Wei Tou’s sister was sitting still with her back supported by the wall.

“Sister, wake up” Wei Tou checked her vitals, but there was no pulse. She wasn’t breathing. Wei Tou shook her shoulder and her body fell. “Sister, please”, teary eyed Wei Tou pleaded. “please, don’t leave me”.

But Wei Tou’s pleading had no response. After calling many times Wei Tou finally broke down and started sobbing. Wei Tou cried until his voice became hoarse, and his tear ducts dried.

The immense grief and distress caused by his sister’s death overtook him and he lost his consciousness.

****

It was evening when Wei Tou stirred awake from his sleep, he felt thirsty. Rubbing his puffy eyes, Wei Tou got up and looked around, he felt something missing.

Then sudden realization came to him, his sister’s body wasn’t there.

Maybe she wasn’t dead and just exhausted at that time but he checked the vitals, maybe he made a mistake.

He looked around the cave, while his sight adjusted to the dark, only to find an old burly man sitting in the corner of the cave and watching him.

Wei Tou froze and the next instance he sprinted at the entrance of the cave.

His body moved before he could comprehend, “why was he running?” He had been running with his sister for so long that it became instinctive to him.

He ran outside the cave only to stumble by the large amount of soil gathered at the cave entrance, looking to his left he saw his sister’ body lying inside the dug up hole from where the soil was excavated.

He stood there looking at his sister lying there peacefully, that’s when he heard someone walking out.

“You both related?” old man’s asked in a loud voice.

“She’s my sister.” Wei Tou replied without turning back.

The old man nodded “She was already dead before I found her.”

The old man came beside Wei Tou, placing his large hand on his back. “ We shouldn’t keep her body for long, it’s not good for the departed. You should let her rest, I was waiting for you to wake up to say your final greetings.”

Old man then took out the two digging tools from his storage ring and gave one to Wei Tou. “You are the family so you should start, I’ll help you finish.”

It took Wei Tou his all to hold back his tears as he started shovelling, halfway through he was already sniffling and dead tired but he didn’t give up the shovel and he continued.

The old man passed him water and then he helped him finish the rest. After the old man joined him the grave was filled in no time.

After which the old man left Wei Tou alone with his sister to say his final greetings.

“I don’t know how but I’ll survive sister, I”ll try my best not to disappoint you. I won’t waste yours and mother’s efforts. Thank you for everything.” Wei Tou sniffled, kneeling in front of his sister’s grave.

Giving his final greetings Wei Tou stood up and started walking towards the cave, he glanced at the old man sitting at the entrance as he passed by him.

Deep inside the cave where no light reached, Wei Tou sat there his gaze unfocused. Neither speaking nor moving. Old man also sat at the cave’s entrance, looking at the setting sun.

Neither of them spoke.

*****

Wei Tou woke from his reverie as he heard the clanking of utensils and a pleasing aroma made him salivate.

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His stomach grumbled, he was hungry. He turned around to see an old man preparing food on the campfire. Wei Tou looked at his bags of food on the side of the cave, they were left untouched, “old man must have brought out his own food.”

“ Come on, let’s eat. It’s not good for growing children to stay hungry.” said the old man, patting on the ground next to him.

Wei Tou looked at the food for a few seconds, then moved to sit beside him.

As Old man was busy serving the food on the plate, Wei Tou spoke “ I’m sorry elder for not greeting you before and I’m also very thankful that you helped me, I wasn’t in my best state.”

Old man paused, he looked at Wei Tou “Are you a noble, you certainly do talk like one.”

“ I’m not a noble, that’s how I was taught to speak.” Wei Tou answered.

“Well whatever, come on sit down there’ no need to stand on the ceremony.” old man said as he passed him a plate. “ Eat while it’s still hot, we can talk later.”

Wei Tou was so hungry that he consumed at a fast pace without chewing his food properly and this caused it get stuck in his throat. Wei Tou started coughing in a fit as his face became red, old man passed Wei Tou some water.

“ Eat slowly will you, food’s not gonna run away. What are you in a hurry for?” said the old man while patting his back.

When Wei Tou calmed down he thanked the old man again.

After they were done eating, Wei Tou finally asked the question that was eating him away. “ Elder is this cave yours?”. Wei Tou didn’t know where he’ll live if he answered yes.

The Old man had finished eating and he had already started doing his dishes. Hearing Wei Tou’s question he answered. “Let me correct you child, I don’t like being called an elder. Blacksmith Lu is fine.”

The old man smiled and continued “And your question about the cave, my answer is no. This cave is not mine. I just came following the strong emotions of despair and sadness that I felt from this direction. They led me to this cave.”

