Chapter Text
[1]
You swept your floorboards and wiped the windowsills. You just dealt with the last client a few minutes ago and now you had the time to tidy your shop up before leaving. You arranged a few more bottles and jars on the shelves away from the edges of counter which they could fall then dusted your hands.
You finished your chores for the day, packing up the homemade lunch you made for your older brother you then headed out to the training grounds he'd stay whenever he's not out on patrol.
You took a stroll on the meadow and sat down, your usual spot was a mountain cliff that was slightly taller than the walls of the grounds which gave you a clear view of what they were doing inside. Well, it was often just sparring or training so it wasn't much, yet it entertained you. Whenever you didn't have anything to do, you'd head on the cliff and watch as your brother trained with other fellow warriors. It was similar like watching a movie of some sort. Sometimes while waiting for him, you'd pick up some flowers to make into a bouquet, or you'd pick up some nearby fruits.
Your brother knew of you coming to watch whenever he's still busy and waves at you anytime he spots you. Some of the warriors noticed you, others haven't, some don't care.
Yuxuan. That was the name of your older brother by a couple years. He worked as a warrior under one of the emperor's favored men, (a.k.a Chief of War), and was currently turning thirty-four this year. He joined back when he was just twenty-three and ever since he had been working endlessly to be able to support the both of you ever since your parents both died. Since he would frequently injure himself, you took it upon yourself to become a herbalist.
A few minutes passed and you started to lay on your chest, head resting on your palms, your feet swaying and your eyes glided over to the man who were in front of the soldiers, commanding and ordering them as he paced around watching then with a stern gaze in his eyes. His look often intimidated new recruits or passerby, it wasn't uncommon, he always had a composed and serious personality — often the talk of the town due to his success and fame of being one of the emperor's trusted men, often accompanying him side by side. He'd bring home victories from wars waging against other nations, his fighting prowess was no joke and led him to be called the Chief of War by the public.
You don't often show it but deep inside, you've come to admire the chief.
It had been a few years since your brother got promoted and joined his army. Time to time as you would visit your brother you'd see this cold man ever so often. Your interactions with him were nothing but quick glances and small, small talk. Comparable to talking to a vendor for goods you frequent for but never getting close. He'd pay no attention to you of course mutually you too expected nothing from him. What would he get from some random background nobody who in the very least stays in his head for a maximum of five seconds before fading away? The man clearly had more important things going on.
You had gotten lost in thought and hadn't noticed that break-time has already begun. You sheepishly brushed the train of thoughts and picked up the lunchbox from the ground and made your way down.
The training grounds were large consisting of multiple soldiers that could fit inside. You almost felt like an outsider, in which you are but that doesn't matter.
The atmosphere gave off an aura of intimidation, prompting you to hastily look around to find your brother. Your presence didn't go unnoticed and a few soldiers spotted you. Having recognized you as Yuxuan's younger sibling, they came over and greeted you. "Y/N! You're here again." the soldier in the middle grinned, arms bent in the air behind him to support his head, "What do you have packed over there?" he came closer and inspected the box you were holding, albeit—a tad bit too close for comfort. His long-haired companion on the right whacked the top of his head, "Why don't you leave Y/N alone, Zixuan? They just arrived and you're already making them uncomfortable." he muttered sternly.
Zixuan rubbed the bruise on the top of his head, ''You're so mean, jeez! I was just curious, I haven't eaten yet y'know." he pouted. The other merely let out a scoff, "Please. You aren't fooling anyone, certainly not me. That is not how you're supposed to 'behave' as an esteemed warrior of the army." the long-haired man muttered. Zixuan scowled, "You calling me un-esteemed!?" the two continued to bicker before a third figure stepped up and laid out his arms to separate the two of them before anymore chaos could ensue. "Zixuan, Minghao, let's not act like children in front of guests." the third soldier calmly explained. He held a soft smile and his words meant not to insult, but to gently remind.
"Runchu, I'm glad to see you again." you smiled. You recognized him of course, with his stature and reputation, it was difficult not to. Runchu was one of the Chief's trusted men and your brother's closest friend. Not to mention, you knew each other since childhood—more specifically when you were nine and accidentally spilled boiling tea on him when he first came over. Now that was the primary factor why you could recognize him through footsteps alone. (mainly to make sure you don't embarrass yourself again)
Runchu focused his attention on you, "So am I." he replied. Out of the four of them, your brother included, he was the one who you haven't seen in a long time. It's been four years since your last interaction with him, time flew by so quick you hadn't realized how much his appearance had drastically changed. "So, what brings you here?" he asks. Zixuan taps his shoulder and responds, "Y/N comes over sometimes to give Yuxuan lunches. When they're feeling generous, they also pack some for us as well." he flashes a toothy grin. Runchu seems surprised, though you don't blame him. You didn't do this kind of stuff before. "Seems like Y/N's no longer the same kid tripping over and spilling tea anymore, hm?" he softly chuckled, "I take it you're looking for him." he exclaims. You nod and he swiftly informs you of your kin's location.
