c16 (1/2)

After chapters worth of Yun Ge and Meng Jue’s are-they-are-they-not dance around each other, finally their relations.h.i.+p moves from nebulous to official. I can see how happy she is, having let go of the fantasy Ling gege inside her heart and accepted the real person in front of her. But just because Meng Jue came clean with Huo Cheng Jun about who Yun Ge really is doesn’t mean the pampered princess is ready to concede defeat. In the delicate web of young love, the person making the choice in this case is Meng Jue. When he has both girls in his hands, it’s actually not clear which girl he will ultimately pick.

Chapter 16: Forming One Heart

Qi Li Xiang was open for business but it was still empty. Xu Ping Jun looked around at the empty room and whispered in Yun Ge’s ear “Are you done? If done, let’s leave early today.”

Yun Ge asked quizzically “Didn’t big brother say he was picking us up? Aren’t we waiting for him?” Xu Ping Jun turned red “I want to see a doctor. It’s been a month since it came, and I suspect, I suspect……..”

Yun Ge furrowed her brows “Maybe your food intake has been on the cold side, shouldn’t be a problem to treat if you eat warmer foods this month.” Xu Ping Jun swatted Yun Ge “You’re so stupid! I suspect I’m expecting.”

Yun Ge looked confused “What are you expecting?” Xu Ping Jun rolled her eyes and finally said it out loud “Expecting a baby!”

Yun Ge startled for a moment and grabbed Xu Ping Jun happily, but then let her go, as if she was afraid of injuring the baby. Xu Ping Jun grabbed Yun Ge’s hand “I’m not certain so that is why I want to see a doctor. When I’m certain I can tell Bing Yi, otherwise we’ll both be disappointed.”

Yun Ge nodded “True. Then let’s go right now.”

When the doctor told Xu Ping Jun that she was indeed pregnant, both girls were so happy they were speechless. The normally stingy Xu Ping Jun actually paid the doctor extra, thanking him profusely.

The doctor was so embarra.s.sed “No need to thank me, you should thank your husband, I didn’t do anything to deserve the thanks.” Everyone turned red after he said that, but Xu Ping Jun did stop thanking him.

Yun Ge almost fell off her seat she was laughing so hard. After they left the clinic, it was already dark out. Both were so giddy still. Yun Ge said “From now on, I’ll be in charge of your meals. Don’t take any pregnancy medicine, let’s just eat the right foods. When we go back, have Meng Jue check you….”

Yun Ge suddenly realized the street was eerily quiet. A bit of animal instinct allowed her to sense it, and she grabbed Xu Ping Jun’s arm and they started running. But it was too late, masked men surrounded them.

Yun Ge was thinking about Xu Ping Jun “Who do you want? No matter what you intend, it’s enough if you have me.” A voice huffed “We want both of you.”

Xu Ping Jun grabbed Yun Ge’s hand but she was shaking too hard “We have no money, we are just poor simple folks.” Yun Ge grabbed Xu Ping Jun’s hand and calmly said “We’ll go with you. Don’t hurt us, otherwise you’ll get nothing if we both die.”

The leader appeared shocked at how easy it was to accomplish his task. His men shoved the girls into a secure carriage which quickly left the scene. Xu Ping Jun touched her belly and asked ‘Who are they?”

Yun Ge shook her head “We have no money or any enemies. This must be concerning either Meng Jue or big brother. Don’t worry, big sister, If they didn’t kill us right away, they need us alive to threaten either Meng Jue or big brother to do something. We’re safe for now.”

Xu Ping Jun nodded and leaned on Yun Ge. Because of the baby, Xu Ping Jun was very needy right now, and Yun Ge suddenly realized she had to protect two people.

Yun Ge suddenly realized she was carrying the small dagger Meng Jue gave her awhile ago. Yun Ge told Xu Ping Jun to start crying loudly. Xu Ping Jun realized Yun Ge always had weird ideas so complied.

Yun Ge pretended to console Xu Ping Jun, but took out her knife and scratched a hole in the floor of the carriage. Once she dug a hole, she handed the dagger to Xu Ping Jun. From her pouch she took out some pepper and dropped it out of the hole one by one. Before the carriage stopped she had run out of peppers, so she dropped everything she had in her pouch.

