Chapter Four
Mu Fanqing
At least, for its part, the inn is a fine establishment. I’m not sure what I was expecting since it is located far from any real villages. But then, I suppose I worried too much. This is a well-traveled road, of course the inn here will be well-maintained.
The food is also well prepared and fresh, I wonder how far the innkeeper has to go in order to purchase it, or does he have a seller come out to him?
Either way, in order for it to wind up here, someone has to travel across this dangerous forest road where wild spirits roam.
I pause in sipping my soup, the porcelain spoon inches from my lips as I look up at Xiao Shu.
He is shoveling his rice into his mouth with his chopsticks as if he is racing rather than partaking in a meal.
I sigh and place my soup bowl down. “I suppose it is good that you killed that wild spirit.”
His hand stills before his eyes flick up at me. Up this close, I notice that he has a small mole in the corner of his right eye. He doesn’t say anything, so I hurriedly continue to add, “There is no knowing how many innocent lives it has claimed in its time.”
Shu sighs and turns his attention back to his bowl and takes another bite. “It was going to be two more without my timely intervention.”
“Hardly. We would have been fine,” I say with a sniff. “Although…”
He lowers his bowl to the table and leans forward, folding his hands. “Although what?”
I drop my hand into my lap and begin playing with the fabrics of my skirts. “Although, I don’t think you ought to rush in everywhere and just start cancelling magic. If you had not done so, I could have helped you defeat the wild spirit.”
The corner of his mouth twitches. “I didn’t need your help.
Cultivator Mu, I am sure that you are a very fine magical student and you have your share of flashy tricks, but killing spirits is what I do.
I won’t tell you how to cast a spell, so how about you do not tell me how to hunt spirits?
” He pauses and spreads his hand palm up.
“Besides, don’t you think we have more important things to discuss than a lowly spirit that has already been sent to the underworld? ”
I curl my hand into a fist under the table. Our marriage…
“Like how you intend to pay me for my services.”
I inhale sharply, choking on a bit of cabbage that had been in my soup. I brace my hand against my chest as I look up at him. “What?”
He sweeps his hand out calmly. “Do you think I rescue damsels for free? I am about to be a married man, I have to think of the reputation of my future Lady Xiao, I am sure that she would not appreciate me having casual relations with the women I rescue. Hence the fee.”
I reach up, wiping at the moisture that leaked from my eyes when I started choking. “You cannot be serious.”
“I am entirely serious, Cultivator Mu, spirit hunting is my livelihood. Do you think I do it for free?”
“It is my understanding that you make a commission off the emperor,” I say folding my hands and glancing around.
The coachman retired to his room shortly after arriving here and the innkeeper has made himself scarce since serving us our meal.
There is no one here to witness Xiao Shu’s ridiculousness. No one, save for me.
“That doesn’t mean that I can’t also charge a fee when I directly save an individual’s life.
” He stretches out his fingers languidly as he studies his nails.
“I hope you aren’t trying to shortchange me.
It would seem very ungrateful. After all, I did save your life.
Unless that is, you intend to tell me that your life is not worth very much. ”
“The only thing that I intend to tell you is that you are ridiculous,” I state narrowing my eyes. I reach into the pouch at my belt and pull out my coin purse, slapping some coins on the table. “Simply ridiculous.”
“Don’t blame me,” he says picking up the coins off the table. “Blame my future Lady Xiao. I cannot allow her to lose face. Propriety must be observed at all times once you are married.”
“Xiao Shu,” I growl out. He looks up surprised and I realize a second too late that I called him by his name rather than Lord Xiao as I probably should have.
I swallow, stealing my nerves. No, if this is to be the man I am to spend the rest of my days bound to then I have to stand up for myself now.
“I hope that you are not bullying me simply because you don’t wish to marry me. ”
He says nothing for a long moment while holding my gaze. Which tells me everything that I need to know.
“I have no wish to marry you either, you know.” I grumble. “It’s the emperor’s doing.”
Shu shakes his hand, causing the coins to jingle together. “But I can’t very well take it out on the emperor now, can I?”
I suppose it’s a good thing that we are alone so that no one else can witness his treasonous rumblings.
