63 Volume 3: The Ocean (1/2)

Jin spent a solid hour meditating and trying to divest himself of the filth he'd acquired from touching the kidnapper's soul. He didn't dare get near Mei with that slime sticking to him. Once he was done, he went back home to his room and to Mei.

Yan Li was sitting in a nearby chairwhile Lu Shao had fallen asleep next to his Mother. Without saying a wordJin walked up to Yan Li, and tried handing him back his eyeball.

The moment the eye was in the light Yan Li swayed where he was sitting and went pale. Seeing his son's poor reaction Jin took the initiative and forcefully popped Yan Li's eye back in. The moment the eye was back in its socket, Yan Li let out a quiet moan, and slumped forward in relief.

Jin patted the boy on the shoulder before moving on. He went through a door, and came to a closet that was more room sized than closet sized.

This 'side room' was filled with years' worth of clothes. While neither Mei nor Jin were particularly trendy with their fashion, Mei Hua did like to look good. She'd developed a distinct ”mountain” style: simple earthy layered hanfus with bright fur, and hide accents.

The fairy seamstress and Mei would often team up together to design some new this or that, even arguing endlessly for hours over details (that he didn't understand). The only thing Jin contributed to their wardrobe was an occasional accessory that he'd gift his wife when the mood struck him.

Jin looked around feeling bittersweet. Just this morning she'd woken up, and rummaged happily through her heaps of clothes, looking for ”Just the thing to wear” to meet up with the Master Musician. She'd been… so lively…

He felt himself choke up and shook his head. Focus, he needed to focus.

What he looked for was a simple, one-layer hanfu. After shuffling around he found an old, undyed hanfu that fit what he was after. It must have been from when they were first married, and the memory made him smile a little. He hadn't expected her to keep clothing that old. Taking it, he went back to the main bedroom.

Lu Shao was in a tightly curled ball, one hand firmly clasping his Mother's arm. Very gently, Jin pried the boy's hands off Mei and set them aside. Lu Shao whimpered slightly but didn't wake up.

Yan Li saw what his Father was doing and walked over, whispering, ”Old Man, do you need help?”

Jin almost refused but then thought better of it. In fact, this would be easier with two. He threw the old hanfu he'd picked out towards his son, ”Hold this up so we can get Mei changed into something decent… and keep your eyes looking to the ceiling while you're at it.”

Yan Li rolled his eyes but did as instructed. As if he wanted to see his own Mother naked! Yeesh! His Old Man got so needlessly jealous!

It took several minutes to get Mei Hua's old clothes off. Shi Ji's outer coat had been covering up almost her entire body. When he'd brought her back, he'd only used his qi to do some gentle cleaning, not bothering to take her clothes off because he hadn't realized how bad it was. Now that he removed Shi Ji's outer coat, he could see her once beautiful outfit bloodied, and in tatters, the top of it almost completely gone. His stomach clenched painfully as he tried to control the rage and sorrow mixing heavily together at the sight.

Once everything was off he carefully lifted her up to the clean set of clothing Yan Li was holding. It took the two of them working together to get her into the clothes while not needlessly jostling her, and her still poisoned shoulder; Jin was thankful by the end that he'd taken Yan Li up on his offer.

Mei Hua didn't wake once through the entire thing. If she hadn't been warm and breathing, one might have thought she was a lifelike doll rather than a living person. Jin put her back down on the bed and arranged the blankets over her.

Lu Shao, who'd been sleeping fitfully with the absence of his Mother, sensed she'd been put back next to him and scooted closer once again. This time he snuggled his face on her shoulder and clung to her entire body. Only then did he sigh and relax into a deeper sleep.

It was at that point that Shi Ji and the Fairy Doctor showed up. (Ye was not with them, which boded ill for the trash.)Shi Ji went over to look at his Mother, and seeing she was still alright, gave a heavy sigh of relief.

Jin turned to the Doctor and asked the question he'd wanted to ask from the very beginning.

”Exactly how do you plan on getting rid of this poison?”

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The first thing she became aware of was a cool darkness. There was nothing in that darkness, neither pain nor light or sound. She could not remember before the darkness, nor could she think of an existence outside of it. Even though it was cold, she didn't mind because she'd forgotten what it was like to be warm. She was in the darkness and was the darkness at the same time.

Time trickled by slowly.

A tiny, irritating sense of restlessness began to form inside her. It was easy to ignore at first, but the restlessness grew bigger as each moment passed. She very much wished the sensation would go away and leave her alone.

But it persisted despite her best efforts to not pay it any attention.

This spurred her into action and she finally sat up and became aware of her surroundings. She realized this deceptively comfortable place was strange. It felt as though a great weight was pressing on her from all sides, binding her in place so that she couldn't escape. Huh? Why did she need to be kept from escaping?

The darkness that had once been so peaceful, felt oppressive. The coolness became uncomfortably cold. She hugged herself in the nothingness and wished there was at a least a little light to see by.