The clink of plates and glasses mixed with the murmur of conversation drifting up from below as Su Yan sat at a table on the restaurant's second floor.
They had taken a table near the railing, giving them a perfect view of the lobby below, where a small stage had been set up for the afternoon's entertainment. From what Su Yan had been told, the restaurant would usually bring in a musician or dancers.
Today, unfortunately, they had invited a storyteller.
Su Yan already had a sinking suspicion about what story they were going to hear.
The legendary rise of Patriarch Ruan.
Again.
He sighed and leaned back in his chair.
It was an interesting story. Or at least, it had been the first few times.
After two days in Jade Spring City, however, Su Yan was beginning to wonder whether there was a single restaurant, shop, or street corner where someone wasn't eager to tell him about Patriarch Ruan's remarkable rise to prominence.
He took another sip of the aromatic tea, quickly draining the rest before pouring himself another cup.
You really did get what you paid for here, and Su Yan had certainly splurged over the last two days.
Across the table, Nihilister was tearing into yet another plate of food while several nearby guests watched her with open fascination.
Su Yan could understand why.
With the number of empty plates stacked beside her, the sight was beginning to remind him of a Dragon Ball episode.
Not quite that exaggerated yet, thankfully.
2B, on the other hand, sat perfectly straight as she calmly sampled a little from each dish.
She drew her own share of curious glances, though Su Yan suspected at least some of them were simply wondering how she managed to pick out her food so easily with that visor covering her eyes.
Su Yan took another sip of tea before turning his attention back toward the lobby below.
An old man dressed in pristine robes was making his way toward the small stage.
The soft din of conversation slowly faded as the guests quieted in anticipation of the performance.
The old man waited until the room had fallen almost completely silent before he finally spoke.
"Welcome, honoured guests. I come before you today to tell the life story of our dear Patriarch Ruan."
A few groans immediately rose from around the restaurant.
The old man merely smiled, as though he had been expecting them.
"Now, now. Unlike some of my peers elsewhere in the city, I will not insult your intelligence by pretending this performance was not commissioned by the Ruan household."
Su Yan raised an eyebrow.
He was being surprisingly forthcoming.
"And because they have been generous enough to pay for my time, I shall repay that generosity by giving you the tale without all the unnecessary decoration."
The old man swept his gaze across the room.
"No dragons where there were dogs. No armies where there were ten men. And certainly no beautiful maidens surrendering their hearts simply because a handsome young man smiled in their direction."
Several people laughed at that.
"The truth requires no such embellishment."
His smile widened.
"For the truth is impressive enough already."
The old man allowed the laughter to fade before continuing.
"Eight years ago, the man who would one day become Patriarch Ruan entered Jade Spring City as a stranger."
"No great clan stood behind him. No famous teacher announced his arrival. No merchant house waited to welcome him through its doors."
"He was simply another wanderer amongst thousands."
The old man paused.
"And yet, look at the Ruan family today."
His voice carried easily through the restaurant.
"In eight short years, that nameless wanderer won the heart of the Ruan family's eldest daughter—the infamous young hellion whom half of Jade Spring City had decided would never marry, and whom the other half was too frightened to ask."
Laughter broke out across the lower floor.
"In eight short years, a family whose greatest days seemed to lie behind them became one of the names by which Jade Spring City itself is known. Their wines fill our taverns, their medicines sit upon our shelves, and merchants carry their goods far beyond these walls."
His expression became a little more serious.
"And in eight short years, a rivalry between the Ruan and Qin families that had endured for generations came to an end. Not with one house crushed beneath the other, nor with blood spilled in the streets, but with a marriage that bound the two closer than either had ever been before."
The old man let the silence linger for a moment.
"Eight years."
"A stranger became a husband. A fading house became prosperous. Two rivals became family."
"And now that same household celebrates a child born with Innate Spirit Power at Rank Nine."
The old man smiled.
"So tell me, honoured guests…"
"How did a man who arrived with nothing build all of that?"
For the next hour, the old man continued, weaving his way through every notable chapter of Patriarch Ruan's rise.
Su Yan had to admit, this storyteller was leagues above the others he had heard over the past two days.
The restaurant had remained remarkably quiet throughout the performance, save for the occasional laugh or murmur at particularly memorable parts of the tale. At more than a few tables, plates of food had been forgotten long enough to go cold.
Not that it seemed to affect their table much. Nihilister had done her part to polish off the remaining dishes, while 2B seemed largely indifferent to the story itself.
Noticing Su Yan staring, Nihilister wiped her mouth before speaking.
"You didn't actually listen to the old man that whole time, did you?"
"I mean, he was doing a much better job than the others I've heard. And for once, it wasn't so over the top that you started wondering whether any of it actually happened."
Nihilister snorted.
"Still sounds like a load of crap to me. You expect me to believe none of that was planned or orchestrated?"
Su Yan crossed his arms in thought.
Honestly, even after hearing the story without all the embellishments, there were far too many convenient coincidences.
