Chapter 16
Five years, that was the time it took for Shinki to teach everything regarding basic magic, and she said that the true tests will come from the never-ending applications, adaptations, and studies that individual magic-user must do on their own afterwards and for the rest of their life. But she would still be available for consult in any matter if Taylor wished to.
The thought that real magic users are like scholars and not wizards or witches slinging spells after spells or making miracles and wonders like those in the old fantasy novels was foreign to Taylor. But alas, sometimes, reality can be quite different from fiction, and it wasn't like Earth Bet or Aleph had people with superpowers apart from Parahumans, which emerged only in the modern age, as examples to base their works of fantasy fictions upon.
But then again; it wasn't like Shinki never hinted at this before.
"How did the fresh meat we just purchased today rot this fast?"
"Er… I tried to tenderize it by using a curse magic on it?"
And not all progress and ideas will be successful either.
Taylor was rudely snapped out of her musing by a question from her senior. The smell of burning coal and cooked food permeated through the large main kitchen of the Pandemonium castle with staff from various races preparing food around her. But those were not on her mind as she and Yumeko stared down at the rotting mess that was once a dozen pieces of fresh meat from the farm sitting on a large tray with a disgusting, rotting smell so strong that she wondered why the other kitchen staffs weren't noticing it yet.
'Or maybe they noticed it but see that Yumeko already on me.' Taylor thought while mentally sweating at the glaring golden eyes.
A moment later, the glare softened as Yumeko beckoned her to put the rotting meat into the trash bin for hazardous items. Once that was done, Yumeko told her to get back to prepare the rest of the unspoiled meat and other cuisines the normal way without using any magic in a tone and seriousness that left no room for argument.
Hours passed as Taylor helped the kitchen staffs prepare the feast for guests of the Pandemonium castle, this year's young graduates from the town's renowned academy, while nervously stealing glances at the head maid in red once in a while as if expecting the punishment to be hand out at a moment notice.
Fortunately, the feast came and went by without any more incidents. Yumeko still professionally gave instruction to the kitchen staff including Taylor during the cleanup period after the dinner was concluded with no scolding in sight except reminding everyone to keep vigilance, either to look out for suspicious people, but mostly to spot and foil the random fairies' attempt at ruining things with pranks, as usual.
Even without any scolding for this long, Taylor was not so blind to not know that Yumeko didn't want to shame her in front of their peers and will save the scolding for after the work today. Something that she didn't look forward to despite knowing that she deserved it for screwing up during work.
The scene where the head maid chased her down with swords flying everywhere during her first major screwup left quite an impression on her after all.
Once everything was cleaned up and the shift change came, Taylor was asked by Yumeko to stay the night at the castle instead of heading back to Yang's house and adding that she had notified Yang already and he allowed it.
Taylor wasn't going to ask how Yumeko contacted Yang while being busy in the kitchen alongside her, as the answer was obvious and she should focus more on what purpose this will serve instead.
It was after they walked into their quarter, had a shower, and prepared to go to bed that the head maid finally addresses the screwup.
"Taylor, a word of advice, if I may?"
The tone Yumeko used was mostly bereft of anger or disappointment, but Taylor still felt guilty all the same for wasting ingredient on an experiment that has no place during such time and place and thus preempting her while lowered her head; "It's about my screwup during the dinner, isn't it? Sorry for doing that, I thought it'd be quicker to prepare it with that."
Yumeko nodded and elaborated; "Aside from food preservation by freezing it in time or personal storage magic, or purification, we do not use curse magic in any step of the cooking. Not because of traditionalist dogma or belief, but because this method could kill someone at the slightest misstep."
Taylor winced at the explanation, but her senior wasn't finished yet; "And the curse always leaves malice energy on the object, especially on a fresh ingredient. And it can cause… shall we say… misfortune to the one eating it unless cleansed with purification magic which usually take more time than it saved."
"I'm sorry."
The chief maid smiled slightly at the sight of her junior's admitting guilt before saying; "But then again, the fault is laid upon me as well for never telling you because I thought that it was common knowledge and that nobody would be insane enough to do something dangerous like that."
Taylor knew that Yumeko was right about responsibility, but that didn't make her feel any better. Because when she thought it over, it should be common sense to not introduce dangerous things in the food she served, and she threw it out of the window when the idea struck her mind.
Still, getting called insane, albeit indirectly, stung though.
Then again, Yumeko's scolding was only amounted to 'don't do it next time.' and with no angry yelling or profanity. That probably helped too.
"Remember this and do not do it in the future, all right?"
