Part 2, Chapter 7

Ch 7

Xun righted furniture and replaced items as best she could, hiding the few broken things in the back of the closet with the hope that no one would notice. It was late now, so she could only hope that she had set everything right. She would have to come back tomorrow and check. In her hair she wore a hairstick she had found under the desk, the end decorated with a plump phoenix holding a string of bells in its beak. 

Xun approached the bed cautiously, but Leng Zai was sound asleep. Xun shook his shoulder and called his name softly, but he didn’t respond. Moving carefully she looked at the scent pouch that hung from his waist. It had become greasy and stained during his work in the kitchen, but she could still just make out the picture of a bird. But what an odd design. The bird looked more like it was falling over than soaring gracefully through the air. The stitches looked familiar though. In fact they looked a lot like her work. She lifted the bag to get a closer look.

“No! My little bird!” Leng Zai said loudly, engulfing her hand in his larger one. 

He tugged her hand away from the bag hard enough that she lost her balance. She tried to maintain her footing, but slipped and landed sprawled across Leng Zai, their noses almost touching. His eyes were still closed and his breathing deep and even. Xun carefully eased herself off of him, but found she couldn’t move off the bed. Leng Zai still hadn’t released her hand and he looked so peaceful she didn’t have the heart to wake him. So she lay down next to him and watched him sleep until she too drifted off.

The last thing she heard was his soft voice whispering, “Little bird.”