Chapter 15: The Tale of Shi Jin- Du Kang Wine in the Morning

Unearthly wails and screams jarred Shi Jin awake. He listened closely, focusing his hearing. It took a few seconds for him to recognize the voice...

Master! he thought, leaping up from his bed, and running barefoot out of the room. He ascended the stairs upwards until the noise seem to be on the same level as him. Eyes darting left and right, he then saw a familiar face in front of the door where the screaming emanated from:

"Wu Song!" Shi Jin yelled as he sprinted toward the larger man, "get out of the way!"

"No," he firmly responded, though his eyes showed surprise.

Shi Jin put his right shoulder in front of him as he charged, "I'll run over you!"

But in response, Wu Song grunted and put his shoulder in front of him too, standing his ground.

With a cry, Shi Jincollided with him, expecting to at least move him aside. But to his complete shock, Wu Song did not budge, and quite frankly it felt as if Shi Jin tried to tackle a mountain. Then, with one push from Wu Song, Shi Jin was sent flying, landing on his back with a thud.

"Ugh! Just how strong are you?" Shi Jin asked exasperatedly.

"Stronger than your dragons! No wonder Lord Chai dislikes you," Wu Song replied. That was when Shi Jin realized his half-nakedness. So rushed was he that he forgot his master's orders to have a shirt on in public. But the transgression was something Wang Jin would probably understand, given that she was still wailing her lungs out.

At this moment, other doors began to open from the far side of the hall, some immediately shutting once they saw Shi Jin, while other residents in the manor began appearing, wondering what was causing this ruckus.

"Private meeting! No interrupting!" Wu Song announced. Those residents all muttered among themselves but went back to where they came from, all except for Shi Jin, who opted not to air out that his master was in trouble with other people eavesdropping. Wang Jin, for the moment, no longer openly wailed, but Shi Jin could still hear incoherent sobs coming from the room.

Instead, he asked in a quieter voice, knowing that he couldn't just force himself in, "what's going in there? Who hurt my master?"

"Not for me to say," responded Wu Song his eyes looking to the side as if in pity, "Lord Chai ordered no one enters or leaves his room until he says so."

"You hear her screams! Do you not care?"

"Wu Song is not deaf! But trust me, we can't help right now."

"Shi Jin does not trust you! But since you are a stone statue, what choice do I have?"

Shi Jin then grunted, sitting down next to a wall, declaring, "I'll wait here until she leaves the room."

A bitter smile graced Wu Song's face, "you'll wait for a while then."

The Next Morning

Lord Chai's Estate
Cangzhou, Third Age 1934

Flying through the clouds, Shi Jin did a midair twirl and slashed downward with his podao, splitting a giant thundercloud in half, pure water splashing all over his nine dragon tattoos. The liquid quickly evaporated and his laughter echoed throughout the land.

Then he landed gracefully near his courtyard at Shi Family Village. He was going to dust himself off until he heard the loud voice of his father:

"Disobedient whelp! Look at what you have done!"

"Father?" he asked, turning this way and that, looking for him, "where are you?"

"Float above the courtyard, and see what you have done!"

So Shi Jin floated up and looked to his left."What devilry?!" he cried, for a torrent of tar-like liquid spread across the left side of the village, consuming every rock, plant, and human that was in its way. The screams of the innocent reverberated as they dissolved into the tar. He then looked to his right and beheld cascading waves of blood, hammering through houses, rending trees to splinters, and leaving nothing to its destruction. Sobbing fell from the sky in rain-like pellets, with yells of "FATHER! I KILLED YOU, FATHER!" bursting from the droplets that fell onto Shi Jin's body.

Panicked, he fell to the ground, the courtyard's earth breaking his fall. Wracked with pain and confusion, he raised his head, seeing a petite woman with an elaborate bun dressed in a wool brocade walking in the direction of the tar-like torrent.

"Mama! Mama! MAMA!" Shi Jin repeatedly yelled.

A splash of water greeted his face. Shi Jin's eyes opened, as he wheezed out a breath, seeing the sculpture-like visage of Wu Song. Although the large man's expression was neutral, concern was shown in his eyes. The dark circles surrounding them indicated a lack of sleep.

"A nightmare?" he asked.

