Chapter 6
Birds of Prey
As soon as all the books were paid for, the two exited "The Bookstore", famously known as "A Land Lost in Time".
Well, at least in his mind. Dreamers would always remain dreamers, and that didn't wane the moment the sun shone on him.
Tao Hua squinted as his sunblind vision finally returned, revealing the ever-familiar street ahead.
Fortunately, the crowd wasn't nearly as bustling as it had been earlier that day. Tao Hua wasn't entirely sure how long the pair stayed in that quaint little bookshop, but it was certainly longer than Lord No-Name had anticipated.
Partly Tao Hua's fault, but not entirely. All the while standing in front of the shopkeeper's desk, Lord No-Name made a second attempt at trying to extract information out of the old man. As guessed, it ended exactly where he started. More confused than satisfied. But Tao Hua had to think—if he just wasted this man's time a little more, the sun wouldn't be beating down on them, and instead, hidden behind the trees.
"Where to?" asked Lord No-Name. He slid the shop's door shut and stood next to Tao Hua.
In all that was hopeful, Tao Hua's head shot up, revealing the tiniest sliver of hope in his not-so-subtle eyes. He repeated, "Where to…?"
"Your home...? Assuming you live here, of course," he started, reaching a hand up to his mouth and hovering his finger between his lips. "Oh, what was it—you work for the headman, Master whatever-his-name-something-with-a-T? Can't travel the woods? Don't care. There's no way you'd travel for a job that wouldn't pay nearly as much as the Imperial Capital."
"Ah…that," Tao Hua briefly hesitated, and from his look of hope to downcast eyes, he glanced away from Lord No-Name and towards the street. Many eyes, all pointed at him and Lord No-Name. That wasn't unusual. What was unusual, however, was that none tried to approach Tao Hua. That was new.
"Yup. I do. Through and through," he lied, ever-so-weakly. With a few inches towards Lord No-Name, Tao Hua used him as a human shield. This was effective when hiding from scrutinizing stares. "Why?"
"I'll take you home." Spoken like a true gentleman, branched from the Asshat family.
"N-No!" shouted Tao Hua. Though he didn't want it to be obvious, he was anything but inconspicuous. He leaned back once to catch the whispering of many on the street. Though he couldn't hear them due to the distance between The Bookstore and the stalls, it wasn't hard to tell what this late-afternoon gossip was about. "Um, no. It's okay, I wouldn't want to burden you…or anything. I'll be fine here!"
No, he wouldn't.
But nothing was worse than being caught in the midst of a lie, in front of a touchy stranger who was his only possibility of a genuine connection. Words he'd soon swallow and vomit out violently.
The thing was, his lie wasn't even that big of a deal; you couldn't tell an overthinker that, however. With every lie uttered, the stakes rose. The problem with high stakes wasn't what they posed, but what they did. You didn't even have to be a vampire to understand that fear.
"Here is fine," said Tao Hua. He shuffled a bit forward and hunched his shoulders. The onlookers were better left ignored. "Siyue Town isn't dangerous."
Tao Hua awkwardly held out the books and started to lift each, reading the titles. Over and over. None of it was retained, but it was enough to successfully avoid that knowing gaze painted in white.
"Oh, I don't know about that." The knowing eyes reeled towards the street with only a single offer of a glance before returning to Tao Hua.
A shadow cast over Tao Hua, and with a few blinks, he glanced up to find Lord No-Name watching as he fumbled each book, nearly dropping them. Lord No-name had his hand pressed to the hilt of his sword, and when side-glanced the ground, an annoyed smile crossed his lips. "Seems you guys have a serious vulture problem."
Even if Tao Hua tried to look past Lord No-Name, it was difficult. The street was entirely blocked off. So, he directed his eyes up and into the clear blue. "We do?"
There was an innocence in his words. Whether that innocence was rooted in genuine belief, or Tao Hua was too caught up in his racing thoughts to realize the truth.
