My Asian Dragon

Chapter 2

Joy woke up, and the first thing she noticed was that she was in a bed. The soft texture of the cotton sheets under her made her sit up with a start. Where was the forest? Where was the man? More importantly, where was the dragon?

Panic gripped her legs and Joy scrambled to get out of the bed, when a calm, sonorous baritone spoke from behind her. “Please be calm. You are safe.”

Joy looked around, and realized the voice had come from the same man she had seen last night. He was sitting on the floor next to the head of the bed, which was pushed against the wall. She hadn’t seen him at first because of the bed posts, and his sitting so low. “Who are you?”

“My name is Longwei. I am the leader of this village.”

Joy cocked her head. There was no way that Longwei could be the leader of a whole village, in her opinion. In a culture that lent a premium to experience and longevity, Longwei looked to be her age, definitely no older than thirty five. He was actually a bit larger than most of the Chinese men she had met, maybe about five foot ten or eleven, and about a hundred and seventy pounds. “No offense, but aren’t you a bit young to be running this village?”

“It is a…. hereditary position,” Longwei replied. “My father passed away two years ago, when I was thirty. While I am young for the job, the villagers have confidence in the work I have done so far.”

Joy shook her head. “Wait a second. How is it you speak such fluent English? Yesterday almost everyone my team and I talked to barely made sense in Chinese, and only a few of the little kids tried any English at all. I mean, you have a slight accent, but your words are perfect.”

Longwei smiled softly as he climbed to his feet. As he did, Joy was impressed at the cat-like grace and strength evident in his body. He was wearing typical peasant garb, a form fitting pair of pants and simple t-shirt, both of which rippled with lean muscles as he moved. “The children have unfortunately not taken to their lessons in English as much as I had hoped, but I am happy they tried. As for myself, my father felt it was important that I get a well rounded international education in order to be the best leader for my people possible. So, when I was a high school student, he sent me to New Zealand for international high schooling, and later I attended the University of Oregon. I graduated with a Master’s Degree in International Relations, with a minor in Business.”

“Wow. I’m impressed.”

Longwei smiled, and Joy felt a pleasant warmth in her chest at the sight. She suddenly noticed one other thing about Longwei. His eyes were a light hazel gold. Every other Chinese person she had met so far had naturally brown eyes, most being so dark they almost seemed black. The image was both sexy and unsettling at the same time. “Now that I have introduced myself, I would like to know more about you.”

“Well, my name’s Joy Roberts, and I’m twenty six. I’m a reporter for the Asian Economic Review, and for the past six months I’ve been working in Shanghai.”

“I see. So what brings you to my village? And who were the other three people with you yesterday?”

Joy’s reporter instincts kicked in. She knew when she was getting probed for information, she had done it enough over the years of study. “How about you tell me just what the hell it was I saw last night instead?”

Longwei tilted his head, and Joy couldn’t tell if he was pleased or angry at her response. “A trade, then. You tell me, and then I tell you.”

Joy thought it over. “Okay. I came to your village because my main assignment for AER concerns trying to track down and investigate the connections between the government and the Triad. One of the people with me is a missionary who heard a story from one of his newer converts that this village is a big no-go zone for the Triads, and even the central government seems to tread very softly around these parts. I came with the missionary and two of his members who were acting as translators. In case you didn’t know, your village dialect is very difficult to understand.”

“It is,” Longwei replied. “Another thing I would modernize, but these sorts of changes take time. Besides, there are advantages to not being understood by outsiders.”

“Of which I am one,” Joy replied. “Now, I told you what I’m doing. Your turn. What was it I saw?”

“What did you think you saw?” Longwei asked.

“What I saw was something that shouldn’t exist. Perhaps it was the moonlight, maybe I had some bad food, but I swore I saw a dragon, straight out of a wall painting or ancient scroll, tracking a man through a field. When I yelled, the dragon turned to come after me, and I took off running. I fell, and I saw you last night. I woke up here.”

“Yes, after you passed out I decided that perhaps I had been a bit too harsh, and scared you too much,” Longwei said regretfully. “I brought you inside the temple and set you in the bed you are in now. I apologize that the sheets are now dirty, but I did not think you would appreciate me undressing you.”

The image of Longwei undressing her flashed through Joy’s mind, and with it came another wave of pleasant warmth. She shook her head, it had been far too long since she’d had a date. “Thank you for the consideration. But you still didn’t answer my question.”

“You’re right, I haven’t,” Longwei said. “To give you the answer you want would take a long time. Would you care for some breakfast, and perhaps a walk? I would like to introduce you properly to my village. Along the way, I will tell you what I can.”

Breakfast was very simple, and in the Chinese style, but Joy found it tasty. There was a simple rice porridge, along with some grilled vegetables and tea. “I know it is not as filling as you are used to,” Longwei said, “but it is all grown here in the village.”

“No, I thank you, it’s delicious,” Joy replied. “After reporter food, street food, and MRE’s for two nights, I’m happy to have something fresh.”

“Thank you. Shall we look at the village?”

As they walked around, Joy noticed a marked difference from yesterday. Today, everyone she met seemed smiling and happy to see her. Perhaps it was because she was with Longwei, but it still made the village a much nicer place to be. Around noon, they returned to the temple, where Longwei had lunch waiting for them. “What did you think of this morning?” he asked as he poured her a cup of green tea.

Joy thought for a few moments before replying. “I’ll be honest, it’s much different than yesterday. And it was interesting to see how all the people acted towards you.”