The Wandering God

34 In Truth As Well As Name 1/4

名副其實
Míng fù qí shí
The name matches the reality.
Be something in truth as well as in name; be worthy of the name.

The town the men and I had stopped in was called Andanqiu, or 'Dull Colored Hill'. I could not help but thinking the place matched its name. The wood the houses were built of was weather washed to dull browns and greys. The town was too small and poor to merit made roads, and so the dusty dirt of the main thouroughfare was a dull tan.

The windblown plains grass on the hills around the town was as dull as could be, dead for months now as winter approached. It covered the hills with its pale skeletal stalks that bent and waved every time the plains wind blew.

The sky above was of course cloudy, as had been the day before, and the day before, and everyday since we left the low mountain range north of the valley and emerged onto the northern plains. It was as though the sky was forbidden from showing color here.

Even the people of the town were dull colored. I watched the stall hand of the meat stall I had stopped at to buy our lunch. He was dressed in dark linens with a thick black leather apron on his front. The apron was glossy, a quality no doubt continuously maintained with spatters of grease from the frying meat.

Only the man's face held color. Red ruddy cheeks from cold weather living or too much drink. Or both.

"Here's yer meat," the man grunted, holding out my order. Eight thick bamboo skewers stuck with chunks of dripping, sizzling meat.

I had already paid my coins, so I reached across the stall to take the skewers. As I did so, the heat from the charcoal brazier behind the stall coated my arms with a pleasant scorch of warmth that I missed almost immediately as I withdrew them and the icy air surrounded them once more.

I pulled a chunk of meat from one of the skewers, enjoying the way warm grease and the taste of spices filled my mouth. "Delicious."

I smiled at the dour stallman, who was stirring the embers in his brazier and now ignoring me, the transaction completed. "I wonder if your wife knows how lucky she is sleeping beside a man that is not only good looking, but also so talented with his hands. This pork is... delicious."

The man raised bloodshot eyes to mine, looking at me without expression. "It's goat meat," he said.

"Oh my, then your talent is even greater than I thought. It is truly a delight." I fluttered my eyelashes, and flashed him one of my most seductive looks.

The man narrowed his eyes. "What'ya playing at here boy? Ya head wrong?"

Ah that's right. I had forgotten. I was dressed as a boy.

Sanli had insisted, after we left the isolated trails through the mountain, that I disguise myself as a man. "Erli has spies everywhere," the prince had said, unable to keep unease from his voice.

I did not know why the little prince feared his sister so. True, the woman was detestable. But she was just an angry, violent woman, and not even one in a position of much power.

At the prince's insistence, I tied my hair in a tight bun like a youth. I wore a soft linen suit Sanli had prepared for me, high quality at least, and over that a tunic of fine grey wool.

For my shoulders I had a leather cape lined with the fur of varied animals, with a hood to keep off the elements.

On my feet I wore the boots the prince had presented me with. They were my favorite of all my new attire. They were made of sheepskin, with the warm combed wool on the inside. They laced up to just above my knee, if I stood the cuffs on end. With them on, my calves and feet were the warmest part of my body.