Byakko noticed that the relationship between the two was quite odd. For one, Li En would pamper Shi Yan whenever she could. Being his ‘mother’, Li En seemed to be extremely protective of this youngling. However, she was willing to allow this boy to set foot into the forest alone? If the boy encountered any predators, it would certainly be the end of him. Secondly, it was as if they only had each other in this world. For the whole time, there was no reminiscence of anyone else but this old woman in Shi Yan’s mind. Likewise, throughout the day, their peace within this forest remained unperturbed.
Byakko consolidated his thoughts for a moment and paid attention to the scene again. [There is definitely something strange about this place… Out of all the traps the boy had made, how was it that one was not triggered in weeks? The pair also lives by the river so, why doesn’t the woman take time to make traps for fishes?] he wished Lumi was here so that he could consult his speculations but unfortunately, instead of the man himself, Byakko got stuck with Lumi’s bastard brother.
“Li En, when you climb up, you must make sure to hold on tight!” Shi Yan shouted out from behind as Li En was about to wrap her arms around the tree.
“Young Master, is there anything else I should do?” Li En asked as this climb was simply too easy for the child to choose as a game. Due to the twisting structure, the tree has an amazingly good foothold and arm hold. It did not even require one to have forehand knowledge of tree climbing to overcome this tree.
Shi Yan gave another shout, “Li En, you need to keep your eyes peeled!”
“Okay!” Li En hugged the tree and began to climb up. [as expected. This tree is not difficult to climb… why did Young Master ask me to do this? It's much too short for any surprise scenic view if that's what he wished for…]
While the old woman climbed, she could hear the faint rustling of bushes behind her. [I see… he’s trying to go off somewhere while I climb up… might as well play along and see what he gets me.] Li En took her time. Once she understood Shi Yan’s intentions, she wanted to give the boy as much time as possible to prepare for the big surprise. Although she had already expected it, she would still act as though she was completely unaware.
The surprises Shi Yan gave her all took a lot of time to prepare. As far as she could recount, the longest was probably two months of planning. At that time, Shi Yan was still four and had just learnt how to create traps. Using his new found knowledge, the boy tediously made a few traps and planted them around the area, very similar to now. After surreptitiously checking on the traps, he had finally caught a stray rabbit. [The smile on his face when he presented that rabbit to me is irreplaceable…] Li En could not help but break out into a wide, heartfelt grin as she recalled the past. Unfortunately, she also recalled the state of her own body and got depressed. [Maybe he recalled how happy we both were at that point in time that made him want to recreate that scene…] Li En sighed.
After a prolonged climb, Li En sat at the top of the tree where the two twisting bodies diverge. She scanned the area to find an expected sight. [There really isn’t much here…] The scenery was still considered too beautiful. Rustling tree and bushes, with golden light falling between the gaps of the canopy. The occasional falling leaves that seem to dance. The green vines hanging from the trees seemed like spectators, applauding the leaves as it slowly descends.
“Young Master, are you there?” Li En turned her head to look behind and was baffled to see a little boy standing there. [Didn’t he actually go off to do something?] She wondered, waiting for the next set of instructions from the little boy.
“Li En, have you gotten a good look?” Shi Yan shouted.
“Yes, so Young Master, can I get down now?”
“*Em!* Li En, you have passed the test! Congratulations! *Heehee!*” the boy grinned.
[Young Master is so cheeky sometimes.] Li En giggled to herself as she climbed down. This time, her descend took her only a minute to accomplish. When her foot finally touched the ground, she could feel a soft grasp holding onto her skirt.
“Yes Young Master?” she turned around to the small boy grabbing onto her. Shi Yan points to the dense forest and smiles, “Li En… over there.”
When she turned around, she was shocked to find a small patch of white from afar. [That wasn’t there when I first saw this place…] “Young Master, did you do that?”
“*Em!* Li En, it's just for you! Let's go!” Shi Yan excitedly pulled her hand to quicken her to move forward.
