Volume 2- Chapter 15

Chapter 15

~~~~Bao Xiaoli~~~~

Seventh Yellow Hill Town always reminded me of an old hound, like the old sheep dog father owned when I was little. I loved that loyal hound, especially as he kept me safe when it was my turn to go with the sheep on the field.

I still miss old Lei still, even five years after he died.

The town was the same as old Lei, he was lazy, barely wished to move and until his last day, never moved until it had to. But when it had to move, the old hound as old as I was, ran so fast that the lone wolf which once tried to eat one of our sheep didn't even have time to realize it was dead before Lei's jaws were crushing its skull.

Lei, even when he was running, was far too silent, which matched Seventh Yellow Hill Town as well. Even now, when we were close to the peak of activity, with a few hours before nightfall, the streets were quiet, so quiet I could hear my steps and that of my companion for today.

"Thank you for accompanying me on the errands uncle Li." I respectfully thanked the old man.

The man was old and dressed in the bronze armor of the Lemon tree banner as he was escorting me through the city.

"Hah, there no reason to be this formal niece. No daughter of Long or old man Mu will be left alone on my watch." The man boastfully declared.

Uncle Li was old by most standards, even if fifty wasn't that old all things considered. He was still younger than father by close to two decades and decade when compared to mother.

I giggled happily, as if laughing at some joke only I knew, which I suppose was only half true. The joke was hardly something only I knew.

"You do know I'm a cultivator uncle, you didn't have to come keep me company, I am quite safe." I demurely replied.

That earned me a scoff.

"After that despicable thief ripped the face of the Banner off, it's not a matter of utility, but of principle! Also Long's boy is far too tradition bound and asked us to look after you. We are not failing the children of the banner Bao, not again." He told me, his voice shifting between serious and joking with each sentence.

I sighed wistfully at his words.

Tai despite all logic is tradition bound to a sometimes annoying degree. If anything the moment he finds an old tradition that few people bother with anymore he immediately tries his best to revive it. It was a strange habit of his but I've gotten used with his weirdness.

Tradition demands that a man ensure that his wife is never alone when he is gone for many days away from home. It is done for many reasons, from guaranteeing that the woman will not cheat from making sure that she does not feel abandoned by her husband as well as to keep her safe. Tai did not fear cheating on my part the same way I did not fear cheating on his part, especially with Mei Lin and Ya Xue near him to take care of his needs.

No, he ensured that our uncles would look after me, so that I don't get the chance to feel lonely whenever I need to do something. It was touching, but getting a minder was still a bit annoying.

At least I have someone to help me carry what I buy, which was about the only thing uncle Li could do and be useful.

"You never failed us uncle, the thief needed a powerful fox to be caught. Nobody could expect you or us to have caught her." I tried to assure him.

The man chuckled tiredly at my words.

"We expected better of ourselves Bao. It doesn't matter that we had no chance, we should have been better and seized it." He denied.

The Lemon Tree Banner was quite angry upon finding out that they have been robbed, and the robberies have brought distrust in the bonds between the bannermen, until it was found that the one doing them was a rogue cultivator. I still don't understand why the woman decided to throw her life away for nothing.

I could understand if we'd wronged her, but elder Shen Xifeng told us she merely hated the banners, all sects and cultivators in general due to her being abused in past lives by other sects. We were not worthy targets for her spite and the entire situation made me more confused the more I learned of it, so I decided to no longer think about it.

Spite will grant focus, but make you forget your senses. I decided to no longer think about it, as the thing is not my issue to deal with.

"You can't deal with insanity uncle, but let us leave the topic behind us, what do you want to eat tonight?" I asked him.

I made a habit of cooking once every week with Yu Zong to try and bond. Cooking is the only activity we can do together without argument, probably because I am better at it than her and she knows to follow my lead, but I'll take it.

"Ohohoho, you're cooking tonight niece? Mo will be crying bitter tears when he hears it. He took a sabbatical to go see his sister's family just today when it was his turn to accompany you, and now he will be spending the night on the road and I'll eat like a prince!" The man laughed heartily.

"Oh silly you, I am not that good at it." I playfully denied.

