s tables,[2] but Liu ZhaoLan refused. He was just fine standing. The worker then offered Liu ZhaoLan tea and offered Fei water, but Liu ZhaoLan also refused, and Fei sat straight-backed beside him and growled at the inn worker. The inn worker then brought over a stool for Liu ZhaoLan and a cushion for Fei, but Liu ZhaoLan and Fei refused that also. And so the inn worker put the cushion on top of the stool, and then sat down upon it himself. He then began to chat with Liu ZhaoLan and Fei about all sorts of things, and did not seem to mind that neither Liu ZhaoLan nor Fei chatted back.
It did not take long for the innkeeper to return with the merchant twins, and they looked very surprised to see Liu ZhaoLan.
“Young Master Liu! We did not expect to see you here!” they exclaimed.
“You were careless, and dropped your belonging,” Liu ZhaoLan scolded, “I have come to return it to you.”
FengYin took the pouch that Liu ZhaoLan held out and peered inside.
"This is indeed ours, but Young Master Liu, did you not eat any of it?"
Liu ZhaoLan huffed in affront and puffed out his little chest, "Why would I eat it? It does not belong to me. A proud member of the Liu clan does not steal what does not belong to him!"
"You're a kid," HuoWu looked at him with a puzzled frown, "and that's candy. Kids love cand-"
She stopped abruptly when FengYin elbowed her in the ribs. Liu ZhaoLan's lips were curling into a deep frown and his bottom lip was starting to stick out.
FengYin crouched down so that he was now eye-to-eye with Liu ZhaoLan, and offered one of the candy bars.
"Our greatest gratitude, for having our belonging returned. Our deepest apologies, for doubting an honourable member of the Liu clan. Will Young Master Liu accept this offering as our thanks and our penance?"
Liu ZhaoLan frowned at the offering for a moment, but his curiosity won in the end. He had never seen candy like that before, and never smelled one like that either.
He took the bar from FengYin's hand and unwrapped it from its paper home. It had an unappealing dark brown colour, and melted a bit under his fingers. Liu ZhaoLan sniffed it again, then carefully took a bite.
It was quite bitter, but also a little sweet, with a flavour he couldn’t quite describe.
It was delicious.
"Fight me!" said Liu ZhaoLan, on his 7th summer.
"No, Young Master Liu," the twins answered, "you are still much too young."
"You say that every time! And I do not like you calling me 'Young Master Liu'," Liu ZhaoLan pouted, his little foot stamping on the ground, "I am now seven years old! No longer young! Call me something else!"
"...But what should we call you then? Young Ma- ...em..." the twins asked.
Liu ZhaoLan paused. He had not really thought about it. What should the twins call him? His little brows furrowed as he gave it some serious thought.
"Call me Zhao-ge!" he concluded.[3]
The twins's faces looked funny for a moment, but then they coughed.
"As you wish, Young Master, 'Zhao-ge' it is." they said. They then gave him one of their brown candy bars in apology for being too busy with their merchant business to fight him this year.
On his 8th summer, Liu ZhaoLan went straight to the merchant-inn, hoping to ambush the twins before they got "too busy". Just as his targets came close however, the spindly inn worker, the one who had chatted with him before, ruined his carefully sat-up ambush by tripping over him and Fei.
"Fight me!" Liu ZhaoLan demanded angrily, "You can use a sword, can't you? You have a swordsman’s calluses on your hands and you walk like one too!"
“Woof woof! Woof woof woof!!” said Fei.
"Eh?? But...but...I'm not very good..." the inn worker tried to refuse.
Fei growled. And so did Liu ZhaoLan.
The inn worker did not lie, he was indeed not very good.
Liu ZhaoLan stomped away angrily, munching on another one of those candy bars that the twins gave him in apology. His mood was ruined by a VERY unsatisfying victory, but the snack was good at least.
"Fight me!" said Liu ZhaoLan, on his 9th summer, abandoning ambushing tactics and choosing to face the twins properly at the big Liu house.
"No, Zhao-ge," the twins answered, "you are still much too young."
"I grow older every year," protested Liu ZhaoLan, "and yet you say that every year! I have now fought adults, and won, no ambushes, in fair fights!"
"But have you...won against your Third Uncle?" they asked.
Liu ZhaoLan had not. Third Uncle was a very good fighter.
"Do you imply that I will lose to you in a fight?" Third Uncle asked the twins.
And so the twins agreed to One Fight with Third Uncle if the Liu family will buy their goods at twice the market price.
Their fight was one of the best and most interesting one that Liu ZhaoLan had ever seen. And all the rest of his family came and watched, and said that they wanted to have One Fight with the merchant twins too. The twins had already agreed to One Fight, so they could not refuse. And they did not. However, they said that since Liu ZhaoLan needed to defeat Third Uncle before he could have his One Fight with them, it was only fair that the same rule applied to everyone else too.
