Torsten Hewson
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29.3 Update.
🕑 Added 2021-05-27 01:39:10 +0000 UTCHello everybody. I was a bit dissatisfied with how the conversation went, and so I have decided to update the chapter, swapping the POV character and some of the events. For those that do not wish to reread the chapter, this is the part that was changed. I hope you enjoy it.
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It was a pavilion on the outskirts of town. Neutral ground. A high garden, built to give a commanding view of the land outside the walls, looking down onto the valley that surrounded the Verdant Hill. It was quiet and out of the way, with no one else on the street at this hour.
The trees bloomed beautifully, the flowers smelled sweet, and the Lady of Verdant Hill waited calmly for her guest.
It had taken some convincing for her husband to agree, but he had eventually given in. The silly man was always so jumpy after the incident. These cultivators had given her no cause for concern yet, but that’s just the way her husband was.
He worried and fretted constantly. Why, if the men of Verdant Hill would hear about his woes, they would surely spit blood! Her lip curled up with mirth at the thought.
She adored him. He was a constant amusement, as were the reactions of the people. To see the dichotomy between the man she knew and the man they knew. The Stern Patriarch of Verdant hill, and the man who would rather curl up into her bosom and moan about how unfair life was. He worked. He struggled, he doubted himself. Others said those were unattractive qualities. Better what he was, than a statue of virtue. She knew men like that. Humorless sentinels, dispensing their justice without remorse.
While sometimes this little village was boring, sometimes, she longed for the hustle and bustle of Pale Moon Lake city, she had to admit, her husband was right about some things
Her hand shook a little, the tremors from that old thing working their way into her limbs. Really, that was the worst part of this whole thing. In all honesty? She liked the grey streaks in her hair. And while the surges were unpleasant, they were worth it. They had let her leave with barely a word to her honoured father. It wasn’t quite an elopement with a common-born man, but a “damaged” woman simply wasn’t worth an argument.
“My lady, she's here.” A guard whispered to her, his eyes set and full of conviction. She resisted the urge to ruffle the young man’s hair. He was about her own son’s age. So eager and loyal,
she graced him with a smile, and thanked him.
She sat up primly, and waited. She did not have to wait long.
Lady Wu hadn’t thought much of Hong Meiling, the last time they met. Thin, with nearly pinched features. Hunched over slightly behind her stunningly beautiful friend, glaring at any who dared to look at her. “A shrewish girl, with a tongue like a dagger” was her description.
Now, as the young woman wearing peasant’s clothes walked towards her, she saw none of that.
The woman walked with a straight back, her head held high. She was not quite what one would describe as classically beautiful. She was a bit too sharp looking for that, with her angular face and intense amethyst eyes. But while her eyes drew one’s gaze… it was something intangible that held your attention.
She had a weight about her. A kind of quiet strength that drew the eye and made one think “this is a woman to be obeyed.”
She knew now why the guards had obeyed her immediately, when the demand came to shut down the well.
But as Meiling drew closer, Lady Wu noticed the slight cracks. Meiling... was young. Young, and not at all prepared for this meeting. Running on bravado and her own grit.
It was quite endearing, and amusing, that a cultivator was nervous to meet her.
But... this girl wasn’t really a cultivator, was she? She wore her simple clothes with pride. Her face was clear of any kind of makeup, for what could a farmer’s wife need makeup for?
Lady Wu clenched her fist, forcing the shakes away, and rose. The young womancocked her head to the side, her nose twitching, and a brief look of confusion rolling over her features.
“This Wu Zei Qi greets Lady Hong, and thanks her for coming.” She stated serenely, her bow perfect and graceful.
“Hong Meiling pays her respects to Lady Wu.” Meiling greeted politely, startled out of her examination, and returned her bow.
“Please, join me.” the Lady said pleasantly, gesturing, and retrieving a fan from her sleeves.
The younger woman nodded, trying to keep her affection of bland disinterest as the tea was poured.
When that was done, the Lady waved off her servants, both bowing, and departing.
When they were alone together, Lady Wu studied Meiling from behind her fan. The girl didn’t know how to proceed in the silence, shifting a bit. After a moment, she reached out, and took a sip of tea.
“One normally waits for their elder to drink, before drinking themselves.” Lady Wu said arily, and Meiling froze at the gentle rebuke, panic flashing in the back of her eyes.