Shi Jin nodded warily, standing up and being greeted by the sunlight that pierced through the jalousie windows on the wall facing the outside. For some reason, he had been dreaming more frequently since he left his family village. But he had forgotten most of them. This one though... his mother was somebody he never would forget.

"You were screaming about your mother," he commented.

Shi Jin glared, responding brusquely, "and you care, why?"

"Wu Song had parents too and should have slapped you awake, instead!" he retorted.

A witty comeback was just on the tip of Shi Jin's tongue, but he could not think of it in time. Instead, he growled at Wu Song and focused his attention on the room where his master was located. Thankfully... or worryingly there didn't seem to be any sound from the room.

"Is my master still in there?" he asked.

"Yes," Wu Song responded, "for Lord Chai would have told me otherwise."

A sudden image appeared where Wang Jin leaped out from a window, but Shi Jin quickly squashed it.

"Then I shall wait then," he concluded. Wu Song did not respond as he continued to guard his lord's doors.

Time passed and finally, the door opened, revealing a stone-faced Lord Chai. No cheerful smile graced his face and even the brilliant pearl in front of his topknot seemed dimmer.

"As usual, good work Wu Song," Lord Chai said in a subdued tone, "ring the bells for breakfast."

Following the elf was Wang Jin herself.

When Shi Jin first saw her, he had no idea who she was. Quite frankly, he could not tell if she was a man or woman due to the conservative, baggy clothing and the middle-parted short hair. He thought they were a middle-aged peasant trying to swing a staff around. But after getting trounced by her and being in close proximity, he finally could tell that she indeed was a great warrior. Though Wang Jin was only of average height, she stood straight like a general and commanded a room with her presence alone. Her eyes were like an eagle's, piercing at times yet calm at others. But when she gave off a blank look, Shi Jin could tell that was when Wang Jin was most dangerous. Sparring with her in hand-to-hand combat was challenging because it seemed her arms and feet moved on their own accord, as, unlike most people, Wang Jin's movements could not be foretold by her shoulders and waist. When Shi Jin was struck, it seemed like he was being hit by a stone soldier. He could tell her bones were denser than most, and Shi Jin could not simply overpower her or overwhelm her with aggression as he could with many of the women and men he sparred with in the past. Even when he snuck in a blow, he would be hit twice as much. And just when Shi Jin thought he finally had her movements figured out, she would switch stances and forms mid-spar. Like the time his arm was suddenly seized by Wang Jin's hand, like an eagle clawing at a victim, and he found himself on the ground after multiple strikes to his hamstrings, abdomen, and face. This was a teaching moment, however, as she taught him various different ways to subdue someone. Whether it would be using their own momentum against them through a throw, deflecting the blow with the softest touch to strike one of their pressure points with a firm hand, or even grappling someone.

Her weapon proficiency spoke for herself. To see her twirl both a staff and a war hammer at nearly the same speed was quite a sight. But every movement, feint, stab, sweep, slash, twirl, uppercut, had its purpose, be it to stop an opponent's momentum, gather her own momentum, or simply put away somebody and then immediately focus on another foe.

If she was not his master, he would have found her very desirable. Not necessarily for her looks, though her jaw was shaped like a downward arrow and her face was not unpleasant looking, but for her athleticism. She was the most conditioned person he ever met, and she was far stronger than she looked. Her personality was like an acid waterfall but based on how she treated her mother, to those she loved she could be tender and sweet.

But she was his instructor, and worthy to be put on a pedestal. Such thoughts were inappropriate to Shi Jin, and Wang Jin's words towards him dissuaded any emotional attraction beyond that of master and student.

However, the Wang Jin that trailed Lord Chai was nothing like the master he knew. Shi Jin could see the blood vessels in her puffy eyes, making them much pinker than usual. Streaks of dried tears could be seen, and her clothes were partially wet. Her head was bowed, and she did not even acknowledge either Wu Song or himself. Her walk was unsteady, and it seemed as if only her body moved on its own accord.

Shi Jin wanted to ask her what was wrong, and he would have done so days before. But this new Wang Jin shocked him to silence, and all he could do was follow. Did something happen to her mother? What was the cause of her grief? So tempting to ask, but he feared that his master would just push him away... or rather, throw him out of the window.

