A Ruined Fan

Suzhen's head jerked up. In one glance she saw the waiter sprawling, the teapot flying midair towards her and Xuxian.

Xiaohu gave a shriek of fright and Yuanzheng started forward instinctively with a gasp, though he could never have been in time. Xuxian confusedly reached out for Suzhen with a hazy idea of pulling her back.

Moving rapidly, Suzhen half rose from her seat. She restrained herself from using her spirit energy to deflect the teapot, and instead flung out her arm, knocking the teapot sharply aside.

The teapot smashed on the ground of the walkway, and the hot tea leapt up from the ground like flames curling into the air. Suzhen started back, thrusting Xuxian behind her as the scalding liquid splashed upwards. He caught her, so that she fell back against his chest, and brought his arm up swiftly over her face just in time as the tea scattered through the air.

Qingqing heaved a sigh of relief, oblivious to the confused and frightened waiter on the floor. Something instinctively warned her and she looked up, just in time to see the terrapin spirit's face disappear from the window where he had been peering from outside, waiting to see the results.

Anger sparked hotly in her and she gave a low snarling sound. "Let's see if you can run from me now," she muttered, and whirling round, raced towards the teahouse door. If there hadn't been so many people she would have sprang out of the window to give chase, but that would have been drawing too much attention. No matter, she thought grimly to herself. He would not go far before she caught up with him.

Fahai, still standing in the walkway, stepped forward as she came running towards him. Qingqing steeled herself and dashed past him, resisting the nervous fear that he would catch her. However, though he was convinced that she was up to no good, Fahai was a careful man. He did not understand what was happening. But he did know that if he, a monk, were to suddenly and rudely accost a pretty young lady like that in front of so many people, his reputation would be gone before he could convince anyone that she was a snake spirit.

He watched as she darted out of the teahouse door, and wondered if he should follow her. But the amulet glowed warm against his chest even when she had long disappeared from sight. He felt a jolt of shock. How many other spirits were there in this teahouse?

As he turned, frowning, his eyes fell naturally on Suzhen's upturned face as Xuxian lowered his arm, so that her face emerged as if from behind a screen. "Are you alright, Susu?" he asked anxiously, looking down at her.

She sat up slowly, drawing closer to him, and nodded wordlessly.

"Your arm," he insisted. "You hit it aside with your arm. Did you get scalded?"

"I'm alright, Xuxian."

Yuanzheng shook his head admiringly. "Sister-in-law, you've got good reflexes. Thankfully you do, or you both might have gotten hurt."

Fahai's face stiffened. Incredulously, he studied Suzhen's face, and watched on sternly as Xuxian put his arm around her shoulders.

Surely--

His eyes darkened.

Carefully, he took a step forward, keeping a hand upright against his chest, seemingly in prayer, yet in reality pressing against his amulet. Sure enough the amulet throbbed, growing warmer as he approached. One of these people here was a spirit in disguise. Which was it?

It could be the man with the large, gentle eyes and the faded tunic, looking anxiously at the woman beside him. Or the tall woodcutter opposite him with the plain face and frank, direct gaze. Perhaps even the gangly half-grown boy clutching his teacup. Or yet again, the many other customers in the teahouse, peering curiously at the little commotion. There were so many people within this small radius he was in. Any one of them might be a spirit, skilfully disguised with the help of their cultivation in a human form they had carefully nurtured for thousands of years, until it had lost the last traces of any animal semblances. He had seen all sorts of spirits in his years of travels and exorcising. The clumsier, often stupider ones like fish, lizards, and toads were easy to spot once you had seen a few; but he had seen some very cunning bats, terrapins, and birds, who looked virtually indistinguishable from any human. Of course, the wiliest ones were still the foxes and snakes...

His gaze swept over the sea of faces, rapidly.

His eyes were drawn back to Suzhen, with her luminous beauty. Something told him that she was the one. But if appearances were not wrong, it seemed she was the wife of the physician she sat beside. Female fox and snake spirits were especially notorious for using their ethereal beauty to seduce men. He had always had a special hatred for their underhand and ruthless manipulations, and how they had no qualms for the families they ruined, or the hearts they crushed. To them, humans were just pastimes, useful tools or temporary playthings at intervals in their long lives. It was unusual that this one had actually bothered to marry that commonplace physician, but still, he was not surprised. He had long learned not to underestimate them. Whatever they did, there was surely a reason for it.

The broken teapot lay shattered on the floor in a puddle of tea. A fan soaked in the liquid, the delicate brush painting on it slowly blurring.

Yuanzheng's eyes fell on a pair of dainty embroidered shoes, standing near the puddle of tea. They slowly travelled up, nervously, to see the sky-blue gown of a fine lady, and a small fist clenched in rage till the knuckles were white.

Mao Xiang's voice broke the silence as she pointed a trembling finger at the fan lying in the puddle of tea on the floor. It was a shapely finger, slim and white with well-groomed almond-shaped nails, and clearly had never been roughened by any work coarser than embroidery. The finger slowly rose from the ruined fan in the puddle, to stop short with a vicious stab at Suzhen and Xuxian.

"How dare you!" she gasped.