The Spirit of the Plum Blossom Tree (TSPBT) - 14. Chapter 14

Guan Shixin set a swift pace down the winding dirt road snaking through the tall trees, checking behind his shoulder every so often to look for pursuing soldiers. None appeared, but his vigilance never ceased, even after an hour and a half of nothing.

The sun had already begun to set above the treeline, and the slowly sinking light began to filter through the branches on their right, reaching them at about eye level. Before much longer it would disappear completely, and they would be left at the mercy of the night. An idea Hong Shen wasn’t very fond of. Who knew what kind of mythological creatures existed outside the Imperial Complex? If magic, dragons, and incantations existed in this ancient China, who was to say other beings did not?

The persistent silence had done nothing to ease his questions, in fact, it only served to add more to his list. Where were they going? Why had they helped him escape? What was going on?

He had a strange feeling something big was going on behind the scenes, but out of all Guan Hongye’s siblings, Guan Shixin seemed the least likely to answer anything asked of him. There wasn’t a friendly bone in his body, it seemed.

So all he could do was sit and pity his aching ass on the horse with the still comatose doctor behind him, wallowing in the silence of his own mind. Except, it wasn’t his own anymore, was it? His heart was tied with Zi Sheng Shou, and his mind housed the dickhead dragon.

The dragon who had been awfully quiet for a while. Hong Shen scoffed internally. Was he still upset over Guan Hongye’s death? He hadn’t thought the creature capable of feeling sadness or pain, not with his cocky attitude and cryptic warnings.

Suan Ni, he called in his mind. There was no response; no shifting sensation, no mocking laugh. Perturbed, he called again. Suan Ni, what did you like about Guan Hongye so much? It gnawed at him, and he couldn’t understand why. Guan Hongye was hated by the Empire, hated by his siblings, ignored by his adopted father. He was a true black sheep, a mistake that should have never been and never birthed, at least in this day and age. And yet, a dragon, a celestial son of the Yellow Dragon Emperor, who could have chosen any number of better suited children like the Imperial Princes, had chosen him. His first dragon guard in centuries had been an abused boy who still died before he truly became a man.

A small wave of grief rushed over him, and Hong Shen shivered involuntarily. It appeared Suan Ni had been roused by his thoughts. You don’t understand. And you may never understand. How could you, a mere mortal who should not be here by any laws of time, understand the feelings of a heavenly dragon?

His harsh words echoed in his skull, and Hong Shen was reminded of a similar statement said in another time and place. “How could you possibly understand what it’s like to have your only light, your only hope, your only family die in your arms? My only reason for EXISTENCE is DEAD, because of you.”

The words had once bounced off his ears, nothing more than rocks bouncing off a wall, a heartfelt accusation brushed aside in the heat of the more pressing concern of keeping himself alive.

Hong Shen’s lip curled. Ironic, as he had died anyways, and rather than burn in the pits of the hells he must relive his past life piece by remembered piece, mistake by mistake, recalled by each parallel of a past prince and a modern criminal. His black heart, which could take the worst fate had thrown at him, had apparently thinly fractured just enough that now he actually felt pain at the last words Wang Lei had ever bothered to say to him.

A mix of anger and fear arose in his chest, and he clutched at his heart, urging his throat to stop closing up as though he wanted to cry and the painful sensation in his vital organ to disappear. These were no emotions of his own, no, of course not. The grief of the dragon and the fragment of the past he had remembered had simply messed with his mind, causing Guan Hongye’s body to react accordingly. Yes, that was all. Emotions like sadness and fear were weak, and he was not weak. The great Hong Shen could never be weak, he could only be angry, because anger makes one strong.

Lost in the spiraling of his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed when Guan Shixin drew both their horses to a halt above a small cliff, deviating from the road to stand in the treeline near it. It was only when Guan Shixin turned to see Hong Shen clutching his chest and smacked the back of his head that Hong Shen returned to the present situation.

