Tian picked a nice tree near a river for his tea service. The tree chimed every time the wind blew the leaves, making gentle and flowing harmonies. Whoever had made the enchantment had carefully tuned the sound so that it enhanced the serenity brought by the little river rushing over a shallow bed of stones. Ripples in the water, ripples in the air, all for an immortal moment.
Tian would definitely rather be here than in the Redstone Wastes. Just not here for the job he was doing.
“The sacrifices I make for my sect siblings.”
“Little Daoist Tian! I had heard you were inviting me for a cup of tea, but to think you picked such a romantic spot. This little Mei is flattered, but I must warn you, your big bro has already run away with my heart.”
Tian forced himself to properly look at Daoist Mei. She was a little taller than him, but only a little bit. A little more curvy than he was used to, but considerably less so than Daoist Steelshimmer. Her hair was nicely short, with perfectly clean tracings of dancing flames and spraying waves adding liveliness and fun. She had big eyes, he decided, and she made them look even bigger by opening them so wide.
“I have a soft spot for trees on riverbanks. They are wonderful places to sit and have a cup of tea. You will be the first guest that I offer my brand new, full experience tea service to, and it won’t cost you a single spirit stone. I’m using top quality fifty year old White Eyebrow Longevity Tea from the Bamboo Medicine Hut’s famed tea farms, too.”
“Waa! For me? Really?” She clapped and giggled.
“For you. Here, give it a look. The aroma, even before steeping, is heavenly.” Tian offered some of the dried leaves on a little tray for her to examine and smell. He had the basalt tea tray out, along with the Six Gentlemen tools Sister Shu had sent, and the two tea pets were waiting patiently to be cultivated with some tea qi. The kettle was warm, and his lidded cup was eager to be put to use. Even the tea cups seemed to quiver with excitement.
“Mmm. So fragrant!”
“Wait until it’s steeped. Then we can talk about fragrant.” He chuckled and started pouring boiling water over everything, purifying it and warming it for the service to come. The water caught the late afternoon sunlight, filtering through the enchanted tree, dancing over the basalt.
“Tell me, Daoist Mei, what sort of things do you study here in the Five Elements Courtyard? I know very little about the day-to-day life here, and I am eager to know more.”
“Eeeh? Well, it’s the usual sorts of things, I suppose. We cultivate, practice our talisman drawing, study astronomy, geology, meteorology, botany, alchemy, paint, ink and dye making, carving, weaving, and the other basic necessities of being an array master. Logic and geometry probably go without saying, but the more advanced study of calculating curves, quickly finding the factors of very large numbers, or solving equations missing multiple variables and the like are also completely mandatory.” She paused a moment. Then giggled. “Of course, I like to run off and play a lot.”
Tian smiled a little, and looked up from his work. “Daoist Mei?”
“Yes, Daoist Tian?”
“I promise at this table I will tell you no lies. You will see as much sincerity in me as I can show. So please, don’t belittle yourself.”
“I don’t think I did?” Tian met her eyes until she looked away. “It’s rude to stare at people. And what’s wrong with acting cute?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps nothing. But I saw the real you once, in the jungle. I would like to meet the real you once again, here at my tea table.”
This time she gave him a long look. It wasn’t cold, or flirtatious, or strange. She was just looking at him. Like she was trying to see all of him.
“Have you ever set two mirrors facing each other, then put a candle in between them?” She asked.
“Never.”
“The candle repeats infinitely. It would be so easy to be lost between all those candles, trying to find your way to the source of the light. One might wonder if the effort was worth it.”
Silence settled around them. Then she tilted her head to the side and asked, “What do you study, Daoist Tian?”
“How to kill, how to heal, and how to live as a human being. Listed in increasing order of difficulty.” He poured the dry leaves into the lidded cup, and carefully covered them with hot, but not boiling, water. “It just needs a few seconds for the wash.”
“Mmm. And… Daoist Wang?”
“Takes longer in the bath, though not excessively so.”
She snorted. “You know what I mean.”
Tian gently pressed the lid to open a gap, and poured the wash over the tea pets. The tea qi spread across the tray, making threads of red, blue and gold emerge from the black basalt. The pets seemed to shiver with happiness, though that was just a trick of the light. It was a transformation- bland water and dead stone were now filled with life.
“Here, smell the lid. Brother Wang works in the logistics department. In his free time, he reads and studies the world, thinking of how to make it a better, more caring, place. He is very brave, though I don’t think most people would recognize his kind of bravery. A bravery he has paid for, horribly. How do you like the aroma?”
Delicate fingers lifted the lid from his hand and sniffed the underside. “Bright, lively, full of freshness but with the aged scent of herbal medicine. I like it very much. What are you really here for, Daoist Tian?”
“Because I am trying to find out if you can be a good fit for Brother Wang, and if so, how I can persuade my… colorful… sect siblings to live in harmony with that fact.”
