Chapter 7: The Tale of Wang Jin- Some Meetings and Can We Please Finally Leave the City?
Another pair of eyes was watching her, and Wang Jin focused her attention on who that might be, her fists clenched.
Then Wang Jin's eyes relaxed, her hands unclenched, and she exhaled.
It was the Elven scribe, sitting on a thick tree branch. Green raiment adorned her body. But unlike earlier in the day, her hair was unbound, like countless thin brown vines falling from head unblemished and stopping below the branch that held her. Her skin was fair, with eyes the color of fresh soil from spring's first rainfall. She looked no more than 20, but Wang Jin knew that this person's age was beyond reckoning, from elder days and times of legends that were recalled from youth.
Wang Jin spoke in a whisper, knowing full well that her words were heard clearly by the elf. It was nighttime after all and there was no need for their voices to disturb the sleep of those who just would not understand.
"This is farewell then, I guess..." she muttered under her breath, then noticed that the elf's eyes had a strange look about them, as if she was beholding a new type of plant, "why are you looking at me like that?"
It took a second before recognition and an annoyed scowl appeared on the former Head Arms Instructor's face, "only the second time someone noticed my hair and I'm already getting annoyed. Maybe I shouldn't have let that brat cut it. Measure of trust my ass!"
The Elven scribe held an amused look, her eyes glistening in mirth. Then she put an index finger on her mouth, as if reminding Wang Jin to maintain her current volume. This confirmed that there were people still living inside the nearby shabby houses.
It seemed like yesterday that she remembered certain former students of hers living in this very neighborhood.
"Not that I'm surprised. That woman had it rough, and if I were in their shoes... I just do not know," she continued as the elf nodded in understanding, "speaking of that. I mentioned the Tale of Black Sword earlier to the brat. The edited version, not the true version you spoke to me of."
The Elven scribe's smile receded, and the mirth in her eyes had changed to that of an ancient sorrow which time had never healed.
Another reason why the humans grew to understand the elves more was the depth of sorrow dealt to many of the fair folk. Where time would erode a human's memory and leave only scars, it seemingly had no effect on an elf's. This was enlightening to quite a few humans. What was the point of strength, intelligence, and life everlasting, if one's true desire lay forever unfulfilled, with only the pain remaining until the body eroded or the world ended? It made swift death seem like a gift.
Wang Jin then whispered, "I still remember your criticisms on some of the more outlandish things. Like the very detailed smut threesome between the rescued elf princess, Black Sword, and Black Sword's sister. Or when the wingless dragon was slain after kidnapping and eating the elf princess, Black Sword drank its blood in despair and turned into the Black Dragon, killing their own sis-"
She held out her hand in front of her as if bidding Wang Jin to shut up, shaking her head vigorously.
"Hah! Still gets a rise out of you."
The Elven scribe rolled her eyes.
"Though why you do not publish the true account of that tale still confuses me. You knew the Black Sword, if I recall."
She shook her head in denial.
"Oh that's right... you knew of that guy before they became the Black Sword."
The Elven scribe nodded in affirmation, mouthing a name.
Wang Jin nodded, "Túlin"
She shook her head, mouthing the same name again.
"Túyin?"
She shook her head, mouthing the same name again.
"Hard to pronounce," commented Wang Jin, "I guess you consider them two different people. Must've been the murder of that archer."
The Elven scribe said nothing, though her eyes were difficult to read, and unfortunately Wang Jin did not desire to figure out that expression or discuss any more of a person long since passed from the world.
"Anyways... Can you keep an eye on the brat for me? The one who's face reminds people of a leopard's?"
She paused as if considering it, then shook her head.
Wang Jin exhaled in disappointment, "I get it. Already old enough to not get themselves killed and make their own mistakes. Already enough children and animals you need to keep an eye on."
The Elven scribe shrugged while smiling apologetically.
"Well I suppose that's all then. Long road ahead and I'll be the braying mule and all that," Wang Jin finally said, trying to end the conversation. But the elf motioned her again to stop, gesturing her to move closer. The scribe in one motion dropped down to the earth, yet there was very little sound that she did so.
