The Bride of the Serpent is Silent

Chapter 2: Chapter 2: The Home



Aware that Jing Li's considerate nature would have prevented her from giving any indication of injury. Fu Guo looked between the woman's dainty face and the dire inflammation that had spread over the delicate joint of her ankle again, before releasing a sigh. Not entirely sure whether he could trust Jing Li's meek assurances, Fu Guo nevertheless did not feel it would be beneficial to press the issue further at this time. 

 

Considering it imprudent to prolong their discussion by the basin, where they might easily attract more unwanted attention. Fu Guo turned in the direction of the village. Determined to return Jing Li to the arms of the mother who anxiously awaited her return. Fu Guo progressed a few steps, before noticing that his friend did not follow. Looking back at Jing Li, whose eyes were still fixed on the lake in a longing manner that he found to be oddly unsettling. Fu Guo again urged her to accompany him back to the village. 

"Come on, let's get you home." he said. Emphasizing his words with a motion of his head, Fu Guo pointed his chin towards the orientation in which he wished to travel. The speech and action, finally prompting Jing Li to move forward. There remained a measure of hesitation about her steps as they trailed behind him. Her thin legs, seeming reluctant to match Fu Guo pace in spite of the heavy load he now carried. Jing Li's eyes continued to regard the ground in silent thought. 

Unable to decipher what ailed her, Fu Guo peered at Jing Li in silent fascination. Her irises, bluer than the sky and deeper than the waters of the Xilian. They glimmered each time she glanced up to observe the quiet scenery that surrounded their village or appreciate the simple beauty of a small flowering weed smiling up at her from the side of the path. Finally noticing Fu Guo's stare after several minutes had passed, Jing Li's dazzling eyes came to meet his gaze. 

The warmth of her regard, provoking his lips to part into a wide toothy grin, Fu Guo could not resist the jest that flew from his open mouth. 

"This thing weighs a ton, Jing Li. Did you put rocks in here or something?" He teased. Shifting the weight of the basket as though it was too heavy for his back to endure, Jing Li stretched a hand forward. Hopping over the few steps that divided them frantically, intent on relieving Fu Guo of the hamper. He moved the basket out of her reach. Smiling at his friend as he evaded the repeated attempts that she made to secure the load from him.

 

Fu Guo chuckled at Jing Li, whose elegant brows were knitted together in frustration. However, Fu Guo stopped this game once it appeared to affect Jing Li's breathing. A hint of pink rising to her cheeks and little puffs of air beginning to escape her. Fu Guo lowered the basket to a more comfortable position in front of him as he said, "Just forget it." A mild grin still gracing his lips, there was a trace of tenderness about Fu Guo's playful tone as he added, "I'm here now. I can't be seen letting a scrawny girl like you carry this." 

 

Emitting an exasperated huff towards her friend's jest, Jing Li's rosy lips curved into a gentle smile. Appearing to have forgotten the somber attitude of her previous mood, she fell into a steady pace beside him as they entered into the village. Jing Li, seemingly oblivious to the modifications made to his strides in order to accommodate her or the secret looks of admiration that were cast in her direction as they walked. Fu Guo thought that this was not yet the time for him to admit his feelings for Jing Li.

 

His friend's outward beauty, apparent since the first time he had come to lay eyes on her. It was not until Fu Guo had come to know Jing Li, that he discovered her soul to be equally as remarkable. Accepting of people's faults and appreciative of all that life presented her, Jing Li was the most singular woman Fu Guo had ever met. However, prevented in telling her this due to their long-standing friendship and the circumstances of her family. Fu Guo was forced to bide his time until a more opportune moment presented itself. 

Jing Li's mother, a woman who had loved only one person deeply in her life. Her mind and body had never truly recovered from the shock of losing him. Clinging to the part of the man she had once loved in her despair. Jing Li's mother could not bear the thought of being separated from her daughter for very long. The woman, suffering from chest pains and bouts of respiratory illness each time Jing Li departed the home that they shared for more than a couple of hours. Fu Guo's friend could rarely venture out, save for the necessary chores.

