“Li En, it hurts…” Shi Yan cried out after they walked a distance away from the cottage.
“Oh… sorry Young Master.” Li En slightly loosened her grip onto the little boy.
Placing his arms around the old woman’s neck, the little boy shook his head. “Li En, don’t be sad. We will definitely win the next time!”
“*Hahaha…* Young Master, what do you mean by winning? This is not a battle you know?” Li En caresses the back of the little boy’s head.
“But-but, you two were so scary to each other! Li En, were you going to eat her?”
A drop of cold sweat ran down Li En back. [What does this have anything to do with eating…]
After a moment, Li En realised something and asked the boy hugging her neck, “Young Master… you said that we would definitely win the next time… does it mean that I lost just now?”
*Emm…* Shaking his head, Shi Yan explained, “draw!”
“Young Master… might I ask why it was a draw?” Li En tilted her head, pondering.
“… her laughter became sad…”
“…”
******************
~Back inside the shop,
******************
Li En finally lets Shi Yan down. [A draw huh?] she looked at the little boy stretching himself and turned her gaze towards the orange sea in the sky. “It seems that we will be staying here tonight. Pot Head, do you have any spare mattresses?”
“Madam… there is no such thing. I lived alone for years, so all I have is the bed there…” Pot Head spoke; concealing his dispirited mood, that had continued since their talk with Madam Cheng. Too afraid to approach his meal and risk aggravating the two deviant witches, Pot Head only had that one spoon filled delicacy for his lunch. It was a far cry from what could fill his stomach but he was already used to it. Although his silently unpleased stomach attributed to his unpleasant mood, it was not the main cause of it.
The lost hope to overturn his current predicament was the plague which filled his mind. [Would I really be stuck with these two like this for the rest of my life? Why me?]
"I see, then take this." Li En tossed her entire pouch of copper coins towards the old man, whose dexterity was not considered the best. "Take it and go and buy some bed sheet. My Young Master and I will be sleeping on it later."
"…" [Why don't you two just sleep on my bed?] Pot Head wanted to ask but he remembered that it was not his position to do so. [I guess the stench of an old man like me is simply too much for them...] Turning around, Pot Head tried to leave but was quickly halted by Li En as she whispered to him. Her voice was stern and demanding but not to the extent of a threat; it was faintly mystifying. "Go and sober up before coming back. I do not wish my Young Master to get worried because of your own emotional fragility."
*Ba!* the front door between the shop and the room closed as Pot Head stood outside in a daze. [sober up? If only it was so easily…] He released his hand on the door and slowly opened up the pouch that was given to him, discovering 128 copper coins inside. [I wonder if I can even afford a mattress with this amount…]
*************
~ An hour later,
*************
The sky had turned obsidian, with only the glimmer of light from the crescent moon. Pot Head had finally returned with two bulky men behind him, both carrying a thick, rolled-up straw mat.
“Old Man, is this the place?” One of the pale coolies whispered with an exhausted coarse voice.
Placing them on hold, Pot Head slowly opened the creaking door. As silent as a cricket, the slit gradually increased to a gap. With his head filled with droplets of perspiration, he prayed. [Please… please don’t wake up.]
In Pot Head’s mind, his current actions were akin to opening a door to the dragon’s den; anticipating the next flamethrower that was going to be blown. However, such a flame did not occur. More accurately, only a spark came out. “What are you waiting for? Just come in normally.”
“Yes….” The languid duo behind Pot Head cried out while the man himself embarrassingly opened the door to allow them to pass.
“*Hee, Hee* Li En, what is that mister doing?” Shi Yan asked with his head lying on Li En’s lap.
“… he had just returned with a mattress for us to use tonight.”
With eyes glittering with the discovery of something new, Shi Yan jumped out from her lap and ran towards the door. Much to Li En’s surprise, the child was not interested in the rolled-up floor mat but the two coolies that came through the door. With a vision of curiosity, the Young Master asked, “Uncle, why do you look so thin and pale? Do you know you need to eat?”
