"Ta-da! Hot spring!" Zhu Na Ran cheered as she ran up to the water's edge. "And it's not too hot!"
"Be careful not to slip," looking around; I could see that the hot spring was somewhat secluded. Wedged between a crack in the mountain, and surrounded by lush greenery, it aided in privacy as the only opening seen was the entrance.
The hot spring seemed to be coming from the mountain as from a large crack, hot water spewed into several pools before slowly descending into the central and largest lake.
Suddenly I heard the scuffle of clothes and noticed a small trail of garments leading to the surface of the pool. "What are you doing?"
"Ah?" Halfway, pulling her inner clothes over her head, Zhu Na Ran looked at me with a perplexed expression. "Are you expecting me to bath in my clothes?"
Looking away quickly, I attempted to cool the burning heat in my face. "N-no, but why are you stripping so openly! What if someone saw you?"
"Haha, what are you talking about," Zhu Na Ran giggled, followed by the sound of water splashing. "There's no one else here besides us. Plus, why are you so embarrassed? We're both girls, and we both have the same parts, so what's the issue?"
Why am I making such a big deal of this?
"I-it's a matter of modesty."
"Modesty," Zhu Na Ran hummed. "But I already have seen everything. It doesn't seem that much of a big deal," she shrugged before swimming around in the steamy water.
"Y-you, you," memories of my mortification came back in full force. Turning around, I couldn't help but cover my face as Zhu Na Ran backstrokes slowly in the water.
"Ah, no need to meddle about the past, Senior Sister," she sighed. "Just get in, the water's nice. I'll even close my eyes this time if it helps."
Seeing as there wasn't much as I could do, I walked behind a large rock, out of Zhu Na Ran's view, to change out of my clothes.
Looking behind the rock, I checked to see if Zhu Na Ran was anywhere near my position. Oddly enough, I didn't see her at all.
"Where could she be-"
"I got you!"
"What-"
"Splash!"
Falling into the warm water, I quickly swam back up through the surface to the sound of giggles.
"Haha," clutching her stomach, Zhu Na Ran fell back into the water as she giggled hysterically.
"Zhu Na Ran!" Coughing up some water, I wiped the water away from my face to see my junior sister laughing herself silly.
"I'm here, I'm here, aha haha!"
Using some qi, I created a small wave in her direction to teach her a lesson. Sensing danger, Zhu Na Ran's laughter faded as a grin took its place. "Oh no! Haha," ducking down, she was immediately engulfed in the wave.
A few bubbles popped up on the surface before Zhu Na Ran reemerged.
"Haha! Take this!" Flailing her arms, she started to splash waves towards me. Holding my hands out, I created a shield to stop her attacks.
However, as the frequency of her waves increased, I began to lose track of her as her image became blurred.
What is she planning?
"Gotcha!" Suddenly appearing before me, Zhu Na Ran lunged towards me.
"Ah!"
"Haha! I won!" Arms around my waist, Zhu Na Ran grinned as she held me against a wall. "I landed a hit! Hehe!"
"Y-you, you!" Instantaneously my face began to burn up from our closeness. Zhu Na Ran continued to laugh before tilting her head to the side.
"Eh? Senior Sister, you look kinda red."
"I-it's perhaps because we've been in warm water too long," pushing against her shoulders, I tried to free myself from her arms as well as calm myself down. "Let go of me."
"Hmm, nope," she shook her head with a cheeky grin. "Not until Senior Sister acknowledges my victory."
"Junior Sister, let me go."
"Nope!"
Forgoing my embarrassment, I cooled my features as my eyes narrowed on her cheeky expression.
"Ow!"
Letting me go, Zhu Na Ran held her forehead as she stared at me with wide watery eyes. "Boo, how could Senior Sister bear lay a hand on her beloved junior sister."
Beloved? Raising my brow at her exaggerated expression, I couldn't help but shake my head.
"Ow, that hurt, Senior Sister," she pouted. "You put some qi into that finger flick."
"Don't be overly dramatic," pulling myself out of the water; I quickly put on my clothes and dried my hair. "Let's head back."
"Aw, but we just got here," dropping her act, Zhu Na Ran sulked in the water.
