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„Hui Niang, wait for me.“, Shen Langhun is laughing and quickening his pace after his wife. It still lights his heart to see her so full of energy after she had been so sick for most of her life. She turns her head around to grin at him.
“Can’t catch up? Should I ask Liu-daifu for a tonic for you as well?”, she chuckles and turns around again. He huffs with amusement and disappears in the next shadow he steps into, only to reappear from the shadow of a tree in front of her. She collides with his chest and he catches her in his arms, a satisfied smirk on his lips.
“You were saying?”, he teases and she laughs, the sound like silver bells in his heart.
“You cheater.”, she accuses and kisses his cheek. “Stop dawdling, Liu-daifu said he doesn’t have much time today, before he leaves for a journey at noon.” She pats his chest and he steps back, grasping her hand as they continue on their way to the clinic outside of town at the foot of Huoyun mountain. They arrive and can already hear a loud familiar voice from inside.
“Liu-daifu you can’t just leave without proper notice! What are my men going to do without you here? They are all ruffians and don’t know their strength, what if-“
The young voice gets interrupted by a huff and a voice filled with scepticism.
“Xiao-Chi, if you can’t control your crew of bandits in that fortress of yours, why should I even bother patching them up again and again?”, the sound of ceramic vials being packed into a bag echoes out from the entrance of the clinic.
“And it’s not like Xiao-Hong won’t still be here to sew them together again. She’s more than capable enough to handle your band of ruffians.”, Liu-daifu praises his apprentice and Shen Langhun accompanies his wife as she enters the clinic through the open door.
“Good morning, Liu-daifu!”, Hui Niang greets the healer with a smile. The tall, slim man turns around with a wide grin, that replaces the face of annoyance from before.
“Hui-guniang!”, he greets back, before the doctor’s gaze falls onto Shen Langhun and delight falls into a smirk. “Ah, no, it’s Shen-furen now, isn’t it?”
The other occupant of the room, the young master of the Huoyun fortress bandits on the top of this mountain scoffs and turns away, pouting adorably. Shen Langhun can’t help but chuckle at the young man.
“I’ve prepared your medicine for the next two months, just to be sure, but I should be back in one month. I would have Xiao Hong deliver them to you, you didn’t need to personally come here, Shen-furen.” Liu-daifu explains as he picks up two carefully bound packages from the counter at the front and holds them out to his wife. Shen Langhun steps up and takes them from him.
“I couldn’t stop her from coming, she wanted to wish you a good journey, Liu-daifu.” A slender hand hits his arm in reprimand.
“Ignore my husband, Liu-daifu, the autumn sun has gone to his head. But yes, I wish you and your friend a good journey.”, she smiles at the healer and lights up at the normally so shameless man’s cheeks dusting pink. Shen Langhun rolls his eyes at his wife’s antics. His gaze drifts into the backyard of the clinic, where he can see Hong-guniang and the so called friend of their resident doctor sorting through the dried herbs on the racks, teasing each other and laughing. The man isn’t as tall as the healer, but most people aren’t. Seeing him smirk at Hong-guniang, dark eyes glittering with mischief, he can see how he has captured their close hearted healer.
A strange feeling of relieved happiness fills his chest at the thought, like seeing a tragedy resolve into a happy ending. Weird. He shakes his head to dismiss it. He turns back to the pair of bickering children that is his wife and the man that saved her life and another kind of happiness fills his heart.
“Hui Niang, don’t hold up the good doctor for too long, they surly want to be on their way soon.”, he reminds them more than her and she sends him a knowing look.
“True, true, we’re just packing some last things and are on our way. Please take this big lump with you when you leave.”, Liu-daifu gestures to the still sulking young man in the corner of his clinic. The young man breathes in in affront and Shen Langhun can’t help but laugh at him, promptly getting the full brunt of his ire, as he is sent a death glare that just looks adorable on him.
