One Year

"Young fellow, young fellow..."

Yang Ge groggily struggled to lift his eyelids and saw a deeply wrinkled face, lit by the dim yellow glow of an oil lamp, bobbing before his eyes. The bizarre angle startled him wide awake.

But after opening his eyes wide and taking a closer look, he relaxed again, slumped back onto the table, and yawned. "Oh, it's you, Shopkeeper. You're up early."

Shopkeeper Liu eyed the table strewn with dirty dishes. "How late did you two drink last night?"

Yang Ge answered hazily, "Until the fourth watch, I think. Oh, right, Shopkeeper, we finished off all the leftover mutton last night, and four jars of Bottle-Penetrating Fragrance altogether. Work out the bill for us... hey, where's Jiang Kui?"

He abruptly straightened and looked around.

Shopkeeper Liu said, "Stop looking. You're the only one here!"

Yang Ge's eyelids drooped again. "Leaving without so much as a goodbye. Just wonderful..."

Before he finished speaking, he spotted a book with a gray-black cover resting on the copper pot's chimney.

Surprised, he grabbed it and took a look. Six large characters on the cover spelled out "Eighteen Routes Frost-Defying Saber," each stroke driven clear through the paper, every horizontal and vertical line like a blade's edge!

At the sight of those six characters, Shen Fa's smiling face, eyes narrowed like a fox's, suddenly rose in Yang Ge's mind. You sneaky bastard. I really have to hand it to you!

"Young fellow, this..."

When Shopkeeper Liu made out the six characters on the manual, his heart gave a jolt, and his expression changed.

Yang Ge hurried to explain, "Don't worry. Even I didn't know he'd left this, so naturally no one else could know. I guarantee it won't bring any trouble down the road!"

Only then did Shopkeeper Liu let out a great sigh of relief. He patted Yang Ge's back with mild exasperation. "All right, we can settle the bill later. It's snowing and freezing cold, and you've been up all night. Go home and get some rest first."

"It's snowing?"

Yang Ge sprang to his feet, hurried to the window, and pushed open the lattice shutters. Snowflakes like grains of fine salt drifted over the sill. As far as he could see, heaven and earth were a vast expanse of white.

Behind him, Shopkeeper Liu deftly cleared the dishes while muttering cheerfully, "I'll have to tell our in-laws to get a few more sheep ready. Business is bound to get even better..."

Yang Ge gazed out the window in a daze for a long while, then suddenly said, "Shopkeeper, I need to take today off."

Shopkeeper Liu asked, "Something to do?"

Yang Ge nodded. "It's snowing. I need to go back to the countryside and check on the old man. He lives alone, and I'm worried."

Hearing this, Shopkeeper Liu quickly set down the dishes, wiped his hands, and walked over to the window to look at the snow piled in the street. He nodded. "I'll borrow an ox cart for you. It'll make the journey easier."

Yang Ge said, "Thank you kindly, but there's no need for the trouble. Didn't you hear Fu Yu say? I practice kicking techniques. This little bit of snow won't get in my way!"

Shopkeeper Liu said, "Don't you go treating me like an outsider!"

Yang Ge replied, "When have I ever treated you like an outsider?"

Shopkeeper Liu smiled contentedly. "Then off you go. I'll get Fu Yu and his wife to come help out at the shop later. We'll manage, so there's no need to rush back."

Yang Ge shook his head. "It's fine. I'm quick on my feet. I'll be back before the city gates close, just in time for the evening rush."

After a pause, he added, "As for last night's bill, charge whatever you should, and keep the rest of the money on account... with some money left here, maybe he'll come back for another meal!"

Shopkeeper Liu started in alarm. "What? That dark brute's coming back?"

Yang Ge couldn't help laughing. "He's a proper government man now, drawing an imperial salary. What are you afraid of?"

"Listen to yourself!"

Shopkeeper Liu felt considerably reassured, but still scolded him irritably. "Just because he's a government man, I shouldn't be afraid? Haven't you heard that common folk don't fight officials?"

Yang Ge shook his head. "This fellow's different..."

Shopkeeper Liu scoffed and turned back to clearing the dishes. "Different how? Crows are black the world over!"

Yang Ge stroked the saber manual tucked against his chest and murmured inwardly, But this fellow really is different!

"Woof, woof, woof..."

Little Yellow bounced excitedly, pawing at the brushwood gate.

"Coming, coming!"

The old man's booming voice, warm with laughter, carried out of the low wooden house.