The man seemed to take advantage of every opportunity that appeared, while somehow having an answer for every shortage and every problem the family ran into.
If Su Yan had not spent the last two days seeing and buying some of those very products for himself, he might have questioned whether half of it was true.
"I guess sometimes the truth really is stranger than fiction." Su Yan shrugged. "But yeah, I agree. A lot of it was probably planned."
The comment drew several displeased glances from the neighbouring tables. Whether they objected to Nihilister dismissing the tale as nonsense or to Su Yan suggesting Patriarch Ruan's rise had been carefully engineered, he could not say.
Whatever their objections were, they kept them to themselves when Nihilister turned and glared back.
"Hmph. Good. At least you're not completely gullible."
The three of them spent a while longer drinking tea and enjoying themselves. The old storyteller had since been replaced by a small group of musicians and a dancer, and the restaurant had gradually grown lively again.
Su Yan found he really enjoyed days like this. Nice and relaxed, with all his worries and troubles pushed to the back of his mind.
The peace was broken, however, when a sudden clamour rose from the streets outside.
Su Yan moved towards one of the windows and looked down.
A large crowd was moving at a quick pace, all heading in the same direction.
He wondered what was going on until fragments of excited shouts reached him.
Something about the Ruan family giving away free money. Apparently, anyone who went to the Ruan estate to offer their blessings could get some.
"Interesting."
Looking back at the table, where most of the dishes had already been cleared, Su Yan decided to join in on the fun. Besides, it would be nice to finally put a face to the legend he had been constantly fed over the last two days.
"Nihilister, 2B, let's go."
"Where to?"
Nihilister asked lazily from where she was partially sprawled across the table.
"The Ruan family is apparently giving away free money. I figured we might as well join in on the fun."
She considered him for a moment before shrugging.
"Well, I guess if the money's free, it'd be rude to refuse."
Pushing herself upright, she moved to follow Su Yan, while 2B was already falling into step beside him.
After paying the rather expensive bill, the three of them left the restaurant and merged into the crowd making its way towards the Ruan estate.
It took them quite a while to make any real progress. The streets had already been packed with people enjoying the festivities, but now they had become a slow-moving river of bodies, not that it seemed to diminish anyone's enthusiasm.
The stall owners along the streets called out even louder to be heard over the constant chatter of the crowd, often managing to attract customers who had been standing in one place for too long with nothing better to do.
The logic Su Yan overheard from some of those making larger purchases was particularly amusing.
"I'll get money from the Ruan estate later. This is just spending it in advance," one man so eloquently put it.
Su Yan was not one to question a complete stranger, but he really wanted to point out that was not how it worked.
He held his tongue in the end. It wasn't his money, after all.
During the pilgrimage, he even spotted a few familiar faces.
Perched on a man's shoulders was one of the children he had seen in his old family home. They were still somewhat gaunt and sallow, but their clothes were clean now, and the unmistakable joy on their face was a far cry from how Su Yan remembered them.
He felt a small warmth at the sight. His trust had not been misplaced; those children really were being cared for.
Looking around, he also spotted their mother carrying the other child in her arms. Behind them came the rest of the men, all dressed in cleaner clothes than before, with several carrying small baskets of their own.
He wondered why they were holding them with such resolute expressions on their faces, but he supposed he would find out soon enough.
They had arrived.
Passing through the gates of the Ruan estate was a rather strange experience.
The entrance was enormous, wide enough for two carriages to pass through side by side with room to spare. Now, however, it was filled with a steady stream of people, one side for those entering the estate and the other for those leaving.
Many of those leaving had handfuls of coins clutched against their chests, while the bulging pouches and pockets of others suggested they had managed to gather far more. Some, however, looked distinctly despondent, apparently having walked away with only a few coins for their trouble.
A few had even resorted to using their clothes as makeshift baskets to carry their spoils.
The haul seemed to be mostly copper soul coins, with a decent scattering of silver and even the occasional gold mixed among them.
One of the men carrying a basket now looked thoroughly vindicated as his companions gave him firm pats on the back. Su Yan finally understood why they had been lugging those things through such crowded streets.
Upon entering the estate proper, Su Yan was once again struck by its size. The front courtyard alone was broad enough that it would not have looked out of place as a small parade ground, yet even with the festival crowds pouring through the gates, there was still room to move.
As he looked deeper into the courtyard, he finally saw the source of all the commotion.
At the broad steps leading further into the estate, glittering coins were being tossed out over the crowd, flashing beneath the sunlight before scattering among the people below.
The crowd surged wherever they landed, people jumping, reaching and clamouring over one another for the falling coins.
Su Yan could just make out several figures standing upon the steps, casually tossing handful after handful of soul coins into the crowd.
As the crowd shifted, he finally got a clearer look. Alongside several men dressed in guard uniforms stood a young boy, eagerly throwing coins into the masses below with a bright, joyful smile on his face.
Whenever another handful scattered through the crowd, cheers rose with it.
"Blessings upon the Ruan family!"
"May the young master grow strong!"
