He reached the inn the others had been set up in and quickly went up the stairs to the floor above. Servants gave him a wide berth and when he stepped into the room he found the three adults in discussion while Idony played with a cloth doll with Baozi sleeping beside her.

“Oh welcome back,” Rui Yifu said idly, playing with some beads while his eyes focused intensely on the other two men in the room. “Bo wanted to go look for you. What a good dog.”

Bo shot Rui Yifu a glare then looked at Liu Xie, “you were gone for a long time. I thought you ditched us.”

“Poor puppy,” Rui Yifu cooed mockingly.

“Where were you, Master Liu?” Li Baobao asked in curiosity. “We were hearing weird rumors while eating earlier, and the people here have strange habits. It’s a bit unnerving to be honest, it’s like we’ve stepped into a different more lawless world!”

“Strange habits?” Liu Xie sat in their group, casting a glance briefly at Idony and her pig. She seemed content to pay attention to her doll, singing softly to it while Baozi snoozed beside her. Liu Xie also briefly wondered what sort of heart spasm Li Baobao would have if he went into his temple.

“Oh yes, you mentioned a farmer earlier,” Rui Yifu straightened up a little. He pulled out his fan and began fanning himself lightly. “But that can wait. We are still waiting for Bleeding over there to tell us about the accident at the border wall. Bo, be a good dog and ask the nice servants to get me something cold to drink. It’s hot in here.”

“Get it yourself!”

Liu Xie narrowed his eyes at Rui Yifu’s disrespect, but picked up his sword and laid it on his lap, “it was this.”

Rui Yifu looked over it briefly, “it’s full of white flame,” he instantly surmised. “This was the same sword you used to strike down the face eater ghouls right?”

“Correct,” Liu Xie nodded. Rui Yifu was far more spiritually aware, and canny, than Liu Xie liked.

“A cursed sword,” Rui Yifu said. He went back to playing with the beads but now he was staring at Liu Xie with wary eyes, like a fox would at a farmer's dog.

Liu Xie did not nod to that but instead continued, “a particular guard wanted to hold it. He obviously thought I was up to no good. I explained to him that it wasn’t something he should handle, that if he did to keep it sheathed. But he didn’t listen, and it ate him.”

Both Bo and Li Baobao were suddenly at either side of the room, both pale. Idony stopped playing with her doll briefly but then shrugged and continued what she was doing. “Is it cursed? Fuck! You were walking around with that thing at your side and you didn’t tell us?”

“Of course not, it’s under control when it’s with me. It behaves,” Liu Xie explained. “I have the strength to keep it in check.”

“How?” Rui Yifu asked. He did not seem particularly surprised by the revelations so far.

“Because-” Liu Xie mentally prepared himself. “I am the Bone Willow Immortal, the master of Lady Gu.”

“Who is Lady Gu?” Bo immediately asked. His voice made it clear he knew it was someone important, just not how or why.

“...Wait! Wait, if you’re the Bone Willow Immortal, that would make you at least two…three… five thousand years old!” Li Baobao gasped, eyes shining. “Also… also you look very young and clean! I would have never expected you to look like this! ...Have you met the Bridgewater Sage?”

Rui Yifu did not say anything but he did mouth a single word; “Liar.”

Whether or not Rui Yifu believed him a liar, Liu Xie did not care. He still felt aggravated by his uncle, so rather than answer any questions about himself he redirected the conversation. “I've met the Bridgewater Sage once, but I don't think he's what you think he is. Also what was all this about strange customs and farmers? That’s more interesting right now, isn’t it?”

“It’s not every day a legendary immortal who beheaded himself to prove a point and turned all his bones into willow wood shows up,” Rui Yifu said while fanning himself. “Please forgive me for my doubt.”

“You sound like you have something bitter in your mouth, maybe you should go get that water for yourself,” Bo sneered. Rui Yifu tried to smack him with his fan but Bo managed to narrowly dodge its path by jerking his head back.

“Stupid dog!” Rui Yifu hissed.

