It was around the start of the snowstorm that Fang Duobing first thought things were about to become difficult for them. The snow had added a new ordeal to their daily tasks, one that he was grateful to have headed off as much as possible in all the ways that they could. Di Feisheng's injury had also put an extra strain on them all to be sure, but that was less and less of a concern with each passing day. What he hadn't really realized, however, was in what other ways troubles might manifest.
Li Lianhua's health was never far from his thoughts, but more often than not these days it's all he can think about. Especially on days like this where no amount of coaxing or bribery can get the older man to move from his bed. Fang Duobing knows well enough by now that further prodding is more liable to provoke an argument--making everyone in the house unhappy, rather than getting the results they want; so instead he is standing in the kitchen and burning a hole in the floor with his worried stare. He just... needs more time. If they can just make it to spring, surely his health will... not improve per se, but maybe be less consistently dire. The warm air and sun would probably do a world of good against a cold toxin. But lying in bed all day feels closer to a death sentence than he wishes it was, and futile wishing is all he seems to be able to do these days. There's no Yangzhouman, not for either of them, though not for lack of trying. Maybe he's doing something wrong with the crystal. He doesn't think he is. It's worked for others, so why not for this?
With the frustration reaching unbearable levels, Fang Duobing decides he has to try something or he might just go mad himself. "Hey," he calls to Di Feisheng suddenly, breaking out of his own furrowed brooding. "Come with me outside. Make sure you have that crystal necklace with you." He doesn't pause to elaborate, just grabs whatever weather apparel he has available and heads for the door.
Outwardly, or at least to the uninitiated, Di Feisheng seems immune to the bleak but fraught atmosphere of the day, deceptively still and calm in both cases. Inwardly, the frustrations of inactivity, weather, and their inability to fight back Li Lianhua's inexorable decline are just as stifling and agitating by turns. It's just as well that Fang Duobing is choosing a channel for what could otherwise have easily become volatility, despite all the ironclad will keeping his dread in check. Though it wouldn't have killed the brat to be less...like that, in his request, which is an extremely generous and forbearing way to choose to view a demand. He's used to it, and he's already unfolding carefully around the occasional tug in his side to throw in his lot with this distraction, but the sweep of his eyes as he catches up carries as much affront as curiosity. A more classically sarcastic man might ask if shaoye is sure there's nothing else helpful he ought to bring along; Di Feisheng is not dignifying this perceived accusation of unreadiness with a verbal response.
"What are you planning?" is his own demand, with a last glance compass-accurate in the direction of an absence. Curiosity, and need for distraction, but also trepidation. How long will it take? Must they both go? So many questions from Di-mengzhu these days. "This better be important."
Better be important, he says. "Tch, how could it not be?" he returns with a lift of his chin. Would he bother making the request in this moment if it wasn't? He doesn't see it as a demand, despite phrasing it like one. Di Feisheng is capable of declining if he wants, and Fang Duobing doesn't doubt that he would if he was so inclined; but the purpose serves them both, so he also doesn't see why the other man would. The logic is obvious, and no elaboration should be needed.
"I want you to help me make of request of that crystal." He gives an explanation a few steps down the house's shoveled walk, already making his way to the road once Di Feisheng has joined him, his own necklace gripped stubbornly in a fist. "I haven't had any results on my own, so I thought the two of us might be more effective."
Does the manpower count when a wish is made? Wasn't it always said that more elaborate prayers often evoked responses from the gods? Not that he's ever been a particularly superstitious person, but perhaps one plea to their negligent host isn't enough. Maybe two might get the message across. It's a direct solution--more brute force than cleverness, which maybe speaks to the level of desperation he's at if he's reached this point.
Well that style of communication and logic are different when Di Feisheng does it. Some elaboration might not be needed, strictly speaking, but it is appreciated nonetheless. On some level, below the perceivable. On the surface, as perceptible as that ever is for Di Feisheng, Fang Duobing's explanation warrants only a minute blink of dark-eyed surprise, some slight recalculation. Appeal to his (considerable) curiosity aside, the idea has (likewise considerable) merit, so far, from a purely logical standpoint. And who says brute force and cleverness are at odds, as strategies go, anyway.
Of course it goes without saying, Di Feisheng hasn't had any results himself. Nevertheless, he for once feels the rare compulsion to say it anyway. "I haven't either. So maybe you're right." The approval in his voice isn't as grudging as the hope, somehow. Not like him to need to rely on it, or to hesitate a breath, passing over his first question completely. "What do you mean to ask for this time?"
