Runaway Lovers

Tao Yuanming's presence at the inn sent a bolt of anxiety down Xie Bian's spine. It turned out that Fan Wujiu's words had been prophetic. Someone was watching them.

But why?

He was itching to read further from Fu Shulin's life book. Maybe it would shed light on Tao Yuanming's character. Fan Wujiu was suspicious of Jade Dragon Manor to begin with, so his assessment was going to be biased anyway.

For now, Xie Bian did his best to overhear the conversation without being discovered.

"They came in dressed in simple but fine robes," the innkeeper said. "But since then, they've been going out in plainer clothing."

"They portrayed themselves as common folk, when I met them," Tao Yuanming said. "One of them is supposedly hard of hearing."

The innkeeper nodded. "That doesn't surprise me, sect leader Tao. You see these two are very mysterious, and us at the inn have all been guessing about who they might be."

Tao Yuanming's voice took on an amused lilt as he said, "I find them very mysterious as well."

The innkeeper was happy to have a captive audience for the month's most exciting gossip. He leaned over the reception counter to whisper: "We all agree that they must be runaway lovers."

Was that what the inn staff thought? Was that why they kept giving Xie Bian odd looks whenever they crossed paths?

"Lovers?" Tao Yuanming chuckled. "They told me they were brothers."

"Naturally, they're trying to hide."

Tao Yuanming hummed pensively. "Could be. Thank you Lao Wu for the information. I trust you'll keep it between ourselves."

Xie Bian heard the tinkle of metal against the wooden counter. No doubt Tao Yuanming making use of those silver nuggets he never seemed to run out of.

"Of course, sect leader Tao. This old one understands harmless curiosity better than anyone."

Tao Yuanming left after some more platitudes. Xie Bian didn't even breath while watching him walk down the stairs and out into the street. Only after a couple of minutes did he leave his hiding spot, walking inside with his head lowered as to not make eye contact with the innkeeper.

He burst into the room to tell Fan Wujiu what he'd just seen, only to find it empty.

It was already so late, where could he have gone to? He kicked the door shut and stomped towards the window. Looking down at the street didn't reveal Fan Wujiu looming threateningly in a corner, or perhaps glaring menacingly at the passersby.

He didn't want to admit it, but Xie Bian was upset at the idea of Fan Wujiu leaving the moment his back was turned. They'd been living in each other's pockets for over a week and yet Fan Wujiu resisted all of Xie Bian's attempts to get closer.

Was this really all he had to look forward to? An eternity with a silent, gloomy colleague who could barely stand his presence?

But then, how to explain the tender care he showed when putting Xie Bian to bed that one time?

Thinking about that for too long made his nose itch. He decided to put Fan Wujiu out of his mind. Since he was gone, Xie Bian could read his book in peace and look for more information on Tao Yuanming.

Whatever he turned up was bound to be more useful than Fan Wujiu's secret outings.

---

Unfortunately for Xie Bian, Fu Shulin didn't stumble into Tao Yuanming so soon after that fateful meeting. In fact, for pages on end, Fu Shuling struggled greatly to find a wandering cultivator willing to teach him.

Or rather, a wandering cultivator willing to teach him for anything less than a fortune.

It seemed he had taken Xin Rufei's words to heart, and was determined to join Jade Dragon Manor.

While his search was unsuccessful, Fu Shulin kept training on his own, developing his martial arts and working on his cultivation. While his martial arts were coming along fine, he still couldn't use his spiritual energy to produce more than a strong breeze when he struck out with his fist.

He also couldn't jump more than a few meters in the air; he was nowhere near being able to jump from roof to roof or skip across the water.

His slow progress frustrated him. Fu Shulin was sure that not having a master to guide him was holding him back. In his lowest moments he wondered if Xin Rufei's first, hateful words hadn't been true all along. And him and his family were simply the victims of a charlatan.

He didn't dare bring up that fear to his parents, who were growing older and thinner every day. Their words of encouragement sounding ever more strained when they saw how far Fu Shulin still was from all those immortals in fluttering silk robes.

Fu Miao, his eldest brother, in particular, was close to losing his patience. As the eldest he worked the most to support their whole family, although even their youngest sister, who was barely six, sometimes helped their parents out in the small fields.

"When are you going to join a sect?" Fu Miao asked Fu Shulin, not for the first time, over a meager dinner of boiled roots and hair-thin slices of poultry. "I know Ma and Pa have their heart set on Jade Dragon Manor, but anything will do. Those minor sects aren't so bad. A lot of rich families send their children there. Maybe we shouldn't be so ambitious."

Fu Shulin could only nod. The truth was that with his current skills no sect would take him. But he didn't dare tell that to his brother.

He often tried to help out with farm work, but would be stopped whenever one of his parents caught him at it. Likewise, when he offered to go to Longbei to sell their wares, his mother insisted that he walk the city's cobbled streets looking for a master instead of helping her.

The situation was growing unsustainable. Fu Shulin felt as if he was taking advantage of his own family.

It would be better for everyone if he left; at least it would be one less mouth to feed.

So on the the morning of his eleventh birthday, he gathered all his belongings in a knapsack, leaving behind only a note explaining that he had found a master that required him to leave right away.

He assured them he would return one day when he was a renowned cultivator and cover them in riches and glory.