“Young Master, how long did you take to do all of this?” Li En asked once she got a good look at the white patch from afar.
“A few days.” Shi Yan spoke nonchalantly. He continued to pull but the old woman seemed to direct all her attention to him. “Li En, hurry up. Don’t just stand there…”
[… Young Master you are really too sweat… no matter how I see it, finding all of those or growing them would take months!] Li En slowly moved her feet as she felt a heavy weight within her heart return again. However, this time, she had a simultaneous feeling of despair accompanied by a heartfelt warmth. It was more accurate to describe the source of her despair, to be this warmth.
As her steps moved closer, her heartfelt weaker. She already loved this boy to death but the future was unavoidable. She wished the heavens had allowed her to take his place but alas, it was his karmic fate to follow through with heaven’s will.
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The pictorial scene of white quickly became visible to Shi Yan after he moved through a dense bush. This part was previously hidden by vines the boy had set up. Originally, this was a small plot of flat land without any trees above it. A peculiar spot to exist within a forest. Over the course of the next few months after his discovery, Shi Yan cleared it to make way for his plans. The vines were implemented first. He needed ensure that this place was completely hidden from sight; least obtrusive white catches Li En’s attention and she finds out about his surprise. Next, was the scouring and transferring of the flowers, Wilflow. Although not exactly the most beautiful nor the rarest, this flower was Li En’s favourite for some reason. Thus, Shi Yan decided to fill the plot of land with it.
The entire project was highly classified as Shi Yan took extra precaution to make sure Li En doesn’t find out. He would only transfer the Wilflow in areas she was very unlikely to visit and after each expedition, he would take a bath and dry out before returning. Due to the nature of the Wilflow plant, they tend to enjoy being out in the Sun. It was much easier to spot them as long as Shi Yan visited the sites where there were plenty of Sunligh the flower to blossom. On the first day, he managed to transfer 4 Wilflow. On the second, 5. This process carried on for 3 Months before he was able to claim 600 Wilflow. These were not counting the new buds that started to appear once the flower was transferred over to this perfect location to thrive.
Currently, there were close to 700 fully blooming Wilflows! And each one of them was swaying with the wind, dancing as though they welcomed their new friend. Coming close to such a sight Li En couldn’t help but have a tear in her eye. The memories from her past flashed through her mind as she continued to walked forward. She could recall the faint whisper of the one that she had loved as she bent down to look at the flower. “Thank you…” her voice sound hoarse as she tried to hold herself together. But, at this moment, she knew very well that it was impossible. [At least I shouldn’t make the boy worried.] she thought. Murmuring, “Young Master… could you leave me alone… for a while just so that I could enjoy this paradise you’ve made?”
Shi Yan could feel the old woman’s hand slightly trembling, understood that something was about to happen that she didn’t wish for Shi Yan to watch. Accepting the request, Shi Yan reluctantly released his grasp on her hand and slowly walked away. *Em…*
Feeling that the boy was already not by her side, her knees collapsed down as she let out silent sobs. Meanwhile, Shi Yan was watching her trembling shoulders behind of a tree. He stared at the old woman with a hint of worry in his eyes.
It took a long time before Li En managed to recover herself. She looked at the field of Wilflow in front of her and took a deep breath. Rubbing the tears away, she straightened her thoughts as well as her resolve. [We will head to the kingdom tomorrow…]
Li En turned around to look at the boy hiding behind the tree. She let out a smile and he immediately ran forward to hug her waist. “Li En, are you okay?” His eyes seemed to be slightly red from fear and worry but not to worry her, he held it in.
“Young Master…” she bent down to hug the boy, stroking his head, “Thank you so much for this gift. I’m so happy that I really can’t describe how I feel.”
“*em…* as long as you are happy and fine, this present is nothing. Li En… Are you okay? You didn’t fall sick again right?” Shi Yan tightened his hug.
