FanFiction: Strange Hero Yi Zhi Mei
Title: In the Pursuit of Love
Fandom: Guai Xia Yi Zhi Mei (Lit: Strange Hero A Stick of Plum Blossom) (Eng Title: Vigilantes in Masks)
Genre: Martial Arts/China Period Drama
Pairing: Li Gexiao/Yan Sanniang
Synopsis: This piece follows on from where the popular television series ended. In it, I largely explore the relationship between Li Gexiao and Yan Sanniang whose terms of intimacy are yet uncertain. Meanwhile a figure from Abbess Wu Gou's past emerges from the shadows.
Plucking at his lute with the dexterity of an old hand, Li Gexiao glanced out of the corner of his eye as he sensed the approach of a slender figure. Light-footed as she was, it was not her footsteps that gave her away but the familiar scent of roses and chrysanthemums wafting through the cool air that seemed to herald her movements.
Although he had not completed the final strain, he ceased playing and a soft smile formed around his lips. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of her outer garment as well as the silver grappling hook that swayed in synch with her confident gait.
As always it was tied expertly to the belt clip that was a permanent part of her arsenal around her waist, now glistening in the sunlight.
It would not be the first time he quietly thanked heaven for giving him a second chance at love.
As she drew nearer, he took her soft, pale hand in his, and sat her down beside him.
“Are you leaving... now... “
“Yes.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”
More than anything. “You are needed elsewhere.”
“I could join you later when we tie things up.” He offered casually, his manner hiding a thoughtful glance. “I don’t imagine that this will be a complex case.”
“Suit yourself...” Her face was a mix of frustration, petulance and wistfulness.
“Is everything alright? You don’t seem particularly pleased to be going.”
“I hate leaving when cases crop up.” Not untrue.
“I’m sure we’ll manage...” He gave her a penetrating stare. “It is your mother’s birthday after all and she doesn’t see you very often.”
“I know, I know... “ She muttered. “But you know what she’s like... she’ll give me the third degree when I get there about... you know... me taking over and... “ Us.
He squeezed her hand meaningfully and ran them gently over his lips.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He promised.
Her face lit up momentarily and then darkened. He surmised that she was in one of her strange moods. Something physiological perhaps? He couldn’t be sure... after all she seemed to be in peak physical health. There were aspects to the female psyche that would remain a mystery to him.
After some minutes, her spirits seem to pick up.
“Don’t drink too much while I’m gone. I know how you are when I’m not around.”
Gexiao sighed. Once upon a time he might have been relieved at being left alone... not having her haranguing him about his drinking. But before he had realised it... she’d become a fixture in his otherwise lonely existence. Not just her, of course. Yi Zhi Mei was everything to him... Yi Zhi Mei had become the family that he had lost... And she, Yan Sanniang, thief extraordinaire, was the woman who had caught him unawares and gradually had gathered up whatever few shards were left of his broken heart.
She was going away... albeit for a short trip. Although he would never tell her that, he couldn’t help feeling a pang or two of regret at her leaving. One of the many downsides to forming attachments. A list of downsides that only seem to grow with time.
At least, as he would often tell himself, there was always good wine to be had for company and consolation.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Birthday or not, it would be the usual song and dance with the leader of Er Mei sect. Already Sanniang could picture it in her mind.
It would begin in the following manner:
“Have you both discussed marriage?”
“Mother... please”
“Have you...” Mother was always determined to introduce the subject whenever possible.
“It doesn’t matter...”
“Have you...” Er Mei’s leader persisted firmly.
“No... “ Sanniang admittedly reluctantly. “It doesn’t matter... as long as he remains true to me.”
“Of course it matters... words mean little if not followed by action.”
Words... Sanniang thought bitterly... What a joke. Li Gexiao was a man of few words especially where emotions are concerned. He hasn’t mentioned the word “love” even once in the time that they’ve been together.
“I don’t want my daughter to be cheated.”
“That’s unlikely to happen... I know you mean well, mother... but I’m in no hurry.”
“That man is a rare one... but he’s still a man... prone to all the usual foibles. The question is do you want to be with him?”
Sanniang nodded. There was nowhere else she would rather be.
“Perhaps you need to drop him a hint or two.”
“That would be the worst possible thing to do.” Sanniang protested. “Give it time, mother.”
“I would hate to see my daughter grow old wasting her life pining for a man who doesn’t love her.”
