"You seem to be in a bad mood," Lisong commented upon seeing Ruomei's dark look. The plum blossom fairy strode through Feng Ge's garden and plopped down across from the Immortal at the table in his pavilion.
"There are demons in the Mortal Realm," Ruomei grumbled.
Lisong sipped his tea. "I wasn't aware that was forbidden."
Ruomei scowled down at the table and rubbed at a scratch in the wood. "They're ruining everything."
A brow raised in reply. "Oh?"
"It's true! They caused the fruit-seller to lose all his produce and the street-children all ran off with it!"
"Hmm." Lisong set down his cup. "And was there anything good that came out of this situation?"
Ruomei thought a moment. "Well, I got to use those fighting techniques you've been teaching me. I nearly had the instigator pinned, until that Demon lord Zhulin showed up."
Both eyebrows rose this time. "Is that so?"
Ruomei sighed. "I think they're going to keep coming back. And I'm worried, because the fruit-seller's daughter is sick and the family doesn't have enough money to pay for a doctor. Isn't there something we can do?"
Lisong set his elbows on the table and interlocked his fingers. "You seem very fond of this mortal family."
"Well, they're very nice," Ruomei said. "Why wouldn't I be? If anyone deserves the justice and harmony that all the Immortals regard so highly, it should be them."
Lisong shook his head. "It's not that simple."
"What? Why not?" Ruomei crossed her arms. "Of course it is!"
"The best advice I can give you is to return to the Mortal Realm and learn for yourself," Lisong said gently. "That will be the best way for you to cultivate."
~*~
By the time Ruomei returned to the Mortal Realm, a few weeks had already passed – such was usually the case as the time there moved more quickly than in the other realms. Ruomei was relieved to find that the fruit-seller had been able to recover his losses and the grandfather had taken up his usual position at his seat on the corner, but the wife was missing, and Ruomei soon learned that it was because she was busy caring for their daughter, who was still sick.
"I'm so sorry to hear that," Ruomei told the merchant. "I hope she gets better soon. Have you not been able to call the doctor?"
The man shook his head. "I'm barely able to pay my debts as it is after the event in the marketplace a few weeks ago," he said with a sad smile. "We're doing our best."
Ruomei frowned at the man's response, watching as he turned and resumed his work. When the sound of a child's laughter reached her ears from down the street, Ruomei slowly turned towards the source.
"Are you off again?" the grandfather asked as she passed him.
Ruomei smiled. "I should be back soon."
She wasn't sure what exactly she could do now, weeks after the thefts had already taken place and the fruit doubtlessly eaten, but Ruomei was determined to at least confront the little scoundrels.
She schemed as she navigated the streets of the marketplace. Though she couldn't turn back time, she could make sure the children knew not to ever steal again.
There – one of the small, dirty children ran past, and Ruomei took a step forward to act.
Something grabbed her upper arm and pulled her to the side, spinning her around until her back landed none-too-softly against the wall of a building. The breath left Ruomei in a rush, and she struggled against the grip on her arm until it released.
"It seems my wishes for a more pleasant meeting have been denied," an all-too-familiar voice said, a note of weariness in the words. Ruomei blew a stray hair out of her face and glared at the Demon lord standing in front of her.
"You again!" she growled.
"Yes, and you as well, Tea-Cake Filcher."
"I didn't steal that tea cake!" Ruomei protested, opposed to even being thought of as having something in common with the lawless children running around down the street. "It was offered to me and I had put it in my pocket to save for later." She paused a moment. "And my name is Ruomei."
"Well, Ruomei," Zhulin said with a shrug, "I suppose I'll have to take your word for it.
"I'm not a thief," Ruomei said. "Something they should also strive not to be." She gestured to the children before putting her hands on her hips. "Why are you helping and defending them? They're harming innocent people! The fruit-seller needed that money."
Zhulin gave a sigh. "On your path to becoming an Immortal, what is it that they are teaching you, exactly?"
