Chapter Fifteen: Origins

Li Sanjian was surrounded by utter darkness—no light, not a trace of warmth. Panic-stricken, he flailed his arms and ran desperately back and forth through the pitch black. All men fear the dark, whether they’re great heroes or ordinary folk...

As he ran, his hands suddenly brushed against something soft—someone’s body, perhaps. Could it be the fairy maiden returned? Joy surged in Li Sanjian’s heart. He clung tightly to the “fairy sister,” breathing in her delicate fragrance, and was instantly soothed.

He failed to notice that this body was far smaller than the one he remembered...

“Ouch, that hurts! Brother San... What are you doing?” A soft cry echoed in his ear. Startled awake, Li Sanjian opened his eyes to realize it had all been a fleeting dream.

Now fully awake, he saw that the person in his arms, whom he held so tightly, was Wang Wen, the daughter of Wang Kunrui, chieftain of Maodao Village.

Beneath her crescent brows, Wang Wen’s bright eyes blinked in confusion at Li Sanjian, wondering why he was hugging her so fiercely and making her so uncomfortable.

“Why... why are you here?” Li Sanjian, forgetting to release her, asked in surprise.

“I... I came to play with you. Let me go, it hurts!” Wang Wen pouted, her small mouth revealing two adorable little canine teeth.

“Brother San, why are you so sweaty?” After he let go, Wang Wen asked, puzzled.

She pulled a scented handkerchief from her sleeve and began to wipe the sweat from Li Sanjian’s face.

“I had a nightmare,” Li Sanjian replied.

“What did you dream about?” Wang Wen pressed curiously.

Li Sanjian shook his head and, lifting the quilt, tried to climb out of bed. But as soon as he did, he felt a distinct chill below his waist and hastily ducked back under the covers, forcing a sheepish smile. “Could you step outside? I... need to change.”

Never had he imagined that his first embarrassing moment in life would happen now, with Wang Wen right beside him—even if she was only seven, she was still a girl.

What a disaster, he thought, mortified.

“Why do I have to go out for you to change?” Wang Wen pouted.

In Qiongtai’s humid, sweltering climate, it was common for Li men to go shirtless in summer; Wang Wen had seen it often. Besides, what did Li people know of Han proprieties? Otherwise, she wouldn’t have barged in while he was still asleep.

“I... need to change my pants,” Li Sanjian muttered, embarrassed.

At last, Wang Wen’s cheeks flushed red, and she covered her face with her hands, fleeing the room.

“Auntie! Auntie! Brother San bullied me!” she cried, running.

“Jian’er, Jian’er, what did you do to bully Wen’er?” Fu Erniang, alarmed by Wang Wen’s complaints, hurried over.

Wang Wen was the daughter of Wang Kunrui, the Li chieftain—a princess in all but name. Whenever she visited, she brought daily goods (not by her own hands, of course, but by her servants). This made Fu Erniang anxious. She could never tell if Wang Wen’s visits were her own idea or her father’s. Regardless, she was always grateful for Wang Wen’s kindness. But if Li Sanjian truly had bullied her, and Wang Kunrui found out, there’d be hell to pay.

They’re both so young; surely nothing untoward happened? Fu Erniang thought.

“Mother, how did I bully her?” Li Sanjian, now dressed, emerged and said, “I was just changing my clothes, that’s all.”

“You did bully me! Boys and girls shouldn’t touch, but you hugged me! Isn’t that bullying?” Wang Wen glared up at him.

“Stop, stop...” Li Sanjian hurriedly cut her off. “Alright, I was wrong; I bullied you. There, are you satisfied?”

He was at a loss. Where had this little girl learned about the impropriety between boys and girls? No matter how inexperienced he was, he wouldn’t behave inappropriately with such a young child!

Fu Erniang shot him a glare. Had he grown up too quickly?

“No, that’s not enough,” Wang Wen insisted.

“Oh? Then what do you want?” Li Sanjian asked, half amused, half exasperated.

“Take me out to play and tell me stories. Otherwise—Auntie, Brother San—he...” Wang Wen tugged Fu Erniang’s sleeve.

“Alright, alright, let’s go,” Li Sanjian quickly agreed, desperate to keep his embarrassment a secret.

...

