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It wasn’t all terrible. While his days were spent sitting beside the bowl of huli jing blood and meditating under the summer sun, his nights were passed at his Yiyi’s side, exploring this new freedom to touch him, to treasure him in ways he never thought he could enjoy. He could stare into those pale-hazel eyes and at last recognize the love that had filled them for decades.
The soft creak of a door opening had Rei twisting to see Xiao Dan step outside and stop within the shadows of the rear patio roof. Heart squeezing in his chest, Rei jumped to his feet and hurried across the lawn. It was barely past midday. The vampire should be deep asleep in his bed right now.
“What’s wrong?” Rei demanded as soon as he was within a few meters of the elder vampire.
Xiao Dan’s smile was soft as he shook his head. “Nothing is wrong. I was wondering if you’d be willing to provide your expertise on something for me.”
“Oh, yes. Of course. What do you need?” His heart settled down from his throat, but his body remained on high alert.
“I was concerned about the design of one of our courtyards. I’m not satisfied with it, and I was thinking that maybe the issue is the arrangement of the plants.”
Rei grunted. “And who knows the feng shui of nature better than an elf?”
“Um…yes, something like that. Do you have a moment?”
He offered the vampire leader a shallow bow. “Until Yichen wakes from his daytime slumber, I’m happy to offer you all my moments.”
Xiao Dan huffed a soft laugh and motioned for Rei to follow him into the house, where he was safely shielded from the midday sun. Rei followed on light footsteps. Xiao Dan’s seemingly innocuous request didn’t fool him. The vampire had also chosen to invite Rei to provide his opinion when all the household would be asleep. The head of the Zhang clan was interested in having a private conversation with him.
“Is this the shovel talk?” he inquired as he followed Xiao Dan along the hall toward another part of the winding house.
Xiao Dan stopped and twisted to face him, his eyes widening. “The shovel talk? What’s that?”
“Moon said it’s where a person’s family will threaten a new love interest if they should dare to harm that person. I don’t know if it’s called the shovel talk because they threaten to beat you with a shovel or if they’re supposed to take a shovel to bury your corpse in the woods where no one will find you.”
His companion sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I thought I’d kept up with the times, but Moon is a constant reminder that humans change faster than I can comprehend.” He lowered his hand and his smile returned, even if it was now frail. “No, this isn’t a shovel talk. I don’t worry about you doing anything to harm Yichen.”
The last of the fear that had squeezed his chest eased, and he could drag in a deep breath. “Thanks—though you should know that Zhang Junjie, Li Xiang, and Meimei took it upon themselves to deliver a very stirring shovel talk on behalf of your clan. They made it very clear that even my ancestors would feel my pain.”
“Of course, they did,” Xiao Dan muttered. He resumed their trek through the house, carefully avoiding any of the hallways where the rest of the clan was sleeping to reach a courtyard that possessed a retractable roof that was partially shielding the garden from the sun.
This was not his favorite courtyard, and for that Rei was grateful. If Xiao Dan was in the mood to make changes, he didn’t want it to be in the courtyard where Yichen had put him after his encounter with the Black Dogs. That courtyard was now sacred to him and couldn’t be touched. It possessed a precious memory. Okay, maybe he’d not been conscious at the time, but Yichen had thought very carefully about it when he’d placed him on the soft grass under the red maple with the nearby koi pond burbling.
The courtyard he was currently in was a little bigger than his favorite, but he didn’t visit it often. Xiao Dan was right. There was something off about this one, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Was it the small white stones used to simulate a flowing stream through the garden or the selection of plants?
“I’ve noticed that no one comes to this courtyard. They favor the one on the opposite side of the house with the koi pond or even the orchard in the rear of the house. I thought you might be able to give me some ideas on how to make it more appealing to the clan.” As he spoke, he led Rei over to a table set up under the deepest part of the shade. A teapot sat in the center of the table with steam curling out of the spout while two cups rested beside it. There was also a notebook open to a blank page and a pen beside it. Xiao Dan had come prepared.
“I see what you mean,” Rei said, as he sat on the opposite side of the table from the vampire. “The designer was going for something aesthetically different from the other courtyard and more modern. Unfortunately, the result feels very cold and distant. It’s pleasing to the eye, but it doesn’t beckon you to step inside and meditate.”
“Precisely! You’ve put into words the feeling I’ve been experiencing.” Xiao Dan carefully poured tea into one cup and then the other. He pushed one over to Rei and smiled. “Yichen commented that you are particularly fond of this plum tea that Chen has mixed.”
“Thank you.” Rei could only grin at his cup lightly held between both hands for a moment. Such thoughtfulness. Yes, maybe Xiao Dan did want something, but the vampire was always this kind and thoughtful of others. Besides, anything he wanted, it would be for the good of his clan. Not something for himself.
“Do you have any suggestions for how we might improve this area?”
Rei chewed on his bottom lip, his eyes darting over the area that was half in shadow and half in sun. “Well…” he drawled and stopped.
“Please don’t hold back out of concern for my feelings. The space is wasted if no one comes to enjoy it.”
“My first thought is that the other courtyard used all native plants, so this one should use plants native to your home in Luoyang. Remove the stones and put in an actual stream to create a flow of energy.” Putting his cup on the table, Rei leaped to his feet and moved across the courtyard and motioned to a central spot. “Your centerpiece placed to the north here should be a stone statue. A guardian for the clan and house. All the plants should move out from here.”
Now that he was talking, he couldn’t hold it in as he gestured to one spot after another, listing possible plants and their arrangement. He looked up to find Xiao Dan furiously taking notes and sketching in his notebook.
“What you’ve described sounds very lush and rejuvenating,” Xiao Dan murmured.
“A secret oasis for meditation.”
“Mn. Definitely.”