"Do you mean 'Not doing experiment during an important event' only, or banning me from doing it entirely?"
Yumeko let out a snort at the question from Taylor before her lips tugged up slightly; "It seems you're closer to that fox than I thought."
That random statement threw Taylor off for a loop as her response was only a single confused phase; "Hah?"
Yumeko's golden eyes seemed to gleam with amusement but then she put a hand over her mouth to hide a yawn and cut the discussion short; "Well, it's late now. Let's go to sleep, Taylor. There're still works tomorrow."
With that, she got onto her bunk and fast asleep, heedless of Taylor's flabbergasted expression and gaping mouth. Which forced her to went to her bunk and sleep as well.
But before the dream claims her, Taylor swore that she heard Yumeko mumbled in her sleep, something along the line of; "At least you never serve things raw."
However, when she encountered Haku the next day during her sweep of one of the castle corridors, the fox had a different opinion about what she did and made it known when she discussed how to modify it to be less dangerous.
"Apply subtly, this can prove useful in subterfuge works."
The comment soured Taylor's mood a little because she knows exactly what was on Haku's mind. But then again, her pragmatism and her profession probably took precedent.
It seems that Haku noticed Taylor's discontent with the answer, so the fox coughed slightly before adding; "But anyway, my advice stands correct; if you're going to use magic to prepare your food, you have to properly purify it before serving. But depending on what and how powerful the magic you used, this purification process usually takes more time than preparing it conventionally."
Taylor thanked her for the advice and preparing to leave when Haku stopped her with a hand over her shoulder. She turned back with a questioning look on her face, only to find the fox staring at her with serious blue eyes.
"I advise you to not mention this to Mao. If you value your and her well-being. I never mention to Yang that magic can enchant foodstuff, and as you know from Yumeko that it's not done normally."
Despite the calm matter of fact tone of that request, it didn't take Taylor more than a second to connects the dots and readily agreed with Haku without complaint. She did not want to deal with that on top of all the poisonous shenanigans after all.
Thankfully, after five years with no sign of Yang ever mentioning his assassination and martial art technique, Haku seemed to accept that this knowledge will probably end with Yang and thus she never tried to pressure Taylor about it again.
Not that Taylor had any time to think about it, as the lessons in medicine ramped up the difficulty over time to cover every conceivable malady and illness, from nature or otherwise, and even then, her knowledge only covered humans with little to no non-human sapient species at all.
And of course, only diseases discovered up to the end of the first World War were covered, new emerging diseases in the decades to come were out of Yang's expertise for obvious reason. Tinker-made ones in the era of parahuman on Earth bet even more so. But to complain about lacking knowledge of the last one was not fair at all even to the younger doctors on Earth Bet in the 2000s, in Taylor's opinion.
'At least I'm confident enough to treat humans now, most of the conventional illnesses and poisons that is.'
However, this path is also a never-ending study, as Yang warned her that illnesses and maladies are also continuously evolving, not just treatment. And that any herbalist and acupuncturist worth their salt would do well to not get complacent. And Taylor still has to study more if she wants to treat other species as well.
After the work in the castle was done, Taylor headed to Yang's house to help him and Mao run their clinic. However, instead of heading to the tower where the teleporting circle lies, she headed to the main entrance, greeted the guards who replied cheerfully…
…and then she hopped into the air and flew off into the sky.
Despite it being a year since she finally liberated herself from the bound of gravity, Taylor still felt exhilarated every time she flew. The weightlessness, the rushing wind, and the freedom of the sky, what was not to like?
The only sour point of the experience was that the fliers are more common on Makai than on Earth Bet, and there were quite a few in Pandemonium to make Taylor wary of collision. Especially around the Academy where aspiring scholars and magic users from across the world congregated.
After saying hello to aunt Martha, a housewife in Yang's neighborhood that knows how to fly while on her way down to the street, Taylor landed in front of Yang's clinic without much fanfare and she quickly moved inside.
The door opened and greeted Taylor with the sight of the raven-haired young lady in a plain oriental dress standing at the counter conversing with a young, handsome man with dark hair in plain blue cloth about the use of herbs and medicines. But it was obvious that the man wasn't listening as the woman sighed loudly and bonked the man on the head a second later, uncaring of the fact that someone has just entered the clinic.
Taylor shook her head in amusement at the sight; after a year of frequenting this place despite the obvious lack of maladies, Mao still didn't notice what exactly the man's issue is. And since she was equally hopeless in pursuit of the same thing in her previous life and did not find time or interest in such activity in this one, Taylor wasn't in any position to judge Mao either.