“And if I can’t fit well? If no peace can be made?” She offered the lid back, letting it rest on her slim hand.
“Then I don’t know what to do. Probably the wrong thing.” He took the lid back and set it to the side of the cup. He picked up the kettle and poured the first proper steep.
Daoist Mei’s smile changed, a cool little lift at the corner of her lips, a little crinkle to the corner of her eyes transformed warmth into cynical humor. Her hands were telling a different story. They were curled on her lap, looking relaxed and empty. But she was an array master, and the way she was subtly pinching her fingers said she was preparing for whatever “wrong thing” Tian might come up with.
“You don’t, however, seem the sort who would poison the tea.”
“I’d sooner die.” White Tea needed a bare minute to properly steep. This was the great virtue of good leaves prepared skillfully. Less water, less time, more leaves, and the flavor transformed far beyond the ordinary. Tea was a drink. Skillful tea was art. Tian prepared it with every ounce of his ability. He poured the tea into the friendship pitcher, then portioned it into the cups. “Taste it carefully.”
She smelled the tea. “Good tea. Very… good.” She took a longer second sniff, and her wide eyes narrowed. She sipped slowly. Then froze. Tian waited, not picking up his tea cup. Mei took another sip, seemingly without thinking. Her eyes were open, but far away. Soon she had drained her cup. Tian smiled and drank his tea. It really was delicious.
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“Compassion. Boundless compassion. That’s why I’m not running. You aren’t threatening me. You are hoping this goes well, and that Big Brother Wang and I are happy together. You really will do your best to make sure your Brother isn’t hurt, or any of your other sect siblings. You don’t even want to see me hurt. What a good brother you are. What a truly good brother!” Her voice got a little muffled at the end.
“I shouldn’t be surprised that a prodigy of the Five Elements Courtyard can see through my understanding of fire so clearly.” Tian laughed softly. “Most people just feel like it is soft, or not harmful.”
“Idiots. Every person who has drunk your tea is an idiot if they cannot see your heart in it.” Mei set her cup down gently on the tray.
“Hmm. Well, the Heavenly People who have tried it said my leaves were trash, but that it was made in a good way. I guess that counts for something.”
Mei took a deep breath and a slow exhale. It was rather like Elder Steelshimmer removing her costume. She didn’t change, but the way Tian saw her did.
She met his eyes clearly. “You want to know why I am the way I am? Because it is safer for me. Because people look at my breasts, and my big eyes and they hear me giggle and they don’t see me. They hunger for me, desire me, demand things of me, but they don’t see me. Even if they hurt me, they don’t hurt me. The ‘me’ who is troubled is an illusion that despicable people cast on themselves. And they have hurt me. Too often.”
Her spine didn’t need straightening. There was no shame in her eyes.
“I know myself. I honor myself. I follow my dao and do not let the foolish desires of the world defile me, any more than mud on my shoes dirties my feet, much less my soul. I am not the clothes I wear. The only mind “I” truly exist in is my own. Once I understood that truth, I began taking pleasure in “dressing” as prettily as I can. If someone looks at me properly, they see the real me. If not, they are lost in their own illusions. My road continues straight and true.”
Wonder and happiness blossomed on her face. “Your brother saw through the illusion with a single glance. He opened himself to me at that moment. Not insisting. He opened a door and set a place for me, if I wanted it. One lying face to another, daring the forbidden- sincerity. I have only known him a few days, but… in the face of eternal life, what is the difference between a moment and a millenium? Even if I only have these few days, I will cherish them forever. And if I can have more, then I will bless the kindness the world has given me, and gratefully follow the decree of fate.”
Her voice was nicer when she wasn’t forcing her pitch up. A little cool, but not cold, soft to the ear, but lively.
Mei looked out over the sun dappled river as the chiming leaves and rushing waters made their melody. “If you are here, I suppose he is thinking about more than just a discreet tumble on the grass and a few longing letters before we drift apart forever.”
“Brother Wang is worth more than dirty robes and awkward memories, Daoist Mei. I trust my brother’s judgement enough to believe that you are worth more too. Which is a relief. Let me pour you another cup and tell you about the absurd situation I find myself in…”
Daoist Mei laughed so hard she nearly tipped over onto the grass. Then she had another cup of tea and her face turned thoughtful. “It’s not just the fire qi, of course. Water, the feeling of flow overcoming everything by fighting nothing. Endless growth, welcoming competition and ruthlessly willing to choke another to draw breath. The precision and decisiveness of metal. Mmm… I don’t get earth as strongly, but I can feel it. Your earth endures, so that things may grow. It’s not about being as hard as a rock, it’s about being good soil. It can hold things up and break them down again to nourish new life.”
“Sounds about right. But words can never really communicate these things, can they?”
“No. No they cannot. I will visit Sister Su. We should have a good chat.”
“Really? No desire to keep Brother Wang all for yourself?”
“No.” She paused, then, “Yes.” Then quickly again- “No.”
