Fifteenth day of the month, Itaiyo in the year 203 of the Sasuke Empire

  The Chens had left the soy plantation and headed down to visit the Moon Lotus Pavilion in the Yuan province of the Song region of the Empire. They, of course, stopped here and there in random towns and villages to sell their wares and relax and feed the people who came calling. It was the day before they planned on crossing the border to the old Song Kingdom in a small village named Kasagi, that was right off the Royal Road.

  Kasagi was a decent enough of a town, known to be a sort of crossover town between the old Song Kingdom and Sasuke Empire. It had influences of both in it and was also known to be the last town for many miles. Once you crossed this place, the Royal Road wasn’t as kept up and less patrolled. Bandits were known to waylay travelers, and the Song Freedom Fighters would hassle people who were loyal to the Empire.

  Lucky for the Chens, though, they were both originally from this region and didn’t really pay any attention to the politics of the land. All they cared about was traveling, spending their time together as path companions, feeding people and selling their artifacts.

  “I’m still unsure about crossing the border,” Mei confided to her husband that night as they laid in bed at the inn they got a room at.

  Jin smiled and wrapped his arms around her tightly before he gave her a soft squeeze. “No need to be sorry, my love, it will be fine. After all, we are heading home.”

  She frowned but put her hands on his and felt his breathing even out. Mei shook her head and sighed. The man could fall asleep anywhere, no matter the circumstances. Her, not so much, the woman had trouble sleeping the best of nights, let alone a night that was so nerve-wracking. He was probably right, though; she figured. They would be fine. Maybe they’d have to feed a group or two to not be totally robbed, and they could deal with that. Eventually, in her husband’s arms, she fell into a fitful sleep.

  Jin was the first to wake. He usually was. There was prep work to be done, after all. He was busy in the wagon just outside the inn, steaming rice and frying various meats in the wok station he had. While he worked, he kept looking up at the case of soy sauce. They could get and idly wondered if he should use some of it this morning for breakfast. They hadn’t touched the stuff and..

  “No,” Mei’s voice came, interrupting his thoughts.

  “No, my love?” He grinned and looked over at the door to the large wagon.

  “You aren’t using the soy sauce for breakfast. There will not be any cultivators or anything here, so what’s the point?”

  Jin chuckled and shrugged. “It is still delicious.”

  Mei nodded and conceded the point. “Still, these are poor farmers and village people. They can’t afford anything with that stuff in it.”

  Jin harumped, but nodded in agreement. “Very well, very well.”

  She stepped into the cluttered wagon and moved around the little kitchen setup. She was heading for the corner where they had two small folded up tables and some chairs and carried them out so she could set up.

  “Are you making the usual?” she asked as she turned sideways and moved out the door.

  He nodded his head, not realizing she wasn’t looking at him since he was cooking.

  Mei poked her head back in and frowned. “Well?”

  Jin looked at her in surprise. “Yes, I said. Simple steamed rice and eggs, with pork belly and some sausage. It should be ready soon.”

  Mei narrowed her eyes at him. “You nodded your head and didn’t actually say anything, didn’t you?”

  A grin was her response.

  She huffed and left the wagon to set up the tables and chairs that made their ‘front of house.’ It didn’t take her long, and this also helped to create a sort of buzz of what was happening. If the delicious smells of fried meat coming from the wagon didn’t do that already, this helped.

  “What’s going on?”

  “What’s that smell?”

  “It smells so good!”

  She grinned as she listened to the village people who walked by. She told them what was going on and that they’d be ready for business very shortly. Umbrellas were set up over the tables to help block out the bright morning sun.

  “We’re setting up and the Roaming Restaurant will be open in just a few minutes,” she turned and said to the small group of people that formed.

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  “My husband Jin is making the most delicious fare that will help get your day started. All at a reasonable rate, rest assured,” she promised before she walked back over to the wagon.

  The wagon was situated right across from the inn where they had stayed the night before and it had taken some smoothing over with the innkeeper. When this sort of thing happened, they promised to give the innkeeper ten percent of their takings to help them cover what income they lost from their customers having a new place to eat. They didn’t need to do this, of course, but they were just passing through and didn’t want to make enemies.

  Mei went over to the wagon and lifted open the large open cutaway section. It opened in two sections. One went up to help keep the sun out of the wagon, so it didn’t completely blind Jin. The bottom section acted as a small table for him to push the dishes out to Mei so she could serve the customers.

  Jin stood there dumbly and waved at his wife and the small crowd that had gathered with the hand that held his spatula. “Heya folks, I’m just about ready.”

