The night was settling in, and Hu Li was still looking for a suitable inn. In truth, the real reason he hadn’t yet found an inn was because of all the meat the night street vendors were selling. Some were slowly cooked over a fire, making some of the juice dripping from the meat sizzle when it fell into the fire. The smell was always what attracted Hu Li to these stands, and he had yet to realize the value of the gold coins he passed out to the vendors.

Word had already spread on the street, specifically by the meat vendors, that a boy in ragged clothing looking no older than fourteen held more gold coins than they could imagine, and was buying whatever meat from vendors that smelled appetizing.

Some vendors gossipped that the boy was actually a prince, who had run away from home, only to end up in the capital on his journey. Others said that the boy was a thief who had stolen from the imperial family, and was now on the run, but stopped by these meat vendors since he was hungry.

Hu Li was practically treated as a king by the meat vendors, each of them giving free samples to Hu Li, while charging over the original price. But Hu Li was not dense, and took only the samples, but abandoning the vendors who charged more than the original prices. The vendors eventually realized this, and started reluctantly lowering prices back to the original. Satisfied, Hu Li continued buying meat skewers, meat dishes, and other types of differently cooked and seasoned meat.

When the moon was at its highest point, more people wandered onto the streets. Hu Li was overwhelmed by the crowds of people, deciding to stick to the shadows. The meat vendors were now too busy to catch up to the little Street Prince, and instead went back to their stands, selling meat to the night folk.

Hu Li was already sick of meat, so he didn’t mind when the meat vendors dispersed. What he did mind was how many pickpockets prowled in the night. At least five had tried to secretly pick up a gold coin from his pockets, but they had yet to succeed, and Hu Li was getting annoyed.

Wasn’t he the god of mischief? Wasn’t he able to control these punks since they were causing mischief? Then he reminded himself that he had been stripped of his godly powers, keeping his in-born ones. Hu Li frowned, then turned around, heading to a vendor who was selling hardened candy on a stick.

The vendor was an old man, with a white beard slowly forming on his chin. He was hard at work at his stand, yet no passerby stopped to buy one of the animal-shaped candies.

The old man used some type of stone cup, then poured a gooey liquid onto the rock stove. He used a sharpened stick to draw out details on the gooey substance; then pressed down on it with a small rectangular piece of metal. Lifting the metal, underneath it was a dragon with detailed scales, and the color of honey. The old man quickly stuck two sticks on the honey-dragon’s underbelly, then put it on display. Hu Li watched with interest, and saw when the old man smiled at him.

“Would you like one, little boy?” the old man asked, motioning to the diverse display of animals-shaped hardened honey. Hu Li only nodded, reaching into his pocket for five gold coins. Immediately, the old man shook his head.

“No need to pay for it, little boy, I’ll give it to you for free.” The old man smiled again, impressing Hu Li. The old man in front of him was not selfish, and was quite hard working. Hu Li smiled at the old vendor, admiring his selflessness.

“Tell me, old vendor, is there a nearby inn where I can stay at for the night?” Hu Li asked the man, while he leaned onto the counter of the stand. The old vendor thought for a moment, before answering.

“There’s an inn that’s actually owned by a close friend of mine; you can find it if you head down this street and look on your right after four or so blocks.” Hu Li nodded, thanking the vendor for the directions. But right before he disappeared into the crowd, he slipped some gold coins onto the old vendor’s stand.

~

Hu Li gleefully crunched on the honey-dragon, its head now gone from its body. He had silently slipped the dragon from the display box before disappearing, and was now skipping along the late night streets, not bothering to count how many blocks he had already passed. He slowed down as his honey-dragon was reduced to nothing but an identifiable blob on a stick.

“If I had known there were such delightful creations in the mortal realm, I would have visited sooner,” Hu Li said regretfully while he stared at the blob of hardened honey. He stood still, just staring at the candy. The night life chirped around him, making Hu Li yawn. It was practically past midnight, and still had yet to find the inn the old vendor had told him of. Suddenly, there were distant sounds of someone running. Hu Li could barely even turn around before a small body crashed into him, gipping onto his ragged clothing for dear life.

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“Mister!” A high pitched voice trilled, followed by the girl being flung on top of Hu Li, making him fall. He couldn’t even throw the small girl off as yelling followed the small girl and two pairs of running footsteps.

“Anqi, you brat!” There was huffing as a familiar boy yanked the girl off Hu Li. “We agreed to take you with us, but that doesn’t mean you can jump on whoever fits our description!” the boy said, reprimanding the little girl. The girl in turn huffed, ready to retort.

