Two snakes regarded each other, one from the trees and one from the sea.

  Competition burned as their prey unknowingly scurried between.

  ???

  This morning was surprisingly pleasant, he'd expected to be cold without being awake to consciously cycle his meridians. Not to mention covered in morning dew, yet he was actually quite warm. Warmth seeped through his robes and into his bones from numerous directions, primarily the plane of his back.

  "Awake?"

  Qing Xiashu only responded with a noncommittal hum.

  Hong Chunji chuckled at him softly. "I'm going to make some breakfast." He mentioned, slowly moving to unwrap his limbs from where they were tangled around Qing Xiashu.

  The head disciple groaned violently in protest, gripping Hong Chunji's wrists in a grip that rivaled stone. "Second Prince Hong Chunji, Liming Yingxiong. Stay where you are, or so help me I will chuck you into the river and fish you out only to chuck you again." The threat was mean but entirely unfounded.

  Laughing, the prince did in fact halt his escape, pressing his face into the back of Qing Xiashu's neck. "Do you need a jump start?"

  "No..."

  "Are you sure?"

  "... No..."

  Hong Chunji laughed again, using the hand he already had pressed against Qing Xiashu's ribs to run some neatly warmed qi into half asleep meridians. Qing Xiashu had his internal heater that would keep him warm in the harshest temperatures, but sometimes when it stalled in his sleep, getting it going again was miserable.

  Too often Xue Huayu found him huddled in his blankets in the palace and had to help him get up and running again.

  They both decided not to mention that to Xue Feiyi.

  Slowly the vice grip on the prince's wrists loosened and he was allowed to get up and walk to where they had left the saddles to rummage about for wherever Qing Xiashu had stored the bow and arrows.

  "Stay with him, Miantiao. I don't want you to fall in." The prince noted as he set the wyrm down beside Qing Xiashu, letting her slither up one of his sleeves to settle on his shoulder.

  Archery wasn't Hong Chunji's best subject but he could catch a fish or two well enough. And there were certainly plenty of fish in the river. Nothing too large but a decently sized trout or two would make a very nice breakfast. He tightly knotted a ribbon around the arrows and balanced his way out over the middle of the river on a fallen log.

  They really had picked the best place to stop. In the calm eddies of this portion of the river, the fish were far too busy spawning to notice his approach.

  Qing Xiashu watched from the beach as the prince crouched on the log and readied an arrow, suddenly firing on a split second's notice. He drew the arrow back up on that ribbon, grabbing a hold of the skewered fish before it could flop itself free. He tossed the fish far enough onto the bank that it wouldn't be able to get back into the water and re-nocked the arrow.

  It wasn't long before Hong Chunji came back to the shore with a second fish. Smacking them both in the head with rocks before gutting and rinsing them in the river.

  He was just a tad unsettled by the way more fish collected to eat the remaining innards.

  The prince cooked the fish on skewers over a fire, salting and seasoning them with the leftover seasonings that they had while nibbling on the sweet crackers he had made in town.

  Qing Xiashu had yet to stand, so crawled over to Hong Chunji, setting his head on the man's shoulder and watching the fire lick at the branches.

  They both seemed to be growing more and more used to this constant closeness.

  The head disciple relished in it and the prince always seemed to faintly lean into the contact.

  Hong Chunji offered a sweet cracker over his shoulder, failing to comment the way teeth grazed his fingers as it was taken.

  Miantiao had abandoned Qing Xiashu's robes to settle near the fire, watching the fish cook while she soaked up the warmth.

  Even the horses were meandering about just up the bank in the grassy edges of the thin woods, foraging around and occasionally venturing down to the river for a drink here and there.

  Across the river in the Eastern territory, the woods thinned even further, leading to an explosion of underbrush and tall grasses. Unfortunately for the horses, if they crossed the river so early, it was sure to alert the Eastern officials, which would inevitably raise suspicions on how they arrived so soon. Even though it would make their journey much quicker.

  For the next bend in the river, they would have to go around before cutting through the forests on trader paths again.

