Zen walked through the empty halls of his home with Shibi. Most of the workers had not returned since the rebellion and with how things were going, he doubted most of them would. The Wang family had lost its main bread winner, been stripped of their noble status and the remainder of their fortune will be used to pay of the 10 000 Spirit Coins fee that the Empire had levied against them.

Then he heard a bell ring, signaling that they had a visitor. He sighed and made his way to the entrance, steeling himself against the coming trouble that was bound to come in these dark times for the Wang family.

Making his way, he heard his mother laugh. “Good to see you too, Papa!”

Zen sighed in annoyance. He knew who ‘Papa’ was. He rounded the corner and saw the smiling wrinkly man with silver hair. “Welcome back, Grandfather.” Zen bowed to the Jao Patriarch.

Zen noticed from the corner of his eye, Ding Wu growing tense at his entrance. He gave the Wang guard a reassuring look that he is fine.

“Grandson, good to see you again.” He glanced at Zen. His face then twisted in disgust, “I see you still have that monkey with you? You need to civilise that beast.”

“Civilise Shibi?”

“Tame it, have it under a contract so that if it does not obey you, you can discipline it.”

Zen opened his mouth to answer but Jao had already changed the topic.

“Lin Lin,” he turned to Wang Lin, “I am so grateful that you have come back from your journey unscathed.”

“Well, I survived but not unscathed.” She said, sadly.

“Yes, I heard the second in command died during the journey.” Jao said. “And you had to take a more leadership role. You and the captain of the adventurers are revered as the main reasons that you came back alive.”

“Enough about my journey, Papa. Would you like tea?”

“I told you not to marry him!” Jao said. “Honestly, Commoners are fools and I knew he would lead to your ruin! Why are you smiling?”

Wang Lin and her father were seated at a table, steam rising from the hot tea in front of them.

Jao had grown red in his frustration, talking about Wang Ton, while Lin kept quiet, smiling to herself.

“Well, Papa, I am a Wang and that means I am now a commoner.” She said. “So, I am a fool.”

“Never! You come from the proud Jao, one of the 100 Noble families!” Jao said. “You are not a foolish Wang! Bah! Why are you still smiling?”

Lin laced her fingers under her chin as she leaned forward. “Because most of what you said is correct, Papa. I married a fool of a man. I told him that pursuing a vendetta against The Red Dragon Sect would only lead him to ruin. I thought that he had moved on from his anger and thirst for vengeance but he had fooled me and everyone else.”

Her smile grew wider and Jao thought he saw pride in her eyes but he dismissed it as a trick of the light.

“Yes, he was a fool, Papa, but still what he was able to accomplish was still amazing. No one will forget the name of Wang Ton any time soon.”

“Bah! You should not have ever married him!” Jao repeated.

“No use dwelling in the past, when the present plagues us so, Papa.” Lin said leaning back and taking a sip of her tea. “Paying the fee of the Empire is going to cost us a lot and none of our allies will have anything to do with us since we are now seen as sympathisers of the commoners in the rebellion.”

“Well, whatever happens, my home is open to you.” Jao said.

“Thank you, Papa.” Lin bowed her head gratefully at her father. “That is an offer my son and I will most likely take soon.”

Wang Zen, who was hiding while eavesdropping clenched his fists in frustration at his mother’s words. He was about to leave when Ding Wu came running in. The guard had to dodge Zen, almost knocking him over.

“Master Wang!” he said. “My apologies.”

Zen tried to gesture to him that she should be quiet but it was too late.

“Zen’er? Ding Wu?” Lin called out.

Ding Wu continued out, gesturing to Zen to follow.

“Forgive me, Lady Wang. I was delivering this message to you and Master Wang was following me.” Ding Wu presented the scroll he was carrying to Lin.

She exchanged a worried glance with her father. “From the city officials huh?” She broke the seal of the scroll, “Let’s hear what those vultures want.”

She read the message then sighed.

“Seems I have been summoned…”

Zen waited at the door, fidgeting as he waited his mother’s return. When she left, the sun was still climbing up in the sky, now it had vanished, replaced by the moon. He groaned as he looked at Jao who was taking up all the real-estate by pacing in front of the door. He wanted to pace in front of the door!

“That foolish father of yours!” Jao began.

Zen rolled his eyes. It was one of many rants he had begun, bad mouthing his father. Although he pretended it didn’t it was starting to get on his nerves.

“Look at what trouble he has dragged my Lin Lin into.” He said. “And for what? A convict son who brought shame to my daughter.”

Zen’s eyes widened. “My brother brought shame to no one!”

“Bah! You’re young, so you don’t know that your brother and father are fools, traitors and cowards. When you grow older you will understand and you will forsake their name.”

“Take that back!” Zen rose to his feet, his anger growing. “My brother and father were great people and if you don’t see it then… then you’re a fool!”

“How dare you, Boy?” Jao stopped pacing and faced Zen in a threatening way.

Shibi jumped from the ceiling. He bared his fangs while his body ignited in flames.

“Out of the way pest,” Jao spat a Shibi, raising his arm while white ki gathered around his hands.

“Don’t you dare hurt Shibi!” Zen spat, his own ki roiling as Shibi’s fire brined brighter.

Ding Wu heard the commotion and ran to the entrance. “Master Wang! Master Jao!” He tried to calm them down.

““Stay out of this!”” they both said in unison as they prepared to attack...

The door of the house opened. Both men stopped and looked at the door.

“Mother!” Zen said happily.

“Lin Lin!” Jao said, just as happy.

“Hey!” Lin said, smiling.

“What did they want?” Jao said. “Are they going to punish you anymore?”

“They wouldn’t, right Mother?”

She just smiled. “No worried, they didn’t punish me.” She said. “Quite the opposite actually.”

““What?”” Zen and Jao said.

“Seems I came back a bigger hero than I thought.” She said before pointing at herself with her thumb. “You’re looking at the new City Lord.”