Leiyu and Thallios sat at a small wooden table near a row of outdoor food stalls.  It was mid-morning and there were a few other customers sitting around them.  A waiter approached them with a tray and set down two plates and two steaming bowls of milky liquid.

“Is this soup?” asked Thallios as he pointed to the bowls.

“It’s called doujiang.  It’s made from soybeans that have been ground up, boiled, and filtered to remove the chunks.  You can take the youtiao,” Leiyu gestured to one of the plates that had several sticks of fried dough, “and dip it into the doujiang.”

“Oh, interesting.”

“And this is fantuan,” said Leiyu, pointing to the other plate.  “It’s sticky rice wrapped around youtiao and rousong.  Rousong is…I guess you could translate it as meat floss.”

“Meat…floss?”

“It’s meat that’s been marinated, dried, and pulled apart to thin strands.”

“Fascinating.”

Leiyu began chewing on one of the fantuan while Thallios took a spoon and gingerly sipped the doujiang.

“Oh, this is an interesting taste,” said Thallios.  He tore off a piece of youtiao, dipped it into the doujiang, and brought it to his mouth.  His eyes lit up.

“You like it?”

“Mm-hmm.”  Thallios then reached for the other fantuan on the plate and took a tiny bite.  “This one’s good too.”  He took a larger bite.  “Ah, this must be the meat floss you were talking about.  Never seen anything like this.  It has an intriguing texture.”

“Glad you like everything.”

They savored their food for a few minutes.

“So,” Thallios said after he finished off the fantuan and returned to the doujiang,  “tell me more about Shifu and the other disciples.”

“Okay, sure.  Our sect was more like an orphanage but in a good way.  All the other disciples were orphans, runaways, or other kids who had no place to go.  Shifu gave us all a place to stay and three hot meals a day.  He also taught us martial arts.  And unlike other sects, he didn’t insist on lifelong loyalty.  If disciples wanted to move on to something else, he would let them.  Wished them well and said they could always come back if they wanted.  I met Jianyi the first day I was there.  Anying, I met later…”

***

Jianyi and Leiyu accompanied Shifu to the apothecary shop to pick up medicinal herbs.  As Shifu chatted with the shopkeeper, the boys looked through the shelves of ginseng, tea leaves, and various dried items that included mushrooms, fish maw, scallops, and sea cucumbers.

After Shifu received his parcels of herbs, the three exited the shop.  As they prepared to cross the street, Leiyu tugged at Shifu’s sleeve and motioned to the two figures near them.  A beggar boy sat on the ground with an empty bowl, while a man was slumped on the ground next to him.

Shifu approached them slowly and checked on the adult.  He frowned.  The man had already passed away.  Turning to the boy, he asked, “Child, is this your father?”

The boy nodded weakly.

“I am sorry,” said Shifu.  “He is already gone.  Where is your mother?”

“Baba said that she died when I was born,” the boy replied.

Shifu sighed in sympathy.  “Do you have any relatives nearby?” 

The boy shook his head.

“Would you like a place to stay?” Shifu offered.  “There are other kids your age.”

Jianyi and Leiyu approached them.

“I’m Jianyi.”

“I’m Leiyu.”

“Do you have a name?” Jianyi asked the boy.  “Leiyu here didn’t have a name when he joined us, so he made his name up.”

“I’m Anying,” replied the boy.

While the boys conversed with each other, Shifu had to figure out what to do with the deceased father.

Later that day, a horse-drawn cart from the morgue took Anying’s father away.  Anying wept as the cart drove away.  Shifu offered to carry him as they walked, while Jianyi and Leiyu carried the parcels.  They returned to the house on the hill.

***

“Your Shifu had such a generous heart,” said Thallios.

“Indeed,” said Leiyu.  “I think he wanted to save as many people as he could from dying on the streets, but there was only so much one person could do.  I often wondered if he had been rescued from the streets when he was a child himself and if this was his way of paying it forward.  I never asked him though.  Other than rescuing kids from the streets, he also took on jobs protecting the defenseless.  He was a bit of a local hero.”

“Hence, the jade token?”

“Hehe, yes, that was one of the benefits he received.  However, not all was well with him, and it became more apparent as the years went on.”

