Interwoven Fates

Sound is cutting through the darkness around me, hooves and the gentle rattling of a cart on a dirt road, I open my eyes for the first time and I am blinded by a warm light.

'What is this, where am I? I can't help but cry out in pain and confusion.'

My head is spinning and pounding with pain.

'What is this fog in my mind? I have new and strange memories but who are they from, horrible memories of a father getting killed, a sister kidnaped and someone else… a woman laying cold on her bed, who is she?'

'There is something wrong here… someone is missing. I recall someone else, a young boy both strong in body and soul but lacking strength. I want to help but I am forbidden from intervening. I have something else to do. What was it? I must find someone who was it?'

"Hello?" The jovial voice of a man calls out to me.

"Are you awake? I was not sure you would pull through, medicine is not my specialty but I know my way around healing herbs at least. What were you doing in the mountain pass at night? That's wolf territory, but I guess you know that now, not all lessons are free I suppose." Said the man chuckling, there was no fear or urgency in his voice.

"What's your name traveler? I'd like to know the name of every man who owes me money… those herbs were not free you know." He speaks in a warm and welcoming voice. For a moment I am distracted by the sound of hooves and wooden wheels turning to a stop and the sound of someone coming closer. I can see a blurry silhouette walking over and sitting down next to me.

"My name?" It is incredibly painful to respond, it feels like my chest is about to cave in. I want to cough but I do not seem to have the strength.

"Yes, your name, surely you have a name traveler. Don't think I will let you off the hook just because you don't have a name" He seems to almost punctuate his sentences with a light chuckle.

"I… why… my name, I'm not… who?" I struggle to speak as I am bombarded with strange memories and paralyzing pain.

"Oh, I see… don't worry traveler just rest for now, go back to sleep" His voice was much softer now.

He gathers a clay gourd and gently lifts my head to pour some liquid down my throat. I'm hesitant to swallow because it tastes too bitter but liquid finds its way down my throat anyway.

"Ahh come now traveler, I'm fresh out of poison it's just warm wine, besides you still owe me money. Tell you what traveler, I won't add this drink to your tab it's on the house. Wine always tastes better when you share it anyway." With a loud chuckle, he drinks from the gourd. He then stands up and walks back to where he was before and says over his shoulder.

"Rest for now traveler you are safe here, go back to sleep you still need to heal" I hear the snap of a whip and with a excruciating jolt, we begin to move. We must be on a wagon, I am being rocked gently side to side and I can hear the horses again. My last thought fades away as I drift off to sleep.

I dream of rushing water, music playing, I think someone is fighting. The smell of roasted duck, pungent smells of herbs and spice, and thick fumes filled my lungs. A mix of impressions assaults every sense one after another in a constant swirl and a feeling of being sucked down into a tornado.

I suddenly wake up and puke onto my lap, a vile mix of colors pools in the sheets and slowly begins to seep into it. I look around and find myself on the floor of a small wagon. The walls are covered in shelves full of bottles and boxes of all shapes and sizes, and next to me on the floor are piles of trinkets and curiosities.

"Traveler, are you finally back amongst the living?" The same jovial voice calls out to me. The man sitting in front of me has a joyous look on his face.

"What was that, where am I!?" My head is still spinning from the dream.

"Don't worry you are safe, you're in my merchant wagon… Traveler… you have been on death's bed for three months, do you know who you are? Don't overexert yourself" Although he seems overjoyed both in tone and expression, his eyes show a deep concern.

I take a minute to think, my mind is still cloudy. I am stuck only with these strange memories of that family, the woman's face is fading away even more, and I wonder who she was.

"No, I still don't recall… what!? three months?" I'm struck by a confused panic.

The man's jovial voice turns somber.

"Yes, your wounds were grievous. You have been in my care for about three months. If your memories have not returned you can stay here until you are on your feet again."

The jovial expression returns, it seems to be his nature. "But do not fear traveler I have already given you a name, welcome back to the living 轨枕 Guǐzhěn!" He has a proud and mischievous look on his face while he chuckles.

"Besides you can't leave until you pay me back anyway and you have built up quite the tab sleeping in my wagon for three months not to mention all the herbs and food. You might as well resolve to travel with me, I could use an extra pair of hands around here anyway." His mischievous smile grew as he counted up all the expenses on his fingers all with a light-hearted chuckle.

