Xu Hao had almost reached the Li residence's main gate when he heard someone calling after him.
"Little brother! Where are you going in such a hurry?"
He turned and found Li Tianming approaching along the covered walkway. The older man had apparently finished speaking with the family steward and was looking considerably less agitated than he had earlier.
"I'm going to look for a skilled blacksmith, Uncle Li. I've finished drawing the instruments I need, but I have no idea which workshops in Hibiscus Town are capable of making them."
Li Tianming glanced at the notebook beneath his arm.
"Then it's fortunate I caught you. There's no need to wander through the market asking every blacksmith whether he can make your strange little knives. I know someone who should be able to help."
Xu Hao's interest immediately sharpened.
"Someone experienced with delicate metalwork?"
"Very experienced. The Bai family has been producing weapons, artifacts and precision instruments for generations. If they ever called themselves second-best at craftsmanship in Hibiscus Town, I doubt anyone else would dare claim to be first."
"That's quite a reputation."
"They've earned it. Bai Feng, the current head of the family, is an exceptional craftsman. He can be rather difficult, but if your designs interest him, I doubt there's anything in that notebook he wouldn't at least attempt to make."
Xu Hao looked down at his drawings.
"Then I'd certainly like to meet him. Some of these instruments need to be made very precisely, and I'd rather explain everything directly to the person responsible."
"Good. I'll take you there myself. I haven't visited Bai Feng in a long time, but he owes me a favour."
Li Tianming started towards the gate.
Xu Hao followed, pleased that he wouldn't have to spend the afternoon searching for a suitable workshop.
After they'd walked a short distance, however, he noticed that the older man seemed unusually thoughtful.
"Uncle Li, may I ask something? If Master Bai is such a good craftsman, why haven't you visited him in so long?"
Li Tianming looked at him.
"Who said I haven't visited him?"
"You just told me you hadn't."
The older man cleared his throat.
"Well, we haven't had much reason to see one another in recent years. His business keeps him occupied, and I have family matters to attend to."
Xu Hao considered that explanation.
"Did the two of you quarrel?"
Li Tianming gave him a suspicious look.
"Why would you assume that?"
"Because you sounded rather reluctant when you mentioned his name."
"Boy, you ask far too many questions."
Xu Hao smiled.
He'd spent enough years interviewing reluctant scholars and examining conflicting historical accounts to recognise when someone was avoiding an answer.
Still, he decided not to press the matter.
They continued through the streets of Hibiscus Town.
The commercial district was busy with people carrying goods between shops, while vendors called out their prices from shaded stalls. Xu Hao passed a merchant selling polished jade ornaments, a group of cultivators examining hunting bows and a small workshop whose doorway was crowded with farming tools.
Xu Hao wondered how much of the town's craftsmanship depended on cultivation.
On Earth, craftsmen had developed increasingly sophisticated machinery to produce precise metal parts. Here, elemental techniques might allow a skilled worker to control heat, pressure or the properties of certain materials in ways that ordinary machinery couldn't reproduce.
If so, the instruments he needed might be easier to make than he'd expected.
Of course, that assumed he could explain them properly.
He'd spent most of the morning drawing from memory, but there was an enormous difference between understanding an instrument's purpose and knowing every detail of its manufacture.
He needed a craftsman who would question his designs rather than simply follow them.
Li Tianming noticed him examining the surrounding workshops.
"You're interested in craftsmanship?"
"Very much. I've spent years studying old tools and machines. Sometimes you can learn almost as much about a civilisation from the things its craftsmen made as you can from its written records."
The older man glanced at him.
"That's an unusual interest for someone your age."
Xu Hao realised he'd spoken rather freely.
He smiled.
"My family encouraged me to study many different subjects when I was young."
"Well, that's never a bad thing. Though if you intend to become a healer, I suggest spending most of your time learning how to keep patients alive."
"That's currently my highest priority, Uncle Li."
Li Tianming laughed.
"Good. Then we're in agreement."
They walked another short distance before turning into a broader street.
Bai Crafts stood on a prominent corner near the centre of the commercial district.
The building was three storeys high, constructed from dark timber and fitted stone. Its wide entrance opened onto a spacious display hall, while several smaller buildings and workshops extended behind it.
Above the doorway hung an enormous wooden sign.
Bai Crafts.
Xu Hao might have walked straight inside if not for the bronze emblem mounted beside the name.
It depicted a tree, a hammer and a needle arranged within a circular border.
The workmanship was extraordinary.
Even from the street, he could see the delicate grooves carved into the hammer's handle and the individual lines representing the tree's leaves.
He stepped closer to examine the needle.
A tiny eye had been worked into the needle's blunt end.
"Who made this?"
Li Tianming followed his gaze.
"The emblem? Bai Feng made it himself many years ago. Why?"
Xu Hao pointed towards the needle.
"Look at the size of that opening. He's managed to shape it without distorting the surrounding metal, and the entire piece appears to have been finished by hand."
The older man smiled.
"I told you the Bai family was talented."
"You did, but I didn't expect this level of precision. If Master Bai can work on such a small scale, he may be exactly the person I need."
"Come along, then. Let's see whether he'll agree to help us."
They entered the display hall.
Xu Hao immediately found himself surrounded by objects he wanted to examine.
