Does It Matter

38

Wu Xie woke with a start, glancing around anxiously at the unfamiliar surroundings before remembering himself.
It was now pitch black aside from whatever areas happened to be covered by the light from the moon.

He had slept in the cab of the truck, curled up in the passenger seat, a decision that he now sorely regretted, as he attempted to stretch the knots from his spine. His original intention had been to stretch out in the truck bed, to sleep under the stars as he used to with his father many years ago, but after the first hour of being unable to sleep he had given up and returned to the cab.

He looked out at the dark field that he had pulled over into, and saw what might have woken him up, in the form of glowing eyes wandering the tall grass. Wolves. Not that they frightened him, but he supposed he shouldn't sleep with them surrounding him anymore.

With a yawn, he looked around for where he had left the keys, finding them already in the ignition, waiting for use.

When he turned the keys the truck sputtered, momentarily causing him to panic before it started up with a rumble at the third turn. What I wouldn't give for my own car back. Although I suppose my own car wouldn't do so well in a field, would probably get stuck in the mud fairly quickly.

Aish I'm tired. And hungry. And thirsty. In fact, he was generally miserable, trying to remember his last meal, had he been given anything in that makeshift cell? He thought that he might have been given something. Or not? Everything was rather foggy, his memory of the past week a little patchy as his survival instinct had taken over.

He needed to go somewhere where he could find food, and fuel... No, he would likely have to abandon the truck. He hoped that Pangzhi would show up soon. It might take a while for the other to find him, but he trusted that the other knew him well enough by now to figure out where he might have hidden.

They had known each other for years, having met after the older had accidentally saved him from serious injury on a tomb raid with his third uncle. They had been fast friends ever since, although that mostly meant that the other put up with the then teenager's antics, and WuXie in turn went along with many of the other's odd whims and paid for his meals. They had both caused a lot of stress and trouble for eachother over the years, but actually got along quite well in the end. He was actually one of the only people that WuXie trusted to have his back in any situation.

He smiled a little, thinking about times long past, before he remembered how he had stolen his friend's precious bike, which he had then proceeded to lose quite quickly. It wasn't entirely his fault, but he supposed he would have to make a grand apology for the loss when he saw him next.

He shifted gears and left the field behind him, prepared for the long drive ahead. If he was lucky, he might make it back to Hangzhou by tomorrow evening, if his current fuel levels allowed. He glanced at the fuel gauge skeptically, knowing that he would likely find himself having to walk the rest for a portion of the way, unless he managed to catch a ride- an idea that he certainly did not relish, but would likely have to utilize considering his current under-nourished and exhausted state. At least his leg seemed to have healed enough for him to get around without issue, though he doubted whether that was due to healing rather than the constant adrenaline he had to have in order to get through his day.

He allowed his mind to wander while he drove, after the initial paranoia of being followed had worn down, and the inevitable overdose of boredom kicked in.

He remembered his early days in tomb raiding, or, in his case, exploration. He had never taken any artifacts for himself, his needs were provided for in running the shop while his uncles went on their own adventures, so he saw no reason to steal items from the dead. Although he supposed that ideology only made him a hypocrite, since his family's money that kept him provided for all came from trading off ancient artifacts for generation upon generation. He remembered how naïve he had been back then, trustingly following wherever his uncle had told him to go, it had taken many raids where he had had to spend weeks in the hospital after to realize that he was being used as bait for his uncle's schemes, whether it was a monster hunt or a rival party, he had been used many times as a shield, or sent out to test the waters of their surroundings, ending up shot or mauled was not out of the usual, and he had quickly become sick of it. This was how he had earned his most common nickname, Tianzhen. As he grew older, he had figured out how to protect himself in these situations, or get out of going into the tombs at all, but he supposed in the end it was all pointless, given his current situation, it was becoming increasingly obvious that he would never be able to completely escape the scheming of the previous generations.

There were so many unfinished wars and unspoken feuds between families that he had always had some trouble keeping track of them all. Especially since he had never seen the faces of the people involved, only ever dealing with henchmen and hired merc's. Of course, there was a time early in his life where he had found all of this interesting, even awesome, in the eyes of a child looking for adventure in every corner. How innocent he had been then, listening to the stories of his family with sparkling eyes and open ears, never doubting their integrity. But such was a child's privilege he supposed.

He gazed out at the frosty morning, the sun was rising slowly, now appearing a few inches from the horizon, casting a golden glow over the dying grass and endless pavement. The view was refreshing, almost cleansing to his tired brain.

He looked once more to the fuel gauge, grimacing as he saw that it had reached the last quarter. He hoped that Panghzi would come along this route, wished that he had told him which road he would be taking back to Hangzhou so that he would at least have that reassurance that the other would find him along the way. As it was, he would likely end up walking for some time, which normally wouldn't be too much of a bother, given that he got plenty of exercise in his usual adventures, but he was tired, and cold without his jacket, he had not had anything to eat since the day before yesterday, if he had his times right, and his head was pounding like a hammer on an anvil.

He wished that he were at home, safe and warm in his own bed without any creepy villagers or irritating hired mobs. He wished that he was sitting comfortably at a food stall, filling his stomach with warm noodles and grilled chicken skewers. He wished that he were in his own car, on a familiar road.

It's just as well I suppose, not having to struggle in life would lead to a weak mind and soul. If I didn't have to run for my life all the time then my endurance might drop. Then how could I ever hope to catch up with him?

He wondered off-handedly what trouble his uncle might currently be creating-regardless of the intent, it would eventually fall down to affect the hapless nephew regardless. He thought with some humor how much easier his life might be if he had a spy among his uncle's people. Then he at least might receive some warning before these things happened.

Although, as he thought back, he realized that most of everything that had happened recently had had less to do with his uncle, and more to do with himself as a member of the Wu household. He supposed that he must have finally reached that age where he was being seen as more of an asset or a threat than a child or a hostage. He couldn't decide just yet which one he preferred, but as he had no real choice in the matter he supposed that it didn't matter.

He looked around himself, taking in his surroundings, including a speed limit sign beside a road marker, telling him that he had over sixty miles until the next town, but that there was a fuel stop in four. It didn't matter, as he had no money for fuel and no intention of stopping before he had to.

He was determined to get back to Hangzhou as soon as possible, from there... He supposed he would have to find Pangzhi, and convince him to join him on his next adventure.

To find out who was behind the attempts to abduct him, and why.