Meeting the Parents

The interior of the place is light and airy. The waiter welcomes us and recognises Dai Qian at once, so we are led to the room upstairs. After a few moments we are seated and Feng Yu reaches for the tea cups to distribute and fill them. Dai Qian orders a frankly insane amount of absolutely delicious sounding food and then we are left alone, Feng Yu sipping his tea in awkward silence.

“I’ve wanted to invite you for a meal for a while, and now I even have a good reason,” Dai Qian says.

“Does one need to have a good reason to invite someone for a friendly meal?” I ask.

“I suppose not. But I owe you my life, so it feels only appropriate now. Queen Zhu has told me what cleansing the curse from me meant for you, so I cannot thank you enough for taking such a huge risk.”

“Wait. Cleansing a curse is risky?” Feng Yu asks.

“The genuine qi of the dragon people can purge curses and poisons, but not in another person’s body. They take them onto themselves and their own body will purge them over time,” Dai Qian explains… something I, myself, have only been privy to for a few hours.

It feels weird being thanked for such a selfless action when I didn’t even know it was this reckless, but what can you do? It happened, so I’ll live with it.

“I knew the risk I was taking and you are both worth it.”

Feng Yu’s eyes widen in surprise. Yes, that’s right. I just put you in the same category as Murong Zhiyu’s second mother. You better be grateful. At that moment, there’s a knock on the door and we fall silent as the first dishes are put onto the table. It’s everything that can be prepared fast, like pickled vegetables, stew from a big pot simmering away all day and previously roasted meat. The waiter apologises, saying that there will be a short wait for the freshly steamed items and excuses himself. We are left alone again.

“Never take that risk again if it’s not necessary,” Dai Qian says into the ensuing silence, then unceremoniously picks up a piece of meat and places it into my bowl.

“You weren’t getting better for so long,” I counter. “The curse was sitting so deeply, I had to take several days to remove it gently. It was life-threatening and I consider that absolutely necessary.”

Dai Qian tries to glare at me. She knows I’m still a higher rank than her, but in this mother-daughter relationship, such things don’t count.

“And before you say anything, Feng Yu was dying. I couldn’t let him die right in front of me!”

“I can’t believe you,” Dai Qian says, but there is no venom in it. She places some vegetables into my bowl, then repeats the action with Feng Yu, who accepts the gesture with humble gratitude.

“Eat, children. I wish I could join you tonight, and while I’m well enough to fend for myself in daily life once more, a battle is still out of my reach.”

So I didn’t achieve my goal. Well, I achieved it partly. Her presence at the war council was a huge step up and having her present to organise the Huoyun Sect in this crisis is invaluable.

“I’m surprised you chose Dai-shimei to participate in the mission,” I say and reach for my first bite. The fatty meat and the acidic vegetables match so well, I have to briefly close my eyes to enjoy the flavour fully.

“She has developed a different focus with her medicine, but she keeps up with physical training. Xuan’er is every bit as capable as the people around her. Besides, she would’ve never forgiven me if I held her back just because she’s my daughter, and I wouldn’t have forgiven myself either. This kind of favouritism has no place in Huoyun Sect.”

We spent the rest of the meal talking about anything except the looming threat. Feng Yu, bless his little heart, actually helps me out when I don’t know certain people or events from this world, which haven’t appeared in the drama. Ever the sly diplomat and negotiator, he weaves the conversation in a way Dai Qian never stops to wonder about my meagre responses. If this was the first meeting between boyfriend and parent, he would pass with flying colours.

In the early evening hours, we part ways to lose ourselves in the crowd before moving through the night towards Yueji Lake. We need to leave the city before the gates are closed, so I walk behind a group of farmers returning to their home after a day at the market, until they reach the edge of the southern forest and detach myself to slip into the shadows. During these last days, and especially through Murong Zhiyu’s guidance, I have a much better control over the cultivation in her body. I still don’t think of it as my own body. How could I? I’m a custodian only. None of these people have any personal connection to me.

Now why does my chest hurt when I think about this?

I take the long way round tonight, approaching the dam from the top of the canyon. As the surface of the lake comes into view, reflecting the moonlight, I stop to take one last precaution.

“Zhiyu?” I ask quietly.

I can feel her taking up more space in my head, a presence no longer headache-inducing, but reassuring.

“I know. I saw.”

“Everything?”

“Most everything. I figured out how to rest and still perceive some part of the world.”

“I have to watch what I’m doing, then.”

Murong Zhiyu’s clear laughter rings inside my head. “I’m sure you’re doing your best. I wouldn’t judge that.”

“But I’m influencing your future while you have to sit and watch…”

It’s the first time I’m saying it out loud. I’m not doing it because I chose it, but even if I was placed here against my will, I’m still doing it.

“That’s been weighing on you,” Murong Zhiyu says. It’s not a question.

“Yes…”

“It’s exactly because you’re torn on every decision. That’s why I trust you to do what you think is the right one, no matter what happens. None of us can completely control their fate and we have to accept what destiny hands us. At least with you I know you’re proceeding with care and kindness. The same can’t always be said about fate.”

My throat is closing up with emotion, so it’s lucky I can respond in thought, confident in knowing that Murong Zhiyu knows how I feel.

“No one has ever… ever…”

Yet even in my thoughts I can’t express what her words meant to me.

“Is alright. Just continue doing your best. Proceed with confidence and don’t doubt yourself. I’m here with you, and even if I wasn’t, you would do great.”

“Where have you been all my life?”

Murong Zhiyu laughs again. “I wish I could be friends with you when this is all over, but you’re going to leave, aren’t you?”

“When my mission is done, yes. You’ll get back your body and I return to my world.”

“What’s your world like?”

“It’s not so different from yours. We have conflicts and love troubles. We work hard and we can’t always have what we want. We cherish family and friends. Our houses look different and our wars are waged on different scales, but fundamentally we are much the same.”

“You should tell me about it when we have time.”

“I would love to,” I say.

We both know we won’t have time.