Polished swords hung along one wall, while another displayed carved wooden boxes, ornamental metalwork and delicately made household tools. Several musical instruments occupied a raised platform, and one section contained unfamiliar mechanisms that appeared to incorporate small pieces of spirit-infused metal.
A young craftsman was showing a customer an elaborate dagger.
Nearby, an attendant carefully wrapped a metal sculpture in soft cloth.
The air carried the faint smells of worked metal, wood polish and oil.
Xu Hao slowed beside a display of precision tools.
One instrument resembled a pair of unusually fine tongs, while another had a narrow rotating mechanism that he couldn't immediately identify.
He was about to ask when an attendant approached.
"Welcome to Bai Crafts, honoured guests. Is there something particular you're looking for?"
Li Tianming stepped forward.
"Please inform Bai Feng that Li Tianming is here. I'd like to speak with him."
The attendant's expression changed.
"Master Li Tianming?"
"Yes. Tell him I've come to discuss a commission."
The young man bowed and hurried towards the stairs.
Xu Hao watched him go.
"Does everyone seem so surprised when you visit a shop, Uncle Li?"
"Only the people who haven't seen me for a while."
"Then Master Bai must be in for quite a surprise."
Li Tianming gave him a warning glance.
Xu Hao decided that examining the display beside him would be a better use of his attention.
They waited only a short while before a tremendous laugh echoed from the upper floor.
"Li Tianming! Have my ears finally betrayed me?"
Heavy footsteps approached the staircase.
A broad, grey-bearded man appeared, wiping his hands on a leather apron.
His sleeves were rolled to the elbows, revealing powerful forearms marked by old burns and small scars.
He spotted Li Tianming standing near the entrance.
For a moment, he stopped.
Then his face broke into an enormous grin.
"Well, I'll be damned. Crazy Li, standing inside my shop! I was beginning to think you'd rather die than come through that door again."
Li Tianming looked uncomfortable.
"Bai Feng. It's good to see you."
"Is it? That's remarkable, considering you spent thirty years avoiding me."
The craftsman descended the remaining steps, looking thoroughly delighted.
Xu Hao glanced between them.
Thirty years?
He'd suspected a disagreement, but that was considerably longer than he'd expected.
Bai Feng stopped in front of his visitor.
"Tell me, Tianming, have you finally come to apologise for accusing me of cheating?"
Li Tianming closed his eyes briefly.
"Must we discuss that now? I've brought someone who needs your help."
"Thirty years I've waited for an apology, and you expect me to forget about it because you've brought a customer?"
Xu Hao looked towards Li Tianming.
The older man's expression suggested he was seriously considering turning around and leaving.
Xu Hao intervened before he could.
"Excuse me, Master Bai. My name is Xu Hao. Uncle Li has kindly brought me because I need some specialised instruments made, and he believes you're the best person for the work."
Bai Feng looked him over.
"A healer, judging by the way you're carrying that notebook? You seem rather young to be commissioning specialised instruments."
"I'm still learning, but I've brought several designs that may interest you."
The craftsman's attention shifted towards the notebook.
Li Tianming cleared his throat.
"Xu Hao is treating my daughter. He believes he's identified what's causing her illness, but he'll need equipment that ordinary healer shops don't carry."
Bai Feng's smile faded.
"Min'er? I heard she'd been unwell, but I didn't realise the situation had become so serious."
"It has," Li Tianming replied. "We've tried a great many treatments without success. Xu Hao is preparing another approach, and I want him to have the best instruments we can obtain."
The craftsman studied his old friend.
For the first time since he'd appeared on the staircase, his expression was completely serious.
"You should have told me sooner, Tianming. I know several people who might have been able to help you find the medicines and materials you needed."
"I've been rather occupied."
"I can imagine."
Bai Feng rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Well, you're here now. Let's see what this young healer needs."
Li Tianming nodded.
Before they moved, however, Bai Feng glanced towards the doorway and smiled.
"I suppose the chess game can wait a little longer."
Xu Hao looked at him.
"Chess game?"
Li Tianming sighed.
"Feng, please."
The craftsman laughed.
"Oh, he hasn't told you? Thirty years ago, we played a game of chess. I won, he accused me of moving a piece when he wasn't looking, and then he stormed out of my shop."
"You moved the piece," Li Tianming muttered.
"I made a perfectly legal move, and you were so convinced you couldn't lose that you refused to believe it."
Xu Hao considered the two men.
He'd expected some terrible dispute involving money, family honour or an ancient grievance.
Apparently, they hadn't spoken properly for thirty years because neither was willing to admit defeat over a chessboard.
He found that rather impressive, in its own unfortunate way.
Bai Feng noticed his expression.
"Go ahead and laugh, young man. I've been laughing about it for years."
Xu Hao smiled.
"I was only wondering whether the game was worth missing thirty years of conversation."
Neither man answered immediately.
Then Li Tianming looked towards Bai Feng.
"We were young, Feng. Perhaps it's time we stopped behaving as though we still are."
The craftsman regarded him for a moment before chuckling.
"You've grown rather sentimental, Tianming. I never thought I'd hear you say something sensible about that old game."
"Don't get carried away. I haven't admitted you won fairly."
"Of course not. That might actually kill you."
They laughed.
Bai Feng clapped his old friend on the shoulder, and Li Tianming returned the gesture.
Xu Hao watched with some satisfaction.
He'd apparently helped bring two stubborn old men together simply by needing a set of surgical instruments.
He wondered whether that counted as a medical achievement.