With the news reporters and TV crews buzzing around the woman and her son like bees drawn to honey as the entire retinue retreated down the stairs, I saw the chance to flee indoors quietly, and I took it. With a wave to everyone else inside, we left the Institute quickly.

That night, Uncle and Aunt Quan were adamant in wanting to buy us dinner for my father’s help. He said to my father, “Come on, Brother Hai. We’re as close as brothers! There’s no need to be shy! I would have died a wronged man if not for your help today! Come, we’ll have some wine too!” “Indeed, Brother Hai! The Gordian Knot of our predicament would not have been resolved if not for you! Come come come!” Aunt Quan quipped as well. Resigned to their relentless pestering, my family joined Uncle Quan with his wife and son at a restaurant. Uncle and Aunt Quan made full sure that my parents’ glasses were full as we waited for the dishes, and round after round, they emptied their glasses and refilled them swiftly with pure exuberance. At last, my father said, “Our dinners together rarely come with such ceremony, Brother Quan. Is there any furtive agenda to this meeting?”

My father had only finished speaking, when the ever-familiar laughter of Old Man Chen came sardonically from the threshold of our room’s entrance, “As expected of Brother Hai! Heh heh heh!” It was the same laughter—the trademark of Old Man Chen’s arrival whenever he made an appearance. Yuan Chongxi held his arm as the teacher and student entered the room slowly. My father smiled with squinted eyes and exclaimed, “So there is indeed more than meets the eye with tonight’s dinner!”

With everyone seated comfortably, the binge of food and wine continued. Uncle Quan raised his glass at Father and said, “My son told me of Shiyan’s wish to strike out on his own with my son. I have spoken to Brother Chen of this matter, and we have come to an agreement that the young fledglings have grown up. It is time for them to spread their wings. I too, have the wish to allow my son to see the world for himself. He’s just too raw!” Realizing his cue, Old Man Chen added, “Indeed, he’s right! Look at my student! He too could do with some seasoning!” My father listened to the two elders trying to proselytize their intentions, rubbing his chin and replied, “I have no objections as to allowing these three rascals to start out on their own. But surely we have to acknowledge the fact that the trade of dealing with the supernatural affords no rich wealth in return! I’m only concerned that the proceeds from such a venture might not be sufficient for them three…” Uncle Quan recognized that my father’s misgivings and knew that he did not utterly object to the idea. He said again, “This is not about money! This is about allowing more space for the fledglings to spread their wings and see the world for themselves! Look at my son! He is still inexperienced in the ways of the world and his wushu skills need sharpening!” Old Man Chen too said, taking up the litany of persuasion, “Veritably. For all my greatness, I have lived a simple and poor man for my whole life. But when I frown at my student’s inferior prowess, I could not help wondering if he would suffer being more impoverished than I am!” Lin Feng and Yuan Chongxi shared a quick look and smiled furtively as if they were complicit in some mischief.

My father drained his glass with one gulp and replied, “Very well. Since these three rascals here have you two to help wheedle their way through me, I might as well allow them to give it a try!” The trio of us young man looked at each other with smiles lined across our faces as we exulted and reveled at the green light.

The next day, we began to set our plans in motion. With the financing from my father, Lin Feng, Yuan Chongxi and I rented a shop unit on the north side of the town. The new shop was at a nifty location and was part of a newly-developed area. Therefore the surroundings were still relatively vacant. Contrary to most tenants of a new shoplot who usually agree only to a minimum term of rental, we had taken up to a two-year tenancy offer and we did not bargain for a discount. Money was hardly an issue for us, especially for my father, who rarely had any sense with pecuniary matters. Despite not being a large and bustling city, the County of Wu Zhong was a warren of individuals with hidden talents and affluence, just like my father. Lin Feng too had not chipped in any disapproval with the selection of our shop unit, for his father too was in truth an opulent person himself. Uncle Quan was also one of the fortunate ones to enjoy the perks of the government’s urban development. It was only after his retirement that he came to the Institute and began serving as a wushu counselor here. Only Yuan Chongxi was mildly shocked when he heard the price tag of the unit we rented. For twenty years of growing up and studying by his teacher, he had never seen such an amount of money. But it was hardly a subject both Lin Feng and I wanted to moot, knowing of the woeful afflictions of the Five Detriments and Three Dearths upon Old Man Chen. But we did ask Yuan Chongxi later if his teacher kept money of his own, and he revealed that his teacher did keep some money in the past, although he had long since stopped from doing so. Yuan Chongxi then told me that every time Old Man Chen had money, woe would come looking for the old man or his student. They might be sick or they might even be injured due to accidents. What money they had would surely be exhausted. This could only be attributed to their destinies, said Yuan Chongxi to me. Through his whole life, the old man must have endured a lifetime of serving the penances of his sins.

