Change (6)
A ruckus has begun at the entrance of the villa. The villa itself was, in no means, 'small'. The long and high cream painted brick wall with its wooden carved entrance for at least six adults to pass through.
Not surprising with the language barriers. A man with wild hair clothed in a shirt and pants made out of crude tanned leather was trying to gesture with his hand while speaking fast in some language.
His features had a bit of a western look to it - more pronounced features and larger deep-set eyes with light brownish hair.
I could see a spray of spittle flying about as he tried to explain to Tianxiang. Both looked frustrated with the frowns on their faces.
"Third prince," Tianjin called out as I stood there watching.
Xuanyi gave me a light tap on my arm and I moved onwards to Tianjin and Lianfeng.
"What have they done to this place," Tianjin muttered under his breath.
We were greeted by a three makeshift fire places from the bamboo they had helped themselves to. Give or take, there were about twenty of them. All had a similar style of dressing, like the man outside. Some of them let their hair down, while others had some decorative braids to hold back their long fringes.
A few were standing around, glaring at us in a mix of curiosity and hostility.
There was not much of a landscaped bamboo grove left, judging from the hacked off remains of the once perhaps beautiful garden.
The ties they used on the bamboo looked suspiciously like strips of silk curtain, but I kept my mouth shut. Better Tianjin find out for himself. His face was almost red as his eyes grew wider. They took apart and used the solid wooden doors as tables or beds on the rocks which they had moved. A few trails of soil were on the stone pavements.
"Primitive," he spat.
Well, that is how cultural misunderstandings would begin. These nomads were used to moving around and sleeping under stars, given that some were lounging on the former doors. No understanding to appreciate the blood and sweat of a gardener's toil.
I heard a bit of noise from the side. We all looked at a large squealing wild hog being hauled in upside down by two men on two long bamboo poles. They had tied its legs to the poles as it swung from the struggle. I spotted a bloodied, gaping wound on the side of its belly. Well, that would solve a catering problem.
"T-this," Tianjin pointed speechless as Lianfeng pulled his father towards the room.
His daddy is about to blow big time. Come to think of it, it looked like quite a Hawaiian luau with that hog there, and the fuming human volcano. The other men started joining in.
"Father, third prince is here."
"P-please, your highness," Tianjin gritted his teeth with a curt outstretched arm to invite me in.
"Nice party," I commented and entered the room and turned to the side where they usually place the bedroom. They stripped everything bare.
In front of me was the canopy bed with its flat matt wooden base. The missing canopy curtains are the make-do ad hoc ropes tying the bamboo together outside. A full shebang of small animal skulls hung on the staff leaning on the wall next to a middle aged man.
"Shaman," Tianjin indicated to the middle aged man. "Just be careful, they use ling qi as dark magic."
The shaman was sitting at the head of a topless young man laying on the mattress padding on the earthen floor. I could hear him chant in a strange tune with his eyes shut. His wizened, bronzed face displayed the brutality of nomadic life as his mouth continued to move.
He is either in deep meditation or pretending not to notice my entry. A full shebang of small animal skulls hung on the wooden staff, leaning on the wall next to him.
The other, with the back facing me, was Master Tieguai, who was examining a wound on with intense concentration. The slight rust-like sourish rancid odour was emanating from it. He turned around and was about to get up. I gestured for him as I took my place near to the shaman and next to Tieguai.
The young man looked interracial, handsome in his way. Easy to guess that he is quite tall with an athletic build. Damn, most of these kids had the best of both worlds in their parents' facial features.
I wonder whether Wenyi or Chen Xiu will switch their affections to him. After all, they could be a chieftain's wife.
"This is an arrowhead wound," Tieguai pointed at it, "it is festering."
The deep, gaping wound looked too dark for my liking. I could spot the yellowish film on the raw pink dermis. That explained the rancid smell which results from a secondary bacterial infection.
"Have you checked for poison?"
"Yes. None."
Good news.
"Ling qi - can it regenerate his wound?" I asked.
"Yes, but the shaman won't allow it." Tieguai motioned towards the old man.
A wrinkled hand shot out and grabbed my wrist.
"HOW DARE…"
I stopped Tianjin with a show of my free palm.
"You… You… special… destined… great…," the shaman uttered in broken Lingyu language. "Great power. Change rule."
If any word of these gets out to my two brothers, I will rule the netherworld.
His deep grey eyes peered into mine. Both eyes had a thin, opaque film, suggestive of cataracts. Then he quickly let go of my hand as though something had stung him.
"A god, an old god sits within," he mumbled.
If he thinks I have a god sitting within me, it may be a good chance that he will allow Tieguai to try.
"Him," I spoke to the shaman and pointed to Tieguai with hand gestures.
"Try… up… him" I lifted my hand, playing charades with the shaman.
The shaman nodded. Lianfeng came over to help position the young man as Tieguai got into a meditative pose.
The shaman made no move. Yet.
Lianfeng got in the same pose and both stretched out their arms to clamp him with their hands.
In one deep breath, Tieguai asked, "Ready?"
"Yes," was Lianfeng's answer.
A burst of glow from Tieguai's palm started the flow, illuminating all the meridian points on the young man's body in a soft yellowing light. I could see some dark points near the wound slowly lighten up.
Lianfeng had a bluish glow which he seemingly forced back into the young man, and the veins started to glimmer into a live luminous flow of yellow and blue.
The wound knitted itself back at a fast pace, sealing off each layer as a yellowish greenish gloop was being forced out. And within a few minutes, a pinkish seal was formed and the young man started coughing.
"Stopping," Tieguai said after he exhaled. Both pulled back and the young man nearly slumped to the mattress, using his elbow to steady himself.
"He should be fine now. A physician can give him something to recover," Tieguai said.
Before they could say anything, the old shaman touched the wound and the pinkish seal vanished, much to the surprise of all.
"I no strength. But good you two," he said as the young man laid back with his amber eyes looking at me.
"Pretty," the young man pointed to me with a wink as I stood up, brushing off the dirt from my clothes.
The shaman smacked his hand down and he sulked.
"Sorry. He young. Stupid," he apologised on behalf of the young man who turned the other way.
Lianfeng stood in between us and I asked, "Are they into guys?"
"Well, not unheard of," he whispered to me. "If there aren't enough women, they can have relationships with men. That's only a rumour of their customs."
That's the least of my worries now.
The worst was having to decide between betraying their trust and turning them over to father or letting them return. From playing a kiddy prince, this situation has thrusted me into a dire one where a war might break out. A change was coming - I could smell it in the air.
I have never experienced a war on Earth, being a citizen of a peaceful trading nation only mollycoddled myself. How the hell do they war on Planet Jinshi?