  After a wonderfully peaceful and harassment-less breakfast, they set off once more on horseback, following a small path that led them along the river. Qing Xiashu settled in his saddle and continued working on the kongjian project. Careful embroidery of overly complex charms while he let his horse follow Hong Chunji's.

  The prince was doing well with the horses today. Moreover, this area was his home. He was the one familiar with the paths and how they intertwined along the way. So Qing Xiashu was happy to let him lead. They stopped for lunch just before it was time to stitch the seams of the bag, a decent stopping point really.

  "We're almost there." Hong Chunji mentioned as he climbed very carefully off the dappled horse, holding a hand up for Qing Xiashu to use as a brace to jump down as well, not that the Northerner needed it.

  Regardless, it was accepted.

  "Few more hours then?"

  "Mn, two or three, this is the last trading hub on the way so we'll have a little trouble finding direct roads."

  "Are there any hunting trails that bring us closer?"

  "Well, yes but they're meant to be traveled on foot, not by horse so I can't promise they'll be smooth enough for them."

  "Smooth isn't a problem, as long as they're wide enough, the horses will be just fine."

  Hong Chunji sighed lightly, a mild expression of dread crossing his features. "Alright, then an hour and a half..."

  "Are you worried about returning?"

  "No. Well... Yes, a bit."

  "Now why is that? They were kind weren't they?"

  "Yes, they were wonderful, that's the problem. If meimei really didn't make it through her fever, the farm might not be there at all. A-yi was worried about money so she was concerned about the doctor's fees. Without meimei's help she wouldn't be able to cover the work load on her own. Especially if Laotou finally kicked the bucket."

  "You weren't fond of this old man were you?"

  "He despised me." Hong Chunji said with a shrug.

  Qing Xiashu nodded but turned his eyes back toward the food stalls in exchange of replying, picking out something warm to eat that wouldn't take too long. He, unlike the prince, was actually quite excited to meet these people, he wanted to know all about them.

  Primarily... He wanted to know why Xue Feiyi had trusted them enough to leave Hong Chunji in their care.

  The last section of their ride was a bit strenuous to be truthful, the hunting trails were steep.

  Qing Xiashu didn't personally take issue with this, going so far as finishing the seams of the kongjian pouch. Hong Chunji on the other hand seemed a half step from panic every time the horses lurched down a declining path and unsettled his carefully maintained balance.

  Qing Xiashu smiled at him, still following right behind. Though at a slightly larger distance than before, accounting for the momentum gained and lost on the hills.

  When the trail finally evened out, they could see a tiny village just beyond the trees.

  It seemed to glow with some type of comfortable summer warmth, settled on the river with easy access to fishing and boating. The entire town was made of nothing but farmland and a few scattered homes. There couldn't be more than thirty people in the entire place.

  "This is Tian Yang?" Qing Xiashu asked as they finally rid themselves of the forest's tall trees, opening the valley to their full view.

  "Mn, this is it." Hong Chunji climbed down from the dappled horse slowly, again offering a hand to Qing Xiashu to use as a leverage point to bounce off the horse that he was still perched on.

  "It's warm."

  "Mn." The prince hummed agreement as he began leading them through the small village paths, giving a little wave to the farmers that were actively plucking through fields.

  To Qing Xiashu, the prince not pulling his hood into place was less a shock than it was that he actually greeted people that they passed.

  All in all, Hong Chunji's presence wasn't so much as blinked at. Other than his hair, he fit perfectly in with them, soft yellow and orange fabrics from across the Eastern border and sun kissed. It was Qing Xiashu that stuck out this time. From the fading red stain to the color pallet of his robes, everyone seemed wary of him.

  "Where did your foster family live?"

  "That house." Hong Chunji gestured a bit vaguely to one of the many farm houses, they all looked the same, but this one in particular looked very well maintained. "Seems like they're inside." He mentioned at sight of the empty fields surrounding the home.

  Qing Xiashu nodded and shifted the bag on his shoulder, setting it on the saddle. "They could also be out and ab--"

  The door flew open.

