Enduring Like the Plum in Winter

竹子 (Bamboo): 六

Days passed in the Mortal Realm without news of Zhulin or Chenguang. Ruomei focused her efforts on the children's shelter and on caring for the fruit-seller's daughter, but still occasionally found her thoughts wandering to the impending troubles in the Demon Realm. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed to her that the Heavenly Lord should have offered his help when Zhulin had gone to ask for it, but Ruomei couldn't come up with any ideas on how they might be able to persuade him to do so.

Ruomei was almost relieved when another distraction came to a front, in the form of an invading army from a neighboring kingdom. The whispers of the invading king's name eventually reached her – Chenglei, new to his throne and wishing to make a great name for himself. In the process of doing so, he seemed intent on invading any land that wasn't his own, and the residents of the little village that Ruomei had come to know could only talk of their fears of being attacked.

"We must only focus on what we can control," Ruomei insisted at one meeting with the grandfather, baker's wife, and the handful of other villagers they had recruited to assist in their efforts. "Worrying about what may or may not happen will do us no good."

"But my son and husband will be pulled into the fighting if it comes our way," the baker's wife protested, wringing her hands.

"And why bother building a shelter for the children if it might just be burned down?" That was one of the new members to the group – a niece of the perfumer.

"We can't think that way," Ruomei said. "We must be resilient, and steadfast in our determination to better the village."

Only the grandfather didn't dispute her. "I agree," he said slowly, after a disgruntled lull in the conversation. "If we sat around and worried, nothing good would come of it. And it's not as though we're doing nothing to prepare ourselves – the men are being trained in the afternoons on how to use weapons in a fight, and the furniture-maker has converted his shop to prioritize making barriers to go around the village. Short of our own country's army coming to our aid, there's not much more we can do. So let's focus on the children now."

There was some nodding and general grudging mutters of agreement before the group began to disperse.

"Let me know if there's anything I can do to help!" Ruomei called out after them, waving a goodbye.

"I see you've been busy while you've been away."

Ruomei turned around at the remark, a smile filling her face as she did so.

"Teacher! What brings you all the way down here?" Ruomei turned to fall into step beside Lisong as he began to stroll through the village streets. They received a few inquisitive looks from people who didn't recognize the Immortal, but when their eyes turned to Ruomei beside him, they shrugged their shoulders, suspicions dissipating at the sight of someone they did know.

Lisong looked right back at a particularly curious villager until the person turned away, before responding. "There have been some changes as of late in the Heavenly Realm," he said, voice low so as not to be overheard, but Ruomei could detect a tension in his words. "I think it would be wise if you came back with me for a bit."

"I can't just leave them!" Ruomei protested. "They need me here!"

"Never overestimate your importance, Ruomei," Lisong said, giving her a sidelong glance. "Your efforts here are commendable, yes, but the mortals are also able to handle things on their own." He continued, looking around. "After all, they are the ones teaching you, and not the other way around."

Ruomei let out a frustrated breath. "But – "

"Now is not the time. Come with me."

Something in his tone made Ruomei feel obligated to listen, as Zhulin's earlier explanation about the Immortal's ties with Lady Bingling came to the front of her mind. She followed Lisong to the Heavenly Realm, where the guard named Zhong and his companion nodded at them as they passed through the entrance and headed immediately towards the Heavenly Court.