Ru Qiang closed the door behind him while stepping into the hallway. As it clicked shut behind him, the last of Feng Yao's mutterings entered his ears.
"--meanie. Bully. Sugar-hoarder. Two-faced blackmailer. Cross-dressing tea-lover--"
Li Yue suddenly appeared in front of him with a bowed head. "Young Master. Doctor Yi is awaiting your orders."
Ru Qiang nodded while ignoring the curses obviously aimed towards him that were leaking out from underneath Feng Yao's door. Following Li Yue, he walked across the hallway and into another room where Doctor Yi and Xi'er were both waiting.
As soon as he entered, Doctor Yi stood up from where he'd been sitting at the table and greeted him.
"Young Master, I have finished looking at the Young Miss' injury. She should be fine as long as she doesn't put weight on it for the next few weeks."
Ru Qiang nodded. "Thank you Doctor Yi."
Doctor Yi quickly shook his head in response before smiling. "It's no problem at all. I'm glad that I was of assistance. But there's one thing that's a bit strange." His smile slowly faded away as he continued. "There's something strange with the Young Miss' body, so I'm not completely sure of how her body will react with the medicine. You may need to keep careful watch over her tonight."
Ru Qiang paused before replying. "Understood."
"And..." The doctor hesitated as he lowered his eyes. "...I have one last thing to report. On my way here, I noticed a suspicious group of martial artists from the jianghu. I didn't dare go closer; their skill levels were much higher than mine, but I did manage to hear that they were looking for a certain person."
The atmosphere in the entire room suddenly chilled as three pairs of eyes snapped towards him. They all knew that there was only one reason why the jianghu would suddenly start to become active again.
Both Xi'er and Li Yue protectively stepped closer towards their master who had already scrunched his brows in thought. After a long stretch of silence, Ru Qiang finally spoke.
"Tian Yi?"
The expression on the doctor's face was completely serious as he answered. "Yes. It seems as though they are looking for her."
Doctor Yi's answer seemed to ignite a deep rage inside of Li Yue. His eyes were astonishingly cold as he took another step closer. "Why now of all times? Tian Yi has long disappeared from the world of the jianghu. We made sure that her name was buried after the death of the previous Zheng Emperor."
Sensing the escalating situation, Ru Qiang put out his arm in front of Li Yue's chest to stop him. Li Yue, suddenly realizing what he was doing, shamefully lowered his eyes and stepped away.
Doctor Yi didn't seem to be fazed by what had happened and simply bowed his head. "My apologies. I was unable to get closer to hear more details. They discovered my location and began to violently pursue me. It took a while before I was able to shake them off my trail and come here."
"You did the right thing." Ru Qiang replied before Li Yue could speak up again. "Those people are not to be taken lightly. Make sure to avoid them when you head back."
"Yes, Young Master. If there's nothing else you require from me, then I should return now in order to have enough time to go around their location. I have not yet finished that other task you asked of me."
"En, I understand. Then, please take care."
Hearing Ru Qiang's sincere words, the doctor smiled. "Thank you. May you all also take care."
When the doctor finally disappeared, Li Yue turned to face his master with an expression laced with urgency.
"Young Master, why would they be looking for Tian Yi now? It's been at least eight years now."
Unlike Li Yue though, Ru Qiang's eyes were as calm as a tranquil pond of ink as he casually glanced in the direction of the door across the hall. Li Yue followed his gaze.
"Is it because of the Young Miss?" Li Yue hesitantly asked. "Because of the legendary strategist?"
"En. The title of the legendary strategist can reignite people's hope and desire for power. How much of an impact do you think her reappearance had on those in the jianghu seeking power, especially since some in each country want to overthrow the imperial families?" Ru Qiang casually leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.
"Quite a lot..." Li Yue admitted.
"Correct." Ru Qiang nodded. A faraway look entered his eyes as his thoughts began to wander away.
How powerful would those in the jianghu get if they found both Tian Yi and the legendary strategist?
Xi'er interrupted his thoughts. "But Young Master, it doesn't make sense. How do you know that the Young Miss truly is the famed strategist? Wouldn't she have been too young at that time?"
There was no answer for a while, making Xi'er and Li Yue look up and search Ru Qiang's expression for any fleeting hint of his thoughts. After a long moment, he finally answered.
"It doesn't matter if it's true or not. The legendary strategist is not who we're looking for. Do not forget our mission."
Li Yue and Xi'er immediately bent down on their knees and replied, "Yes, Young Master!"
