THE REAL PROTEGE

Ling Li continued, "Everyone has their destination and their task to fulfill. No loose ends."

She paused, letting her gaze sweep across the group — one part command, one part reassurance.

We regroup in Vienna, two days before Lily and Shi Min's dance competition. That's the rendezvous. A month after that will be Lily's gymnastics competition. Afterward, everyone will head to Hidden Valley. The 'Eye' should be opening by then.

"Eye? Is it like the eye you open when you call the heavens?" Lily asked.

"No," Shi Min interjected. "The 'Eye' in Hidden Valley only opens every four years. All cultivation practitioners who don't yet have cultivation techniques come to try to grab one. The luckier you are to get a higher grade or a rare cultivation technique, the better. The 'Eye' will only be open for three days, and many of you will be participating in this event from different sects around the world.

Everyone needs to be careful, vigilant, but also aggressive. It's important not to be targeted by other sect members. We can discuss more about this when the time comes," Shi Min said.

A breath of silence hung in the air, taut with purpose.

"Any questions?" Ling Li asked, though her tone suggested there should be none.

When no one responded, she nodded once.

"Good. Then keep to your day's plans. Stay sharp."

The dining hall had finally quieted, the echo of laughter and chopsticks fading into the golden morning light. Only Ling Li and Four Eyes remained, seated at opposite ends of the long table that had just hosted what felt like both a family breakfast and a covert operations briefing.

Four Eyes leaned forward. Brow furrowed with a seriousness that didn't quite match his tousled hair and tea-stained sleeve. "Wife," he said solemnly, "we're going back to your parents' place tomorrow, and I can't go empty-handed."

Ling Li, brushing crumbs from her lap, paused mid-motion. Her expression was calm, but her eyes flickered with subtle amusement. "I already asked Butler Peng to prepare everything. You don't need to worry about it."

Four Eyes looked affronted, as though she had just robbed him of a sacred rite. "How can that be?" he exclaimed, waving a hand. "A man should show effort. I can't just walk in with polished shoes and marital titles."

Ling Li studied him, lips twitching with reluctant affection. She knew this side of him — the stubborn sense of honor. There was no persuading him out of it.

With a sigh, she gave in. "Alright. Take Mushu with you — he knows what to buy for my parents."

Before she could finish the sentence, Four Eyes leapt from his seat, planted a quick kiss on her cheek, and darted out of the hall with the speed of someone fleeing domestic imprisonment.

"Mushu!" he hollered down the corridor.

Ling Li called after him, half amused, half exasperated. "Don't buy anything weird!"

The Gift Mission Begins:

Four Eyes found Mushu in the courtyard, mid-bite of a bun stuffed with taro. Mushu nearly choked when Four Eyes breathlessly explained his urgent need for culturally respectful, parent-approved gifts.

"Ah!" Mushu exclaimed, eyes wide as he wiped his mouth.

"Old Master Li loves chess — especially carved stone sets. He's a connoisseur of aged teas. Doesn't smoke, but he collects cigars like they're jade relics."

"Got it… got it…" Four Eyes muttered, trying to compose a shopping list mentally. "Tea. Chess. Collectible cigars."

"And Old Madam," Mushu continued, adjusting his sleeves, "adores painting and calligraphy. Nothing mass-produced. Think scrolls that whisper poetry."

Four Eyes scratched his head, looking suddenly like a student who'd just failed the entrance exam. "Where do I even find this stuff? I can't show up with a gift basket of regrets."

Seeing his panic mount, Mushu smirked. "There's one solution. El Capitan."

Four Eyes froze. "!!!!"

Just the name sent a chill down his spine. El Capitan — the enigmatic underground boss with military precision and the aura of an ancient warlord — was no casual vendor. His tea came with origin stories, his cigars with unspoken threats.

Four Eyes remembered the encounter last night vividly at their wedding: El Capitan sipping green tea brewed with glacial water, staring at him as if assessing his entire ancestry.

"He still deserves one kick in the ribs," El Capitan had said.

The words echoed again.

"Don't embarrass her…"

"I'll call," Four Eyes said at last, voice resigned but noble. 'Even if he makes me play chess blindfolded first.'

Four Eyes paced the veranda, the morning mist curling around his ankles as if trying to stall him. His phone felt unusually heavy in his hand.

He took a deep breath and dialed the number.

One ring.

Two.

The line clicked. No greeting. Only a low exhale followed by the faint sound of classical guzheng strings.

"Is this a call of apology," came El Capitan's voice, "or self-sabotage?"

Four Eyes froze mid-step, his free hand instinctively patting his chest like armor.

"Neither. It's a call of tribute and trade, Sir."

A pause. Then the unmistakable sound of a porcelain teacup being set down.

"I see. You are seeking supplies… for the Madam and the Tea Day Ceremony."

"Yes." Four Eyes tried to steady his voice. "Gifts for Old Master Li and Madam Li. Tea, cigars. Perhaps a painting scrolls if your vault hasn't sealed itself shut."

Another pause.

"I have a set of Da Hong Pao that's older than your lineage. A batch of cigars was once offered to the Premier of Romania and declined for fear of addiction. As for scrolls… a Tang dynasty original."

Four Eyes gulped. "Any chance I could pay in banknotes?"

El Capitan snorted. "You married Ling Li. You pay with respect. I'll decide the rest."

Then, as if fate needed drama, El Capitan's voice dropped a note lower.

"But there will be one condition."

Four Eyes tensed. "…Chess?"

"No. I'm done humiliating you on that board. This time, you will deliver the gifts personally, wearing ceremonial robes, to the elder Li at sunrise."

Four Eyes blinked. "Sunrise? That's in, like, sixteen hours."

"And you will not complain. Or I will resume chess. Blindfolded. With firecrackers."

There was a clicking sound — perhaps the sharpening of a calligraphy brush. Four Eyes stood straighter.

"I accept the terms," he said with noble dread.

"Good," El Capitan said. "All the gifts will be waiting for you at the airport. Then don't embarrass her."

Click.

The line went dead.

Four Eyes stared at his phone, then sighed deeply.

'Sunrise. Robes. Diplomacy by antique cigar. I need help.'