Chapter Seven: On Unwelcome Home Returns
Some paths are meant to be taken. Others less so. And some people are meant to die, Xiu Lihua thinks, but not Ren Liufang.
Shi Jinghui closes the sliding doors behind him as he pads into the room. Xiu Lihua stares blankly at the doors, still.
“She’s stable for the most part,” Shi Jinghui greets mildly, massaging his hands. “Restrained. Cheng Bowen is keeping watch, so we can hope that that’s enough.”
Xiu Lihua nods numbly.
“You’ve been waiting all night, staring at her doors,” Shi Jinghui observes, tilting his head in question.
“This was all my fault,” Xiu Lihua answers, somber. She knows this. Somehow. Disasters really do follow where she goes, and she’s why Ren Liufang is like this--whatever this is. If it weren’t for her, maybe Zhoucheng wouldn’t have… “All of this. I can’t--if she’s alright, I just--”
“You’ll just keep yourself all night and exhaust yourself for nothing?” Shi Jinghui interrupts, not unkindly. Xiu Lihua lifts her head to look at him, and he seems...less guarded than before, the line of his shoulders less rigid, worn from weariness. Softer, he says, “Don’t be unwise, Xiu-guniang. How could we have known?”
She shakes her head wordlessly in reply. Shi Jinghui sighs. He flicks a hand gently. “I’m going to send Cheng-gongzi out so I can check on her. Drink some water.”
And with that, he slides back into the inn room’s bedroom where Ren Liufang lies. Cheng Bowen slips out after a few moments, slowly closing the doors behind him. Fresh bandages are wound around his neck and held to his cheek. Xiu Lihua meets his gaze, blank.
“I didn’t know,” Cheng Bowen offers.
“Okay,” Xiu Lihua responds. She’s too tired to retort. “But we have to fix this.”
Cheng Bowen tosses a look over his shoulder at that, as if making sure Shi Jinghui hasn’t walked out of the room. Then, he looks to her, narrowing his eyes. Hushed, “We know what that means. How could we--”
“I don’t know,” Xiu Lihua answers, equally as troubled. She pushes her face into her hands helplessly. “I don’t know, Cheng Bowen, but we can’t just--can’t just leave her like this.”
“So we allow her to murder someone in exchange? Who are we to trade a life for a life?”
“She’ll kill even more if she remains in this state,” Xiu Lihua snaps. “I can’t stand the thought of it, but--there are scum men that live in this city. Surely…”
Cheng Bowen goes quiet. They both take a moment to process, and Xiu Lihua stares at her hands. They shake.
(“If only you had never been born.”)
“So take her,” Xiu Lihua whispers. “Find someone who--find a murderer, someone who takes advantage of women, someone who treats his children improperly. And end this.”
Cheng Bowen’s grimace deepens. “Shi-yisheng. He’s a doctor, so--”
“I’ve noticed,” she answers. “He can’t condone any of this, given so, so--I’ll stay here. With him. But take her. And leave. And after, to Tianan--”
“She should be with her sect,” Cheng Bowen agrees, nodding wearily. “She should return home, right. And Tianan Ren has resources. From there, we may be able to...figure out what these are. Who did this.”
Tianan Ren is the last place in the world Xiu Lihua wants to return to. The thought of the place nearly makes her sick, but--she swallows thickly. She didn’t have to stop hating it--hating them. She just had to solve this. Fix this. And Ren Liufang.
So she says, “Leave with her first. We’ll need Shi Jinghui, he’s the only physician I trust to have seen the marks and not run out at them. I’ll stay behind and try to convince him, and we’ll meet you in Tianan.”
The doors slide open, and Cheng Bowen flinches. Shi Jinghui pokes his head out at the two of them before clearing his throat and fully stepping into the room.
