Chapter II: The Journey Continues (Part One)

The soft silky sheets nudged on the skin of Yang Hsu-Wen as he stirred. The light sea-breezes caressed his cheeks, bringing about the faint scent of sandalwood’s fragrance. Slowly he rubbed his eyes and gave a little yawn. Lazily he drew himself up from the bed and then, all of a sudden, he sat up straight. For the first time, he realized that he was in an unfamiliar place, and swallowed nervously. What happened? He ransacked his mind, trying to recall the day’s events. His head was spinning and he was nauseous. Looking around him, he noticed he had changed into his sleeping attire. “Wait…how did that happen? I remembered I didn’t manage to check into any room…”


The room was huge, with beautifully ornamented pillars, very much in the same motif as that of the hall of Silver Lake Inn. The bed, to which he had slept in, was spacious and covered with luxurious silk. Yang Hsu-Wen ran his palm over the silk sheets, indulging in the coolness of the fabric, a welcoming touch in the heat of the summer.

Just then, a young man entered the room, which had startled Yang Hsu-Wen. Due to his attire, Yang Hsu-Wen had initially mistaken it to be Sun Ping, for he wore similar clothing. But, upon closer inspection, he realized this person was perhaps a few years older, though like Sun Ping, somewhat effeminate. “Did this pretty boy employ servants as girly as himself or what? Although none of them are as beautiful as he is.”

“Good morning, Master Yang, I see that you are awake.” This young man greeted Yang Hsu-Wen in a friendly voice. “Here is some tea; they are especially good for treating a hang-over.”

“Thank you.” Yang Hsu-Wen accepted the tea and took a sip, and asked, “Pardon me, but where am I?” Though he guessed as much he was still in Silver Lake Inn, by virtue of the scenic view of the lake that can be seen from the bed that was situated not far from the balcony, he thought it better to verify his assumptions.

“You’re in Silver Lake Inn.” The young man replied in a matter-of-factly manner, seemingly surprised that Yang Hsu-Wen would ask such a question.

“Erm, I guess as much.” Yang Hsu-Wen asked again; gradually remembering the events that took place the day before. He had arrived in Silver Lake sometime in the late afternoon, was almost duped by the rickshaw-puller who wanted to over-charge him. Fortunately, the beautiful youth intervened and he managed to save a fortune. When he reached the inn, the last room available was taken by two travelling pharmacists, and his last bit of attempt to rest his poor feet led him to go to the restaurant, to which he met this beautiful youth once again. As far as he can remember, they drank quite a fair bit of the wine, and thereafter he remembered nothing more. “I hope I hadn’t done anything embarrassing…” Yang Hsu-Wen thought to himself, remembering his previous experience with consuming too much alcohol.

“Ah…where are my clothes?”

“Oh you vomited and soiled your clothes, so I have helped you changed out of it, and taken it to the laundry.” The servant replied.

“Oh no…I’d made a fool out of myself.” Yang Hsu-Wen thought sadly to himself. Changing the topic, he asked again, “Where is Master Yuen?”

“Young Master is probably at the lakeside garden. It is his habit to practice swordplay every morning.” The young man informed.

“So he does know how to use the blade that he carried with him after all.” Yang Hsu-Wen thought to himself. “I apologized for any trouble I have caused.”

“You are a guest of Young Master, so it is our duty to serve you whilst you are with us, so please do not worry.” The young man replied in a respectful manner.

“How many are you? I thought Master Yuen has only one attendant Sun Ping with him.” Yang Hsu-Wen asked again, for he was indeed under the impression that they were only two people, and out of the blue when he saw another servant he was quite taken by surprise. “This kid’s wealth is truly beyond comprehension. Just what on earth does his father do?”

“Young Master travels lightly, so there are about seven of us attendants. There is Steward Sun, who is the overall in-charge of all the domestic affairs of Young Master’s household. There is myself, and another servant, and our responsibilities is to wait on Young Master. The four others who travelled with us are Young Master’s bodyguards. They worked on rotating shifts, to ensure Young Master’s safety.”

