The Scholar (1)

Ku Jian stepped out of the bamboo house and paused at the sight of Ed in the distance seated under a tree. The land was covered in white as snow had fallen for hours the last night. Yet, Ed sat there unaffected by either the cold or his surrounding; his dark robes were the only thing making him stand out in the white landscape. Her immediate reaction was at first to rush to him, but she paused and reminded herself where she was going. She knew that Nti Anem had gone out that morning to pick snow roses for wine.

“I am going to look for some herbs. I’ll be right back, Brother Ed.” she called to him before leaving. She did not wait to check if he had responded, as she was sure that he had heard her. She moved quickly though the plains, into the mountains and paused at the trail they had used several times.