I enjoyed it when people praised my cooking, especially Tai, but the type of praise I wanted was rare from that barbarian of a man. The man would eat barely cleaned plant roots and call it good, then do the same to my cooking. Sometimes it's like his tongue can barely tell tastes apart from how little he reacts to them.

I know he likes them, but his reactions have always been so muted. About the only thing that makes him react is spicy food, so I made sure to make plenty of it.

"Ha, you're Rong's daughter and that woman is a goddess of cooking. I've once had something she cooked and it was the best thing I ever ate! I ate what you cooked two weeks ago and you aren't far from her skill back then Bao." He praised me.

"I'll gracefully accept the praise uncle, but only if you help me pick the condiments for today's dinner. I'm thinking some spicy chicken if the market has something that burns." I replied happilly.

The market rarely had some of the spicy powder Tai liked. I was… ambivalent on it… The taste was nothing special but when combined with other spices it gave a unique taste that men seemed to adore for some strange reason.

Mother was certainly happy to figure out and she's been using it extensively on father, father Long and Bai from what the men told me.

"Ooh, fire powder? I heard that some foxes from the west came with some. Apparently their clan has a plantation of multiple spices and they come occasionally to sell spice kits." Uncle said.

"Spice Kits?" I asked him.

I haven't managed to meet those foxes or heard of the things. It's been some time since I went to buy spices so maybe that's why?

Uncle Li nodded his head vigorously. And started enumerating the strange 'condiment kits'.

"Yes, I'll show you where they put their stall, they have these cute little sets of six condiments in wooden bottles. They have Dragon's Breath which is six condiments that burn your tongue. They have Dreaming of Moonlight which I never had, but one of my wife's cousins called more like a tea leaf set and there the Bounty of the Earth which makes soups taste heavenly! If you give them the same bottle back after you cleaned them they'll even pay you for them and all of them are unique for each type of spice. If they're around I'll also have to tell my family to give them their bottles back!" The man replied excitedly.

"You have to show me uncle!" I demanded seriously.

I've spent enough time around Tai and teacher Hao Wen to recognize a scheme. I also knew from Little Ya that carving took time, especially carving something like a bottle. I had no doubt that the spices were expensive and buying them by the bottle was more expensive than buying them in small little sacks like normal, probably by the same amount as the bottle costs even, but having some spice bottles would be useful and make it easier to tell the spices apart.

We were close to the market by now anyway, and so we continued to speak loudly for the rest of the town to hear.

According to Elder Shen Xifeng's lessons people seeing the banners and cultivators speaking cordially and happily then all is well. She was keen on having us be loud, but not too overbearing when we went to talk outside, despite my instincts telling me I was making a nuisance out of myself.

I could understand the logic behind it, if those that were meant to protect them acted in any way but confidently and in the open then it was a sign of things going poorly. Knowledge of the why it was a good thing didn't change a lifetime spent treating words as a resource one had to use sparingly in public.

"Here, that is the stall niece." Uncle Li said and guided me to the stall in question.

I was quite surprised to see that I recognized the two women there.,

"Li Na and Gao Na, it's surprising to see you without Haoran Lin and Cheng Lin around your tails. I didn't know you were spice sellers." I addressed the two women at the stall.

Li Na was paradoxically the taller of the two fox women despite her name, but beyond that there wasn't much different about the two women compared to any other fox I've seen. Their orange and white robes were cute at least, but done in the fox style, which didn't suit me well when I last tried it.

Not like I could use any such dresses much, as I am required to use my martial robes when in public.

"Ah, honorable Bao Xiaoli and brave Li Guo, I wasn't aware you were acquainted with one another. Unfortunately we haven't seen the honorable Lin twins." The taller of the foxes replied with a grin.

"Ah, you know them Bao?" Uncle Li asked me.

I nodded.

"In passing, Haoran Lin and Cheng Lin are courting the two of them and I was made aware of it, because their sister is my concubine." I informed him.

Well, more like Tai Su told me. The Lins were strangely private about that sort of thing, which was strange. It's not like they'll become vassals if they come to Tai for some help with understanding foxes or other such things, nor do we actually care what they do as long as they don't cause trouble.

Elder Shen Xifeng knows of the fact the two of them are courting foxes and doesn't care, and I am pretty sure she already told them that if they do have children, and if those children are born with a tail or fox ears, then they won't be allowed to join the sect and may find joining the banners difficult.