Lady Wu smirked but took pity on the younger woman.
“Forgive my teasing, Lady Hong. I did not mean to provoke such a reaction.” Her fan snapped closed, and she placed it on the table. The time for games was over. “Come, let us speak frankly on the matter.”
The girl seemed taken aback. Again a subtle thing, but her heart was clearly on display for the whole world, if one knew where to look.
“Firstly, on behalf of our Verdant Hill, this Wu Zei Qi thanks you.” She raised her hands, clasping them before her.
“Thanks to your quick action, a tragedy has been prevented, and the culprit located. We believe it was a cistern. You said it was contaminated water, so we had a search party look for any possible cause. One of the Tanneries uphill had a leak in a cistern that was filled with filth and rotting fat. The guards are still checking, but we believe this is the source of our malaise.”
Hong Meiling nodded along at the explanation, her brow furrowed in thought.
“I’ll check the cistern to see if it feels like what I dealt with earlier. And I’ll make something to decontaminate the well.” She agreed so easily, no, that would not do!
“One must watch what one agrees to, before they negotiate a payment.” Lady Wu said mildly, swirling her tea around in its cup.
This time, the wince was quite visible.
“How much experience do you have, in selling your services?” She asked, and Meiling cocked her head to the side again, debating something…
“Little. Father dealt with them, or they were members of the village.” Meiling admitted, still confused and curious. The interaction was obviously not going the way she had constructed in her head.
Lady Wu nodded. “We shall have to fix that. Send a message when you wish tolearn, and I shall have a lesson prepared.” she declared.
“...why?” Meiling asked again, eyeing her with those flinty chips of gemstone. Oh my, that was an intense gaze! It gave her the shivvers.
The older woman raised an eyebrow. “Why shouldn’t I? What do I have to gain from antagonising you, save for you ire? Oh, I could probably weave a spell of words around you. Use your nervousness to get you to agree to something you wouldn’t normally. And that would last until you got annoyed, and my hair would probably get even greyer. I know what happens when somebody annoys a cultivator.” She pointed to her hair.
“No, Hong Meiling that would not do. So I, like my husband, would prefer an amicable relationship. There is nothing else to this. I invited you, to get to know you, and thank you for your actions. That is all. Though… I do have questions you could answer, if it wouldn't be too bold.”
Meiling considered her statement, mulling it over in her head, and finding it satisfactory.
“What manner of questions?”
Lady Wu smiled. “Well, this one has been on mine, and my husband’s mind, but it was not Cai Xiulan who slew Sun Ken, was it? Your husband knew before the news was out.”
The girl smirked.
“It was Bi De.”
“….the chicken that my husband asked to kill that pack of wolves?” she asked incredulously.
“Yes. And last year, Jin killed the Wicked Blade.” The girl said, as if this was not an earth-shaking revelation.
It was Lady Wu’s turn to gape, and she realised that this is what her husband must feel like. The odd floating feeling that strained her sense of belief, but absolutely certain it happened.
The food came, as she was still trying to recover from that revelation, the servants returning to bring out meats and pastries for their meal. It was all fine, high quality ingredients… including a stack of those “pancakes”. Meiling seemed quite amused at their appearance.
The conversation started to drift to more pleasant topics, as the girl grew more sure of herself. The growing season, how exactly one went about cleansing a well, to more womanly topics. How birth felt and how to keep one’s child focused.
It was at the end of the meal, when Lady Wu’s hand started to shake again. Meiling’s eyes immediately focused on the limb, her nose twitching.
Slowly, she held out an arm.
“May I?” Meiling asked.
Lady Wu stared at the proffered hand, and obligingly surrendered herself.
The shakes stopped nearly immediately, as their hands touched, and Meiling’s eyes closed. They remained connected, as a somewhat odd feeling crawled up her arm. Slowly, gently, it quested up her arm.
Meiling frowned heavily, and consideringly.
“Could you get someone to clear the table?” She asked. “But leave the teapot.”
“It's in the spine, whatever this is. It's old, and… feels like it’s.. Caked on, for lack of a better word.” The girl mused, her eyes now fully focused on her task. Her voice was gentle, but matter of fact, explaining what was wrong.
Lady Wu frowned, as she asked for chalk, and a piece of copper wire. That sounded familiar.
“Did father, or Uncle Bao try something similar?” She asked, as a formation was drawn on the table.
