Xue Hua had been feeling uneasy since earlier,
Something was off, surely, but he didn't know what.
The villagers were rowdy, certainly, especially those drunken old men.
He glanced at the immortal, who was just sitting still while the other people talked their heart off,
Was he fine?
He couldn't help but wonder, Yue Ran had never told him, but he could guess that Yue Ran wasn't fond of such large crowds,
It was just a feeling he got, seeing how Yue Ran's brows had been tightened since the start of the dinner,
Yue Ran sat close but it felt really far somehow.
For some reason Yun Buizha had made himself comfortable between them, separating the two,
Yue Ran didn't say anything, he didn't mind it but someone else certainly mindedit very much.
Yun Buizha soon started talking again, he was truly talkative, but he had heard most of his stories while Yue Ran was away so he was hardly interested, and his story contained mostly about wine and it's making process and the other majority being his time in the village and it's folklores and myths.
As all the villagers gathered, those old women had returned too, he instinctively touched his head, his hair which was still in a braid, but now without a single accessory.
Fortunately they didn't say anything about it, maybe they simply forgot the torturous day that they had spent.
He still got chills just by remembering those moments when his head felt more like a doll's than his, from that moment he had found newfound respect for dolls.
They appeared one by one, and auspiciously all of them sat quite close to him, but what could he say? So he just continued stuffing his face with food.
But just as he kept eating more would immediately appear, it took him a while to realise that this was those women's doings too.
Before he knew it, he was stuffing his mouth with all the food in order to empty his bowl quickly but this only made more appear.
He tried to turn his body towards the immortal and plead for help, but the old folks had surrounded him once more, blocking his view of everything behind them and shielding him from other's gaze too
The wall was quite guarded with very little gaps so much so that the only thing he saw was Yue Ran's hand as he lifted the delicately molded and painted porcelain glass that had been filled with water.
Just then he felt a strange crawl within him, it was foreign yet...
He didn't know why but he felt extreme foreboding, a shiver sliding down his spine.
he mustn't let him drink it
That was the only thing on his mind and before he knew it, he had shoved away those women but he couldn't process it any longer.
The world went silent for a moment, he felt his ears go deaf and his throat went dry.
Only once after the glass had slipped and fallen onto the rough stone flooring and shattered did he come back to himself.
The porcelain glass had shattered.
The crowd went silent
That was when-
he finally met Yue Ran's gaze from the start of the meal,
His brown pupils contracted for a slight moment.
Ah
it was of his expression of shock.
An eerie silence followed up lingered in the crowd.
But it soon broke by the words from Yun Buizha,
"H-huh what was that noise?"
Yun Buizha who was sitting beside him woke up,
After the loud sound of the porcelain on the stone floor.
He still seemed half asleep as his eyes darted around the place, he was alert while still out of it.
He had drunk quite a bit, as far as Xue hua could remember but he was wrong surely,
Yun Buizha had yet to sober up completely but his eyes started to gain focus once more
He looked anxious, he was already starting to wake up from the commotion with old Jie despite thinking of it yet as a dream, however--
now he was fully awake.
For some reason, checking on the man who had been sitting beside him and who had drawn the crowd's attention was the last person he checked
But when he finally did...
He saw the immortal drenched all over his torso he couldn't help but cover his mouth slightly as his brows tensed.
"What happened?" Soon, Aunty Ming came over and asked,
The old ladies too who had been keeping Xue Hua busy looked around with anxious gazes too,
Wondering, as they whispered
"Maybe we were being a bit over bearing..."
They all wore guilty expressions as aunty Ming turned to look at them,
They sounded apologetic for their actions despite them really not having any real faults but Xue Hua didn't respond nor react, he had no time to listen or gauge out their feelings to reassure them, nor did he care enough.
He had entertained them enough, so... at least for now he silenced them in his mind, focusing only on the trembling pieces of glass and the waters slowly seeping through the small cracks.
All he wanted to do was stop him but even after he did, he couldn't quite calm himself.
