Archive of Our Own

“It’s a shame I can’t come with you.”

“I think father would understand.”

“It’s still a shame.  And dangerous besides.  Who’s to say you won’t get lost?”  Yu Ai made a disgruntled noise from his bed.

“I’ll be fine.  I’m a grown man, and we’ve made this journey every year for the last three years.”  Shen Qiao said as he finished wrapping up some donkey meat pancakes and dried fruit.  He tied the ends of the package together and slipped it over his shoulders.  “You need to rest, otherwise your ankle won’t get any better.”

Yu Ai made another annoyed noise, his eyes darkening.  “The wolf is out there.”

With a sigh, Shen Qiao responded, “I’ll be careful.  I’ll stick to the path and I won’t approach anyone suspicious on the way.”  Really, did Yu Ai think he was a child?

“…Did you remember the offerings?”

Shen Qiao glanced at the table in the center of the room.  “Look, they’re right here.” He picked up the oranges and sticks of incense and tucked them into his sleeves.  “I’ve fed the animals and collected water for you.  I made bread for the next two days, but I should be home before nightfall.”

“Thank you for taking care of this, A-Qiao.  Please be careful.  Ever since our siblings went missing, I haven’t been able to rest easy.  I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose you too.”

Shen Qiao’s expression softened.  “As brother says.  I’ll be careful.”

Shen Qiao left for his adoptive father’s grave just as the sun came up.

Qi Fengge had been a good, kind man, whose generosity had landed him with five adoptive children and a small hut just outside of town.  They weren’t rich, but they had been happy together until Qi Fengge’s death.  He’d been alone in the forest when he’d lost his footing and tumbled down a cliff and broken his neck. And then, each year since, one of their siblings had disappeared into the forest as well.  So, really, Yu Ai’s fears were not unfounded.

The forest was a dangerous place, with its wild animals, uncertain terrain, and temperamental weather.

As he walked along the main path, he took deep breaths, enjoying the crisp spring air.  He thought about how Qi Fengge had gotten a twinkle in his eye when he was about to tease one of his kids, how he used to make extra congee when Gu Hengbo had a bad day, how he always made sure that when Shen Qiao finished one book, another was waiting for him.  Shen Qiao missed his father dearly, he missed his siblings too; Qingming was truly a bittersweet day.

To his left, a bush rustled.  Shen Qiao paused, but nothing jumped out at him, so he assumed it must have been a stoat or sparrow.  For comfort, he patted his hip where he had hidden his dagger.

He walked and walked and walked, passing the fork in the road that led to town, then the large boulder that Yu Ai insisted was hawk-shaped.  He kept walking until he reached the waterfall, where he stopped to refill his gourd.

As he sat by the water, he couldn’t help but feel like something was off, like someone was watching him.  He glanced over his shoulder but didn’t see anyone or anything other than the forest.  He moved on quickly.

The feeling of being watched eventually faded.  For a shichen, Shen Qiao walked the path comfortably.  He even chided himself for being nervous.

The sun was high in the sky at that point, and he was getting hungry, so he undid his pack and ate a pancake.  There was some more noise in the brush next to him.  A monkey scuttled up a tree trunk and peered at Shen Qiao with wide, hungry eyes.  It had a few sticks with berries threaded into the fur on its forehead, making it look young and pathetic.

“Would you like some?” Shen Qiao said, holding one of the pancakes out.

The monkey fiddled with its own fingers then reached towards the food.  Shen Qiao tossed his last donkey meat pancake to the monkey, who scarfed his food down without a second look at Shen Qiao.

Shen Qiao smiled to himself, bushed the crumbs off his hands, and continued on his way.

He felt like he was being watched again.  He swept his eyes back and forth over the road, surveying the unknown depths of the forest on each side of him.  Eventually he stopped completely and began searching a nearby bush, certain that that was where the feeling was coming from.

He almost yelped when something in the brush behind him, on the opposite side of the path, tore off ahead.

Shen Qiao was frozen for a moment, but nothing else happened.  He stepped forward tentatively.  Still nothing.  He let out a deep breath, watching it fog the air in front of him.  He should have brought an outer cloak.  The forest seemed to cling to the winter chill, even as the rest of the world warmed up, and if Shen Qiao returned with so much as a sniffle, he wouldn’t hear the end of it from Yu Ai.

He was still a bit shaken up, jumping at every little flap of birdwings and each flick of a leaf, so when he saw a figure up ahead, he was relieved.

He reminded himself to stay cautious—the only people who ventured out into the forest were travelers, hunters, and woodcutters, like his father had been.  The man obviously wasn’t a traveler (who would travel alone in the forest?), and Shen Qiao couldn’t see clearly enough to tell if the person had any weapons or woodcutting tools on him.

Shen Qiao picked up his pace.  Regardless of who this person was, there was strength in numbers.

As he got closer, he noticed a long gray sword sheath hanging off the person’s hip.  The man was a hunter, wonderful!  Shen Qiao got a little closer, enough to just make out the graying hair at the man’s temples, and he called out.

“Excuse me!” he said, approaching at a jog.

He realized something wasn’t right, but it was too late.

As the man turned around, his ears, gray and furry and pointed, flipped up to face Shen Qiao.  Had he been listening to Shen Qiao’s footsteps this whole time?  This man didn’t have a gray sheath at his hip, but a sleek gray tail.

“You’re excused,” the wolf said.

“Ah—”

“What’s the matter?  Expecting someone else?”

“N-No,” Shen Qiao said, weighing his options.  He definitely could not fight the wolf; he was a head taller than Shen Qiao and at least a hand’s length wider.  Most likely, he couldn’t outrun the wolf either.  Although the wolf didn’t seem all that interested in Shen Qiao anyway.  Perhaps Shen Qiao could just walk away?

No, that would be rude, Shen Qiao had called out to him after all.

“What’s in your belt?” The wolf reached over and grabbed Shen Qiao’s waist.

“Ah—!  Hey!”  Shen Qiao slapped his hands away. 

The wolf found Shen Qiao’s dagger, and began scrutinizing it.  When he grew bored of that, he tossed it back to Shen Qiao and grabbed Shen Qiao’s sleeves.

“Then what’s in here?”

Shen Qiao tugged his arms away and said, “Offerings for my father.”

The wolf didn’t look impressed. He turned and began walking in the same direction they’d been heading in earlier.

He hadn’t killed Shen Qiao yet, so Shen Qiao followed after him.  “Are you hungry?” he asked.

“Always.”

