Chapter 8 - New Friends

Cai Bingtian

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The heaviness of their conversation fled at the sight of street-stalls and buildings. Nie Ruyi gasped as if she'd never been in a marketplace before, and bolted forward in a sort of jogging-run. Song Fengling followed after, trying to keep vigil against the bandits and evil inherent to such places. Cai Bingtian followed sedately through the lazy crowds.

Once Nie Ruyi was caught in a thrall at a glass-blowers workshop, set up near a blacksmith's forge, Cai Bingtian caught up. "So, we need a clothier, a bookseller, and what else?"

Nie Ruyi looked away from the molten glass being forged into beads, and at him. Being caught under the regard of those eyes made his stomach flip. "...I'm not sure honestly. All I own right now are the few things I was able to bring with me. I don't know what I might need."

"Well, let's see... you'll need talisman paper, a writing set... Probably a tea set too." Cai Bingtian started listing off the things he'd had to procure during his time as a disciple. "Linens, if you want something other than the bare basics the Sect will provide-"

"AH!" The sound burst from her, startling both Nie Ruyi and Cai Bingtian. "Pillow! I need a pillow and thicker blankets. The quilts here aren't near thick enough with no heating in that room, and it got so cold last night!"

Cai Bingtian blinked, frowning, "Ah, was the kang not lit?"

"Kang?" Nie Ruyi blinked. "I... have no idea what that is."

"I'll show you when we get back, Nie-Shijie." Song Fengling's concern dripped from his face as he stared at her. Cai Bingtian didn't blame him, since that was quite pitiful. Any child born in the cold north, or in the mountains, knew to light the fires below their bed, to warm it. No wonder she'd been so cold.

"So, linens, a tea set, a writing set, probably a sewing set as well... Ah, you should definitely get a Xiangqi set if you can." Seeing the confusion on her face, he elaborated, "It's a game. I'll show you."

He guided her through the softly moving crowds, and their path led them to a mixed-goods seller. The man had a blanket laid on the ground with various things displayed, and while Cai Bingtian didn't see anything worth stopping for, Nie Ruyi obviously did. She squatted down next to the blanket, her robes dragging on the ground like a child.

She pawed through the man's wares, picking up hairpins, bowls, and poorly repaired teacups one at a time and looking them over. She would pick it up, turn it over in her small hands and then set it down, gently. When she found a fan, she picked it up, and spread the tines, showing off the amateur painting of a river climbing through mountains. She seemed awed by this, and Cai Bingtian couldn't stand it.

"Hey, there are better-made fans to be found, don't buy this stuff. It's two good swings from falling apart." He chided, knowing she was going to get ripped off.

She looked up at him and frowned. Contrarily, she took out a coin, barely looking at it, and handed it to the man, "I'll take this fan. Thank you."

Then, she stood, brushing the dirt off her hems, and started walking again, the fan clutched in her hand over her breast, as if protecting her heart. Cai Bingtian sighed, shaking his head, following after without commenting on the man's awed eyes. She'd overpaid, he was sure of it. And probably by a lot, based on his face.

"That was a lot more than the fan was worth, Nie-Shijie..." Song Fengling said, gently. "You have to be careful. People will rip you off."

"...That man's clothes... They were ripped and dirty. He was clearly poor. These are probably items he found along the road, and he's selling them to get money to pay for food for his family. Any overpayment on my part, puts food in the mouths of his children." She explained with a patience that made Cai Bingtian frown.

"...Or he purposely dirtied and ripped that set of clothes to garner sympathy from kind souls such as yourself." He challenged.

"I'd rather bet my money on him needing help, than on him being a scoundrel." Nie Ruyi turned her nose up, before pausing. "Ah. That says 'books' doesn't it?" She pointed to a sign hanging over a shop.

"Well, yeah, but it also says lending shop." Song Fengling nodded, following along as Nie Ruyi went inside. Cai Bingtian followed into the crowded shop interior, shelves pushing them into a single line all along the room. Nie Ruyi was a smudge against the dark interior, even as she pulled things from the shelves to examine them.