That night ended in much merriment, and Third Uncle and the merchant twins agreed to a revised version of their deal.
Liu ZhaoLan was very impressed. Everyone around him said that merchants were liars, untrustworthy, always making false promises, always trying to make things unfair for you. But the twins’ promises were true; not only did they keep to what they say, they were fair to everyone too.
He made his own promise to himself that night, as he chewed on another one of the twins’ sweet-and-bitter candy bars. He would train extra-hard. He would defeat Third Uncle, and he would earn his right to fight these strong and honorable merchant twins!
On his 10th summer, the merchant twins could not visit the big Liu house. War broke out in their hometown, the spindly inn worker said, when he came and delivered to Liu ZhaoLan a QianKun pouch, and the twins' apology note to Liu ZhaoLan.
Liu ZhaoLan opened the pouch, it contained several of those sweet-and-bitter candy bars!
One, two, three, four, five, six…seven and eight!
"Try not to eat them all at once." the note said.
=========
The day was bright, the air was hot, the sun was shining high above, casting its brilliant light down upon all.
Inside the Liu mansion, servants hurried about, receiving the traders who had come with wagons laden with their stock. The Third Uncle of the house, who dealt with such traders, was standing with his account books open in his usual spot.
None of them knew, a storm was coming to this house.
It was Liu QingGe, proud son of the Liu clan, sent off years ago to hone his formidable skills with the great righteous sect of Cang Qiong.
His steps were sure and unwavering, his back straight and tall, he pushed open the heavy doors of the Liu courtyard and entered with a great shout.
“Fight me!” said he, his silhouette proud in the bright summer sun, his high ponytail swayed gracefully behind him in the wind, and his hand rested confidently on the fine spiritual sword at his hip, “I am no longer a child, I am Liu QingGe, head disciple of Bai Zhan Peak of Cang Qiong Sect, and I will accept no more excuses from your wily merchants’ mouths!”
Everyone in the courtyard stopped, their eyes wide with surprise. Until finally the Twin Traders said: “Zhao-ge, we’re very glad to see you, but returning after an absence of so many years, shouldn’t the first thing you do be to greet your mother, your grandmother, and your family elders?”
And thus the young hero Liu QingGe turned and walked away to greet his mother and grandmother and the other elders of his house.
---
The winds were strong, the clouds were dark. The young man walked, confident and proud, with none at his side but his loyal hound. With unfaltering steps he left the busy city centre, and made his presence known before an inn in a quiet corner.
“I have come for the twins FengYin and HuoWu,” he declared, “they shall fight me this day, and no more excuses will do!”
“Young Master Liu!” exclaimed the innkeeper, and many pairs of eyes in the inn turned.
They flocked around him, inn workers and customers all, they pinched his cheeks and patted his shoulders and looked him up and down, chattering all along.
“Young Master Liu!”
“Young Master Liu!”
“You’ve been gone for so long!”
“Look at how you’ve grown!”
“And look at Fei, you’re fluffy as always too”
“Woof.”
“Come, come, come. You’ve come just in time, have you had your lunch? You, you and you, go bring out snacks and wine, and tell the cooks that Young Master Liu has arrived!” the innkeeper tugged the young man by the arm to one of the empty tables, and everyone else followed.
“I’ve come for the merchant twins…” Liu QingGe tried.
“They’re still out on their business,” the innkeeper replied, “they’ll be back for lunch, but they’ll not arrive until at least another incense.[4] Why not sit down, have some refreshments and tell us how you’ve been, Young Master Liu? You must have much to tell from your adventures with the great sects, and we have all missed you so!”
Liu QingGe allowed himself to be pressed down to sit on the bench by the table, resigned. In his 18 years on Earth, he had learned that the hardest battles could not compare to a female elder’s invite to the table. It was his grandmother the previous night, even the twins could not escape her invite. Liu QingGe only hoped that this lunch would not last so long as the previous night’s dinner, and he’d not be forced to eat and drink until he was too heavy to do anything other.
It was a shichen[5] later before the Twin Traders finally arrived.
“Are you having a party?” asked FengYin as he spied, around one of the tables, gathered a rambunctious crowd.
“That food sure smells good!” said HuoWu, and made to join the lot.
Liu QingGe leapt from the centre of the friendly people gathered, “You! Fight me!! Fight me now!!!”
“Eh? Zhao-ge?” the twins stammered, as Liu QingGe grabbed them by the wrists and dragged them towards the door.
He came to an abrupt stop however, so fast his feet scuffed the floor. Before him appeared the innkeeper, bearing several large wine jugs more.
“Oh, you’re back,” said she to the twins, “you’ve been kept out so late! How did the business go? Did you two get to eat at all?”