Knowing that the child meant no ill will, the coolies played along. “Brother, look! Even that child is telling you to eat more!”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“… I know but I'm just too engrossed in my work to eat much…”
“… Uncle, you must make sure to eat more okay? Not eating is bad for you!”
“Yes brother, listen to this brilliant child.”
“Don't speak about me when you should think more about yourself, brother. Oh no, I forgot! Brother, we completely missed our dinner!”
“Yes! I forgot all about it.” That two coolies turned towards the boy and simultaneously smiled. “Thank you for reminding us, little boy...”
*En!* Instead of replying any further, Shi Yan ran to Li En and whispered something to her. The old woman had a smile on her face but it showed a hint of weariness. She whispered something back to the little boy and stood up, approaching the two coolies.
"Could you take this as an offer of our gratitude?" Li En took out four copper coin pieces in her hand and the coolies gladly accepted with a dazed expression.
"Th-ank you madame." The pair of brothers tightly gripped onto the copper coins and bowed.
"No need for thanks. It's just payment for your services. Could you help me to bring the mattress over there?"
"Of course!" The two brothers suddenly became more energetic and even helped the old woman to roll up the mattress. They bowed once again to show their gratitude and departed. Meanwhile, their initial employer was standing by the side of the room waiting for his next task.
“So, how much did it cost? Judging from the quality, it should be around 80 copper coins.” Li En and Shi Yan both sat down their new mattress, placed at the opposite corner of the room from where Pot Head was. Shi Yan was rolling himself around the mat while Li En awaited for Pot Head’s response.
“It’s… 106 copper coins… that includes hiring those two…” Pot Head hung his head down.
*Haaa* Li En sighed. “You really got taken advantage of… Young Master, how about we go out tomorrow? I’ll teach you how to barter.”
“Barter? What is that?” Shi Yan’s eyes glimmered as he stopped rolling around and sat up straight like a javelin.
“Think about it as buying and selling stuff. It’s a form of negotiation. You should think of it like what we did earlier.” The old woman’s smile widens, “*Heehee* Young Master, you remembered what you promised right?”
“Yes…” The little boy laid on the mattress and closed his eyes. “I’ll go to sleep now…”
“Good night.”
“Good night Li En.”
The darkness once again gradually engulfed Byakko as a faint figure slowly formed. Without waiting for Byakko to ask any questions, Lumu inquired. “What did you think about that woman, Madam Cheng?”
“She is very hard on children and treats them as labourers. Even if she is smart, she uses her intelligence to manipulate others. Comparing to what the boy felt, I would not say that she is far off from a monster. But, who are we to judge?” Byakko’s facial expression turned astringent.
Lumu nods in agreement, “Did you notice anything else?”
“She gives off a weird feeling. The crowd would disperse upon noticing her and the boy even held some kind of welling sense of fear…”
“Hey, don’t you find that old woman strange as well? Ho…”
“I see. Alright. Enough questioning. Let’s continue.”
Without wasting another breath, Lumu’s form once again disappeared. [Bastard! The least you could do is hear me out…] Byakko got annoyed but since he had been cut out or ignored a few times already, he was already prepared.
The scene once again turned bright as Shi Yan opened his eyes to welcome the brand new day.
******************
~ Back inside the shop
******************
Shi Yan’s heavy eyes lids gradually opened up after hearing a low *cheee cheee* sound. *Errwaaa* the little boy yawned and slowly sat up. He rubbed his eyes to feast his eyes on the strange sight in from of him.
“Morning Young Master.”
“Morning Youn-ng Master.”
The two greeted the little boy after noticing that he had awoken. Li En was by the door, with a jug in her hand. The jug contained a faint aroma of sorts that seemed to take one's breath away. Meanwhile, Pot Head was delightedly spinning a round table with one hand and shaping a pile of grey clay with the other.
“Morning~” the little boy stretched himself while the old woman placed down the jug and came to his side. “Young Master, hold still for a second…”
Li En’s hands were quick as the little angel’s hair was formed back to its original position. Chuckling, the old woman remarked. “*Heehee*, Young Master, it seems that you've slept quite well last night.”
