บท 23: Making fire
"When we were bathing, we were attacked by a huge snake."
"Pfft, cough cough…" Shou almost spurted into his cup.
"Thankfully, Qing Young Miss killed the snake with one shot." Hu Cheng Se explained.
"Master Shou, what is the most common animal around here? Do you find snakes here that often?" Hu Cheng Se asked.
Shou was shocked at her sudden question. "No, we don't find snakes that often. Most of the animals living here are bunnies."
"That's strange, we didn't encounter any bunnies when we were hunting." Hu Ye realized the weird phenomenon.
Qing Bo stopped as if he had just realized something. "Maybe… trafficking..."
"Animal trafficking?" Hu Zi asked. "Umm.. They take the bunnies living here?"
Hu Zi thought, what kind of people would break the law because of fluffy bunnies?
"No, it must be something else, something bigger, like…" Qing Bo gasped. "Tiger."
"Tiger?" Hu Zi tilted her head.
"Tigers around this mountain hunt the nonpoisonous snakes. If the tigers are gone, the snake population will increase and the rabbits will naturally disappear. There are other animals that also hunt snakes along with the tigers, but their breeding is slow and can't match the common snake's pace."
"Hoo…" Hu Zi intently listened to the explanation.
The common spotted dark green snakes bred easily and might have made up the majority of the animals. It was not good because it disturbed the ecosystem balance. The hungry snakes were almost out of bunnies to hunt and were starting to become aggressive.
Master Shou had stayed in the capital for almost two whole years, only now getting the opportunity to train in this place again.
Shou closed his eyes, trying his best to concentrate. He increased the range of his air sensory and checked everything within a one mile radius. Once he was done, he gasped and asked for water; using air sensors was very tiring and took a lot of energy.
"It's true. I only sensed at most three tigers, when there should have been dozens." Master Shou sighed, he was out for a moment and his training ground became the breeding ground for traffickers. "This is grave news. I could not find much trace of trafficking when I used my power. Do you think that they have gone now?"
"Maybe, I think so." Hu Zi also could not find much.
"The only way to track them now is by investigating." Qing Bo said. "The tigers' saber fangs are very valuable, it is no wonder the tigers were hunted down." Qing Bo looked in the direction of the forest, thinking deeply.
-----
Due to the Qing family's power and influence, Qing Bo pulled some strings and managed to get the city's bureau to send an officer to investigate the trafficking right away. Two weeks later, they caught the traffickers. Qing Bo had not only been the one to devise a plan to lure the traffickers out, he also found solutions on what to do with the goods they gained and ways to restore the ecosystem's balance.
This and all the other things that he previously did for the kingdom at the tender age of sixteen gained him great prestige.
Qing Bo noticed some changes in Qing Guang's skin after bathing in the hot spring; her skin had become glossy and healthy looking, her once pallid skin a milk white, practically glowing. After the whole animal trafficking mess, he asked Shou if they could visit the spring again from time to time.
After the next two visits to the mountain, Hu Ye needed to practice his sword skill, so he couldn't hunt with Qing Guang anymore. As she had lost her archery partner, Qing Guang decided to help Qing Bo and Hu Cheng Se fish for dinner.
The first time Qing Guang saw Qing Bo's refreshing smile, she had the same reaction as Cheng Se, but not as extreme.
Hu Cheng Se noted that Qing Bo had a particular gesture whenever he was showing his real emotions; whether it was happiness, sadness, embarrassment, or just uncomfortableness, he touched his head with the edge of his palm near the wrist.
-----
"How many leaves have fallen since we came here?" Shou asked Hu Zi, who was sitting at the edge of the pavilion.
"Two hundred and seventy two." Hu Zi answered with confidence.
"Amazing, I also get that number." Shou exclaimed.
It was autumn, the same year of Hu Bai's wedding and when Hu Zi turned twelve. Shou told her to count with him all of the leaves that fell from the trees inside the fourth seasoned courtyard. It had been hours since they started counting.
Hu Zi's eyes were closed as she smiled. "I hope to master this wind skill soon…" she said. She made a happy face. Sitting on the pavilion edge, she dipped her feet into the small lake below, feeling the cold water. She was used to the harsh training so the cold no longer intimidated her as it used to.
"You will get it eventually." Shou got up from the couch he was sitting on and walked toward his disciple. He patted her head and smiled.
"Uhuh." Hu Zi smiled beautifully. She opened her eyes and let her purple irises be seen.
Shou could not help but sigh. He looked into the water and saw their reflection. His eyes traced the water and fell on Hu Zi's dainty white feet. Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat.
Shou felt conflicted. After the snake in the hot spring incident, he finally realized that Hu Zi was getting bigger by the days; she was no longer his small purple-eyed disciple anymore.
Shou sat down by Hu Zi's side and took a small portion of her slick, straight hair into his hand and traced it to the end. 'When did her hair became so long?' he asked himself. He combed her hair and braided it, something he had learned from Qing Guang not long ago when they camped together. Qing Guang said that Hu Ye was the one who taught her.
Hu Zi felt Shou's big, warm hand on her hair. She sat still so it would be easier for him to braid her hair.
The atmosphere around them was calm. Shou finished braiding Hu Zi's hair. He took a beautiful blue autumn flower and placed it in her hair to finish his masterpiece.
"Done." Shou smiled cheekily. Hu Zi raised her hand and twirled it. The wind heeded her command and moved, forming a whirlwind that brought forth red, orange, and yellow autumn leaves. Hu Zi smirked and once again twirled her hand. The whirlwind, along with the leaves, moved and hit Shou's face.
"Wait, gah…" Shou was having trouble getting rid of the leaves. He was not prepared for it so the wind storm surrounded his body non-stop. "Stop, stop it." Shou finally used his power and calmed the wind around him.
"Ahaha…" Before Shou could get her back, Hu Zi jumped toward the water. With a few hand gestures and gusts of wind, she was standing on top of the water's surface. "Did not see that coming, eh?"
"Pfft…" Shou, finally getting the last leave away from him, made an unhappy face. "What was that for?"
"For peeping at us that time?" Hu Zi raised an eyebrow as Shou's eyes widened.
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EneresPage
EneresPage This chapter comes a bit late because I am practicing my art skill and I just posted an illustration of one of the couples on Instagram, go and check it there. Be sure to check the gallery and bookshelf too (username: @enerpage).
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