***

Shifu sat in his dimly lit room.  His breathing was erratic and he was feeling feverish.  Seventeen-year-old Leiyu put a damp cloth on his forehead, then went over to the table in the room’s corner and poured a small portion of the medicinal herbs from the apothecary shop into a cup.  He poured hot water from a kettle into the cup to make an herbal infusion.  After the water cooled a bit, he handed the cup to Shifu.

Shifu drank the concoction and sighed.  “Leiyu, have you given any thought to what you want to do in the future?”

“Shifu?”

“You are very talented and pick up new techniques faster than any of the other disciples.”

“Shifu praises this humble one too much.”

“Would you like to take over as sect leader someday?”

“Sect leader?  Oh no, I couldn’t.  No one can replace Shifu as sect leader.”

“I may not have much time left.”

“Shifu?”

“More and more, it hurts to walk.  Fatigue overtakes me easily now.”

“Shifu, let me know what I can do to help.”

“You are already a great help, Leiyu.  But tell me, what do you want to do in the future if you do not take over the sect?”

“I…”  Leiyu looked out the window.  “Shifu, did you travel a lot when you were younger?”

“Yes, I have traveled to many lands during my soul journey.”

“Then, that is what I would like to do.”

Shifu smiled.  “That does not surprise me.  Oftentimes in the past, I would see you look out into the distance, as if you were curious about what else was out there.”

“But right now, I will stay here and help you as much as I can.”

“That is good.  Be good to your fellow disciples as well.  But when my time comes and I am gone, if you truly wish to go on your soul journey, you should not hesitate to do so.”

***

After Shifu finished his herbal tea, Leiyu left the room.  As he made his way down the hall, he encountered Jianyi.

“Were you with Shifu?” Jianyi asked.

“Yes.”

“You sure spend a lot of time with Shifu.”

Leiyu frowned.  “He is ill.  He needs my help.”

“Just your help?  Doesn’t he need anyone else’s help?”

Leiyu glared at him.  “What are you implying?”

“Oh nothing.  You’re just his favorite disciple, that’s all.”

“I am not.  Shifu treats us all equally.”

“Hehe, does he?”

Leiyu did not answer and continued walking down the hallway.

***

“When we were kids, Jianyi seemed okay.  He, Anying, and I would hang out together all the time.”  Leiyu explained.  

A random memory of the three of them wading in the stream catching frogs suddenly came to mind.  It was a sunny afternoon and they laughed as the slippery amphibians jumped out of their hands and into the water.  Such carefree times, he thought.

“But as we got older,” he continued, “and started to focus more on martial arts, a rift started to grow.  It wasn’t intentional, but as Shifu said, I picked up new techniques faster than anyone else.  The more we sparred and the more I won, the more resentful Jianyi seemed to be.”

“So, he was jealous?” asked Thallios.

“Something like that.  I’m not sure what I could have done about it though.”

Thallios put the spoon in his mouth and sipped thoughtfully.  Suddenly, he asked, “Do you want to visit the house where you used to live?  Is it nearby?”

“Oh, I don’t know…I might run into Jianyi again, if he still lives there.”

“Maybe we can just look at it from a distance.”

“It’s on top of a hill.  We’d need to walk up a flight of stone steps to get there…Why are you interested anyway?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe I’m curious.  But we don’t have to go if you don’t really want to.”

“Hmm…”

***

Leiyu and Thallios made it to the top of the stone stairs.  The old house stood before them a short distance away.  It was dilapidated, the wood was worn down, and the paint was peeling.  Weeds grew in the front yard.

“They really did all leave…” Leiyu murmured.  Thallios glanced at him pensively.

Suddenly, a twig snapped behind them.

“Shixiong?”

Leiyu and Thallios turned around.  Anying was standing on the steps behind them carrying a parcel.

“Oh good, it’s you,” said Leiyu in Dongyu.

“Shixiong, you’re here!” Anying exclaimed.  He switched to Sargeshi.  “And your lady friend too!”

Thallios’ face flushed a slight pink but he tried to suppress himself from responding.  Leiyu glanced at him and sighed.

“Jianyi’s not here, is he?” Leiyu asked.

