A Meal in Lanzhou
As dawn broke, Cheongwol set out for Lanzhou with the Jin-o Merchant Caravan.
"Once we crest that hill, the city gates will come into view."
At Mo Wonpyeong's words that the caravan journey was nearly over, Seomun Hwi gave a slow nod.
"Understood. We're arriving earlier than I expected."
"Mountain roads are always like that. They feel endless at night, yet by day they seem to pass in no time at all."
Mo Wonpyeong smiled faintly as he glanced at Cheongwol, who had spoken not a single word since the night before.
At first he had assumed the two had quarreled, but watching them steal glances at each other the entire way along the mountain path, he realized that was not the case.
"What do you plan to do, my friend? I'd like nothing better than to share a meal with you, but I must head straight to my trading partners."
In truth there had been no such plan, yet Mo Wonpyeong, quick to read the room, was deliberately creating an excuse for Cheongwol to continue traveling with Seomun Hwi.
If this awkward atmosphere persisted, the two of them were all too likely to set off for the Kongdong Sect separately.
They're not children, for heaven's sake—what are they playing at? No, wait. By age alone, they still are children.
At Mo Wonpyeong's question, Cheongwol hurriedly waved both hands.
"I'm already grateful you came this far with me. Once we reach Lanzhou, I'll go on alone from there."
"Is that so? Why not travel with the young master instead? As I said yesterday, he too is bound for the Kongdong Sect."
"Ah... well..."
When Cheongwol hesitated and looked toward Seomun Hwi, the young master nodded at once, as though he had been waiting for the chance.
"If the road is the same, we should go together. Provided that is all right with you."
At Seomun Hwi's ready acceptance, Cheongwol could not hide the way the corners of his mouth lifted; he nodded again and again.
"Yes. Thank you."
Seeing both their faces brighten, Mo Wonpyeong gave a short laugh and called out toward the front of the caravan.
"Pick up the pace! We ought to take our midday meal in Lanzhou, shouldn't we?"
Passing through the massive city gates and into the streets beyond, an endless stretch of red-tiled roofs unfurled before Cheongwol's eyes.
So many people thronged the roads that dust rose in clouds with every step, and the shouts of merchants trying to halt those hurrying feet blended into a single rolling clamor.
"Well then—this is where we part ways."
Mo Wonpyeong inclined his head slightly toward Seomun Hwi and drew from his robes a pouch of clearly fine make.
"It will not be a great sum to the young master, but please accept it."
"I cannot. All I did was travel in comfort—what face would I have to take this? Keep it."
Seomun Hwi tried to refuse, but Mo Wonpyeong only smiled good-naturedly and pressed the pouch into his hand as though forcing it upon him.
"That you traveled in comfort at all was thanks to the young master's company—how could you not know that? And besides..."
Mo Wonpyeong cast a sidelong glance at Cheongwol.
Cheongwol was utterly absorbed in the sights he had never seen before in his life, turning this way and that without pause.
"I put a little in for the child as well. Meeting like this is fate of a sort; it felt wrong simply to send him off empty-handed."
At that, Seomun Hwi no longer declined and slipped the pouch into his robes.
Had it been only his own share, he might have insisted, but with Cheongwol's portion included he could not freely refuse.
"As I said before we set out, I will likely remain in Lanzhou for a time on caravan business. Should another merchant group bound for Anhui pass through, I will put in a word for you."
"Your thoughtfulness alone is thanks enough."
They bowed lightly to each other once more, and Mo Wonpyeong led the Jin-o Merchant Caravan first into the press of the crowd.
"He's gone already? I didn't even get to say goodbye..."
Cheongwol, who had somehow come to stand at Seomun Hwi's side, watched the caravan's retreating backs with a look of quiet disappointment.
"If fate allows, we may meet again."
Seomun Hwi spoke the words while regarding Cheongwol.
"We could set out for Mount Kongtong at once if you wish, yet it seems wiser to rest a day at an inn first."
"An inn?"
"Yes. Even if we push our lightness skills hard, the road from Lanzhou to Mount Kongtong will take a full half-day at the least."
Cheongwol nodded at Seomun Hwi's explanation, then asked again.
"All right. But how do you find a place like an inn?"
Seomun Hwi paused, momentarily at a loss for how to answer.
Most places that smelled of cooking food were inns—what sort of question was that?
Surely he wasn't raised somewhere without even inns? Even beyond the frontier such places are rare.
Once more Seomun Hwi wondered just where Cheongwol had come from, then turned.
"...Follow me."
Even so, he did not forget to stop now and then amid the throng, checking that Cheongwol was still close behind lest the boy lose him in the crowd.
