Chapter 2
The carriage slowly came to a stop. It came to a halt in front of an inn with a polished sign that said 'Golden Dragon Inn', a famous resting place for the people of the jianghu. They specialized in a variety of local and regional dishes offering diverse foods to cater to each and everyone's palate - from the hot and spicy foods of Sichuan to the sweet barbecued pork of Guangdong.
"Young Ms., we're here at our destination." The coachman had said to the person inside.
He had been thoroughly instructed to not let the person's identity be known for everyone to hear. At his words, a young woman wearing a black robe alighted the carriage. She had purple hair tied to a loose ponytail and a white sword at her side. She nodded to him and heard the carriage moving to find a place for the horses to rest and recover.
After a month of travelling, Mafuyu had finally arrived at Shaanxi. It's where the Murim Alliance is located.
Two guards were standing at either side of the door opened the entrance of the inn. She entered the wide halls, murmurs of numerous voices greeted her ears.The inn was packed with people, unsurprisingly, since she came here at lunch. She saw servers carrying mountains of food and bottles of alcohol flittering table to table to serve the customers like a hunting bird looking for their next prey.
Mafuyu nimbly avoided the servers and other customers walking around the inn, she located her destination - a flight of stairs leading to the second floor.This was where the more private meetings were held. True to its word, the second floor contained individual rooms with formation characters that guarantee silence from the outside world.
She entered one of the rooms at the north of the stairs. The room was well-lit surrounded by lanterns, there were a few paintings decorating its walls as well. Blue hair entered her sight. The man was wearing a black garb, the same color as hers, decorated with countless blue and grey butterflies. Stern blue eyes meet empty purple.
"Why did you want to meet me, Mafuyu?", said Kaito while sipping his tea while she closed the door.
"I finally did what you wanted." Mafuyu took a seat facing Kaito and looked at the dishes on the table. A pot of tea, dumplings, and sweet and spicy pork. She took the pot of tea and poured herself one.
"Truly?" Kaito raised an eyebrow. Mafuyu nodded. "Yes, I challenged her to a duel."
"A duel to the death?" Kaito wondered.
"What else? You know my mother more than anyone else Kaito. She wouldn't accept a duel unless the outcome is death." Mafuyu scoffed. Kaito's eyes widened with surprise, he can still remember a young swordsman adamantly doing everything she can to please her mother. Even if it meant, slowly killing herself.
Mafuyu took a piece of dumpling to eat as she waited for Kaito's reaction, it would be a waste for good food to just be tossed away anyway. The taste of ginger and scallions combined with each other to create a refreshing yet savory taste that lessens the pork's oiliness. Meanwhile, Kaito poured himself another cup of tea.
"I see." Kaito finally replied, keeping his shock out of his voice. But, is it truly surprising? Kaito had watched Mafuyu being broken time and time again. He knew she would soon break like a dam waiting to erupt at the tiniest opportunity.
"Nonetheless, I'm proud of you Mafuyu." Kaito had a small but soft smile on his face. Mafuyu felt a warmth in her chest. She still didn't know what it was, yet she wants to keep it in a locked chest to keep the void inside of her at bay.
They sat in silence, seemingly deciding to just eat together. Tension was slowly leaving Mafuyu's shoulders. She knew as long as Kaito was there by her side, it would be the most safest place for her in all of jianghu, she thought to herself.
The sound of chopsticks colliding with the plates and the clinking of tea cups filled the void of silence in the room. After some time, the plates had been picked clean and the pot of tea emptied, so Mafuyu took this chance to finally say what's on her mind.
"I want you to come back to the cult."
"Do you think I can come back with this arm of mine?" He said while looking at the sleeve of his right arm. Mafuyu felt a twinge of coldness in her chest, was it guilt? Regret? She didn't know.
"Oh. Okay." She said with a monotone voice.
"But . . ."
"But?"
"I can help you gather information related to the treaty." Kaito finished. Mafuyu wasn't shocked that he knew about the treaty, since the Alliance leader practically announced it to the world.
"You think the Alliance leader has the guts to mess with both the Unorthodox and the Divine Cult?" Mafuyu asked.
"No, but you can't underestimate those old fossils." Kaito said honestly. It was the number one rule of the jianghu after all - be cautious of the child, elderly, and the beggar on the street. You can never know the whims of the strong to disguise themselves as such.
Mafuyu voiced her agreement. "I'll trust you with that then." Kaito looked at the setting sun at the window of the room. It would soon be night. "I'll be having my leave first Mafuyu."