“Fuck,” he said out loud, glaring at the stone-faced prince. Guan Shixin frowned, holding a finger to his scarred mouth as he returned his attention to the bottom of the cliff. About ten meters away from the rocky bottom, wooden huts and stone buildings stood along small dirt streets, a few trees strewn between them. The main road leading from the Imperial Complex was bigger and twisted throughout the town, and a few poles ran along its sides, bearing black banners depicting a familiar lion-headed dragon. At the far end of the main road, it ended in a larger tiered wooden structure that had a big sign hung from the lowest tier. It was too far away to read the characters written upon it, but judging by the stable located next to it Hong Shen assumed it was a hotel or inn of some sort.

But where the Imperial Complex had been bustling with people even before the preparation of Guan Hongye’s birthday, this town seemed deserted. All the windows on the huts were opened and woven flowers hung on doors, but the place was empty of people and life. An odd sight, but Guan Shixin didn’t appear to be too bothered, and after another moment of waiting he took the reins and returned to the main road.

“Wh-ere-” Hong Shen’s voice cracked with a couple hours of disuse, and he cleared his throat in annoyance. “Where is everyone?”

Guan Shixin led the horses down the steep slope of the road down the cliff, his eyes roaming their surroundings without pause. “In Tianmi City, most likely.”

Briefly shocked the prince had actually answered his question, he jumped slightly when a voice behind him spoke. “The Festivals of the Dragon Guards last for 9 days. Since Suan Ni is the sixth born son, this festival started five days before the ceremony, and will continue three days after. Today is the seventh day, the one for celebrating Qiuniu.”

Hong Shen whipped his head around to see the doctor had awoken, and had managed to untie himself from the saddle and was sitting upright behind it. His robes were unkempt and his hair wild from being treated like luggage, and his back was stiff as an indignant look settled in his eyes.

“May I ask why I was drugged and then trussed up like a spring chicken to come with you on your… adventure, Sixth Prince?” Zi Sheng Shou’s usual cool tone had a heated edge to it, and sounded like a parent scolding a naughty child.

Guan Shixin, however, was unfazed. “No.”

There was an expectant silence, but no further answer was forthcoming. Zi Sheng Shou let out a sigh, and rubbed his forehead slowly. Hong Shen suppressed a snort; if the stone-faced prince wouldn’t even tell him what was going on, why would he do it when the doctor asked? Bros before hoes and all that, if that even counted in this situation. Probably not.

A soft hollow tinkling sound filled the air, flowing from wooden chimes on a nearby eave. Now that the doctor had stopped speaking, there were several similar sounds from more chimes hanging from several eaves, and the clacking of beads moving in the breeze. Some brilliantly colored feathers swayed from strings, and the sweet scent from the woven flowers filled the air, giving the whole town a pleasant feel now that they were within it, accentuated by the falling dusk as the last rays of the sun vanished.

Hong Shen felt a shifting in his mind, a feeling he was now associating with the dragon coming to the surface of his consciousness to speak. Those chimes… Qiu-er loved the sounds of the wood chimes.

Qiu-er? His brows furrowed in confusion.

Qiuniu, my didi. The dragon of music. The one they celebrate on the seventh day of the festival?

Oh, right. The dragon Zi Sheng Shou mentioned. Hong Shen rolled his eyes at Suan Ni’s arrogant tone, which meant he must be done grieving Guan Hongye. Aw, how sweet, he said mockingly back. Were you two close?

Suan Ni huffed. Closer than you will ever be to a woman.

His mood immediately soured at those words, ones the dragon probably didn’t yet know the significance behind. His trial was to fall in love with a woman, but the only one he had been remotely close to was Guan Shuilian. Shut the fuck up you overgrown half lizard.

A sharp claw-like sensation gripped his head, like Suan Ni had sunk his talons into Hong Shen’s mind, causing him to gasp in pain and flinch. Overgrown half lizard? You test your limits, imposter. With one swipe, I could slice your head clean off-

“Is something wrong?” Guan Shixin’s voice cut through the growing pressure in his mind and interrupted the dragon’s rant, making him release his hold. The pain subsided, and Hong Shen let out a breath of relief. Even in his own head, he had no control.

They had stopped outside the inn, and the Sixth Prince had already disembarked his own horse. Behind him, he heard Zi Sheng Shou’s soft grunt as he slid off their mount, and an acute ache started in his back as the doctor fully straightened with a wince. If Hong Shen could now feel it in his back, he had a feeling his ‘other half’ could now feel the sore ass, too.

