Protected behind his self-made shield, Tao Hua waited for the footsteps to fade out of The Bookstore. He waited and waited and waited, but the taps didn’t fade. Instead, they came to an abrupt stop, and that wasn’t even the worst part of the situation.
That award went to the door that didn’t sound once. Oh, joyous days.
Of course, Tao Hua wasn’t an idiot…on most occasions. His eyes widened, and his fingers nearly tore through the scroll he had shoved so close to his face. Even if he tried to focus on the words, they just doubled and tripled. That also sucked. The other option was to dissociate; his best-known skill! But each time he tried, he couldn’t quite quell that curiosity that picked apart his brain.
“…”
After a moment of serious contemplation, Tao Hua made another decision; one that didn’t involve names, but rather, himself. He dared to peek over the scroll—not too much! But not so little that he couldn’t catch a glimpse either. He steadied his jittering eyes until the scene before him came into focus. Standing ahead of the bookshelf was Lord No-Name, who actually didn’t look mad at all. In fact, he looked like someone who didn’t give a shit.
Tao Hua found it peculiar in the same way a dog finds a strange noise odd, and he was so entranced that he hadn’t noticed his hands lowering, nor his head tilting amid the wonder-bound panic. Something about the man whose finger trailed along each book intrigued Tao Hua. It was the first time in a long time he’d seen another pair of eyes jump from one book to the other.
And what an odd pair of eyes, he’d think.
Which answered the most glaring question: was he from Siyue Town? Well, that should have been obvious from their first encounter. It did introduce another question, however. That question, which aggressively nipped at Tao Hua was, word-for-word, Why would any self-respecting man ever stop in this shithole of a town?
Assuming he was self-respecting. He had to be, right? From the way his finger deliberately paused at each book, to his other hand hovering over his mouth—this was a man in deep contemplation. None of his actions felt performative. What really made Tao Hua wonder wasn’t why this man was in Siyue Town, but what title he was looking for.
He watched as the man’s finger paused over the book, which caused Tao Hua’s heart to nearly seize. Was he caught? He held his breath in wait, and when he finally exhaled that pent-up fear, he was flooded with an odd sense of relief. Lord No-Name finally pulled the book out from the shelf. So, Tao Hua returned to his activity of “person-watching behind a scroll in plain sight”, and when the man opened the book, he narrowed in on the title. In his ever-so-discreet attempt, he unintentionally leaned forward, but his entire body would soon stiffen.
The page of the book flipped at the sound of a man’s deep voice.
“If you’re just going to stand and stare, the least you can do is offer help,” said Lord No-Name with an air of indifference.
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh, fuck, fuck, fuck. What do I say?! Tao Hua thought. What was there to say? ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to stand in plain sight and watch you. It won’t happen again’? When did that ever work?!
Tao Hua’s breath vibrated like the chattering teeth of a person in below-freezing temperatures. It was obvious that this man was speaking to him, but Tao Hua acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing. Despite staring at him.
Lord No-Name’s ghostly eyes were stationed on the text in front of him, and as he flipped another page, he added, “How’s that sound?”
Tao Hua could only mutter a few questionable noises. The scroll in his hands crinkled more than ever, and even if he wanted to, the fear locked him in place. Tao Hua just stared at this man, shell-shocked from Pluto and beyond.
But he would soon jolt. The book snapped shut, and the man straightened his head, staring straight at the shelf. His eyelids fell to a lull, and the only hint of an actual emotion was through the quivering of his brow. Whatever that meant.
“Well?”
First, Tao Hua avoided Lord No-Name. He glanced over at the desk opposite the pair. The old man, uncaring of his surroundings or what happened in that quaint bookstore of his, was busy devouring his lunch. This made the situation even more awkward, as the clicking chopsticks filled the silence shrouding the pair. But curiosity would pull Tao Hua’s attention back to the man, and when he did, he found those very eyes, ghastly in colour, staring at him.
