Day 4

[summercomfort]

Tingyan huddled under the front desk, taking comfort in the solidity of the aged red wood. She had heard a scream followed by a series of fierce grunts and thumps from the far courtyard and promptly dived under the desk. Thankfully all of the normal guests tonight seem to be heavy sleepers. To calm her nerves she ran over the far courtyard guest list in her head. The west master and corner rooms were vacated this morning. The north master room had an old woman with a stout walking staff who checked in two days ago, and the north corner room was empty. The east master room was a woman of 30 with a young boy who checked in yesterday, and the east corner room was the Mr. Li from half an hour ago. She wondered which of them is fighting out there right now. Would the child be hiding like she is now, or watching intently from a window like she used to do?

She heard the sound of crashing bricks, and then... light footsteps footsteps coming her way? What could they possibly want from the front desk? Hopefully not money. She was just weighing the dangers of staying hidden versus taking a peek when she heard the mild tones of Mr. Li: "Excuse me..? Are you there, miss? I would like some tea."

Tea? Had she imagined all of the ruckus just now? Tingyan sheepishly came out from under the desk. "Sorry about that, sir. I'll get right to it." She hustled into the small adjoining kitchen. "Would you like plain, chrysanthemum, or jasmine? We also have some small snacks-- nuts and dried fruit and the like. It would be an extra charge, but ... "

"Some plain tea would be sufficient." Mr. Li peered into the kitchen from the front desk. "But miss, I would also like your help with something in the courtyard."

The water pot that Tingyan was holding shook slightly as she poured the hot water into the teapot. "Sir? I don't usually leave the front desk after hours..."

"I only need someone to hold the lantern while I pick up some dropped needles before anyone accidentally steps on them in the dark." Mr. Li was quite persistent, and what's more, he sounded calm and at ease.

Turning out of the kitchen with a fully steeped pot of tea, Tingyan eyed Mr. Li as she poured a cup of tea. He looked a bit tired, but alert and in control. "I will only hold a lantern? Nothing else shall happen?" Tingyan chose her words carefully. These martial types always kept their word.

"Yes. Bring the tea, too. Consider it a midnight tea delivery." Mr. Li placed a tael of silver on the desk.

With platter of tea in one hand and a lantern in the other, they walked down the same corridor and hallway as before, but when they turned into the courtyard, Tingyan couldn't help gasping. There, sticking straight out of the ground at 2 inch intervals, were about 100 needles glinting in the lantern light.


ETA: I decided to change this whole scene, so this is not defunct.