“When I did reached this cave I found you unconscious and your sister was already dead from the poison. Also your emotions were heightened to an unusual state, so I thought it was better for you to rest and cool down rather than waking you up.” Blacksmith lu said as he looked at him

Wei Tou felt sad at the mention of his sister and he looked at blacksmith Lu in bewilderment “You can feel others emotions?”

Blacksmith Lu replied shaking his head “No, not always. Only when i want to. But your emotions had reached such intensity that I was feeling them from miles away, when I wasn’t even trying to.”

Wei Tou didn’t understand half of the things, the blacksmith Lu said but it didn’t matter, this wasn’t important for now. The pressing matter was to know about the array, that his sister had setup.

“What about the array at the entrance of the cave, How did you enter? Have you already destroyed it?” Wei Tou fired his questions one after another, then he became hesitant seeing blacksmith Lu smiling at him.

He hadn’t thought of this before but the array was prepared by his sister to keep him safe for two years, without it he’ll become the feces of the animals. He still wasn’t strong enough to protect himself.

“No, array hasn’t been damaged. I don’t need to destroy it to enter the cave, it may stop the animals but it won’t be effective against the stronger one’s.”

“Well no strong animal will enter this territory but just in case, I thought it was better to remind you.”

“No strong animal enters this territory, what do you mean? Is this place more dangerous?” asked Wei Tou who now looked a bit scared.

“It used to be pretty dangerous here before but not now, not anymore. The danger had been resolved but this place still reeks of her, so truly strong animals of this forest don’t approach this territory anymore.” spoke blacksmith Lu as he reminiscene, while washing the dishes.

Wei Tou also started contemplating “did the old man said her”.

There was silence in the cave for few minutes after that, after blacksmith Lu was done doing the dishes. He came and sat beside Wei Tou “Why don’t you come with me? I can see that you have made all the preparations to live in this cave but you are still very young and it looks like your journey to this cave wasn’t a very pleasant one.”

“I live near, you should check that place out and if it’s isn’t to your liking, you could always come back.”

Wei Tou listened to the old man but he remained silent as he remembered his father’s teachings “Nothing in this world is free my son, everything has a price or a motive and if somone gives you something for free, he’s definitely a crook.”

Wei Tou did thought “for all the help that blacksmith Lu had provided him, it would be for the best if he could return the favor but if he demanded something over the top, then he would have to say no.”

And so Wei Tou spoke “I’m very thankful for everything you have done for me blacksmith Lu but what is your reason for helping me, I mean what do you want? I think it would be better if I knew so that I can return the favor.”

At his question blacksmith Lu burst out laughing, while Wei Tou shifted in his position uncomfortably at such a scene. “ You are very smart for your age Wei Tou, you will make a good merchant in the future.”

“Oh, yes what’s your name child?”

“Wei Tou”. But after speaking his name instinctively, he remembered his sister’s advice, “not to use his original name after returning to civilization.”

“Hmmm, so Wei Tou it is. No, Wei Tou I’m not helping you because I have a motive or I want something from you, I’m helping you because you need help and I’m capable of doing so.”

Wei Tou looked at the man in confusion, didn’t understanding a word “what kind of reason was this, is he trying to dodge the question.”

Seeing Wei Tou looking strangely at him blacksmith Lu decided to clear his confusion “ Wei Tou if you found a wounded bird on the ground, what would you do?”

Wei Tou thought blacksmith Lu was comparing him to a bird but he still answered “I’ll probably treat the wounded bird.”

Blacksmith Lu looked Wei Tou in the eyes and spoke “ No, Wei Tou you won’t save the bird. You’ll probably treat it as a food. You are in no position to treat a bird when you are living in a cave with limited ration.”

“How a human acts, is defined by his circumstances and his mood and Wei Tou you aren’t even in a position to live well yourself and your mood is sour, how do you expect yourself to treat a wounded bird kindly?”

“You aren’t capable nor do you have the power to change things to you will and I can very well feel the anger you are radiating towards this very world and towards your own self for being incompetent and for doing nothing to help your loved one’s.”

“While I’m the very being opposite to what you are, I can very well control my interior emotions while I also hold the power to change exterior according to my wishes. I keep my emotions highest state of pleasantness and when I’m feeling good I try to give rather than take. I’ve already rose from these physical bounds to a certain extent and I’m slowly breaking these constraints binding me to this very material existence.”

“So, Wei Tou there’s nothing that you could give me nor do I need a motive to help someone because I’m a being that stands at the top and nothing matters to me anymore, I’m just doing what I want because I’ capable of doing so.”

Wei Tou sat there looking at the old man as he heard his reason, his mind exploding in the process.