If one were to visit Mount Faa at this point, and observe the sect closely, they might notice that the atmosphere seemed a bit strange.
The disciples dutifully trained and cultivated as usual, although perhaps their training was a little more intense, and they cuItivated for longer, well into the night hours when they would usually be asleep.
The Fire Master, Ying Fo, was more subdued, no longer showing favouritism to select students. Everyone was trained equally hard.
Cheng Baak-hap pored over documents, her fingers ink-stained and a patch of raw red skin on her forehead where she had rubbed it repeatedly. She raised dark-ringed eyes at the sound of the wall guards alerting the sect to arrivals at the gates, but continued to draw lines and lines of characters until a junior disciple knocked on the door of her room
"What is it?"
"Si dze, Gaam Si hing has been brought back injured. He's in the clinic."
Cheng Baak-hap dropped her brush and rushed from the room. The junior disciple had a better grasp of lightness arts, and kept pace easily.
"Does Bik- Does Chan Si mui know?"
"We haven't found her yet, Si dze."
They reached the clinic and instantly dropped into hasty bows; from Gaam Yuk Ying's bedside, Lord Gaam and Lady Ling turned to see the new arrivals.
"Greeting the great Masters."
"Disciple Cheng, come in!" Ling Gwong chirped. Cheng Baak-hap moved to do so, but found her way blocked by Gaam Bing's enormous calloused palm.
"Yuk Ying?"
Gaam Yuk Ying must have nodded, because Lord Gaam retracted his hand and Cheng Baak-hap could finally approach.
She could only see his head; a clean white sheet covered the rest of him, although she could already see stains starting to marr its cleanliness. A thick balm had been applied across most of his face, and even on his scalp.
"What happened?"
"It was her," Ling Gwong said immediately. "I can tell."
"... Teem Dzeung Baak?"
Her attempt at mystery having failed, Ling Gwong looked deflated. "Where's Little Chan?"
"The last I saw, she was trying archery."
Since returning to Mount Faa, Chan Bik had been trying her skills at an increasing number of different martial arts. She had already gone through the gim, the dao, the spear, the mace, and the nine-section whip, but had tossed each one aside within a few days. Ling Gwong would happen to appear nearby, ostentatiously checking various exquisite knives and other small blades that she would produce out of nowhere, or perform some impressive martial move only to pretend she had been stretching or yawning.
Chan Bik ignored her.
"Lady Ling, why not... just ask Chan Si mui if she will learn from you?"
"How can l?" Ling Gwong cried, throwing her hands up. Small flames spurted from them. Cheng Baak-hap saw Gaam Yuk Ying's eyes flicker and hastily said, "Of course, of course. Why don't I speak to her about it?"
Nevermind that she already had.
Three days ago, she watched Chan Bik, alone, practicing archery in the shooting field. All the other disciples were abed, even with the new sense of urgency sweeping the sect.
"Bik Si mui, you should rest now."
Chan Bik lowered her bow with a huff. "I don't want to."
"Not even with me?" Cheng Baak-hap suggested foxily.
"Are you just teasing me?" Chan Bik asked wretchedly. The face she turned to her Senior Sister was on the verge of tears. "Please don't! Sometimes I feel like you're as unreachable as the stars, Si dze."
"What do you mean?" Cheng Baak-hap moved forward and grasped Chan Bik's hands tenderly. They were warm and a little puffy from drawing the bow for hours. "You're the amazing one, Bik Bik. Without proper training, you managed to attain Second-daantin Mastery, and at only seventeen years old! Why don't you accept Lady Ling's teachings? With her guidance, you'll catch Gou Si hing and Gaam Si hing in no time."
"And her?" Chan Bik asked quietly.
Cheng Baak-hap tweaked her nose. "Teem Dzeung Baak won't be able to do anything."
The grass of the field crunched a little underfoot. The encroaching summer would be dry one, it seemed. Cheng Baak-hap thought of the dryness of the demon realm and had to suppress a shudder.
"... I don't want to learn from Ling Gwong," Chan Bik said.
"Why not?"
"Why should I have to go and beg to her when she rejected me? Let her beg."
"Bik Si mui..."
"Call me Bik Bik again." Chan Bik muttered to the ground.
"W... When did I!"
"Can I call you Sing Sing?"
Cheng Baak-hap came back to the present moment as Chan Bik entered the treatment room. She greeted everyone other than Ling Gwong respectfully, giving the Vermilion Bird a curt nod and nothing else.
"Can we help with your treatment, Si hing?"
Gaan Yuk Ying didn't answer at first, but Chan Bik waited with understanding patience until he gave the faintest of nods.
"Keep his body clean and apply that balm every two si," Gaam Bing rumbled. "Dzik Yuet Yi-sang said to just lightly pat with damp cloths."
"Understood, Lord Gaam."
Having spoken, Lord Gaam lumbered from the room, dragging a reluctant Ling Gwong with him. The two disciples fetched water and cloths, filling Gaam Yuk Ying in on the happenings at Mount Faa.
"The mortal realm is unsettled. No one's admitting it openly, but they're all preparing for war."
"The Fire Master is starting to teach properly these days. Someone said Lady Ling set his bed alight, the first night she arrived."