“I’ll come to Tianan,” Shi Jinghui says, firm. Xiu Lihua blinks. She looks at Cheng Bowen, who looks equally surprised. Shi Jinghui continues, “If this is what you came here for, to solve, then---if it’s possible, I’d like to help. I don’t want this to happen to other cities.”
“Uh,” Xiu Lihua says, awkward. This was...much easier than she’d imagined. She frowns. Just the other day, he didn’t seem to want anything to do with them. “Shi-yisheng, if you’re--if you’re sure?”
Shi Jinghui nods his head graciously, then looks to Cheng Bowen. “Cheng-gongzi, she’s stable enough to be moved. If you’re ready...”
“I’ll take her,” Cheng Bowen says, then casts a look to Xiu Lihua. She nods in affirmation, and the taller man waves to the two of them in parting, slipping out of the room.
Shi Jinghui looks at her, then at the pillow and blanket she’d arranged for herself on the floor.
“What will you do when you find who did this?” He asks suddenly, voice carefully neutral.
“I don’t know,” Xiu Lihua answers, honest. She doesn’t even know enough of this to say.
“I know what your type usually does,” Shi Jinghui says. She looks at him, puzzled. He returns her gaze, almost curiously.
“Cultivators,” he elaborates. Then, his frown takes a disdainful turn downward. “Choosing who dies and who lives based on their own sense of justice. Yes?”
“Wouldn’t you want to kill them?” Xiu Lihua snaps, thinking back to the memory of Shi Jinghui’s home in smolders and ash. Realizing herself, her eyes widen guiltily, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have--”
“I did,” Shi Jinghui answers. Xiu Lihua watches his hands tighten into fists at his sides. He lets out a tight breath, forceful. “More than anything, at that moment, I...I had a patient. Too young. She shouldn’t have died, and all I could think was--whoever did that to her, I wanted them dead.”
“I’m sorry,” Xiu Lihua offers, sincere.
“But those decisions aren’t for a man like me to make.”
“Is that why you treated us so indifferently?” Xiu Lihua asks, eyebrows knitting together. “Because you think we go around, stirring up trouble, and then killing who we feel needs to die?”
Shi Jinghui meets her gaze. There’s no iciness to it. He nods.
Xiu Lihua doesn’t know what to say to that. Certainly nothing courteous or elegant like Ren Liufang. So, bluntly, “I won’t lie to you. I can’t. I don’t know if I’ll kill them or not, but--what I’ve always held myself to: choosing who lives or dies, it’s...it’s more than just that, sometimes. Sometimes it’s about choosing so other people don’t have to. So others can’t be killed by the same people. I don’t know if that makes me a good cultivator, but it’s what I’ll do to protect the people who need it. That’s my truth, so I...I hope you take it as you must.”
Shi Jinghui is quiet at this. His gaze shifts a bit into something different. Something more understanding.
“I apologize for the way I treated you before,” he says, after a long moment of silence. “I misjudged your character, and though it may take me some time to...realize your philosophy, I should not have treated you as someone who was apt to murder to better your own standing. I am sorry.”
And Xiu Lihua has seldom ever been apologized to, so she blinks for a few moments in surprise. Shi Jinghui looks at her genuinely. She clears her throat, answers, “No--no worries, ha, uhm. You did so in good conscience. I can’t blame you for that.”
He nods, and she sighs in response, flopping back onto the floor, head on her pillow. The doctor lets out a smile at this, then makes his way across the room to the door and stops. Xiu Lihua looks at her hands. They haven’t stopped trembling. She turns onto her side.
(“If only you had never been born.”)
If only I’d never been born, Xiu Lihua thinks to herself, cheek pressed numbly to her pillow. If only I’d told her I was only ever brave because of her. If only I’d told her I was only ever brave because I know I’d have her by my side no matter what I did. If only I’d told her I had to learn what brave really was these seven years, and I still wonder if I really am brave.
