Chapter 1: Forbidden Love
Characters:
Mei Bai Ai - Our protagonist. Alias Lei Feng. Trainee of the Buddha Palm technique.
Lu Bai Ai - Legendary master of the Buddha Palm technique. Banished for teaching the technique to her daughter secretly.
Rei Bai Ai - Mei's mother. Sick with an unknown disease.
Yize Wu - Her love interest. The son of Master Hao Wu.
Haoyu Wu - Yize's brother. Angry and insecure due to family issues.
Master Hao Wu - Yize's father. Administrator or leader of the City of Wu.
Mistress Wei Wu - Yize's mother. Motherly and kind.
Locations:
City of Wu - southern city on the continent of Wu.
Han - Northern territory inside the continent of Wu.
Terms:
Buddha Palm Technique - a healing fighting cultivation and martial arts. Only taught to those gifted with extraordinary healing capabilities and martial fighting prowess. Normally, only 2 or 3 practitioners of this art happens every fifty years. Either you are gifted by the Gods to learn this or you have extraordinary mana reserve and chi control over your body to attain this skill.
-------------------------
I have served the Wu family for nearly as long as I can remember. The towering gates of their estate, once an imposing reminder of my mission, have now become familiar walls that shelter my secret.
Every morning, I rise before the sun, pulling on the simple clothes of a servant, hiding my true self beneath a veil of humility and obedience.
To the outside world, I am nothing more than a servant girl, tasked with the menial chores that fill each day. But in my heart, I carry a burden far heavier than any basket of herbs: the knowledge that I am Mei Bai Ai, daughter of the great healer warrior Bai Ai, the greatest healer during this century.
My mission, once so clear, has become tangled in emotions I did not expect. I was suppose to just gather rare herbs from the country side and buy rare medicines but it seems I have been afflicted with an affliction myself: the affliction of the heart called love.
I did not want this, I did not expect this, but here it is, budding and fluttering every time I see him. His face haunting my dreams. Oh foolish heart, why must you beat with love when you have a mission of life and death?
As a servant, I've been working under the Wu's residence for 3 years now. I'm now sixteen and my mother is getting better from the herbs and medicines that I have been sending her with the help of my father. But one day, my big mistake was looking up to check my master's sons face. He has a kind voice that bothers me so in a weird way and it makes me curious on why he has this effect on me, like a butterfly flying within my heart. Shoo I say, but as much as I try to repress my feelings and curiosity, the more the feeling grew.
One day as I was cleaning the estate garden walkway, Master Yizu tripped and fell. I went to him hurriedly and worriedly and took his hand.
Big mistake.
As I pulled him up to meet his gaze, I was stunned and mesmerized by his beautiful face.
His eyes, kind, tired and full of sadness. Like the burden of the world weighing in his shoulders.
His face is very beautiful, womanly like even. If not for the growing beard and mustache in his face, you would have mistaken him for a girl. He is also wearing a ponytail, which doesn't help. His black hair silky and smooth and shines in the sun.
And his smell. Ahh... His smell is like lavender and roses in early spring. I breathed in to smell him more but stopped when he looked into my eyes.
We stared at each other unmoving while holding each others hands.
"Lei?" Master Yize said.
I snapped myself from my beautiful trance, released his and put my right hand back to sides and kneeled.
"Forgive me Master for my impulsiveness. I was just trying to help you up." My face looking down.
"That's all right Lei. You may stand up."
I stood up, my head still lowered. I hope he doesn't check my face, I know I am blushing like a tomato right now.
"Carry on with your work Lei and thank you for helping me up." Master Yize said.
-------------------------
Yize Wu, the eldest son of Master Hao Wu, is nothing like his father. Where Master Hao is stern and unyielding, Yize is gentle, his smile like a beam of sunlight in an otherwise dark world. He greets everyone with kindness, from the highest-ranking officials to the lowliest servants like myself. I often catch myself watching him from afar, wondering how someone with such a kind heart could be born into a family of warriors and generals. I shouldn't have let my heart stray from my task, but the truth is undeniable: I've fallen in love with Master Yize.
This morning, I watched him from the shadows as he greeted the guards at the gate, his voice light and cheerful despite the weight I know he carries. His body may be weak, but his spirit is strong --- something I have come to admire more deeply than I should. I feel a flutter in my chest when his gaze lands on me, a simple servant carrying a basket of herbs. He smiled at me, as he always does, with that warm, unassuming kindness that has stolen my heart. The next day...
"Good morning, Lei," Yize said softly, his voice like a balm to my anxious thoughts. "Have you gathered enough herbs for today?"
"Yes, young master," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. The basket in my arms felt heavier with every word I left unsaid. I wanted to tell him everything --- who I truly am, what I am truly capable of but I knew I couldn't. If Master Hao discovers my true identity, I would be cast out as the daughter of a lunatic, left to wander the world without a patron to help me find the cure for my mother's illness. My life would be infinitely harder, and the distance between Yize and me would become a great chasm.