"Yes, Haoran is quite sweet on me, same as Cheng is sweet on my cousin." Gao Na said, in the tone of a woman quite proud of the fact she was courted by a cultivator.

Her tail was certainly wagging happily enough.

"I am glad to see you are doing well, and spice sellers? It makes me wonder how you even met the Lins." I replied.

Li Na for some reason looked embarrassed at my question, even as he cousin's ear were wiggling in what I learned was amusement.

"Li Na over here originally wanted to register as a merchant and approached honorable Cheng for information on the topic. She was under the belief that she needs to first register as a merchant to be allowed to trade, similar to the tale of the Willy Tail. The honorable man informed her that such is not the case and the two of them started arguing while honorable Haoran and I were left watching." Gao Na said, her tone thick in amusement.

The other fox was outraged at her cousin's remark.

"Don't act as if you didn't believe the same!" The fox all but shouted at her cousin.

If anything that made her cousin even smugger.

"I am not the one that was willing to argue with a cultivator over it." She all but sang.

"Not my fault the Willy Tail is so tricky in her writing. The Son of the Mountain is far easier to make sense of, but he doesn't speak of what foxes experience, only how the humans react to what we do." Li Na replied, her tone thick with indignation.

"Excuse if I am being forward, but who are these two, The Willy Tail and Son of the Mountain?" Uncle Li asked and interrupted their conversation.

"Those are Teacher Hao Wen's and Tai Su's pen names. The foxes consider it taboo to publish scholarly works under your own name ,and so they must use pen names." I explained.

The made uncle to caress his stubble. Yes it was quite strange when teacher explained it me and I still don't understand why they're doing it, but foxes are weird.

You get used to it eventually.

"How does one know they are the same individual then? It might work in the same Prefecture, but if people decide on the same name on different parts of the continent it might take decades until they learn of one another and might start accusing each other of stealing the other's name." Uncle Li asked.

I didn't think of that and turned towards the foxes for answers.

"Yes that's an issue, especially as even writing the name of the city one is from is not done. I heard of such a scandal a few years ago and it got so heated the Ancestors had to arbitrate the issue, as two men had chosen the pen name of 'The Brilliance of the Unconquered Sun'." Gao Na answered.

"How did they fix it?" Uncle asked, genuinely curious.

He loved being a guard and has been one for more than a decade ,so I guess it made sense that this sort of legal issue would be of interest to him.

"The Ancestors told them to pick among themselves who wants the name more, because they are paying to have all of the books of the other rewritten with a new name." Li Na answered, her tone quite uneasy.

Uncle and I laughed lightly at that, that was quite funny, but it seemed the two spice sellers disagreed.

"All humans that hear the story laugh, but I never understood why. What's so funny about it?" Gao Na asked

"Names are silly things to be bothered by. If someone cares so much about it then they can pay for the changes." Uncle explained with a shrug.

The explanation didn't seem to satisfy the foxes but they let the matter be.

I understood somewhat why the foxed were uneasy at the punishment. The concept of having to pay for your victory was not one they found pleasant. Victory is meant to pay off and while victory could be expensive the fruits of Victory would determine whether it was worthy the expense or not. The idea that victory would cause you to pay money as a condition was not something the foxes were comfortable with.

Whoever those two men were, and whatever stink they caused with their squabbling, they must have angered the Fox Ancestors enough that they decided to be incredibly petty with their judgment.

"I imagine both of them decided to drop the matter and pick another name?" I asked.

Li Na nodded at my question.

"Yes, they had to also abandon the future profits from their old pen names and give them to the Ancestors for wasting their time for a name none of them wanted anymore, which caused quite the stir." She answered.

"They must have angered the Fox Ancestors greatly for them to be that petty." I replied.

It's one thing to be petty when given a solution, it's one thing to extend it to even when the two troublemakers managed to solve things among themselves, and I was curious to learn more about it.

The two women nodded awkwardly at that, but did not wish to elaborate, so I let it be. They have been quite friendly and I would rather not impose on topics they are clearly uncomfortable with for no good reason.

