Chapter Text
MengZhu
Yesterday is still a blur. Rationally Yun BiQiu knows what happened, but emotionally he hasn’t even started processing Li LianHua forgiving and even healing him. His sect leader told him to live for himself and to live well. Eager to please, he had made that promise. But twenty hours later self-doubt, the gnawing sensation of guilt and tendrils of self-hatred are back.
He simply doesn’t deserve this. He doesn’t deserve forgiveness, let alone a good life. No matter what Li LianHua (or was it Li XiangYi yesterday?) told him, his mistakes will forever haunt him. He should still be punished, as his good deeds matter little, regardless of what Li LianHua says.
And so he remains in his office once more directing his spies, though there is little to spy about with Shan GuDao and Jiao LiQiao dead. All major players deserted the playing field. JinYuan Alliance is back under Di FeiSheng’s control and no longer poses a threat. Everything is peaceful and quiet which leaves him edgy because he has nothing to do.
Ji HanFo visited earlier, eager to apologize for condemning him to death only yesterday and BiQiu dutifully listened, but his heart wasn’t in it. Why apologize in the first place? Ji HanFo, Bai JiangChun, and ShiShui did what they had to do. He doesn’t blame them, but HanFo apparently blames himself. Odd.
With the Snow Master’s poison inside his veins, he would have died a slow and painful death, but deep down he still mourns the fact that ShiShui failed to execute him. The one thing he never expected was for Li LianHua sacrificing his secret identity in order to rescue him. Li XiangYi showing himself upended his world in so many ways.
//
Is Yun BiQiu ignoring her on purpose? Is this payback for her eagerness to kill him? ShiShui studies him. Seated behind his desk, Yun BiQiu looks like he always does. Dressed in purple, his white-streaked hair caught in a hair clasp, and his right hand holding a writing pen. But on closer inspection something does seem off; the expression in those eyes.
She tries again, showing him respect by calling him, “Yun-YuanZhu!” Respect that she withheld from him for ten years. They condemned him, even after learning about Jiao LiQiao. And she was the worst of them, openly showing her hatred. “BiQiu!” she eventually calls out and yes, that gets his attention as his body twitches and his vision finally focuses. Damn, she didn’t want to upset him.
“ShiShui! I am sorry, I was lost in thought.” He quickly apologizes as he hates being on her bad side. Her sharp tongue cuts deeper than any blade ever can. “How may I assist you today?” What is she doing here in the first place? He can easily count the times on one hand that she entered his office. Is he in trouble?
She knows she made mistakes, but her pride still prevents her from owning up to them. She isn’t ready to apologize like HanFo did. “This arrived for you.” She almost succumbed and opened the wooden box, but successfully fought her paranoia. A part of her still doesn’t trust him, but she is working on that. She must!
“You didn’t have to deliver this in person. Why not sent a disciple?” BiQiu quickly gets up and walks over to her. “No need to trouble yourself,” he repeats in case she will hold this against him.
“No, it’s fine.” She looks at him -really looks- and sees him for the first time. His haunted expression, the gray strands, the nervously twitching hands that betray his anxiety. She is partly to blame for that and quickly hands him the wooden box. “BiQiu, I…” But words fail her. How to apologize when she still detests him for not standing up to Jiao LiQiao in the first place?
“Thank you for delivering this to me,” he diplomatically tells her and waits for her to leave. Why does she continue to stand there, staring at him?
She pushes the box into his hands, angry with herself for being unable to let go of her resentment. Taking the first step is hard, but she must if they are to move forward. “What’s inside?” Will showing interest do the trick?
She’s still suspicious of him, which comes as no surprise. In her eyes he will always be a traitor and not to be trusted. Of course she will want to know what’s inside the box. “I have no idea,” he honestly tells her. Opening it, he grows still – silent. That can’t be….
“Li-MenZhu’s leadership token!” ShiShui stares at it in shock. What is that doing here?
“There must be some mistake,” he soothes her and hands her the box. “It’s probably meant for HanFo.” Seeing it shocks him too, but he’s better at hiding it. He would be a bad spy if he couldn’t control his emotions.
“No, the letter has your name on it, not HanFo’s.” That’s Li XiangYi’s writing for sure. “Why would MenZhu do this?” She’s tempted to grab the letter and read it, but it’s addressed to Yun BiQiu. “What does it say?”
“I don’t know.” BiQiu hands it to her since it’s obvious she’s dying to know.
“No!” She stares at him in shock. “That’s your name on it, not mine.” That he would hand it to her stuns her. It also makes her look at him in detail. He’s worried, she realizes, and maybe even scared. Scared of what she will make of this. “You read it.” She pushes the letter into his hand.
