She slanted him a look, then did a beautiful spin on the wall. With her arms raised like that, she appeared like an angel in the moonlight. One with ribbons of silk swirling around her.
But then she stopped and with a laugh, she fell off the wall.
He jolted and cried out in alarm. She’d fallen on the inside of the garden where he couldn’t get to. Damn it, she could be hurt!
Then he heard her trilling laughter and knew she’d tricked him.
“Around the corner, silly student.”
“Trickster!” he accused.
That just made her laugh harder. He grumbled in response, but he was smiling as he began to walk. Eventually, he made it to the back gate. There, he found a lovely garden behind a modest home. To his left was another thick wall, but ahead, slumped in a chair, was a man he guessed to be his teacher.
He dropped his pack to the ground, taking a moment to breathe in the evening air. He smelled pollen from the spring garden next door, tobacco from his teacher, and the spice of good food somewhere inside Master Gao’s home.
His stomach rumbled. He had precious few coins to keep him alive until his appointment, assuming he passed the exam. He needed to guard every one, and so meals had been sparse.
But first, he had to greet his new teacher. And since the sound of his pack dropping on the ground hadn’t roused the man, he needed to be louder.
He moved in front of his teacher, then prostrated himself on the ground in a kowtow. From his place there, he spoke as loudly as he dared.
“Master Gao! I am Ko Zhi Hao, come to learn from your greatness.”
The man jolted, starting awake as he regained consciousness. Zhi Hao didn’t straighten up. He remained at the man’s feet and waited to be noticed.
It didn’t take long. The man kicked him—lightly—with his foot.
“Who are you to intrude on my private rest?”
For the third time that night, Zhi Hao repeated his greeting. “I am Ko Zhi Hao, come to learn from your greatness.”
The master snorted and kicked him again. Not hard, but just enough to force Zhi Hao to lift up some. He kept his head lowered in respect though the position was awkward.
“Name?”
“Ko Zhi Hao.”
“Who was your teacher?”
Zhi rattled off all the things he had studied and with whom. It was a long list. His family could not afford to have a live-in tutor, but had used a steady stream of travelling teachers who would visit regularly.
He ended his resume by offering up several letters of recommendation that extolled his own brilliance and layered flattery upon Master Gao by begging for the man’s indulgence in teaching so lowly a student.
It was a mixed bag of statements and one that did not fool Master Gao. But it was also customary, and the man had been warned of a new student’s arrival. At least, Zhi Hao hoped the letter had reached his new master before now.
“Huh,” the man finally grunted. “Get up. Let me get a look at you.”
Zhi Hao did as he was bid, lifting up until he rested on his knees.
Master Gao huffed out a long breath. “I’m too tired to question you tonight. If you have come this far, you had best know more than the classics. I shall require you to think and to write your ideas clearly.”
“Yes, master.”
“And study! Day and night, you shall have no respite. The exam is a few weeks away. That’s not enough time to prepare you, but I will do my best.”
He held out his hand for his fee. Zhi Hao dropped most of his coins into the man’s palm. The man looked, counted, and quickly pocketed them all. Then he did something surprising.
He squatted down until he was eye to eye with Zhi Hao. “I have taught many smart men. I have instructed them in the things they needed to know, and I saw their minds blossom with knowledge.”
