Bai Hua had left that town after he stayed there for two more days. People usually didn’t remember him much after the passage of time because he stayed low and didn’t attract too much attention to himself. People who had heard him playing the zither just remembered that they had once enjoyed some good music. Just as the audience of Miss Wei had only focused on her performance and hadn’t paid too much attention to his playing even though it was him who had conjured such a magical performance. The audience will just remember that Miss Wei had performed her masterpiece that day, and that there was a certain musician that day after the passage of time.

He was still in the East Mainland. Now, he was in another town called Baoshan, it was much bigger than the previous town. There were more people on the streets. He didn’t need to eat or rest. So he had been traveling most of the time without eating but just enjoying teas in the inns that he visited. And he had some mortal money with him from the performances he had been giving for a month now. Sometimes he had impulsive cravings for mortal food and he would buy some fruits or eat at an inn. It was already a week since he ate any sort of meal.

He had walked quite a distance and now he was in the center of the town. He looked around the place and saw a huge restaurant with a board that said “Baoshan Heavenly Cuisine.” He was intrigued by the name and decided to go inside to check out the food.

He entered the restaurant carrying his zither at his back. He had been traveling for so long yet there was not even a speck of dust on his boots or robes. He didn’t look outstanding but he looked like a gentleman. He searched for an empty table on the ground floor but all tables were full. So, he went up to the first floor and took the one that was near a group of what looked like to be a group of boys from rich families. He pulled out a chair but was stopped by a voice.

“Excuse me, sir, that table is reserved,” said a nearby waiter.

“Please, sir, follow me. There is another empty table.”

The waiter led him away from the group and pulled out a chair from a table that was close to the window. He placed the zither under the window and took his seat. The waiter offered him a menu to look but he did not even open it.

“What do you think is the best delicacy in your restaurant?” he asked.

The waiter looked at him and seeing that though he looked like a gentleman he did not wear any accessory except for the jade crane on his hair. And his robes also appeared to be of unknown quality. The waiter felt that he must be a tourist from another place. He felt sympathetic towards this customer as he had also come to Baoshan 4 years ago in search of a job.

“The barbecued duck with our special sauce is what I would recommend to you, sir,” he had not lied, he had offered him a delicacy which was always in demand because it was delicious as well as affordable. There were other expensive ones as well. But the waiter felt that those delicacies would certainly burn a hole in the pouch of this customer.

“Okay, please give me that and a bowl of rice.”

“Thank you, sir, I will come right up with your order,” he left saying this.

“They are late!” someone said in a loud voice. It was one of the boys from the table of rich kids. They all looked like they were about 17 or 18.

“Calm down. They will be coming soon. Girls are usually late. I don’t know what takes them so long to come out of their houses,” replied a boy closest to the speaker.

“We can only wait,” said another.

Suddenly, Bai Hua could hear some giggling sounds from the stairs. His table was not far from their table and so he could hear all their conversation. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop.

A group of three teenage girls was coming up the stairs. They were all dressed in rich colors and were wearing expensive pieces of jewelry. They then went and took their seats at the table where Bai Hua had tried to sit earlier.

“What took you girls so long?” the same boy who had talked loudly asked.

“Gathering news, little Chao, unlike you who only thinks about food,” mocked one of the girls.

“I do not!” he exclaimed, offended.

“We know that you are starving. Go ahead and order.”

He scoffed and called over a waiter and shoot off a list of food without even looking at the menu. Every one of them laughed at this.

“Okay, boys, listen we have news for you,” said the same girl, “there is going to a party tonight at the governor’s house. It is arranged only for teenagers. The governor’s daughter had organized this for her guest who has visited her from the imperial city. And we are all invited!”

“That’s such a great news.”

“I wonder who the guest is though.”

“Yeah, the governor’s daughter is going to such an extent to please the guest.”

“Must be someone with a good background.”

“Do you think it’s the Prime Minister’s daughter? I heard she likes to travel around and visit towns.”

“Nah, I don’t think it can be her. I heard she’s in the imperial city. My father just came back yesterday from there. Couldn’t be her.”

They went on chatting happily about the party.

The waiter had brought the food to Bai Hua’s table and he gingerly tasted a mouthful with the chopsticks. It was delicious. He wasn’t hungry but he just liked to experiment and appreciate little things like food that mortals lived to eat or eat to live. He didn’t know. Mortals were complex.

The food for the other table had also arrived and they started eating. They were still talking about the party. The girls were discussing what to wear while the boys were talking about the other girls that might turn up at the party.

Then another girl in the group suddenly smacked her forehead.

“I forgot! I was supposed to find a musician for tonight! The governor’s daughter had asked me to find one. And now I won’t have time. I have to go and get my new shoes and I also have to decide on my clothes and hairpins,” she continued, wailing.

“Hey, wait! Isn’t the guy from before carrying a zither?” asked the boy called Little Chao loudly.

“Who?” asked most of them gathered.

“That guy!” and he looked towards Bai Hua, “he’s not old and looks average. The governor’s daughter will be okay with this. Wait, let me go and ask him.”

He cleaned himself with a napkin and made his way towards Bai Hua.

“Hey, listen, umm Mr..?”

“Call me just Hua,” said Bai Hua, he didn’t want to be called Mister by a kid who looked like about his age in appearance though he was actually 1500 years old.

I have to act like I am a teenager too, he thought.

“Okay, Hua, would you agree to come and play your zither for a party tonight? You will be heavily rewarded for your time. What do you say?”

“Where is the event?”

“It’s at the governor’s house. So, are you willing?”

“Okay. I don’t mind. I will come.”

“That’s really great to hear. Come after the sunset. Just tell the guards that Zhang Chao has asked you to come. That’s my name.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. Thank you. I will see you then,” saying this Zhang Chao went back to his friends.

“What did he say?”

“He agreed. Nice fellow. My charms were not wasted.”

His friends guffawed at this while the girls only giggled.

“There, Wang Ju, your problems are solved. Now you owe this mighty one a favor,” he said as he pointed at himself.

Wang Ju only giggled and said, “Now I have all the time to myself. Don’t worry, Little Chao, I will pay the bill for our food today as a sign of gratitude."

The cost of the food which they had eaten would have fed the whole diners inside the Baoshan Heavenly Cuisine. But for them, it was not a big deal.

Bai Hua was happy to be able to finally meet people with a higher social status. All this time on the mortal realm he had only mixed with common people. It was not that he did not like the common people, but he wanted to see how the rich lived in the mortal realm. He was intrigued!