The fishermen of the little village lived by the sea, so their humble homes clustered by the shore—step outside, and the vast ocean greeted you. From the bank, the endless waters stretched away, sky and sea merging into blue, the breeze cool and sweet.

“One day,” Li Sanjian began, holding Wang Wen’s little hand as they stood barefoot in the surf, trousers rolled high, “a scholar from Chaozhou named Zhang, sojourning at Shifo Temple, played his qin deep into the night. His music summoned Qionglian, third daughter of the Dragon King of the East Sea. The two fell in love and promised to meet again on the Mid-Autumn Festival...”

“And then?” Wang Wen tilted her head to ask.

“Well, after that, they got married and became husband and wife,” Li Sanjian replied.

“Oh…” Wang Wen nodded. “I heard that married people have children. Did they?”

“No,” Li Sanjian shook his head. “Not long after they wed, the dragon girl’s father came and forcibly separated them...”

“What?” Wang Wen’s eyes widened. “What happened next?”

“The old Dragon King took his daughter back to the sea. Zhang, grieving deeply, later met an extraordinary immortal woman who gave him a magical cauldron,” he continued.

“What does ‘extraordinary’ mean? And then?” Wang Wen pressed.

Li Sanjian laughed. “With the cauldron, Zhang tried to boil the sea dry, forcing the Dragon King to return his daughter so they could be together.”

He paused for effect.

“And then? Did he boil the sea dry? Did the princess come back?” Wang Wen asked, anxious.

“How could you boil the sea dry? Zhang only managed to bring the water to a boil. The Dragon King, furious, dragged Zhang into the cauldron and cooked him into a pot of human stew. When the princess arrived, she could only stare sadly at the cauldron…” Li Sanjian invented the ending to tease her.

“What?!” Tears welled up in Wang Wen’s eyes. “How pitiful! The princess must have been so sad…”

Seeing her in tears, Li Sanjian quickly tried to comfort her. “I was only joking! Think about it, the cauldron was magical—he nearly boiled the sea away! The Dragon King had no choice but to let the princess go, and they lived together ever after. That’s the story of Zhang boiling the sea.”

“You’re terrible, Brother San! Always bullying me!” Wang Wen pounded his chest with her tiny fists.

Li Sanjian hugged her gently, laughing. “Wen’er, you don’t need to bring anything for me anymore.”

He truly wished to avoid any further entanglements with Wang Kunrui and couldn’t bear to accept more of Wang Wen’s gifts.

“Why not?” Wang Wen asked, her eyes wide.

“A poor man does not eat charity,” Li Sanjian sighed.

“What does that mean?” Wang Wen sniffled. “Why won’t you accept them? I bring them secretly—Mother and I can barely bear to use them ourselves, but you…”

Again, tears threatened. Li Sanjian wondered how one little girl could have so many tears.

“Do you really lack these things? Doesn’t your father dote on you?” he asked, surprised.

“You don’t understand,” Wang Wen said softly, head lowered. “My mother is Han. She’s Father’s youngest wife. The other wives always bully her. Even though Father loves me, they pick on us whenever he’s not around.”

“Your mother’s Han?” Li Sanjian was taken aback.

“Yes. She taught me to read and write, and they hate us for it.”

So that’s how it was, Li Sanjian thought. Even an impartial judge can’t resolve family quarrels. All he could feel was sympathy for her.

“So your mother was from a scholarly family? Why did she… marry such a rough man?” he asked gently.

“I don’t know. She’s never told me,” Wang Wen answered quietly.

Li Sanjian stood, took her small hand, and led her onward.

“Wen’er, you mustn’t do this again. If your father’s other wives find out, you and your mother will only suffer more,” he said, walking.

“I don’t care. I’d rather go without than let you go without,” Wang Wen whispered.

“But why? Do you like Brother San so much?”

She nodded emphatically. “You paint so beautifully, you tell me stories. I just want to be with you and never go home again.”

“Where would you go, then?” Li Sanjian asked.

“I don’t want to go anywhere—I just want to stay with you. Brother San, why don’t I marry you?”

“What? Marry me? Do you even know what marriage is?”

“Of course! It means moving in together. That would be wonderful—you’d tell me stories every day!” Wang Wen clapped her hands and smiled.