The lifeless bodies of the trade caravan’s hired guards were sprawled in the sand, run through by the scimitars of the desert bandits that loomed over them.  The bandits sat atop their horses, garbed in dusty black robes that showed only their eyes.  Those menacing eyes focused on the trembling trade caravan merchants and the cargo behind them.

One of the merchants drew out his sword and stood before the others.  His hands shook and the dampness of his palms threatened to loosen his grip on the hilt.  The other merchants curled up and muttered prayers to the goddess of their faraway homeland.  A bandit galloped towards them, raising his scimitar skywards.  The merchants screamed.

A whistling sound pierced the air.  The incoming bandit was thrown off his horse and landed with a thud in the sand.  An arrow shaft protruded from his chest.  The other bandits quickly turned their heads.

In the distance was a man on horseback with a bow in his hand.  His face was obscured by the veil of his weimao hat and his brown cloak flowed in the wind.  Without another word, the remaining bandits galloped towards him with their scimitars raised.  The veiled man reached into his quiver and plucked out three arrows.  He nocked them against the bowstring at different angles.  Holding the bow horizontally, he let the arrows fly.

Three of the bandits were struck down.  The merchants gasped in awe.

Suddenly, a scythe blade attached to a chain snaked through the air.  The veiled man pulled out his sword and blocked the incoming blade.  The force of the impact knocked him off his horse.  He landed on his feet and looked up.  He saw a wraithlike figure with flowing black robes sitting atop a horse a short distance away.  The figure wore a head covering and a frightening mask with black holes for eyes, stripes streaked across the cheeks, and a menacing painted grin with sharp teeth.  The scythe blade had returned to his hand.

“Stranger, you should not have interfered,” he bellowed in Sargeshi, the lingua franca of the trade routes.  “Now you must die!”  He threw the chained scythe blade again.  

As the talon-like instrument hurtled towards him, the veiled man spun out of the way.  Laughing behind his painted smirk, the masked man hurled a dagger.  The veiled man held out his sword and deflected the incoming blade in mid-spin.  He landed deftly on his feet and his weimao slipped off.  It settled at his back, held there by the long chin cord around his neck.  Freed from the hat, his long black ponytail cascaded outward.  He was a handsome young man in his early twenties with gracefully curved phoenix eyes.

“You’re quite skilled,” the masked man sneered.  With a wave of his hand, he summoned the other bandits.  “Attack!”

The mass of bandits surged forward, scimitars drawn.  The young man glared at the oncoming horde and plunged the tip of his sword into the sand.  Wind swirled around the hand gripping the hilt.  With his other hand, he raised two fingers in front of his face and closed his eyes.  His expression was serene.

The horde of scimitar-wielding bandits was approaching fast.   The sound of their horses’ hooves was deafening.  The young man opened his eyes and generated a whirlwind that radiated outwards.  The bandits screamed as they were knocked over.  

The masked man braced himself against the powerful gales.  What sorcery is this?  Beneath his mask he gritted his teeth.  He hurled his chained scythe blade towards the young man once again.

The young man sensed the oncoming threat and leapt out of the way.  He swung his sword and it connected with the chain.  The chain wrapped itself around the blade of his sword.  Since the masked man was still holding the other end of the chain, he pulled his sword backward sharply, yanking the other man off his horse.  He continued pulling until the chain slipped out of the masked man’s hands.  He then shook the chain off his sword and the scythe blade flopped onto the sand.

Narrowing his eyes, the young man said, “Would you like to continue?”

The masked man looked at him uneasily.  “Who are you?”

The young man smiled.

“Just a stranger…passing by…”

“Retreat!” the masked man shouted to the other bandits.  Better to cut their losses than to continue fighting against this stranger who could summon the wind.  With a fluttering of long black robes, the horde withdrew, their galloping horses kicking up a cloud of sand in their wake.

The young man stood there, his long hair flowing in the wind.  He watched the bandit horde shrink towards the horizon, like ants escaping a flooded mound.

“Good sir!” a voice called.  The young man turned.  It was the merchant who had wielded the sword earlier. He and his colleagues kowtowed. “Good sir!  Thank you so much!  How can we repay you?”

“Where are you headed?” the young man asked.

“The Kingdom of Ishkhandar in the Western Region,” the merchant replied.  “We are delivering a shipment of silk and porcelain to the royal palace.”

The royal palace?  the young man thought.  Wow…“Then, allow me to accompany you and protect your caravan against other bandits.  I’m heading westward myself, so you guiding me along will be enough for repayment.”

“Thank you so much!  All of our guards were slain by those bandits, so we are very grateful for your offer.  What is your name?”

The young man smiled.  “Leiyu.”

“Leiyu?  An interesting name.  Are you also from the Eastern Region?”

“I am.”

The merchant switched to his native language of Dongyu.  “May I know your family name?”

Leiyu also switched to Dongyu.  “I have no family name.”

The merchant raised his eyebrow.

Leiyu continued, “I am originally from the Eastern Region, but I have been traveling for years.”

“I see.  My name is Chen Yun.  I’ll introduce you to the others.”  Chen Yun went around the group, reciting each merchant’s name.  Leiyu nodded in silent acknowledgment.  “If you don’t mind my asking, what is your reason for journeying out here by yourself?  The desert is vast and it is hard to survive alone.”

Leiyu looked at the horizon.  “I am on a soul journey.”

“Oh?  I’ve heard of those before.  That’s where you leave everything you know behind and make a solo trek to discover your true self, right?”

Leiyu nodded.  “My late Shifu embarked on one himself when he was young.”

“Ah, so you are following in the footsteps of your Shifu?”

“To some extent.  But even before I knew that he went on one, I wanted to see more of the world.  Also, I’ve always had this strange restless feeling…” Leiyu took a deep breath.  “It’s like something out there…or someone…is calling to me and I have to find out why…”