Chapter 3: Ji Xiang and Ru Yi
Lu Yi and his brother, Lu Yang eyed the pretty young girl from the darkness of an alley. They were a pair of brothers originating from Nanjing, and theirs was the trade of people. Buying and selling servants and slaves, dirty work as it may be, it brought the brothers big money. To the Lu brothers, when it came to money, nothing was beneath them.
And here on this beautiful morning, their pretty prey was right within their reach. Usually, when they were in bigger towns and cities, they could afford to "employ" several people into their team before leaving the town and selling these people into new employments. However, in such a small town as Dali, where many people know each other, they could only afford to employ one single worthy person before they drew too much attention to themselves. They, as strangers to the town, would stand out as culprits should anything go wrong in the town.
As soon as either of them caught sight of her large, round and beautiful eyes, sparkling in the early sunlight, they both knew the one person in this town having the "honour" of becoming their "employee" must be her. In all their years of being in this trade, the brothers have seen their fair share of beautiful girls, had their fair taste of beautiful girls, but this particular girl was not a type of beauty that they have seen in abundance. Truly, all the girls that they had before called beautiful could not match up to this particular one.
Both of them knew this rare beauty could not be wasted in such a small place like Dali. No, in this far south pole of the country, only a handful of people would get to appreciate her beauty. To them, she belonged in the biggest, most prestigious brothel in Beijing, to be admired by the highest ranking men of the country. Such beauty could not succumb to just being a wife to some useless scholar or farmer in a place like Dali, staying at home all day to mind the children. No, she deserved to be put on display, to be hailed a great beauty in Beijing, to be put on that highest shelf, where only those with enough power and money could ever hope to speak to her, to enjoy her.
A silent agreement appeared between them. They would take this girl to where she deserved to be. Yes, and as great as the temptation was, they would leave her untouched. They knew the big brothels in Beijing would pay a large fortune to get a hold of a girl like this and she would only be worth her price intact. Money was the only thing that Lu Yi and Lu Yang put before lust.
Ji Xiang made her way out of town morning market and towards home. As she passed an old wooden building, a body ran past her, pushing her roughly against a pillar. Grumbling slightly as she could feel a splinter brush through the sleeve of her shirt and cut her arm, Ji Xiang set down her basket of market purchases and pulled out her handkerchief to clean the blood that she could already feel running down her arm. However, before she could push her sleeve up to examine her arm, a pair of hands grabbed her, pulling her into the alley, making her drop her handkerchief. Whoever it was clapped a cloth over her nose and mouth. As Ji Xiang inhaled, she felt her head become filled with fume. Her body slumped and she knew no more.
Lu Yi reached out and grabbed the basket of foodstuff. There was no point leaving good food already paid for to waste, he thought with a grin.
Jian Jun felt a sense of dread sneak over his entire being like an unseasonal chill, making his skin crawl. He sat behind the counter in the apothecary and drummed his fingers impatiently on the counter; his eyes were fixed at the entrance in front of him for any sign of his sister. Ji Xiang had left over two hours ago for the market. Usually it only took her an hour to run her errands each morning and Ji Xiang did not usually dawdle around town but always came home after her shopping.
It wasn't just the time that alerted to Jian Jun that something was wrong. Perhaps it had something to do with being twins, but Jian Jun was closer to Ji Xiang than any of their siblings or cousins. He could almost sense when she was in trouble and that morning, he felt particularly jumpy. Jian Jun was sure it had something to do with Ji Xiang.
It was not as if Jian Jun's fears were without reason. He didn't like to admit it, but he was always more protective of Ji Xiang than Ru Yi (如意). It was not that he did not love Ru Yi as much as Ji Xiang; truly Jian Jun adored both of his sisters. But Ru Yi, being twelve, had not yet escaped the awkward cusp between childhood and adolescence to become a striking beauty as Ji Xiang had. Everyone who knew their family saw that Ji Xiang had inherited their mother's large, captivating eyes and their father's good looks. Ji Xiang's eyes were the first thing anyone noticed about her, and being her most striking feature, they made everyone notice her beauty that much sooner.
