“Alright Young Master, pottery is something that takes patience, time, care, love and diligence. It's not something that you can master with a fickle heart. Do you understand?” Pot Head said with messianic glee. His eyes became so radiant, that a small tint of light was reflected on his bald scalp.

*Un! Un! UN!* Shi Yan also got caught up in the fervent moment and nodded his head.

“Listen closely. The basic necessity of a pottery master is their tools! Their clay, their kiln (furnace), their bushes, molds, cutter..." *Haaaa...* Pot Head took a gulp of air, trying to catch his breath amidst the torrents of words. He took out a finely decorated wooden weighing scale, laced with small engravings on it. At first, Shi Yan did not notice the peculiarity of this weighing scale. He thought it was something new that Pot Head had brought back during his sleep. But after glaring at the thing for quite some time, he noticed something was off. The size, shape and material used to make this was something he had encountered before.

Suddenly, the thought sprang up and the boy could not help but ask, "Mister, is that weighing scale the same one that I kept yesterday?"

*Haahaa*, Pot Head became more flamboyant as he held the weighing scale with pride. But at the same time, his eyes reflected sadness. “Yes! I'd never imagined that it could be returned to such a pristine condition. For that, I'm greatly indebted to both of you. Thank you… truly, thank you…” Pot Head’s words became a little muffled at the end. However, he took a deep breath and broke smiling again.

“Alright! Young Master, how about we try to make our own clay?”

*Un!* the little boy mimicked the old man and rolled up his sleeve, preparing to start. They both sat down on the opposite side of the workbench littered with different powdery substances. There was a brief moment of silence that filled the room as the little boy admired the sight. With a nod satisfaction at Shi Yan’s amazed expression, Pot Head began to explain. “All of these are compounds that we use to make the vases. Although it might be hard, you need to learn to recognise all of them."

Li En lightly chuckled, seemingly unnoticeable to the old man but was caught by the 'still sensitive little boy.

Taking a deep breath, Pot Head readies himself. "That one over there that is white is known as bone ash and next to it is kaolin. I know, I know, they are both white. It might be a little confusing to tell them apart so remember this method. First, rub your fingers lightly till you feel a little sweat on it."

Pot Head patiently waited for a moment before placing his hand onto Shi Yan. After feeling a bit of moisture, he proceeded onto the next step. "Alright, now, dip one small finger into that one. How do you feel?"

With a baffled look, Shi Yan answered, " Mister, it's hard and rough but really small..."

"Ok, now, use the other finger and try to get a pinch of the other white powder over there. What do you feel?”

“*Emm…* icky… no, sticky… but it's soft and fun to squeeze. Mister, this is kaolin right?” Shi Yan’s facial expression changed from that of rumination to that of fascination.

“Oh, Young Master, you sure have some good memory. Yes, that is kaolin, the very soul of making porcelain clay. Well, technically you need all compounds to amalgamate into the water but kaolin is almost exclusively used to make porcelain!” The old man nods his head up and down. “Unlike bone ash, porcelain easily absorbs water to make it a little paste-like. That’s why the powder clump together and easily form something a little sticky.”

*Ohhh!* Shi Yan’s mouth left a gaping hole opened as continued to fiddle with the kaolin between his fingers. Only after a few minutes, did his attention begin to meander somewhere else? Pointing to the other white powder on the table, he asked, “Mister, what’s that?”

“This is called feldspar… It looks white due to the dark shading but if you look closely, you will realise how magical it really is!” Taking the paper with feldspar on top, Pot Head led Shi Yan out of the shop and onto the sunbathing streets. Meanwhile, the bigger crowd of onlookers on the street who were amusing themselves in gossip, turned their heads once the bald old man appeared in sight. [What is he planning to do?] They thought, after watching him crouch down to the little boy and whisper a few words. He opened up a small paper packet for a short moment before heading back into the store.

*tch,* some of them clicked their tongues in boredom and resumed their daily chatter. They had wished to see another scene again, maybe the story they’d tell this time would fill their throats with ale. However, after a few moments of bustling blabber, it soon turned into deadly silence.

