Gou Dzing and Chan Bik chattered amicably the whole way to her family's house. Sek Gon plodded beside them, praying for earplugs, but unable to escape as Gou Dzing had his arm firmly around him.

"Get off. You're heavy."

"Ah, don't be so miserable, Sir Sek. It's a lovely day and you're in the company of friends!"

Who's your friend?

They crossed a rice paddy where a troop of farmers were tending to the crops, and then the Chan Family house was before them, a relatively modest villa complex with several buildings and a large courtyard. Before they could enter the gate, a man walked out.

"Ah Bik?"

"Go-go!"

"... What... Who... Why are you all dressed like that?"

Gou Dzing and Chan Bik looked at each other. Sek Gon raised his eyes to the sky.

Three people all dressed in similar cultivator robes, hair tied in ponytails, with unusual jade-hilted swords.

"Oh... uh... this... um..."

Gou Dzing stepped forward energetically and bowed. "Greeting Young Lord Chan! My humble name is Gou Dzing. I am a cultivator of the Mount Fa Sect. We invited Fourth Lady Chan to experience a day as a disciple of our sect, hence her current attire."

Looking a little stunned, Chan Bik's elder brother bowed back. "A member of the Gou Family? I am Chan Gam, Ah Bik's eldest brother. And this is..."

"Sek Gon." The named one bowed too.

"As in...?"

The name was explained.

"... Ah."

"Go-go, how is... how is Mother?"

"No idea! In any case, Sir Gou, Sir... Sek, you are both welcome to stay for dinner. Thank you for entertaining my little sister."

"Hey! It's not like that!"

"Alright, alright. Go and get changed and greet the rest of the family. I'll have someone take our guests to the dining hall."

Grumbling, Chan Bik disappeared to do as her brother had asked. A servant led Sek Gon and Gou Dzing into a dining area, where other servants were tidying and preparing for the meal.

Gou Dzing had seated himself comfortably when he noticed that Sek Gon was still standing. "What are you doing, Sir Sek? Come and sit down here."

Sek Gon sat where he was told with a strange hint of relief on his face. Before Gou Dzing could remark on this, Chan Bik burst into the room, dressed in a pretty, deep pink robes and with her hair dressed neatly.

"Don't sit down yet! Come out to the courtyard first, before everyone else arrives!"

Gou Dzing immediately stood and followed. Moments later, he returned to haul Sek Gon to his feet. "Come on, Sir Sek."

"I just sat down though."

"You can sit again later."

"Why are you like this?" Chan Bik sighed, when they finally joined her. She lowered her voice. "Listen, I've got to tell you a little more about the family before dinner. Aside from my two elder brothers, their wives are here too. Gam Go also has a little daughter.

"My elder sister is currently away visiting her fiancé's family. She left soon after the start of the mouse plague. She's delicate, so we all agreed it would be best, and anyway, she'll be moving into their house once she's married."

"So there's your two elder brothers and their wives, your niece, your two half-siblings, your mother and her lover, is that right?"

"Correct."

"How many servants?" Sek Gon asked suddenly, his lowered eyes fixed on a crack in one of the pavers at his feet.

"Servants...? You're not suggesting it's one of them?"

"Sir Sek has a point," Gou Dzing mused, fiddling with his sword tassel. "It could be anyone. We don't know their motive, after all."

Chan Bik twisted her mouth and frowned. "The servants? There are about twenty of them in the household. But I'm sure... one of my family..."

"Typical," Sek Gon muttered under his breath.

"Did you say something, Sir Sek?"

"Your father?"

"Are you being sarcastic...?"

Sek Gon wore a deadpan stare until Chan Bik answered, "... Father died during a trading trip six years ago. The caravan was attacked by demons, only a few of the servants made it back alive." She bit her lip.

"He must have been a good father," Gou Dzing said gently.

"He was. He wasn't the strongest and biggest, or the most handsome... he had this big mole on his upper lip that used to scare me when I was little... but he was always doing his best for us. I... I miss him..."

Gou Dzing passed her a handkerchief to wipe her face with. Sek Gon continued to stare at the floor.

"Thank you... We should go back inside."