Dealing with ShiShui always drains him. Eager to get this over with, he opens the envelope and unfolds the letter.
-- BiQiu,
My dear friend, I sent you this token knowing you have our sect’s best interest at heart. BiQiu, please keep an eye on what’s left of our sect. If something threatens our people, please act. Know that I fully trust you. Only you can do this.
Li LianHua –-
His fingers tremble, lose their grip on the parchment and it gently drifts onto the floor where ShiShui is quick to collect it. He doesn’t mind her reading it, why would he? She will deal with the situation by rightly stating that he doesn’t deserve Li LianHua’s trust. The token belongs with HanFo, not him.
She reads the letter again and again and Li LianHua’s trust in Yun BiQiu shocks her. “Why?” She stares at him. “Why does he trust you?”
“I don’t know.” He needs to act quickly and he once more offers her the token. “Take it to HanFo, burn the letter and forget this ever happened.”
What annoys her more? Li-MenZhu trusting Yun BiQiu to such an extent or BiQiu surrendering the token so easily? Or is it her inability to give BiQiu a chance to prove himself? He doesn’t need to prove anything to her, she reminds herself. He already proved his loyalty. “MenZhu gave it to you.” Which makes Yun BiQiu the new sect leader, doesn’t it? How does she feel about that? Well, she never liked Xiao ZiJin to begin with.
“Which is a terrible mistake and we both know that.” Why isn’t she taking the token? “ShiShui, I need to return to work.” There isn’t that much backlog, but he did fail his duties these past few days.
“No, I won’t take it. It’s yours.” She steps back, puts the wooden box on his desk and glares at him. “Li-MenZhu gave it to you for a reason.” This is it; she made her choice and will back him up. It’s about time she makes amends after wronging him. His shock is almost comical. “You are now in charge of Sigu sect,” she reminds him, “You need to make a formal announcement and present the token to our people so they know about the change in leadership.” Xiao ZiJin can go to hell for all she cares and she is eager to send him walking.
“No!” How did this go wrong so quickly? “ShiShui, we both know I am no leader.” Does she really think HanFo, JiangChun and other sect members will accept him? Surely she will be the first to point out he’s a traitor and not to be trusted?
“BiQiu, Li-MenZhu himself appointed you sect leader!” His reaction –denial and rejection- fuels her anger. She might still be in shock, but she will always follow where Li XiangYi leads. “Yun-MenZhu,” and she reminds herself to bow and pay him respect. “Please give your orders.”
“No,” he whimpers, clueless as to why she’s acting in that way. “I am not sect leader. This token belongs to Li XiangYi and in his absence it should go to HanFo.”
“Stop being stubborn!” Her true nature slips back in when she snarls at him. “Give Li- MenZhu respect! He chose you!” Li XiangYi must have his reasons! “Act your part!”
Damage control is all he can think about now that he failed to convince her. “You can’t tell anyone. This is our secret!” No one can know.
“Why? Our sect needs to know it has a new leader.” And she can’t wait to see Xiao ZiJin’s face when he realizes he’s been demoted! Serves him right. Qiao WanMian should have walked out on that man a long time ago, or even better, should never have given him a chance! “Are you afraid someone will disagree and attempt to murder you?” It’s the only reason she can think of. It’s also something she can take care of. Anyone disagreeing with Li-MenZhu’s decision will be punished and she is secure in her ability to keep Yun BiQiu safe.
Her question stuns him. As far as he is concerned anyone wanting to kill him because he is a traitor is justified to do so. He IS a traitor. What he worries about is sect members thinking he somehow manipulated Li XiangYi into giving him the token and HanFo having no choice but to punish, imprison or ban him. There’s already talk about him forcing Li XiangYi to save and heal him. He doesn’t want to tarnish their sect’s reputation in whatever way. But he can work with her suggestions. “Yes, that’s why we need to keep this a secret.” Allowing ShiSui to think it’s a safety concern might gain him her cooperation.
“I understand,” she quickly assures him, “I will look into it and deal with anyone posing a threat.”
No! That isn’t what he wants, but her determination is obvious. “No need to take such drastic action.” The last thing he wants is sect members wrongly imprisoned.
"Leave it to me. I will take care of it and I will also organize the ceremony.” After all, they have a proper sect leader now -one Li XiangYi appointed himself. She turns toward the doorway, reminds herself to pay him respect and leaves. Her tread is lighter and her eyes shine with pride.
BiQiu remains behind in shock and stares at the token. None of that happened, did it? Maybe hallucinations are a side effect of having been poisoned? But no, the token is heavy and real. This happened and all he can hope for is to keep this a secret. No one can know!
TBC