Chapter 240 - Normal Life

In a quiet neighborhood on the southeast part of Noga City, a set of chimes rang from a door as the final customer left from the door of a small pawn shop. A hand flipped the sign in the window over, indicating that the shop was closed. The curtains were drawn, and the lanterns inside the shop were extinguished.

The soft orange and pink hues of sunset reflected off the front windows, casting long shadows over the street. Through the curtains a broad silhouette could be seen slowly making its way through the various rooms, tidying up after a long day of work, setting things straight for the next day.

The warm light from a lantern flickered on in the kitchen at the back of the shop as the silhouette moved to and fro for several minutes. The light then was picked up and made its way to the back door.

The click of the lock sounded in the backyard as Xiang opened the door and stepped out of the house. He hung the lantern on a hook next to the door, taking a seat on a chair under it. He leaned back, staring up at the darkening sky for a while, listening to the sound of frogs and insects that drifted on the wind.

After a while he picked up a small block of wood from the floor next to his chair, pulling out a small whittling knife from his pocket. Flecks of wood fell to the floor as he quietly worked the soft wood. On a table next to him were a number of carved figures, the products of this quiet past time of his.

Though this had been a hobby of his for years, there weren’t too many carvings on the table. Most of them would end up tossed in a fire pit. Every so often the best of them would be sold in his shop. Though he spent a lot of time on each piece, he didn’t particularly care for the quality of the carvings. They were just a way to keep his hands busy as he unwound his thoughts at the end of each day.

His hands worked the soft wood as the sun finished setting, leaving him alone in a pool of warm light, as the stars twinkled to life in the black sky above.

Every so often his ears would prick up as a person walked down the alley. He would look up to see a neighbour pass by the half-height fence. His lips would curve up into a cordial smile and he would exchange a wave or a short greeting. As they left his smile would fade and a melancholy would return to his eyes.

The bells of a distant clock rang, marking midnight as the gate opened. Black boots walked across the small backyard until they came to a stop a few paces away from Xiang. Xiang’s head was drooped to the side, eyes closed as he snored softly. The whittling knife and statue were cradled in his lap.

The newcomer’s eyes, shielded by black bangs, quietly looked down at the carving. It was only half complete, a slender girl with long hair, standing with her hands behind her back. He looked down at Xiang with a soft frown, then took a seat in the chair on the opposite side of the door, purposefully making some noise. 

Xiang’s eyes fluttered open, then jerked awake as he noticed that he was not alone, “Zwei!”

“Xiang.” Zwei nodded.

“How can you just disappear like that!” Xiang’s eyebrows knit in anger, “Just leaving a note? You think that’s the right way to leave?”

“Sorry, I didn’t have time to explain.” Zwei shrugged, offering an apologetic smile, “I’ve been out of the city investigating things related to the Festival.”

“I told you, you don’t need to get involved in those things!” Xiang growled.

Zwei didn’t respond to the obvious provocation, only thinking how typical it was for Xiang to skip past greetings and go straight to chastising.

“Now look what happened. You’re disappearing for weeks without even sending a letter. Do you even know Yuzu is missing?”

“Of course.” Zwei said coolly, “I looked for her.”

Xiang paused, a flash of concern in his eyes.

Zwei shook his head, “I don’t know where she’s gone, yet. Only that she’s under the care of the White Maiden.”

“That’s not news at all!” Xiang growled, “How is it that the entire police force can’t find one girl? You might as well have not joined them, for all the good you’ve done.”

Xiang’s words triggered Zwei. The slim young man felt a swell of frustration and anger threaten to burst out, but he bit his tongue. He hadn’t come to argue with Xiang, but he also didn’t appreciate his efforts being belittled.

“What? You want to say something?” Xiang walked up to Zwei, his massive frame casting a shadow over his brother.

Zwei looked away, not meeting Xiang’s glare. His lips trembled in suppressed anger as he set his emotions aside to say, “Come join us.”

“What?” 

“My team could use your help.” Zwei said, getting to the purpose of his visit. “If you join us, we can look for Yuzu together.”

“Hah! Is that why you came back? To recruit me?” Xiang barked out a laugh, “No, you need to stop what you’re doing and come back home.”

“Do you have your head in a hole, Xiang?” Zwei’s tone turned sharp as he looked up incredulously at his brother, “You’d rather sit around the shop all day than actually do something? I’m actually making a difference here. I’m actually trying to bring our family back together.”

“You’re the one who doesn’t understand.” Xiang replied, turning to the door, “Go play police, then. Don’t come back unless you’ve quit.”

He didn’t wait for a response as he grabbed the lantern and entered the house. He slammed the door behind him, leaving Zwei in darkness. 

Zwei cursed under his breath, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration as he heard the door being locked from the inside.

He sighed, shaking his head. The whites of his eyes turned black as the shadows around him began to swirl.

