"One thing I honestly never understand foreigners about is how shy they are with their bodies. Why would one be ashamed to display what the gods had granted them?" - Abbas bin Mansour, Al-Shan Prime minister circa 512 FP

Cal watched Giselle and Willa as they fought two local youths on the stage. She smiled in amusement as she took another bite of her snack - A thin, crispy pancake wrapped around meat and vegetables, all slathered in a strong spicy sauce - when the local girl managed to knock Giselle off her feet for the tenth time.

Ognar and Leila had chosen to take a break an hour ago, after they got tired from the humbling they received handily at the hands of the local youths. On the other hand, Giselle remained stubborn and fought on, while Willa won more fights than she lost, partly courtesy to her natural instincts and fighting style, which lent itself well to unarmed combat.

Those two had been on and off the stage for three hours now. Vark's family didn't mind the distraction, as they shopped around the area, or tried the many food vendors on the streets. Cal just watched her students get much needed lessons in humility while she snacked on some foods she missed out on. Al-Shan cuisine was hard to find in the mainlands.

She munched on a flatbread sandwich filled with spicy braised tripes as an older local stepped in front of Willa. The old man looked vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't place a name to his face. The old man demonstrated to Willa how experience and skill trumped youthful strength and energy as he manhandled the half-therian girl half again his size with ease.

Willa fought the old man for fifteen minutes straight before she gave up and laid down on the floor, her tongue lolled out as she panted in exhaustion. Giselle has went down the stage and rested herself well before that, so Cal went up and thanked the old man for the lesson he imparted on her student.

The old man startled as his eyes widened in recognition, and he suddenly stood straight as a ramrod. He gave her a warrior's salute, his right palm over his left fist, held in front of his chest as he greeted her.

"This lowly soldier greets the Sàng Jiāngjún!" Said the old man, as he used the Al-Shan term for the title Xain bestowed her after her departure. "How may this lowly one be of service?"

"At ease, soldier." Cal replied, military habits reasserted themselves naturally as she folded her arms behind her back and took a rest posture. "Your name?"

"This lowly one is Mo Jìan, formerly a lowly Pīanshī in service to his majesty the Emperor." The old man proclaimed proudly. "Jiāngjún does not know me personally, but me and the men of my squad owed you our lives back at Tang-Waleed."

"No need to speak so formally, good man." Cal said with a melancholic smile as she laid her hand on the old man's shoulder. She discreetly steered him down from the stage as she wanted no commotion on her behalf. "Neither of us are soldiers anymore, leave the formality behind. I am here merely as a guest for our Emperor's upcoming wedding. What do you do for a living now?"

"My family opened an inn with my pension, Jiāngjún. My wife serves as the cook while my daughter and son-in-law run the business. I mostly helped my wife to shop for items."

"That's perfect! We just happen to be in need of an inn. Take us there." Cal said as she gestured to Vark and her students to follow her.

None of her students or relatives caught onto the conversation as Cal and the old man had spoken in the local language and none of them spoke it. Aideen on the other hand likely understood it, judging from the mischievous look she gave Cal.

*********************

Once they got to Mo Jìan's modest inn, the first thing Cal did was to order some food - after some quick words with the old man's family to stop them from kneeling before her - as the students were quite hungry after the exercise they had.

The old man's wife vowed to offer her best cooking, and was thoroughly fired up at the thought of her cooking being served to such an honored guest. The feast she cooked up for the group was truly worthy of praise.

First the old woman had her daughter and son-in-law serve an appetizer of sliced jellyfish and cucumbers, tossed in a tangy and spicy sauce. The students looked a bit apprehensive at the idea of eating jellyfish, but Vark and Krystal were just curious, and soon after they gave it a taste, the students followed suit. Giselle seemed to particularly enjoy the dish as she ate the most out of them.

Soon a dish of thick soup with an unusual, fibrous yet gelatinous texture - Cal recognized it instantly as the texture of dried and rehydrated shark's fin - was served, the soup stick with the flavor of good meat and herbs, while the texture gave it a unique mouthfeel the group really enjoyed.

When the platters of fried rice expertly cooked with eggs, minced scallions, and finely diced bits of smoked ham and Lapcheong - a local sweet sausage - was brought out, Willa and Ognar soon asked for seconds, as they polished their plates in minutes to Cal's amusement.

Several kinds of meats and vegetables were brought out along with a large amount of plain white rice as well, but the main dish of the banquet was what attracted the group's attention instead.

The old lady personally presented to them a perfectly roasted duck, its skin browned and crisped, as she deftly carved it into delicate slices with a cleaver. She served the slices of duck meat in a thin pancake with slices of cucumber and scallion, plus a slathering of sweet-savory sauce, and invited the group to partake.

Cal had to hold her laughter with some effort when most of the group blanked out for a moment, then gave out involuntary orgasmic groans or moans from the flavor as it danced on their tongue.

*************************

Later that night, Cal sat around the dinner table with Vark and Krystal, as well as Mo Jìan and his wife. The old couple were almost moved to tears when she poured them a drink from a bottle of decade-old Shaōjiù, a strong, fermented sorghum with a sweet, nutty taste, and a very strong alcohol content.

She had let the students try a sip earlier and it sent all of them into a fit as they coughed and wheezed. More liquor for the adults, then.

The four youngsters had retired to their respective rooms upstairs, with Aideen as their chaperone, which let Cal and the rest of the adults drink the night away as they told each other stories from their past. Old man Mo and his wife finally dropped off the formality and stopped calling her by her rank after the alcohol took hold. He even drunkenly sang a horrible, off-beat marching tune, which the drunkards just cheered on instead.

Cal reminiscenced on many old memories that night, of people long gone, both those she called friends and enemies. Some faces had even been both at different times of her life. She looked back at the bloody path she had travelled, then forward to the results of her efforts, and loudly proposed another toast to Xain's emperorhood that night.

When old man Mo woke up with a hangover near noon the next day, he found that Cal and the group had already left after breakfast. He also found a letter from Cal that thanked him for the hospitality, and that she would not accept a return of her money.

Along with the letter she had left behind a bag with a hundred gold pieces inside, easily more than ten times the worth of last night's feast.