Dedicated to @chocolatewithtea: You slay, Gurl!

The Junior Lans were on a field trip headed by Matron Beaver. Determined to contribute substantially to their cultural exchange, Matron Beaver's brood and a group of younger Lan disciples were headed to the mud flats outside Ciayi town.

"Gather around, little Lans!" The youngsters stepped forward gingerly, afraid of soiling their pristine robes. "For Lotus' sakes, Fellas! It is just mud! It will wash off, and no one will scold you about laundry, I promise!"

SaMi and Pranith showed the little ones how to hitch up their robes around their waists in the Lankan style. The Lans took to the mud like ducks to water.

Soon, Lan Qing, her folded robes carrying a variety of crabs, stomped over to Matron Beaver. "Nushi, look what I found." Lan Ping followed, her palms full of clams, oysters and mussels. Nie Muyan brought in a creeper with strange swollen nodules at its roots, while Jiang Lianhua had trapped a cross-section of the insects buzzing over lotus blooms. Wen Lee, very un-Wen like, had made his home in the mud and had caught a wriggling armful of Ni Yu*!

"Ok, first Wen Lee!" Matron Beaver used a translation talisman. She turned to her own group. "Children, note down the Mandarin name for this, and you little Lans, note down what SaMi and Pranith tell you."

Eyes shining, Wen Lee began  "These are Ni Yu. These fish burrow into the mud and can remain alive even when streams and lakes dry up."

Pranith stepped up. "These are called Mada Malu* in Sinhala and they can be raised in paddy fields too." There was a flurry of questions and comments at this new information.

"Nie Muyan, you are next," Matron Beaver called.

"This is Feng Xinzi*, the purple flowers are used in Chinese medicine."

SaMi added, "Diya Beraliya*, the leaves provide a treatment for skin ailments. The root has these specialised structures that trap air, allowing the plant to float. What is interesting is: you will find young mudfish hiding under this  plant. So if there is a Feng Xinzi plant, there is likely a Mada Malu hiding under it!" Peals of laughter greeted this multilingual conclusion.

"Lan Qing, what are you going to do with those crawlers?"

"Nushi, are these fish of some kind? I thought the way they walk sideways was interesting."

Wen Lee piped up, "XianGe used to put these into stews for dinner."

Happy aka Ameya, Matron Beaver's nephew who was a budding chef, demanded, "Recipe please!", while Dopey, aka Chathura, ever observant, pointed out, "Take them from her later, she is vegetarian!"

With a brood of 17, Matron Beaver was used to these side hustles, but this was times 3! So, she did what she excelled at, and improvised.

"Wen Lee, tell Lan Qing what those are."

"Crabs, mud crabs, you have caught small ones."

"Bigger ones were kind of scary, clicking madly with their pincers."

"They are nearly harmless if you know how to lift them."

"And how is that?"

Chatura facepalmed. "You actually don't know? Why, every beaver by the age of 3..." his voice died."Right, well, you're human! Ok, just hold their shell at the middle, from above, and you are quite safe!"

"Thank you, Dopey! Wen Lee?"

"Well the bigger crabs are tastier but these will go into a broth."

Pranith added, "SaMi's mum used such a broth to feed the injured soldiers." Lan Qing was quick to note all these points.

"Lan Ping, did you see any mud crabs?"

"No Nushi, but i found lots of clams. Look inside, some have pearls in them!"

"Did you did you find clams, Lan Qing?"

"Not one, Nushi!"

Matron Beaver asked, "Isn't that curious? Lan Qing, pick out one crab and put it down."

Using Chatura's advice, Lan Qing picked one up by its middle and put it down.

"Lan Ping, put down a mussel."

She had barely laid it down on the soil when the crab attacked, pulled the shell apart, scooped out the inside and gobbled it up; all in a few seconds!

"Now can you understand why Lan Qing didn't see any clams and Lan Ping didn't see any crabs?"

A discussion on the natural habitat of creatures commonly found in Cloud Recesses and Lotus Pier ensued. This was followed by another on predators and prey.

And so it went on. It was an excited, enlightened and happy, if muddy bunch of kids Matron Beaver led back to Cloud Recesses. Just before ascending the hill, the group cleaned up as well as they could in a stream.

