Taoist Master

An Elite Guest

Their heads were crammed tightly over the steaming hot rolls, yet none noticed the divine scent and nor was there a single rumbling belly among them.  Instead, all attention was on the way their Shifu and seniors were barreling through the back corridors in a noisy cacophony of yelling, grunting and cursing which none of the junior disciples had ever heard in all their time on the mountain.

"I can't believe she would set the cranes free...." one whispered goggling at the door least their Shifu take his anger out on them.

"I don't think she meant to, she was just trying to find the kitchen again."

"How could she not know?  That cast iron gate is over twelve foot tall, it completely surrounds their enclosure, and she would have had to use her magic to open it." another replied stunned senseless.

"That's right!  Surely a locked gate as big and as imposing as that one would suggest it is holding something of value behind it?" another bemoaned as the sounds of their seniors and the cranes racing through the outer corridors intensified.

"Well, maybe someone with a half a brain would." the youngest one whispered to a round of hushed gasps.

"You can't say that.  She's an elite guest." another whispered back to a round of swift nods.

"But an elite of what?  All she did was beat Shifu in a Taoism competition.  That's not so great." the youngest groaned at the way his seniors were losing their tempers.

In fact, Mo Yuans temper was through the roof.  He understood her need for guidance and assistance having learned quickly that she had no directional skill what so ever, but to unlock a locked gate in the hope of finding the kitchen behind it was bordering on insanity.  

For more than hour, he had rced through every corridor to keep his birds not only contained within but also grounded in an attempt to keep them from making it to the edge of the mountain where they would absolutely take flight.   The enclosure he kept them in, allowed them some air space to spread their wings, but the barrier kept them contained within, only they were now frightened and desperate for a way out and short of using his magic which would scare them even more, he could do nothing but take them hand one at a time.  

"Where is she?" he bellowed at Chang Shan who suddenly came into view having left her in his care.

"I think she left for the hammock garden." he yelled back over the screeching which would have been heard from that particular garden, so Mo Yuans temper exploded.  

That she would dare to take a nap when he and his disciples were cleaning up her mess, was not only the height of rudeness, but this was one incident he would not let her get away with.  But with the cranes to deal with first, his mouth set into a grim line and in a split second he had turned on his heels to chase down the black and white feathers that suddenly spun a dizzy path around him.

___

Bent over the small grill she had lit within the gardens centre hearth, Bai Qian did not hear or even sense the soft footsteps approaching from behind until a tall shadow fell over her.  Mo Yuan had taken an extra hour to bring his temper under control before seeking her out because he feared he might seriously hurt her.  His birds were exhausted and terrified but now sleeping having put them all under a heavy spell while also re-raising his barrier around their enclosure to keep her out.

"Bai Qian, can we talk?" his voice remained soft and gentle as ever, though the slight quiver in it, had her turning to meet his gaze only to frown at the way his calm expression suddenly change to one of concern.

"What happened?" he asked as the deep gash to her cheek and the claw marks down the side of her neck came into view.

"Your birds attacked me." she whimpered a little having tried to create a balm from his wild flowers which she was cooking over the open flame.