Watch out Chicken
chapter 7
I took out the pictures, and the notes I had made, and handed them to Meimei.
He recovered quickly, and received my image the moment we reached the Archive. It wasn't too big, but His Majesty had decided that every city and town had one, along with a standard collection of books and scrolls, and some other local lore. It also has land and tax records, and all the other things the archive should have.
“Yeah... come on, I know the First Archiver, so we can start with it.” Meimei muttered, looking at my picture. “I shouldn't be able to see the advanced scroll, now that father is not part of the Empire's servants anymore.
“Ah, Miss Hong Meiling, she is with friends in high place.” I said, putting on the most “sopan” sounds, and Meimei actually burst into laughter, smiling brightly, before she realized what she was doing, and her smile dimmed.
She kept a cute little smile.
We climbed the stairs, the guards once again just waved at Meimei, and looked at me strangely, but then just shrugged and continued their watches with bored expressions.
“Uncle!” Meimei called, and we were rewarded with gasping breaths.
Uncle Bao is.. Well, bao-shaped . A very fat and bald man, but he looked jolly, with many lines of smiles on his face.
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“Meier! The daughter of my brother Xian! Nice to see you again!” she exclaimed, and walked back and forth around her desk so that she could hug Meimei, which was against my expectations, she seemed happy with the treatment.
“It's nice to meet you too uncle. Father sends his greetings, and prays that you meet him in the usual place.”
Bao beamed at him, receiving the jug of alcohol. “I won't miss it, Mei’er!”
He then turned towards me, his eyes suddenly piercing. “And who is standing in front of me here?” he's suing me.
I smiled at him, and made a proper gesture of manners. Thank God for Jin's memory, otherwise I would mess up which hand went where.
“This one's name is Jin Rou. I'm greeting you, and wish you good health, First Archive. ” I reply.
“He's our family friend, uncle.” Mei whispered to him. “Dad trust him.”
The piercing quality suddenly disappeared, and Bao's smile returned.
“Well, in order for my Brother to trust you with his daughter, you must be a virtuous man!” Meimei's face turned red, but he didn't say anything.
“I guess you want to use archive, Mei’er? You know I can't let you get into the advanced reels. But I'll be here in the back room if you need me, and I'll be joining your father tonight! Mark my words well!”
Bao winked at him, and then staggered. Meimei took the key he put on the table.
“Ke archive?” she asked.
The guards ignored us as we walked, and opened the locked door.
We take the first scroll on the plant, and sit down to read.
///////
It did not matter that he was the best at making medicine in 50 li. No matter how he knew how to cure a shaking fever, how to repair a broken bone, and how to dry a wound to prevent infection. And she knows how to cook and clean and fix so she knows her feminine duties. She has been taking care of her family since her mother died.
But the archives just sealed the deal.
They saw the moody Meiling. A brash woman with a knife-like tongue, spits poison on their “ well” children.
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Jin looked impressed . Happy even. And willingly sat with him among the scrolls, as they began to work.
And now they sit shoulder to shoulder.
He smelled of soil and harvest.
Her face flushed. He doubled his concentration on the scroll.
////////
I yawned and stretched my body. It's getting dark, and today's a mess. Nothing looked far like what I had, and we had read most of the herbal scrolls.
“Come, Meimei, we'll see again tomorrow. I had a few things to do in the morning though. Must sell my fur, and take some more supplies.”
Meimei also yawned. He looked annoyed that we found nothing, but nodded.
We started putting the scroll down, when something caught my attention. A scroll that Jin had read before. The contemplation of Flamebud, it's titled.
It's a story of two men.
They each found the Pearlescent Flamebud. It takes a thousand years to bloom, gathering its strength for its sole reproductive act, spreading its pollen across etheric currents.
One of the men, after finding this flower, laughed out loud. He ripped it from the ground, the roots and everything. He put it into the spirit furnace, and burned all the flowers he considered excessive, concentrating the only aspect of his essence. He then consumed this pill, greedily devouring its essence to slightly increase its fire resistance.
Others, having found the flower, were fascinated by its beauty. He pondered over the flower, the way the flower gently attracted energy. Their way of life spreads in the currents of the world, traveling far and wide to find a partner. He observes his life cycle, and when it finally withers, and begins to store energy to make it a seed. He thanks the flower for his amazing life, and leaves, getting a little from the encounter.
Obviously, this is not the way it is really told, more flowery language, and for cultivators, the moral of the story is basically “YA, grunts the magic sparks, others stupid and weak”
Jin Rou had agreed with that interpretation.
My only thought after remembering that story was “maybe everyone's contemplation was really up, while you're all stuck here.”
I shook my head, and finished storing the scroll. Meimei returned the key to the Archivist, and we walked back through a pleasant evening to the inn, and got back together, just as his father was about to go out.
A big grin, a grin eating feces spread across his face.
“Do you two have a great day together?” he asked in a loud voice, loud enough to be heard by the people in their village, and Meimei's face flushed red.
