At around seven in the morning.
Edgar and Fabby were in deep sleep, but Fabby kept rolling to her left and right and kneed him a few times, forcing him to eventually wake up. He wasn’t disturbed by it because it was a pretty common thing. Most times, it was her kicking that woke him up, though not always at the right time.
But luckily, today it seemed like the time was right. When he opened the wooden windows, warm light came in at an angle.
He sat at one end of the body and basked in the sunlight, but then his eyes closed, and his upper body kept moving back and forth. Eventually, he fell forward and ended up banging his head to the floor. “Ah!” he put his hand on his head and rubbed the bruised spot. All his drowsiness had vanished in an instant. “Tch, I didn’t think I would fall asleep just after waking up.” His lips pressed together. “Is it because of the training that I’m sleeping for long these days, or is it because I’m taking things easy?” he clenched his fists. “I can’t be like this. I shouldn’t be like this. It may be fine here, but in the woods, even a moment’s carelessness can get us killed. I definitely can’t let laziness win even a wink from me.”
He picked up the sword and practiced with it for forty minutes, refining his thrusts and slashes in that not-so spacious room. Only after sweating a lot, he felt somewhat better.
He came back to the bed and sat down. Fabby was snoring mildly. He wanted to wake her up and tell her to also practice with the sword, but he liked the quietness that was in the room right now, so he let her sleep.
Edgar’s eyes then caught the sight of the bronze plate on the table. He put the clothes and the money aside and picked up the plate. He hadn’t given it a try after entering Orseya.
“Just what are you?” he couldn’t help but think about the lady who had saved his life. “Did she create you?” Though he wished to know her identity, there was no clue to trace it. It was the same for those two in black cloaks, the ones who had slapped him into the valley which nearly killed him.
He remembered the words he had to mug back in the valley: Trust, and you’ll live. Beg, and you’ll burgeon. Redress, and you’ll reign.
After he had told those words to his sister, she surprisingly didn’t say anything. Not a word. If even she couldn’t decipher it, how could Edgar, who was much younger and clumsier, hope to solve the mystery behind these words?
Still, he always tried new things, hoping it’d react again, but there was no such response yet. It made him feel as if he was tactless like Dobo always used to say.
He had been trying to be more like Dobo and Fabby and be more tactful, but something held him back.
Knock. Knock.
Edgar came over and opened the door. A tall bald guy was looking down with a piercing gaze, but a tight smile tugged his lips. His stare and his smile didn’t go well together.
Edgar immediately recognized the person. He was the henchman of the Zha Clan and served Raha Zha. He was the same person who was mercilessly beating the slaves the other day.
“What?” Edgar’s tone wasn’t friendly.
The bald man put a card forward. “You and your sister are invited to the Red Night.”
“Red Night?” he took the card and gave a long look. It was made of red animal skin with golden letters painted on it. The prime attraction was the glass drawing. And under it were written these words: Zha Clan welcomes Mr. Edgar and Ms. Fabby to the Red Night.
“There is going to be a feast, so feel free to come, freeloaders,” saying that the bald man walked away.
“F-Freeloaders?” Edgar’s brown creased together. “What was that for?”
However, the bald man didn’t even care to answer and just left.
Edgar felt the urge to tear the invitation card into pieces, but then he couldn’t do it, and he slapped himself for it.
He put the card in his pocket and walked back to the desk, where there was a can with water inside. But it was almost empty. Edgar drank what was left, but his tongue still felt dry. “I can’t believe they are taking one bronze for a five liter can. This is basically looting.” The last time he remembered, 25 liter cans could be bought for one bronze coin. But a few years later, everything in this town was being sold at a whooping-high price. Was it because this was Fira empire, or was there some other reason?
In all the days they stayed at the inn, they didn’t think they’d spend about one bronze coin per day for drinking water, but there was no escaping it.
Edgar walked out of the room with the empty can. He climbed down the stairs and reached the ground floor that was packed with so many customers. “Wow, it’s thriving today. Lots of new faces.”
He didn’t pay much attention to them and was going to the eastern corner, where a chubby brown-haired kid, the owner’s son, was selling water cans. Suddenly, a rooster ran between his legs, startling the heck out of him. As if that wasn’t enough, a dog then mimicked the same and went between his legs, almost giving him a heartache. And he fell forward, causing some people to laugh heartily.
By the time he got back to his feet, the dog and the rooster were coming back in his direction; however, it was the rooster that was chasing the dog this time. As the dog came closer, he smashed the dog with the can.
The entire hall fell silent instantly, and nobody laughed anymore.