Cai Bingtian found boredom overtaking him, even as he too pulled books and crockery from the shelf. A few dictionaries, some Buddhist texts inexpertly transcribed, one or two cultivation manuals. He scrubbed a finger through a few pages, just to see if it was dangerously false. He didn't immediately notice anything, although he knew the book was heavily watered down. No sect would allow their techniques to escape to the masses so easily, not when outer disciples brought money with them, and inner disciples earned prestige that could be used to build the sect's political influence.

"Can you direct me to your fiction section? Adventure novels, specifically." He heard Nie Ruyi ask over the dusty quietude of the shop. When he looked up, the proprietress (an aging woman, with a single jade hairpin as her only adornment, her robes as aged as she was, and in poor repair) was pointing to a small alcove of books. Nie Ruyi thanked her and headed that way, Song Fengling following like a duckling.

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However, standing in the narrow walkway was a young woman, her hair done up in an intricate, gravity-defying set of loops. Cai Bingtian couldn't make out her face, but he could see how Nie Ruyi's shoulders tensed. The woman cleared her throat, which should have, by rules of etiquette at the very least, gotten the maiden's attention.

"Meimei, I think the young lady is trying to view those shelves." Another voice called, over the quiet din of the bookstore. It appeared to belong to a young man who was revealed when the young woman turned to look over her shoulder at Nie Ruyi. A feeling like a dollop of honey into a glass of hot milk fell into his stomach, and Cai Bingtian pasted on a grin.

"Liang-Xiong! Sect Heir Liang! What a pleasure to see you both!" He stepped up behind Nie Ruyi, crowding her and Song Fengling closer to his old friends.

Like a flower to the sun, Liang Lanlan turned, her eyes widening and her smile drawing across her face, when she caught sight of him. She'd always worn such a bright smile for him, honestly. It made something in his chest squeeze. Her brother, Liang Zilin, was smiling at him too, the lazy grin he'd always worn back during their days as disciples together.

"Shixiong!" Liang Lanlan cried, pushing roughly past Nie Ruyi in order to stand in front of him. This, of course, sent Nie Ruyi wobbling into a bookshelf, which sent several fat tomes falling to the ground with loud thumps. The bookseller cried out, annoyed at this, and Cai Bingtian looked over his shoulder to wave a sorry.

"Cai-Shidi shows up in the strangest places!" Liang Zilin chuckled, holding out a hand for Nie Ruyi. Cai Bingtian watched out of the corner of his eye as she took his hand, a frown deeply set on her face. "Apologies, beautiful Jiejie, my sister is careless when Cai Bingtian is involved."

"Apologies accepted." Nie Ruyi mumbled, although Song Fengling at her side looked mutinous. "This one is Nie Ruyi. My companion is Song Fengling. You clearly know Cai Bingtian."

"Ah, we do. This one is Liang Zilin of Furtive Jade Sect. The young one there is my little sister, Liang Lanlan, Sect Heir. A pleasure to meet you, Nie-Jiejie, Song-Didi."

"Song Fengling of Severing Firefly Sect." Song Fengling growled out, and for a moment, Cai Bingtian wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. Why did these two sects have to hate each other so much? Ah, right, it was technically his fault, wasn't it...

"Song-Shidi." Nie Ruyi chided, finally able to turn to the bookshelf and look for herself.

"Cai-Shixiong!" Liang Lanlan called again, and Cai Bingtian had to focus on her darling little face. As round and beautiful as it was before he left, her cultivation glowing beneath her forever-youthful skin. She smiled, her lips rouged a sweet pink.

"Hello, Lanlan-Shijie. How have you been?" He offered her, smiling the sweetest smile he knew. "Well, I hope?"

"Mn! But I've missed you." She reached out, tugging at his sleeve like a lost child. She was trying to be cute, to incite his protective instincts, he was sure. Sadly, she was very cute, and so it worked.

