The first three chapters to my new novel; The Monkey Thief
Chapter 1: Viva la Vita
The morning air was crisp as Portland was waking up in its typical way with bikers ringing their bells and high school kids walking down the roads with hot coffee to warm their hands. Biyu steps off of her porch and onto the wet pavement. There on the corner as always was Mike the street musician playing his guitar and singing no matter what the weather was. Biyu walks over to the corner and drops a few dollars into the guitar case just because of the amazing dedication this man has to his art. The rain rolls off the top of her hood and drips onto her phone screen; she wipes her screen and holds down her speed dial. Late again Steven Pulls up to the curb and opens the passenger door just as her phone starts dialing. Steven picks up his phone as a joke and looks right at Biyu, “Hey Biyu! Sorry I’m late again but I picked us up some vita!” Smiling Biyu hangs up her phone and tosses her messenger bag onto the floorboard as she crawls into the car which smelt of home roasted coffee and vanilla due to the two very large cups from vita café.
Biyu lifts the cup to her mouth and takes a sip of her coffee and glares at Steven. “I’m going to be late, but this vita is amazing all is forgiven you have redeemed yourself.” Taking another sip she giggles joyously. Traffic on the 84 was worse than normal but Biyu didn’t mind because it allowed here enough time to put the finishing touches on her project before she walked into the classroom at the Portland art institute. Being late was a normal occurrence for Biyu due to her best friend’s fascination with coffee so the teacher didn’t even bat an eye when she entered the classroom and took her spot in the back. The teacher started going around the classroom to grade everyone’s finals. Biyu quickly put her work on her isle and noticed she had forgotten to add the staff to her drawing.
Grabbing her charcoal she quickly went to fix the mistake but just as she put the tip to the canvas she heard a cough behind her. Dropping her hands to her lap and her chin to her chest she simply sighed. Hey Mrs. Rad, Your wok is never finished is it Biyu, the sign on an artist. The teacher leaned over her shoulder to get a closer look at her work. “Let me see what you have.” Looking at the drawing the teacher saw a beautifully drawn traditional Chinese dragon fighting with the infamous monkey king from the movie Journey to the west.
A pleased hum came through the closed lips of the teacher as she stared at the piece of art. It’s Beautiful Biyu, you are talented for being only 19, and your interest and knowledge of Chinese culture is very apparent I do have one question for you regarding your piece though dear. The teacher looked over at Biyu and smiled. Where is Nyoibo? Biyu looks at her drawing and then at her hand holding the piece of charcoal. Blushing Biyu lifts her charcoal and laughs a little. I was about to add it behind his ear I can’t believe I forgot that it’s super important. Mrs. Rad pats Biyu on the back and tells her she gets an A would have been an A+ if you had the staff added. Biyu high fives her teacher and then finishes her drawing even though the grade had already been passed down.
Finishing up school Biyu walked down the street and stood at the bus stop. Putting in her headphones she leans on the sign and starts selecting music from her IPod. All the sudden her vision went completely black as someone covered up her eyes from behind. She pulls out one of her headphones and hears Laughing coming from behind her. Guess who Biyu! She elbows Him in the stomach and turns around and yells happily at Steven. You scared the hell out of me man, what the hell is your problem you don’t just do that to people! Laughing Steven puts his arm around Biyu and they walk off. “I figured you would like a ride today, besides I got off early and wanted to get some food, what are you feeling like?” Biyu put her arm around Stevens’s waist as they walked and mentioned that she heard there was a new sushi place off of Burnside.
Pulling up to the restaurant Biyu steps out of the car and into a puddle that had built up on the passenger side. “OH CMON MAN! Out of all the parking spots you had to pick the one right in front of the building didn’t you?” Brushing off her pant leg to remove any excess water she steps up on the curb and notices a man sitting against the wall. “Awe, Steven lets buy him dinner.” Steven looks over at Biyu and down at the small man leaning against the wall. Looking back up at Biyu Steven smiles and simply nods as he opens the door for Biyu, “After you madam.” He says while bowing slightly trying to be playful. “Why thank you masseur I am flattered.” Biyu bows her head slightly and blushes then skips into the restaurant and plops down at the counter with the rotating sushi rack.
Steven Pulls a chair out to her right and grabs a couple plates of tuna rolls and a few shrimp plates and splits them up between the two of them. Steven looks over at Biyu and laughs as she stuff an entire tuna roll into her mouth. “Rough day, or are you just hungry?” Biyu takes the napkin from the counter and wipes her mouth and tells him about how she forgot the monkey kings staff in her final for class and how embarrassing it was considering she is a Chinese culture major. Steven laughs and orders a couple sodas for the two of them.
After stuffing their faces with as much sushi as they could bare Biyu grabbed a couple more dishes and a drink to go. Looking out the window Steven tells Biyu that the weather has cleared up looks like we are going to get some sun today after all. Biyu backs up to the door and opens it while holding all the food for the man outside. Looking to her right she sees the man still huddle up against the wall. She walks up to the man and in a very kind and loving voice tells him she would like to give him some food. The homeless man looks up at Biyu and holds out his hand to receive her gift. Owe! Biyu yells as she drops the food, you cut me with your nails you bastard, I was being nice. The man smirks at her and grabs the boxes of food from the ground and speaks in a very soft and rusty voice, “my apologies, and thank you for the dinner lass.” In an irritated voice Biyu replies and walks to the car.
Once Steven shuts his door she looks at her hand and notices she has a cut going down the center of her hand. Look Steven, Steven grabs her hand and pulls it to his side of the car, that man cut me bad what an ass. Steven wraps her hand with his bandana and tries to comfort her with reassuring words but nothing seemed to help. Well we will clean it when we get home ok. As the faucet turns on Biyu whimpers as her cleans her hand. That old man got me pretty good, I guess I was kind of mean to him after all he probably doesn’t have nail clippers right? Steven walks over to the kitchen and opens up the fridge and pulls out a beer. Biyu starts to laugh a little as she started to dry her hand.
What is my luck today, I mean I forgot to draw the staff of the monkey king, I then stepped into a ridiculously deep puddle and then I get cut by a man I’m trying to help. Steven takes a drink of his beer and laughs while he chants Murphy’s Law over and over again. Biyu throws the towel at Steven and falls onto the couch with a bowl of cereal. They sat together on the couch talking about their days as they turned on Netflix to see what there was to watch.
