Kaoru was silent as the townsfolk congratulated he and his companions. He brushed off any praise, merely citing his duty, or the exemplary actions of his friends and the newcomers who fought at their side.
The tired monk smooths his saffron robe and walks a bit taller as he notes the crowd. He bows deeply to Master Jiem.
Ziang nods and smiles at the villagers and thinks to speak about to speak with the fireworker. Perhaps he has some old family secrets about exploding dusts?
Then he waits if master Jiem has more to say.
Wang bows deeply to master Jiem, but is still obviously troubled. He leans close to whisper. "The creature is destroyed... but what about the Empire?"
The body of the soldier has been carried by Shen and Leng, who softly deposit it near the entrance of the house. Jien says "Your success today is the proof that the empire can be cleaned from those evil creatures in the future. My friends, we can't celebrate as we should now. If we stay here and do nothing, more creatures far more powerful will come and eventually overwhelm us." the old man makes a pause. It seems as if he has aged since you left. Probably the effects of having his energies sucked by the creature.
He gesture towards you, "You are our heroes, our champions. The champions of the free people of Dragon's Palm." When he finishes those words the crowd explodes in applauses and cheers. "Our friends have readied the ships and put their men at our service" Jien continues, as both captains step out of the crowd and nods approvingly towards all of you.
Master Jien nods back before continuing. "Tomorrow we will sail to the continent, and today, we'll celebrate your victory. We'll have plenty of time tu discuss our plans and tactics while we sail to meet our destiny." he finishes, and the townsfolk exploded in applauses again.
The next hours, the warriors of Singing Spring enjoy with the wine, laugh, regoice, smile, eat and celebrate. The feast is not something exhuberant, at least in Wang and Ban Lu's eyes, since they have witnessed huge banquets. But the love with which all that was prepared was evident.
The baker's daughter didn't leave Leng's side not even for a second, hearing all what he had to say, specially interested when the lad spoke about his prowess in battle. Leng had so much food in front of him he didn't know where to start!
Ziang in his continued search for knowledge, engaged a conversation with the elder fireworks artisan, who gave him several formulas. Ziang was not sure if they would come handy someday, he'll have to study them focused.
Kaoru found himself surounded by friendly and caring people, something that had been denied to him since the very moment he leave the school in the rush to help his comrades. He felt happy and complete, although the mission ahead was like a coming storm.
Koryo found out that the old captain was actually, a retired imperial general, one he had been under direct command. Both men exchanged stories of the past, and feel connected somehow, in that odd set of causalities that led them back together. He also sheared wine with the younger captain of the merchant ship, with whom he fought, back to back.
Wang's troubled mind relaxed a bit, his straight forward mentality of soldier had served him well in the last few days, but now it was playing a dirty trick. His mind was full of unsolved questions, and so he decided that there was no person more appropiate to discuss the matter than with the monk Ban Lu. The half-drunk monk listened him carefully and gave him a few advices. Shaking off the images that his mind went over and over, he managed to spend the best evening in what seemed centuries.
Ban Lu's skill as drinker became a town's legend. He drank so much wine he ended up completely unconscious over the table, his hand still holding his glass. He managed to make some socials anyhow. The priest heard Wang's problems and doubts and efficiently made him happy with a few words of wisdom.
