“…”

Lin An must have seen his sour face, because she kneeled down in front of him and placed a hand on his hair. Her brows were still furrowed, but they now showed more pity than anger. “Wan Yu, it's okay. Nothing was broken, and we didn’t get into trouble. Will you tell me about it later?”

Wan Yu didn’t want to. He didn’t want to tell his smiling Shijie that someone was going to hurt her.

With the density of the lacquer coated wood, Lin An could have even been… an injury like that to the back of the head would have been bad, even if the attack were thrown from weak and feeble muscles. Wan Yu nodded, in a small promise of telling her one day.

They continued their investigation.

Whether the two visited residential houses, stores or stalls, no one around was willing to speak with them about the shrine, or any events occurring around here. Shizun had explained the mission once before they arrived at Bei Zangli. There were reports of wandering corpses in the city, but when they asked about them, everyone suddenly turned grim. Wan Yu thought, this is far too suspicious, but no one will tell us anything.

Lin An was looking more depressed by the minute. One older man yelled at her and slammed the door right on her face, luckily barely missing hitting her nose. Another man threatened to have her shipped off to Jinan, though she didn’t understand the dangers that posed. And most infuriatingly, she had an entire bucket of water tossed at her upon saying that she “wanted to get rid of their corpse problem.” Her robes were wet and soaked. Her walking had grown more sluggish, yet the stomping was more noticeable as Wan Yu followed only a few feet behind her.

The two disciples had ended up sitting next to a small river that ran by the farmland outside of the main city. A puff of heated emotions escaped Lin An’s lips and she dropped to the riverbank, pouting.

Wan Yu sat beside her. It was a bit weird for her to not talk frequently, as she always had before, but he certainly didn’t want to break the silence.

Lin An plucked and threw a handful of grass into the river. She let out a loud, “hah!” when she threw her arm. Shockingly, a few of these more, and a few more loud yells, she seemed to calm down.

In moments she was breathing normally again, and her face had returned to a smile. Wan Yu watched her in awe, because he certainly didn’t know how to do that so easily. Lin An hummed in thought before she said, “hey, Wan Yu, can I ask a question?”

Wan Yu could tell she was looking out at the fish in the river. They had come alive due to the greenery she threw, and were trying to bite at the blades. Lin An watched them like a hunter, or a cat. He wouldn't have been surprised if his delicate looking Shijie turned into a beast, and dived right in the water and pulled out a fish with her own hands. “Wan Yu?” she asked again.

He looked at her this time and nodded.

She smiled and asked, “Why did you pick Shizun?”

Her words hit Wan Yu’s ears immediately, but they took awhile to reach past the fog in his brain. It was really easy to answer, but he didn’t know how to word it. “Why did I pick Shizun?” He didn’t answer her question, and he only repeated it, but Lin An was a gentle soul so she only looked at him and nodded. She waited patiently, with not a twinge of annoyance found on her face. “There was no other. It had to be Shizun,” Wan Yu finally said.

“But don’t you like the others, too? Zhi Shibo visits often and comes to oversee us practicing.” Wan Yu nodded. He pulled a branch out of the water and began to sway it on the surface. He was thinking seriously, but he was lost in making ripples as well.

“I like Zhi Shibo. I like Shesui Shibo, too.” Wan Yu knew that wasn’t quite the answer she wanted, so he thought some more, swaying his new stick faster in the water. “I trust Shizun, and I feel like I owe Shizun an apology too. I want to be a good disciple. That’s all.”

Lin An curled up her feet closer to her body and nodded. She listened to his words without judgment. “I just really wanted to know... What the motivation of someone so dedicated might look like. But, it turns out… you’re like me! I just really like Shizun too!” Lin An turned away to look back over the river.

She played with some of the wild weeds in her hands that looked vaguely like flowers. “Since I was brought back early during the exam, I saw Shizun stressing over every little thing. But he also fluttered around from person to person to make sure they were faring well. He even came to look over me and the other disciples multiple times.”

Lin An’s fingers had begun to rip and tear at the blades of grass and weeds in between her fingers. She bent some of the stems around each other and connected them like chains. “I think I feel like I owe Shizun, too, but admittedly I feel guilty.”

“Guilty?”

“Shizun wasn’t my first choice. I really chose Shesui Shibo. The way he fought and prioritized our safety during the entrance exam made me feel like I was looking at a real hero. But he turned me down when I went to request him to train me. He said that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the type of training he does. Shizun had overheard this and immediately yelled at him for making me cry.” She had made even more progress on the chain of flowers she was making. It looked about 5 or six inches long now. “Do you know how Shizun made me feel better?”

Wan Yu shook his head.

“He made me one of these.” By the time she was done speaking, she brought a little flower bracelet to wrap around Wan Yu’s arm. He looked at it in shock. It really looked like a real accessory! It fit his arm a little big, but he liked it.

“You look like you want to talk sometimes, Wan Yu. But maybe you don’t know how? I’ll help, and I will never rush you. We have a few things in common too, and that’s the most important part of making friends,” she said with that comfortable smile on her face.

What does it mean to be friends with someone? Wan Yu wondered. He looked at her with slight confusion. He might not have understood what that word meant outside of being fellow disciples, but he knew he didn’t want to say, “no.” So, he simply nodded.

Lin An stood up and she stretched her arms high up over her head. They had rested for another hour, and it was very dark now. “Let’s continue! We can’t give up yet! Let’s find out as much information as we can!”

He followed her no differently than he would his gege, or his Shizun, but his gaze was stuck on the gifted flower bracelet.

With how much they walked, they must have been back in town. Wan Yu was still distracted, and wasn’t looking where he was going and had eventually bumped into Lin An. “Shijie?” Wan Yu asked, but he was shocked.

He did not see Lin An.

Instead, he had bumped into an elderly man. Without sparing the little boy any more than a glance, the old man bowed and continued walking. It looked like he was going towards the cafe. “Shijie?” Wan Yu called out, his voice a little louder now. Where had Lin An vanished? He searched their previous path but she wasn't there. Wan Yu felt a bit of nervousness well up in his heart.

Wan Yu gently touched the soft petals on his wrists with his fingertips. He didn’t want to ruin them, but it calmed him. He suddenly wanted to see both his Shijie and his Shixiong.