Chapter 78: The Boy From Cao
Hao sent word to my house the night before, asking me to meet him at the eastern gate at first light. He offered no explanation. I went because my brother rarely made demands without reason, and when he did, the matter was usually worth the walk.
A heavy mist hung over the eastern hills when I arrived. Hao stood beside the stone gatepost in his faded training tunic, arms folded, his breath forming pale plumes in the crisp morning air. A lad of fifteen or sixteen stood two paces behind him, clad in the coarse, unbleached wool typical of farming families.
Both turned as my boots crunched on the gravel.
"Little brother," Hao said. "I want you to meet someone."
I stopped a pace short, my Fourth Meridian twinging as my rib pulled from the trek. I kept my face smooth, allowing no trace of the discomfort to show.
"Zhou Zheng," Hao continued, indicating the youth. "This is my brother, Pei Liang. He is the Squad Captain of the cultivators here. Brother, this is Zhou Zheng. He migrated south with his family last winter from a settlement on the eastern border of the Cao Territories."
The boy bowed.
I gave him a brief nod. "So, you're a cultivator is that right? Show me your breath cycle."
Zhou Zheng glanced at Hao, who gave a single, imperceptible nod.