That last remark stung. Of course he loved her. Everything he did seemed to indicate that he did. But that did not stop her from feeling a pang or two of unease from time to time. She was never quite certain that any bond that they had was strong enough for him to overcome the past.
Her mother, however, would be the last person she would confide about her inner fears and insecurities. Although matters between them were vastly improved, they had yet to establish a degree of intimacy which would warrant such confidences.
It was during times like these that Sanniang felt acutely that she was living under the shadow of the dead. Whatever her attractions, she would never be Ruyi. Ruyi would always be his first love and she would always finish second.
Not that she minded being second or thought much about it. Life was too short and those who wander the martial arts arena live dangerously, one day at a time. A lifetime of love was a luxury only the ruling classes and ordinary folk enjoyed. For those who lived by the sword... it was only a matter of time...
Li Gexiao was not a man to be rushed. It was something she learnt a long time ago.
___________________________________________________________________________
“So, did you ask her?”
“Ask her what...” Li affected his usual air of nonchalance. Of course, he knew what they were getting at but he wasn't going to give them the satisfaction.
He Xiaomei threw him a dour look and Cai Hu grunted in an exasperated fashion. “For her hand in marriage, what else? For a smart man, you can be utterly clueless.”
Li Gexian concealed his annoyance with practiced insouciance behind his wine flask.
“You’ve been in and out of that jewellery place for 3 months now,” noted the Man of a Thousand Faces shrewishly.
“Been following me, have you?” Li eyed the younger man suspiciously.
“Truth is, I have better things to do. But I make purchases there too, you know.” Xiaomei huffed obligingly. “The proprietor knows me as a regular customer. He made a comment or two.”
“I see.” A man can’t have secrets in this place.
“See? What do you mean “see”? Sometimes I think you’re more blind than that one-eyed Yan Shifan... You can see that she loves you, can’t you?” Cai Hu demanded.
Narrowing his eyes, Li Gexiao silently surveyed both men. Ganging up on me now?
“Are you ever going to ask her?” Xiaomei insisted.
“You’ve kept her waiting long enough.” The former bandit pressed.
“Since when did you two become so meddlesome?” The leader glared at his interrogators, half annoyed, half amused. Those two were dogs hanging onto a bone, with no intention of letting it go.
“Since we became Yi Zhi Mei, remember?” Xiaomei reminded him. “We’ve been meddling in other people’s affairs ever since.”
“Don’t meddle in mine. I haven’t given you permission.”
“Hasn’t stopped us before. Anyway, we don’t care what goes on in that head of yours. Just don’t want to see Sanniang get hurt. Someone around here needs to watch over her interests.”
“Pestering me isn’t going to help matters.”
“Maybe not for someone who is being thick headed, but you still need someone to remind you of what’s right under your nose.”
“And you’ve appointed yourself for this task... “
“I’m giving you the benefit of my experience.” Cai Hu was evidently in an argumentative frame of mind and raring for more. “Don’t want to see you make the same mistakes I did.”
“Alright, alright... let’s not discuss such matters now. We have a job to do.”
Despite putting on a facade of indignation, Li Gexiao was hardly ambivalent about Sanniang.
Gone only for an hour, he was missing her already. That he needed her companionship outside of their working relationship came as much a surprise to him as to everyone else. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t resisted thinking about her romantically. Admittedly what little resistance there was gave way the more time they spent together. At the heart of this feisty female thief was a soft-hearted, vulnerable woman.
Being no stranger to marriage, Gexiao had thought long and hard about taking the plunge yet again. But there was always something that would get in the way... there were always people to help, lives to save, and the corrupt to punish. At the back of his mind, he knew he was putting their relationship on the sidelines.
She didn’t seem to mind... never asking for much and gladly pulling her weight every step of the way. She was wholly dedicated to Yi Zhi Mei and its ethos... never once asking for special consideration.
She seemed to read him like a book and was more than sufficiently quick-witted to grasp his stratagems. There didn’t seem to be much he could hide from her.
Any man in his position with half a brain would be proud to have her as his wife.
Still, she had become a wife... in every way but one...
A companion, a helpmate, a rock, a partner in the “family” business.
Loved but not a lover...
Li Gexiao had the brains to see it all but on this rarest of occasions seemed to lack the wherewithal to act.
Everyone that came too close to him... had a habit of perishing. Would heaven and earth conspire to torment him once again now that he has found some measure of happiness in this unexpected path? Would he be putting her life in jeopardy by taking this step?
He was content to gamble with his own life but not with the lives of others... particularly ones he loved dearly.