I push to my feet, glowering down at him. “I am full now. Please finish your food.”
I turn, striding across the room and out into the courtyard until I find my room. I quickly close the screen door before I sag against the beam, shaking.
A part of my mind is thinking about how this will never work, while the other half is trying to find a way to resign myself to my fate. Outside of family extermination, I am not getting out of this edict. It is the word of the emperor himself…
I hold up my hand, staring at it as my fingers tremble before I ball my hand into a fist. I give my head a sharp shake. No, I am letting despair cloud my vision. I have never come across a problem that I could not find a solution out of. This marriage is the same.
It is not as insurmountable an odd as it seems. I draw in a steadying breath as I move across the waxed wooden floor of my inn room. My mind is spinning as I go through the motions of preparing for bed, weighing pros and cons, and making a list of acceptable losses.
So, I cannot become an imperial cultivator as I dreamed, but as long as I can continue to cultivate my magic that is an acceptable loss. I am certain I can find a worthy purpose in spirit hunting, even if it does seem at this time a waste of my talents.
It’s still a noble cause; I can accept that.
Xiao Shu clearly does not want this marriage either so I would not have to even worry about entertaining a husband. If we can find some way to remain peaceful and not bully each other, we might even both survive this marriage without coming to hate each other.
I pull out one of my hairpins and my hair tumbles around my shoulders.
I feel my eyes widen as I gasp. Of course!
The key that I was missing all along. I was seeing Shu as my enemy, when in fact he could be my ally.
He is likely the only person in this whole realm who has just as much a reason to be as opposed to this marriage as me.
As another unfortunate party involved, he will surely not be unreasonable. And together we can figure out some way to come to a mutually satisfactory conclusion.
I place my hairpin down on the dressing table and leap to my feet, hurrying out into the courtyard. I don’t fully know which room Shu is staying in. I hadn’t cared enough to pay attention, but only one room is still illuminated so I hurry toward it and quickly tap on the door.
I pull my lower lip in between my teeth as I wait for it to open. There are muffled footsteps on the other end and then the door slides open with a slight creak, revealing Shu standing on the other side.
“Cultivator Mu?” he asks and he sounds genuinely surprised to see me. I suppose with the way I left earlier he wasn’t expecting me to choose to come to him. But this is my future happiness here, I can’t very well wait till morning to secure it.
“We need to talk,” I tell him, folding my arms.
Shu narrows his eyes as he takes me in. “This is hardly appropriate.”
It takes me a second to realize what he is talking about.
It’s night and here we are both in the same inn room.
It looks as though he has already started getting ready for bed.
His hair hangs down now, instead of in his neat topknot.
He is dressed in a far simpler robe of pale blue.
My state isn’t much better; I’ve taken most of my pins out and removed the more elegant outer layers of my hanfu so that I’m now only wearing a thinner under robe.
Still, it isn’t as if either of us are indecent. Nor are we planning to do anything, so I don’t see the problem here.
“We’re practically married,” I say with a snort. That’s part of the problem, isn’t it? He goes to slide the door shut, but I quickly duck under his arm. “No one’s reputation will be ruined.”
Shu sighs heavily, turning to me. “Fine then, make yourself at home.” There’s a bit of sarcasm to his tone, since it’s clear I’ve already made myself at home.
However, I just smile sweetly at him. “I will.”
He moves over to a low chair next to a small table and sits down, picking up a teacup and taking a sip from it. “I assume there’s a reason that you barged into my room at this hour. A respectable reason that is.”
“Yes, there is. I need to speak with you.”
“This isn’t a conversation that can wait till morning?”
I shake my head.
Shu sighs heavily. “This is seeming less and less respectable as we speak.” He looks at me as if waiting for me to put him at ease, but unfortunately my thoughts aren’t organized enough for that yet.
I begin pacing, shaking out my sleeves as I consider our predicament. The only good outcome of this situation is that Shu seems to be as against this marriage as I am. It doesn’t help much since neither of us actually has the power to defy the emperor.
No, we have to get married, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t get married on our own terms. I whirl on Shu. He looks up, watching me over the rim of his teacup.
I jab a finger toward him. “We need a contract.”
He raises his eyebrow but says nothing.