The night was quiet and cold with the silver moon gradually going to rest from a stressful day he had.
A certain person used the darkness as an opportunity to sneak out with stealthily steps, not wanting to be caught.
He was successful in reaching the exit without getting caught.
" Ah...Y-you s-scared me!!" The sneaky person yelled as he held his chest in total surprise.
He was caught.
" Gege~ where are you sneaking off to?"
His plan to sneak off was a massive failure as a peacock, a shy beauty and a somewhat angry-looking baby caught him in the act. They were way ahead of him as they got to the entrance before he did.
' Fuck! I thought I left them inside?'
Shen Zhufu, " Weren't you all asleep?"
Cao Chang, " We were but we felt something fishy about..." he pointed to the bag slung on the sneaky gongzi's shoulder, " Everything."
Shen Zhufu felt his mouth become dry as he didn't know what to say to cover up for his failed sneak out. Looking everywhere but them while nervously chewing on his nail, " I-" His eyes landed on a pair of beautiful orbs that were digging answers out of him. He slightly trembled, afraid he would be found out by those orbs. " Nowhere!!"
" Then the bag?"
" Ah...Haha...This...I...Want to..."
' Shen Zhufu think!! To do what? fuck!'
Shen Zhufu tried forming excuses for being too sneaky. When he couldn't, he laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head, ' Even Wei Xiang?'
" Haha...It is cold, let's all go in.." Without waiting for another question, he turned to go back to their cottage leaving the three inspectors confused.
' Fuck!!'
As soon as he got in, he dropped his bag and went to sit by the drum. ' A well-planned sneak but failed woefully...Damn it!!' He rests his aching head on the surface of the drum, ' How can I sneak out without them finding out.....Fuck!'
He had planned everything the night before, with the thought of high success. If he had known that those inspectors would be an obstacle to his plan, he would have loved to go to the night before to warn himself of the massive failure, that he should be on guard for the three inspectors, in any case, they ruin his plan like they did today.
His forehead creased with heavy frustration, he couldn't think of anything, and soon got tired of thinking. He rubbed the frustration off his forehead with a sigh, " If I think any further, my brain will be roasted in no time soon." He gave up on his scheming and resigned to his fate till further notice. For now, he was on the losing end; losing to those inspectors, who were way ahead of him and almost losing his sanity, and he couldn't have the latter.
His fingers caressed the top of the drum, it was smooth and rough, hard and soft under his fingers. He loved how it felt under his touch. He sat up and closed his eyes, drowning himself in this wonderful feeling he felt.
With every caress, he drowned deep, as if the drum was trying to speak to him. The bells began to jingle and distant whispers pulled him deeper into a pool of blinding light shining on top of a fountain with glass-like water gushing out of it.
He reached out to the water but it seemed far away yet near. He felt it calling to him but didn't let him touch it. Instead, it stopped flowing and gathered in front of his stretched hand. Not too close, not too far. Just enough to see it.
Shen Zhufu's mouth was wide open like a fish out of water.' Wow,' He tried touching it but it backed away from his touch but still gathered in front of his stretched hand.
Suddenly, he felt a tingling feeling on his palms, raw with burning heat, making his palms sweaty. He took back his hand to his side and the gathered water flowed in the direction.
' Eh'
He stared at the floating water and his hands with disbelief and a thought popped up in his head.
He lifted his left hand and the water flowed with it, ' Wow!!' he grinned like a little child.
He moved back a little, waved a hand with the water flowing along and waved the second with steady and elegant foot movements. With every movement, the water flowed along.
Agile steps of a cat, furiously shaking like a tiger, and a strong dragon heart. His movements were like a fast bust of wind his movements were flawless with the gathered waters flowing along.
Shen Zhufu felt a watery warm feeling spread throughout his body as he came to a halt with a powerful spin in the air.
' I have never felt so good!'
Still, in the air, he once again, tried his luck, stretching out his hand to touch the gathered water, which is now floating inches away from him. His eyes widened in surprise, the water didn't back away like last time however settled on top of his palm and a bright light burst forth.
Shen Zhufu was sure his eyeballs did roll out of their sockets due to how wide they went, in disbelief. In his hand, was a sword, heavy and cold as snow. Its scabbard was white with elegant dancing waters engraved on it and its hilt was a flowing fountain.
He ran his hand on the scabbard with admiration as he slowly descended to the ground.
With curiosity, he slowly drew the sword from its scabbard, its blade was transparent as if it was refined from the pure glass sparkling with cold ethereal light. He ran his fingers over its cold surface with a slight shiver running down his spine.
Green firelights from nowhere flew about him making him surprisingly, warm. The sword in his hands reflected their suave light.
It was ethereal.
Suddenly, everything came to a halt before slowly dispersing to a thick layer of darkness, he could feel on his. Especially that warm strong grip on his shoulders. He felt the hair on his skin rise, not in fear but something unfamiliar to him.
He felt his body being pulled by that invisible grip till he saw himself awaken with his head still on the drum.
" Gege?"
