Bruised (A Fengqing Fanfic)

Chapter 5

Deputy Official Kong Tai, one of Mu Qing's men that had tried to murder Feng Xin, pointed at the cliffside. "It was there, General, sir." He, nor the other two, had apologized, but Feng Xin thought that was fine.

They'd been retracing Mu Qing's routes before "General Nan Yang" had started "visiting" Mu Qing. This was a territory that butted against Quan Yizhen's Western territory. It wasn't a firm line, that wasn't how religion and worship worked. As such, the western territory's palace sent Deputy Official Cangshui to assist. Like most people, all he knew was that Mu Qing had been attacked. Like his general, he was hot-headed but friendly and he played a mean game of cuju so you could forgive a lot. Anyway, what could Feng Xin say about hot-headedness?

Mu Qing had mentioned a lightning spirit he was having issues with the last time they played cuju, and indeed, Kong Tai and the others knew what that was about. They'd had reports of a lightning spirit, the ghost of a person who had been struck by lightning. They were having a nightmare of a time catching it, it kept zapping boats and killing people and was good at hiding.

"Do either of you know this area? Or been here before?" Feng Xin asked. "I think we should go to the nearest town, poke around, and come back at night. Lightning is more visible at night.

"Sorry, I've never been here before today," Cangshui said. "No one in my palace has or they would have sent them, I think."

"I'm not from around here either but I've got the map we were using," said Kong Tai, pulling a leather map case from his sleeve.

Ahh, Feng Xin thought.

Feng Xin had been wondering about Kong Tai. He was plain-faced; the kind of face Mu Qing would call ugly but was just normal. That, combined with his big eyes made him look like a startled bird that had just woken up. Furthermore, he looked rumpled, like he'd slept in those robes. Maybe one of these things Mu Qing could forgive.

Maybe.

But seeing them all in one person, it was hard to imagine he'd be allowed anywhere near Mu Qing's elegant palace.

If anyone had asked Feng Xin to guess who belonged to which Palace, without a doubt he would have said the handsome, popular Cangshui belonged to Mu Qing's refined Southwestern Palace and Kong Tai belonged to the living disaster known as Quan Yizhen.

But, like so many other things about Mu Qing, Feng Xin was just fucking wrong.

Bringing the map, they had been using on the mission in question, without being asked, seemed like such a simple, obvious thing to do. But in Feng Xin's experience, most people were incapable of this kind of action.

And Mu Qing knew this too so of course, a competent boy like Kong Tai was not only among his ranks but one of his top three.

Feng Xin found the closest town, South Point*. "This is a nice map," he murmured, looking it over. Cleanly painted with precise handwriting.

"From Ling Wen's Palace," said Kong Tai. "I checked, it's the latest they have."

Yet again. Good boy.

Feng Xin was now highly aware of things Ling Wen's Palace did that he had taken for granted. In the past, he would have easily thought nothing of a well-done map, but now he recognized: Isn't this much better than any map I used when I was a mortal?

He kept it and Kong Tai didn't complain.

The town was just shy of being a city. It had a good port and seemed like any other port town. He supposed they should do the usual. Ask at the local tea house. But when Feng Xin and the other two entered, all the talking stopped, and they were stared at by every eye in the house.