We locate the retreating forms of Zhiqiang and Liling. It seems that they’re heading into the Liu Family Restaurant. I’ve never been there, but apparently it’s notorious for giving its clients stomach issues. All in all, not a good place to pick a first date. I silently smirk. Liling is already sabotaging her chances with Zhiqiang!

“Earth to Lisu?” Hu waves his hand in front of my face, interrupting me from my gloating.

“Oh, sorry. I think they’ve gone to the Liu Family Restaurant.”

Sneakily, we tiptoe around the houses and down the street until we get to the restaurant. Conveniently, there’s a window right next to the table Liling and Zhiqiang have picked.

“It’s too tall for me. Hu, boost me up,” I order him.

“What?”

“Just do it!”

Hu grabs my waist and hoists me up onto the window ledge, where I am able to have a clear view of Zhiqiang and Liling. I can feel his arms wrapped around my waist. I sigh dreamily. This is so romantic!

“Stop doing whatever you’re doing up there and tell me what’s going on,” Hu hisses.

I peer into the window. Liling and Zhiqiang are sharing a bowl of weird murky soup. She’s cuddled very close to him, trying to get him to eat out of her spoon, although he looks a little weirded out.

“They’re eating together,” I whisper. “And he’s not really talking to her. This is good.”

But then Liling says something in a whisper that I can’t hear, causing Zhiqiang to giggle. He scoots closer to her, so close that their faces are almost touching.

“I can’t hold you for this long,” Hu groans. “You’re squishing me.”

“No, wait! I think they’re about to kiss!”

But Hu doesn’t have the same amount of superhuman strength I do, not that I blame him. With a groan, he drops me onto the ground and I topple onto him. Now we’re the ones with our faces almost touching. I wonder if Hu will take this opportunity to steal a kiss. 

“Ew! Get away from me!” Hu hastily pushes me off and rolls out of the way. Inside the restaurant, Zhiqiang and Liling’s voices have quieted.

“Huh, I thought I heard Hu for a second there,” Zhiqiang remarks, sticking his head out of the window. Luckily, we’ve managed to scoot into the bushes beneath the window. “I guess I was mistaken.”

After he goes back inside, we hastily reconvene beside a house a few blocks away.

“Well, that went horribly,” Hu grumbles. “Also, I was tall enough to reach the window without anyone holding me so I could’ve just looked.”

“Well, no offense, but I’m the better master planner here,” I explain. “I needed to see what was going on more than you. Now I have all the information I need. Do you know who Zhiqiang’s father is?”

“He’s some kind of livestock official. I think he’s in charge of counting cows and making sure there is no cow-stealing. Zhiqiang also wants to become a cow official when he grows up.”

I grin triumphantly. Liling hates cows; in fact she has some sort of phobia of them. Now I just have to make her realize Zhiqiang’s parentage, and she’ll immediately stop her advances. But, how would I do that? Zhiqiang wouldn’t randomly mention cows to Liling, unless I give them some prompting. “Are there any cows in this town?”

“In the nearby vicinity? Just one,” Hu replies skeptically. “There’s a cow herd that belongs to Widow Zhang. Good luck getting her to talk to you, though. She’s been a recluse ever since her husband was killed in war.”

“I’m so amazing that I’ll be able to,” I assure him. “Can you get some string?”

“Ok. I’ll go to the hardware store,” Hu agrees, heading in that direction. I can hear him muttering, “What sort of crazy plan does she have?”

As for me, I fly around town with my newfound Qinggong, trying to figure out where Widow Zhang is. It turns out to be pretty easy to find; a little house on the outskirts of the town is plastered with ‘no trespassing’ signs and the field beyond is scattered with brown dots that can only be cows. I trespass anyway, because rules don’t apply when you need to stop your evil stepsister from seducing your friend.

Widow Zhang, who’s been sitting on a rock looking after her herd, glances up and scowls when I arrive. “Didn’t you read the dozens of signs saying ‘no trespassing’?”

“I have a request for you! Please let me borrow one of your cows!” I say earnestly.

Widow Zhang looks me up and down. She’s a middle-aged woman, but her back is hunched like a crone’s, and her long, stringy, hair is so matted and messy with dirt that if it were white underneath I wouldn’t be surprised. “Who are you?”

