Chapter 9: The Tale of Wang Jin- On Parenthood and the Boy with the Nine Dragon Tattoos is More Disappointing Than You Think

Shi Family Village

"Jin'er, you've been cursing ever since we entered the village. Can you stop?! They're looking at us..." urgently requested Wang Sheng, finally breaking her silence.

Wang Jin did not care about what the village looked like, what kind of trees there were, the architecture of the houses, nor even the ground itself, as the villagers' words and actions themselves took all of her attention.

There was a gathering of villagers who were indeed pointing, and at the same time, some held their noses.

"Take a bath!" nasally shouted one of the villagers.

"Oh come on! I do not smell that bad!" yelled Wang Jin in response.

"Big Sis Wengong warned us about you! You'll find no Goddess here, Homeless!"

"Good!" shouted back Wang Jin, moving forward, "I prefer men anyways!"

Another villager taunted, "only skunks and pigs would sleep with you!"

"Certainly prefer that than any of you idiots!" retorted Wang Jin.

"You have short hair!" shouted a child.

"Shut up and grow some yourself!" she barked. The child tried to rush forward but was held back by his parents.

This rankled another villager, who yelled, "your mouth is just as dirty! Get your stinky maggot-infested selves out of our village you short-haired freak!"

"I'll yank each of your nethermost hairs out and force you to choke on them!" Wang Jin did not say calmly.

Multiple people had to restrain the villager from attacking Wang Jin, "You would huh? Grass mud horse! I'll strangle you!" she screamed.

"This brings back unpleasant memories..." muttered Wang Sheng, "how could someone not want to hit your face back home? Jin'er! Stop acting like you're 12!"

"They're lucky! Couldn't this all have happened next week? Heck, a few days even!" Wang Jin hissed, her temper too far gone to listen to her mother, "I had to deal with one person named Shi and now I have to deal with an entire village of them!"

She then pointed at the sky, while her other hand guided the wheelbarrow forward.

It is said that the name of Eru was too holy to be invoked, and had been used seldom, never in jest or without full intent.

"Screw you too, you Lonely Bastard!" Wang Jin shouted in the air.

That utterance was not counted as one of the said instances, even though Eru's name meant "He that is Alone."

"I'm going to die now, aren't I...?" asked Wang Sheng as she massaged her forehead with her hands.

The cursing unsettled most of the villagers, as they gasped and backed away. They did not want to be a recipient of a random lightning bolt from the heavens.

"Heathen! Demon! Stay away from us! You'll curse our village!" another villager cried.

Wang Jin spat on the ground in response, "then I'll bless your soil with my spit. Now can you fools let me be?!"

"If only Sister Wengong were here to teach you some manners," yelled yet another villager.

"Oh, believe me, I wish Wengong were here too," she responded menacingly.

A much calmer voice then commented from the front, "Aaah the village sounds quite festive. Who has graced us now?" From the center of the village appeared an old man with a long white beard and a balding head. He was slowly walking towards them with a gnarled cane, squinting a little and sniffing.

"Hmm, we have been expecting you. A rider earlier warned us of a heavily armed temperamental short-haired homeless traveler needing a bath. They have already generously paid for your room and board in my manor for the next two days. Please follow me."

Wang Jin's eyes twitched, part of her wondering what her former student was playing at with buying them shelter, but considering that he was the first person that was somewhat cordial to her, she said, "While I would love to chase and throttle that rider, please show me the room."

"Finally! Too much excitement for today!" muttered her mother.

"But first," the old man said raising his cane with a stern look, "I will show you to the bathhouse, and you are not to leave until you two have adequately bathed. I will not have my village smell of rotten eggs for the entire day, it's bad enough in the morning..."

"...Fine!" barked Wang Jin, "I will take a bath! Please ensure our privacy, old man."

"You may call me Squire Shi."

"…yes, please ensure our privacy, Squire Shi," she replied with as much calmness as she could muster.

She let her mother have the hot water while Wang Jin opted for the cold rice water. Because of both the umbrella and straw hat, her Ma was not burned by the sun at all. As for herself... she could feel her normally tan back burn along with portions of her arms and upper body. Not enough to hurt but she winced the harder she tried to scrub herself. The coldness provided relief to her skin, however. Rice water helped remove the accumulated oils from her running 100 leagues in five days. That, combined with the bath beans, also helped remove her stench. If she had the luck of Black Sword, the water would have turned red. But that did not happen. Not that soon after the cramping, thankfully gone due to the elven medicine.

What a mess she put themselves in! Although she only had one day to plan the trip to Cangzhou, Wang Jin inwardly cursed her short-sightedness.

