(Lion/Crane Border) The Bazaar of 100 Fortunes

[Matsu Qiang]

Matsu Qiang had bid farewell to his parents in Azami province that morning, and a day's walk on the road towards Tsuma had brought him to Brittle Flower City near sunset. After showing his travel papers to the guards, the young Lion entered the city.

He should secure lodgings for the night, he knew, but his sister had once told him of the great bazaar of Kaeru Toshi. Qiang had been issued an adult's stipend for the first time, and the coins felt heavy in his money pouch; it felt important to find out what he could spend them on. It's reconnaissance, of a sort, he thought.

But once he arrived in the marketplace, the young Lion dithered over whether to buy anything. It's your lord's money, not yours! he pictured his mother saying.

Finally, Qiang settled on buying a prayer streamer with elegant calligraphy, something for his sister's ghost. No one could criticize such a pious purchase, he reasoned.