บท 16: The Past; Failed Attempt to Tame the Wave (1)
"...."
YueChen woke up with a jerk. His body a little hot, a wet cloth on his forehead. His gaze shifted from a corner to another corner, but the more he looked around, the more uneasy the boy felt. The small hut was unfamiliar to him.
The hut was made of wooden, clean, yet a little old. In the middle of the hut was a set of round wooden dining table with woven bamboo chairs. Across the room, were medicine shelves and stacks of scrolls. Amulets and protection seals could be seen hanging on the wall next to the shelves. A screen acted as a wall for the bedroom, which was only a bed and a table in it.
"You awake?" A voice, gentle and familiar, asked him. He turned his head to take a good look at the owner of the voice. Yuan Ji sat on the edge of the bamboo bed, fixing his outer robes. "You slept for three days. Shouldn't have underestimated that ability of yours."
"Where are we?" YueChen tried to sat up, feeling a little dizzy. His hand moved to his forehead to remove the wet cloth from his forehead and placed it at the edge of the bed.
"MiZi Village, roughly four hundred years ago."
"MiZi?" YueChen asked, face full of disbelief. "Who the hell named a village rice seed??"
"I did." Yuan Ji replied nonchalantly, "But you sure got your priorities sorted."
YueChen ignored the last sentence, he looked down at his clothes. He was wearing white traditional inner garments, instead of his white grey t-shirt and navy blue pants.
Seeing his betrothed's puzzled expression, Yuan Ji added, "Apparently your clothes were torn, so they changed it into what was deemed proper and suitable for the era."
"They threw it away?" He raised his head, shock was written all over his face. The set of clothing was his favorite. Seeing that the deity only responded with silence, YueChen had the usual crestfallen look on his face. His doubts were proven true with that response from the deity.
"At least they got you the best clothes they have." Yuan Ji sighed.
The moment the sword was unsheathed for only an inch, a wave of tsunami washed over him and dragged him further from that location. Fallen branches and rocks hit his body as he was drifted away. When YueChen was discovered in a cave, he was unconscious on the shore of the small lake in said cave. He had many cuts and bruises, but they all healed by the second day, leaving him only a light fever and slight hypothermia. Yuan Ji concluded the reason they were thrown into the past that sword might generate a path, tearing the dimensions with its great force.
The seer of the village took care of him. According to the deity, the seer was elderly woman who could see spiritual beings, including Yuan Ji. She was helped by a mute girl who possess the same talent as hers, only that the girl could only see spirits and gods. Apparently, the girl was born on an auspicious day, thus being blessed with the gods' favor.
The trip to four hundred years ago was rough. Who knows how many times YueChen nearly crashed into boulders and things alike? Yuan Ji swore that YueChen looked like he was dead when he was found ashore. If it wasn't for his constant rise and fall of his chest, the god might not be able to stop himself from bawling his eyes out. But that was one thing that Yuan Ji would never tell YueChen.
YueChen stared at the robes folded beside his bed, before he could say anything Yuan Ji offered to help him wear the robes. The robes were grey in color, which made the boy smile in delight. After all, the color was his favorite. Yuan Ji stifled a laugh, his eyes danced with amusement as they followed the younger boy turning around and around, checking his clothes out. It appeared that YueChen never actually wore a traditional robes. With layers over layers, Yuan Ji only put the outer robe on him, as it was summer.
Just then, a young girl came inside. Her skin was dark in color, her long black hair was braided in a bun. When she saw the two, the basket she held nearly dropped. Her bright eyes, pale in color, lighted up at once. She beamed at the pair, hurrying to get some food outside. When she left, Yuan Ji merely stated, "She's the girl I spoke of earlier. She's called A-Die."
YueChen froze at that moment, "Butterfly? The hell??"
"I gave her that name too."
"A-Ji, don't tell me you actually go to past with me to name places and children with weird names while I was out cold for three days?"
"Go outside, you'll see for yourself." Yuan Ji countered irritatedly.
YueChen did as he was told, stepped out from the hut to meet the intense heat outside his shelter. He promptly raised his hand to shield his eyes from the glaring sun above them.
The MiZi village was small, seated on the boundary, and prosperous. The village relied on agriculture, thus the great number of fields, especially rice field. Which explained why Yuan Ji named the village Rice Seed, as the deity randomly said a word while he was inspecting the village. What came to his eyes first was the name, simple logic.
A bunch of children ran past him, laughing and snickering, chasing each other. The adults working in the field called out to them, before smiled at YueChen who returned the gesture somewhat awkwardly.
Yuan Ji watched as his betrothed waved and forced a smile towards the farmers, couldn't help but to sigh. He walked away, heading to somewhere, not waiting for YueChen.
The teen quickly rushed to follow the deity, studying his surrounding and the village, awe filled his eyes. Yuan Ji led them to the girl, who busied herself gathering food for the farmers in the kitchen not too far away from the hut. The deity pointed at the girl, behind her a trail of colorful butterflies.
"They appeared to like her, when I asked for her name, she merely pointed at them." Yuan Ji briefly explained.
"Okay, but what about MiZi?" YueChen nodded, his gaze followed the figure with curiosity, before she turned and vanished.