"Alright, thank you." you say. "Welcome." Runchu replies, "Say, do you mind packing me some of your meals too? I haven't tried your cooking in years. I'd like to catch up." as per his request, the ears of his two companions increase, all of a sudden they're by your side nudging you to make room for them as well. You end up folding and promise to make some next time. They became satisfied of your answer and bid you goodbye. Now it was time to look for him, Runchu mentioned he went somewhere near the north-east watchtower so you made your way over there. While making your way, you end up catching sight of the very person who's name makes everyone shiver in the camp.
You ended up making eye contact with him and bowed to show respect. It was taking a while so you assumed he had already left, to check this you opened your left eye and snuck a peek. You've never been so wrong in your life. With the sun glowing behind him, it cast a blanket of shadow between him and you, his full profile and sunken eyes were fixed on you. Handsome, you thought. However, it didn't take long. He faced to the side and let out a small 'Mm.' before walking away, his flowy blue cape following behind him.
Odd guy he is. You whisper in your head without realizing the faint red blush spreading across your cheeks.
Well, you suppose that's done with. You returned to your previous objective and found your brother sitting down on the ground near the weapon racks.
“Yuxuan!” you cheered loudly, running towards him, your brother noticed your approach and waved at you joyfully while wiping the sweat from his forehead. “Oh, Y/N.” he said calmly smiling as he stood to meet your height. “Sorry I haven't been able to come home recently, you know how things get around here.” he apologized, scratching the back of his head.
You shook your head, “Goodness, don't you worry. I understand.” you said before showing him the lunch you prepared for him earlier this morning, “Also, I made you you a healthy meal this morning. Make sure to completely eat everything. I didn't suffer making this just for you to leave leftovers.” you teased and he chuckled. “Thank you, Y/N," he smiled, "what would I ever do without my most precious younger sibling?” he said being dramatic as he put a hand on the top of his forehead. You rolled your eyes and afterwards you both then decided to sit down on the grass right outside the training grounds. You observed as he began gobbling down what you made. You giggled at him, “Looks like somebody's hungry.”
He rolled his eyes, “Shut up, Y/N.” he said in a joking manner. You both continued to chat and hurl light-hearted insults towards each other.
“Anyways, how's it been nowadays? I've been hearing from the folks that the demons around the outskirts of the kingdom are slowly turning active again.”
Yuxuan looked up and thought about what to say, “You're right about that. For some reason the demons are getting rowdy again, but we already fended them off months ago. They don't often get back up as quickly as before so we've been wondering what's causing the change in their behavior.”
“Well?” you tilted your head. He looked back down and sighed, “Still no clues. Due to how active they are, reports are turned in that they've started attacking nearby villages.” he looked at you with heavy eyes, “If it ever happens a demon attacks the village, you should run. Alright?”
He knew that if ever comes a time something happens to the village, you'd prioritize the health of others than yourself. It's one of your most known traits and one of your downfalls. If you believe you can save them, you'd try to save them even if that means getting harmed. And that is what your brother worries about. “..Alright. Got it.”
Yuxuan's gaze softened a little, “But it'd be unusual if that does occur. The village is situated near the outskirts of the kingdom, so if it does occur you can quickly inform a patrolling guard about it.”
You nodded then pointed at his meal.
“What..?” he looked at you confused. “All this demon talk and stuff but are you not gonna eat your chicken? It'll get cold soon.” you say.
Your brother huffed, “Sigh. Have you never heard the term 'save the best things for last'?” you rolled your eyes at him, “Alright, yeah. What I care is that you eat that damn chicken, later on I'll see you handing it of to one of your friends.” you then heard Yuxuan let out a quiet 'Ugh.. Fine.' before he then considered to eat the chicken. Yuxuan took a bite of the chicken using his hand and instantly kept on digging in. “How is it?” you asked grinning. “You can't keep on getting away with cooking good food. I don't know how you manage to pull it off.”
You shrugged, “I made a contract with the devil and sold my soul in exchange for otherworldly cooking skills.”
“...”
“...” You both stared at each other silently for awhile.
“Do you seriously believe that? I just follow recipes. Damn.” you said, breaking the silence.
“No it's not that, it's just out of all things you might have chosen, profound culinary ability is what you picked.”
“Look here, money and power are overrated.” you explained, “Wait hold on, did you actually sell your soul?” he said, convinced. “Obviously not. Why would I choose otherworldly cooking skills in exchange for my life?”
Alright, this conversation was starting to get weird. How'd you go from demon talk to contracts and cooking?
