NOVEL WEB Gold and Jade
“Why do you need new clothes again?” Huo Ningjing narrowed his eyes at Huo Huli as he was being measured. Huo Ningjing held onto his red robe for him, since it was in the way.
“For the last time, it’s not for fun,” he sighed wearily. It felt like four times he had to explain that this was not a shopping trip. “If we are to look like demons, the talismans can only do so much. Wearing different robes allows it to focus on our looks instead.”
Huo Cheng had finished getting measured and was seated alongside Huo Ningjing. He leaned back, a smug smirk on his face.
“Are you buying for me too, cousin, or are you only buying for Zhou Rong?”
His face flushed and he peeked over his shoulder at Zhou Lieren who was getting measured by the assistant. He couldn’t see Zhou Lieren’s face, so he coughed to clear his throat and glare at Huo Cheng.
“You have your own money.” He huffed and dropped his arms once the man was finally done. He smiled politely to the tailor and stepped down from his stool.
“Huo Daozhang, please select a few pieces of cloth from our collection. For a small village, we only have some bolts of more refined fabric.” The tailor swept an arm out to the back wall where samples of cloth hung.
“Your collection is quite large, Sir. You have nothing to be apologetic for.” Huo Huli smiled when the man bowed in thanks. He stepped up to a few lighter colored pieces and touched them gently to examine them. It had been quite a while since he purchased a robe that wasn’t just the ones from the sect.
He selected two that he thought would pair well; a jade one and a lighter twin of it. The tailor’s other assistant brought down the bolts and spread them out.
“Would you care to select one for the gentleman as well?” The tailor asked him. Huo Huli blinked then looked back at Zhou Lieren. His golden eyes turned to his direction and Zhou Lieren’s calm face appeared expressionless, but Huo Huli could see the humor in his eyes.
“I...ah, well…” His eyes flicked back to the tailor, then to Zhou Lieren. “Would you like me to pick…?”
That light in his eyes didn’t dim and it contradicted the very solemn tone in his voice. “I would be honored, Tianshanghuo-jun.”
Well...His cheeks went aflame. At least he is not upset. Yesterday had been awkward because Zhou Lieren went silent for pretty much the rest of the day. His answers were minimal, but he stuck close to Huo Huli. He turned back to the cloth samples and his eyes honed in on a black cloth with a gold wave motif.
Does Zhou Lieren like dark colors…? He debated with this for a moment while his fingers grazed over the brocade. It reminded him of his eyes which were striking, but rich like the golden thread used for the design. Would this suit him best?
“I would like this for him.” His cheeks still felt hot, though it was such a silly thing to get flustered by. It felt like an intimate act, because it was often something a male wife would do. He jerked at the thought. It’s not like that! You’ve only known the man almost a month, calm down! He couldn’t slap his cheeks to clear his mind lest he look like he’d gone crazy. He took a deep breath and tried his best to appear calm.
The first assistant who had been measuring Zhou Lieren came over and took that bolt. She went over to drape a bit of the length over Zhou Lieren’s shoulder. The second assistant did the same to Huo Huli, layering the lighter jade on top of the darker one.
“Oh, this looks very fine indeed!” Said the first assistant, smiling wide.
“Yes, yes. The pair look like gold and jade,” the tailor clapped lightly, looking pleased.
The second assistant also chimed in, “A perfect match!”
Suddenly overheated, Huo Huli gently - but quickly - ducked out from under the cloth. He retrieved the small pouch he set aside specifically for the cost of the robes from inside of his sleeve. He pushed it into the tailor’s hand.
“Please take this and divide it as equally as you can. I know you are having some women help in order to make the robes as quickly as possible, so please consider any extra as compensation for your quick work.”
He closed the tailor’s fingers around the pouch, silently refusing to take no for an answer. Many of the villagers have been trying to give him things for free as some sort of thanks for the day of the drought corpse attack, but he would not hear of it. It was bad enough that there were plenty of drawings of him decorating homes to guarantee protection. The least he could do was give fair pay for honest work.
He parted ways with the tailor and patiently waited for everyone else to finish up. Since their embrace - that seemed like a nicer word for it in Huo Huli’s eyes - he had felt clear headed, but today he was a little dizzy and he needed to take a deep breath. A small hand touched his wrist, drawing his attention.
Huo Ningjing looked at the skin on the inside of his wrist and hummed. His brother leaned close and whispered, “Do you think it’s soon?”
He was about to ask when the realization struck him. My heat. The Full Moon was today, but it couldn’t possibly be this early… Could it?
“It’s possible,” he said noncommittally, though he checked his own pulse at his neck with a frown. He did feel flush, but he assumed it was from embarrassment. It was very easy for him to get flustered around Zhou Lieren, no matter how much of a calming effect he also had. Tiptoeing around their relationship in front of others often was the source for his nervousness lately.
“Aunty Li said that there’s a hut not too far from the spring that single omegas use sometimes. If you’d like, I could prepare it for you instead of staying at the barn?”
