3seed

Fate's Attendant 1.38

Added 2025-10-06 20:10:55 +0000 UTC

Auntie Ling was tough; she ignored the sharp, shooting pain radiating from her paw as she forced her way through the forest. She considered herself stubborn, too. One had to be to live in a world of strife and misery. Yet, this was perhaps the first time she’d met anyone more stubborn than her.

Hong Fei had refused to let her carry the boy, who was currently slung over the summoner’s shoulder. He used Fortune’s Favor, the sword he never drew, as a cane to steady him over the uneven ground.

Auntie Ling could smell the sweat on him. The forest’s predators likely knew where they were, and she growled low in her chest as a warning. So far, they’d kept their distance.

Ahead, she heard the roar of rushing water, and the cliffside overlooking the gorge soon came into sight. A glance over the side told her the river had retreated behind its banks overnight.

Behind her, Hong Fei eased the boy to the ground. He wiped his face, then came to stand beside her, gazing down at the muddy road below.

“I have rope,” he said. “Do you think a sled would slide across the surface?”

Auntie Ling looked a question at him, but Hong Fei had already turned to examine the bushes behind them. He took out a knife to cut some of the large fronds loose.

“Come help me,” he said. “We’ll need as many of these as we can find. And three or four saplings…” Hong Fei gestured to the boy. “At least as long as he is.”

Auntie Ling tested her paw. The injury was healing, sped along by the extra qi given to her by Sun Han. She suspected it wouldn’t be enough, however, to convince Hong Fei to simply let her carry the boy.

With a sigh, she went back into the forest to find the saplings requested.

###

“I learned this trick from the Askalousans,” Hong Fei said, adjusting the impromptu harness wrapped around his chest. “Their injured were usually transported on horseback or in wagons, but that wasn’t always possible.”

Auntie Ling nodded to show she was listening. Hong Fei reached over to straighten the vines connecting her to the sled. The two of them were working together to drag a Yu Yong wrapped in fronds across the mud. It was so much easier with two.

Hong Fei continued, “Sometimes all they had were the wooden poles and the hides from their tents, so they dragged their injured atop sleds like this one.” He looked down. His shoes, the ones taken from Andrew, looked a mess but were doing well on the slippery surface. “I don’t know if you’ve ever seen anything like the steppe, but it’s beautiful. In the spring, the land is covered in a carpet of green so vibrant, you’d think the god of life lived underneath.” He shook his head. “The god of war, too. Life and war intermingled…”

He paused at the sound of horses ahead. They were moving quickly, and his heart leaped into his throat in remembered anticipation and fear. Then, the squelching of the mud under his shoes reminded him of where and who he was—the swordsman now versus the swordsman from before.

He put a hand on the hilt of his sword, but let it go when he saw the riders come into view, the mud splattering beneath them. The xiàowèi rode at the lead with a handful of Yu soldiers behind him, including his nephew, Chen Zhengyi. The youth must’ve pled mightily to have been included in the search party.

Chen Wenbin’s face turned grim as he came closer and saw the load wrapped entirely in fronds behind Hong Fei and Auntie Ling. He reined in beside them, sending more mud splattering. The mount’s belly and flanks were covered in it.

“Is it the Young Master? Is he…” the xiàowèi asked.

“Injured but alive,” Hong Fei said, his gaze flicking between the soldiers.

The tension on Chen Wenbin’s face loosened all at once. His tired eyes wavered from the relief. “Thank the heavens!”

The others with him smiled and muttered their own gratitude to the gods and the ancestors watching over the Yu family.

Chen Zhengyi, too. He joined in—after the initial look of disappoint had fled from his features, before he’d hid it with gladness.

The only number among these people was the black 3 above the xiàowèi’s head. And yet, Hong Fei knew, a curse wasn’t necessary to feel jealousy. People hurt each other all the time without needing anything but envy, perhaps even one’s own sworn brother.

###

Hong Fei trudged through the corridor to his courtyard with Auntie Ling beside him. The doors, he noticed, were open.

Little Ruyun’s face peeked from around the jamb. “The master’s back,” she yelled behind her.

The sound of hurried steps followed, along with a mother’s stern instructions that servants weren’t supposed to yell. Kang Lian came out to greet him, then stopped as soon as she the bandages on Auntie Ling and him. The color drained from her face, and she immediately rushed back inside.

“A bath first,” Hong Fei yelled after her.

Auntie Ling huffed, and he added, “For both of us!”

Kang Lian returned with an embroidered pouch in hand. It was one that Hong Fei didn’t recognize. She pulled him to the steps of the salon where the light was best during the day and opened the pouch to reveal paper-wrapped packets of dried herbs, rolls of bandages, needles, and thread. Her fingers made quick work of removing the bandage on his arm, while she also told telling Little Ruyun to fetch soap and water.

