Chapter 14 - Become My Son

Dark clouds grumble as they rest above the city, blocking out the afternoon sun. A bolt of lightning crackles as it tears across the sky, startling the residents below. The raindrops bounce off the roof of a humble building, creating a rhythmic and soothing sound. 

The first floor of the building was lined by rows of brown clay pots. Each pot had a distinct, herbal, aroma. At the back of the room, hundreds of small clay vials sit neatly across rows and rows of bamboo shelves. 

On the second floor of the building, an elderly man slowly walks around the room with a bamboo basket in hand. He stops occasionally, grabbing herbs from their containers. Sometimes he would grab a handful. Sometimes he would grab a pinch.

Having collected all the herbs he needed, the elderly man walks towards the center of the room. He sets the bamboo basket onto the table before taking out a granite bowl and mortar from the cabinet beneath the table. He picks out a mixture of herbs from the bamboo basket and places them into the bowl. With the rhythmic raindrops in the background, the elderly man carefully grinds the herbs into a fine paste as he gazes out the window.

"The old man told me that you've been active lately," the elderly man speaks as he continues gazing at the raindrops. 

"We're all old men these days, are we not?" The Grandmaster laments.

"That we are." The elderly man chuckles. "So, I guess it's true then?"

"What?" 

"Mo tells me that you're coming out of retirement." 

"Bahahaha. That senile fool. We spoke just three days ago and he's already forgotten the details."

"He told me you'd say that," the elderly man laughs as turns to look at his old friend. "He also said that you'll get past this phase of denial soon enough."

"Bah!" The Grandmaster spat. "What denial? I'm still in retirement, I tell ya. Retirement! Why on earth would I choose to stress about worldly affairs when I'm perfectly happy spending my days in comfort?"

The elderly man picks up a cotton towel and wipes the excess paste off of the mortar. He pulls out a slim bamboo spatula and a small clay vial from the cabinets beneath. 

"You know what I think?" The elderly man questions as he carefully extracts the paste from the bowl, depositing it into the vial little by little. "I think that the young man I met sixty-something years ago, driven by his intense sense of duty, hasn't changed that much despite the passage of time."

"You know what I think? I think that you and Mo are peas of the same pod. Running your sharp tongues in cryptical nonsense like some sort of wise old men."

"We're all old men these days, are we not?" The elderly man chuckles as he repeats the Grandmaster's words.

"You've proven my point! Bahaha!"

The elderly man scrapes the bamboo spatula across the lip of the vial before sealing it with a wooden peg. 

"Have I entertained you enough yet, old friend?" The elderly man asks as he gazes at the door behind the Grandmaster.

"Bah! Yeah, yeah. At least you're more patient than Mo." The Grandmaster replies. "Boy, come in."

Dan peeks into the room from behind the entryway before fully revealing himself. The dogged boy from a few days prior was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a well-groomed child in clean fitting clothes had taken his place. Dan carefully walks up to the Grandmaster and stands by his side.

"Boy, this is my old friend, Yi. You will refer to him by his respected title 'Ghost Doctor'. Old man, this is Dan." The Grandmaster introduces them before turning to look at Dan. "Go on boy, like we practiced."

"Disciple Dan greets Ghost Doctor Yi!" Dan shouts as he bows towards Yi with cupped hands. 

"Gyohoho! 'Disciple' you say? We'll see about that."

The Ghost Doctor makes his way around the table towards the young boy. He grabs Dan by the arms, lifting up the boy's sleeves in order to examine his hands. Pressing gently in seemingly random areas of the arm, the Ghost Doctor works his way up towards the boy's shoulders. He lifts the boy's arms and moves it around in various strenuous positions before turning the boy around to examine his back.

"Long fingers… stable wrists… undeveloped muscles… flexible tendons…" The Ghost Doctor mumbles to himself as conducts his evaluation of the boy.

"So? What do you think, old man?" Despite already knowing the answer to his question, the Grandmaster asks anyway. "Not bad for a reunion gift, huh? Bahaha!"

"Child, what did you say your name was?" Yi ignores the Grandmaster as he focuses entirely on the boy in front of him.

"My name is Dan, Ghost Master Yi!"

"Dan, that's right, Dan… Do you have any family, Dan?"

Dan doesn't answer the question. He bites his lip as he lowers his head to hide eyes. The Ghost Doctor, despite not knowing a single thing about the boy aside from his physical build, feels a strong sense of familiarity. He feels like he is looking at himself from many years past.

"Dan, child, I will not accept you as my disciple."

The Ghost Doctor's statement causes the Grandmaster to raise an eyebrow. 

"Instead," he continues as he reaches his hand out to lift the boy's chin. "Would you like to become my son?"