He looked at Wu Song, who for some reason also looked grieved, his own eyes looking in the distance as if reminded by something.

As it was, the four of them went into Lord Chai's personal dining room for breakfast.

Lord Chai's Personal Dining Room

Normally they would do their morning exercises, conditioning, and practice heavy weapons (doing so before their muscles became exhausted) before eating breakfast.

Today was an exception, though.

On the table, Lord Chai's attendants were placing dishes and bowls filled with food on the table. A large vessel of steaming rice porridge was in the middle with plates of pickled vegetables surrounding it. The smell of fried dough sticks reached Shi Jin's nose. He also noted multiple boiled eggs along with containers of steamed mantou and baozi. In recent days everyone besides Lord Chai would be grabbing and wolfing down such food without hesitation. Lord Chai ate, of course, but his eating style reminded Shi Jin of his mother: refined and elegant.

There were major differences this morning though. One, Wang Jin's mother, Wang Sheng, was absent. The second was that Wang Jin eyed the food as if they were moss-covered rocks.

Lord Chai walked over to her, offering her some tea from a porcelain spout. She shook her head. Then he offered her some honey water from a golden caddy. She shook her head.

"Du Kang wine," she muttered, causing Shi Jin to gawk at her.

"It is morning, Master Wang! You cannot drink so early-"

"Shi Jin?" Wang Jin quietly interrupted.

He did not respond, waiting for her to continue.

"Shut up," she ordered.

Shi Jin glared at her and was about to say something. But lo! He could see tears already forming in her eyes, and he hushed, focusing on his food.

"Wu Song will drink with you," he said, rising and probably getting the wine jars.

Suck up! Shi Jin thought, breaking a piece of the fried dough and dipping it into the rice porridge with pickled vegetables.

He ignored the impromptu drinking contest that then occurred between the two of them. Lord Chai, meanwhile, excused himself to take some breakfast to Wang Jin's mother, who was apparently alive, thankfully. Then why was Wang Jin grieved? Was it her siblings, her possible secret children, her father, or one of her apprentices? Why was she so sad?

When they finally went through three large wine jars, she slurred at Shi Jin to train by himself today, as she attempted to stumble off.

Having finished his breakfast, Shi Jin rose and said, "let Shi Jin help-"

"Leave me alone."

Later that Day

Lord Chai's Room

"Nine Dragon Tattooed Shi Jin, you wish to speak with me?" Lord Chai greeted Shi Jin.

The room was spacious, with some sort of water tower in the corner that tempted Shi Jin's gaze, for the water seemed to move on its own accord, going from scoop to scoop causing gears within to rotate. In other parts of the room, potted plants and small trees flanked shelves containing an assortment of scrolls and books, earthenware, precious stones in the shapes of animals, and a few other trinkets. There were also what looked like two giant rings forming a sphere in another corner, with many other rings inside.

"Perhaps you wished to look at my possessions then. Gifts from various peoples; take your time," Lord Chai reassured.

Shi Jin regained his focus and bowed apologetically toward the ancient elf, "Shi Jin once again apologizes for offending you, my lord."

"You mean the dragons? Oh, worry not, it will not long for me to fully forgive you," he replied to Shi Jin's relief.

"... in 50 years or so, give or take," Lord Chai added, his face a neutral expression.

"That... is a long time for a mortal like me," Shi Jin replied.

"I care not for most tattoos that humans put on. That is their own business and their own risk. But dragons?" Lord Chai said, pausing for a second, "what possessed you to put one of the mortal enemies of the elves permanently on your body?"

"... because it would make me look awesome," Shi Jin replied.

Lord Chai merely stood still, eyes unblinking, staring at the young man for quite a bit of time. The pearl in front of his topknot shone brilliantly.

"Well," the elf said, suddenly giving a small smile towards him, "I doubt you met with me to discuss your body art. What is the reason for your meeting with me today?"

Not feeling quite confident that Lord Chai particularly liked his answer, Shi Jin refocused and said, "I want to know what happened to my master yesterday."

"Oh?" Lord Chai replied, "you were outside the door and did not overhear anything?"

"All I heard was my teacher's wails and screams. What happened, my lord?"

Lord Chai frowned, choosing to not meet Shi Jin's eyes, "whatever happened last night is not for me to tell. You will have to hear it from your master's mouth."