She “tsked” at the injury, though there was a hint of relief in her voice, too. She’d recognized the wound wasn’t severe.

“I believe I said a bath first,” Hong Fei said mildly.

“We have to wait for Sun Han’s return in order to fetch the hot water,” she replied.

Little Ruyun came back with a bucket and lump of soap. “Did you find him? Where did the Young Master go?”

Hong Fei nodded. “Yu Yong should be with a doctor now. The xiàowèi apparently rode like a devil to carry him home after Auntie Ling and I brought him out of the forest.”

“That’s good,” Kang Lian said, then to Little Ruyun she added, “The pestle. When that’s been brought, undo the bandage on your auntie. We’ll need to treat her injury next.”

Little Ruyun ran to the kitchen and was back in moments with the pestle. She placed it next to her mother before turning to Auntie Ling.

“Where’s Sun Han?” Hong Fei asked. “He was supposed to guard you.”

“He heard the commotion and went in search of news,” she replied.

“And the open door?” Hong Fei shifted, so that he could see her eyes.

Kang Lian glanced up from cleaning the wound. “We are choosing not to live in fear,” she replied. “It—it wouldn’t be right for the dūtóu’s servants to lock themselves away every time he leaves.”

“Ah,” he said, letting her answer settle into him. The danger hadn’t stopped her.

Hong Fei slowly let himself relax. A bath would’ve been better, but this feeling of being cared for wasn’t bad either.

###

When Sun Han returned, Hong Fei was sitting on the salon’s steps with his eyes closed, resting. A fresh bandage was on his arm, as well as on the paw of Auntie Ling who was sleeping nearby.

The dūtóu’s eyes flicked open at the sound of steps approaching. “You’re back.”

“Sir, I am.”

The Kang family had apparently retreated to the kitchen, so it was just him and his summons in the courtyard. He petted Auntie Ling’s head, which woke her. “Come with me, both of you,” he said. “We have things to talk about.”

Hong Fei stood and led the way into the salon. Once everyone was inside, he gestured for Sun Han to close the doors behind them.

“First, we killed the creature that attacked Yu Yong. There was a black 0 above it, lined in white.” Hong Fei brought out his card to project it for them to see. “I gained no Fate Points upon its death, which is to be expected, but why was there a zero in the first place?”

Auntie Ling and Sun Han looked at each other.

The scholar cleared his throat. “Was there anything else unusual about the creature? Or the situation surrounding it?”

Hong Fei thought back to the fight. “The beast was intelligent enough to recognize when it had the upper hand and gloat. There was no evidence of elemental qi, however, so I’d estimate its realm in the high tiers of Qi Gathering. There didn’t appear to be a mate or young nearby, nor did we find any natural treasures. It was poor luck on Yu Yong’s part that he ran into the creature.”

“A poor luck caused by a ripple in fate,” Scholar Han said with a frown.

“Ripple?” Hong Fei repeated. “What do you mean?”

Auntie Ling gestured in the air with her paw. The sign didn’t mean anything, but the motion was reminiscent of…

“The web,” Hong Fei said, and she nodded.

Sun Han stroked his bare chin. “Fate follows the Dao, connecting all of creation. A web is a good analogy. So is water—drop a pebble in one spot and another area feels the ripple. Sometimes that means fate is changed enough for the energy to accumulate into a Fate Point, but there may be times when it’s simply a fluctuation moving against a person. A zero is a sign of that happening.”

“The energy was accumulating?” Hong Fei asked, seeking clarity.

Sun Han nodded. “Given enough time, it might’ve increased into a proper Fate Point or disappeared, depending on what else is happening across the connections.”

“You mean the situation with the family’s curse, since the color was black,” Hong Fei said.

“Probably,” Sun Han replied. “Though, fate doesn’t have to abide by geography or time. A tremor across national borders or even in the past might also influence how it moves.”

Hong Fei rubbed at the throbbing that was building behind his temples. “You can’t be serious.”

Sun Han at least had the decency to appear embarrassed. “I am, unfortunately. Those kinds of instances are likely to be rare, however, requiring great amounts of energy before they ripple out or accumulate.”

“I—” Hong Fei began, but realized he had no words to describe the situation. “I need to think about this before deciding how it impacts our plans, if at all.” He sighed and sat in his favorite chair. “Tell me about what’s happening in the rest of the estate.”

“That’s much clearer to explain,” Sun Han said. “You’re being blamed for what happened to Yu Yong.”

-----

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