It took about forty minutes to travel to the temple fair in the district, which was lively with lights, sounds, and people. The roads were constantly busy, contrasting with the peacefulness of the village where master Pharan lived.
Pong let the kids off at the temple entrance so he could go find a parking spot. Jett suggested they wait near the stage where the traditional Thai music was being performed.
Jett and Khem walked into the fair together, with Chan following behind, passing through numerous street food stalls towards the stage area to find a place to sit. Jett and Khem stood waiting while Chan went to rent a large mat for them to sit on.
Not long after, Phii Pong arrived, bringing with him several items of food.
"Nong Khem, I bought this for you." Phii Pong said as he handed over a cup of buttery popcorn that Khem had been eyeing since they entered the temple gate, but had decided against buying due to the long line, not wanting to make Jett and Chan wait.
Khem's mouth slightly dropped open in surprise, not expecting Phii Pong to go through the trouble of lining up to buy it for him. He quickly bowed his head in thanks before accepting it with both hands.
"Thank you, Phii Pong." Khem gave a little smile, his eyes sparkling with joy, forgetting his previous reserved manners as he eagerly started eating.
Pong's heart raced, the name 'Phii Pong' echoing in his ears like a ringing bell, which filled him with such contentment that he didn't feel like eating anything else.
Seeing the sweet look in Phii Pong's eyes and the single serving of popcorn, Jett immediately concluded that Phii Pong was interested in Khem. Rumors had circulated since their school days that Phii Pong had an interest in men.
Jett nodded to himself. If Phii Pong was serious, he was ready to help, as the other man wasn't bad; he didn't drink alcohol or smoke, being an athlete,
and he was financially stable. But for now, they would have to take things slowly until they could handle the issues with Khem's karmic debts.
After finishing the popcorn, Khem suddenly thought of the master. It was a pity that the master couldn't enjoy these delicious foods, but if he had come, there would be no one to watch over the house. If it were Khem, he probably wouldn't dare to leave the entire teak wood Thai house unattended to go on a long outing either.
"Jett, can we buy some food to take back for the master?" Khem asked, turning to Jett, who was stretching, preparing to go and dance in front of the stage. Jett nodded.
"Sure. You buy them, and I'll give them to the master myself." Khem smiled and nodded quickly.
"Can I come too? I want to buy something for my mom and my sister as well." Pong added.
"That's great, brother. Then, could you buy something for my friends too?
I'm going to dance for a bit. Come on, Chan, get up." Chan, who was savoring the last meatball, was pulled by the collar from behind and had to let go of his food to follow.
"Greetings to all the friends and fans of the Mor La Sing Isan singing troupe..."
"There it is! Come on, Chan!"
Khem could only wave his hand in the air as he heard the host's voice and the drummer's beat, while Jett dragged Chan towards the stage, running so fast that dust flew without waiting for Khem's objection. In the end, Khem had to go shopping with Phii Pong alone.
Memories from the past came flooding back; Khem and the master intheir previous life often went to temple fairs together. Grilled squid wassomething Phawat loved to eat...
Khem gazed at the grilled squid stall, until Pong, walking beside him, asked,
"Nong Khem, do you want some? I'll go stand in line for you." Khem looked at Pong, shook his head, and then smiled.
"No, let's go to that stall instead." Khem pointed to a vegetarian spring roll stall a few shops down.
From what Khem had observed, the master in this life didn't really enjoy eating meat.
Pong nodded with a smile.
"Okay, let's go then."
Cut to the front of the stage. The crowd had made space for the dancers.
"Here comes the shining star, the young politician!"
"Go, Jett, don't let your father's name down!" As soon as Jett took his usual spot, he received cheers from those who recognized him. Jett smiled, raising his fist to the sky, ensuring that this performance would not disappoint anyone.
Chan did not join them in that area, merely standing at a distance, occasionally glancing left and right because he had a feeling that something bad was about to happen soon.
The sound of drums started up again after the female singer had finished her introduction.
"Listen up, brothers and sisters, the magpie bird flies over the bamboo tip, who's got something big, let's hear you shout now!"
At that moment, Jett responded with a loud shout, catching the attention of the man standing next to him, but Jett paid no mind, raising his hands to dance as the melodious sound of the traditional Thai instrument, the phin, came from the speakers.
Soon, the rhythm shifted to a waltz, with the sound of the phin blending with drums, guitar, and heavy bass. Chan was taken aback when Jett began to perform an array of dance moves that resembled dancing worms, mango snatching, hair combing, applying powder while looking in the mirror, and many more moves that were hard to name.
