Chapter 4 – Farewell Golden Melody Troupe

When the sun rose Yi Cheng snapped out of his post-coitus bliss, remembering that he was most likely a wanted criminal after the events that happened at the Futou family estate. How could he possibly escape from the city as this point? The city guard would most certainly have closed off all the gates by now.

Izel noticed the change in Yi Cheng and humorously said, “Don’t tell me you are worried your rising dragon will remain shorter than a cun (inch) for the rest of your life?” After explaining everything that had happened the previous day to Izel she sulkily said, “Ch’uang Mu* has certainly blessed your life, you fiend!”

Yi Cheng understood that a proud creature such as Izel wouldn’t approve of the loose sexual morals that most entertainers had in this minor world, but was convinced that discussing his escape from Green Tree City was far more urgent than bickering about things of little importance. “I suggest we delay our discussion on moral principles until we have successfully escaped from the mess I got us caught in!”

“Hmph! My powers are still recovering after that long slumber. Your plan will have to rely on your own capabilities,” said Izel indifferently. Yi Cheng thought deeply on the matter, to the point where his head started to hurt, before stating, “I can’t think of anything. I require aid in this matter.”

“What?!? No plan? No ideas? Nothing?!?” Izel started to curse the heavens for pairing her with someone this foolish.

“No point thinking about it anymore. I will return to the Golden Melody Troupe. All my possessions are there as well. I can’t leave those behind either.”

“Didn’t you say your troupe was allowed to keep camp in the courtyard of the city lord mansion?” asked Izel. “Yes, that’s where the troupe should still be,” answered Yi Cheng.

“You are asking to get caught!”

“How long will I remain this size?” asked Yi Cheng, ignoring Izel’s opinion of his plan.

Izel sighed deeply before answering her blood master, “Because I was not contracted when casting this spell it should stop working once you leave this tree.”

“I need to scale this tree as a little person?”

“Getting down is not something you should worry about. You should focus on the real problems.”

“Oh? How do you suggest we get down?”

Izel flashed a mischievous grin as her wings spread. Without warning she charged at Cheng with considerable speed. Pushing him further and further into the fabric of his robes. It didn’t take long until the two of them had crossed the edge of the branch.

Even though Cheng was smaller than most cats and didn’t weigh very much, it was enough to let the robes slip slowly of the branch. Once it left the branch there was no returning. The robes with Cheng stuck in them entered a free fall down the tree. Cheng screamed as he plummeted towards the bottom of the tree, but before he could truly experience the feeling of freefall the robe already made contact with the pond. The fall did not take more than eight seconds.

When Cheng got dunked into the water, he desperately tried to hold his breath, his fear of breaking his bones upon landing quickly being replaced with the fear of drowning while attempting to escape from his robes.

His fears were ungrounded. A few seconds after hitting the water the magic of the shrinking spell wore off. Cheng returned to his original size almost instantly. The first thing Cheng noticed was Izel laughing loudly as she floated a bu (pace/5 feet) in front of him. Cheng quickly stood up, reaching for his thoroughly soaked robe and started wading towards the shore. “Ha.. I’ll remember that look on your face. Truly a dragon amongst men! Ah ha ha.”

After getting out of the pond Cheng hurried to put his robes on, hoping to regain some of his dignity. He looked at himself, his wet clothing would surely draw the attention of everyone, before returning to the troupe he would have to find something less conspicuous.

Escaping from the park was fairly easy. Many of the guards which usually patrolled the city had been ordered to search for Yi Cheng outside of the city, but it was still too dangerous to return to the Golden Melody Troupe in his own clothing.

In the commoners district Cheng didn’t need to search long for a new outfit. There were several laundry lines hanging between houses. By pushing a cart beneath them Cheng was able to pluck a new outfit from the line. In exchange for the clothing he took he left his own silk robes behind. If they sold the robes, their profit would be enough to feed several families for a year.

Dressed in rough, cheap linen clothing it became much harder to recognize the young actor who usually wore extravagant silk robes that he could proudly display like a peacock. To decrease the chance of detection even further he used a piece of string to tie his long black hair into a ponytail. If he didn’t let any of the city guards look at his face he would surely be mistaken for the most common of commoners.