10 years ago when she used the same road to Dongjing, she was just a daughter of a rural Arms Instructor. Due to the chaotic times with the Wainriders, traditions such as bathing and hair were not as prioritized for practical reasons, as many of the peasant villages were under constant threat. But with the times of peace came the return of the Empire's traditions among even the peasants. When Wang Jin, Lin Chong, Shi Wengong, and Lu Junyi toured the countryside on a training retreat/rite of passage, Wang Jin was too focused on coming up with training plans, learning the differing local currency exchange rates, making sure no one got lost, and being a mentor to three students who weren't even 16 yet.

It was a nightmare. Particularly on the way back when they were almost killed by cannibalistic tavern owners. It was a miracle that she did not lose any teeth from the number of times she was struck. If Lu Junyi had not woken up first…

But the intricacies and differences in village life, even then, should have been obvious in hindsight. If Wang Jin had more time, she probably would have never agreed to get her hair cut as a covenant of trust, that she wasn't abandoning Shi Wengong on purpose. She should've ignored her completely or rendered Wengong unconscious.

Yet reassuring Shi Wengong in Dongjing was absolutely needed. It was a miracle they had not come to blows back then; the argument they had today paled to the one they had six days ago. If Wang Jin had just left, then their meeting today would've been more of a disaster than it already was. It would've looked as if she deserted her student in the midst of her trauma.

If their chance encounter today went without a prior meeting, they would have come to blows. Shi Wengong's ability to surpass even the high expectations set by her mentor all those years ago, combined with Wang Jin's fatigue, spelled defeat for the mentor.

Wang Jin splashed more cold water on her face to try not to think about that. Instead, she thought about what should've been done in hindsight for her escape plan.

Traveling through the Old Roads rather than the East-West Road seemed smarter now in hindsight. While it was more dangerous, with a higher possibility for robbers, outlaws, and other vermin to show up, there was less chance to encounter imperial soldiers. Heck, she should have taken Lin Chong and her husband along with her to help guard her Ma. If there was one thing that would have made Lin Chong crack, it would've been threats to her husband.

Her Ma was the main reason she opted for the main East-West Road, but given today's events, taking the more dangerous routes made more sense.

Wang Jin's mother at that point decided to interrupt her musings, interjecting, "I think I know why you never gave birth."

Well that's utterly random, thought Wang Jin. She turned towards her mother, giving her a sardonic look.

"Aside from having a belly as big as the Agricultural God? Not being able to drink, eat certain things, train, be an easier target for everyone, undergo all of that crap for almost a year, get attacked repeatedly inside by the growing being within, then go through all the pains of childbirth? Then going through all that and more raising said child except it becomes mental torture and it could last until my dying day?"

Wang Sheng laughed for quite a while. Wang Jin was not amused, as if she had to give this same answer to countless people.

"I wondered all those thoughts too whenever you did something stupid, child."

"Well aren't you the motivator."

"But," Wang Sheng continued, waving off the snark, "I've been thinking ever since that encounter between you and that brat. I heard enough of that conversation, cause you two were screaming at each other the whole time, and I saw the thoughtful looks on your face as we slowly got to Shi Family Village. As if you were really thinking about that brat.

"You're afraid it will make you weaker."

What a bunch of...

Wang Jin narrowed her eyes, tilting her head, "Ma, did I not just tell that to you? The one-year process and dealing with the..."

"No, daughter," Wang Sheng responded, shaking her head, "as in, even if you raised the most perfect child, you fear that you'll be like an elf mother, permanently losing part of yourself to them."

Wang Jin stayed silent for a few seconds, pondering those words in confusion.

"What do you mean, Ma?"

"I mean you leaving the capital, leaving your brats behind. Letting that other brat leave. I'm sure a large part of you wants them to be safe, but I know you, daughter. You think that the more time you spend with them the stronger they become, the less they see you as their superior. Then once they surpass you, they'll see you as weak and abandon you."

Wang Jin had no response to that. Until she thought back to what the original topic was about.

"But what does that have to do with me giving birth? My students are not my children..."

"Do they think the same? Didn't that brat mention something about you two not being like the elves who can read minds? Elves can do that when they are as close as family. Does that not show closeness, daughter?"

Wang Jin had initially thought that was a snarky throwaway comment from Shi Wengong, but the more she now thought about it... the more she frowned at the implications.

"Well that's an unfilial child then," Wang Jin scoffed, "they were inches from killing me."

"... and we would be dead if you weren't such a big influence on them, Jin'er."

Wang Sheng then added, "did they not also pay for our room and board for the next two days? Quite a cunning one to predict we could actually stop by their village; your brat impresses me."

"After prepping the crowd against me, yes!" responded an annoyed Wang Jin.

"Hmm, doing things to save face but still caring about who they love when it counts. Reminds me of a certain daughter of mine," mused Wang Sheng with a smirk on her face.