“I’m Ma Lisu! I just moved to this town!” I say. “So can I borrow one of your cows?”

“No!” Widow Zhang roars. “These cows are my livelihood. I’m not letting a youngster like you make off with one. If I have to, I’ll fight you!”

She threateningly brandishes her staff at me. Although I could beat her in a matter of seconds, I want to procure the cow peacefully.

“I’ll trade you one of my brooches for a cow,” I say.

“No! I don’t care about trinkets. Go away and leave me alone!”

“I insist you let me borrow a cow!”

“No!”

It seems like I’ll have to get her to trust me first. I decide to ask Widow Zhang about her husband. “I’m really sorry that you lost your husband in a war. Do you want to talk about it?”

Widow Zhang stares at me for a second, before suddenly sniffling. Soon, huge, fat, tears are running down her cheeks. “Jinglun was such a kind man. He didn’t want to go to war, he wanted to stay here and raise cows with me.”

“And what happened?” I prompt.

“His brother forced him to go to war. Jinglun tried to run away, but his brother was a government official and forced him to go by threatening his family. And Jinglun wasn’t even fighting for our Dynasty. He was forced to act as cannon fodder for an evil organization called the Vindicta Society. They treated him and the other non-Westlanders as second-tier soldiers, constantly denying them food and forcing them to work more than the Westlanders. The Vindicta wanted to conquer a Jun town that was resisting, so they sent Jinglun to fight against his own people!” Widow Zhang sniffles. “He died fighting his own brethren. They looked upon him as a traitor. After he died, I was exiled to Fulian, with only the cows to keep me company. The government wouldn’t give me recompense, and called Jinglun a betrayer. But they were the ones who sent Jinglun to the Vindicta Society in the first place!”

“That’s really sad,” I say sympathetically. “The Vindicta Society is an evil organization, and I’ve recently just found out they want to work with our government. I’m trying to stop them.”

“Really?” Widow Zhang turns her tear-filled eyes on me gratefully. “Everyone else I’ve met has refused to do anything against them, calling them a figment of my imagination.”

“I will stop them once I get strong enough,” I vow. “The Vindicta Society cannot continue on invading our lands and corrupting our government.”

“Thank you,” Widow Zhang says. “You can take as many cows as you would like if it helps you!”

I profusely thank her, before picking out a cow that seems to have temper problems. It snorts at me and stamps its hooves when I approach. After some struggle, we are able to bring it down. I don’t have any rope with me, so I resort to hugging it around its neck and dragging it along with me.

“Thanks! I’ll return it after I’m finished!” I tell Widow Zhang. But before I leave, I still have something else to say. “Look, I can tell you’re bitter and angry about the loss of your husband. But pushing other people away isn’t the right answer. If you go out to the town, maybe you’ll find other people who understand you, like me.”

“You’re right,” Widow Zhang says contemplatively. “I can’t keep hiding from everyone.”

With a smile, she waves goodbye to me, standing up straighter, with a new purpose. As I turn to leave, I can see her taking down the ‘no trespassing’ signs and humming a cheerful tune. I’m glad that I was able to bring happiness to someone today, and hopefully more if we can stop Liling from her evil schemes. 

I lead the cow back to where Hu is waiting with a length of fine rope. “Got the cow!”

Hu gapes at me. “How?”

I shrug. “I just asked her about how her husband died, which made her open up to me.”

Hu keeps gaping. “When I asked her, she hit me on the head with her staff.”

“Maybe you have to be nicer, like me,” I reply. “After all, I am-”

“Ok, ok,” Hu sighs, cutting me off before I can continue my monologue. “Let’s just get on with your plan.”

Using the string, I tie the cow to the entrance of the Liu Family Restaurant, where Liling and Zhiqiang are still talking. Taking a bit of watermelon rind from my pocket (also from Widow Zhang), I wave it in front of the cow. Its nostrils flare, taking in the smell, before it begins pulling on its rope and frantically stamping its hooves. 

“Cut the rope when I say go,” I tell Hu. After waving the rind around for a few more seconds, I throw it out to where Liling is, and say “Go!”

The rope slackens, and the cow is off, racing towards its treat. Liling spots it and begins shrieking hysterically, practically jumping onto Zhiqiang in her hurry to get away from the cow. Zhiqiang is calmer, looking the cow dead in the eye. He pushes off the table and jumps onto its back, pinning it down on the ground. The cow struggles and kicks, mooing angrily, but he whispers some things to it and pats its flank. This seems to calm it down, and it settles down, letting Zhiqiang climb off its back. 

