After everyone finished eating and the attendants took all the plates and bowls away, the merchants and other travelers stayed in the dining hall to chat.  One of the travelers took out a pouch full of dice, and the group proceeded to play a game.

While watching the others play, Chen Yun noticed that Leiyu had completely disappeared from the room.  He excused himself and headed through the doorway.  The corridor was dimly lit with wall torches, and his flickering shadow trailed after him as he walked.  His thoughts wandered, centering mainly on the caravan’s new bodyguard.

Leiyu had been with them for a week now, and while he was polite, there was something very guarded about him.  He only spoke when spoken to, and even then it was hard to get much out of him.  Also, the matter-of-fact way that he revealed that he had no family name was concerning.  But at least he had a shifu, or so he claimed.  Having a shifu meant that he was a disciple of a sect.  It meant that he was raised with morals and standards, and wasn’t just some vagabond with magic powers that came from nowhere.  But even if Leiyu was cast out of his own family or had none to begin with, shouldn’t he have taken on his shifu’s family name?

When he came across another doorway, he paused.  The doorway opened up to the courtyard, and Leiyu was sitting cross-legged near the jagged shadows of a pomegranate tree.  His eyes were closed, and his face was caressed by dim moonlight.  Chen Yun wondered whether he was asleep or simply deep in meditation.  Should he disturb him?  Although it had been scorching hot during the day, desert nights were the complete opposite.  Chen Yun wrapped his arms around himself and quietly approached the silent man.

“Leiyu?” he whispered.  Leiyu opened his eyes.  “Aren’t you cold?  Don’t you want to go back inside?”

“The cold is fine,” Leiyu replied.  “I’m used to it.”

“Is everything all right?”

Leiyu raised an eyebrow.  “Yes,” he said flatly.

Chen Yun bristled.  “Okay.  It’s just that you got real quiet after I told the other guy about your heroics.  I mean, you’re already quiet in general, but got even more so, if that makes any sense.  Then you just ran off without saying anything after dinner.  Do you not like drawing attention to yourself?  I won’t mention it again to strangers if that’s the case.”

Leiyu chuckled.  “Don’t worry about it.  I just stepped out to get some air and clear my head.”

Clear his head?  Chen Yun thought.  “Is something bothering you?”

“No.  I just meditate by habit.”  Leiyu began to close his eyes.

“Is that a part of your soul journey process?”

Leiyu raised his eyelids and smiled.  “I don’t think there are any rules for how a soul journey is supposed to be, at least none that my shifu mentioned.”

Chen Yun’s eyebrows perked up.  “You’ve mentioned your shifu before.  You’re from a sect?” 

“Yes.  None of the well-known ones, though.  Ours didn’t even have a proper name.”

“Where is your hometown?”

Leiyu did not answer right away.  He instead looked up at the moon with a forlorn face.  Chen Yun was not sure what to make of this.  Was this a sensitive topic for him?  Did it have something to do with why he said he had no family name?

“Yunshan,” Leiyu finally said, barely audible.

“Oh?  Never heard of it.  Where is that?”

“It’s just a small town,” Leiyu said.  He did not elaborate any further.

Chen Yun did not want to stay in the courtyard for much longer since it was difficult to get Leiyu to keep conversing.  It was also very cold, and he did not want to fall ill.

“Don’t stay out here too late,” Chen Yun said.  “You should get some proper sleep since we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”  Leiyu nodded and continued to meditate.  Chen Yun sighed and returned to the corridor.  He heard the raucous sounds of his fellow merchants and the other travelers as he approached the dining hall.  They were still going strong with the dice game, and pewter cups were scattered on the table.

Time slipped by like sand in an hourglass.  After the travelers played their umpteenth round and chatted themselves dry, the attendants ushered them to the sleeping quarters.  It was a large unadorned room with cotton mats and blankets laid out on the floor near the walls and a brazier in the center to provide warmth.  Chen Yun wondered if he should retrieve Leiyu from the courtyard.  Part of him felt like he was already imposing too much on the taciturn man.  He did not have to worry for too long, since Leiyu appeared in the doorway as everyone else was settling down.

Leiyu crossed the room to join the rest of the merchants.  He picked a mat near Chen Yun and lay down, draping the blanket over himself.  His back was facing the rest of the merchants.  Chen Yun frowned.  Many questions were burning in his mind, but he knew it was late.  Besides, he was the one who had told Leiyu to get enough rest.