I'm really not the Saviour! (我唔係救主囖!) [danmei/BL xuanhuan]

15 - It's negotiating time

A/N: I'll be taking a two week break to do some edits and build up some chapters. In the meantime you can check out my other Tales of the Jade Road, they're all set in the same universe as I'm really not the Saviour!

We'll be back on September 29 :)

***

Two days later, a message arrived.

It was a rest day, and Gaam Yuk Ying, Gou Dzing, Chan Bik and Cheng Baak-hap were sharing a leisurely breakfast on the mountainside, surrounded by falling leaves. People had started talking about how often the group were together now, and with word slowly starting to get out about Gaam Yuk Ying's abilities, despite his best efforts to be as lazy as possible, the nosy were starting to turn their eyes greedily in their direction. Was this the beginning of a powerful new group? Were Chan Bik and Cheng Baak-hap hiding their abilities too?

A junior disciple of the Way of the Mountain presented the message to the group with shaking hands and overly eager greetings, which Gaam Yuk Ying ignored and Gou Dzing awkwardly accepted. He waited until the disciple had dashed out of sight to exaggerate the encounter to his friends, to open the letter.

'Little Brat, Old White's Kid, I've decided you both need to take part in what's coming next. Come to Juk-hoi immediately. Be prepared for a long stay away from the sect. Bring the little girl with you.'

"Does that mean Cheng Si-dze can't come with us?" Chan Bik demanded immediately. Cheng Baak-hap tried to smile but it was clear she was disappointed.

"Bik Si-mei, there's not really a reason for me to go..."

"Baak-hap Si-dze, you can't leave me with these two..."

Gou Zing tried not to laugh at the way the two girls sighed pitifully to each other, but Cheng Baak-hap caught him.

"What's the matter, great Jade Exorcist? You've been remarkably cocky since a certain someone showed some interest in you." She hid her mouth behind her hand in a pantomime of modesty. "That's a little unbecoming of the Head Disciple of the Way of the Mountain, don't you think?"

"Is Cheng Si-mei jealous?" Gaam Yuk Ying asked Gou Dzing mildly. Gou Dzing snorted wildly and received a heavy fist in his side from his junior sister. Cheng Baak-hap wasn't a large person, but her fists struck like boulders. Trying to recompose himself, he realised that there was a tiny smile on Gaam Yuk Ying's lips and it set him off again.

"Gaam Si-hing! You did that on purpose!" Chan Bik shouted, diving for him. Although she had a Fire affinity, Gaam Yuk Ying's high cultivation level meant that he easily avoided her, and the picnic devolved into chaos.

Cheng Baak-hap, with Gou Dzing in a headlock, watched Chan Bik chase Gaam Yuk Ying unsuccessfully around the mountain.

"Are you really not going to say anything to her?" Gou Dzing asked, taking advantage of the lull in violence.

Cheng Baak-hap let him go and sat up rigidly. "Bik Bik is someone who is going to be the direct disciple of the Vermilion Bird. I can't..."

"Can't what? So it's okay being friends with Ng Dzeung disciples but nothing else?"

Her pretty lips twitched. "I... I have no confidence."

"Not everything's about fighting, Cheng Si-mei. Your administration and logistics skills are second to none. How are all us muscle-headed martial artists supposed to organise ourselves?"

"The other day..." Cheng Baak-hap began quietly, "Some disciples from the Clear Sight School cornered her by the Main Library. They harassed her about spending time with us, as disciples of other schools, and..."