"What is that?" Li Yu asked while sniffing it.

  "Bone broth made from the Frost-Goat," she said. "Simmered for two days until it turns to jelly. We mix this cold jelly into the meat. When you steam the dumpling, the jelly melts and becomes the soup inside. This is my own special blend."

  She then added the aromatics.

  "Moon-Chives," she pointed to a bowl of glowing green vegetables. "They grow only in the shade. They add a coolness that balances the heat of the pork. And Sun-Dried Star Anise that is ground to dust. There are also another ten herbs and spices that I can’t reveal. The real family secret."

  Li Yu nodded knowingly. Everyone had their own special mix and he knew better than to ask. Li Yu mixed the ingredients by hand. The cold jelly froze his fingers but he kept working it until the mixture was sticky and uniform.

  "Now," Granny Wang said as she handed him a small disc of dough. "The Fold. This is where most fail."

  She demonstrated. She placed a ball of meat in the center. Her thumb and forefinger pinched the edge. Pinch, lift, turn. Pinch, lift, turn. In three seconds, she had sealed the dumpling with eighteen perfect, symmetrical pleats. It looked like a little work of art.

  "Go," she commanded.

  Li Yu tried.

  He pinched. He turned. The dough ripped.

  "Useless," Granny Wang sighed but had a smile on her face. She thought back to when she was teaching her grandson how to do this..

  "Give me a second," Li Yu muttered.

  He focused. This required fine motor control. He had to calculate the circumference of the dough, divide it by eighteen, and apply equal pressure at each interval while rotating the object.

  He tried again.

  Pinch. Lift. Turn.

  He moved slower this time. His eyes tracked every millimeter of the dough.

  Pinch. Lift. Turn.

  When he finished, the dumpling sat in his palm. It had eighteen pleats. They were uneven and one looked a bit sad, like a deflated balloon.

  "Ugly," Granny Wang critiqued but nodded approvingly. "But it will hold soup. Keep going. You will get better with more practice."

  Li Yu stood there for hours, wrapping dumpling after dumpling. He entered a state of flow. Almost a state of enlightenment but for soup dumplings. The noise of the street faded. The worries on his mind faded. There was only the dough, the meat and the fold.

  By the hundredth dumpling, his pleats were uniform. By the three-hundredth, he was matching Granny Wang’s speed.

  "You have nimble fingers," Granny Wang admitted grudgingly as she stacked the steamers. "You cook for your wife?"

  Li Yu laughed. "I cook for myself. And my... extended family."

  He looked over at the table where Si Luo and Bai Ruo were sitting and chatting to one another. They had experienced Li Yu’s random sense of adventure before and let him do what he wanted. They were stuck here anyways and time was all that they had. The two had finished eating and were now simply people-watching, enjoying the peace.

  "Alright," Granny Wang wiped her hands on her apron. "You worked hard for me today. Made things much easier on me. Take these five baskets. On the house."

  Li Yu untied his apron. He felt a sense of accomplishment that exceeded capturing a defensive node during the war. That was something he had to do. This was something he wanted to do. It was completely different.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  "Thanks, Granny," Li Yu beamed. "This is the best payment I've received all month."

  Li Yu rejoined Si Luo and Bai Ruo and was carrying a towering stack of bamboo steamers with pride. They found a quiet spot near the riverbank. It was under the shade of a massive willow tree. The branches swept the water and were creating ripples that distorted the reflection of the clouds.

  "You have flour on your nose, Li Yu," Si Luo pointed out.

  Li Yu wiped it off. "Battle scars. Try these. I made them myself using her ingredients and techniques."

  They ate in comfortable silence for a while as they were watching the river traffic. Small wooden boats laden with goods floated downstream. Fishermen cast nets from the stone bridges. Children ran along the banks and chased a loose spirit-chicken that was flapping wildly.

  "It is strange," Bai Ruo said softly. "They are so fragile. A single stray blast of Qi could end this entire town. Yet they live as if they are eternal."

