As Xue Wen slowly opened the door the sweet scent of honey, flowers, and fruits fell over us. And when the door finally opened we saw that the courtyard was filled with life. from bees buzzing around, to carps swimming in a small pond. It was beautiful, serene. I felt like I could stay there forever. "Here—a door" I heard Xue Wen say from behind me. I quickly ran up to him as he was opening the door.
From the corner of my eye I saw something move. I couldn't put my finger on what moved. Was it an insect that flew past us? Or was it something more dangerous? A monster maybe, an evil spirit, or maybe just—just maybe—i was going mad. did anything move at all. I mean I could swear I saw something. But if I was slowly going insane, would I really know what is real and what isn't. where the monsters, gods, and Bànshén all just the imagination of a mad woman. was any of this even real. Before I could ask Xue Wen anything, get him to try and help me I heard a low, growl beside me. It sounded kind of like a lion's growl, but just slightly different. It sounded as though with every growl fire sizzled within its throat. I slowly turned and standing before me was a stone lion smoke pouring out of its mouth, its manes were on fire. It was a terrifying sight to behold. It jumped off of its stone pillar and took a few steps forward to which Xue Wen pulled out a dagger. The lion looked at him then at me and bowed down.
"Welcome child of Fuxi," the lion said. "You can talk?" I asked while tripping over my words. "Yes I can, and shouldn't it be time someone taught you to properly talk" the lion said while trying to hide a small smile. "hey!" I said softly. I looked at Xue Wen who looked relieved at the thought of the giant stone lion being on our side. "you are a shíshī" he said sounding rather excited. "ive never met one before" after he started talking it seemed impossible for him to stop, he asked question after question barely giving the lion enough time to answer after a few dozen questions Xue Wen sobered up from his new knowledge high and looking somewhat embarrassed looked at me and the the lion and apologised.
"its quite alright" the lion said "its been a long while since I've met anyone so—excited to learn" he talked calmly but with a bit of hesitation "but be careful, that thirst for knowledge of yours—it is endless—make sure you do not drown in it" i wasnt sure what the lion meant so i looked over at Xue Wen to ask but he seemed just as lost as me.
The lion turned his gaze to me and spoke gently "child of Fuxi, what is your name". "Xu Baihe" I said quickly not wanting to make him wait "what is your name…uhm…sir? "call me Shanyu" he talked softly, and quietly, like he was scared his voice alone could kill us if he talked too loudly. I bowed down and asked if she could enter the home to which he responded with a soft chuckle and talked slowly "this is your home Xu Baihe, of course you and yours can join" he smiled gently at both of us then the doors opened completely. Shanyu stood up and jumped back on the stone pedestal before he turned back to stone he said something that made my stomach churn "good luck boss, you have a lovely few weeks coming up" what did he mean, what is gonna happen in these next few weeks. I needed answers. I looked at Xue Wen to try and figure out if he could tell me but he was staring at me probably hoping I knew.
Xue Wen looked at me then said in a gentle tone that we should enter the siheyuan. as we walked into the courtyard the sweet smell of honey, jasmine and peaches hit us. I looked around the courtyard and it was gorgeous. There were tons of different plants and animals. There was lavender, jasmine, a peach tree. and there were snakes, a few koi in a small pond and a small clouded leopard who was sleeping on a branch of the peach tree.
as we walked through the courtyard we saw more and more life. from small birds enjoying a bath in a birdbath to some beautiful chrysanthemums. It was truly a gorgeous courtyard. As we reached the end of it we turned and looked back. The clouded leopard was now awake. He looked at me and bowed his tiny head then went back to try and sleep. Xue Wen opened the door and inside was just as wonderful as outside. Every wall was lined with bookshelves, the pantries were filled with snacks and foods, and honey. There was a room just for tea and dizi. It looked like it was made just for me.
