“Come in, boys.” Grandmaster Liu’s stern voice catches the two boys off guard as they ascend the stairs. Upon turning the corner, Dan bows deeply towards his father and Grandmaster Liu. Sensing the immense changes in the boy, Grandmaster Liu suddenly breaks into a hearty laugh. “Bahahaha! It’s been a while, little brat. Say, what’s Yi feeding you? This amount of progress is something else! Bahahaha!”
“Yi Dan greets father and Grandmaster Liu.” Dan smiles in response, holding his deep bow to show his respect towards the people who changed his life.
“Gyohoho! This old soul can’t take the credit for that.” Grandmaster Yi, though extremely proud of his son, remains humble with a soft smile on his face. “Afterall, dare I take credit when he’s the First Disciple of the dragon?”
“First Disciple of the dragon? Bahahaha! Yi Zhenren! Congratulations, you old fart!”
Wei, caught off guard by yet another exalted figure in the martial world, freezes in place as he sets eyes on the man many refer to as “the walking calamity.” His mind suddenly recalls a little girl’s indignant scolding as the hearty laughter fills the room.
“...Yuyu is not a nobody! Yuyu is Mister’s little girl! Yuyu is grandpa Liu’s little genius! Stop calling us that!”
A despair sweeps over him as he connects the dots. A cold chill shoots down his spine upon realizing that the “grandpa Liu” Yuyu was referring to is none other than Grandmaster Liu Jingang of the Floating Clouds Sect. In his state of shock, Wei ignores the well-known fact that Grandmaster Liu Jingang had never wedded nor bore children, leading him to incorrectly assume that Sun and Yuyu are descendants of the renowned Liu family.
Seeing Wei frozen stiff, Dan snaps his heel backwards towards Wei’s shin.
“Ow!” The pain jolts Wei out of his frozen fervor. He hastily reads the confused gazes of the two Grandmasters before bowing deeply with cupped hands. “Zhou Weixing greets Grandmaster Ghost Doctor and Grandmaster Calamitous F-”
“Ahem!” Grandmaster Liu cuts the boy off. “‘Grandmaster Liu’ will do, boy.”
“Apologies for my mistake, Grandmaster Liu.” Wei, slightly shaken by the aura infused grumble, swiftly corrects his error.
“At ease, children.” Grandmaster Yi, seeing the hint of annoyance on his old friend’s face at the mention of his unwanted moniker, decides to shift the conversation away from greetings. “What brings you here, young Wei of Zhou?”
“Apologies for intruding on your meeting, Grandmasters. I was just-”
“We were just catching up, father.” Dan cuts Wei off, not wanting to unnecessarily air their past. “Apologies for disrupting your meeting. We’ll be on our way.”
Grandmaster Yi nods lightly as he reaches into his sleeve to extract a bronze coin. Wedging the coin between his index finger and thumb, he flicks it across the chamber towards Dan. Hearing the faint hum of the coin as it spins through the air, Dan straightens his back from his bow and stretches his foot towards the coin.
As the coin enters range, he flicks his foot gently to tap the coin towards the ground. His foot suddenly blurs as it drops below the descending coin. With his foot perpendicular to his leg, he catches the coin on its side, carefully redirecting its descent momentum along the curve of his foot and up his shin. The coin comes to a slow just past his knee, floating up in the air before descending back down. With a gentle lift of his leg, Dan taps the coin with his knee and sends it spinning up in the air towards the space beneath his jaw. He catches the coin mid-air using the bottom of his chin and neck before releasing it into his stifled bandaged hand.
“As you were then, children.” A gentle smile, accompanied by a wave, sends the two boys off.
“Say, old fart...” Grandmaster Liu begins as the footsteps fade to silence. After taking another large gulp from his gourd, he wipes his mouth and continues. “Was it you or the boy who taught him that useless maneuver just now?”
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“Old friend, there aren’t many things I can still teach my child aside from medical knowledge.” Grandmaster Yi chuckles as he turns towards the street below, waiting to catch a glimpse of their departure. “That move was probably Sun.”
“Careful now, your boy might go on to earn some dumb titles. Yi Dan, Grandmaster Coin Kicker. Bahahaha!”