“Xiu-guniang,” Shi Jinghui calls, gentle and hushed, from the doorway. “They’ve left already. I know the way to Tianan, so do you--are you sure you don’t want to accompany Cheng-gongzi and…”
“No,” Xiu Lihua answers, voice barely above a whisper. “They can go their own way. I’ll wait for you. We’ll arrive in the same place, either way.”
“Because you don’t want to face her? Or because you don’t think you should?” Shi Jinghui asks, mild. Xiu Lihua doesn’t answer. He sighs. “Good night, Xiu Lihua. Let us both hope tomorrow will be better.”
❀ ❀ ❀
11 years, in the past
Xiu Lihua: 12 years of age
**** trigger warning: for a scene that involves an older, authoritative figure hitting a young Xiu Lihua as a form of discipline. use Control F and type: “It’s dark.” to skip to the end of the scene.****
Ren Mingshou had been particularly mild with her as of late, which really, is no easy feat. Not for Xiu Lihua.
She’d dutifully practice her calligraphy, and once he’d passed by her in the library, he hummed approvingly. She reported to him on the books she’d studied, and he nodded, almost pleased. So really! This was amazing, compared to how he usually regarded her sternly. He almost seemed...pleasant.
Which is why the strike across her face comes as such a shock.
She lands on her side onto the floor, jaw slack with surprise. Her cheek stings from the impact of the back of Ren Mingshou’s hand against her face. The classroom goes deathly silent, except for the sound of Ren Liufang springing to her feet.
Another teacher in the room quickly holds Ren Liufang back, and out of the corner of Xiu Lihua’s eye, she sees her friend struggle in their grasp. Ren Mingshou looks down at her form, scowling. The other disciples begin murmuring.
“Xiu Lihua, you think you’re wise enough to question Tianan Ren’s elders?” Ren Mingshou asks, voice terribly cold, terribly indifferent. “You’re a child, girl. Should you not know your place by now?”
Xiu Lihua’s eyes burn in humiliation. Unconsciously, she raises her hand to her stinging cheek. She’d been disciplined with the heavy thud of a bamboo stick across her back before. The instrument presented formality and a form of dignity into the process.
But being struck by Ren Mingshou’s hand, it was--it removed that formality. Introduced a personal aspect to the punishment.
It was humiliating.
“You know where to go,” Ren Mingshou intones, seemingly finished with her. He waves a hand, dismissive. She picks herself off the floor numbly, as though in a trance. Ren Liufang looks at her, eyes wide.
Xiu Lihua rushes out of the room, furiously rubbing at her cheeks with her sleeves.
❀ ❀ ❀
It’s dark.
It always is, actually. Maybe that’s the point. Discipline your senses.
Xiu Lihua has been locked in the dark room for what must be hours now. She’s lost track of time. She always does. It’s the Ren elders’ specialized little punishment treatment for her, citing her unreasonably explosive and emotional temperament as a trait that required extra lengths to overcome.
She hugs her knees to her chest, trying to even out her breathing, but the harder she tries, the more forceful the hiccups come out. She sniffs pitifully, desperately wiping snot on her red robes. Counts to ten. Inhales sharply through her mouth.
And then, the doors open. Xiu Lihua hides her face in her knees.
“A-Ying,” a familiar voice beckons, hushed and gentle. “It’s far into the evening, now.”
She peers over her legs, vision still blurry. Ren Ronghu stands in the doorway, crouched down, holding out his hand to her. He offers her something like a consoling smile.
Xiu Lihua pushes off the wall, slamming into his chest with so much force Ren Ronghu stumbles backwards a few steps before circling his arms around her shoulders firmly. She buries her face further into his chest, and he hushes her soothingly.
