3 Chapter 3: The First Encounter

Xiu'er had been following her older brother around town for the past hour on the streets. Although the season was spring, the day's hot sun penetrated burning rays that almost melted their sweaty foreheads. Xiu'er dragged her heavy legs behind her like a zombie in training. They had come upon the same corner three times, there was no way they were getting out of this town.

"Bro, just admit it," Xiu'er slowly said, all breathy and tired. "We're lost again!" A'Li was so exhausted underneath the hot sun that he had his arms around her neck, and was hanging down her back in a dangling manner.

Silang refused to put down the bag of rags he carried over his shoulder and frantically rushed to the stone building in the corner where he had put a big "X" on it earlier. Not only that "X", but two other "Xs" before that one, all lining up next to each other like a depressing trail of failures.

The both of them slouched down against the wall in low spirits.

Xiu'er had been debating if she should tell her brother about the encounter with Kun Shang earlier that morning. When he left her in the woods riding away on his horse, she had turned around and, unable to contain her emotions that had been bottling up since she was young, she had cried a joyous sob until there were no more tears left.

A thousand years she had waited for him. A thousand years, she could only see him in her dreams, only seeing him whenever she went to sleep. But now he was real, and in front of her. She could touch him, she could feel him, smell him, anything she could do just to grasp the idea that he was real.

One reason she didn't want to tell her brother yet was because so far she didn't know much about Kun Shang. It may sound crazy that she knows him but she doesn't actually know him. What did he do for a living? Why did he have that sword? Where was he going? What does he know?

Most importantly, does he remember her?

She had doubted it. There was no way he would recognize her after this long. She'll just have to play with it and see how things go. It might even be fun, figuring him out, getting to know him slowly as if they had met for the first time. They practically had, they met the first time for the second time now. How would she say that to her brother, or anyone, so they understand?

"Brother, let's call Grandpa." Xiu'er suddenly exclaimed and smiled at the thought of her Grandpa's name.

"No, I have a better idea." Silang looked up in excitement. "Let's call Doudou and Xiaotu."

"Why?" She slouched lower and dropped her head. She started picking on the loose threads of her rags. "I don't like them. I don't want to have to deal with the annoying little kids. I hate them." Her voice trailed off into a deep tired groan.

Her brother scoffed and turned slightly the other way. His upturned lips disagreed with her words that she hated Doudou and Xiaotu. She could be annoyed at them because as 10-year-old kids, they talk more and were expected to be treated like adults, which could really get on his sister's nerves when she wanted to treat them as kids. Also, it was Xiu'er who saved them as babies from a raid 10 years ago and gave them to Grandpa. So you see, she couldn't possibly hate them.

The next couple of days, they lived off of the oranges in an abandoned shed alongside five other beggar families. Xiu'er had wanted to leave town and go find Kun Shang, but she had forgotten that her brother was terrible with directions and it's been three days now that they were stuck in the same part of town.

The next morning, the beggar siblings had taken off to the market to do their usual social business when Xiu'er spotted Kun Shang in town again.

This time, he was accompanied by another man that Xiu'er did not recognize. He was rather skinny and wearing an outfit that was too small for him. The sleeves were above his wrists and peppered with random holes that scattered about. The shoes he was wearing were made of straw that were also aging. The man was very skinny, but at the same time he looked shy and timid. He kept his chin down and his hands together on his stomach.

She read the name of the store they had begun entering in before turning to A'Li whispered something into his ear. A'Li nodded that he understood before jumping down and disappearing in the marketplace, soon to be seen again as he climbed the side of the store and crawled inside a small window at the top. Xiu'er, then convinced her brother to move to a different area until A'Li finished his "social business". She grabbed his shoulders and shuffled them down a different road.

In half an incense stick, Kun Shang frantically rushed out of the clothing store and turned to the alley next to it, followed by the skinny man and the store owner. Through all the noises in the market, she filtered out to hear his commotion and bursted a chuckle. Pretty soon, A'Li came behind and handed her a small grey pouch. She was immediately drawn to the unique embroidery of a small orange koi in the bottom corner of the bag and ran her thumb over it. She smiled.

A'Li had succeeded in another transaction for their social business. After securing the pouch underneath her outfit, she urged her brother that they should go find something to eat.

Xiu'er could feel the heaviness of the pouch against her hip and fantasized about how much money was actually in there. One thing for sure, it was heavier than any money pouch she had stolen in the past. Probably his entire allowance for the year there. Without knowing how much there was, she already had an idea of how she was going to divide it with the five families in the shed.

Xiu'er locked arms with her brother and skipped from stall to stall, buying all kinds of take-out food and hurriedly bringing it back to the families to feast on. At the same time, A'Li had decided to hide underneath her robes for the time being. The beggar siblings hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so when all the children of the families in the shed were finally full on the third trip, they finally scoured the lively market for snacks for themselves. Maybe she got carried away with the market and had forgotten that Kun Shang was still in town, because he suddenly appeared behind her and snatched A'Li's tail from underneath her clothes.

A'Li clicked into his defense mode, growling and brawling at the young man holding him. Soon later, his companion came up and she could see his face closer. Pale and skinny, his facial features were soft even though his cheekbones stuck out and his eyes inexperienced. He looked back and forth between Xiu'er and Kun Shang, his head like a pendulum.

"I believe this monkey stole something that belongs to me." Kun Shang spoke over A'Li's maniac growls.

Xiu'er bit her bottom lip for being careless this time. She hadn't expected him to catch them this soon. Her eyes went large, making them abnormally big to emphasize her fright.

"It's you! What's going on?" She defended her pet, but slyly got into character for her lies to come. "Unhand A'Li right now!"