"Meilin...is unwell?"

"Yes. Master has been trying to find a cure, but...no luck."

"I see." Mingyu turned to look at the village lying at the foot of the mountain. "If traditional medicine does not work, then perhaps Master Yuan Fu should take her to a Western hospital."

"I know, but we don't have the money." Edward sighed and pushed a hand through his hair.

A light breeze started up, tossing stray strands of hair into Mingyu's face. The ledge she and Edward were squatting on did not provide the best view of the village but it was a steep 2-metre drop from the main trail, making it virtually inaccessible to those not trained in martial arts. The privacy of its location made it the very place Mingyu thought to bring Edward for a quick chat.

Edward stood, the sudden motion breaking Mingyu out of her reverie. "Anyway, it's getting late. I should head back home now."

Mingyu stood too. "Shall I see you down the mountain?"

"No. Mingyu, I…" Edward's face flushed as he looked at the ground, as though what he was about to say would embarrass her as much as him. "Would you like to come for dinner with me? It's been so long, and-and Master will be pleased to see you. If you're not too busy."

Mingyu's eyes widened. "Well, I-I don't know," she stammered. "I can't possibly intrude, not at a time like this…"

"No, it won't be a bother at all. In fact, I was hoping that you could cheer Master up. He's been inconsolable ever since Meilin's took ill."

Mingyu hesitated. She wasn't supposed to leave the mountain without permission, but the monks were lenient on the rule since she was technically not 'one of them'. She nodded. "Alright, I suppose I could."

Edward tried not to appear too overjoyed. "Then let's go."

It was nearly sundown by the time Mingyu stepped through the wooden door into the thatched hut where Edward lived with Yuan Fu and his granddaughter, Melin. Mingyu bowed to the elderly master. "Greetings, Master Yuan Fu. It's been a long time...I do hope you're well."

Yuan Fu's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Indeed, it's been a long time, Mingyu. You've grown so much taller since I saw you last! Alas, not all is well in my humble household. My poor granddaughter has taken ill."

"Yes, Edward has told me the sad news."

"Let's not stand about and talk about unhappy things," Edward interrupted. "Come, Mingyu. Dinner is ready."

The meal was solemn and stiff. Mingyu tried to ease the tension with conversation, but Yuan Fu seemed content to simply listen, and there were things she dared not say to Edward in the presence of his master.

"It's been so long since we ate together at the same table," Mingyu mused, reaching for a piece of chicken with her chopsticks.

Edward watched as she placed the meat into her bowl. "Are you allowed to eat meat, Mingyu?"

"The vegetarian rule does not apply to me since I am not yet an ordained nun."

"Have more chicken, if you like," Yuan Fu said, placing an extra morsel of meat into her bowl. "I don't expect you get much meat on the mountain."

"No, sir. But Brother Canbian is a magician in the kitchen, and he keeps us very well-fed."

"I can't believe it's been three years. Has temple life been hard for you, Mingyu?"

"Not much harder than life is for you, I expect. I still have to do my chores, and I study the scriptures with Sister Qu'ai. I also train with the monks during their daily practice."

"What forms have they been teaching you?" Yuan Fu asked.

"Sister Qu'ai is especially keen that I start with Meihua Quan, so that is what I've been studying for the past year."

"Meihua Quan? And have you gotten good at it?"

"Well, sir, it is not for me to brag about my own skill. But I do think that I have been making some progress."

Yuan Fu put down his chopsticks. "Then, how about a little sparring with Edward after dinner?"

Edward almost choked on his vegetables. "With me? But Master-"

"It will be good to expose him to different forms of martial arts. Besides, you are young and agile. He will never learn to battle quicker opponents if he has only this old man to train with."

The old master did not know of their earlier skirmish on the mountain, but Mingyu could not well refuse. "Of course, sir."

Edward groaned and set down his ricebowl on the table with a loud clink.

As the sun grazed the horizon, turning the eastern part of sky a rich shade of blue, Edward and Mingyu took up their positions in the courtyard. Yuan Fu sat on a chair beneath the veranda, watching. Mingyu and Edward bowed to each other, and the battle began.

Edward's first attack was swift; Mingyu only just managed to dodge his fists as they struck out at lightning speed. Edward's leg snapped up as she pushed his fist to the side, deflecting the blow. Mingyu sensed his kick before it reached her; she twisted her body to the side, her legs curving in a graceful arc through the air and above her head, flipping over Edward's leg to land half a metre away.

