Legend of Fei

22. I Am Not The Southern Sabre

The old man, she supposed was Feng Feng's older brother, the fourth mountain god, slapped the young man on the back and stayed there, "What do you think?"

Silence.

The broad hand appeared on Feng Feng's shoulder. The boy aged years, his eyes had a mean tint and the sharp jaw seemed rugged with unkept hair growth in odd places. The young man looked at her with a strained smile and a curt greeting. She looked closely and it seemed he really looked older. Not just strained but older. How was that possible?

She glared in response and would have drawn her blade had Xie Yun's mouth not beat her to it.

"Now. Now Feng Feng. Aren't we past the point of courtesies? You don't have to be so formal."

The old man looked at the boy in surprise and something else she couldn't catch. She looked at Xie Yun and found his casual smile and open gesture still the same but his eyes had changed, there was a slight upturn to them when he was analyzing, watching. The clever eyes that caught everything. Those eyes were looking at Feng Feihui and not at her. Feng Feng stood up and walked over to them, stopping a little short of Xie Yun who was closer to him. It was a kind of respect and courtesy she didn't expect from the brazen boy.

"You are right. We are all close enough to discuss this reasonably." His tone was still edged towards cautious.

She looked around the room to see the restaurant was empty which was normal past the lunch hours. There were a few customers that hid as far into their section or hid behind loose hanging and pillars.

"You see. I see my brother's demands to be fairly reasonable." His confident tone angered her. Before Xie Yun could open his mouth again, she drew her brand new sabre to Feng Feng's throat. It didn't escape her notice that she would be using it for the first time properly. She glanced close to the hilt to see its name and pressed the blade's end on the boy's throat.

"Oh! I haven't named it yet for I wanted you to give it a name but I do have something in mind seeing it's first use." Xie Yun smiled down at her sideways,

"What name do you have in mind?" Seeing Feng Feng step back, she pressed the blade harder, drawing just a little blood from the nape. 

"Duji" She was caught between wanting to swing her blade at her husband and kicking him. She glared at him instead, some of her tension dissipating. He wanted to convey something and she caught it. He had a plan. His eyes moved to the door but she glared harder. There was no way she was leaving this place without slicing White Tiger's neck. But he shook his head, a fake laughter bubbling up before he ran away. She curse in her head. They both knew that he wouldn't flee without her and she wouldn't let him go alone. She retreated her sword and ran after her husband who laughed and jumped away.

He jumped about the room twice, from tables to mat, flinging a piece of leftover food from some table, passed a couple of stooges who looked at them in confusion. A'Fei paused, half a step as she was closest to White Tiger. She just wanted to lunge at him as he sat there with a leery smile. Her clothes were still fluttering about her knees, not caught up with her pause but Xie Yun caught her will. Instead of supporting her, he kept egging, "You owe me Feng Feng for saving your life."

She turned and glared at Xie Yun again. She looked back to see Feng Feng, partially hidden by a wooden pillar. She looked back at Xie Yun who motioned her towards the door. A moment later as Xie Yun jumped through door, out in the open and she followed him out. As soon as he was out, he paused and caught her wrist, pulling her towards the stables.

"Let's get out of..." he was already running, trying to drag her along but her heels dug into the ground as the sound of air being torn apart by another dagger flying towards them. Xie Yun stumbled back, missing the sharp tiny blade as it flew past them and logged into the stack of hay by the far side.