Willow awoke propped up against a tree with a strangely smooth cloth draped across her. She felt absolutely terrible. Her body ached in ways she didn’t know were possible. Her mouth so parched it was like it had never known even the concept of moisture. Despite the pain of movement there was one thing she felt she must check.
She slowly moved her arm to the spot on her forehead where she remembered an eye opening.
The eye was gone.
That was a relief. She wasn’t sure how she would explain to her family why she suddenly had three eyes. Willow was then reminded to use her two remaining eyes to check her surroundings.
She immediately regretted that as there was a bright white light that stabbed directly into her brain, causing her to croak in pain.
“My apologies.” An unfamiliar voice spoke quietly from nearby. “I didn’t think you would be so sensitive to light. I’ve dimmed it as much as possible, so can you open your eyes again?”
With herculean effort she did.
What greeted her was quite possibly the prettiest face she’d ever seen, bathed in soft moonlight. Pale skin, red lips, and dark eyes framed by straight black hair tied loosely behind their head. The only flaw was the clear concern marring their face as they stared at Willow.
“Pretty.” She croaked.
Amusement flashed across the strangers face. “Thank you, junior sister. This senior brother’s name is Li Wanyu.” He spoke with soft emphasis on the brother. The name rang gentle alarm bells in the girl's mind, but she was too foggy to remember why. “Might I know yours?” He continued, when it was clear she wasn’t going to reply on her own.
Oh right. She was being rude. “Willow.” She managed to say with her mouth still devoid of moisture.
Seeming to understand her plight, the young man tried to reassure her. “My spirit should be returning with water soon, Willow. My apologies once again for the wait. I had hoped they would be back before you awoke.”
“S’fine. Thank you.” She croaked out with clear effort.
“Save your strength now. I only wanted to know your name so I could more easily provide you with comfort.” He hesitated before continuing. “And to satisfy my own curiosity I suppose.”
He placed his hand on her head in a gentle pat. It felt surprisingly nice and cool.
“My curiosity still remains for several other things about you, but that can wait until you are in a less dire condition.”
And so they sat in relative silence as he occasionally patted the girl’s head and fussed over the strange cloth covering her to make sure she was as comfortable as the situation allowed.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Willow, for her part, was content to zone out as she stared at the pale orb of moonlight that provided them light in the small grove they were in. Drifting in and out of consciousness and thought.
Finally, a miniature moon drifted into their little clearing with a twinkling chime. A dripping wet flask was dangling from a cord that wound across the surface of the small celestial body. It stopped next to the young man and he carefully undid the cord as he took the flask.
“Thank you friend.” He said, turning to Willow. “This is my partner Man Yue, and here is that water I promised you.”
He put the flask to her cracked lips, and pure liquid nirvana entered her mouth. “Slow sips now, or you’ll make yourself sick.” He said, making sure to stop pouring every now and again to guarantee she followed his advice.
After a couple minutes of this he set the flask down. “Now then. Are you willing to answer some questions Willow?” At her feeble nod he continued. “First, I have to know why a child like you is suffering from quite severe qi exhaustion?” His tone took on a hint of anger. “Second, I would like to know why you’re all alone in these thrice-damned woods?”
She lightly licked her lips. “Got lost while gatherin kindling for Sissy. Stupid Yew. Was suppose to be his job.” She thought for a second. “I guess the qi exhaustion is from whatever Change tried?”
A look of surprise flashed across the young man’s face. “Change? A spirit of yours?”
Oh yeah. Change and Harmony hadn’t said anything until now. She wondered why. She wanted to check on them, but when she tried her core sent quite the painful shock through her body, causing her to cry out.
Li Wanyu grabbed her, concern on his face.“Careful! Don’t try to do anything with your qi or spiritual sense for the next few days, or your condition will worsen.”
“But I want to check on my spirits! They’re not talking to me so I’m scared something’s wrong!”
“You have multiple spirits? And they can all speak the human tongue?” He asked, the disbelief clear on his face. He shook his head a bit. “Your spirits should be fine. Even with your core drained and damaged your internal spaces for them would be stable.”
“That’s good!” Relief flooded her face. “And only Harmony and Change talk. Little flame doesn’t yet.” She paused. “Oh wait, I’m not supposed to call them little anymore. Not sure why, but Change was very serious about it.”
The young man was deep in thought, troubled by something the girl had just said. After a moment he snapped out of it. “What your spirit was likely trying to convey, junior sister, is the importance of concepts and names to spirits. More often than not they are one and the same, but not always. Names make up what spirits are, the very fabric of their being entwined with the concepts contained within their name. At least that is what I’ve been told by some of my elders.” He gave her a considering look. “I’m surprised your spirits haven’t explained this to you more thoroughly than I ever could.”
Willow was contemplating his explanation so she replied while distracted. “They’re both new so they haven’t had time to tell me a whole lot.” She missed the look of frustration that passed over Li Wanyu’s face, that then moved to resignation, then back to the gentle impassivity that was his default.
The mental alarm bells from earlier were starting to ring again but the girl was unsure why. Though a question had arisen from the young man's explanation “Why do you call me junior sister? I’ve never met you before now, and you don’t look like family.”
He chuckled lightly, still seeming a bit distracted himself. “I suppose that bit of culture isn’t common around here. In my clan and in other parts of the region it’s customary to call others who follow the path of the binder a junior or senior sibling if they are somewhat comparable in age.”
The alarm bells were blaring now as Willow realized her mistake. The word clan had jostled her tired and sore mind into remembering the name of one of the groups after her friends.
It was the Li clan.
And she had just told Li Wanyu she had bound the spirits he was likely looking for.
