The market was full of people. Even in the late evening, the southern market was lively. Ladies in small groups were visiting ornament vendors from stall to stall. Men, after their long working day, were sharing tales and alcohols in the teahouses. Little children were running along the streets, with toys and snacks in their hands.
Today was a day of celebration, the first day of the week-long festival. Seven years ago today Prince Yán took back control of the capital from Prince Jīn and took up the title of His Imperial Majesty Mìngjué.
The festival’s mood didn’t touch the only young man in white sitting in the half-depleted teahouse. It used to be one of the wealthier, nicer ones. Now, no one visited this place anymore, and its glory has been long gone since its ownership changed hands.
“Your refill, gōngzǐ.” The owner said with a smile. He was an old man with greying hair but had no other employee to help him around here. He also brought some snacks for the guest. Afterall, who's to say, the young master won’t pay a generous amount if he makes him happy. The young master was well-dressed. And very handsome. Had he had a daughter, the owner would’ve begged him to take her hand in marriage.
The young man, Wèi Xuělín, absentmindedly thanked him. He didn’t particularly like the teahouse for the few times he came here. The tea was tasteless and the snacks were stale. But it was usually empty and peaceful in the always busy streets of Lín'ān. It gave him space to think. Unlike his brother, he preferred quietness and solitude.
His brother, Wèi Xuězhú, must be somewhere in the pleasure district. Or not. Wèi Xuělín didn’t have much clue on what his brother was up to these days. Lín'ān was very much different from their home. And the city had changed both of them to some extent.
Lín'ān was…large. Larger than all the lands that their sect owned. No, larger than that. And far from home. A month and half first on land and then on the Yangtze river. Travelling each day. That's what it took to reach the capital.
Maybe, they would have arrived early if only Xuězhú wasn’t always stopping at every town for souvenirs. “You should be less tense all the time, A-Chén. Enjoy life a bit.” His brother once said to him while handing an overly sweet and sticky candy which wasn’t even good; he had laughed when Wèi Xuělín told him so.
Now, though, he was missing his brother’s constant teasing. He should tell Xuězhú so, after they both return to the Inn.
A boy in his early youth barged into the teahouse, followed by three or four younger boys. All loud. All in commoner’s clothes, though the elder boy’s clothes were more ideal for the weather than the other children as was his frame, fuller and taller. He had a healthy gleam to his face and his chin high. Wèi Xuělín stared at the boy for a few moments before averting his eyes.
The first boy hid behind the owner.
“Lǎotóu! Lǎotóu! Shǎn-gē took our toy again!” The children shouted.
“No, I didn’t!” The boy protested, tugging the owner’s sleeve.
“A-Shǎn, give them back the toy.” The old man kept his voice gentle.
“But–”
“A-Shǎn.” He repeated, with a firmer voice.
A-Shǎn pouted and grumbled but eventually relented. The boys giggled as they took the toy but immediately broke into a fight among themselves over the wooden horse.
“Out. Out.” The owner ushered them out of his teahouse. And then grumbling about ‘rowdy children’, he left to light some more lanterns outside, hopefully more customers would come.
A-Shǎn, on the other hand, sheepishly shifted from foot to foot, looking around and his eyes landed on the man in the corner. What was an immortal doing here? Sitting in the dusty corner. Glowing. Or maybe, the luminous glow was coming from his pristine white outer robes. And the scarlet collar of the inner robes peaking from under the round collar made the contrast sharper.
Or was it that, even though A-Shǎn was sure they had never met before, he felt as if he had seen that face somewhere, recently even? Maybe that’s why he felt drawn to the relaxing young man.
He drifted closer to assess him, whom – in his mind – he had already dubbed as ‘pretty gege’, though he could barely see the young man’s face at the dark corner.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Wèi Xuělín looked up.
A set of phoenix eyes were set on an extraordinary face. His earlier thought on the man being an immortal wasn’t unfounded. What else could this man be if not descended from heaven itself? No, he had definitely mistaken earlier. Had he ever seen that face, he would never be able to forget it.