  A woman nearly Xue Huayu's age exploded through it, launching at Hong Chunji.

  "Ah! Meimei! Slow down!" The prince hardly had time to get a word in edgewise before the girl had thrown herself at him and wrapped him in the kind of hug only an agitated loving little sibling could give.

  How did Qing Xiashu know that? Very simply, Xue Huayu did it to him all the time.

  "Gege you bad child! You ran away and now you come back unannounced! Mother will reprimand you for sure this time! If not this time she really never will!" The woman scolded, bapping the man who had long outgrown her on the head as though he were some foolish puppy and not a lion in human clothing.

  "Oi!" Hong Chunji ducked slightly when she smacked him, almost behaving like a child milking some injury.

  Qing Xiashu smiled at the friendly chaos brought on by a stranger, turning his attention to petting the dapple horse. He had been forced to quickly take the reins when the prince grew distracted.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  "I'll go get A-niang, you just wait right there!" The young woman said before scampering off, disappearing almost as fast as she'd appeared.

  "Well she's quite the whirlwind." Qing Xiashu chuckled, handing the reins of the dappled horse back to Hong Chunji. "Do they not know your name?"

  "Only A-yi does." The prince answered, carefully walking with the horse to a post and tying off the reins, it also had a trough, as if they expected horses. Qing Xiashu found this odd only because of the South's seldom use of animal labor, horses included.

  "Ming-er!"

  This voice was another woman, but this one much more mature and calm. She only sounded relieved. There wasn't a single note of aggravation in her tone. Behind this woman was the first whirlwind of a girl, her daughter presumably.

  "A-yi, I'm glad to see you well." Hong Chunji left Qing Xiashu's side to greet the woman.

  "Shuuuuu, boy, don't talk all your nonsense proper polite whatever with me. I ought to ground you for the rest of your days!" She shook her finger at the demigod. To which the man only snickered, taking no part of her threat as anything but empty words.

  "I missed you too."

  Qing Xiashu felt the need to busy himself while they spoke, leading him to pull out the kongjian project. All that was left was the drawstring, as soon as it was added the pouch would either function as it should or it wouldn't. Depending on if he'd done it correctly.

  "What are you doing?"

  The head disciple yelped, nearly tossing the pouch in his surprise.

  The younger of the two women had appeared beside him and was peering at his little project. "A-ah... I'm threading a drawstring..."

  "What's all the embroidery mean?"

  For just a moment Qing Xiashu felt as though he were at home explaining something to Hei Xianying, and with that he didn't feel so out of place anymore. "They're charms used in cultivation that make it work the way it should. I'm trying to make a kongjian pouch, they're bigger inside." He explained, turning the pouch over so she could see the extent of the embroidery.

  "Oh, did gege become a cultivator then or is it just you?"

  "He did, it's good money."

  The young woman nodded. "I'm Yin Hua by the way, that's my mother, Yin Zhi."

  "Qing Xiashu, it's a pleasure to meet you."

  "Ahh? Gege made friends with a head disciple? Seriously? Without me? Gege!"

  "What!?"

  "Stop making friends without me!" The bickering fell into background sound.

  Qing Xiashu was shocked she knew who he was. Yes, he was effectively the sect leader, but he doubted anyone outside of the North would know his name. Let alone someone so far removed from the cultivation world that they didn't recognize a kongjian pouch.

  Something was so odd here.

  Not dangerous.

  Just odd.

  A bit like Qi Haomi.

  On that note, perhaps when they were on their way back to the Eastern capital he could stop by some libraries and check records. If he found something on Gou Ya it would certainly be good to bring it back to Qi Haomi after the trials had ended.

  Someone grabbed Qing Xiashu's arm and yanked him from his thoughts. "Come on then Head Disciple Qing! A-niang just started lunch!" Yin Hua chirped, dragging him along, similarly, Yin Zhi was herding Hong Chunji into the house.

  Yin Zhi seemed to have incredible patience, the home was much like the outside, ridiculously well maintained.

