"I mean in no way disrespect, but what would keep Hua Cheng away from this place?"
༻ ❍ ༺
Y/N FOLLOWED THE MAN AND EVENTUALLY THE TWO CAME UPON A RELATIVELY LARGE BUT HUMBLE HOUSE.
The man knocked on the door lightly before a voice came from inside.
"Come in," Oh, he lives with someone.
The man opened the door for Y/n, who hesitantly stepped in. The man slipped off his shoes and put Y/n's things aside. He stepped forward and slid Y/n's bamboo hat off his head to rest on his back, ignoring the sudden jump from Y/n.
"A-Nian, you don't have to hide from a visitor." Y/n rose an eyebrow at the nickname 'A-Nian' before another man came from the side of the doorway.
He was slightly shorter than the blind man and he had a black robe with a few dark purple accents around the sleeves. His hair was pitch black and was pulled into a loose braid. He had a pair of red pearl earrings that stood out from everything.
He looked at Y/n for a moment, a sudden concerned look appearing across his sharp features and turned to the blind man.
"Who's this?" Y/n felt like it was a little rude to address someone like that but he couldn't blame A-Nian. If someone comes into your house unannounced, you have every right to address them however you want. May that be with passive aggressiveness, or a fist to a face. (Y/n was glad he didn't get the second option, to say the least).
"A friend I-"
"An acquaintance." Y/n quickly intercepted.
A-Nian raised his eyebrows at Y/n, making Y/n hold his breath as if he was expecting a scolding. A-Nian only looked Y/n up and down before turning back to the blind man.
"-met on the road back from the market. He's ill and injured, I was going to take him in to get him back into a state to travel." A-Nian looked at the blind man then at Y/n, who slumped back involuntarily; hackles raised like a cat's.
Despite all the clues Y/n was giving, A-Nian strode up to Y/n with not a moment of hesitation. Y/n stayed dead still, not wanting to provoke the man. A-Nian reached forward and touched Y/n's forehead, holding his hand there for a few seconds while Y/n held his breath.
His eyes went wide and he abruptly snatched Y/n's shoulders. Y/n flinched and went to grab for his knife, but his pocket was empty. A-Nian eyed him up and down as Y/n retreated his hand, remembering where his knife went.
"How long have you been in this state."
"Not that long,"
"How long would that be?"
"Like.. I don't know two or three days..." Y/n had already lost track of time, god he wanted to check the day on a calendar.
A-Nian's blood went cold. Why would a young man like this be in such a state?! What got him into this state where he can't even bother to acknowledge such a high fever?!
A-Nian dragged Y/n to a stool that sat next to a table full of a paraphernalia of drawing supplies. A-Nian took off Y/n's bamboo hat and set it aside before inspecting the mess of a man.
He sighed thoughtfully before tapping the floor with his foot, the small action seemed to pull the blind man over with an invisible rope. The blind man was taller than A-Nian and looked more physically strong. It looked like a soldier and a scholar standing next to one another, but both just as concerned.
"Come with me. Don't move while we're gone." A-Nian then grabbed the blind man's sleeve, who only smiled softly and let himself be pulled to the outside.
Y/n rested his chin on his hand and looked around the area. At the entrance were two vases arranged in the corners, one with bamboo, the other with cherry blossom branches. The floor was made out of a nice polished wood that Y/n was surprised to come across at first. In the room Y/n was in was the stool, table, and tucked into another corner was a kitchen. Then a room built off of the empty wall had two beds that sat perpendicular to each other on other sides of the room.
Both beds had completely white sheets and pillows. On the wall that had no beds was a painting of a beautiful landscape that had cherry blossom trees that weaved themselves through the grass, and flowers of many different simple colors. Under the painting was another table that had a sword and bamboo hat on it. On the walls around the whole entire house were either windows or more paintings and sometimes plants in holders that hung from the celling.
Y/n was only all that interested about the table with the sword and bamboo hat displayed on it.
The door opened again and Y/n turned to see the pair walking in, he instinctively straightened up, even though he didn't have a real reason to.
A-Nian walked up to Y/n and pulled a wrap of bandages out of his sleeve. Y/n wondered how people just pulled things out of their sleeves anyway, and if he could get sleeves like them.
