累成一摊烂泥 (lèi chéng yì tān làn ní) - tired as a pool of mud; utterly exhausted.
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In the chaos following the collapse of auction, the woman who had been on stage with Saam Lei emerged from the ruined tea house, with another, exquisitely beautiful, woman by her side. An awkward multilingual conversation ensued; neither of the newcomers could speak the Zhū language that Jyun Sou Jyut was most familiar with, or even the more widely used language that Zéyì spoke, Xiǎng(1), and knew very little of the common tongue. Charades, drawings in the dust, and very, very distant memories of rudimentary Yamato-go(2), the language of the country where the two newcomers had come from, east of the sea, drew them closer to a mutual understanding.
They called themselves Eitsu(3) and Tsubaki(4), their names formed from the characters for 'Eternal Haven' and 'Camellia' respectively. Eitsu had a strange energy and a kind of inhuman attractiveness that reminded Zéyì somewhat of – No, she didn't want to think of her right now. Tsubaki was a pure and simple human, with no spiritual power, but she was extraordinarily beautiful and her dark eyes carried a kind of steely resolve as though she were a sheathed sword, ready to cut someone down.
Jyun Sou Jyut had a strangely familiar aura, with a strong Wood-attribute that Zéyì's Water nature couldn't help but feel soothed by. Their companion, on the other hand, had a wild and feral energy that she wasn't sure how to deal with. In some ways, it frightened her.
It seemed that all four of them had met Saam Lei before, and their faces grew grim as they exchanged information. Zéyì stared blankly as words that bubbled up through the discussion.
Death guide.
“We had an encounter with him fairly recently,” Jyun Sou Jyut explained. “He sent a spirit to the next world.”
“Was it not just an exorcism?”
“No, not like that. There was a certain feeling... How to explain it...”
Eitsu and Tsubaki's stumbling words were of agreement, although they seemed reluctant to explain what they had experienced.
“But Go- I heard he used to be the guardian spirit of a forest in Zhū. How can he be a guide to the dead?”
“A guardian spirit?”
“Saam Lei, the spirit of Saam Lam.”
Everyone present digested this information.
“Lady G- The person who told you this was sure?” Jyun Sou Jyut asked.
“Yes, they were certain. They knew him very well.”
Her junior sibling looked very troubled. “Perhaps demons are involved after all.”
“Demons?”
“We still don't truly know what happened during the fall of Zyu. So if a previous guardian of Zyu's main forest shows up wielding powers of the dead and trafficking legendary animals... including the skin of his own Queen...”
In the end, Jyun Sou Jyut and their companion headed west to continue finding evidence of Saam Lei's crimes. The two women, Eitsu and Tsubaki, quickly disappeared to hunt down Saam Lei himself. And Zéyì...
In the Kingdom of Huáng, by the edge of a tranquil forest, there sat a small temple.
From a distance, Zéyì watched its disciples greet each other, do chores, practice their discipline. She turned to the giant creatures behind her.
"Thank you for your assistance," she said sincerely, holding her hands out to the giant heads of the shī zi. They lowered them eagerly, pressing their huge snub noses against her whole face and snuffling hard as she wrapped her arms around their cheeks, first one animal, then the other.
Over a week had passed. Their puppy had stayed with the investigative monk and their companion; the shī zi parents seemed happy to let their child see the world in the care of such capable people. In this world, children grow up early.
There had been no sign of Zyu Ji Sang, despite the searching of Jyun Sou Jyut's companion.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
"My friend has a certain way of investigating," Jyun Sou Jyut explained, although no one seemed to want to explain what that way might be, so Zéyì did not press the matter. In the end, they could only say that Zyu Ji Sang was no longer in Yùhǎi, and they urged Zéyì to go and see Yuān Mù Shī fù for treatment.
There was no Gong Lau Jan either.
A funny feeling would twist Zéyì's heart up every time she thought of the loong. It would start in her chest then erupt into her brain and make her feel faint. In the end, she found herself avoiding the thought of her, until her mind automatically shied away from even the briefest consideration without her even noticing.
The shī zi had become very fond of Zéyì, and she of them. She liked to stroke their coarse fur and rub their ugly but cheerful faces vigorously; they would respond with a singsong growl and lean their whole weight against her until even her cultivator's strength failed and she fell over.
And now it was farewell again.
Zéyì closed her eyes, face pressed against the one of the shī zi's faces. "Am I just going to keep saying goodbye, over and over?"