They stood in the midst of a stare-down, only broken by Tao Hua’s ceding.
“What do I get out of it?” he asked.
“…” Baffled. That was the only word that could characterize the look on Lord No-Name’s face. Utterly baffled, at this tiny man and the entire town. In resignation, he answered, “Books? I’ll buy you books?”
Tao Hua’s eyes wandered the entire bookshop once more. They travelled from the door, the old man, the dust-ridden beams of the ceiling, until they finally returned. But it would only be a few mere seconds before Tao Hua jerked forward, shoving the scroll into the crack of the shelf.
“Okay.” He darted to the man’s side and joined him in his act of “staring at books”. Together! “What do you need?”
In the stylistic prose of “fuck show, let’s tell”, Tao Hua wasn’t poor. In fact, he was far from poor. Therefore, he really didn’t need anyone to pay for his books. But who was he to deny such a chivalrous offer?
All that previous stuff was now yesterday’s problem for our dear princess!
The moment between the two was best described through Lord No-Name’s reaction—question marks. That’s it. He stared down at Tao Hua, and after a moment longer, he finally said, “…anything on the history of this town?”
Through a smile, Tao Hua hummed, “Nope!”
There was yet another air of silence between the two strangers.
“…nothing? Are you sure?”
“Yup!” Tao Hua’s hand hovered from one book to the other until his fingers pulled one out. He took that book and pressed it against his torso, leveraging it steady and brushing off whatever dust concealed the title.
The book was bigger than most. It was best described using the planets. For example, this book in Tao Hua’s grip was like Jupiter, and the books he typically read were like Mercury; they were smaller, but filled with a denser tale.
“Okay…” The man followed Tao Hua’s movements, scratching his temple. “Then what about artifacts? Any?”
“Don’t got any.” Tao Hua lifted the giant book, presenting it to Lord No-Name. “Unless you want to count the senile old man down the street. But that gets old quickly. Here!”
Reaching for the book, Lord No-Name muttered his “thanks”. As soon as it was snugged in his hands, however, his brows pinched together.
“This…this is a fairytale? Are you toying with me?”
“It is.” Tao Hua reached up and pulled the man’s arms down with the book. Pointing at the title, he said, “It’s a fairytale, but it’s a fairytale about gods and stuff. That has to count for something, right? Uh, well, that’s because most artifacts are from the gods, and that means they’re not rooted in reality--”
Downcast, his forehead wrinkled. “—or a reality we don’t yet understand?”
“I don’t get it.” From Tao Hua, to the book, the man’s expression flattened. “Just tell me if you’re trying to waste my time.”
No! Well, yes. Maybe? The brain was truly an unknown thing, and emotions were the most puzzling part of it. Tao Hua didn’t know what to say. He never had the opportunity to learn what to say, rather. Talking to himself didn’t count. So yes! He was absolutely wasting this man’s time, but for a good cause! Kind of.
Tao Hua doubled down on his terribly crafted lie, conjuring up each sentence like an author to a book. “Well, uh, maybe there’s a revelation? Yeah! One no Historian thought about, or a hidden meaning. Er. Something? Um. Figuratively?”
Lord No-Name’s thumb grazed the edge of the book, and his eyes were cast studying the cover.
The moment between the two was awkward. They stood in silence as the man contemplated Tao Hua’s explanation, his expression unreadable. See, that was the ultimate problem when speaking to oneself; there was no one around who could disagree, but that also meant no one could agree either. At the end of the day, both were equally sad; just one was adorned in blue instead of pink, and the person wearing the dress was colorblind.
“This isn’t what I’m looking for. Thanks anyway.” Lord No-Name passed the book back to Tao Hua, breaking the silence between the two. But he would pause midway through his action, making it difficult for Tao Hua to tug the book back. Ripping it book out of his hands, the man shoved it under his arm and retracted his statement. “I changed my mind. I’ll consider it. Anything else?”
