Madam Shu nodded, looking around, and taking note of Wu's cheek. "You appear to have gotten quite involved in this discussion as well." she says, a note of humour in her voice. "Would you like me to look at that for you?"<br/><br/>- - - -<br/><br/>The young man draws cautiously near the table, coming to hand about equally distant from both Li and Gan. The latter had a sneer on his face as he stared at the younger man.<br/><br/>"My .. my name is Chen." he speaks quietly, his nervousness clear. "I .. I am not a bandit." This brought a snort of derision from Gan. "I'm not." Chen states. "At least, I don't think I am. I mean, I've never hurt anyone."<br/><br/>He looks around at the group. "It's true, I was with them, but I was sick. I mean, I had been sick, and they found me, and helped me get better. I didn't know ..." his voice trails off. "I didn't know they were bandits."<br/><br/>He takes a breath then tries again. "I was apprentice to my village smith. I'm good with metal, and tools. But then our village took sick, everyone. We tried to look after each other, but people got sick, and died, and it all happened so fast. I got sick too. I mean, I must have, but I can't remember much of it. I remember people getting sick, then just images, and the next I remember is the camp."<br/><br/>"Where we brought you after we found you, and nursed you back to health." added Gan. His finger darted out at Chen. "You owe us."