"Will you be alright?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Yes... yes." Chan Bik blew her nose loudly and tucked the handkerchief away. "Thank you, Gou Go. I'll wash this and return it later. Let's go and meet everyone."

----------------------------------------

The Chan Family were, by all accounts, a relatively ordinary, moderately wealthy family.

Chan Gam, his wife Yeung Sue, and their daughter Mei Ying all had an air of bright intelligence. They chattered animatedly on various topics as the trio entered and greeted the guests with hospitality. Nearby, the second son, Chan Ngan, and his pregnant wife, Leoi Tou-Fa, were a little more mellow-looking, warmly and peaceably greeting the guests.

The room fell silent as the matriarch, Yan Wai-Wai, Se Sue, and their two children entered.

It was clear where Chan Gam's intelligent looks came from, although Chan Ngan had inherited his mother's nose and chin. Yan Wai-Wai was a small woman, but firm and confident, and as the guests rose to greet her and thank her for her hospitality, she smiled courteously and introduced the man behind her.

Se Sue had to be at least ten years younger than her, a tall, slender man with a pretty face and long, untied hair. He moved gracefully, with clear awareness of his physical qualities. It wasn't as if he acted conceitedly or arrogantly; it was simply a fact that he was a very good-looking man.

Sek Gon stared rudely until Gou Dzing stepped on his foot.

"Greetings to you, Master Se."

"Ah, I'm no Master, the only Master here is Wai-Wai." He had a soft, sighing voice, and his eyes bent gently down to his small children, just able to toddle. “This is Dzik-gok and Ying-ming.”

Gou Dzing smiled cheerfully at the two little faces, which stared back at him with the wide-eyed silence of overwhelmed infants. The servants began to bring out food as everyone sat down. Gou Dzing frowned at Sek Gon over his wine cup, muttering, "Why do you keep staring at Se Sue? If you think he's suspicious, you shouldn't make it so obvious."

"He's pretty."

Gou Dzing choked on his baak dzau.

"Sir Gou, are you alright? Is the baak dzau not to your taste?"

"Ah! N-no – cough - I was j-just dis-cough-tracted. My apologies!" He hurriedly drank some tea and coughed discretely, casting confused glances at his neighbour. Sek Gon didn't appear to notice, although he had ceased looking at Se Sue and was now glancing around the room, ignoring the food in front of him.

Chan Bik was talking animatedly to try and distract everyone from Sek Gon's rudeness, although Chan Gam kept raising his eyebrows. Yan Wai-Wai and Se Sue were apparently too absorbed in each other to notice.

"Sir Sek," Yeung Sue spoke up, "are you also a disciple of the Mount Fa Sect?"

"No."

"..."

Gou Dzing rose up quickly and bowed. "Lady Yeung, I apologise on behalf of my companion. He is very tired from travelling. Please allow me to drink a toast to your health as compensation."

"What are you doing?" Chan Bik hissed, seated on the other side of Sek Gon. He responded by standing and bowed perfunctorily to the room as a whole.

"I am not used to such grand surroundings. I will retire and leave you to enjoy your evening." With these words, he left.

"Ah Bik, your friend is a little..." Chan Ngan smiled helplessly.

"Rude?" Chan Gam supplied.

"Ugh, he's hardly my friend," Chan Bik grumbled, stabbing at her food with her chopsticks. "Why did I invite him here!"

"I don't wish to lecture you in your own house, Lady Bik," Gou Dzing said quietly, "But everyone has a reason for their actions, even if you don't understand them."

"That was well said," Yan Wai-Wai agreed, eyeing her daughter sternly. "And perhaps we may not agree with their actions or words, but we can be understanding. Children, have you tried to understand Sir Sek first before passing judgement?"

"You've become too trusting, Mother," Chan Gam said darkly, a meaningful glance at Se Sue. The other man's pretty face darkened.

"Chan Gam! We have been over this before! I will not have bad words spoken about Ah Sue!"

Yeung Sue looked as though she were chewing on her tongue, but she hid her expression by turning to attend to Mei Ying. Chan Ngan nervously patted his wife's hand as she rubbed her pregnant stomach.