“Both of you, shut up.” A third boy showed up, hitting his two companions upside the head. This boy was also familiar to Hu Li. Squinting through the darkness, Hu Li stared at the two boys. Immediately, his eyes widened, letting out an exclamation of surprise. The two boys that seemed familiar to Hu Li were in fact the two guards who had escorted him to the gates for punishment--Zixuan and Changming.

“What are the two of you morons doing in the Mortal Realm?” Hu Li hissed, making the three pause their bickering. Hu Li grabbed the two boys by their collars, shaking them both in fury. It was dangerous for them to have come to the Mortal Realm and stupid--especially for Zixuan. He was supposed to be the smarter, more responsible one out of him and Changming.

“We’re so sorry General Hu, but Gan Li has already…” Changming, the second youngest of the group, trailed off, looking away from Hu Li. With his response, Hu Li could only assume the worst.

“Gan Li, that bastard, has already sparked a rebellion against the emperor,” Zixuan finished while he gently made Hu Li release both his and Changming’s collars. Hu Li let go reluctantly, shaking his head at the calamity that had fallen upon the Heavens; before his eyes shifted to the little girl that had pounced on him earlier. Narrowing his eyes, he asked:

“Then who is this little girl? I don’t recall either of you having wives; let alone children.” The girl immediately snapped at Hu Li.

“None of these dim-wits are my parents!” she said while glaring at both Changming and Zixuan. “I decided to follow them. And,” the girl continued, “my name is Anqi.” By now, Changming had whacked the girl, Anqi, on the head, and berated her for calling them dim-wits.

Hu Li watched it unfold in amusement, but couldn’t help but worry for the two boys. If Changming and Zixuan had seeked refuge from the war in the Mortal Realm, then that would mean they were deserters from the army; and that could cost them the rest of their family line to be refused from ascending to the Immortal Realm, otherwise known as Heaven.

“General Hu, shouldn’t you be resting at an inn at this time of night?” Hu Li snaps out of his worry, and quickly Zixuan, before averting his eyes elsewhere. Zixuan narrows his eyes, but gives up and sighs. His general had a terrible sense of direction, along with time, and yet he was the one who had managed to lead a whole battalion to victory many, many times.

“Alright then, let’s find the inn, and,” Hu Li glances at Anqi, still not quite trusting the little girl. Anqi notices, and blinks innocently up at Hu Li. Scoffing, Hu Li dusts off his tattered pants. “Take the girl with us.” Changming groaned at this, resulting in another argument with Anqi. Rolling his eyes, Hu Li lets Zixuan guide the group to the inn that the old vendor had told Hu Li of.

~

“You mean to say that you’ve been paying the vendors with gold coins for the Immortal Realm?” Zixuan cocks an eyebrow, staring into Hu Li’s soul.

The group of, now, four, had found the inn. They had chosen two separate rooms each to house two people each, but somehow sidetracked to talking about Hu Li’s adventure in the city’s night market.

“Yes,” Hu Li responded nonchalantly, ignoring Zixuan staring at him. “What else did you expect me to pay them with? My soul?” Anqi, who was walking behind Hu Li and Zixuan, snorted at the last comment. Zixuan turned to give Anqi a stern glare, and Anqi made sure to return the gesture by sticking out her tongue at him. Hu Li broke into a smile, laughing out loud.

“General Hu, I would like to suggest that we share a room together, and let Anqi and Changming try to bond by sharing a room,” Zixuan said with a straight face. Hu Li laughed harder, only stopping when the group of four reached their rooms.

“Changming, you will share a room with Anqi, and I will share one with General Hu.” Changming complained, protesting that he would rather sleep in the woods than with a ‘brat,’ which left him with a bruised shin from Anqi. Before Chanming could curse at Anqi, Zixuan pushed the two into their room, dragging Hu Li to theirs. The sound of arguing could be heard as the door to Changming and Anqi’s room closed.

Hu Li sighed in content as he jumped onto his bed and landed on his back none too gracefully. Staring up at the ceiling, Hu Li almost dozed off, if not for Zixuan to abruptly ask him a question.

“So what do you plan on doing now that you’re in the Mortal Realm?” Groaning, Hu Li forces himself to sit up on the bed. He glances at Zixuan as he undresses to put on his nightwear.

“I don’t know,” Hu Li answers truthfully. Zixuan lets out a sigh, finally letting himself settle onto the bed with his nightwear on.

“What do you mean you don’t know? Are we going back to the Immortal Realm to help the emperor? Do you plan on gathering all the gods that have gone into hiding from Gan Li? Or…” Zixuan glances at his old general, narrowing his eyes. “Do you plan on running away this time?”