~

Inside the kitchen, Xiang threw the lantern haphazardly onto its hook. It swung animatedly, casting frantic shadows across the room. He picked up the empty rice pot from the stove, slamming it into the sink with a metallic clang.

Xiang was grabbing another pot when the lantern began to flicker. He paused, looking around as a chorus of whispers swelled up around him. The shadows began to churn with the shapes of spirals and long insects with hundreds of legs.

The shadows congealed together as Zwei appeared on the other side of the kitchen with a gloomy look on his face.

They stared at each other for a half moment before Xiang scoffed, “You think your tricks will scare me?”

He grabbed the dirty bowls and dishes from the table and tossed them in the sink, beginning to wash them as if Zwei had done something completely ordinary.

Zwei blinked in shock. He was not expecting to be brushed off by his brother. He shook it off, saying seriously, “This isn’t a trick, Xiang. It’s-” 

“You don’t have to explain it to me. I already know.” Xiang said, “You think I’m clueless? I already know you’re with Sansen Zhao. You think he didn’t try to recruit me already?”

Zwei’s mouth hung agape as he processed the idea that Xiang as not only aware of the Exalted world, but that he had already had the opportunity to enter it.

Xiang turned on the sink tap, grabbing a brush as he began scrubbing down the plates, “I told you over and over, get a normal respectable job. Don’t do things that will get you in trouble. Now look at you. Playing the hero. You think you’ll ever be able to live a normal life again?”

“Normal-“ Zwei trembled slightly as he shook his head. He felt something crack inside him, a barrier that he had set up to repress his deepest of feelings, “What part of our life is normal?”

“Our shop, our family.” Xiang said.

“Our family? What part of what happened to mom and dad is normal?” Zwei saw the look in Xiang’s eyes as he scoffed, “That’s right, after all these years, I finally learned the truth. And what’s worse, I learned that you knew the whole story the whole time and you hid it from us.”

“You didn’t need to know.” Xiang muttered.

“Oh, Yuzu and I didn’t need to know how our parents were murdered? Maybe Yuzu bought the storm story, but I never did.” Zwei’s voice cracked as he yelled, “I never did!”

Xiang dropped the brush, turning around to face Zwei. Zwei expected his brother to yell back, but instead of rage Xiang’s eyes were full of remorse.

Xiang’s shoulders sagged, arms falling to his side as he looked down at the floor. It was a look that Zwei had never seen before. A tired, conflicted Xiang. A Xiang that didn’t have an answer that he was ready to force down someone’s throat.

“That night, before they left the house. Dad told me…” Xiang began. Zwei immediately knew Xiang was talking about the night their parents died, when they were on that bleak island in the middle of the sea, “Dad told me about the Exalted world.

“He told me that him and mom had been a part of it for a long time. That it was a tough world, full of pain and suffering and loss. But they escaped. Through miracles and sacrifices, they broke their ties to the Exalted and fled here, to Kumin. They were able to settle down and live a peaceful life, and raise the three of us, away from that world.

“Dad made me promise to keep you and Yuzu away from that world, no matter what. His dream was that the three of us could grow up in this place, raise our own families, never having to experience the kinds of things that he experienced.”

Zwei shook his head, “Look around, Xiang. The world is already screwed up. We can’t just sit back and do nothing. You can yell at me and judge me all you want, I’m trying to make a difference in the world.”

“Go make a difference, then. Ignore your big brother who has been taking care of you all these years. You made your choice without even asking me.” Xiang shrugged, “But I’ll tell you what dad told me. Once you enter that world you can’t leave. By the time you want to leave it’s already too late.”

“So you want me to just stay at home and be a lawyer or a clerk? To ignore what’s happening in the world and pretend everything is okay?” Zwei scoffed, “You want me to run away when I have the power to make things better?”

“What’s power good for, Zwei? In the end, what will it get you?” Xiang grumbled, “You only have one brother and one sister. What’s more important than that?”

“That’s right, we have one sister, and I’m the one that’s out there looking for her.” Zwei said, “Instead of staying at home falling asleep in the yard.”

Xiang shook his head angrily, “You don’t get it.”

“Or maybe you don’t get it.” Zwei let out an exasperated sigh. He tilted his head, looking at Xiang incredulously. “Fine, whatever. You don’t need to get it. You can thank me after I save Yuzu.”

Xiang glared at Zwei, who glared back defiantly. Neither of them looked away as they fumed at each other without speaking.

Xiang broke eye contact first, his gaze eventually resting on the pile of dishes in the sink. He grumbled under his breath, grabbing the brush as he turned away from Zwei.

He scrubbed at a dish then rinsed it off in the sink. As he dried it with a towel he turned around to find that he was now alone in the room.

He stared at the empty house, his brows knit in anger and sadness.

“I’ll be here.”