Chapter Thirty-Nine
THE ROAD took them where houses were fewer and fewer, until there were none; only fields, rice paddies and grassy sweeps of land where the dark shapes of grazing animals could be seen. Xian’s damp nose twitched at the scent of deep water.
‘Are we near the Red River?’
‘Can you see it?’
‘I can smell it.’
Lim’s laughter shoved them together, upsetting the reasonable rhythm they’d found to manage Longma’s canter. ‘Magnificent, aren’t you? My huli jing prince.’
Xian smiled, warming under Lim’s easy affection.
A farmhouse appeared up ahead, a beautiful structure whose red cedar timbers contrasted the duller greys of the night-lit world. Two wings spread out from the central building, and all along ran a verandah, decorated with chunlian and lanterns. None were lit, so the house looked to be deserted.
They travelled the stone path that passed in front of the farmhouse. Lim settled Longma into a trot, then into a walk. Xian found himself out of breath, aching in so many places he wondered how he’d dismount.
‘Master Ren?’ Lim shouted, and Xian flinched. ‘Sorry about that…where has he gotten too?’
A light sound caught Xian’s ear. ‘Wait, just a moment.’
Lim reined in Longma, the horse puffing from the run.
‘Do you hear that song?’ Xian asked.
‘Song?’ He felt Lim shake his head. ‘No. Someone celebrating the New Year, nearby?’
Was it still only that same night? To Xian, it felt like lifetimes had passed.
‘No…this is…so very beautiful.’ Magickal, actually. He pointed. ‘That way. Towards the river.’
‘Are you sure?’ Lim clucked his tongue. ‘Ugh, I can’t believe I asked that of a man with a fox’s ears. Never mind.’
They rode past the barn, down past vast ponds covered in lily pads and jutting lotus, many in bloom with pink flowers, despite winter’s late grasp.
Lim was right; Master Ren was a Natural.
But the melody alone told Xian the truth; the notes touched him like feathers, brushing off the weight of all he’d endured. Leaving him light and…free.
‘Xian?’ Lim said. ‘Should I stop? You’ve gone all limp.’
‘We are on the right path. I wish you could hear this. It is like Sunü herself sing to us.’
Lim grunted with disapproval. ‘The goddess of music is a seductress too, is she not? I hope she does not seek to lure you away from me. I won’t like it.’
Xian squirmed beneath his flattery. ‘No one shall lure me away, not even a goddess. But it is not like that. This song is one of great consolation…and promise.’
The pathway grew narrower, wild rhododendrons pushing in, and roots showing themselves in the muddy ground.
‘That’s enough for the horse, we’ll leave him here.
’ Lim halted Longma, and they dismounted.
The shoemaker first, insisting he be allowed to assist Xian after.
The gesture was appreciated when Xian’s knees buckled as his feet touched the ground.
Lim embraced him, holding him as though they were to begin a partnered dance.
‘Careful there. Are you sure you’re alright?’
‘I am.’ The music fluttered around them; fresh and pretty as butterflies. He wondered what it would be like to dance with Lim if simply being held by him was so captivating. ‘We should keep going.’
Neither of them leapt at the idea, dragging their feet to do what was sensible. Xian moved off first and followed the rise and fall of the sublime voice. Lim, behind him on the narrow trail, growing increasingly frustrated that it did not reach his ears.
They’d not travelled far when the thickness of the shrubbery gave way to an open riverbank where a junk boat swayed against a dock brightly lit by golden lanterns.
The song ended on a perfect note, its sweetness lingering.
‘Is this for us?’ Lim said, incredulous. ‘I had only asked him for another horse.’
‘He has done much better.’ Xian folded his arms over his belly; nervous excitement twisting his insides.
All three sails on the boat were hoisted, and the central, and largest of them had been painted at its centre with a carp. A brilliant golden carp whose scales were shaped like the unique facets on Song Lim’s slippers.
Xian’s eyes stung, and he reached for Lim’s hand. They stood with fingers entwined, taking in the glorious sight.
‘She is beautiful, isn’t she?’ Lim said quietly. ‘Mercy, I mean. The boat is generous, but…well it’s a boat.’ He shuddered. ‘Hope he’s got the huangjiu ready.’
Xian smiled, his vision blurred by tears. ‘She is beautiful. Did you tell him of her?’
‘I didn’t. She made herself known to him.’
‘Then he is a decent man, as you say.’
‘Are you ready to meet him?’
The junk boat’s hull was dark, with railings of crimson red.
A black canopy covered the middle section of the boat, and a man stood there beneath it; so slender in form he’d be hidden if he stepped behind the thickest masts.
Lanterns hanging from the rafters illuminated him with burnt yellow light, but his silhouette was framed by his own aura; an earthy red, mimicking the hue of the Red River itself.
He waved at them. The sway of his arm was like the drift of kelp beneath the water.
‘Yes. I’m ready.’ Xian was eager to warm his feet, chilled by the sandy clay.
The rich scent of baking prawns with lemongrass, seaweed soup and fresh-shucked oysters drifted from the boat’s cabin.
He squeezed Lim’s hand. ‘He has huangjiu, Lim. An astonishing amount of it. I’m surprised the boat stays above the water. ’
Lim let out a whoop, his delight drying Xian’s threatening tears. ‘Then why are we still standing here with your feet in the mud?’