The current rations on the village's grain stores during the drought, hardly enough for the single mother and her illegitimate daughter. Fu Guo knew that his friend had been allocating most of their home's meager supplies to her ailing mother. Aware that this choice had been made out of filial duty and the kindness of her own heart, Fu Guo feared now for Jing Li's own health instead. Her slender figure growing more reduced by the day and her fair skin becoming a gray sickly color, it seemed only a matter of time before Jing Li was to succumb to illness. 

Doing all that he could manage to prevent Jing Li from overexerting herself in the past. This feat had become more difficult as the number of their hardships increased. Fu Guo and the other able-bodied men of the village, called upon by the village Elders in recent days. They were sent to scour the Xilian for fish or to salvage what little crops remained in the fields. However, the demands of the village diverting his focus away from the pursuit of his own future happiness, Fu Guo feared that it was too late to redeem it.

Nervous that Jing Li had become more distant in his absence. Fu Guo wondered whether there was another more suitable match that had caught her eye while he wasn't looking. However, unwilling to discover the truth of Jing Li's feelings towards him just yet. Fu Guo had to content himself with the few moments he shared in her presence for the time being. These matters, reduced by the boisterous uproar that rose from the village square, the two stopped to listen.

The ruckus disturbing the tranquility of their walk, Jing Li and Fu Guo stood a mindful distance from the crowd. Not desiring to be swept up in the mob of people, which surrounded the home of the Village Head. They heard a protest spring up from among the group.

"How long must we be made to suffer the wrath of the gods?" They hollered. Their voices, like a frenzy of gulls fighting over the same crab, one rose from them to yell, "We must send another!" The demand met with overwhelming agreement by the crowd, the Village Head waited for this murmur to settle before responding.

 

His face sunken and made more egregious by the dark circles that encompassed his eyes, he answered, 

"I understand your impatience, but please think for the girl's family." Earnest in his appeal to whatever vague shred of humanity remained in these desperate times, the Village Head went on, "How can our collective conscience be cleared, if we were to send yet another young girl to her death." A momentary hush falling over the mob as the plea seemed to strike a chord with them. This was again thrown into a rowdy upheaval as someone called out from the gathering, "Send another bride and Shui Long will absolve us of our sins!" 

 

This statement followed again by an aggressive cheer from the crowd, Fu Guo took Jing Li by the arm. Fearing that to stay would be to risk Jing Li becoming the next candidate for the water god's bride, Fu Guo ushered her hastily away from the volatile temperaments of the villagers. Only spared previously from a watery grave by her inability to speak. Jing Li had been considered too dumb or defective to be considered an adequate offering to the capricious god that watched over their village before. However, the last two bribes, washing up on the banks of the Xilian only days after being sent by the village. The young and beautiful women of the village were beginning to become more scarce and Fu Guo more concerned that Jing Li might be reviewed as a viable candidate in the Elder's next selection. 

 

Releasing Jing Li, once they had arrived safely at a plain stone house with a rickety tile roof. The modest structure consisted of a kitchen, two rooms for which to live and sleep, and a small plot of land to one side. The patch of grass considered a 'garden' by the two women who resided there, it was merely an uneven yard for most who looked upon it from the street. It possessed only one redeeming feature, and that was the beautiful raven-haired young mistress who could be seen tending to its meager lawn or hanging washing out on the line. 

 

Surrendering the basket, Fu Guo knocked on the building's rough wooden entryway before turning to his friend once more. A suggestion of uncertainty about Fu Guo's usually honest smile, he told her, "Stay out of trouble." Nodding to confirm that she would make efforts in this endeavor, the two waved goodbye as they parted from each other's company once more. Fu Guo, departing in the direction of the distressed villagers. Jing Li stood next to the doorway until he was out of sight. 

 

Entering into the dim interior of the house, Jing Li was welcomed by the voice of her mother who called to her from the next room.

"What took you so long?" she asked, her tone already sounding unsettled by the prolonged absence of her daughter. Jing Li did not answer, as she removed her soggy cloth shoes. Holding them in one hand as she crossed the straw mats and exited out into the garden. She then replaced the footwear before treading onto the dry earth found in the yard. 