"I'm still here," Fàn Bì'ān said from behind her.
Zéyì said nothing. What was the point?
"At least there's someone for you to talk to, even if it's just a part of yourself."
"Thank you," she said again to the shī zi. They snuffled her hair, fluffing it into a mess, and then contentedly trotted away. She watched them disappear into the surrounding forest.
And then she watched a little longer.
Ten minutes passed with her staring after them, motionless. It seemed easy, somehow. She knew she was supposed to turn around now, and walk down into the little dale where the temple was situated, and find her old shī fù.
But she could also just continue to stand here instead, watching the wind toss the leaves.
"Don't you want to see your shī fù?" the vision of Fàn Bì'ān asked.
"You shut up." Zéyì's eyes were cold and dark. She walked down to the temple.
Three junior disciples were cheerfully sweeping the front steps of the temple when Zéyì approached. They greeted her respectfully.
"Jiě jie, are you looking for someone?"
"I am, little ones. My name is Lián. Is it possible to have an audience with your shī fù?"
"Please wait one moment," one of them said, dropping his broom and rushing away. The other two seized Zéyì's hands.
"Come and have some tea while you wait, Lián jiě."
"We harvested some jasmine recently, this new batch tastes really good!"
They brought her to a small pagoda just by the temple gate where visitors could wait. Zéyì's eyes took in the temple grounds as the junior disciples raced about with teacups and hot water.
The style of the buildings was so different from that of the Yuān Wěi Temple in Chūn, where the wooden structures had been almost gloomy. Here they were light and airy, but the same tranquil feeling pervaded the whole place. Disciples tended to herbal gardens, and small ponds laden with edible plants and beautiful flowers dotted the scene. A shiver of recognition ran through her.
The tea had only just been poured out when a voice called out.
"Lián shī mèi?"
An elderly man stood before her. He wore a jade ornament from his belt depicting an intricately carved iris flower, and the white tassel that hung below, white as his long eyebrows, white as his long beard, it told her that he was the master of this place.
But his eyes were still clear and dark, and shot with gold, and Zéyì remembered a time when his hair was only just turning white, when he stood tall and upright, and she had called him -
"- Yuān Mù Shī fù."
No one knew quite what else to say, at that moment. At last, Yuān Mù opened his mouth to speak again.
"Your Highness."
Zéyì froze. Like a rabbit stalked by a fox, her eyes twisted without her head moving to see the person who had spoken.
At the main temple gate stood a man in the uniform of a military commander of the Chūn Kingdom. Behind him were a small squad of soldiers, they knelt as Zéyì turned.
"Princess, we have been ordered to bring you home."
Bewildered, Zéyì turned quickly to look at Yuān Mù. He was frowning hard, clearly not expecting these visitors. Behind him, Yuān Wěi disciples had caught sight of the scene by the gate. Zéyì could sense the silent tightening of the situation, a wary rising of fighting intent starting to take hold of the disciples. Coiled within like snakes ready to strike, they had all stopped what they were doing and were watching how the situation would unfold.
This was different. Yuān Wěi Temple in Chūn had been entirely peaceful. Yuān Mù had taught these children how to fight.
What happened back then, shī fù?
"Whose orders?" Zéyì asked.
"His Majesty, the King of Chūn."
Her grandnephew. No, grandniece. What did she want now?
Yuān Mù had stepped to her side.
"Lián shī mèi, I don't entirely understand what is happening here, but I sense that perhaps you do not wish to go. If you say the word, Yuān Wěi will protect you. I... have lost enough people. We're strong, shī mèi."
Just speak, and I'll be safe? Zéyì looked at the kneeling soldiers, and then at the young disciples. She could sense many years of battle experience from the former, although their strengths varied. The Commander himself had a very high cultivation. The Yuān Wěi disciples on the other hand, had high cultivation overall, but little experience with fighting. Yet they all stood and waited for her word.
Zéyì smiled, if it could be called that. Her lips twitched and her eyes could barely focus on her shī fù, who took her hand, his own eyes filled with concern.
She could see it, right there and then, that she would say that she didn't want to go with these soldiers, that she just wanted to stay here at Yuān Wěi, and return to the path of a tranquil heart, and forget everything about the outside world.
And the soldiers and the disciples would fight, and it would be a close battle, and there would be thick blood on the surface of the once peaceful water gardens and courtyards.
She squeezed Yuān Mù's hand, and swallowed hard against the nausea she felt.
"I will go with them."