All Chan knew was that he wanted to stop being friends with Jett right then and there.
Jett let go and lost himself to the music and rhythm, unaware that someone had him in their sights. As he was swaying his hips in high spirits, someone's foot kicked him from behind, nearly making him fall forward.
"Damn, who did that!" Jett turned around angrily, only to clench his teeth when he saw who it was.
"Hey, long time no see, huh?"
"Klaa!" Klaa was Jett's peer from school, though they were in different classes, and he was the nephew of a black magic practitioner whose relationship with the master was not great, which naturally reflected on their own relationship.
"Yeah, it's me. What's your problem?"
"I should be the one asking, kicking someone out of the blue. Are you stupid?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Klaa's friends who were standing behind him stepped forward, each of them giving Jett intimidating looks.
Realizing how many there were, Jett instinctively took a step back.
At that moment, even the music and singing paused for a second, though they continued with a sense of caution.
Chan thought Jett's dance moves must have provoked someone, so he hurried over.
"Khun Jett, what's going on?" Jett, seeing the number of people on the other side and then looking at his own friend, started sweating. He grabbed Chan's shirt and said briefly,
"Run."
Pong noticed that Khem wasn't very lively, so he invited him to shoot at the toy booth in the amusement area. With ten bullets, Pong shot down several toys and hung them around Khem's neck since Khem couldn't hit any, barely managing to hold the gun up...
After that, they went on the kiddie train and the carousel, which helped Khem relax and let go of many things. He thanked Pong several times and bought two sticks of grilled pork skewers because that was all he could afford from the five thousand baht the master had given him, intending to use the rest for groceries for the master before returning to Bangkok.
Pong observed Khem looking lost in thought, seemingly missing someone, and decided he should do something. He asked Khem to wait there and went to buy some cotton candy on a stick. When he returned, he handed it to Khem and said,
"Khem, I like you. Not as a brother, I mean, I like men. If you feel the same way, would you give me a chance to court you?" Khem was taken aback, mouth agape, as he hadn't expected this confession so soon. He had an inkling of how Pong felt about him, but not that it would come out so quickly.
However, even if given more time, Khem knew he wouldn't be able to reciprocate Phii Pong's feelings.
"I..." Khem hadn't finished his refusal when a commotion from behind made him turn around. It was Jett and Chan leading a large group of young people running towards them.
Pong's eyes widened when he saw who was leading the group; it was his upcoming boxing opponent.
Seeing Pong, the leader grinned and reached into his pocket, pulling out some tamarind leaves, which he then used to chant a spell. Soon, the leaves transformed into dozens of hornets in a magical display, though the villagers and vendors couldn't see them.
"Phii Pong, Khem, run!" Pong, sensing danger, grabbed Khem's hand and ran towards the back of the temple where there was a pagoda filled with urns. Jett and Chan followed closely, with some hornets stinging along the way until they reached the temple wall, where they were cornered.
Jett and Chan turned to face their adversaries, protecting Khem and Phii Pong. They clasped their hands together and chanted in unison,
"Pah, Nah, Tah, Mah!" This was a spell to momentarily immobilize enemies with malevolent intent. Although hornets could be conjured similarly, Jett and Chan didn't have the materials to act as a medium for this spell. Moreover, if not controlled properly, this magic could backfire, harming themselves or innocent bystanders.
But Klaa lived up to his name in the worst ways possible, regrettably!
Since Jett and Chan had practiced meditation well and both had strong wills, the spell they chanted worked effectively. When everyone stopped moving, Jett quickly spoke up.
"Phii Pong, the car keys, please." Pong, guessing what Jett was planning, immediately handed over the keys.
"Chan, take Khem to the car and drive to the exit. Phii Pong and I will follow later." Chan nodded, quickly taking the keys.
"Let's go, Khun Khem." Chan said to Khem. Khem was worried about Jett. Although he didn't know what was happening, he understood the situation was bad, and his presence would only be a burden.
"Jett, Phii Pong, be careful." Jett nodded repeatedly, and Pong smiled, pleased that Khem was concerned. Then, Khem and Chan ran off to one side.
On their way, Ekk, who had come out to prevent ghosts from the graveyard from obstructing them, helped them get to the car without issues.
Back to Jett and Pong, after Chan had taken Khem away, they quickly used physical force to deal with the larger number of opponents before the spell wore off.