“Oh no, I came alone,” Anying replied as he continued up the steps.  “I come here once in a while to pay my respects to Shifu.”  He started to head towards the dilapidated house.  “You’re welcome to join.”

***

The house was full of dust and cobwebs.  Anying headed towards a small altar in the corner of the room.  He reached into the parcel, took out a steamed bun, and placed it on the altar.  Then he took out six incense sticks and a match.  Striking the match, he lit the incense sticks and handed three of them to Leiyu.

The room was filled with the scent of sandalwood.  Anying and Leiyu knelt before the altar and bowed three times.  Thallios watched them silently, not wanting to disturb their ritual.  After their bows, the two put their sticks in the incense holder on the altar.

“I’m sorry I haven’t come back all this time,” Leiyu said to Anying.

“It’s all right,” Anying replied.  “I’m not mad about it like Jianyi is.  I’ve always had the sense that you were restless and wanted to see what was out there in the world.”

“Do you still live here?  The house looks abandoned.”

“I stay here sometimes, but most of the time Jianyi and I wander around looking for work.  So ironically, we are also traveling a lot, like you.”

“Ah, what kind of jobs?”

“The usual.  Offering our protection to those who need it.  Sometimes we help out farmers with their harvests.  We can usually get a place to stay and food for those jobs.”

Leiyu smiled slightly.

“What have you been up to?” Anying continued.  “It’s been years.”

Leiyu turned to look at Thallios.  Should I tell him? his eyes seemed to ask.

“It’s okay, you can tell him,” said Thallios.  “He’s practically your brother.”

“Tell me what?” asked Anying.

Leiyu hesitated for a moment before beginning.  “Well, when I traveled to the Western Region with a trade caravan…”

***

After Leiyu finished his story, Anying’s jaw dropped and his eyes were wide with disbelief.

“What?!” he exclaimed.  He turned to Thallios.  “You’re a prince?  I am so sorry for thinking you were a lady.”  He dropped to the floor and kowtowed profusely.

Thallios’ eyebrow twitched.  Out of all the details Leiyu told you, this is the most important thing?  He then smiled at Anying and said softly.  “Please don’t bow to me.  I don’t consider myself a prince anymore.”

“And you’re both on the run?” Anying asked.  “Ah, now I feel so bad for you, having to endure Jianyi’s ranting like that.  He has no idea.”

“It’s fine,” Leiyu said with a sigh.  “You don’t have to say anything to him.  I doubt it would make him more sympathetic.”

“I wish I could do something to help you.”

“That’s fine, it’s better for you not to get involved.”

“Where will you go?”

“We’ll stick around here for a bit, but if those people coming after Thallios show up, we’ll have to leave again.”

Anying frowned.  He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a thin rectangle of paper with intricate script written on one side.  It was a tracking talisman.  Handing it to Leiyu, he said, “If you’re ever in need of help, just activate this, and I’ll find you.”

“Thank you,” Leiyu said as he put the talisman into his sleeve.

***

Leiyu and Thallios started going down the stone steps to return to the inn.  Thallios was eerily silent and Leiyu was a bit worried.  

“Thallios?”

No response.

“Thallios, is something wrong?”

“Oh, sorry.  I was just thinking.”

“Oh, about…your father?”

Thallios nodded.

“Was this because Anying and I were paying our respects to Shifu?”

“Somewhat.”

“Oh, if you wanted to burn some incense for your father, I could get you some…”

“No, that’s okay,” Thallios said.  “I’m not familiar with this custom.  Anyway, I wasn’t just thinking about my father…”

“Oh, were you also thinking about your mother?  I’m sorry, I should have mentioned her as well.”

“It’s okay, you haven’t seen her in person before, so maybe she didn’t come to mind.  But I was also thinking about someone else…”

“Someone else?  Who?”

“Lord Oganesson actually…”

“Your father’s advisor?”

“Yes.  I had asked him if he wanted to escape with us, but he said no.”

“Ah yes, I remember.  He really is loyal to your father.”

“Mm, yes.”

“How did he become your father’s advisor?”

“Hmm, well, his name was not always Lord Oganesson.  And there were these rumors…”