The first look of the Western Kingdom any of them got as the large crowded merchant boat creaked and swayed upon the river was a tall long wall that snaked along the riverbank. The originally grey stone had become green from centuries of moss growth and the spreading fingers of vines that seemed to be the only things holding some sections of the wall up still. Some of the walls showed faded burn marks, or odd pockmarks as though an acid had been vomited upon them.
The boat drifted closer towards the walls until it reached a section that had long fallen into the water and had a wooden dock built onto it that two rows of men in simple armor painted a dull orange stood upon. Past the dock was a large metal wall that stood a little higher than the stone walls on either side, with a small door in the center guarded by two more larger men in the same colored armor.
Idony had spent the entire boat ride sitting at the feet of the adults and eating some sort of soft cold bun with a paste filling that she could not recognize the taste of. This did not stop her from consuming four of them, letting the paper wrappers sit in her lap while Baozi slept beside her. She finally finished eating to look up at the questionably built dock, her eyes sweeping over the rows of armored men.
They did not look like good news to her. Men in armor were typically mean and would ask you to empty out your pockets and take your permanently borrowed shoes in her experience.
“Why are there so many guards?” Idony asked Liu Xie, tugging at his long robe so he would look down at her.
“Probably because of whatever instability is going on past those walls… or Fish People,” Liu Xie explained. “To be honest, I don’t really know. I don’t remember this place well and I haven’t been informed much of the latest news. Not that many people are rushing to inform me anyway.” There was a bit of bitterness at the edge of his flat monotonous voice.
Idony lingered on ‘Fish People’. “Fish People? Are they like mermaids? I saw a mermaid in a book once.”
“No, Fish People are… things,” Liu Xie sounded irritated, so Idony decided to change the subject and reached for his hair. He swatted her hand away, “why!?”
Idony shrugged as Li Baobao turned his head to them. He was sweating, holding a patterned handkerchief that he dabbed at his shiny forehead. “Fish People? You haven’t heard of Fish People?” He asked.
“Nnoooope,” Idony shook her head.
“Well! You need to be very careful, because Fish People are dangerous! Very dangerous! They’re also called Jiaoren, but they aren’t like the Jiaoren like in the novels you can buy, they aren’t nice people who cry pearls.” He explained, “they take the forms of beautiful men and women and try to steal people so they can take their souls and eat them. Or keep their souls for terrible ends! It’s said that they killed the Bone Willow Sage and that one of their princes fought the Three Immortals to a standstill, also, also, that they do tons of other terrible stuff too!”
“Eating souls seems pretty bad already,” she patted Baozi.
“They don’t eat souls, they use them to make more of themselves,” Liu Xie corrected. “They are apart from the cycle of reincarnation, they spurned the gods by rising from the Ancient Ocean before the gods had made land…”
“And-and they also made a lot of monsters they released upon the land, and fought the Heavens in several wars. They’ve very frightening, so if you see one, run away!”
“We should get off the boat now, the guards are yelling orders…”
Idony cast a brief glance at the waters of the river the boat rested on. It was not black like the other river, but it did look deep and murky. Perfect for something to hide in. Then she got up, the papers falling from her lap as she patted Baozi awake. A shadow loomed over her briefly before Liu Xie stooped to pick up the wrappers.
“So messy, there’s no way your mother taught you this,” Liu Xie grumbled lightly. Her body froze up, each word a needle in her heart as he spoke them. Her mother smelled of sickness and was a frail shadow in the sunlight, always telling Idony not to worry, that she would get better soon and they would go somewhere together.
“She didn’t teach me a lot of things,” Idony agreed bitterly and then she covered her ears tightly to walk past him without hearing anything else he would say. She scrunched up her face to try and wall back her tears as she followed the rest of the group off the boat and onto the platform in her new soft shoes. Baozi clopped along, keeping close to her legs.
The adults above her were talking, and she only caught the barest snippet of a word before it fluttered back into a sea of incomprehensibility. One of the guardsmen was loudly barking orders, using a painted pole to gesture right and left and people were ordering themselves into two lines with much complaining.
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Li Baobao bent down a little to look at Idony, “ah, to go through the checkpoint they want us to split into lines with men on one side and women and children on the other.”
She looked at the small line of women, some with children, and then at the much longer line of men. Then she looked at her own feet, a sense of anxiousness welling her at the thought of being on her own again.
“So! So, Rui Yifu will be with you!” Li Baobao said reassuringly, petting her head.