Before the carriage stopped, Yun Ge covered the hole and then grabbed Xu Ping Jun, looking for the world like they were huddled together crying. They were covered in a black cloth before being removed from the carriage. When the cloth was taken off, they were inside a shabby room.

Soon someone brought them food. Yun Ge told Xu Ping Jun to rest, to either wait for Meng Jue or Liu Bing Yi to rescue them, or if they needed to escape themselves, they would have energy.

Xu Ping Jun softly asked “Will your plan work?” “I don’t know. I hope Meng Jue or big brother will notice it, and pray it won’t rain tonight.”

Shortly after she said that, the winds picked up and soon it began to rain. Yun Ge wondered if the Heavens were aligned against her. She decided to rely on herself then!

Xu Ping Jun was awoken by the rain and asked “Yun Ge, can we get out safely?” Yun Ge smiled “Of course! They must have noticed we are missing, and maybe they discovered my peppers already and are looking for a way to rescue us. Plus the rain had a good side effect of making the guards lax, so we can better escape.”

The second day arrived.

The rain continued to fall. Their captors wouldn’t take to them, but continued to bring them food. Yun Ge noticed they were well trained, not normal folks.

Yun Ge initially wanted to wait for Meng Jue to come save them, but she knew now that she had to save themselves. She lasted until it was night time again before asking Xu Ping Jun to back up a few steps. Yun Ge opened a small deer skin bag and a few spiders the size of a baby’s fist came crawling out. Yun Ge quietly back away and let them crawl out the window.

Xu Ping Jun quietly asked “Are they poisonous?”

Yun Ge nodded “A few days ago I spent a lot of money to buy it from the Xi Yu merchants. It’s poisonous but can be a good medicine. It’s called a “Black Widow” and will eat male spiders. The ones I bought are raised by humans and only consumed male spiders to increase their poison. When the guards delivered food this afternoon, I put on male spider essence on them. After being hungry for two days, the Black Widows ought to follow the scent, and the rest is up to our luck.”

Xu Ping Jun stood by the door and nervously listened for any noise from outside. Yun Ge took her dagger and slashed the blanket, using the outside to make a rain coat for Xu Ping Jun, and the inside she sliced into strips and then bound into a st.u.r.dy rope. Because it was a rainy dark night, other than the occasional guard, everyone else was inside eating and drinking.

The two guards keeping watch over Yun Ge and Xu Ping Jun were feeling unhappy so they didn’t even pay attention to the danger crawling on the ground. The Black Widow’s poison will first cause a numbing affect on its prey. One guard rubbed his hand with annoyance. The other whispered “Be patient, we’ll off them tonight. Perhaps soon our leader will give word to do so.”

The two guards felt sleepy suddenly and couldn’t stay awake anymore. One said “I’ll just sit for a moment” and then leaned against the wall and both of them pa.s.sed out. Xu Ping Jun indicated to Yun Ge it worked, and Yun Ge nodded, first rubbing garlic on their shoes “Black Widows hate garlic. We don’t know where they went, so best be careful.” Xu Ping Jun heard that, and then rubbed garlic all over her face, body, and neck. Yun Ge laughed and then draped the rain coat she made over Xu Ping Jun.

Xu Ping Jun knew she was pregnant so she wasn’t being polite with Yun Ge, only tightly grasping her hand in thanks. Yun Ge grabbed her danger and then cut open the door lock. The door opened and the two guards fell into the room. Xu Ping Jun asked if they were dead and Yun Ge lied that they were just unconscious.

Yun Ge handed the dagger to Xu Ping Jun “You run that way, I’ll be right there.” “Where are you going?” “I need to disguise this area first, otherwise a guard coming by will immediately know we escaped.” Yun Ge endured her fear as she placed the corpses of the two dead guards against the wall on the bed.

When Yun Ge caught up to Xu Ping Jun, her face was white and she was shaking. “Yun Ge, are you okay? Did you retch?” Yun Ge shook her head “I’m fine, we need to hurry before they discover we escaped.”