HuoWu ‘s gaze locked onto the jugs with interest, but FengYin glanced at Liu QingGe then gently bumped his shoulder into his sister’s and answered: “Our client insisted on discussing business over lunch, thank you, we are fine.”
“Good. Now we fight.” Said Liu QingGe, before the innkeeper could say anything more. He left the inn dragging the twins with Fei following out the door.
“Have fun! I’ll pack up some of this food for you for later!” called the cheerful spindly inn worker.
“Woof woof!” Fei answered.
---
“Err…Zhao-ge, you are taking us to the Liu residence?” asked FengYin after a while.
“Obviously.” Said Liu QingGe, not slowing his brisk walk nor releasing the twins’ wrists. The Liu residence was a perfectly logical location for a spar. It had many large courtyards dedicated to that very purpose.
“The Liu residence is unmatched in its supply of all martial needs of course…but your family…they might see us and want a spar too.” FengYin hesitantly explained.
Liu QingGe blinked at him, still not understanding where the problem lies.
“We don’t have enough time to spar with all your family, Zhao-ge, we still have business to do.” Said HuoWu.
Liu QingGe finally stopped and considered. It would indeed be unfair if only some of his family got to fight the Twin Traders; the ones who didn’t get their turns before the twins had to leave would be so very disappointed.
With a resolute nod, he unsheathed his sword, and ran his spiritual energy through its blade. The sword shone silver as it hovered, and Liu QingGe hopped on with feline grace. He took the twins, one under each arm, and shouted back to Fei: “Tell them I’ve gone with the merchant twins to the back mountain to spar.”
“Woof.” Said the faithful hound, she then turned around and continued on towards the Liu compound.
Soon they arrived at the back mountain, its rocky faces rising tall. It was a comfortable distance from the city for cultivators, but for others it was not. Sparse in resources but rich in tricky landscapes, alone and secluded it stood. It was a fitting secondary sparing ground used sometimes by the Liu’s.
It was here that Liu QingGe sat the twins down.
“We could have flown here on our own,” HuoWu grumbled with a frown, “though I must say, look how you have grown! So handsome, tall, and strong.”
“Stop teasing him sis, be nice! He’s still so very young.”
“I’m not young!!” protested Liu QingGe, blushing furiously all along.
And so they fought, weapons drawn, and the twins did not disappoint at all. It was the best fight he’s had in all his life, the young hero laughed as he gave his all. The clearing they were in were soon stripped of trees, its rocks polished bare. Dust and grit filled the air as sword sang, fans danced, and twin hooks paired rang clear.
---
Liu QingGe panted into the dust beneath him, his belly on the ground. HuoWu was sitting on top of him, holding him down with an iron grip. At his neck was a metal fan. FengYin.
He had lost this fight.
It didn’t feel like a loss though. In fact it felt good. Very good. It felt exhilarating, immensely satisfying and…
Oh no.
“Zhao-ge? What’s the matter?” FengYin’s concerned voice asked from somewhere above.
“Nothing.” said Liu QingGe, his voice high even to his own ears. He could feel the concerned look being exchanged over the back of his head.
He needed to think fast, if he could convince the twins to just let him lie there face down for a bit longer, then maybe he could…
HuoWu made a move that he didn’t quite catch, and suddenly he found himself flipped over expertly like a piece of toasting flat bread.
His face certainly did feel like it had just been toasting on a fire.
“Zhao-g- Oh!” FengYin’s eyes widened as he looked…down.
Liu QingGe would like nothing more than to melt down and become one with the ground.
“Ha!” HuoWu slapped his shoulder with a guffaw, “No need to be embarrassed, you’re a hot-blooded young man after all!”
“We’ll uh…head down the mountain and wait for you,” said FengYin, already starting his retreat, “join us whenever you’re ready, and we’ll walk you home.”
“Wait!” shouted Liu QingGe, his body bounced up off the ground and his hand reached out and grabbed the merchant’s sleeve.
The twins paused and stared at him.
Liu QingGe stared back.
His face must be blood red by now. He had no idea why he did that or what he thought he’d do afterwards. He just wanted…he wanted…
After what seemed like forever, FengYin finally moved. He gently took the hand that was still clutching his sleeve and carefully eased its white-knuckled grip.
“Zhao-ge, what are you giving such a look to a pair of old merchants for? You should be giving it to a young, powerful cultivator, one with a future just as bright as yours.” He softly chided.
Liu QingGe frowned in confusion.
“What look? What are you talking about? I don’t want to give anything to some stranger.”
The twins exchanged a look, then FengYin tried again: “Zhao-ge, don’t you have someone you like? Someone that you want to see when…ah…when this happens?” The merchant gestured vaguely to Liu QingGe’s groin area.
Liu QingGe tilted his head, still puzzled, “You mean Mu QingFang? My healer?”
