Poem for the Ink Lotus // 墨荷的诗

C4 - Admire the Flowers' Beauty | 賞花

- Admire the Flowers' Beauty | 賞花 -

Three more months passed by. Dan Xi is no longer afraid that Bao Zi would starve, and no longer worries that the lotuses would give up. He has become much more clever in time management, and he completes his work quicker and efficiently in the day so he could spend his free time by the river.

His parents said nothing of this, since as long as he could get his work done, he is free to do whatever he wants.

After writing many satisfying poems, Dan Xi would wash his brushes and ink palette at the river, the dark liquid flows into the river like hungry snakes, but disperse as quickly as sheep fleeing from a pack of wolves.

Its presence was once there, no it lingers in the form of shadow in his mind.

Was it harmful to the natural surroundings? No, it wasn't, Dan Xi concluded. Bao Zi did not seem offended when it first saw him wash his ink, and it did not bite or honk at him now.

Animals are smart, they know when something will harm them. So he puts his trust in Bai Zi and hopes that the small bird will stop him should he ever do something dangerous.

Because he constantly washes ink, the river seemed to have absorbed the ink's presence and passed it onto the lotuses. Dan Xi first noticed this when he was looking at the regular lotus he would admire. It's petals had grown strong and sturdy, though still pale white, there were pink.

But now, all the pink pigment were absent, instead, black tips on the petals could be seen. At first it surprised him. The river is vast and the currents flow. The ink should've dispersed and been washed ashore, no living beings should be harmed by it.

Deep inside, Dan Xi felt guilty. If the lotuses—which he had worked six months on nurturing—were to die because of his mistake, he would not be able to live with it hanging on his mind. He turned to Bao Zi, knelt down and spoke:

「Bao Zi, are the lotuses in pain?」

Bao Zi cocked its head at the question, then jerked its head towards the many lotuses on the river surface. It opened its wings and shut it just a second after, as if to shrug. Seems healthy to me, Bao Zi seemed to say.

「Well if you say so. . . 」Walking to the river's edge, with Bao Zi honking for him to be careful, Dan Xi smiled at the lotus. 「If I am harming you in any way, please show me a sign so that I will stop.」

Somehow at that very moment, on that very same spot, he felt a pair of eyes watching him, and it wasn't Bao Zi's.

☾☀︎

The next day after he was down with work, Dan Xi walked to the river but was greeted by a group of men. And Bao Zi was swimming rapidly fast away from the crowd.

His heart stopped and he felt like he couldn't breathe. The men didn't do anything to the lotuses, the river or Bao Zi, they just stood and watched just as Dan Xi had the day before, so why was he so worked up?

Like a painter who was afraid of his work getting destroyed, so too was Dan Xi's mind troubled with how close the men were standing to the river. Keeping a calm composure, Dan Xi walked over and smiled, biting back the anxiously which crawled on his brain.

「Oh, aren't you Dan Xi, Xia Zhi's son?」One of the men, dressed in robes of indigo blue spoke. The other men turned to look at the young man, with proud looks on their faces.