I went to the bonfire outside, and there was the hopeless Yuan Chongxi, engrossed so deeply in another binge of food and drinks…

Lin Feng waved me to his side, and I sat down. A girl handed him a lamb’s leg which he passed to me. “Come, Brother! I know you’ll love this!” I could not resist a smile, taking the roasted leg from him and nibbled a bite, tasting it. The rich flavor of the roasted meat tingled my senses; it was fabulous! Aunt Ulan sat down beside me, grinning. “Have some more, my good boy!” My head bobbed profusely like a little boy as I continued chomping down on my meat while taking a cup of kumis (fermented mare’s milk) from her hand. It was the first time I had tasted such a drink, which was an impressive experience. Aunt Ulan was overjoyed to see me enjoying the food. She placed her fingers to her mouth and whistled hard, and the music and revelry rose to a crescendo as everyone rose to their feet and began dancing around the fire. Some were strumming on their musical instruments, some were dancing while others were singing at the top of their voices. Waves of excited chatters and laughter broke out; the true sounds of merrymaking and jubilees!

The meal was like a celebration gala that everyone enjoyed to their fullest! Some of the partyers began to put on a performance of skills; there were dancing and singing, and also a girl who performed horseback acrobatics while she tossed darts at a circular target-board. Unable to contain himself, Lin Feng leaped to his feet, roaring in laughter. “It’s boring to just perform alone! Let me be your partner!” He lunged into the air, and fired three successive times, releasing three darts that struck true at the bright-red bull’s eye.

This won him an escalating round of applause and whoops! Even the girl who was tossing the darts from her horse flashed him an approving thumbs-up. Everyone’s gazes rested upon me suddenly, as if expecting my turn to put on a display now that Lin Feng had shown his skills. My head jerked around quickly, and there it was, a zither lying in a corner in this marauders’ encampment! I nodded to Xiao Qi and the Sisters, who understood my tacit instruction to move the zither to me. As the Sisters set the zither down before me, in a loud voice I said, “Unlike Brother Lin, I do not possess combat skills, for my inclinations have always been more cultural and artistic!” Unable to see the Sisters at work, everyone merely saw how a zither had hovered through the air and came to a rest before me. My fingers traced a compartment in the zither from which I extracted some tape and acrylic nails to put on myself. With a light strum to test the strings, my fingers began to glide gracefully over the strings, playing a song that would invoke memories from everyone’s mind…

It was a folk-song familiar to most Mongolians, Swan-geese. While playing a song was hardly beyond my repertoire, I was as skillful in playing the zither as putting on shoes and socks! But what everyone did not expect, was that I could play a song that only most Mongolians know. Then again, I would not have played the song if I had the slightest doubts in my grasp of the song. A still silence lingered around the bonfire as the music filled the compound as everyone was momentarily stunned. Slowly, everyone roused from their dazed amazement, slowly beginning to follow the tune of the song that hung over the crackling fire as Edelweiss found a horsehead fiddle (Mongolian morin khuur) and began playing too in harmony with my music!

It was rare for zithers to perform with other instruments. The dissonance between its tunes with most other instruments had always illustrated a lonesome image for zithers that was mostly played alone. But strangely, the music of the horsehead fiddle seemed to fit with impeccable consonance as I played the Swan-geese. In fact, I began to feel a rapturous and yet soothing sensation I had never before felt when I played alone. The wafting melody of the Swan-geese brought peace and timelessness to the night as everyone focused on with silence. Finally, at the end of the song, our performance was very much to the raucous delight of everyone, once again restoring mood of the feast back to its boisterous splendor. I showed a thumbs-up to Edelweiss, who smiled back in return.

Next, everyone looked at the obtuse Yuan Chongxi, who merely giggled daftly, saying, “I’m afraid I have nothing to show; I know nothing else but eat and divine fortunes.” To maintain the momentum of the festive mood, I tossed a finger at Yuan Chongxi and barked loudly, “Your daft look is already variety in itself!” He was stunned to bewilderment at my remark, only to burst into laughter seconds later. Everyone erupted into guffawing fits at our shenanigans, as I wondered if I might have the potential to be a comedian.

The jokes and banter continued by the fire, and a figure approached me. It was Edelweiss, who had come with some liquor. “This is my gesture of apology,” she said, “For the disrespect a few days ago!” I raised my glass to her. “Don’t mention it!” I downed the glass first as a sign of respect, only to find that she had already emptied her glass, staring at me. Damn, I thought. So, the rumors that the women of the wilderness could drink like a fish were true after all! Just then, Xiao Wu’s ghost flitted by leisurely, and a whiff of her Yin energy sprouted into a miniature ball of flames, ignited by the swelter of the bonfire. Yin energies produced green flames when flaring up. A little green ball of flame popped just before Edelweiss who immediately leaped with fright in a rare display of her feminine traits. “Ah! Why is the fire green in color!” she yelped. Her squeals attracted the attention of some of her other comrades, whose gazes lingered briefly around us before they went back to their chatters and merriment when nothing was worthy of note. Edelweiss eyed me suspiciously, expecting me to bear the answers to her doubts. I raised my shoulders in an awkward little shrug and smiled weakly. “It’s nothing, I said, “A ghost had just passed by and caused a small sliver of flames to turn green. That’s all.” Edelweiss’ eyes enlarged widely, and she let out a loud “Ah?”. I waved her down, signaling for silence. “Don’t worry,” I said, “There’s nothing to be afraid of. They’re on our side. They only want to have fun, and they would let nothing to get in their way in their quest for enjoyment. There’s no stopping them.” “They?” Edelweiss nearly screamed, “How many are they here?” I snickered. “There is me and my two companions, with six ghosts accompanying us. The six of them were so bored that they pestered to come along when they heard that we were coming here. How else did you think the gun was ripped off your hands a few days ago?” Our conversation was cut short by another string of girls who came with glasses of liquor for me. One after another I drained the glasses in successive gulps, earning exuberant cheers that praised my ability to drink!

