"The Little Things"

A formidable hero

 Shen Wei simply nodded his head. "Ah, of course. Black cloaked Envoy, also known as The Ghost Slayer, was a prominent figure in the ancient war." His tone changed slightly, becoming more academic.

"The Ghost Slayer?" Yunlan looked at him, surprised. He had never heard that name before.

"Yes. That's just one of his many names. Please," Shen Wei pointed with his hand. "It will be more comfortable if we spoke in my study. I don't have any lectures now."

"Sure," Yunlan unwrapped a lollipop and put it into his mouth, smiling. "Lead the way."

The familiarity of the corridors brought back nostalgic feeling, and Zhao Yunllan forced himself to stay calm and tried not to walk ahead of Shen Wei. He wasn't supposed to know where the study was.

The kind professor continued in his scholarly manner, nodding his head slightly to every passing student. Yunlan observed that they bowed a bit more deeply than it was customary as if they had an inner compulsion to be extra polite. They really liked Shen Wei.

"Black Cloaked Envoy was one of the Leaders of Dixing. He united his people and fought the rebels. He is said to be the one responsible for the peace treaty." They finally arrived at Shen Wei's office, and Yunlan was pointed to a chair. The professor reached for an old book, put it on his desk and continued. "He also took full responsibility for the banishment of the Dixinians to the dark world. I imagine they really must have loathed him for this," he mused, and Zhao's heart ached again.

"They blamed him?!" He asked, raising his voice.

Shen Wei looked at him and smiled. "I would believe so. At least some of them had to. Humans tend to search for a scapegoat. Their rage needs to be directed at something or someone. It is the simplicity of human nature. Nothing more." Zhao Yunlan clenched his fists, listening. "After the war, he disappeared. Many say that he died. That's the story in brief. Here-" the professor pushed the thick old tome towards his listener. "You will find more details."

"Wait, what do you mean, he died? Wasn't he the Dixing governor for, like, 10.000 years?"

Shen Wei smiled politely. "Nobody really knew his name, and not many saw his face. It is quite possible that he died of severe wounds and was simply replaced by someone else, a successor, perhaps. We believe that the title was more of a hereditary position. Passed on."

"Nah," Zhao Yunlan waved his hand. "That's a ridiculous theory. Old Brother Black wouldn't just die."

"Are you suggesting that he lived for 10.000 years?"

"Of course," Zhao said matter-of-factly. "Even if he got hurt, he would just heal himself and go on. He is not some weakling, you know." His hands landed on the book, and he placed his chin on them, smile in his eyes, lollipop dancing in his mouth. Shen Wei leaned closer and smiled at him, visibly amused.

"He would be a formidable hero, then."

"Oh, he is."

"But chef Zhao, every hero has to die eventually." Said Shen Wei. His words were like an ice bucket that wiped off Zhao's smile. He straightened and tensed as Wei continued. "In this department, we have thousands of books, millions of stories about gods, heroes and kings. And one thing applies to all of them. None is alive."

Zhao Yunlan stood up abruptly, his finger tapping the cover of the book given to him. His sudden change in demeanour confused Professor Shen. His eyes became round and questioning. "Chief Zhao?"

"This," he pointed at the book. "I'll return it after I finish. Thank you, professor. I wasted enough of your time. I need to go back to work, but I'll be back with more questions if that's all right with you?"

"Certainly," Shen Wei's polite smile is back. "Any time."

Zhao Yunlan stormed out of the study with the book tucked under his arm and didn't stop until he reached his car. He leaned, breathing deeply and touched his chest. Shen Wei talking about death, his own death, was too much to take. Yunlan took another breath and looked at the book cover. 'The Great War' was quite a volume. He tapped it with his finger a couple of times. Then he looked up at the Uni Building, furrowed his eyebrows and squinted a little scrutinizing the place. After talking to Shen Wei, he was sure that it was the same man he had known before. There was no doubt. The instant chemistry between them, the feeling of affinity was really there. "Shen Wei-a-Shen Wei," he said quietly. "I'll make you mine again, memory lost or not."