There was no response from Wang Jin as her eyes slowly relaxed in contemplation.

"I also don't think you see them as just a student, daughter," Wang Sheng said, then added with another smirk, "to think that Wang Jin, the great attacker, master of 18 weapons, would be caught flat-footed by an old apprentice? Hah! No loving parent expects their child to kill them."

Wang Jin looked away with a scowl and sighed.

Her mother laughed at this, then turned her back as she slowly began exiting the warm bathtub. A sudden thought struck Wang Jin then.

"Ma?" she asked.

"Yes, daughter?" Wang Sheng responded, back still facing her daughter as she was cleaning herself with a cloth.

"Do you regret having me?"

There was a pause.

"Forget I asked," muttered Wang Jin.

Her mother turned her head around, giving a raised eyebrow towards her daughter, wagging a finger at her, "if I said yes immediately you would not have believed me and said I was a masochist."

"Hmph."

"But no. Seeing you grow, make mistakes, learn new things, make new mistakes, there were no regrets there. Witnessing such a strong person influence so many people and know that I was their first home? Why would I regret that?" Wang Sheng said with a proud smile, "the only regret I have is that you did not grow up in a time of peace. Those cursed Wainriders got trounced by the Giants of the West so badly that they wanted to take us and breed new soldiers for them. Oh, and a bunch of other smaller regrets about your safety and so on."

"What if I wasn't strong?"

"Jin'er, you would've been strong, just in a different way than you think," Wang Sheng responded as she put on her robe, "and no matter what could have happened, you'll always be my child, and that is all that matters to me.

"Now, I'm tired. And this dying woman would like to rest a bit. Wake me for dinner please."

Wang Jin remained silent as her mother left the bathhouse. She sat in her bathtub for quite some time, thinking about the words her mother said. There was a lot to ponder, from yet another added layer to the puzzle that was Shi Wengong to her mother's own feelings toward her only child. There she sat for some time until her hands were wrinkling from the water.

Once Wang Jin dried herself, she rubbed the elf medicine on her sensitive area. Hopefully, it worked as the instructions said it would and that the monthly water would only expel for one day at most. Then, she wrapped the fabric containing the dried leaves to pad said area. Finally, after changing clothes, she brought the wheelbarrow towards their sleeping room, where her mother was loudly snoring.

As she searched for Squire Shi, Wang Jin began thinking of a way to get more money on the trip. All opportunities needed to be pursued. More discretion was needed. Because no longer was she Wang Jin, the kickass swashbuckling aspiring Arms Instructor, nor Wang Jin, the best Head Arms Instructor in a generation. Now she was just Wang Jin, former Head Arms Instructor, with the same name as quite a few other people in the Empire, as both family name and given name was incredibly common among the populace.

It was time to grow up. It would be hard, there were bound to be times when Wang Jin would lose control. But she couldn't afford any more lapses, especially with her mother's passing in months.

She did not want to think about what that loss would do to her.

There could be no more mistakes on her way to Cangzhou. Living in the capital taught her a few things and these were the most important of them all: the power of listening, smiling and nodding, humor, making sure that the other person never stopped talking, and seizing the opportunity when apparent.

It just so happened the next conversation Wang Jin had would bring her back to economic solvency.

"...a very distant cousin according to the family tree book on the Shis that I'm responsible for," Squire Shi stated as he located the name "Shi Wengong" on a random page, "but family is family. Once Wengong told us of the promotion to Arms Instructor on the frontier, we wanted to make a feast, you know? But it turns out they were in a hurry and had to leave."

Wang Jin nodded.

"A bit sad, too. Usually, the most notable visitors we get are from the government. Particularly those young fools that they keep on sending that don't seem to be all that literate. I tell you the number of times we have to tell them that we are not the Shi (施) Family Village, the Shi (石) Family Village, or the Shi (時) Family Village. I swear kids these days, not even recognizing that most of them sound different when you say them out loud!"

"Our language is tough. It's like learning two different languages," commented Wang Jin with a frown.

"Oh... absolutely," continued Squire Shi, "ehh... most of us in the village are illiterate, so I have to be the one organizing the family tax return. A nightmare... such a nightmare! Especially learning how to write in the old number system rather than the one we use every day to put on official documents. No wonder I lost much of my hair."

"I bet you were quite a looker when you were young," commented Wang Jin with a smile.

"Bah..." Squire Shi said, shaking his head, "back in my day people only valued accountancy for marriage qualities when they became older. The young girls all went for the well-endowed brawny ones or the rich ones."

"Might as well carve a well-endowed human-shaped gem and sleep with it," she responded with a smirk.

"I... oh... Ha! *cough* *cough*" Squire Shi snickered, "as an elder, I am not supposed to laugh at such a... Aah, I have paid my debts enough with this old life. Why not live a little?"

