Chapter 14: Chapter 12: New Name, New Clothes

All around was the gossip of merchants, day-laborers, and morning strolling gentlemen. Mixed with the typical town gossip were the words of fear from the news of misfortunes further south.

 

“But face eaters! In the forest! They’ve never been seen here before!”

 

“-to do with the uncovering of the Sisters tombs it has to-”

 

“Can you believe it? All these foreign barbarians have been showing up looking for riches in-”

 

“My husband is going on a business trip to the Western Kingdom, but I’m worried about the instability there…”

 

“Oh please, you’re more worried he’ll go after whatever hot woman he sees, even if she is a Fish Person!”

 

After a bit of biting and struggling that Rui Yifu patiently endured, the child Idony seemed content to just let him carry her through the town. He pointedly ignored the staring as he spoke to Li Baobao, “it’s really amazing isn’t it? This place was only a small village three hundred years ago and now it’s a massive thriving town with twelve important trade routes going through!”

 

“Y-yes,” Li Baobao agreed. “After the next town over suffered from a plague I guess the… natural solution was to just move here.”

 

“And your ancestors knew exactly how to take advantage of that,” Rui Yifu teased. “Clever little bunnies weren’t they? They practically control commerce upon these roads. Not bad for fruit selling rabbits.” He had other words to use, but calling the Li Family and it’s preference for a practical waterfall of children seemed most aptly described with rabbits. Although the fact they seemed to be all sons was either a grace or a sign of a goddess’s displeasure Rui Yifu thought.

 

Li Baobao had gone quiet for a moment, looking down at his feet before he turned his gaze upwards to look at a few of the buildings. Most were shops but a few were the homes of town dwellers, some were richly decorated in red at the moment. “Aww, some people are getting married!” Li Baobao said cheerily, “I’ll wish for them to have the best of marriages.”

 

“Isn’t it weird to wish strangers a good marriage?” Rui Yifu asked.

 

“But it’s polite!”

 

“Young Master, but shouldn’t you be more concerned about your own marriage prospects?” Rui Yifu asked while pitying any woman who might become Li Baobao’s wife. Oh yes the boy was a kind soul, to be sure, saintly even. But Rui Yifu would not forget the time he had to explain that demons were not puppeting a certain body part of the young man’s at night.

 

“My parents are very firm on the sort of lady they want me to marry,” Li Baobao said simply.

 

Rui Yifu simply pursed his lips, he had little else to say on that matter himself. He too had been married by his parents design, like most people. Of course his own marriage had been something of an adoption too, since the family had no sons and needed someone to carry the name while ensuring the next generations were still somehow related by blood. It was all to keep up appearances with the people around them, of course. Not that it mattered anymore, he thought grimly.

 

Idony yawned softly into his ear and laid her head on his shoulder, and Rui Yifu gently rested a hand on her back and ignored the curious stares. Beneath the fabric of her bedwear he could feel the stiff bandaging that remained wrapped around her body. It was replaced everyday and was getting cleaner with each changing which was a bit of good news, he thought, and there was more good news for her in that she would finally get appropriate clothing. Not some weird barbarian rags!

 

They crossed over a wide bridge straddling a sluggish river where people bustled to and fro, leading ox carts or walking into said carts and getting into heated arguments while others tried minding their day. Li Baobao muttered apologies every time he stepped too close to a woman or an older man. Rui Yifu resisted the urge to roll his eyes and left the bridge to walk down a path lined with old plum trees on one side and various businesses on the other.

 

Rui Yifu stopped at one such building, which had painted itself a dull shade of green to better contrast with the red writing on their sign, the ‘Five Sister Seamstresses’. With the town in a constant hustle and bustle, most merchant wives had no time to use the loom so others had made a tidy sum selling clothing. Rui Yifu loved them, they never asked questions and had the delicate touches to make clothing that almost reached his standards. It was certainly no ice-silk but he had long learned to suffer without the necessities of life such as fine clothing.

 

He opened the door with his free arm and tipped his head to direct Li Baobao to walk inside. The nervous soft bodied and hearted young man shuffled in and immediately looked around in surprise. All over were young women and a few young boys working looms, stitching fabrics, writing down or taking measurements. The back doors were open to show a small courtyard where stained armed young women handled pots of dye and piles of fabric. Immediately however a mushroom-shaped lady waddled into view with her hands pressed together and a too-wide grin on her ghost like face, “hello hello and welcome to our most humble little shop!”

 

“Good morning,” Li Baobao greeted politely.