 

Methodically being to shake each item from the basket. Jing Li hung the articles on the taught rope that stretched from one end of the small plot of land to the other. The sheets and clothing, all lined up neatly along the thick cord, Jing Li surveyed her work. However, finding that there was no spring breeze or warm sighs of summer to give life to their drab forms. Her face soon became sullen as she viewed the fabrics hanging limply beside each other on the line. This twinge of dissatisfaction ultimately usurped by the wince as pain overtook her. Jing Li looked down at the rash that had been festering on her ankle. 

 

The skin around the irritation, a dark crimson now. There was a burning sensation that emanated from the wound as a pattern began to surface. The lines yet to be made clear, Jing Li crouched to inspect them. Desperate for the superficial mark to disappear, she rubbed it vigorously with the palm of her hand and the cuff of her sleeve. However, this action attempted in vain, it appeared to merely aggravate the irritation further. Giving up on her effort to wipe away the harsh lines of the marking, Jing Li eventually rose from the ground. 

 

Foolish optimism assuring her that the rash would heal if left alone. Jing Li tried to ignore the wound's vexing heat or the persistent itch of its festering presence beneath her skin as she ducked into the tiny room at the back of the house. Serving as a very crude kitchen with only a fire and a scant few pieces of crockery. Jing Li took a log from the pile beside the narrow entry she had passed through in order to stoke the embers that remained of the fire she had made that morning. 

 

Feeding the flames with the log she had procured from the pile, Jing Li filled an old metal pot with water. Placing the kettle over the fire, she dried herself next to the heat of its flames while waiting for the liquid to boil. Steam, eventually pouring from the pot's thin spout. Jing Li removed the kettle from the flames. Adding some of its water as well as a few sparing scoops of dried leaves to a small clay pot she had set aside. Jing Li replaced the lid on the teapot, before selecting two corresponding brown cups from the wooden cabinet at the furthest end of the room. 

 

Carrying these items out through the narrow opening of the kitchen, Jing Li skimmed the side of the garden which remained closest to the house. Peeling the shoes from her feet another time as she entered the house, Jing Li positioned the pot of tea and the two cups opposite each other on the straw mat. Kneeling, she waited patiently for her mother to emerge from their shared room before pouring the tea. Both women, sitting across from one another on the floor in a ceremony they conducted daily. There was a moment of silence before a word was passed between them.

 

"You should change out of those clothes." Her mother remarked, eyeing some dirt on Jing Li's sleeve disapprovingly. Her daughter only nodded in compliance to this suggestion as she reached for her cup. Blowing on the liquid inside softly. Jing Li felt its subtle heat waft across the chipped rim as her mother spoke again. 

"Did you encounter anyone?" She inquired anxiously. Jing Li, looking up from the pale liquid in her cup. She held one of her thin hands above her head. Placing her palm down as though making the gesture to describe the tall stature of a person. Her mother indicated her understanding with a feeble smile, then remarked softly, "He's a good kid, Fu Guo." Neither woman disagreeing with this statement, they reverted back to silence as they sipped their tea.

 

Possessing the inherent talent that most mothers seemed to hone over the years of telling when their child is omitting a truth. Jing Li's mother seemed determined to suss out whatever implied secret remained between them as she questioned her daughter further, "You didn't have problems in the village?" Her query met with immediate denial from Jing Li, the older woman's chapped lips began to pucker, and gaze became more meticulous as she scrutinized her daughter for clues. However, halted abruptly as she came to spy the bold color of the mark on Jing Li's ankle.

 

The wound, hidden initially when her legs had been tucked beneath her. It now took on the distinct form of a serpent coiling around the place where Jing Li's foot met with the rest of her leg. Its dire appearance provoking her mother to reel backward in horror, she dropped the cup from her hand. The clay container and its content spilling onto the floor in a state of irredeemable damage, Jing Li ran to the aid of her mother who laid amongst their broken pieces.


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