Xi'er bowed her head as she asked, "Should I follow Doctor Yi's order and keep watch over the Young Miss?"
"No," Ru Qiang stated. "I will do it. There is something else that you and Li Yue need to do."
His eyes suddenly sharpened as the dim light in the room coated his gaze with a layer of mystery. "You both understand, correct?"
Xi'er and Li Yue quickly cupped their hands and bowed. "Of course, Young Master. Leave it to us."
In the next instance, they were both gone from Ru Qiang's sight. Only the hint of a slight breeze was all that was left of any evidence that they had actually been in the room. Ru Qiang turned around and walked out before silently closing the door behind him.
When he reached the outside of Feng Yao's door, he reached out to give a small knock. A moment passed, but there was no sound of her voice. Knocking a second time, he waited to hear any answer from within but like before, there was no reply.
He finally gave up on knocking and instead reached for the doorknob. As he twisted and opened the door, he hesitantly called out her name.
"Feng Yao..."
His voice ended up trailing off as he noticed that she had already fallen asleep on the edge of the bed. Her black hair was strewn carelessly across her pillow mimicking an image of elegant brush strokes across a flawless canvas. In her hand, she still held the cup from earlier.
As Ru Qiang got closer, he noticed that the cup, previously filled with medicinal tea, was now empty. Glancing behind him towards the teapot on the table, he realized that she had indeed listened to him and drank every last drop of the medicine Doctor Yi left.
At least she finished it...even if I did have to waste a packet of my sugar...
He sighed in regret before turning to study her expression. Her lips were unconsciously curled up into her trademark goofy smile as soft snores lightly escaped her slightly-parted mouth.
How was she able to sleep so soundly without any worries? Didn't she realize how vulnerable she was?
Her blanket had been kicked down towards her ankles and were now entangled between her two legs. In the process of it all, her robes had also become so scrunched up that the pale skin of her legs were showing. Even the cloth around her chest was dangerously close to unraveling past the point of modesty.
Ru Qiang shook his head in exasperation before reaching out towards the blankets near the bottom of the bed and pulling them up over her body to recover her. Once he finished straightening out the covers, he gently pried her fingers off of the empty teacup and placed it next to the empty teapot on the table.
Glancing back up towards her face, he suddenly noticed the prominent dark circles underneath her closed eyelids. The shadow of weariness surrounding her eyes stood out sharply against the rest of her pale-white face. It was clear that her body had been pushed completely past its limits.
From the start, he had already known that she was exhausted, much more than what she had been letting on. Even though she had been acting the same, he was still able to see the minuscule differences that furthered deepened the imperceptible crack in her perfect illusion. He was actually quite impressed that she had still been able to laugh and joke around the way she was doing earlier.
What secrets are you hiding behind that smile of yours?
There was so much about her that was unknown. It was impossible to figure it all out with only a look at her face.
Ru Qiang sighed before turning around to sit down on one of the chairs at the table. Making himself comfortable, Ru Qiang propped up his arm on the wooden surface and rested his pounding head in his hand.
After the events of this past week, he was also running on the very last bit of his energy. It didn't help that the quiet little snores coming from Feng Yao were like a lullaby that lulled him closer towards sleep. His eyes slowly drifted shut as he was enveloped with the sound of her breathing.
Suddenly, there was a slight rustling of cloth. Ru Qiang slowly opened his eyes to see her shifting in position on the bed. As she turned to the side, the blanket that he had previously pulled up to her chin fell back down towards her waist and became entangled with the strands of her hair.
He blinked before sighing and getting up to re-position the blanket back over her. Neatly, he brought the covers up to her chin and folded it back down until her entire body was covered. As he was doing so, Feng Yao's face slightly scrunched up at the sensation of the blanket moving against her skin.
Ru Qiang waited for a moment until she settled comfortably back into sleep before leaving the side of the bed and going back to sit down on his chair. Like before, he rested his head in his hands and closed his heavy eyes.
Just as he began to slowly drift off, he suddenly heard the sound of rustling fabric again. His eyes flew open and saw that Feng Yao had once again kicked the blankets down towards the edges of the bed.
"..."
Ru Qiang stared blankly at her before he forced himself to get up to fix her covers. Once again, he brought the blankets up towards her neck and lightly tucked it in around her shoulders.
This should do it...
Done with fixing it, he turned around and returned to his table. However, as soon as his hand touched the chair, the familiar rustling noise returned.