“Please don’t fight!” Li Baobao whimpered. “Lets just talk about something else, please? Please don’t fight! We shouldn’t fight in an inn or in front of a little girl!”

Rui Yifu huffed and then suddenly got to his feet, briefly scratching the scarred skin on his neck, “fine, fine. I will get it myself, this room is beginning to smell like dog anyway and I’d like to get some fresh air.” Without another word he slunk away.

Liu Xie felt like an oppressive air had cleared away and sighed. The soft singing was becoming mumbling, fading in and out behind him. He turned around to see Idony beginning to slump against the wall. Getting to his feet, he gently picked up Idony and moved her onto a bed roll, carefully covering her in a blanket and even making sure the doll was tucked into her arms. Then he sat back down in front of the two. He looked at them, “well?”

Bo spoke first and quickly, “so we were eating some food and listening in on the rumors-”

“Which say nothing good by the way! I think we sh-”

Bo continued speaking over Li Baobao excitedly, “this really rich farmer guy came up! He had huge bags full of seeds, some were of this stuff called ‘honey millet’. Can you imagine that? Millet that tastes like honey? Isn’t it weird what rich people can get their hands on? Anyway he was really rich looking, I think. But he was wearing a dog’s head on his belt and said it was a good luck charm!”

“It was so strange!” Li Baobao nodded, “but he paid for a second round of meals for us and told us to be careful since it’s dangerous around here. I agree, by the way, the rumors were talking of people disappearing and strange altars.”

Liu Xie tipped his head, “did they describe these altars? What else did you hear?”

“Well, not much, I was a bit distracted by the farmer,” Li Baobao admitted shamefully, twiddling his fingers. “But it seemed like most of the victims had been women, so brothers and fathers and husbands have been locking up their sisters and daughters and wives. Or having them move with guards.”

“They said something about ‘appeasing it’,” Bo said, although all eyes had briefly settled on the slumbering child. “Luckily, that thing there isn’t a girl.” A thrown fan smacked him in the face. “OW!”

“Don’t yell!” Rui Yifu yelled, coming back inside to grab his fan and sit down with a cup of water. “And don’t be so rude as to question other place’s customs. I’m in a poor mood, who charges for water?” He looked bitterly at his cup and sipped at it tentatively.

“Yeah, yeah, stop lecturing me like you’re my wife huh? Damn cutsleeve, you ran off to go buy jewelry. If you had stayed you’d see how weird it was. Where did you even get money to-”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Something small fell out of Rui Yifu’s sleeve. It hit the ground with a soft ‘plink’ and rolled briefly. It was a pearl, lovely and with a soft iridescent sheen on it. Li Baobao’s eyes widened in confusion. “That looks like a pearl from mother’s dress…”

Rui Yifu suddenly laughed, quickly picking it up and playing around with it like it were a toy, “no, no, it’s just something cheap I got from the jewelry store. I was thinking of using it to make something for her over there. Don’t think too much about it, Master Li. You were all speaking about dog heads or something right?”

Liu Xie clicked his tongue. The pearl had obviously been one on the dress, and it even carried the faintest traces of a Fish Person’s soul’s detritus. Long drained away, so useless for any spells or crafting of magical items. So it seemed that Rui Yifu was a thief, and Liu Xie guessed he only came to ‘guard’ Li Baobao in the first place to get his hands on the pearls. He quietly wondered how many more of those charms and objects on Rui Yifu were stolen.

“Yes, this farmer was wearing a dog’s head on his belt!” Li Baobao nodded energetically. “He seemed so normal and friendly but… but…!”

“...Wearing the severed heads of certain animals as charms against demons, evil spirits, or bad luck in general is common in rural areas all over the Four Kingdoms, Master Li,” Rui Yifu’s face was a bit flat as though he were having trouble keeping certain words to himself.

“What a strange custom,” Li Baobao mumbled to himself, wide eyed.

“If it’s a dog, then the farmer must be hoping the dog would protect him in death much like it did in life. I once saw an elderly woman with a row of bat skulls since she wished for her daughter-in-law to have a dozen sons. Speaking of bones,” Rui Yifu was speaking very fast, but he also seemed to be in some amount of thought. “...The altars and ‘appeasing’, hmmm… I think those may be demon altars they were talking about?”