“No worries, Liu-daifu.”, Shen Langhun reassures the man and shadow walks across the room to promptly heave the young man over his shoulder, ignoring the loud and useless protests and the laughter from his wife. “Have a safe journey, both of you.”
He bows shortly and walks out of the clinic, firm grip on his struggling package. His wife follows shortly, having said her own good byes to the people in the clinic, and grins up at him and the still protesting bandit leader. He can’t help himself and leans down to have a taste of that grin, which promptly silences his loud package with embarrassment.
“You shameless man.”, teases his wife. “Traumatizing the poor boy.”
“I’m not a poor boy, I’m the leader of Huoyun fortress!”, their package complains.
“Are you going to be a good boy then and not run back to the clinic and hold back Liu-daifu from his well earned honeymoon?”, she asks him teasingly, making Shen Langhun bark a laugh and the young man sputter.
“Wha- good bo- Put me down, put me down, I won’t go back.”, he begins struggling again and Shen Langhun puts him down back onto his feet. He ignores the spluttering young man and links his arm with his wife’s, turning back towards the path towards the town.
“Hey! Don’t just walk away! Fight me, I demand a duel!”, gets called after them and the sound of quick footsteps follows them.
“He’s quite adorable.”, his wife leans in and whispers. Shen Langhun grins.
“He is.”
-+-
Fang Ci looks over at her brother and his… new friend? It’s weird but delightful how her graceful brother loses all his poetry and elegance with words in the face of the very pretty and amazing young cook. She had at first been a little apprehensive, because what kind of person would be able to capture the attention of her outgoing, but always a little aloof brother? Don’t get her wrong, she loves him and he is respected in all of the Jianghu as a musical cultivator and outside of that as a musician who is favored by many. So, she had just hoped it wasn’t someone wanting to leach off her brother, who sometimes is just too kind.
But all her worries flew out of the window after meeting Fu Zhumei. The young cook is down to earth and charming in his own clumsy way. She watches as they both talk about the last performance of her brother while Fu-xiong prepares dinner, the chop stick in his hand tapping against the table, end, tip, tip, end, middle, end, end, tip, middle, while the other hand stirs and puts some spices into the steaming pot. Another habit of her new… brother that she finds weirdly comforting.
It seems, she doesn’t have to worry about her brother being lonely without her anymore and can maybe spend more time away. Her thoughts drift of to a certain, stubborn martial artist in the Sword Alliance and she snorts in frustration. Someday, hopefully soon, the other woman will get her hints.
-+-
“Nope.”, Liu Yan says and turns around, barely getting in one step, before an arm snakes around his chest and pulls him back, dragging him along with more strength than this slender arm should have.
“Courage, A’Yan.”, the beloved voice reminds him and dark eyes look up at him, flashing gold for a moment. Liu Yan lets himself sink against the smaller man, both arms slinging around A’Li, hugging him close, making him stumble into the sudden embrace.
“A’Li… you could go without me? I would think it’s too much with both of us just turning up and-“, I don’t deserve to see him again, do I? - the thought flitting through his mind before he can stop it, but at least it hadn’t left his mouth. Firm hands grasp his head and push him away until he looks down into his lovely fox demon’s face.
“I’m not going alone.” Tang Lici scolds him firmly and Liu Yan squirms, something like joy knocking against his ribs. “We don’t have to talk to him, we’re just… checking if he’s alright.”
Their journey from Huoyun mountain down to the southern sea has taken them almost three weeks and these days have been fraught with indecision and doubts on both their sides. Both of them may not fully remember the timeline that A’Li had sacrificed himself to re-write, but they remember enough to be nervous, ashamed and almost feverish with hope.
“It’s going to be night before we reach Yinyushi if you keep dawdling like this, A’Yan.”, Tang Lici complains, a pout forming on soft lips and a teasing spark in his dark eyes. Liu Yan ducks out of his grip to steal a kiss and then quickly walks on, a grin on his face and a lighter heart. The other man behind him laughs and joins him, shaking his head at the healers’ antics.