"Steadfastness," Ruomei answered immediately. "To be unwavering in the face of opposition."
"And?"
"Well." Ruomei shifted her arms to cross her chest, a bit unsure at his scrutiny. "Justice, and harmony. And these thieves need to be brought to justice!"
Zhulin nodded – not in agreement, but more in a resigned way, as though he finally understood Ruomei's dogged persistence. "Then what would you say is justice, for these hungry children?" he said, turning to look at the individuals in question. "Should we arrest them and throw them in a prison?"
"Well, no, but – "
"Should we demand that each villager gives them their own food that they worked so hard for?"
"No...but they shouldn't steal!"
Zhulin turned his attention back to her. "Then they would starve." His voice was hard, but there was no anger in his eyes, only a kind of sadness. "They do what they must. Just as we cannot fault a tiger for killing another animal to eat, so can we not judge the poor and desperate for what they must do to survive. If that means taking advantage of another's misfortune, then that's life."
"But it's not right!" Ruomei protested. "The fruit-seller has worked hard! He did nothing wrong to deserve having that happen to him."
"And these children did nothing wrong to deserve this except to be born into an unfortunate circumstance out of their control," Zhulin countered. "You talk about the importance of harmony, but you must understand there are always two sides to everything. Nothing is as clear as you'd like it to be, but you must look at the bigger picture – beyond just that merchant you're so fond of. That is how the world maintains a balance."
"So is that what you and Chenguang are doing here?" Ruomei shot back. "Keeping a balance?"
He looked at her impassively. "Among other things, yes."
Ruomei let out a frustrated breath. The conversation was not going in the way she had expected, and her initial hatred for the Demon lord had waned with the explanations he had given and her increasing understanding.
"Is it my fault, then?" she asked, and her voice was much quieter this time. "I favored the merchant's family, and tried to make them as successful as possible. Is this the force of the world coming back to strike them down with theft and the illness of their daughter – for the sake of balance?" She suddenly felt sick at the possibility, and slid down the wall until she was sitting on the ground.
Zhulin crouched beside her. "No," he said softly. "You did what you thought was best, and were able to make them happy in small ways. But things like illness, and misfortune – those are predetermined events already written in the Records of Fate. It's up to the mortals to choose how to react to such situations."
"How to react..." Ruomei trailed off, deep in thought.
"You mentioned steadfastness, earlier," Zhulin said. "But if you were to never budge against whatever forces were up against you, you would break."
Ruomei thought of a sturdy pine tree, struggling under the force of heavy winter winds and snow until the weight became too much to bear. "I suppose that's true."
"Not that steadfastness isn't a good quality," Zhulin continued, "but you cannot live by that principle alone. Rather than shatter, you must bend – like bamboo, to recover from whatever change or misfortune comes your way. And that is what the mortals must do as well – practice resilience against the trials that challenge them."
Ruomei pressed her lips together in a line. "Then that's what I'll do," she said, determination returning the strength to her tone. "There's nothing I can do about the robbery, but I can choose to let it go and focus on what I'm able to help with."
A small smile turned up the corners of Zhulin's lips. "Exactly so."
Ruomei scrambled back to her feet, and Zhulin rose steadily beside her.
"We've got to help the children, of course," Ruomei began, beginning to pace as she thought of what to do. "But the fruit-seller also needs help with his daughter's illness."
Zhulin stood still, but his eyes followed her. "What would you suggest?" he asked.
Ruomei stopped, thinking for a moment before turning on her heel to face him again. "Education," she said decisively. "At least, that should be where we start. If we raise awareness of the issues among the villagers, we'll have more heads to help us come up with solutions, and more knowledge about our options." She paused, an unasked question on her lips.
Zhulin tilted his head, curiosity glimmering in his eyes as he sensed her hesitation. "What is it?"
Ruomei sucked in a breath to bolster her courage. "Will you help me?"
The Demon lord grinned. "I'd be happy to."