Beautiful was not exactly a word that Jian Jun would ever use to describe his twin. He knew she was beautiful, but Jian Jun could think of about a million other adjectives, equally attractive, that he could use to describe Ji Xiang before he called her beautiful. He knew Ji Xiang's beauty was not exactly a source of comfort for her either. She had once confessed to him that the only thing anyone outside ever say about her was that she was pretty and it annoyed her to know that people couldn't see that she was more than just a pretty face. So he sometimes couldn't help but worry that one day Ji Xiang would come to some harm because of that pretty face.
He craned his neck towards the door for any sight of his sister, but only saw his father, looking slightly worried and disturbed, hurrying towards him.
"Has Ji Xiang got home yet?" his father asked as soon as he stepped through the door.
The question only worried Jian Jun even more as he shook his head. "No, I was getting worried. She's been gone for over two hours, and usually she's never gone that long. What is it, Father?"
His father's face clouded over with worry as he put a handkerchief on the counter. Jian Jun could immediately recognise Ji Xiang's embroidery. It was one of their aunt's signature styles that she had passed on to his sisters and female cousins, as their mother would sooner stab herself with a needle than sew anything. "I found this on the way home from town. I thought maybe she just dropped it and went home to check first but now I have a really bad feeling about this."
"Do you think something's happened to her, Father?" Jian Jun said, panic starting to creep into his voice.
"I don't know." His voice was calm, but it was a forced calmness and Jian Jun recognised the worry in his father's eyes before he turned towards the door, as if expecting Ji Xiang to appear at his wish. "I really would rather not panic and upset your mother just yet. But we must look for her. Where's your uncle?"
"Probably over at his house, I think. The others are still in lessons."
"Stay here for a moment while I speak to him, Jian Jun."
"Yes, Father," Jian Jun said, worry settling deeper within him as he watched his father rush to his uncle's house.
He looked back towards the street in front of him, wondering if they were just being paranoid and Ji Xiang was just wandering somewhere on her way home or got caught up in something and lost track of time. However, deep inside him, Jian Jun knew that his sister's sudden failure to come home was not going to end smoothly. He felt grateful now that his father had given in to his mother's insistence that all their children were given training in martial arts. He heartily agreed with his mother's arguments right now that an attractive girl like Ji Xiang would desperately need means to defend herself. He could only hope she was not caught in a situation where she would not be able to use her martial arts.
"Xiao Jian!" Ai Qi called as he entered the Fang house. He followed the sound of the children reciting to the study, where the rest of the children were having their lessons.
"What is it?" His brother-in-law caught sight of his worried expression and hastened towards him.
"I'll tell you this outside," Ai Qi said quietly, motioning him out of the room. When they closed the door behind them, he continued, "Ji Xiang hasn't come home from the market and she left over two hours ago. I picked up her handkerchief on the way home right beside an alley, and came home to see if she just dropped it but Jian Jun said she hasn't come home. I have a really bad feeling something's happened to her."
"It's not like Ji Xiang to just disappear without telling anyone. Look, I'll free the kids of their lessons for day. Let's just keep it between you, me and Jian Jun for the moment. We'll go around town to look for her. Don't tell Xiao Yan Zi or Qing Er yet, they'll only worry."
"Right. I'll go tell Jian Jun. Then we'll split up."
"What?" Xiao Yan Zi exclaimed as she looked at her brother and husband, wanting either of them to contradict what they just told her. "How could she be missing?"
Ai Qi took her hand and led her to a chair, pressing her down on it. He and Xiao Jian had looked for Ji Xiang for the whole morning around town and still found no trace of her. By now, they both knew something must have happened to her, as Ji Xiang had not shown up at home the whole morning. They had no choice but to tell the rest of the family the truth. "Xiao Jian and I have looked for her the whole morning, and no one seems to know where she is or have seen anything out of the ordinary!"
