Chapter 39: White and Black
Qing Guang watched her brother and Hu Cheng Se who were in the garden from the second floor window. A gust of wind blew her long black hair that was pinned with a plain looking hairpin.
When she saw that the problem might have been solved, she turned to go back to the classroom. She halted her steps when she suddenly heard a shriek.
She looked back over her shoulder. "Fei Ying?" The eagle landed perfectly on the window frame. It was good that there were no one else inside the room or there would be trouble.
Qing Guang took the piece of paper that Fei Ying brought her.
She read the words on that paper. "I am fine. Signed by…Ye!" She reread the words to make sure. "You say you are fine but this letter is clearly written with a trembling hand, Ye."
Qing Guang shoved the paper inside her sleeve. There was a lot on her mind: the upcoming festival, Hu Ye's sickness, and Qing Li's annoying calls.
"Dear sister," Qing Guang mocked, using Qing Li's fake loving tone. "I want to puke right away everytime I hear her calling me that." It was no wonder that she would frown and think a lot.
Qing Guang saw the red and yellow autumn leaves drifting through the wind. Their movements were so slow and gentle. "I wish my dancing was like that. Slow, gentle, and beautiful. Like the autumn leaves drifting in the wind, like Hu Ye's swordsmanship..."
Qing Guang suddenly jolted. "Hu Ye's swordsmanship!"
-----
Later that night.
"You want me to teach you martial arts?" Qing Bo tilted his head. He and Qing Guang were inside their courtyard, drinking tea while chatting as they usually did. "Why? I thought that you were busy practicing your da—" He paused, a thoughtful look on his face.
Qing Bo was a bright man, he knew immediately what his sister was planning. "I see." Qing Bo put his hand below his cheek. "You have more talent in martial arts than in dancing, so you are going to use that to your advantage for this year's competition."
"Brother…" Qing Guang was determined to win. She knew that she wouldn't be able to defeat Qing Li in a normal and graceful dance so this was the only way.
"I know." Qing Bo patted his sister's head. "I will teach you starting tomorrow. Don't even think of slacking in my class!"
Qing Guang's eyes widened. She smiled unknowingly. "Yes, Brother."
-----
Hu Ye slowly opened his eyes. A dark ceiling with beautiful decoration came in view. "What is this place?"
It was not his room, nor any room inside the Hu residence. "This place looks like a palace…"
He tried to get up from the large bed, but suddenly there was an earthquake and the place crumbled. "Agh!"
Hu Ye tried to run when he saw the floor cracking but it was useless. The whole room broke down soon after and he found himself falling.
He fell into a pond where the water was cold and clear. It was fortunate for him that he was a good swimmer. He laid down for several minutes before regaining his breath.
The pond water was not blue. It was black on one side and white on the other. It was really a mystery why the colors did not mix with each other. Hu Ye tried to see the end of the pond, but his vision was blurry.
There were two trees that intertwined with each other in the center of the pond. One tree was black, and the other one was white. The trees looked like they were fighting for dominance.
Between those trees stood a figure. She was facing the tree, so Hu Ye could not see her face. He could only see her slim back that looked strong yet fragile. Her long, straight hair fell perfectly, making it look like a flowing waterfall.
"Guang?" Hu Ye frowned. "Guang, is that you?"
Hu Ye called Qing Guang's name several times before the maiden moved. She looked over her shoulder.
Before Hu Ye could get a good look at her face, there came a growl. Hu Ye's eyes widened. That growl came from underneath, deep beneath the lake surface. Hu Ye frowned and looked down. Not long after, something sucked him into the water.
"Gah!" Although the water looked white on the surface, Hu Ye could still see from beneath. It was dim and a bit unclear, but he was sure that he saw a pair of eyes staring back at him.
The pair of red eyes were big and glowed in the water. A giant snake! Hu Ye sensied danger right away. He tried to swim back to the surface but was too late.
The water sucked him in once again and he was about to be eaten by the giant snake.
-----
"Agh!" Hu Ye screamed.
"Fourth Young Master?" Falcon panicked. "What should we do, Sui? Young Master seems to be in a lot of pain! Sui, save master right away, ah!"
"Shh… you crybaby, don't you see that I am already trying right now?"
"Doctor!" One of the guards outside called. "Doctor, something's happened. You need to go outside the city right away!"
"No, don't you see that I am busy here?"
"But, Doctor…"
"Just tell me what happened. I can't move from this place for a while."
"It... it is…"
-----
"They died?" Zhi Yu saw the corpses in front of him. The corpses did not have any major injuries nor any poisoning. "How? I thought the report stated that there were no casualties."
The Great General and his wife were prepared to return home once they received news that Hu Ye and Hu Zi had gotten sick, but unfortunately, an imperial edict arrived, stating they should go to the border between Jin and Chu and stay there until spring. The general and his wife told several servants who had gotten injured when they were attacked by assassins to go back home with several others that were still unscathed.
Strangely, after they departed the next morning, the servants started to show weird symptoms similar to those of poisoning, but the doctors among their traveling group stated that there were no traces of poison in their bodies. Not long after, the servants died just before reaching the capital, Jin Ye.
Zhi Yu was glad that he did not take Hu Bai along. If she saw this, she would certainly panic since their symptoms were very similar to Hu Ye's. "Fourth Young Master... I just hope that he won't have the same fate as my subordinates."
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