"You know me?" Li Chen grew somewhat wary at those words.
But when he got a clear look at the speaker's face, he paused in surprise. "Oh, it's you."
The person who had called out to him was the young Puppet Master who had been injured among those disciples the other day. He sounded rather excited. "Yes, it's me. We parted so hastily that day that I never had the chance to ask your name, fellow Daoist."
Li Chen said, "I told you, it was nothing."
Li Chen was still hesitating over whether to engage with him, but the other young man gave him no choice, coming over with unrestrained enthusiasm. "You don't know this, fellow Daoist, but we've been looking for you all over the city since that day. We never expected to have such trouble finding you. Oh, my name is Yan Xiang. I'm a student of Artisan Zhao at the Octagonal Fort. After our Master Artisan heard what happened, he told us we must repay your kindness. If we ever met you again, we were to invite you up for a chat!"
Li Chen's expression shifted slightly. "Oh? Your teacher is called Artisan Zhao too?"
Yan Xiang said, "Yes. You still haven't told me your name, fellow Daoist."
Li Chen said, "My name is Li Chen."
Yan Xiang said, "So you're Fellow Daoist Li. When would you be free? Our Master Artisan would like to meet you too."
Li Chen said, "I have nothing else to do, so I might as well pay Artisan Zhao a visit. I just don't know when would be convenient."
Yan Xiang said, "He happens to have some free time lately, so let's just go now. Besides, the Master Artisan gave his word himself. Even if he's busy with something else, he'll