"Oh! I almost forgot I kept it safe for you, even though I could not pry it from your hand for the first two weeks" He rummaged through a few brooms and canes leaning in one of the corners of the wagon, and handed it to me. "ah! here it is, your staff"

"My staff? No… this belonged to the boy, I gave it to him."

"Boy? I don't know what you are talking about, there was no trace of anyone else there, the only one that ever held on to that staff, were you. Do you not remember the wolf?"

"Yes! The wolf that the boy killed!"

"Calm down, you killed the wolf, an amazing feat for a young boy of no more than twelve years I must say."

"Twelve! What are you talking about?"

The man shuffles through a pile of trinkets and brings up a mirror. I am only able to catch a glimpse before I exhaust myself.

'How can this be? Why am I stuck in his body? What happened after I gave him the staff, where was I heading, what I was looking for... What was so important and dangerous that I could not even spare a second to save the little girl? I could have caught that bandit in the blink of an eye and returned her safely. Have I upset the karmic balance by severing the newly formed strand of fate I saw?'

The image of an evil spirit flashes in my mind.

'Did the boy's spirit curse me to seek his revenge when he died?' more questions surged through my mind but I am too exhausted to continue…

I wake up to the sound of a sprawling market and people talking and arguing over prices. I can only see the back of the jovial man as he leans out of the wagon. One of the wall panels has folded down creating a counter. It looks like he is trying to swindle some folk. Probably trying to unload some of the useless trinkets that clutter the floor together with bottles and other baubles. As I sit up I knock over some strange metal contraption I have never seen before, he overhears me shifting around, and turns his head.

"Ahh, traveler you are awake! Please rest and take it easy, the market is closing up in a few hours. Rest and we can talk later." He turns back to face the potential customer and turns his charm up to the next level, a true merchant or maybe a proficient swindler but he seems nice enough.

"I need to take a look around," I say before getting up, he reaches his arm around the back and waves me off.

"I think you should rest, but I won't stop you. Just don't go too far and look out for wolves. You still owe me money." He chuckles

My body feels weak and heavy, so I grab the staff for support and make my way out of the back end of the wagon. After my eyes adjust to the bright sun I can see that we seem to be on top of a small hill, parked along the side of a cobbled road. Following the road with my eyes, I see lots of wagons, carts, and market stalls, and just a few hundred meters away there is a small town.

There is a small step ladder leading down from the wagon, it is only two steps but it feels like a daunting task in my current state. I reach out and anchor the staff to the ground before stepping out on the ladder. I managed to climb out of the wagon but as I put my weight on the staff I could feel an uncomfortable pull across my chest.

Even through the layers of bandages and herbs, I could still feel three deep scars from my shoulder and neck diagonally down to my stomach. A red patch begins to appear in the middle of my chest and the bandages stain red in a peculiar pattern.

I begin to look around for a calm place to meditate, away from all the noise of the market. I see a single tree just a little bit down the slope that will do fine. I slowly make my way towards it leaning on the staff and holding my chest. It is quite painful to move around but I need to make sense of all this. I sit down at the tree and lean back and look over the town.

'strange I do not recognize this town, I should know all the big towns in this country and quite a few outside as well… of course I don't know this town, what am I thinking, I don't even remember my name, maybe I'm stuck with the dimwits of this stupid boy as well, foolish boy.

Anyway, I just need to meditate so I can figure this out. It has always helped me before… at least I think it has… ahh this will grow tiring. Well, my instinct told me to meditate as soon as I woke up. At least I can trust that. I need to rely on my instinct from now on it seems and not question my actions. I will need full conviction to get through this.

Ok then let's find the ocean, let's find the ocean then, let's calm the sea, find the… … … What was I supposed to find? I was on a mission to find something or someone or was I entrusted to bring something…

DAMN IT! Stupid boy! why can't your weak mind remember! I should know how to meditate. This is all your fault boy! Why did you curse me with this TORMENT!

How dare he curse me with the burden of his vengeance after I offered kindness. Wait!? could our Karmic fate still be intertwined? I thought I served it! I must search the weaves of fate immediately… … … Stupid boy… How do I search the weave of fate? I can't even comprehend what it is, I need to develop a deeper understanding of this matter.