Yuan Ji sneaked a glance at the boy, expression softening. "The only person who can read in this village is the seer. But her skills aren't that good. As gratitude, I taught the village."
YueChen gawked, "You're way too kind, A-Ji..."
"It's nothing much anyway. They did save your life. I can't imagine if you truly died back then." A hand crept up to the other's face, brushing the strands of hair away from his face.
A certain Yang's face suddenly reddened, his mouth slightly open, at a loss for words. The next second, he felt a finger poked his cheek.
"Don't gape like that. Close your mouth, and why are you blushing?" Yuan Ji teased, poking the cheek before pinching his cheeks.
Silent footfalls approached the kitchen, unnoticed by the ones inside. When A-Die entered the kitchen, what greeted her first was the scene—Yuan Ji holding YueChen's red cheeks. Since YueChen's back was turned to the entrance door, only Yuan Ji saw who came inside. He let go of YueChen immediately, stepping away from the boy, tried to look as innocent as possible.
The boy turned to the entrance and saw the girl. YueChen face was already red to begin with, after the merciless teasing and pinching, his face looked as if it was covered in rogue powder. His eyes brimmed with tears, his eyebrows knitted together. However hard Yuan Ji acted guiltless, YueChen's appearance said otherwise.
A-Die instantly grabbed a pan and charged forward.
The girl hit the deity hard on his left arm, tackling him to the ground in process. She then lifted the pan once more to hit the attacker.
"Wait! Wait!" YueChen exclaimed.
A-Die stopped, inches away from landing another blow to Yuan Ji. She turned around face-to-face with the teen.
"I'm not hurting him. You misunderstood the situation." Yuan Ji coughed, trying to explain what actually happened before being smacked with the pan.
[Why does he look like he is about to cry if he isn't hurt?!] The girl stood up, stomping her feet angrily to the ground. She pointed the pan to him, as if demanding the deity to apologize.
The deity cursed internally, blaming YueChen's trait to cry at inconvenient times. "A-Die, seriously, do you hate me?"
A-Die swung the pan, and with a determined face she replied, [You harassed a person! Of course I hate you!]
"XingXing!! Tell her the truth!!! She won't believe me!!" Yuan Ji screamed, breaking into cold sweat. This shriek shook the dazed boy out of his thoughts, he hurried to stop the girl.
"Calm down, miss... What he said is true. He didn't hurt me."
A-Die seemed to believe YueChen more than a god, she glanced sharply at the deity, taking YueChen's nod as a cue to stop. She lowered her pan after threatened the poor deity half laying an the ground.
After studying her for a bit, YueChen had gathered few useful information that he might need to survive. Firstly, A-Die was about twelve or thirteen years old. Her complexion was much darker than her peers, whose normal appearances were fair or lightly tanned. Her pale eyes were yellowish brown. Secondly, the girl was rather unexpected at times. She could appear harmless, just like now–handing out him a bun as she smiled gently at him, but if she wanted, she could easily stab a grown man to death with a fork. She was such a bright, gentle, unassuming young lady and absolutely harmless—if it wasn't for the fact she perhaps brought a knife with her. Thirdly, she could be a mother hen to strangers. Like now.
A-Die started to lecture him to not trust Yuan Ji, and in case he abused him YueChen should attack right away or escape. Which would never happen.
YueChen could only nod in agreement helplessly whilst listening to her. Yuan Ji on the far side of the kitchen had settled himself on the ground and ate his share. He constantly growled and hissed at the girl, face black with jealousy and distress. The victim actually had to face the wall and reflect?! How mean!
His eyes scanned the shabby kitchen. The cooking area took place on the right upper side of the kitchen, opposite of the entrance. Spices, ingredients, and such were stacked on the left upper side. Cooking materials like pots and knives and things alike were stored on the left lower side. Tables are on the center. A lantern was hung up on the ceiling, lighting the whole kitchen.
YueChen said something, and traced a pattern on the girl's palm. After studying the movement of his finger, Yuan Ji realized that he taught her his own name in traditional Chinese calligraphy. The latter sometimes halted, as if he forgotten the next stroke before continuing it. The teen stopped writing, finished the words, and retreated his hand and smiled.
The girl observed her own palm with shining eyes, a tint of pink dusted her cheeks. She lowered her head, staring at it for a while longer before closing her hand in a tight fist.
This scene made Yuan Ji wanted to throw his bun to the pair, maybe that'll shake them awake.
A-Die pointed at Yuan Ji, asking something. YueChen spared a look at the deity, face nearly as black as the bottom of a pot. He then nodded shyly, writing something on her palm once more. A-Die's mouth formed 'Ooh..' silently.
Just what did they talk about?! Why are the two children looking all bashful and why the hell YueChen kept glancing at him?! He looked as if he tried to sneak a glance at his crush!!
God... Just what did they talk about? Now Yuan Ji couldn't escape the weird stares from both of them.
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Paper_Crane
Paper_Crane Honestly, it might be much more funnier if YueChen and Yuan Ji hadn't been a thing yet. Imagine ChenChen being all shy and A-Ji bring furiously confused.
A-Die would be a great wing-man (or wing-girl?) and shipped the two together.
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