Chapter 49: The Final Stretch (1/2)

Meiling was standing on a stool, as Hu Li fixed Meiling’s mother’s dress around her. It fit well, for she and her mother had roughly the same build- though it had been a bit loose in the chest, and tight at the hips.

Things had been uncomfortably subdued, since the Xong Brothers had stayed with Jin. It had been fifteen days since her father returned without them, with private news about Gou Ren and Yun Ren. Yao Che, her father, Ten Ren and Hu Li had all been on edge. While the menfolk had gone off into the forest to try and “tap” the maple, she had got the unenviable task of keeping Hu Li occupied. So she was stuck as a dress-up doll, as Hu Li poked and prodded at her. Jewelry was given to her and discarded as swiftly as she finished putting it on.

Her hair was brushed so much she was worried that it might start to fall out. And she didn’t know how much more braiding and tending she could take. But she kept silent, as Hu Li worked. The normally jovial woman looked pale and ill, her face pinched with worry,

“No, no, how about this one--” Hu Li muttered as she braided Meilng’s hair into a style she knew was from Hu Li’s tribe. A little inappropriate for a wedding, but the style did look nice. The feathers were rather fetching.

‘Master is beautiful-gorgeous!’ Ri Zu squeaked happily.

“Thank you, Ri Zu.” Meiling responded, nodding to her able student, as Hu Li moved away to begin rummaging through a box.

Ri Zu was progressing well. Meiling hadn’t been joking when she said the rat was better than her little brother-- though when little Xian was upstaged by a rat, he started taking his own studies with a bit more seriousness. “Not this one either--” She turned around, and approached, her hands reaching for Meiling’s hair again.

“Hu Li.” Meiling whispered, catching the older woman’s hands. Her elder started, and looked away, embarrassed. Her hands shook a little.

“I’m sorry, Meimei--I--” Hu Li began, fidgeting slightly in her grip. She sighed, and took a deep breath.”....A mother worries.”

“It's all right.” She said. “But… I trust Jin. He won’t lead them astray. Besides, those idiots are probably hitting each other with sticks right now, or jumping into a freezing river.”

Hu Li snorted, some of the tension draining out of her shoulders.

“That does sound like my boys.” She mused, shaking her head. Hu Li pulled her into a hug. “Thank you, Meiling.”

Meiling rested her head on top of Hu Li’s, the stool making her, for the first time, taller than the vulpine woman.

“Now, let's get you out of that dress.” Hu Li decided, “I think we’ve mostly narrowed down the hairstyle and the jewelry-- we’ll wait for Meihua to make the final decisions.”

Meiling nodded, as she began stripping out of the dress her mother had used, with Hu Li’s help. It didn’t take long until they were seated at the table, having tea.

The front door opened up, admitting Xian, Che and Ten Ren. They al looked tired.

Hu Li perked up “how's the syrup comin’?” She asked.

Xian held up a single jar, the size of a large gourd. “This is all we got from the harvest. There's only one tree that we could find, and even with Jin warning us, it consumed more fuel than we thought to boil it down enough. I don’t think we’re going to be doing it too much.”

“Tasty though.” Che mused, “I can see why Jin was so excited.”

Ten Ren said nothing, merely sitting beside his wife.

Meiling perked up, wondering what the syrup tasted like-- when she was interrupted.

There was Qi approaching the village. One was Jin, she wouldn’t mistake the spicy smell of winter for anything.

There were two more, half hidden by Jin’s smell. They were achingly familiar, two scents that she had gotten so used to that she didn’t even know they were missing until they returned.

The smell of wood and loam. Like a forest, in the height of summer. A little bit like medicine. The nostalgic smell of Hong Yaowu.

“...Yun and Gou are back.” She whispered, and all heads at the table snapped to her. The syrup at the table was abandoned, as they rushed outside.

They did not have to wait long for Jin to appear, pulling his cart. But this time, instead of the Xong brothers riding--the were running alongside Jin, looking absolutely exhausted.

Hu Li captured her husband’s hand, her eyes open fully as she tried to see anything different about her sons.

The distance disappeared, and Jin waved in greeting.

“Hey, everybody!” he said cheerfully, “Wonderful day, isn’t it?”

“Like hell it is!” The brothers chorused, glaring at him.

“You made us run all the way from your place! I feel like my legs are gonna fall off, you bastard!” Gou Ren moaned, while his elder brother just slumped down, gasping for air.

Jin, ever cheerful, simply ignored their threats. “I’ve got presents!” He declared, hugging Meiling, and clasping Xian’s forearm in greeting. He reached into his cart and pulled out a jug the size of Meiling’s torso. “We got a lot more than we bargained for. Man, the trees were just going like crazy!”

Some of the tension drained, as Jin was talking about the amount of jugs he had managed to fill, and the fact that Gou Ren and Yun Ren looked exactly the same. Even acted the same.

“Now, you’ve got to try these-- I brought some eggs, but do you guys have any milk?”

Jin was a whirlwind of excitement, eager to show them all something. Meiling’s father showed him to the kitchen, while Che went to get him the milk he wanted.

Yun Ren sighed. “Hes been goin on about “pancakes” ever since we finished up the syrup.” He sounded irritated. “Refused to make any for us-- even though he gave some to the animals-- before he got to make some for Meimei.” He rolled his eyes, as they sat at the table, the sounds of cooking echoing through the house.

Both brothers looked absolutely fine, and their parents didn’t seem to know how to broach the subject. How does one ask their child if they were planning on becoming soldiers, or leaving forever?

Meiling decided to cut to the pont. “So, what are you two planning to do this year?” she asked.

The Xong brothers looked confused. “You know I’m gonna be at Jin’s this summer.” Gou Ren said, “He's teaching me how to grow rice.”

“I’m up with ma’s dad, in the north.” Yun Ren relayed, laying on his back and staging up at the ceiling.

“No joining a sect?” She asked again. The brothers looked at eachother, and chuckled.

“What, and meditate all day to defy heaven? Sounds like too much work.” Yun Ren said boredly, scratching his stomach. “Besides, have you heard what Jin did when he was a cultivator? It's bad enough doing my own laundry, let alone a hundred other people’s.”

Ten Ren laughed, and Hu Li let go of her husband’s hand.

“Well, its good to know you haven't changed.” Hu Li scolded, but her heart wasn’t in it. “...what does it feel like, being==?” She asked.

“...Like I’ve got a fire in my stomach. Everything is clearer. I can see better. Everything is just.. More.” Yun Ren said, looking at the palm of his hand.

“You're okay though?” Their father asked.

“...Yeah.” Gou Ren said. “I think we’ll be just fine.”

Jin came in at that moment, plates piled high with what looked like hundreds of layers of his “pancakes.” They were thin as a sheet of paper, and perfectly circular.

“Order up!” he shouted cheerily.

“We’re not going to be able to eat all that.” Meiling sighed.

“While they’re hot, while they’re hot!” He demanded, serving out layers to everybody. And then, he reached into his jar with a ladle, and poured a lot of the syrup onto the “pancakes.”

Meiling obligingly cut part of the “cake” off, and dunked it in the syrup. She did have a bit of a sweet tooth.

Stars exploded in front of her eyes.

When she looked up from her cleaned plate, she saw Jin staring at her with amusement.