“Sometimes I feel you should have been the fox demon, you shameless man.” Tang Lici comments, his two-toned locks blowing in the breeze coming from the sea.
“There’s no-one here, A’Li. Who should I feel ashamed for?”, is the thick-faced man’s reply, grabbing his beloved one’s hand, entwining their fingers. The fox demon chuckles and nods, like this just proves what he had said, but tightens his hold on the healers’ hand in his. They both need the courage it gives them, to hold onto the other.
It takes them another hour to reach Yinyushi, the small town still busy with the fish market and they sit down at one of the restaurants, eating various of the local dishes, while watching the people passing them by. Liu Yan is sneakily stealing one of the side dishes for himself, when the sound of clattering chopsticks makes him look up at his companion. His face tells him everything.
Dark eyes are focused on a point behind him, captured and wide, full of despair and love and fear. Liu Yan reaches out for A’Li’s hand and doesn’t dare to turn around.
“How does he look?”, he whispers more than asks. Tears gather in both their eyes as Tang Lici smiles, heartbroken and happy.
“He looks good. Great. Xiao-Fu is with him.”, A’Li whispers back, voice broken and barely audible.
“What?”, Liu Yan breathes and turns around.
It’s true, standing at a stall selling fresh fish are two men, and even if he’s seeing them for the first time in this life, he knows them even just seeing their backs. The first tears fall as Liu Yan notices the jade beads in both their hair, not as many as in his own hair, or as unusual as the jade rings in A’Li’s, but it is something they all started to wear in another life, to not make him feel excluded when he was honoring the culture of his destroyed people.
He laughs and turns around, looking down at his food and squeezing the hand in his. Tang Lici looks at him now, his own tears sliding down his handsome face.
“That’s good. They’ve found each other. It’s perfect.” Liu Yan hiccups, wiping at his tears and smiling at A’Li. The fox demon nods, gaze flickering over to the two strangers that are so close to both their hearts.
“Yes.”, he nods and looks back at Liu Yan. “It’s perfect.”, he smiles, almost heartbroken and Liu Yan cannot let that stand. He stands up.
“What are you doing?”, Tang Lici hisses, holding onto his arm and pulling him back down, eyes wide.
“Going over and inviting them to our meal.” Liu Yan reasons, despite his heart almost beating out of his throat. A second hand grabs his arm.
“No…”, Tang Lici slides across, closer, entangling their legs, so Liu Yan can’t stand up. “No, let them be. It’s fine. They seem happy. Look.” He nods in their direction and Liu Yan looks once more.
Fu Zhumei is laughing over at Fang Zhou, radiating pure joy, his beautiful eyes shining with happiness, the fingers of one hand, tap, tap, tapping against the older man’s arm. Fang Zhou smiles back at him, his expression soft with love and gentle teasing. The scene robs his breath and Liu Yan turns back around to A’Li, finding his dark gaze filled with that same devastation, understanding and love that seems to flood his own chest. He takes a shuddering breath.
A'Li pulls him into a hug and Liu Yan can’t help but laugh, a little broken maybe, but true.
“I’m glad they’re happy.”, he murmurs, clinging to the fox demon, pressing his face into soft hair and breathing in his beloved scent.
A’Li hums, nuzzling at his ear.
“Me too.”
-+-
“Have you heard? Miracle-doctor Liu has arrived two days ago, he’s staying at the eastern Inn in town.” Fang Zhou overhears one washer woman telling the butcher lady on his way home in the evening.
“Miracle-doctor Liu? Is someone sick?”, is whispered back.
“No, no. Nie-furen says he didn’t come alone. Apparently, he’s on his honeymoon and he doesn’t like to be called Miracle-doctor.”, another woman chimes in, leaning over from her sorting of vegetables.