“That’s like an entourage! Master Yuen must be a very important person.” Yang Hsu-Wen exclaimed. “And to think he calls that ‘travels lightly’.”

“Indeed he is.” The servant nodded with a vague smile.

“Wake up, sleepy head!” The gentle voice of her teacher travelled into Keli’s ears. Stubbornly, she refuses to bulge, burying her head into the soft silken sheets, as her unruly mop of golden brown curls sprawled across the bed.

“Wake up, dear. If you don’t, you’re going to miss a yummy breakfast.” The voice tried again, tempting the Northern lass. Alerted by the words, Keli kicked away the sheets, struggling against her stronger desire to remain asleep, and forced her eyes open. “What yummy breakfast?” She asked again in a concerned voice. Although Keli was not in particularly a glutton, but having spent most of her childhood living in humble conditions, the experience of staying in a luxurious room and the idea of fine dining was indeed very tempting.

“Good, at least I managed to get your attention.” The middle-aged Southern woman grinned. “Breakfast was apparently included in the package, so we better not missed out because they only served them in the mornings.”

“Hmm? Really? Come to think of it, I’m famished.” Keli yawned.

“Good, now go wash your face before we head down for the breakfast.” Her teacher instructed.

Not surprisingly, the restaurant was quite packed in the morning. Most of these diners would most probably be the guests of this inn, since breakfast was part of the package. Excitedly, Keli went with her teacher to the restaurant, as she caught sight of a large group of men, all wearing the uniform of yellow and green. “Who are these people?” Keli wondered aloud, as the waitress of the restaurant overheard her and replied, “Oh you mean those men? They are from the Golden Mile Transportation and Securities. They are long time customers of Silver Lake Inn. Apparently they did not have a residential area in Silver Lake, strange as it seemed, despite the amount of businesses here, so each time they needed to pass Silver Lake; they will seek lodgings at Silver Lake Inn. As such, they have permanent reservations with our inn.”

“Golden Mile Transportation and Securities? What is that?” Keli asked again, as her teacher handed the room plates to the waitress, who verified against her records and said,

“Would that be Mistress Tamara and Miss Keli?”

“That’s right.” Her teacher, Tamara nodded.

“Well, this way please.” The waitress responded, as she led Tamara and Keli to their seats. Turning back to Keli, she answered her question from earlier, “Golden Mile Transportation and Securities provides courier services, and also protection. Whether you needed someone to safeguard your goods from one place to another, or you needed bodyguards during long journeys, you can always go to them. They are in this business for a long time, and had established quite a name in these regions.”

“I see…they would come in handy especially when travelling to the more dangerous places.” Keli remarked.

“True…these days there are so many bandits around, preying on innocent travelers? However, their fees might not be too cheap. I guess one has to be reasonably well-off to pay for such services.” The waitress smiled.

As Tamara and Keli sat down, Keli turned towards the men from Golden Mile out of sheer curiosity, and wondered if these men were safeguarding some very important goods, for she noticed there were several chests beside them.

“What tea would you like?” The waitress asked politely.

“I’ll settle for jasmine tea, if you have them.” Tamara instructed, as the waitress went away about her business. Noticing the curiosity her apprentice had shown towards the people from Golden Mile, Tamara laughed casually and said, “Well, looked like you are very interested in them?”

“I’m just curious; I wonder what’s in those chests.” Keli admitted.

“Not something we should concern ourselves with, my dear. In fact, I’m more interested to know if these people are heading towards the capital.” Tamara smiled.

“Oh? Why should that matter to us?” Now it was Keli’s turn to be confused.

“In the event that they are heading in the same direction as us, we should try our best to walk close to them. “ Tamara explained. “In that case we can be assured of their protection, without paying a single cent.”

“Teacher!” Keli exclaimed, but she had to admit inwardly that it was a pretty good idea. For so many years Tamara had never tried to travel to the capital, nor any of the major cities near it, despite having heard of so many stories of it, some good and some not so good. Although the main reason for Tamara’s decision was that there are plenty of able physicians in those rich cities, but out in the poorer provinces, not many could afford the services of a physician, and she would often offer her services to the poor freely, and some would offer to feed them out of gratitude. Occasionally when she met those who are better off, and she would accept payment from them. However, for most part, the poor was unable to pay her sufficiently, and hence, Keli, who was an orphan adopted by Tamara, would have to live the lifestyle that her teacher had chosen.