Caught staring, he felt slightly shy and his ears and face burned.
Wèi Xuělín had stopped paying attention to the commotion before him a while ago. He had only looked up feeling the long stare. He observed the boy for a few moments and then chuckled, the initially cold face turned warm and his eyes softened. He gestured to A-Shǎn to come sit with him.
A-Shǎn looked over his shoulder. The old man was muttering something and soon disappeared into the small kitchen. He looked again at Wèi Xuělín. He still had an encouraging friendly smile on his face.
A-Shǎn hurried over to his table, not wanting to disappoint the pretty gege and sat down across from him. He avoided looking at his face. Instead, the table and the snacks which he guessed was a better choice to stare at. His face had returned to its normal colour although the tip of his ears were still crimson.
Noticing that Wèi Xuělín pushed the snack’s plate towards him. The child reminded him of the children of his sect. “Have any that you like.” he offered.
“Thank you, ge – umm.” He almost choked onto the mooncake, his face rapidly turning red from the slip of tongue. Though the young man looked more like an older brother, he dared not use much familiar address. Who could tell that he won’t take offense? He looked like a young gentry of a noble house.
“Just call me ‘gōngzǐ’. What’s your name by the way?” Wèi Xuělín asked, not paying mind to the slip. He really didn't mind it being used to being addressed as such back in Shanhe too by the younger disciples.
“A-Shǎn.” He answered. As if thinking if he should say it or not, he hesitantly added, “No family name.”
Wèi Xuělín hummed. It was clear that the boy didn’t want to speak much about this matter. He didn’t push it and instead changed the topic, “Do you know of Physician Wàng?”
A-Shǎn naturally nodded. Of course, he did. Who didn’t know of the retired head of Imperial Physicians in Lín'ān?
“Oh good! Can you tell me if he wears anything like this?” It was a bamboo pendant engraved with two lotus flowers blooming from a single stem and below it with black ink was written ‘Wèi’.
A-Shǎn stared at the motif for a while. “I have only met him twice or thrice. I am not sure if he has any pendant with bìngdì lotus.”
“Oh.” Wèi Xuělín wasn’t too concerned about it. As long as the physician was still in Lín'ān he believed he could find him. Afterall, the edict didn’t say how long the two of them were to reside in the capital. He calmly put the pendant back in his pouch and poured himself another cup of tea.
“If you want I can ask Xiǎo-Xīng, one of my friends, if he has that pendant.” A-Shǎn said. “He studies under Physician Wàng.”
“That will be great and very nice of you!” Wèi Xuělín ordered a few more pastries too, seeing as the plates were already empty.
“There’s no need, good sir.” A-Shǎn said. “These were more than enough for me.” He was already feeling like he was imposing on the man. An uncanny feeling bloomed beneath his skin, like he was being judged or rather he should say - evaluated for some reason. evaluated for what?
“You still seem to be hungry.” Wèi Xuělín waved his hand. “A-Shǎn is already helping me so much. Take these as a repayment.” The smile he gave was kind for sure and eased A-Shǎn. Against his better judgment, the boy grew less tense.
“He is always hungry, gōngzǐ.” The owner said, having returned from the kitchen with another tray full of sweet snacks. “Please feel free to feed him more.”
Wèi Xuělín said to the owner, “That I will. A-Shǎn knows a lot about Lín'ān , am I right?”
Both A-Shǎn nodded. “Only a bit. I am no scholar. I know what I have seen on the street.”
The owner scoffed. “Only if they let you in…” he muttered under his breath.
“Didn’t His Majesty establish an academy specially for children from the street?” Wèi Xuělín asked.
“Only in name, gōngzǐ.” The owner snorted. Seeing him getting agitated, Wèi Xuělín motioned him to sit down. “Everytime I send A-Shǎn there, he is sent away! One time those teachers even hit him for talking back!”