Something twinged in Lady Wu’s memories.
“Yes. It reduced the intervals drastically.”
Meiling nodded, considering the problem.
“So, what this should do is get the rest of it out. There isn’t much, but it's quite stuck. I have more Qi than either of them now, and I may need to get a bit… well, I apologize, but this might feel a bit unpleasant.”
Meiling dipped the end of the wire into the teapot, filled with fresh water. Meiling placed one hand onto her arm, and one onto her back, against the spine.
Lady Wu braced herself.
Something filled her body. She nearly panicked at the half remembered feeling, wondering why in the hells it was a good idea to do this. Like that time, she felt something foreign invading her body her very soul--
And felt it scrape. It didn’t hurt. In fact, it felt quite relieving. Like peeling off a scab. Something ground something else, the water in the teapot swiftly turning black.
She was sweating, and shaking, as Meiling started whispering soothing words.
“Not much longer now, Lady Wu. You’re doing a fantastic job.” Meiling told her, keeping her in place as she started to shake.
Until finally, after what felt like an eternity, it was done.
She let out a strangled groan, as she felt the Qi retract, collapsing slightly into the younger woman’s arms.
“See? Not so bad.” Meiling said, stroking the back of her head and hugging her, before seeming to realise who exactly she was stroking. Her hand paused for a moment.
And then she kept doing it.
Lady Wu took a shaky breath. It did feel nice. Already, she could feel her heartbeat slowing, and the pain in her back that was so constant she had forgotten it even existed started to fade.
“You’re going to need some acupuncture later… but you said something about payment before.” Meiling said mildly, purposefully putting on a countryside accent. “It's going to cost ya, yanno?”
Lady Wu felt such relief she nearly asked Meiling to name her price-- until she caught the mirth hidden in the back of her eyes.
“I hear lessons from Lady Wu would be quite expensive.” She mused with a cheeky smile.
Lady Wu couldn’t help it. She went from slumped against the smaller woman, to pulling her into a hug.
“However many you wish.” She whispered.
It was several minutes before they separated, Lady Wu regaining her composure. The sun was setting, the food was eaten, and her head felt clearer than it had in decades.
But even this pleasant evening had to come to an end.
“Thank you, Meiling.” She told the smaller woman sincerely. They had just remained seated beside each other, watching as the sun set.
Meiling just seemed satisfied that what she had done had worked, a bit embarrassed by the heartfelt praise.
“Good night, Lady Wu.”
“You may call me Auntie, if you wish.” She offered.
“Good night then, Auntie. If you feel anything, send for me.”
Lady Wu smiled brightly, as Meiling turned to leave.
“Though, I do have one more question, if you know the answer…. Why did your husband come here?” she asked.
Meiling answered immediately, turning back around to look at her. “He wanted a quiet life. Away from all the intrigue and fighting.”
Meiling let that revelation land, and departed into the night.
Lady Wu sat there. Slowly, her shoulders started to shake. She clapped both hands over her mouth and started to giggle like a girl half her age. It was terribly undignified, as they nearly became great peals of laughter.
Oh, her husband was going to work himself into another frenzy over that little piece of information.
Comments
Midjji
Lady Wu nodded. “We shall have to fix that. Should be we shall have to remedy that.
Midjji
The royal road version is really good :) it's really cool to see the patron feedback beeing accounted for. Discussing the name thing after the chapter was the right call I think, it was just idle curiosity on my part.
Nick Marini
Yeah, I think this version flows a lot better. Although, it might be good if she puts up a bit more resistance to “auntie”? Maybe saying awkwardly at first, and promising to get better or something. It might even be good for them to go on a first name basis instead. It would feel a bit less forced.
Midjji
I think both versions had their advantages. The fast intimacy between them in this one feels forced, to, I think she should not have healed her this encounter. Jin killing the wiked blade was a bigger deal in the last version, and telling her Jin told xiulan to take credit was important. Would she call her Hong meiling or Roy meiling, or even Jin meiling given that hiss name is reversed unofficial documents. The longer intro with meiling worrying about payment and her father, is better, the anecdote about the magistrate too. Some parts were better though. The chef thing at the end used to be wierd.
Michael Maor
Very nice. This explains the difference in attitudes very well, and I liked Meiling curing her.
Casualfarmer
As said earlier, this is just for the people who didn't want to reread that scene. The chapter was updated, so this takes the place of Meiling's encounter with Lady Wu. Otherwise, the clothes scene is the same.