“Where’s Ren Ju,” Xiu Lihua asks, muffled and glum. “She’s been so stressed lately, she must be…”
“Getting ready to sleep by now, I imagine,” Ren Ronghu answers, smoothing the top of her head with his hand. “She was pacing all day today. You, and then her parents--”
“I know,” Xiu Lihua interrupts, pulling back a bit to look up at him. “They’re sick, I know--”
“Things may get worse, in the future,” he intones gravely. Then, he gets a strange look on his face, and with a sigh, “An intervention may be needed, for Ren Ju, perhaps…”
Xiu Lihua frowns. An intervention? Ren Ju? “What do you mean, xiong?”
Ren Ronghu looks down at her again. After a moment, he shakes his head, smiling gently. “Ah, nothing, just grown up nonsense. Don’t worry about it, A-Ying, really. You should go see her now. And hurry to sleep, it’s late enough, really. We all need it.”
❀ ❀ ❀
“It’s nothing, really!” Xiu Lihua tries, scratching the back of her head with a forced laugh. “Ren Ju, I’m fine. I can barely even remember it happened!”
Ren Ju looks at her, disbelieving of Xiu Lihua’s attempts to play the whole ordeal off. She presses her mouth into a thin line, staying silent.
Xiu Lihua huddles closer to her, shifting under the blanket. They’re both clumped together in Ren Ju’s bed, sharing warmth, and they usually talk more, but--well. Today has...made Ren Ju quiet.
“Sorry,” Xiu Lihua whispers, dejected. Ren Ju blinks at her in response. She’s so cute. Xiu Lihua reaches out to touch her cheek, and Ren Ju lets out a quiet giggle as she bats her hand away. Cuuute.
“Ren Ju,” Xiu Lihua says, after they settle into silence again, voice ever so quiet. “I’m happy here with you, you know?”
Ren Ju nods, slow, at this. She frowns slightly.
“But I think…” Xiu Lihua starts. Her mouth is dry. She wets her lips. Deathly quiet, “I don’t think they like me here. For some reason, it’s just--I don’t know, Ren Ju. But they don’t. And it makes me feel...bad. Really bad.”
Ren Ju nods at this, features turned downwards in sympathy.
“We will be alright,” Ren Ju whispers, and she shifts forward on the pillow to press their foreheads together. Xiu Lihua closes her eyes. She believes it. If Ren Ju says it, she’ll believe it.
But Ren Ju’s been...she’s been different, lately. More far away, like the way one daydreams more when they’re tired. Sneaking out at night as Xiu Lihua pretends to be asleep. Looking sickly, pallid when she returns.
And Xiu Lihua doesn’t know what to make of this, but--when Ren Ju’s ready, she’ll tell her. Because it doesn’t matter what it is. They’ll face it together. Xiu Lihua closes her eyes, letting her breaths even out.
They always do.
❀ ❀ ❀
10 years, in the past
Xiu Lihua: 13 years of age
“Ren Ju!” Xiu Lihua shrieks, gleeful, holding up the paper to the sunlight. “It’s amazing!”
Ren Ju looks bashfully at the painting she’d made, holding her brush delicately between her fingers. “It’s alright.”
Xiu Lihua observes the details of the painting more, appreciating it more as she maps them out. It’s a portrait of her, but Ren Ju has added a pretty little flower pin to her hair.
“I look so pretty!” Xiu Lihua praises, hitting her friend excitedly on the shoulder. They’re sitting by the training grounds, so she doesn’t bother to lower her voice. “You made me beautiful, Ren Ju!”
“I didn’t make you anything,” Ren Ju answers mildly.
Xiu Lihua hums a noise of confusion. She tilts her head, still inspecting the ink painting. “What do you mean?”
“I didn’t--” Ren Ju starts, then stops. Xiu Lihua looks up, following her friend’s line of sight. A paperman runs across the grass in front of them. She recognizes the messy way the characters are scrawled onto it. The calligraphy of one of the disciples their age.
Ren Ju’s gaze mellows into something more--sad. Xiu Lihua bites her lip, glaring at the paperman.