It would be a secluded place… His eyes drifted towards Zhou Lieren speaking with the tailor and Huo Cheng. He didn’t have to reveal to his brother that he was going to have Zhou Lieren help, and he didn’t have to explain that he’d already had se--embraced--him.
“Yes, please. I’ll pick up a few of my things and bring them there.”
“I’ll pack a few pancakes too.” Huo Ningjing smiled and patted his shoulder. “I’ll be sure to leave baskets for you.”
Back at Anyang Valley, there were single room seclusion homes that were used for omegas and their surrogates. It was customary for disciples in their sect to leave food and and replace the laundry during those days. He had to do this many times, and it was more than once that he’d accidentally walked in on or heard the omega and their surrogate. Well, in one case, surrogates.
It was a risk, and he rushed to say, “You can leave them by the spring. I-I’m sure I will be using it anyway, so you can just drop off the things there. It should only be three days, right?”
There was a pause, then Huo Ningjing fixed him with a squinted glare. Huo Huli’s heart picked up in pace. There was no way he could suspect anything from such an innocent idea. His brother examined him from head to toe before his face fell back into a big smile and he shrugged.
“Okay! Expect them at noon each day.”
Huo Huli mentally sighed in relief. In a slightly too chipper way, he responded. “Perfect!”
“Ready?” Huo Cheng popped up between them, startling both of the twins. Huo Huli sensed something behind him and turned only to startle again. It was Zhou Lieren, his intense stare unwavering.
I should be used to it by now. This time Huo Huli did sigh out loud. He responded yes in unison with his brother and left the shop.
“Tianshanghuo-jun, are you prepared for my lesson?” Zhou Lieren asked as soon as they stepped out onto the street. The other two Huos stopped beside him and watched on with matching passive expressions.
“Uh, I am! We can go to the river and, uh...meditate…” Huo Huli chewed on his lip, recognizing that was even a poor lie.
“I look forward to it. I’ll leave first,” Zhou Lieren had a gint in his eye and he turned. Huo Huli said a quick goodbye to Huo Ningjing and Huo Cheng before catching up with Zhou Lieren. It didn’t take that much effort because it seemed he purposefully kept his stride short to allow them to walk side by side.
It was one of the things that he liked about Zhou Lieren. He was attentive and kind despite being a handsy shadow. Something brushed against his hand and he flinched, then looked down and realized it was Zhou Lieren’s hand that had touched him. Huo Huli dropped his hand back down, not thinking anything of it, but it happened again. They were standing close, but this was still too far away to be counted as accidental.
He glanced down when he felt it again and watched as Zhou Lieren hooked his pinky around his and squeezed before letting go. He looked up to Zhou Lieren’s face, but the man was staring straight ahead towards their destination, his face neutral. How they hadn’t been caught in a compromising situation yet was clearly good fortune on both of them.
His hand, with a mind of its own, swayed closer to Zhou Lieren’s. Like him, Huo Huli snagged his slightly curled pinky around Zhou Lieren’s and squeezed. He was about to drop his hand away when Zhou Lieren’s pinky wrapped around his own and held it firm. Huo Huli’s heart skipped a beat and he didn’t bother letting go. The tiniest bit of contact was enough to make him feel like he could float away, and the feeling both inspired and terrified him.
Eventually, they did stop holding one another’s hand when more people came into view. Their walk to the river was silent for the most part, but as before, it never felt awkward being quiet with Zhou Lieren. He sat down on a stone under a tree and Zhou Lieren sat on the ground beside him, resting his back against a portion of the stone.
“What would you like to learn today?” He asked, finally breaking the silence.
Zhou Lieren tilted his head and stared at the water ahead of them that gently flowed along the river’s path.
“May I ask questions about your heat, or is that too private?”
Huo Huli shouldn’t have been so shy because he’d talked about heats plenty of times. It wasn’t something embarrassing in his household, and at the sect any number of disciples spoke about it, but with Zhou Lieren, his stomach was in knots.
“S-sure, of course. What is on your mind?”
Zhou Lieren tilted his head, resting it on Huo Huli’s knee. “I think I understand what heats are, but what I saw that day, is it like that…?”
“No, that was from an aphrodisiac,” he shook his head adamantly, not that Zhou Lieren would see it, but that he had to clear the memory from his mind as it crept up. “That was designed to induce a sort of fake heat and heighten the effects. They gave me too much and I had taken a big sip, so that’s why it was like that.”
“Oh,” Zhou Lieren sighed and rubbed the center of his chest.
Had he been that worried? Huo Huli thought to himself.
Zhou Lieren then asked, “If it is milder, then there is less pain?”
“Mmm...I don’t know if I could describe it as pain.” He slid his hand underneath his hair and rubbed the back of his neck as he answered. “It’s more like...a need, or this ache. Sometimes an itch.”
“Hmm...and how long does this last?”
