Chapter Thirteen: An Old Friend's Lament

"Why has Uncle Xiaoba refused to see me these past years?" Supported by Tian Xu's arm as he slowly rose to his feet, Xiaoba had finally, after so much difficulty, been found by Tian Xu, who now gripped his hand tightly and pressed him for an answer.

Hearing this, Xiaoba slowly lifted his head, and his eyes were brimming, unmistakably, with tears.

"Uncle Xiaoba..." Seeing this, Tian Xu was struck with alarm, and for a moment could only stand there, stunned.

"It isn't that Xiaoba was unwilling to see the Manor Lord. It's that the Manor Lord and the Master resemble each other so closely—in stature, in features, virtually identical in every way. Every time Xiaoba lays eyes on the Manor Lord, he cannot help but be overcome with longing for the Master, as though a blade were being driven straight into his heart..." As Xiaoba spoke, his tears had already spilled well past his eyelids; he reached out and gently stroked Tian Xu's face, weeping without a sound.

"Uncle Xiaoba..." Watching the tears continue to slide down Xiaoba's face, Tian Xu, too, felt a wave of sorrow rising within him beyond his control; he clasped the hand Xiaoba had raised to his cheek, and began to weep along with him.

For a moment, the two of them wept together in a tangle of grief, and even Yue Heng's eyes grew faintly clouded with mist. He sniffed, let out a long sigh, and said in a low voice, "A-Yuan and Xi'er are gone. These past years have not been easy for any of us..."

Standing to one side, Guo Huilian listened, half-understanding, half-lost. She wanted to comfort Tian Xu but had no idea where to even begin, feeling entirely like an outsider standing there, utterly superfluous. And then her own ordeal came back to her, unbidden, and she, too, found herself silently shedding tears.

"Yaya is right here! If we elders go about leading the way in weeping, we'll frighten the poor girl into tears as well—does that seem right to you?" Seeing the atmosphere had grown far too sorrowful, Yue Heng spoke with a pointed edge, meant to jolt Xiaoba back to his senses. After all, Guo Huilian knew only fragments about Yueyue Manor's past, not the whole of it—was this truly something to lay bare in front of her? Until Tian Xu made his own position clear, none of the others dared to speak too freely.

"Yes... yes... Young Master Yue speaks truly." Prompted by this, Xiaoba immediately realized how he had let himself slip, and hastily wiped away his tears. After catching his breath, he turned to Guo Huilian and said, "It's Xiaoba's fault. Fourth Sister, don't take offense. Xiaoba was a young attendant at the Manor Lord's father's side, having served the Master for many years. Seeing how the Manor Lord grows to resemble his father more and more with each passing day, I was overcome with feeling for an old friend, and for a moment I couldn't hold my emotions in check. I've frightened Fourth Sister, haven't I..."

"No... you haven't frightened me..." Guo Huilian shook her head vigorously. She had simply been moved by the scene before her—how could that be called being frightened?

"Xiaoba's bond with Xu'er's father is much like Yueying's bond with Xu'er—their affection for one another runs so deep that no one else could ever surpass it. He is, for all practical purposes, Xu'er's own uncle, no different from a father to him. It's only that Xiaoba insists on keeping to his place as master and servant, and refuses to overstep, and so he has declined the honor of being formally recognized as a godfather." Yue Heng took Guo Huilian's hand and led her forward two steps, instructing her, "Yaya, go on and greet him! Call him Uncle Xiaoba, just as Xu'er does."

"Uncle Xiaoba." Guo Huilian bowed respectfully to Xiaoba, and Xiaoba returned her greeting with a warm, kindly smile.

"Uncle Xiaoba is happy for Fourth Sister to simply call him Yaya, the way Father and Tenth Brother do."

"Good... good..." Xiaoba replied, smiling through his tears. "Grown into such a lovely young thing—only a bit too thin. You must eat more..."

