Da Bao stared at the two cards lying on the cloth between them.
For once, the enormous man appeared to have forgotten how to speak.
Xu Hao had seen his eldest brother charge at a two-headed snake, raise walls of earth, and argue with Er Bao over the proper way to roast a fish. He hadn't imagined that a pair of cards would leave him looking so completely bewildered.
"Brother Da Bao?"
The giant looked up.
"You're giving these to us?"
"That's what I said."
Da Bao reached towards the nearest card, then stopped before his fingers touched it.
He drew his hand back.
"No. I can't accept this."
Xu Hao hadn't expected that.
"Why not?"
"Because they're yours, little brother. You nearly died making the first one, and we still don't know how these copies work. What if you need them later?"
Xu Hao glanced at the cards.
He had spent considerable time thinking about that very possibility before deciding to create them. He couldn't deny that keeping two additional beasts under his own control might prove useful.
But that wasn't why he'd made them.
"Brother Da Bao, I've already made my decision. I wanted to give each of you something that might help protect you. If I intended to keep the cards, I wouldn't have brought them out."
Da Bao looked uncomfortable.
Er Bao, who had remained silent until now, picked up one of the cards and examined the writing on its back.
"These aren't ordinary gifts, Xu Hao. You understand that, don't you?"
"I do."
"Then you also understand what someone might pay for them. Even a weak spirit beast is valuable. A beast that can be carried inside a card and summoned whenever its owner wishes..." Er Bao shook his head. "I don't know what price someone would put on something like that."
"Neither do I. But I'm not offering to sell them."
"That's not quite what I mean."
Er Bao placed the card carefully on the cloth.
"We've already taken a great deal from you. You've shared your knowledge and trusted us with your secret. I don't want you giving away something precious because you feel you owe us for looking after you."
Xu Hao was quiet for a moment.
He'd anticipated questions about the cards' abilities, perhaps even an argument over which brother should receive which one.
He hadn't expected either of them to worry about accepting too much.
Sia lay beside him, her chin resting across his ankle. Xu Hao scratched behind her ears while considering how best to answer.
"I won't pretend that I don't feel grateful," he said at last. "When I first arrived here, I couldn't understand a word either of you said. I didn't know where I was or whether I'd ever get home. I had nothing useful except a few things in my bag, and I wasn't even strong enough to look after myself."
Da Bao lowered his gaze.
Xu Hao continued.
"I also haven't forgotten how we met. You tied me to a tree, knocked me unconscious, and considered selling me. I'm not going to pretend that was a pleasant beginning."
Da Bao winced.
"Little brother, I've apologised for hitting you. I thought—"
"I know what you thought, Brother Da Bao. We've discussed it. You had your reasons, and I've accepted your apology."
Xu Hao smiled faintly.
"Although I reserve the right to remind you of it whenever you get too enthusiastic during training."
Da Bao rubbed the back of his neck.
"That's going to happen quite often, isn't it?"
"Probably."
Er Bao chuckled, but neither brother tried to change the subject.
Xu Hao looked at them both.
"The important thing is what happened afterward. You could have sent me away once you knew I wasn't a threat. Instead, you taught me your language, shared your food, and helped me learn how to survive. When I discovered my power, you warned me about the danger rather than trying to profit from it."
"I don't think of those things as debts I need to repay. You're my brothers. I want you to be safe, and I finally have something I might be able to give you that will help."
Da Bao studied him for a long moment.
Then he looked at the cards again.
"If I accept one, and somebody finds out where it came from, they might come looking for you."
Xu Hao was surprised.
He had expected Da Bao to be interested in how fast the copied beasts could run, how much they could eat, or whether they could help with hunting.
Instead, his eldest brother had immediately considered the danger to him.
Er Bao nodded.
"That's my concern as well. We've already told you how rare Card Drawers are. If anyone discovers you can create cards like these, keeping your identity hidden could become difficult."
"I know. That's why we have to be careful. Nobody outside the three of us needs to know where the cards came from, and we shouldn't demonstrate their abilities where strangers might see."
"Even then, there's a risk," Er Bao pointed out. "What if someone takes a card from us? We don't know whether another person could summon its beast or control it."
Xu Hao nodded thoughtfully.
"That's true. I haven't tested what happens when a card changes hands. I don't even know whether the copies will recognise you as their owners. All I know is what the writing tells me."
He pointed towards the two cards.
"They're weaker than Sia, but both possess Wind Step and Guardian's Instinct. According to the description, they'll grow stronger when Sia improves, although they'll always remain one step behind her. It also says they're submissive to the original."
Er Bao considered that information.
"So Sia may have some authority over them."
"Possibly. But until we test it, I don't want to make assumptions."
Da Bao looked towards the enormous husky lying at Xu Hao's feet.
Sia raised her head briefly, decided nothing interesting was happening, and went back to sleep.
