Chapter 7:
Phoenix City
THE BOAT DOCKED. The clone troops of this place were not defensive and wary like the ones on the Eastern Mainland, and the friends that they’d made along this journey said their goodbyes as they disembarked.
It was a completely new world. Even just within the port city, A-Ka became turned around many times and lost all sense of direction. Thankfully, he could tightly clutch Percy’s hand the whole time to prevent them from losing each other. This place presented many surprises, and most of the rumors that he’d heard turned out to be incorrect. The rumors A-Ka had heard said that the Second Mainland was the home of the clones, but that actually wasn’t the case. There were more humans here than clones, and they were scattered along the streets in stalls, selling cakes, robotically produced parts, and even ingredients for alchemy.
A-Ka and Percy traveled down the road alongside the harbor. By the afternoon, they’d crossed less than half of Kurlovich. In ancient times, this port was where a large portion of the gold trade had taken place, so the mainlanders called it the Port of Gold. Humans lived in peace and ran their businesses, their lives fulfilling and happy.
“Shoo, outsiders!” the owner of a fruit stall called coarsely.
A-Ka flinched a little from being shouted at. Curiosity about everything filled him, but he was also afraid of breaking the rules here.
Percy couldn’t see, so he anxiously asked A-Ka, “Gege, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” A-Ka had wanted to ask the stall owner if he could get some fruit for Percy to eat, but without any money, it seemed like eking out a living in this land would be very difficult. They needed money. Once they earned some, they could survive here.
Though doing that would be difficult, A-Ka was still filled with confidence. He asked a passerby for directions to Phoenix City, planning to first fulfill Feiluo’s request before figuring out a way to make a living.
But they had no traveling funds, and as the sky slowly began to darken, A-Ka felt a little at a loss for what to do next. Would it be better to find a job here and earn some money to travel before taking Percy on the road? He stopped outside a watch store for a while, but just as he was about to go up to the counter and ask something, he suddenly saw a familiar silhouette: The bard Moran emerged from one of the structures along the street with many people following behind him.
“What’s wrong?” Percy asked.
“I just saw the bard from the ship,” A-Ka said. “He seemed…”
“Uncle Moran!” Percy called out.
A-Ka hurried to press his index finger to Percy’s lips, hushing him, but Moran had already heard. He turned his head and saw them.
“Why, if it isn’t Percy.” Moran smiled. “What are you two doing here?”
“Gege’s looking for a job,” Percy said, “so that he can use his skills to get us something to eat. How about you?”
A-Ka saw that Moran had many people following him, some of them even clones, and was surprised. A-Ka wasn’t ignorant to the ways of the world like Percy, so he had guessed that Moran came from an extraordinary background. After all, they had chatted a lot while they were on the boat; A-Ka had gotten a sense for him. Still, he hadn’t expected Moran to have this much influence.
After recalling that these two were going to Phoenix City and guessing that they did not have the funds to travel, Moran turned and said a few words to one of the people beside him.
“Yes, Your Excellency.” The man immediately pulled a stack of thin golden cards from the pocket of his shirt. That was the money used on this mainland. Earlier, A-Ka had seen the residents exchanging bronze and silver cards for goods. Moran handed the cards to A-Ka.
Understanding Moran’s intent, A-Ka shook his head. “This… No, I can’t accept these.”
Moran smiled. “I’m lending these to you two. It’s a pity that I have to travel to Dragonmaw City, otherwise I would take you two along with me.”
“In the future, could we seek you out in Dragonmaw City?” A-Ka asked. “I’ll repay you this money then.”
Moran smiled. “Of course.” He thought for a moment more, until he flipped open his travel journal and handed a bookmark to A-Ka. “If you have the chance, you can find me in the Palace of the Stars when you visit Dragonmaw City.”
“Your Excellency, it’s getting late,” one of his attendants reminded him.
Moran nodded and bade A-Ka and Percy goodbye. Before turning and leaving, he kissed Percy’s forehead.
Now that A-Ka had obtained some money, he heaved a sigh of relief and secured them passage on a steam coach heading toward Phoenix City. Since he was curious about everything, he didn’t mind describing the sights to Percy.
A teenager leading a kid half as old as he was, like two little know-nothings, drew the attention of many kindhearted people along the way, and they finally managed to stumble their way to Phoenix City.
When they walked out of the Phoenix City steam-coach station, A-Ka finally felt that he had come home. This was despite the city being nothing like the haven for humans their traveling companions on the boat had described.
The real Phoenix City was a huge industrial metropolis that was actually very dirty. Robotic cars came and went on the streets, while the houses were stained a dark yellow by the pollution from the city’s factories. Steam and black smoke billowed into the sky, and noise seemed to envelop the entire world around them. Yet everything appeared to move with great vitality, and humans bustled about as if they were welcoming their arrival.
“Don’t block the road!” someone shouted at A-Ka and Percy.
“Why are you being so nasty?” the station attendant raged. “Can’t you see that kid’s blind?”
“Sorry, sorry,” A-Ka hurried to apologize.
Throughout their journey, people kept discovering that Percy was blind. Regardless of whether their intentions were good or ill, A-Ka always felt a little sad and guilty every time strangers asked about it; he was afraid that Percy would be hurt.
But Percy always remained very positive and smiled. “Sorry, we’re newcomers.”
A-Ka held Percy’s hand as they climbed down. Immediately, A-Ka was lost and could only follow the crowd. It was in moments like this that he missed Heishi and would always think, If only Heishi were here, then everything would be all right.
Facing this unknown world, A-Ka was filled with confusion and a touch of insecurity—he was even afraid that he might not be able to protect Percy. If Heishi were by his side, he would at least be less worried.
“Gege, where are we going now?” Percy asked.
A-Ka thought of Feiluo’s request: After arriving in Phoenix City, he was to send Percy to the human orphanage, but A-Ka wasn’t willing to part with Percy so quickly.
“Let’s go to the orphanage to take a look,” A-Ka said.
The travel money that Moran had given them had dwindled to almost nothing. On their journey, A-Ka kept buying Percy treats. The two had experienced so much hardship beforehand that they wanted to eat everything, sparing no thought for their future. When A-Ka realized how depleted their funds were, he was afraid that the only way he would survive was to check himself into the orphanage as well.
It was nearing evening in Phoenix City, and the sunlight pierced through the dark clouds, scattering a thin layer of glowing light across the city. The sound of the machinery that enveloped the entire city gradually quietened. A-Ka bought a map and began to study it closely. That was how he learned that the city was split into human and clone districts, dividing it into eastern and western regions. Guided by the map, they arrived at the human residents’ community center. However, the community center had already closed for the day, and the great doors were shut. One worker emerged and gave A-Ka directions after hearing his plight.
“The orphanage lies within the inner ring of the city. Since it’s evening, you guys can go in to rest first and come back tomorrow to fill out the paperwork.”
“Will we need to pay for it?” A-Ka asked.
The worker shook their head. “No, you don’t need to pay. It’s straight down the main street, but you may need to get a ride. Otherwise, you won’t be able to get there before it gets dark.”
“Thank you,” Percy said.