Wang Jin walked until she was an arm's distance, looking upwards towards the elf's smiling face. The scribe revealed an item with instructions attached, offering it to Wang Jin. The former Head Arms Instructor looked blankly at it for a few seconds. Then she raised an eyebrow, shaking her head in disbelief, whispering, "…you elves...hiding this from us the whole time! But I suppose you wanted us to learn ourselves huh...
But no gift is free. What would you like in exchange?"
The Elven scribe rolled her eyes but whispered something in response. Wang Jin's eyes widened momentarily, and then a knowing smile appeared, "well now everything makes a lot more sense… And if I had a few hours, I could ask so many questions. I will keep this a secret, worry not."
The Elven scribe nodded, then jumped back on the branch, with the tree barely even shaking in response.
"Farewell then, elf," Wang Jin said, "don't get too bored in those meetings now."
She noted that the elf's smile seemed a little more forced, and her glistening eyes seemed a bit sadder now. Though whether it would be in anticipation of future minutes-taking or the farewell, Wang Jin was unsure. They both said their goodbyes, not knowing if they would ever see each other again.
With that, Wang Jin went to her residence in order to prepare for her departure.
The pair woke up at dawn, as both Wang Jin and her mother, Wang Sheng, were in the middle of packing up. Or rather, Wang Jin was packing up for both of them while her mother was in the midst of a rant.
"...Unfilial impudent scoundrel! To think that I let you use my family name! Yet you do this crap again! Getting your hair cut. Why, you have never known the pain I had bearing you! You've always been disobedient ever since you entered this world! You idiotic melonhead turtle's egg!"
"Yes yes Ma, Wang Jin is a stupid idiot," Wang Jin hurriedly conceded as she grabbed the wheelbarrow. It was times like these that she wondered whether the healers were wrong, and how a person with 6 months to live could keep on yelling for 30 minutes straight.
"Ever since you were young you were a stupid idiot! How many times I've seen you with bruises all over as a child, you refusing me to report the rascals who did this to you. Do you know how many times I had to make your father not go out and murder the lot of them? Oh! How you made me worry!"
"Yes Ma, I was a stupid idiot who should've had you shelter me as a child. Probably would've improved my fighting technique faster with the extra hours," Wang Jin hurriedly conceded. She placed and bound several long sheets of goose feather blankets on the wheelbarrow.
"You should've! Especially as you grew older, taking all those stupid labor assignments. You proved your worth! You were my daughter! The Village Arms Instructor's daughter! I could've bribed the magistrate to let you skip out!"
Wang Jin bit back the biting retort that somebody needed to show the villagers how to get things done, that if she had not gone on those assignments, more people would've ended up missing or dead. Instead...
"Yeah, some of those were pointless. Especially the one involving the troll. I... Your ignorant daughter is still sorry for that. For making you worry," Wang Jin said instead. attaching weighted cushions on the wheelbarrow, where the bottom was flat and heavier than the softer top.
"Bah!" responded her mother, a saddened look on her face, "that was my fault and you know it. I could've sent my only child to a grave. I should've investigated that request from the dwarves a little deeper. And you should not be sorry about that. You were a hero for avenging the slain villagers that day, and preventing many more from dying."
Wang Jin smiled a little at that, then walked towards her weapon rack, trying to figure out which weapon would not draw any attention but was still useful in a fight.
"But I still don't understand why you continued to fight every single person in the village! Did it not go through your stupid skull to just use your words and talk some sense to the young boys instead of fighting the young girls? You could've killed them or ruined them! One wrong blow..."
There her Ma went again, bringing up every single questionable thing in the past to prove a point. Wang Jin did not feel like the response of needing practice against live people would please her mother much, nor the fact that the lessons in self-control had earned her quite a few bruises and welts too. So instead...
"Maybe that would've worked. Probably something I should've done," Wang Jin muttered through gritted teeth. She shook her head at all of the polearms, reasoning that they would stick out too much for a simple villager. A middle-aged village girl would have to be going through some mid-life crisis to be wielding a warhammer while visiting a city, after all.
