Interlude 2

Leiyu curled up on the bedroll in the guest quarters. The sun was already midway towards its noonday apex. The three merchants entered the room.

“Hey Leiyu,” Chen Yun said in Dongyu. “You’re still here? You’re usually up early and out of sight. We’re already done with breakfast.”

Leiyu stirred. “Mm.”

“Heh, what were you up to last night?” Liang Fusheng asked. “Was it worth it?” Chen Yun elbowed him in the shoulder and gave him a warning glare.

“Is he ill?” Wang Yihui asked.

Chen Yun walked over to Leiyu and crouched. “Is everything all right?”

Leiyu looked up at him. “Yeah. I’m just tired.”

Chen Yun frowned with concern. “Do you want us to bring you any food?”

“No, I have some in my sleeves. I can get up later and go to the dining hall.”

“We were planning to visit the city today to find some goods to bring home,” Chen Yun said. “You’re invited too, but it’s probably better if we let you rest.”

“Mm,” Leiyu replied. He turned away.

Chen Yun sighed. “We’re only going to stay here a few more days, since the Summer Festival will be over soon and they’ll most likely kick us out. Please get enough rest. We could find an inn in the city if you need more time.”

“I should be fine by then,” Leiyu said. “Don’t want to hold you up.”

“No rush, really,” Chen Yun said. “We’ll be on the road for months so it’s better to wait until you’re ready.” He regarded Leiyu’s curled up form. “We’ll just let you rest now.” He got up and motioned for the other two merchants to leave.

After the merchants left, Leiyu turned over and stared at the ceiling. His legs were sore from leaping all over the city last night with the prince on his back. He hoped that he could just have a quiet day to recover.

Leiyu also hoped that things would not be awkward if he met with Prince Thallios again. He thought about the way he had held the prince close, first when he rescued him from the speeding cart and then when he flew with him up to the rooftop in the city.

The guards are definitely going to execute me, he thought. Commoners like me are never supposed to get that close to a royal. Perhaps it is good that we’re leaving the palace soon. The longer I stay, the more my life will be in danger.

Leiyu thought about the moment he and Prince Thallios parted ways on the rooftop garden after returning from the city. Although the prince had politely bade him good night, his amber eyes betrayed a subtle yearning, as if he wanted Leiyu to stay longer. Maybe even overnight. Ice cold tingles cascaded down Leiyu’s spine.

I have to return to the Eastern Region, he thought. I already promised Chen Yun that I’d protect the caravan on the way back. I can’t stay here, even if I…

Leiyu blinked. Do I want to continue this thought?

He thought about the long trek back. The months of trudging through the mountains and the desert. At least when they were coming here, there was the promise of Ishkhandar, a city in an unfamiliar land, awaiting them. Now that they were already here, the only thing to look forward to going back East was…what? Chen Yun’s hometown? Was it similar to Yunshan? Hopefully those hand-pulled noodles Chen Yun talked about were worth it. He chuckled.

And of course, Liang Fusheng would probably give him grief every single day on the road. Unless Chen Yun really did kick him out of the group. He wasn’t sure what to make of that plan. The journey back home would be more peaceful, but that would mean another person would end up resenting him. Like the way his shixiong Jianyi did.

Leiyu sighed heavily. He did not want to think of Jianyi right now.

He sat up and looked around the room. The bedrolls were lined up in neat rows. The decor was relatively simple. Small blue and green tiles lined the walls. Unlit braziers were stacked in the corners. His stomach growled. He wondered if the dining hall was open for lunch yet.

He got up, left the room, and started walking down the corridor. It was still hard to get his bearings, even after a couple days staying here. All the hallways looked the same. He would need to rely on an attendant to direct him to the dining hall.

He kept walking until he saw another person in a familiar short blue robe with gold trim. All the attendants dressed the same. This attendant looked up as he approached.

“Can I help you, good sir?” the attendant asked in Sargeshi.

“Yes, could you help me find the dining hall?” Leiyu replied.

“Certainly, good sir, come this way.”

The attendant led him through a labyrinthine route which confused Leiyu even more. He lost track of how many left and right turns they had made. By the time they reached a corridor where the scent of freshly baked bread and charred meat wafted through the air, Leiyu decided that there was no point in trying to memorize the route. He would just have to rely on whatever random attendants he came across.

“The dining hall, good sir,” the attendant said with a flourish. He opened the double doors.

There was a decent amount of people lined up at the serving tables. They held ceramic plates and waited for attendants to scoop food into them. Leiyu got in line.

The lunch selection was simple but hearty. A piece of flatbread, cucumber and tomato salad, lamb kabobs, and basmati rice. At the end of the serving table, there was a tray of sweets that looked like they were made from sugar-spun threads. It reminded him of dragon’s beard candy from back home. He grabbed one as he passed by.

He sat at an empty table and ate. The salad was refreshing and had a touch of vinegar that counteracted the greasiness of the kabobs. The rice was fragrant. He bit into the dessert. The taste of rose water permeated his tongue.

What was he going to do for the rest of the day? Without Prince Thallios to guide him around, he was pretty aimless. Maybe he could explore some more gardens. But the gardens, no matter how pretty or pleasant, all looked like one another after a while. He could go visit the city again, but then he might run into the other merchants. He could go visit Bakhat again to check up on him.

Leiyu sighed. Would it always be like this? No matter where he went, no matter how magnificent and exciting, sooner or later it would become old and routine. That was a big reason he never stayed anywhere for long after he left Yunshan. The year he spent living with the nomads in the Northern steppes was already pretty extensive, but eventually he became restless and had bid them farewell.

There’s always the Southern Region, he thought. I know nothing about it, so it might be interesting. But I will need to return East first.

Leiyu let the rest of the sugar-spun candy melt on his tongue.

What if I came here next year for the Summer Festival? I could find another caravan heading westward.

But then what? Would he be able to get into the palace again? After one year had passed, would the prince still remember him? Perhaps he was nothing more than a curious amusement to this whimsical royal, this future ruler of the Western Region. And of course, royals had their duties to continue their line. In a year’s time, the prince might already have a wife and an heir on the way. No, the prince would probably not remember him, a simple commoner from a faraway land.

Leiyu sighed. He did not know why this was bothering him so much.