Chapter 14: Xiaogua

Xiu'er ran back to the room where Kun Shang and Xiaogua were still standing. She walked up to Xiaogua and dragged him by the sleeve towards the door, asking if he could go into town with her. He kindly refused and told her to take A'Li, but she said that A'Li needed his beauty sleep. She begged him once more with teary puppy eyes that he couldn't refuse.

The market in this town was small, but still lively from the residents. As the younger generations grew up, they left for the big city, leaving this slowly dying town for the elderly to take care of. The old merchants were exceptionally polite to the all-too-familiar customers.

Xui'er walked alongside Xiaogua, who was answering all the questions she threw at him about Kun Shang.

Originally, Xiaogua called him Young Master because he was the only son of his Old Master. Even though they came from the same village, Xiaogua didn't know much about Kun Shang. Kun Shang actually grew up in the capital and only came home to visit once in a while. After his mother passed away, the interval of his returns lengthened. Pretty soon, he only came home every five to six years.

"Why is that?" Xui'er asked. "He still has his father. Does he not miss him?"

Xiaogua replied that he didn't know much about their family relations. He spent most of his time in the sea, not with the family itself. However, other fishermen had said that Kun Shang and his father don't get along very well. They were often seen arguing or not together at all.

She asked Xiaogua if there were any possible arranged marriages set up for Kun Shang. He gave her a funny look from above then laughed. She was shorter than him, the top of her head reached his eye level but he respected her as his friend. He shook his head and said it would be impossible. Kun Shang was said to have refused all decisions made by his father. An arranged marriage would likely be the same. Or even worse.

She finally asked him why Xiaogua was traveling with Kun Shang, if he was only a fisherman. They reached a bridge that hung over a calm river. Local trees ran along the bank, their lush green branches overhang it. The river was wide but also shallow and muddy, not very great for swimming.

Xiaogua stopped and turned around to look at her. She was clueless about the hidden powers inside of him. The powers he had to succumb to when he tried to use them for goodness but they would burst out uncontrollable and evil. He told her that Kun Shang forbade him to tell anyone why he was traveling with Kun Shang, but since they were traveling together and she was a friend, he felt it necessary she knew half of it.

"Brother Kun is looking for special people. He didn't tell me specifically, only that I could be of assistance." He didn't tell her about his powers, afraid she would get scared and run away.

He stopped walking when he saw a man by the riverbank with a makeshift fishing pole in one hand and a large net in the other. He could tell this man was no professional fisherman by the way he held the equipment in his hands. Without giving Xiu'er a heads up, Xiaogua rushed over to the man.

"May I ask what you are doing?" Xiaogua muttered.

The man saw Xiaogua and stood up to greet them, saying that he was trying to catch a monster fish in this river. Xiaogua looked behind the man and examined the characteristics of the river. It flowed from northeast to southwest in a calm manner. The weather was warm and sunny today, and there hadn't been any rain for the past couple of days. He concluded to the village man that there was no way this kind of river could harbor any type of monster fish.

The village man shook his head with worry. He told Xiaogua and Xiu'er that in this river lived a very large fish, many locals had witnessed it in the past. Many nights under the moon rays, its giant tail would surface on top of the waters. The Magistrate here was afraid it would create harm to the local women and children when they come down to use the river. The Magistrate had said that whoever could catch the fish would be rewarded handsomely.

After explaining, the man put the bamboo fishing pole under his arm and wiped the tears that were falling off his face and prevented him from speaking clearly.

"What is wrong?" Xiu'er asked him. "Why are you suddenly crying?"

He calmly continued to explain that he needed the money desperately to save his brother's life from debt collectors. At first, there were many adventurous souls who attempted to net out the fish but gave up after many days, leaving him as the last determined person to keep going. He had to continue until he caught it. He had no choice. He'd promised his mother before she passed away that he would take care of his younger brother, so he had to fulfill his promise to his mother. The two brothers only have each other to live for and he was not about to let his younger brother hang in the lurch. He wiped the tears from his face once more, his sleeve now had a large darkened spot.

Xiu'er look at the man and saw how desperate he was. She wanted to help him so much, but it's not like she could join in and throw in another makeshift fishing pole. Although she was secretly an expert in many things, this was something she was not an expert of.

Unbeknownst to her, a professional fisherman was standing beside her. Probably the best fisherman she would ever see.

Xiaogua remained calm and calculating, but it looked like he was not making a move to help. Instead, he bid the man farewell and pulled Xiu'er back the way they came from. She was confused why Xiaogua won't give his assistance. She pleaded to him to give the man a hand, maybe with the three of them they would have a higher chance. Xiaogua didn't answer her until they crossed the bridge. Only then, would he tell her that he already had a plan, but they must wait until nightfall.

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A dark human shadow and a disfigured shadow shuffled along the wall in the house to get to the door. They were mindful not to bump into anything to awaken anyone. Under the moonlight, one shadow was visible and turned out to be Xiaogua. The disfigured one was Xiu'er with A'Li on her shoulder as they ran from the house they are lodging at, passed the marketplace and over the bridge to the other side of the river.

"What now, Xiaogua?" Xiu'er asked. "You said to wait until nightfall, but you haven't told me why?"

Xiaogua was out of breath from running. He dropped the ropes that he had been carrying beside him on the ground. He had his hands on his knees, panting, and noticed that Xiu'er wasn't tired at all. It took him a moment to speak clearly.

"I want to help the man earlier, but I don't want anyone to see me when I do it. That's why I told you to wait until nightfall so there won't be anyone around to see us."

A'Li squeaked from the ground while he tugged on a strip of Xiu'er's robe.

"A'Li said that he can be the watchman, in that case."

Xiaogua nodded to the monkey and he ran off and disappeared into the shadows. Xiaogua turned his attention back to the river and closed his eyes gently, taking deep breaths. He concentrated as he stood tall with his hands beside him, using his powers to sense the creatures at the bottom of the river, a very common thing he did when he fished at sea. Underneath the current of the water, Xiaogua was starting to sense the aura and energy of a large fish that resided there.