Phoenix Rise: XieRong

Chapter 37 - The Family of Seven

The month would soon come to an end.

It was time for the Duchess Chin to return to the Capital.

She had been away from her own family for far too long.

"Come visit me in the capital," she told XieRong and FeiHong, both of whom were sad to see her leave.

XieRong hugged her second aunt who had become like a second mother to her.

"Can’t you stay?"

XieRong knew she was being childish and that the Duchess had already stretched the time she could spend with them.

She knew, but she couldn’t help asking anyway.

The Duchess smiled sadly.

"No, I have duties in the capital and it’s high time I return and continue to fulfill them. Besides, this isn’t good bye. You both will be coming to the capital in four months for the competition! You both are always welcome to come stay in the Chin residence with me and my family."

XieRong saw the Duchess’s carriage leave.

"Sister in law asked me to instruct you in the four arts in her place," her first aunt said placing her hands on XieRong’s and FeiHong’s shoulders.

"That is, if you are okay with me?"

"Why wouldn’t we be okay with you first aunt? Second aunt might be a second mother to us, and we are sad to see her leave, but it does not mean that we do not love you," FeiHong said, placing her hand over her aunt’s slightly before quickly removing it.

Their first aunt was touched and XieRong smiled at her sister’s efforts to initiate and accept human contact again.

FeiHong refused everybody’s touch except for XieRong’s. She had vomited when a maid tried to dress her up. The doctor had explained that it was due trauma and illness of the heart and mind. The Guo family naturally assumed it was because of the Fa family and resented them all the more for ruining the mind of such a young girl. XieRong, however, knew that was not all. She, herself, had started to keep a little distance from people after witnessing FeiHong’s memories. She could understand a little the effort it was taking FeiHong not to shrug their aunt’s hand away from her shoulder and initiate contact.

"Come, let’s go in and learn."

In the past month XieRong had started to train herself harder and harder, without the need of her uncle telling her. Her uncle would teach her martial arts and leave while she continued her training until the time came for her to cultivate. She wanted to be able to jump onto the roof of buildings with her qinggong before she made her way to the capital in three months.

"Young miss, wait!" WeiSheng called out.

XieRong stopped.

"Young miss, you’ve grown faster," he commented, struggling to catch his breath.

XieRong slowed.

She would have to learn to hide her skill in Qingong.

"Tell me if I’m going fast, okay?"

WeiSheng nodded his head.

"Young miss, the month you gave me to think about my answer will come to an end tomorrow. Before I leave you to your usual place, I would like to take you somewhere else if you will allow me."

"I will come with you after I’m done training with the old man, but you will have to tell me where you are taking me and why before we go wherever you want to take me to."

WeiSheng led XieRong to the drunk old man’s place.

"Young miss, I’ll come pick you up at the usual time, I’ll tell you then."

Saying so, WeiSheng left her.

"Hey old man! What are we doing today?"

The old man looked up from where he was seated on his stool.

"Chopping wood."

"We did that yesterday."

"No, I did that yesterday while you watched. You didn’t even chop one piece of wood."

The old man got up and took a piece of wood, placing it on ground.

"You will not leave today unless you learn how to do this, this and this."

The old man first struck the center of the wood, forming a hole through it, then he struck it so that it broke into half, then he struck to split the wood in half and then he broke each half into a pile of sticks.

The old man went back to sit on his stool and drink his wine.

XieRong went over to the pile of woods and began to work.

More than half a Shi Chen had passed but she would always get the first two parts right and mess up the third part.

Finally, after another half a Shi Chen she got all three right.

"Old man, did you see that? I got all three of them right! Now you’ll have to teach me how to bind someone tomorrow."

"Hm. Tomorrow you’ll be weeding, and this time don’t put the grass in the manure."

"Why?"

"You’ll see tomorrow. Now get lost and let me drink in peace!"

XieRong went over to WeiSheng who was waiting for her in the corner.

"Young miss, I want you to meet my siblings before I give you my answer," he said, leading XieRong down an unfamiliar path.

XieRong’s hands tightly clutched her cloak.

Although she had grown faster and stronger than the last time she had been traversing deep into the east district, she was still wary and still felt shivers run down her spine each time a man or a child would look in her direction with a desperate, hungry look on their face. After all, who knew how many people like the old man resided in the east district.

WeiSheng quickly led XieRong to a small hut in a remote corner of a deserted alley. The hut was roughly the size of her room with a thatched roof and a door that was falling of its hinges.

Kids pounced on WeiSheng as soon as he opened the door.

"Is she the young miss who offered to give us jobs big brother?" A girl around XieRong’s age said, examining her from head to toe. She hadn’t pounced on her brother like the rest of her siblings had. She looked cunning and smart.

"She also paid for LiWei’s medicine, didn’t she?" one boy, who looked older than her, said from atop his brother.

"Thank you, elder sister," a little boy of about two years said, coming up to her and hugging her legs.