  She smirked and grabbed the small chalkboard that he handed her with a piece of chalk tied to it with string, and she wrote the menu.

  Steamed Rice - 1 Tsuho

  Miso Soup - 1 Tsuho

  Grilled Mackerel - 2 tsuho

  Bacon or Sausage - 2 tsuho

  2 Eggs - 4 tsuho

  (Cooked how you like)

  Rolled Omelet - 3 tsuho

  Combo - 1 Tensho

  (Large rolled omelet with bacon or Sausage over Rice with fish)

  She looked over the menu and nodded her head. She wasn’t too sure about the pricing. It might be a little too steep for the people here, but she figured she’d see how it went. Mei looked up at her husband, and he grinned and winked with a nod.

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  Then they were off. Business was slow at first. No one wanted to be the first to get something from a food cart.

  “I don’t trust anything from a wagon. How can it be safe?” Someone mumbled and walked past Mei towards the inn to get their breakfast.

  She frowned but didn’t let it upset her. They had a few customers get rice and fish, and they seemed happy enough. The customers groaning in pleasure who sat at the tables in front of the cart were the best advertising Mei could have hoped for, though. Soon enough, they had a line of people getting an assortment of things from the wagon.

  It was a good thing they had gone shopping before they hit the village, and Jin was always worried he’d run out of food. Thanks to him cooking up extra, he had plates of rice and eggs and meat flying out through the window for Mei to serve. Their rush lasted about an hour and once they were done, Jin stood in the window with a damp towel from his sweat, smiling down at his wife.

  “Seems like we did alright?” he asked.

  She nodded her head and looked inside the little cash box they had with all the silver coins in it. They even had sold a few of the more substantial combo plates, so there were a few of the gold coins as well.

  “We did very good,” she assured him with a nod and grinned.

  He put his hands on the counter and gave a sigh. “I guess it’s time to clean up, though. Worst part of the day. Then we’ll get moving to visit the pavilion. Maybe you’ll be able to get some business there, too.”

  Mei frowned and shrugged. She had some things to sell stored away, but they were going to a sect and would probably already have treasures that were worth far more than the things she had to sell. Still, though, he was correct, it was always a possibility. She put away the lockbox and lifted the lower part of the window and latched it into place. She’d leave the upper open so they could get some air while they washed the pots and pans and wooden plates.

  They worked in silence and just enjoyed each other’s company. Jin was finishing up putting away the dishes that had been cleaned and dried, and Mei went out to get the tables and chairs. She had just stepped around the wagon and saw the innkeeper. The old man was waiting for his pay, as they promised him most likely.

  The man wasn’t what drew Mei’s attention, though. There was a gathering mass of darkness in the clouds far to the east. It wasn’t storm clouds. She wasn’t quite sure what it was, but she knew it seemed to come from the very Heavens and it sent her spirit into panic mode. She ignored the innkeeper and went to knock on the closed part of the window to get Jin’s attention, but before she could, she heard him speak.

  “What in the world…” he breathed out loud.

  All Mei could do was shake her head. “I… I… don’t know, Jin.”

  The darkness massed into a great form of darkness that twinkled. It looked like it was made from the night star and twinkled with stars. The massive form reached down from the Heaven’s and seemed to swallow part of the planet in its power.

  “Get Ping and Bo ready. We have to leave,” Mei told her husband.

  “We can’t be going-”

  She interrupted him, though. “Go! Get them ready. They’ll need help, whatever is happening.”

  He hesitated another moment, but he knew his wife was right. She usually was. He left the rest of the dishes where they sat and went and herded up his oxen. He gathered them together and roped them in the yoke. “We’ll need you two to try to hurry.”

  “No, we’ll be much too late to help with whatever is going on over there. Your food, though, maybe, can help. Cultivators will be needed,” she said.

  “Hey! What about my money!” the old bald, toothless innkeeper yelled and followed Mei around to the front of the wagon.

  Mei looked at the man incredulously and pointed at the scene unfolding from the sky. “You’re worried about losing a few coins when that’s going on?!”

  The old man looked over to the darkness amassed in the sky and shrugged. “It’s just a storm. Storms come and go.”

  Mei frowned. He couldn’t see what was happening. The monster in the sky descending from the Heavens and eating the world. She wasn’t sure exactly what their take from the day was, or how much ten percent of that was. She knew that they had to get going. So she reached for the purse on her belt and just threw it at the man, though she took care not to throw it too hard. Didn’t need to kill him or something.

  “There, take it. We’re leaving,” she yelled at him as she jumped up on the driver’s bench where Jin already sat waiting for her.

  He looked at her with wide, unsure eyes. “You sure?”

  “GO!”

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