Rui and Wong Hu Argue

   While playing Go, Wong Hu moves a black stone and Rui knits his eyebrows while looking at the board. He can’t concentrate because he is thinking about LiMei. He fiddles with the white stone in his hand. “Tell me about my wife…I know you felt something unusual when you checked her pulse.” Rui puts down the white stone in his hand on the board blocking Wong Hu’s attempt to gain more territory.

  Wong Hu has a slight smile, “As expected of my best student!”

  “I want to know about LiMei.”

   ‘”We can discuss your wife after the game. I can’t do anything for the woman until  Wanqing returns with what I need anyway. She has gone to the mountain to pick the berries and herbs I need.”

  “What the hell!” Rui is furious, “I told you Su Wanqing intends to harm LiMei, why would you send that woman. If you need medicinal herbs I could go get them.”

  “I want to play Go with you.  She doesn’t know why I want the Pycarius Berries so there is no need to worry.”

  Rui’s eyelashes tremble and has a suffocating feeling in his heart, “No need to worry? Are you telling me that my wife has a cold poison in her body? Why else would you need those heat filled berries?” 

  Wong Hu pulls on his thick gray beard while contemplating his next move. “True…. Feng LiMei has a cold poison in her body.” He looks at Rui and his voice is tinged with sarcasm, “But your little wife has an unusual constitution doesn’t she Rui…so the poison is somewhat dormant. “He places a black stone on the grid. “The only effect is… well…your wife won’t be able to get pregnant until the cold poison is resolved.” 

   Ru’s pitch black eyes look like a bottomless abyss, “WONG HU! Fucking tell me about what is going on with my wife!” No wonder LiMei hasn’t gotten pregnant with all my effort…who fucking did this? Xinghi?

   “It’s your move.”

  “Do you think I can still play after you tell me that! I want to know everything!”

  Wong Hu leans back in the chair and shakes his head disapprovingly. “Qiao Rui, you came here for my treasure because my incompetent son was able to threaten you with that little girl. You are weakened… vulnerable because of that little girl. You compromised the principles I taught you because of that little girl. Not to mention you have made a very dangerous enemy in that lunatic Xinghi because of Feng LiMei.

    I never thought my most favored disciple…the cold and heartless Qiao Rui would be such a disappointment.  I didn’t teach you all I know so you could throw it  away because you fell in love.” He smirks, “a love that is illusionary… you tampered with the little girl’s memory…creating a beautiful delicate doll who depends on you…whose world revolves around you. Well…I am going to restore her memories and cure the girl…then see if she stays willingly by your side. You both would be better off apart…you are not fated to be together.”

  Rui in a rage flips over the board and the black and white stones rattle on the table some spilling onto the floor. He clenches his fists at his side and the veins in his forehead are bulging. “SHUT UP! YOU THINK I AM LIKE YOU? I WILL NEVER GIVE UP THE WOMAN I LOVE!  IF I AM WEAKER IN YOUR EYES …DESPICABLE…UNPRINCIPLED…I DON”T GIVE A FUCK! I WILL NEVER LET LIMEI LEAVE ME!

  Infuriated by Rui bringing up the past, Wong Hu lifts his palm in anger. The force of his internal energy hitting Rui’s chest causes him to fly across the room hitting the wall. Wong Hu’s voice is low and threatening. ”You dare! One more word and I won’t be so gentle.”

   Rui coughs up blood and can barely breathe from the intense blow. He is bent over and holds his chest. “Who are you to judge me. Your other disciples…fuck your own son doesn’t know but I do…I saw with my own eyes you and…”

  Wong Hu remembering his own weakness…bewitched by the woman’s beauty…seduced and falling into hell… the aftermath of the illicit trysts…. grabs Rui by the throat, “You should leave with Yang Chenxi. I won’t be treating Feng LiMei.”

  Rui locks eyes with him, “One game of Go..if I win… you cure LiMei and hand over the treasure.”

  Regaining his sanity ,Wong Hu lets go of Rui’s neck, “If you lose?”

  “Anything you want.”

  “Anything?”

  “Yes.”

  “Even if I say you need to leave Feng LiMei?’

  “I don’t plan on losing, so yes.”

  Wong Hu laughs and puts his arm around Rui’s shoulder, “It is good to see my disciple is still arrogant. Brat, you have never beat me.”

  “I will today.”

  “I will agree with curing Feng LiMei as to taking the treasure we will need to discuss. I don’t think you know how precious the treasure is to me. And once you know what the treasure is…you may change your mind about delivering to Chao. He is unfit to possess the little treasure.”

   The little treasure, Baobei, has his sketch pad out and is drawing LiMei. She is sitting on the ground leaning against a large fig tree in the midst of a field of wildflowers. Perched in the tree, Jack after nibbling on some figs comfortably naps, totally forgetting his mission to bring Baobei back.

   LiMei is wearing a colorful flower wreath she made with purple and pink wildflowers. She looks up,  finishing a small wreath made of small white daisies for Baobei. “Baobei, let me see.”

“Sister LiMei, the picture isn’t finished.”

  “I want to see.”

   He walks over carrying the pad and LiMei pulls him onto her lap. Smiling she puts the wreath on his head, “Ahhh..so cute!”

   Baobei blushes, “I am a boy!”

    She pinches his chubby cheek, “You are drawing a picture of me so I wanted to make something for you. Let me see the picture.”

   He sheepishly holds the white piece of paper up with a girl half drawn, “I’m not done yet…it will be better once I color the flower wreath on your head.” He hid the crumpled up sheets of his first three attempts under some flowers.

   LiMei’s eyes widen and her  mouth forms an O shape, expecting a childish drawing but the picture is surprisingly good. She stares at the lifelike drawing, ’Baobei, you are such a good artist!”

   “Thanks. I really like to draw. I don’t draw people very often, usually I draw pictures of the medicinal plants I find so I can remember what each one is. I will show you when we get to my cave. I forgot my book the last time I came to the mountain. I show the pictures to Grandfather and he helps me write the names.”

  She can’t resist and hugs him then kisses his cheek, “Baobei, you are so awesome!”

  The tips of Baobei’s ears turn bright red and so does his small face. No one besides his grandfather has ever kissed him. He has a warm feeling in his heart and decides he will convince his grandfather to let him go home with LiMei for a visit. He gazes up at LiMei’s beautiful face adoringly, It would be nice to be hugged and kissed like this more often by the beautiful sister.

   LiMei looks out at the mountain and the clouds forming, “When you finish we should get going. It looks like it might rain.”

   Baobei looks up at the sky and frowns, “I didn’t bring an umbrella.”

  LiMei chuckles, “Little man, it didn’t look like rain earlier, you can’t blame yourself. You brought everything we really need..food..drinks..sunscreen. If it rains we can stay in your cave until it lets up.”

  Baobei’s deep brown eyes sparkle, “My cave is very comfortable!”

  “Great! When you complete your drawing we can go.”

    “Okay.”

   LiMei takes a sip of water enjoying the warm breeze. She sighs as she picks up one of the ripe figs Jack brought her earlier. It is not as unbearably hot as when we were trekking across the two barren fields. She closes her eyes and thinks about Rui, I wonder if he is with Miss Su?

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