After finishing her food Biyu reaches into her trusty messenger bag and pulls out her sketch book and some pencils to begin working on her next piece. Looking at Steven she asks what he thought she should draw next. Smirking he told her to draw a homeless man eating sushi. Biyu quickly punched him in the arm and told him to shut up in a playful manner. Steven says in a serious way, why don’t you draw me something? I mean we’ve been living together for a year and we have been best friends since high school and I have never gotten a drawing from you.
Biyu in excitement runs to her bedroom and pulls out a box of crayons and begins to draw Steven a masterpiece. She hands him the drawing and Steven bursts into laughter as he looks at the page. Very crudely drawn on the paper was a picture of him getting hit on the head with a piano that Biyu had cut the string from on top of the building holding it. Laughing she takes the picture back and walks to the fridge and starts to look for a magnet. Steven looks over the couch, “why don’t you tell me how you really feel there Biyu, I mean really a piano?” Hey you said you wanted me to draw you something, you should have been more specific of what otherwise you’ll get the piano.
Biyu opens up the freezer and pulls out the bin of ice cream and begins to fill a comically sized bowl that she pulled from her baking cabinet. Sitting down on the couch again Biyu sat crossed legged and the bowl seemed to fill her entire lap. Biyu takes a spoon and waves it in front of Stevens face and says in her best Forest Gump voice “Steven, ice cream!” Steven tried to fight the urge to eat the bowl of sugar and milk but the universe was not going to allow him to miss this opportunity so he snatched the spoon from Biyu’s hand and began to eat the ice cream. Steven takes the empty bowl and laughs in disgust at themselves he couldn’t believe that they ate the entire bowl of ice cream, there had to have been a gallon in that bowl.
He begins to rinse the bowl out at the sink and notices a few spots of blood on the tile. Steven looks up at Biyu and sees her looking at the cut on her hand “why don’t you finish cleaning up after your cut.” Steven says playfully and tosses her a wet rag. Biyu starts to clean the floor and asks Steven to go fetch her some band aids or something so she can patch up her hand better.
Walking back to the sink Biyu rinses out the rag and notices that there is no blood on coming off of it; in fact there was no blood on the rag at all. Biyu stops and looks down at her hand and then looks onto the floor. Three blood drops still lay on the tile leading to the front door where they walked in. With an odd look on her face she bends over and wipes up the blood making sure to get every last drop. After her final inspection of the tile she confirms there is no more mess and returns to the sink to find that the rag is still clean and the blood still lay pooled on the floor. Biyu puts the rag on the counter and yells for Steven to come out to the kitchen.
As soon as he enters the room he asks about the blood on the floor. In wonder she says that she can’t clean it would you be a gentleman and get it for me. Steven walks over and grabs the rag and looks for the blood drops. Confused he looks up at Biyu and says that it looks like she got it all Biyu looked worried and just as she went to reply to Steven the doorbell rang taking her attention to the front door.
CHAPTER 2: A dreamer
Biyu looks over at Steven and in here excitement she could speak she only pointed to the door. Steven laughs a little bit and tells her to calm down it’s just the front door. Walking over to the door Steven began to feel a slight feeling of fright that he brushed off as a reaction to how Biyu was acting. Steven leans down and looks through the peep hole out onto the front porch. Looking over at Biyu Steven points to the door and whispers “looks like our friend from the sushi place is still hungry.” He waves Biyu over and she slowly walks to the front door and leans to look into the peep hole.
Through the door she can see the small man from the sushi restaurant waving at the port hole as if he knew she were standing behind the door looking through at him. Shivering Biyu puts her back against the door and slides to the ground putting her knees to her chest. “Steven, what are we going to do should we call the cops?” Steven looks through the hole again and sees the man smiling and holding a little box up to the peep hole. Steven looks down at Biyu and kicks her in the leg softly. “I think he is trying to repay you for your kindness, he has a box it could just be a gift.” Biyu jumps to her feet and looks out the peep hole again and sees the box lying on the ground but the small man was nowhere in sight.
Still looking through the peep hole Biyu tells Steven that the man was gone but the box was still on the porch. Steven moves her out of the way to check again through the peep hole and notices the same thing, the man was gone. He grabs the door knob and begins to open the door making Biyu panic and pushing him away. “What if it’s a trick Steven? He could still be out there this is really creepy.” Steven smiles and in the most gallant voice he could buster in his own fright he tells Biyu that he would protect her and that she could stay inside behind the door. Biyu punches him in the arm “This isn’t a joke, I’m really scared Steven.” Steven reassures her that everything is going to be okay and proceeds to open the door.
He steps out onto the porch and looks both ways down the road and sees no one that fits the identity of the small man. Turning his head back to the door he laughs a little and tells Biyu that the hipster kids down the road are a huge threat and that we should be scared for our lives. Biyu pops her head around the door and looks down the road at a group of kids walking along listening to music. “I guess he left for real then.” Biyu steps out onto the porch and grabs Stevens arm and pulls her phone out with a shaky hand. Steven grabs her hand with the phone in and asks her what she is doing. Biyu looks up at him and in a snobby voice says I was calling the cops this whole thing is weird and I’m still scared what if he comes back? Steven pulls the phone from her hand and grabs her shoulders and looks into her eyes comfortably. “Biyu, the man just brought you a gift, you got him some food maybe this is his way of saying thanks and sorry for cutting your hand?” Biyu blushes in embarrassment and lowers her head. “I guess you’re right, let’s grab this package and go inside okay.” Steven bends down and grabs the small box and lifts it to his belt line in both hands to inspect it. The box was made of silver and had three Chinese symbols going down the lid that he didn’t understand. A small golden ribbon was wrapped carefully around the box with a hand written note attached to the left side of the box. Opening the note he read, “Miss Biyu, it was my pleasure to have met you after all this time.” With a confused look on his face Steven entered the house and shut the door without taking his eyes off the box “Hey Biyu, did you tell that small man your name or know him at all?” Biyu had climbed back onto the couch and already started watching her shows again. In a mumbled manner Biyu tells Steven that she does not remember if she did or not. Pondering the event Steven couldn’t remember either if she had or not and simply shrugged it off and handled Biyu the box. Inspecting the box Biyu’s eyes lit up in wonder and her skin looked as if it warmed up. Looking over at Steven, Biyu grins and sits up cross legged. “Do