“I can spare an orange.”

The corner of the wolf’s mouth twitched up into a patronizing smirk.  “I only eat meat .”

Shen Qiao made a soft noise in understanding.  He fell into stride with the wolf, although he had to push his steps to keep up.  The wolf glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, did a double take, then gave him a wide smile.

“What is this little one’s name?”

“Shen Qiao.”

“I see.  And you’re on your way to your father’s grave?”

“En.  His grave is on the other side of the forest.”

“Qi Fengge?”

“You knew him?”

“En.  He was a decent man.  A better hunter.”

“…He was a woodcutter.”

“All men in these woods are hunters.  Your father was the only respectful one.”

“I wasn’t aware.”

The wolf hummed enigmatically.  He stared at Shen Qiao openly now, eyes moving over his whole body before settling on his neck.  He licked his lips.

As a chill climbed up Shen Qiao’s spine, he realized that engaging the wolf had been a mistake.

The wolf leaned into Shen Qiao’s space as they walked.  “I am Yan Wushi.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

Yan Wushi’s eyebrow rose.  “Is it?”

“It’s always nice to meet new people.”

Yan Wushi tossed his head back and laughed.  “We both know that’s not true!  One night in this forest and I’m sure you’ll change your mind.”

“Then I’d best not spend the night.  My brother, Yu Ai, is waiting for me at home.”

“Your brother, you say?  I wasn’t aware Qi Fengge had so many children.”

“Five.  Well, just my brother and I now.”

Yan Wushi was quiet for a few moments, then he chuckled.  “I’m afraid it’ll be just your brother if you continue on this path.”

“It’s safest on the path,” replied Shen Qiao.

Yan Wushi stopped and nodded to the road ahead of them.

Shen Qiao stopped when Yan Wushi did.  Where the trees parted, he noticed a few that had large chunks of trunk taken out of them, others that had scarred branches.  The ground was covered in large paw prints and the rust of stale blood.

“I’m heading this way.” Yan Wushi stepped off the path, his steps silent as he moved through the bushes.  “But you’re free to take your chances with Xiuxiu if you’d like.”

Shen Qiao glanced between the disturbance ahead of him and Yan Wushi’s shrinking silhouette.  If the path wasn’t safe…If the path wasn’t safe, then what was the point of sticking to it?

Just as Yan Wushi disappeared completely into the trees, Shen Qiao made his decision, clambering through the underbrush with far less grace than Yan Wushi.

Yan Wushi didn’t say anything when Shen Qiao returned to his side, but another sly smile made his crow’s feet deepen.  They walked in silence for a long time.  Yan Wushi would tut every time Shen Qiao tripped over a root or brushed a branch out of his way.

Eventually Shen Qiao had to ask him to stop for a drink.  He sat on a rocky outcropping by some trees and took a long draw out of his water gourd.  Yan Wushi was very close to him, and seemed to draw closer the longer Shen Qiao drank.  Shen Qiao looked up to see a very interested, almost hungry look on Yan Wushi’s face.

Suddenly remembering himself, he rubbed the excess water off his chin and held the gourd out to Yan Wushi.  “Are you thirsty?  Would you like some?”

Yan Wushi pushed Shen Qiao’s extended arm away, crowding him into the boulder.

“Do you remember what I told you earlier?”

“About my father?”

“No.  That I’m always hungry?”  Before Shen Qiao could stop him, Yan Wushi buried his nose in the hair behind Shen Qiao’s ear.  A hand held Shen Qiao’s robe collar, keeping him in place.  “Little boy, what were you thinking, following a wolf into the forest?”

Shen Qiao’s heart thudded in his chest, a cold sweat broke out all over his body.  “You-you said you were a friend of my father’s!”  He tried to push Yan Wushi off, but Yan Wushi’s free hand caught him by the wrist.  Shen Qiao couldn’t help but shudder when Yan Wushi licked a long stripe up his neck.  His water gourd hit the ground with a foreboding thunk .

“I said he was a good hunter.  Respect and friendship are two different things, or did your father not teach you any better?”

“You saved me from the—”

“Of course I saved you from Yuan Xiuxiu, that old panther is so disgusting, leaving her messes in other people’s territory.  And if she had you…” Yan Wushi nipped him just hard enough that Shen Qiao flinched, “I don’t scavenge.  It’s best I eat you before anyone else gets their chance.  I’ll be quick,” he said softly, like Shen Qiao was supposed to be grateful.

Unfortunately for him, Shen Qiao wasn’t planning on dying.  He suddenly remembered that he had legs, so he brought one up to kick Yan Wushi in the stomach.  The move startled Yan Wushi enough that Shen Qiao was able to pull his arm free and shove Yan Wushi backwards.

Yan Wushi chuckled and easily crowded back into Shen Qiao’s space.  But now Shen Qiao was angry; now Shen Qiao was prepared.  They exchanged a few blows, but it only seemed to make Yan Wushi more excited.

“You’re a martial artist?  Did your father teach you?”

Shen Qiao ignored him and blocked another hit, but Yan Wushi was clever.  He dug his fingers into Shen Qiao’s belt, pulling it out of place.  Shen Qiao faltered and tried to keep his belt on lest the rest of his robes follow, but that meant he left himself open for Yan Wushi’s next strike.  Yan Wushi grabbed the crook of Shen Qiao’s arm, spun him around so he was pressed with his back to Yan Wushi’s front.  One of Yan Wushi’s hands was feeling along his stomach, his waist; Shen Qiao’s breath caught between his teeth when Yan Wushi leaned in close to his ear and said, “If you want to prolong your own death, then let’s see you do it.”

They spun again, and this time Yan Wushi shoved him away. “Oh, look how red you are!  Ha!”  He was smiling at Shen Qiao, ears pointed straight forward, “You’re much more exciting than your father.  I wasn’t really going to eat you, you know.  If you were dead, how would we have any fun together?”

Shen Qiao furrowed his brow.  “What fun?”

Yan Wushi didn’t answer, just smiled indulgently, turned, and walked off.

Shen Qiao almost called out to him to ask where he was going, but did Shen Qiao really want to stick by someone who wanted him dead?

The only other option was to wander the forest on his own, which wasn’t better.  As dangerous as it was, he should stay with Yan Wushi—

Except Shen Qiao had taken too long to deliberate—Yan Wushi had vanished, and the forest was silent around him.

He looked from side to side, but all he saw were trees just unfurling their fresh leaves, a single shrub trying it’s hardest to flower, and a patch of very determined dandelions sprouting through the debris on the ground.

