::Chapter 9::

{Wen Mei}

《A few days later》

I wiped a bead of sweat off my forehead as I approached the entrance of Cloud Recesses. I made sure not to interact with anyone and had to stop myself from sketching new flowers I found along the way. I felt a pang of guilt thinking about my siblings but pushed that feeling away.

I was about to enter when a small group of disciples showed up with weapons.

"It's a member of the Wen clan!" A man shouted.

"She's armed!"

I put my belongings on the ground and took a few steps back.

"I-I'm here to help," I clarified. "take a look inside my bag."

"Why would you want to help us? Your kind just attacked us." The one examining my bag asked.

"They aren't my kind!" I denied. "My people are from a small subdivision."

"We don't need help from the likes of you." The man tossed the bag to me.

"Please," I begged.

"Do us a favor and leave." Another man bitterly responded.

I bit my tongue at their behavior and grabbed my stuff.

"Wen Mei?" A soft but firm voice called out.

I looked at a familiar tall figure move toward the entrance.

"Zewu Jun." I bowed.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was about to leave." I replied.

"Follow me. Let's talk." He smiled.

I released a breath I didn't know I was holding and followed closely behind.

He motioned for me to sit down as we entered the Cold Room.

"Would you like some tea?" He asked.

"Yes, please."

He poured a cup of tea, then handed it to me.

"Here."

I thanked him, then took a careful sip of the hot drink.

"What brought you here?"

"I heard what happened from Lan Zhan. I'm sorry what happened to your clan."

"You saw my brother?"

"Yes," I nodded. "I snuck into his room to give him some ointment for his leg. That's when he told me what had happened. I then prepared some medicine and arrived as soon as I could."

"Hm..." He looked deep in thought.

"So, no one knows you're here? Not even your siblings?"

"No. I thought by telling them they wouldn't have let me leave." I replied, then took another sip of the tea.

"I see. I don't think it was a great idea you came without letting your siblings know. However, I can't send you back like that."

I was confused by his statement.

"I will let you tend to the wounded, but rest comes first. I'll have someone send you a meal. Just worry about settling in. Speaking of which," He looked at the doorway, an outline of a person was standing in front. "you may come in."

"You called?"

The person walked in, and I couldn't help but stare at them in surprise.

"Wen Mei? What are you doing here? Where have you been? What have you been doing? How have you been doing?"

My mind went into a spiral as Lan Xiao bombarded me with questions.

"I called you to show Wen Mei to her room. She'll be staying for a while." Zewu Jun said.

"Okay, come with me!" Lan Xiao exclaimed as she helped me up, and ushered me out of the room.

I didn't get to say thank you or goodbye to Zewu Jun.

"Let's set your belongings in your room, and after that, we'll go somewhere to catch up and relax."

She showed me to my room. Once we got there, I placed everything down.

We talked as we walked through the woods. I had missed going through these woods. Maybe it was the change of scenery that made me enjoy seeing them.

We had finally got to our destination, the cold springs. It was away from the men's side and surrounded by a fence. It was small in comparison, but it was still beautiful.

Lan Xiao took off the outer layer of her hanfu and jumped into the water.

"Is it cold?" I asked as I took off the outer layer of mine.

"It feels perfect." She replied.

I joined Lan Xiao in the water and swam beside her by the edge of the spring. 

"How are you doing?" 

"I'm doing alright. It's been a chaotic couple of days."

"I wish I arrived sooner." 

"That's alright. You're here now, and that's all that matters. How have you been?" 

"I've been busy. Mostly learning."

"What have you been learning?"

"I've been learning how to make medicine and sharpening my archery skills."

"How do you hold the bow? I've tried to get into it, but I can't. I think it's easier to use a sword."

"That's because both of your brothers fight with a sword." I shook my head.

I looked around and saw a stick next to where I was sitting and grabbed it. 

"This is an arrow."

"It's a stick."

I stared at her in disbelief.

"Pretend it's an arrow."

"That makes sense."

"Okay, so this is an arrow." I held the stick. "You'll want to hold the nock as if you're pinching it." With my right hand, I grabbed the end of it. "Make sure to keep a firm grip on the handle." I imagined holding the handle with my left hand. "Drawing back the arrow will be a bit difficult the first couple of times. But with practice, it'll become second nature." I pulled back the stick and let go, causing it to fall into the water.

"You make it seem so simple." She grabbed the floating stick and tried mimicking the motion.

"It takes time."

"That's what my brothers tell me."

"Then they're right."

"Hey, I thought you were on my side." She pouted.

"I am. However, I agree with them." I shrugged.

She laughed and playfully nudged my arm.

"Hey," She said again, but in a softer tone. "I couldn't help but notice... What happened to your wrist?"

I picked up the hand that Xue Yang had held and noticed the bruise wrapped around my wrist. I hadn't noticed it since it didn't bruise the day I left. Then again, it takes a while for a bruise to show.

"Is it alright if I take a look?" She asked, holding her hand out.

I hesitantly let her inspect my wrist, not sure about how I should respond to her question.

"Before I left, Xue Yang stopped by where my siblings and I were staying. He wanted me to treat him, and I was worried he was going to find out that I was leaving. He caught my lie about telling him I was painting earlier that day when I wasn't. The bruise was a result of him not letting go until I told him why I lied." I explained.

"What did you tell him?" She gently moved my hand around to check the bruise.

"I told him that he was scary, and that's why I lied."

"I see. Well, I'm glad you're here, and nothing serious happened." She let go.

"I'll treat it when I get back to the room. I didn't realize it was bruised because I had been more worried about getting here."

"Good."

We both sat in solitude, allowing ourselves to unwind to the sounds of nature.