 

“I’m here for my order,” Rui Yifu greeted less politely but still with enough of a smile for the woman. She stared at him in barely concealed surprise. Rui Yifu had been hoping for one of the other sisters, but it seemed the mushroom was the only one available. At least the dealings would be short.

 

Her beady eyes turned to look at them both for a moment, then at Idony, her face scrunching up before relaxing. “My, oh my, please forgive me. What were your names?”

 

“This is Master Li Baobao,” Rui Yifu swept his hand out to the other man, then he gave a slight bow to introduce himself, “and I am Rui Yifu.” He felt Idony stir slightly in his arm. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he lied.

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“...Oh! OH! Master Rui forgive me, we do have the clothes ready!” The woman clapped her flabby hands together and turned to look at the nearest girl walking by, “you! Go fetch them!”

 

“Fetch what?”

 

“The order from Master Rui here! Go!”

 

The girl quickly scrambled out of sight and the woman turned to look at the two men. “Stern, very stern,” Rui Yifu remarked lightly, readjusting his hold on Idony to keep her from slipping out of his grip.

 

“Well one must be firm with these sorts. Otherwise they might get ideas in their silly little heads!” The woman chuckled before the girl abruptly returned carrying the folded clothing. The woman then set her hands on her hips, “well then… I must politely ask for both Masters to leave.”

 

Rui Yifu blinked, turning his gaze at Li Baobao who seemed equally confused. “Excuse me?”

 

“It’s inappropriate for unrelated men to see a lady of any age undress!” The woman declared.

 

“With all due respect, she doesn’t understand our language. If we leave her alone, she may get confused and upset,” Li Baobao’s argument was sound but Rui had a feeling the woman would not budge.

 

“Nonsense, I’ve dealt with the dim before,” she replied before she looked back at the girl holding the clothes. “You, go help the child.”

 

The poor girl looked a bit exasperated, but managed a kindly smile at Idony. Rui Yifu listened to a short clunky conversation between Idony and Li Baobao, and then he slowly lowered Idony to the ground. The two girls looked at each other, the older one offering a hand to Idony. Idony turned her head back to look at the two men, and Rui Yifu gave her an encouraging smile. Or he hoped it was encouraging, it had been a long time since he had last had to use it. She returned the smile though and took the other’s hand, and together they walked off.

 

“And about the subject of payment!” The mushroom woman’s voice was suddenly a disgustingly sultry one. Rui Yifu took a step back from her as though she were radiating a foul stench.

 

He reached into his sleeves briefly, fingers lightly touching on the hidden pockets and the knives before he shrugged sadly and looked at Li Baobao with pleading eyes, “oh Young Master Li, I forgot my money!”

 

Li Baobao’s eyes widened, “oh no! Perhaps you dropped it on the way here?”

 

“Maybe that’s what happened, yes,” Rui Yifu shook his head slowly and pretended to look ashamed of himself the best he could.

 

Li Baobao looked at the woman, “how much is it?”

 

“Well…” the woman sized him up, clearly running calculations in her head. Rui Yifu briefly lost interest to look in the direction that Idony had gone. He strained his hearing to listen for any signs of a possible fit or struggle, but all he could hear was the clacking of looms and Li Baobao agreeing to a silly sum he felt no need to step in for. If Li Baobao thought three times the originally agreed upon price was fair, it was his own prerogative.

 

“Yes, yes, the payment will be finished by tomorrow night,” Li Baobao said reassuringly. The woman’s eyes were glittering as she counted out the coins in the bag.

 

“The Li Family is very generous,” she mumbled greedily. “Excellent adherents of the Bridge Water Sage.”

 

A door somewhere opened and the loud slaps of tiny feet on wood echoed, a blur of red hair and pink-blue fabrics that skittered to a stop in front of Rui Yifu and Li Baobao. Idony danced around briefly in the long blue skirt and pink top in excitement. Rui Yifu could not suppress a smile at how lively and happy she seemed. Much different from the half dead child he originally met and the somewhat sullen girl who occupied the same sick room.

 

He felt his eyes redden suddenly at a hazy memory he quickly stuffed back down in his heart.

 

“You know, my mother says people with curly hair have bad fortunes,” Li Baobao said somewhat idly, “but I feel like Id-... Zhu Er here isn’t so unfortunate.”

“I’m not sure she has curly hair, I think it’s just messy. With a nice combing it’ll look lovely,” Rui Yifu said happy for the distraction. “Now, lets go get something to eat!”

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