"Well moving on from such heavy topics, we're here to buy some spices." Uncle Li declared.

One moment there were two awkward young women in front of me and in the next those women were gone and were replaced with two foxes that looked like they were looking at a feast.

"Ooh, clients, come look at our humble wares." Li Na invited and showcased her family's wares.

There were many of them there, so many that the more I read the more I realized I didn't even know what most of them were.

"Are the kits priced differently?" I asked

"No honored customer, the most expensive, The Dragon's Breath is twice as expensive as the cheapest at four silver taels, but you can get one silver tael back if you bring back all of the containers." Gao Na answered.

So the prices of packs range from one silver tael all the way to three silver taels. Quite pricey, especially the spicy ones.

"I would like to see how much is in one container." I asked them.

Gao Na proceeded to silently take one of the spice containers saying 'lovage' and poured the dried spice on a small napkin. That wasn't much, and it was certainly pricey, especially if I didn't return the container.

It was certainly more than I would have spent for some spice, even one with some medicinal properties like that, before I became a cultivator. One of the cheapest spice containers, if it came in triple the quantity, would have been a decision I could have been convinced to take if it was for a special occasion, but thankfully I was a cultivator now. I could afford to splurge every now and then, especially when I controlled the salaries of four cultivators.

I pulled out a golden tael and the two foxes stop swiping their tails and looked in wonder at it. Sixty Silver Taels for a golden tael was the standard exchange rate, but it could and did fluctuate from time to time. Few people used golden taels as a consequence, instead preferring silver taels.

"Two Dragon's Breath kits, Two of the Breath of Life kits, Two of the Sweetest of Dreams kits, One of The Bounty of the Earth, Glimmer of Stars and Smell of Spring sets. Also do you have Fei Powder?" I asked.

"We don't, our family does not grow it, you need special dispensation to grow Fei and nobody in our clan could get one as it's poisonous to us. It can cause heart issues and doesn't keep us awake like it does humans." Li Na answered.

"That would be twenty-seven silver taels and we need to give your thirty four silver taels in exchange." Gao Na continued.

"Make it thirty if you can give us something to carry them in and can talk to whoever grows it to start sending shipments here." I replied

The Lins, even Mei Lin, Ya Xue and Tai Su were addicted to the drink one can make out of the black powder. Just being given two drink from elder Shen Xifeng's stash was enough to make Tai Su crave the drink ever since, but nobody was selling it.

I tried it and found it bitter, but even combined with the sugar and milk, I would rather drink tea than it, even if it could keep me wide awake for longer.

The women winced.

"We know someone that sells it, but they're a merchant, as Fei farmers can only sell to those that physically come to their plantations and they can't travel with the powder or plant." Li Na said.

I sighed, why did it have to be merchants, such despicable creatures. Just mentioning them was enough to ruin my mood.

"If you can make introductions then I'll deign to talk to it." I replied.

Li Na shook her head at my words.

"They aren't in town, no merchant that can sell Fei and other poisons wishes to trade in the area." She explained apologetically.

I sighed. Why can't things ever be easy?

The plant is poison to the foxes and I recall teacher Hao Wen's lesson on how the foxes handle that sort of thing. If a plant is poison to foxes and has no other use but be poison, then the plant is extirpated to the best of their abilities. If it does have some other use, then it is restricted to a license system, where only certain individuals may cultivate it and only the most renowned and trustworthy individuals may buy, sell and transport them.

And the foxes trust merchants for some reason.

'What to do, what to do…' I wondered.

Oh, I had an idea, one I am sure Tai Su will appreciate.

I pulled two more golden taels from my pouch and gave them to the two foxes. The things I do to make my family happy.

"Here, you may keep the change as a commission. I need you to buy me two golden taels worth of Fei Powder, as well as talk to your contact or their source and ask them to send a letter to my husband, Tai Su, in regards to a possible solution to his 'issues' of entering the local market." I told the two of them.

They were unsure of it and looked ready to refuse before Gao Na took a deep breath and asked the question that was eating into her resolve.

"Wouldn't that get him into trouble honorable one? These ones do not wish to break any taboos." Gao Na asked in her most servile tone.

Both uncle Li and I snorted at that.