“Who would make an altar to demons?” Bo asked. The stars had apparently aligned because Rui Yifu did not hit him.

“Demon altars are all about appeasing a demon, rather than giving thanks or asking for protection,” Rui Yifu explained. “So if there’s demonic altars scattered about, that might be doing more harm than good. The thinking is that if you keep a demon happy, it’ll leave you alone. But that’s rarely what happens. The sacrifices will attract more demons, evil spirits, monsters, or just embolden the one that may already be here.”

“...Sacrifices?” Bo sounded uneasy.

“Typically, you want something on the altar that appeals to the demon. So… humans.”

“That’s terrible! How could anyone do that?” Li Baobao’s face was in a deep horrified frown. Then his eyes seemed to light up and he shook his head, curling into a sad little ball while looking at Liu Xie.

Liu Xie looked at Rui Yifu in curiosity, “where did you learn all of this?”

“Back when I still lived in the Northern Kingdom, I was a state official and investigating reports of demon altars was part of my job.”

“A state official?” Li Baobao’s eyes widened. “A state official in the Northern Kingdom? Why have you left? State official posts are excruciatingly hard to get I heard!”

Liu Xie noticed that Rui Yifu’s fingers were bone white and hairline cracks were beginning to form on the cup.

“I… did something and… fell out… of… favour…” Rui Yifu said through clenched teeth. Liu Xie glanced at the pale skin of Rui's hand and noticed a blackened vein wiggling around before it suddenly faded.

“You’re breaking the cup,” Bo pointed out, snatching it from Rui Yifu’s hand. The hand holding the fan was out to hit him faster than a snake’s strike. “Why do you keep doing this?!” Then the soft body of a doll slapped him in the face. Looking bewildered, he picked it up and the group turned to see Idony sitting up with bleary eyes. “Fuck! I give up!” He said, throwing the doll at her.

“Maybe we should sleep,” Liu Xie suggested. He looked back at Idony who was glaring at all of them groggily. She reached over to grab her doll that had fallen a foot in front of her.

“A bit of sleep in an actual room would be nice,” Rui Yifu agreed with a long exhale. “The cells were not too comfortable.”

The room was perfectly dark except for the silvery light of the moon peeking through the window. Liu Xie had no need to sleep really even though he had gotten into the habit of taking light naps. So he sat up against the wall, watching the others lay out and fall asleep.

Two little eyes stared out at him, as though trying to ask a wordless question.

Liu Xie moved over to the owner of those eyes, then he laid down and propped his head up on his hand, “are you scared of sleeping alone there?” He asked, teasing really.

“No!” Idony whispered.

“Then why aren’t you going to sleep?”

Idony was quiet for a bit before she spoke, “... tell me a story.”

“A story?” He blinked, “I’m not good at making up stories.”

“A real one,” she added. “About Mama. Gege’s bad at stories.”

His eyes abruptly felt like they were burning and her words dropped like rocks in his chest. “About Eona?”

Idony nodded while scooting a bit closer to him to look up at his face better. “You knew her for longer, much longer!” She barely disguised the bitterness in her voice, “so you have stories about her right? Was she happy? Did she like to play or do things? She was sick all the time, even though she had me go out and get magic flowers to make her better but the flowers weren’t magic at all! She didn’t get better! She got worse and worse and he just let it happen and then she was gone!” With every syllable her voice was getting louder and louder, her face turning pink within the moonlight as her eyes became wet with tears.

Liu Xie placed his hand on her mouth to muffle her words, glancing at the other sleepers who seemed undisturbed by her. He moved his hand away to place his arms around her and pull her, blanket and all against him. He sort of wished Rui Yifu was awake to help him calm her down, but the other man was asleep so all Liu Xie could do was hold her as tiny tears soaked into his clothes. “Do you want to hear about how she first met me?” He asked gently. She nodded with her face buried into his chest. “It was a nice warm day, I remember the sky was clear and it was close to the city’s founding festival. I had been waiting for a chance to say hello to her alone, so when I found her near the river I was very excited.”