Who you associated with was everything, in their world. And lucky for Ren Ju, she was best friends with the most troublesome, inadequate disciple in all of Tianan Ren. The other disciples...didn’t take to it very well, now taking their time to carefully avoid Ren Ju, too. It was a cowardly, spineless thing, ostracization. But it had its effects.
Xiu Lihua picks up a rock, and promptly chucks it as hard as she can at the paperman. It tears with a neat rip upon impact, and Ren Ju looks at her, surprised.
“They’re idiots if they don’t want to hang out with you,” Xiu Lihua asserts, forceful. She Ren Ju’s face between her hands. “Hear me? You’re awesome, and pretty, and kind, and funny. It’s their loss, Ren Ju.”
And Ren Ju offers her a smile at that, and satisfied, Xiu Lihua lowers her hands. But the sad look in her eyes doesn’t quite go away. Xiu Lihua frowns.
And for the first time in her life, she can’t tell what Ren Ju is thinking.
❀ ❀ ❀
Present day
Xiu Lihua: 23 years of age
“Tianan is beautiful,” Shi Jinghui observes from atop his mule. A yellow canary circles above them. The buzz of crickets pleasantly surrounds the road.
Xiu Lihua huffs from her place atop her own mule. They’ve been travelling for some time now. The Ren Sect should greet them at the gates at any moment, and a pit of anxiety tightens in her chest. She swallows it down.
“I travel alone,” Xiu Lihua answers, glancing at the trees. “So having someone to observe with me is nice.”
“Does it…” Shi Jinghui answers, then falters, hesitant. “Does this bring back memories for you?”
Xiu Lihua lets out a small puff of breath, hands flexing around her reins. “You’ve heard of my origins, then.”
“I hear many things, Zaihuanü,” Shi Jinghui shrugs, light toned. “It’s hard to believe that the woman who takes on swarms of water ghouls by herself almost cried at the sight of breakfast this morning.”
Xiu Lihua lets out a bark of laughter. Shi Jinghui smiles warmly at her in response, eyes twinkling. They fall into a comfortable silence after that, save for the sound of Shi Jinghui’s occasional humming, moving leisurely along the rest of the way.
Xiu Lihua spots the red gates as they approach it. She inhales to relieve the tightening in her chest. She is brave. She is brave.
Two disciples, similarly clothed in red, stand there, waiting. As soon as they arrive within a few strides of them, Shi Jinghui looks at her, and she nods back. They both dismount quietly.
Xiu Lihua looks to the Ren disciple nearest to her, who fixes her with a curious gaze. He’s younger than the other, a preteen, maybe. Must be shadowing the older man to--learn, probably, how to receive guests.
“Xiu-guniang,” he greets. “Cheng-gongzi told us to expect you.”
“And expect you we did,” the older one muses, a snide tone to his voice. Xiu Lihua narrows her eyes, hackles rising. He continues, “Here on official business with Xiong Jinli, we’ve heard! I’m sure Ren Mingshou will be delighted to hear. He was away tending to his own matters, but is promptly returning at the news of Xiong Jinli--”
“Has Ren Mingshou died of old age yet,” Xiu Lihua deadpans. The older disciple sputters, caught off guard. The younger one claps a hand to his mouth. Shi Jinghui looks to the side, like he’s trying to conceal his laughter.
“R--Ren Mingshou is of perfect health and strength,” he stammers back, face as red as his robes. “If you’re insinuating--”
“Lucky him,” Xiu Lihua answers, sighing as she takes in the scenery. The familiar geometric architecture of the Ren Sect greets her coldly. She kisses her teeth. “Would have thought all the bitterness lodged in his heart killed him by now.”
“We would like to humbly request entry now,” Shi Jinghui interrupts with a placating smile before the older disciple can respond.
The man straightens himself at this. His face takes on a smug sneer, and Xiu Lihua frowns. She doesn’t like that.
“Of course,” he says, waving a hand to the younger boy over his shoulder. “We of Tianan Ren always make sure to accommodate accordingly.”
