The temperature was relatively warm for the melancholic season. The rays of the sunlight spilled down like ethereal beams sent from Heaven.

Yan Mei Ling gently turned her head to the side, shielding her eyes, as Aurora swept her with its zealous kisses.

She raked her eyes leisurely around the village. She decided to take a stroll after a long rest in Lady Chao Biming's tent. She had not seen the latter since she woke up, but one of her maidservants informed her that Lady Chao Biming took charge in arranging a quarter for her and that of her fellow soldiers.

The village was expansive, almost as vast as the Central Capital, and securely enclosed in high formidable walls made of thick, sturdy forest woods. The base of the walls were reinforced with thick slabs of stones and clay. There were parts of the wooden walls that were slowly replaced with stones to fortify and make it fire-proof.

Watchtowers were built in every corner of the walls. There were trenches in between the walls to provide space as to where cannons were placed; this was primarily for speedy retaliation should there be any threat of invasion. The walls were easy to climb from the inside as there were stairs built.

The Chao village was impregnable indeed.

Last night, Lady Chao Biming had entertained her with tales about how her family and the villagers came to the forest. She told her that they had a house in a village near the port as her father was a travelling merchant and owned a fleet of trading junks. But after a series of pirate infestations and, ultimately, the murder of her mother; her father, Baron Chao Bo, decided to abandon their stately house to live in the forest.

Baron Chao Bo was a known and respectable nobleman, and there were a lot of people who look upon him. When he bid his farewell to his villagers, they immediately expressed their desire to follow him. From that moment on, they had been living in the forest. Her father still visited his house in their old residence but only when he traveled to trade in distance seas.

Yan Mei Ling continued to traipse within the village. Most of the people lived in colorful tents with beautiful geometric pattern designs, the tents had floor joists made of hard stone and clay. There were some structures that had been constructed with tile bricks and stones such as the town-hall, Baron Chao Bo's unfinished siheyuan and some of the villagers' houses. She peered around and reveled at what she saw. It felt as if that the joyful memories of her daily jaunts in the town outside the Imperial palace had been projected into the Chao village. It made her feel giddy with excitement.

The children were frolicking everywhere; she could hear their bubbly sounds of laughter. The villagers were busy with their chores – selling, building, repairing and preparing. But even if they were all preoccupied, they never failed to bow their heads in greeting to Yan Mei Ling whenever she walked past them.

"Good day, Ninja boy!" A man who was pushing a wagon full of straws greeted her enthusiastically.

"Good day to you too," Yan Mei Ling nodded shyly in greeting.

The kids jovially waved at her. "Good morning, Ninja boy!"

Yan Mei Ling waved back. "Good morning, kids."

"Finally, I have met the legendary Ninja boy, our hero!" A fat vendor exclaimed in joy as he prepared and arranged his freshly steamed goods. "Do you want to try these mántóu? You can have as much as you want for free!"

Yan Mei Ling walked to the vendor's stall and grinned widely as she scrutinized each of the freshly steamed breads displayed in front of her. Her eyes curiously fell to the crude-looking breads shaped like cones. "What are those?"

The vendor beamed at her while tapping his fleshy stomach. "Those are wō tóu. A kind of bread that is made out of corn."

"Wō tóu," Yan Mei Ling whispered in awe. She never tasted such type of bread but it caught her attention because of its pleasant corn smell. "I never have that kind of bread in my life. May I try that one?"

The vendor smiled and said, "Yes, of course, Ninja Boy. Wō tóu is the cheapest and simplest bread that I have but I assure you, it tastes great." He took several wō tóu but Yan Mei Ling stalled him.

"I don't think I can finish all of that. May I just have one?"

"Don't you want to share a few wō tóu with your fellow soldiers, Ninja Boy?"

Yan Mei Ling raised both of her brows in wonder for moment. She lightly scratched her head and chuckled, "Of course; of course..."

The vendor merrily put on several wō tóu in the basket and handed them to Yan Mei Ling. "Here, Ninja Boy, I hope your fellow soldiers will like wō tóu too."