Shen Qiao fixed his belt and picked up his mostly empty water gourd.  He headed back the way they’d come, hoping to find the path again, but considering he hadn’t measured how long they’d been walking or paying attention to the direction, he was probably getting himself more lost.

He followed the sun: he knew his father’s grave was on the western side of the forest, so if he just kept moving that way, surely he’d find his way.

He jumped when a flash of red darted through the tree trunks.  He swiveled his head, looking for whatever animal was surely stalking him.  Yan Wushi had been wearing purple…maybe he’d changed robes?

Shen Qiao jumped again when a fox popped out of the bush right next to him and yipped.  Shen Qiao laughed when it gave him a wide dog-like grin.

It seemed to think he was a trustworthy person, since it disappeared back into the bush then trotted out to circle him, eventually coming to sit by his feet.

“Hello there,” he said, reaching a hand out for the fox to sniff.  “You’re certainly friendly, aren’t you?”

The fox shoved its head into Shen Qiao’s hand and made some more content squeaking noises.  It flopped over and showed its belly, but Shen Qiao knew better than to touch it.  He retracted his hand and walked on, but just a few seconds later, the fox was running out in front of him, flopping onto its back again. 

Shen Qiao chuckled.  “I’m sorry, I can’t play with you right now.  I need to find the path.”

The fox considered his words, and hopped up when Shen Qiao moved forward.  It bit the hem of his robes and tugged.

The fox then scampered off in the opposite direction, popped out of a bush, and yipped at him again.

‘Follow me,’ it seemed to say.

It got very excited when Shen Qiao followed after it, shooting off into the brush, then flicking its tail and running in circles as it waited for Shen Qiao to catch up.  Only a short time later, the fox made some squeaking noises and rushed off further than usual, completely disappearing.

Shen Qiao picked up his pace, only finding the fox again when he broke through the tree line.

The path…the fox had led him to the path!

He crouched down where the fox was sitting and squirming and gave it a soft scratch on the head.

“Thank you.  Thank you very much.”

The fox basked in his affection for a few minutes, putting its face very close to Shen Qiao’s.  Shen Qiao laughed and stood, intending to continue on his way.  The sun would probably set in one or two shichen, so he needed to hurry.

He hadn’t expected the fox to follow along with him.

“I don’t have any food to reward you with, I’m afraid.  Unless you like oranges?”

The fox didn’t reply, just let its tongue loll as it wove between Shen Qiao’s legs.  Shen Qiao shrugged.  He wasn’t forcing the fox to stick around; if it wanted to come with him, so be it.

They walked and walked and walked, all the while, the sun drooped lower and lower in the sky and the air grew colder.  Shen Qiao rubbed his arms every once in a while, willing his shivers away.  He wanted to curl up under a tree and bundle himself up.  Maybe the fox would join him?  He reached down to pet it again, ah, its fur was so soft and warm…

But it wouldn’t do to sit in one place.  Night would be falling soon, and he really couldn’t sleep out here.  He really couldn’t…

Each step felt heavy, like he had a caddy strapped to each foot.  His teeth were chattering so hard he worried they might break.  The veins on his hands stood out red against his blanched skin.

The fox yipped up at him anxiously, circling around and pawing at his shoes.  When that didn’t help, it trotted forward, beckoning Shen Qiao.

Shen Qiao was just about to force himself after it when a figure dashed out of the forest and snatched the fox up by the throat.

“How many times do I have to tell you—” Yan Wushi said to the fox.  He shook it for good measure.  “—stay out of my territory!”  He threw the fox to the ground.

“Hey—!” Shen Qiao stumbled forward, catching himself just before he could fall.

The fox on the ground transformed into a woman.  She lifted her head, her big orange ears flat against her head, and snarled at Yan Wushi.  He kicked her in the stomach in retaliation.

“Yan Wushi!” She spat, “I’ll kill you, just watch!”

“That’s not a very funny joke,” Yan Wushi tutted, as he ground her hand into the dirt under his boot.

“Stop!” Shen Qiao said as he limped forward.

“What’s with you?  Why are you stumbling—” As if he had suddenly realized something, Yan Wushi’s eyes grew wide and he whipped his head back to glare at the fox.  “You come into my territory and try to steal what’s mine?”  He leaned over, grabbing her by the hair and shoving her face into the dirt.  “Bai Rong, do you want to die that badly?”

She wailed and tried to throw dirt into his eyes, but she was too out of sorts.  Yan Wushi was too powerful.

Shen Qiao, who had regained a little strength, called out, “Let her go!”

“Why? So she can drain you?  Don’t tell me you’ve fallen in love with the little vixen, Ah-Qiao.  You really are hopeless, ah.”

“D-Drain me?”

“What did you think she was doing?  She’s taking you back to her den so she can cultivate using your breath.”  Giving Shen Qiao a considering look up and down, he added, “Maybe some other parts of you too.”

Shen Qiao’s face went hot.  “She’s not!  She’s…showing me the way.”  Even as he said it, he felt foolish.

“Is that true, Bai Rong?  That doesn’t seem like your style.”

“I wasn’t going to kill him!” she said into the dirt.  “I wanted to keep him, is all!”

“Your kind don’t know restraint though, you’d have ended up killing him eventually.”  He finally let go of her hair.

“But—” Shen Qiao looked around and realized that they weren’t on the main path.  He had no idea where they were.  “She charmed me,” he realized.

“Don’t let me see you in my territory again,” Yan Wushi said with another kick.  He obviously didn’t need to say what would happen to her if she disobeyed.

Bai Rong shifted back into her fox form and scrambled into the shadows.  Yan Wushi watched her go with a furrow in his brow, then turned on his heel when he was sure she was gone.

He was halfway gone when Shen Qiao chased after him.  “Wait!  Yan Wushi!”  He was feeling much better, much warmer now that Bai Rong wasn’t siphoning off his energy.

“What are you yelling for?  Why are you following me?”

“I wanted to thank you.”

“For?”

“Saving me.”

Yan Wushi stared at him for a long moment, then laughed heartily.  “You’re just as ridiculous as your father.  I didn’t do it to save you.  I did it because there was a pest in my home.”

“Regardless of the intent, I owe you my life.”

“Then how about you hop into a pot of boiling oil and fry yourself up for me?”

Shen Qiao chuckled awkwardly.  “I’m afraid there’s no pot of oil around here.”