No, no more distractions. I need to focus on finding the ocean first….

'A few hours must have passed but still, I could not meditate properly, anyway, the market should have closed down for the night. I should return the merchant.'

I approach the wagon and the familiar voice of the Jovial man calls out for me.

"Guǐzhěn! I was just about to look for you, are you alright? please sit down" His eyes glanced at the red mark on my chest.

"Yes, yes it's nothing, I'm fine but I still can't make any sense of it all" I dismissed his worries with a wave of my hand.

"I see, so how about it? My offer still stands little Guǐzhěn you can travel with me for now, as long as you help out of course" He was laughing but there was a pang of sadness in his voice, I got the feeling he was genuinely worried.

"Maybe… are we far from the mountain pass, maybe I should return? maybe that will help me remember" This would probably be for the best I thought.

His face turned somber.

"Im sorry little Guǐzhěn you were unconscious for three months and I'm a traveling merchant, we are no longer near the city of 劳苦谷 Láokǔ gǔ or the mountain pass, actually we are not in the same country. I crossed the border a month ago."

"What! How could you take me so far away? I need answers!" I could feel a piercing pain in my chest.

"Truth be told when I found you, I brought you down from the mountain pass to Láokǔ gǔ and cared for you a whole week. Then it was time for me to leave but no one would take care of a dying boy unless they got paid in advance and I'm not a wealthy man, little Guǐzhěn." He helped me sit down as he continued to explain.

"My goods started to run out. I had to find alternative ways to get by, and ended up getting a bit too familiar with the lord's only daughter. I was then chased out of Láokǔ gǔ by the lord's personal guards. The best I could do to keep you from dying was to take you with me as I fled the city and care for you on the road." His head bowed down in shame.

"Will you ever return to Láokǔ gǔ I feel I might be able to get some answers there"

"Yes, eventually I will return but not for a long time, it is part of my yearly trade route. I should return in another nine months, things should have hopefully settled down by then" He scratched the back of his head anxiously.

'It dawned on me that I did not know the name of the man who saved my life. How could I be so shameless? I have not taken time to consider the burden and hardship he has been through to keep me alive for these three months.'

"I'm sorry for the trouble I caused, I will repay your kindness… What is your name? I'd like to know the name of every man who saves my life?" I was sincere but gave him a sheepish smile.

"oh me, I'm just 游民无赖 Yóumín Wúlài traveling merchant at your service" He had a humble pride in his voice

"Greetings honorable master Wúlài, I Guǐzhěn humbly request to be your apprentice" Wulai was stunned at first but his jovial smile returned once more. I need to repay his kindness correctly, but for now, hard work is all I can offer.

"haha, This merchant Wúlài accepts little Guǐzhěn as my merchant apprentice" He proudly pounded his chest once and let out a hearty laugh.

Later that night I was looking up at unfamiliar stars.

'Stupid boy, you should have listened to me and trained more. I did not mean for you to throw your life away, I will honor your vengeance and rid myself of this curse. but once again I find myself unable to act right away, I will travel with Master Wúlài. I will learn what I can from him and figure out what has happened to me. I must first train this feeble body of ours.

Nine months… that should be enough time. I will return to Láokǔ gǔ And on my new name Guǐzhěn and the stars as witness I will grant your revenge.'

And so I began traveling with Wúlài, he is a skilled merchant and an exceptional herbalist, and I grew to understand, a kind soul as well. He first let me handle the customers but it soon dawned on us both that I am not all that good at bartering and I would sometimes during the day lose myself in a mist of strange memories and thoughts, but I always tried my best.

I was simply more suited in the back of the wagon preparing herb pouches and sorting through the endless piles of obscure trinkets. We soon developed a seamless system where I would prepare the goods in the back and Wulai would sell them in the front.

I would often play the role of devoted or sickly son whenever Wúlàis character came into question, which would happen often enough during any given week. He had a certain knack for spinning tall tales and embellishing the usefulness of whatever he sold to get a few extra coins.

