Legend of Fei

17. I Liked Whatever I Knew

"A'Fei. Look." A'Fei opened her eyes and looked at the rising sun over the hills. She had not noticed that they had exited the mountainous regions. She had ridden for more than half the night and Xie Yun had rested on her back while he had ridden them through the mountains and she had rested back on his chest.

She was still sleepy but the beauty before her wasn't of every day.

"It is as beautiful as the sunrise over the Ximo River," she took the reigns from Xie Yun's hands and tightened the reigns to stop the horse. She had all but forgotten that was the boy was still their company until he jumped in. When he had shown himself she didn't know, only that he was riding ahead when she woke up.

"Are we staying to see the sunrise? Shouldn't we hurry to the city and hide."

"You should." A'Fei didn't look at him, only at the sunrise. For a long while none of them spoke. A'Fei would have kissed her husband, if not for the boy parked right alongside them, looking at them instead of the sunset.

"I know I am pretty, you don't have to stare. I will sell you a portrait of mine." Xie Yun jabbed at the boy.

"The sun is almost completely up, we should go."

"You should," A'Fei responded and continued to watch until it really was completely up. Its warmth in the cold winds of the mountains was a blanket that urged her to sleep. Before she could be lulled, she looked at Xie Yun who smiled at her before they began to ride again with their irritated and scared company.

The next time they stopped, it was at the gates of Nanping city. The other horse rider shot past them much to Xie Yun's satisfaction.

"Should we go see Madam first?" A'Fei asked

"Not with him around. I'll lose him at the inn."

"Have you been here before? I hear the most famous troupe homes in the city, I want to go see them. How about some company?" The boy had turned around and rode back to them excitedly, calling out from a distance. He really was an oddity, abandoning all sense of distraught as soon as he entered the city. 

"A very good idea, if you were not running for your life." Xie Yun spoke in his usual playful eloquence as he dismounted with A'Fei and started walking. The boy followed suit, skipping slightly as he walked, eyes bright, looking at everything, never answering. Like a child seeing the world for the very first time, he took everything in. Xie Yun paced himself, slowed down and eventually stopped, letting an absorbed Feng Feng walk ahead.

He pulled A'Fei to one side. It was a wine shop. He planned to pick up a jar for themselves when A'Fei surprised him, "Ah! I remember we had a proper date. The first time I tried wine other than the one made by my father."

"Does not count. You fainted in the end and I carried you back to the inn. Do you know how difficult it was getting in and out without anyone noticing?"

"Why did you invite me to a drink then?" A'Fei eyes were far away and he knew she was remembering. He was too. He had always liked A'Fei but that was the first time his heart fluttered.

"I liked you."

"But you didn't even know me." Xie Yun knew that sceptic look and did not stretch the topic.

"I liked whatever I knew. When did you first know that you liked me?"

A'Fei had her mouth open and looked at something behind him. She closed her mouth, put her hands on his arms and turned him around, Feng Feng was within earshot.

"Are you getting that? Let's take a couple more." Feng Feng thrust two jars into Xie Yun's hands, A'Fei had one while the boy had free hands. As they went back to their horses, he saw Feng Feng reach for A'Fei's hand and almost laughed because he knew what was coming.