you have any idea what this is Steven?” Steven shrugs and says that it’s a jewelry box of some kind and tosses some popcorn in his mouth. Biyu places the box onto the coffee table in front of the couch and jumps to her feet and rushes to her room. After a few minutes and sounds of shuffling through books Biyu returns with a Chinese myth and legends book. She drops the heavy book onto the coffee table and turns the lights on. Steven sits up and reads the cover of the book. “Legends?” confused Steven looks up at Biyu walking back to the couch and asks her what she thinks this box is. Biyu in excitement jumps over the back of the couch and opens the book to one of her note cards she had sticking out the top. “This is silver Panku Box Steven!” Steven looks at Biyu and in a fake excited voice says like the one in that Jackie Chan TV show! Biyu glares at Steven and simply nods. She then begins to read her book explaining the story of the box and how it was made by the good magic of the eight immortals just like they had in the TV show. Steven giggles a little bit and then looks at Biyu and realizes that she isn’t kidding and she thinks this is a real box or at least a very good replica worth quite a bit of money. Steven fondles his beard and look at the box “So what could we sell this for Biyu?” Biyu slaps him on the back of the head and yells that they are not selling it and that this is a very rare piece and she couldn’t believe that that man had one in his possession let alone a replica of this quality and that fact that he would give it away over a plate or two of sushi. “All I know Steven is that I want to study this piece and you better not do anything with it, EVER!” Steven rubs the back of his head and smiles. “I was only kidding Biyu dang.” Biyu glares at him one more time before picking up the box. Opening the letter attached she reads the message out loud. “Hmm, that is very strange he knew my name and that he says it’s nice to meet me after all this time. That man could not have been much older than twenty five.” Biyu gently unties the golden ribbon and sets both the note and ribbon into a free page into her sketch book. Lifting up the box to get a closer look she begins to move the top portion as the doorbell rings loudly. Biyu burst into laughter and sets the box on the table. “That scared the hell out of me man!” She yells while still laughing. Steven Hops to his feet and makes his way to the door and looks out the peep hole. “Well Biyu it seems that you are popular with this man, our small out of season Santa Claus has returned.” Biyu jumps from the couch and rushes over to the front door and swings it open as fast as she could. Grabbing the small man by the arm she pulls him inside and shuts the door dragging him to the couch and forcing him to sit down. Biyu politely and anxiously asks the man if he would care for a drink or some food. The man simply waved his hand and smiles before gesturing for Biyu to take a seat by him. She sits on the couch crossed legged by the small man and starts to bombard him with questions about the box and how he got it. The small man giggles in a high pitched voice and raises his hand to silence Biyu. Removing his rough coat the man jumps onto the arm rest on the couch and lands softly crossed legged. “First things first deary, they call me Houzei.” Houzei extends his hand out to introduce himself properly. Biyu looks confused and reaches out for his hand. “And as you know already my name is Biyu, a pleasure.” Grabbing onto his hand Biyu feels soft hair covering the back of his hand; but not to be rude she shook his hand as if it was normal. Houzei, straightening out his black robe top, pulls a pen from his sleeve along with a leather bound notebook that looked well aged. Looking over at Steven in the kitchen Houzei asks Biyu if she liked her gift. Biyu excitingly yells “yes it’s amazing! I’ve never seen a replica of the Panku Box before.” Surprised, Houzei looks back at Biyu and nods. “I’m impressed you know what this is, who told you of these?” Biyu blushes and searches in Netflix for Jackie Chan Adventures. Once she found it she abruptly put it on and turned the volume up so that Houzei could here. Astonished he jumped to his feet and made his way to the television placing his face inches from the screen. “Ah yes the television box, my father spoke of these.” Houzei said while he rubbed the hair on his cheek. Biyu looked over at Steven confused and asked Houzei if he had ever seen a TV before now. Houzei waved his hand the television turned off and then he walked gracefully back to his spot on the couch and sat facing Biyu. “That would be a no deary, I’ve been traveling for quite some time looking for a precious stone, and it took me a while to figure out that what I was searching for wasn’t a stone at all but a person with very special qualities.” Houzei grabs Biyu’s hands and holds them in his lap. “I was looking for you.” Biyu pulled her hands away and scooted back a few inches away from the strange man. “So Houzei, Where is it you are from?” Biyu asks in a hesitant voice. Houzei giggles and opens his worn journal, “Now a days you call it Heilongjiang, a coniferous forest near Changbai Mountain in China.” Puzzled Biyu questions him on the now a day comment he made and inquired about his age. Houzei starts to clap lightly and laugh. “You see I am very old, I believe you would say I am around 2000 Years old. Biyu breaks out laughing and covers her mouth when she notices the serious look on Houzei’s face. “So you’re telling me your ancient and yet you stand four feet tall and look twenty five?” Houzei scoffs “I’m four foot three actually, and yes I’m telling you I’m, what did you call it? Ancient.” Houzei reaches down to the table and grabs a few pieces of popcorn and smells them before tossing them in the air and catching them in his mouth. “Right… so I am going to take your word on that one. On your note you said it was nice to meet me after all this time, what did you mean by that? Is your father a family friend?” Houzei slides off the armrest and sits on the cochins and wraps his arm around the back of the couch. “You could say my father is a family friend after all you are my half-sister.” Houzei begins to giggle and clap in excitement about his big reveal. Biyu in total disregard of her manners snaps back with confusion. “No, no, no, Houzei I’m an only child you’re mistaken my mot…” Houzei interrupts her mid-sentence. “Jade, our mother’s name is Jade. I know this is hard to understand but our mother is originally from china, a small village by Changbai Mountain. In exchange for my father’s ability to take me he moved her to a time where women had more right so she could live more comfortably and start a new life instead of spending her time as a servant.” Houzei begins to giggle. “My father gave back to her generously for me.” Giggling he reaches into the popcorn bowl and pops a few more into his mouth. “No, this can’t be true you’re stalking me! Who is your father then and if you are as old as you say you are, which, by the way, is not possible how would you explain the time travel and science behind it all?” Biyu stands up from the couch and begins to pace rampantly across the living room talking lightly to herself. Biyu eats a few more pieces of popcorn and jumps back up onto the armrest of the couch. “My father’s name is Sun Wukong, he is…” Biyu interrupts him “Sun Wukong? As in the monkey king? The god? Then that would make you…” Houzei grins. “A god, yes.” Biyu runs into her room and slams the door shut. Sitting on her bed she begins to talk