“Your…healer?” FengYin blinked.
Liu QingGe nodded in affirmation.
FengYin looked a bit lost, but HuoWu then stepped forward and shouldered him aside.
“Tell us about this healer of yours, what’s he like?” she asked.
Liu QingGe frowned at the question. He had never really thought about it. What WAS Mu QingFang like?
“He’s strong,” he finally said after giving it some thought, “he’s one of the only healers on Cang Qiong who can hold me down.”
“Ah?” said FengYin.
HuoWu elbowed her brother to shush him, then she nodded to Liu QingGe, “Go on, tell us more, how old is this Mu QingFang, what’s his family like, what does he do when he holds you down?”
Liu QingGe felt his puzzled frown deepen, but he answered honestly: “He’s slightly younger than me. His family… his father is an army medic? He…he holds me down then puts medicine on me and bandages me or sew up my wounds, then he prescribes me medicine.”
FengYin looked even more lost, but HuoWu casually gestured to Liu QingGe’s groin, “And what about this? Does he do anything for you about this?”
Liu QingGe could feel his entire face heat up. Two sets of dark eyes were watching him intently now. He squirmed.
“He…his medical texts said to give me a massage…”
“Medical texts?” asked FengYin, his eyes wide.
“A massage?” asked HuoWu, one eyebrow raised.
“He…his shizun then gave him more books…and…and we tried more things…” Liu QingGe was finding it very tempting to just bury his face into the ground. He’s been staring at it long enough.
“More things?” said HuoWu, “like…dual cultivation?”
Liu QingGe nodded, eyes still on the ground.
“…Just once…”
“Just once?” HuoWu asked slowly with an odd lilt in her voice.
“Just once.” Liu QingGe nodded without looking up at her, “…We broke things…so we stopped.”
“Broke things? Like…like what?” came FengYin’s worried voice.
“…”
“…The floor.”
Silence.
“…The room.”
Silence.
“…The restraints.”
SILENCE
“…The bed… A little… But it was mostly fine…”
“…”
“…That sounds dramatic.” HuoWu finally said.
“Was either of you hurt?” frowned FengYin.
“No…” answered Liu QingGe, still looking down, his fingers tightening around his arms.
And then suddenly Liu QingGe found that he couldn’t stop talking. He had never…talked so much in the entirety of his young life, but the words just wouldn’t stop. He told the twins all about the succubus grass, Mu QingFang, that incident, how they had fell through the floor, how lucky they were that no one got hurt…
At some point the twins came to sit beside him, one on each side, their closeness making Liu QingGe feel a bit awkward, but also giving him some comfort.
“So you don’t really…do that with Mu QingFang anymore because even he is now having trouble keeping you still?”
Liu QingGe nodded.
“And Mu QingFang doesn’t like to use restraints on you if it’s not for medical reasons?”
Liu QingGe nodded again.
“And you don’t like hurting people accidentally?”
Liu QingGe nodded some more.
“I suppose that can’t be helped, the Liu family are all freak- er, unusually strong, and you particularly so,” huffed HuoWu, “now that you’re at that age where your height is shooting up like a bamboo shoot, your strength is growing too. It’s no wonder you’d have some trouble controlling it around those who aren’t as ridiculously strong as you.”
“So…what do you do, now, when you…ah…when this happens?” asked FengYin.
Liu QingGe shrugged, “It goes away after some meditation.”
He had become better at meditation and chi control through his training in Cang Qiong. These techniques solved most ailments he encountered nowadays, when given enough time.
“That’ll work while you’re still young and unattached to anybody or anything. But what will you do in the future? You’ll eventually find someone you truly want to be cultivation partners with, and maybe marry, have children, you can’t just meditate your entire life away.” said FengYin, his dark eyes worried.
Liu QingGe fell silent. He had never thought about these things; never thought about becoming…becoming cultivation partners…or marrying…or…or having children. But that was the way things usually went, wasn’t it?
“I will need to find someone strong.” He concluded.
“You’ll need more than just “someone strong”. What if that someone uses their strength to force you to do things that you don’t want?” asked FengYin, looking even more worried.
“Then you break their face, no need to hold back.” Said HuoWu, “And ground their dick to dust.”
“Sis, there’s no need to be so graphic in front of young ones,” FengYin chided with a glance to Liu QingGe, “I was thinking that a simple castration will do. And the rest of them can simply be left to the Chromatic Wolves.”
Liu QingGe frowned and thought about it some more.
“Then I will become stronger, be the strongest fighter in the world.”
“Then you will run the risk of accidentally hurting every lover you come across.” HuoWu said flatly, “You’ll need more than just ‘be strong’.”
Liu QingGe fell silent again.