  Her organization was astounding, and Qing Xiashu only assumed this because living with Yin Hua must make everything feel just a little like a tornado.

  A sweet one.

  But one nonetheless.

  Inside the small building was a front room that seemed partially storage and partially living space. A few meters down this opened up into a kitchen.

  "Boys please, sit." Yin Zhi directed, gesturing to a table. Hong Chunji obediently plopped himself down into one spot at the table like he'd been dying to do so for a millenia. Qing Xiashu hesitantly followed suit, sitting himself down carefully as he threaded the draw strings through their channels and pulled it tight.

  A small snapping sound came from inside the pouch.

  When it was reopened, it was filled with an abysmally dark void.

  Excitement rocketed through Qing Xiashu so fast that he found himself grabbing Hong Chunji's arm without thinking. "Ah-! Chunji, look! It worked!"

  Yin Zhi hissed quietly.

  "Hm? Oh!" Almost immediately, Hong Chunji was dropping the replacement sword he'd been carrying into the pouch, watching it safely vanish into the tiny pouch.

  "Whoa." Yin Hua cooed. "What happens if you put a person in one of those?"

  "Probably nothing, sometimes when I have to fly, I put my dog in one with a kennel inside, the only problem is that it gets so dark."

  "Ah! Gege, this is why you should have written and sent me one! I could have stored so many oranges!"

  "Hey, who wants to write to you, meimei?" The moment he said this, he jumped up and bolted.

  "HA!? So mean! I'll have you know I--" She rushed off after him, voice trailing off as she laid chase.

  Qing Xiashu snickered, letting the lighthearted fight fade away while he set the kongjian pouch on the table.

  This place was nice.

  Warm...

  Until he caught the sharp, nearly oppressive, eye of Yin Zhi staring him down.

  He'd already messed up.

  A shudder wracked his spine.

  She knew that he knew exactly who Hong Chunji was.

  That alone was dangerous.

  What if Xue Feiyi trusted her because she was happy to cut down anyone in her way?

  Cold sweat was already beginning to prick at the back of his neck.

  Somehow he felt like he was under one of his mother's gazes.

  Hovering over him just waiting for him to slip up.

  Instead of moving or doing anything that could be perceived as a failing, Qing Xiashu froze, staring down into the wooden table as though she might avert her gaze if he became invisible.

  "Be more careful." She scolded as she turned away from him, returning to preparing whatever food she was making.

  Qing Xiashu felt like his strings had been cut when her attention finally turned away from him, slumping and taking a slow drag of breath.

  Middle aged women are truly frightening...

  "So, who are you?" The woman asked, thankfully not turning her eyes towards him again.

  "Qing Xiashu, Northern Head Disciple." He decided he'd cut his spiel short for now, and let her run off of that alone.

  Luck was not on his side. Yin Zhi turned to look at him again, briefly this time, probably noting that he seemed to freeze under her focus. "Xue Feiyi has written a lot about you." She said calmly. "You don't look how I imagined you."

  Ah, so they were going to talk about this now.

  "How did he describe me?" No matter the bigger question of why he was being described in letters from his brother to some strange woman.

  "Small, cheeky. He always made you sound like some little mouse, but you're nearly the same size as me."

  "Xue Shixiong is just cruelly tall." Qing Xiashu argued.

  "Are you going to ask?"

  "Are you going to answer?"

  "If you ask."

  "Why did he leave Chunji here with you... What reason could he possibly have to trust you more than himself?"

  "My sister was his mother. Yin Zai. In a way, A-Hua and I are his only remaining relatives, beyond you, your sister, and your daughter, of course."

  Qing Xiashu coughed lightly, covering his face with his sleeve. "Ah- I- see." He would have to get used to "having a daughter", that was so much responsibility. And right now she was entirely in her "uncle's" care. "He certainly told you quite a bit."

  "My turn."

  "Your turn..?" Qing Xiashu would be lying if he didn't say anything that was on her terms made him outrageously anxious.

  "How did you find out who Ming-er was?"