The younger disciple turns to fetch something. When Xiu Lihua sees what it is, her breath catches in her throat.
“Guest disciple robes,” the older one says, a crooked and pleased grin etched across his ugly face. He holds the robes out to her snidely. “I think you’d look good in our red, don’t you, Zaihuanü?”
Xiu Lihua’s fists tighten at her sides as she stares at the robes. It’s mocking--the familiar crimson. Her hand drifts to Mengdie, unbidden.
Shi Jinghui quickly moves to gather the robes in his arms instead, murmuring a polite thank you for your hospitality.
With an unsubtly smug scoff, the older disciple steps to the side, holding his arm out along the pathway into the Ren Sect. Xiu Lihua swallows at the sight of it.
“Xiu Lihua,” he says, triumphantly. “Welcome home.”
❀ ❀ ❀
“And these are the spider lily beds, though I’m sure you must have seen them already. Close by--look well, Xiu-guniang, these are the training fields, where honorable cultivators learn to fight in proper ways.”
Xiu Lihua sighs as the same Ren disciple drones on and on with his annoying little weaselly chitter chatter. He told her his name, but she genuinely could not care to remember it, so in her head, she calls him Ren Rat. Because he looks like an artist who had never seen a rat before drew one upon being told a vague description, and then only drew all the worst qualities of the rodent. Like the creepy paws and the stupid protruding snout.
In any case, upon being escorted in, (not without the scrutiny of about ten more disciples, she notes bitterly,) Shi Jinghui was led off to the quarters for the guest disciples, and Xiu Lihua was granted the honor of being taken for a tour around the sect.
(“Is she holding up alright?” Xiu Lihua had asked, anxious, upon seeing Cheng Bowen within the sect.
He nodded, the grim lines to his face during the situation a few days ago no longer etched upon his features. He tilted his head, grinning. “Everything went smoothly. You know, if you’d like to take a visit to her--”
“Good to hear!” Xiu Lihua blurted out, hugging her arms to her chest awkwardly. See Ren Liufang? After what had happened? “I think I’ll--it’s her home. I’ll just...keep my distance as we investigate further. Wouldn’t want to impose.”
Cheng Bowen fixed her with a strange look. “Okay,” he said, drawing the last syllable out. Then, perking up in the next moment, “Did Shi Jinghui arrive?”
“He’s talking to Tianan Ren’s doctor,” Xiu Lihua answered, puzzled. “I think he said something about not telling you he was h--”
“Cool! Xiu-guniang, we’ll probably stay here for quite some time, don’t you agree? I’m waiting for word from Cheng-zongzhu, and we have plenty of time to gain our bearings in Tianan, which does indeed hold many resources to solve this all, correct? So--”
“Okay?” Xiu Lihua answered, bewildered at the fast pace talking. “We can stay--”
“Awesome! Thanks, sword thrower,” Cheng Bowen interrupted cheerily, grinning. He patted her on the shoulder, then bounded off in the opposite direction.
She blinked to herself, then waited until he was gone to laugh at the nickname. She did not want to give him the satisfaction of thinking he was funny.)
“Ah, well, as we’re told, you weren’t much good here,” Ren Rat says, sighing as he surveys the training grounds. “But this was your home, once, so at least there’s some value to it, hm?”
This was not my home, Xiu Lihua thinks. I have never in my life had a home, and if I were to choose one, Tianan Ren would not be it.
Xiu Lihua bristles, irritated, as he continues talking about--sparring, and fighting, and how well trained the Ren disciples were. He’s taunting her. He is! Really, she’s not stupid enough to not notice it--
“Though I do wonder! If you were better at working hard like the rest of us and learning the language of swordsmanship in a proper fashion...”
--but she is stupid enough to to fight him about it.
“Oh, the proper way?” Xiu Lihua interrupts, and he flinches like a startled rodent, jumping into the air. “And this is the sparring grounds, correct?”