' How long have I been asleep?'
" Yes."
Shen Zhufu jerked up using the back of his hands to rub off the blur from his eyes. His sight was foggy and liquid, the one sitting in front of him looked as if he was floating.
He rubbed till his sight became clearer. Then he was able to see who was 'Floating' not floating but sitting in front of him with two others, their faces wore a concerned look.
" Gege?"
" How long have you been sitting here?"
Instead of answering his question, they looked at each other as if they knew something he didn't.
" That?"
"...What?" his eyes followed their stares to a sword in his hand.
He never felt its presence or its weight in his hold.
" Eh??"
The sword followed him to reality to his greatest surprise.
An eerie silence followed the discovery. Thus, making him very uncomfortable.
it was his wondrous dream? Seeing the sword in the dream? and it followed him to reality? Who would believe that moonlight story? And he wants to keep face, not the opposite way!!
When it took a long time for his Gogzi to reply, Cao Chang asked another question earning a gasp from the latter. He wasn't ready to drop his former question, though.
Cao Chang, " Where were you sneaking off to?"
This time, it took a much longer time to reply due to his brain calculating several theories but his mouth was faster than it, exposing himself before his brain could release a reasonable theory. Shen Zhufu, " Hanyang."
His reply earned him a loud gasp from an angry-looking peacock, a teary look from a baby and.....a blank face from a shy beauty. Shen Zhufu felt surprisingly disappointed, not like he was expecting one from him or anyone.
With clenched teeth and fists. Cao Chang, " Hanyang? Why? Alone?" his eyes were daggers stabbing him several times.
' Eh!?! why is there a large thunderstorm hovering over his head?'
Shen Zhufu took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, processing his thoughts, not exposing his fears. Shen Zhufu, " Why are you spitting nails over it?"
Cao Chang,"....S-spitting N-nails!!!" not believing his ears, he stared at his Gogzi as if he was soft in the head, " Haven't you heard?"
Shen Zhufu answered matter-of-factly with a shrug, not wanting to hear whatever the peacock had to say. Shen Zhufu, " If you are talking about what I think it is, don't worry, I have had someone look into it and it is safe."
"...." Cao Chang blinked his eyes multiple times in disbelief with his mouth hanging before shaking his head violently, it made Shen Zhufu so sure it could roll off his neck, soon enough. Cao Chang, " Not that, I am talking about the story behind the city. The terror." He stealthily slipped to Shen Zhufu's side, wrapping a hand around his shoulders and whispering those words into his ears with a deep creepy animated voice.
Cao Chang's creepy voice resounding beside and inside his ears made Shen Zhufu's skin rise. His body trembled slightly in fear but he won't give in, yet. He stared sharply into the mischievous ones, concealing anything called fear.
Cao Chang, "....Ahhhhh!! Gegeee~" with his feathers between his legs, he went back to his seat. Defeated.
' Ah, you thought you could defeat me?!'
Still whiny about his defeat. Cao Chang, " Still you can't go alone..humph!"
' Why is he so sulky?'
The peacock avoided his gaze with his cheeks red and puffed out like a round ball, his pouted lips and folded hands on his chest. Just like a five-year-old sulky about his lost toy. It was so cute that Shen Zhufu controlled the urges to pinch those round cheeks.
Shen Zhufu found it difficult to decide on whether to bring them along or not. And those three inspectors were not helping.
He let out a deep sigh before speaking out about his decision. Shen Zhufu," No, you will all stay here and watch over the house and the shop." looking specifically at Cao Chang before getting his things ready to leave.
Cao Chang, " Wait, you just can't go...Wei Xiang won't allow that? Right? Xiangxiang?" He asked the teary baby, secretly crossing his fingers in hopes, who, fortunately, nods his head in reply. It shocked him that this little rascal, for once agreed with him. Thus, keeping it to himself.
' Xiangxiang!?!'
Shen Zhufu's knuckles cracked turning purple in his tight clench and his lips quivering in annoyance. He felt a strong urge to beat a certain person to a pulp. despite the storm brewing deep within him, he remembered his philosophy of being a matured gongzi, which includes; To be a matured Gongzi, one should not be a proud piece of broken jade but be a complete tile since there is a long time ahead. He inhaled and exhaled several times till he felt calm but, that urge to hit someone lay deep within him.
Shen Zhufu, " Why including A-Xiang?"
Cao Chang skillfully avoided his stares and his question by changing the subject " I will look for someone to look after the shop and the house, if that's what you are worried about." with that, he ran out of the house before Shen Zhufu could react getting a heavy sigh from him.
' Oh, goodness!!'
He turned to the shy beauty who had been quietly staring at him like he was something interesting. His alluring eyes raked all over his body putting him on edge.
Shen Zhufu faked a cough with a hand cupped around his mouth. Shen Zhufu, " Let's go." he turned to leave without looking back, thereby missing the tiny bit of lift of a particular person's lips; It was so sudden that even a baby didn't see it come and go. Before he followed suit not forgetting the fur jackets he made and locking up the house as he was taught.