Taylor gave the man an acknowledged nod as he smiled back and walked past her. Once he was out of the clinic, she conversed with the lady at the counter; "The usual again?"
The comment made the raven-haired lady sighed; "After all this time, I'm thinking about sending him to those mages in the academy. Maybe they can figure out if he's hypnotized or cursed or something that needs magical treatment." She huffed "Not even buying a medicine, insisted on curing himself. Then why bother coming here at all?"
Sometimes, Mao's comments occasionally made Taylor wondered if the woman is truly dense or just pretending to rid herself of the suitors.
'Maybe she just never thinks that anyone will ever fall for her.' Taylor thought as she looked at her friend who despite her daily Tai Chi exercise taught by Yang still had the same figure as Taylor's, which is relatively thin and lacking any feminine curves. But at least both of them didn't have the pudgy belly, which was an improvement from her previous life in her opinion.
Mao who remained obvious to Taylor's inner thought pointed to the door at the back of the clinic; "My father is in the back, Taylor. Why don't you go in and help him a bit?"
Taylor quitely slipped past Mao and went inside to see the old man and help him, as it has been since she studied under him.
The sight that greeted her was that of an old man seating at the table full of various herbs waiting to be sorted. Yang hadn't changed much over the years; he was still as lively as ever, and it was hard to imagine that he was almost or around seventy by now.
That said; his age still made its presence known to those with keen, or supernatural perception like Taylor. But it wasn't much as if he was aging slower than everyone else, or maybe it was because Taylor saw him regularly and didn't notice the gradual changes…
"So, did you do the exercise yesterday?"
Taylor's reaction was an apologetic smile which told everything before a single word even left her lips. And her excuse afterwards all but confirmed it; "It's a busy graduation party for the academy graduates. And I had my hands full from start to finish."
Yang's response was a hearty laugh which caused Taylor to pout slightly; it was no secret that she dreaded Yang's Tai Chi exercise since he offered to teach her last year and that she didn't practice it daily as Yang suggested.
'Just a simple exercise to keep your body in shape.' was what he told her back then. And he was right. If the sweats and muscle sores she developed just half an hour into it were any indications.
She could tolerate a morning jog around the castle for an exercise, but an exercise that left sores and sweat all over her body before the day's work? That was a bit too much. And after the work of the day was done, she would rather study magic or read tomes and such, or just go straight to bed to rest instead.
Yang stopped laughing a moment later, before pointing at the pile of herbs on the table and saying cheerily; "How about you help me out with these herbs first. If no more people come in the afternoon, I'll close the clinic early and show you and Mao something interesting."
Taylor rose an eyebrow at the suggestion but quickly agreed to it with a nod. Had it been five years earlier, she'd be suspicious of the offer, that the old man was planning something nefarious. But time and genuine kindness from their interaction over five years has all but shattered even the most paranoid thought from her mind.
After all, who could keep up the charade for so long without slipping up, and for what gains from her that worth such time and resource spent?
Her hands moved expertly, sorting out herbs and preparing them for processing quicker than when she started years ago. And before she knows it, everything was neatly arranged on shelves and storeroom with a couple of hours to spare before she has started preparing lunch.
Both Taylor and Mao were led by Yang to the small herb garden behind the clinic. There was a small clearing in the middle of the yard surrounded by neighbor housings. It was emptier now that the herbs of the season were harvested, leaving the soil bare until the seeds they sowed started to grow under the dim light shone from the eternal red sky.
Despite its small size, it was enough for the purpose.
The old man stood in the middle of the clearing and turned to face Mao and Taylor, his form relaxed and seemingly unprepared when he asked Taylor to attack him!
The maid and the herbalist looked at each other as if asking for others to volunteer. But then, the daughter of the old man shrugged and said; "I've done this before, Taylor. So, go ahead."
Taylor was understandably hesitant until Mao assured her; "It's not like you can do anything to my dad at this point, Taylor. Don't make a mistake of thinking that you're going to hurt him."
Encouraged by Mao's words, Taylor's posture shifted into what passes for combat stance that she glimpsed from the town guards' drill yard in the castle from time to time before she threw a punch right at Yang's midsection while absentmindedly noticing Mao backpedaling away to the door.
And it completely overshot its mark when Yang sidestepped the attack while lightly touched Taylor's outstretched arm and pushed her fist away despite how little force was exerted, at least from what Taylor could feel.
Although Taylor anticipated that her attack would miss and hence prepared and followed up her punch with a back kick using the momentum of her missed swing, Yang once again dodged it by leaning away slightly, her boot lightly touching the old man's shirt thanks to her unbalanced motion from an earlier push, before he again touched at her boot and suddenly Taylor lost her footing and found her back slammed on the ground.