They were about an hour late and the little Lans dragged their feet as they neared the iconic Cloud Recesses gates. Their fears were well founded. Lan Qiren himself waited at the gates, his frown rivalling a monsoon thundercloud!

"You are late!" Lan Qiren thundered.

"Why yes, we are, and the Juniors utilised the additional time most fruitfully!" Matron Beaver's icy tones were lost on Lan Qiren, who glowered at the group, stroking his beard.

Lan Hong, with all the solemnity an 8 year old could muster, came forward and kowtowed.

"Shifu, please, it wasn't Nushi's fault. We were the ones who played in the water and delayed our return."

Lan Qing and Lan Ping joined him. "It was we who asked a lot of questions, so Nushi had to explain a lot."

"No Shifu, please, it was we who got tired climbing up and halted to rest on the way back! Please, it was not Nushi's fault," the six-year-olds chimed in.

As the Lankans watched in growing dismay, all the little ones knelt down, some of the younger ones were crying silently!

"Two strokes of the Cane each since this is your first transgression!" Lan Qiren's voice was colder than the Cold Spring and he avoided Matron Beaver's eyes.

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!!" Matron Beaver's screech had everyone flinching.

"This has nothing to do with you, Matron Beaver,"  said Lan Qiren, with icy politeness. "The Juniors have broken the Rules and they know what punishment to expect!"

"It has everything to do with me!" Matron Beaver strode up to face Lan Qiren and stood upright, almost to four feet. Lan Qiren topped her by a foot and a half.

Matron Beaver's eyes bored into Lan Qiren's like gimlets. Far from being intimidated, she drew close to him and hissed, "Talk to ME! I was the adult who led the group."

"The Rules state that everyone must return to the Cloud Recesses campus at Xu shi*."

"There are extenuating circumstances: there was travel to a field location, multi-cultural learning and interdisciplinary discussions." Matron Beaver was frosty and determined.

"Nevertheless, rule breaking cannot go unpunished!"

"Really?!" SaMi's voice was incredulous. "A full day of extra-mural studies, incorporating biological sampling, inter-library referencing, cross-cultural citations and the creation of epistemophiles* among your students is clearly of NO importance to this Clan!"

Pranith gawked.

Her words fell like boulders into the silence.

Several Elders had gathered and a few Seniors slipped away to the Hanshi. This situation was not improving.

"Respectfully, Shifu, I will not permit students under my care to be punished for no fault of theirs!"

"Respectfully, Nushi, these are NOT your students, they are ours!"

"But they were attending a class with me. If anyone is at fault it's me!"

"Be that as it may, our students are subject to Clan Rules; outsiders aren't."

"This is ridiculous!" Matron Beaver's voice rose an octave. "Corporal punishment is excessive for such a small reason; not that I would condone it, even for a better reason!"

At Matron Beaver's words Lan  Qiren are turned first pink, then red. Turning to the nearest Elder, he barked, "Have the punishment carried out!"

"Ikmanata gehin Lan ekak badagama!" (Quick, go hug a Lan each!)

Matron Beaver's nieces and nephews leapt to obey her command and each Junior found a Lankan Beaver hugging them! Pranith and SaMi flanked Matron Beaver and the sparks shooting from their eyes warned all comers against messing with them!

It was this fraught standoff that Sect Leader Lan Xichen was ushered into by the Lan Senior.

He walked up to Lan Qiren and bowed."Shifu, what seems to be the matter?"

"This Beaver, ...erm...lady has the audacity to question the Lan Rules!" Lan Qiren's throbbing voice was well above the permissible volume for conversation in Cloud Recesses.

"I'm questioning Your interpretation of those rules, Shifu!" Matron Beaver bristled. She turned to appeal to Lan Xichen. "Sect Leader Lan," she emphasised the title whilst glaring at Lan Qiren. "Shifu here has punished the little Lans in the group to two strokes each for coming in late from the field trip." Her chest heaved.

"He is within his rights as Grandmaster of our Clan to do so!"

Lan Xichen’s reply chilled Matron Beaver to the bone.

"Nevertheless," she argued, "I was in charge of the group, so if fault is found it should be ascribed to me, not to these defenceless children!" Her voice rose at the end and SaMi and Pranith watched in dismay as tears gathered in Matron Beaver's eyes.