“What was that? Why is there a cow?” Liling is so pale, she’s practically a ghost. If it were anyone else, I would’ve felt sorry, but since this is Liling, I just want to laugh.

“He probably saw this watermelon and wanted it,” Zhiqiang laughs, stroking the cow on the ear while feeding it the watermelon. “Isn’t it cute?”

“Cute? It tried to kill me!” Liling shrieks.

“I’m sure that it was just being friendly,” Zhiqiang says.

“How do you even know how to calm that vile beast down anyways?” Liling grumbles. 

Zhiqiang smiles down at the cow, caressing its head. “I’ve always loved cows since I was young. My father’s official job is to keep track of cows, so I learned a lot from him. I aspire to take over his job someday.”

Liling blanches. “That’s such a boring and creepy job! No way!”

“What do you mean?” Zhiqiang asks blankly.

“What I mean is if you want to be a cow herder, then we are done! Go find some other girl!” Liling screams, before quickly racing out of the restaurant, so fast she doesn’t even notice me and Hu.

 I come into the restaurant. “Hey, Zhiqiang. How did your date go?”

Zhiqiang has a wounded look on his face. “It was going well until I stopped the cow…did I do something wrong?”

“No, Liling is just a jerk,” I say. “I told you that before, didn’t I?”

Zhiqiang brightens. “You’re right. I can’t believe you’re always so correct.”

“It’s ok, Zhiqiang. Not everyone is as good at seeing through lies as me.”

“Lisu, you’re so amazing. I can only hope to be as good at judgment as you are!”

Hu, from his position beside the door, rolls his eyes. “Now that all’s resolved, I think I’ll go back to the dorms.”

“Wait!” I catch up to him. He stiffens, obviously anticipating a hug. But I think back to Widow Zhang, and how she wouldn’t open up to me when I was being forceful. Maybe Hu is the same type of person, and I’ll have to subtly win his trust. “Thanks for helping me with Liling today. I enjoyed hanging out with you!”

Hu opens his mouth and closes it again. Evidently, he didn’t expect me to say that. Finally, his expression softens. “You too. It was interesting.”

With that, he heads out of the restaurant. I don’t follow him, realizing this is the first time he didn’t speak to me with cold formality. It seems that my tactics worked and he’s finally softening up to me!

“Well, I think I need a good cry in my bed,” Zhiqiang sighs. “I can’t believe I was so foolish!”

He heads out too, leaving me alone in the restaurant. The proprietor of the house comes up to me with a phony, I-promise-I’m-not-scamming-you grin. “Would you like to buy our famous five-star Mystery Soup?”

I might as well try, since I’ve already foiled Liling for today. I’ve always had exceptionally good health anyways. “Sure. I’ll take a bowl.”

—

Liling stalks back to her bedroom, where Chang Ying is waiting.

“How did it go, honey?” Chang Ying asks.

“Terribly. You didn’t tell me Zeng Zhiqiang was the son of a cow herder! Seriously, do you expect me to seduce someone whose father counts cows for a living?”

Chang Ying smiles, though her patience is stretched. “No, honey, his father keeps track of cows and whether people are stealing them. He’s a top tier court official.”

“Whatever. You know I hate cows! When I see those icky black eyes and slimy tongues, I want to barf.”

“Don’t give up yet. There’s still Qiao,” Chang Ying reassures her daughter. “His father is a personal advisor to the Emperor! That’s much better than a cow official.”

Liling gasps. “With that much power, I’ll have so much money to buy jewels!”

“Yes, and more importantly,” Chang Ying prompts.

“Yeah, yeah, we can flaunt our power in the face of Ma Lisu and Su Huian’s daughters,” Liling says dismissively. “But imagine! Being able to buy the trendiest jade necklaces!”

Chang Ying smiles again, getting more aggravated. Peizhi lays a calming hand on her, which seems to work. “Liling, you must get Qiao. Because after that, we’ll have more power than we need!”

Chang Ying collapses into another fit of maniacal laughter, where its echoes can be heard all the way to Ma Fu’s room. Of course, being simpleminded, he doesn’t realize who it is.