Hearing the ominous noise, he froze in place before slowly turning to look. His fears were confirmed as he was greeted with the sight of all the blankets he had painstakingly covered her with now all messily kicked away.
...Is she doing this on purpose?
If it wasn't for her steady and deep breathing, he would've sworn that she was just feigning unconsciousness. Even her familiar smile looked as though she was laughing at him in her dreams.
With one smooth motion, his fingers grabbed the blankets and spread them out evenly across her. This time, he made sure to tuck it in slightly tighter around her shoulders and the edges of the bed.
But as soon as his hands left the material, Feng Yao's face morphed into a frown. Before he could even react, she had already kicked the entire thing off her body again.
...It must be nice to get to sleep, huh? I'm glad you're having so much fun in your sleep.
Ru Qiang's face had long lost its calm expression and was now replaced with a look of deep annoyance. He didn't even realize that his lips had already turned downwards into a scowl as he glared at her peaceful face. She was completely oblivious to the trouble she was causing him as she continued happily sleeping away in her dreamland.
Seeing her so happy at his misfortune, his eyes narrowed as a rare wave of irritation came over him. Perhaps it was from his lack of sleep, but something inside of him snapped at that moment. It was the same feeling he usually had when someone took the last candy from his stash at home without telling him.
With more force than he realized he was using, he quickly began to manipulate the blankets around her entire body until she was covered from neck down all the way to her toes in a tight cocoon. The sight of her tiny head barely visible among the thick covers looked uncannily similar to how a farmer would plant a potato in the dirt.
As if sensing her dangerous situation, the unconscious Feng Yao tried to move, but it was too late. She had already been demoted from a sleeping human to a vegetable that had been carefully planted in a warm blanket of soil during the perfect season of fall.
Seeing her finally unable to kick off the covers this time, Ru Qiang gave himself a mental pat on the back and nodded in satisfaction. Immediately, he turned around and went back to his chair. He wasted no time in settling in to a comfortable position and closing his eyes.
Finally, I can sleep for a short while...
Feng Yao woke up the next morning feeling strangely hot and covered in sweat. Was this the effect of drinking all of that medicine?
Maybe it really had been some kind of miracle medicine. There was so much energy coursing through her veins after just one night of sleep. Perhaps it was a good thing she listened to Ru Qiang and drank all of that disgustingly bitter tea.
As she let out a small yawn, she felt something soft tickling the edges of her face. Feng Yao was just about to bring her arm up to move it away when she suddenly realized something.
...I can't move.
Her gaze snapped downwards only to have all of her thoughts come to a halt with a startling discovery.
I've lost my body! Who dares to do this to me?!
An scowl appeared on her face as her cheeks puffed up in anger.
"Who dares turn the great Yao Yao into a living burrito! Speak now! I demand an answer from the heavens! Or face my wraaaaaath!"
Even with the help of her kicking legs and wildly swinging arms, she couldn't escape from the tightly wound blankets around her body. All of her shouting was regretfully in vain.
It was a strange sight to see. A really strange sight.
Her shouts ended up waking up Ru Qiang who was still seated at the side where she couldn't see. His eyes slowly opened before he came over to blankly stare at her. In his point of view, he could only see a frantically-wiggling caterpillar that was aimlessly shouting in the air at no one in particular.
"Roooaaar! Come face me you cowards! The great Yao Yao demands a rematch!"
...The great...Yao Yao?
Ru Qiang wanted to take back his words. She wasn't a caterpillar. She was like a newly born toothless dragon.
And a really pitiful looking one too.
In the meantime, that pitiful looking dragon in question was still shouting in the air, not realizing that the person she was angry at was actually standing right next to her.
"Demons! What kind of witchcraft have you used against me?! Reveal your faces! Say something!"
Ru Qiang tilted his head in thought. What did she want him to say?
"...Something."
Feng Yao whipped her head to the side towards the voice and finally noticed Ru Qiang blinking at her.
"You! Did you do this to me?!"
He ignored her accusation and calmly nodded to himself in thought. Feng Yao could hear his quiet muttering underneath his breath.
"The medicine must have worked. En. Doctor Yi will be glad."
Ru Qiang turned around and walked back to his chair where he closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Feng Yao watched speechless as he continued to pretend to not hear her and instead rest his head against his arm on the table.
"Ah? Wait! You sadistic--ah, I mean, hubby! Come back over here and save your lovely wife!"
But despite her wailing, he remained as still as a rock in hibernation. From the looks of it, he wouldn't get up until he got in a few more minutes of sleep. Feng Yao pouted as she stared at him.
