Before Hao got to cleaning, there was little to no argument. He pulled everything into the spirit-holding bag, the sheet and waste together.

“Young Master should be discrete with his Artifact,” Meiqi said. A line Hao repeated in his head.

“In front of the two of you, I think it’s fine,” Hao said.

“We thank the Young Master for his trust.”

Meiqi spoke for both of them.

“Perhaps I should have given it sooner,” Hao said, his lips curling as he looked down.

“No, Young Master is right to be careful, and rare with those he trusts,” Meiqi said. Her eyes were aflame with intensity Hao had seen a few times. There was a story in them, or more than one—Hao turned his head from them.

Hao made quick work of what needed to be done; the bag was almost too helpful. He did not need to walk back and forth. The bag got heavier, but nearly as heavy as it would be if he had to carry the junk in the sheet.

Noon had yet to come, but the heat was too great for mortals to work, yet work had to be done. Those of this mountain would be fishing, hunting, cutting stones—rushing to get what they have to do for the day. They would let the real noon pass, then rush to do whatever was left before the night set.

Hao went into the building where he bathed and slept. The two were already inside, sitting around the fire pit on the ground, Zhengqi was still pulling in gasps of air—Meiqi seemed to have recovered.

“Ah, Young Master has already finished.” They began to stand, legs unfolding as they pushed down on the floor.

The room was ransacked—only a few things remained. A few essentials, along with one bed. He noticed the other beds in the other rooms but finished the work before he came to ask. More concerning, he also noticed a bloodstain in the other room. It had been scrubbed—an attempt anyway to clean it down, but it was hard to clean. For Hao’s eyes, it is easy to spot.

“Why have the beds been moved?” Hao stopped their rise with a question and a headshake.

“There are people who like to take the position of leader among the servants when disciples are not around. They have a small amount of influence. A few wanted beds for themselves, and one of them had to sleep without. They had to give us a little face because of our background, but…” Meiqi said. Her voice was fair and loud, but a few stutters and tenses made Hao’s become intense.

“What of the blood?” Hao asked, his face steel.

Meiqi’s eyes sunk, her bottom lip pouting as she shook her head. “Aiya, the one who had to sleep without a bed, had a tantrum. The others mocking him fueled his anger further. He wanted to show off his influence and regain face. He demanded that one of the younger girls spend the night… She refused and fought him, but she stood little chance… She got a beating, which led to her death for saying no.”

Hao’s face turned that steely look, melting, becoming red. A face of shock and disgust consumed him, wide-eyed, missing his tongue. He started to understand why they were unsurprised by his killing. When they spoke of the one killed, they only showed sadness and pity, rubbing their eyes; they did not have the energy to outrage.

“What?” Hao said. “Surely I would have heard of this on my way here. Was this person punished? What about the two of you? Were you harmed?” Hao asked. Worried that he failed to live up to their trust and his promise. His only charge was to keep them from harm.

Meiqi chuckled, “Young Master worries too much. As I said, they show us a little face because of our ‘Ancestor’. The most they would do is throw insults our way. But… As for punishment, the man involved won’t see any. He is not new, he has the backing of Taoyi, Taoyi’s face extends to him.” Meiqi said. Her hands swung as she spoke.

“Few people care if a servant dies, the elders probably won’t hear a word of it,” Zhengqi said, her words bursting through her panting, nearly biting her tongue, her hand’s balls of fury ready for war.

Meiqi’s fingers rubbed her daughter’s arm, and both of them took a deep breath and sighed.

Hao sat with them around the pit—They must have brought the rest of the firewood inside early when I asked them to rest—they had little time to breathe yet did the stacking neatly. All lined up and squared in a rack near the washbasin, a few steps from the fire pit. The firepit itself had a few bits of smaller-than-average chunks of wood.

“A lower-peak disciple killing a lower-peak disciple faces punishment, an upper-peak disciple killing a lower-peak disciple would get a warning. Any disciple can kill servants without status, one that has no backing, no one would blink even if word spread. But I imagine if a servant killed a disciple, they would get tortured before they got killed in front of a cheering crowd.” Zhengqi said.

Her words were spat out quickly, her breath still ragged, her hands and legs trembling.

Her daughter’s words surprised Meiqi. But worried they had offended Hao, but Hao was staring at the women in contemplation.

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The room was hot. If a pan of water was put on the roof, it would boil. The two were sweating as their breaths steadied.

“Has Young Master had his fifteenth year?” Meiqi’s question was sudden.

Hao tried to smile, his eyes showing something different from his self-deprecating grin. “I do not know. I was born both early and late. During the summer, a season Islanders should not be born, but this should be my fifteenth summer.”

“Young Master was a child of summer?” Zhengqi asked.

“You both seem to know a lot of the Islands…” Hao said they knew a few things about the Islands, while those from the Islands knew nothing of the land.

“There are two reasons for that, Young Master. Zhengqi studied well; she was in an academy in a decent town to the south, that was long ago before we knew of cultivators… Islanders were not uncommon in the place I worked while she did her studies…” Meiqi said.

