Book 2: Chapter 12: The Luo Farm (2)

Book 2: Chapter 12: The Luo Farm (2)

It was Sen’s turn to cock his head to one side. The question struck him as absurd, given that he’d said he would pay and there was silver in his hand at that very moment. He decided to start over again. He’d just explain from the beginning and, maybe, after he did that, they’d finally be reading from the same scroll.

“I was just exploring the area. These fields seemed abandoned, so I didn’t think there would be any harm in gathering some medicinal plants. If this is your land, though, I’m happy to pay you for what I took.”

He pushed his hand out a little farther, almost desperately, hoping that she’d finally take the money or at least negotiate on the price. Instead, somewhere in the middle of his explanation, she’d looked at his face again and her expression had gone a little vacant. Foiled, he let his hand drop to his side. He wasn’t getting anywhere with this tack.

“My name is Lu Sen,” he tried. “What is your name?”

“My name?” she asked after an exceedingly long pause.

Sen nearly lost hope then. Maybe if he just threw the money at her, that would get the conversation started again. Thankfully, mercifully, reality seemed to take hold of the girl again at that point.

“My name,” she nearly cried. “My name is Luo Min.”

Sen offered her a polite bow. “I am pleased to meet you, Luo Min.”Witness the genesis of this narrative, streaming from Nøv€lß¡n★

His formality seemed to fluster her briefly before she offered her own awkward bow.

“I am pleased to meet you-,” she trailed off.

Sen could see her desperately searching her memory for the name she knew he had given her. An annoyed, mean-spirited little part of him wanted to let her suffer, but he ruthlessly squashed that impulse. He was the offending party here. He had trespassed, however unintentionally, on her land.

“Lu Sen,” he offered again.

Cheeks going pink, she said, “I am pleased to meet you, Lu Sen.”

“Good,” he said, holding out his hand again. “About that payment.”

That time, the girl took a much more serious look at the money in his hand. She looked from the money to the field around them. A field that had clearly not suffered any major disruptions. She looked longingly at the money again, before she started to shake her head.

“It’s too much. I-,” but never finished.

The girl’s head whipped around, and it looked like she was straining to catch the barest edges of something. Focusing his senses, Sen caught a distance call on the breeze.

“Min!”

The girl said nothing, but her eyes flicked ever so briefly to the hand holding the silver. Then, finally, Sen understood. The fallow fields, the poor repairs, they couldn’t afford to fix up their home or hire help to work the fields. Sen knew about doctors because Auntie Caihong had told him about them, but he didn’t know how much they cost. Based on the girl’s expression, they were expensive even in this relatively small place. There might not even be a doctor in the village, he realized. That would mean summoning one from somewhere else. Even Sen understood that would prove terribly expensive. This was exactly the position he’d never wanted to find himself in. He was confident that the woman in the hut needed medical attention and needed it immediately. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised that Auntie Caihong had been right. The universe had a way of pushing you into doing things you didn’t really want to do. Sen closed his eyes and sighed.

“Take me to her,” he said.

Luo Min stiffened. “Why?”

“I have some training as an alchemist. I’m no true master, but I should be able to provide her some temporary relief.”

“Alchemist,” the girl whispered.

Luo Min frowned for a long moment, and it seemed that she connected some disparate facts in her own mind. Her eyes went so wide it was almost comical to Sen. Then, she dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead against the ground.

“Forgiveness, honored cultivator. Forgive this lowly Luo Min for her disrespect,” the girl said, sounding like she was on the verge of tears.

Sen decided that he needed to put a stop to that nonsense. “Get up. I do not require or want such behavior.”

Luo Min stood, hesitantly, not meeting Sen’s eyes. “Yes, honored cultivator.”

“Just call me Sen.”

Sen could see immediately that the very idea made the young woman deeply uncomfortable.

“Fine,” he relented. “Call me Cultivator Lu if you must. Now, the woman inside?”

“My mother, honored, I mean Cultivator Lu.”

That cleared away some of the mysteries about the farm but opened up whole new lines of questions for Sen. Questions he didn’t have the time to indulge in at the moment.

“Take me to her. Do you have a cookstove inside?”

“Yes, Cultivator Lu,” said Luo Min, leading him to the door.

“Once you show me to your mother, stoke the fire. I’ll need it.”

“It will be as you say, Cultivator Lu.”

Sen tried to not grind his teeth together in annoyance and failed. If she insisted on calling him Cultivator Lu every time she talked to him, Sen might actually lose his mind.