"But that's just not possible," Xiao Yan Zi sprang up from her seat in agitation. "It's not as if she went some outrageous distance! It's only from here to the market and back! She's made the trip alone since she was seven! How could she just suddenly disappear?"
Xiao Jian spoke in what was meant to be a calming voice, but considering his own worry, the effects were muted."We asked around the market and apparently she got to the market as usual. I just don't understand it, myself. The town is incredibly small, people know who we are, and Ji Xiang is very noticeable, she stands out in the crowd. But it seemed like no one saw her after she left the market!"
"She can't just have disappeared after she left the market!" Qing Er protested, trying to calm Xiao Yan Zi down and curb her own worry at the same time. "She's not exactly defenseless! And you really can't get a safer community than Dali! For all the time we've been living here, nothing happened! How could something like this - "
Ai Qi faced away from Xiao Yan Zi, feeling unable to meet her eyes. The expression 'worried sick' that parents used to describe their worry when something happened to their children just didn't even begin to describe his anxiety right now. What frustrated him most was that this happened out of nowhere, that Ji Xiang just suddenly disappeared without a trace! Ai Qi had never felt angrier at himself in his life, and it was over something completely out of his control! He felt useless; this was his daughter, how could he not have any idea of where she could be or how to get her back?
"No! I'm going to look for her!" Xiao Yan Zi cried, rushing out the door.
Xiao Jian grabbed her and held her back. "You can't just rush out like this, Xiao Yan Zi! Look, we'll continue to look for her, but we'll have to do this systematically."
"I want to go look for Ji Xiang!" Jian Jun broke in. He looked at Ai Qi pleadingly. "Please, Father, I can't spend another hour like this morning, just sitting there like that! Let me help!"
"Me too!" the rest of the children echoed at exactly the same time. Xiao Jian and Ai Qi looked at each other and came to a silent understanding.
Xiao Jian shook his head, "Jian Jun, Jiang Fan, you may go look for Ji Xiang with us. The rest of you stay home!"
"But Jiang Fan is only a year older than me, why should he get to go and I have to stay home?" Jian Wen (建文) protested.
Ai Qi looked sharply at his second son. "It's not a matter of age. We are not leaving three young girls at home alone. Jian Wen, you are staying home with the girls. And when I say stay home, I mean stay home! None of you set a foot out of doors! You are staying home where we can find you, is that understood?"
"Yes, sir," Jian Wen said meekly, sighing, but Ai Qi knew he was sensible enough to understand that they could not leave his sister Ru Yi and his cousins Die Er and Lan Er (岚儿) home by themselves, no matter how much he wanted to help search for Ji Xiang.
Ai Qi, Xiao Yan Zi, Xiao Jian, Qing Er, Jian Jun and Jiang Fan split up the different sections of the town and nearby area. They searched street after street, just about every corners of the small town, yet Ji Xiang could not be found. Xiao Yan Zi even attempted to knock on every door she passed to ask after her daughter.
They all met in an appointed spot just as the sun began to sink and seeing each other's dejected face, their hearts all sank. Wearily, they agreed to stop for the day and return home, desperately hoping against hope that Ji Xiang would be there when they reached it. She was not. At home, Jian Wen, Ru Yi, Die Er and Lan Er were waiting for them with hopeful expressions and a cold dinner.
None of them were hungry as they sat down at the dinner table. Xiao Yan Zi looked around the table and her eyes fell on Ji Xiang's empty seat. It was as if the shock, grief and exhaustion of the day caught up with her. She stood up and ran from the room, into her bedroom and threw herself onto the bed, unable to hold back the tears that had threatened to fall all day.
Ai Qi could only sit beside her and stroked her back, letting her cry. He knew nothing he said now could possibly lift his or Xiao Yan Zi's worries. Nothing could lessen the pain and anxiety now except seeing Ji Xiang safe before them again.
After a long while, her eyes stinging from her tears Xiao Yan Zi sat up and rested her head against Ai Qi's shoulder. "Where could she be, Ai Qi? I just - it's just - " Xiao Yan Zi felt tears overflow again and bit her lips hard to hold back the sobs.