"What are you doing?"
Only when the water had seeped into the ground through the cracks did Xue Hua settle and loosened his grip on Yue Ran's wrist.
Xue Hua didn't answer immediately but he had let go of his wrist,
Xue Hua slowly looked up, hesitation spread onto his face, he continued opening and closing without any sound,
It was clear that he wanted to say something, but Xue Hua seemed to have grown a lump in his throat.
"What's the matter?"
Yun Buizha approached,
Seeming concerned for Xue Hua's sudden outburst,
it wasn't just him, the others seemed to share the concern in that moment the atmosphere had turned awkward.
all that yet remained, who were still having their meals or drinking stopped at once,
waiting...
to hear something...
to know.
But Xue Hua wouldn't say anything, no he was unable to say anything. So he simply dropped his head low, scared of displeasure on Yue Ran's face.
After all, he had caused a scene impulsively, acting on pure instinct, but if he reversed time, he'd still do it over and over.
Yue Ran placed his hand on his head, and looked at the crowd.
"Don't be alarmed, it's just a stomach ache"
His hand moved gently across his soft hair, this motion immediately washed Xue Hua over with calm, his chest felt slight tremors,
Xue Hua raised his eyes, widening,
He made the immortal lie...
It was wrong, wrong...yet, for some reason it felt incredibly...good.
"It seems he got quite nervous...",
Yue Ran added, pushing down Xue Hua's head roughly once with a pat.
He looked at Xue Hua's trembling gaze,
But he looked away soon.
Reassuring the crowd was something he had done quite a few times too and seen it be done more than he could count,
The villagers hearing his reassurance all calmed down, sighing with relief, yet Yun Buizha still seemed a bit worried,
the old ladies were apologetic as well, apparently according to them, they might've caused him indigestion by feeding him too much too fast
And everyone believed that Xue Hua's action was caused by a sudden gagging urge, fortunately or unfortunately, so his silence and his actions felt reasonable after all, Yue Ran was currently his "older brother"
After a while, life once again returned to the silent courtyard, as they continued chatting with each other as if nothing had happened,
But Yun Buizha in particular was still a bit bothered, noticing Yue Ran's drenched clothes he had gone to a servant to ask for clothes telling Yue Ran to wait a moment.
Yue Ran himself didn't particularly mind, for clothes could never stay dry always either way, it would get wet or it'll be dry, and now it just happened to get wet but even then it'll dry soon, so there truly was no need for any fuss.
unlike the mortals, he wasn't affected much by the cold, but Yun Buizha had already dashed away, still half out of it, Yue Ran couldn't stop him.
But, he thought, it was better to let him, after all scholars were rather frail indeed.
Xue Hua felt a sting in his chest, as if an ant was biting him around thinking about how he had accidentally poured water all over him, it wasn't something much, spilling water or any liquid was not rare at all, but this was the north, and not being dry while outside could possibly freeze someone, or even lead them to death.
After being with the villagers and Yun Buizha in particular for so long there was no way he'd be unaware of the deaths caused by seemingly "simple accidents"
He knew that, he also knew that Yue Ran was an immortal but he couldn't help his racing thoughts,
After all, he could still feel the sticking scabs, the burning he felt as the chill seeped through his bones, all the bloods he bled frozen on top of his skin, he could still vividly feel his body leaning on that cold wall while his lower body grew more limp and numb from laying on the snow bed drenched with his own blood.
Even after being healed by Yue Ran, he sometimes still woke up clutching his waist, while dreaming of that night.
Whenever he dreamt of it, he would always wake up with an aching pain all over, but it was particularly strong on his waist.
One where he once had a gaping hole, a wound, he forgot how he got. He couldn't believe just how Yue Ran could easily heal him, seal the wound without any more traces of the wound's history in his body, on his skin
There wasn't even a single scar anymore on his waist from that wound now. The scars had healed by time, while the wound had been healed by him yet, it still haunted him...