What have I ever done to make him so vengeful against me?
She paused.
...Ahhh, never mind. Let's not answer that.
A sigh escaped her mouth as she decided to resign herself to her fate. Perhaps life as a potato wouldn't be so bad.
Stretching out her neck, she laid her head against the soft pillow beneath her. Since she couldn't twiddle her thumbs, she could only take to singing to relieve her boredom.
"I'm so boooreeed~ When will hubby come and rescue meeee? Just a lonely potato~ All aloooone, and waiting for harvesting season--"
As she was singing, Feng Yao casually glanced to the side of her and noticed that Ru Qiang's eye was slightly twitching. Seeing this, she was suddenly hit with a wave of renewed energy.
With a voice full of unnecessary enthusiasm, she cheerfully began to sing even louder.
"I'm just a potatooo! Just a lonely potatooo! A potato waiting for another hubby potato to come and save me~"
Ru Qiang's eyes finally flew open as he glared at her full force. Feng Yao, noticing his look, gave a toothy grin in response.
He opened his mouth to say something, but at that exact moment, Li Yue suddenly appeared in the room.
"Young Master. I have urgent news."
At his unusually serious tone, Ru Qiang's face immediately shifted back into his blank mask. "Is it one of them?"
Li Yue nodded. "Yes. I believe that they've finally begun to move."
Feng Yao kept silent as she listened to their whispered words. She wasn't sure if this was a conversation she wanted to hear, although she really didn't have much of a choice at the moment. Sighing, she allowed her head to flop backwards onto the pillow while waiting to be freed.
"Young Master!" At that moment, Xi'er rushed in the room. "It's--"
Suddenly, everything was thrown into chaos as the only window in the room exploded and flung sharp pieces of wood everywhere. Feng Yao luckily was able to quickly retract her head into her blankets to avoid the flying shards just as the noises of people fighting erupted out around her.
As she hid inside her turtle shell, she could hear the sound of swords loudly clashing together accompanied by several shouts.
"Heir of the Jun Clan! Today, with the heavens as my witness, you shall perish by my hands!"
Feng Yao didn't recognize the arrogant and masculine voice, but she was pretty sure it belonged to a young man.
"You dare speak to my Young Master? You'll have to be worthy enough to defeat me first!" Li Yue's unmistakable voice rang out just as the other unfamiliar voice let out a chuckle.
"Do you realize who I am? You all should be honored that I came here to personally send you off!"
Feng Yao discreetly poked her head out of her hiding spot just to find herself surrounded by a huge puff of white smoke. Her lungs immediately contracted as the urge to cough painfully overwhelmed her.
She quickly muffled her mouth with the blankets around her neck as she took in the situation. Unlike what she had expected, there was only one unknown attacker fighting against both Li Yue and Xi'er. His silver robes fluttered around him as he expertly wielded his sword in a fighting style unknown to her. Luckily, he hadn't heard her small coughing.
What is this white smoke? Poison? No--it's something slightly different...
Wait. Where is Ru Qiang?
This entire time, she hadn't heard his voice. Quickly, she stuck the upper part of her head back out of her blankets again to do a quick scan of the room to look for his familiar figure, but he was nowhere in sight. Feng Yao didn't know where he disappeared off to.
Realizing that there was no point in looking for him any longer, she glanced back at the man that was still fighting against Li Yue and Xi'er.
After studying him for a few seconds, she immediately realized why he was still completely unharmed despite fighting against Ru Qiang's two incredibly well-trained guards. Despite being two-on-one, his fighting style made him seem like a team of four. His movements were fluid without losing neither precision nor accuracy. It was like a deadly dance that connected each slice and stab to the next, creating both a perfect offense and defense.
Even when his feet lightly jumped from spot to spot, each move was meticulously planned. Feng Yao could see it by the way that he was able to avoid Li Yue's vicious sword attacks and the silver needles being flung by Xi'er.
Each time he moved, his silver robes and long black hair would flutter around him like eager butterflies. The more she watched, the more Feng Yao became impressed with his amazing sword skills.
It was clear that this man was obviously someone very skilled in martial arts. Now the question remained of just what exactly was he doing here?
"Show yourself, Heir of the Jun Clan! You coward! You'll leave your guards here and escape by yourself?"
The young man shouted in the air as he continued to fight . Without missing a beat, he and his sword worked together to deflect each and every attack with a speed that Feng Yao's vision couldn't keep up with.