  The head disciple frowned, his mind producing the image of the lonely lantern hanging in his room. "In a way I may have always known. Xue Shixiong adopted me that night, and he was- in such a state, it was hard not to know that something had happened."

  "And how is he...?"

  "Probably lonely without Xue Xiaojie begging for carrots." Qing Xiashu admitted with a firm nod.

  Yin Zhi chuckled, giving the head disciple a direct and very genuine smile. "Come here, help me stir this." She directed.

  And cooking was at least something he could do.

  He tied up his sleeves and got right to work, moving around the woman.

  After bumping into her and not receiving so much as a scowl; he decided that perhaps she wasn't so bad after all. The first glare she had given him must have been a fluke due to protectiveness.

  A protectiveness he respected whole heartedly.

  It wasn't long before the scent of fresh food drew the two foolish young adults back into the house. Yin Hua was bouncing on her feet excitedly. Meanwhile, Hong Chunji walked boldly up behind Qing Xiashu and peeked over his shoulder. "What is it?"

  "Huo guo, Yin-yi said that since it's getting colder and there's us for company, it was a good choice." Qing Xiashu said, currently he was slicing the meat into parchment thin sheets so they would cook quickly. "Don't you think?"

  "Mn." Hong Chunji nodded, plopping his head down onto Qing Xiashu's shoulder, watching him work curiously.

  Somehow Qing Xiashu finally recognized why that was so familiar.

  Occasionally Xue Feiyi made that sound instead of saying yes.

  Both his younger siblings had picked up the standard Northern 'Mm' but it seemed that Hong Chunji had collected something different. Something that now made perfect sense...

  So did the name Yin being such a strange name for a Southerner... Because it was a Northerner's name, for Northerners living in the South while wearing the colors of the East.

  Ahh~ what a melting pot.

  "Here." Qing Xiashu wiped his hands before handing the prince a mushroom.

  "Thank you." Hong Chunji took it and popped it into his mouth, finally turning away before freezing.

  Qing Xiashu turned to look at him with a confused squint.

  Both Yin Hua and Yin Zhi were staring at the prince with raised brows. "Our introverted little gege... Has finally found someone to be touchable!"

  "Ugh! Shut up! This is why no one wants to write to you, meimei! You're such a gossip!"

  Qing Xiashu laughed, setting the knife aside so he wouldn't drop it. "Oh, you don't know the half of it, he's so sticky and if we--" A hand clamped over his mouth as Hong Chunji pinned him back against the counter. For just a moment the head disciple's eyes went wide and he just stared into the face directly before his.

  "Shut your mouth or I will feed you to the trout instead of feeding the trout to you!" The prince threatened, cheeks burning too bright to be at all effective.

  Qing Xiashu giggled but with a sincere nod, fell quiet. Slowly, Hong Chunji removed his hand and freed the head disciple, letting him return to his meat chopping in silence.

  "No! Don't silence my gossip buddy! So cruel gege!" Yin Hua groaned, leaning back in her spot at the table.

  "You don't want to know how nastily he speaks, I'm doing you a favor, believe me." Hong Chunji argued, crossing his arms as he leaned into the counter beside where Qing Xiashu was working.

  The head disciple couldn't help the need to whisper. "What? Like you're any better..." He didn't miss the way Yin Zhi chuckled under her breath.

  Oh, that woman just knew everything...

  "Lunch is done." Qing Xiashu finally announced when he'd set out everything on plates and Yin Zhi had set out the large pot of hot soup.

  "Mmmm~! It looks so good!" Yin Hua cooed, clapping her hands before immediately going to serve herself. Qing Xiashu was surprised to find himself relishing in the lack of "proper etiquette" that this family used.

  People grabbed food when they wanted food, ate what they wanted, left some for later meals, and chatted while they ate.

  He could almost hear Xue Feiyi scolding them, yet he didn't recite the words for the family's ears.

  They were perfect the way they were.

  Quickly after the meal began, Yin Hua made short work of dragging Qing Xiashu into a heated debate over the best animal the North used. Of course Qing Xiashu argued the dogs were the most important, but Yin Hua was partial to the horses having the most uses.