“Wàigōng! Don’t–”
“Why should I not say what’s the truth? Isn't his Majesty the most benevolent sovereign Zhuo has ever seen?” He turned to Wèi Xuělín . “Gōngzǐ, I overheard you asking him about Physician Wàng. I won’t speak ill of the old doctor. He is indeed benevolent and helps a lot of people around. The Xiǎo-Xīng A-Shǎn spoke about was an orphan too before the old doctor took him in. But even he refuses to do anything with this child. He didn’t even check him when I took A-Shǎn to him for a fever! I have no children or grandchildren of my own. A-Shǎn is the only one I have whom I can call a grandson. It pains me to see him being looked down upon even by the people who are said to be generous and kind. What will happen to him when I am no longer here? No, A-Shǎn,” He stopped the child from saying whatever he wanted to say, “both you and I know I am not young anymore. I will leave this teahouse to you but what value does it have now?” The old owner, from the exertion of being so agitated and talking so much, started coughing.
“Wàigōng, you have to stop getting so worked up!” A-Shǎn chastised him. Wèi Xuělín poured a cup of tea for him and he drank it at once.
“Sorry for souring your evening, gōngzǐ.” the old owner said once his coughing subsided.
“It’s alright.” Wèi Xuělín reassured him. “Resentment from such treatment of your own is normal. May I check your pulse, uncle? I know a bit about medicine too.”
“It’s nothing serious. Just my age acting up.”
“Then it would do you good to have less stress; this much agitation would only worsen any health issues.” he patted the old man’s arm. “If it assure uncle, I will be staying in Lín'ān for the foreseeable future. And I have experience with teaching children back in my sect. So if A-Shǎn wants, I can take him in.”
Both of them perked up at the offer. “What does gōngzǐ want in exchange?” the elder of the two asked.
“Didn’t A-Shǎn say that he knows the streets of Lín'ān well? The Shīdì who came with me and my brother knows nothing of the city. He can run some of our errands too. And,” Wèi Xuělín ’s eyes softened. “I miss teaching children.”
“What lessons will gōngzǐ teach him?”
“Do you know how to read and write?” Wèi Xuělín asked A-Shǎn.
“I can read only what is necessary, nothing more.” “His penmanship is very bad.” They answered simultaneously. “I taught him as much as I could.” The old man said.
Wèi Xuělín nodded. “Then we will start with penmanship, poetry and basic mathematics. If A-Shǎn wants then I can start the basics of medicine too. And if my brother agrees then swordsmanship and horse-riding.”
“How long will gōngzǐ stay in Lín'ān ?” A-Shǎn suddenly interrupted the two’s conversation. Now, it wasn’t as if he didn’t want to learn or waste such a good oppurtunity. It was just that usually children of nobility took years to learn all these arts. He regretted asking this not for it might have destroyed the budding future but for suddenly those beautiful eyes were clouded with a deep melancholy.
“Not sure.” Wèi Xuělín replied softly. “But not leaving anytime soon.”
…
By the time they set out from the teahouse, the full moon was high in the sky. A sea of people were entering the capital.
The old teahouse was at the edge of the market, just a few chi away from the south gate of the grand walls securing Lín'ān on Yangmian street, and in a normal evening and even daytime, the street outside would be empty except for the few travellers entering or exiting the capital or the rotating guards.
Though, because of the festival, there was a constant flow of people on the main street. And the fair had gone far beyond the central market square. The crowd was even larger than it was a sichen ago.
Wèi Xuělín scrunched his nose at the crowd. He put on the veiled bamboo hat from his back. Better obscure his features with the silk gauze than being stared at. “Let’s get you some clothes first." He said to A-Shǎn and started walking in long steps further down the street.
The boy followed him fast. “Yes, Xiānshēng.” Back in the teahouse, he has been told to address him as such, for Wèi Xuělín was now his teacher. And as such all the responsibility of taking care of him fell upon the cultivator.
Getting him clothes befitting his station as a student connected to Wèi Clan was just the right way to start it. He would also have to stay along with Wèi Xuělín from now on.
Staying in Luóshā courtyard won’t do now. It would be better economically to rent a house rather than staying in that upscale inn chamber. With how his brother was spending so many silver taels on that courtesan, they would run out of money sooner than later.
