Chapter 35: Ryuji

The morning sun did not hit a grand pavilion or a carved wooden screen today. Instead, it filtered through thick leaves and landed directly on Lu Qing’s face. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking against the unaccustomed brightness. For a moment, she expected to see the painted beams of her bedroom ceiling or hear An An’s familiar steps on the floorboards.

She saw nothing but branches and grey clouds.

She sat up, shaking off the stray bits of dried grass from her dark tunic. The air smelled of damp earth and woodsmoke. For the first time in her life, there were no high walls blocking her view. There were no armed guards standing at the corners of her vision, and no crushing expectation of how she should sit, speak, or breathe. It felt strange. It felt open.

A few paces away, Ryuji was kneeling in the dirt. He had his dark bag tossed to the side, and he was hunched over a small pile of twigs and dried leaves. He held a flint stone in one hand, striking it repeatedly against a small metal tool. A few small sparks flew, landed on the grass, and died instantly. His face was smudged with soot, and his short hair was messy from sleep. He looked focused, but his jaw was tight with frustration.

Lu Qing watched him for a minute. Her boots were dirty, and her hands felt rough, but a light feeling came over her chest. She stood up and walked over, sitting down on a large root near the pile.

"You're not very good at that," she said.

Ryuji stopped striking the stone. He looked up at her, blowing a stray piece of hair out of his eyes. His face turned a little red under the soot. "Hey, give me a break. I usually have things that do this with one click. This manual stuff is a different thing I don’t know how to."

"One click?" Lu Qing asked, her eyebrows pulling together. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing," Ryuji muttered, shaking his head. He looked down at the dead leaves. "Just a thing from back home. Anyway, I’m trying here. If I don't get this going, we're eating cold food for breakfast."

"Let me," she said. She shifted off the root and knelt in the dirt beside him. She took the flint from his fingers. "You piled the twigs too tightly. The fire needs to breathe. If you don't leave space for the air to move, the sparks just choke."

"Is that so?" Ryuji asked, watching her. He moved back a few inches to give her space. "I thought you were a lady who didn't do manual labor."

"My brothers went hunting often," Lu Qing said. She rearranged the small branches with her fingers, creating a small cone shape over the dry moss. "Sometimes I went with them. I watched the servants prepare the camps. I’m not completely useless."

She struck the flint against the metal. On the second try, a bright spark caught the edge of the moss. A tiny red glow appeared. Lu Qing leaned down, her long hair falling over her shoulder, and blew gently onto the base of the pile. The smoke turned thick, and then a small yellow flame burst upward, catching the small twigs.

"See?" she said, looking up at him.

"Yeah, I see," Ryuji said. He was looking at her, not the fire. "You're pretty good at this."

As she reached out to add a thicker branch to the flame, Ryuji reached for the same piece of wood. His fingers brushed against the back of her hand. It was a brief, accidental touch, but both of them stopped instantly. Lu Qing looked down at their hands, her heart giving a small, sudden thud. In the estate, a man touching her hand without permission would have been a scandal. Here, it was just the two of them under a tree.

Ryuji pulled his hand back first, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry. Go ahead."

"It is fine," Lu Qing said quickly. She dropped the branch into the center of the fire and sat back on her heels. Her skin still felt warm where he had touched it.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the fire grow until the wood began to crackle. The heat felt good against the morning chill. Lu Qing looked at the small flames and felt a sense of peace that she hadn't known she was missing. She didn't want the gold her father promised. She didn't want the titles or the large courtyard. She just wanted this simple reality where she could sit in the dirt and look at the sky without being a piece of an alliance.

Later, Ryuji pulled out some dried meat and flatbread from his pack. He divided it evenly, handing her a share on a clean leaf.

"It's not exactly a palace feast," he said, taking a bite of the hard bread. "But it keeps the stomach quiet."

"It is better than what I would have eaten at Lord Wei's table," Lu Qing said. She chewed the dry meat slowly. It was tough and lacked flavor, but she didn't mind. "At least I know who I am sitting with."

Ryuji looked at her, his clear eyes steady. "Your brother seemed like a piece of work. Is he always like that? So intense?"

"Lu Chen?" Lu Qing looked down at her bread. "He used to be different. He used to be quiet, almost weak. But since he woke up from his illness, he talks like a different person. He acts like he knows everything that is going to happen before it does. I don't understand him anymore, but he gave me the gold. He helped me leave."

"He told me he had a fight there," Ryuji said. He finished his bread and wiped his hands on his trousers. "I respect that. But staying in a place like that... it changes a person. You're lucky you got out when you did."

"I know," she said.

They ate the rest of their food without speaking, listening to the birds in the trees around them. The sun was climbing higher, burning off the morning mist that hung over the forest floor.

Once they were done, Ryuji stood up and kicked some dirt over the remnants of the fire, stamping out the smoke until nothing was left but black dust. He picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulders.

"We should move before noon," Ryuji said, looking toward the narrow dirt path that wound through the trees. "The main road gets busy later in the day. If your father sent people out, they’ll be checking the regular routes. We need to stay in the brush until we cross the county line.  It will attract Less attention that way."

Lu Qing stood up and lifted her own dark bag. Her shoulders ached slightly from the weight, but she didn't complain. She looked at Ryuji’s broad back as he stepped onto the path. She didn't know where he came from, and she didn't fully understand the words he used, but she trusted him. It was a fast trust, faster than she had ever given anyone outside her own brother Lu Chen , but she didn't feel the need to question it.

"Lead the way," she said.

Ryuji nodded and began to walk. Lu Qing followed close behind, her boots sinking into the soft mud as they left the Lu estate further and further behind.