Under his blanket and cloak, Leiyu kept one hand on the hilt of his sword.  Whether he was sleeping in an open field or nestled in the comfort of an inn room bed, he always had to be ready to thwart an attack.  He closed his eyes and let his breathing slow down.  His consciousness began to fade, and he entered the world of reveries.

The vermilion sun slowly sank behind the silhouette of a mountain.  In the sky, dusty rose hues deepened to indigo.  Leiyu looked down at his hand.  The frayed end of a thin red cord rested in his palm.  The rest of the cord threaded between his fingers, cascading from his hand in a gentle arc that kissed the blades of the grassy field.  It stretched into the distance, disappearing into the horizon.  He closed his fingers inward and tugged on the cord.  It pulled him forward, and he shuffled his feet to keep his balance.

The string was now taut, suspended in mid-air like an infinite clothesline.  Swirling mist obscured his vision, blotting out the sun and sky.  The wind picked up, and his cloak billowed.  Bitter cold ice shards flew sideways, stinging his face and hands.  He reached for the weimao that hung on his back and struggled to place it over his head.  Another gust tore through like a stampede of icy dragons.  He held fast to the cord to keep from being dragged away.

The wind suddenly cut out, and he lost his balance.  He tumbled onto a pile of sand.  The mist burned away, and he was back in the desert.  The sky dimmed to twilight.  He looked up and saw a figure with long flowing hair and fluttering robes standing twenty paces away.  The person’s face was obscured.

Darkness clouded his vision.  The sand gave away beneath his feet, and he felt himself in freefall.

He awoke with a gasp and gripped his hilt.  The diffuse brazier’s light flickered against the ceiling.  Everyone else was still asleep, breathing heavily or snoring.  He loosened his grip and closed his eyes again.

Ever since he was young, he had variations of this dream.  There was always a red cord in his palm and a setting sun.  He used to think it was a fun game, playing tug of war with the mysterious string.  As he got older, the mystery person with long hair and robes began to show up.  He had no idea whether this person was supposed to be friend or foe.

When he was in his teenage years, he sometimes heard elders speak of the concept of the Red Thread of Fate.  Everyone in the world had a fated person, bound through space and time by an unbreakable crimson cord.  Arranged marriages were the norm where he came from, but the person your family chose for you might not be your fated one.  Even if you settled down with someone else and did everything expected of you - building a home and raising children - without your fated one, you would never feel complete.  Fortunately, you had more than one lifetime to find your soul mate.  If you missed your opportunity in this life, you could always try again in the next.  There were infinite lifetimes that you could go through, and you could find your fated person again and again, until the day the threads of time finally unraveled and all the realms returned to nothingness.

Leiyu sometimes wondered what it would feel like when he met his fated person.  So far, he hadn’t felt much of anything for anyone.  When he was growing up, he and his martial brothers would sometimes descend the stony steps of the steep hill where their sect compound was located and spend the day in town.  His shixiong would often gaze at the elegantly dressed ladies strolling down the market streets.  The ladies wore flowing silk dresses and adorned their elaborately coiffed tresses with dangling ornaments.   Tasseled jade pendants hung from belts wrapped around their slender waists.  Their faces were pale with powder, and they shielded themselves from the sun with paper parasols decorated with flower petals and butterflies.

Although his shixiong made ample commentary about the ladies and some even had the audacity to flirt with them, Leiyu always stayed silent.  He thought the ladies were pretty as well, but in the way well-made scroll paintings were aesthetically pleasing.  What piqued his interest more were the sunflower seeds he bought from the street vendor, or whatever snack he happened to be sharing with his fellow disciples at the time.

The brazier hissed, pulling him out of his thoughts.  He decided that he should try to fall back asleep, since he had to be up again in a few hours.

***

Leiyu and the merchants had breakfast in the dining hall.  The food was much the same as the night before - flatbread, dates, peaches, cheese - with the addition of watery porridge flavored with cinnamon and cardamom.  When no one was looking, Leiyu slipped some flatbread and dates into his sleeve.  He ate the peach slices since he knew they would not last long.  The delicate nectar dribbled down his throat, and he felt blissful.

After the meal was over and the attendants took the plates and bowls away, Leiyu went to the stable to retrieve Bakhat.  The horse was munching on a new batch of hay, and the attendant was brushing his mane.  When Leiyu approached, Bakhat neighed.  Leiyu patted him on the back of the neck.

The merchants appeared shortly after to retrieve their horses and cargo wagons.  After chatting with the innkeeper, Chen Yun handed over a string with coins attached.  The innkeeper bade them farewell and wished them a safe journey.

The rest of the day was uneventful.  They were adrift in an ocean of sand and battled the relentless wind.  At least there were no bandits to fight off.  When night fell, there were no shelters in sight, so they circled the cargo wagons and kept the horses within the perimeter.  Using some sticks that they had brought along, the merchants started a fire in the center of their formation and huddled close to it for warmth.  To pass the time, they swapped tales of their lives back home and their past travels.  Leiyu sat at the periphery of the group, one ear taking in their stories and the other listening for threats in the distance.

“How much do you think we’ll get for the goods?” Liang Fusheng asked as he stared at the fire.

“Probably a generous amount,” Wang Yihui said.  “We’re delivering it to the palace after all.”  He took a swig of water from his flask.  “What are you planning to do once we get home?”

“That won’t be for a while, but I’m planning to get married when I return to my hometown,” Liang Fusheng replied.  “My folks already arranged it, so all I have to do is go back.”

“You settling down after that?” Wang Yihui asked.

“Nah, gonna keep trading.  Money doesn’t earn itself.” Liang Fusheng turned to Chen Yun.  “What about you?  You’ve been quiet.”

Chen Yun blinked, taking his focus off the fire.  He poked at the wood with a stick.  “Ah, sorry, just lost in thought.”

“What thoughts?” Liang Fusheng asked.  He then grinned.  “Thinking about your girl back home?”

“Pssh, not all of us are lucky enough to have everything already arranged.  Nah, I’m just wondering about our new bodyguard.  He’s polite, but we really don’t know much about him.”

“Well, plenty of people are the quiet types.  Better than being an insufferable loudmouth.” Wang Yihui said, chuckling.  Chen Yun tried to suppress a grin while Liang Fusheng frowned.  “As long as he keeps us alive, that’s all we need.”

“Sure, but I’d like to know more about him if he’s going to be traveling with us for the long haul,” Chen Yun said.

Liang Fusheng laughed.  “If you wanna know, just ask.”

“Well, I already tried talking to him at the caravanserai, but he barely responded.”

“So be it.  Being a man of few words isn’t a bad thing, and he’s just a bodyguard anyway.  We’re all gonna part ways after this journey’s over, so it doesn’t matter.  He gets us there safely, and we offer him some of the profits as payment.  If he takes it, great.  Fair compensation.  If he refuses, even better.  More for us.”

“That’s so transactional,” Chen Yun said with a furrow in his brow.

Liang Fusheng laughed so hard his teeth gleamed in the firelight.  “We’re merchants, of course everything’s transactional!  At least we’re not the swindling kind.”

Wang Yihui chimed in.  “Yeah, we’re the lowest of the occupations.  Just a step above beggars and thieves.”  

Leiyu glared at them, then turned away when he saw Chen Yun look in his direction.