"Was it family?"

"Whatever happened last night is not for me to tell. You will have to hear it from your master's mouth."

"Was it my master's mother?"

"Whatever happened-"

Shi Jin cut Lord Chai off, "fine, I understand my lord."

The elf glared at him, turning his back on Shi Jin.

Not wanting to offend Lord Chai any further, he said, "then I will not waste anymore of your time-"

"Wait," Lord Chai interrupted, turning around, now possessing what looked like to be a container wrapped in silk, "I have two things that I want you to do. First, give this to your master."

Shi Jin took the container, and surprisingly it was quite light.

He continued speaking, "remind them that they will have to pay for every single ingredient that is in this... medicine... so long as they withhold me that person's name."

The young man had no idea what he was referring to, or who "that person" was. He was about to ask for more information on this, but then realized that the elf would merely say-

"As you are a messenger, that is all you need to know regarding that."

... Well at least he did not repeat himself this time.

Lord Chai continued, "the second is a request from me. A job, if you will. You will be compensated accordingly."

"... what is the job, my lord? I can do it for free," Shi Jin replied, eager to gain the trust of the ancient elf.

"As I stated before... 50 years," he responded as if reading the young man's mind, "but in a few weeks' time, there will be an assortment of people visiting my estate to give their goodbyes to your master's mother. These people are former villagers of your master's birthplace. I want you to tell Wang Jin that I am sending you, as an observer, to make sure that there is no unarranged incident on my property. Either on your master's end or the group's end. I will leave it to Wang Jin to figure out the rest of the minor details."

Shi Jin was a little confused. Why would his master not want to introduce him to her former villagers?

"You will have to ask your master why they probably would not want to introduce you to them. Or rather, specifically one person," Lord Chai said, again as if reading Shi Jin's mind, causing the latter to widen his eyes in shock.

"... very well then. I will do as you ask, my lord. Though I did not know elves could read minds."

At that, Lord Chai glanced at him with a smile, "perhaps you should learn more about facial and vocal deception from your master."

A Few Days Later

"Ask me again what happened that night, and you're my student no longer!" Wang Jin yelled, "do you understand?"

"I und-"

"Rhetorical question, you idiot! Just do as I say!" she barked.

Shi Jin cursed at himself. For some stupid reason, he thought she was getting better after a few days because she was directly instructing him again. There was also the fact that she no longer smelled of vomit, likely from all the alcohol she drank, and her face returned to its normal dark complexion compared to its unhealthy lighter hue. He concluded that it was not a near relative that died, because otherwise, Wang Jin would have been wearing the customary white mourning attire along with a white headband or hat signifying that a relative died. Therefore, it could not have been a child, sibling, sworn sibling, close cousin, close older relative, or parent. It must have been one of her former apprentices or a dear friend then. But why was her response so vile?

A couple of days before, when he gave her the finely wrapped package along with Lord Chai's message, she cursed at the air, demanding why he entrusted Shi Jin of all people with such delicate wares. Then she ranted incoherently about the long-held grudges between elven groups, something about elf female bodily control, and why he wanted her money if elves did not value it intrinsically.

He had honestly no idea what she was talking about.

Wang Jin was clearer in her response to the future visit of her old villagers. She appeared wistful thinking of some of the villagers, as if she was bringing to light old memories buried deep within her past. She told him of certain people that he needed to know about; many of them were valiant heroes themselves. Then she reiterated a warning to him about a certain villager, not to cross paths with that one. He was to be chopping wood nearby while Wang Jin would greet them personally so as to not draw attention to the fact that he was her apprentice. He still did not quite understand. He was confident that he could hold his own because he had been practicing with and sparring against Wang Jin, but nevertheless, he obeyed.

From that day forward came some of the most physically painful days in his life. The weight training and conditioning became more arduous. It became virtually impossible to fool Wang Jin on his fatigue level so that when they sparred with staves, he always wound up on his back. The one benefit of having dragon tattoos throughout his body was that it could cover up all the bruises he was accruing each day.

He was regretting wanting to learn all 18 weapons at once now. His teacher's criticisms bit into his confidence, even when he felt he had the proper technique down. Unlike prior days, there were no compliments at all in terms of what he was doing, as if she expected him to already be a weapons master like her.