“I’d say you got half the title correct…” Grandmaster Yi starts as he watches his son depart along the side of the street. Remembering that his son had only started his martial arts training less than two months ago, he chuckles before continuing. “But I’ve no doubt my boy will aim higher, perhaps his friends as well.”
“Mmmm.” Grandmaster Liu affirms with a knowing chuckle, sticking his head out the window and catching a glimpse of the boys’ fading backs. “If all goes as planned, I’ve got my money on him to be the first of the new generation.”
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As the sparse late night pedestrians make their way back and forth, the boys arrive at a bustling noodle stall a few blocks north of the Black Root Clinic. Seeing an open table, Dan swiftly approaches to lay claim. He hooks his foot around the leg of the chair–dark brown and slightly rotten, likely from years of exposure to the elements, and is made for squatting–before pulling it out. A rather unpleasant creaking fills the air as the chairs’ legs slide across the coarse stone-lined street.
“Dan boy!” A cheerful voice calls out from behind the stall. “You’re late. I almost thought you wouldn’t be coming. The usual, is it?”
“The usual, please and thank you uncle.”
“And…” The noodle stall owner pauses, turning his attention to the extravagantly dressed boy standing behind Dan. With a quick glance at the markings on the boy’s sleeves, he recognizes the boy’s identity, causing him to flinch involuntarily.
“Ah, apologies uncle.” Sensing the atmosphere grow stiff in response to Wei’s presence, Dan hastily interjects. “This is Wei. Don’t mind his identity, he’s just a friend.”
“I’ll have the same, please.” Wei turns towards the noodle stall owner and bows slightly before taking a seat across the table from Dan. Not realizing that he had caused an even bigger disturbance by bowing just now, Wei turns to Dan with a serious gaze. “You know royalty eats noodles too, right?”
Instead of responding, Dan breaks into a laughter, clutching his side from the jolting pain emanating from his ribs. Wei watches with raised brow, trying to recall if the boy before him had suffered any injuries to the head. After the laughter fades, the two sit in silence, staring awkwardly at the people passing by.
Meanwhile, the noodle stall owner makes haste to prepare their meals. With two bowls of pale yellow noodles before him, his hands float around the stall in a predetermined route–one that had been traveled countless times over the years–to gather the ingredients.
One by one, the ingredients gather atop the thin noodles. A splash of aromatic dried shallots and garlic to heighten the flavor of the broth, three heads of bok choi to absorb the surrounding flavor, two cubes of fried tofu to add texture and protein, and a pinch of spring onions to enliven the taste.
With all the ingredients prepared, the noodle stall owner adds an extra head of bok choi and cube of tofu into one of the bowls. He reaches for the ladle and scoops the steaming broth before gently pouring it atop the ingredients.
“Order up!” He exclaims as he carefully slides the bowls towards the edge of the edge of the counter-top.
Upon hearing the voice, a young girl makes haste to finish cleaning the table. Stacking the bowls and utensils in her hands, she weaves her way back towards the stall. After setting the dirty articles into a bamboo bucket, the girl dips her hands into the neighboring water bucket and flicks her hands. With a quick wipe-off on the cloth hanging from her sash, she carefully wraps her fingers under the lip of the noodle bowl and transfers it to the table, placing it in front of Dan.
“Thank you as always, Yanyue.” Dan flashes a polite smile towards the young girl as she returns with the second bowl.
“Thank you for your patronage. Please, enjoy your meals!” Yanyue smiles back, bowing slightly before resuming her duties.
As the girl departs, Dan lowers his head towards the bowl and sets his pouty lips onto the edge. Paying no mind to the confusion on Wei’s face, he nudges the bowl into a slight tilt with his bandaged arms before slurping a mouthful of soup and noodles.
“Eat up. It’s good.” He pauses for a moment, chuckling at the expression on Wei’s face. “Unless you want to spoon feed me.”
The comment snaps Wei out of his daze. Feeling a quiet grumble from his stomach, he picks up a pair of chopsticks and spoon to taste test the noodles and broth. Upon tasting the savory dish, perfectly balanced between explosive and mild, he suddenly feels a warm feeling trickle down his chest. Although it wasn’t comparable to his normal everyday meals, Wei finds the broth oddly soothing as the warmth spreads to the rest of his body. Throwing airs of royalty to the wind, he proceeds to devour the meal.