When we woke up, we were put to work right away, setting up food vendors, hanging decorations, cleaning streets, and helping restore the gardens. By the time we took a break, we were exhausted, sitting on the steps of the Abbot's building while eating fried fish an old chef made as a reward.
Except Silas. He was too busy devouring a mountain of new sweets we'd never seen before.
We were still chatting when a guard shouted from the lookout tower that they were here.
We stood and headed toward the gates as they creaked open. Three figures stepped inside, each completely different in size and presence. Liwei fist-bumped the tallest one, then skipped straight past the man in the middle to give the short one a massive hug. Finally he stopped in front of the man he'd skipped and stared at him in complete silence, the type of silence where two people are having a whole conversation with their eyes. After what felt like forever, they shook hands firmly.
Liwei motioned for us to come meet them.
As we walked closer, I could finally make out the details. The man in the middle, clearly the one Liwei had history with, stood around Liwei's height, maybe six-foot-one. Long, rough black hair, an equally messy beard, and a wooden smoking pipe told me he was the type of guy who didn't care what anyone thought. The short one was in his own world, playing with a small creature resting on his shoulder.
A mini dragon.
Silas leaned to us. "That's not something you see every day."
I nodded discreetly. The kid had a youthful look, skinny but toned. A beauty mark on his face and the black hair with a hint of blue reminded me of the woman from the first day.
Then I looked up, way up, at the giant of the group. He gave me a friendly wave. Kind eyes, wide chin, sharp jawline, and massive muscles that looked like they were carved out of stone.
Liwei stepped forward and raised his voice.
"Clearly this is everyone's first time meeting. Boys, these are the village's finest, besides me, of course."
"Don't make me laugh, Zhang," the man with the pipe said.
Liwei glared as the man tipped his hat.
"This idiot is Haitao Zhou. The Wandering Blade. Dumb name, if you ask me."
"Better than that stupid title of yours," Haitao shot back. "The Fist of Perseverance? Please. The only thing you've ever persevered through is my beatdowns."
Even Deandre laughed.
"Not funny," Liwei muttered.
"It was pretty funny," Deandre said.
"Not helping, Walker."
Liwei pointed to the giant. "This ray of sunshine is Wang Tianlei. Leader of the Titan Monks. One of the best hand-to-hand fighters we have. And he knows a thing or two about beast summoning."
Tianlei waved. "Nice to meet you all. Hope my friend treated you well."
Then Liwei put a hand on the short boy's shoulder. "And this cute guy is my nephew, Fang Shentou. Leader of the Spirit Monks. His mother insisted he join his father."
"I'm old enough," Fang said proudly. "And I beat Uncle Liwei."
"Whatever, I wasn't trying," Liwei muttered.
"Don't worry," Silas added, "I beat him too. Same excuse."
Liwei shot him a warning look.
We introduced ourselves, and the monks were friendly, until we reached Haitao. He didn't shake hands. He studied us. Hard. Like he was searching for something beneath the surface.
When I stepped forward, he stiffened.
Then it happened.
In a blur, fast enough that only me and Silas seemed to see it, Haitao drew his blade and swung at me. Instinctively, I ducked.
Metal clashed.
Silas had drawn his sword just in time.
Deandre stepped in front of me, body hardened. "What's your problem!?"
Haitao sheathed his blade. "Relax. I was checking your strength. I could feel a strong presence when I entered the forest."
He pointed at me.
"I'm assuming it's you."
His suspicion was obvious.
I took a breath. "I'm Killian Kingston, vessel of the—"
A voice thundered in my skull.
"STOP!"
"Do NOT reveal me. You'll paint a target on your back the moment you tell people my real title. Tell them I'm the god of electricity."
I swallowed.
"—the vessel of the god of electricity," I finished. "We aren't from here, but these people took us in. Fed us. Helped us. We aren't a threat."
Haitao's face settled.
Liwei stepped forward. "We have much to discuss. But for now, enjoy the celebration. When the sun fully sets, meet me in the Abbot's training room. Killian, Silas, Deandre, you're dismissed."
We headed to our rooms. The village was nearly restored, looking alive again, though in our hearts we knew the scars remained.
Deandre stretched. "Back to normal, and just in time for the celebration."
"Let's hope it stays this way," I said.
"And let's hope Liwei's meeting is what we think," Silas added.
Inside the building, we saw the woman from the first day, just as beautiful, playing with a child. Silas whispered, "Killian, Dre… look. She and Fang look exactly alike."
Then Haitao walked in and kissed her.
Our jaws dropped.
"Bro… Haitao is Liwei's brother-in-law?" Deandre said.
We scrambled into our rooms, whispering, until a knock came. My heart jumped as I opened the door.
It was her.
She held clothes in her arms. "Hello boys. I brought outfits for the celebration."
We were still stunned.
"Are you… okay?" she asked gently.
"We're fine, it's just…" Deandre started.
Silas finished, "Are you related to Master Zhang?"
She nodded and sat down, motioning for us to sit.
"My name is Mei Ling Zhang. Liwei is my twin brother. Our family was royalty once…"
"Our father was King Zhang Jianhong, ruler of a peaceful kingdom out west. He wasn't like most kings you hear about. He didn't care about gold or glory. He cared about people. Father spent more time training soldiers, healing the sick, and visiting towns than he did sitting on a throne."