He looks at her, confused. His eyebrows furrow together. “Well, yes, but--”
“So you’d be fine to spar with me then?” Xiu Lihua presses, hand flying to Mengdie’s hilt. He squeaks, stepping backwards, but she matches him with equal strides forward. “Show me your proper, honorable techniques? Yes?”
He looks around frantically, as if beckoning the growing crowd of onlookers to answer for him. The man swallows, looking back to her. “I wouldn’t be opposed to--”
“It’s a yes or no question--will you spar with me?”
“I w--I would be obliged to--”
“Answer me!” Xiu Lihua snaps, patience thinning.
“Yes!” he squeaks, clumsily reaching for the sword at his belt, “I’ll--”
XIu Lihua brings her leg up and around into one sharp kick towards him. Ren Rat yelps, ducking down. Her foot meets the bark of a tree instead.
It groans with a creak, the bark protesting. Cracks etch their way across the wood.
Ren Rat looks back at it, then to her. He stammers, “You--it--”
She unsheathes Mengdie. He yelps again, this time drawing his sword. The onlooker crowd is much larger now, but Xiu Lihua can’t seem to care.
He jabs his blade forward, and she parries with so much force he stumbles. She lets him continue this stupid little back and forth exchanging of nipping blows before she’s already mapped out his fighting style (very stupid, very messy) and his weakest, most vulnerable areas (nearly everywhere).
So with the next step he takes, Xiu Lihua twists her arm, and Mengdie easily knocks the sword out of his grip. She takes the next stride forward to slam into him. He lands with a grunt onto the ground.
Behind them, the tree creaks, one long, drawn out groan. It’s almost funny, really. And then the stupid thing falls.
The onlookers gasp, and Xiu Lihua realizes herself sheepishly, but--okay, it was an ugly tree. There’s like, ten more.
Awkwardly, she glances around. Across the field, Shi Jinghui looks unamused as he stands beside Ren Liufang. She meets Ren Liufang’s stare, then quickly looks away.
I should go, Xiu Lihua thinks, biting her lip. (“If only you had never been born.”) She turns around, moving to quickly get away from any general vicinity that Ren Liufang is in, but.
“Xiu Lihua.”
Xiu Lihua stops. Her insides turn to ice at the sound of the voice. She turns, a sinking sense of dread in her chest.
Ren Mingshou stands across the field, expression neutral. He looks—older, the goatee on his chin graying, his hair swept up into a different accessory, but it’s Ren Mingshou all the same. The Ren disciples bow courteously in greeting, but Xiu Lihua is frozen in place. Her hands ball into fists, fingernails digging red crescents into her palms.
He regards her for a few awful, long moments. Then, just like that, Ren Mingshou nods a head. A few disciples scurry to the fallen tree, and in one motion, he turns away, walking over to where Ren Liufang is.
They seem to exchange a few words, and in the next moment, flounce off together, further into the sect, but--
Xiu Lihua turns around, unable to look at them. She presses the heels of her palms to her eyes.
I’ll be here for the next long while, she thinks, bitterly. The next long, long while. So welcome home to me.
Footnotes/Glossary:
cowritten with @mnemosynink, who wrote chapter six (and all even-numbered chapters)
previous chapter: https://theprose.com/post/397790/chapter-6-of-voices-and-past-ghosts
next chapter: https://theprose.com/post/405342/chapter-8-on-rotten-lives-and-shared-secrets
-Tianan: area of land the Ren Sect controls (aka Tianan Ren). modern day province of Henan
-Zaihuanü: Xiu Lihua’s unofficial title; “disaster flower maiden/girl”. Similarly, Ren Liufang’s title is Xiong Jinli, “fierce koi.”
Suffixes (to address/refer to a):
-guniang: young woman
-yisheng: doctor
-gongzi: young man
-zongzhu: sect leader