One after another, everyone came to have a toast with the three of us. At length, I slipped away at the earliest opportunity and made my way towards Aunt Ulan. “A toast,” I announced loudly, for the benefit of everyone present, “To my mother!” Aunt Ulan was so surprised that she could barely react. With disbelief in her quivering voice, she asked, “Wh-what, what did you just call me?” I heaved a breath and bellowed loudly for good measure, “You’re my godmother! Mum!” What I just said rang deeply within her ears and her mind, as tears trickled down her face. She struggled against the overwhelming emotions, gasping with her trembling voice, “Good!” We raised our glasses in a toast and we emptied them in a single swig. Everyone was also stunned by my sudden outburst; even Yuan Chongxi and Lin Feng were dazed, not knowing what had happened. But with my loud declaration of “Godmother!”, the entire encampment broke out into a huge uproar of elation…

The fireside merrymaking went on until the wee hours of the morning when I began the feel the hangover getting over me. I looked around and found Lin Feng and Yuan Chongxi already collapsed on the ground, with one asleep on the lap of the other! I sighed with exasperation and slid down on the soft grass, breathing in the scent of the fresh Inner Mongolian meadows as sleep whisked me off quickly…

I was certain that I had hardly slept for more than a few minutes when a hand shook me awake. I found myself already in a room. Quickly, I dragged myself to wash myself up. I asked for the time, and the girl who roused me reported that it was already in the afternoon. I thumped myself on the head in a failed attempt to numb the throbbing headache. “There has been an outsider who had just came,” the girl reported, “I think they’re here because of you.” The sudden news brought me to my senses, immediately dispelling off any lingering lethargy that dulled me. I rushed out of my room and immediately stormed into the main hall where I found my Godmother alone. A person had come earlier, requesting to meet with Aunt Ulan while introducing himself as a broker for the Black Dragon Keep. The man was here to offer a parlay on the Black Dragon Keep’s behalf to discuss a possible deal. But my godmother had refused to meet him. Instead, she relayed a message, saying that the broker was hardly qualified to make deals with her! The man was barred from entry and he was forced to leave the camp. I nodded as I listened to her recounts. “We’ll talk only when that sniveling Zheng shows himself!” She hissed, much to my agreement.

Another few days passed until a middle-aged person came to the gates of the encampment, demanding to meet with Aunt Ulan! He declared himself as Zheng Tong, the ringleader of the Black Dragon Keep and was accompanied by a few of his guards. Godmother arranged for them to meet at the hall, where they made their introductions. Zheng Tong first expressed his regrets at the purported misunderstanding between both parties which had culminated into the ceaseless strife between them and revealed his purpose here to offer a deal that would warm relations between them. There were rumors that Aunt Ulan had laid hands on rare commodities that he would wish to trade for, he admitted, and hence his arrival today to request for a price offer!

“So we look like a bunch of haggard beggars to you, Master Zheng?” Aunt Ulan growled at him. Zheng Tong chuckled vilely before answering, “I have come upon a shipment of goods from Russia not long ago. I wonder if you might be interested in them?” He passed a small shipping manifest to Aunt Ulan who pored through it briefly. These were all weapons and ammunition! Smuggled arms! “The goods seems satisfactory,” Aunt Ulan remarked simply. “With your assent, I’ll be pleased to have the goods sent here to barter for yours. We’ll go through the inspection there and then. How does that suit you?” “Such ‘favorable’ terms? We do not need to deliver the goods to you?” Aunt Ulan remarked sarcastically, with a distinct hint at the word ‘favorable’. Zheng Tong gave a short, wicked chortled. “Heh heh heh! I have only the utmost faith in you, Lady Ulan. But this boy…” He gestured at me and continued to say, “His father, Murong Hai, is a famous medium whose powers and abilities are even beyond our comprehension. Surely I cannot be responsible if anything ill were to befall upon his son lest I have to suffer his wrath. Then again, there is the concern of the boy’s skills with tricks and wizardry, if you were to handle the delivery and word of your errand escapes this camp. This is a risk that I cannot bear!” “Very well then, since you are so concerned with security, we’ll do it your way: you will bring your shipment of goods with you and I will allow you to inspect mine. But I will not be answerable to anything that happens after the trade!” Zheng Tong cackled insidiously and replied, “Of course, of course!” “So when do you wish to commence the trade, Master Zheng?” Aunt Ulan asked. “Tomorrow then! Is that fine?” Zheng Tong suggested and Aunt Ulan replied curtly, “Very well! Tomorrow it is then!”

I waited until Zheng Tong had left, and instructed Xiao Si and Xiao Wu to run a sweep around the camp to make sure there were no invisible spies around before I returned to the hall. “So, what are your thoughts about tomorrow, son?” My godmother asked me. I flashed a sinister smile and muttered, “Let’s turn the Black Dragon Keep into the Black Loaches Keep!”