"Well," Da Bao said, "if they're anything like her, I'm going to need a great deal more roasted meat."
Xu Hao smiled.
"That would probably help."
The brothers fell silent again.
Beyond the camp's warning line, insects chirped among the trees. The fire cracked softly, sending an occasional spark into the darkness.
Xu Hao waited.
He didn't want to pressure them. If either brother felt uncomfortable accepting a card, that was a decision he would respect.
Eventually, Er Bao spoke.
"There's something I'd like to show you."
He rose and went into the shelter.
Da Bao watched him go. His expression changed slightly, as though he already knew what his younger brother intended to retrieve.
When Er Bao returned, he carried a small wooden box.
Xu Hao had seen it before, usually tucked carefully among Er Bao's belongings. Unlike the other boxes the brothers used for tools and supplies, this one was kept wrapped in cloth.
Er Bao sat beside the fire and opened it.
Inside lay a narrow leather cord threaded through three beads. One was dark, while the other two were pale. A fine crack ran beside the hole in one of the pale beads, and the leather had been repaired near the knot.
Yet Er Bao handled it with extraordinary care.
"This belonged to our father," he said.
Xu Hao looked towards Da Bao.
The giant's attention was fixed on the cord.
"He made it when we were children," Er Bao continued. "Da Bao was always wandering off somewhere. If he wasn't climbing the roof, he was exploring the hills behind the estate. Father would send me to find him, and half the time we'd both end up getting into trouble."
Da Bao smiled at the memory.
"The roof wasn't dangerous. I knew exactly where I was going."
"You fell through it."
"Only once."
Xu Hao laughed.
Er Bao shook his head, but there was affection in his expression.
"Father finally became so tired of searching for us that he made this cord. He told us to hold it between us while we made a promise."
"What promise?" Xu Hao asked.
"That neither of us would disappear without telling the other where he was going. Father said brothers weren't supposed to spend their lives worrying about whether the other had fallen into a ditch somewhere."
Da Bao reached out and touched one of the beads.
"He also told us that if one of us got into trouble, the other should come and help."
Er Bao nodded.
"Father tied the knot himself. He said a promise was easy to make when everything was going well. The important thing was remembering it when keeping it became difficult."
For a moment, neither brother spoke.
Xu Hao looked at the worn leather.
He could imagine the two of them as children, perhaps already larger than most boys their age, standing before their father while he tried to make them understand what looking after one another truly meant.
The cord had survived the destruction of their home.
It was probably one of the few possessions they had left that had once belonged to their family.
Xu Hao had spent much of his former life studying objects like this.
In a museum, the cord might have been labelled a household ornament. A scholar could examine its materials, estimate its age, and speculate about the purpose of the three beads.
None of those details would reveal the memories it held.
Er Bao lifted the cord from the box.
"We carried it with us when we left the estate. We haven't shown it to anyone else."
He held it out towards Xu Hao.
"You're our little brother now. Whatever happened before we met, you're part of this family. I don't want you thinking that our protection depends on what you can give us."
Xu Hao looked at him.
"If your Card Drawing power never produces another card, nothing changes," Er Bao continued. "If it turns out you can't cultivate beyond your current level, nothing changes. And if you decide one day that you want to leave the forest and make a life somewhere else, you'll still be our brother."
Da Bao nodded firmly.
"That's right. You can go wherever you like, little brother. Just remember to visit us. And if you get into trouble, send word. We'll come."
Xu Hao looked down at the cord.
He hadn't known the Wang brothers' father, but he suddenly wished he'd had the chance to meet him.
"You must have loved him very much," he said quietly.
"We did," Er Bao replied.
Da Bao said nothing.
He didn't need to.
Xu Hao accepted the cord and held it carefully between his fingers.
The leather was soft with age. He could feel the repaired knot beneath his thumb, worn smooth by years of handling.
He thought about his own father.
Different world, different family, yet here he was, listening to two brothers speak about a man whose advice sounded remarkably familiar.
After a moment, he returned the cord to its box.
"Thank you for showing me this," he said. "I understand what you're trying to tell me."
Er Bao smiled.
"Good."
"But I think you're still missing something."
Da Bao looked up.
"What?"
Xu Hao indicated the two cards.
"You're telling me that being your brother doesn't depend on what I can give you. I agree. But that should work both ways. I don't need to wait until I've repaid you for something before I'm allowed to give you a present."
Da Bao opened his mouth, then closed it.
Xu Hao continued.
"If you don't want the cards because you're worried about the dangers, I understand. That's a sensible reason to refuse. But please don't turn them down because you think I ought to keep everything valuable for myself."
Er Bao considered his words.
He looked at Da Bao.
For a moment, the brothers seemed to be having an entire conversation without speaking.
Then Er Bao reached for one of the cards.
