Status Updates From To Sway A Soul

When the boy felt compelled to return to his family, the girl followed him back, because he had followed her.

It was there, surrounded by bustling streets and swaying bamboo stalks, they married and lived happily for many years.

The two passed through many great mountains and rivers. The girl painted them all. When they returned to the village of the girl's birth, her family was overjoyed to see her and likewise welcomed her handsome companion with open arms.

It was a perfectly fine thing to be, because he
had a girl to protect him. In her steady companionship he found safety, and in his she found the same. Some days he wished his sister were there to experience such happiness with him, but she lived on in his heart, and though a part of him knew it may never be enough, he found comfort in her memory nonetheless.

Zhi Lan pushed his shoulder. "Don't be so forward." But she couldn't help but plant another kiss on his lips.

Zhi Lan's heart stuttered. She had vowed once to never marry a man for money's sake, and yet here was a man with money asking to marry her, and she was not unwilling to be with him.

Had her principles changed? No. Only her circumstances.

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "I won't tell you no. But I would like to go home and paint first."

"Whatever you wish for, wife."

"Who has ever heard of a magistrate's grandson marrying a farmer's daughter? I'll be your concubine at best and I'd rather avoid that title" Zhi Lan finally said. It was her one last objection, though a weak one at that. He already had her.

"I don't think my father objects. And... I prefer you as my wife."

When Zhi Lan had stepped through the gates, she expected this to be their last meeting. After this confession, however, she no longer had the heart to leave him—perhaps she never did.

He was certainly in better spirits now. Zhi Lan realized she wanted to know this lighter version of him. Even if the version shed known had been tortured, contrary, and soulless, Zhi Lan knew that at his core, Shao Qing was truthful and honorable. He had stuck by her when he didn't have to. He was capable of compassion, with and without his soul.

She raised a hand to her mouth. She would let him kiss the rouge off her lips. Because curse him, she had painted it on for his sake.

"Scoundrel" Zhi Lan said without heat.

Shao Qing smiled.

His lips met hers. She leaned into him, seemingly on instinct, unable to hold back a sigh when he deepened the kiss. It was more restrained than their first, but she felt this more acutely. When Shao Qing withdrew, his eyes were full of promises that made Zhi Lan blush.

"Stay and I can show you." Shao Qing leaned close. Zhi Lan's breath caught when she saw the depth of feeling in his eyes. Carefully, he lifted her chin. She knew what was to come next.

Zhi Lan began to withdraw her hand. "Are you certain?"

Shao Qing recaptured it. "Souls cannot lie."

She swallowed. It was ridiculously flattering and her heart was beating fast from pure, nonsensical joy. Still, she didn't want Shao Qing to choose her if he didn't truly mean it. She but wouldn’t want to impose on him, and she respected herself too much to allow herself to be deluded.

Zhi Lan looked up at him, speechless. Had he been putting on romantic airs all this time? Her heart pounded at the thought. A memory resurfaced. The dragon had first come to her after being released from its scroll. She originally thought that it was fickle and playful, but this?

Zhi Lan felt hot. The conversation had veered further than she had expected. "I-I didn't mean to suggest that. Don't tease me."

He covered her hand with his, lacing their fingers together in an intimate gesture. Zhi Lan stopped breathing.

"One of the interesting things about having a soul" Shao Qing said softly, "is that it tells me exactly what it wants. And mine wants yours. Alarmingly."

She raised a teasing eyebrow. "You know, a thief once told me the practical way for a woman to get what she wants is to marry into wealth."

Shao Qing leaned back into the tree trunk, gazing at her. His face was serious when he said, "I won't be opposed to marriage."

"You seem to have objections," Shao Qing said. "I know l was rough and rude and offended you countless times. But I can change, if that's what you want."

Zhi Lan wondered at this comment. What could he possibly mean by it? "Don't be ridiculous. I like you as you are.

A hesitant smile spread across his face. "You like me?"

She turned away before she smiled back.

"I think I will go back to my village. It's between two mountains. Very remote."

"That sounds nice."

"I'd like to paint rivers and mountains, like Master Dan. I'll need someone to grind ink for me."

"I'll be happy to."

"I'll make you carry all our bags."

Shao Qing nodded. "I'm strong enough for it."

Zhi Lan threw him an exasperated look. Surely he was teasing her.

"I'll follow you anywhere you want to go," he continued, echoing his sentiment from all those months ago. When he had first said it, Zhi Lan figured he hadn't meant it. But now, with his eyes so dark and soulful, she couldn't help but think he was earnest.

"What if I become your patron?" Shao Qing said, breaking her train of thought.

Zhi Lan stared at him incredulously. "You? But you don't even like art!"

Shao Qing grinned. "That was before I had a soul. Maybe now I have a ravenous taste for it."

"I doubt it," she said with a scoff.

Zhi Lan suddenly felt shy.

The last time they had been this close, he'd been kissing her senseless. She banished the thought immediately. He probably didn't even remember, being half delirious at the time. Meanwhile, the memory had burned itself into her brain. It had cost her a few restless nights.

"Everyone deserves kindness," Zhi Lan said. Then, added quickly, "Including stinky vagabonds like you."

Shao Qing chuckled. She marveled at the way it transformed him. It was the first time she had seen him laugh, and it made him twice as handsome.

"Have you adjusted to life here?"

"Somewhat. It takes... getting used to." Shao Qing lifted his arms, looking at his large sleeves like they were extra appendages.

Zhi Lan laughed.

His eyes lit up, a slight smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

"You look well," Shao Qing said. His words, though somewhat stilted, broke the awkward silence. He seemed to have a hard time meeting her eyes, though she couldn't imagine why. Their manners had been so easy before.

"So do you," Zhi Lan murmured.

She had thought about Shao Qing for the past couple of months—perhaps more than she should have. She missed having someone to argue with during the peaceful weeks of painting and traveling with Master Dan. Nearly every day she regretted that she hadn't said a proper goodbye. She had assumed if they had a chance to speak again, the right words would find her.

How utterly wrong she was.

She had donned her best clothes—made of silk, recently acquired. She’d even used a hint of rouge on her lips.

Wealth suited Shao Qing immensely. He was dressed in fine robes with the wide sleeves of the nobility, half his hair smoothed into a neat top knot and the lower half cascading down his back like a brushstroke. His elegant features were no longer at odds with his dress.

ZHI LAN HAD TO ADMIT that the handsome, smiling young man was completely unlike the thief she had known. His enthusiasm was almost childlike as he showed her his family manor, pointing out the smallest of details, from the wood beams on the ceiling to a crescent shaped scratch on a post.

Shao Qing secretly celebrated this. "Do you want a tour?" he said eagerly. He suddenly wanted to show her everything, from the orange koi fish in the pond to the sturdy bristles of his new toothbrush.

Zhi Lan gave him a hesitant smile. "I'd like that."

"Zhi Lan. It’s good to see you."

He took an involuntary step toward her, as if his impetuous soul had jumped out before him and was tugging his body along.

Zhi Lan took a step back. "Funny being back here, she said with a nervous laugh.

Belatedly, he realized he was being rude.