In the mornings I would train my new body and staff techniques. I would also try to meditate but rarely would I ever recall anything from my previous life, they were more like ideas or concepts made up by the adolescent boy's fantasies, but even more worryingly the boy's memories would start to fade into mine as well the more I trained. Making it almost impossible to tell which memories were mine and which belonged to the boy.

After my training, I would wake up Master Wúlài and he would set up the wares while I cooked rice and beans. I would often boil a large batch to last us the day. Both because it would be impossible to cook while the market was open and it would save some time so I could train a bit more each day. Besides, Master Wulai said he preferred cold rice balls anyway so it works out fine.

After the hustle and bustle of the midday market were over we would sit down for dinner. Master Wúlài would teach me about herbs and tell extravagant stories as to how he got each and every one of the trinkets around us. He would also teach me how to read and write a few simple words, mostly names of herbs and oils, he did not seem to know many written words beyond that himself.

During the evenings I would resume my training and Master Wúlài would venture into town to try and hustle and scam the local drunkards for a few more coins or trinkets, it was simply entertaining for him. On occasion I would join Master Wúlài, of course I had no interest in association with the local drunkards rather I often found myself exploring backstreets and looking for anything that could spark a stray memory.

Master would sometimes come running back to the wagon on late nights. We would have a system of signals to indicate what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into and what I should do…

Well, it's less embarrassing to think of it as a system. If he came running and laughing soon followed by lit torches I should ready the wagon and prepare to leave in a hurry. If he came singing and playing music it would be better for me to sleep outside that night. There were a few more actual signals of course he would call different names and I would start the scenario corresponding to that name.

Only sometimes would it ever result in actual fighting if we were quick enough with our escape, now I understand why his trade route lasts for 12 months. He's hoping people will have forgotten about him at that time.

I grew accustomed to this life and it was not all bad, on the contrary, it was rather enjoyable and exciting. I even enjoyed master's lessons and quickly took to herbal knowledge, master Wúlài would rarely have to teach me twice. Oils and incense were a bit more difficult but as long as I paid attention to my master's words and studied hard I would understand.

It was however sometimes a struggle to get Master to focus on the subject at hand, Master Wúlài would often go on long-winded tangents or rummage for a specific trinket to give a practical example. All of which Master insisted was necessary for my understanding. But there was no lack of knowledge, he was undoubtedly an expert in his field. If not for the master's penchant for mischief he would be the head apothecary in a nobles court and live a lavish and wealthy life.

The wisdom of my Master was truly astounding, a few lessons over dinner were all I needed to gain a profound understanding of herbs. I would often eat or brew teas to drink whenever I learned of another interesting plant so that I could experience the effect firsthand. Master came to relish this curiosity of mine and even encouraged it and would acquire a handful of local herbs whenever we got to a new area for me to try.

Master would often ask me to cook up a batch of tea or tinctures from these herbs so that he might sell it on the road to weary travelers or to increase variety in the shop. He became particularly fond of one of my tinctures and would often ask for it after a particularly rowdy night, I always made sure to have some ready at hand.

I also found uses for this tonic but for other reasons obviously, if I drank it before bed I would wake up rejuvenated and alert before the break of dawn. I could head out and get an early start on my morning training. With this tonic, I could maintain an ever-increasing level of training over a long time. It did have a side effect though, constant consumption of this tonic would urge the call of nature. While the herbs were not very expensive they were hard to come by in certain areas and drying them was not an option as it would produce an even more potent laxative.

During the time when it would eventually run out, my reliance would shift to oils and salves, effective remedies that, unfortunately, could only be administered post-injury or after periods of exhaustion—unlike the tonic, which possessed both recovering and invigorating properties. The oils and salves certainly came into use not only for my training but also for when Master Wúlài could not talk his way out of a situation.

I would sometimes have to fend off the occasional drunk or particularly angry patron, but a handful of drunks were no problem. I would take care not to hurt them too badly unless they dishonored my Master with particularly foul words then I would instruct their behavior accordingly. Afterward, I would sell them the oils and salves whether they were interested in buying or not, I would make sure they paid well. Master commented once that this was "smart business" and laughed wholeheartedly.

This was our life for the next few months as we traveled together from town to town. On average we would only stay for a few days in each town before leaving or getting run out. It was a simple life full of excitement and freedom, I can see why Master likes it so much.