  "That's the beauty of it," Li Yu said as he leaned back against the tree trunk. "They worry about today. The price of rice. The leak in the roof. Whether the girl next door likes them back. They don't worry about things you consider important because they can’t impact that in any way. If a rift appears on top of the town right now, either powerful cultivators will show up to save them or they will die. They can’t change a thing there so why worry about it. It would only make them miserable."

  "It seems... nice," Bai Ruo admitted to that kind of thinking. “If the sky falls, someone stronger will shoulder the load.”

  Just then, a group of cultivators walked past on the path above them. They were low-level, mostly Qi Condensation juniors from a local sect but wearing flashy robes that looked a bit cheap.

  "Did you hear?" One of them said loudly. He was clearly trying to impress the girl walking with them. "The war is over. My cousin's friend's brother was there. He said Commander Li Yu summoned a dragon the size of a mountain to eat the beast tide!"

  "A dragon?" The girl gasped. "I heard it was a tiger made of divine lightning!"

  "No, no," a third disciple corrected confidently. "It was definitely a dragon. And Commander Li Yu? They say he’s ten feet tall with eyes that shoot beams of spirit fire. He stared at the beasts and they wet themselves instantly before running!"

  Li Yu choked on his dumpling at the conversation they were having. He didn’t think his name was so well known. Either it was a lucky chance encounter or his stories have been spreading faster than he thought.

  Si Luo covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter. Bai Ruo cracked a smile as well.

  "Ten feet tall?" Li Yu whispered, looking down at his average frame. "Beams of spirit fire?"

  "Fame is a burden," Si Luo teased. "Perhaps you should grow a beard, Li Yu. To match the legend. You also need to capture some amazing looking beasts as well to match the stories."

  "I heard," another disciple continued, lowering his voice conspiratorially, "that the Commander refused the rewards. He took nothing! He gave it all to the orphans. He walked away into the sunset with nothing but his honor."

  Li Yu thought of the storage rings in his Koi Sanctuary. They were filled with a massive amount of wealth.

  "I like that version. Finally something is not crazy about me, even if it isn’t true." Li Yu nodded. "Let's keep that version."

  They listened to more gossip as the afternoon wore on. They heard two aunties arguing about a marriage arrangement.

  "His son is a pig farmer, but at least he has pigs! Your son writes poetry! Poetry doesn't put pork on the table!"

  They heard a merchant complaining about the price of Spirit-Fire Coal going up because of the blockades and war. That it would take awhile before things settled down and got back to normal.

  It was mundane. It was trivial. And it was exactly what Li Yu needed.

  "Li Yu," Bai Ruo asked as she was staring at a paper boat toy float down the river. "What will you do during this month?"

  "Eat," Li Yu said immediately. "Sleep. Explore. Enjoy the things this continent has. We just fought to help protect things here. Let's find and enjoy the things we fought to protect. There's a village three days east of here that supposedly ferments wine inside bamboo stalks. I want to try that."

  "And after the month?" Si Luo asked.

  Li Yu sighed at the thought. There were many goals he had but all of them required him to get stronger. He looked at the reflection of the sun on the water.

  "After the month, I have to go to that banquet. We will celebrate the founding of the alliance and hope they can carry the virtues I see in them. And then..."

  "Then I have to get stronger," Li Yu said. "Because things are much bigger than I ever thought they were. There is still finding a way for the two of you to return to your home. Help Si Luo with her family if I am able to."

  Li Yu stood up and dusted off his robes. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, painting the river in shades of gold and crimson. The lanterns in the town were flickering to life, transforming Iron-Willow City into a glowing jewel.

  "Come on," Li Yu said to his companions. "Granny Wang mentioned a night market that sells grilled skewers. Specifically, Thunder-Eel skewers."

  "Thunder-Eel?" Si Luo raised an eyebrow. "Will it shock you?"

  "Only if it's fresh," Li Yu grinned.

  They walked back toward the lights of the town, three powerful beings blending into the tide of humanity. They were searching for the next delicious thing in a world that, for tonight at least, was peaceful.