Black Butterfly Knot

Chapter 5: Weight of a Word

[ NOTE: there's not a lot of romanized terms used in this chapter. Just the usual xian, jing, plus Qing Lou, which is the name (and term) for Pearl City/Zhu Cheng's brothel. Also, a new term 'gege' will pop up later in the chapter. It means 'elder brother' but is just an honorific used to acknowledge an older guy. In korean (if you're into kpop) they use 'oppa' it means and is used in the same way! ]

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Ying Ru turned to her right and the remaining stick of honeyed dates nearly fell from her fingers. She sucked in a rapid breath, twisting her body around so that her face was facing the opposite direction. 

It was him! It was the owner of that face, the one that makes her sigh both out of anger and admiration. What was he doing showing his face to her so soon? No, that didn't mean she wanted to see him again. It definitely didn't mean that. Not now, not ever! Why would she want to see him again? Because he was good looking?

She can't possibly be that despicable.

Suddenly Ying Ru's mind began to spin. Wasn't that the brothel behind him? Did he just come out from there? Her brows knitted together in horror. She closed her eyes and shook her head in denial. 

Her heart fell another few notches. 

"We meet again." The smooth timbre of his voice sent waves up her spine. It really is him. She was not having delusions. Although she should be glad that he is real, it's hard to stomach the possibility of how much his face has encrusted itself into her mind in such a short amount of time. Wouldn't it be great if he wasn't in fact right behind her? Ying Ru spins around in a painstakingly slow motion. 

Yie Feng stands before her in his familiar white-silver robe. He looks like he had stepped out of an artist's scroll. Even the wrinkles on his robe look perfect and bewitching, the image of ethereal beauty. This person is much too good looking for her comfort. How can a glance completely empty her thoughts like this?

"Too soon." She manages a sheepish smile when she figures she has stared enough. 

Her eyes unconsciously gather the evidence of the building behind him; the wooden posts, red lanterns, green and red patterns decorating it's exterior, and lastly the large sign hanging above its doorway reading 'QING LOU'.  He most definitely just came out of there. It bothers her a lot. 

She unwillingly pulls her focus off the offensive building and fixes it onto Yie Feng's flawless face, only to notice a pink smudge along his neck. She swallows and her eyes grow wide. Don't ask why a proper sixteen year old girl can immediately tell what that mark is. Maybe she has been talking to the street vendors in this area too much. They can be quite talkative, spilling wisdom to her that far exceeds what someone her age should know. Her complexion is becoming increasingly rose-tinted.

"You're staring again." He points out, effectively bringing her back from her thoughts. 

Yie Feng realizes where her line of sight had been and almost too casually, lifts a hand to stroke it. He makes it look like an innocent birth mark. 

A light chuckle leaves his lips. "You wondering about this?" 

Ying Ru shakes her head automatically, but he pretends he doesn't see her action.

"A girl gave it to me last night." 

She feels another wave of cold air run down her spine. He doesn't need to tell her. He really doesn't. 

Ying Ru feels a steady fire underneath her beginning to boil. She is getting mad. Is this even her business? She never asked him and she doesn't need his honesty.