“I don’t mind raw meat either.” He drew closer to Shen Qiao.  His warm breath washed over Shen Qiao’s face as he leaned in.

Shen Qiao stepped backwards, wary from the last time Yan Wushi had gotten so close. “Ah, well,” he waffled.

“Hmph.  So fickle.  This is why I can’t stand humans.”  As he said it, he twisted a lock of Shen Qiao’s ponytail around his finger.

“I am very grateful.”

“We’ll see how long that gratitude lasts,” was all Yan Wushi said as he pulled away.  He let the strand of hair trail after his hand, then went on his way back into the forest, tail swishing lazily as he went.  “Try not to walk yourself off any cliffs, although that might be a better fate than what else awaits you.”

And then he was gone.  Shen Qiao didn’t follow.  If Yan Wushi didn’t want him around, there was no point risking his life.

So Shen Qiao looked up to the sky and mourned how much time he’d lost in Bai Rong’s thrall.  The sun was only a few finger widths from the western horizon.  Even if Shen Qiao wanted to go back home, he’d never make it in time.  It would be best to finish what he came here to do and figure the rest out later.

He did manage to find his way back to the path by following the sun, but the sky was almost dark by the time he found Qi Fengge’s grave.

Surprisingly, it looked like someone had already been there to clean it off.  The gravestone was small, just carved with Qi Fengge’s name and a short prayer, hidden among some bushes where the forest gave way to sparser plains.  Shen Qiao was just considering how long it might take him to get to the town across those plains when a voice called from above him.

“Oh, you made it.  That’s surprising.”

“Yan Wushi.”

“Did you meet any other troublesome people along the way?” Yan Wushi said lazily from where he was reclining in a nearby tree.

Shen Qiao wanted to ask, ‘Do you count?’ but he couldn’t bring himself to be rude to his savior.  Instead, he said, “The path was easy and quiet once I found it.”

“Hmm.”  Yan Wushi closed his eyes and said nothing else.

Shen Qiao turned his attention to his father’s gravestone.  He knelt down and made a show of sweeping the clean pedestal, then pulled the oranges and incense out of his sleeves.  With flint he kept in his belt, he lit the incense and prayed for his father’s peaceful reincarnation. The incense burned bright red in the dark air.  When he looked up to the tree, all he could see were Yan Wushi’s eyes.

“Are you done then?”

“Yes.”

“Are you heading back home?”

“It will be difficult in the dark,” Shen Qiao sighed.  But it would be even more dangerous to sleep.  The temperature had dipped with the sun, and although Shen Qiao was fine at the moment, he was sure that if the creatures in the dark didn’t kill him, the cold just might.

“Why not come back with me?  There’s more than enough room in my den for you.”

The words made Shen Qiao shiver.  He could practically see Yan Wushi’s smile gleaming just under his eyes.

“You don’t want to spend the night with me?” Yan Wushi’s tone was teasing but wronged.

“Won’t you steal my breath, the same as Bai Rong?”

“I’m much more likely to eat you than steal your breath.”

“I thank Yan Wushi for his offer, but I don’t dare impose.”

Yan Wushi’s eyes disappeared as he laughed.  “Fine, fine, you learn quickly and can’t be tricked anymore.”

Shen Qiao didn’t agree or disagree.  He was trying to figure out the best way home.  Perhaps he could find a branch and use some fabric from his robes to make a torch?  Ah, but wasn’t that also like telling every beast in the forest, ‘Here I am!  Come and eat me!’

“There’s always the old hunter’s shack,” Yan Wushi said.

“A shack?”

“Hmm.  A little further north.  It’s not much more than a few boards thatched together, but it’s better than nothing for a soft-bellied human like you.”  He sounded like he was licking his lips as he said it, making Shen Qiao very uncomfortable.  “But it wouldn’t be very good if someone found you there.  Best to lock the door…”  Yan Wushi’s eyes rose as he stood, then with a soft rustling of leaves, he disappeared completely.

Shen Qiao stayed by Qi Fengge’s grave and weighed his options.  The shack didn’t sound much better than staying where he was, but the idea of four walls around him was appealing.  He headed north, hunching in on himself to protect his body from the cooling wind.

His eyes had adjusted to the darkness by that point, so even if he couldn’t see well, he could still make out the silhouette of the hunter’s shack as he approached it.  The door creaked closed behind him, and the lock didn’t work.

He found a chair to keep the door shut.  If someone really wanted to get in, they could, but at least it would make some noise and give Shen Qiao a warning.

He didn’t light any lamps—mainly because he couldn’t find any, but also because he didn’t want to accidently set the shack on fire.  Yan Wushi hadn’t been kidding when he’d said it was run down; with each step he had to brush away a frankly disgusting number of cobwebs.

Shen Qiao was exhausted from walking all day and missing dinner, so he found the bed pallet, an old moth-eaten blanket, and made his bed as best he could.  The wind cut through the thin walls and made Shen Qiao shudder as he pulled the blanket tighter around himself, and there were skittering noises, as if the tree branches outside were trying to tear the hut apart.

Shen Qiao shut his eyes and willed himself to sleep.  It wasn’t restful; he’d jolt awake at every scratch and scurry, each creak startling him from the edge of his dreams.  One particularly loud noise had him lurch upright.

Something was wrong.

Someone was in the shack.

“Yan Wushi?” Shen Qiao asked the darkness.

The low chuckle he received in response had Shen Qiao attempting to stand, but something…the blanket was holding him down.  His arms!  His arms were pinned to his sides!

“It’s bad manners to call another man’s name while in my bed, don’t you think?  Call for Jingxing…” Something thin and sharp caressed Shen Qiao’s cheek.

Shen Qiao turned his head away.  He couldn’t see whatever creature had trapped him, but given the texture of his bindings, it must be a spider.

“Don’t struggle so much, ah? It turns your insides sour.  Although that look on you is nice.”  The spider grabbed Shen Qiao’s jaw and forced him to look up.  All Shen Qiao could see was an outline and eight phosphorescent eyes.

“Much nicer than anything else in this godforsaken forest,” Jinxing hummed.  “I’ve changed my mind, struggle as much as you like.”

Shen Qiao wiggled in his bindings, but they didn’t budge.  Jinxing laughed cruelly and dragged his hand down to Shen Qiao’s throat, crushing Shen Qiao into the ground.  Shen Qiao grunted when his head hit the floor through the thin pallet, and stars clouded his vision.  But the motion had pushed Shen Qiao’s dagger into his hand.  If he could just…get it…out!