******************

~Back inside the store,

******************

“Young Master, how does it look? Beautiful right?” Pot Head spoke with his head above the clouds.

“*Em!* It looks like little clouds inside. Why can I see through it in some parts but not in other parts? Mister, do you know why the thing looks like this?” The pair sat back down on the table and Pot Head placed the feldspar back onto the same spot.

“It’s translucent. That means that you can partially see through it. As for the reason why it’s like this, well, I’m not too sure. Sorry Young Master…” Pot Head once again lost a little bit of his self-esteem.

[I guess this is a good opportunity to explain] the gazing Li En stood up and walked towards the two clueless males. *Ah hem*, she coughed, attracting both their attentions. “Young Master, what you are currently looking at is not something pure. Imagine a slow and steady stream of water. It’s clear, right? But what if you add sand and dirt inside?”

“*Ah!* The clear water becomes dusty. I can’t see through it anymore!” Shi Yan jumped in surprise.

“Exactly. It’s easy to understand right?” Li En chuckled as she went back to her seat and continued to monitor the two.

Pot Head’s face turned ashen-black as he intently listened to the conversation. [Have I been using something like this all this time? Is that why my works have never been able to reach his level?! Impossible! I've searched for the exact same source! The exact same kiln. Unless...]

Watching Pot Head’s reaction, Li En had a bad feeling and quickly explained. “There is no mistake that the thing you are using is of the best quality.”

Suddenly, from the door, a familiar voice snapped. “That’s right. Instead of doubting your own ability, you rather doubt the materials you use. Haven’t your works been bought by numerous nobles before? Do you actually believe that none of them are able to tell apart what you have used to create your works?”

Li En stood up with hazy eyes, filled with a tint of rage. “What are you doing here?”

“*Ka Ka*, it's been awhile since I last saw you so I felt like visiting? Is there not going to be a seat prepared for your guest?” Madam Cheng spoke in a wisenheimer manner. “I actually have more proposition for you. Won't you care to listen?”

“Well, it seems that the time we spent apart doesn’t seem to be sufficient. Listen, we’ve already listened to you yesterday and had already decided. So stop wasting your breath.” Li En warned.

“*ka,ka,ka.* My, I’m so hurt. Especially after meeting someone who could be my friend. There isn’t need to get so uptight. I'm not going to harm any of you. But, that doesn’t mean that someone else won't.” the grin on Madame Cheng’s face once again turned more ominous as she took a few steps forward. Her gaze landed on Pot Head, causing him to quiver as his face turned pale and eyes looked down in hopes to avoid her.

"Madame Li, you don't seem to know the background of this servant that you have employed. You should actually be grateful that I came all the way here with some fair warnings after learning about his past." Madame Cheng spoke in a firm voice while checking up on Li En's expression. However, the old woman continued to remain calm without a hint of distress on her face.

“Pot Head.” Li En called out.

“Yes?” he yelped in fear, while the perspiration could be seen forming all over his skin.

“Everything you told me yesterday were all the truth, right? Am I correct to also say that you aren't trying to hide anything from me?” Li En’s wrinkled face remained calm but her tone was domineering.

“Of-f course!”

“Then, there won't be any problems.” Li En’s gaze returned to the rude woman who casually waltzed into the store. “So, what else would you like to add?”

“*hmm* I'm surprised that you’ve actually noticed something like this. Did you have a chat when that child was asleep?” Madame Cheng asked with a genuine look of astonishment. Soon, that appearance returned back to its normal pedestalize self. “But, what about the situation that he is not aware of? He might be telling you everything he knows, without a single shred of lie. But, does that mean he knows everything that happened?”

Listening to the conceit's woman, Li En’s brows wrinkled. With slight hesitation, she probed further to ask, “what do you know that we don’t?”

The grin on Madame Cheng’s face widens as a glint of curious light had been sparked. “I know the other side of the story; as well as the man who he used to call father.”

[Im-impossible!!] Pot Head felt his heart tighten up as the air around him suddenly felt thin. [How?]

