SpaceWalker

In a thatched hut in the bamboo forest, an old pandaman is telling a young one stories in the dim light. "Grandma, can you tell me one more bedtime story?" ventured the little girl. "This is the third story. Good girl should sleep before the night watch." The little girl buries her head in the pillow in anger and refuses to sleep. Doting on her granddaughter, the grandma says, "Okay, my little doll. How about the story of Thunder Trace?" "No, you just told that story yesterday." "Let me think... How about Space Walker?" The little girl nodded expectantly. She likes Space Walker best, because unlike the hero in other legendary stories, he is more like a real person, with flesh and blood. "Once upon a time, there was a place in the Full Moon Island of Moonlight Bay called the Heart Waves Cave." "I know that! I heard about it from the blacksmith at the gate of the village!" "Okay, did he tell you about the uproar that Space Walker caused in Tianshu City?"

"The tide in the Full Moon Island had never gone out since a monkey jumped out of a stone, so everyone thought it's because of the monkey that the tide rose." "But grandma, isn't Xin a hero? How could a hero do such a thing?" The old pandaman continues the story without comment, "Everyone who saw him called him a jinx and wanted him to leave Moonlight Bay. It got worse and finally reached the court which later offered a big reward for the one who could catch Xin alive. "But one man didn't think so. He believed that Xin was not intrinsically bad, and that there's ample scope for his abilities." "He is so kind! I guess he's... Leifucius?" "Smart girl! Leifucius was also called Thunder Trace. He persuaded emperor to grant an amnesty for the monkey. Leifucius went to Heart Waves Cave and talked to Xin for 49 days. At Lei Rong's advice, the emperor offered Xin a position as the Head of the Martial Arts of Tianshu City, and gave him the title of "Great Sage of Tianshu". "Leifucius is really a good man. I think Xin must be very happy, right?" "Yes, Xin felt that he could finally show his abilities. But soon he found "Great Sage of Tianshu" had no real power and he had to obey all the arrangements of the court every day. He'd rather go back to his Heart Waves Cave than live without freedom." "Finally one day, Xin quit and turned the court upside-down in a fit of anger."

"The emperor ordered the arrest of Xin but all the warriors were no match for him." "I knew he was the best!" "Finally, the emperor sent Jade General Ji Xi to catch him. Ji Xi summoned stone soldiers and got him surrounded. Xin pulled out a handful of hair and hundreds of monkeys came out from the ashes after Xin burned the hair." "At first, the fight had no clear winner. But with more and more monkeys coming out, Ji Xi's soldiers could not hold him anymore but let him slip away." "Heaven Brew, who was drinking in the countryside, heard about it and rushed back immediately." "Is that the brave general Qin Lang?" asked the little girl. "Yes, Qin Lang was a skilled fighter and Xin wanted to compete with him. It's said that they fought 300 days without a winner, which was diamond cut diamond. But Qin Lang has a small problem—he drank too much." "Qin Lang felt desire for a drink so he conjured up a bamboo tube with wine in it and quickly gulped it without giving much thought. However, he didn't expect that Xin cast a spell on the wine, so the Heaven Brew, who never got drunk, was dead drunk in just one gulp." "Great!" "Since then, no one had ever stopped Xin. He made his way out of the imperial court. He didn't go back to Heart Waves Cave. He proclaimed himself 'Space Walker' and wandered all over the world." The little girl jumps out of bed excitedly and swipes the air as if she becomes Space Walker. "Grandma, what happened next?" "Give me a break, my precious. Go to sleep now. It takes years to tell all Space Walker's stories. Let's save the rest for later."