Always watching

Xie Bian sprawled on his back in the bedroll. He was chewing on a meatbun just because he saw they were being sold for cheap on the way back to the inn and thought he should do something with the piece of silver Tao Yuanming had given him.

The market stall owner cursed his eight generations of ancestors for making him give him change for such a large sum.

"I guess in the end you were wrong," he told Fan Wujiu's back, while throwing his meatbun up in the air. "It seems Jade Dragon Manor wasn't responsible for the missing souls."

Fan Wujiu was washing his body with a wet cloth he kept dipping into a bucket of warm water. Maybe if he hadn't given his piece of silver away they would have had the money to call up a proper bath tub and hot water.

"It's too soon to say anything like that. We only know that the servants of the Yu family think something happened in the Wei estate, and their servants are covering it up."

"The Wei family was originally associated with Dancing Carp, right? Are they looking to strengthen the relationship between Dancing Carp and Jade Dragon Manor, or just become associated with a bigger sect?" Xie Bian asked, throwing the bun up in the air again.

"Despite their best attempts, the Weis were never very successful at steering matters within Dancing Carp. Several Wei family members are or were cultivators there, but never in any position of authority. My guess is that they hope this wedding and Jade Dragon Manor will change things for them."

The trickle of water back into the bucket drew Xie Bian's attention. He watched as the muscles of Fan Wujiu's back tightened all the way up to his shoulder as he squeezed the cloth to relieve it of excess water.

The meatbun fell on his face when he forgot to keep throwing it up rhythmically and Xie Bian set it aside on the oil paper packaging. He wasn't even eating and he felt at risk of choking.

"Still, we have to investigate the Weis," he said. Try as he might he couldn't wrest his gaze away from Fan Wujiu's sculpted back. The water ran down the divots of his spine and into the waistband of his underwear, turning the fabric ambiguously translucent.

"That goes without saying," Fan Wujiu said, starling Xie Bian from his wandering thoughts.

He didn't dare keep his gaze fixed on Fan Wujiu's lower back there and returned it to the shifting muscles of his shoulders -- which felt safer.

Fan Wujiu switched to washing the front of his body, so Xie Bian couldn't get a look at his actions, but he was still hearing the distracting sound of the washcloth against his skin.

He supposed forced proximity would have people noticing all kinds of things.

It was about time he put some distance between him and Fan Wujiu. He got up from his bedroll, wrapped the remaining meatbuns in the oilpaper wrapping and announced. "I'm going out."

Fan Wujiu gave him a suspicious look over the shoulder. "Where to?"

"Just out, walking the streets, maybe I'll even overhear some interesting bit of gossip about the Weis."

Those crimson phoenix eyes remained narrowed at him, as if trying to gauge his intentions.

"You can't keep me here, you know," Xie Bian said.

"I can do whatever I want" Fan Wujiu said, and got up to his feet.

Challenging him so directly might have been a slight miscalculation on Xie Bian's part, because now Fan Wujiu was walking towards him dripping water into a pair of underwear which was growing increasingly see-through.

Xie Bian backed away from him, but once he hit the wooden wall, there was nowhere else he could go. Fan Wujiu's bare chest caged him in place. His gaze was intent as it bore into Xie Bian.

"Do you really not remember anything?"

That was the last thing Xie Bian expected him to say. "I really don't remember a thing."

After a tense moment where Xie Bian couldn't stop thinking about the minuscule distance between their bodies, Fan Wujiu finally moved away.

"Remember who you're supposed to be," he said, turning his back to Xie Bian and returning to his discarded bath implements.

"What?"

"Outside. You're the man who's staying in this inn and who joined the dancing troupe for the exhibition at the Wei and Yu wedding. Not the servant. Don't mix your stories."

Xie Bian chuckled nervously. "I'm really not going to talk with anyone."

"Keep it in mind." Fan Wujiu said. He was done with his bath and was putting everything away to take to the reception counter downstairs. "People are always watching."

---

Fan Wujiu's words made Xie Bian paranoid. He felt as if everyone was staring at him as he walked down the busy streets. He couldn't properly take his mind out of those cryptic words and enjoy his stroll in peace.

Even as he stood by a stall observing hair ornaments, embroidered money pouches, or even raw fabric, he felt as if everyone knew he was only hoping to eavesdrop on an interesting bit of conversation.

He blamed Fan Wujiu, his distracting naked back, and his cryptic fucking words.

At least he was outside, the weather was bracingly cold instead of freezing and the plum trees were in bloom, raining down soft pink petals.

He walked for a long time without hearing even a mention of the word 'Wei'. The night market stalls were closing up and yamen officials were yelling at entertainment establishments to put out their lanterns when Xie Bian returned to the inn.

Xie Bian was about to walk through the front doors when a familiar, smooth voice caught his attention, making him scuttle back into the shadow's behind the inn's walls.

"And you say they don't take their meals at the inn?"

"Not that I've seen, sect leader Tao."