Whatever, at least you enjoyed the moment. Times like this with your brother is often rare as he's always out in the lines protecting. As you smiled warmly watching your brother eat, it also made you feel nostalgic back when you were both younger eating your mother's cooking back then. But suddenly, you notice something. You saw him put aside the cabbage you put in his meal. “Hey, hey, hey. I saw that!” you said, “You better eat your vegetables. You think just because mom isn't here you'd be able to escape it?”
He whined, “Come on! I'm thirty goddamnit.”
You shook your head, “No. I better see you consume that cabbage immediately.”
And five minutes went by trying to persuade your brother into eating his greens.
Unfortunately, break-time was not forever and your brother had to return to attend his duties. “Well, time sure does fly fast. I'd best be going now.” he said, putting on his uniform. “Already? Damn, I thought we had only spent ten minutes.” you said as you got up, “Anyways, I also have something to give you before you leave.” you told your brother. He turned his head and raised his brow, “What is it?” he asked.
You searched your pockets and bag twice and upon realising you left it at the cliff you were at earlier, “Shit! I packed you some medicine in case of rough situations but I happened to forget and left it somewhere..” you said frantically as you looked at him panicking, “Yuxuan stay here, I'll get it quickly.” you immediately dashed right away and your brother was left in an array of confusion.
You didn't expect that anyone would be taking the kit you left since it wasn't the most populated area, but your brother was about to head back and you didn't have much time left so you sprinted quickly and due to how quick you were moving you were unfortunate enough to not have seen that something was in front of you, only after did you realize after colliding with them and falling back to the ground on your backside, though the person you bumped into continued to stay on their feet, unbothered.
“Huh, what the?” you rubbed your eyes and looked up, “I—.. Who?” you were distraught as the man you'd often see commanding the other soldiers and whom was your brothers superior right before you in the forest. He was unfazed and composed, unlike you. He held his hand out, you reluctantly accepted it and got up with a confused impression. You dusted your clothes and turned to him, “I'm sorry for bumping into you, sir, I wasn't looking where I was going an—” you were stopped midway as he lent the box of medicine you were looking for earlier.
Goodness, what was with you continuously bumping into this poor man? Twice in less than three hours. He must think you're doing it in purpose or trying to get his attention.. Wait, what if he thinks you're one of those crazy fanatic fangirls trying to court him?
Your train of thoughts dispersed as you took your things back, “Ah, my things! You found them.” you took them happily and looked at the familiar stranger once again. You glanced at him once more, for some reason it felt as if you found him in a vulnerable moment than earlier. You think its because he hadn't bring his dao with him. Actually, it was the first time you've seen the general without it.
“You're Yuxuan's younger sibling, am I correct?” he said suddenly. This took you aback, you were honored that he somehow knew you despite the minimal interactions you both shared, counting earlier. You hesitated for a moment before answering, “Yes. You are correct, though, how did you know?” you asked. “I've seen you a few times. It's not hard to take note when he's been in service for a while.” he said. Well, that's no wonder he recognized you. For some odd reason you felt a tiny tinge of satisfaction knowing he remembered you.
I suppose it made sense..
“I have also felt your gaze upon me during training sessions many times since the beginning. It's odd how not much had noticed we had a strange presence watching me and my soldiers from afar.” he then added.
Oh God, this is not how you wanted it to go.
You never really thought one the first 'real' interactions you'd have with him was basically getting calleed out for something you never sort of intended to do. (Or did you?)
You froze on the spot, you never really thought you'd ever have the chance to speak with him yet here you are. You wondered if he was gonna decapitate you for presenting yourself in this manner, you know how scary this guy could get, and now he thinks you're a stalker. A few moments of silence and you swallowed a huge lump in your throat, “I—..um, well.” you stuttered, “Listen, I never meant to make it look like I was spying on you, it was more of an 'observation'.. Well, sort of.” you explained, he looked as if he found your strange theatrics amusing. He spoke, “With all due respect, I couldn't care less to what you do," he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, "as long as you aren't planning or committing acts that endanger the kingdom.”. You held your arms to the level of your chest and aggressively waved them, "No! No! Nothing like that. I'm just humble run-off-the-mill apothecary. I am absolutely not planning any kind of treason, I swear on the great ancestors." you ramble and panic. With those eyes staring at you, you'd be dead ten times over.
Fortunately, he simply mused. "Good." he says. Thus, ending your thoughts of wishing to melt into the ground. You took a sigh of relief.
“If you don't have anything else to say, I'll be leaving. I spent enough time here and I must return.” he continued.
“Hold on, wait. Could we.. go together perhaps? I have to give these to my brother.” you asked, he paused for a moment to think before giving in.
“.. Sure.” he swiftly replied.
Unsurprisingly turns out, the Chief wasn't much of a talker.
