Ow.
My head.
Ugh.
I blinked and groaned before tucking into Zhi.
“Morning baby.
How do you feel?”
“Like you got me drunk last night.
Did you get enough praise to grow your ego to three times it’s usual size?”
“Oh, I got all the praise and cuddles I could ever want.” He dipped down and gave me a huge kiss on the cheek.
“Good.
Because it’s too embarrassing for me to say all that sober.”
“What about how cool, and cute I am?
And how much you love me?”
I groaned and I could feel his smile as he pressed a few more kisses to my face.
“I was really bad last night, wasn’t I?
Well, I hope you enjoyed it.
I’m not getting drunk again until next year.”
“So… do you remember any of last night?
I know your memory can get a little spotty.”
I opened my eyes, looking into his sheepish face.
“Why?
Did you do something?”
“I might have said something embarrassing to you.
But if you don’t remember, it’s okay.”
Ugh.
I ran through what I could remember, which was mostly just me kissing him all over his face and listing all the things I liked about him.
Ugh, I completely lost my filter when I was drunk.
“Ugh, tell me!
What did you say?!”
“Heh, you’ll have to try and pry it out of me when I’m drunk.”
“You’re no fun when you’re drunk.
All you do is brag and try to kiss me.” His boasts included wildly exaggerating all the fights he’s had.
The last time he got drunk he bragged the demon boar he took down back when we first left my troop was an immortal demon boar, pure black and had devastated entire cities, and that he took it down by ripping off its own tusk and stabbing it with it.
I was there.
That wasn’t what happened.
“Well, then you’ll never find out because there’s no way in hell I’m saying it while we’re both sober.
But…” He got that mischievous glint in his eye.
“I’ll tell you what I said if you spoil me for a year.”
“Fat chance.
If I spoil you all the time your head will grow so big, you’ll just float off into space.”
“Damn.
Then I guess I’ll never tell.”
Ugh.
As curious as I was to know, my hangover was telling me to drink something.
I reluctantly sat up, and he grabbed a cup of water, handing it to me.
“Here.
I’ll get breakfast.”
Zhi was alright sometimes.
I sipped the water as he began making breakfast.
Unfortunately, he was only about halfway done when our tent flap was thrown aside, and Bing ran in.
“Ming!
I fucked up, I fucked up!
You have to help me!”
Uh.
I quickly glanced over at Zhi who was shrieking.
“Bing!
Get out!
We don’t have any clothes on!” He set the pan down and lunged for his storage ring which was beside me.
Whoa!
I lurched back and grabbed my storage ring.
I rolled my eyes.
“Zhi!
You’re covered in fur!”
“I’m still naked Ming!” He finally snatched up his ring and his clothes appeared on him with a pop.
I reluctantly summoned some clothes for me too.
And rubbed my forehead because all this yelling was not doing my hangover any good.
I groaned.
“Bing, quiet down.
It can’t be that bad.”
Then I heard more yelling outside.
“Bing!
I know you’re in there!
But I won’t be rude and barge into someone else’s tent!
Either get out here, or may I please come in?”
Uuuugh.
“Everyone, is going to stop yelling, or I’m tossing all of you outside!”
Bing rushed up to me.
“Dong is seriously going to kill me.
I might have gotten drunk and told him everything and he did not take it well.”
Zhi scowled.
“Then why did you come here?
You have a perfectly good tent with your parents!”
A shout from outside.
“Bing!”
She winced.
“Yours was closer.
And Ming please.
Dong is really mad at me.
I… I just don’t want this to end our friendship.”
Damn it.
I gave a heavy sigh.
I rubbed my face.
“Zhi, can you please make some extra breakfast.
I guess we have guests over.”
“Ming, seriously?”
I gave him a flat stare.
“I guarantee I want to deal with this less than you do.”
He sighed and picked the pan with the food back up and adding more food.
I watched him for another moment before I was satisfied he was going along with this.
Then I called out.
“Okay Dong, come in.”