“Giving up already?” Jinxing breathed over him.  The stink made Shen Qiao gag.  “Don’t be so sad, you won’t even feel it.  No one else would give you that luxury.”

Shen Qiao tried to wriggle out of the spider’s clutches once more, which only made Jingxing laugh.

A long mournful howl sounded somewhere outside; Jinxing’s grip slacked for just a second.

Shen Qiao used his dagger to slice through his bindings, then he lashed out and Jingxing hissed in pain.  Shen Qiao didn’t wait a second before scrambling to the shuttered window, punching through the wood shutters, and climbing out.

Jingxing roared and lunged after Shen Qiao, draping himself halfway out of the window to grab at his prey.  He just barely latched onto the back flap of Shen Qiao’s robes as Shen Qiao began climbing a nearby tree, so Shen Qiao did the only sensible thing he could and used his dagger to slice off that piece of fabric. 

In the moonlight, Shen Qiao could just make out Jingxing’s monstrous figure: a human man with extra eyes and eight spindly legs erupting from his back.  Those needle legs stabbed into the ground as he raised himself out of the window and followed Shen Qiao into the tree, wisps of silk spun out of his mouth, many flying away in the wind, but most shooting out and wrapping around a branch near to Shen Qiao.

Shen Qiao wanted to climb higher, get away as quickly as he could!  But once he reached the tree top, where would he go?  He forced himself towards where Jingxing was drawing himself up into the tree using the rope of silk.   The branch groaned under their combined weight.  Shen Qiao wrapped his limbs around the branch and shimmied onward, then he used his dagger to saw the rope.

It cut a few strands, but not enough!  Clammy sweat dripped into Shen Qiao’s eyes as Jingxing rose higher and higher, his segmented legs rising to pull him up.  Shen Qiao sawed faster, faster, faster, his arm burning with the effort.  He chanced a look down and saw Jingxin’s terrible grin looking up at him, closer than Shen Qiao expected.  Why wasn’t the knife cutting faster?!

Jingxing reached out with gnarled, clawed hands for him.  Just as Shen Qiao thought Jinxing might actually grab him, the silk rope snapped under Shen Qiao’s dagger.  The distance Shen Qiao had climbed was not small, and Jinxing screamed as he fell all the way down, not stopping until he made a sickening crunch at the bottom.  Shen Qiao panted against the tree branch, waiting for any other noise.  A long minute passed, and his heart rate slowed.  There was no movement below the tree, so Shen Qiao shakily descended.  His knees buckled when his feet hit the ground.

Jingxing was dead.  His spider legs had curled up around his body, their tips pointing to his sternum, his neck bent at an unnatural angle.  The legs cast a cage-like shadow in Shen Qiao’s direction, and the thought made him uncomfortable; the thought of returning to the hunter’s shack filled him with dread. So he stood and walked back into the forest, in the direction of Yan Wushi’s howl.

Shen Qiao was not sure he’d make it to daylight at that point.  Between his hunger, the cold, and his exhaustion, his best bet would be to deliver himself to the wolf and hope that Yan Wushi found him amusing or pathetic enough not to kill.

He trudged on and on, tripping, flailing, wandering, for who knows how long until he found a cave.  Was this Yan Wushi’s den?  Well, did it really matter?  It was shelter, that was all Shen Qiao could ask for at the moment.  He tucked himself up against one of the enclaves and closed his eyes.

Compared to the hunter’s shack, the cave was quiet.  Shen Qiao drifted off quickly and completely.  He must have been in a very deep sleep because when he woke up, he was being carried.

He jerked up with a gasp in the person’s arms only to see that it wasn’t a person carrying him, but a very toothy monkey.

Upon Shen Qiao’s sudden movement, the monkey began whooping and snarling, alerting the other monkeys in this odd underground procession.

A voice rang out from in front of them, “What’s all this noise!  What is it!”  A young man with sharp eyes and a thin torso fought through the other monkeys.  The cave had an eerie red glow suffused throughout its stones, like it existed in perpetual sunset.  The man approaching had several sticks with berries stuck into his hair, hanging over his face…almost like an emperor’s crown.

“You—” Shen Qiao said, realizing this was the monkey he’d shared his pancakes with earlier in the day.

“So, you’re awake!  Good, perfect!  Where are the rest of your food things?”

“I don’t—”

The monkey king punched him in the arm.  “You had plenty to eat earlier, where is the rest?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t have any more,” Shen Qiao said, very much wishing the monkey holding him would put him down.

The monkey king tutted.  “You’ll just have to make more then.  We’re all hungry, aren’t we?”

The other monkeys began whooping in a truly frightening display.

“Do you have donkeys?”

“No,” the monkey king said.

“Do you have grain?”

“No.”

“Then how can I make you a donkey meat pancake?” Shen Qiao asked, bewildered.  He wouldn’t have minded helping if they’d had supplies!  He would have even offered to teach the monkeys how to make the pancakes themselves, but—

“You have no choice!” The monkey king spat.  “I, Chen Gong, demand you make us pancakes!”

His subjects whooped in agreement.

“But you have no supplies?  How can I make you anything without supplies?”

“I don’t care!  Either we eat pancakes tonight or we eat you!”

The monkey holding Shen Qiao bore its teeth and growled like it would very much prefer the latter.  Shen Qiao didn’t know what to say!  He nodded, hoping it would give him a chance to escape.

Why did everything in this damn forest want to eat him?!

“I’m glad you’ve seen reason,” Chen Gong said haughtily.  “Bring him to the city, let’s go!”

The monkey readjusted his grip on Shen Qiao, just long enough for Shen Qiao to slip through his arms. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Shen Qiao took off running.  It was lucky that he was near the end of the monkey procession, and all of the monkeys were too slow to react.

As Shen Qiao broke through their ranks, Chen Gong shrieked, “Don’t just stand there, you idiots!  After him!”

There were shouts and screeches as the monkey troops mobilized, but Shen Qiao took a sharp turn to the left, then a sharp right.  He stopped only when he reached a completely shadowed part of the cave.  He heard the monkeys approach, their steps heavy and unabashed. They rushed by his hiding spot, Chen Gong screaming after them, “Find him if you want to eat!”

He let out the breath he’d been holding.  He was so tired.  He thought about collapsing to the floor and sleeping where he was, but if the monkeys had found him in the cave earlier, who’s to say they wouldn’t find him here?  He stepped out of his hiding place, then went in the opposite direction from the monkeys.  He planned on wandering cautiously until he found an entrance, not expecting that the monkey king had left sentry monkeys about the larger caverns.