As she was watching, her eyes suddenly narrowed. Each time he either turned or moved, a very faint distortion of air would appear around him. It was as if there was something floating around him like spiderwebs.
When he finally turned his back towards her, she suddenly realized what it was. If it wasn't for the way that the sunlight was filtering through the hole in the broken wall, she would never have been able to notice the almost invisible hair-like string attached to his back.
Where does the other end lead to?
Feng Yao's face lit up as she instantly realized what was happening. She looked closer at the mysterious man who hadn't yet realized that he was getting increasingly more entangled with the string the more he moved.
Oh ho ho? Perhaps I can help Ru Qiang speed this process along.
A grin appeared on her face as she gave a silent thank you to him for leaving her in her ultimate potato form.
With a strong push of her legs on the wall, she propelled herself off of the bed and shot towards the man's legs like a rolling log. Since she was still covered in an entire padding of blankets, the process went quite smoothly for her end.
But him on the other hand? Not so well.
Seeing the look of shock on the man's face, Feng Yao burst out into gleeful cackles. In that same exact second, she could have sworn she heard a certain someone, sounding suspiciously like Ru Qiang, burst into a fit of coughing. But she quickly ignored it. She was having too much fun as she tumbled off the bed towards the mysterious man just like a boulder falling off of a high cliff.
It wasn't everyday that you saw a human log tumbling at full-speed your way. The man was hit with a very brief second of surprise before he quickly regained his composure and prepared to jump out of the way.
But at the last second, just before his legs completely extended and pushed him off the ground, the strings all around his torso and legs tightened, forcing him to fall forward flat on his face. His eyes widened in shock right before he made impact with the ground, resulting in a loud and painful thud.
Feng Yao's potato form regretfully didn't even have the chance to roll over the man before she felt a strong arm wrap underneath her body and lift her entire blanketed self into the air.
"Ah?"
Turning her head, she made eye contact with Ru Qiang who was now holding her like a potato sack underneath his arms. He was staring incredulously at her as if he couldn't believe she had just tried to roll over a live human being.
"Hubby! You came back!"
Feng Yao grinned. She would have also patted him on the back if it wasn't for the way that she was still wrapped up in her blankets. The only thing she could do was excitedly flick her toes up and down since her legs were bound together. Just how exactly had Ru Qiang tied this around her again?
Shifu! Please teach this lowly potato disciple your ways!
Ru Qiang felt a shiver go down his back at her sparkling gaze. He quickly looked away and nodded towards Li Yue and Xi'er.
"Good work. Let's head out."
"Wait! You can't possibly just leave me here tied up, right?! What the heck is this string anyways!?" The man flailing around on the ground shouted out as he suddenly realized that they were all ignoring him.
Feng Yao felt a moment of pity for the man, forgetting that she herself was stuck in the same situation. "There there."
She consoled him with her eyes full of sympathy from where she was still suspended in the air underneath Ru Qiang's arm. "Don't worry! Maybe your own hubby potato man will show up and rescue you--"
Ru Qiang suddenly covered her mouth with his hand. If it wasn't for her wound and the blankets wrapped around her body, he would have grabbed her by the shoulders and started shaking her back into the realm of sanity.
Sometimes, he didn't understand what was going on in her mind. The only thing he could do was shake his head in exasperation. "Sigh...Let's go. The others will be here soon."
Li Yue and Xi'er bowed at their master who was currently walking away with Feng Yao underneath his arm like a child. They both shared a strange look before quickly hurrying behind their Master and the Young Miss.
Their attacker, still shouting at them from the ground, was of course already forgotten.
* * * * *
Author's Note:
I have now returned from the land of the dead to bring you guys more updates! Woo hoo!
Just a quick note in case you are unfamiliar with this word, jianghu is like the "world" or community of martial artists. It's pretty interesting to see how different it is compared to the world of royal politics. In the jianghu, there are various sects of groups or individual people who live their lives based on their personal morals.
Basically, the jianghu is full of martial artists who fight for what they believe in whether it's good or bad. The way it exists is kind of like how the mafia (or gangs) exist quietly in the shadows. They have their own world, but it still coexists with the "regular" world. Hope that helps a bit!
We'll be starting to see a bit more of the jianghu and how it fits into the whole story soon too. But for now, no more spoilers!
Hee hee, until the next update, my fellow bookworms!
Onward we shall bravely travel to follow the adventures of Feng Yao!
~(˘▾˘~)