"I'll follow you out then." Mafuyu and Kaito both left the room, leaving the servants to clean up their table.
They both parted ways at the entrance of the inn. As she saw Kaito's form get smaller and smaller, she felt a coldness in her chest again, but it's not as intense and freezing as the day she saw ......
Saw what? Her head hurts. Mafuyu blink and massaged her temples, was she that tired? A martial artist at her realm shouldn't be this exhausted because of a month of travel nor it could be because she lacked sleep.
Could her dantian be acting up again? She channeled her qi towards herself and inspected it. Her dantian was a ball of red and blue that blends in the color of midnight, but there was a slight fracture at the center. She only felt it cracked after--
Her sword did not met the clash of steel nor the hardness of qi that could deflect her attack, instead it met the softness and fragility of still mortal flesh. Blood dyed the white sword and sounds of dripping blood resounded around the throne room, she heard a crack and saw her dantian fracture at her mind's eye. There's a taste of copper in her mouth and came with it a bittersweet feeling.
Mafuyu flinched at the onslaught of memories. She feels sick. She wants to throw up but she can't, so she settled to just lean to the wooden posts of the inn and closed her eyes to try and calm herself down. Breathe in, breathe out. She repeated it for a few more times.
Mafuyu opened her eyes, it was now night. There are bright paper lanterns covering the road and illuminating the dozens of people going about their way. Chattering voices entered her ear - minor matters relating to the weather, customers haggling the prices of some sort of goods, and vendors enticing buyers to buy their products.
She heard an advertisement that interested her.
"Come to the Heavenly Moon Pavilion! Where songs and beauties come hand in hand!" A woman with stars for hair and golden eyes shouted.
She remembered soft and calloused hands ruffling a child's hair and staying by a sick child's side.
Where did it all go wrong?
Mafuyu approached the golden eyed woman. Now looking at her closely, she can see pins of star in her hair. Combined with the blue color, it resembles the night sky. "Where can I find the Heavenly Moon Pavilion?"
The woman grinned with so much enthusiasm Mafuyu was temporarily blinded. "It's in the center of the Entertainment District! But I can show you where it is!"
She blinked at the offer. Mafuyu looked at the woman more closely, she's a first rate martial artist - impressive for someone working at a pavilion but she can't harm Mafuyu so she decided to accept. "Sure, I'm in your care."
"Okay! Let's go! I'm Shiraishi!" The woman, now named Shiraishi, grabbed her hand and pulled her through the sea of people.
As they went deeper to the Entertainment District, Mafuyu saw women in scandalous clothing, courtesans, flattering male customers to come inside on all sides of the road. A sign on the doors read: 'Heavenly Moon Pavilion', and underneath the sign were small letters that read: 'Where dreams come true.'
"All right! This is the Heavenly Moon Pavilion! I hope you enjoy your stay! Now, if you don't mind I'll be going first!" Shiraishi waved her hand and left in a blur, without even waiting for Mafuyu's reply.
Staring at the wooden sign, Mafuyu entered.
It was bustling with people, it seems like the pavilion is pretty popular. She heard a soft melody from a performer at the raised stage. It was at the forefront with countless chairs and tables surrounding it. Mafuyu found a vacant seat near the stage and sat on it. Instantly as if sensing her presence, a server approached her.
"Hello, may I know if you want anything?" The server asked the person on the table, unfazed at the martial garb and the sword the girl was wearing. It was fairly common for martial artists of any gender to relax at this kind of places after all. It also helped that this pavilion is owned by a Master martial artist, so the server waited patiently for a reply.
"Tea, please." Mafuyu finally decided, she wasn't that hungry but she's kind of thirsty from all of the walking and talking. The server bowed their head and left to take care of their order. At the same time, a woman at the center of the stage announced the next performer.
"Please clap for our next performer! K!" The woman announced.
There was someone at the side of the stage climbing up. Mafuyu felt her breath hitched. Flowing white hair with a tingle of blue, she wore a plain dark blue dress and yet it didn't make her any less of a beauty. Mafuyu belatedly realized that she was carrying a guqin.
The girl, K, faced the stage and readied her guqin. Her fingers nimbly struck each string of the guqin with the familiarity and accuracy of a master musician.
The melody was haunting, as if the very girl herself felt the depths of despair and drowned in it, but there was a kindness at the end, as if saying to all of them to not give up, that there were happier things that would happen in the future. That there was a light in the dark even if all sides of the walls are closing in. She shouldn't feel anything and yet. And yet! Why does Mafuyu feel a twinge in her chest?
Could this girl be the answer she wanted?