to herself about everything that has taken place then she looks over at her final for school and quickly gets up to grab it. She burst into the living room and places the picture on the table. “This is your father?” she says as she points to the picture. Houzei leans over and glances down at the picture. “A little less hairy and not as tall, and I don’t recall him ever fighting a dragon but my father does have quite the prestigious life.” Confused and irritated Biyu looks at her hand that was wrapped up with a cloth and began to yell at Houzei furiously. Houzei simply laughs and grabs her hand. Pulling the toothpick out of his mouth he speaks very softly and poof the toothpick turns into a three feet staff with beautiful carving going up the shaft. Houzei touches the tip of the staff to the palm of Biyu’s hand. “Yuhe.” The staff lights up with a blue aura and heats the palm of Biyu’s hand to a comfortable warm. With a thank you Yuhe the staff shrinks back into the size of a toothpick and is returned to the left side of Houzei’s mouth. Biyu faints onto the couch and Houzei looks over at Steven who stands motionless in the kitchen pouring his juice all over the counter as it pours out the top of his full cup. “Did I do something wrong?” Houzei says with a laugh as Steven realizes the mess he is making on the counter. After fumbling around trying to get the cap onto the juice and getting a rag to clean up his mess he finally stands straight and looks toward the couch to find that Houzei was no longer there and that only the box and Biyu occupy the space. Steven pours his drink down the drain and heads off into his bedroom to lie down. The next morning Biyu jumps into his bed and keeps going on and on about this dream she had while she was lying on the couch. Steven looks over at the clock and jumps out of bed still fully clothed from last night. “I must have had more to drink then I thought. I only remember having 2 beers.” Biyu smiles and walks out into the living room to grab her things for school while Steven struggles to get his shoes on in his tired state. After struggling to get to the car they finally manage to pull up into the Vita Café area and order a couple cups of extra strong espresso. Biyu couldn’t keep her head out of her sketchbook as she drew out every detail she could remember from her dream including Houzei. Out loud Biyu kept talking through the events of her dream and she was starting to worry the people around her as the tables began to be getting more and more empty as time went by. Steven sips his coffee and apologizes to the couple that was sitting next to them for his friends crazy seeping out. Looking back over at Biyu Steven asks her what she is drawing and why she is so ecstatic about her dream last night. Biyu passes her sketchbook over to Steven and begins to drink her coffee, though Steven felt like she didn’t need any more energy. “That is Houzei my half-brother from my dream, he was two thousand years old and his father was the monkey king Sun WuKong. And that is the Silver box he gave me which is a replica of the Panku Box!” She explains as she points to each figure she has drawn out on the page.” Steven lays the book down and begins to drink his coffee again stating that he thinks she told him about this dream already when he was drunk last night. She shrugs it off and appoints it to excitement that she would be repeating herself. Biyu packs her sketchbook away and stands up pushing her chair in and asks Steven for a ride to Powell’s and that she would like to get a couple more books about the box. Steven grunts and takes another sip of his coffee before slowly standing to his feet and making his way to the car with Biyu. An hour had past and Biyu was still on the floor of Powell’s looking through books. Finally through irritation of boredom Steven asked her if she was almost finished and if they could go home putting an emphasis on the fact that he had honey glazed chicken tenders in the freezer begging for him to eat them. Biyu stood up quickly and announced that she had found the perfect books, two of which were screen writes for Jackie Chan Adventures the old television show that the box came from. Getting in the car they both buckled up their seat belts and turned the vehicle on. Steven yells very loudly in fright as he turned around to back out of the spot simply to see Houzei sitting in the back eating some candies. Frightened he unbuckled his seat belt and jumped out of the car with Biyu. Shaking Biyu jumped onto Steven knocking them both to the ground. Very calmly Houzei opened the back door and latched onto the roof of the car to flip himself up onto the roof landing crossed legged still eating his candy. “Didn’t mean to scare you two I was just happy to be coming along is all.” Biyu, still shaking, dragged her bag over to herself and pulled out her sketchbook that she had been drawing her dream in. Holding up the picture of Houzei to compare the two next to each other she let out a yelp and dropped the book. “How are you, what are, this can’t be happening you were a dream…” Houzei jumps from the car and lands on his feet by Steven offering a hand for help getting them off the ground. With a single pull he puts Steven and Biyu back on their feet. Houzei picks up the sketchbook with his tale and holds it in front of his face to see what the fuss was about. Houzei begins to laugh and dance around in joy that he was drawn by someone else other than himself. Using his tail he closes the book and hands it back to Biyu who took it hesitantly. “Nice drawing! But next time leave the foot wear out ok?” Houzei lifted his foot to show Biyu that he never wears shoes because he has a callused sole and fur on the top of his foot to keep them warm when it’s cold out. Biyu answers with a very quiet sure and accepts the sketchbook back from Houzei. Reaching into his pouch Houzei pulls the box he had previously given to his sister. “I Thought I should take this back for safe keeping. I wanted to be there when you opened it.” Houzei holds out his small furry hand offering Biyu the box again. She Grabs the box and says thank you in the same low voice as she did earlier. Houzei brushes his hands together and laughs happily and bows until his head just about hit the ground. “Houzei, at your service!” Both mumbling to each other in amazement, stood speechless as Houzei bowed. Looking up at them from his bowed position, Houzei reminds them that it is very rude not to bow back let alone stand there without recognizing the gesture. Biyu quickly Bows her head back and apologizes. Houzei jumps into the air and clicks his heels together, “So sis, where do we go from here? I am very hungry.” Steven grabs Biyu by the arm and says that they could always do sushi again. Biyu smiles in anxiety and offers to cook a meal for everyone at their place down on Ash St. Houzei claps his hands together and hops into the car and looks at them through the window. Steven walks Biyu around the car asking her if she is sure about this and if they should call the cops on this guy for stalking them. Biyu tells him that she feels like he is harmless to them and is just confused with who he is, and besides she is curious about how he got into the car without them noticing, at the very least he is a gifted magician. Arriving at the house Houzei notices Mike standing on the corner playing his guitar and laughs in excitement asking them if they could see the musician before heading inside for a meal. After a few minutes of listening to the man sing and play Houzei began to dance and giggle along with the music. The