Be Gentle, Immortal Master

248  Keep Them Safe

The useful enough Bai Ye raised an eyebrow. Though before he could voice a protest to the arrangement, the kitchen door creaked open, and the conversation was cut short by the mother carrying dishes one by one into the living room. Fish, vegetables, porridge, nothing extravagant or delicately presented like Bai Ye's masterpieces, but obviously prepared with no less care for the family.

"I know a village meal like this must be too crude for your taste … but I hope you'll accept it as a humble thanks for saving our lives last night." Our hostess smiled as she laid down the last item, which was a big pot steaming with the aroma of chicken soup, at the center of the table.

"It's chicken?" The boy's eyes lit up before I could respond to his mother, all deals with our sleeping situation forgotten. "That's my favorite dish!" He turned to me and grinned. "Mommy made the best food just for you!"

Laughing off the silly but sweet comment, the mother started loading the first bowl with a big ladle. "He likes chicken," she explained, "but meat has been hard to come by these days. The New Year's market was supposed to be two days ago, but no one showed up after what happened with the devil. It wasn't until this morning that we managed to trade some fish with our neighbor for the hen."

So the sword spirit hadn't been the only reason why the boy wouldn't eat. I couldn't blame him—it was New Year, the most festive and lively time of the year that every child looked forward to, yet nothing was the way it was supposed to be when it finally arrived. No feasts, no friends to play with. Only the memory of a devil that took him away and threatened to eat him.

"My daoist companion and I will set up some spells around the village after lunch," I reassured them. "It will help keep the devil off your doorsteps for a while and allow everyone to get outside, enough to resume essential daily activities. We should be able to come up with a more permanent solution within a couple of days—if help from Mount Hua doesn't arrive before then, that is."

The woman placed the heaping bowl in front of me and bowed again. "I can't say enough how thankful I am. The dread has been hard on us, especially for the young ones." She looked at her son lovingly. "Yang-Yang is so much more spirited now that you are here to keep him safe. If your spells can give our neighbors the same peace of mind, then there's nothing more we could wish for."

"We are only glad to be able to help." I rubbed the boy's head. "Now, shall we start? You'll have to eat lots today." I winked at him. "Because you still need to persuade my husband on that sleeping arrangement. You might have to fight this out with him … And the more you eat, the more strength you'll get to be able to do it."

The boy's twinkling eyes flickered between Bai Ye and me. With a round of profuse nods, he lifted his bowl and started devouring his lunch vehemently.

~ ~

Appeased by the safety of our company, Yang-Yang finally regained his appetite and gobbled down enough food to put a smile on his mother's face. The full stomach made him sleepy, and I coaxed him into an afternoon nap by sitting next to his bed and telling him stories of heroes defeating devils. He was quick to doze off, and when he did, even the sound of the front door suddenly opening didn't wake him up.

"Be quiet!" the mother hushed as a stout man strode across the threshold, about to slam the door shut behind him. "Yang-Yang finally fell asleep, thanks to these two Daoist Elders that offered their gracious help to us."

The weary expression on the man's face vanished at the news. "Did he eat?" he closed the door quietly and whispered.

The wife recounted the story of this morning, and a smile broke free on the man's tanned face. The two of them thanked us again and again before he asked, "Are you here to help us from Mount Hua? Our Elder was just about to send out another letter seeking help. We found something strange in the woods today on our search."

Bai Ye and I exchanged a surprised look. "What did you find?" I asked.

"Some etchings in the snow and on tree stumps. Stacks of rocks and antlers here and there … We thought it was from our hunters at first, but when we started seeing the same pattern of those etchings and stacks on the opposite sides of the village, we thought something might be off. The Elder said that devils could be skilled with spells involving arrangement of items like this, so he thought we should tell Mount Hua about it."

Their Elder was wise and probably right. I frowned a little in worry. Had the sword spirit made another move so soon? What spell was she trying this time around?

"Will you tell us where you saw those?" Bai Ye asked. "We didn't come from Mount Hua, but we live in the vicinity for the time being, and it's our responsibility to help as well."

The man bowed his gratitude once more. "Of course. I will show you the way right now—"

He paused when Bai Ye shook his head. "A map would suffice. It will be dark by the time we make it into the woods, which is too dangerous for you to come along."

"Dark?" I asked in puzzlement. It was only after lunch, and we still had a few hours of daylight left. "When are you planning to leave?"

Bai Ye smiled and gestured at the little boy curled under his blanket behind the half-open bedroom door. "He would be sad to wake up and find you gone. Stay with him while I go set up the spells for the rest of the village. We'll leave for the woods after he awakes."