Yang Ge straightened and saw the old man emerge wrapped in a straw coat. His heart immediately settled.

The old man pulled open the brushwood gate, and Little Yellow dashed up with ears flattened sideways, circling him without stopping, tail wagging in full circles.

The old man spread his big hands to measure Little Yellow's waist and laughed heartily. "Fatter again! Enough to fill a stew pot!"

"Woof, woof, woof..."

Little Yellow took off, raced like the wind to the usual spot behind the courtyard gate, and lifted a leg to pee.

Yang Ge pulled the wheelbarrow into the courtyard and smiled. "Why scare the dog for no reason?"

The old man scowled. "You think everyone's like you? Instead of finding a wife and having children, you get yourself a dog for a son... good dog, come let Daddy give you a pet."

Yang Ge rolled his eyes, picked up the sack on the wheelbarrow, and went inside. "Did you set the net last night?"

The old man said, "I did. Why, want some fish? I'll go fetch it right now!"

Yang Ge said, "The shopkeeper sent some mutton for you. Let's make a pot of fish-and-mutton stew for lunch!"

The old man said, "Oh my, that's mighty kind of Shopkeeper Liu..."

Yang Ge said, "You just stay put. I'll go bring in the fish. Same place as before?"

Hearing that Yang Ge would go, the old man immediately settled down to stroking the dog's head. Without looking up, he answered, "Yes, same place."

Knowing his way around, Yang Ge fetched a bamboo basket from the woodshed and strode out.

Two jin of lamb ribs.

Three large silver carp.

Simmered into one great pot of fish-and-mutton stew.

The old man ate mutton.

Yang Ge ate river fish.

Little Yellow gnawed bones.

The three of them squatted outside the kitchen and tucked in with much huffing and puffing.

The old man: "Burp."

Yang Ge: "Burp."

Little Yellow lifted that little head, looked left, then right, and opened that little mouth. "Burp."

The old man had eaten until his belly was nearly round, yet he still refused to put down his enormous bowl of broth. Leaning contentedly against the woodpile, he reminisced about the past. "That hit the spot. Last time I tasted mutton must've been when I was a little lad. Zhang Laoshuan's father, Ma Gou's grandfather, and I stole a sheep from Wang the Wealthy, dragged it into the mountains, slaughtered it, and roasted it over a fire... we didn't have a speck of seasoning then. Every mouthful tasted rank with sheep, but we still thought it was the finest food under heaven. We polished off more than half a sheep in one sitting!"

Yang Ge eyed the old man's belly and reached to take his huge bowl. "Take it easy. Eat too much and you'll get indigestion!"

The old man refused to surrender it, but he couldn't overpower Yang Ge either. He could only watch wistfully as Yang Ge poured the broth back into the pot.

The old man's childlike look of longing made Yang Ge want to laugh. "I'm not fighting you for it. This whole pot is yours. Save it and warm it up tonight or tomorrow, and you'll have another meal!"

The old man sighed and muttered nonsense about "not even being allowed to become a well-fed ghost." Yang Ge pretended not to hear.

Only after a good while did the old man's attention shift from the broth to Yang Ge. "How've you been lately?"

Alarm bells instantly rang in Yang Ge's head. "Just... just the same."

The old man gave him a sidelong look. "Haven't met a girl who catches your fancy?"

Yang Ge couldn't keep his composure. "We can still have a nice chat if we leave that subject alone!"

I've crossed into another world, so why can't I escape being nagged to get married?

The old man produced a fishbone from somewhere and used it as a toothpick, comfortably picking at his few remaining teeth. "If we don't talk about it now, should I wait until I visit you in a dream?"

Yang Ge turned and looked him up and down, then said irritably, "With a constitution like yours, living to a hundred would be a piece of cake. Stop dwelling on all that nonsense!"

The old man said casually, "Who can say for sure? At my age, every day is a gift from Heaven. Whenever Heaven decides to stop giving, maybe I'll fall on my backside and-snap-just die!"

Yang Ge said, "Don't say that. I'm still counting on looking after you for a few more years to repay you for saving my life!"

The old man picked his teeth for a while, then suddenly asked, "It's been a year, hasn't it?"

Yang Ge paused, then nodded with a touch of wistfulness. "It has been a year."

The old man chuckled, every wrinkle on his face brimming with warm affection. "That's enough. It's time you started making plans for yourself..."

(End of Volume One: Alone in a Strange Land, a Stranger)