"Life and magic have one thing in common: wonder."
"Every life is an embodiment of wonder, and every spell is a product of wonder."
Mister Wu sat beside the iron stove, waving a battered palm-leaf fan. As he fanned the flames, he directed an old man's idle ramblings at the little red-clay teapot, occasionally lifting his cup for a sip or two of tea. He looked thoroughly at ease:
"...and we wizards are witnesses to wonder."
At that point, he seemed to sense something and abruptly turned toward a corner of the bookshop. The shelves there were crammed with books, but Mister Wu's gaze did not settle on them. Instead, he seemed to look through the books, through the thick walls, through the vast expanse of the void, toward some corner of the world.
Only after a long while did he add in an admiring tone, "...we are also witnesses to history."
With that, he waved his battered palm-leaf fan again. The milky-white flames, which had subsided a little, surged once more, stretching out slender tongues to lick the reddish-brown sides of the pot.
"Click."
A faint sound suddenly came from a corner of the bookshop, only to cut off immediately. Anyone not paying attention might have thought they had imagined it.
But nothing ever escaped Mister Wu's notice.
"I thought you weren't coming back today, so I gave the dried fish to Shopkeeper Huang at Huizi Market. His little granddaughter recently got a Persian Cat, and it's a very picky eater." Without turning his head, he continued waving his battered fan and said amiably, "If you want some, go catch them yourself in the sea of stars."
No one answered. Only another faint creak drifted from deep within the bookshop, as though a cupboard door had opened.
A moment