A few minutes in and you could already feel the dreadful silence sinking in accompanied by the lingering awkwardness. The dried leaves crushed underneath your slippers each step you took forward were louder than the noises between the two of you. Suppose it's better this way. Get underneath his radar, lay low, and start hoping you don't appear too strange in his eyes.
"You seem to be pretty close with your brother." he mentions out of the blue. His words threw you off, you weren't expecting the chief to be the first person to break the silent bubble. "Very much so. He's a rascal but I still care about him nonetheless. Only a few years older than I am so the mental gap between us isn't that drastic."
"Your brother is turns thirty-one this year, how old exactly are you?" he asks. "I'm actually twenty-five. Me and my brother share the same birth month and only a day away from each other so we practically turn at the same time. Pretty cool, right?" you add. It was true, you were both born on what was called 'the dew month'. "Actually, since our birthdays were so close to each other, our parents made us celebrate on the day between my birth and his so we didn't need to prepare for two individual celebrations since it was pretty costly." you continued. He agreed, "It's a wise decision in cutting back on spending. I assume you and Yuxuan must've found the arrangement amusing." he said.
"We did! We were known around the village for having an unusual birthday tradition." you smiled. "Our birthday gifts usually consisted of exotic herbal ingredients, when Pa had extra money, he'd bring home souvenirs from his travels. Though, mainly for my brother. Yuxuan was never a guy that thoroughly enjoyed the art of apothecary." you mused as you recall a memory of your brother's delighted expression for having received a wooden sword as his gift when he was ten. "I assume it served as a foreshadowing of your future professions." he remarked, refencing your interest in herbals and Yuxuan's passion to devote his services. "Spot on, Chief." you commented.
You got closer and nudged his elbow, not realizing the way his shoulders suddenly stiffen, "You know, he really looks up to you as his senior and as a talented general." you look at him and smile, "Take care of that troublemaker for me.". As sweet as it was, that was the moment you realized you were initiated physical contact with him. The chief was somebody known for his recluse and ascetic personality, someone that even the emperor himself is careful around due to his aversion of touch. And here you are, freely moving around as if you're close buddies all because of a single conversation. You move a bit further away from him, not wanting to appear disrespectful of his personal space.
"Forgive me. I got carried away." you plead. The chief hides his gaze and turns his face the other way, "It's fine. Ireallydontmindatall." he responds to you sternly at first but by the end, it sounded like hasty gibberish mutters. You couldn't help ripping out a soft giggle that you desperately hoped he didn't manage to hear. Well, if he did, it appeared as if he didn't. The chief swiftly regained his composure and let out a cough.
"We're almost there, I suggest you check if your box still has its necessities intact. Who knows who could have had a hold on that kit before I did." the chief pointed out. A switch turned on in your brain and you opened the box to review everything from top, ensuring nothing had been stolen.
As you were preoccupied checking out the different kinds of medications you packed for Yuxuan, you hadn't realize the uneven pathway in front of you. As a result, you stumbled over a small hole on the ground, bringing your attention back from box to surroundings. But before you managed to trip and possibly wound yourself, the chief grabbed your arm and pulled you towards him. Thus, preventing you from slipping. This event was only processed in your mind after you opened your eyes and realized you were touching a hard and smooth material.
“You should be more careful.” he said. Upon realizing, you pulled yourself together—pushing him away as a reflex. You awkwardly chuckled, “I apologize again. I hadn't taken note of the rough terrain.” This is so humiliating. Did someone wish bad luck upon you? What is with you today?
“Please. Don't worry too much about it. What's better is that you're unharmed, come, we should be nearing the camp.” he said calmly, extending his hand. You took it out of courtesy and you both walked out of the forest. The camp was only a short distance away.
As you both walked on the grassy path, a thought came to you.
“Oh, right! I forgot to introduce myself. The whole time we've known each other we haven't had the chance to formally introduce ourselves.” you scratched your neck, “I'm Y/N L/N.” you told him. He mused, “Hm, a pleasure to meet you, Mx. L/N.”. Truth to be told, the chief already knew your name from your brother beforehand, but he supposed he could play along if it meant to spend a bit more time with you. It's not like he'd be able to admit it to your face.
You shook your head, “No need to refer to me by my surname. Just call me Y/N.” you smiled.
"Y/N.." he said softly, he enjoyed the manner in which the syllable/s of your name rolled off of his tongue.
“Well then, since I introduced myself first, suppose it's your turn now.. If you don't mind.”
“I prefer my name to remain undisclosed. It's irrelevant” he answered, “Regardless, you may refer to me as Chief.” he responded. You shrugged, “Alright if that's what you want, I got nothing against it.” you smiled, deciding not to pry any further.
In the end when you returned, you decided to make sure to spill everything that happened between him to your brother. (He ended up being very curious about it and asked buttload of questions. At some point he assumed you and his superior were secretly dating, to which you didn't even bother to entertain. What a ridiculous thought)