A light rain had started to fall, giving the air a damp and chilly edge.
Su Jing arrived in the small town of Sarria with a backpack slung over her shoulders.
"Wow! It really does have that ancient feel to it!"
Su Jing stood on a hillside and looked out over the whole town, and felt she had not been disappointed.
Sarria was a town filled with a great many historic buildings.
It was also a famous destination for travellers.
The Camino de Santiago.
Su Jing was a student from the East studying abroad in Spain.
She was studying journalism and media.
When she returned home after finishing her studies, she would go on to become a reporter and media professional.
With the New Year approaching, Su Jing also wanted to travel around Spain for a while.
A popular pilgrim route she had come across online was located right here in Sarria.
The walk from Sarria to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela followed winding mountain paths and covered roughly 112 kilometres.
It generally took around four to five days to complete.
Su Jing was travelling alone, but Sarria attracted a large number of visitors over the New Year period.
The route had been developed commercially and was far from deserted.
There were staff stationed at regular points along the way.
So safety was not a significant concern.
Su Jing had already done her research thoroughly online.
She adjusted her backpack and set off with a light step towards the Iglesia de Santiago.
There, a pilgrim passport could be collected for free.
A priest would stamp the first stamp of the pilgrimage into the passport.
One of the unwritten customs of the Camino was to collect one stamp each day.
Travellers from all over the world could be seen all along the route.
Sarria grew lively during the peak tourist season.
It was now midday, and Su Jing chose to rest for a while at a café beside the church and get something to eat.
"Leon is absolutely unreal!"
"Barcelona! Real Madrid! We've beaten both of them!"
"I can't wait for the next match now!"
A middle-aged man was visibly buzzing with excitement, clearly a passionate Leoia supporter.
"Keep it down!"
"They were the B sides! The B sides!"
His companion made an apologetic gesture to the others in the café.
Everyone in the café responded with warm smiles.
Football supporters, they all understood.
Many of them were supporters themselves and knew exactly what that feeling was like.
"I don't care! They're still Barcelona and Real Madrid's B sides!"
"Never thought a lad from the East could play like that!"
The middle-aged man shook his head in wonder.
The East had only ever qualified for the World Cup once, after all.
And in the middle-aged man's memory, they simply had not been there.
For a country like that to produce a goalkeeper of Leon's quality was genuinely remarkable.
"There's a match tomorrow night!"
"Another home match! The fixture schedule has been kind to us lately!"
His companion chimed in agreement.
"Kind? How is it kind?"
"Tomorrow night we're up against the league leaders, Athletic Club B!"
"That's three matches in a row against top sides for us!"
"This is nothing short of a nightmare run of fixtures!"
The middle-aged man said with a hint of frustration.
"Even so! That's exactly why I'm even more eager to see what Leon does next!"
The middle-aged man's face lit up with excitement again.
La Liga clubs' B sides were a feature throughout the lower divisions, something of a defining characteristic of the Spanish football pyramid.
Real Madrid B had been strong going forward in the first half of the season but were sitting third in the table, not top.
The league leaders were the B side of La Liga heavyweights Athletic Club.
After the match against Real Madrid B, Leoia entered the winter break.
For a full fortnight, there would be no competitive fixtures.
"I had no idea even a small town like this would have such an intense football atmosphere."
Su Jing had been sitting and listening to the two supporters talk for a while and found it genuinely fascinating.
The area she was most likely heading into after graduating was sports media.
She was a supporter herself, so she was well versed in all of this.
It was just that when she then thought about the football culture back in the East...
Well.
Best not to go there if she wanted to enjoy the trip.
Wait.
Had they just mentioned the East?
Had she heard that wrong?
How could a player from the East possibly be playing here?
Su Jing's curiosity got the better of her.
"Excuse me!"
"Sorry to interrupt!"
"Were you just talking about a player from the East?"
Su Jing asked tentatively.
"That's right! Leon! A player from the East!"
"Oh? East Asian face? Are you from the East too?"
"People from the East are quite rare around here!"
The middle-aged man asked with some surprise.
"Yes! I'm from the East too!"
Su Jing said with a smile.
"Oh! Then you're practically Leon's neighbour!"
"Lovely to meet you!"
The middle-aged man stood up and shook Su Jing's hand with a warm smile.
He had taken an instant liking to her simply because of that connection.
"Do you know how I might find Leon Feng?"
Su Jing could not help but ask.
She was far too curious about Leon Feng to leave it alone.
To think there was a player from the East quietly playing in the Spanish football league without a word to anyone back home.
It might be a lower division, but nobody back in the East had any idea.
After all, there was no reason for any supporter from the East to be following the Segunda División B.
"Oh! That's easy enough!"
"Leon should be training at Sarria Stadium right now!"
"And I'm not exaggerating when I say there is not a single player in the entire league who trains harder than Leon!"
The middle-aged man was clearly a huge admirer of Leon and took evident pride in the fact that Leon was playing for his hometown club.
"I'll go and take a look!"
Su Jing did not even stop to eat and simply picked up her bag and headed straight for Sarria Stadium.