“*Ahhh…* Li En, I’m still tried… Can I go back to sleep?”
“*Hmmm…* if you sleep now, you will be missing out on pottery lessons and my bartering lesson later. Young Master, are you sure about that?" Li En teased.
"*Em...* Okay..." Shi Yan took a deep breath and shook his head. "Li En, where can I shower?"
"… we don't have enough water here for you to shower. Can you bear with it for the day? I will bring you back to have a bath later." Li En answered while giving a hard smile.
*Un!* Shi Yan obediently nods but the adorable moment was ruined. No, heightened by a little grumble from his tummy.
Li En chuckled and took the jug she placed down, displaying the rich pot of vegetable stew. It was fortunate that this was a pottery store, with all the eating utensils already prepared. In just a couple of seconds, Li En managed to compile a whole entire set – including a ladle.
Sensing that something was wrong, Shi Yan asked Pot Head, "Mister, is it okay to use these?" Although their interaction had been brief, even Shi Yan could understand that this man was very particular about his works. It was bizarre for Shi Yan to be able to use them without some form of disapproval from the old man – through non-verbal means. However, out of his expectations, Pot Head gave a nod of approval. "Young Master... It's fine. Use it as you see fit."
*En...* Li En passed Shi Yan a bowl of stew and the boy started to eat.
Pot Head, seemingly excited called out to the little boy, "Young Master, come here, there is something I would like you to see."
Unfortunately, he was immediately reprimanded by the old woman, "stop. Can't you see that he is eating his meal? Wait till he is done before showing off."
"Yes..." Pot Head whimpered and backed off. While he was hanging his head down, a hand stretched out. A bowl filled with stew entered his eyes. He stretched his hand out to receive the bowl from Li En but, the woman struck back. “Please, wash your hands first. Or are you going to ruin your bowl with that paste on your hands?” Li En placed the bowl on the table beside Pot Head and walked back.
“Sorry…” The previously proud Pot Head muttered out. If it was yesterday, he might have gotten slightly agitated by Li En’s words; but now, his attitude had completely changed to that of gratitude.
Taking another bowl of stew for herself, Li En sat down next to the little boy. Immediately after her bottom made contact with the mattress, Shi Yan shifted even closer to her and whispered. “Li En, what’s wrong with the mister? Is he sick? He is acting really weird.”
The old lady chuckled, “there is nothing wrong with him Young Master. He just found himself, that is all.”
“Found himself?” Shi Yan’s head tilted in one direction as he tries to think of what Li En meant. “But Li En, he easily came back after you asked him to buy this mattress. How could he possibly be lost? *hmmm…* the road here is also easy to follow…?"
Li En’s broad smile widened even further. [I think only you will find the route here easy to remember Young Master…] Due to the numerous alleyways and decrepit buildings, it was easy to end up at a dead end (especially when the rumbles of these buildings were not cleared).
“Young Master, I'm not referring to him being physically lost.”
*Hmm?* Shi Yan continued to ponder. Once he finally got it, his eyes brimmed with joy. “Heart! Li En, he lost his heart!”
Li En nods, “Young Master is very smart to guess the answer. Alright. Enough of playing around. Don't you want to hurry up and finish eating? Pot Head over there seems a little lonely.”
*Un!*
***************
~ 13 minutes later,
***************
Shi Yan was done with his lavish meal. He finished about the same time as Pot Head, who started out much later but ate less than half of his portion. Naturally, Shi Yan got slightly worried and asked questions but received comfort instead. “Young Master… I'm full.”
“Really?”
Beads of sweat slid down from Pot Head’s temples. “Yes. I'm old already. I can't eat so much…”
“… sure? Really sure?”
“Yes. Yes…”
Seemingly still unconvinced, Shi Yan went to Li En. He verified with her Pot Head’s statement and got a small lesson on the elderly’s diet. Once his lecture was complete, Shi Yan got called by Pot Head to commence their pottery class.