Preparing for Travel

Sneaking out to practice underneath the cherry blossom tree became a recurring thing for Meng Mei. Every night she drilled the lessons from Guang-laoshi and Meng Yong into her head by practicing until the moon had climbed high into the sky.

And with every night she ventured out there, the ghost of her old friend appeared less and less.

Before she even knew it, it was time to start preparing for their departure.

Meng Weiyuan returned from his mission two days before they were scheduled to leave and join the Zhong family on their hunting retreat. Meng Mei got the story of his adventures second hand from Meng Yong since she was still keeping up the appearance of not liking Meng Weiyuan.

Apparently when Meng Weiyuan arrived at the site of the disturbances he found an old farming village completely overrun with walking corpses and yao energy. He and the assisting priest from the nearby temple had spent five days clearing the area, and then they spent another three days cleansing it.

The nearby authorities were going to keep an eye on the area and alert Meng Weiyuan if the situation got bad again.

When Meng Mei heard the story it still sounded so fantastical to her.

She’d been in the world for a month now and she still couldn't wield a sword. The thought of fighting walking corpses and cleaning yao energy through various rituals was hard to wrap her mind around. She’d have to resolve that issue quickly however since the Zhong family didn’t just hunt deer and pheasants during their retreat, they also hunted beasts.

Meng Yong and Meng Weiyuan were already making plans to sign up for one of the various hunting competitions to show off their skills. They were both experienced hunters due to how many night hunts they participated in so Madam Meirong expected them to flaunt their skills in front of the Zhong family.

The three weeks in between Meng Guoyao’s return and the day of their departure passed in a blur for Meng Mei. SHe was so focused on trying to improve she didn’t even realize how many days had passed.

“Little Miss, you must remember to behave yourself on this trip.” Amah said as she packed another hanfu into Meng Mei’s bag. “Don’t anger the Madam, listen to your sect leader, and don’t fight with your brothers.”

“Amah…”

“Be polite to the Zhong family. You want to make a good impression on your future in-laws. Don’t judge your fiance too quickly, and definitely don’t fight with him. Go ahead and start building a relationship with your future sister in law. It’ll be good to have her on your side. Don't forget to—”

Meng Mei cut Amah off with a hug.

“Why can’t you go with us?” Meng Mei asked in despair.

Two days ago, during breakfast, Madam Meirong had announced they were only taking the necessary amount of guards with them. And as a punishment for Meng Mei starting the argument that led to this trip, Amah would not be accompanying the Mengs.

Madam Meirong claimed that it was time for Meng Mei to learn how to live without her nursemaid and she’d have to get used to it before she left for the YuHu sect. Still, the news had shocked Meng Mei to the core.

Amah was the only person Meng Mei had spent extended periods of time with since arriving in this world. Living without her for a month was near unthinkable.

“It’s going to be okay, little miss.” Amah said softly, returning the young girl's hug. “The Madam is right. You’ll be nine years old in only a few months. You can’t continue relying on me forever.”

“But—!”

“Shhhh.” Amah hushed her. “You’ll do just fine without me. I’ve already packed everything you need. If you find yourself growing bored, I even packed some paints and blank fans so you can make more fans.”

Meng Mei bit down on her tongue. Despite her initial excitement to start using fans, she hadn’t touched the first one she had made. It didn’t feel quite right somehow. Whenever she tried to imagine herself using it she felt like she would just look like a little kid trying too hard to appear mature. The fan also reminded her of the fact that there was someone else in this world in the same situation as her and she had no way to contact them.

“Thank you Amah.” She eventually whispered when she couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“You’re welcome, little miss. Now, let’s get you ready, it’s almost time for you to be downstairs.”

With that Amah gently directed her to the vanity in Meng Mei's room so she could help her get ready. Amah helped her into simple red robes that were meant for travelling. They had no extra embellishments in the form of stitching or beads. The only thing that betrayed the high quality of the fabric was the outer robe. It was a silk blend and had the same color scheme as a sunrise.

Amah then took Meng Mei’s long hair and started braiding it. When she was done she wrapped the braid around Meng Mei’s head and secured it there. As a final touch she slid matching hair pins into each side of the braided crown. The small beads of the hair pins made soft clinking sounds every time Meng Meimoved.

The last thing Amah did before escorting Meng Mei downstairs was help her into a pair of sturdy riding boots. Since Meng Mei couldn’t yet ride on a sword, she had to make the trip on horseback. The rest of the Meng’s would be following suit so Meng Mei didn’t stand out.

All of their guards would be surrounding them while flying on their swords.

“There we go. Now you’re ready.” Amah declared as she finished helping Meng Mei into the boots.

With the assistance of a few servants to help carry luggage, they made their way downstairs to join the others in preparation of their departure.

Meng Mei’s luggage was taken to the single horse drawn carriage they’d be taking with them and Meng Mei was immediately summoned to Meng Guoyao’s side.

“There she is!” His voice was still loud and booming. “Xiāngxiāng, come join your a-die so you can meet your steed.”

Hesitantly Meng Mei made her way over to Meng Guoyao. He was standing in front of a short chestnut colored horse with a black mane. Meng Mei faintly recognized it as a Zhongdian horse, the main breed of horse that was used in Seasons of Sorrow.

“This is Jin Feng, she’s an old mare with an even temperament.” Meng Guoyao assured her. “She’ll be a perfect steed for the next two days of travel.”

Meng Mei stared at the horse for a moment before reaching out to run light fingers down her forehead. Jin Feng gave a light huff but didn’t move as Meng Meirepeated the motion.

“There you go!” Meng Guoyao praised. “I’ll help you up into your saddle and then we can prepare to leave.”

Meng Mei didn’t even have a chance to agree with him before she was being lifted up into the air and deposited down onto the saddle. Meng Guoyao made sure her feet were secure in the stirrups and instructed her on how to hold the reins. He waited until she gave a nod of understanding before patting Jin Feng’s shoulder and turning towards the rest of the travelling party.

“Okay everyone! Prepare to embark!”