"Yup. It's real bad, too."
Regardless of his attempts, Tao Hua couldn't quite catch a glimpse of these supposed "vultures". And he tried, too! The only birds to grace the heavens were the occasional summer birds. Those weren't new.
Tao Hua was even more confused than before. "I don't see any."
"Hard to catch. Come on—" Lord No name nudged his head. Moving aside, he stood behind Tao Hua and placed a hand on his back. This sent a shiver straight down his back, nearly causing him to jolt forward. But Lord No-Name paid it no mind and said, "No need to cut this moment short. Let's go together."
He smiled down at Tao Hua, who met him with that oh-so-familiar expression of wonderment; as if it were frozen in time. The only hint of life found in this poor soul was the faint tint that spread across his face. Now, the thing was, Tao Hua was used to being embarrassed, but he couldn't quite seem to control it this time. It was a new embarrassment, rather.
So, to respond, he simply cradled those books tightly and gradually dipped his head in a nod. He tried to match Lord No-Name's smile, like a parrot would its master, but it looked more bent than it did charming.
"Good, you can listen," Lord No-Name teased, directing the pair into the sea of onlookers' delight. "It looks better on you. Where should we go?"
Though his teeth, Tao Hua sharply inhaled, and from one side to the other, he examined the street carefully.
"That way," he said, pointing in a random direction entirely. "I just need to be brought to the end of the road—"
But he paused, walking back his words.
"You know, strict family and all," he lied. Kind of.
"And if one of those vultures lunges at you? What will you do?" Lord No-Name asked in jest.
"That's easy," replied Tao Hua in all that was earnest. "I'll just do what I always do."
"Oh? What's that?"
"Hide."
Lord No-Name laughed. "Ah, well. We can't have that, can we? Not only are vultures repulsive, they've got the ugliest attacks too—it's not at all dignified for someone like you. You need to be attacked with care."
His hand remained on Tao Hua's back, while the other's thumb grazed along the hilt, positioned and ready. Yet, undecided on whether he'd take it out or not.
In a way, his playful words were the perfect distraction to the eyes planted on the two. Enough that Tao Hua only occasionally held his breath when a loud shout would emerge from the busy street. For once, however, it was never directed at him, nor did Tao Hua return any of the stares narrowed in on him.
Instead, he was counting each brick on their journey south of Siyue Town. With each increasing number, his smile would grow more and more until there really wasn't any room left to smile.
It was the second time, ever, he'd experienced such a telling quiet—one surrounded by many people. The first happened earlier that day.
To this thought, he subconsciously moved closer to Lord No-Name. The only time they would stop was when Lord No-Name found himself confused with the direction—revealing only a small crack in his composure. But he was quick to tidy that up and follow whichever way the indecisive finger pointed.
The misdirection was partly thanks to Tao Hua's inability to keep track of his own string of lies; it was worse than an author trying to keep track of all their foreshadowing.
But of course, this journey would soon come to an end when Tao Hua found the location suitable. He gripped Lord No-Name's sleeve and announced, "It's here."
He didn't want to say those words, but with the receding sun, it was an inevitable truth.
Lord No-Name scanned their surroundings. He was perplexed, and that was made clear through his suspicious tone. "Pretty barren."
Not wrong. The location wasn't at all a "tourist dream" nor the type of place anyone, regardless of status, would build an estate. It had a few crispy bushes, trees not worth looking at, and a ground nearing its late summer feast. But that's not what stood out most to Lord No-Name. Even if he tried, there really wasn't an estate in sight.
"…you're right. It's pretty empty." Tao Hua avoided making eye contact. He shook off Lord No-name's hand and took a step back. "It's further away…strict family and all. Remember?"
The wind gently shook the nearby trees, rustling what little leaves remained. It enhanced the silence that separated the pair, as if pushing the truth further away from Tao Hua, but somehow closer to Lord No-Name. All Tao Hua could do was rub both his thumb and index finger against the book as the white eyes studied him carefully.
