Aimless Ascension

Gale entered the inn along with Xiaolin, both with pensive looks on their faces, as if something foreboding was coming their way, and they knew it.

It had taken a long time for Xiaolin to get the pensive vibe, even though she was worried after all the negotiations took place. She got nervous, simply thinking she would have to deceive her lovely elder sister.

Well, with some advice and mentoring, she was good to go. Gale advised her to channel that inner anxiety into the play, as that was the secret to acting.

They found their target the innkeeper on the open veranda, already working on the clothes to make dresses for them. The little boy Rong'er was nearby, seriously reading some picture book with all his effort. Well, he couldn't read, hardly of the age of three, but the pictures were just too entertaining for him.

Gale exchanged a look with his disciple, gesturing to start with her act.

"Master, what will I really do?" Xiaolin said with her terrible acting. Even though she was worried; knowing that it was but an act, her voice turned rigid. It

It was alright, Gale guessed as they carried on towards the Innkeeper.

"It's terrible I know," Gale said, "but don't take it too hard, Linlin. You only have your master to blame for this."

"No master, you did nothing wrong," Xiaolin said, getting more into her character. "It's that ugly Mayor."

Gale sighed, lamenting.

Wang Li was already listening to everything and picking on the tone they were talking. She immediately rested her work to focus on their conversation.

"What happened?" Wang Li asked, growing distressed by their conversation.

"I made a terrible mistake," Gale said, rubbing his forehead. "Even worse than when I fell in love with a yandere?"

"What's a yandere?" Wang Li frowned and then shook her head. "You know what? I don't even want to know that. It's probably something stupid from your world. Tell me, what happened? Did the mayor and the Han family do something outrageous?"

"Not just outrageous, it was outright unreasonable," Gale said. "Why does Linlin have to pay for my mistake? If only I had kept my mouth closed, none of this would have happened."

"What happened?" Wang Li asked, her anticipation growing with distress.

"Linlin would have to duel Han Xiao to death," Gale said, biting his lips.

"What?!" Wang Li lurched up from her spot, shouting, even alerting Rong'er from his reading. "That's outrageous. How can you let it happen?"

"I have no other way," Gale said. "The mayor, I, kind of, offended him even before we began negotiating the terms of the conflict."

"What? How?"

"You remember that pretty girl at the tailor shop?" Gale asked, his expression guilty. "What was her name again? Hmm. . ."

"Qing'e," Wang Li asked, as a knit appeared on her brows.

"Yes, Qing'e," Gale said, nodding. "We came across her on the way to the mayor's office. Sadly, my pride got the better of me and I decided to pick on her. Unfortunately, I acted a bit. . . prudishly. . ."

Gale's voice trailed off, but nothing came of his disciple. Gale had to glare at Linlin for her to remember her lines.

"Master, with all due respect, that isn't a bit prudish," Xiaolin said, "you literally asked her too many private questions. Most girls don't like someone prying into their private life. If you had done that to me, I would have, I would have. . ."

"What did you really say to her?" Wang Li asked, turning towards Gale.

"Nothing too serious," Gale said. "I just quoted her a poem describing her beauty. Qing'e really liked the poem, blushing all over."

Xiaolin snorted, improvising.

"The thing is," Gale said with a hesitant tone. "Her father didn't like the poem."

"Master, no father will ever like some guy flirting with their daughter," Linlin added.

"But I was very charming," Gale pouted. "And charismatic."

"You probably would have got away with it," Xiaolin said. "What got you into trouble was what you said later. You shouldn't have just commented on someone for their ugly looks. I mean, I almost vomited when I first saw the mayor's face, but I kept it to myself."

"How could I have known that ugly bloke was her father and the mayor?" Gale complained. "God damn it, even in this mediaeval world, I can't get away from being sexist. There is no fairness in the universe."

Both of them turned to face him, shooting a not-too-kind look, even though they weren't completely sure what he was talking about.

Gale coughed. "If only someone had told me that ugly duck is the mayor," Gale lamented with all implication.