"These past three years at Yueyue Manor, Yaya has hardly gone without meat, and she's grown taller besides—she used to be as skinny as a little monkey! Don't you dare imply Yueyue Manor has been neglecting her!" Yue Heng huffed with displeasure; this Xiaoba, talking as though he, her adoptive father, had failed in his duty to care for her properly.

"Young Master Yue is only teasing. That's not at all what Xiaoba meant." Xiaoba gave a bashful smile, and for a moment it seemed as though the mischievous boy of years past had returned.

At this thought, Yue Heng let out a sigh. Among the four of them—himself, A-Yuan, Xi'er, and Xiaoba—Xiaoba had always been the youngest. He still remembered, as though it were yesterday, when they'd first met, Xiaoba had been nothing but an eleven-year-old boy, mischievous and full of laughter; now he had already passed forty, wearing a short beard, and the lively, delicate air he'd once carried had settled, in an instant, into something far more composed and grave. In the old days, the two of them—master and servant—had often sparred together with Yue Heng, and Xiaoba had always insisted he had never encountered anyone whose swordsmanship was faster than his master's—until he met Yue Heng, who could always outpace him by one or two moves. No matter how much his master honed his swordplay, Yue Heng could always adapt in kind, matching strength for strength, reading each move and countering it in turn, and so Xiaoba had come to hold him in the deepest admiration as well.

Watching this scene unfold before her, Guo Huilian couldn't shake the feeling that something didn't quite add up. Tenth Brother's father, in his lifetime, had been none other than the mighty military governor of Weibo himself—surely a man of such standing would have had no shortage of people close to him, so why would there be only this one intimate young attendant? And by the time he passed from this world, he had already lived well beyond seventy years, a man of high rank and advanced age, dying a natural death in the fullness of his years—so why would Uncle Xiaoba's grief run so deep, so far beyond what the occasion seemed to call for? The two of them were separated by such a great difference in age—how could they possibly have been "as close as brothers"? Stranger still, in her three years at Yueyue Manor, she had never once seen Tenth Brother exchange any contact whatsoever with his own brothers. His cousin, Tian Yue, had been slain by his own elder brother, also named Tian Xu, who had then seized the position of military governor in his place—and aside from personally paying a visit to congratulate this Tian Xu on ascending to the governorship of Weibo, she had never once seen Tenth Brother have any further dealings with the Tian family at all. Tenth Brother's relationship with the Tian family seemed anything but close—so with so many brothers to choose from, why would the attendant closest to his father have shown such singular favor to Tenth Brother, rather than following one of the legitimate sons instead?

Guo Huilian felt that something, everywhere, simply didn't fit together right—even the words Father had spoken to Uncle Xiaoba, "A-Yuan and Xi'er are gone. These past years have not been easy for any of us," carried some hidden meaning she couldn't quite place. Tenth Brother's father's given name was "Chengsi"—and so the "A-Yuan" Father had mentioned ought, logically, to refer to Tenth Brother's father, Xiaoba's own master. Could it be that the garrison commander had also gone by the name "A-Yuan"? Her thoughts spun in a tangled mess, all of it knotting together until, without meaning to, she found her brow furrowing slightly.

"What's wrong?" Noticing something odd in Guo Huilian's expression, Tian Xu asked with concern.

"Your father... was he the former garrison commander of the Tian clan?" Guo Huilian asked, her voice small and timid. The moment the words left her mouth, she startled even herself—she had no idea why such a question had simply tumbled out of her.

The instant she said it, Tian Xu, Yue Heng, and Xiaoba all froze in shock alike. Yue Heng realized, with a jolt, that he'd let A-Yuan's name slip carelessly, and Guo Huilian—ever sharp-witted and unusually perceptive—seemed to have sensed something was amiss, and had gone straight to the very heart of the matter. Yue Heng and Xiaoba both turned at once to look at Tian Xu—whether to tell her, or not to tell her, or how it ought to be told, all of it now rested entirely on his decision.