As Yize continued his morning greetings, I retreated to the kitchens, where the smell of simmering broth filled the air. It was one of the few places Yize found solace—a place where his father's harsh words could not reach him. Master Hao detested Yize's love of cooking, believing it to be a woman's duty, a disgrace to their family's name. I often heard the whispers of the other servants, speaking in hushed tones about the shame Yize brought upon his father, but I never paid them any mind. To me, his kindness was his greatest strength, not a weakness to be ridiculed.
Later that day, I stood by the training grounds, watching from a distance as Master Hao subjected Yize to another grueling session of swordplay and drills. My heart ached with every misstep Yize took, every harsh word Master Hao threw his way. Yize tried so hard to please his father, but his body simply could not keep up. I saw the way he struggled to breathe, his hand instinctively clutching at his chest. His heart… it was too weak for this life of a warrior. No amount of training would change that, yet Master Hao refused to accept it.
"You're a disgrace," Master Hao barked, his voice sharp enough to cut through the air. "A weakling has no place in this family."
Yize said nothing, his head bowed in shame. I wanted to run to him, to tell him that none of this was his fault, that his worth was not defined by his father's narrow view of strength. But I remained still, knowing my interference would only make things worse for him. I could do nothing but watch as he was beaten down, both physically and emotionally.
The announcement came soon after---Master Hao's decision to exile Yize to the northern province of Han.
I wasn't surprised, but the reality of it still struck me like a blow to the chest. Mistress Wei, Master Hao's wife, wept openly, begging her husband to reconsider, but his mind was set. Yize would be sent away, far from the eyes of the judgmental townsfolk and their cruel whispers. It was a mercy, in its own way. At least in Han, Yize might find some peace, away from the judging eyes.
His brother, Haoyu, leered mockingly at his elder brother, calling him pathetic and weak. His mother scolded him about his disrespect as he is forced to walk away with resentment and anger in his eyes. He may have his fathers approval, but he doesn't have his mothers love. Why must Yize have what he desires most? He only wants to be loved by his mother.
I was chosen to accompany him on his journey, along with a handful of other servants. It should have been a simple task: escort Yize to his new home and continue my search for the herbs and medicines that might heal both my mother and him. But as we traveled through the dense forests of Han, shadows crept through the tree---most likely assassins sent by Yize's brother, Haoyu. His cruelty knew no bounds.
The moment I moticed the assassins, I felt the familiar rush of energy surge through my veins. I had kept my true skills hidden for so long, but now, in this moment of danger, I could not stand idly by. Master was riding a carriage with some guards, and the assasins are waiting for a chance to slip through when the guards change shift during night time. I excused myself from my master and the other servants, telling that I would have to go ahead to search for herbs nearby. I jumped to the trees, gliding and flying like a leaf in the wind caught in a storm then I found them. I hid at the branches of the tree. Waiting for them to pass by as I ambush them.
I moved swiftly, striking the assassins with the Buddha Palm technique my father had taught me, paralyzing their feet from below then paralyzing their weapon hands before they could even react to my attacks. They tried attacking still witj their remaining hand, but two kicks to their midriff ended that attempt. They fell to the ground.
They crumpled to the forest floor, helpless. Before I could question them, they bit down poison pills in their mouth. I could do anything as they died before me try as I might healing them.
The guards and others came rushing when they heard the commotion. Yize was among them.
They were perplexed on why there are dead assassins in the ground.
Yize looked at me with wide eyes, his gratitude and awe unmistakable. "Lei… how did you… Guards, bury these two persons."
"Yes sir!" They replied.
"I'll tell you later. For now, let's bury these assassins and pray for them." I said.
"Right."
That night, I asked Master to speak with me inside alone in one of the carriages.
"My name is Mei Bai Ai," I confessed, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'm the daughter of Bai Ai, the healer-warrior. I've been searching for a cure for my mother's illness… and for you, Yize."
His expression was one of shock and awe, no judgement, no fear. Only understanding. "I'll help you with your mission with your mother," he said, his voice soft and determined. "You can count on me Lei, I mean Mei but please, call me Yize when we are alone. I am no longer your master, but your friend."
"Friend?" I said disappointingly. I sat there in shock, unmoving.
"I'll be going now Mei, if you need anything, feel free to tell me." Yize replied.
Before he could leave, I stopped him holding his arm, my heart racing. "Wait," I said quietly. "Let me try something please… please remove your shirt."
"Eh? Why?" Yize hesitated.
"I'm going to try healing you!" I shouted embarrasingly. "This will just take a moment."
Yize nodded. He removed his shirt awkwardly. Why is he feeling nervous? He's done this everyday! Yize said to himself.
I placed my hands over his chest, feeling the faint thrum of his weak heart beneath my fingertips. Summoning the healing energy of the Buddha Palm technique, I let it flow through me and into him, hoping---praying---that I could make a difference. For a moment, his body stiffened, then relaxed, his eyes fluttering shut, as I put him in my lap.
His lips are partially opened, enticing me to kiss him. No Mei! Resist! What are you doing! Your not here to take advantage of Master's weakness, you should be going out of the tent before the servants and guards starts gossiping! I lay him down comfortably inside the carriage, putting a pillow under his head.
I went out of the carriage and beckons the other servants and to tend to the master. I told them he said he would be resting for a while while I patrol the perimeter for more danger.
Whew! The temptation is too great for me. I need to cool off. Blast this heart of mine.
(To be continued)