Kapitel 21: Helping A Dear Friend

Less than ten minutes later, the pair reached the Silver Stag, a five-story restaurant arranged around a large open first floor with balconies that overlooked the main floor from the second and third stories. The fourth and fifth floors were closed off to more exclusive guests or those desiring a more reserved atmosphere but the first three floors blended into a chaotic, boisterous, and energetic space beloved by young cultivators.

The dishes served here were large in portion and generous in ingredients that contained traces of spiritual energy and while the wine would disappoint most refined palates, few of the young people drinking here had developed any kind of refinement to know the difference.

On a stage on the first floor, two young women played bright, energetic music on a zither and flute while they led the crowd in stomping their feet to take the place of a drummer. Wu Ling and Su Xiang had taken a small table with a good view of the stage and Su Xiang had ordered enough dishes and jugs of wine to fill half the table.

"What do you think of the musicians?" Su Xiang asked, noticing Wu Ling's distracted gaze. The two women on stage were both attractive though in very different ways. The young woman playing zither was petite with dark blue hair and she possessed an almost doll-like cuteness. Her cute, slightly childish appearance contrasted sharply with her elegant mannerisms and a level of refinement that felt out of place in a rowdy establishment like the Silver Stag.

The woman playing flute, however, flaunted her generous assets and carried herself with a far more carefree attitude that felt right at home among the boisterous young cultivators. Looking at Wu Ling's intense gaze, Su Xiang couldn't help but wonder if one of the charming musicians had captured his attention.

"I think Senior Sister Yao Meifeng is overworking her right wrist and it shows," Wu Ling said without turning away from the performance. "She's tired, she's struggling to keep up with the girl on the flute who doesn't seem to care, and her zither is out of tune on the third and sixth string but no one is giving her a chance to fix it," he said, his expression growing darker the more he said.

Yao Meifeng's performance was mediocre at best but he knew she was capable of so much more than what she was giving this crowd. Seeing her like this, playing through pain on an out-of-tune instrument, made his heart ache in more ways than one.

"You know her?" Su Xiang asked in shock. She'd thought that if Wu Ling wasn't interested in them as attractive women then he was probably paying attention to the musicians as a sort of professional interest. She felt it might be the same as how she would watch a sword fight, learning from those who are better and critiquing those who weren't as skilled. In this case, however, it turned out Wu Ling had some connection with the young zither player on the stage. "Did you go to school with her?"

"I did until she graduated last year," Wu Ling said absentmindedly, not paying much attention to the conversation as he waived over one of the mortal staff members. "Bring me a bucket full of ice water and a clean cloth, I need to help someone before they hurt themselves anymore," he said, placing a few taels of silver on the table. "Once I've taken care of them, in an incense stick's worth of time, bring them a fresh cloth and a teapot full of hot water. Just hot water," he clarified. "They don't need any tea to go with the water."

"Ice water now, hot water to follow," the waiter repeated. "As you wish my lord," he finished with a bow.

"Excuse me, Sister Xiang, I'm going to go help Senior Sister Yao for a bit," Wu Ling said, sliding smoothly out of his chair and threading his way gracefully through the crowd to the stage. A few minutes later, once his bucket of ice had been delivered, he found the opportunity he'd been looking for to speak up in the small space between songs where the performers allowed themselves to take a few sips of water before diving back into their performance.

"Senior Sister Yao is working hard today," Wu Ling said with a smile from directly in front of the stage. "Your junior brought some ice for your right wrist," he added, lifting the bucket and the cloth. "I can take the next few songs while Senior Sister takes a rest."

"Junior Brother," Yao Meifeng said hesitantly, trying to understand how she could even have a junior brother when the only school she'd attended only enrolled women and she'd never joined a sect. Yet there was something familiar about the handsome young man's appearance and the way he addressed her that left her certain she really did know him.

Try as she might, however, she just couldn't remember where she knew him from. More importantly, her wrist truly did need a rest, and the ice he'd brought called to her like a gift from the Heavens.

"Thank you Junior Brother for the offer, but have you brought your zither?" Yao Meifeng asked, willing to accept his help even if she wasn't entirely clear on why he seemed so familiar.

"Ah, for this, I have to apologize," he said, cupping his hands and bowing slightly. "I'll need to borrow Senior Sister Yao's zither for a little while," he continued, stepping up on stage and taking her right hand gently in his left while he wrapped her wrist in a cool cloth.

"Senior Sister doesn't need to worry," he whispered into her ear in a soft lilting voice. "Just like you helped me so many times, trust your Junior Sister Wu Ling to take care of things now," he added, pulling back and giving her a wink and a smile before taking a seat behind her zither.

"Aesthete Yao Meifeng?" Su Xiang asked, reaching out to help the young Artist down from the stage. "I'm Wu Ling's sworn sister, Su Xiang. Come sit at our table while Brother Ling plays. He said you'd need to change for a hot cloth after a little while so you can wait with me," she finished with a helpful smile, guiding the confused Yao Meifeng over to their table.

"Is that really," Yao Meifeng paused, "really Wu Ling?" She stared in disbelief as Wu Ling quickly fixed the tuning on her zither, his motions smooth, practiced, and possessing the same sort of delicate grace that she'd been taught at the Pure Virtue Musician's Hall. Somehow, seeing the handsome young man doing it, however, it felt a bit different.

"It really is," Su Xiang reassured the young musician. "Believe me, I was probably as stunned when I saw him at your former school attending classes with my younger cousin as you are now seeing him like this," she said, passing over a bowl of spicy boiled peanuts. "Just watch, I think he's about to get a small bit of revenge for you," she said as she noticed the glances Wu Ling was giving the woman with the flute.

On the stage, the woman with the flute tapped her feet impatiently. "We're losing the crowd, pretty boy," she said curtly. "Hurry it up."

"You want me to hurry?" Wu Ling said, glancing up at the woman with a charming smile. "Most women want things to last a bit longer," he added playfully. "But if you want fast, we can go fast. Do you think you can keep up?"

"Don't worry about me, just…"

Before she could say anything further, Wu Ling's fingers flashed over his borrowed zither instantly drawing the crowd's attention back to the stage with a clear and resounding cascade of notes. "Everyone," he said with a slow, lazy smile. "Today, you're in for a treat."