The first thought in Ye Xiyang’s mind as he drifted awake was, I’m going to kill that surnamed Wan.
Typical labor like field work ought not to be that much of a problem for a cultivator, but Ye Xiyang was feeling soreness in places he wouldn’t normally get with— with any training regimens. He’d spent 5 days in someone’s rafters once, when his shifu sent him to learn espionage and infiltrating houses by throwing him at some official’s residence, and it was an entire different level from this. Not to mention, he still could feel the random fish nipping at his ankle again, which was… Damn, he dreamed about it too, didn’t he? It wasn’t terrifying or disgusting as much as it was abject surrealism.
It was only when he opened his eyes that he realized that the room was too quiet for two— Wan Yu had already awoken and gone somewhere, and the sunlight was starting to grow bright.
“Good morning!” Wan Yu called from across the street when Ye Xiyang surfaced, about an incense’s time after waking up. In his hand was a large, steaming bun; in his other was a paper bag. “You’re awake. Breakfast?”
While sitting on some jutted out stone and chatting with a young mother picking up eggs from the ground, Wan Yu munched on his bun, eyes brighter than it had been this past week. It was comparable to when he first reunited with Yun Zisu, though perhaps it was a different kind of warm. He really was a person happier in the simple life of commoners. Then again, given what Ye Xiyang knew of him, he wouldn’t lead a normal life either had he been a mortal.
Wan Yu waved the young mother goodbye, giving a goofier grin to the baby tucked against her chest, and walked with Ye Xiyang to the stall where he’d gotten the buns. Few people stayed there to eat, and a bored, fierce-looking child who couldn’t be older than 12 was up the front, handing people their orders— his face reminded him of…
“Where is the kid?” Ye Xiyang asked as they sat down, Wan Yu handing him the paper bag. Steam hit his face as it puffed out, making him draw back; after a few seconds, Ye Xiyang picked one out. Oh. Meat? He stole a glance at Wan Yu’s— meat, too.
“Oh, she hasn’t woken up yet. I’m sure she’ll come find us when she does. I’ve been asking around about where to get some new shoes and maybe clothes too. There’s a place further up the mountain.”
Ye Xiyang started to eat his bun. “I thought you would’ve gone for something sweet.”
“Huh?” Wan Yu waved the young teen over for tea, then turned back to the conversation. “Wait, is this about my sugar spree back there? Come on, it was dragon’s whiskers candy. Where else was I gonna stumble across them? Last time I did, it was like four years ago. Even more, maybe. Definitely more, now that I think about it— Shifu was with me. I don’t get to eat that much sugar, okay? Now that I’ve done it, I’m appeased.”
“Tragedy of travelling to small villages, huh.”
“Nah, the lack of candies can hardly be called a tragedy,” Wan Yu said, snorting. “I think abject poverty and people preying on the vulnerable can come first.”
“So serious,” Ye Xiyang sighed. He tilted his head to avoid the rolled up ball of weed stalk thrown at his face.
“Watch where you’re throwing, jackass.”
The broken weed wasn’t even able to fly far, rolling down Ye Xiyang’s back, dead before arrival. But the kid was stomping anyway, trying hard to be intimidating despite the lacking acoustics of feet on stone ground. Wan Yu waved her over and scooted to the side, patting the spot on the bench next to him. “Hey, you’re awake. Come, sit here ba.”
“I was awake for a while you bastard,” the kid grumbled as she walked over, sitting down. “I went to the damn fields—”
Wan Yu shushed her. In the end, she was appeased when he handed her a bun, biting into it with gusto and maybe a little bit of vengeance. He then waved the stall kid over for another cup and more tea.
“Language,” Wan Yu admonished. “How hungry are you? Go pick something you like if you’re still hungry ba.”
She looked at him and pointed at the bun she’d only taken a bite of, cheeks puffed full. Wan Yu only shook his head and let her take her time eating, turning to Ye Xiyang instead. His gaze was rebuffed, though, because the man turned towards the girl.
“What’s your name?” Ye Xiyang asked. The kid stared back— she was more ready to meet his eyes, now, though she looked away after several moments still.
“Quan Su,” the girl spat out. Expression souring, she turned to Wan Yu. “I want another bun.”
“Go, go,” Wan Yu said, casually waving her away. “I’ll go speak with your dad.”
Ye Xiyang, “......”
Quan Su, “.......”
Without another word, she hopped off the bench and stalked off to where the equally-unimpressed kid met her flat annoyance with his own.
Wan Yu, “They’re like mirror images.”