“Perhaps you can find someone who can guide you…? An older cultivator perhaps? Not just any rogue cultivator, maybe one from a reputable sect. Has to be someone of senior level cultivation to be strong enough for you. Someone who can teach you how to control your strength, someone who is strong and experienced but won’t hurt you…” brows knit, FengYin muttered to himself in thought. Liu QingGe listened quietly, and then was struck with a sudden idea.
“You can teach me.” He sat up straight at the epiphany.
“…Ah?” said FengYin, stopping mid-sentence in his muttering.
“You’re old,” reasoned Liu QingGe, looking intently between HuoWu and FengYin.
“Hey! We’re older than you, but we’re not…” protested HuoWu.
“You have experience in dual cultivating.”
“Err…well…yes….” coughed FengYin.
“You’re strong.”
“Eh, not denying that.” shrugged HuoWu.
“You know how to dual cultivate without accidentally hurting the other.”
“…”
“…That is…true.”
“Teach me.” said Liu QingGe, leaning forward as he beseeched the twin traders.
“Ah? Zhao-ge…you don’t know what you’re asking…” FengYin stammered.
“I can’t hurt you, I’m not strong enough,” yet, Liu QingGe added to himself, “you are strong, you can hold me down, but you won’t force me to do what I don’t want.”
“That…that does sound logical, Zhao-ge… And…and we’re very honoured with your trust. B-but do you mean to dual cultivate with us? Here?? Now???” FengYin’s face was now red, and HuoWu was looking at him with an odd expression.
Then Liu QingGe froze as the full meaning of what he was asking finally caught up to him.
He also realized that he had been leaning into FengYin and FengYin had shrunk back on his elbows, so now he was half-reclining on the ground, with Liu QingGe almost on top of him.
Liu QingGe’s face felt so hot that he wouldn’t be surprised if it melted off.
He should move back, he really should move back, get off of FengYin, and apologize.
But he didn’t want to.
And neither FengYin nor HuoWu was pushing him off.
The three of them stared silently at one another for what seemed like a long, long time.
Then, Liu QingGe nodded.
And so for many hours went their lesson; the twin traders were strong, and thorough, and very very patient.
Time and time again they led the young hero to the edge of the precipice; time and time again they eased him back down with whispered promises.
“Once more, Zhao-ge,” they encouraged. Soft words a veil before wicked actions.
The young hero’s brows furrowed and his limbs stiffened; his chi lashed wild, and his breath quickened.
But no matter how his body tried to thrash, the twin traders’ hands held him fast.
Behind him was immovable HuoWu, before him was FengYin, her devious twin.
Words of pleas fell from his prideful mouth, a warrior’s strength held helpless in gentle strong arms.
Not ‘til he completed his lesson had his shizun’s let him go.
Breathless and boneless, he laid between his lovers, careless under the summer stars’ glow.
In the night sky, shone the Silver River, its nebulous currents languorously flowed[6]
Look, there’s the cowherd and the weaver-girl, his twin teachers took note.
The two stars of Cowherd and Weaver-girl shone down on them bright, on the banks of the Silver River, one on each side. Separated lovers who legends say reunite, once a year in summer, on the backs of magpies.[7]
Everyone knows the tale of those tragic lovers, but do you know, Zhao-ge, that right here in this world of mortals, indeed flows such an impassable river? It is in the demon world, turbulent and grand; separating with its majestic banks, a vast and fertile land. But every summer its waters calm, its tumultuous mood transforms; the barrier then becomes a road, and merchants like us roam.
Liu QingGe listened with only half an ear, already half in dreams; the summer heat, the cool night breeze, his lovers’ warm bodies -- were lulling him gently to sleep.
A wisp of demonic energy roused his sleepy senses, he blinked open tired eyes to find his lovers beside him, awake and looking somewhat different.
They said something, but Liu QingGe didn’t listen.
What a strange dream, he thought, as he fell back into the calm embrace of darkness.
=======
The city was silent and dark. Black clouds hid the moon and stars. The silver glow of his spiritual sword was the only light source his eyes could see, as he flew silently above the eerily empty streets. It was the height of summer, a time when the people of the city should have been out and about, enjoying the warm summer evening and each other’s company with their colourful lanterns dotting the streets. Liu QingGe gritted his teeth and channeled more energy into his blade, urging it faster.
The demon crisis was over, the powerful demon lord Tianlang-jun had been defeated by the combined forces of the great righteous sects. And yet, the defeat of the evil demon lord had not returned peace to the land.
Hearts were shaken by the knowledge that such a powerful, ambitious demon lord had been so successful in hiding himself among the common folk -- blending in with city crowds, attending operas and plays, visiting restaurants and inns and tea houses -- moving silently, right alongside ordinary folk and cultivators alike, with no one the wiser to his schemes. If it were not for the Huan Hua Palace Master’s cunning, and his head disciple’s heroic sacrifice, uncovering this dangerous demon and rallying the righteous sects in a great war against this unholy enemy…who knew what could have happened. Many people did not dare imagine. Many people did.
