Choices and Consequences

The Paths That Converge - Part 2: Five Years Beneath the Plum Tree

The first lesson Bai Qian gave Su Su did not involve swords, talismans, meditation, or power.

It involved a stolen bun.

More precisely, three stolen buns, one bowl of sweet bean paste, and General the dog looking far too pleased with himself beneath the kitchen table.

The morning had begun peacefully enough. Mist lay low over the valley, veiling the pine-covered slopes in silver. Dew clung to the plum blossoms in the central courtyard, and the air carried the clean scent of wet earth and early spring. From the kitchen drifted the comforting smells of steamed flour, ginger, and sesame oil.

Nainai had been awake since before dawn, preparing breakfast for the household. Old Master Wei sat beneath the veranda with his tea, wrapped in a dark outer robe against the morning chill. Mojing inspected the eastern gate as he always did, though no one had approached it for days.

Bai Qian, still wearing the plain grey robes of Bai Yue the wandering Taoist nun, sat beneath the plum tree pretending to meditate.

In truth, she was listening.

Su Su was somewhere nearby.

That meant trouble was also nearby.

The girl had been unusually quiet for nearly half an hour, which Bai Qian had learned, in only a few weeks, was not a sign of obedience. It was a warning.

A muffled scrape came from the kitchen.

Then a whisper.

"General, no. That one is mine."

A heavier thump followed.

Then Su Su hissed, "You already had two."

Bai Qian opened one eye.

Across the courtyard, Mojing had stopped halfway through fastening the gate latch. His head turned slowly toward the kitchen.

Nainai emerged a moment later carrying an empty bamboo steamer.

Her expression was calm in the way storms were calm before destroying roofs.

"Su Su."

No answer.

The silence grew impressive.

"Su Su," Nainai repeated, sweeter this time.

Bai Qian had been alive long enough to recognise danger in sweetness.

From beneath the kitchen table came a small, defeated voice.

"Yes?"

"Where are the buns?"

Another pause.

"Which buns?"

Mojing closed his eyes.

Old Master Wei took a very careful sip of tea.

Bai Qian pressed her lips together.

Nainai turned toward the table. "The buns I steamed for breakfast."

General's tail thumped once against the floor.

Su Su crawled out from beneath the table with flour on her sleeve, bean paste on her chin, and an expression of profound innocence.

General crawled out after her with none of the innocence and most of the evidence.

Su Su looked at the empty steamer.

Then at Nainai.

Then at General.

"He looked hungry."