Ai Qi pulled her into his arms. "I don't know, love. Let us just hope that Ji Xiang's name brings her some luck right now."
"Ji Xiang…Oh, Yong Qi, I can't lose her. We can't lose her! We've lost enough children to last a lifetime…" Xiao Yan Zi buried her face in Ai Qi's chest and sobbed again.
Her use of his real name was not lost on Ai Qi, neither was the significance of her words. Ai Qi knew, as far away as those days seemed from them now, neither of them could forget the two miscarriages they suffered in the City of Memories. She did not mention it, but he knew the loss of his third child, Zhi Hua's son, was also somewhere in both their minds.
"We'll find her, Xiao Yan Zi! We will! We won't lose her!" Ai Qi whispered firmly.
If only he himself bring himself to believe what he just said.
Jian Jun stood in the garden with the moon shining down on him yet he felt no joy at the beautiful light. His and Ji Xiang's sixteenth birthday had passed in a wave of pain. Everyone tried their best to make the day a cheerful one for him, but it was a hopeless affair. Usually birthday meals in their family were full of laughter and talk; today it had been almost silent, and Jian Jun preferred it that way. He could not bear pretending to be happy when there was nothing happy about. This had always been their day; he had never grudged sharing the attention with Ji Xiang. They had always been the first to wish each other a happy birthday. It was unbearable to think that the first time this was not the case, he had to spend the day wondering whether Ji Xiang was alive to greet the day with him in some other corner of the earth.
It had been three months since Ji Xiang disappeared. In those long months, his family had tried every method they could think of to locate his sister, but the search was in vain. Jian Jun thought it might have been better if Ji Xiang had died. At least then, they could be sure of something and could then stop hoping, wondering and searching fruitlessly. It was the unknown of where Ji Xiang might be, what she might have been going through, what tragedy must have fallen her that terrified Jian Jun.
"Brother?" Ru Yi's voice behind him made Jian Jun turn around.
"What is it, Ru Yi? You should be asleep, it's late."
Ru Yi wrinkled her nose. "You can so sound like Father sometimes, you know that?"
Jian Jun smiled wryly. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"What are you doing out here, anyway?" Ru Yi asked, sitting down on a boulder, looking up at him.
Jian Jun shrugged.
"I miss her too, you know," Ru Yi whispered in a small voice after a long silence. Jian Jun closed his eyes but didn't say anything. "What do you think happened to her, Brother?"
"I don't know," Jian Jun sighed heavily. "I'm not sure I want to know."
"I keep thinking, if Jie jie wasn't so pretty, would she - " Ru Yi swallowed. Jian Jun turned to look at his little sister, in time to see her brush away a tear.
"It's not fair," Jian Jun said bitterly, "that this should happen to Ji Xiang and it should hurt all of us like this. I keep asking why? Why does something like this have to happen? Everything happens for a reason, but…" He trailed off, his voice had gone too gruff to continue.
"The only thing that Jie jie's disappearance has accomplished is worrying Mother and Father to death and make Mother become insufferably protective of me. She's not even letting me walk by myself over to Uncle's house anymore. It's driving me mad," Ru Yi said in a burst of childish annoyance.
The corners of Jian Jun's mouth twitched despite the situation. Then he turned more serious. "Once burnt, twice shy, I guess. I know Mother is being a bit unreasonable in mollycoddling you after Ji Xiang - " Jian Jun's voice broke and he took a deep breath before starting again. "But bear with her, Ru Yi."
"I guess I should be grateful that I am still have Mother fussing over me," Ru Yi sighed. "I'm a lot more ji xiang than Ji Xiang now, I guess, even if certain aspects of my life is not ru yi."
Jian Jun smiled wryly and looked up the cloudless, star-filled sky. For his birthday wish, he wished that there might be something in a name after all.
Ji Xiang walked, hardly knowing where she was heading, but just walked as far as her tired body allowed. All the time, she wondered how with such an auspicious name, she could have found herself caught in such an inauspicious situation.