And many people thought: could there be more of these demons walking right beside them without them knowing? Hiding. Plotting. Killing?
Rumours rose, their origins unknown. Fueled by the fact that, apparently, the loss of a powerful demon lord had thrown the demon world into chaos. And their chaos spilled into the human world. Request after request for help flooded the cultivation sects’ doorsteps. Monsters that should only be found deep within the thickest jungles of the demon world were suddenly appearing in the middle of human villages. A town blacksmith and a tailor simply up and transformed into demonic forms one day, and turned the town into a battleground for demon succession wars…
The cultivation sects, still recovering from their battle with Tianlang-jun, simply could not keep up, and now some of the common folk decided to take things into their own hands. Some of them took up their cleavers and clubs and ran anyone they deemed suspicious out of their towns and villages. Some of them huddled inside their homes, doubtful and afraid of their own neighbours.
Liu QingGe had been given leave from Cang Qiong to visit his clan home. He trusted his family’s strength, that they’d be able to quickly defeat any malevolent monster, demon or ghoul that dare try to raise havoc in their city. But there was this churning feeling in his gut that he could not define. It made him restless and irritable, and tonight, it was stronger than ever.
When seeing his family and meditating did not ease the feeling, he hopped onto his sword and went on a patrol. He had listened to his gut feeling many a times in many of his battles, and it rarely led him wrong.
Minutes passed. He could not sense any demonic energy nor any other kind of disturbance in his flight through the silent city. Liu QingGe’s brows furrowed as he found himself drifting in a certain direction towards the city wall.
Suddenly, his senses picked up…spiritual energy? It did not feel like any of his family, nor any familiar cultivators, and why would any cultivators be here? In the outskirts of the city?
Before he could puzzle it out, large, bright, elaborate arrays burst into existence. Liu QingGe was forced to shield his eyes from the sudden brilliance, and when he could see again, he saw a storied building set on fire.
It was the inn of the merchants.
“What are you doing???” he roared as he sailed over a crowd of onlookers, and into a group of unfamiliar cultivators.
As one, standing in perfect formation, the unfamiliar cultivators turned towards him. Their fine clothes glowed gold under the light of the fire and the arrays, marking them as disciples of Huan Hua Palace. And at the centre of the formation, stood the old Palace Master of Huan Hua himself.
The old cultivator turned and ran an assessing look over Liu QingGe. Then, unhurriedly, he asked: “And who might this young hero be?”
“I am Liu QingGe of the Liu clan, and head disciple of Bai Zhan Peak of Cang Qiong Sect,” Liu QingGe answered, his voice ringing clear in the night, “you are trespassing and committing arson. Cease at once and leave!”
At his words, several of the Huan Hua disciples flushed in offence.
“How dare you speak to the Palace Master with such disrespect!”
“Is that how you speak to your elders??”
“Just because you’re from Cang Qiong…”
“The audacity!!”
The Palace Master himself seemed unable to speak for a moment, his face went through a series of strange expressions that Liu QingGe had no patience to decipher. Behind him, the merchant inn crackled and groaned in the chi-fueled flames, pieces of its wooden body already starting to break off and fall to the ground.
Liu QingGe had no time for these slow-moving and slow-speaking Huan Hua cultivators, his sword glowed bright as he charged towards the burning inn.
A flash of light and a wall of spiritual energy rose up before his trajectory. He swung his sword around sharply to avoid colliding with the barrier, and turned to see the old Palace Master, once again stepping towards him unhurriedly.
“Young master Liu, we here of Huan Hua have sensed a significant amount of demonic energy emanating from this inn, and are now performing the task of exorcising the threat and protecting the citizens of this city. You are clearly much too young and too impulsive for so complex and delicate a task. I recommend that you stand down and allow those more experienced to complete their work.”
“Complex and delicate? Burning buildings??” Liu QingGe demanded.
Once again the Palace Master’s face looked a bit strange. But when Liu QingGe turned and considered how he might get through the barrier of this confounding old cultivator, the gathered people began to call out.
“Young Hero Liu! Please let these Huan Hua masters work!”
“Huan Hua masters are experts at detecting hidden demons!”
“Young Hero Liu, listen to your elders!”
Liu QingGe hesitated, he glanced over his shoulder at the burning inn, then looked back to the crowd.
“Are there still people inside?” he asked.
All the faces before him scrunched and shifted uncertainly.
“People?” the old Palace Master huffed, his voice rich and resonant over the uncertain crowd, “Those were no ‘people’. They were demons. Very clever demons, I admit, to have hidden themselves so well for so long. Of course, I don’t mean to fault the Liu clan for not detecting them earlier, after all, it is not common for one to come across…a half-blood.”
