Chapter 020
Chapter 20: Doors Shut, Windows Closed, Alone Together
Xiao Man braced herself and pushed open the heavy door, stepping into Lin Qing Xuan’s meditation room.
The scent of sandalwood grew thicker inside, quiet but pressing, as if the air itself asked for silence.
She kept her eyes straight ahead as she walked to the wide rosewood desk, fixing her gaze on the inkstone and the fine ink stick as if they were her only lifeline.
Just as she picked up the ink stick, ready to take on the sudden task of grinding ink, the door behind her moved without a sound, a hand gently pushing it closed.
The latch fell with a crisp click, a sound that seemed extra loud in the still room.
Xiao Man’s heart jumped hard. Her fingers tightened around the ink stick until her knuckles turned white. She stayed bent forward, frozen, not daring to look back.
Next came the sound of window latches being drawn, once, then again.
The warm morning light that had slipped through the lattice vanished at once. The room grew dimmer, lit only by a single glass lamp on the desk, its glow soft yet a little gloomy.
Close the door. Shut the windows. All in one smooth move.
Xiao Man felt every hair on her body stand up.
Alarms blared in her head, sharp enough to pierce her eardrums.
[What is he trying to do?]
[In broad daylight, under the open sky, and in the meditation room of all places!]
[Is this Buddha’s Chosen really going to pull off Breaking the Precepts in such a shocking way?]
She almost could not hold back. Like in her dream last time, she wanted to whirl around and give him another Lineage-Cutting Kick.
At that very moment, outside by the base of the courtyard wall, Shi Tou was peeking through a crack, and his eyes nearly popped out.
He clamped both hands over his mouth to hold back a shout.
[Heavenly Lord! Young Master! The Young Master closed the door! He even shut the windows!]
A chill shot up Shi Tou’s spine from his heels to the crown of his head. He did not dare look again. He spun around and bolted, racing like the wind toward the storeroom where his father, Old Chen, was working.
Shi Tou burst in and grabbed Old Chen, who was fixing a flower stand, and he stammered so hard his voice shook as he blurted: “Dad, Dad, they are in one room together, and he closed the door. The win… the windows are closed too!”
Startled, Old Chen’s hand jerked. His small hammer dropped with a clang to the floor.
He whirled around, face changing at once, then clapped a big hand over Shi Tou’s mouth so hard the boy almost passed out.
Old Chen lowered his voice and snapped, eyes wary as he scanned the doorway: “You little rascal, do you want to die shouting like that?”
Shi Tou, muffled under his father’s palm, blinked fast and squeezed out a few rough words from his throat: “Mom… went… to the West Court… to chat…”
Only then did Old Chen let out a slow breath and release him, though his face stayed so serious it looked like it could drip water.
He stared at his son and asked in a voice pressed low with disbelief: “Did you see clearly? It was truly the Young Master who shut the door? Not that girl?”
Shi Tou hopped in place with worry and swore to the sky: “Dad, it is absolutely true. I saw the Young Master reach out and close the door with my own eyes. He even drew the windows. Xiao Man had her back to the door at the time. She was just reaching for the ink stick.” As he remembered Lin Qing Xuan’s calm yet powerful movements, his heart pounded.
Father and son looked at each other and saw the same shock, confusion, and a strange sense of duty in each other’s eyes.
Old Chen fell silent for a breath. Then his look turned firm.
He smacked the back of his son’s head, not gently, and ordered: “Listen up. This matter stays in our bellies. Not one word gets out. Especially to your mother. If she hears, by tomorrow even the gate dogs will know. You and me,” he pointed at himself, then at his son, “saw nothing. We do what we should do. But keep your eyes sharp and your ears up. Guard the courtyard gate. Other than First Madam and Old Madam, not even the Heavenly Lord gets in to disturb the Young Master.”
Shi Tou nodded hard. In an instant, the two became one mind, the first and most loyal gatekeepers of the grand cause of Buddha’s Chosen Breaking the Precepts.