The flap went aside, and his eyes went straight to Bing who surreptitiously moved behind me.
He stepped in, reaching for her.
“I’m sorry about Bing, I’ll get her out of here.”
“No.
You’re both here already.
“No, I couldn’t—”
My tone brooked no room for argument.
“You can and you will.
Sit down.”
He paused before sitting down next to the fire.
Good.
I was in no mood to argue.
Bing scooched over to the other side of me, not making eye contact with Dong.
Breakfast was finished.
Zhi plated everything up for me but left Bing and Dong to get their own food.
He sat across from me, setting my plate firmly on my lap.
“You let them in.
Deal with it.”
Ugh, couldn’t I at least eat breakfast first?
Whatever.
“Okay, then Bing, you start.
What exactly happened?”
She fidgeted with her plate of food.
“Uh, well, you remember how you said I should tell Dong and confide in him?
Well, last night I did.
After drinking a ton of alcohol.
And he may not have taken it well.”
Dong burst out, his face turning red.
“Not taken it well?!
Bing you left someone for dead!
How—”
I held up a finger, silencing him.
“Stop.
You will get your turn to speak.
Right now, it’s Bing’s turn.
Now Bing, when I suggested you confide in Dong, I didn’t mean you get drunk and let it spill out like a guilty secret.
Why don’t you explain things more calmly to him now?”
“Uh…” She peeked around me as I finally took a few bites of food.
“Okay, Dong, I know it sounds bad, but i-it isn’t as bad as you think, I swear!
I just… when last fall started and I got the job of solving the winter hunger problem, I decided to… leave.
Um.
You know just go on my Dao journey.
Without telling anyone.”
“Bing, do you hear yourself?
Wh—” His mouth snapped shut as I glared at him.
I went back to my food after I was sure he wasn’t going to do it again.
Bing continued a moment later.
“Right.
So… I left.
For, uh, for Xuegong.
And I made it all right.
But, I-I didn’t have any money or goods to sell, so… I ambushed a couple cultivators on the road and stole their money.
I mean, I didn’t know they were part of the sect!
But… they were, and they began hunting me.
I still needed money to get some traveling supplies, so I waited for some people I was sure weren’t with the sect on the road, and tried to rob them, and that turned out to be Zhi and Ming.
They kindly let me live and offered to pay me a storage ring for sneaking them into the city, and I accepted.
But I didn’t know the Frozen Glaive Sect had set a trap for me at where I usually went in and out of the city.
Zhi and I walked right into the trap, and Zhi got captured but I managed to run away.
Then, when I went back to see if I could sneak in again, I found Ming and…” Bing trailed off guilt written all over her face.
She swallowed and looked up at Zhi.
“I’m sorry.
I really am.
I shouldn’t have tried to abandon the two of you like that.
I got you into that mess and Ming had to force me to get you out.”
Zhi paused in his chewing and swallowed.
“Huh.
A real apology.
Maybe Ming is getting through to you.
But unfortunately for you I have no intention of accepting it.
If it wasn’t for Ming, I’d be rotting away in that cell or worse.”
Bing nodded, taking a shaky breath.
“Okay.
That’s… okay.
I deserve that.
Still, I’m really sorry.
After that, I got tricked by Ming and got this slave collar put on me.
We rescued Zhi and came north where we ran into you, and… you know the rest.”
She finished up, looking solemnly at her food.
She was done.
I turned to Dong.
“It’s your turn.
But you are going to speak calmly.
Like an adult.
Understand?”
His eyes were glued to Bing.
“You lied to me.”
Bing looked away, guilt all over her face.
“No, you didn’t just lie to me.
You did way worse things than that.
You abandoned the tribe.
You abandoned me.
When we needed you.”
“Dong, I—” She shut her mouth when I glared at her.
Not in my fucking tent.
It was Dong’s turn to talk.
“I know you don’t want to be the next leader, but I thought you cared about the tribe.
About me.
I… I’ve been in Core Formation for longer than you.