As the dog came closer, Edgar smashed the dog with the can.The entire hall fell silent instantly, and nobody laughed anymore.The dog squealed and ran outside, and the rooster followed its trail.“Stupid things,” Edgar said, but the people couldn’t tell whether he was scolding the animals or them.“How dare you hurt my dog!” the innkeeper barked from his table.“That’s your dog?” Edgar was startled. “Then what about the fowl?”“That’s mine, too!” he barked.“Oh, then teach them some manners, alright?” Edgar said. “If I had hit the dog harde
Almost every important person in Orseya was visiting the southern side of the Zha Clan’ residential complex where Red Night was being hosted. About four hundred people attended until now, and only those with the invitation card were allowed inside. As far as Orseya was concerned, this was an epic event. The full moon night made it extra special. It was drizzling a bit, but people weren’t worried because rains in summer wouldn’t stay for long. There were plenty of folks envying those who got cards because one could eat and drink as much as they wanted on that night. Whatever the outward reason stated for hosting Red Night, its main aim was to boost the Zha clan's businesses by attracting outsiders through their connections. Parties were historically used for explosive
The Four Masters of the Zha Clan, also widely known outside as Zha’s Four Dragons, were the most notable figures of the town, even more than the baronet himself. All four of them were red-haired people, for they were blood brothers and quadruplets. The youngest was Dubril Zha, the one with a long beard. The third eldest was Corio Zha with a long mustache. The second eldest was Bushin Zha with long eyebrows. The first eldest was Ashang Zha with a long beard, mustache, and eyebrows. They wore different colored clothes that represented the sects they were part of.Only when these four took the stage and gestured, everyone sat down.“We heard that there’s full attendance this time,” Ashang said, wearing a light smile on his face as he briefly glanced at the table Jorga alone was seated at. “And thank you all for sparing your valuable t
“He said he was a herbalist, wasn’t he?” Edgar’s eating pace had significantly decreased compared to a few minutes ago. “To think he was planning some crazy stuff… What do you think?” “Well, he never really talked much,” Fabby looked a bit unsure. “So what’s there to think? We can only feel glad that he didn’t pull anything nasty with us.” “Mm… you’re right.” Fabby looked toward Vino who was now writhing in pain next to the stage. Like a cockroach struggling on its back, he looked totally vulnerable, enough to raise pity in other’s hearts. (What was that beast-burdening thing they talked about? That man, Vino, was carrying a gel, and we asked him, hoping it’s good at repelling mosquitoes, but he told us that it was something he needed to eat to cure his health problem. S
Fabby was alone inside the room, looking dull. Even though it was around eleven o’clock in the morning, the humidity was high enough to make her sweat, despite the windows being open. She remembered the time when her mother once slapped her for beating her friends when they tried to bully her. And she still didn’t know the reason why exactly her mother slapped her. Compared to her mother, Raha looked insignificant all of a sudden. That woman didn’t say a word when her children were running their mouths, having a mouth-day, or maybe a mouth-night. “May be, I should’ve put my hopes on the baronet instead,” she thought. “If he didn’t mention the Zha family second…” She remembered the time when the old man from the cloth shop had mentioned the baronet’s name first and th
In the evening, Edgar and Fabby were aimlessly roaming the town, and there was cold wind blowing around. Even though the afternoon of that same day was like the hottest day they’ve ever experienced, thanks to the short but heavy rain, the atmosphere changed greatly. People of all ages came out into the streets. And they kept hearing different things. “Someone stole my duck’s eggs!” “Stop playing near the well!” “Oh, Damn it! The cow has got its head stuck in the fence again. It took me so long to get it out last time.” “Should I chop off the head then?” “That’s my water! Don’t drink it!” However, they had too many things running in mind to process everything their ears took
As night fell, the town guards dressed in black uniforms were patrolling in the streets and forced people who were sleeping outside their homes to go back in. They even went so far as to beat those who weren’t listening to them, starting with their legs. Even children weren’t spared. Some kids were especially stubborn, and they ran away from the guards, but after they got chased and beaten with sticks, they ran home, crying aloud.A group of four guards were roaming in a street, and one of them saw Edgar casually resting on top of a branch. “Hey, you!” he called out. “What are you doing up there?”The tone of the voice and that rashness dwelling in it reminded Edgar of the watchers back in Shushui, and his gaze darkened. “Mind your own business.” He didn’t even look as he responded in a cold manner.
At the crack of dawn, the poor women and children were going to bathe in the streams, and the shepherds led out cattle to graze in the fields.The jingling bells tied around the cows, buffaloes, and sheep brought Edgar out of his sleep and yawn from atop a tree branch. “Is it morning already?” he untied the rope around his waist, which was tied to the tree, so he wouldn’t fall during the sleep.The previous night, he got freaked out after entering another’s room and the lady there freaked the hell out. He ran out through the window he had entered. Afterward, he chose a tree in the backyard to sleep because the tree where he regularly practiced pull-ups was on the front-end of the inn, so there was the possibility of the guards bothering him again.Currently, the innkeeper’s wife was sin