Andrew Haynes
Much improved
Sg
i also enjoyed the clothes scene, it really stuck to me how she starts off going with the flow, getting roped into the hair, makeup and clothes before finally deciding to come as she is, beause i get the feeling that she's always been true to herself, not conforming, which is what jin likes about her... i actually think both is really good, maybe smash them together ? like the first half of the first version and the last half of the last version?
The Lost Pages
Liked the older version but loved this version even more.
Call0013
I like it, and on Subject of Meiling hearing Lady Wu laugh at the end(really prefer the new laugh), She could always still hear the New Laugh as she leaves because of her Cultivator senses that might be a bit sensitive after healing Lady Wu.
Haran
I agree completely. It adds to the character of Meiling
Sassy
Yes exactly how I feel too. The great thing about this story is while it is a parody (isekai cultivator becomes a farmer and gets farm animal disciples) its written sincerely, which is the spice that makes the story so enjoyable. The first version would be perfect is a pure parody, but this version fits in much better with the rest of the story. The only change I would suggest is adding the clothes scene to the beginning, so we have some insight into how Meimei feels about the meeting and why she isn't all dolled up like you would expect from someone meeting the local ruler's wife.
Sassy
The other version was good, but this version was much better. The little hints of Lady Wu's past and of the magistrate's, Meimei getting to show of her healing, very nice
Sebastian Osterbrink
I like it. But I also liked the scene with Meiling and the clothes. Maybe add that to the the Meiling chapter before? The Meiling in this chapter is a little bit too stoic at the beginning.
Morog T Tiny
First one was good, and this is better. I like the flow better with the Magistrates wife and it leaves the story in a good place.
Termac
In order to have her laugh "on-screen" after Meiling leaves, you either need to show the laughter, at least, from Lady Wu's PoV (or a servant's) or have her laugh loud enough that Meiling hears her laughter on the way out, which would be out of character for Lady Wu.
Casualfarmer
I will need to make things more blatant, yes. but it was mentioned that there was something wrong with her hair going prematurely grey, and other people mentioning that she was attacked by a cultivator.
Mrdelta
I like the update, is it too much trouble for you to go back through the previously written chapters with her or with the POV of her husband and maybe add a minor telegraph or two? Just somthing to hint at her being ill or even just the magistrate feeling lucky to have her. I'm thinking subtle hints so the healing doesn't just pop up this chapter out of nowhere.
Linkneo5
I didn't mind the first version, but this one is more entertaining. I like it more for sure.
Nick
This is an improvement. Thanks for the update
Jess_2037
So I didn’t really have a problem with the first one cuz I just chocked up the weirdness to this being a parody but this version is so much better that I feel like I should apologize because while this is a more light hearted and funny take on xianxia it is not a parody entirely. The writing and character work is top tier and I hope to see this story on a top tier list in a public forum someday cuz it’s def on mine
Ronin_Ryker
Hmmmmmmm.... Honestly, I think this should not be a replacement. This one simply added content that was not there in the first chapter, and removed other content for the sake of the POV. I do prefer that she began laughing while Meiling was away rather than in front of her, though. This genuinely feels like an entirely new, different chapter than an improvement on what was here. I think you should post both of them
Leonard Marchant
Yes! Very good improvement
J03MAN
Good job. Though greedy little me would like to have a little bit more of the lady's internal dialogue.
Luker number 5
The change of POV really helps this chapter
Keifru
I think both versions have their merits, but I feel this one has more going for it. Its a good time to have this PoV, we still get some nice Meiling past/current observations, and we don't lose any 'progress' that the original version had. The addition of Meiling healing for the lessons is nice, and the laughing about why Jin chose to come to Verdant Hills being done in private instead of infront of Meiling does make it seem like the Magistrate/Jin misunderstanding will persist for atleast awhile longer
Sean Wilner
This is excellent. The first wasn't bad, but this makes for a more compelling narrative and helps the flow of events. The dignified woman laughing uncontrollably before felt just a little off, but here it reads like the release of a lightened heart after unexpectedly letting go of years of stress and strain.
Isaac Martinez
Love it!
Nim
Yep, I like this
Chong Go
That's quite nice!
Sean Ulrich
I believe this version is an improvement! Both are good but this feels smoother for lack of a better word.