The dinner broke up amidst a general dark mood. Gou Dzing was shown by an old female servant to a room where he found Sek Gon laying in bed, still fully dressed.

"Sir Sek... What's going on?" he asked, sitting at the foot of the bed.

"… Everyone's suspicious."

"I don't mean that, I mean you. At least pretend to be a little respectful to our hosts."

"Why?"

Gou Dzing blinked. "Because... it's common decency."

"Is it?"

"Has no one taught you such things before?"

Sek Gon shrugged. "Sounds like a lot of effort. Can't eat decency."

"Sir Sek..." Gou Dzing thought deeply. "You're right. Being polite to someone doesn't guarantee a meal, for example. But it can help with other things. If you're polite, people may like you more, and then they may help you."

"... But not always."

"Nothing is certain in life."

"... What are you trying to say?"

"Well, I was a little embarrassed by your actions tonight. But mostly confused."

"... I see." Sek Gon stared into space under his lowered lids for a moment, then rolled over. "Sleep while you can."

"It's still early though?"

There was no response from the bed. If anything, a light snore seemed to reach Gou Dzing's ears. Surely Sek Gon wasn't asleep already...?

"Well, good night, Sir Sek."

----------------------------------------

Gou Dzing woke a si and a half later, heart hammering. In the dark, he patted himself wildly, convincing himself that there were no rodents crawling all over his body, wincing as pain shot through his left arm. When he finally stopped, panting and sweating, he realised that Sek Gon's bed was empty. He immediately dressed himself, retrieved his sword and flew out of the room. His keen ears picked up low, muffled cries in several rooms nearby. Moving to check on Chan Bik first, he realised someone was standing outside her door.

"What is it, Sir Sek? Is Chan Mui okay?"

"Listen."

Gou Dzing obeyed. He couldn't hear anything particularly unusual.

"Wait... She's not... There's no sound..." He immediately knocked firmly on the door. "Chan Mui?" He had to knock and call several times before he heard a response.

"G-Gou Go?"

"Chan Mui, are you okay?"

"I..." There was a yawn. "I'm fine... I'm fine? What's going on?"

She dashed out suddenly, a robe thrown loosely over her sleeping attire. Gou Dzing turned away politely.

"What about everyone else?"

"Listen," Sek Gon said again.

The sound of whimpering and sobbing was very quiet, but unmistakable.

"Why didn't I dream tonight? What's happening?"

"Did you dream previously?"

"Yes, yes it was horrible! The gnawing mice... They go for my... my feet first..." Chan Bik shuddered. "The children!"

She raced for her half-siblings' room, Gou Dzing close behind. Sek Gon trailed after them.

The two small children made small noises of distress, tossing about in their beds. Chan Bik shook them awake, then held them close as they began to cry loudly. Gou Dzing patted their heads.

Sek Gon, standing awkwardly at the door, suddenly disappeared from view. There was a yelp in the distance. Gou Dzing, hand on sword hilt, dashed out to find that Sek Gon had apparently collided with one of the servants, a bearded man whose eyes had dark bags and were tinged red as though he had been weeping. Gou Dzing helped them both to their feet. The man scrubbed roughly at his nose.

"Are the young Master and Miss okay?" he asked hoarsely.

"They seem to be very distressed, but they're awake now. Who are you?"

"Noble sirs, I am Yue-muk. I do the heavy lifting around the house."

"Did you have a dream tonight too, Yue-muk?"

"And the night before that. And the night before that."

"You should return to your post, Yue-muk, and try and rest as much as you can."

"Yes, sir..." Yue-muk glanced anxiously towards the door of the children's room, from where muffled sobs could still be heard. "Will they... Will they be okay?"

"If these dreams continue... it could be a problem for their health. This will have to be resolved soon so they can grow up happily and well."

Yue-muk, looking intensely miserable, bowed low and shuffled away. Gou Dzing and Sek Gon watched him go. The former turned to the latter to find he was once more staring into space, although his brows were furrowed thoughtfully.

I wonder what goes on in the strange brain of his. "Sir Sek?"

"Hm?"

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking... that I may need to start being polite to people."