"I would like a room." Li Yan set down the empty cup, the tea’s warmth still lingering somewhere in his ribs. "Somewhere to rest and think properly."
Hu Bai nodded, and, for once, kept his hands to himself, no reaching, no lingering touches, no attempt to close the distance between them the way he had so consistently done since the tailor’s shop.
They walked side by side down a long corridor lined with the same fine paintings Li Yan had noticed earlier. Hu Bai remained silent the entire way until they reached a heavy wooden door near the end of the hall.
"This is yours." Hu Bai pushed the door open, revealing a room far larger than anything Li Yan had ever called his own. "Rest well. Hu Biyan’s training tends to run vigorous, so he may come for you at odd hours once it begins in earnest. There is a bathing area within the manor, should you wish to use it. I can lend you some of my own clothes, if you do not mind wearing them until yours are ready."
Li Yan considered that, some of the day’s grime and ache still clinging to his skin despite the earlier wash at the tailor’s shop.
A proper bath sounded like more comfort than he had any right to expect after a day like this one.
"Thank you, in advance." He inclined his head slightly. "I am in your debt."
Hu Bai shook his head, something almost stern crossing his expression for the first time since Li Yan had met him.
"Do not. Do not even thank me for this." He held Li Yan’s gaze steadily. "I took you in. I made you my bride, whether you have fully agreed to the arrangement or not. Caring for you falls on me now, not the other way around. Do not praise me for doing the bare minimum a husband owes his spouse."
Li Yan said nothing to that, unused to hearing anyone speak of obligation in terms that sounded less like leverage and more like genuine responsibility.
"I will see to a few matters." Hu Bai stepped back from the doorway. "The maids will lead you to the bathing area shortly, and they will bring salve for your injuries as well. You carry an alarming number of them."
He left without waiting for a response, footsteps fading down the corridor, and Li Yan stepped into the room alone at last.
The space was finer than anything he had known even in the Li household’s main wing, a wide bed draped in pale silk, a low table set with fresh fruits, shelves lined with scrolls he did not have the patience to inspect.
He crossed to the bed and sat on its edge, letting the quiet settle over him properly, for the first time since waking that morning in an entirely different life.
"Xiaoxiao." He kept his voice low, though no one remained nearby to overhear. "I want a full accounting. Everything within the space. Every pill, every manual, every weapon. I no longer intend to walk through my days uninformed."
"As you wish, Master." Xiaoxiao’s tone sharpened into something more businesslike, the earlier warmth folding away in favor of efficiency. "Shall I begin with the pills, given their sheer number, or would you prefer the manuals first, given your more immediate need to identify your attribute?"
"Manuals first." Li Yan rubbed at his temple, exhaustion finally catching up to him now that the danger of the day had passed. "I need to understand what determines a spirit root, and what determines whether I carry the fire or earth attribute required for either path. Everything else can wait until I have slept."
"Understood, Master." A brief pause followed, the faint sensation of pages turning somewhere at the edge of his awareness. "There exist several foundational texts on spirit roots and attribute identification within the collection, left behind by past masters who found the subject worth preserving even generations after they themselves had mastered it. I will select the clearest of them for you to review once you have rested."
Li Yan nodded to himself, satisfied enough with that answer for now. A knock sounded softly at the door before he could ask anything further, one of the promised maids arriving to lead him toward the bath, salve already balanced carefully in her hands, exactly as Hu Bai had promised.
"If you will follow me, Madam."
Li Yan raised a brow; was he hearing that correctly? Did she call him Madam?
He didn’t voice out his confusion; it had to be Hu Bai’s doing. And if he was being logical, he was engaged to their master, so being called Madam was not far-fetched.
Still, he was a man. He could never walk in a woman’s place, nor should he wear her title.
"Thank you for leading me to the bath area. But I would rather you call me Mister Li or Li Yan. I am not a woman, so I do not deserve a woman’s title."
The maid’s lips curled; she turned and bowed slightly.
"The master ordered us to call you that, but I will let him know you do not wish for such a title." The maid had tanned skin, probably from years of farmwork, as evidenced by her stout build and calloused hands.
"Thank you—"
"Oh, Dong Mei, Mister Li."
Li Yan nodded and walked behind Dong Mei, admiring the artwork lining the hallway.
Eventually, it led to the manor’s outer section.
There, to the left was a huge pool. Steam rose from it.
Did they have a fire attribute user in the manor?
Either they had one, or they had wasted a lot of firewood boiling huge pots of water.
"This is the Master’s personal bath; he also heated it himself. Please check if the temperature is okay?"
Li Yan squatted, dipping his right hand inside the water. It was his less dominant hand, so in case Hu Bai intended to disable or boil him, he would be prepared.
To his surprise, the water was warm, maybe more than warm but not hot enough to cause discomfort.
"It is okay."