There was another pause and Mei smiled with self mocking whimsy. “I wouldn’t usually tell another living soul this, but after you shared yourself so completely in your tea, it feels stupid to be so shy. The persona I project is interested in carnality more than emotional connection. The true me is strongly the reverse. I don’t completely reject expressing my love physically, because I know it means so much to others. But given a choice…”
Tian nodded and sipped his own tea. Mei jokingly saluted him with her cup.
“It’s funny, I suppose. I remember my parents having furious arguments because Dad was sleeping with Mrs. Luo, who lived three doors down. Then he would storm off, and mom would find some reason I did something wrong and hit me. Saying I was just like my dad. That I was a lazy, no good person like him, and I would be a cheater like him too. Maybe she was right. I have certainly never been faithful to any who demanded it of me. I never cared if they were faithful either. I preferred it if they weren’t. It meant they would be leaving soon.”
She laughed softly, her voice mixing gently with the wind in the leaves. “It’s scary. The thought of him not staying faithful to me is scary. I want him thinking of me and caring about me, as much as I am thinking and caring about him. It will be reassuring to know a good sister is there to look after him for me. Who can chase off any other little thieving cats. And I know she will do that. I will say the words she cannot say, and she will guard him in all the ways I cannot. She is welcome to as much of his body as she likes, so long as we share equally in his heart. It might not be perfect, but it is more than enough. If we can make it work, then this vain, greedy little Mei has all she wants.”
Tian silently poured her another cup. The tea had gone through a few transformations by now, but there was still some qi left in the leaves. Experiencing the transformation of flavor and texture was one of the joys of a tea session, and one he appreciated more with every cup.
“Brother Wang better be ready. I suspect he was just open to something light that might develop into something wonderful. Hopeful, but unwilling to commit himself and risk getting hurt. Now he’s got two brilliant women who have decided that he is what they want and will work together to get him. By the time the conversation includes him again, he will be wrapped up, parceled out and doubly engaged to be married. The poor bastard will just have to figure out how to live with twice the love and… one and a half times the sex?”
“And you, Senior Brother Tian? What does your heart crave?” She asked.
“To fly, and to have someone who can fly with me. I haven’t met them yet, or if I have, I haven’t recognized them for who they are. One day, perhaps, I shall meet my Sister Mei or Sister Su.”
The wind made the tree sing to the dancing water. The aroma of the tea, the warmth of the conversation and the wild freedom of baring your true self to another, free of judgement. The sheer magic of being young and so alive. Tian shared a smile with Mei over the tea cups, lingered in it for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“I’m so screwed!”
“Eh?” Mei blinked her big eyes, momentarily looking as brainless as she pretended to be.
“I was going to make serving tea my business! I had a whole plan laid out. I was going to travel around the Broad Sky Kingdom and offer people a chance to understand the elements in a new way in exchange for a hundred spirit crystals or something. But I can’t! I just can’t! This is what a tea service should be. Open, generous, warm, sincere. Above all, caring and sincere. My tea dao is like your heart- It can’t be bought or bullied from me, only shared freely.”
He laughed until his sides ached. It was so stupid. It was so ridiculous, but it was his truth and his dao. So he would walk that path, and see what he found along the way. Mei laughed with him.
“It is an art born from the interplay of endless elements with your compassion as its core. Like the rushing water, like the growing wood, the sun above giving endlessly to the receptive earth below, and the cold press of metal forever at our backs, the knowledge that even immortality…” Sister Mei trailed off, and slowly her eyes drifted across the river once more.
Tian waited for her to finish.
His nose twitched. There was a smell of something he couldn’t quite remember smelling before. The smell shifted, and some things became more familiar. His spine straightened with a sudden snap. It was the five seasons. But not the five seasons he knew. The seasons as Mei knew them, manifesting around her.
“Oh. Oh my. I think… Thank you. Thank you so much. I swear I will repay you, even if all I can do is make your brother and sister happy. Tell Sister Su I agree. Whatever she needs, whatever she wants, so long as we can all live happily together, I agree. But you need to go.”
Tian nodded and quickly tidied up. “Good fortune to you, Daoist Mei. I hope the day I can call you sister from my heart comes soon. Or Martial Aunt. Whichever comes first.”
She laughed, a touch of strain in it. “The latter. Get moving.”
Tian got. It was all a lucky coincidence, that last little push she needed. But it wasn’t the kind of coincidence he wanted publicly known. He wanted to fly free, not have his foot nailed to the floor in Mountain Gate City. How many schemers had he seen? How many people sold their souls, groveling for the “life saving favor of a senior?”
And there was Mei, who got everything they wanted through compassion, humility and frugality. Who could let go of what others wanted, and received everything she needed in exchange. Nothing at all like his dad, but more like him than anyone else he had met. The laughter bubbled up inside of Tian and he finally couldn’t keep it down any more. Laughing until he wept, he ran back to the guest house. Eager to share the joke.