"May fortune follow the young master!"
The cries came from every direction as people scrambled for the coins, laughter and congratulations blending together throughout the courtyard.
Su Yan didn't join in with the shouting, though he did casually snatch one of the rare gold soul coins out of the air before anyone else could reach it.
The Ruan family certainly did not believe in doing things by halves.
As the boy reached the bottom of the sack, Su Yan saw a man step forward carrying another.
He was impeccably dressed, wearing luxurious black robes with silver embroidery tracing their edges. Several rings adorned his fingers, while a gold necklace set with sapphire gems rested against his chest.
His hair was long and dark, and his face still held much of its youth, with only faint signs of age beginning to show.
He handed the new sack to the boy and gave him an affectionate pat on the head before turning to survey the gathered crowd with evident satisfaction.
Then Su Yan saw his piercing green eyes.
The gold soul coin slipped from his fingers and vanished almost immediately beneath the feet of the crowd.
Su Yan didn't notice.
A wave of vertigo struck him without warning, forcing him to sway where he stood.
His breathing quickened.
The courtyard suddenly felt too small.
Too crowded.
The space around him seemed to press inward, and for one sickening moment the smell of blood filled his nose.
Su Yan raised a trembling hand to his face. His palm came away slick with sweat.
A hand suddenly closed around his shoulder.
Su Yan jerked violently, almost lashing out before his eyes found 2B beside him.
"Su Yan?"
He swallowed and tried to steady his breathing.
It didn't quite work.
His gaze drifted back towards the steps.
Towards the man standing beside his son.
For an instant, the courtyard vanished.
Darkness. Wood pressing against his shoulders. The wet sound of a blade cutting somewhere beyond a narrow crack.
Those eyes.
He turned and ran.
By the time Su Yan became aware of his surroundings again, he was hunched over in a narrow alley, one hand braced against the wall as he panted for breath.
A pool of vomit lay on the ground beneath him.
As his breathing finally began to slow, he heard footsteps approaching and looked up to see 2B and Nihilister coming down the alley.
"What the hell was that?"
Nihilister's irritation was obvious.
"Why did you just bolt like that?"
Su Yan tried to straighten himself, only to find his legs strangely weak beneath him. He stumbled, and 2B immediately stepped forward to steady him.
Her hold grounded him. Su Yan grabbed onto her arm and held tight, slowly feeling strength return to his limbs.
The overwhelming fear began to recede.
Even so, he couldn't entirely stop the faint trembling running through his body.
He forced himself to speak, though his voice came out barely above a whisper.
"That man back there. The Ruan patriarch."
Su Yan drew in a slow, unsteady breath.
"I think... I think he was the man who killed my family."
Nihilister's expression changed immediately.
She turned her head towards the Ruan estate.
"Oh, really?"
A feral grin slowly spread across her face.
"Then I think I should pay him a visit."
She started towards the mouth of the alley.
"Nihilister, wait!"
Su Yan pushed away from 2B and caught her by the arm, nearly stumbling again in his haste.
Nihilister stopped and looked back at him.
"What are you doing, Su Yan? Why are you stopping me?"
The earlier enthusiasm had vanished, replaced by an openly unamused look.
"Your enemy is right in front of you."
She gestured towards the Ruan estate.
"So why are you hesitating?"
"I... I'm still not sure if he's truly the one..."
"From your reaction back there, I'd say you already know."
Su Yan looked up and found the full intensity of her gaze fixed upon him.
There was judgement in her eyes.
He nearly flinched.
"Spirit Hall."
He swallowed.
"We go to Spirit Hall first. If it's really him, they should have records. We could... ask them what can be done."
Movement from the street beyond the alley caught his eye, the crowds still streaming towards the Ruan estate.
"And look at how many people are out there. If we do anything now, we'd cause a massacre whether he's the man I think he is or not."
"And why would they matter?"
"What?"
Nihilister crossed her arms.
"Why do those people matter? You don't know them. They have nothing to do with you."
Her eyes narrowed.
"They're just people standing between you and the man who slaughtered your family."
Su Yan clenched his fists.
"Just because I don't know them doesn't mean they're disposable."
A flash of anger cut through the lingering fear as he glared at her.
"They don't matter to me personally. Not right now."
His voice tightened.
"But that doesn't mean I get to treat them like obstacles when there's another way."
"If push comes to shove, I'll do what has to be done."
His gaze remained fixed on hers.
"But not a moment before."
Nihilister straightened and looked down at him for a long moment before giving a quiet hum.
"It's your revenge, after all."
She stepped past him, her long red hair sweeping behind her.
"But you'd better remember those words."
She glanced back over her shoulder.
"Because I'll be holding you to them, Commander."
Only once Nihilister had passed him did some of the tension finally leave Su Yan's body.
His legs felt weak again, but 2B was already beside him before he could stumble.
"Thank you, 2B."
With her support, Su Yan followed Nihilister out of the alley and back into the bustling streets.
This time, they were heading for Spirit Hall.