sight of a four foot three inch man dancing in the oversized robes he wore was enough to make Biyu laugh and loosen up. Houzei reached out for Biyu’s hands and asked her if she would join him in the fun. Laughing Biyu took his hands and the danced like a couple kids on the corner of the street with mike. After they had had their fun Houzei asked the man how he could repay him for the memory of dancing with his little sister for the first time. As always mike pointed at the guitar case and said that donations are the best way. Houzei looks at the box and notices the money that was thrown in. He reached over for Biyu’s Hand. Biyu gladly offered it back and Houzei asked her to hold it upright while he put a coin in for her to drop into the guitar case. The coin was solid gold and the same size of a quarter and Biyu gasped at the sight of actual gold currency. Houzei explained to Biyu to close her hand as tight as she could and turn it over so that when her hand opened it would drop the coin into the case. Biyu gladly did so with a giggle. The rest was up to her she looked over at Houzei and smiled, and then she opened her hand. Mike stopped playing abruptly and fell to his knees crying in joy. Biyu looked down to see that the guitar case was full of golden coins identical to the one Houzei had put into her hand. Looking over at her brother she found him sitting on the tip of his staff crossed legs clapping and laughing in happiness. He looked at Biyu and smiled. “Biyu, this is the most fun I’ve had in a long time, can we go eat now?” Steven looked at Houzei and back at the case and covered his mouth with his right hand. “How did you…” Laughing Houzei simply pointed at Biyu. “She did it.” They made their way down Ash St. to the porch of the house and Houzei opened the door for them with a wave of his hand. Biyu bowed and thanked him while Steven refused to walk in before Houzei. Houzei looks at Steven and clapped while laughing and made his way into the house. Looking into the fridge Biyu turns around embarrassed. “We don’t have stuff for sushi…” Frustrated Biyu slams the fridge and places both hands onto the counter behind her and sighs. Giggling Houzei reaches into his pouch and pulls out a wooden box with a pictogram of a fish on the lid. Houzei places the box on the counter and slides it over to Biyu. Confused Biyu looks down and turns around to face the box. “What’s this? A box of left overs, we need fresh fish Houzei.” Laughing Houzei pushes the lid down with his staff and the box lid clicks open. Inside the box is a live koi fish swimming in a pond. The underside of the box lid holds sushi wraps and seaweed as well as three sets of chop sticks. Amazed Biyu looks up at Steven and points down into the box. Confused about the awkward silence from Biyu and the non-stop Giggling from Houzei Steven walks over annoyed and gasps as he look into the box to see the fish. Houzei jumps over the counter and swings on the hanging lights to land softly beside Biyu. Clapping he tells Biyu to reach into the box and pull out whatever she needs to make dinner and that he would begin making the tea. Biyu looks over at Houzei and taps him on the shoulder. Turning around and using his tail to stir the tea Biyu jumps up and sits on his staff. “Houzei, we need rice too make the rolls right.” Houzei smiles and reaches into his pouch and pulls out a handful of rice the he dumps into a rice cooker. The rice continued to fall from his hand until the perfect amount for the rolls was there. He then shuts his hand and the rice disappears. Brushing off his hands he giggles happily and returns to making his tea.
Biyu sets up the dining table for three and asks Houzei where he would like to sit. Looking over the table placements he chose to sit on the far side of the table so he could face Biyu and Steven because he is sure they have questions to ask of him. Once the food was laid out and everyone sat in their seats Houzei opens his pouch and pulls out a tea set and fills each cup with four ounces of tea. Placing them in front of each spot Houzei tells Biyu and Steven to drink their fill of tea. Both of them take a sip of the tea and are instantly warmed and approve of the flavor with a low mmm. “It is monkey picked oolong tea with a hint of ancient chai. It’s my own mixture of herbs, how do you like it?’ Biyu places the cup down and watches as it refills itself without adding any more liquid. “This tea is amazing Houzei and I like the magic cups. I bet all that magic comes in handy huh? Any time you need anything you can just make it appear. Houzei giggles and waves his hand. “I can’t create anything.” Houzei explains, “I can only replicate an item that I have on me. For the tea I replicate the liquid that’s in the cup so it’s never empty but if you drink it entirely and dry it out I wouldn’t be able to replenish the drink.” Biyu smiles and Steven rubs his beard and ponders the events that happened earlier. “So that’s how the golden coin worked you replicated it as it fell from Biyu’s hand.” Bowing his head and rolling his hand Houzei verifies Steven’s statement. Houzei grabs a sushi roll and smells it before placing the entire thing in his mouth. Biyu drinks a little more tea and looks at Steven asking him what they should ask of Houzei. Houzei smiles and giggles and wipes his face with his sleeve. “Ask anything you two want, the table is open. Biyu twists her hair and looks at her plate. “You said that our mother is from china, how did you find me after the two thousand years or so that it has been?” Houzei claps his hands together and leans on his elbows. “Well Biyu, your blood is unique and very rare in your time. When my father was with our mom a little bit of his power was absorbed into your mother. That power is what we call chi, and you call magic. You see I could only track the blood to a general area I just needed to pin point who’s blood it was that made the aura of magic around that particular spot, hence why I had to cut your hand a bit.” Biyu looks at her now healed hand and laughs; finally understanding why the strange man cut her when she was trying to help. “Well I feel a little less pissed that you cut me considering why and the fact that you healed it for me I guess I can’t be to mad. But still Houzei that was rude of you to do.” Giggling Houzei nods and explains that he had no choice and he felt bad that he had to hurt her in anyway but it was the only way he would know for sure that he had found his sister. Biyu blushes and nods at Houzei in a comforting approval. Steven takes a drink of his tea and asks why Houzei has come so far and waited so long to find her. Houzei stops smiling and places his tea cup back onto the little plate it rests on and leans back in his chair. “That’s a very long story of why I am here.” Reaching into his pouch he pulls out the same leather journal he had the first time he was in the house. Placing it on the table he pulls the pen from his sleeve and opens the book to a blank page. Placing the pen on the page he writes out the question and the pen begins to write on its own drawing pictures of the scenes as Houzei explained them. Many years ago my father was placed into a prison of stone by the dragon Hopse. This prison is now his tomb because Hopse’s magic was so strong that only he could undo the spell put on my father. Hopse was slain years later by Yi Di the god of wine. Since the monkey king was no longer with the deities in the sky I was called into a meeting to take my father’s place. Biyu and Steven draw their attention to the journal and watch as the scene is drawn out.