Three months ago, Ji Xiang had woken up to find herself in a strange room, bound to a bed and gagged. Two strange men, with malicious looks about them, had approached her, and introduced themselves as Lu Yi and Lu Yang. Ji Xiang slowly understood that they had sedated her in order to kidnap her and were bringing her to Beijing to sell to a brothel.
Ji Xiang had never felt more lonely and humiliated than on the long, three months long trip to Beijing. Throughout the trip, though her kidnappersdid not try to physically harm her in any way, the abundance of innuendos and harassment in the way they spoke to her and about her was beyond disgusting to her. Having to hear herself referred to and talked about in such crude terms only made her realise how sheltered her life at home was and how lucky she was to never had been exposed to this kind of behaviour before now.
Only in the last three months did Ji Xiang realise how much she had always taken her family for granted. She tried not to think about how worried and despaired her parents must be about her disappearance. What must her family be going through now? She missed them desperately and it seemed that the hope, however small or futile it seemed, of escaping and finding her way back to them was the only thing that kept Ji Xiang alive.
Soon after they started on the trip, Lu Yi and Lu Yang realised that she knew martial arts and was far more superior than them at it, so they had kept her tied up at all times. Ji Xiang hardly knew how she survived the trip without going crazy. She wasn't even mistreated. No, Ji Xiang knew the Lu brothers were probably treating her better than they have ever done their past victims, how ever many that number might be. She was given enough to eat and neither of the brothers laid a hand on her. Still, Ji Xiang knew why - they wanted to sell her to a brothel. For that, they couldn't afford to have her health deteriorate or beat her in fear of leaving marks on her body. When she realised this, Ji Xiang had felt both a bitter grudge and, for the first time in her life, gratitude, towards her looks. Grudge because it was obviously her looks that caused her to be kidnapped in the first place, and gratitude because her looks were letting her keep her strength, so that she could hopefully escape from her capturers.
They had reached Beijing the day before, and it was only by accident that Ji Xian learnt the date - she had lost track of it through their travel. It was her sixteenth birthday, and it was as if someone out there had been watching over her and blessing her, but it was the first time in months that Ji Xiang felt her name did bring her some luck.
They had booked into an inn, where, as usual, Lu Yi and Lu Yang had tied her up to the bed. They left the room for most of the day, leaving her alone, content with the fact that she couldn't escape. It was the best present they could possibly give her - a whole day without them. Granted she was tied up, gagged and unable to do anything, but one couldn't be too picky when in her position.
She spent the day crying the tears she refused to let her kidnappers see and longed to be back in her family's arms again. How was Jian Jun spending this day without her? How could any birthday be without the two of them together? If only she was by his side again, she would gladly allow him to worry and be as overprotective of her as he pleased.
Lu Yi and Lu Yang only came back some time close to dawn, smelling strongly of liquor, both clearly totally drunk. Ji Xiang thought that this would be the only time in her life when she would ever be grateful for someone attempting to assault her. Obviously under the influence of wine and lust, the Lu brothers untied her and made advances on her that made Ji Xiang cringe in disgust. However, being drunk, they were no match for her martial arts. It was without that much difficulty that Ji Xiang managed to knock them out and snuck out of the inn.
Escaped from the inn, Ji Xiang knew she needed to get away from the city, and find a place to hide where they could never find her. Ji Xiang realised, as soon as she set foot into the streets, that she was quite alone, in a huge city that she'd never been to before and penniless. She cursed herself for not having tried to steal some money from the Lu brothers before escaping the inn. Now she would not go back into that room for the world, and chances were, they probably spent most of their money drinking anyway.
Never before had Ji Xiang felt so lost. Her instincts told her to get as far away from the inn as possible, and she did just that.
Now, hours later, Ji Xiang didn't know how many, from when she escaped the inn, she found herself in the middle of a clearing in a wood. Ji Xiang had no idea how she managed to wander into this clearing but at least, it looked remote. Perhaps she could hide herself in this wood until she could think of how she might return home.