“For me, usually three days. Some people go as long as five, but sometimes it’s less for others. I am, ah...fairly regular.” He slapped himself on the forehead. Why did I say that?!
“Is there anything special you need?” The ever attentive alpha lifted his head and looked up at Huo Huli.
He looked left, then right, and behind, and with no one near he smiled down at Zhou Lieren and bent down to place a quick kiss at the tip of his nose.
“No, but we will be going to a small hut near the spring. My brother will be bringing food and blankets for me during those days. He will drop them off at the spring, so we can pick them up at mid--”
Something of a whisper drifted against his ear, cutting him off. It tickled his skin and sent a chill up his spine. He jerked his head over his shoulder to look for whatever was there, but it was empty. Goosebumps trickled down his spine, and Zhou Lieren stood up, looking just as alert.
The feeling was familiar and he mused out loud, “I felt like this the first day we arrived.”
“Something is watching us,” Zhou Lieren said plainly. He peered across the river, his eyes narrowing at the treeline while standing a little closer to Huo Huli.
Huo Huli was still worried about using his abilities even though he felt much better. He didn’t want to have a huge explosion like he did at the spring, nor did he want to have a blockage where he wouldn’t be able to use anything at all. So instead he stayed seated and also looked around closely.
Zhou Lieren took out Yuexia and tossed it forward. It zipped across the river, leaving behind a soft blue trail that dissipated as it traveled through the air. Huo Huli couldn’t see Yuexia once it went deeper into the trees, but he saw flashes of bright blue arcs and bursts of the blackest black. Birds scattered into the air, crying out in protest, and the crack of trees falling echoed. Yuexia shot back towards them and hovered until it’s owner took hold of it. Zhou Lieren took a moment before putting it away.
The creepy feeling had disappeared for Huo Huli, but Zhou Lieren didn’t drop his guard. Huo Huli reached for the blade of Tian Shang Huo at his hip and took it out. It hadn’t budged at all, which was a good indication of what it wasn’t.
“It’s not a demon or undead,” he announced and sheathed his blade.
“Yuexia couldn’t hear or see anything, but there is some spiritual energy along the tree tops.” Zhou Lieren turned to face Huo Huli, “It’s trail ended suddenly.”
“If it’s the cultivator, they know how to use teleport formations.” He stood up and crossed his arms. He bit at the thumbnail of his right hand as he thought out loud. “It can just as easily be a very skilled demon, but…”
“I trust your senses,” Zhou Lieren’s gaze dropped down to Huo Huli’s sword and nodded, “and theirs.”
He smiled at that and nodded appreciatively to Zhou Lieren. “Thank you. Do you want to check the trees out together, or…?”
Zhou Lieren’s charming smile appeared, making Huo Huli’s own grow even more. He extended a hand out to Huo Huli, which he gladly took.
“Let’s go together.”
Huo Huli grabbed onto Zhou Lieren’s hand and followed him. Using their qigong, they were able to cross the river and to the set of trees that Yuexia cut down in a few seconds. The cuts to the trees were clean and precise, and like Yuexia had reported to Zhou Lieren, the spiritual energy signature was weak.
Huo Huli had to intensify his focus in order to find the energy itself and hopped on top of one of the fallen trees and Zhou Lieren followed.
“This...feels strange.” Zhou Lieren bent down next to what looked like a trace of grey mist that overshadowed something else.
“What do you feel?” Huo Huli asked as he knelt down beside him.
“The energy feels like it’s covering up something, but it looks...familiar?” Zhou Lieren frowned and stared at the rapidly dissipating energy signature. “It feels familiar, too. I think this is a technique that I’ve read about before, but I’ll have to look at Bai Luo’s books to see if there is mention of it.”
Huo Huli took out the Tian Shang Huo blade and cut into the remaining mist. He couldn’t separate the slightly darker shade from the other, and when he tried some more the signature was gone completely. Sighing, he put the small sword back into its sheath and stood up.
“The cultivator is either suppressing their aura but some of it is leaking out, or they are releasing some of it on purpose.” Either of those scenarios didn’t bode well. Like with the skin and the corpse, one aspect spelled incompetence and the other calculated. He hoped for the former.
He hopped down from the log and checked the surrounding area with Zhou Lieren close behind him, but there was nothing else. Feeling like he was one step closer and two steps backward once again, he decided to end the search here.
“How about we head back and check on Huo Cheng?” He asked Zhou Lieren, who nodded in response.
“We can update everyone when we eat again.” Zhou Lieren stepped closer, his gaze firm and his jaw set as he stared down at him. “In the meantime, please be careful.”
Underneath the concern in his tone was a hint of possessiveness which only mildly irked Huo Huli. Ugh, I must be close to my heat if I’m tolerating this. He nudged Zhou Lieren playfully in the chest.
“Alright, alright. I promise to be a good little boy and eat all my vegetables too.” He chuckled and pinched Zhou Liere’s arm then ran off toward the river and the village. Zhou Lieren gave chase, hurrying after him.