Guan Shixin was still watching him like a hawk, and Hong Shen waved a hand. “Nothing’s wrong, my ass just hurts.” Refusing the hand the doctor half-heartedly extended in response, he finally managed to swing his leg off the saddle, and as soon as both feet touched the dirt he crumpled to the ground in a heap, falling the rest of the way off the horse.

“...” The stone-faced prince turned away, leading the tired horses to the stables on the side. A snort sounded in Zi Sheng Shou’s direction, and Hong Shen was ready to lash out in embarrassment before he found himself unceremoniously scooped off the ground.

“Hey! What the fu-”

“Pardon me, Your Highness. But since my twin soul can no longer walk, I should be a good doctor and assist, should I not?” He spoke with a straight face, his tone still cold, but the corner of his lip twitched, subtly giving him away. Hong Shen was slung over his shoulder like a towel with a strength it didn’t seem he should have, and without further ado he marched into the inn.

Hong Shen was rigid with a mixture of shock, mortification and anger. How dare the doctor treat him like this, taking advantage of his immobility to treat him like a cripple! Clearly Guan Hongye’s body hadn’t ridden a horse in a while!

The inside of the inn was lit by warm covered torches along the walls, giving the area a homely feel as night fell outside. An old woman’s voice sounded in the empty room, but Hong Shen couldn’t see her due to his compromising position.

“Ah, travelers! Not ones for the festivities in the city I see?” Her cheerful voice paused as Zi Sheng Shou stepped closer. “Oh, or are you here for your own kind of festivities?” She took on a low, insinuating tone, one that made the hairs on the back of Hong Shen’s neck stand up. What kind of nonsense was she trying to imply?

“Two rooms please, Auntie,” the doctor said clearly.

“Alright, two silver taels a room then.” She sounded almost disappointed, but did not ask anything else.

“The man coming behind us will pay for the rooms.” Zi Sheng Shou then lowered his voice as though he were telling a secret. “He is quite rich, though.”

“Good, good, good,” the old woman hummed merrily, and two wooden clacks sounded. “We have a couple rooms on the first floor. Have fun, gentleman!”

Hong Shen frowned at the odd last sentence, as the doctor leaned forward, likely to pick up the source of the clacks. He then began walking away from the woman, and as they passed Hong Shen could finally see her. Her skin was weathered and sagging, her gray hair tied back in a bun, but her dark eyes gleamed with intelligence. As he met her gaze, a hint of amusement crossed her expression, and she winked at him with a chuckle.

Zi Sheng Shou began up some stairs, and walked down a hallway on the floor above until he found the rooms assigned. Once he entered the first one, he dropped the deadweight Hong Shen on the hardwood floor, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck.

Hong Shen let out a hiss of pain as he landed on his ass, and he glared up at the man. “If you ever do that again, I-”

“Oh, please.” His derisive purple eyes focused on him. “It managed to disguise our identities and will prevent her from eavesdropping on our discussions tonight. If you were any more dense I fear you would turn into a rock where you sit.”

A mean chuckle sounded in the back of his mind. Clever, far too clever, this one. You could stand to learn a thing or two.

Insults from both within and without severely grated on Hong Shen’s nerves. Rather than respond to either of them, he simply glowered and pushed himself to stand, following the torches along the wall to a hard pallet further into the room. Exhaustion from the day’s events was starting to get to him, and he sat down hard upon it, not even bothering to look around the room’s contents.

A few moments later, footsteps sounded outside in the hallway, and Guan Shixin opened the door without bothering to knock, shutting it behind in a swift movement.

“So, I’m now the money bag and you two are the cut sleeves?”

Zi Sheng Shou shrugged nonchalantly. “If the shoe fits.”

Guan Shixin’s brows rose, and he looked the doctor up and down as if he was seeing him for the first time. “Huh.”

“What is a cut sleeve?” Hong Shen spoke up, his voice taking on an irritated tone. He had never heard the term before.

The two ignored his question, and Guan Shixin sat down against a wall, letting out a long breath. “I’m sure you two wish to know what is going on. I’m going to make it simple.”

He leaned forward, gaze dark and intense. “The Second Prince has made his move, and is taking over the Imperial Complex. Any Imperial caught within will be executed within the next 24 hours, including his siblings… and his father.”