- Chapter Start –
As soon as Li LianHua emerges from the steamy warmth of the tent, the cooler air pulls a shiver from him. There's a loud and joyful bark followed by Hulijing bounding down the steps of Lotus Tower.
"Hulijing, get back here!" By the time Fang DuoBing's head peeks out, Hulijing is already nosing at Li LianHua's robes and asking for pats, tail wagging furiously.
"Missed me this much?" Smiling, Li LianHua crouches on the ground to indulge him, paying no mind to the happy licks all over his clean hands. "I missed you too."
"He followed A-Li here when she brought the food," Fang DuoBing says. "Alright, that's enough welcoming, Hulijing."
Pulling Li LianHua to his feet, he drapes a white, fur lined cloak around him. Li LianHua's eyes close briefly as he's ensconced in warmth. The cloak smells like Fang DuoBing's clothes.
Wait.
"XiaoBao, I was wearing this when I woke up in Yunyin Mountain, when we went to see my shiniang. Whose-"
"I gave it to you to ward off the chill of the mountains. I also brought it to you the night before you left for Sigu Sect. It's yours now."
"… XiaoBao." Li LianHua tries to sound reproachful, but his voice comes out too soft.
Fang DuoBing tips his chin up, like he's fully prepared to argue his way in this.
"What? You look good in it. Can't a student gift his shifu something?"
Touched, Li LianHua rests a hand on his shoulder and smiles.
"Only if I haven't deprived my favourite student of something warm to wear."
Fang DuoBing scoffs, trying to hide how pleased he is.
"Your only student, you mean. Don't worry, I have lots of clothes! Come on, the food's getting cold… if A-Fei hasn't eaten all of it already."
Despite his eagerness, he slows his pace to match Li LianHua's as they walk the dozen or so steps to Lotus Tower with Hulijing trotting alongside them.
"You're in for a treat," he continues. "The cooks have prepared all my favourite dishes!"
"And here I thought I was the guest of honour," Li LianHua quips.
"Well, you never told me what your favourite dishes are so they prepared mine."
Lotus Tower is filled with appetising aromas, courtesy of the multiple dishes covering the small table. Di FeiSheng sits on the bench facing them, wine cup in hand as he stares straight at Li LianHua.
Carefully avoiding those probing eyes, Li LianHua sits opposite him. He takes an appreciative sniff of the dishes and nods.
"Everything smells good."
"Better than anything you could come up with, right?" Fang DuoBing teases, sitting beside him. He reaches for the jug of wine, but Di FeiSheng is faster and pours for him and Li LianHua. "Thanks, A-Fei. Let's dig in!"
Li LianHua doesn't have enough energy to do much more than wield a pair of chopsticks, but he's clean and warm and his senses are working again, thanks to the latest input of Qi. Best not to think of anything and just enjoy what he can… while he still can.
Fang DuoBing places down a bowl of meat for Hulijing and gets a bark of thanks.
"I swear he's gotten fatter since I last saw him yesterday," Li LianHua comments.
"Xiaoyee dotes on him," Fang DuoBing says with a laugh. "He'd better stay here with us otherwise he'll be too fat to do anything except roll around."
Stay here with us.
Four words that imply a future of a handful of days at most. Li LianHua quickly looks down only to see a piece of chicken landing in his bowl. He looks up, startled.
"Eat up," Di FeiSheng says.
Li LianHua nods just as a piece of pork is placed in his bowl from another pair of chopsticks. He smiles at Fang DuoBing and picks up his bowl.
"Let's eat," he says simply.
- o -
The dishes are expertly cooked – the meats tender and savoury, the vegetables perfectly crisp, the soup deep and nourishing. Li LianHua savours each small bite with an appreciation he's never felt before.
The late afternoon breeze is scented with plum blossoms, the wine is sweet and mellow, and the company – well, he can't think of anyone dearer to him than these two. Not even shifu or shiniang or Qiao WanMian, as fond as he is of those three.
Fang DuoBing seems determined to keep the conversation light-hearted, limiting his comments to the food and wine. Di FeiSheng adds a few words and nods of agreement. When Hulijing finishes his dinner and trots over, Fang DuoBing picks him up and places him on the bench between Li LianHua and himself.