"Well, if you insist that the fault lies with you, then there is no point in punishing the younger ones." Lan Xichen’s voice was flat, cold, emotionless.

"Xuesheng bei kaichu! Students, dismissed!"

Pulling herself up Matron Beaver said, "I am prepared to face the consequences of my actions!"

These brave words had Sect Leader Lan panicking internally, but suddenly, inspiration struck.

"Nushi, since you are a Lankan subject, meting out punishment to you is beyond my jurisdiction!"

SaMi's eyes gleamed.

"Lan Xichen, don't you dare let her go free!"

"In my capacity as Sect Leader Lan," Lan Xichen looked at Lan Qiren full in the face as he said it, "I consider this incident to be a Breach of Etiquette by a Foreign Visitor and therefore must turn over the matter to the Foreign Ambassador!"

Pranith and SaMi's stance grew aggressive and they too stood upright, scanning the crowd.

"Foreign Ambassador? Who's that?"

"That would be me!" Jiang Cheng strode in briskly, accorded Shifu a bow to the correct depth and then promptly ruined the moment by kissing Sect Leader Lan on his lips!

Hiding his shock well, Lan Xichen’s eyes were bright with gratitude at his beloved Angry Lotus' timely appearance.

After hearing both LQR's complaint and Matron Beaver's defence in brief, Sect Leader Jiang Cheng announced, "In my roles as both Foreign Ambassador of Cloud Recesses and Sect Leader of the Jiang Clan, who are hosting the Lankan team, I'll hold a formal hearing at the Cloud Recesses Court of Elders tomorrow at Si shi*. If needed we will reconvene at Shen shi*.

At Lan Xichen’s nod of assent, Sect Leader Jiang hooked his arm through Lan Xichen’s  and avoiding Shifu's gaze, uttered a crisp 'Dismissed!'

The onlookers melted away and Jiang Cheng turned to the Lankans kindly. "Madam, rest assured, no harm will come to you and your proteges while we are here."

Lan Xichen’s heart expanded at this masterful display by Sect Leader Jiang and a sweet smile played on his lips as his arm drew Jiang Cheng closer. Sticking his elbow out to stop Lan Xichen’s mischief, Jiang Cheng added softly, "Please rest, Madam. SaMi, take everyone to their quarters; food and hot water have already been sent."

"Oh, stutiyi*, Cheng Anna*, you are the best!" SaMi's squeal had Jiang Cheng smiling as he dragged his willing husband back to the Hanshi.

Lan Qiren stood alone, fuming, as dust from the Lankans' departure began to settle on his still quivering beard. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough for him!

Jiang Cheng whipped around almost before the door of the Hanshi clicked shut. Almost. Sect Leader Lan had the door locked and warded quicker than Jiang Cheng could blink! His eyes widened as a realisation dawned and his trademark frown, that had almost gone into hibernation after his hasty marriage to a certain smiling Lan, came out in full force.

"A’Huan, what is wrong with Shifu? Punishing Lans is bad enough, but the Lankans? This is beyond...mmppff!" The rest of his rant was silenced effectively by Lan Xichen’s lips. A few minutes later both Sect Leaders leaned apart, winded and dazed.

"A’Huan! Stop.Right.Now!"

"Can't! A'Cheng, you are soooo hot when you put on your Sect Leader face!"

"Heavenly Emperor!" Jiang Cheng panted, "How the Lans ever get anything done with you at the helm, is a mystery! Can you please stop getting distracted and discuss how we're going to deal with Shifu at the Court of Elders tomorrow?"

"Definitely, my Heart, just as soon as I've finished showing you how much I missed you!"

"No need!" snapped Jiang Cheng, "I know already!"

"So cruel, A’Cheng, to your poor lonely Husband?" A mournful pair of eyes and trembling lips were the undoing of Jiang Cheng’s reason.

"Alright, just one kiss....mmpff!!"

Several hours later, a candle was lit with the snap of fingers and Jiang Cheng sat up, at a desk, robes pulled on haphazardly and his hair unbound over one shoulder. Rolls of scrolls of the Lan Clan Rules lay around the desk in seemingly chaotic piles.

"My Heart, it's long past Haishi*, come to bed!"