By midday the inn was packed with people, yet a waiter who had eyed Seomun Hwi's fine robes from the street managed to secure them a table without trouble.
"This way, please!"
Following the waiter up to the second floor and being shown to a window seat, Seomun Hwi wore an expression that said he had expected as much.
At an hour when guests came and went in a constant stream, the reason a seat of such quality stood empty was obvious.
"Not a bad place."
Before a word had even been spoken, Seomun Hwi set a single silver coin down with a soft click; the waiter, unable to suppress his grin, bowed again and again.
"Thank you! Thank you! We shall serve you with all our might!"
Cheongwol stared at the man in wide-eyed surprise, unable to understand the sudden fuss, but Seomun Hwi, long accustomed to such things, began ordering the meal.
"One serving of boiled pork and one bowl of beef noodle soup each. For the rest, bring whatever the cook is most confident in."
"At once! Ah—and wine, perhaps...?"
Seomun Hwi looked at Cheongwol, who was watching him, and slowly shook his head.
"The sun is still high; it feels a touch early for drink. Cool tea will do, if you have it."
"Yes! I shall bring it as quickly as I can!"
"There is no need to rush."
As the waiter shot downstairs like an arrow, Cheongwol tilted his head.
"Are people of the Central Plains all this kind? He's incredibly kind..."
"Kindness is returned in the measure it is given."
Seomun Hwi spoke the words while regarding Cheongwol.
"Cheongwol. You said your name was Cheongwol."
"Hm? Yes. That's right."
At the sudden sound of his own name from Seomun Hwi's lips, Cheongwol felt a faint flush of shyness and nodded.
"As I told you before, my name is Seomun Hwi. The surname is Seomun; the given name is Hwi. From now on I shall call you by your name, so you may call me by mine as well."
"Uh... all right. So then..."
Cheongwol hesitated a moment, then called the name with a small smile.
"Hwi?"
It was only a name, yet Cheongwol felt a soft tickle deep in his chest.
Having spent so many years alone with his grandfather, this was the first time he had ever addressed anyone by name.
"Yes. Call me that from now on."
"All right."
Whatever thoughts were turning behind those open features, Seomun Hwi found himself smiling as well at the way Cheongwol's feelings showed so plainly on his face.
While the two of them exchanged formal introductions once more, the waiter returned with the dishes as swiftly as he had promised.
"The remaining dishes will be up shortly. Please begin with these before they grow cold."
Once the waiter had gone downstairs again, Seomun Hwi used his chopsticks to lift a piece of pork and set it in Cheongwol's bowl.
He had seen, from the moment the waiter first appeared on the stairs, how Cheongwol's eyes never left the food.
"Eat before it cools."
A cool breeze drifted pleasantly through the open window, while rich, oily dishes passed endlessly into Cheongwol's mouth.
"I've never eaten anything this delicious."
Cheongwol kept murmuring his wonder, never pausing as he transferred more food into the bowl before him.
In all the years spent with his grandfather he had never tasted proper cooking; the reaction was only natural.
"It seems the food suits you. Eat your fill."
Seomun Hwi gave a quiet laugh as he eyed the growing stack of empty plates, wondering where so much food could possibly fit inside that slight frame.
Then, pouring tea into Cheongwol's empty cup, he took up the questions he had not finished the night before.
"You learned martial arts from your grandfather?"
"Yes. He taught me from the time I was very small."
Cheongwol rinsed the grease from his mouth with the tea Seomun Hwi had poured, then began to speak of the childhood years spent at his grandfather's side.
Of course he left out every detail concerning the Im family's revenge.
"...And that's how it was. Not very interesting, is it?"
When he finished, Cheongwol smiled with an awkward air, but Seomun Hwi shook his head.
"It was a rather fine story. Climbing that cliff several times a day is almost hard to believe."
"Even now I don't know how I managed it. If I went back to those days, I don't think I could climb it again."
The more he spoke, the more his grandfather's face rose before him; a quiet longing settled over Cheongwol's features.
"I wish Grandfather could have come and eaten with us."
Seeing Cheongwol grow melancholy, Seomun Hwi offered quiet words of comfort.
"Living well yourself is the greatest repayment you can give him."
"...Do you think so?"
The comfort was rough-hewn, yet somehow Cheongwol felt lighter; he smiled with a distant look.
"Then I'll have to keep eating well from now on. So Grandfather won't worry."
At that, Seomun Hwi laughed and pointed with his chopsticks to the empty plates stacked beside Cheongwol.
"I don't think you need worry on that score."