"If only I knew Qing'e was his daughter, I wouldn't have acted so outrageously in front of her. And now for my mistake, my dear disciple has to pay for it. I'm sorry, Linlin, your master only brought terrible consequences to your life."

Wang Li bit her lips as she heard him. She knew clearly who Qing'e was, but decided to play Gale with her identity, thinking his overwhelming charisma wouldn't work on someone whose family he was in conflict with.

She had been anticipating the look Gale would show when he learns Qing'e's identity. However, she hadn't expected any of this. Even though the foreigner was outrageous, he was a polite sort, never taking things too far, but she could easily see him offending someone just by making fun of them.

"This is all my fault," Wang Li said, clasping Linlin's palm. "I knew who Qing'e was, but I didn't say anything. Linlin, I . . . What do we do? I can't let you fight Han Xiao, you'll die. . ."

"Elder sister, it isn't your fault," Xiaolin said, shooting her master a look as if asking whether or not they were done with the act.

"I guess there's one thing left for me to do," Gale said sternly with a frown on his brow. Gaining both of their attention, he continued in a chilling voice. "I should kill that kid and his parents."

That brought a complete silence between them as a mild, chilly wind blew. Little Rong'er picked his head up from his book to look at them, but finding nothing interesting, he got back to reading the picture book.

"That's the only way left," Gale said, standing tall, turning toward the open outside. "Linlin, will you come with me when I go on the run? They won't let you off, as you're my only disciple and I won't be in peace, knowing I left you."

"Wait, why did everything come to murder?" Wang Li asked, her voice distressed, worry boring down from her body language. "Can't you just leave with Linlin to the southern land? I'm sure your master and others will be able to protest you from whatever the mayor and the Han family have for you."

Gale was about to reply to her comment, but his disciple took the moment to conclude their act, bursting into a loud giggle.

"Elder sister," Xiaolin said, through her giggles. "Don't worry, don't worry. Master, you saw the look on her face, right?"

"Poor Linlin, she broke even before the day of the fight," Gale said solemnly.

"Stop it, master," Xiaolin said, clutching her stomach as she giggled. She crashed into Gale, making him stop by force.

Gale broke into a burst of laughter as well, clasping Linlin on the shoulder. "It would have been epic if you had let me complete the act."

"That would've really created some problem," Xiaolin said, wiping a single drop tear from her eyes. "Master, you can't just trespass on other's homes to murder them for a prank."

"Well, I would have murdered them only a little," Gale said.

"How can you murder someone only a little?" Xiaolin asked as she turned to find the innkeeper with a totally confused expression on her face.

"All this," Wang Li asked, evident anger in her tone, "a prank?"

"Most of it," Xiaolin said, moving to hug Wang Li just in case she gave in to violence.

"How could you?" Wang Li questioned, gritting her teeth. "How could you give me such a scare?"

"Yeah, I told her, but Linlin was just too proud of her idea for me to stop her from doing it," Gale lied easily, shooting a stink eye at his disciple. "On that note, Wang Li, this is completely Linlin's idea. I had a minor part in it, and that too after she forced me to do it."

Wang Li faced him with an incredulous expression. Gale had a completely honest face on, too hard for her to recognise the truth. So she turned to meet Xiaolin's eyes instead, who just shook her head, breaking Gale's honest farce.

"How does a disciple force a master to do anything?" Wang Li questioned, shooting him an angry glare.

"Well, you know Linlin," Gale said with a cough. "She acted all too cute with those puppy eyes. How could I resist?"

Xiaolin pouted, which was really too cute for him to resist. Gale would have patted her right on the spot if he hadn't his image to maintain.

"Still not coming out with the truth?" Wang Li snorted. "Well, laugh all you want for now. But I promise you, Mr Carpenter, you'll pay for giving me such a scare."

"Only me?" Gale complained. "Linlin, have a big part in it too."

"Okay, both Master and disciple pair, get ready. You're under my radar from now on."

___________

Sometimes I wonder what if readers didn't understand the dark humour. What if they take jokes as it is and leave?

If you're one of those people, remember, it is only fiction and the author mostly has a different ideas about life.