"I would rather not have such two lovely ladies get entangled with scum like merchants, but this is hardly something to be concerned with miss Gao Na and Li Na. Bao Xiaoli wishes to pay you to provide a certain good in advance, so as long as you provide it, or return the money within the year or whatever interval the two of you agree upon, then this is a Virtuous interaction." Uncle Li explained.

The two were looking at each other and a silent conversation was taking place between the two foxes as they tried to make sense of what they heard.

This 'solution' is one of the many workaround towns and villages used to get around the ban on merchants which buy a good, stockpile it and then keep it from those that need it until they feel they are desperate enough to accept any price.

By offering money first when they don't have the product we avoid stockpiling, then, as long as the product is delivered, all is well. If it's not delivered, that's when the issues start appearing.

"We'll do it honorable one." Gao Na said, her face and tone solemn for some reason.

"Thank you, if you could also give us a bag to carry the spices that would be lovely. I'll also return the rack the bottles rest on tomorrow." I replied.

Li Na shook her head.

"The bag is free for you honorable one, and you can keep the racks too, consider it a gift for providing us with a solution to an issue that has been plaguing our family since we decided to try and sell in human lands. Also are you certain you wish to trust us with such wealth?" She asked me.

Judging by her ears wiggling her cousin wished she didn't ask that and I giggled. When I stopped giggling, I started enumerating all of the reason I trusted them.

"You are currently courting the younger brothers of one of my friends, so you have a reason to return and a link for me to use to ask for my money back. If you were to succeed in bringing me some Fei powder then Haoran Lin and Cheng Lin will benefit too and they will be quite grateful to their heroes, which I suppose is incentive enough. Also, your clan has a static location they need to make a living, and I can certainly spend a hundred times as much as you would have stolen from me to change that if I can't get justice any other way." I told them plainly.

They were certainly spooked by my words, but what did they expect? Holding to one's oaths and spite are both virtues. Their valor may excuse scamming people or not see it in as bad a light, but the most virtuous thing someone could do when scammed or wronged is do whatever it takes to get back what was stolen from them, and if that fails make the scammer pay.

If you don't do it, then you'll only have more scammers after all.

Doing it to merchants that run from one place to another is difficult, doing it to farmers? That was another thing entirely. It's why people trust one and not the other after all, as scamming is difficult to get away with, when everyone knows where to find you and get their goods or taels back.

"Do… do you really think Haoran Lin will like the Fei powder?" Gao Na asked in an attempt to shift the subject.

That wasn't what she wanted to ask most likely, but she decided to instead pivot to the more acceptable question, because the answer to her unspoken question was no. I wasn't willing to spend just one hundred times the money to make sure they regretted crossing me. I was perfectly willing to spend ten times that much, but I ignored that thought as it's unlikely that I'll need to do that.

The fox women in front of me were smart enough to not try and mess with cultivators.

I scoffed at her words and how silly they were. Haoran Lin and Cheng Lin made poems for the Fei Drink they claim allowed them to double the time they could use to study.

The Lins are addicted to it and they probably got Tai hooked to it to, but it's Mei Lin telling me bluntly that she likes it and wants to drink some more of it if possible that made me go this far. Her request meant that if I ever managed to find it in the market, then I had to go as far as I needed to to acquire it, which meant even dealing with merchants directly if needed be.

The woman doesn't ask me for anything and agrees to most of what I demand of her without complaint, and the rest she agrees to even if she's whiny about it. The least I could do is fulfill her only genuine request of me.

The things I do for my family. It's always worth it, even if it can get annoying.

"I know it, the Lins treat the drink like it's holy, apparently it helped them study for their exams and they've been singing its praises and even composed it poetry." I revealed with a roll of my eyes.

"We'll do it." Gao Na declared bluntly

Her eyes were filled with the determination that could only be born out of love. I could respect it, even if it caused her cousin to sigh.

"Yes, we should be able to come with some Fei powder or beans in some six months at the earliest. Winter is coming and we won't be staying here for it." Li Na continued.

"I'll give you a year just in case." I told them and that was that.

They quickly gave us a bag and gently placed the spices in them to prevent spillage. Uncle Li lifted the bag gently and started walking behind me after we exchanged greetings with the spice sellers.