Fang Zhou chuckles as he passes them by. It’s always interesting what these three neighbors of his are discussing. He himself has heard of Miracle-doctor Liu Yan from hearsay on his many travels through the Jianghu, of course. The healer is famous for his innovative cures, actually saving half the population of Sword City from a plague a few years back, his cures against poisons and his humble way of living. Keeping his small clinic at the foot of Huoyun mountain open for all people, no matter how rich or poor.
Interesting that he should come here for a visit, even a honeymoon, if his neighbor ladies can be believed. Maybe his spouse has family nearby.
Fang Zhou shrugs these musings out of his mind and makes his way home, groceries in hand. It’s a few more minutes before he enters the house with a smile, hearing the familiar tap, tap, tap of beloved hands.
“Xiao-Fu, I’m home!”, he calls out and frowns when he doesn’t get an answer after a while, just the continued tapping. That’s when he feels the energy in the air, weaving in and out and thickening the closer he gets towards their garden in the back of the house.
“Xiao-Fu?”, he calls once more and steps outside.
He finds the young man kneeling at their small well, hands drumming against his thigh, against the bucket from the well, against the wooden well cover, leaning against the stone besides him. Waves and streaks of energy rise and ebb with the rhythm of these hands, some sharp and almost cutting, others softer than a feather.
Fang Zhou’s heart starts hammering in his own chest with concern, with fear. Xiao-Fu had told him that this sometimes happens, but it is the first time that he witnesses it.
“Xiao-Fu? Fu Zhumei?” he tries once more, maybe too soft over the rising energies and the rhythm of sounds. He walks around and kneels before his friend, brother, his love. The usually glittering eyes are half-closed and dull, unseeing of anything that is happening around them, beads of sweat have gathered on pale skin, running down in small rivulets. Xiao-Fu’s breath is fast, almost frantic, as if his mind is chasing after something that no one else can see, where no one else can go. Fang Zhou is unsure what to do, he can’t leave him like this, even if Fu Zhumei has told him to just leave him be if this happened.
The decision is taken out of his hands after one particular strong hit against the bucket splits skin and Xiao-Fu just continues drumming with bloody fingers leaving imprints on every surface. Fang Zhou’s own hands shoot out and catch them, catch Xiao-Fu’s wrists, holding him firmly and trying to gently ease some of his own qi into inflamed and pulsating meridians. He struggles for a moment to hold onto the resisting limbs still wanting to continue their rhythm, but then, like a puppet cut from strings, Fu Zhumei collapses and Fang Zhou barely manages to catch him before he hits his head against the well.
“Xiao-Fu!”, he calls, to no reaction, the frantic breath from before now almost non-existing. Before he knows what he is doing, he has Xiao-Fu cradled in his arms and is running back towards the town proper, straight towards the eastern Inn.
The Inn is busy at this time of the evening, even if it’s autumn, nearing winter and not a lot of people travel in this season. Nie-furen looks up as he comes in, eyes widening as she notices his face and Xiao-Fu in his arms.
“The doctor, where is he?”, he asks, out of breath from running all the way here with his precious cargo. Nie-furen points up towards the first floor, towards the rooms on the left and Fang Zhou is half-way up the stairs before she can call “the outermost room at the end of the corridor” after him.
As he has no means to knock at the door, he dismisses politeness and just storms in, finding two men sitting at a tea table, heads close, intimate. For a split moment everything seems to freeze as Fang Zhou registers these strangers looking over at him in affront and then in pure shock.
The feeling of Deja-vu is almost familiar by now and still it overwhelms him like a wave crushing against the rocks in a storm. The taller of them has the darkest eyes he has ever seen, alight with so many emotions it’s almost incomprehensible. His near to black hair is pulled into tiny braids, decorated with many pale jade tube beads, that are pulled back into a half up, half down style. He knows him like the marrow in his bones and it’s frightening.
Then his gaze falls to the other man and he can’t breathe.