The second reason for choosing to lead such wandering lifestyle was that Tamara was in search for her long lost daughter. Although Keli had never met the girl before, she had heard often from the lips of Tamara that Keli had inwardly considered this girl to be her little sister, and she too, wished that Tamara could soon be reunited with her daughter. For many years, it was futile search, for Tamara had not the faintest clue where her daughter might be, only knowing where they have parted ways, and even so, she was unable to locate her.

It was only sometime ago when Tamara met a rich merchant who sought treatment from her about her seriously-ill wife. When Tamara had successfully cured her where most physician was unable to, the rich merchant rewarded Tamara generously, and not only that, he had informed Tamara about the ‘fortune-tellers’ of the North.

Despite Keli’s doubts about these fortune-tellers, she was more afraid of dashing her teacher’s only hopes, and hence hoped, for everyone’s sake, that the fortune-tellers were able to provide Tamara more clues about her lost daughter. This became the real reason why they made their way to the capital, because the Northerners would usually travel to the capital about this time of the year, and if Tamara wanted the answer, she better hurry to the capital as soon as possible!

Yang Hsu-Wen remained in the room, suffering from the bad effects of the alcohol, and swore to himself mentally to approach such drinks with caution. Even the tea did not take away the horrible headache, and the strong desire to throw up. He felt absolutely weak, and struggled to place himself at the seat located in the balcony of the room, staring out into the lake.

From the third storey, the view of the lake was distinctively different from what he had seen at the restaurant, on the first storey. He noticed the trees that were at the banks of the lake, its branches wavered lightly under the breeze. The morning sun shone down at the waters of the lake, like a ball of fire glowing on the surface of the waters. Thus this is the place that earned its name of Silver Lake, silver because of the shine. It was then he caught sight of a figure wielding the blade.

“That must be Master Yuen. After all, his servant had said that he would practice his swordplay in the mornings.”

The figure seemed unaware of anyone watching him, and remained immense in his own routine. Yang Hsu-Wen did not feel particularly inspired to move, and hence lingered at the balcony, quietly watching.

A loud sound of applause had interrupted Hsin-Yu’s concentration, as he stopped in whatever he was doing and turned to the direction of the sound. Not recognizing the person he merely narrowed his eyes and studied the intruder.

“That was quite fascinating. I’m very impressed with your skills.” The intruder spoke. As Hsin-Yu noted, he was a young man possibly in his mid-twenties, dressed in expensive silk robes and finely embroidered belt. Even the hair accessory which he used to hold his hair into a bun was adorned with jewels. At least from the appearances it would not be too hard to guess that this young man was at least a wealthy person.

“Thank you.” Hsin-Yu replied, but was disinterested to engage himself in a conversation with the young man. Deciding that he had enough for the day, he placed his blade back in the sheath, and decided to head back to the inn, for his breakfast.

“Gosh, that was cold!” The young man exclaimed. “You could have at least said something more?”

Hsin-Yu stopped in his tracks and turned to the young man’s direction and studied curiously, before asking, “What would you expect me to say then?”

“Well, a self-introduction would be nice?” The young man suggested with a wide grin.

“Why should I?” Hsin-Yu asked the young man, observing him carefully.

“Aw…no wonder they say roses have thorns.” The young man shook his head. “The more beautiful a person is, the pricklier she gets.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hsin-Yu frowned, unsure of the young man’s intentions.

“Not an issue.” The young man announced in a delighted voice, and continued in a cheery tone. “Pardon me; I shouldn’t be expecting that much in the first place. I bet I look very much like some shady character with very little credibility.”

Hsin-Yu nodded quietly.

“My name is Wah Ting-Yun. The owner of this inn is a good friend of mine, so I dropped by this place often. Your swordplay awhile ago was pretty impressive, very agile, yet elegant.” The young man introduced himself.