"Such crap makes me want to puke again!" "What form is that? Pathetic!" "You would be lacking a head if you did that on the battlefield!" "Just retire and become a scholar, your swordsmanship is equal to theirs!" "I've seen dog constables fare better with a war hammer!" "Want to become a pig on a spit? Do that unnecessary movement again!" and on and on.

The only major development was that Wu Song had finally requested to train under Wang Jin, at least in hand-to-hand fighting. This was good news; Shi Jin finally could witness that large brute get beat up. Apparently, his master focused on improving that person's self-defense through relentless attacks, utilizing so many different types of kicks and strikes. Said brute though fared much better than Shi Jin expected: dodging, weaving, blocking, and deflecting more attacks than Shi Jin expected. Eventually, his defense would falter and he'd fall on his back... only to bounce back up again and continue to spar with Wang Jin.

Wu Song never attacked though, which befuddled Shi Jin.

"You moron!" she yelled at Shi Jin, "practice with those 18 weapons or else!"

Thus, Shi Jin practiced with a variety of weapons while Wu Song pretended to be a mobile punching bag to Wang Jin.

Near the end of the day came his unarmed training with her. Shi Jin had no illusions about his master's indefatigability, but now he couldn't tell that she even lost energy during the whole day. No longer were Shi Jin's strikes finding their mark. It was not as if he was foretelling his movements, he had worked on that technique of limiting his excess body movement for punches and kicks, but now Wang Jin seemed to know exactly what he was doing. It did not matter what feint, trick, or other unconventional tactics he pulled; he even tried to attack her sensitive parts. She blocked/deflected many blows, dodged others, and used his own momentum against him, thus he practically spent the whole session falling down and getting back up again.

It seemed that she wasn't the one attacking him; he was attacking himself.

The only thing he looked forward to now was the meals. Lord Chai supplied a wide variety of meats, including roast chicken, pig, duck, goose, venison, and even some exotic meats like snake and wolf. Those were delicious too. Each evening fresh fish was also served, both steamed and roasted with a rich sauce. The rice and noodles tasted sublime, and the broth made with the bones from their prior meals soothed his stomach. Then there was the variety of cheeses that he ate too with scrumptious bread. He savored each meal.

In contrast, Wang Jin treated the food as if it were the enemy. She was not starving herself, more of the opposite. His master ate with such ferocity that he worried she was going to choke to death. It was like watching a ravenous hyena devouring a deer carcass. The bones were not spared either. Each meal ended up being a session where Wang Jin would devour the meat of an animal, crack the bones open and suck out the marrow dry. Shi Jin, of course, knew that in order to build muscle, one needed to eat a lot, but he worried that she was overdoing it.

It wasn't until the group of villagers visited that he understood why.

A Couple of Weeks Later

He looked a little ridiculous, to be honest. It appeared as if he was some random villager plucked off the street to do some menial work for Lord Chai's estate. He wore a straw hat with the straws sticking out everywhere, donned an itchy wool attire that had hay haphazardly sticking out from odd places, and also wore straw sandals that actually were more comfortable than they looked (badly-made straw sandals were like walking with needles in one's shoes). He knew that he was not supposed to look like an apprentice, but this was ridiculous.

The only good part of this whole thing was that he could practice his axe skills and not get continuously berated by Wang Jin. Her master's mood seemed to sour with every day that came. Apparently, for good reason though, as she bluntly had pointed out her monthly water was exiting this week, then decided to give a graphic description of it because it amused her seeing his horrified face.

That was the first time any woman had so bluntly said that to Shi Jin, ever. He usually had to infer such things. Wasn't talking about such things taboo? He did not know that his master was so crass! What was wrong with her?

"Welcome, welcome, heroes from afar," said Lord Chai outside of the estate's entrance, as Shi Jin overheard his voice.

"Remember, you idiot," hissed Wang Jin, whose hair had grown long enough for her to fashion it in a military topknot, "chop your wood and relax. You can eavesdrop, but be subtle about it."

"Yes Master," Shi Jin replied, placing a small log vertically and chopping it in two.

The entrance was then opened, and one by one, the villagers entered the estate, soon to be greeted by one of their old acquaintances.

As to who these villagers are and their meeting with Wang Jin, you can find that out in the next chapter.