Shen Qiao threw himself into the shadows when he noticed a sentry picking its nose in the cavern he was just about to enter.  If he was quiet, it might not notice him clinging to the walls and slipping past.  So of course, when he lifted his foot up, he accidentally kicked a pebble.

It skittered across the ground and smacked into another pebble with a soft click.

The monkey pulled its finger out of its nose, whipped its head around, and let out an ear piercing screech.

Shen Qiao took off towards the other end of the chamber, towards another tunnel; he flew down it.  His thighs burned and his head rushed with the effort of each step, but he couldn’t stop to rest for even a second.  For as slow as the monkeys were to give chase, once in motion, they were incredibly fast, Shen Qiao swore he could feel their heat on the back of his neck.

In another wide chamber, Shen Qiao found a large glowing red pool of liquid.  He glanced around his shoulder, saw the monkey’s shadows heading towards him on the bend of the tunnel wall, and jumped in.

The pool was just water, Shen Qiao realized.  There was a long, wide, glowing crack at the bottom of the pool that gave it its hellish hue.  And as Shen Qiao sank to the bottom of the pool, he realized it wasn’t a crack at all, but a stripe of crystal radiating light from within.

He flipped himself in the water and kicked upwards, quietly poking his nose out of the water to take a breath.  Then he turned his head so his ear was the only part of him out of the water; the chamber was empty and still.  There were no monkeys waiting for him on the shore.  He heaved a long sigh to relieve his aching lungs and dragged himself to land.  In dripping robes, he got to his feet, and continued on his way.

At each fork in the cave tunnels, he chose the path with the most red crystals.  He was slower now, but at the back of his mind, he worried that by moving quietly, slowly, the monkeys would be on him before he could react.  Each time he saw a shadow move, he'd slam himself against a wall or a pillar.  He only saw two or three monkeys on his way out, but it was enough to make his heart pound as his feet tapped against the ground.

Up ahead, in the distance, he could see a pin-prick of dark blue.  Outside light—freedom.  He moved quickly, each pant bringing him closer and closer to that growing spot of sky.  He was so close, less than five steps from the mouth of the cave when a shadow intercepted him, throwing him to the cave floor and howling in his face.

The monkey grabbed him by his wet hair and shook his head about, and kept screaming !  If it didn’t stop, the other monkeys would find them and tear Shen Qiao apart!

Acting quickly, Shen Qiao tore his dagger out of its sheath and stabbed the monkey in the stomach, then, as it recoiled, slashed across it’s throat as best he could.

He had no idea how thick the creature’s skin was or if the strikes would kill it, he thought only of silencing the monkey and making his escape.

The monkey pulled back in fear, wheezing horribly; Shen Qiao rolled to his feet.  He was still light headed from being thrown about, but by flashing his knife, he kept the monkey far enough away to slip out of the cave and into the forest.  

He ran as fast as his failing body would let him, but the monkey kept after him.  Now that Shen Qiao was running away rather than advancing, the monkey grew bold.  A glance over his shoulder told Shen Qiao it was gaining on him, and he was weakening.

He felt the monkey’s curled hand grabbing at the collar of his robes, but just miss.  He felt the monkey grab at his belt and touch it with its fingertips.  There was a hand in his ponytail.

Shen Qiao’s scream caught in his throat as the hand yanked him backwards.  Somehow remaining upright, he lashed out in an arc with his dagger and caught the monkey across the shoulder.  The monkey rasped in pain, but didn’t back down.  When it surged forward, Shen Qiao met it directly, stabbing the monkey as hard as he could in the chest.

The monkey swiped at his head, knocking him off his feet, but was too weak to do anything else but collapse next to him, shuddering out one last awful cry.

Shen Qiao wanted to get up and find shelter, but how could he?  He crawled to a nearby tree and rested his back against its trunk.  He was really too tired to do anything but close his eyes.

But then there was  a rustle in a nearby bush.

Shen Qiao froze, cursing himself for not pulling his dagger out of the monkey before.

He slowly opened his eyes hoping the movement wouldn’t alert the creature to his presence.  It didn’t matter; the wolf was staring right at him.

“Ah, Yan Wushi.  It’s only you.  Here,” he weakly motioned to the monkey’s corpse, “I brought you some food.  Apologies for the wait.”

Yan Wushi approached him slowly, almost cautiously, picking up each paw like Shen Qiao was the wild animal ready to kill.

Instead of going right to the monkey’s corpse, Yan Wushi stood over Shen Qiao’s legs and sniffed at his face.  Shen Qiao patted Yan Wushi’s broad head with a careless hand.

“Your nose is cold,” Shen Qiao finally said, pushing Yan Wushi’s muzzle away.  He fixed his cold, wet robes to cover as much of his body as possible.  Yan Wushi must have been bored of him because he padded off to the monkey and tucked in.

Shen Qiao fell asleep in the coldest hours of the night, shivering while a wolf ate next to him.

Only, his sleep evened out a short time later, when something warm and solid settled around him.  Half asleep, he sighed and patted Yan Wushi’s head where it rested in his lap.

“Thank you,” he said.  Then he slipped back into sleep.

When Shen Qiao woke the next morning, the sun was already high in the sky, and aside from a smear of dark red blood across the front of his robes, there was no sign of Yan Wushi, not even the monkey’s corpse was left.

Shen Qiao mourned the damage to his robes, but between the dirt, the missing pieces, the torn edges, this set of robes would have gone into the trash regardless.

Yan Wushi had taken Shen Qiao’s dagger.

Shen Qiao thunked his head against the tree behind him.

At least in daylight, Shen Qiao could make it home.  He found the main path and walked all day, never once straying.  He had learned his lesson.

For as many creatures as he’d met on the way to his father’s grave, he didn’t meet a single one on the way back.  He almost wished that Yan Wushi would step out from the trees to tease him again, to mock his optimism.

But just as the sky was turning pink, Shen Qiao saw his home.  The hen they’d raised for the last year was sitting on the gate post preening herself, and Shen Qiao could just see their goat and sheep in the courtyard.

When the chicken caught sight of him, she hopped off her post and scampered towards him with ruffled feathers and some frantic clucking.  Shen Qiao picked her up and held her to his chest to calm her down.  The sheep and goat crowded him at the gate, looking for the extra bits he often kept in his sleeves.

“Sorry, sorry.  I don’t have anything right now.  I guess Yu Ai couldn’t feed you, huh?”  Shen Qiao side stepped them and placed the chicken on top of her coop, then he went inside the house.

