Sun Zan turns his head to where he thinks the source of the voice is, “Nei Hao” he responds unable to speak to local language. The well-dressed gentleman continues on but Zan understands none of it. The stranger quickly gives up and begins talking to the ship’s captain. Zan slowly walks off towards the sound of commerce, leaning heavily on his stick. He feels for a wall and travels along it, finding a spot he can sit out of the sun. There he listens. He picks out phrases repeated again and again, using other sounds like the clink of a coin purse opening or the smell of food to start to learn some part of the language. Over the next few weeks he begs for food and shelter before returning to the market to listen once again. Eventually he has learned enough and has begged for enough coin to approach a tavern and begin to learn about this land.
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