They set off at daybreak. Even the brown stallion had fully recovered from the exertions of the long journey to Suzhou and now willingly carried them back along the wide trade routes, heading east. This time, Ying yue took it easier; they didn't ride non-stop for days, but stopped in a wide variety of towns, took breaks in inns, and even watched a play together.
Just before the border of the Bai family territory, they sat together in an inn and listened to a storyteller. He told the story of how a pair of birds learned to fly. Once upon a time, there was a pair of birds, each with only one wing, so it was impossible for them to sweep across the sky together. So they wept bitter tears and turned to the god of wind.
Day in and day out, they begged, until the wind god took pity on them and said, If you two are only part of a whole, then you have to join together. He told them to jump off the highest cliff and trust each other. So the two summoned all their courage...
»And leaped to their deaths,« murmured Zhen yan, who had listened to the story with boredom. Ying yue choked and the storyteller cleared his throat angrily.
»And as the two, tightly entwined, felt the wind under their wings, she spread her wings and flew further and faster over the horizon than any bird before her has done.« he finished.
»And what's the moral of the story?« Zhen yan asked, swinging his bowl. He had been in a bad mood more and more often lately, and Ying yue kept blocking him, even though they were always alone. Ying yue pushed his bowl away.
»It means that together with someone you can trust blindly, you can achieve more than alone. Sometimes someone is especially good at something and not good at other things, but if he finds someone who complements him perfectly by being better at those other things, »If you're unstoppable,« he explained in a lecturing tone of voice, imitating Zhen yan when he, in his infinite wisdom, would preach to him. Zhen yan rolled his eyes.
»There's nothing I can't do well,« he remarked pointedly. Ying yue raised his teacup and raised only one eyebrow.
»This will be our last night in an inn. Starting tomorrow, we will travel in my family's territory. The shortest route is also the rough one, and we won't pass any major city except for a few villages,« Ying yue explained to the demon. Zhen yan opened his mouth.
»So please let me sleep,« he remarked casually before putting his cup down again. Zhen yan closed his mouth again. A dark, frosty aura had settled around him. In fact, Ying yue tried as much as possible to take the wind out of his sails; the next step the demon would take gave him the creeps. The longer he thought about what was in store for him, the more panic spread through him.
He had, like almost every young man, seen erotic drawings and illustrated books, and knew how the act between a married couple went. He didn't doubt for a second that Zhen yan would find a way to do this and other things to him. He was simply afraid, although the pure feeling of fear was an understatement. Throwing himself into battle against unknown opponents, death-defying, was a breeze compared to the unknown that awaited him here.
He was all too aware of his proximity, and even without the undisguised frustration he radiated, his presence hurt a little more physically with each passing day. Ying yue concentrated with all her might on what lay ahead of them. The infiltration of the Gao clan and the sealing of the Daiyu plain. After that, they had plenty of time to take care of other things, didn't they? To take it easy? When he got up and retired to her room, Zhen yan stayed seated for a while.
He gave him the space he needed. On the one hand, Ying yue was grateful for this, but on the other hand, he felt bad about it. For almost a month now, they had been traveling silently side by side, even though he was more aware of his feelings than ever before. In his room, he took out the palm-sized piece of creamy-white jade. He had bought it in an unobserved moment and had been working on it ever since.
Since he couldn't give Zhenyan the Bai-Clan's sail, and the makeshift bracelet with the bells had also broken, he had intended to make something better for him this time. Carefully, he carved the image that was etched in his mind's eye using a filigreed tool. In the foreground were two men in wedding attire, in the background rose Mount Wushan, and in front of it a magnificent estate with blossoming trees.
He stroked the image, which wasn't even half finished. He had decorated the edge with ornaments like those found on Xiaodan; a scarlet tassel adorned the cream-colored jade like the curtains he had become entangled in. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. He still found his plan incredibly kitschy, but with every stroke he made, his determination to see it through grew. He was excellent at carving jade. The Bai were specialized in magical seals made of white jade. When he heard Zhen yan's steps, he put away the seal and the tools and lay down on the bed.
Zhen yan sat down next to him and leaned his head against the wooden frame.
»You're cruel, Bai Ying yue,« he growled with closed eyes, breathing evenly.
What you are planning is even more cruel, Ying yue thought and shuddered at the thought of how forcefully the demon had proceeded each time. Again Zhen yan let a night pass, once more he held back and once more the two walked in silence, side by side. Even the horse whinnied uneasily at times, so precarious was the situation.
»Who is Yi Rui qin?« Zhen yan asked abruptly and Ying yue stumbled over his own feet in surprise. He looked up.
»Excuse me?« he asked perplexed. Zhen yan had his hands folded under the sleeves of his simple robe and kicked a stone across the narrow path they were walking along.
»Last time we were interrupted when you wanted to tell me about him. He mentioned the name, Hong yi, before he died, right?« he asked. Ying yue held the stallion's reins loosely, but his white knuckles were showing where he had gripped them so tightly. He had thought the subject was closed. He gritted his teeth; he couldn't push Zhen yan away from him any further. He ran his tongue over his lips.
»Yi Rui Qin is the sword master of the Bai Clan and my father's right hand. He never liked the fact that the first-born son of the clan, to which he had devoted himself body and soul, was born to a concubine. He never made a secret of what he thought of me; his training was hard, painful and unfair. I didn't learn much, except how to hold your sword in all circumstances, letting go would be a death sentence. From the day my brother was born, I feared for my life. I did everything to keep as far away from him as possible. I studied in monasteries and remote places, and as soon as I was called upon as a cultist, I was only at home for briefing sessions,« Ying yue explained.
»Even though he may no longer be able to hold a candle to me today, this man is still present in my nightmares.«
»Let's forget this, every lif
e is precious and regretful behavior for a moment. I'll rip his head off when I see him,« Zhen yan said seriously. Ying yue laughed.
»Please don't do that,« he begged. Zhen yan stopped and looked at him seriously.
»I've done you enough favors,« he said angrily. Ying yue shook his head.
»That's not the point. It's no secret that Rui Qin would rather see me dead than alive. But allying with the Gao clan to assassinate me is a completely different matter. He has pledged himself to the Bai clan, as much as he detests me, so much so that he worships Lingxi. First, we have to find out why!« Ying yue replied.
»However you look at it, my dear, Yi Rui qin is a dead man, he just doesn't know it yet,« the demon replied cynically. Ying yue looked at him, the demon's green eyes resting on him. He reached out a hand and gently ran it over the spot where Mei Ling had once injured him. With anyone else, a scar would have remained.
»Ask first, then strike,« he said softly.
»Striking first prevents you from losing what you want to protect,« Zhen yan replied. The two looked at each other for a while. Under the summer heat that had settled over the land, they began to sweat quickly. Despite regular rests, by sundown their horse was so exhausted that it leaned with its head against the shady tree to which it was tied.
As night fell over the barren landscape and the treeline that had chosen for the night, Ying yue gathered everything for a small campfire. The wind whistled strongly from the mountains into the lowlands and made the night, despite the warmth that the ground stored, quite uncomfortable quite quickly. Ying yue looked for a sheltered spot and hung on his thoughts. He had laid down in the grass and closed his eyes when he felt the warmth of the demon and the familiar smell of spring blossoms blew around him.