The split moment passes and the taller man jumps from his seat and is by his side in two long strides.
“Xiao-Fu!”, he calls, voice filled with worry, taking the young man from Fang Zhou’s arms with greatest care, but professional haste and putting him down onto the bed at the side of the room. Fang Zhou watches, still breathless, mind still trying to catch up from the worry about Xiao-Fu to meeting these familiar strangers, to whatever is happening now. It almost feels like a qi deviation.
He watches as the man he assumes to be Liu-daifu, feels Xiao-Fu’s pulse, first at his wrist, then at his neck, expression fully focused and grim. Then beautiful, strong hands are gracefully moving, almost glowing with qi, and five needles fly from his sleeve, inserting themselves into the main acu-points over Xiao-Fu’s heart. Then the qi-glowing hands grasp the young cooks head, fingers pressing into certain areas.
“Fang Zhou.”, a soft voice brings him back into reality and he sucks in a long-needed breath. He startles at the close proximity of the stranger besides him and forces himself to look at him again. Two-toned hair in soft locks, small jade rings woven in at the temples. The biggest eyes in which he can almost see a reflection of himself, before they blink and Fang Zhou’s gaze falls to the soft looking mouth, forming a worried, little smile. Slender fingers reach out towards his own, bringing with them a touch of qi that soothes his own into a calmer, steadier flow. He truly did almost go into qi deviation.
A relieved sigh pulls his attention back towards the doctor and Xiao-Fu and he almost falls to his knees as all the tension in his body leaves him at the sight of the small smile on the healers’ face. The stranger besides him catches him and sits him down as comfortably as one can sit down on a wooden floor, joining him.
He watches as the doctor, slowly, carefully, pulls out one needle after the other, slipping them back into his sleeve with practiced motions. Then he gently takes Xiao-Fu’s injured hand and cleans it before neatly bandaging it up. But as he wants to stand up and get back to them, a quick hand reaches out and catches his sleeve. Liu-daifu turns and looks at his patient with raised brows, a fondness in his gaze that would never be shown to a stranger. Xiao-Fu’s eyes slide open, tired, but awake, present.
“A’Yan. Don’t leave.”, the whisper brings the good doctor back to his patients’ side, grasping his hand in his.
“I won’t, don’t worry, Xiao-Fu, I’m here.”, the tall man reassures him and Fang Zhou watches as the softest kiss is placed against Xiao-Fu’s forehead, making the young man relax and close his eyes into sleep. Fang Zhou slumps even further into himself and finds himself caught and leaning against the smaller man besides him.
“A’Li.”, the name is on his tongue, filled with love; and if he hadn’t gone through this before, if this hadn’t already happened once with Xiao-Fu, he doesn’t know if he would have survived the absolute onslaught of non-memories and emotions that are bombarding into his mind, his heart, his soul.
“It’s okay. It’s fine. It’s gonna be fine, just breathe.”, the young man, A’Li(?), soothes him, fingers again grasping his and sending soothing qi through his meridians.
“You know me, you know us.”, it’s more a statement than a question, but the other two men still nod.
“Yes. Like you know us.” Fang Zhou shakes his head at the younger man’s words.
“No, you knew me before you saw me, I only knew you as I saw you.”, he doesn’t know how he knows this, but he knows it is true. And the guilty look exchanged between the two men is answer enough.
“I-“, the one besides him starts, eyes darting away, full of shame, guilt and hidden devastation.
“A’Li changed the timeline and almost erased himself from it to bring about a better world.”, Liu Yan throws in from the bed, words clear, almost aggressive, as if daring him not to believe them. As if scolding the young man besides him for doing so.
“Liu Yan!”, comes the immediate, infuriated shout, but the healer just grins meanly, and sticks out his tongue.
“We can dance around that for the rest of the night, or we can just say it and see what happens, no sense in delaying it unnecessarily.”, Liu Yan shrugs, seemingly uncaring, but Fang Zhou can see how the taller man shivers, his limbs shaking with nervous energy and fear. And so does the young man besides him.