Luckily, they drifted away to the words of, "Understood. Well, until next time. I guess."
"Next time?" Tao Hua, stunned, shot his head up to look at Lord No-Name. He seemed indifferent to this statement, and his eyes continued wandering about the area.
"Sure. What's one day to the rest of our lives? It won't be the last I visit this 'town'." Lord No-Name paused before his eyes nearly rolled out of his head. "Unfortunately."
Tao Hua tightened the grip around his books, and in an attempt to keep his composure—which he sucked at—he slowly nodded. "Okay. Until next time."
"I'll get your name then," Lord No-Name assured. He reached his hand up and patted Tao Hua's head, just as the two exchanged their goodbyes. During this, a part of Tao Hua wanted to admit to his ridiculous lies, but fear stopped him before he could open his mouth.
Even watching as Lord No-Name walked away, down the road, Tao Hua moved his foot in and out indecisively. But ultimately, he didn't want to ruin a potential next time. He'd been burned enough times already; through the smallest mistake—getting mad at incompetence was merely a normal part of the human experience. Surely.
If Lord No-Name was certain they'd meet again, then Tao Hua chose to trust him. Therefore, he decided to open up entirely the next time he and Lord No-Name came face-to-face.
Friends were usually honest with each other, right?
The word friend brought that bashful smile back to his face—the goofy one. For once, he actually liked hearing the word "friend".
His first ever, to be exact.
Though Tao Hua had to admit one fact that struck as odd. Lord No-Name was quite the strange friend to have; he was weird and touchy. Tao Hua never once read about friends that way, only those caricatures that typically tried to prevent the main character from meeting the love of their life.
Red herrings?
Tao Hua didn't know. But there was no complaints from this once-proclaimed peanut gallery! He was fortunate that even one person was kind enough to keep something he'd put his heart and soul into.
The one that swung on the pommel of that black and gold sword, just as it disappeared into the horizon of the sunset. And when it did, Tao Hua inhaled a huge waft of air before turning the other way and dashing in the opposite direction of Lord No-Name. And it would be a good twenty minutes before he'd arrive at the Tao Estate.
Which presented two problems.
The first was: he'd be home much later than promised, but he didn't seem to care. The second was: Tao Hua was practically wheezing the moment he nearly collapsed in front of that extravagant door. It was intricately designed and stood as a statement to the rest of the architecture.
This was best described using the word "imperial". Red and yellow dominated, complemented by the blue that hovered around it.
Which made sense; Master Tao had a habit of trying to look impressive to others. It was designed especially to impress those visiting from far away—it lacked personality, better said.
His hair fluttered askew, with the black strands flying in directions they couldn't possibly fly. And his face? It flushed redder than it had all day. In an attempt to maintain his breath, Tao Hua heaved through the cold that pierced his chest.
Once he caught his breath, he quietly made his way into the outer courtyard, trying to creep along without a sound. It made reaching his destination take longer, but that was fine. He had a distraction! As he tiptoed, he examined each cover—all fairytales, chosen by Lord No-Name.
A warm feeling washed over him, and through a helpless smile, he said, "Until next time."
It was his reminder past each red and yellow pillar, latticed window, and stone pathway that this hellscape of an estate could be tolerated, repeating those very words. He did this until reaching the first door that led into the outer hall.
After placing the books on a nearby table, Tao Hua tiptoed back to the door. He was reddened from cheeks to fingertips, careful in his breathing, and closing the door behind him. He was thoughtful not to snap shut the handle and instead dragged it at a pace even a snail would mock. But the door still clicked shut, and when it did, Tao Hua jerked forward.
But it wasn't the click that caused him to jolt. It was a voice, both high and frustrated, belonging to a woman.
The voice said one thing, and that one thing caused Tao Hua to nearly choke.
"Really…?"
Chapter end.