The two of them ran until they saw the high wall they saw that first day. Yun Ge’s pitiful martial arts was enough to flip over with help from the tree branches, but Xu Ping Jun didn’t know any martial arts. “I’ll go first and then secure the rope.” Yun Ge got on the wall and secured the rope, but Xu Ping Jun was afraid that she would fall.

Yun Ge got down and had Xu Ping Jun stand on her shoulder and then she could climb the rope the rest of the way. Yun Ge knew those people were going to kill them soon, they had to escape. Xu Ping Jun bit her lips and then climbed on Yun Ge’s shoulder.

When Xu Ping Jun climbed halfway, Yun Ge saw her struggling and kept encouraging her, but soon they heard voices and footsteps. Xu Ping Jun worried about Yun Ge, who decided to yell at her “Xu Ping Jun, I don’t care about you useless person, I care about that baby in your belly. Do you want the baby to die? Big brother will hate you for it.”

Xu Ping Jun cried but summoned all her strength and climbed on the wall. Yun Ge told her to pull the rope up and the release it on the other side and then climb down. On the wall, Xu Ping Jun could see people with weapons getting close, so she cried out “What about you? Hurry and climb!”

Yun Ge made a face at her “I’ll go another way. I know martial arts, and without you as a drag, I can escape easily. Hurry and climb down, don’t be a burden to me.” Yun Ge finished talking and rushed off.

The guards heard Yun Ge purposely making a lot of noise and called out to follow her. Xu Ping Jun cried and climbed down the rope on the other side. When she landed, she started running and inside her heart she cried out “Bing Yi, Bing Yi, Meng Jue, Meng Jue – where are you guys? Where are you guys?” Her tears mixed with the rain, in the dark night Xu Ping Jun was filled with despair. It was all her fault for sneaking off to see the doctor. If anything happened to Yun Ge, it was all her fault. In the pouring rain, all around here there was only darkness.

Xu Ping Jun could only run but she didn’t know where to go, so in her hopelessness she screamed into the dark “Bing Yi, Bing Yi, where are you?” To her shock there was an answer “Ping Jun, Ping Jun, is that you?” “It’s me, it’s me!” Xu Ping Jun cried out and when she saw Liu Bing Yi appear before her, she collapsed on the ground.

Liu Bing Yi grabbed her and heard her cry “Go save Yun Ge, go, go, before it’s too late………” Meng Jue’s face was stark white and he rushed off. Liu Bing Yi looked towards where Meng Jue disappeared and then looked at the weakened Xu Ping Jun, stopping his body which was moving to join Meng Jue. He told the people behind him “My friend is still inside, will you all please help Meng Jue save the person.”

The people rushed forward and one laughed “After we save the person, we can do as we wish. So excited to be able to satisfy my itchy hands at dealing with these villains.” Li Bing Yi laughed “Of course, enjoy yourself!” He then lowered his head and tenderly said “Let me take you home first.”

Xu Ping Jun shook her head “I want to wait until Yun Ge is safe. We came together, we leave together.” Liu Bing Yi asked “Can your body handle it?” Xu Ping Jun laughed “Just a bit of rain, it’s mostly fear that affected me.” Liu Bing Yi said nothing else, wrapping Xu Ping Jun in a rain cloak and then carrying her towards where everyone went.

Liu Bing Yi stood at the side of the wall and Xu Ping Jun thought she entered into a different world. Liu Bing Yi’s hooligan friends were everywhere, all of them different and unique and powerful. Xu Ping Jun softly asked “These are the legendary martial arts masters hiding in the world who serve the people and fight against villainy?” “Yes.” “They are your friends?” “Yes.”

Xu Ping Jun knew Liu Bing Yi for so long and knew that his personality could be difficult and hard to figure out. This was the first time she wondered if she ever really knew him? Liu Bing Yi had the look of das.h.i.+ng valor, but in his eyes there was even more a look of commanding presence, like he held the fate of the world in his hands. Xu Ping Jun felt like the Infante of Guang Ling couldn’t even match up to Liu Bing Yi’s aura at this moment.