"Well aren't you agreeable today," Wang Sheng said sarcastically, "don't think I don't know your tricks, Jin'er! You're only nice today because I have 6 months to live! Well, you're making my life shorter with every stupid thing you're doing!"
Is she really dying? thought Wang Jin, as she picked up and attached an old sabre to her worn baldric on the back side, the sabre that she actually carried when she entered Dongjing 10 years ago in fact. A part of her considered attaching a sword until she remembered that people wielding swords were commonly targeted by bandits because those weapons were mostly used by scholars. Nevertheless, she grabbed some staves, a shield, a swordbreaker, and a few knives, placing them into a long bag, at least serving as a counterbalance on the wheelbarrow.
"And to get your hair cut by that brat? Not even one of the brats I liked. Couldn't get the young one you threw in front of a troll to do it, could you?"
Wang Jin was not going to point out the complex situation between Shi Wengong and herself. Nor was she going to once again explain that the troll operation was well-planned out and that Lin Chong could've made the killing blow if she did not hesitate in doing so. What irony that was! To love eating meat but not willing to kill a troll!
Instead, she adjusted the sabre so that it was at an angle no experienced soldier would put it on.
This actually caught the attention of her mother, whose angry expression faded a little, "that's the sabre that your father gave you as a birthday present, wasn't it?"
The steel blade itself was standard, where the dull side was thick (making the blade more durable) contrasting the other side which was sharp. The blade widened towards the middle, and curved near the pointy end. The hilt was canted, going in the reverse direction of the curved blade, making it ideal for the cuts and thrusts that Wang Jin loved to do.
"The best present a 12-year-old could get!" Wang Jin said with pride, "I wore it when I got the job in Dongjing 10 years ago thanks to your letter."
"And it got you out of the village, Jin'er," Wang Sheng sighed, "any more time in there and you would've gotten yourself killed or paralyzed. Don't interrupt! I know you heard this from me before, but moving to Dongjing was the best decision you made in your life. It's just so sad you got kicked out due to that... football player. Oh, if I were younger, we could've stormed the palace together and slaughter the lot of them. I'd prefer leaving a body pile of 1000 like a true warrior than to run away. But what can you do?"
"Well, they're lucky that we're not elves," responded Wang Jin, not wanting to be reminded about her mother's potential death, "and I think it's time we lock the door and leave. I already put the family's tax return on the desk and everything. Should buy us a year or so in terms of that tax law. Money, we have aplenty. Umbrella... is now attached. Change of clothes is in the bag beside your seat on the wheelbarrow. Our belongings are there too."
"Why wheelbarrow instead of horseback, again?"
"You'll fall off and die, Ma, unless you want to be tied by rope to my body from sunrise to sunset. And also, I don't like riding on a certain week in a month."
"Hmph, just because I'm dying..." Wang Sheng then paused, considering it more, "and a horse carriage would draw too much attention for ourselves. Fine, we'll go with your idea. I better not die early thanks to you."
"Gee Ma, thanks for the confidence boost," wryly commented Wang Jin as she attached a roll of rope to the back of the wheelbarrow, "maybe I should just bind you to the central dividers of the wheelbarrow to begin with."
Wang Sheng hmphed again, "Not until we're well outside the city. Understand, daughter?"
"Yes yes, of course Ma. Let me know when you need to pee or poo as well."
"...I'll hold it in until we get out of the city and onto the roads." said Wang Sheng.
Wang Jin smirked, "please do not defile the wheelbarrow until then. I can smell it too."
"...petulant hair-cutting potty-mouthed child. Will you ever grow up?"
The two of them locked the door to their residence as they left for Dongjing's front gates. Wang Jin drove the wheelbarrow while her mother was sitting on one side while the bags and supplies were on the other side acting as a counterweight. Wang Jin had wedged a wooden board for her mother to lean her back on as she sat. A large central wheel was in between the two wooden dividers separating Wang Sheng and their belongings. The Eastern wheelbarrow was quite an ingenious invention. So long as the weights were in balance, the driver could easily move it without feeling even one pound of the load they were carrying. That meant that even if the wheelbarrow were carrying 300 pounds, so long as it was in balance, the driver could move the wheelbarrow as if it carried nothing.