He kneeled down in front of Y/n before quickly grabbing Y/n's foot faster than Y/n could move it away. Y/n winced and silently begged himself to stay still and not kick out while A-Nian kept a death-grip on his foot.
"You did a horrible job at bandaging this."
"I know,"
A-Nian looked up and narrowed his eyes at Y/n, who smiled back nervously. A-Nian looked back down and pulled off the bandages wrapped around the anonymous cut that Y/n had. But with one look at the cut A-Nian's face paled, his eyes went wide and he looked back up at Y/n.
Y/n held his hands up in defense of the look A-Nian was giving him.
"Trust me it wasn't that bad before-"
"How the hell did you piss off The Crimson Rain Sought Flower so much that he used his cursed blade on you?!"
Oh,
"...that's where the cut came from..?"
A-Nian quickly wrapped the new bandages around the cut and sealed them tight. He took a hold of Y/n's shirt collar and looked him dead in the eyes.
"Tell me how you got that."
───༻ ❍ ༺───
After Y/n spilled all the information of everything that happened that eventful night, including having to tell A-Nian and the blind man how he could turn into a swan, everyone was speechless. Waves of confused and frustrated expressions went over the blind man's features. As for A-Nian, he was chewing on his thumbnail out of anxiousness as well behind Y/n's back.
"So, it was all just a big misunderstanding." The blind man coughed, going to tap A-Nian's shoulder as to stop him from chewing on his nail.
"I'm pretty sure that's the case." Y/n replied as A-Nian went over to grab a comb and hair-oil.
"I'm afraid that you'll have to stay with us if you want to be safe from him." A-Nian said before he began massaging the oil into Y/n's hair, pulling a brush through all the knots. Y/n winced when he felt a splash of cold water hit the top of his head, where did the water even come from?!
"I mean in no way disrespect but what would keep Hua Cheng away from this place?" Y/n grunted as the comb ran through the knots of his hair.
"..."
"..."
The pair withered in silence for a moment before the blind man let out a sigh and nodded at A-Nian. He took a strand of Y/n's hair and inspected it thoughtfully.
Why are you looking at my hair? You can't even see?
"Hua Chengzhu and I don't exactly have the best history. We had a battle with each other and he won along with help of the crowned prince of Xian Le."
"..."
WOW, WOW, WOW!
Hold the fuck up!
A whole entire battle?!
Did all of that seriously only happen in the two books I DIDNT read?!
"He wouldn't exactly be the type to want to visit..."
A-Nian ran the brush through Y/n's clean hair, as if that was going to do anything to distract Y/n from the situation.
"Who are you both? And why did Hua Cheng and the prince of Xian Le attack you?" The duo froze up at the question and stood in silence.
Y/n tapped the stool anxiously hoping that they wouldn't suddenly morph into demons and eat his guts.
"That's information I don't want to share, Da Hong." The blind man said subconsciously tightening the silk band covering his eyes.
Your kidding me, I can't even get a damn hint?
Even after I told you all of MY information?!
And who the hell is Da Hong?!
Y/n sighed out of frustration and got off the stool to which A-Nian tried to grab him, but he dodged the hand. He picked up his bamboo hat that rested against the table and turned to the door.
"I'll be taking my leave, thank you for your help." Y/n hurriedly walked out the door and disappeared into the forest against A-Nian's shouts from behind him.
After all, he didn't want to put more people in danger, and he didn't want to be near people who refused to tell their identity. That was an automatic no-go.
───༻ ❍ ༺───
Y/n was alone again, which sucked to say the least. But with his previous experiences, he felt as if that was for the better for now.
He had been walking and staying awake for about a week, which is exactly what someone who can just turn into a swan shouldn't do.
He was too paranoid to fall asleep, so he just flew around recklessly in his swan form at night. And at day he just walked until he found someone giving out free steamed buns before finding some place to sit down and just eat.
Eventually the paths had ended, and he was no longer in the area that was lush and green, he didn't know where he was anymore, but it was far from civilization.
He was honestly just waiting for death to finally catch up to him and end it all. It's not like there was any places he wanted to see, he has probably seen them all!
But it looks like death did catch up after all.
Y/n sat against a tree, staying dead still as the calamity looked back down at him.
"YOU LOOK A LOT MORE DEAD THAN WHEN YOU FIRST CAME ACROSS MY TERRITORY."
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