“Wah Ting-Yun, from the House of Wah?” Hsin-Yu asked curiously. Anyone who is a citizen of the Empire would have heard of the four wealthiest families in Silver Lake, and in particular, Wah Ting-Yun had been snatching quite a few headlines, namely his young age and capabilities, plus his identity as the most available bachelor in town.

“Yes, Miss.” The young man nodded. “Now that I told you my name, do I have the honor of knowing your name?”’

“Wait…why are you calling me ‘Miss’.” Hsin-Yu frowned, sensing that things are becoming all too familiar. First, a random male tries to chat up, and following that, after establishing initial introduction, they would almost always, address him as ‘Miss’. “Do I really look like a girl to you?”

Wah Ting-Yun laughed upon hearing Hsin-Yu’s rebuttal, before calming himself down and then explained with a bright smile, “Pardon me, if I have made a mistake. Rarely do I see young men as beautiful as you are, so it is easy to misunderstand.”

“I’m obviously wearing male attire. How idiotic.” Hsin-Yu thought to himself, and perhaps because of the young man’s misunderstanding, he felt slightly annoyed and chose to ignore him, walking away.

“That’s really very unkind. Now you made me feel like I’m a detestable person that you cannot wait to get rid of.” Wah Ting-Yun chuckled in amusement, following Hsin-Yu closely.

“But you are!” Hsin-Yu pointed out sarcastically. “Especially when you came unannounced; and disturbed my practicing.”

“Gosh, how petty. Men should be more forgiving.” Wah Ting-Yun countered in a teasing fashion; still following closely to Hsin-Yu’s quickened footsteps.

“Men should also not be so pesky.” Hsin-Yu countered, before stopping in his tracks and turned to face the young man with a stern expression, stating, “If you are really the infamous Master Wah, I advise you to at least watch your conduct, less you smear your own reputation.”

“Thank you for your kindest consideration.” Wah Ting-Yun laughed out loud, amused by the youth’s words. “You’re such an interesting kid.”

“I’m not a kid, I’m already eighteen.” Hsin-Yu stated flatly.

“Really, you looked younger though!” Wah Ting-Yun exclaimed, but went on to reason with Hsin-Yu. “But then again, that only means you’re legally an adult, eligible to own lands and full privileges of an Empire citizen and nothing more. Physical age is hardly an indication for maturity.”

Before Wah Ting-Yun could say more, two swords were pointed at his neck suddenly, and he dared not advance a step.

“Stay away from our Master, or else.” Warned the owner of one of the sword darkly. Wah Ting-Yun was shocked. Mutely, he looked upon his assailants, two almost identical looking men, or more accurately, two identically dressed young men, possibly around his own age, their faces solemn, and Wah Ting-Yun felt starkly uncomfortable by the cold blade upon his neck. He would have been easily hurt should he move an inch.

“Easy, gentlemen. There’s no need to raise blades.” Wah Ting-Yun replied.

“Never mind; just let him go. He’s probably harmless.” Hsin-Yu laughed softly, instructing his men to remove their blades.

“But Young Master, He was harassing you!” The other man protested.

“You hear me, let him go.” Hsin-Yu insisted, as both men put away their blades.

“Thank Heaven!” Wah Ting-Yun heaved a sigh of relief. “These are your men?”

“They are my bodyguards.” Hsin-Yu smiled a little. “It’s not my fault that you didn’t heed my advice and followed me closely. My bodyguards are concerned about my safety, so they attacked you.”

“What an angelic smile…a pity you’re not a girl…” Wah Ting-Yun grinned a little to himself. “Thank you; well…I still don’t know how to address you.”

“That’s not my problem?” Hsin-Yu winked at Wah Ting-Yun impishly, and challenged. “If you’re that interested, go find out…surely that’s not too difficult for the Master of the House of Wah?”

“Hmm….fine, that should be easy. Don’t forget, the owner of this place is a good friend of mine, so I can easily track the records of all the guests of this inn.” Wah Ting-Yun replied confidently.