Naturally this vehicle alone made trade much easier. Dwarves loved it too. It was common sight to see dwarves and armed dwarves moving a bunch of wheelbarrows filled with precious metals and stones from the Western (Red) Mountains to Dongjing and vice-versa.
Even in the city, Wang Jin and Wang Sheng weren't the only wheelbarrow users, as quite a few were carrying passengers, goods, food, and other things to and from the city. Shops were beginning to be unboarded as peddlers and food sellers had begun shouting their advertisements. The smell of morning mantou filled the air as the pair headed towards the entrance, the sound of the wheel announcing their presence.
In front of the gate were two helmeted guards carrying two polearms in full metal lamellar armor.
Well, this'll get interesting, thought Wang Jin as she went over again to herself how to act in this situation. There was a line forming as the guards were seemingly inspecting every wheelbarrow for something. The plan concocted by her mother was that both mother and daughter were merchants buying weapons and clothing from Dongjing to sell elsewhere. The pair was about fourth or fifth in line when suddenly Wang Jin heard some panting.
Pubu, the dog constable, with their miniature constable hat had walked over, looking directly at Wang Jin as if the dog already recognized her. Wang Jin was surprised, but more so that the dog was not making a large scene. Was her disguise that bad that the dog could not even take a second to at least wonder who they were?
Unless... she thought, …the elf! The elf must have tipped Pubu off! Good elf! Err good dog!.
"Oooh what a cute dog!" cried Wang Sheng, giving a quick sideways glare to her daughter to play along.
"...Yes. Cute doggy. Um... like... wow, the capital has these dog guards or what?" Wang Jin spoke in a higher register, petting and scratching Pubu behind the ears.
In the periphery, she saw an eye twitch from her Ma, which was a bad sign.
"Arf arf!" Pubu responded, twisting its neck, guiding the hand towards the proper parts to scratch.
"Eh hehe hahaha huhuhu, cute doggy," said Wang Jin, unsure of what laugh was appropriate for a female merchant.
Soon enough, it was their turn in line as the Gate Guards gave a look at the wheelbarrow, then noticed Pubu grinning at them, tongue out.
Gate Guard 1 said, "ohh has Pubu not found any contraband in there. No Pubu did not! No Pubu did... not! Who's a good doggy?"
Gate Guard 2 said, "uhh, sir, we're kinda supposed to check every wheelbarrow. Grand Marshal's orders..."
"Aiya, who cares?" responded Gate Guard 1, "Pubu's already checked them. Hasn't Pubu? Hasn't Pubu?"
"Arf arf!" affirmed Pubu.
Gate Guard 1 nodded, "see!" then he turned towards Wang Jin, "now off you go."
Not waiting for a change-of-mind, Wang Jin pushed the wheelbarrow forward...
"Wait!" cried Gate Guard 2 as Wang Jin stood still, not turning her back unless directly told to do so. Then she felt some sort of adjustment at her back. The sabre?
Wang Sheng coughed, as if reminding her daughter to...
"Oooh~" squealed Wang Jin, as (conveniently) the baldric strap was strapped close enough to her chest, "stop! I'm married."
"Sorry sorry!" quickly apologized Gate Guard 2, "your sabre wasn't positioned the right way. Just don't want you to get targeted by outlaws."
"Then say so earlier!" yelled Wang Sheng, "my daughter has 10 kids and even they are polite enough to ask first!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Though... wait what in the world does that mean? I'm very confused..."
"HEY!" yelled Gate Guard 1, "get back to your post! They're already complaining behind me!"
"Sorry sorry!" Gate Guard 2 repeatedly apologized, "off you go then. Sorry about... everything."
Wang Sheng spat on the ground in disgust as Wang Jin focused on driving the wheelbarrow forward.
Risking a glance back, she saw the small form of Pubu still wagging its tail near the gate.
Goodbye, old friend, thought Wang Jin, knowing perfectly well that unless the dog were immortal, they were likely to never see each other again.