XieRong resisted the urge to pull her legs away and pat him on the head.

"Are you alright now?"

"Yes, but I’m very hungry," he said, rubbing his stomach.

"LiWei!" WeiSheng scolded, as he gently pushed aside his brothers and sisters and got up.

"It’s okay, WeiSheng. Don’t scold him. If you were short on money you could have just asked."

"But young miss, what you paid me was enough fees to escort you back and forth from the old man’s house."

"WeiSheng, you are six years older than me, correct?"

"Yes, young miss."

"Without any knowledge of martial arts?"

"Yes, young miss."

"And yet you escorted me daily, knowing how much danger that could put you in?"

WeiSheng was speechless.

"Ten coppers was much too less a price for my safety WeiSheng. What I paid you was too less. Here," she said tossing a pouch to him.

"It has fifty silvers, go buy your brother’s and sisters some food. Also, before you leave, do you mind telling me what happened to the money I previously gave you?"

A small and poverty stricken household like this would probably run on less than fifty coppers. XieRong had noticed that WeiSheng had become more presentable after she had paid him the silvers on the first day. His hair was shaved completely and he wore new, neat clothes and slippers. His siblings were also neat and tidy. Even so, the amount would only total up to around twenty silvers, considering that the medicine had been expensive.

"Young miss, I was stupid and let it show that I had money by buying the medicine, new clothes and slippers in one day. The east district is not kind to children who own money when there are a.d.u.l.ts who are craving it."

XieRong understood immediately that they had been forced to give it up.

"Don’t repeat the same this time," she said.

WeiSheng nodded, taking out one silver, before he put the rest in a pot by the door and covered. Then he left hurriedly.

"Why don’t you all tell me your names?" XieRong asked.

The girl who was around her age answered for all of them.

"He is LiWei," she said, rubbing her younger brother’s head.

"Those twin girls are XiaoDan and XiaoFan, XiaoDan looks more prettier."

She pointed to two girls who each had a rag doll in their hands.

"These two are my elder twin brothers, GuoTin and GuoZhi."

XieRong could only differentiate the boys because of their presences, otherwise they looked exactly alike.

"And I am QiaoHui."

"Tell me, QiaoHui, how much did your brother tell you?"

"First elder brother told us that he met a young miss who paid him forty silvers to guide her in and out of east district everyday. He told us that you offered all of us a job if we agreed to form a blood bond with you."

"That’s right, I did. I want you to tell me whether he is going to accept it or not."

"Elder brother might not accept, miss," GuoTin said, sitting up from where he was lying on the floor.

"That’s okay, then."

"You won’t try to convince us to change his mind?"

"No. I won’t convince you or him into changing his decision. I gave him a month to think about it and if this is his answer after considering everything, then I have no objection to it, and WeiSheng, you can come in if you aren’t going to buy the food."

WeiSheng came in with a flushed face.

"How did you know that I never left?"

"I felt your presence."

"Then why did you question my siblings if you knew I was here all along."

"I figured all of you were up to something, so I played along. Besides, I had nothing to hide, so it wouldn’t matter to me if you were present or absent in the room. So, is this your final answer?"

"Young miss, we would like to accept your offer."

"You did tell all of them that it would be dangerous, didn’t you?"

"Young miss, we face danger all the time, but with your offer to train us, we will be able to withstand that danger," QiaoHui said, pricking her fingers with a knife.

"Young miss, just as you have been observing me for the past month, I have also been observing you. You are a hard worker and treat people equally no matter how low their status. I know I can trust myself and my family in your hands. We wanted to see if you would use your authority to force us into accepting your offer, you didn’t. You respected my decision and didn’t demand your money back like most other nobles would. So, we would like to give our loyalty to you by signing the blood bond with you."

XieRong was surprised that they had planned this test for her.

After forming a master-servant bond with all of them she asked,

"Which of you came up with this method to test me?"

"Young miss, it was QiaoHui and my twin brothers."

XieRong smiled.

These people would serve her purpose well.

"WeiSheng lead me out. Let all your siblings come too."

"Now, young miss?"

"Now."

WeiSheng quickly took whatever money he had and led them to the Weimin restaurant after which she took them all to the Guo Estate.

"Young miss, isn’t this a crime?" WeiSheng asked, as XieRong took out the ladder that she no longer required from her spatial ring.

"Not if I do it," she said, jumping on to the side wall and beckoning them to climb the ladder.

XieRong removed her veil and cloak.

WeiSheng and his siblings were surprised to see a beautiful young girl with phoenix eyes, peony pink lips and a straight nose.

-FeiHong send Li Jia out to the side wall-

It wasn’t soon after that Li Jia arrived with FeiHong.

XieRong jumped and landed on her feet while the siblings used the ladder to climb down.

She instructed rooms, clothes and food to be prepared for the seven children behind her.

"Young miss, who are you?"

"I am the second young miss of the Guo Family, Guo XieRong and from today, you all will start training to be my shadow guards."