Scanning up Pot Head’s reaction, Madam Cheng chuckled. “*Ka ka ka* it seems that you are unaware of the relationship of the nobles here and those in the Magreh Kingdom. Just so you know, your origins have been discovered a long time ago. You can't expect to hide by simply shaving away your blond hair and using a fake accent.” She turned to Li En. “Why do you conceive a lie when you have a faint idea on what would happen if his identity was found out?”

“You act all mighty thinking that you know everything.” Li En stood up and stormed in front of Madam Cheng.

“I do to a certain degree,” Madam Cheng nods in agreement as she remained unmoved by Li En’s advances.

Li En stood directly in front of the egotistical woman, blocking her gaze from landing on both the child and old man behind her. Her face remained calm but her tone showed obvious irritation. “Then enough with this pointless chatter! You’ve killed enough of all our time already. Let's stop going around in circles. We both know that this whole situation escalated because you took an interest in him and investigated him.”

Madam Cheng did not deny the claim and smiled.

“So, you stirred up the hornet’s nest and came here, claiming to have an offer. But, in reality, you are simply poisoning someone and threatening them with the antidote.” Li En’s eyes slowly developed a glimmer of disgust and hatred as she continued. “Accepting an offer with you is similar to accepting a deal from the devil. Both of you can't be trusted. So tell me, cause I am also curious. Why are you even here if you could understand me so well? Why waste so much time coming all the way to this decrepit store just to make this deal? Are you really that bored?”

Madam Cheng turned silent for a moment. She was not startled by Li En’s word or her fierce demeanour. But she still continued to stay silent, as though she was trying to send a tacit understanding to the opponent staring down at her. Finally, after a long and dreadfully heart pounding wait, did she open her mouth to speak. “You're right. I'm really bored. But, so what? As long as you and that boy are around, I'm sure that my time spent here would be filled with thrills. After all, you two are the first humans to ever exit that side of the forest.”

Li En’s brows twitched for a second. In order to conceal her sudden sinking heart, she continued to place a calm façade. “What do you mean?” Even Pot Head, who was seated behind her, felt his heart clamped out of shock.

“*Oh!* you don’t seem to know. Well, it's not any simple laughing matter. But, it does show that you aren't from around here. I wonder, just how long have you stayed inside that part of the forest? No one and I literally mean no one, would not know about that forest.”

“Like I've said, what do you mean?” Li En’s facial expression turned even more threatening.

“*Kakaka! You really don’t know! Oh my, I got to savour this moment.” Madam Cheng swiftly side step past Li En and points to the shaken old man. “You, explain everything to her.”

Her intentions were clear to Li En. She wanted to prove her point; everyone, including this man who was overly obsessed with pottery, understood that exiting the forest was something impossible.

In his nervous state, Pot Head tightly grasped his fist and obeyed; for he knew that going against either of these women would mean his doom. "… Due West of the Kingdom lies the noble forest. It houses demons that no one could see. Hidden and forbidden, it shall remain be. Children, oh beware. Snares and traps are laid out inside. They will catch you and that is the end, for your entire life, you will spend in regret..." Pot Head's face turned palid as he continued to explain. "That is a nursery song that is commonly sang to children by their parents... On occasion, while I was tending to the shop, I would hear this song play out..."

Madam Cheng's voice turned solemn. "The origins of this song came from one of the nobles that came from Magreh Kingdom and got lost inside the forest. We sent troops into the forest to search for the boy but for some odd reason, none of them managed to return. Over the years, countless people have disappeared. The Emperor had even personally sent some of his best men to check the area. However, it all ended the same. Although a poor adaptation of their language, it serves its purpose as a warning to all." Her eyes, now shifted to focus on the little boy, "I wonder what would happen if the Emperor himself got wind of the news? Certainly, there must some kind of action he will do. Little one, I know you understand what I mean right?"

She squats down in front of Shi Yan and chuckled. “*Ka Ka Ka!* Little one, what do you say? I could always bring those two under my wing and protect them while still maintaining my previous offer.”

“You don't have to make such a frightened expression. It's not like I'm going to eat you or anything. Or maybe that’s what you want? *Kakakaka!*"