Tao Hua blinked. What changed this man’s mind wasn’t any explanation, but an expression. Unbeknownst to Tao Hua, he donned an expression of hurt, written in capital letters. He was too caught up in trying to prevent this potential conversation from leaving; he hadn’t realized just how loudly he wore his emotions on his sleeve.
But that meant one thing! He succeeded!
A smile formed on his face. It was the type of smile that nearly crinkled the lips and came off more goofy than it did cute. He also didn’t realize this. He just turned back to the shelves and withdrew more books, piling them into Lord No-Name’s hands.
“So why are you in Siyue Town? We don’t even have a re—“ He paused just as the man side-glanced him. This was information learnt through the act of being nosy. Wouldn’t that make him look creepy? Rewind.
“A what…?”
“You’re looking for a, reeealllyyy cool thing. A thing. You’re looking, or something. Like digging! All Historians need to find those things. You’re a Historian right?”
True, but not entirely. What Tao Hua meant to say was an “archaeologist”.
Glancing over at the man, Tao Hua’s eyes trembled with a hopeful gloss. To his sheer luck, the man wasn’t even attentive to the topic anymore. He picked up book after book, reading each title. “A paper. Nothing more.”
Huh. A scholar…? Tao Hua’s eyes went from the man’s expression to the sword strapped at his hip. What scholar carries around a sword?
“It’s fine.” Lord No-Name returned the glance. “I know you were eavesdropping.”
“Aaaaaaaaaah…right. Okay. I might know something then,” he lied. Kind of. Half-truth was a better way of putting it. Fortunately, this piqued the man’s interest. He lifted his brows, prompting Tao Hua to continue.
“If it’s really important to you, then you could…” Tao Hua hesitated, but the ever-growing silence and expecting stare made it harder for him to back out. “You should, maybe, talk to the headman…he knows a few things about the relics.”
“Oh?” The man’s face looked like a face trying to hold back his thoughts and emotions. He egged on Tao Hua, asking, “Who might that be?”
“That person you ask about, the headman, uh, that’s Master Tao.” With each word said, Tao Hua’s voice lowered until it fell to a whisper. But it would rise the moment he shot his head up. “But he’s busy! If you need help, I…I know a bit!”
Master Tao was, in fact, not busy.
“Fairy tales won’t work. I told you not to waste my time; there’s not much of it to work with—“ He froze before walking back his words. “That sounds grim. Let me rephrase that: The paper is due soon.”
“No, I promise! It’s not a fairytale. I can help you. I know some stuff, I…” In an abrupt moment of trying to unstable himself from this mess, Tao Hua’s hands sporadically moved. With each word, they’d draw unrecognizable patterns in the air. And all that pent-up anxiety? Yeah, that came hurtling out in yet another lie. “I work for Master Tao!”
“Oh?”
In a matter of seconds, the man’s entire demeanour flipped. He tapped against the pile of books on the shelf, only for it to stop as a smile crept onto his face. It was crafty, and the way it lit his face up could have made any person’s heart stop.
That’s exactly what it did for Tao Hua. What made it nearly fall out of his chest was the way the man’s head leaned towards him, practically making his breathing nonnegotiable. And this wry man’s following words? Venom induced ecstasy.
“Well, now I’m curious.”
Chapter end.
I ended up taking this chapter last minute and completely revising it. What I wrote in the midst of my sickness read exactly like something written by someone delirious from medicine and little sleep.
There just wasn't a point where I could split the chapter that I'd be happy with. So, one full chapter! I think I’ll just go forward with this method instead.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It’s extremely slowburn, if you haven’t already noticed. I value the small things that pile up into something grand. See, I don’t know what much to say on it because I fear spoiling my own fucking story. Could you imagine?
This trope I’m leaning into, or have a plan to, will be a new discovery for me, though. I won’t say anymore; I don’t trust myself.
Thanks for reading, and the support means the world to me!
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