Wèi Xuělín felt a headache coming up at the thought. He looked over his shoulder to his now student. The boy’s face was illuminated by the bright lanterns hanging overhead the street, looking around the stalls, eyeing the candies and skewers. He looked like the young Mò Xǔ who used to follow Xiōngzhǎng everywhere around the sect. He sighed. “We can get those once we get your clothes first.”
“There’s no need, Xiānshēng. I don’t need those.” A-Shǎn felt his ears warming up. Was he looking that greedy for the food? He already had a good meal, although mostly sweets, in the teahouse on Xiānshēng’s money.
“Don’t worry about it. I am your Xiānshēng now. It’s my job to get those for you.” Wèi Xuělín ruffled his hair. “Once we get back to the inn, remind me to order a bath for you, alright?”
His teacher was too generous! A-Shǎn thought, entering a quite well-off brocade shop.
After an hour and half later, eating a candied hawthorn skewer and trying to choose between three combs Wèi Xuělín showed him, he realised, no. Wèi Xuělín wasn’t generous. He just has no sense of money. Now, he was wondering if all the clothes Xiānshēng ordered for him and the two ready-made ones they already bought were properly priced or if the shop owner scammed them.
“Xiānshēng, they are definitely scamming you. These combs are only made of wood and colored like tusks. They can’t cost this much” A-Shǎn tried to convince him with no avail.
“But I need to get one just like this. You see, my brother bought one — with real tusks, mind you — and lost it yesterday. He wanted to give it to the lady he likes but…” he let out a pitiful sigh. “You are right. It’s stupid to get her a fake one when the real one is so close.”
A-Shǎn felt the hair on his neck standing up.
Oh.
Oh, no.
He had walked into a trap. Now he remembered why Xiānshēng’s face felt so similar at the first sight. The man he pickpocketed yesterday must be Xiānshēng’s brother!
He stepped back a step, wondering if he should just forget about the apprenticeship and just make a run for it. A warm hand came over to his shoulder. Wèi Xuělín ’s eyes were still very warm and kind. “Just give him back the comb once we get to Luóshā courtyard and tell him you found it lying around. He is forgetful enough to think that is true. And,” He gave the child a bit of space, “don’t go around stealing or pickpocketing anymore. Your lǎotóu would be sad to know this. If you want anything in the future, tell me.”
A-Shǎn hung his head and nodded earnestly.
“Come on. Luóshā courtyard is close enough. You should get clean and rest for tonight once we get back.” A-Shǎn followed him obediently.
They didn’t get any more snacks tonight.
Luóshā courtyard was decorated brighter than any other establishments nearby. This part of Lín'ān was somewhere where A-Shǎn didn’t dare venture before although he had heard of it before. Maybe because he was with Wèi Xuělín that he didn’t receive any scorn.
“Jiǔ-er!” Wèi Xuělín called out to the nearby servant-girl. “Please have a chamber beside ours prepared and get a bath ready there. Are you still hungry?” He turned to ask A-Shǎn.
A-Shǎn shook his head. Wèi Xuělín nodded. “After you clean up and change into these new clothes, come to our chamber. Ask Jiǔ-er for anything you need.”
“Understood, Xiānshēng.” A-Shǎn followed the girl upstairs. Wèi Xuělín watched him disappear around the corner and turned back.
“How long were you standing there?” He asked.
“Just long enough.” Wèi Xuězhú said. “Where did you catch the stray?”
“No where important. He is now my student so don’t bully him when you see him tonight." Wèi Xuělín began climbing the stairs. “Where is Mò Xǔ?”
“Still buying some hairpins for his sister.” Wèi Xuězhú replied, following his brother.
“We should let him know that Mò Lín is in Lín'ān too.”
"What's the fun then, to see his face when he finally realises it?” Wèi Xuězhú was smiling. “When would Xiōngzhǎng stop sending her after us?”
“Never I suppose.” he got the reply before they both entered their chamber.