  "Right but most people can't fly around on swords, and what if someone couldn't fly anymore? Then what would they do?" Yin Hua asked, very improperly pointing her chopsticks at him.

  "Well then of course they would either walk or use horses. My brother doesn't fly but he still has legs he can walk on. Even people in the South have dogs though, everyone has dogs, in the East the king has a dog."

  "How do you figure?"

  "The Tiangou is the Eastern King's ascended hunting dog, or that's the legend anyway. I suppose I can't say how true that is, and there isn't much way to find out right now with the trials happening."

  "Oh, right! Why aren't you two taking part in the trials? Didn't it just start last week? I heard they usually last like two months."

  Qing Xiashu flitted his gaze to Hong Chunji, unsure how to answer that without mentioning Linghun Xianshen, but thankfully Yin Zhi rescued them. "The trials are very dangerous, it's best that they aren't involved."

  Then promptly threw them under a twelve horse caravan..

  "That does however, beg the question as to why the Northern head disciple is off traveling with a rogue cultivator when the palace sect must be so short staffed."

  Frankly neither of the boys had even considered a cover story for that part.

  Both Hong Chunji and Qing Xiashu stared down into their dishes, each trying to produce some point as to why Qing Xiashu might be traveling with Yin Liming for no apparent reason.

  "Ah~ I get it~!" Yin Hua cooed, cheeks resting into her hands as she grinned at them.

  What did she get exactly!?

  "I- have an... assignment to him..." Qing Xiashu mumbled out just a bit defensively.

  "And you decided to visit his family in an out of the way farming town while on official assignment?" Yin Zhi asked, humming in a cadence that was far too proud to be accidental.

  Ah!

  This woman!

  "We had some spare time." He argued.

  "Hmm..." Yin Zhi took a long slow sip of her tea, not breaking eye contact with him. It was as if she was silently lecturing him on his shitty cover story.

  "A-yi, meimei, stop bullying him." Hong Chunji scolded lightly. He had been quiet for practically the entire meal, but apparently deemed Qing Xiashu's discomfort reason enough to step in.

  Yin Zhi's eyes finally turned off of the head disciple and he took a short sigh of relief.

  They really would have to work on their cover story.

  There was always the easy one, they were partners just traveling around together until Qing Xiashu was called back to the North. He doubted Hong Chunji would be comfortable with letting people think they were so involved though.

  Not that they weren't exactly...

  Just that the prince might value his reputation more than Qing Xiashu did.

  The rest of the day slid by quickly, Qing Xiashu helped Yin Hua in the animal pens while Yin Zhi and Hong Chunji picked through the fields.

  By the time it was time for bed, Qing Xiashu was more tired than he had been when he helped the old woman in her rice mill.

  And it was entirely Yin Hua's fault.

  She talked even more than he did!

  Suddenly he had so much respect for everyone around him that was less talkative. If he made people this tuckered out just from keeping up with him he should be far more careful about who he chatters at.

  The bed in Hong Chunji's old room was clearly for a preteen, and not multiple adults, but to say that it was just fine would be an understatement. Especially after the strange and uncomfortable places they've been sleeping in the last week.

  Hong Chunji dropped himself onto the bed and spread out, stretching and groaning quietly as joints popped. Then he just stuck his arms out toward Qing Xiashu.

  And who would the head disciple be to deny the unceremonious request of a demigod?

  He slowly lowered himself into Hong Chunji's arms until he was laying more atop him than the bed.

  "We should figure out what I'm supposedly doing here..." Qing Xiashu mentioned as he rested his head down into Hong Chunji's chest, humming softly to himself, content to stay here and not awaken.

  "Mn, tomorrow..." The prince demanded quietly, already dozing off, if the sound of his slowing heartbeat was anything to go off of.

  Qing Xiashu faintly chuckled before beginning to feel immeasurably drowsy himself. Vaguely he noted that the door cracked open, but nothing else came of it, so he allowed himself to simply drift off.

  ?●?