Yan Mei Ling accepted the basket and closed her eyes as she took in the pleasant corn aroma of the wō tóu. She finally opened her eyes and said, "I am sure that my fellow soldiers will like this. Oh, please don't call me Ninja Bo - it is just my alias when I join the Imperial Tournament. You can call me Tang Lao Fang."

"Oh, yes. You did an amazing job on the tournament. We actually placed our bet on you, and even if the result was not favorable on your part - you have gained our hearts with your incredible skills."

Yan Mei Ling fell silent for a moment as she remembered her defeat to Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei. She was very reckless and impatient during the tournament. Those things blinded her focus which led to her depressing loss. She thought further. She had changed since she joined the military.

There was no doubt that she greatly admired Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei. She also felt something for him in the same way that she felt for Li Lei Shuang but she could not help but contemplate about fighting him in the tournament again. Even if he was undeniably the most skillful fighter that she came across with other than Master Tang Jiao Quon, she believed that she had vastly improved - hopefully, enough to defeat him. She attributed her improvement from her fights with the warriors she met on the battlefield. Jiangjun Han Li was one of them.

Should a bout between her and Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei happen, would she finally be victorious?

"Thank you," Yan Mei Ling gently said. "Ah, I have failed to ask you one thing - may I know your name?"

"My name is Yi Gen." Yi Gen answered enthusiastically; he was somewhat flattered that the warrior that he looked up to bothered to ask for his name.

"Thank you so much for your kindness, Yi Gen."

"Oh, we should be the one thanking you. Not only that you save our dear Lady Chao Biming, but you help us in exposing the real motives of the wicked Hsien soldiers. You are our greatest hero."

Yan Mei Ling was warmed by what Yi Gen said that it almost made her cry with too much happiness.

"Oh, there is Lady Chao Biming." Yi Gen said in delight. "Good day, Lady Chao Biming!" He waved at Lady Chao Biming.

Yan Mei Ling followed the direction of Lady Chao Biming who was occupied in carrying a basketful of cloths along with her maidservant.

Lady Chao Biming blushed as she looked at them – maybe because of exertion. She waved back at them with a bright smile.

"Lady Chao Biming is not only a beautiful lady with a kind heart; she is always willing to extend her help to anyone who needs it." Yi Gen shared proudly. "Her future husband, whoever he is, will be a very lucky man."

A smile suddenly tugged Yan Mei Ling's lips.

Lady Chao Biming was indeed a very thoughtful and kind woman. It was not a wonder why a lot of her maidservants and villagers dote on her. She was unlike the other female nobles she knew who would probably faint at the mere thought of doing hard labor. Other than that, she was also a great healer.

"Ah.. Yi Gen, I think Lady Chao Biming needs my help." Yan Mei Ling said. "Thank you once again for these wō tóu."

"You are always welcome." Yi Gen beamed. "Don't forget to make me a proud man, Tang Lao Fang." He playfully winked at her.

Yan Mei Ling's eyes narrowed in confusion at Yi Gen's cryptic words but she decided not to dwell on it. She smiled at him and walked to Lady Chao Biming.

"Lady Chao Biming, please allow me to help you." Yan Mei Ling offered as she bowed her head.

Lady Chao Biming's red faced had grown intense and her reply almost came out as a stutter. "Uh.. Ye-yes; yes, of course. Thank you."

Yan Mei Ling took the basket from Lady Chao Biming. She staggered a bit as she carried it – it was surprisingly heavy.

"Let me carry your basket, Tang Lao Fang," Lady Chao Biming said shyly.

Yan Mei Ling nodded and gave her basket of wō tóu to Lady Chao Biming.

The maidservants at the back where chuckling and giggling as they looked at Lady Chao Biming and the Ninja Boy.

Yan Mei Ling wondered why the maidservants were behaving differently but she decided to not pay it much attention.

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

Mántóu – steamed bread

wō tóu – steamed cornbread

siheyuan - huge house with several complex and courtyards (a mansion)