At the mention of his name, Rui Yifu leaned down to offer his hand to Idony. Relieved, Idony took his hand gratefully and they both stepped into the short second line. She looked behind herself to see Bo flicking Li Baobao’s head, and Liu Xie gazing at her for a moment with an empty expression, then he turned away from her to smack the back of Bo’s head. Idony then looked back at Rui Yifu in time to see him finish swallowing… something. He coughed a few times and fanned himself while looking a bit ill. Then he took a soft breath and began repeating a phrase over and over, each time the voice was a bit higher, a bit softer. After a bit Idony was able to pick out the syllables and sounded them out herself. The words sounded weirdly slurred on her tongue.
Rui Yifu turned his gaze back at her and covered his mouth to muffle a light feminine laugh.
Idony laughed too although she didn’t know why.
Their line moved rather swiftly. The door in the metal wall would open briefly to allow someone to be escorted in from either line, then it would shut for a few minutes before opening and someone else being escorted inside.
Then suddenly it was their turn.
Idony heard Baozi oink apprehensively, walking in front of her and sniffing at the air warily as the door opened into a short hall with six doors on either side. Rui Yifu placed a comforting hand on her back and guided her inside with Baozi leading the way (after Rui Yifu said something quickly to one guard).
They were immediately ushered into one room where a tired man in worn robes the same color as the guards armor, and what Idony felt was a funny looking hat, looked at the two with a quizzical expression. He picked up a hefty stack of yellowed papers and scrolls, and a black plate that dark liquid sloshed on, carefully organized them in front of him on a creaking table.
Rui Yifu sat down in front of the table, bidding Idony sit down next to him and then gesturing with his fan for Baozi to sit in the corner. The pig did as directed, and the robed man looked both confused and amazed for a moment before his face became solid with a serious expression.
He began asking questions and to Idony’s own shock, the voice Rui Yifu answered with was not his deep masculine one but in fact the light airy voice of a woman. One that matched his face.
He answered promptly each question, but his voice was coy and with some he’d hide his face behind his fan briefly, which was decorated with chrysthanthemums and bees.
Idony understood not a single thing spoken, even though sometimes Rui Yifu would pat her head or hug her. Occasionally something he would say would fluster the official, making the man grip his robe and shake his head.
Finally he gave a pronouncement, tapping a long nailed finger on the table. Two guards stepped in and Rui Yifu quickly scooped Idony up, holding her at his waist and waving at the still sitting man with a wink. The man’s face looked red enough to steam. Idony looked at both of the new guards. One looked extremely tired and gaunt, while the other seemed young and eyed her with an uncomfortable grin.
Idony wrapped her arms around Rui Yifu, Baozi following after them obediently. They went back into the hall in time for Idony to see Liu Xie being led into another room. She decided to turn her head before he would spot her looking at him.
They were led into another hall with more doors, these ones however were more like prison doors given that they led into small cells. The cells were clean, with bedrolls provided in them. Many of the cells were already filled with the other women and children in the line, and a few had men in them. They all looked rather bored and grumpy.
The two guards took them to one empty cell, opening the door and letting the little group move inside before shutting it.
Fear screeched in Idony’s heart, and the girl struggled to release herself from Rui Yifu’s grip. The man finally set her down on the ground and she threw herself at the door head first, bouncing off and landing painfully on the stone floor. With tears in her eyes she got back to her feet but Rui Yifu quickly wrapped her in his arms and pulled her into his lap.
“No, you gotta let go! We’re in trouble, can’t you see?” She whined, pushing against him as he brushed her hair upwards to check the growing bruise on her head. Baozi oinked and bounced around as well, staring at the two. Why was he so calm? If only he could understand her then he would understand what danger they were in!
Rui Yifu gently hushed her, holding her firmly in his arms and kissing the top of her head. He used a hand to rub her back, muttering kindly to her. Idony did not understand. Why wasn’t he panicking? Couldn’t he tell that they were in danger? They had just been locked up!
Still the gentle shushing and rubbing of her back was soothing, and her head spun from having used it as a battering ram. She yawned, which made her wince in pain as the new bruise on her head throbbed. The muttering grew more steady, yet louder, like the flow of a river through her ears. Gradually her eyelids grew heavier, Baozi’s noise making faded away, and her vision grew fuzzy and indistinct. She laid her head down, eyes glazing over while she looked up at Rui Yifu. She felt faint memories well up.
Idony remembered a cold room, and the gentle gaunt face of her mother staring down at her with a tired smile on her scarred face while she stroked Idony’s hair.
She closed her eyes to hold onto that memory for just a moment she told herself, and then fell into a light sleep in Rui Yifu’s arms.