CHAPTER 3: Story of Houzei
Houzei is sitting in a tavern playing a card game with three other gentlemen when a messenger burst into the tavern. “I’m looking for a Houzei!” The tavern grew very quiet and all eyes were turned towards the skinny messenger. A woman approaches the man and gestures him to sit down. The man takes his seat and the women sits across from him and raises her hand. The tavern burst back into life as the other patrons continue their games and drinking. The women pours two drinks and places one in front of the messenger. “You’re looking for Houzei? As in the monkey kings son?” the women says quietly as she lifts the drink up into her hand. The messenger out of breath simply nods and takes a few big drinks out of his glass. “Yes it is very important I reach him, I heard a story that he was making a residents here, if so I need to speak with him immediately.” The women places her glass down and sits back in her chair. “I don’t humor fantasies young man, your chasing a story that’s it.” The messenger begins to get frustrated and slams his drink on the table. “I know he is here I could feel it walking into the village, please help me it’s about his father he has…” Houzei walks up behind the women and places his hand onto her shoulder. “It’s alright cousin I’ll talk to him.” The woman stands up and bows her head to Houzei and he takes her seat at the table and fills his glass. “You say the message is about my father, what he asks of me now can’t you tell I’m very busy these days so make it quick.” The man begins to shake and speaks without thinking to Houzei. “You’re the imp I’ve heard about, you do look just like your father, and the message is in.” Interrupting him Houzei strikes the man with his staff and holds his face to the table with his staff pressing down on the back of the messenger’s neck. “How dare you call me an Imp, I am a god you mortal.” Houzei stands up onto the table and leans real close to the man so he could whisper into his ear. “Make this message quick or you will never leave this tavern.” Houzei’s eyes begin to glow in a low red in his anger and the man quickly reaches into his satchel and removes a scroll sealed by the jade emperor himself. Curious Houzei releases the man and places his staff back into his mouth and reaches for the scroll of the table. The man sits in his chair shaking in fear and remains completely quite as Houzei opens the scroll. Quickly reading over the message Houzei giggles and rolls it up and slides it into his sleeve. “So my father has finally done it and got himself into some real trouble.” Houzei looks down at the man. “Where is he imprisoned?” The messenger looks up at Houzei and whimpers that he does not know and begs for forgiveness so that he may keep his life. “Calm down I wouldn’t kill you it’s not in my nature. However I could do something much worse.” Grinning Houzei reaches into his pouch and pulls out a small bag of coins. Grabbing the messengers hand he places the gold coins into his hand and looks him in the eyes and very quietly says to go on your way in peace and prosperity my friend. The man stands to his feet confused and bows down to Houzei and slowly makes his way to the door without removing himself from the bowing position. Houzei returned to his table and bet all his remaining money so he could leave the game. Walking to the serving bar he calls over his cousin and explains to her that he will be leaving shortly he needs a few things for his travels and requests a grain of rice, a bag of tea, a single gold coin and a container of wine. The next day Houzei grabbed the items he needed and threw them into his pouch shrunk his staff to the size of a toothpick and placed it in his mouth and set off for Jade pond the mystical waters that connected this world with that of the heavens. A month passes and Houzei reaches the sand of Jade pond. He removes his pouch and hops into the air and lands sitting on his staff. Houzei begins the meditation ritual to allow him to enter the water. For three days and four night Houzei sat on top his staff and emptied his mind and purified his soul of all tainted thoughts before he stepped down and returned his staff to his mouth. After gathering all of his belongings Houzei leaps into the air and giggles as he flips into a dive landing in the center of the pool. As soon as Houzei’s body was completely submerged in the water he appeared in the air at the staircase of the Jade Palace; the home of the Jade Emperor, the god of the gods.
Giggling Houzei lands softly and begins to walk up the ten thousand steps. After a few steps up Houzei sits down and laughs as he thinks about how dumb he is to be walking, with his father no longer open for business Jindouyun would be available for him. Houzei claps his hand together happily and whistles out for Jindouyun and waits patiently. A few minutes later Houzei squints and sees the cloud Jindouyun approaching him at an immense speed and coming to a fast stop right in front of Houzei. “Hello Jindouyun, it’s been a long time my old fluffy friend.” Houzei says as he leaps onto the cloud and shoots up the stairs to the doors of the Jade Palace. Giggling Houzei jumps off the cloud and pets it in appreciation. Jindouyun shakes in pleasure and zooms off until he is needed next time. Houzei looks up at the massive doors of the Jade Palace and pull out his staff extending it to its full length of thirty feet and slams on the door as hard as he can. The door swings open slowly and access is granted to the little monkey. Houzei brushes his hand together and laughs and returns his staff to his mouth and slides in through the opening in the door. Making his way to the council chamber at the end of the hallway Houzei laughs at his reflection on the solid Jade floor. He remembers his father telling him about the Jade Palace and the riches that it held but most of all the immortal elixir that his father stole. Looking around Houzei searched for any signs of the elixir room that held such a treasure. Coming up on the hallway he notices a slight blue glow coming from under one of the soled wooden doors. Houzei slips under the door and stands at the base a huge table. On top of the table he can see a metal ring and within that ring floats the vial of the Immortal elixir. Giggling Houzei grabs onto his staff and extends it to place him on top of the table where the elixir rests and he quickly pours some into a glass vial that he places into his pouch. Looking around the room he sees all the legendary items his father had stolen parts of before to give him his ability to not be harmed by elements. Laughing Houzei makes a box with his fingers and pretends to take a picture of the room and then rides his staff to the floor. The elixir was very heavy and Houzei was glad his father stole enough of the other items to allow him to take some so there was no need for him to pack on more weight. Houzei exits the room the same way he entered and on the other side was the Jade emperor walking to the council chamber. Pulling out his sun dial Houzei noticed that he was late and decided to make quit the entrance on the meeting in the fashion of his father. Houzei waited outside of the council chambers doors for a few minutes to make his entrance fashionable. Finally sliding under the door and leaping to the center of the room with his staff held behind his back Houzei bows to the floor and thanks the Jade Emperor for allowing himself to be in Houzei’s presence. The Jade Emperor laugh and gestures for him to take his father’s seat. Houzei extends his staff and launches himself into the oversized chair. Being a half god made him exceptionally smaller then everyone and everything around him. The council began to debate whether or not he would be allowed to become a full god to take his father’s place. The group seemed to be aiming towards not allowing him to and being over joyed they were finally rid of his father and all his tricks. Finally the floor came to a stop and all attention was placed of Houzei for it was his turn to talk. Placing his hands together Houzei simply nods to the