"You only live once," added Wang Jin.

The elder sighed, "but the young generation... perhaps they should be more aware of who brought them on this Earth?"

Hah! Always works like a charm! Now to reel him in... Wang Jin thought.

"Ah yes, they should. You know from experience?"

Squire Shi once again sighed, louder this time, a sad look on his face, "...yes, though to see it firsthand from my own son. What I have done to deserve this?"

"Why nothing, surely. What could your son have done that was so wrong?" Wang Jin asked in a curious tone.

Sighing for a third straight time, Squire Shi shook his head again, "perhaps you should see for yourself. They are in the courtyard practicing with a staff."

Good, not a metaphorical child, thought Wang Jin, as they walked closer to the courtyard, hearing the sound of the ground being struck and the staff breaking through the wind.

There he was: unbound black hair, young enough with no mustache or beard, but old enough for marriage. An easy feat, for he had a model upper body, shoulders, and abdominal muscles that would make someone swoon and eagerly attach themselves to him.

That was the first problem, the fact that he was half-naked (waist-up) and anyone could see it. Part of the art of fighting, when unarmored, was deception. That was why Wang Jin wore conservative clothing, not because of some old-fashioned ideology, but because if people could see what she truly looked like, they could modify and adjust their fighting style and tactics accordingly.

Practicing when half-naked was a problem too. For one thing, clothing itself could be a weapon or a defense! Second, if this were a war no sane soldier would march to battle half-naked with only a cape and a helmet. That was only in fantasy. Therefore, it only made sense to at least practice with clothes on and with weighted armor once they mastered the basics.

Wang Jin did her best to then focus on the boy's technique. The following were the staff movements she saw:

Stab, stab, flourish, flourish, behind the back flourish, jumping smash, uppercut, uppercut, 360-slash, backflip uppercut...

And that was all Wang Jin needed to see. His technique was the second problem. Sure, he had enough talent to destroy weak opponents but all the unnecessary movements, the flashiness… it was a sign of an amateur. This boy would not stand up to a seasoned warrior.

Then there were nine other problems, specifically the nine different dragon tattoos all over the boy's body.

There's a reason why all prisoners were tattooed with the "prisoner" symbol on their faces. Not only did it make it clear who this person was to the public if they ever finished their time, but tattooing was also several times more of a taboo than cutting one's hair. The skin was an organ as well, and to choose to permanently tattoo one's skin was considered organ mutilation, one of the most unfilial things a person could do.

And what was the point of all those tattoos in fighting? Sure, it would intimidate almost everyone because it would be like facing the equivalent of a gelatinous swamp leaf thing, but any real warrior would destroy the boy. Particularly because he had to be half-naked for that intimidation tactic to work!

But nine dragon tattoos? It was a surprise Squire Shi had not died of stress yet!

"My wife left the village due to this idiot," muttered Squire Shi, "and who wouldn't? To tattoo yourself not only once, but nine times, just for trying to 'look awesome'? My passed kidney stones are more filial than this fool."

"What's their name?" Wang Jin asked, trying to hide the disgust in her voice.

"Shi Jin (史進)"

… make that problem number 12, he shared the same given name as herself! This could get very confusing if they did not have different family names.

"I have to say, Squire Shi," Wang Jin loudly commented, "Shi Jin's form would not defeat a tortoise!"

Naturally, the Boy with the Nine Dragon Tattoos overheard this and pointed his staff angrily at Wang Jin.

"Who are you to comment on my form, you're merely a middle-aged peasant!"

"Insolent cur!" yelled Squire Shi, a vein popping in his forehead, "you disgrace of a son! You dare insult one of our guests! What I would give to sire Wengong instead of you!"

"Shut up dad!" responded Shi Jin, "like you would ever understand the awesomeness of having these tattoos. Big Sister Wengong wishes they could be like me."

"Get me a staff," Wang Jin stated curtly towards Squire Shi.

"Eh? But..." and then Squire Shi whispered, "are you sure about this? They are actually competent with a staff."

"I could use your cane too to teach them a lesson," responded Wang Jin.

"Aah, no need for that. I'll get a staff for you..." Squire Shi said, "just don't say I did not warn you, my guest."

Once Wang Jin received a staff, she jumped down into the courtyard, walking five feet away from Shi Jin. The young man was already in a fighting stance, slightly bowed, one foot in front of the other.

"Just because you're our guest doesn't mean I'll go easy on you!" proclaimed a confident Shi Jin.

"Well at least you did not use 'me as a woman' being the reason," commented Wang Jin with a smirk on her face.

"You're a woman? With that short of hair?"

The smirk disappeared.

How quickly will Wang Jin defeat this guy? To find out, please read the next chapter.