"Kind and lovely ladies those two. I wish Haoran Lin and Cheng Lin good luck in courting them." Uncle said as we continued walking through the market.

"Yes, a pity about them consorting with merchants, but what can you do? Foxes do things differently." I replied with a shrug.

"Where to then? Back to your compound?" He asked me.

I considered it but shook my head.

"No I want to stay a bit outside the walls to see if Tai is back. If we can't see him after five or so minutes we'll return back to the compound. Thank you for helping uncle Li." I answered.

I also took the chance to bow slightly in gratitude. His presence wasn't necessary, but it was nonetheless appreciated. It made me feel like Tai Su didn't abandon me to go on a mission and despite it being silly, made me feel all warm inside.

"Ha, no need to thank me, the food you will be making tonight is all the thanks I'll ever need. Not like it's hard or interferes with my duties." He told me.

"Oh, how so?" I asked him

"The banner is not as harsh when it comes to punishing thieves as the sect is. Tai Su argued that 'giving cultivators an escort to avoid having them turn minor issues into harsh punishments' was sound policy and after we saw what happened to the last thief you got your hands on, nobody complained about us introducing the policy." He explained.

"So you need to give each of us an escort?" I asked dubiously.

That sounds like a headache to arrange and allow them to fulfill their other duties of keeping the town peaceful. This many new people is probably not making their life easy, especially as most of them are foxes.

"Not quite, another cultivator or officer needs to request us to shadows a specific cultivator if they believe there might be any reason for them to overreact to a situation. The procedure is designed to have this last for a week and it can be extended if I or my superiors think it a good idea." He answered.

"That sounds like Tai." I replied tiredly.

Trust Tai to propose an idea to change how the guards do things just to make sure we can follow a silly tradition. I loved that man, but sometimes he was downright silly in how far he went to look after me.

He didn't need to go so far as to propose procedures to the entire banner so he can prevent me from feeling lonely!

I was touched, but it still felt like too much.

"It's a good idea niece, we wouldn't have agreed to it if it wasn't. Lord Xi has been made aware of it and liked the idea so much that he sent the proposal to have this become a banner-wide policy to General La." Uncle said happily.

I sighed at that but otherwise remained silent. I was happy that Tai's ideas were recognized and that it got him to even receive a letter from the Empress! I just wanted my husband for myself, and all of these people that want to reach him to get him to help with their or his ideas made me uncomfortable.

He is my husband, not theirs, they should be solving their own issues and leaving him be.

We went through the gate with only a wave and a bow from the guards, my status as a cultivator and uncle Li's presence meaning that we could come in and out of the town whenever we wished with nobody stopping us or staying in line.

We went through the town entrance Tai promised he'll use to return and waited. I didn't intend to wait for long today, ten or fifteen minutes at most, but I'd feel bad if he came back and I wasn't there to greet him or even tried to be.

'Wait, what's that?'

Not even one minute passed and I saw something in the distance. Am I imagining it? I turned towards uncle Li to ask him if he was seeing what I was seeing.

"Uncle do you see what I am seeing in the distance?" I asked him.

My meridians were already absorbing the Qi in the air and glacially moving it to my eyes to enhance my eyesight. It hurt a bit, but I've gotten used to it from constant exposure to the pain.

"I don't have the eyes I used to when young niece, I see some blurs of white and yellow, those are quite far." He replied after a few seconds.

I saw exactly the same thing, but not for long.

My pupils dilated and started flowing softly with the glow of Qi only I could see between the two of us.

The blurs were replaced by the clear image of what was in front of me, and that was Tai, Mei Lin, Ya Xue and Da Xiu.

"They're back!" I shouted happily.

"Go after them girl, I'll wait here." Uncle Li said, but I was already running before he got the chance to finish.

"You're back you're back, you're back!" I shouted as I threw myself at Tai.

My husband caught me with a smile as I smashed into him like a rocket smashed into a fortress.

"I'm back Bao, all of us are." He replied kindly.

And suddenly all was right in the world, my husband is back home and the worries that plagued my mind since he left were pushed back into the void they came from.

AN: And with this the prologue is over. Volume 2 should have some… fifty more chapters I think? It's going to be bigger than Volume One at least.