Thankfully, the barrier magic that she instinctively cast when losing her balance cushioned the fall and thus Taylor wasn't hurt much while quickly bounced back to her feet a second later before going at Yang once more; this time with a magical bolt sends his way as soon as her feet touched the ground.
The magic was nothing lethal, only a conceptual attack on the 'pain' to make the old man feels like he was hurt despite inflicting no physical wounds or injuries.
This time, Yang barely tilted his head and let the bolt of magic sailed past him and fizzled out on impact with the wall. He didn't slow down at all while advancing on Taylor who tried a new strategy of hit and runs. But it was difficult due to the confine of space.
Practically, she could fly up and bombard him from the air outside of his reach. But then there would be no lesson to be learned if she did that and so she has to keep herself grounded for this spar.
It was easier said than done, however. As Taylor's frustration grew over the futility of her attacks getting deflected and dodged by a hair's breadth which almost always ended with her on the ground. It was like all her punches and kicks were led astray by a simple tap, pulling her off-balance before she face-planted into the dirt or walls. Which shouldn't be possible because Yang never had magic or supernatural capability at all!
After five minutes of futile attempts which felt like hours to Taylor, Yang finally called her to stop after she face-planted into the ground again, and then offered a hand which she graciously accepted.
Once she was on her feet, Yang let Taylor catch her breath before shooting her a question with a smile; "So, how are you feeling when you tried to hit me?"
A part of Taylor wanted to jab him with a sarcastic remark, another part wanted to complain that she was restricted from using the full capability of magic so this spar shouldn't count. But a cooler head prevailed and she soundlessly recounted the events so far.
"It's like... no matter how I tried… my attacks feel like being pushed or pulled away from you like some forces attracting them…" Taylor struggled to describe what she felt during the brief spar with the old man, it was nothing like she imagined at all; "There's no impact… it's like you're flowing around me… like air… You know… it was there, but can't grasp it…"
Yang nodded and prodded further as he led her back into his house; "Anything else?"
Taylor opened her mouth but couldn't find an answer. 'What was it that Yang wanted her to notice?' That question persisted until Yang sat down at the dining table and Mao showed up with two cups of tea for them. When Taylor shot the girl a questioning look, she shrugged and said; "Just drink it and forget about housework for now will you?"
Upon her insistence, Taylor reluctantly sits down while thanking the girl for doing the work in her stead. But that only annoyed Mao who pouted and went to the front of the clinic. The bell chimes telling them that someone has just entered means that she has a perfect excuse too.
Once A warm liquid went down her throat, Taylor began to rethink Yang's question regarding their bout earlier again, before she listed yet another strangeness; "Your movements were slow. Yet no matter how fast my punches were, they never connect. You're always curved? twisted? I don't know… you never move in a straight line."
Yang gave Taylor an approving nod before asking; "Have you notice that my moves resemble the Tai Chi that I taught you?"
Taylor's brows furrowed in thought before slowly nodded after about a minute; "But the Tai Chi you showed me and Mao was slower…" her voice trailed off as realization struck her; "Oh…"
Yang chuckled at her expression before he explains; "Tai Chi is an art with many applications, you see. It can be a form of exercise to keep one's body in shape. Meditation technique… or even art of combat and self-defense."
Taylor's eyebrows scrunched together in disbelief as she voiced her opinion out "That sounds too good to be true. One art that covers all."
Yang gave Taylor an amused smile; "The art's origin is from an ancient people's observation and attempts to understand nature. But that topic strays into self-enlightenment, explaining it will get nowhere and the only way for you to understand is to try it for yourself." A pause before he added with a chuckle; "At least, you will never get fat if you regularly practice the Tai-Chi I taught you along with controlling your diet. No harm in doing it after all."
Taylor pouted at the suggestion and about to retort but then stayed her tongue when she remembered that Yang could find time to practice even on the busiest day in the past.
'If the old man as busy as him could find time to practice, then why couldn't she?' was what she thought before she replying; "Is that mean the exercise you taught me is also a martial art?"
The old man regarded her with a judging gaze from his almost-closed eyes, his smile fades into neutrality as he decided on what to say.
"It is the basis upon which the martial art variants are based upon." He replied with serious expression; "But it'd do you well to practice the exercise I taught you regularly until your body no longer sore with just a couple of hours of basic movement practices, or your body may not able to handle it."
