As they left the courtyard, Hu Meng once again slunk into Yin Xiu's shadow resignedly. Once again becoming a silent observer and guardian. He began to quietly whisper directions to Yin Xiu, as they made their way to the small bookstore he had found during his solo exploration.
As they grew closer, Hu Meng became more and more uncomfortable as he remembered the strange encounter from the night before. Just as they were about to turn the last corner before they would see the store, Hu Meng whispered to Yin Xiu. "I'm going to wait in that alleyway over there for you to get done. Can you walk over there so I can transfer to those shadows?" Yin Xiu didn't display any unusual behaviors outwardly, and nonchalantly walked over to the alleyway as if he was just curiously taking a look around. After a few seconds he continued onto the street alone.
Yin Xiu quickly identified his target and made his way into the door. As he walked in, the smell of parchment and ink entered his nose. The store was well organized with large shelves stacked with scrolls of various sizes. A small reading area was also placed in the center of the store with a hallway half obscured by the shelves leading presumably to the owners living area. A neatly dressed scholar stood beside the bookshelves reorganizing scrolls calmly. Each movement was methodical and seemed to possess a dignified aura. Yin Xiu's eyebrows raised slightly at the sight. He made a preliminary judgment that the scholar wasn't a regular mortal but was more than likely a confucian cultivator.
The man turned towards the door after he placed the last scroll onto the shelf calmly. Then looked at Yin Xiu appraisingly before smiling, and giving a polite welcome. "Hello guest, my name is Lu Yan. Is there anything in particular you're looking for today?"
Yin Xiu politely bowed and asked for advice cordially. "Greeting, I am Yin Xiu. I have just recently embarked on the path of cultivation, and find myself still ignorant about many matters. Do you have any good suggestions to broaden my horizons?"
Lu Yan's eyes noticeably became kinder at Yin Xiu's polite attitude and seemingly earnest pursuit for knowledge.
"Of course." He then turned around and began selecting a few scrolls "Are there any subjects that you are particularly interested in as well? There are many wonderful professions that cultivators can pursue you know?" He asked Yin Xiu casually as he pulled another scroll from the rack.
Yin Xiu naturally was curious about quite a lot, but he forced himself to only select his most urgent needs. "If you have any encyclopedias of various sprit herbs and poisons that would be fantastic." He paused slightly thinking about what Hu Meng might need for a moment before asking for something for him as well, "I also would like one on various native spirit beasts too."
Lu Yan paused slightly after listening to his requests before nodding. "We definitely have an encyclopedia of the common spirit herbs and spirit beasts, but not a specific book on poison. That isn't very popular information I'm afraid... There are some common varieties included in the book of spirit medicines though." He smiled apologetically at Yin Xiu as he once again took note of his rather unique features with an air of realization. He didn't broach the topic however, keeping his thoughts to himself.
Having gathered a stack of scrolls he gestured to Yin Xiu to inspect the scrolls he had selected at a nice reading table. It was made of a fine dark brown wood with a small lamp giving off a warm yellow glow.
As Yin Xiu sat down to read, Lu Yan asked politely, "Would you like to sample some of our tea? My wife grows it herself." Yin Xiu smiled gratefully and accepted his generosity. Lu Yan left with a bow to prepare the tea, and just as Yin Xiu was about to finally scour the scrolls, a little girl with pigtails stumbled out from the back area of the shop. Her unusually pale blue eyes roaming around until they settled on Yin Xiu who was quietly observing her as well. She tilted her head cutely and asked "Cat?"
Yin Xiu smiled back as calmly as he could at the surprising question and answered her naturally. "The cat isn't with me right now." He shook his head, and asked her, "How did you know I knew the cat?" The little girl waddled over to the table without any fear before plopping herself onto the pillow next to Yin Xiu. "Saw cat." She glanced at Yin Xiu's shadow briefly as she replied.
Yin Xiu stared at her in amazement for a moment before clarifying "You saw the cat on my shadow?" The little girl nodded back as she bit her finger. Just as Yin Xiu was about to continue the strange conversation a woman's voice came from the backside of the building where the child had just come from. "Lu Yuhan where did you run off to again!" The quiet sounds of footsteps sounded briefly before a pretty young woman in confucian robes emerged from the back room. Her appearance clearly similar to the little girl next to Yin Xiu.
The young woman paused slightly at the unexpected sight of a stranger sitting with her daughter before saying cautiously. "I'm sorry to bother you guest, I was rude." She bowed apologetically. Yin Xiu waved his hand nonchalantly in response. "I don't think you were rude at all."
