Picking Up Treasure

The scroll was in the same place where Lee had dropped it, sitting innocently upon a heap of dry and ready to use firewood.

The clearing looked different in the day, with no glowing fireflies or singing crickets. The elder tree still stood tall, despite its twisted and warped trunk, leaning over to shade the small flowers in its reach. It was easier to pick out the edible mushrooms from the inedible ones as well, the poisonous ones leaping out from the grass in front of Lee's eyes.

Lee tiptoed around the tree, making sure again to not step on any potential food or flowers to leave a trail of his travel, and crouched down to reach into the small hole, picking up the scroll, to once more, tuck into his sleeve, hiding it away from the world once more, content this time to not have read it. It was heavy, against his elbow, knocking against the bone, and kept Lee tethered to the reality around him, grounding him on the earth and keeping his head from floating away into the clouds.

There was no roiling sense of desperation that gnawed away at his mind and heart, as he was denied another opportunity to finally read the scroll that had been on his mind for weeks. He knew he ought to feel slightly relieved at the notion that he would be free of his mother's nagging and strictness, that he would be finally be free to live his life the way he wanted.

But only cold numbness permeated through his chest and mind. He shivered and rubbed his warm arms with his warmer hands.

He was leaving everyone behind, everything he knew behind. He would never see Little Mei ever again. He would never see the village again. He would never see those extensive wooden bridges, winding across the cliffsides, through the treeline, and over the rivers. He would never see the vast expanse of the road that led between the villages, completely flat and lined with the rocks, pulled from the fields. He wouldn't be able to investigate the large river rock he found in the field.

But now, Lee could finally see those looming mountains up close, and run his hand over the jagged rock. He could eat the snow without being at screamed at. He could climb those stone filled planes, and wade through rivers.

He could pursue mysteries, work for money from town to town doing odd jobs and deliveries to pay for paper and ink. He could write all his travels down in a book, and then publish it to pay for his life when he was old.

That was the dream. That was something he could aspire to. There were plenty of rich aristocrats who had an appetite for those things, plenty of royalty and princes who felt stifled by palace life, and yearned for adventure too, unable to secure generalships for themselves.

Lee looked up to the grey sky, once more and began walking towards the direction of the river, already hearing the waters rush through their carved paths, frothing up in its attempt to move faster and faster down to the sea.

The numbness was back, as Lee trudged towards those muddy banks, the steep incline, which almost always gave him trouble, being hardly a negligible worry any more. It was almost nostalgic now, this small inconvenience being something he would never have to suffer again, something he would never complain about again. Lee was sure that there were steeper slopes in the world, and was sure that this particular slope would keep a special place in his heart, as his steep slope.

The burning in his calves would become the norm now, Lee mused to himself, keeping a steady pace as the running rapids appeared in his sight. He would have to walk miles every single day. It would almost be the same as working in the fields, only nobody would be present to complain at him, nobody would be there to judge him, and he would no longer have to keep his head down as he worked. He was free to look around, as long as he kept going.

There was somebody up ahead, and the familiar feeling of sickness and worry welled up in Lee once more. He plastered himself to the trees and held his back.

Was if someone from the village?

Were they here to hurt him?

Did the village know that he was running away from his marriage?

Was he being hunted yet?

Lee knew that he needed to get as far away as possible to keep safe when a proper search party was formed to look for him, when it was discovered that he was missing. Did people already know that he was missing?

No, all the men should already all be in the fields, and everyone else at the village would just assume that he was with them as well. No one would know that he was missing until sun down, and by then, he should be long gone.

But then, who was at the river?

Lee decided that he needed to move around whoever was there, and decided to make his way back into the forest, preparing to walk parallel to the water until he was sure that he was safe.

"Lee!" a voice called out to him, slightly hissing as the unknown stranger whisper yelled to him.

Lee recognised the voice.

The familiar feelings of heartbreak and pain erupted from his chest as he came out of hiding to face his sister's fiancé.

The man stood by the river, and held a large sack, his regrettably gorgeous gold eyes wide with worry, his hair mussed up and decidedly unperfect, in Lee's eyes, for the first time ever. He looked as if he had not slept the night before, and was slightly shaking.

"Your sister sent me here, before she went to get you. I've got clothes, so you won't be recognised, and some money," he called out to Lee, his voice slightly wobbly.

Lee looked down to the ground, and dropped his things, before undoing his belt, and tugging off the outer layers of his robe.

"All I've got is copper pieces, there's a lot in there, so, you know, it's not too suspicious when you need to pay for things," Lee's sister's fiancé mumbled out as Lee got changed, alerting Lee that he wasn't alone, and really shouldn't be so eager to take his clothes off in this situation.

There was no time for him to be shy, and there was no point being shy in front of his sister's fiancé, anyway. He still rearranged his under robe, tucking it around himself well, trying to conceal as much of his body as he could, trying to push down the sensation of blood filling his cheeks as he got dressed in his new clothes.

"They're from the next village too. I got them when I bought stuff for your sister," the man trailed off, as he looked up towards the grey sky, and away from Lee's scrutinising eyes.

The fabric was thicker than he was used to, and sturdier, better built for travelling than his usual robes. They were a dark green, blending into the forest well, and probably the night as well, useful for if he was ever chased down. He tied his belt back on, and held out his hand for the promised money.

"Oh, I, er, here. It should be enough to last you for a while. Buy food with it. Don't bother with inns unless you're completely sure that you're financially secure," Lee's sister's fiancé advised, still shaking and looking as if he had been knocked off his feet.

His sister's fiancé handed over the capital without a fuss, stepping back, and Lee placed it within the bundle that he was going to carry on his back, without stopping to count what he was given. He packed up all his belongings and slung them over his shoulder, and looked up back to the man he used to call his friend.

"I'm going now. Take care of Little Mei," Lee called, hardening his eyes, as his former friend, no, Shen, looked into his eyes and nodded.

Shen bowed to him, and Lee did the same, looking into each other's eyes, before Lee looked away first, after a couple of seconds, ducking out of the way, and walking past Shen. Leaving him behind, Lee didn't look back, and didn't see Shen stand there and watch Lee retreat off to a new life outside the village and away from everything he had ever known.

"Take care of yourself," Shen mumbled to Lee's retreating back, gulping down his guilt for not doing much more, for not telling Lee that he had been forming a relationship with his sister, for letting Lee's mother tell him about their impending marriage, instead of telling Lee himself.

He gave a quick prayer for Lee, hoping that he wouldn't encounter the reason why venturing into the forest at night was banned.

He hoped that Lee would survive the night. And every other night in his journey.