“Yu Ai, I’m home,” he said, fully expecting Yu Ai to chew him out the second he crossed the threshold.

But it never came.

Shen Qiao glanced around their tiny home and found Yu Ai nowhere.  Nothing was out of place: the stove was smoldering, a pot of perpetual stew simmering over it; Shen Qiao’s books tucked up in a shelf; their father’s ax hanging over the door.

Everything was there, except Yu Ai.

Shen Qiao called out for him again, but no answer came.  Where could he have gone with a hurt ankle?  Shen Qiao poked his head out each window and called his brother’s name, but all he got were some very hungry animals bleating after him.

Shen Qiao stoked the hearth, then fed the animals, tossing in a bit of the fruit they liked as an apology for the late meal.

Then Shen Qiao ate a mouthful of stew, made himself a bath, and tossed his torn, bloody robes into the trash heap outside their home.  

Shen Qiao was just finishing up his bath when Yan Wushi’s voice came from one of the windows.

“If I’d known what you were hiding under all those frumpy robes, I might have kept you in the forest forever, you know.”

Shen Qiao, who had one leg out of the tub and one leg in, almost ended up with his ass on the floor.  He got his legs under him again, then pulled an inner robe on as quickly as he could.  “I didn’t expect to see Yan Wushi outside the forest.  I’m sorry for not greeting you properly.”

“You can always greet me properly now.”

“I’m afraid the house isn’t fit for visitors,” Shen Qiao said with burning ears.

Yan Wushi glanced around the room and said, “That’s true.”

When he didn’t elaborate, Shen Qiao sighed and asked, “How did you find me?”

“You were covered in monkey blood.  It has a very pungent odor.”  He twitched his nose for emphasis, then rummaged around in his sleeves.  “Here, look, I have gifts for you.”

Shen Qiao stayed where he was, halfway across the room.

“Oh, come now, it’s not like I’ll eat you in your own home.”

Shen Qiao still did not move.

“Aiyah, so distrustful!”

“Because of who?”

Yan Wushi pouted.  “I guess A-Qiao doesn’t want his dagger back then.”  He opened his hand to reveal the dagger Shen Qiao had left in the monkey’s body last night.

Shen Qiao hesitated.  He wanted the dagger back; his father had gifted it to him, but how could he know what kind of trick Yan Wushi would pull when their hands touched?

Yan Wushi’s ears flattened on his head, making him look…meek wasn’t the right word, but perhaps chastened?  Shen Qiao remembered the weight of Yan Wushi’s head in his lap, the warmth of his body around Shen Qiao’s.  Shen Qiao probably would have died without Yan Wushi’s help.

“But if you don’t want it…”

“No, I—” Shen Qiao sighed and took a step forward.  Yan Wushi’s ears flipped back up as his smirk widened into a genuine smile.  Shen Qiao wondered if his tail was wagging.  He approached slowly, but Yan Wushi just smiled that unnerving smile.

Shen Qiao took the dagger with no trouble.

“I have another gift for you here too.”  Yan Wushi pulled an egg out of his sleeve and presented it to Shen Qiao.

“An egg?”

“En.  For eating.  Or other things.  I got it from your sister.”

“My sister?”

“En.  She’s very talkative, you know.  You’d almost think she had no company.  Put it in your hearth.”  Yan Wushi placed the egg in Shen Qiao’s empty hand.

“Thank you?”

“You’re welcome.  I have another gift for you.”

“What have I done to deserve so many gifts from the great wolf of the forest?” Shen Qiao asked blithely.

“Come closer.”

Shen Qiao stepped closer.

“Closer.”

Shen Qiao stepped closer.

Yan Wushi leaned further through the window and planted a sloppy, wet kiss on Shen Qiao’s lips, like he was trying to lick the inside of Shen Qiao’s mouth.

“Yan Wushi!” Shen Qiao shouted as he shoved Yan Wushi’s face away.

Yan Wushi laughed and laughed.  He moved away from the window and laughed some more.  When he’d recovered enough to speak, he said, “Don’t forget what I said about the egg.”

And as soon as he’d appeared he was gone.

Shen Qiao rubbed at his lips.  Why had he kissed Shen Qiao?  His mouth smelled like rotting meat.  Ugh.

Shen Qiao put his dagger on the table beside the window, then with a sigh, he stuck the egg in the hearth and covered it in ash to cook.  Shen Qiao then began pacing around the house, picking things up and putting them back, contemplating if he should go out and look for Yu Ai.  Really, he wanted to lay down and sleep for the rest of the day, but—

“A-Qiao,” Yu Ai said as he came through the door.  He was wearing nice robes and had a heavy purse tied to his belt.  He rushed over to Shen Qiao and began looking him over, feeling his face, checking for any hurts or ills.  When he was satisfied, he smiled and said, “You’re home, thank goodness!  I was so worried about you!  You strayed off the path, didn’t you?  I told you not to go!  This is exactly why you can’t be on your own!”

“When did your ankle get better?” Shen Qiao asked.

“Just this morning.”

“Oh.  Where have you been?”

“I was searching for you in town.  And when I couldn’t find you, I bought some pastries, see?”  He pulled out a nicely tied package and handed it to Shen Qiao.

Shen Qiao unwrapped the package and ate one of the sweets right away, then said, “What a nice robe that is.  I don’t think I’ve seen it before.”

“I’ve had it for a while, but it’s too nice to wear every day.  I ran out of clothes while I was injured, so I had to pull it down from the cupboard.”

“How heavy your purse is,” Shen Qiao asked cooly.

“Remember when I lent money to Yi Bichen in the fall?  I collected while I was out.”

“What an odd perfume you have clinging to you.”  Since Yu Ai had walked through the door, Shen Qiao had been trying not to sneeze.

Yu Ai opened his mouth but no sound came out.

Shen Qiao waited, but eventually he said, “You went to see Kunye again, didn’t you?”

“We need to clear the house out by tomorrow.”

“Yu Ai!” Shen Qiao said, “You sold the house?  Father built this house!”

“Kunye paid twice what the property was worth.  I’ve already found us a nice place in the city.”

“Go back.  Return the money,” Shen Qiao said without room for argument, but Yu Ai found some anyway.

“You’re being stubborn again.”

“Father left this house to me.  I decide when we sell it, if we ever sell it.  What if Gu Hengbo or Tan Yuanchan try to return?  What if Yuan Ying comes home?  Did you fake the injury just so you could go behind my back to do this?”