rest of the council and in the very small but loud voice asked them what they would do without a trickster god, I mean who would do the things that need to be done but can’t be done by a purely good god or a purely bad one. With that statement the floor burst into laughter and the gods began naming what they would do without one and were fighting the need for a god like his father. The jade emperor sat in his chair with his hand covering his eyes in annoyance. Silence! He yells and the room grew quite. “With or without your approval we need a god like his father and who is more suited to do that then the person who shares the same divine blood? We all know the advantages to having a middle god compared to our holy and unholy natures. As of this moment, Houzei will take the place of…” Just before he announced Houzei as a god and gave him all the abilities of one there grounds keeper burst into the chamber yelling about how the elixir had been stolen. The eyes of everyone turned right to Houzei who simply sat in his chair and laughed. The Jade Emperor stands to his feet and looks toward the little monkey and begins to burn with green flames. Houzei’s face grew serious. “Well it’s been a pleasure being on your council this evening, but it is time for me to make my leave.” Houzei snaps his finger and five replicas of himself appear with clouds of smoke. Laughing Houzei and his replicas jumps from the chair and rush towards the door. The Jade emperor without missing a beat stomps on Houzei only watch him turn into a cloud of smoke as the other five Houzei’s rushed for the exit. The Jade Emperor getting frustrated caste the five out of heaven and in a fiery ball the little monkeys fall from the heavens crashing to the earth one by one. In quick thinking Houzei whistles for Jindouyun as he fell from the sky. Looking down he could see the earth getting ever closer and he accepts his fate and spreads his arms and legs so that he will do one last belly flop in his life. Just before Houzei slams into the earth Jindouyun fly’s under him and catches him with just enough time that only the tip of Houzei’s nose touched the grass below. Houzei lets out a deep breath that he had been holding and pats Jindouyun “You had me worried their buddy, thanks for showing up.” Houzei climbs off of Jindouyun and reaches into his pouch to ensure that his elixir was still present and not broken. Relieved Houzei pulls the vial from his pouch and drinks half. Feeling the elixir flow through his body he begins to glow with a faint yellow. His heart warms and gains more strength then Houzei has ever felt. Finally he would be immortal as his father was. Hopping back onto Jindouyun he asks if he knew of a secret place they could go to that no one, not even the gods, could find them. Jindouyun nods and shakes with pleasure and zips off keeping close to the ground so he doesn’t draw attention. Houzei looks around him as the grassy field turns into a bamboo forest and then into a murky swamp. Time seemed to stand still as he flew around the world in search of a secret location. After a long while Houzei was woken up by Jindouyun stopping suddenly throwing Houzei off the cloud and into very dark mud. Sliding in the mud a few feet he finally stopped and the base of a rock slab that covered half the mud puddle. Houzei climbed onto the slab and looked around in search of where he would be hiding. Looking over at Jindouyun Houzei wipes the mud off of his face and spits out the leaves and sticks from his mouth. “Thanks buddy, I needed a bath anyways.” Houzei jumps to his feet and looks up the cliff side. Extending his staff Houzei stands on the tip and walks onto the top of the cliff to get a look around to see where would be a good place for him to make camp for the night. Looking off in the distance Houzei notices a faint glow coming out of the bamboo forest that surrounded him. Jindouyun floats to his side and nudges Houzei to jump on to him. Houzei pats Jindouyun and steps onto his back and they slowly start to fly towards the glowing light. Hovering overhead Houzei looks down at a small village that populated the area. Looking around he could not see any more lights in the distance and looking up he could see endless stars filling the night sky with their stories. “This looks like a great spot for us Jindouyun, take us down ok buddy.” Jindouyun shakes and makes a pleasant humming sound and floats Houzei to the entrance of the village. Houzei pull his sleeve over his face and in an instant his face changes to that of an elderly man. He extends his staff the make a walking stick and he hints at Jindouyun to fly off and continue his life until he is needed. Jindouyun rubs up against Houzei who gave him a hug and off he flew into the night sky. Houzei began his walk down the center road of the village looking for a tavern with rooms available. After walking the village he couldn’t find a tavern, in fact, He didn’t see anyone at all. Curious he removed the hood and took a closer look around walking up to one of the houses nearby. Knocking on the door he could hear footsteps and faint whispering but no one opened the door or greeted him.
Once again Houzei knocks on the door with his staff and in the kindest voice he could conjure asked if there was anyone here who could help an old man. The door cracks open to reveal completely darkness inside and a faint voice could be hear. Houzei bends down and places his ear next to the opening to hear what it was saying. Please go away, we don’t have anything is all Houzei could hear. Reaching into his bag he pulls out a bag of rice some tea and a handful of gold coins. Leaning into the door Houzei drops the items on the floor and the door slams shut as soon as his hand is pulled out from the house. After a few moments of silence and no signs of help coming to his side Houzei turns around and begins to walk away from the home when suddenly the door opens up and a small child walks out onto the porch. Houzei turns around and bends down to address the little girl. “Hey little one, are your parents’ home?” The little girl stood their silently and waved for him to come closer. Whispering in his ear she explains that she is the head of the house and that her parents went missing with the rest of the adults two nights prior to his arrival. Houzei stands straight up and with a confused look on his face glances around the empty village. Looking back down to the girl Houzei whispers to her about him being able to stay with them for a while in exchange for his help finding their parents. The little girl smiles and grabs onto his hand and leads him into the dark house. In the center of the one room that belonged to the house sat two children eating cold rice. Houzei makes his way to the dinner table and takes a seat on one of the open cushions on the floor. Houzei looks over at the little girl who greeted them and asked her name. She replied in the sweetest little whisper. My name is Sciro these two boys are my little brothers Han and Wusong. Houzei bows his head to the boys and introduces himself. Looking around the house he notices there is no furniture or any comforts at all for these children. Turning back towards Sciro he asks her if she could keep a secret. The little girl nods and pretends to pull a zipper over her lips to show that she could. Houzei says good and then turns back towards the food and waves his hand. In a second the food grew hot and multiplied giving the family bread and drink and rice to allow them to eat for several days to their fill. The children laughed and began to stuff their faces with as much food as they could bare. Houzei giggles and smiles in joy as he watches the little one begin to play. Looking at Sciro he gestures for her to come close and whispers in her ear asking about the reason they are so quit and why they lock the doors in such a remote place. The little girl lowers her head and sits on the ground with her knees to her chest and explains that the children are scared because the adults went missing. Scratching his head Houzei looks around the room and tells the children that