The Heavenly Wandering Sword
Chapter 58
That night, Mei Min was staring absentmindedly at Li Jian as he stood out in the garden of the Jin Manor house. The courtyard was wide, with plenty of aesthetic flowers and plants grown in strategic places to provide a shadowed background to the brilliance of the moon that appeared over the pond in the center of the courtyard. In so many ways she found him to be a mystery. It truly appeared as if he embodied the existence of the deity of cuisine. The dishes he had made from the silky yet savoury tofu to even the sour plum tart were not things that she had imagined a mortal to be capable of. She knew that he was a deity but of what?
Li Jian had sensed the stare of the underworld deity but without ill intent from her gaze, he just ignored it and instead stared up at the moon. “Lady, tonight is too beautiful to simply sit in a courtyard. Let us see what else is in this village.”
She sighed and got up, slinking over to him with her bright red dress clinging to her body. She shook her hair with annoyance as her fingers gripped the opening of her dress and folded them down tightly against her chest. “Fine. You are the one that holds the seal, so let us go where you wish then.” Li Jian however shook his head with a slight smile. “You’ve never been curious about what it’s like in the mortal world? To walk through it and simply see what we have forgotten as the truth of those lives that pass before we can blink?”
Mei Min tilted her head and shook her head. “Perhaps once long ago, before I was what I am now. Now, I simply am.” He laughed at her words and turned to walk out of the manor gate. She caught up to him, walking quickly until she was just at his heels. “Why do you find that amusing?”
He looked up at the moon again as they walked, smiling at the way the cloudless sky seemed to radiate a brightness that the brightest of daylight cannot compare to. “Because once upon a time, you could have been one of those whom you ignore. Might that Mei Min have married and had children? Or might she have wandered the mountains practicing her martial art until she became a Sect Master? Or become well known throughout the lands as a peerless beauty?”
She blushed brightly at his words, turning her head slightly to avoid looking at him. “If you come into my bedroom, I will not show any part of you mercy.” He laughed as they walked through the streets. At this time of the night, most villagers were already home except for a few inns that were still serving wine. Li Jian picked his way through a few different ones, eschewing them instead of what appeared to be an inn that had an outdoor courtyard with a literary gathering.
As they sat down and he ordered wine, they could hear poems being written and recited by a few gathered around. Various criticisms were both given out as well as debated. For Li Jian, it seemed like a nice way to spend the night. The wine was warm and he felt himself relax as he listened to the various poets discuss and criticize the literary offerings of each other.
“Wine is too easy a subject. Perhaps you might consider another topic that might provide a challenge?” One of the men said, toasting another poet casually with a small cup of wine. The other man looked down at his cup and frowned. “Wine is too difficult. It is too broad and too vast, and until man understands wine fully, any poems about wine will never be sweet enough or will be too bitter.”
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A few others joined in with their own opinions. It seems the past few verses had all been composed about wine but now quite a few of them were incapable of truly enjoying any of their own poems. Mei Min giggled quietly and sipped at her cup of wine. “What do you think Master? Do you have the talent or the bravery to compose a poem to these literary experts?”
With a mocking look at her, he shook his head. “Of course I don’t dare. I’m only good at cooking tofu.” Mei Min giggled again and perched her head on an upraised hand, resting her chin on her palm as he listened to some of the poems being composed.
Each sip brings joy, each swallow brings sorrow.
We are together, yet can never unite.
The lightest gesture, the deepest of tomorrow.
Perhaps the moon will stay, but the sun it will spite.
If one day we can be, the cup maybe still.
The deadline is fate, but infinite may yet wait.
I pour another cup, the truth a bitter pill.
Each sip is like a kiss, if I had another fate.
Mei Min whistled slightly, impressed at the poem recited by the man who thought that wine was too difficult. “That was not bad.” She said, smiling a bit as she took another sip of wine. The group of pets around him all began to argue and debate about the meaning of the poem. “A forbidden love?” Someone else shook their head. “No, it must be about a finely aged wine that he cannot get again?” Another person laughed. “No you are all wrong. His poem is clearly about how he is unable to sleep. He even mentions the moon and the sun.”
Li Jian however frowned slightly. “It must be tough to miss her everyday. How long has it been?”
The man who composed the poem blinked and turned to look at him. “Unknown lord, please tell me what you mean by that.” Li Jian set his cup down on the table. “The woman you love. She passed away and now you sit here in the moonlight sipping wine and composing poetry because she often would pour you wine while the two of you sat and watched the moon. Now the only time you can see her is when you dream.”
The man was stunned, while the other poets around the table began discussing quietly, dissecting each line to understand it’s meaning, to see where the stranger had come up with such a conclusion. “Please explain young lord.” The composer bowed towards him, touched that a man from no where can form such understanding of his poem. Mei Min looked at Li Jian with a slightly raised eyebrow. It seemed that he was not a simple deity at all.
“Each sip is joyful because you would stare into her eyes as you drank the first sip. Every time you swallow, you remember she is gone. She is in your dreams but that is not a true union. Nothing is lighter than closing your eyes to fall asleep, but you know tomorrow she will still not be there. You wish that you could dream of her forever but the sun will always rise. If you were to meet her in the underworld, the cup would no longer move in your hands. We are all fated for the underworld one day, but it is unknown if you two will meet again in the next life. Every time you pour yourself a cup, you’re reminded of how she was the one to do so. If you had a better fate, you would appreciate her more each day.”
The poet was stunned silent, blinking away the sudden moisture that appeared in his eyes. The other poets all became quiet, realising just how Li Jian had interpreted his poem. “Young lord, you must be a master poet. Please, compose for us something. You must have wisdom far beyond your age, so please enlighten us.” The poet bowed again with reverence, truly wishing to hear what someone that understood his poem in an instant would compose. Mei Min looked at Li Jian and grinned at him, leaning forward. Li Jian poured himself a cup of wine and sipped at it thoughtfully.
“The colour will always remain, a heaven in a grain.”
“Since the day we met, on your face my eyes dare not set.”
“Towards west the clouds will seek, a dream an impossible feat.”
“Strands of different colour, a taste unlike any other.”
“A flower born in gold, a candle that will hold.”
“Winter will bring the snow, each drop a high and low.”
“Each drizzle brings only storms, a tear that a mountain mourns.”
“Here now I see the moon, the wine a beautiful boon.”
The poets all remained silent at his recitation. He set the cup down and smiled slightly, looking at the previously loud group of poets. “Can anyone tell me if they have achieved understanding?” At his question, the poets could only shake their heads. Mei Min stared at him and blushed slightly, unable to comprehend what he meant but she knew that the poem he had recited was one of tenderness and aloofness at the same time. The thought that Li Jian held himself at such aloofness even in reciting a poem that was clearly about love made him appear just a bit more handsome in her eyes.