The fact that Di Feisheng is still with him means more than the approval or the hope. Fang Duobing is certain that if the other man thought the idea was without merit, he would have stopped and turned around right there. It's still nice to hear, though, regardless of the levels of reluctance... Or the question that follows. The answer that Fang Duobing gives is approached with just as much hesitance.
"The same things as always. A cure for the poison." He doesn't expect there to be one here, and if there was, he doesn't expect this Vaeros to simply hand it over... But he has to try anyway. He'll take even the smallest chance if there's any to be taken at all. He could probably mask the desperation in that if he didn't continue, but Di Feisheng is a partner in this now (and always has been, as far as Li Lianhua is concerned). "If not that... then something that will help. His cultivation. Mine, or yours. Even Huli Jing might raise his spirits enough to get him out of bed. If we can just make it through the winter, the situation will improve."
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timeasmymeasure
Huli Jing Quest
Date: 2024-01-30 04:12 am (UTC)Li Lianhua's health was never far from his thoughts, but more often than not these days it's all he can think about. Especially on days like this where no amount of coaxing or bribery can get the older man to move from his bed. Fang Duobing knows well enough by now that further prodding is more liable to provoke an argument--making everyone in the house unhappy, rather than getting the results they want; so instead he is standing in the kitchen and burning a hole in the floor with his worried stare. He just... needs more time. If they can just make it to spring, surely his health will... not improve per se, but maybe be less consistently dire. The warm air and sun would probably do a world of good against a cold toxin. But lying in bed all day feels closer to a death sentence than he wishes it was, and futile wishing is all he seems to be able to do these days. There's no Yangzhouman, not for either of them, though not for lack of trying. Maybe he's doing something wrong with the crystal. He doesn't think he is. It's worked for others, so why not for this?
With the frustration reaching unbearable levels, Fang Duobing decides he has to try something or he might just go mad himself. "Hey," he calls to Di Feisheng suddenly, breaking out of his own furrowed brooding. "Come with me outside. Make sure you have that crystal necklace with you." He doesn't pause to elaborate, just grabs whatever weather apparel he has available and heads for the door.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-02 09:02 pm (UTC)"What are you planning?" is his own demand, with a last glance compass-accurate in the direction of an absence. Curiosity, and need for distraction, but also trepidation. How long will it take? Must they both go?
So many questions from Di-mengzhu these days."This better be important."no subject
Date: 2024-03-11 03:18 am (UTC)"I want you to help me make of request of that crystal." He gives an explanation a few steps down the house's shoveled walk, already making his way to the road once Di Feisheng has joined him, his own necklace gripped stubbornly in a fist. "I haven't had any results on my own, so I thought the two of us might be more effective."
Does the manpower count when a wish is made? Wasn't it always said that more elaborate prayers often evoked responses from the gods? Not that he's ever been a particularly superstitious person, but perhaps one plea to their negligent host isn't enough. Maybe two might get the message across. It's a direct solution--more brute force than cleverness, which maybe speaks to the level of desperation he's at if he's reached this point.
no subject
Date: 2024-04-06 11:00 pm (UTC)Well that style of communication and logic are different when Di Feisheng does it.Some elaboration might not be needed, strictly speaking, but it is appreciated nonetheless. On some level, below the perceivable. On the surface, as perceptible as that ever is for Di Feisheng, Fang Duobing's explanation warrants only a minute blink of dark-eyed surprise, some slight recalculation. Appeal to his (considerable) curiosity aside, the idea has (likewise considerable) merit, so far, from a purely logical standpoint. And who says brute force and cleverness are at odds, as strategies go, anyway.Of course it goes without saying, Di Feisheng hasn't had any results himself. Nevertheless, he for once feels the rare compulsion to say it anyway. "I haven't either. So maybe you're right." The approval in his voice isn't as grudging as the hope, somehow. Not like him to need to rely on it, or to hesitate a breath, passing over his first question completely. "What do you mean to ask for this time?"
no subject
Date: 2024-05-05 09:36 pm (UTC)"The same things as always. A cure for the poison." He doesn't expect there to be one here, and if there was, he doesn't expect this Vaeros to simply hand it over... But he has to try anyway. He'll take even the smallest chance if there's any to be taken at all. He could probably mask the desperation in that if he didn't continue, but Di Feisheng is a partner in this now (and always has been, as far as Li Lianhua is concerned). "If not that... then something that will help. His cultivation. Mine, or yours. Even Huli Jing might raise his spirits enough to get him out of bed. If we can just make it through the winter, the situation will improve."