he would return shortly and gives each of them a few more stacks of bread and rice. Houzei adventures out into the village and goes door to door only to find the same thing in each house; a few children and no comforts. Providing the village with food and money he gathers all the children left in the village and has them meet him out by the well in the center of town. He explains to them that they will have plenty of food and money to cover anything they might need while he searches the surrounding forest for their kin. Houzei jumps off of the well and begins to walk down the path that leads into the darkest part of the forest. After a while of walking he hears faint singing and clatter coming from around the corner of the trail. Wandering along he leans around the corner and finds a tavern fully lit and alive with music and talking. Delighted he strolls up to the door and walks in. Looking around he sees the people dressed as if they belong in the village. Houzei walks up to the bar counter and orders a glass of wine dropping three gold coins on the counter thinking that would catch the eye of the person in charge of the tavern. After a few minutes of drinking alone a man approached him and pulled the stool out next to him and sits down. The gentleman lifts his left hand with two fingers raised and the bar servant brings another two full glasses of wine and sets them down in front of Houzei and his new friend. Houzei turns towards the man and takes a drink of his wine. “You must be the man in charge of this fine establishment.” The man lifts his glass in the air and with a smile replies. “That I am lad, the names Yi, and you are?” Houzei looks at his cup and then back at Yi. “Well that explains why the patrons of the village down the road won’t leave.” Yi looks at Houzei more closely and Watches as he moves his staff from one side of his mouth to the other. “You know of the village, those kids actually talked to someone after all this time. I’ll have to pay them a visit.” Houzei places his cup down on the counter and smiles at his cup. “You see I have a problem with that Yi, you have to let these people go.” Do I? Yi replied with a loud laugh, and if I don’t you will do what exactly little guy? Houzei lifts his full glass of wine and drinks the entire cup and slams the cup down and giggles. Pulling his staff out of his mouth he whispers and it extends right into Yi’s stomach and sends him across the tavern before pinning him to the wall. As soon as this happened the tavern grew quit. Yi had lost his focus on the patrons and his spell was beginning to wear off and the newer members of the tavern began to leave while the others who were so entranced circled around Houzei. Houzei without taking his eyes off of Yi spoke in a daring voice to the people encircling him. “I suggest you leave, Yi Di and I need to have a conversation that could get a little messy.” The people looked at one another and slowly began to back away and exit the building. Shrinking his staff down slowly Houzei walks up until he is inches from Yi Di’s face. “Is your lust for party and friends so large that you would have a village of children die for it?” Houzei yells as he places his staff back into his mouth. Yi Di falls to the floor and rubs the back of his head and looks up at Houzei. “I can explain little monkey, please sit and have a drink with me.” Houzei scoffs and refuses to have drinks with a lowly god. Yi Di laughs and fills a cup he picked up off the ground by him with wine. Standing to his feet Yi Di lifts his glass towards Houzei. Houzei pulls his staff out and places it behind is back telling Yi Di that he better play nicely. Yi Di looks into his cup and swirls the wine and laughs. “I heard you caused quite the scene in the Jade Palace, must be a shame to be so close to becoming a god. How does it feel being a half breed, is that why you feel so closely to these mortal?” Houzei shrinks his staff and places it in his mouth and claps. “If I’m so low to you why is it you cower?” Yi Di smiles and laughs explaining that he isn’t a fighter his purpose is to spread good memories of parties and to drink wine. “And they call me a lowly god. You’re pathetic Yi Di.” Houzei places his staff back into his mouth and turns around to walk out of the tavern. “Leave these people alone and allow them to care for their children, don’t make me come back here Yi Di or you’ll regret it.” Houzei places his hand on the door and pushes it open when a metallic sound comes ringing over his head. Placing his hand on the back of his head he feels a lump beginning to form. Furious he turns around and sees Yi Di breathing heavy. “Did you throw a cup at me?” Houzei says in a very low angry voice. Yi Di yells at the little monkey prince that he is a god and will not be talked down to by a mortal no matter where his blood comes from. Laughing Houzei pulls out his staff and gets in a fighting position. “Who said I was mortal?” Houzei charges at Yi Di and they both clash with enough force to send nearby tables toppling over and drinks to fly in the air. Hit after hit Houzei was outwitted by Yi Di’s drunken style. Houzei screams that’s enough and stabs his staff into the bamboo floor of the tavern. The floor rips apart and a crack fly’s towards Yi Di knocking him off balance and landing him on his back. Houzei jumps into the air and twirls his staff around and lands over Houzei stabbing his staff into the ground again. Yi Di lays on the floor motionless as Houzei leans over his body looking him in the eyes. Yi Di turns his had to look at the staff implanted into the floor centimeters from his head. Looking back up at Houzei he puts his hands up and admits that he had lost. Houzei shrinks his staff and places it in his mouth and steps off of Yi Di reaching his hand out to help Yi Di up. Confused Yi Di grabs the little monkeys hand and thanks him for the help. Houzei laughs and claps his hands together and picks up the nearest table and a couple glasses setting it up for the two of them. Sitting down he waves for Yi to join him at the table for a drink. Yi sits downs very confused and fills both cups out of his wine holster. Houzei giggles and takes a drink of the wine and thanks Yi for the great time. Yi nods his head and drinks his wine yet remains silent because he can’t figure out this mad little monkeys plans. After a moment of silence and drinking Yi finally speaks to Houzei in a much more respectful way. “So they would not let you take your fathers place and you remain a half god correct?” Houzei stops laughing and twirls his staff around in his mouth and nods lifting his cup and taking a drink. Yi brushes his long beard and laughs. Finishing his cup of wine he leans over and whispers into Houzei’s ear telling him that there is another way one may become a god but it will cost a great amount. Leaning back in his seat he fills his glass and toasts to Houzei. Houzei places his cup down and demands that Yi Di tell him of this other way to become a god without the Jade emperor’s approval. Yi Di looks around the tavern to ensure no men are still lurking and listening. After a short while he leans in and tells Houzei that the ritual will require a few things and that he would have to be present to perform such magic. Houzei began to write everything Yi said into his journal. Houzei looks up at Yi Di after all is explained and giggles. Everything on this list would be easy for him to obtain he just needed to know a little more detail about the precious stone required for the ritual. Laughing Yi leans back in his chair and drinks his wine. The precious stone is not like any you have seen though inside of this stone is some of your blood. We need that stone to complete the ritual. Houzei stands up and bows down to the floor to thank Yi for all he had done. Opening the door he turns around and warns Yi that he still needed to leave the people of that village to care for their children though he could throw a party once a week just to keep his magic on point for the ritual. Yi lifts his glass and laughs as Houzei exits the tavern and returns to the village.