At that moment Lu Yan returned with a teapot and a cup, surprised at the unexpected sight in front of him. He walked over and poured the tea for Yin Xiu before turning to the woman, and asking in puzzlement "Why are you and Lu Yuhan out here?"
The woman answered exasperatedly "She ran out suddenly saying something about a cat, while I was busy recording the sales for the month." She glanced at Yin Xiu slightly before continuing "When I arrived she was already sitting with this customer." Once again bowing to Yin Xiu she introduced herself. "Dear guest I am Zi Mei, I hope our daughter hasn't inconvenienced you in any way."
The youth sipped the tea contentedly before answering, "She wasn't bothering me at all. She is quite interesting to talk to in fact." As soon as he finished speaking Lu Yuhan grabbed his sleeve and asked again cutely, "Cat?" Yin Xiu shook his head at her slightly, "The cat isn't with me right now, and I don't think your parents would be willing to let him into their shop either." The little girl turned aside and pouted to show her unwillingness that she couldn't see the cat that she was so excited for.
The two shop owners pensively watched the interaction between the two before glancing at each other. Seeing the affirmative meaning in each others eyes Lu Yan cleared his throat, and asked tentatively. "Uh guest I don't mean to pry, but this cat you speak of, I think it would be okay for Lu Yuhan to see it. She um, has something special about her, and always seems to have lucky coincidences. I'm only telling you this as she has shown considerable ease with your presence, and she wouldn't even come near you if she felt you had bad intentions."
Yin Xiu raised an eyebrow at that shocking piece of information. 'This little girl is becoming more and more mysterious...' Ending his brief thought he answered. "I see... well the cat she's talking about is rather... how should I say? Large? I also have to ask his opinion to see if he's even willing to come in... How about this? He's nearby, so I'll go see if he's interested in meeting her, but you have to promise not to breathe a word about him to anyone else in the city."
The two storekeepers nodded understandingly. "If we have to make a Dao oath we can do it." Yin Xiu just shook his head at that, "It's not that serious, it would just be quite a hassle if the news got out about him being in the city." He stood up whole looking at the still unread scrolls on the table with slight helplessness. "I'll be back in just a moment."
As Yin Xiu walked out the door, Lu Yan and Zi Mei got together and whispered worriedly. "Are we sure about taking the risk to expose Yuhan's abilities to strangers like this?" Zi Mei fretted as she smoothed out her robes subconsciously.
"Its a gamble, but her ability will lead us to more and more storms that eventually we won't be able to handle." Lu Yan observed his daughter who was waiting patiently with an excited expression on her immature face. A deep melancholy appeared in the man's usually stoic eyes for a brief moment. "We wouldn't have even made it this far if we hadn't used her abilities to escape. You know if she points something out like this then it will only be beneficial in the end." His expression steeled with determination as he ended their brief conversation. "It's just another gamble. That young man seems trustworthy enough, and honestly we're running out of time."
Just as he was about to continue, Yin Xiu returned to the shop seemingly alone, but as soon as he entered the door Lu Yuhan excitedly stood up and waddled over. "Big cat! Big cat!" Yin Xiu smiled helplessly as the large black tiger grumbled discontentedly in his shadow. "Who is this little human calling a cat? I'm a noble tiger descended from..."
The little girl walked directly to Yin Xiu's shadow as everyone observed her actions with various expressions on their faces. As she got there she started to seemingly pat the air.
Seeing her parents confused expressions, Yin Xiu chuckled before saying "Hu Meng you might as well come out." He then looked towards the two store owners before smiling apologetically. "You should probably close the store for a bit just in case." Lu Yan nodded and hurriedly walked over before shutting the door and locking it quickly. Not forgetting to close off the windows as well. As, soon as he did. A large black tiger with white stripes appeared from behind Yin Xiu, his large golden eyes staring in bewilderment at the little girl who was attempting to climb onto his back.
Yin Xiu picked up Lu Yuhan, and helped her sit on Hu Meng's back with a playful expression written clearly on his face. As soon as she was seated, the little girl happily hugged Hu Meng's neck as she sat there contentedly. Her hands rubbing Hu Meng's fur rapidly.
Yin Xiu then turned to her two parents who were openmouthed in shock as he introduced his companion. "This is my good friend Hu Meng. Hu Meng, these two are Lu Yan, and Zi Mei. The little girl on your back is named Lu Yuhan who is their daughter."
The three looked at each other awkwardly before bowing in greeting. Hu Meng only managing to nod so as not to accidentally dislodge the passenger that had appeared on his back without his permission.
The black tiger cleared his throat as he began to try and understand the situation. "I overheard some of your conversation accidentally when we were coming in. What is it exactly you need from us?"