"Fine. Stay here and play. I'm heading back."
Turning to leave, I quickly heard her splash around in the water. "Ah, wait! I was joking, haha! Don't leave me, Senior Sister!"
---
Upon my return back to the manor, I found a bird sitting on my desk.
"Did my brother send you here," smiling, I walked over to the bird and untied the bag that was around its foot.
Opening up the little bag, I pulled up a package and a stack of letters. "Let's see what my brother sent me."
Picking up the top sheet, the letter read:
'To my beloved little sister,
I pray that you had a safe journey to Yun Cai Peak and faced little to no hardships along the way.
Nonetheless, home isn't the same without you here, as life is getting rather lonely without you accompanying me in our morning training and our afternoon weiqi games[1].
Heh, however, I find ways to entertain myself, I suppose.
Since your absence, you will be surprised to know that I have improved in the four arts[2].
And yes, that includes my painting skills.
I'll send you some of the paintings that I have done since you left. I'm sure that you'll see how much I have improved since last time.'
"Pfft," I couldn't help but laugh at my brother's 'improved' paintings. Behind the first page was a few crudely drawing images of landscapes around the family manor.
While gifted in the other three arts, Eldest Brother's ultimate weakness is his lack of ability to draw or paint even the simplest of subjects.
However, despite their poor quality, I couldn't help but smile at his efforts. Well, at least he's trying.
After I finished looking at the paintings, the next page continued his letter.
'In addition to myself mourning your absence, Grandfather has grown rather grumpy without you here.
Often, I hear the servants talk about how Grandfather complains about how no one can prepare tea as well as you can.
Father has even invited various tea masters over to appease Grandfather, yet it proved to be futile.
It seems after tasting your tea for many years, others are like moldy water to him. So for our sake, please send some tea when you have time.'
"Grandfather being picky?" That's strange. He always seemed complacent with any tea that I made, good or bad. "I suppose I should send a pot of teas over some time." Perhaps, this might spare the servants from his grumpiness.
Making a mental note, I continued reading the letter.
'Family life is rather quiet at the moment, but it's not without some action.
If you recall, Second Mother was pregnant for a few months before your departure. Since then, her stomach has grown until she gave birth recently.
Unlike the son that Father anticipated, Second Mother has birthed a girl.'
An unknown weight has lifted off my shoulders when I read the last line of the page.
At least it's not a boy. Otherwise, Father would have an excuse to send Eldest Brother away.
'As for my health, the doctors say that with the warmer months coming, my condition should improve for now.
Therefore, don't worry too much about me and focus on your studies and cultivating.'
Silly, how could I not worry about you.
'Also, don't give Father too much of a hard time. Although he can be a bit cold and callous at times, he is still our father, and he is getting old.
Anyways, enough about the family, how are you doing?
Have you made any friends or any sworn siblings? How are they?
What about your master? Is he treating you well?
I hope that while you're away, you'll take this time to try and make relationships with others your age.
Just don't be too distant with them, okay?
I'm running out of paper, so I'll end my letter here and be sure to write back soon.
With love, your big brother.'
The letter ended with Eldest Brother's seal with his given name on it, Ye Chun.
Setting down the stack of papers, I look over to the package he sent. There wasn't any mention of it in Eldest Brother's letter, so what could it be?
Untying the string, I removed the packaging to reveal a handful of lotus seeds with a little note that read:
'I gathered some seeds from Mother's lotus flowers. May this bring you some comfort away from home. :D'
[1] weiqi - Qi is a board game and art form which is now called weiqi in Chinese (Go in Japan and the West), literally meaning "surrounding game." Current definitions of qi cover a wide range of board games and given that in classical Chinese qí could also refer to other games; some argue that the qí in the four arts could refer to xiangqi. However, xiangqi is often considered a popular "game of the people," whereas weiqi was a game with aristocratic connotations.
[2] four arts - The four arts (siyi), or the four arts of the Chinese scholar, were the four main academic and artistic accomplishments required of the aristocratic ancient Chinese scholar-gentleman. They are qin (the guqin, a stringed instrument), qi (the strategy game of Go), shu (Chinese calligraphy) and hua (Chinese painting), and are also referred to by listing all four; qinqishuhua.