The next morning, Mengyao marched to the kitchen. He saw servants working feverishly on the Yi breakfast but he saw no sign of Luli.

“Where’s Luli-zong?” he asked.

“Ah! She’s not here, Mengyao-zong! We haven’t seen her all morning! Come to think of it, we haven’t seen Peizhi all morning either.”

“I know Peizhi took her sack this morning. If I had to guess, they might be at the stables,” one servant said. “Probably feeding the horses or something.”

Mengyao ran as fast as he could from the kitchen and through the courtyard. He hoped he wasn’t too late in catching Peizhi and Luli. He had to stop them! He had to convince them to fight to stay! And he would kowtow to Madame Tung-Mei and beg her to let them stay if he had to!

When he arrived at the stables, he saw Peizhi and Luli conversing as they fed horses. He didn’t care if his robes got dirty as he ran toward them and pulled them into a hug.

“Yao-gege?”

He gave them a tight squeeze before backing away from them. “Please! Don’t leave! I don’t know what happened or why Madame Tung-Mei is sending you away! You have to stay! You two are the best servants this residence has ever had!”

“Yao-gege, I don’t think you understand…”

“No! I do! I know you aren’t the best servant, Zhi’er, but I could help you! With enough practice you could be graceful and elegant! And you, Luli-mei! I know you don’t have the best attitude but that’s what makes you so effective at your job!” Mengyao sputtered out.

“Madame Tung-Mei isn’t firing us. We’re leaving,” Luli said simply as she packed the horse she stood next to.

“What?”

“Yeah, Yao-gege! We’re going on an adventure! We’re gonna see all of Jiao and of the world!”

“You...I…”

“I spoke with Madame Tung-Mei last night. I know you were spying and only heard part of the conversation. This was something I had planned to do for a long time. I don’t belong here. I love cooking and I loved being here with the other servants but it’s time for me to move on,” Luli said, patting her horse.

“Then why are you taking Peizhi?”

“Well, I doubt she’d want to stay if I’m going on an adventure. She originally didn’t want to leave you behind but I told her that she’ll get to beat up bad guys.”

Peizhi nodded, smiling widely.

Mengyao looked between them and then began smiling. “You two are going off.”

He felt his heart both break a little but was overjoyed. He had watched over these two girls ever since they came to the Yi residence five or so years ago. They had become a small family. But now his family was breaking up.

“You sure you want to go Zhi’er? You want me to go with you? I’ll come with you!”

“No, Yao-gege!” Peizhi said, clasping her hands over his. “The Yi family treats you really nicely! You don’t have to come with me! I’m an adult now! I can handle myself!”

“You’re barely an adult,” Luli scoffed.

That caused Peizhi to puff out her cheeks and make Mengyao chuckle.

“There’s really nothing I can say or do to convince you otherwise can I?”

“Nope. It’s been set,” Luli said, leading her horse out the stables. Mengyao and Peizhi followed until they were in front of the Yi residence. Luli hoisted herself onto the horse and held out her hand for Peizhi to take it.

Peizhi looked at Mengyao and hugged him before taking Luli’s hand and hoisted herself behind Luli.

“I also know you’ve been asking around for clues about the Su family’s death. I have one clue for you: There’s a prophecy about Gods who reincarnate or give up their life for someone to take their position and the Su family was involved somehow. That’s all I know, sadly,” Luli said.

Mengyao was taken aback. “How...How do you know that? Why do you know that?”

“Let’s just say I’m a lot closer to you than you think. Anyway, we’ve stalled long enough. See you around, Yao-ge,” Luli said.

“You called me Yao-ge. Aww,” Mengyao said, smiling.

“Don’t think too much about it,” Luli said, shaking her head. That was the Luli he knew. With a kick, the horse began to ride off toward the forest. He saw Peizhi turn back and wave.

“Bye Yao-gege!”

He waved as he watched them ride into the forest until he couldn’t see them anymore. Part of him felt empty, like a father with an empty nest. Luli and Peizhi were grown up and going off into the world by themselves. He smiled.

But his smile dropped as he thought about what Luli said.

A prophecy about Gods who reincarnate or give up their life to someone to take their position? How was his family involved? And how did Luli know even that much about the Su family?

It seemed the closer he got to having answers, more questions just continued to pop up.