“I heard that,” Quan Su said, not looking at them. After picking a small bun, she came back and sat down with force, almost jostling the sword she had strapped to her side with a length of cloth off. “What now?”
Wan Yu gestured at his lower cheek with his thumb, nodding at hers. After a second, she reached up to her own face and wiped off a smear of bean paste. “We’re going to Qunan, I’m gonna ask someone there who owns an inn,” he explained. “I worked there for a couple weeks before. There’s a good chance Zisu will be passing by there too, I want to have a chat with her.”
If the inn thing didn’t work out, then Wan Yu would probably end up sticking around for longer than he’d planned. But it was fine; this girl’s future was important. Push came to shove, Vermilion Sun Sect might take in someone who could run errands or do chores. Not the most glorious life, but surely the worst of it wouldn’t be quite… starving in the wilderness? He’d have to ask this Xiao Su.
“Zisu?”
“Yun Zisu,” Wan Yu said. “Twin from another mother. My good friend from Vermilion Sun Sect. Partner in crime. We commit fraud together.”
Quan Su, “......”
"Anyway, let's go once you finish eating. We'll get you some new clothes and we'll buy some food for the trip, then we're off."
This had been the plan Wan Yu expressed last night at dinner too, but repeating it didn’t hurt. After finishing up their breakfast, the three of them headed off— the seamstress of this village lived pretty high up, and apparently did well enough for herself that she could every now and then sell some of her pieces in the city. When Wan Yu and Quan Su entered the store, Ye Xiyang turned around.
Shi Ma. He noticed her arrival some time after waking up, which likely meant she intended to be caught— if Ye Xiyang was honest about it, he rarely could know she was there if she didn’t want to be found.
“Supreme Leader,” she whispered, leaning closer to shove something into his sleeve. “Are you out of money? Did Ru Ge do anything? Our sect isn’t having any money problems, okay, Ru Ge is just paranoid even though they had all those flower hous—”
“What are you talking about?” Ye Xiyang hissed back, pushing her away. Still gripping her shoulder, he met her eye to eye. “What are you talking about?”
Shi Ma’s expression was firm and almost… admonishing. What was this all about? He hadn’t needed a scolding since he was a child. “Xiao Ye, when you have friends, you have to be nice to them and give them things in return. Your friend is injured, you should be paying for everything and help him out ba.”
Ye Xiyang, “......”
“I know you haven’t had—”
“Are you saying that I’ve never had friends?”
“Opportunities,” Shi Ma corrected.
Ye Xiyang, “......”
“—But you have to learn and this is a great time to do so. Ru Ge checked his background, and this Wan Yu child is a good person, and he’s open to taking you to try out new experiences. Don’t worry much about your image, you’re not in the sect or out here acting as a—” Shi Ma’s rambling was cut off by her own sharp senses, because she glanced at the street. “Okay, there’s food, money and clothes in that, you can give it to your new friend.”
“Why are you here?” Ye Xiyang asked, cutting through the bullshit. There was no way Shi Ma broke out of hiding just to give him a parcel for Wan Yu, of all things.
“Oh. Right. Some elders are urging you to come back. Celestial Alignment Sect is currently very upset and your presence at home is expected.” Shi Ma looked apologetic. “Ru Ge would’ve been enough for this, but this would be a good chance for you to cement your legitimacy as the Supreme Leader.”
Ye Xiyang could remember, somewhat. The whole thing blew over, in the end, without much changing— Celestial Alignment Sect didn’t want to pick a fight with Vermilion Sun quite yet, and so they vented their frustrations into a new search for cauldrons, which took them several years. There was a bit more tension in the demonic faction, but overall it didn’t bear fruits of great violence. This time, though… Frozen Dragon Sect did decide to meddle.
He needed to be there when the elders discovered that Ru Ge had spent manpower tracking down extreme yin men and that Ru Lian had the Wolf Guard on the ready to back him up. While Ru Ge could handle the elders, being the apple of their eyes for most of their life, it was Ye Xiyang’s responsibility to do so, given this was done under his orders.
"I'll be there," he said.
“I’ll wait outside the village,” Shi Ma said. And with that, she jumped and disappeared.
“That Shi Ze’s shifu?” a voice asked. Ye Xiyang sighed. Of course.
“Yes,” he said as he walked out of the small alley. Digging into his sleeve, he threw the small bag at Wan Yu. The man caught it and took a peek, and then stared at Ye Xiyang with a mixture of suspicion, disbelief and confusion. Ye Xiyang let out another sigh. “Her thanks. For you. For her disciple.”
“Yanno, she looked familiar,” Wan Yu commented. His tone was casual, but that he was faking it only became clearer the longer he stared at the things Shi Ma gave him. “I think I’ve seen her before.”
