Section Seven: The Concerns of the Young (Part Two)

In the early evening, Wei Wuyi met Amango’s uncle and aunt in a modest courtyard house within the city. Harrison now worked for the Republic’s Ministry of Maritime Affairs as a low-ranking official. From his expression and attire, one could tell he was a cautious man of middling means—his velvet coat was noticeably worn. Aunt Carida, in her youth, must have been a beauty; even now she retained a mature elegance, though her figure had grown fuller, her hips no longer those of a young girl but rounded with womanhood.

To Amango’s own surprise, there was a new addition to the family. When he had left, his uncle and aunt were still just the two of them, but now he had a baby sister.

“This is wonderful, Uncle—and Aunt as well! Have you named her yet?” Amango kissed the baby girl still wrapped in swaddling clothes. The one-year-old flailed her little arms and legs, resisting the unfamiliar affection.

“Her name is Gina. Do you like it?” Carida asked, holding the infant. She had not been a mother for long and was still basking in the joy of it.

“It’s lovely—absolutely lovely. Ah, if only I could have come back a little earlier. The Celeste ran into so much trouble on the way, it took twice as long as it should have to return,” Amango sighed.

“It’s just good that you’re back. And this is your friend?” Harrison and Carida asked.

Amango nodded. “Yes, this is my friend. He saved all of us on the ship. You wouldn’t believe it—we encountered the Feshians on the way home.”

“The Feshians?” Harrison, as a member of the Maritime Ministry, clearly knew something about them.

“The Feshians?” Carida looked to her husband, unaware of the terror they inspired at sea, her clear gaze querying with feminine curiosity.

“Beastmen of the sea—villainous pirates. Our ministry archives are filled with records of their countless crimes. Your friend managed to save everyone from the Feshians?” Harrison gave his wife a brief explanation—a single mention of ‘beastmen of the sea’ was enough for her to grasp their fearsome reputation.

“Oh, it was really just a stroke of luck. Rather than say I saved everyone, it’s more accurate to say fortune was on our side,” Wei Wuyi interjected, speaking the common tongue of the continent.

“Ah, you’re from Hua, yet you speak our tongue so well! You must have been here before, perhaps with a Far Eastern merchant ship?” Harrison’s attention was caught by Wei Wuyi’s remarkable command of the language, and the conversation drifted off in a new direction.

Amango hurried to explain that this was Wei Wuyi’s first time here. Harrison and Carida found this hard to believe, but since Amango had been with them ever since his parents passed away—living together for more than a decade—they trusted him not to lie.

After a lively conversation, Carida settled the baby for sleep and went to the kitchen to prepare a fine meal. Harrison, after a moment’s hesitation, asked Wei Wuyi to sit for a while, as he wanted to speak privately with Amango.

Wei Wuyi agreed with a smile, but since he was in a new place and eager to explore, he excused himself, stepped out, and wandered the streets near Harrison’s home. This area was somewhat distant from the center of Valencia; the neighborhood consisted mostly of small courtyard houses like this one. After the Republic overthrew the Tienlun Dynasty, many former noble estates were nationalized and then rented at low cost as benefits to lower and middle-ranking government employees. It was an excellent deal—typically, these houses had two floors and four or five rooms, with rent kept extremely low. Yet, those who were truly well-off or higher up in government rarely chose to live here. In the past, this was the preferred district for nobles to keep their mistresses; not long ago, it was common to see women quarreling in the streets.

Wei Wuyi looked around. The Western Continent was a marvelous world—marvelous in its sheer possibility. Here, it seemed, anything could happen: from the Feshians at sea, to Victoria Harbor in the east, to Herdasine, and then to this very place—countless wonders coexisted. Unlike the Far East, which was monotonous and uniform, where the elders of the Daoist Order ruled over all, even the Emperor had to flatter them. The imperial power was equated with the Son of Heaven, while the Daoist Order acted as the Heaven’s overseers.

Wei Wuyi resolved first to fulfill the promise he had made: to help Amango achieve his wish. Then, he would travel the continent, seeking out the beastmen of the west, the elves of the north, and the church in the east.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Wei,” Amango’s voice called from behind.

Wei Wuyi turned with a smile as Amango emerged from Harrison’s house. “Oh, Uncle has agreed. He’ll tidy up the small attic upstairs—usually used for storage—so you can stay there. It’s a bit plain, I hope you don’t mind. Honestly, I didn’t expect Aunt would have another child.”

Wei Wuyi assured him he didn’t mind in the slightest, and pressed gently, “So, about your wish—when do we set about it?”

Amango smiled sheepishly. “Uncle called me aside just now to ask about my experiences these past years, and to tell me a bit about Cecily’s situation. It’s a little complicated.”

His expression grew stiff. Wei Wuyi waited silently as they walked back to the courtyard, but instead of going inside, they closed the gate and paced the garden.

Perhaps it was Wei Wuyi’s calm confidence that helped Amango relax, for his face grew less tense. After a long moment’s thought, he began, “There are two problems. First, as you’ve seen, my uncle now has a daughter. I had hoped he might help with my wedding, but now that’s impossible. I’ve already given most of my wages from the Celeste to him—they need it more than I do. Uncle is an honest man; his job brings no extra income. That means I have no money to buy a house, nor to prepare a wedding. I don’t even know how to propose to my little angel.”

Wei Wuyi paused, then laughed. “If that’s what troubles you, it’s easily solved.”

He drew a small pouch from his coat, weighed it in his hand, and squinted at Amango. “This was given to me by Kaplan. I hadn’t intended to accept it, but then I thought—perhaps my friend might need it someday.”

The young man protested, “But that belongs to you!”

“What does it matter?” Wei Wuyi brushed it off, clapping Amango on the shoulder and handing him the pouch of silver coins. “Take it. I never counted how much is in there. We’re friends—you saved me from the sea, remember? Besides, I once asked you what your heart’s desire was. You may not understand, but in the Daoist tradition of the Far East, we believe deeply in the word ‘yuan’—fate, or the mysterious bonds that inevitably form between people. You pulled me from the sea—that was the start of our fate. Helping you fulfill your wish is how I resolve it. Only then can I be free from this destined connection.”

“Fate?” Amango had never heard the word before, but with Wei Wuyi’s explanation, he readily accepted it. His face then turned anxious again. “Wei, does that mean after you help me, you’ll leave?”

“Haha, leaving is just for the sake of meeting again. I’ll help you achieve your wish, then I intend to travel the continent and see the world. This world fascinates me—it’s nothing like the Far East. Who knows, perhaps I’ll surpass myself here.”

Amango couldn’t fully grasp Wei Wuyi’s words, but the first part was clear—there was hope they would meet again.

Suddenly Wei Wuyi remembered something, rummaged in his coat and produced several round pearls, handing them to Amango. “Give these to your beloved. They’ll make a fine gift—put them in a box and say they’re from overseas.”

The pearls glimmered with a soft radiance, noticeable even in the evening light. Each pearl was identical in size; sold together to a jeweler in the city, they would fetch a handsome price.

“Don’t look at me like that. If you want to thank someone, thank the little mermaid—they came from her, taken by Leia and confiscated by me,” Wei Wuyi shrugged.

Amango steeled himself, tucked the pearls away, and stammered, “But… there’s still another problem.”

PS: Thank you to every friend who cast a recommendation vote, and to the one who said to let you know if I ever change jobs.