Song of Silent Promise

24. Demons And Ghosts (7)

She waited inside her chamber and packed the belongings she wanted to take. Man Zui came to her again that night.

"I will have to leave," he said. The soldiers would soon realize the disappearance of their superior and find his corpse he had hidden by a creek. Then everyone would double their efforts to find him.

He Xiang grabbed onto his sleeves. "I'm leaving too."

The two people looked at each other; both carried their own sins, both carried uncertain futures. Man Zui understood the way she was looking at him; she did not just 'want to leave', she wanted to accompany him. He sighed and caressed her face, "As long as you want it... ."

"I want it." He Xiang smiled, "I want you and your burden. I don't care what you have done. For as long as you are willing to love me, I will love you." She touched her abdomen and lightly teased, wanting to make light of her anxiousness. "But you may not be able to have sons and daughters with me. As you've warned me before, I may not be able to be a mother."

He laughed against her ears, "I am a sinner and I shouldn't be a father."

She chuckled as well, "Then we are both sinners. We will just have each other and not let any unfortunate soul have us as their parents."

The women of Blossoming Fragrance were skillful in the art of make-up. He Xiang altered Man Zui's appearance; with his hunched posture, he looked nowhere similar to the posters.

Just before they were about to pass the border gate, they heard a weak coughing sound from a nearby bushes. He Xiang and Man Zui found a skinny young man with wounds on his body. With how the man was hiding away from the main path, anyone could tell, this person was also on the run. After helping him with water and food, the young man introduced himself as Xiao Yang, a slave who had escaped an illegal slave trader from the capital city.

He Xiang herself had been sold to Blossoming Fragrance as a child, so she was sympathetic towards Xiao Yang's plight. She gave him a set of clean clothes and altered his appearance slightly as well.

With forged papers, she presented their identities as a pair of husband and wife with her younger brother.

"We want to try our luck in Taishan," He Xiang smiled, stuffing a silver ingot into the guard's hands, "Our parents have died during the war between our country and Khorin, we just want to find a new start."

They passed the gate quite easily.

Perhaps it was their sinful past and their guilt, He Xiang and Man Zui always helped people wherever and whenever they could. They farmed a bit, took care of the sick a bit; after all, Man Zui had learnt about medicine during his time at Herbal Hall. Xiao Yang was more talent-less, but he was honest and always tried to please He Xiang and Man Zui.

He Xiang's opinion towards him was more favorable, thinking of him as her real brother after an occasion. At the time, she was feeling warm and rolled her pants onto the top of her thighs. Xiao Yang must have seen some of her tattoos then, he shyly asked, "He-jie... you... are you from Blossoming Fragrance?"

He Xiang laughed, not feeling the least ashamed of her past. What's done was done; her past had brought her to this day. Without it, she would not have met Man Zui. "Yes, are you looking down on me now that you know it?"

Xiao Yang hastily shook his head, "How can that be? I have a life debt towards Man-ge."

He Xiang thought it was weird for Xiao Yang to only mention Man Zui and not her, but she thought none of it. It was normal for a man to look up towards another man. Nevertheless, after that, Xiao Yang took more care of the both of them during their quest to find a place to settle.