Murmurs and whispers rose from the crowd. “Half-blood”? What is that? It sounds like… Surely not-
“Indeed,” the old Palace Master nodded sagely, “half-bloods are exactly what the name implies: products of unholy unions between demons and humans. With the human blood in their veins, they can disguise themselves more thoroughly than any pure-blooded demon. Some of them are cunning enough to hide even from the eyes and ears of accomplished cultivators. In fact, we strongly suspect that these half-bloods are the ones who had aided the demon lord Tianlang-jun -- how else could such a powerful demon have walked so silently among us?”
More whispers rose from the crowd. People shifted. Afraid.
“But fear not,” the Palace Master’s voice boomed, “we of Huan Hua have fought and vanquished the demon king! We’ve had him captured and sealed and forced him to reveal his wicked secrets!”
All eyes in the crowed stayed riveted to the impressive, golden-robed figure of the old Palace Master. Liu QingGe too, was forced to stay and listen, for he could not find any openings or weaknesses in the barrier that blocked him from reaching the burning inn.
“The demon lord had indeed hidden his agents among our cities,” the Palace Master continued, “waiting to rise in ambush at the command of their master. We are fortunate, very fortunate to have stopped Tianlang-jun before his plan could run its course. However, his agents are still among us, hidden, waiting for a moment of weakness to strike. We must root them out. Every, single, one.”
The old Palace Master’s eyes glinted, looking strangely vicious, and almost crazed, but it was only for a moment, gone within a blink, and Liu QingGe wondered if he really saw it at all.
The old cultivator then shrunk down a little, transforming from powerful sect leader to tired, grieving father.
“Many mistakes were made, and many braves souls were lost in the war against the armies of Tianlang-jun,” he shook his head sadly, then he brushed his hands along the lapels of his coat, and flung them dramatically aside, revealing the spiritual treasures that decorated his frame. They glinted bright in the unnatural light of the chi-fire and the arrays, more fine and exotic than even some of the treasures that Liu QingGe had seen.
“But we have learned, and we have become stronger! And no demon, no half-bloods shall ever hope to ambush us again!”
Bathed in the light of the Huan Hua spells and treasures, the crowd surged and cheered.
Liu QingGe floated in the air, restless and unsure. The inn burned on behind him. The barrier stood flawless and unmoving. The unease in him grew ever stronger, rising to his throat, choking him when he tried and failed to form it into words.
Below him, the old Palace Master did a half turn for the crowd, then glanced up at him, smug.
“What is going on here?” a commanding voice cut through the cheering crowd.
The cheers fell silent, the crowd stilled. Then it shifted and parted to reveal the matriarch of the Liu clan -- Liu QingGe’s grandmother. And behind her, stood several of his cousins, uncles and aunts.
Liu QingGe felt his own shoulders drop, all his unease and tension falling away. Grandmother had watched over the clan and the city for a long, long time. She would take care of this. She always took care of whatever trouble the clan and the city ever faced.
The Liu Matriarch walked into the clearing the crowd made for her, and stopped in front of the Huan Hua Palace Master. She paused and surveyed her surroundings, her gaze swept across the silent crowd of common folk, the Huan Hua disciples, the burning inn, Liu QingGe, and the Huan Hua Palace Master.
Several of the Huan Hua disciples squirmed under her assessing gaze, and Liu QingGe felt the barrier behind him slightly waver.
Seeing a weakness in the barrier revealed, Liu QingGe seized his chance and without hesitation, pierced through the Huan Hua barrier.
He felt the old Palace Master move behind him, perhaps to try to stop him, but then his grandmother’s low voice rang out.
“Esteemed Palace Master,” she spoke, “you must pardon this old woman for failing to properly receive such distinguished guests as the righteous cultivators of Huan Hua. But your method of announcing your arrival is very strange indeed.”
Liu QingGe heard the Palace Master turn to address her, but didn’t care to listen more. He shot across the short distance that separated him from the inn, and plunged into the burning building, channeling his spiritual energy to blow back the flames and smoke. He sped across the dining hall, checked through the kitchens, the staff dorms and the accounting office, then he raced upstairs through each of the guest rooms. The familiar doors and windows were charring, falling, but the burning rooms were all empty. There was no one to be found.
He then flew through the window leading to the back yard of the inn. The fire had already spread to the stables and the gardens. The hay and firewood gathered in the shed withered mournfully in the flames.
But the horses and oxen and other beasts of burden were not there.
He flew another wide circle around the inn, then sped high up into the sky.
Below him there was the crowd, the Huan Hua disciples, the old Palace Master and his grandmother, who looked to be still fighting their talk-battle. Beyond them, beyond the light of the Huan Hua spells, the city roads stretched to the city walls, to the horizons -- dark, silent, and still -- travelled by not a soul for miles.