Don’t you think I want to go out there?
But I waited.
For you.
Because I wanted to go together.
I waited until your parents and the elder gave the clear.
But I guess you’d rather go it alone.”
“Dong, I had no idea…”
He pushed up, leaving his food on the ground.
“I’m sorry.
I can’t finish everything.
I have to go.”
I reached up and caught her before she could rush after him.
“Stop.
He needs time.
Let him process on his own.”
“But…” She reluctantly sank back down and picked at her food.
And sniffed.
Here come the waterworks.
“I-I’m such an idiot.” Her voice trembled and cracked, and she finally broke down crying.
I rubbed her back and tried to still eat some of my own breakfast.
Zhi sighed and scooted over to Bing’s side.
“I’ve got this Ming.
Finish eating first.” He began comforting her instead, patting her back.
“Just let it all out.”
I quickly ate the rest of my food to help him since he looked extremely awkward.
“Bing, I know you must feel terrible.
But everything will be okay.”
“Nooooo!
It wooooon’t!
Dong hates me now!” She sobbed, putting her food down for good.
“I know it feels like that.
But he’s just… hurt.
He needs some time.”
“He’s never going to talk to me again.
I’m the worst.”
Zhi muttered.
“That we can agree on.”
“Zhi!” I gasped.
And smacked his arm.
“What?
She’s the one who hurt him!”
“Zhi!
She’s crying!”
“Good!
She should be!
She ran away and lied to him about it!
She hurt him and now he’s probably off crying somewhere.
Honestly, I’d be more concerned if she wasn’t crying.”
“Zhi!”
I was about to smack him again, harder this time, but Bing held out her hand and stopped me.
“No Ming.
He’s right.
This is all my fault.
I hurt Dong.
I… I just want to make it right.
How can I make it right Ming?”
Oh wow.
Zhi nodded, finally satisfied as Bing wiped her eyes, steely determination in them.
“There you go.
You fucked up.
You’re young, it happens.
I wouldn’t be able to tell you all the times I fucked up when I was your age.
Way worse than you.
And sometimes… you can’t take things back.
You can’t make things right.”
Bing’s eyes glistened.
Zhi grabbed her shoulder and looked her in the eye.
“But this isn’t one of those times.
Your friend is mad at you, but he’s still here.
You can make things right with him.
Go after him.
Tell him how sorry you are and that you’ll do whatever you have to to make it up to him.
The two of you can work things out.
I know you can.”
She jumped up.
“You’re right.
Thank you!”
She rushed out of there, after Dong.
Wow.
I never seen such a fire lit under her.
I looked at Zhi with new eyes.
“Wow.
That was… actually impressive.”
He smiled and scooched next to me, his wandering tail finding its way around my waist again.
“Well, I see a lot of my old self in her.
That’s why I dislike her so much.
If I was her, then that is what I would need someone to tell me.
Hopefully she can turn things around with Dong.”
“Do you think it was a good idea to send her after him?
He seemed pretty mad.”
“Well, if you were mad at me, which you have been, many, many times, wouldn’t you want me to apologize to you as soon as possible?”
He had a fair point.
The two of them should be able to work things out.
And I didn’t want to deal with it anymore with my pounding headache right now.
He leaned over and snagged their uneaten breakfasts.
“Seems a shame to let these go to waste.
Let’s have a nice, calm, second breakfast.
Where I comfort you to help ease your hangover.”
Ah.
He set a blanket around my shoulders and gave me a warm smile.
I loved him.
I loved him so much.
I closed my eyes and leaned into him, just letting the problem of Bing fall away for a moment.
Moments like these are why I’ll never leave him.
When it came down to it, he always gave me what I needed.
I felt it.
My core fluttered again.
Stronger.
My chi flared, stronger, fueled by my emotions.
Whoa.
It faded away after a few minutes, but I felt it.
My Dao.
Damn.
How cheesy.
I had a feeling my Dao was the Dao of Love.