Heaven's Daughter

Chapter 14 - A New Friend

The day after the wedding, the sect mourned. There were no lessons, no practice, nothing. Kairi hid in her room so she could grieve. Her tears had dried up as she couldn't cry anymore so she stared at the empty wall. She thought about the fire incident over and over and soon found it strange. A fire that big couldn't have been on accident. Someone had purposely set it on fire. Then she remembered the way Zhang Sheng had reacted. He was shocked at first but even after finding out that his shimei had died, he looked collective and calm. Could it be that his absence from the sect made him feel indifferent? It couldn't be. He seemed really close with her master and Mei Er.

She wiped her tears away and quickly head back to the burnt building. The workers ignored Kairi as they worked to clear up the rubble. There really wasn't anything there but burnt char. Whoever had set the place on fire made sure nothing was spared. Kairi gasped at the sudden thought. Could it be that Mei Er was still alive? It would explain Zhang Sheng's behavior. If Mei Er was alive, it meant that she had managed to escape. Her master never returned to the sect so the both of them must be on the run already. She smiled for a split second and stopped herself. It was probably better if no one knew the truth. If Grandmaster Liu knew the truth, he'd probably chase the both of them down and drag them back to the sect. It was already considered immoral to elope. With Wei Xing and Mei Er both eloping, it was considered as traitorous. It was probably the reason why Zhang Sheng never spoke of it. A secret was better kept to oneself.

Kairi left the burnt pile of rubble and with no destination in mind, her legs ended up taking her in the direction of Mei Er's private garden. It was around the time when Mei Er would be playing songs on her instrument, Kairi thought and no sooner had this thought crossed her mind, the sound of a flute was heard. Who would be playing music in Mei Er's garden? She followed the sound of the flute and saw a tall man with broad shoulders standing in the middle of the garden. He was dressed in exquisite dark blue robes. His hair was tied up in a bun and held together with a golden hairpin. The man had sensed her presence and stopped playing. Kairi recognized him as Luo Shu Hei, the man who would have been Mei Er's husband.

"Why are you in Mei Er Jie Jie's private garden?" Kairi asked frowning. He showed remorse and sighed heavily.

"I heard that Mei Er would play songs here. I wanted to play a song for her so that she may rest peacefully," he replied solemnly. For a moment, she thought that if Mei Er hadn't been in love with Master, Luo Shu Hei could have been a good husband to her. He has never met Mei Er but here he was paying tribute to her with a song.

"Jie Jie would be happy to know that you have her in your thoughts," she said. The solemn man swayed with every step he took as he came over to the stone table where a wine jar and a cup sat. He lifted the cup to his lips and tipped his head back, downing it in seconds. It seemed to her that he had been drinking quite a bit.

"Sorry for intruding into Mei Er's garden," he apologized and swayed toward her only to stumble over.

"Are you alright?" Kairi asked as she crouched down to help him back up. As he got back up with Kairi's help, the both of them accidentally locked eyes. For a split second, Kairi saw a hint of evil in his eyes. It was quickly replaced with brimming tears and the man looked away so he could wipe it.

"I'm not okay," he said. "I just lost my wife."

Kairi frowned at his sudden comment. This was all a little too much. His sentiments wasn't suspicious but he has never met Mei Er or even talked to her before. Could a stranger get this emotional over someone they don't even know? Kairi knew she wouldn't.

Without warning, Luo Shu Hei wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned his entire weight on her. Kairi had grown a bit within the six months but compared to the man before her, she was much smaller. She couldn't hold up both their weight and started to fall backwards. The man was going to squash her for sure. Just then a strong burst of wind blasted forward and they were both sent flying in the air. The force from the wind was so strong that Kairi couldn't find balance to land on her feet. With her body laying horizontally, she saw a figure in white robes flying toward her at a fast speed. She was quickly caught in his arms and they both of them landed back softly on the ground.
"Fifth Shishu," Kairi breathed. Zhang Sheng had been the one to catch her and judging from where he had appeared from, she was sure that he was also the one who had thrown that energy blast. When Zhang Sheng brought Kairi back down, Luo Shu Hei had flipped magnificently in the air and landed gracefully several yards away.