"Very well," he said. "We'll accept them. But only if we agree on how to use them, and only after we've made sure they can be summoned safely."
Da Bao's face brightened.
"You mean we can keep them?"
Er Bao looked at him.
"That is what accepting a gift usually means."
Da Bao grinned and reached for the second card.
Xu Hao laughed.
He hadn't realised how much he'd wanted them to say yes until that moment.
"Actually," he said, "there's something I'd like us to do first."
He held out his hand, palm down, above the cloth.
Both brothers looked at it.
Da Bao frowned.
"Have you hurt your hand?"
"No. Put yours on top."
"Why?"
"It's something people sometimes do where I come from. Before a difficult task, or when making a promise together."
Er Bao understood immediately and placed his hand over Xu Hao's.
Da Bao followed, although his hand was so large that it covered most of theirs.
Xu Hao winced.
"Gently, Brother Da Bao. I still need those fingers."
Da Bao loosened his grip.
"What do we say?"
Xu Hao thought for a moment.
There was an old phrase from his world that seemed particularly appropriate.
"All for one, and one for all."
Da Bao repeated it under his breath.
"All for one... and one for all."
"It means we're together in this," Xu Hao explained. "If one of us needs help, the others won't abandon him."
Er Bao smiled.
"That sounds very much like something Father would have said."
Da Bao nodded enthusiastically.
"Then let's do it properly!"
Xu Hao recognised the danger in his brother's expression.
"Brother Da Bao, there's really no need to—"
"ALL FOR ONE, AND ONE FOR ALL!"
The shout rolled across the camp.
A startled bird burst from the branches above them, flapping indignantly into the night.
Somewhere down the slope, another bird answered.
Er Bao closed his eyes.
Xu Hao stared at Da Bao.
The giant looked immensely satisfied.
"Now that's a proper promise."
Xu Hao couldn't help laughing.
Er Bao shook his head, but a smile had spread across his face as well.
The three of them stood together for another moment before lowering their hands.
The laughter slowly faded.
Xu Hao looked at the cards.
"There's one condition I want both of you to agree to."
Da Bao straightened.
"What condition?"
"Whatever comes out of those cards will be a living creature. Sia isn't a weapon I can put away whenever it's inconvenient to feed her. She gets hungry, she feels pain, and she has a mind of her own."
He glanced towards the sleeping husky.
"I don't know how much of that will be true for the copies, but until we learn otherwise, we should treat them the same way."
Er Bao nodded.
"That seems reasonable."
"I want you to look after them properly. Feed them, train them patiently, and don't force them into danger just because their cards say they possess special abilities."
Da Bao looked offended.
"Little brother, I know how to look after animals. I've been hunting since I was a child."
"I know. But these won't be ordinary hunting dogs. If they get injured, we may not even know how to heal them."
Da Bao's expression grew more serious.
He looked at the husky painted on his card.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of her."
Er Bao examined his own card.
"We should also agree not to summon them in front of strangers until we know what attention they might attract. And we need to learn whether someone else can take control of them."
"Exactly," Xu Hao said. "One thing at a time."
Er Bao wrapped his card in clean cloth and returned it to the wooden box beside their father's cord.
Da Bao tucked his inside his vest.
He checked the pocket once, then again, pressing his palm against his chest to make certain the card was secure.
Xu Hao smiled.
Da Bao noticed immediately.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You think I'm going to lose it."
"Not at all. I'm pleased to see you're being careful."
Da Bao looked unconvinced, but he adjusted the opening of his vest before sitting down again.
Er Bao closed the wooden box.
"We'll try summoning them tomorrow morning," he said. "Somewhere away from the shelter. If anything goes wrong, we'll have enough space to deal with it."
"Good," Xu Hao agreed. "I'll stay nearby in case they respond to Sia or to me instead of their new owners."
Da Bao looked towards the fire.
"Then I'll prepare some extra meat. They'll be hungry when they come out, won't they?"
"We don't know yet," Xu Hao replied.
"Better to have it ready."
For once, Xu Hao decided not to argue.
They spent the rest of the evening discussing where to conduct the experiment and what precautions they should take.
Da Bao wanted to know whether his new companion could help him hunt. Er Bao suggested they should first establish whether she would listen to him at all.
Xu Hao was content to let them talk.
Sia had shifted closer to the warmth of the fire. He rested a hand against her shoulder, feeling the familiar rise and fall of her breathing.
The two cards were no longer his.
That had been the intention all along.
Yet he found himself thinking less about what he'd given away than about the old leather cord resting inside Er Bao's box.
The brothers had accepted his gifts.
And in doing so, they had given him something he hadn't expected.
A place in a family.
Tomorrow, they would discover what sort of companions the cards could produce. There would be questions, experiments, and almost certainly some disagreement about how much meat an enormous magical dog ought to eat.
Tonight, none of that mattered.
The promise had been made.