For the first time while she spoke, she avoided eye contact with Hao.

Hao turned his eyes down to the firepit, trying to show a bit of understanding. He knew Zhengqi was adept and knowledgeable about medicine. Taoyi mentioned it before.

Their situation did not sound bad on the surface, but Hao could not have been good if they ended up in this place asking for help from a boy like him.

“If Young Master was born during summer, then he might have already passed his fifteenth year. All stories and experiences say summer children who survive are always born at similar times. Boys are always born at the start of the short summer and girls at the end.” Zhengqi said.

“Children not born with those ranges pass… The births are unpleasant but better than losing the child. Sons are sudden and violent. Daughters are a summer’s worth of pain near torture,” Zhengqi said. She shook as she spoke, looking at her mother. Her eyes jumped more than once.

Hao pulled a bucket that was sitting on the floor over. His skill with the bag was growing, he could now grab things further away. The bag was acting as a slightly longer invisible hand.

The bucket disappeared from one spot and appeared at Hao’s side in an eye’s blink.

“It might also factor into Young Master’s rapid growth. Many things that stack up at once; Completing that trial while your natural Yang essence is gathering.” Meiqi said. Interrupting her daughter’s train of thought.

Hao froze what he was doing for a moment. That may have been a factor, but there were some secrets he would share, even with them for now. He wouldn’t let anything in the world know about the Drinking-Stone. He held it in fear and trepidation, wanting to keep its existence hidden for more than just his greed.

Hao tried to play off like he did not react, filling the bucket he had with berries from his forest. They cooled considerably since he put them inside the bag. Everything else was cooling at a slow pace. The bucket filled and the little purple-red morsels gave off a chilling mist.

“This… Young Master.”

“Eat, they’re cold.” Hao gave a stern look, placing the bucket on top of the wood in the fire pit.

They partook. Hao was happy they did not argue; they likely did not have the chance to refuse food. What they had to work for would not be great if their selfless efforts got them any.

“Is it true then that Young Islanders are given a concoction made from a Taliff fish that suppresses their desires? A second one is given as an antidote when they become adults, the same night as their marriage.” Zhengqi asked, feeling better, full of energy, and even more strangely talkative now that she had something to cool herself. Still, it was hard to get rid of a timid disposition with just a few fruits. She looked down at the ground after asking. There was still a tremor about her.

“Yes, but cultivating seems to have changed that a bit. Just a bit.” Hao said. Avoiding their eyes. He thought of their gaits and Zhengqi’s sticking robe; His thoughts were not fully his choice.

“Perhaps that could be it,” Zhengqi said, raising her head and rubbing her chin. “It just, I initially doubted Young Master’s origins for a while. Young Master has eager eyes…” Zhengqi said, her words getting bolder, there was a scholarly look on her face but her words showed Meiqi was indeed her mother. It was hard to hide the fact she was getting pale to Hao.

They place berries in their mouths. Hao locked his face, trying to make it stone, if the stone was slightly red. “Sorry… I”. Hao’s reaction sprung the enjoyable part of Meiqi again.

“Young Master does not need to apologize. It has been more than one of Young Master’s lifetimes since Zhengqi gave birth. Her lover died before her child was born. A man has not glanced at her since. I, myself, have not seen such fervent eyes in an even longer time.” Meiqi said. The pace of her words got faster with the width of her smile.

“They say the antidote they take on their wedding night stirs all their emotions, all the desire suppressed until then explodes out. The married conceive there on the spot.”

“Several marriages take place at once, dozens of kids are born on the same night and same year,” Meiqi said. Her smile was going away, as Hao's embarrassment lessened. She continued further.

“If the Young Master is bursting with desire, we can find someone suitable. If we have caught the Young Master’s eye, we are willing to serve.” Meiqi said, her palms pointing towards the sky as she shrugged, hurrying, hiding her face with her sleeve.

“I hope you can at least stop calling me Young Master while you are doing that…” Hao found a little ground to fight back.

“If I call you something else, you would have to start calling us something. How about calling me aunt? Though I can’t say I prefer it.” Meiqi said. A smile stretched across her face. One did not need to see it to know, you could hear it behind the sleeve.

The sound of berries hitting the floor stopped the game the two of them just started. The little red morsels rolled into the fire pit in front of Zhengqi. Her face froze still, her fingers locked.

“Ah, ah. I… I apologize, Young Master. My daughter was also born during the summer. I was just lost in thought. He… he got killed when he was going to ask for my hand; he was just going to ask a question to my ancestor. Then he was gone.” Zhengqi let slip, more berries falling through her fingers.

All the inquisitive thought in her eyes melted as she returned to her timid posture.

Is revenge something you expect me to help you with? Hao knew it was no time to ask such a question.

“I would like to hear more of the Islands while noon is yet to arrive.”

“I can tell what little I know, but there are many questions I have myself.”

Hao began to speak, the thought of the bodies in his bag lingering in his mind.