Under the cherry tree

Chapter 10: Prince's jewels (5)

Before the cracking of dawn, Gao quietly led Jo Gul and the others outside through a door in the back of the building. The red lanterns hardly lightened their complexions in the slowly dispelling darkness, doing little more than to confuse the average onlooker as to who they are. Their hushed chatter and soft laughs as they stepped over the low threshold signaled the start of Phase Two.

After hours of standing by in case something didn't go according to plan, me and my unplanned partner for the night watch slowly got up on wobbly feet to stretch our sore muscles. I'm not saying it was bad, though. We talked and talked about all sorts of things, both mundane and certainly more than interesting information about the sect, Shaanxi, our ruse to catch the merchant, the trends in both men and women's weapons, delicious food to have around town... This very unexpected conversation made me realize just how normal Cheongmyeong can be despite his ever-growing fame, or more likely how fun it is to hear his opinions about the world. The way his nose all but wrinkles in displeasure when he talks about things that he considers pointless or annoying is entertaining. Despite his bad temper, he's extremely easygoing. He shared stories about their usual training at Mount Hua, about how he managed to make the disciples stronger, more confident and definitely more motivated to keep going, despite his harsh way of treating them. The Divine Dragon thinks it's better to mold them into martial artists with his fists rather than words, and in a way, he's right. No matter how much they would get cuddled, the outside world is not as forgiving as he is. So, he's breaking them into pieces and puts them together once again, giving each part a very specific role in the warriors he's raising them to be.

Step by step, rooftop by rooftop, we retreated to our new hideout: my house.

I cracked the door and ushered Cheongmyeong inside, happy to see that the others were already scattered around the living room, waiting for our arrival. We decided it would be best to come at a slightly delayed time in case someone connected the dots. I like playing it safe.

A greedy yawn echoed throughout the relatively small space, followed by a few more. The sounds only made my eyelids feel more like actual lead, but we can't rest, not before we hear what they talked about in the meeting. The boy beside me seems to agree, seeing as he is visibly struggling to stay focused on the sight before him, but not nearly as much as the rest of the disciples. He took in the entire room with a look of curiosity painting his pretty features, eyes landing on the flower vase by the window and the marks left in the thick layer of dust by my previously moving the pottery, but quickly redirected his gaze to mine. In an attempt to ease his eagerness, I said I didn't really concern myself with keeping this place spotless, as I'm only ever here when I sleep.

My hand gestured politely to the few chairs and the grey mat on the floor for all of us to sit. As everyone but me and Cheongmyeong slumped down, I finally let myself yawn as well. "So, how did it go?"

Jo Gul, who was leaning against the far wall, told us about his encounter with Gao Shan and his invitation to visit the drug factory personally. His brow was still heavy with sweat, giving away his nervousness about being asked to act as The Viper once more. The others confirmed his words with pride, clearly pleased that their friend managed to handle the situation impeccably. I nodded in approval of his work, then clapped my hands together in a motivational way. "That's perfect! The hard part is done, so now you may rest assured that we'll catch the criminal smoothly. Well done, everybody!" My smile was warm, encouraging them to get comfortable as I went to gather some blankets and pillows from a drawer decorated with tiny painted peonies. "Please bear with these for now, since there's not enough space in my room for all of us to sleep together. I hope you don't mind!" Clearly they don't, seeing as how their own faces lit up with gratefulness. It was Baek Cheon who thanked me first, followed by the other disciples.

As my guests snuggled in their hastily made makeshift beds on the floor, I scurried inside my bedroom to write yet another letter, this time addressed to the real Viper. When I'm finally sitting at my desk, inked brush in hand, I hear the door lightly shuffle as careful steps sound behind me. I didn't need to look back to know who it was. "Are they already asleep?"

"Knocked out cold." I genuinely can't tell whether he's saying he was the cause of their passing out or not.  Cheongmyeong leaned on the table from the side, eying the still pristine paper in front of me. "Need some help with that?" he said, bobbing his head towards it.

My temples have been throbbing for a while now due to prolonged periods of little to no rest, so my mind is extremely foggy. His offer is tempting indeed, but I don't trust his diplomatic skills with this task. "No, it's fine. You should go sleep a bit. It's still early morning, so it's not too noisy outside yet." I begun to glide the brush across the parchment with gracious ease, imitating Gao's handwriting. Each swipe is a meticulously concocted lie, an illusion to trap two criminals in the relentless claws of justice. Black ink bleeds occasionally through the thin material, staining its once pure surface with damning words.

I heard his foot tapping lightly on the wooden floor before he approached me. "You look exhausted. Take a break. We can deal with the letter later."

"No, I have to finish this first, then sleep afterwards. I'm not leaving anything to chance."

His brows knitted with something between concern and annoyance. "You don't have to. But chances are you're bound to collapse if you keep going like this." The boy sighed, his eyes softening. "Come on, you know I'm right."

I know indeed, but it doesn't change the fact that this scrap of paper must reach the intended person as soon as possible. I shake my head at his pink eyes. "Just let me finish this."

"Stubborn. Can't admit I'm right? Or is it that you're not as bright as I thought you were?" Mischief plays on the tip of his tongue, but I see what he's trying to do. So, I decide it's best to ignore him altogether and carry on. Unfortunately, his taunts kept steadily pouring out of his mouth along with every last trickle of patience I have.

Few awfully short moments of silence struck a nerve in this boy's pride as he huffed a list of colorful words down my neck, jolting me out of my concentration. I didn't sense him moving to stand right behind me. Luckily, at least I managed to finish the last line before I immediately turned around to face him, pissed off at his insistence. This, however, wasn't the best course of action.

My sudden movement took him by surprise, as he was not expecting me to react to his pestering so soon, or so spontaneously. As a consequence, my forehead hit his nose quite badly, resulting in both of us jerking away from each other. If I was dizzy before, now I feel nauseous because of the sudden impact. To his credit, Cheongmyeong did manage to get me out of my trance, even if that meant getting headbutted. His distraction gave him the opportunity to grab the paper and tuck it fast in the neckline of his black robe while I was massaging my brow.

He glared at me, clearly angered by my outburst, but smug that he had tricked me. I held his intense pink stare with my own green one long enough for a smile to creep to the surface of both of our flushed faces, realizing the ridiculous situation we found ourselves in. Laughter followed shortly after, stealing away a tiny bit of our tiredness.

I got up from my chair, demanding he hand me the letter.

But Cheogmyeong was not yet done with his childish antics. "How about... no?"

"What do you mean no?"

At that, he laughed more, merriment filling his voice. "You got to keep my artifact for so long. Now it's my turn, don't you think so?" A smirk played at his lips, his shiny eyes bending into half moons almost as sharp as my crescent daggers. It would be a lie to say I don't enjoy this witty side of him. "Out of all the taoists I know, you're the only one who holds so many grudges."

"Out of all the martial artists I know, you're the only one who's this fun to piss off." I threw a crumpled paper at his cocky face, but much to my dismay, he dodged it with ease. "And the only one with such a shitty aim."

My exhausted body dragged me to the bed with uneven steps, stumbling from time to time because of the giggles this disciple managed to draw out of me with the symmetry of past and present, our roles so expertly reversed by his sly actions. The Divine Dragon took a step closer, mocking my retreat with his hand patting the pocket where he hid the parchment. He then closed the curtains hanging on the only window in my room and silently backed away to the exit, his gaze on me, who's still grinning like a drunkard. He dipped his head, a smile of his own the last thing I see before drifting into sweet oblivion.