"And I'm so Not falling for those boudoir eyes  again!" Jiang Cheng smirked and scooted out of reach of Lan Xichen’s groping arms.

"You can, of course, sleep; after all, dishing out punishment to innocents is kind of a Thing with your Clan!"

Lan Xichen’s perpetual smile snapped right off and he growled, "Below the belt, A’Cheng!"

"Precisely my point; raise your mind from below your belt and come join me in..." he waved his arm around vaguely.

Lan Xichen was always (alas for his own good) fair, in both love and war. Since he loved his Husband, this naturally meant war on Shifu!

The older Jade and the younger Pride spent most of the night searching for loopholes in the Rules that would constitute grounds to force Shifu to rescind his stand.

It was past chou shi* when a discreet rap drew their attention away from the scrolls. "We are down to the last 500," said Lan Xichen, getting up and stretching before he went to the door.

"Ah, Matron Beaver!"

"And SaMi and Pranith!" SaMi announced stoically, stepping into the Hanshi.

Lan Xichen, his official smile on, invited them to the study area.

"I was almost certain you would visit." He endured a burning look from Jiang Cheng and his ears had the grace to blush at his own lie.

SaMi and Pranith had grown really close to Wei Ying and Lan Zhan during their time in Lanka and this gave SaMi the confidence to approach Lan Xichen this late at night at his residence, in spite of Matron Beaver's protests.

"Really, Sect Leader Lan, I apologise for intruding on your rest...." Matron Beaver's words were cut off by Jiang Cheng's grunt.

"No need, Nushi, A'Xian's friends are my friends!"

"Stutiyi, Cheng Anna, you are so like XianGe!"

Jiang Cheng was startled but pleased, when Lan Xichen’s arm draped around him. Concurring with SaMi, Lan Xichen said, "There must be something in the water in Yunmeng, everyone from there is loving, and loved!"

Jiang Cheng spluttered, "Time's a-wasting, let's get to work."

"This is what I have done so far," he said, indicating the piles of scrolls. "These rules pertain to curfew time and lateness these are about trips outside Cloud Recesses. That lot is about- "

"Student exchange programs" read out Pranith, sounding pleased with himself.

"Smart fella!"

Jiang Cheng's praise had Pranith confessing, "XianGe showed me how to use a spoken translation talisman, but SaMi was the one who adapted it to reading."

"That's excellent progress, SaMi!" Lan Xichen enthused and added with a twinkle, "And this gives me an idea.."

Jiang Cheng: "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Lan Xichen: "About the rules?"

Jiang Cheng: "About them and SaMi."

They smiled at each other and paused, holding hands. Matron Beaver's cough brought them back to the present.

"I wonder if there are rules about cleanliness of person and robes etcetera?"

SaMi: "Rules 746 to 750, they pertain to uniform maintenance, laundry duty and presentability outside Cloud Recesses."

As Lan Xichen gaped, Matron Beaver patted SaMi's head, "Don't be shocked, she has an eidetic* memory and we spent over half an hour in front of the wall of Rules while we were debating whether to disturb you this late at night."

Lan Xichen: "SaMi, you are like A'Ying too!" SaMi glowed at the compliment.

Jiang Cheng: "Ok, let's see what all we have..." The group huddled in the cold of the Cloud Recesses night and each one contributed their thoughts.

"I think that's a workable line of argument, provided Shifu argues his case as we predicted. There are about 4 hours left till the Court convenes. Please, get some rest. I'll have breakfast sent to your quarters."

"Xiexie, Sect Leader Jiang!" Matron Beaver bowed and SaMi and Pranith followed suit.

"Nushi, there is no need.."

"On the contrary, there is every need, if we are to ensure Shifu has a change of heart tomorrow!  Shuba ratriyak*!"

Dawn saw a ripple of excitement throughout Cloud Recesses. Everyone was excited about the Court of Elders that was to be convened at Shishi. Four hours to go.

The Lankan quarters seemed strangely peaceful. Those with keen hearing deliberately found errands that had them crossing the rooms allotted to the visitors. No sounds. Could they be asleep still? Further curiosity was discouraged by a sour-faced Senior who stood on campus duty.