Oh great, this damned bridge. How did I forget? she thought the closer they got. The bridge, which was the same bridge she crossed over 10 years ago, was notoriously steep to allow passing boats to cross through underneath.
"Hang on Ma, we're going to head up an incline," Wang Jin announced. Her mother clutched the divider with her hands as they moved up the steep slope.
And then at the crest of the bridge she saw Generals Guan Sheng and Huyan Zhuo at one side looking directly at them. Wheels did tend to make a distracting noise, after all.
Of course, the visiting generals were doing morning exercise! Wang Jin thought.
"Mmm?" regally intoned Guan Sheng, but he was not stroking his exceptionally long beard as he had a green beard bag on.
"Well, by my graying hair," Huyan Zhuo said, winking at Wang Jin, "looks like you aren't from here. This bridge is quite steep and its decline is quite severe. Let us ensure your goods and your passenger do not fall off."
"Why, that's quite gentlemanly of you two. Go on ahead," her mother said with a large smile. Wang Jin nodded, struggling to stay silent at Huyan Zhuo's attempts at humor.
The pair of generals then helped guide the wheelbarrow across the decline of the bridge until they were on even land.
"Well, I hope your trip is not cut short," Huyan Zhuo said with another wink. Wang Jin began silently fuming.
"Mmmm," regally added Guan Sheng.
"Thank you two! Come now daughter, thank the nice men," said Wang Sheng.
Wang Jin said in a higher register, "thank you, you big strong men."
Without gracing them another glance, she pushed the wheelbarrow forward, muttering to herself as she heard the chuckles of both generals in the distance.
They had finally reached the first road latrine from Dongjing. As traffic was heavy on the East-West Road (Dongjing to the Western Mountains) and the elves were complaining about the nearby Yellow River being polluted, latrine buildings were created every so often on the road as long as a river or other water source was nearby. Once the road went away from a water source and into forested areas, grasslands, and wastelands, people could defecate and urinate wherever they wanted.
Turning that proverbial "nightsoil" into fertilizer was done by either farmers, illegal traders, or corvée laborers. It sucked (and smelled). It also was greatly responsible for the high food supply that the Empire needed to sustain its population.
She half expected, with her luck today, that somebody like Shi Wengong, Lin Chong, or Gao Yannei would pop out of the latrine. Thankfully no one was in there as her mother stepped in. Guarding her wheelbarrow, she turned around to look at Dongjing as the sun moved higher in the sky.
Travelers of all sorts were passing them, going in either direction. The city walls surrounded countless buildings, trees, and finally a gleaming palace with its roof reflecting the sun. This was the city in which Wang Jin lived in for the past 10 or so years, and perhaps this could have been her final time seeing the capital of the Eastern Empire. Mixed emotions flooded her as she remembered a time 10 years ago, when life seemed simpler and her future seemed limitless. Now, however, with the passing of time, she knew that whatever limit she passed had finally caught up to her. It was harder to get stronger, move faster, and even her students were getting to the point of surpassing her in terms of physical ability. There was of course, her battle wisdom which she could rely on for the rest of her life, but that could only do so much. Within 10 years, there was going to be a decline, and if it was as quick as her mother's had been...
Would she even be alive in 10 years?
Such were the thoughts in her head as she turned her head back, seeing her mother approach the wheelbarrow. Wang Jin, who had balanced the bags accordingly once her mother left to go to the latrine, now started re-balancing so that her mother could sit on the wheelbarrow.
"Quite a beautiful sight, eh, daughter?"
"Yes, a beautiful sight, Ma."
With that, her mother sat back on the wheelbarrow. This time, Wang Jin bound her mother (and the rest of the belongings as well) with rope.
"Try not to collapse or tilt the wheelbarrow, Jin'er," cautioned Wang Sheng.
Wang Jin began pushing the wheelbarrow ahead on the road. Beginning with a walk, then a jog, and then finally a run as she steered the wheelbarrow forward, passing by slower travelers, keeping her eyes open for rocks on the road, and fleeing from Dongjing as fast as her legs could take her.
Where will they travel next? To find out, please read the next chapter.