“And in this other timeline, we knew each other?”, he looks between them. “All four of us?”
Another nod from both of them and Fang Zhou focuses on the young man besides him.
“A’Li…?” he leaves the question open and the other offers a shaky smile.
“Tang Lici, that’s my full name.” Another puzzle piece seems to slide back into his soul.
“He’s a fox demon now.”, Liu Yan throws towards them and Fang Zhou almost laughs at the affronted look Tang Lici throws at the healer.
“I take it you weren’t before?”, he asks carefully, still trying to wrap his mind around it. Tang Lici smiles, eyes shy and Fang Zhou’s heart goes Oh.
“No. But I am now.” Fang Zhou nods, thoughts drifting.
“It must have been painful, that other timeline. If it made you risk everything, even yourself.” Liu Yan looks away, expression stricken and full of guilt, while Tang Lici just smiles softly.
“It doesn’t matter, it’s better now.”
Fang Zhou looks at all of them, askew and shivering, emotional. Leaning against each other, clinging onto each other’s hands. Strangers who are connected in their souls. He doesn’t know why, but he smiles, enjoying the light that enters the other men’s gazes as he does so.
“Yeah, it’s better now.”
-+-
Epilogue
-+-
“Stupid Liu-daifu, stupid Tang Huli, they better be back by now or I’m getting my men and personally drag them back from whatever hole they’re hiding in.” Chi Yun, bandit leader of Huoyun Fortress mutters under his breath, as he makes his way towards the clinic at the foot of his mountain.
It’s been five months now, since the healer and that stupid fox left for their journey and they still hadn’t returned. His second in command, Xiao Hong and that brute Shen Langhun had all laughed at him. It’s an early winter, they had said. Of course they can’t travel back easily. Pah. It’s spring now, so they better be back.
When he turns the corner in the path, around the trees of the first outliers from the mountain forest, he gets a glimpse of the clinic and halts in his steps. Then he runs forwards.
“What is happening here?”, he asks, eyes wide looking at all the timber that is stacked up as high as him.
“Good morning to you too, Xiao Chi.”, Chi Yun hears from inside the house, quickly followed by a familiar, annoying laugh.
“Liu-daifu, Tang Huli, you’re back!”, he grins and then quickly scowls. “Took you long enough. What is the meaning of this?” He points to all the tools and wood-planks and beams.
“We’re adding some rooms to the clinic.” Tang Huli answers as he steps out, his insufferable smirk in place. Chi Yun grimaces in annoyance, his heart warm and giddy to see his friend again.
“Why?”
“So that more people can live here, obviously.”, Liu-daifu joins them, looking down at Chi Yun and winking with hidden meaning. Chi Yun squints his eyes at him, trying to figure out what that is supposed to mean.
“More people? Did you make friends while you were away?”
Both of the older men laugh, but the gaze they are sharing is disgustingly soft and Chi Yun tries not to gag. He has to suffer through this sweetness every time he gets roped into dinner with Shen Langhun and Shen-furen, he doesn’t need it here as well.
“You could say that.”, Tang Lici nods and smiles at him, making Chi Yun automatically smile back at him, already forgetting that he was annoyed at them.
“I’m looking forward to meeting them. Should I send my men down to help with the building?”
Now Liu-daifu’s smile softens.
“That would be appreciated, thank you.”
Chi Yun quickly turns around and walks away, his cheeks warm against the cool spring breeze. These people are just too pretty, it’s unnatural.
“Have a good day, Xiao Chi!”, Tang Huli calls after him, a laugh in his voice. He just waves him off and makes his way back down the path, feet light.
Chi Yun laughs as he enters the town under his protection, his heart and spirit lifted high now that his people are all back again. Time to find Bai-guniang and see if she has a moment for him.
-+-
The End