Cheng Baak-hap peeled back the sheets, cloth at the ready.
"What's wrong, Sing Sing?" Chan Bik approached with a basin of water. "Is it that bad?" She looked at Gaam Yuk Ying, who was staring fixedly at an empty corner of the ceiling.
"Wow, Gaam Si hing, you've been pretending all this time?"
"Not pretending," he muttered. "It's... all wrong."
"What is?"
"This... This body."
"So... It's right to call you 'Si hing'?"
A stiff nod.
"Hm... Okay. That's good. It would be hard for me suddenly to change what I call you."
She and Cheng Baak-hap cleaned his wounds, reapplied the balm and fresh bandages, and left to let him rest.
"Bik Bik."
"Yeah?"
"How..." Cheng Baak-hap's mind was whirling. "Gaam Si h- hing..."
"What about him? Are you worried? He'll be okay, he's tough."
"No, not that!" Cheng Baak-hap dropped her voice urgently. "What should we do?"
"About?"
"Gaam Si h- hing, of course!"
"Help him recover, and slap that bitch for what she did, of course."
"Not that either!"
"What are you talking about, Cheng Si dze? This isn't like you, talking in such a roundabout way. Do you mean how Gaam Si hing has a body different to your expectations? What does that change?"
Cheng Baak-hap sighed. "You're right, I just... Honestly, I'm a bit surprised you're not more upset that he didn't tell us."
"I am. But..." Chan Bik stared into the basin of dirty water she carried, as if scrying for answers. "Gaam Si hing looked really scared. But he let us find out anyway. So it means he trusts us, don't you think?" She continued walking down the hall, Cheng Baak-hap following slowly. "I don't care if he's a man or a woman or Gun Yam1觀音 - Gun Yam, or Guan Yin, is a Chinese Buddhist deity. Although generally presented as female, Gun Yam has a flexible gender identity, being also portrayed as a young man., he says he's my Si hing. So l should be a good Si mui."
"You're a better Si mui than I am. Here, let me help you carry that, Bik Bik."
"I'm far stronger than you, Sing Sing. Ugh, it looks like the quarterstaff is no good either. I don't know what to try next!"
"Why not a knife or dagger?" Ling Gwong suggested, appearing behind them.
"Ma- Lady Ling Gwong!"
The Vermilion Bird of the South awkwardly spoke to the air above their heads. "I have some... well... a little bit of knowledge about knife arts. I could teach you..."
"Thank you, Lady," Chan Bik said hotly. "But I couldn't possibly impose on someone who already has a disciple. And there's no way I want to learn anything that makes me similar to that dog's daughter, Teem Dzeung Baak!"
Chan Bik bowed, quickly and rudely, and marched away to tip out the water. Bowing too, Cheng Baak-hap followed close behind.
Ling Gwong evidently hadn't given up, however, for the next time they visited Gaam Yuk Ying, she was there again, along with Gaam Bing.
"We brought you a gift!" she gushed as the girls entered, casting a not-so subtle glance at them. Everyone pretended not to notice. Gaam Bing held up a long cloth parcel where Gaam Yuk Ying could see it, and carefully unwrapped the coverings to reveal a familiar hilt and sheath.
"Yuk Ying?" Chan Bik exclaimed, temporarily forgetting her heated silence. "It's been fixed?"
"We did it," Ling Gwong said proudly. "Remember that metal you used to suppress Teem Dzeung Baak's fire before you first arrived at Mount Faa? It was collected. Every little piece was brought back. Not that anyone know what it was, but Old Gaam here, he knew straight away that it was the great metal Wolfram, tougher than any other Earthly metal, and that no flames except mine could possibly be used to forge it to remake this gim-"
"Give it a new name," Gaam Bing said gruffly, interrupting. He placed the sword by Gaam Yuk Ying's side, where he could reach it without straining. "It's all yours now."
Gaam Yuk Ying's fingers brushed the jade of the hilt. "Yiu Tsing2In true Gaam Yuk Ying fashion, the meaning of this is not entirely clear. It could be a reference to the gim's previous name, Yuk Ying (which meant Jade Punisher, as a reminder), if written as 瑤 (yiu4) - 'a beautiful jade' and 情 (tsing4) - 'to punish'. But it could also be 瑤 (yiu4) - which also means 'precious' and 懲 (tsing4) - 'love'. Gaam Yuk Ying really is a hopeless romantic.."
Grip tightening on the hilt, his silver-grey eyes drifted to the window of his room, looking east. His eyelids fluttered.
"We'll let you rest, Si hing," Cheng Baak-hap said. Gaam Yuk Ying nodded wearily as they filed out.
"Little Chan," Ling Gwong said eagerly, once they were outside, "I'll teach you the Flying Embers technique, so-" She realised Chan Bik was walking away. "Wait! Little Chan! Hey, Old Gaam, don't you try and run away too! Help me!"
Gaam Yuk Ying listened to the lady's squawks fading into the distance. He felt the weight of the past few days seize his limbs and eyes. Struggling to stay awake, his thoughts returning over and over again to the look on Gou Dzing's face when he had removed his robes and revealed the bindings beneath.
Gaam Yuk Ying fell into an uneasy sleep with the thought - what kind of expression would Gou Dzing have when they met again?
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