“Young Master… don’t worry… I was simply just too happy just now. I remembered something as well.”Li En gave the boy a peck on his forehead.
“remembered? What did you remember?”
*HeeHee* Li En gave a forced laugh but was extremely convincing to the boy. “It’s a surprise for tomorrow. My big surprise for you in return for this present that you have given me.”
“… okay…” Shi Yan gave a yawn and Li E lifted the boy up to her bosom. “Young Master, it’s time we head back to sleep…”
“*Em…* but Li En, I don’t need you to carry me. I can walk on my own…” Shi Yan tried to struggle a little but could not resist Li En’s strength. The old woman kissed the boy on the cheek, “Young Master, for today, just relax. Think of this as my display of gratitude to you for all that you have done.” [Yes… you have really done so much for me… and you still wish to do more…]
Li En already knew that Shi Yan would refuse her. The boy was worried that he would be a burden on her body. Although touching, Li En already felt deeply indebt to the boy. As much as possible, she wished for the child to forget about her welfare and only think about himself. [Young Master, I know it is selfish for me to wish for you to be more self-centered but I really do wish that you aren't as kind as you're now… maybe it’s because of me that you grew up to love the world more than yourself… but, that cannot continue.] Li En looked back at the field of Wilflows one last time before walking back into the dense forest; towards home. [There are only two regrets in my life. The first one is retreating, to leave my lover to die… and the second one is allowing you to be so kind…]
While talking through the forest, Shi Yan gradually closed his eyes. Within Li En’s arms, he felt inexplicable comfort. The last glimpse he had was Li En’s smile before his world turned back to black.
[…] Byakko could obviously feel Shi Yan’s turbulent emotions that was filled with confusion, worry and anxiety. Even as the boy was dragging Li En around or leaving her to climb the tree, Shi Yan continued to felt a panging worry within his heart. ‘what if she was gone or will she be alright?’ were the thoughts that continuously raced through his mind like a broken recorder. These thoughts were kept at the back of the boys mind after yesterday's sudden ‘illness’ but once the old woman started talking about leaving him, Shi Yan’s whole heart started to race.
Li En’s emotions, unfortunately, were not well registered into the white tiger. This was due to the tiger being unable to concentrate with all of Shi Yan’s raging emotions crashing into his mind. On the other hand, Lumu, who appeared in front of Byakko seemed to understand something from the day’s events. “Byakko, what do you think of her illness?”
The white tiger wrinkled his brows to think, “No doubt it's some kind of poison…"
Lumu nods in agreement. "Yes, but do you know what type of poison it is?"
Byakko entered deep thought trying to recall the poison but nothing came to mind. [How am I suppose to know what kind of poison it is?] he wondered as he tried to recall the scenes with Li En and did not manage to find any clues.
Watching the white tiger struggle to come up with the poison caused Lumu to sigh, "You truly lack insight. No matter. Just continue to watch the boy grow up slowly..."
Byakko's white ears twitched after hearing Lumu's comments. His face turned red from humiliation and rage. "If you already knew, why bother asking me then?!"
Lumu gave another languid sigh. "I will let you continue to guess what poison it is... as for why I asked you, can't you really guess the answer for yourself?"
Byakko cursed in his mind, [are you serious? I'm not so bored as to ask a clueless person questions and insult them! No wonder this bastard is one of most wanted man in the realms. People simply wished to choke him because of that rotten mouth of his! How does Hati put up with his nonsense?]
Lumu closed his eyes to think for a while before opening it again. "Byakko, from here on out, pay more attention to everything that's happening around the boy instead of his feelings. There are more things that you simply aren't aware of."
"Yeah..." Byakko did not wish to talk to this man anymore and returned an apathetic reply. [If I had a choice, I'd rather deal with the boy than you! Seriously, just get lost!]
Lumu seemed to be able to read Byakko's thoughts and slowly started to fade away again. Byakko gave a cold snort after his form had completely disappeared.