“You never would have agreed!”

“I might have!”  Shen Qiao clenched his fists at his sides.  Yu Ai had painted a convenient picture of Shen Qiao in his mind, but Shen Qiao was not two-dimensional, nor was he stubborn for no reason.  He loved their home, but if there were benefits to moving to the city, Shen Qiao would have weighed them fairly, knowing his dear brother had trusted him to make the right decision.

As it stood, Yu Ai didn’t trust Shen Qiao’s judgement, had lied to him, treated him like an easily distracted child.

He was hurt.

“You’re too stubborn,” Yu Ai repeated on an exhale.  “It’s already been done, so it doesn’t matter.  And what about you?  You said you’d be back before dinner yesterday.  It’s almost dinner today!”

Shen Qiao clenched his jaw.  “I got lost.”

“So you did leave the path,” Yu Ai said smugly, as if that absolved his own wrongdoings.

“There was blood on the path before me, what was I supposed to do?”

“It doesn’t matter what is before you, you stick to the path.”

“Now who’s being stubborn?”

Yu Ai’s lip curled.  Yu Ai stepped towards him, and for a moment, Shen Qiao thought this fight might actually come to blows, but instead, his brother placed his hands on Shen Qiao’s shoulders and his face smoothed out.

“What’s done is done.  Let’s have supper, ah?  We can talk more once you have a real meal in your stomach.”

Shen Qiao thought about pointing out that this would be the last supper they’d get to enjoy in the comfort of their childhood home, but he decided against it.  He didn’t want Yu Ai angry.  So he and Yu Ai went to the kitchen and emptied out their pantry.

Outside, their goat bleated in alarm.  Yu Ai put the radish in his hand on the counter and went to the window.

“There’s something out there,” he muttered.

Shen Qiao joined him at the window, but didn’t see anything amiss.

“Just there,” Yu Ai pointed over the wall and into the trees they used to climb when they were young.  “There’s something out there.”

‘It’s a good thing we’re moving then,’ Shen Qiao thought bitterly.  He left Yu Ai at the window and went to chop some cabbage.  A long howl made Shen Qiao pause.

Why was Yan Wushi sticking around?  Didn’t he know that if Yu Ai found him, Yan Wushi would end up dead?!

“It’s the wolf,” Yu Ai muttered.  “It’s the wolf.  Shen Qiao, did you speak to the wolf?”

Shen Qiao lifted his head to answer, but Yu Ai was suddenly on him, shaking him by the shoulders.

“Shen Qiao!  Did you speak to the wolf?!”

“I-I—!  Yes!  I spoke to him!”

“What did he say to you?!”

Shen Qiao had never seen Yu Ai look so angry.

“He just told me I was naïve!  That he knew father!  He’s the only reason I made it home!”

Yu Ai stopped shaking him, and suddenly he was back to his usual self.  He smoothed down Shen Qiao’s robes and smiled shakily.

“A-Qiao, I told you to stay on the path!  What would I have done if he’d eaten you?  Ah, I’ll go take care of him after supper.”

Shen Qiao smiled back, but Yu Ai was acting very strangely.  When they added their vegetables to the perpetual stew, Yu Ai’s hands shook, and he kept glancing at Shen Qiao out of the corner of his eye.

Shen Qiao was also keeping an eye on Yu Ai, so he saw when Yu Ai took a vial of something out of his belt and nonchalantly poured a few drops into Shen Qiao’s bowl.

“I’m feeling a draft,” Shen Qiao said when he sat at the table with his poisoned stew, “Would you mind stoking the hearth?”

Yu Ai went back to the hearth and moved the ashes.  The sudden heat caused the egg to explode, hot yolk hitting Yu Ai in the face.  He stumbled backwards, cursing Shen Qiao.

“I knew you were plotting!  You can’t let go of this damn house, I should have dealt with you first!”

Shen Qiao, who had genuinely felt cold, was shocked.

“What do you mean, ‘dealt with’?” he asked.

But Yu Ai was too angry to hear him, instead he stumbled around the house looking for a cloth to wipe his face off.  His eyes must have been burned because he knocked over one of the side tables, and cleared a whole shelf off.

Another howl, this time closer, sounded.  Their chicken screeched outside.

“The damned wolf!  He told you, didn’t he?!”

“Yu Ai, come here, I’ll dress your wounds,” Shen Qiao stood and held his hand out to Yu Ai, but Yu Ai spat at him.

“You want me dead, I know!  Can’t you see I’m doing it for your own good!”  He stumbled past Shen Qiao towards the door.  “I’ll kill that damned wolf!”  He blindly ran into the door, and their father’s ax, which they’d always kept above, fell off its pegs.

Shen Qiao flinched and looked away; there was a sickening thump, and when Shen Qiao opened his eyes, Yu Ai was dead on the floor, their father’s ax lodged deep in the back of his skull.  Yan Wushi was leaning through  a nearby window, looking very bored.  When he made eye contact with Shen Qiao he smiled slowly.

“I’d offer to eat him, but we might both find that distasteful,” he said.

Shen Qiao sighed heavily.

“On the bright side, your other siblings are out here, alive.”

“What?!”  Shen Qiao was already stepping over Yu Ai’s body and rushing through the door.  In the courtyard near the chicken coup, all three of Shen Qiao’s other siblings were sitting, very naked and very confused.

“Where…?”

“Didn’t it ever strike you as odd that you had three siblings and then three animals?” Yan Wushi drawled.  “It’s cute how stupid you are.”

Shen Qiao shook his head, but put Yan Wushi’s words out of his mind.  One by one, he picked up his siblings and carried them inside to their old sleeping places. Yan Wushi disappeared with Yu Ai’s body for a while as Shen Qiao dressed his siblings and tucked them in.   He had left the door open, and when Yan Wushi returned, he dallied there, looking very much like he’d like to come in, but didn’t dare without Shen Qiao’s permission.  It was an odd thing for him to do considering he’d always eschewed manners in the past.  Shen Qiao wanted to see how long it would last, so he puttered around the house acting like he was tidying up.

“Well?” Yan Wushi eventually said.

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t you going to invite me in for a meal?  I can smell you have stew on.”

Shen Qiao laughed.  He dumped the potion-ed  bowl out a window, ignoring Yan Wushi’s comments (“You don’t want to see what animal you’d turn into?”), then poured Yan Wushi a fresh bowl, and set it on the table.

“Come inside if you’re hungry, then.”