Cheng managed to reach the City Lord Mansion without any difficulty, but entering the courtyard would not be that simple. He needed to come up with some good excuse to gain access to such a place. The Golden Melody Troupe was only allowed to stay there since the city lord of Thundercloud City was their primary benefactor. If it wasn’t for this fact, the entire troupe would have probably been arrested after the events of the previous day. The difference in status between the city lord of Thundercloud City and the city lord of Red Tree City was insurmountable. Thundercloud City was the capital of one of the twenty-eight provinces while Red Tree City wasn’t even the main city in the county. Therefore it was highly unlikely that the city lord of Red Tree City would harm anyone not directly involved.

Half a day passed without a change, Cheng was still eyeing the main gate of the city lord mansion in the hope of an opportunity. Izel who had followed him through the city couldn’t hold her tongue any longer, “Staring at that gate won’t open it.”

“I know!” responded Cheng bitterly.

“Why don’t you try one of the other gates?”

When Izel mentioned different gates Cheng realized how stupid he had been.

After encircling the City Lord Mansion twice Cheng chose to approach the servants entrance at the back of the estate. The guard who stood watch at this door wasn’t the brightest and could easily be tricked into believing a story of Cheng’s choosing. The young actor felt somewhat proud that he could so easily come up with a plausible lie that allowed him entry into what should have been the most heavily guarded estate in the city.

Now that he had gained access to the estate it was relatively easy to slip into the camp of The Golden Melody troupe. The city lord had send several guards to keep a close watch over the camp, but the guards preferred to play dice instead. They rarely paid any attention to the things that happened in the camp. What were the odds that Yi Cheng would show up here? If he was smart he would be a thousand li away by now.

Cheng snuck into his living wagon. After closing the door he realized he wasn’t alone. Sleeping on top of his bed was Liling Gong. He quietly approached her, placing his hand on top of her mouth and whispered, “Ssshh! It’s me.”

Liling Gong woke abruptly when a hand was placed on her mouth. She wanted to scream out in surprise, but managed to subdue the urge upon realizing who had placed the hand on her lips.She gently brushed Cheng’s hand away from her mouth as she rose up.

“That wasn’t necessary you know.”

“I couldn’t risk it,” said Cheng bluntly, “there are guards outside.”

“I know.”

Cheng waited a few seconds before replying, “Aren’t you going to mock me as usual?”

Liling Gong shook her head as tears started welling up in the corners of her eye, “There is a price on your head! How could I possibly…”

“I’m sorry Liling,” said Cheng as he put an arm around her, slowly pulling the girl’s head towards his shoulder.

As Liling Gong quietly sobbed Cheng soothed her by stroking his hand through her long flowing hair. When the tears stopped flowing he finally said something again, “I can’t stay.”

“I know, but…”

“I need your help.”

“What? Off course I’ll help you. What do I need to do?” asked Liling resolutely.

“After I escape from this city I need you to take this wagon to Thundercloud City. Mother should be able to watch over it until I can reclaim it.”

“That’s all? No smuggling you out? No goodbye kiss? You really are incorrigible!” said Liling as disappointment dripped off her face, “It took us two and a half years to get here. When are you planning to return?”

“I won’t return to the troupe.”

“What? Are you serious!?”

“I am.”

“But why?”

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path,” said Yi Cheng remembering the words spoken by Buddha. After a long pause Cheng said, “I must go and search for my dao.”

At this point Izel opened the door and flew in, “The guards are coming!”

Before Liling could panic from either Izel’s appearance or the notice she gave Cheng grabbed Liling. He opened his closet and pushed Liling inside. With the large amount of silk robes, other luxurious clothing articles and accessories it was simply impossible for him to fit inside, but a maiden could.

Cheng quickly rushed to the door, hoping he could still escape from the approaching guards. As he opened it, he realized this would no longer be possible. Before him stood eight armed guards, several of them with their swords already drawn.

* Ch'uang Mu = Goddess of Beds and everything that happens in them.