“You wouldn’t have,” Ye Xiyang said. “She won’t be noticed unless she chooses to expose herself. Are you done shopping?”
Wan Yu looked rather dazed when he looked up. “Apparently so. Was gonna buy food, but we got some now. The hell?”
“What’re you so shocked about,” Quan Su grumbled. She looked less like a street kid, though, now that she wasn’t wearing Wan Yu’s oversized clothes— the clothes she wore now were pink and floral, with a dark skirt that befitted someone far older than her. She had boots, too, and a long scrap of cloth to tie back her hair. Her right eye was still obscured by her hair, though. Ye Xiyang suspected it was damaged.
“Your dad Ye’s family is rich,” Wan Yu explained to her. “I am in deep shock.”
Ye Xiyang, “......” You adopted her, why am I ‘Dad’?
Quan Su, “......”
“I’ll be going,” Ye Xiyang said instead. Some things were more definitely damaged, such as Wan Yu’s brain. “We’ll part ways here.”
At that, Wan Yu's expression turned to that of suspicion. That couldn't be all could it? After all, Wan Yu had just finished bullying him for a whole day. And now he’d been given not just food, not just money, not clothes, but also lingshi and cakes, and there was no way this was assembled as a thank you parcel. He was more surprised this bag didn’t explode in his face instead, after ordering Shi Ze around like that.
His expression must’ve been plastered clear on his face. Ye Xiyang rolled his eyes.
“...So this is alimony?” Quan Su asked, drawled yet flat.
Ye Xiyang, “......”
Wan Yu, “......” At least that’s a nice comeback, even if it threw your gege under the cart.
"Goodbye," Ye Xiyang said, and left. Pulling his sword with a puff of cold air, he then got on and flew away, disappearing from sight.
Wan Yu exchanged a look with Quan Su before shrugging. "That's that I guess."
Something still felt off though. Wan Yu didn't have the sense that Ye Xiyang got what he was after, following him for who knows how long now. Did his sect call him back because he was wasting his time? With a title like Supreme Leader, surely Ye-xiong had more power than normal sect leaders. Something came up? Was it related to Celestial Alignment Sect, too? After all, he had his people investigate.
But in the end, that was none of his business. “All right, kiddo. Let’s go.”
A cart was heading off to Qunan carrying goods; Wan Yu chatted and negotiated a bit, and he and Quan Su were off to the city. It wasn’t bad at all. The man was rather old and had some difficulty hearing, so he didn’t talk much either. It was fine by Wan Yu; after being a bully to a local rich sect leader, he was feeling up for some quiet time.
“Why are we going by cart instead of you flying on your sword?” Quan Su asked, staring up at the shaking sky. Wan Yu snorted as he laid back, eyes closing. Sitting between them was a box of the pastry assortment “Shi Ze’s Shifu” gave him. Quan Su had been sampling one of each, nibbling on them like she was scared of the inevitable future when there were no more of them, but Wan Yu was noticing that she kept coming back to the peanut ones. She almost spat the water chestnut one back out— Wan Yu took that cookie from her hand and munched on it.
“It gets cold up there. The average speed is that of a trotting horse anyway, if you’re not in a hurry. It’s not that much different than a cart, and at least on a cart you can sleep.”
“Lazy.” Quan Su glanced at him. “And when you speed up?”
“Cold,” Wan Yu repeated. “And have to keep your balance even at high speeds.”
“It shouldn’t be a problem for a cultivator.”
Wan Yu shrugged. “It’s not, not really. I’d rather save my energy for other things, though.”
“Like farming?”
“Farming is good,” he said, shaking his head all sage-like. “Foundation of civilization. Concrete and indisputable positive. A necessity.”
Quan Su graced that answer with silence as she turned to grab another cookie inside. They were almost half down; suddenly she was gripped by apprehension. But… She took another of the hazelnut cookies and broke it in two, putting one half back. “Do you kidnap kids often?”
“Usually I just stay with their family,” Wan Yu answered. “Are you scared of me?”
This time, she lied back again, munching her half of a cookie while staring at the clouds passing by. “Yeah. But there’s nothing I can do anyway.”
Even with the sword on her, it wasn’t like it would make any difference. Silvergrass answered to Wan Yu and Wan Yu only; the closest thing to a second command it’d listen to would be Immortal Master Ning Shan, and he was gone. Even then, he didn’t need a weapon to kill her. They fell silent. The silence felt half like a dangling knife, half like understanding.
After several days, the cart slowed down as it fell in line with the queue outside the city gates.