His face dropped as he tightly gripped on his robes, stretching them to their limits, almost tearing them.
"It's alright"
Yue Ran looked at him,
"it's alright"
He murmured,
His gaze had softened as it met Xue Hua's trembling self.
.
.
Yun Buizha was panting softly, trying to catch his breath after running around, but soon gained his composure after a fake cough,
When he arrived, Xue Hua had been taken to their quarters by a servant following Yue Ran's request.
Yun Buizha then separated the two clothes folded together in his hands, revealing a thick shawl along with a big handkerchief.
It was unbelievable really, even scholars with thin skin probably won't require this thick of a shawl.
Yue Ran gave out a resigned sigh under his breath, taking the handkerchief first then dabbing the wet spot with the cloth and then covering himself with the shawl.
Thankfully the woodcutter had nimble feet, if it was anyone else it would've been frozen already
Still...
It was a bit too much if he was being honest, but he remained compliant feeling that it would be more troublesome once the woodcutter started refuting him if he tried to refuse it
Not that he had any reason to do so..
Yun Buizha watched the immortal cover himself his face indifferent all throughout the series of small events, if it was any of the villagers they would have been shivering, but Yue Ran hardly seemed bothered.
Well... He was an immortal after all.
He reminded himself.
Yun Buizha brought the thickest shawl he could get from the chief since he had seen just how high quality the immortal's cloak was, despite not having many clues on luxury goods he was still a man of great discernment,
Not that it needed any,
since the cloak simply screamed it's magnificent without any need for evaluation, and to think the immortal used it as bedding for the child...
He must be fond of him.
Yue Ran needed to take it off for the disguise to work, and wear completely different clothes, so now his clothes were in his house.
He did all that without any trouble but he still wore his pendant,
It was quite weird for an immortal, wearing a worn pendant.
He could only assume that it must be very important.
knowing how the whole disguise thing was his idea and how he had made them wear clothes unsuitable of them how could he just bring whatever he could find?
He had already made them wear humble clothes of a scholar, so If it wasn't of a high quality it could at least be the thickest, so thickest it was.
Soon, the night got darker and it was very late into the night, almost everyone had gone back to their houses,
Yun Buizha too now returning back, it was kind of amusing how he had drunk till unconsciousness and was knocked out before all the fuss but immediately sobered up after hearing the fuss, and he was quick to act too.
A servant soon approached him and took him to his sleeping quarters-- which he shared with Xue Hua,
He must be sleeping by now
He had sent Xue Hua earlier afterall and it's been a couple of hours since, well, he did "have" a stomach ache.
Or...
A thought occurred,
Was he waiting for him once more?
It was weird,
He usually would've pleaded to stay, although not verbally, yet, this time he simply hung his head down and followed the servant after a defeated nod. It was a bit too easy?
This reminded me of that time, when shizun had to leave a certain village, the kids all circled around him, some crying while some frowning, but all showing how upset they were in their own ways.
He had become a very popular man with the kids, but there was one kid in particular, he wasn't frowning nor was he crying,
But he had a similar expression back then, just like Xue Hua's
what was he thinking then?
What did he feel as shizun was about to leave?
Yue Ran unconsciously reached out and rubbed his pendant.
Pressing down firmly.
The kid was a reserved one, one who always followed shizun no matter where he went without interacting with the other kids, it made him believe that maybe he'd follow us quietly too, but to my surprise--
He didn't.
Yue Ran was led through the long hallway, two steps echoing in silence.
Soon the servant stopped, and gave a polite bow before him as in front of the door which opened up to his quarters, it was in an extreme opposite direction from the place where the chief's ill daughter was being nursed back to health.
"Good night young master,"
She, continued politely
"if there's anything please let us know"
He nodded without looking at her,
And opened the door.
*Click*
The door opened slowly, the room was engulfed by darkness, Yue Ran slowly made his way to the table, relighting the lamp.
As the light slowly illuminated the room once more, a silhouette of a young kid could be seen.