"People respected him because he fought beside them, not above them."
Mei Ling's expression grew hard.
"But one man couldn't stand him. Kai Zhao. He was a warlord who wanted to unite the east under his own rule. He hated how people followed my father willingly, without fear. Kai Zhao thought fear was the only real power."
"So he plotted to take everything from us, our land, our people… and our family."
"When word came that Kai Zhao was marching on our homeland, father had no choice. He ordered the evacuation of the entire kingdom. Every woman, child, elder, and anyone who couldn't fight. Even our soldiers."
"Our mother was pregnant with us, Liwei and me. She didn't want to leave father behind, but he insisted."
"He told her to protect us."
Mei Ling paused, voice soft but proud.
"Father stayed behind by himself. Not to win… but to give our people time to escape."
"He tried to reason with Kai Zhao, even then. He begged him to stand down. But Kai Zhao refused."
"The battle lasted an entire day. Father fought until his body could no longer move. They say he defeated half of Kai Zhao's generals by himself before he finally fell."
"It's the reason Ihuoin still hasn't recovered after all these years."
"Our mother made it to Ishu Chu, barely. She was already weak from the long journey, but she stayed strong long enough to give birth to us."
"Liwei and I came into the world on the same night… and she died the same morning."
"Liwei and I were raised here, in this village. Not as royalty, no one even cared about that anymore. We were just two orphans. The villagers fed us, protected us, taught us."
"Liwei was always the loud one. The brave one. The troublemaker. I was the quiet one… the shy one."
"We were all we had."
"Before we were even old enough to understand everything, Liwei made a promise."
She smiles softly.
"'I'm gonna protect this village like Dad protected our kingdom.'"
"And he did. Every day. Every fight. Every mission."
"Everything Liwei became, Master Zhang, the Fist of Perseverance, it was because he made a vow to our father, even though he didn't know him."
"We never told people who we truly were. The Abbot and most of our people from the kingdom were the only ones who knew the truth. If Kai Zhao ever learned that the king's children survived…"
She trails off, letting the boys fill in the rest.
"He would burn this village down to finish what he started."
"So is Haitao your husband?" Silas asked.
"Yes… Haitao is my husband. Fang is our son. Haitao learned the truth eventually from Liwei. He chose to protect us."
She smiles gently.
"Liwei hates admitting it, but Haitao saved his life more than once."
"Sorry about that, I know how it feels to be by yourself, at least you had master Zhang." Deandre said.
"You do?" Mei Ling asked curiously.
"Yeah… my parents died when I was really young."
Deandre leaned back a little, eyes drifting toward the floor.
"It wasn't anything dramatic like a war or monsters. Just life being unfair. My dad passed in an accident, and my mom… she couldn't handle raising me alone after that. She got sick. Really sick. And even though she tried to fight it, she didn't make it."
He took a slow breath.
"After that, I got passed around. Some people took me in because they had to. Others because they thought they could 'fix' me. But most of the time I just felt like… like extra baggage nobody actually wanted."
He shrugged, but it was the kind of shrug someone does to hide a wound.
"I'd stay somewhere for a few months, then something would happen, I'd break a rule I didn't know existed, or get into a fight trying to defend myself, and I'd get moved again."
"By the time I turned eleven, I'd had enough. I figured it'd be better to take care of myself than keep pretending people cared."
He gave a humorless laugh.
"So I ran. Lived on the streets for a while. Slept wherever I could, stole food when I needed to, fought when I had to. Nobody knew, nobody cared. That was normal for me."
Mei Ling listened closely, her face softening.
"But then Killian found me."
Deandre nodded at me with a genuine smile.
"I don't even know what he saw in me. I was dirty, angry, hungry… just a kid trying to survive. But he came up to me anyway. Told me his family could help. I didn't believe him at first. Thought it was some kind of joke."
He paused.
"But it wasn't. His mom cooked for me. His dad talked to me like I mattered. And Killian? He treated me like a brother from day one."
He let out a breath he seemed like he didn't know he was holding.
"Even if we aren't related by blood…"
Dre glanced at me.
"Family isn't always the people you're born to. Sometimes it's the people who choose you. And Killian's family chose me."
He looks up at Mei Ling.
"So yeah… I get what it's like, losing everything and starting over. And I get what it means when someone gives you a place to belong."
He smiled.
"You and Liwei had this village. I had Killian. That's what saved me."
Mei Ling smiled warmly at us. Then she presented the Tang Suits.
Silas' was white with hidden black patterns. Deandre's black with green-red leopard spots.
And mine…
Cream-colored. Gold buttons. Blue streaks like living lightning.
"The Abbot made this for you," Mei Ling said. "Before he passed."
My chest tightened. "I'll wear it proudly."
She excused herself, and after a while we noticed the crowd gathering. The festival was starting.
Lights glowing through the streets. Music. Laughter. Food that tasted better than anything back home. Fang playing with his dragon familiar. Games. Plays. Joy.
Then a tap on my shoulder, Tianlei.
Time.
He had a very drunk Haitao lifted onto his shoulder. Fang ran to join us. We gathered Deandre and Silas.
Wang folded his arms. "Whatever Liwei has planned… I'm ready."
We were too.
We headed toward the Abbot's building,
Prepared for anything.