“Why did you find her by a river?” Idony asked suddenly.

“Because she was fishing, or trying to. I don’t think she caught very much,” he said.

Idony looked like she had something else to say but shrugged and waited for him to continue.

“...I didn’t really… know how to speak with her,” Liu Xie felt himself flush a little. “So I stood behind her until she turned around and saw me.”

“Then what happened?”

“She hit me in the face with her bucket until she had broken it to splinters,” he replied. Most would probably not look back at a memory so fondly yet Liu Xie saw it in the light of hindsight. But it had certainly made an impression on both of them at the time.

“That sounds painful,” Idony remarked.

“Not really,” he paused, “well, it wasn’t painful for me.”

“Did she have the scar then too?” Idony asked, laying a hand on the left side of her mouth and cheek.

Liu Xie nodded, “yes. She had that scar for as long as I had known her. She said it came from falling on some rocks.” Which Liu Xie was always doubtful of. Those had to be some very specifically shaped rocks that she fell on from a very specific position.

“She also had a scar right here!” Idony laid a hand on Liu Xie’s chest, where a lung would be.

He bit his lip, that scar was partially his fault, “yes, she had that one too.” It came from ripping a spear out of her and forcefully reconstructing her torn lung with divine willow leaves but he would not tell Idony that. Not for now at least. That was a story for another time.

Idony rolled a bit in his grip, grabbing her doll and pressing it to herself. “When she felt good, she liked to talk about it here. She said that there was someone here she loved a lot, and that one day I’d get to see him too… she said that the person she loved wanted a girl which is why I was born a girl instead of a boy like my father wanted.”

Liu Xie furrowed his brow. What was with the obsession of mortals and male heirs? He turned over the words in his mind and looked down at Idony, stroking her dark red hair back. Eona had given Idony to him, he realized. When he had said all those years ago that if he had to be a father he would prefer a girl, she had listened. This child was born for love. He did not know if he wanted to laugh or cry, either from pain or joy. He really was a terrible person.

He covered his face with a hand briefly as a mixture of emotions he could not immediately name rose to the surface of his being. He pulled Idony close to himself and tucked her head beneath his chin, stroking her hair. She went utterly still in his arms, confused. Then she wiggled away.

“Idony, do you hate me?” He asked.

She was silent, breathing slowly, then, “I don’t know.”

“That’s alright”

“...I miss her,” she said softly after a moment. The moonlight that had pooled over her seemed to be holding her.

“I miss her too, Idony,” he agreed. “...We’ll see her soon. I promise.”

She nodded, then mumbled to herself, “just because he was right about my father doesn’t mean he was right about Mama…”

“He?” Was it some village boy back where she came from?

“Yeah! This boy! He got angry that I wouldn’t play with him at Gege’s house and then he stole Baozi! He said… he said girls were dumb!” She explained with a frown. Liu Xie was frowning too.

He had seen no children besides Idony at the Li Family Compound, and there had been no mention of any of the servants having children nearby that could sneak in. How would a little boy know the language of Norwen anyway? Was this why she had wandered into the Li family shrine? His mind rapidly went through several possibilities but the most likely one sent a flame of panic into him.

“Liu Xie?”

He brought his face very close to Idony’s, keeping his voice low, “Idony. If you meet any child who speaks your language. Do not play with them. Do not speak to them. Run away and find me or Uncle Rui, understand?”

Idony was still for a moment before she nodded.

Liu Xie remained with her until he was certain she was asleep. When her face softened and she relaxed within his arms he found traces of Eona’s face on her. He rested a hand on her cheek for a moment, fingers briefly running through her hair before he slowly got up. Liu Xie made sure Idony was comfortably wrapped up in the blankets before he moved silently into the darkness. He stepped quietly over the sprawled form of Bo, went around Li Baobao, and approached Rui Yifu.

Then Rui Yifu sat up.