I lost her!?
He began to panic.
He fervently looked around but his worry ceased when he realized that she could finally disappear.
For good.
And wouldn't need to bother him or his shifu again.
That silver tael would be equivalent to one thousand copper coins. For a peasant like her, it would be enough for food and possibly over a month at the cheapest inn until she finds a job.
He didn't need to feel guilty since she was trying to cozy up to his defenseless teacher first!
Zixin smiled at his intelligence and walked towards the forest. Two hours later, he was in the middle of the forest and remembered that it had taken him a long time to get to the village because she was slowing him down. With his usual speed not restricted, he could reach his shifu's home at ease.
He hummed and walked further until he stopped. His silver head turned around and he was in deep thought.
But what if she ends up in trouble?
She was already troublesome enough with him. But alone? He couldn't even imagine what she would do.
It's fine! But his feet wouldn't move forward.
In the end, he sighed and turned around, sprinting back to the village. What took him two hours, took him one hour to get back to the village. He was sweating and noticed that people had dissipated since the rush earlier. The sun was shining and he knew that he had plenty of time to find her.
Thirty minutes later, he went around but still couldn't find her. Zixin's earlier panic returned when hours later, he was still dashing around and couldn't find her.
Where is that stupid girl?
He asked around if anyone had seen a petite, blind girl but none of the store owners nor stalls could help him.
In the end, hours later, he was still looking for her and the sun was about to set. He glanced at the darkening sky with a sigh. What if he went back to his teacher and requested for his help?
No, his teacher would be very angry at him. Although he feared his teacher's anger, he would be angry at himself for not being able to solve his own problems. He also wanted to find the girl to give her a scolding for letting go of his hand and getting caught in this predicament.
The time was nearly the end of you shi, and they had set out very early in the morning. If he didn't find her, his worried teacher would end up coming either way. Then he would get an earful for not going back to explain and for staying out this late himself. Although he had the basics and foundations of martial arts, he was in no way peak condition to fight off anyone after wasting so much energy to look for the girl.
He looked around a bit longer and finally resigned, giving up. He couldn't find her and needed to go find his teacher. Although it was shameful to ask for help for such a trivial task, he needed to find the girl. He had gone to the outskirts of the town and as he walked back, it was very quiet since everyone was already at home or had left the market.
A couple of people glanced in his direction but didn't bother with him. The night sky was starless and he felt somewhat cold. Zixin decided to take a shortcut through a narrow road to go back sooner.
As he walked through the shortcut, he noticed a small ball huddled on the ground. Curiously, he poked the ball and saw it shuffle. He poked it again and the ball raised its head! He was startled to find a very wounded Ying Yun looking blankly at him.
"Y-You stupid girl," I've been looking everywhere for you. "You're here." She recognized his voice and her apathetic eyes filled with an unrecognizable emotion. Tears swarmed her eyes and she croaked out his name. She reached her hands and he awkwardly helped her get up, but she wrapped her small arms around him. He tried to push her away but she was firm and quietly cried. He didn't have the motivation to push her away anymore and just patted her head. He felt partially responsible for today, so he let her do what she wanted.
"S-Sorry, I lost the silver tael." She stuttered as more tears fell from her eyes. He wanted to scold her but her wounded face and arms proved that she was lying. She was most likely taken advantage of and robbed. Seeing as his wounded and bruised she was, Zixin guessed that she must've been resisting quite intensely. For someone blind, she was definitely stubborn.
He didn't answer her and raised his own arms, returning her hug. She stilled for a few seconds but didn't say anything. His affection surprised him as well. He didn't like her nor did he like that she had become his junior sister, but she had suffered and he had finally found her after so long.
"Let's go." Home, but he didn't say the last word. She nodded and released him, but gripped his hand strongly. Although she was very weak in comparison to him, he felt that her fear was giving her extra strength.
They walked in the forest again in silence and he suddenly spoke. "I-I didn't come look for you, just came back because I forgot to buy something for teacher." Ying Yun didn't debunk his lie and remained quiet. He was lying and she easily discovered that by his sweaty body. He must've been going everywhere to look for her.
"Either way, thank you, honored sir." She said sweetly, but he shuddered.
"Hey, hey! Don't use those words! I have plenty of hair and I'm not a Buddhist monk!" He frowned and she realized the double meaning behind her words.
"Sorry, honored sir!" She changed her words and he shook his head.
"And now, you're being sarcastic. Just don't use that!" Ying Yun had no idea and had just wanted to respect him.
"Then...what should I use to refer to you..." she pouted and he sighed.
"Just call me gege." Zixin still didn't like her, but he preferred being called older brother rather than a Buddhist monk or her being sarcastic!
"Is that alright?" Ying Yun asked hesitantly, like she was afraid he would scold her again.
"Yes, yes, I've already given you permission! Besides, I'm only thirteen years old. I'm not old enough to be called a Buddhist monk." She chuckled quietly to herself. It seemed like he would never forget about her mistake.
"X-Xin'ge." Silence followed and Ying Yun noticed that he didn't mind, so she repeated it. "Xin'ge!"
Zixin hummed a response and the rest of their journey was quiet. Zixin was a bit disappointed. He wanted the cute little girl to call him gege, but Xin'ge was cute too.
Wait, did I just think of her as cute? He thought in horror. Is she getting to me like she is getting to Shifu? No! I need to resist! I still believe she isn't fit to be a fellow disciple!
They finally saw the mansion of Li Jianyu and both sighed in relief simultaneously. Although Zixin's eyes widened in horror when he noticed who was standing at the entrance.
Shifu! He tried to turn around and leave but his teacher had already caught up to them and grabbed him by his ear.
"Now I want to know, why a trip that would only take a couple of hours had taken you the entire day?" Li Jianyu's angry tone made Zixin shiver in fear.
"It's...a long story?" Zixin said cheekily, but Li Jianyu was having none of it.
"Ying Yun, are you alright?" Li Jianyu asked softly and Zixin couldn't help but scoff at the difference. The favoritism! His teacher was already beginning to bully him and favor her. But Ying Yun didn't have a chance to respond when he grabbed her face in shock. "Who did this?" His question wasn't directed to Ying Yun, but Zixin. Zixin wanted to say that he had no idea either, but his teacher was already dragging the girl inside and telling the servants to summon a doctor.
Zixin was left forgotten as everyone scurried everywhere since their master's voice carried such urgency...
Some notes:
You shi: (酉时) 5-7 pm.
Junior sister: so this would technically be used in a sect or a Wuxia novel, but also when learning martial arts under the same teacher. Ying Yun would be his junior sister and he would be her senior brother.
Honored sir: so the joke behind that is first, Ying Yun uses zun zhe (尊者) which means 'honored sir' but mostly used to refer to a Buddhist monk or higher seniority. Then, she changed her words to zun jia (尊驾) which literally translates to 'your honored carriage' but usually means 'honored sir' albeit sarcastic.
Gege: (哥哥) means older brother. Not literally an older brother (although it can be), it's used for an older male that's close by both genders. Although it's usually just one 'ge' since 'gege' would be used by someone very young and usually in a cute manner. If Ying Yun were to be referred to as his younger sister, it would be meimei (妹妹) and the same rules would apply (not literally a younger sister, but can also be a younger woman). Also, don't mistake gege for dage (大哥) because that one also means 'older brother' but it's usually used by gang leaders or a man around the same age to show respect.
There's also older sister and younger brother, but I'll explain those and add their chinese characters if they're used in the chapter since explaining everything would take forever.
That should be everything, but let me know if you have any questions. I forgot to post this Friday... forgive me *kowtow*. See you Tuesday!
- Scarlettt