At the Thai house, Thong, who had rushed back, reported the situation to Pharan, who was meditating in the shrine room.
Upon hearing the report, Pharan's sharp eyes opened. He stood up, went to the storage room, and retrieved a jar full of tamarind leaves, no less than ten thousand, took them downstairs, and then poured them out, chanting a spell with a calm voice:
"Turn into wasps."
Because Chan, who was part of the spell, had left, the immobilizing spell quickly dissipated. As Jett was still exchanging blows with Klaa, and Klaa was about to pull out more tamarind leaves to summon more wasps, suddenly the moonlight dimmed, and a loud buzzing filled the air above.
"Shit!" Klaa and his followers were startled by the sight. The sky, once lit by the moon, was now filled with an immense swarm of wasps, clearly sent by someone.
But among those with magical abilities that Klaa had encountered, at most they could conjure just a thousand hornets!
Klaa knew 'who' had sent these hornets, but they were only meant to intimidate him since the other party didn't want to cause trouble with his master or uncle, and had been avoiding any direct confrontation with his uncle.
However, Klaa had no intention of backing down. If he were to be attacked by this swarm, he wouldn't die but would certainly be in a bad shape.
"Damn it, just wait, you'll get yours!"
Once Klaa and his gang ran off, Pong immediately fainted. Luckily, Jett caught him in time.
Jett saw red rashes slowly appearing on Phii Pong's face and body, along with his body temperature rising, which made him exclaim in panic,
"Oh crap!"
And when he looked up to see the swarm of hornets still hovering, as if urging them to hurry back, he felt like banging his head against a pagoda to escape the blame.
Upon returning home, the three kids quickly carried Phii Pong up to see the master.
Pong, who had no protective amulets against magic, naturally couldn't handle being attacked by magically conjured hornets. This was unlike Chan and Jett, who, despite having swollen faces, felt no pain.
Thus, when learning to cast spells, one must also learn to counteract them. Besides providing medicine, Pharan didn't intend to help further; Jett and Chan had to treat Pong on their own. The matter of their punishment would be discussed the next day.
After that, they parted ways. Jett and Chan couldn't rest because they needed to heal Phii Pong by that night. They had learned enough from the master about treating ailments caused by magical means.
Khem came downstairs, intending to sit and feed the dog the spring rolls he had bought, which were now in a mess from running away from the gang, making them unappetizing. He didn't dare offer them to the master.
But before he could sit down, someone who had been standing behind him since who knows when tugged at his shirt collar with a finger.
Khem jolted and turned to face the master, quickly hiding the bag of spring rolls behind his back.
"Master..."
"What are you doing?" Khem looked into the master's eyes, thinking he already knew, so he lowered his gaze and answered softly.
"I...I bought spring rolls, but they're all mushy now. So, I was going to feed them to Dang..."
"For whom did you buy them?" Khem bit his lip gently before answering.
"For you, master."
"If it's for me, put them on a plate." Khem glanced at the master's face briefly and then looked down, unsure.
"But, they're mushy now, sir."
"I can eat them."
Khem pinched himself to not show his happiness, nodded, and went to put the spring rolls on a plate, setting it on the table for the master.
"Please, enjoy."
Pharan sat down, looking at the plate of spring rolls filled with vegetables that he liked. Though his face didn't show it, he ate them all with his head bowed. When he finished, Khem, who had been waiting to clear the plate, did his duty, looking at the empty plate and repeatedly telling himself not to be too happy.
After washing the dishes, he came out of the kitchen, but seeing the master still there, he hesitated to walk past.
"Sit here." The master said, looking at him intently. Khem saw a nearby chair being pulled out and, curious, walked over to sit.
Pharan took out a tin of herbal medicine, opened it, and touched the ointment with his fingertip.
"Stay still." He said, gently applying it to Khem's clear temple, where there was a red, swollen mark from a wasp sting.
It was a good decision to send Ekk and Thong to follow them. Otherwise,he might have ended up like Pong...
Khem stared at the master, but when their eyes met, he quickly lookedaway, his heart beating so hard it felt like it might leap out, his handsclenched tightly in his lap.
Pharan noticed the red streaks covering both of Khem's cheeks beforelooking down at the several talismans hanging around his neck, speakingsoftly as he moved his finger to apply the ointment to the other temple.
"Tomorrow, the orphanage will come to pick up donations. Anything you don't use or can't use anymore, donate it for the children's benefit."