Centuries

Chapter 13

The world has changed so much. I knew that it was a silly thing to say, but it really had. The building awnings had changed and depicted different motifs, and now I knew why Meng Po had changed me. My external appearance was like the men who ere milling about--the front part of their heads was shaved, and the rest of their hair was braided. Instead of robes, I now wore a tunic and pants.

We made our way into the city, where a new king ruled. The awnings were still intact, but the motifs had changed. The language that the people spoke was no longer Han, but something they called Manchu. It was, in fact, the preferred language. I wandered around the city with my friends, looking at all the stalls. This reminded me of the time I was with Fangyu, at the market, but it was a different time.

Horseface came across an herbalist's, and so he told us that he was going there, and Meng Po wanted to follow him. I didn't want to go, and instead, wanted to explore, so they told me to meet them at the town square in the evening. I strolled around, seeing people milling about. Many children were standing at the toy store, watching as the stallkeeper hawked his latest puppets. They were still telling stories of the Monkey King. I raised an eyebrow. All of this really did remind me of my date with Fangyu, and I stopped and sighed. I wished I could turn back the clock.

I dipped into another street. There were a great many teahouses, with melodious laughter and the scent of jasmine tea wafting out onto the streets. I thought that this was where she might be at first, but then I realised that I'd read the book of her existence, and that was not her next incarnation.

I wove in and out of the streets and soon, they became alleys. Street urchins played in these alleys, giggling to each other, and I tossed a few coins to them so that they could buy some food. Along this street, perhaps on the south avenue, were a group of men gambling outside. They were staring at something on a table, and shouting, "Yes! Get it!"

I wandered closer to see what they were doing. They were fighting crickets! Apparently, each man who was at the table had a cricket in a cage that was tied to their sash. They were looking on as one cricket tried to best the other. I thought it was a bit of an unfair fight, since the first cricket was much larger than the smaller one it was fighting. The two old men were shouting commands at their respective insects, trying to motivate them to attack each other.

"Come on, Xiao Bu Dian!" one man screamed.

"Come on Fa Cai!" shouted the other. I assumed that Xiao Bu Dian was the smaller one, and both crickets attacked each other. They made chirping noises, and it appeared that the bigger one was attacking the smaller one more. But then, something happened. The smaller one lashed back! I was watching as both insects fought, but then, I remembered that I couldn't be distracted. I walked along the alleyway, and realised that there were other cricket battles being fought, too.

I walked down the alleyway, and ventured into another teahouse. Normally, this "teahouse" would be filled with beautiful women, but I was stunned when I walked past one full of men.

"Hello handsome. Are you looking to have some fun?" a voice asked.

I looked up. I would recognise those eyes anywhere.