---
He did not remember much after that, only that he returned home in a daze. Grandmother won the talk-battle, as he knew she would. The Huan Hua cultivators have all left the city, the crowd had dispersed.
His younger sister, Mingyan, had come by his room to check on him, but he only said a few empty reassuring words before sending her away. Mingyan was obviously unconvinced and still worried, but she had always been smart, smarter than her clumsy brother, who really did not know what to do or what to say at this moment. And she, perhaps sensing that, acquiesced and left.
And so he sat alone upon his bed, feeling numb and feeling too much and having no idea what he’s feeling at the same time.
Fei came and lay down by his side, and rested her head on his lap. The spiritual dog was no longer as spry and energetic as when she was younger. But she remained a steadfast companion, and Liu QingGe was thankful for her presence.
It was when he was absent-mindedly petting her fluffy head, lost in his own thoughts, when Fei suddenly got up off the bed. She walked a few paces towards the door, her ears high and alert, then she turned back to Liu QingGe, bumped her head against his leg and pulled on his pant leg with her teeth, trying to make him get up.
Spiritual dogs were extremely intelligent companions, and Liu QingGe had always trusted Fei’s judgement. He got up and followed her to the side door where his family usually received merchants and errand boys, and found a small gathering of his family members there.
Third Uncle was in the doorway, his back to Liu QingGe, talking to somebody that Liu QingGe couldn’t see over the backs of the other family members. And standing a little bit away from the door, watching whatever was going on, was grandmother.
That certainly got Liu QingGe’s attention. He rarely ever saw his grandmother come by this side door.
Then they all noticed Liu QingGe, and turned towards him, the expressions on their faces odd.
Third Uncle darted a look towards grandmother, and the matriarch nodded. Then, the family all parted to reveal a spindly errand boy at the door.
Curious, Liu QingGe approached.
The errand boy did not look familiar to Liu QingGe, and most of his face was hidden from view under the wide brim of his straw hat. He bowed and held out a cloth-wrapped package to Liu QingGe, and when Liu QingGe took it, he bowed again with a polite smile, turned, and left.
Liu QingGe lingered in the doorway for a bit, watching the errand boy leave. He hid it well, but he was a swordsman by the look of his gait. And he had a swordsman’s calluses on his hands.
Liu QingGe’s family, too, had dispersed without fanfare, and so Liu QingGe returned with his package to his room.
The cloth that wrapped the package was nothing note-worthy, but when it was opened, it revealed an ornate mahomory box.
Liu QingGe opened the box to find…the merchant twins’ brown candy, but instead of bars, they were in all sorts of different shapes, and were much more delicately made than the ones he’d seen before. They sat in neat rows in the box, in specially fitted little slots.
There was also an envelope, and in it was a note:
Deepest regrets for our parting, but no regrets for our meeting.
Deepest regrets for things unsaid, but no regrets for words we shared.
We have walked a leg of our journeys together, but now our paths must part.
A thousand apologies for not saying farewell, please accept this small penance in our stead.
As humble merchants we have naught to offer, but only a simple reminder:
Never forget the value of yourself; your value is not for others to sell.
May you find companions of true worth, who know your value well.
Let not others take more than their due, take not more than yours.
May your ventures ever be safe, never hesitate to crush those who steal.
P.S.: try not to eat them all at once
Liu QingGe put the note away in one of his more hidden drawers, then turned back to the box of brown candies.
He picked one up and carefully bit down, and let it slowly melt on his tongue.
It was quite bitter, but also a little sweet, with a flavour he couldn’t quite describe.
It was delicious.
Author's notes:
I played around with imitating the writing styles of different genres in this fic. The first is children’s books, with their simple language and their repetitive passages. The second is wuxia novels, which are quite popular with teen boys. These novels often have a writing style that imitates classical Chinese, which reads kinda like a poem-y kind of prose, donno how to describe it in English :P Actual classical Chinese novels even bust into actual poems once in a while within their prose, in dramatic scenes like fight scenes, or the introduction of important characters and settings. The third, the twin’s farewell note to Liu QingGe, is an imitation of Chinese poems when they’re translated to English. Or, just, any poem translated into a different language I guess. It’s difficult to keep to a poetic form and a rhyme pattern in the new language, especially if you want to be true to the meanings of the original text. So the poem in the new language might read kinda weird, but ideally readers should still be able to tell that the original text was a poem. This was just meant as a fun little exercise for me, and I guess you’ll be the judges on whether I’ve been successful in my imitations :P
Additional notes:
The innkeeper and the inn worker aren’t OCs, they are based on characters from other works. Since they’re such minor characters here, I didn’t feel it necessary to name them. Their presence here are simply pure self-indulgence for yours truly :D