Liu’s tough-guy persona evaporated instantly. He bowed so low his iron head nearly hit the table.

  "Thank you, Senior! A thousand thanks! The debt is cleared! Totally cleared! Little Stone is free to go! I won’t bother him again about it."

  He kicked his thugs. "Idiots! Apologize to the Young Master!"

  The thugs scrambled to bow. Li Yu grabbed Little Stone by the back of his tunic and hauled him out of the chair.

  "Come on," Li Yu said.

  He dragged the kid out of the Gilded Toad, past the terrified bouncers and onto the street. He didn't stop until they were two blocks away.

  Li Yu let go of the kid who was still shaking.

  "Listen to me," Li Yu said with a stern voice. "Your grandmother spent four hours teaching me how to fold dumplings. She is a master of her craft. She works hard every day. Don't insult her hard work by looking for easy money. Especially so when it involves such dangers."

  Little Stone hung his head. "Yes, sir. I'm sorry." Whether he was sincere or not didn’t matter. It was already an overstep for Li Yu to get involved and he wasn’t going to babysit another person.

  "Go home," Li Yu said while pointing down the street. "Help her close up the stall. And if I hear you went back to that toad hole, I'll come back and fold you like a dumpling."

  The kid paled at the threat. He bowed frantically,and ran off toward the food district. Li Yu watched him go while shaking his head.

  ‘War ends, but stupidity is eternal,’ Li Yu thought. He felt a little better, though. Granny Wang’s debt for the lesson was repaid. Li Yu then thought to himself what would have happened to him if he had never awoken his martial spirit.

  The awakening of his martial spirit had changed his destiny in life. If it had never awakened, he could have easily been like Little Stone. This caused him to reflect on his life a bit as he walked back. Where would he be now if he didn’t have this koi?

  Li Yu rejoined Si Luo and Bai Ruo. They were waiting patiently where he left them. Bai Ruo was currently reading a small pamphlet she had found on the ground.

  "Did you resolve the dispute?" Bai Ruo asked.

  "Yeah… Taken care of by a few rocks," Li Yu answered while taking his skewer back. "Let's go find something fun that doesn't involve trouble."

  They wandered further into the city. They moved away from the dense market and towards the river parks. As they walked, they heard a cheering crowd ahead, though it wasn't the roar of a coliseum. It was more of a lighthearted and rhythmic chanting.

  "Go! Go! Move your legs!"

  "Come on, Shelly! Mama needs a new hairpin!"

  Intrigued by the sound Li Yu led them toward the noise. They found themselves at the edge of a grassy park next to the river. A crowd of about fifty people was gathered around a small fenced-off dirt track.

  Li Yu pushed to the front to see what competition was taking place.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Are those... turtles?"

  They were. Eight Iron-Shell River Turtles were lined up at a starting gate. They were painted with numbers on their shells in bright washable paint.

  A man with a small wooden megaphone was speaking with practiced excitement. "Welcome to the Mid Week Waddle! Place your bets, folks! Last call before the gate drops!"

  "Does this happen every week?" Li Yu asked a nearby spectator.

  "Every Wednesday and Saturday," the man replied while clutching a betting slip. "It’s the most honest sport in the city. Turtles don't fix matches."

  Li Yu turned to Si Luo and Bai Ruo with excitement. "We have to bet."

  Bai Ruo adjusted her glasses. Her scholar's gaze intensified as she scanned the lineup.

  "Interesting," Bai Ruo murmured. "Number Four has a shell density that suggests a younger age, potentially implying higher metabolic output. However, Number Two has a slightly longer neck reach. Statistically, Number Four is the optimal choice based on energy-to-weight ratio."

  "Logic has no place here, Bai Ruo," Li Yu said wisely as if he was a seasoned vet. He pointed at Number Seven, a turtle that was currently half-asleep and blowing a bubble from its nose. "I'm betting on Number Seven. 'Sleepy Gary'."

  "That seems... counter-intuitive," Si Luo noted. "He appears comatose."

  "He's meditating," Li Yu corrected. "He's visualizing the win." What he didn’t mention was that he could sense the feelings of all the turtles here because of his Koi martial spirit. From it, he was able to determine who had the most will to win. It didn’t mean that they would, will and actual results were different but Li Yu was counting on his abilities.

  Li Yu walked over to the betting handler and placed a modest wager of ten silver coins. It wasn't about the money; it was about the glory.

  The gate dropped. The excitement reached a fever high but in actuality the race was excruciatingly slow.

  "And they're off!" the announcer cried. "Or... thinking about being off!"

  Number Four, Bai Ruo’s pick, bolted… or at least, waddled briskly and was taking an early lead. Bai Ruo nodded with satisfaction. "As predicted. Superior biological mechanics."

  But then, Number Four got distracted by a shiny pebble on the track and stopped to investigate it.

  "Focus," Bai Ruo whispered intensely. "Disregard the mineral deposit."

  Meanwhile, Sleepy Gary woke up. He yawned. He looked around. And then, with a plodding but unstoppable rhythm, he began to walk. He didn't stop for pebbles. He didn't stop to hiss at the other turtles. He just walked in a straight line. He was driven by some singular unknown purpose.

  "Look at him go!" Li Yu cheered. "The determination! The focus!"

  The crowd laughed and cheered as the turtles slowly swapped positions. It took a full fifteen minutes for the race to conclude.

  Sleepy Gary, ignoring the chaos around him, slowly clumped over the finish line first.

  "And it's Sleepy Gary by a nose!" the announcer called out.

  Li Yu threw his hands up in victory. "Yes! Gary! The legend! Hahaha"

  He went to collect his winnings. It was a small pouch of gold coins and a voucher for a free drink at the nearby tavern.

  "Statistically improbable," Bai Ruo sighed in defeat. She was watching Number Four still sniffing the rock. "The variable of distraction was not in my calculations."

  "That's why you can't calculate the heart. Just like in cultivation, the Dao Heart is critical." Li Yu said as he was tossing the pouch of gold in his hand. "Or maybe Gary just really wanted to go to sleep on the other side of the line."

  He handed the free drink voucher to Si Luo. "Your prize, princess."

  Si Luo accepted the paper slip with a faint smile. "A drink sounds acceptable."

  They left the park and walked along the riverbank as the moon rose higher. The city lights reflected on the water, creating a shimmering path of gold.

  "See?" Li Yu said while breathing in the cool night air. "Mortals know how to live. No world-ending stakes. Just spicy eels, foolish grandsons and turtles named Gary."

  Of course it wasn’t that simple and he knew it. He was only enjoying the good parts about being a mortal without any of the worries and concerns. He stretched his arms overhead.

  "Tomorrow," Li Yu announced, "we find that bamboo wine village. But tonight... tonight was good."

  Li Yu smiled. ‘Yeah, tonight was good.’