Mingyu turned back to face Edward. His chest heaved lightly up and down. Mingyu's lip curled; the predator was now the prey.

The torrent of blows Mingyu rained on him set Edward on the defensive. He raised his arms in defense, but still a punch or two managed to find their mark. Mingyu leapt into the air, bringing her knees close to her chest. She extended her right leg as she twisted her body in mid-air, using the momentum of her turn to add power to the kick. Edward grasped her ankle moments before it hit him and yanked hard. The sudden change of direction sent Mingyu sprawling to the ground.

Edward waited until Mingyu was on her feet again. He hit the ground, swiping his leg outward in an attempt to knock her back to the ground. Mingyu somersaulted away from him. She stood and, quick as a flash, struck her leg out behind her, hitting Edward in the rump. He stumbled forward. They turned around at the same time, fists raised, but Edward was quicker.

Mingyu pressed a hand to her nose, her eyes watering. "Ow," she whimpered.

Edward lowered his fist. "Sorry. Uh, are you okay?"

Mingyu waved off his concern. "I'm fine." She carefully lowered her hands. "It hurts, but it's not broken."

Across the courtyard, Yuan Fu stood. "Good job, Edward," he said, nodding in approval at the young boy. "You need stronger counterattacks. Mingyu," he said, addressing the young girl. Mingyu turned toward the old master and straightened her back. "You fought well." He turned to head back inside the hut. "Have a bath, then go to bed. It's late already."

Edward watched his master disappear into the dark bowel of the house, concern knitting his brows together at the elder's slow and heavy gait. Mingyu's voice shook him from his thoughts. "I got beaten well. Did I hurt you, Edward?"

"No." Edward turned back toward his childhood friend. "I'm more worried about what I did to your nose."

Mingyu grimaced. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"Shall I walk you back to the temple?" Edward offered.

The sun had already dipped beneath the horizon, and the first twinkling stars had appeared in the growing blackness of the night. "It's too late for that," Mingyu replied. "I will have to spend the night here."

"Uh-"

"I'll leave first thing in the morning. Don't worry."

"No, it's not that. Of course you can stay." Edward did not tell her that there were only two beds in the house. "You can have your bath first. I'll prepare...somewhere for you to sleep."

Mingyu's smile did not quite reach her eyes.

An hour later, Edward found himself lying on the dryest patch of straw in the shed. On the other side of the courtyard Mingyu slept in his bed. At the end of summer the nights were not so hot that sleeping out of doors was unbearable, yet he was sweating enough for his shirt to cling to his skin.

Edward sighed and shifted in an attempt to make himself comfortable. He had hoped that Mingyu's company would bring some cheer to his master's weary heart, who had once treated her as his second granddaughter before they moved into the next village. His master's face was weathered and wrinkled from the years, and into each crease in his face he had tucked some worry or other. Edward wondered which crease Meilin's illness was responsible for.

He turned his head to gaze out of the kitchen door, left slightly ajar to allow the air to come in. Through the gap in the door he could see the moon, a stark white disc against the inky black of night. His thoughts flew back to the time he saw Mingyu last. They had been children then, when Mingyu was eight and he was nine. Edward had never known a time when he had not known Mingyu. When he was a young boy Yuan Fu often brought him up the mountain to visit the sacred Shaolin Temple. Edward remembered being excited for these visits because he got to play with the young brown-eyed girl who lived in the temple. She was the only other child his age he saw in those days.

As they grew older Edward came to understand the true nature of temples. On his way back from Shaolin temple one day, he asked his master why Mingyu stayed at the temple despite not being a nun.

Yuan Fu had grown silent, so silent that Edward feared he had offended his master somehow. Finally he said in a quiet voice, "The same reason you came to live with me. She has no parents."

Edward remembered being only slightly nonplussed. He had been a child at the time; it would not be for a few more years before he understood that most children lived with their parents. But as a five-year-old child who had been orphaned himself, he never wondered that it would be out of the norm.

Meilin had still been an infant when she came to live with them. That same year, Yuan Fu declared that Edward was old enough to begin his training in earnest. Their visits to the mountain temple grew less and less frequent and eventually ceased. In time Edward forgot about the temple. But the memory of the girl who used to chase him up and down the slopes of Songshan Mountain was always there, lingering in the back of his mind, waiting for the right time to resurface. He had never truly forgotten about her.

And now Mingyu had returned, like a ghost from the distant past. Edward hoped it was not a sign of things to come, that Mingyu was meant to fill the void Meilin would leave when she passed.