He dragged at Xian’s arm, urging him down the path. And so it was that they arrived at the dock, breathless and childish with excitement.
‘You’ve outdone yourself, Master Ren.’ Lim called.
‘Come aboard, friends.’ Ren’s gaze found Xian, and he tilted into a bow.
‘Your Highness, it is wonderful to see you so well. You are luminous.’ He glanced at Lim, who frowned as he tapped his foot against the narrow wooden plank that would take them onto the boat.
‘And to have your shoemaker so light of heart now that he has found you. Come, come. Don’t be shy now. We are ready to leave.’
‘Master Ren, thank you for your kindness,’ Xian said. ‘But I did not mean for us to take you from your farm.’
‘You’re coming with us?’ Lim said rather more bluntly.
‘Unless you intended to sail the boat, Master Song?’
Lim laughter lifted high. ‘Do you want your boat sunk? I couldn’t steer that thing away from the dock, let alone get us where we wish to go.’
The singing farmer had a generous smile. ‘Then it is settled. I will take you to where the Red River meets the sea, then we shall find a ship bound for foreign lands to take you on. Now please, come on board.’
Lim gestured for Xian to go first. He did not bother to use the rope that acted as a handrail as he went, moving steadily up the plank. But when he turned around, he found Lim had only taken a few steps.
‘What are you doing? Should I help you up?’
‘I’m being cautious, Xian. We’re not all so lucky to be as sure-footed as you. The wood might be slippery, Master Ren drips, a lot. From the ends of his hair. Very odd, and dangerous for the likes of me, a man with no sea legs to speak of.’
The wood had been damp, Xian noted, as was the deck; despite the canopy, and no hint of rain, nor the river rough enough to splash its way on board.
He looked to Master Ren, whose grey eyes swam with amusement. ‘Master Song is more perceptive than most. The water always flows from a siren. He saw me for what I am, though he did not know it.’ He paused. ‘Does he see you, your highness, for all that you are?’
Xian turned to watch Lim make his cautious way, muttering beneath his breath about slipping into the water and being eaten by a panlong. But he kept on, regardless. Because Xian had asked him to.
‘Master Ren, he saw all that I was, long before I did. He is a brave man.’
‘He is that. And a man deeply in love with you. He is everything that you deserve.’
Xian spun about. But the siren had already slipped away; only the mark of his wet footsteps, leading over to the steps of the galley, showed sign he’d stood with Xian at all.
The wind whipped up, filling the sails, making the canvas snap and shudder; the golden carp given life by the play of the wind. The tears Xian had subdued pricked again at his eyes.
‘Gods!’ Lim cried.
Xian turned, his heart thundering. But Lim was safely on deck, jumping back from the gangway, right as it slipped from the edge of the boat and crashed down onto the dock. The ropes that held the junk boat slipped free, slapping at the water as the boat drifted from the dock.
Lim looked to him. ‘Where is Ren? Should we tell him?’
‘He knows. This is his doing.’ Xian did not know how — that would be the first of many lessons to be learned in his new life — but he knew enough not to be afraid.
The boat rocked gently against the steady water. Lim braced against the railing, his jaw tight. ‘Then I hope he’s off getting my huangjiu.’ He glanced down at Xian’s muddy feet. ‘Damn my selfishness, you need shoes first. Is he down—’
Heavy splashes resonated from up near the bow of the boat, and the waft of algae-filled water reached Xian. He wrinkled his nose against the scent; so out of place on the flowing Red River.
The splashing intensified, sounding like the cargo was being cast overboard.
Xian and Lim exchanged a glance, and with not a word said, they rushed along the side of the drifting boat. Reaching the bow, they leaned over the crimson railing, side by side.
The bow was surrounded by carp. Thrashing and writhing, frothing the water in their eagerness to leap over one another and jump clear of the water’s surface.
None were golden, but all were spectacular; flashes of white and ember orange, blinks of green and silver, the burst of lemon yellow in their midst. A tremendous school of fish; wild and free.
Their numbers reached out in a long line into the heart of the Red River, and the boat slipped quietly towards them.
Following the carp as a sailor might follow the stars.
The wind swelled the sails, and the greatest of all the carp billowed, ever watchful; her golden grace gone but unforgotten.
Xian laid his head on Lim’s shoulder, and the shoemaker wrapped his arm around him. ‘Can we stay out here a moment longer?’
‘I will stay here with you forever, if this is where you wish to be.’
Xian blushed — dizzy with knowing Lim spoke from the heart — almost overwhelmed by such honesty. But he was no longer the frightened child who had hidden in a burning room, watching the flames steal his life away.
Now he knew when to run. Knew when to fight. Knew what he wanted.
His fox spirit was free; now, Xian must let his tentative heart follow.
‘All I wish is to be with you, Lim. This day, and all that come after.’
Xian heard the quickening of the shoemaker’s heart.
‘Then consider your wish granted, your highness,’ Lim said roughly. ‘And I don’t need magick or a fairy godmother, or even enchanted slippers to make it so.’
He kissed the top of Xian’s head, hugging him in close.
The carp guided them down the Red River; the current strong, the sails taut with the wind, and the huangjiu delivered well before Lim needed a drop.
Beyond the borders of the Middle Kingdom lay great uncertainty. But between a shoemaker and his fox prince, one thing was known.
So long as they were together, they would live happily ever after.