Hugging his knees while sitting on the corner of the bed.
This scene felt oddly familiar,
Was he asleep?
He squint his eyes, trying to make it out
Like that ?
Swiftly he walked, his footsteps faint, his hands that had reached out intending to wake him, paused.
Then softly, he parted Xue Hua's messy hair, revealing his face,
He was breathing softly with his eyes closed,
How did he manage to sleep in this position?
He asked himself, but got no answer.
Then his eyes lingered on the boy's face a little longer,
his eyelashes truly were long, they were white too.
Just like Shizun's.
Was this the first time he had seen him up so close?
It surely wasn't, but it surely was his first time noticing it.
It truly was a wonder how this kid had fallen asleep while sitting,
Wouldn't his neck be sore?
He still couldn't get past the fact of how the boy was sleeping while hugging his knees,
A soft sigh soon escaped his mouth,
What a handful he really was.
He laid him flat on the bed giving him a blanket
Sitting down on the bed he looked out the window near the desk
The moon shining through, the storm clouds had passed.
Did Xue Hua open the window before he came?
No wonder the room was slightly chilly.
Getting up, he looked around the room for a moment, taking the surroundings in, the room was quite spacious despite being a little bare for a guest room, there were very few furnitures and barely any pieces for aesthetics purposes.
But this was sufficient, rather this was quite nice.
He loved simple things better than those pretentious and loud decors, and loved simple places much more than those overly fancy inns or taverns in large cities.
The bed given to them was quite large, firm unlike just like the ones he had back home.
He closed his eyes, rubbing the rough edges of the pendant.
Until another thought appeared, lifting his wrist he thought about how those fragile hands could exhibit such strength when he was grabbed.
Right, he still had to ask about the event earlier but the subject was already asleep, so there was hardly anything he could do.
He glanced at Xue hua, whose chest--
rising and falling with each breath
Yue Ran had guessed the cause, but he still wished to hear from Xue Hua.
Just like the other, he too had been feeling a presence, a third party, not human not demon, similar but way different from Xue Hua.
How could he not? When it carelessly revealed its malicious intents and couldn't contain itself from staring furiously.
What was surprising though, was Xue Hua's perception which appeared to be more sharper while outside, which was surely what caused him to act instinctively as well,
he could sense it too
Despite being careless, there was hardly any trace of it if not none, during the day, while conversing with the chief and the villagers he had been trying to trace even the faintest spiritual energy or remnants but there was none.
It was quite surprising.
Even now, he still had no way of tracing it,
However, he wasn't in any particular rush so he was not bothered by it.
No one knew how long they'd end up staying here, but he knew that he had ample time to explore the village, it's roots and decays, since it seemed to be full of them.
While, he also could gain some useful knowledge from this place.
'Shizun loved mortals deeply, especially children.
What was the reason? What did they do that deserved such love?'
He once approached his master,
however he merely smiled
"you will know as you grow up"
Ruffling my head furiously, he added,then
"maybe you'll come to love them too"
Blinking slowly Yue Ran exhaled deeply, then slowly loosened his hair from the braid, causing his hair to fall on his shoulder then back,
Taking off his outer robes he hung it on the nearby chair and laid down on the bed, he could hear beside him the soft breathings of another person.
No one would've guessed that he would be so fine with someone beside him, especially when he often gets annoyed with others breath or chewing sounds.
But the former had disappeared after being with his master for so long, well, since his master wouldn't let him sleep alone as a child he had no choice but to endure it
And somehow along the way he had grown used to his master's breaths.
And it somewhere grew into something that gave him peace
But definitely not the chewing sounds, he still was mildly annoyed by it, however he could now hide it very well.
He could not help but ponder on this one thing that had plagued him for years,
Opening his mouth slightly, he stared at the ceiling
"What exactly is love?"
He asked out loud, it was unlike himself--
No.
he hardly knows what being like himself even means after staying with his master for so long.
So,
What was it?
____