"Ah, I should have written more often. This Shixiong of yours is sorry." He tilted his head, lifting a hand to pick up a lock of her hair from her shoulder. He placed a gentle kiss on it, causing a blush to flare in her cheeks. She really was adorable.

"Instead of writing, just come home." She tugged at his sleeve again. "I'm Sect Heir. I can make them forgive you for running off. They'd never judge my husband."

It was an offer she'd made a million times. Even back when they were children, before she had the title, before he'd run away, she'd say things like this. He gave her the same indulgent smile he'd given her then, letting the lock of hair slide out of his fingers.

"I couldn't take away the Sect's perfect orchid." His assertion brought her giggling, and he almost missed Nie Ruyi's eyes on him, her brows drawn down. She was giving him a hard stare, the kind that spoke of disapproval. "I'm escorting my new shimei through supplying herself. She came to us from a long ways off, and had little with her when she did. A surprise trip, you know how it is. So we're trying to find her things she might need."

Instantly, he saw the storm on Liang Lanlan's face as she turned to meet this 'new shimei'. As if knowing she was being sized up, Nie Ruyi squared her shoulders and gazed back unconcernedly.

"Ah, how sad. What tragedy, when one loses the things familiar to oneself." Liang Zilin said, his face turning towards Nie Ruyi, his eyes assessing as well.

"Yes, well. When one is called to help, one goes speedily." Nie Ruyi stated, crossing her arms over her bust. However, the movement wasn't boastful, the way it might be on someone else. Her shoulders were hunched, and Cai Bingtian felt an intense need to rescue her. He turned, his back pressing against the bookshelf. "Sect Heir Liang, Liang-Shidi, perhaps we should take our reunion outside. Nie-Shimei is looking for books for her collection, and will need a few moments of quiet."

That turned the Liang siblings’ attention back to him, and he was both loathing of it and thankful for it. Eventually, he corralled them outside into the dusty streets of the little town. Liang Lanlan pressed herself against his side in a touch that wouldn't be appropriate even with her brother there. He laughed nervously, rubbing at the back of his neck and wishing he could disappear into the almost-non-existent crowd.

"Is Cai-shixiong doing well there? Do those mountain hicks treat you well?" Liang Lanlan demanded, her brows drawn in sadness. "I will be incredibly cross with them, if they mistreat you."

"No, no. This Bingtian is treated very well there. Severing Firefly Sect has been quite beneficial. I've learned a lot, and honestly feel very welcome there." He answered, not lying. Although, even if he'd been trampled on and tortured, he'd still have said the same thing to her.

"...And you really don't want to come home? If you'd just marry me, I could protect you. You'd never have to worry about anything-"

"Lian-Shimei." He stopped her, leaning just a little down to look at her closer, to let her think he was telling her a secret. "I like worrying about things, remember? It's how I think. I need space to make, to create, to live. You know that."

Her face crumpled, and he hated seeing that expression. It reminded him of the time one of her lessons was evading her understanding, and he remembered how she'd sunk her teeth into the problem and worried at it for days until she'd finally come back to the class with a solution.

Liang Zilin saved him, setting a hand on his sister's shoulder and drawing her into his side. "Well, we'll at least be able to spend a little time with our favorite shidi. Lanlan is meeting with Sect Leader Lao to discuss some recent activity in the woods near our borders."

Ah, the Dragon Incident then. Cai Bingtian supposed he'd probably be included in some of those meetings, then. He gave a vacant smile, knowing that Liang Zilin was probably hoping for some tidbits from him.

"Are you supposed to meet her soon?" He asked, instead.

"Ah, we're not supposed to arrive before tomorrow morning, but we got here early." Liang Lanlan said, her foul mood not quite cleared.

"Then you should spend the afternoon with us! I'm sure you'll have fun." He offered, before his mind could catch up with his mouth. He really did miss them, though, so he would forgive himself.

"Yes!" Liang Lanlan jumped on the opportunity, and of course Liang Zilin went along with her.

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