Taylor's frowned at the old man's demands. She could probably get an hour or two of practice if she gets off her lazy bums after the tiring day of work. But as Rome wasn't built in a single day, so too the foundation of martial arts, and she realized that, just like Haku, she was beginning to fear that Yang will not live to see the day she's ready for the advanced lessons.
Yang seems to understand what she was thinking if what he says next was any indication; "The exercise you and Mao practice is the foundation of which for your style of Tai Chi to develop upon. I have nothing else to teach after that."
Taylor's eyebrows twitched at what she sees as a blatant lie, and after five years under this man's tutelage in the art of acupuncture and medicine, she wasn't afraid to call him out on it, albeit politely; "But taking a step from exercise to combat is not that simple when I lack such experience."
Yang chuckled; "Remember that my family was an assassin, Taylor. In this line of work, having to fight means that the mission is already compromised, no?"
Taylor reluctantly nodded despite didn't know how that would be of any excuse to the question she asked. But Yang answered it a moment after; "Hence our family never has any formal martial art to learn. Every member must develop their unique styles from the Tai Chi exercise. And that is what we pass on in our family."
"Eh… then the martial art that Haku wanted so much…"
"…Does not exist…" Yang quickly answered, "At least it's not what she thinks it should be. All that is my family's trade is what you had already learned..." and then he added; "The last thing required for you to become an assassin is to turn the art for healing I taught you to the art of harming which I will not teach you, and learn the art of subterfuge which Haku would be a better person to ask for the lesson than I am consider the many supernatural options that have been available to you."
Taylor could understand where he was coming from. But then she realized that they were straying away from the topic and seeks to get back on track; "But if that the case, can you give me some hints perhaps?"
Yang nodded; his almost shut eyes looked down at the empty cup while taking a deep breath, before looking at Taylor with a no-nonsense expression he used during her medical apprenticeship and answering; "Everyone has different body builds and preferences. Do not force yourself into something not suited for yourself." His expression softened at the next sentence; "But one common thing that every Tai Chi practitioner emphasizes is to 'go along with the flow', and 'avoid conflict at all cost'."
The questioning look on Taylor's face was so obvious to Yang, and hence he asked; "If an opponent tries to stab you with a knife, do you try to block it with the sharp edge of your knife?"
It took a moment for Taylor to ditched the supernatural factor from the question and shook her head in response; "It's too risky to attempt even if you're skilled. Better to dodge it or try to redirect it from the side."
Not that Taylor has any experience in this kind of topic, but she wasn't deprived of common sense either.
"Indeed," Yang nodded, "While the way my old family members fight differ from person to person, one core principle remains true; never contest your strength with the opponent, whether they're strong or weak. Do not block their attack as your first instinct. Redirects it. Flows around it. Be formless. Use nature as leverage and seeks to disrupt their balance."
Upon seeing Taylor's confused look, Yang suggested; "Practice Tai Chi until you can do it without tiring out first. What I said is also something that one must discover by themselves too."
Taylor complained at his suggestion; "Why is it that education in this land needs students to rediscover things themselves?"
"And are you expecting to spontaneously grow muscles and becoming an expert martial artist by just listening to this old man's lecture?"
"No, I suppose not," Taylor muttered out with a slightly annoyed look on her face contrasting Yang's slightly smug smile. It wasn't like she could say otherwise without making a fool of herself after all.
The old man clapped his hands twice, causing Taylor to look up from her now empty teacup and say; "Well, the lecture is done for this lesson, now it's time to put your effort into practice. And since this is a supplementary lesson, you'd have to do it in your free time. But I'll be available for consult, all right?"
Yang stood up with his empty teacup in hand, which prompting Taylor to quickly stand up and take his cup to the kitchen, excusing that it was her duty.
The old man laughed heartily and wandered off to check on his daughter. Taylor couldn't help but think that the old man knew that she wanted time to think and was looking for an excuse.
'Still, why am I feeling that this universe has only skills and abilities that come with never-ending studies, researches, and practices? Why isn't something simple like 'A is A' or 'B is B' like parahuman powers?' Taylor quickly shook her head at that thought as she rinsed the teacups with clean water; 'Pull yourself together, Taylor. If you have time to daydream, just work hard. Not everyone has everything handed to them on a silver platter.'
However, as she put the cleaned teacups on the rack to dry, Taylor couldn't help but grimaced inwardly, shaking her head; 'This exercise is going to be the death of me… why can't running suffice anymore?'
Despite the promise to herself to work hard, Taylor dreads this Tai-Chi exercise still, and it would be years before it disappeared.
Author's Note: Forget to update for a long time. Sorry.