Time passed swiftly as we busied ourselves with the groundwork of our new venture. After more than a week, our new venture was ready to set sail. The shoplot was renovated to maintain a vintage Chinese elegance that illustrated the distinguish and classical nature of the origin of our trade. A look into the shop would look like a walk through the passage of Time and catch a glimpse of the Oriental mystique of ancient China. Still, the sight of three young men, who looked no more than thirty, manning the store might seem odd and dispel any hopes of potential clients. Nevertheless, thrilled at our fresh start, we put our arms over each other’s shoulders and together went to enjoy a meal of hotpot. Now that our business had begun leaving the safe harbor, we agreed that it was prudent for us to save money, hence we only ate at a simple restaurant.

There was a quote that said that a good friend would never defy from standing in harm’s way for you the second you ask—but a great friend would do it without being asked at all. There could only be so rare the few moments in one’s life when great friends would come around, more so when I had two with me. We sat in together in the hotpot restaurant; Yuan Chongxi was busy making the order for us while Lin Feng and I would continuously poke fun at him. Yuan Chongxi, usually the honest and dull one among us, was constantly the object of our pranks and jokes. But he was never once angry, for he understood full well that it was our way of showing brotherhood and attention towards him; we harbored no ill will towards him.

Just then, the doors of the restaurant swung open to admit a young woman, dressed flamboyantly and looking similar to us in age. She came alone, wearing a snapback over her long, purple-dyed hair. I cast a knowing look at Lin Feng, smiling playfully. Lin Feng immediately caught the gist of my intent and nudged Yuan Chongxi while pouring a glass of wine. He slid the glass to Yuan Chongxi and grinned wickedly, saying, “How about a bet? Try to convince this girl to drink this glass of wine, old boy, and I’ll foot tonight’s bill!” “And I’ll settle the bill for tomorrow’s dinner!” I quipped as well. Instead of telling us off for our witty mischief, Yuan Chongxi, much to our surprise, rose to his feet without a word and strode towards the girl with the glass of wine in his hand while wearing the perpetual blank look on his face.

Lin Feng and I nearly blurted as we watched him move slowly to the young lady. He stopped at the woman’s table and propped himself into the chair opposite of hers. To our surprise and amazement, the woman yelled loudly, “Yuan Chongxi!? It’s been a long time!” The impish smiles on our face, just when we were anticipating a hilarious spectacle, froze instantly. What is this?! What a bloody coincidence! The woman knew Yuan Chongxi! I heard a voice in me began murmuring a plea, hoping that the young woman would not drink for the glass…

Still, it was destined that Lin Feng and I would lose the bet. We watched as Yuan Chongxi said something to the young woman and she immediately took the glass and emptied it in one gulp. “Oh my God!” was probably the very same words that appeared in both our minds. For all the ridiculous fun and jokes we had made on Yuan Chongxi, it was us who had fallen into our own trap this time. Yuan Chongxi chatted with the lady and pointed to our table. The young lady turned to us and smiled politely, waving her hand at us. Feeling so abashed that we almost look for a crevice to creep into, we could only wave sheepishly back at her, smiling back to return the courtesy.

But that was the least of our shock, for after talking for a while, Yuan Chongxi led the girl over to join us! I managed a stupid grin at the young woman while I flustered ridiculously, “Ah… Ha…” Lin Feng too flashed an equally goofy smile at her, sniggering in a silly manner, “Heh heh heh…” There was a tangible uneasiness between us three, as we were unfamiliar with each other, and Yuan Chongxi’s ignorance to introduce us was hardly helping. Realizing that I needed to break the ice for Lin Feng himself was hardly a person good with words when it came to dealing with the fairer gender, my voice first came to break the tension, “Hi. I am Shiyan, and this is Lin Feng. What’s your name?” The young woman gave a smile and said, “You can call me Yuanyuan for short.” An unwelcomed silence hung over us again and I lost my patience, “Come on, Yuan Chongxi, you blithering idiot. Introductions!” Only now Yuan Chongxi realized his mistake and hurriedly said, “Oh, yes. She is a former classmate of mine in middle school. We did not enter university after schooling, and we did not meet after that. It has been many years since we last saw each other.” He gestured to us both. “These are my good friends. I know them from the National Studies Institute. This is the son of the Head Person there while this is the son of our wushu counselor, who is also a wushu master himself.”

Over the simmering steam of the hotpot and the aroma of the wine, we talked and ate and found out that Yuanyuan was in town to wait for another friend of hers. They had arranged to meet after renting a unit to stay nearby. The two women were from the same village and had come into town to look for work. We ate while we waited for her friend and when the friend arrived, we began talking about our new venture together as Lin Feng’s hands surreptitiously reached for his wallet, gripping it tightly as he grimaced with the bill he would have to settle. The lively and cheerful conversation eventually wandered to the location of our store, the interests of the young ladies broiling over the heat of the food due to their fascination in the mystics and charms of our trade.

I mentioned that our store would be officially opened the next day and invited them to come along for a look. Overjoyed, the two young women agreed eagerly to come. Little did we know that this was only the beginning of our encounter with these two women, while Lin Feng would then have an episode of his own with Yuanyuan…