After we looked at the entire siheyuan we left it to tell everyone it was safe and not to worry. but before we could go outside a loud explosion could be heard from across the valley. After making sure all the animals in the courtyard were ok Xue Wen and i ran outside to see what happened "we are under attack?" he sounded unsure, like he couldn't believe it happened "how—how did they find us" he said softly but before he could think of an answer he grabbed my arm and summoned his flying cloud and threw me on top and flew both of us across the water. We floated in the air for a second before he stood up, grabbed his dagger and told me to stay safe as he jumped off of the cloud into the battle.
"Stay safe" his words echoed in my mind. Who was he to tell me what I can and cannot do? I could feel the hairpin Meilin vibrate. I could sense the battle happening. the way the attackers fought. I could sense—their patterns—from their attack patterns, to their movement patterns—I could see it all as clear as day. Then I saw her, the girl from earlier. Her sword now readied and red with blood. She was cornered by three people. I grabbed my hairpin and channelled all the qi I could into it to turn it into its Jian form and I jumped down behind the people surrounding her. I attacked first by stabbing the person in the middle through their gut. It took the people beside him a second to realise what had happened but when they did it gave the girl from earlier an opportunity and she slit both their throats with her Jian.
"You're that girl from earlier" she said softly "it's nice to meet you—properly—this time…my name is Mu Ren" her voice was softer and gentler than it was before and I blushed slightly when she said she thought it was nice to meet me. "Nice to meet you too—my name is Xu Baihe," I said while examining the battle happening in front of me.
Before I could think of what to do I was pushed to the ground. It was Mu Ren, for some reason she had tackled me down and was now laying flush on top of me. and Before I knew it she jumped back up, and with her Jian raised she was facing three people. It was the first time I had time to take a good look at the attackers. All of them wore similar clothing. I noticed they all wore dark colours, black, purples, blues, and more. And I noticed one more thing they all had a symbol embroidered on their right shoulder. A jade-like green Bagua symbol. The most right one, a large burly man with a deep voice spoke first "step aside girl—the order of Fuxi does not seek simple violence. All we seek is" his voice slowly falls off as he stares into the distance "there it is—the house of Fuxi". "All we seek is one of the spirits that calls that place their home" Mu Ren looked back at me, then at the siheyuan, and then back at the 3 attackers and slowly took 3 step backwards "stand up pretty girl"
as her words left her mouth I stared at her, her lips, her arms, her eyes. and after a while i jumped to my feet and pulled readied myself. I could feel all the qi around me. I could feel the patterns of the water rippling, the attacks of my enemies and allies. As the fight started,and the three warriors in dark attacked, I knew where their blades would land, I knew how to parry then and I knew exactly where to hit them. the fighting was over before i knew it.
Well done pretty girl i heard Mu Ren say from behind me. She sounded almost surprised, like she hadn't expected me to be able to fight—at all. I looked back and smiled at her and slowly walked towards but as i looked at her face it wasn't delight, relief or anything like that—she looked—woried. "Pretty girl?" she asked in a soft and gentle tone that somehow didn't suit her very well. Are you—well—ok?" I looked at her dumbfounded. I wasn't just ok, I was amazing. That fight was brilliant, energising. But before I could answer her I felt a warm feeling on my arm. I was bleeding. I must've been cut during that fight and hadn't noticed due to the adrenaline. Mu Ren ran towards me and gently touched my arm around the wound "dont worry—ill take u to a healer—where are Xue Wen and Hua Chun when you need them" she sounded annoyed and somewhat worried. She stopped talking for a second to look at me but before she could say anything Xue Wen and Hua Chun yelled out my name. She smiled gently and yelled back to them that I was here with her.
As Xue Wen and Hua Chun arrived Mu Ren was standing in front of me putting a tourniquet on my arm which she had made from the fabric of her sleeve. "Well hello there love birds—are you both ok?"Hua Chun asked while trying her hardest not to laugh. "Yes we're ok but Baihe got hit" it was the first time Mu Ren called me by my first name. She looked back with a slight blush and softly asked if it was ok for her to call me that. i gently smiled at her and told her "Of course it is—Ren".