"Who's spoiling him now?" Li LianHua asks.
Fang DuoBing just smiles as he gently rubs the dog's ears.
Midway through the leisurely meal which is neither lunch nor dinner, the breeze picks up and blows in a scattering of plum blossoms. A few land on the table and one in Li LianHua's rice bowl. With a laugh, Fang DuoBing plucks it out and presents it to him with cupped hands.
"A perfect flower for my perfect shifu!"
Smiling, Li LianHua accepts it and pushes a curious Hulijing's nose away.
"Ridiculous," Di FeiSheng grumbles, his gaze cutting to the flower beside his wine cup. With a long finger, he flicks it over to Li LianHua… only for Hulijing to pounce on it and snap it up.
The look of startled outrage on Di FeiSheng's face sets Fang DuoBing off at once. Di FeiSheng accuses him of being an instigator, a laughing Fang DuoBing protests his innocence and Hulijing spits out the mangled blossom, looking disgusted at its taste.
The comedy feels almost… staged, somehow, but Li LianHua laughs anyway. He makes a token protest at how Lotus Tower can't handle another fight while patting Hulijing. Fang DuoBing looks like he's in his element and Di FeiSheng… Li LianHua could swear he's never seen the dour man look so mellow. His grumbles are more teasing than anything else, and the smiles he tries to suppress look good on his face.
Li LianHua also finds himself studying Di FeiSheng's hand, curled around his wine cup. That same hand had felt warm and safe, cupping his bare shoulder earlier. Fang DuoBing had done the same, but for some reason, Li LianHua can't recall his touch as much.
He looks up to see Di FeiSheng's eyes on him and quickly looks away. His face feels hot. He really shouldn't drink so much of the wine.
- o –
At length, the three of them declare themselves full to bursting. A good portion of the food is gone. Li LianHua can't recall the last time he ate even half as much. He feels very warm and even sleepy again.
"Alright, time to clear up," Fang DuoBing says and jumps to his feet.
"Right." Li LianHua reaches for his bowl.
"Not you," Fang DuoBing tells him and turns to the window, raising his voice. "A-Li, we're finished here!"
There's an answering shout. A-Li and another maid enter a few moments later, carrying two large baskets and a small one.
"Li-shengyi," A-Li smiles at him. "I hope you enjoyed your meal."
"I did, thank you," Li LianHua returns her smile before turning to Fang DuoBing. "You made them wait outside all this while?"
"Please don't worry. We waited in the tent," A-Li says. "Allow us to clear the table."
The two maids set to work, placing the dirty dishes in the baskets and wiping down the table. Then they put the third covered basket on the table and leave.
"Is that dessert?" Li LianHua asks. "I'll explode if I eat another bite."
"It's a selection of the finest tonics Tianji Hall has to offer!" Fang DuoBing whips off the cloth to reveal several bottles in different sizes.
Li LianHua's mood plummets at once.
Not to be outdone, Di FeiSheng produces a small bottle from inside his robes.
"Wu Yan brought this while you were having your bath," he says. "A tonic made from the blood of the Mountain Snow Eagle."
"That's very rare!" Fang DuoBing exclaims, impressed.
Di FeiSheng smirks at him and slides the bottle over to Li LianHua who ignores it. His throat feels tight, as does his chest. The food sitting in his stomach feels ten times heavier now.
"You both know there's no cure for the Bicha poison," he says in a low voice. "Please don't waste all these expensive things on me."
A hand closes around his and squeezes tight.
"Li LianHua. Shifu. If they can keep you with us for a few days more or even one day more, they're worth it," Fang DuoBing declares. His eyes are shiny again."Youare worth it."
Li LianHua swallows. Another, larger hand closes over his other one.
"Agreed. Just take them." Di FeiSheng's voice is low and insistent.
"Please." Fang DuoBing's voice cracks. "Please,Li LianHua, let us help you."
Li LianHua looks at them with watery eyes, seeing the same redness in theirs. He draws one shaky breath after another, feeling touched and sorrowful and hopeless in equal measure.
"Very well. If there is no one else more suited to have such precious tonics, then thank you."
Somehow, the hope flaring in their eyes hurts even more than the Bicha poison burrowing inside his bones.
- Chapter End –