She suddenly saw He Xiao Qi’s sword swing out and then a person’s head went flying. Xu Ping Jun gasped and realized that people were dying around her. Her stomach roiled and her body swayed. Thankfully Liu Bing Yi was holding her around the waist so she didn’t tumble on the ground. Liu Bing Yi gently placed her face against his shoulder and covered her eyes “Don’t watch, and don’t over think. They were bag guys, they deserve what is happening to them.”

Liu Bing Yi calmly watched the carnage, not because he was curious or interested, but his eyes sweeped the scene looking for a familiar figure. When he saw the person Meng Jue carried in his arms, Liu Bing Yi let out an barely there sigh of relief. He smiled and placed his finger in his mouth and blew a loud whistle. He got a rousing reply and the people around him genuinely went to town on the kidnappers.

Liu Bing Yi carried Xu Ping Jun and walked over “Is Yun Ge hurt?” Meng Jue shook his head “Some scratches but she’s fine. She scared herself more because she killed people, and its likely her first time. She was already frightened out of her wits, and when the person wasn’t yet fully dead and grabbed her by the leg, she fainted. Thank G.o.d Er Yue (February) arrived just in time, otherwise………………”

“I went to a cemetary with her once and thought she had lots of guts, who knew……….” Liu Bing Yi laughed and the servant next to Meng Jue also laughed. Xu Ping Jun’s worried heart finally relaxed and she yelled “She said she knew martial arts, but look at her now!”

Right then Liu Bing Yi’s friends all walked out and made a hand gesture to him before departing. Xu Ping Jun was afraid to look at them so she looked at Meng Jue’s direction. Thankfully Meng Jue’s servants were like him in style, the maids were elegant and the porters were refined. Liu Bing Yi smiled and looked at at the estate where there was not a single person alive inside “This rain storm will wash away all traces.”

Meng Jue was impressed by Liu Bing Yi “Fast and decisive, finish them all and then depart. Your friends all hide their abilities in the world, no wonder even scholars like Xi Ma Qian wrote historical accounts about a.s.sa.s.sins and hidden martial arts masters of the past.”

The carriage arrived and Er Yue opened the curtains so everyone climbed on. In the carriage, Meng Jue smiled at Xu Ping Jun “Let me take your pulse.” Her face turned red “Meng dage already knows?” He smiled and nodded “I can guess, but figure you want to tell him yourself, so I haven’t told him yet.” Liu Bing Yi asked “What are you two talking about?”

Xu Ping Jun lowered her head and handed her arm to Meng Jue, who listened and smiled “No big problems. A bit of rain and some shock, but your body is normally healthy so after taking some medicine and some rest, you’ll be fine. But you can’t stay out in the rain again, not every time will be so lucky.”

Xu Ping Jun nodded and then asked “How did you guys find us?” Liu Bing Yi answered “We have to thank Yun Ge’s peppers, which are unique to Xi Yu and most Chang An folks have never seen it before. Other than Yun Ge, who would throw such expensive spices on the ground. We found it too late, but it still gave us the right hint.”

Yun Ge suddenly wake up and started yelling “Don’t grab me, don’t grab me.” Meng Jue smiled and then grabbed Yun Ge’s leg “Grab you like this?” Yun Ge was shaking and her voice was shaking as well “Don’t grab me, don’t grab me. I don’t want to kill you, you wanted to kill me first. I don’t want to kill you…………..”

Meng Jue wanted to tease her some more but then realized she was genuinely frightened this time. He lightly patted her cheek “Yun Ge, it’s me.” Yun Ge opened her eyes and saw Meng Jue, the fear in her eyes slowly vanished and then she started hitting him “What took you so long? Why are you so stupid? I thought you were smart! I killed three people……………sob, sob…………..I killed three people…….and I touched their corpses. It was soft and warm, not cold……………are there vengeful spirits in this world, I used to not think so, but now I’m really scared……….sob, sob…..”

Yun Ge was. .h.i.tting and hitting and then she started bawling in Meng Jue’s arms. Meng Jue tenderly rocked Yun Ge and whispered in her ear “I know, it’s not your fault, not your fault. Those dead spirits can come haunt me, it wouldn’t be counted against you.” Xu Ping Jun averted her eyes in embarra.s.sment, while Liu Bing Yi opened the curtains and looked outside.