No such peace at the Hanshi. Jiang Cheng had survived multiple rounds of the evidence of Lan Xichen’s unflagging devotion and passion. His mood, when his beloved husband tried to awaken him, qualified as 'The Full Grump Stage' in A'Xian' words. Woe betide anyone who crossed Jiang Cheng today! Lan Xichen smiled at Jiang Cheng's growl and proceeded to kiss him awake. The growl turned into a roar of annoyance that set off talismanic voices that intoned, "Warning! You have exceeded the permissible volume for personal interaction in Cloud Recesses!"

Yes, thought Lan Xichen, with a helpless shrug at Jiang Cheng's look of amazement; today's Court of Elders was past overdue!

What he wasn't prepared for was the enthusiasm with which Jiang Cheng attacked his lips, nay his entire person, and that managed to elicit several graphic sound bites from him, all well above said permissible limit, just after he had removed the silencing charm, of course!

A blushing but quick-thinking Senior was seen directing footfalls away from the path that led to the Hanshi for a good half hour thereafter.

Jiang Cheng emerged from the Hanshi, a vision in purple. His Lan headband was wrapped around his left wrist, the right wore a Zidian that hissed and spat alarmingly. He wore the unmistakable expression of a cat that had got the cream. Said cream, um, Sect Leader Lan emerged. He looked serenely happy, a blue Lotus at dawn. Ignoring Zidian, he grasped Jiang Cheng's right hand and smiled beatifically. Jiang Cheng blinked. Wait, of all of Lan Xichen’s smiles, how, no why, did he know this one was eexclusively for him? Satisfied at the small frown that appeared on Jiang Cheng's forehead, Lan Xichen said, "Shall we, Sect Leader Jiang?"

"Lead the way, Sect Leader Lan!"

***

She was hungry. Her hunger grew as she heard the whispered sweet nothings fall from Lan Zhan's lips. It grew further when that beautiful man lavished his time and attention on the Dark One with the messy hair and drab robes. Granted, the Dark One had a killer smile, but then, He smiled only at the Beautiful One. Well, now she wanted Him too. Wanted food for her heart, her soul, her body.

Wei Ying swam langorously and Lan Zhan floated watching him, mesmerised!

Unseen in the murky depths, she flipped on her back, mirroring him.

They swirled and twirled in the water, their movements a dance to their silent song of love.

Her underbelly glowed darkly silver. On the surface, Qenqing vibrated suddenly at Wei Ying's waist, forcing the lovers apart.

"My Love, did you feel that?" Lan Zhan's nod had Wei Ying worried. "We must warn the boys!" said Wei Ying.

He shook off his soggy robes and stepped out of the water. Donning fresh robes from their Qiankun pouches, the couple set out to the cave shelter.

Anggayasti watched. And sighed. And began to weave her plan. Purple flashes from her forehead had Lan Zhan turning back to gaze at the water.

There was nothing there, not even a ripple.

*******

A/N:

*Nushi: Madam in Mandarin

*Ni Yu: Catfish, mudfish or mud skippers in Mandarin

*Mada Malu: Catfish in Sinhala

*Feng Xinzi: Water hyacinth in Mandarin

*Diya Beraliya: Water hyacinth in Sinhala

*Xushi: 7 p.m.

The traditional Chinese system of measuring time, the shi-ke system, divided the day into 12 slots of two hours each and each hour into segments if 15 minutes each.

Zi shi - 11 pm - 01 am
Chou shi - 01 am - 03 am
Yin shi - 03 am - 05 am
Mao shi - 05 am - 07 am
Chen shi - 07 am- 09 am
Si shi - 09 am - 11 am
Wu shi - 11 am- 01 pm
Wei shi - 01pm - 03 pm
Shen shi - 03 pm- 05 pm
You shi - 05 pm - 07 pm
Xu shi - 07 pm - 09 pm
Hai shi - 09 pm - 11pm

*Epistemophile: One who loves or strives for knowledge.

*Si shi: 09 am.

*Stutiyi - Thank you  in Sinhala

*Cheng Anna - Brother (elder) Cheng in Sinhala

*Haishi - 9 pm

*Chou shi -  01 am

*Eidetic memory - the capacity to see mental images with extraordinary vividness even after the object is no longer present.

*Shuba ratriyak - Good night in Sinhala.

26.09 2023

3663 words