Hua and the other two apprentices arrived within the hour. Wei and I stood aside while the three young men swept and raked the training yard. For my troubles, Wei brought a fragrant tea and served us both from fine, pale china cups. Neither of us spoke over our tea and Wei evaded every one of her students’ questions about the condition of the yard.
My second attack had cut a half moon gouge in the surface while Wei’s final surge had driven a pair of deep furrows in the dirt. The third time the three men had quizzed their master, she shut them down with the threat to make them jog the yard for the rest of the day.
That worked to stifle their questions, though it did not stop them from looking up at the two of us while we shared tea.
As the students finished repairing the damage Wei and I had done to the yard, she turned to me and said, “do you think I could impose on you for a portion of your day?”
“How?” My mind turned immediately to my payment for losing the duel.
Wei snickered and shook her head. “In exchange for sparring with my students and giving them some experience against a skilled swordswoman, I would pay you that jug of mead you named. And perhaps I would tell you a bit of my own history.”
“Then how could I refuse?”
Wei smiled at me and tipped her cup in my direction. “Perfect. Once those three dull stones have completed their labors, I will water them and prepare them. Would you like anything else in the meantime?”
“Actually, could I impose on you for a gi or just a spare set of robes?” I flicked the armor encasing me. “I would not mind removing this while also avoiding giving your students rather different lessons.”
Wei raised an eyebrow, but nodded to me. “Of course. Wait here please?”
She left the tray in place and I automatically leaned back to rest my hand on the Mountain Cutter. It was still in place, of course. But the cool metal under my palm comforted me and reassured me of its presence.
Hua, who I’d taken to be Wei’s senior disciple, approached me with rake in hand. “Honored guest, may I ask you a question?” He bowed as he spoke.
I had to give the young man credit for his approach. “You may.” I nodded back to him.
“Did you duel our master and if so, who won?” Hua looked up at me with widened eyes while the other two students stopped what they were doing to catch every syllable I deigned to share with them.
“That is two questions, pupil Hua.”
He turned red and dropped his gaze to the ground. “Rather, I mean…. Who won?”
If not for the sincerity of his expression, I might have laughed at him. Instead, I stretched my back and waved my hand back toward the rooms of the dojo. “You will have to direct such a question to your master, I am sorry I cannot answer you.”
To cover my smile, I took a sip of the tea and let its warmth fill my body. Wei had added jasmine and bergamot to her tea, a combination I found especially pleasing. Almost as pleasing as toying with a trio of upstart martial artists.
I watched the three of them sweep and rake and found their foundations especially firm and stable. Not only did these three men keep their feet on the ground at all times, but they moved their brooms and rakes as if they were spears. It spoke well of Wei for her students to move with such martial efficiency even though they performed such mundane tasks. As I watched longer, it became obvious to me all three of them possessed supreme talents. Had Wei found all of them in this small village and if so, what incredible fortune.
Wei appeared next to me and I had to stifle at jump at her appearance. She carried a set of white and black clothes over her arms and wore an blank expression which read as amusement at my suppressed reaction. “I believe these will fit you, though it’s hard to say through your armor.”
The way she said it brought a smile to my face. Though neither of us carried weapons, our sparring match continued. I knew the traditional garb as well as any living soul, better considering my age, so I donned the robe first and pulled the black pants up over them only after I’d tied the robe in place.
I could have used the formal method of dress, the kind which required attendants or at the very least a spotter. And I suspected that was what Wei wanted. So instead I dressed as a warrior in the field might, using my teeth and my own sheathed sword as my spotters.
Wei actually clapped at me when I finished tying the robe in place. “I would say perfectly done, except you still have your… armor… on?”
I could not help but smile as I caught Wei by surprise. The green scales of my armor unfolded from my scalp and neck like scales rippling from a snake who shed her skin. Wei stared at my body as the scaled made little wave-like motions under the gi she’d given me. “How…”
It was my turn to waggle my eyebrows at her. I could not remember a time when I did not feel intense shame at the armor which protected me. Teasing amusement felt far better than the bitter regret of sororicide. Wei reached a hand toward me, but caught herself and forced her arm to her side.
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“I think I settled on my victory conditions too early.” She moved her head side to side as I adjusted my robes to fit without the slight bulk of my armor between them and my skin.
“Too bad our terms have already been settled then.” Feeling brazen and confident, I actually winked at the other master.
Only Hua and his other pupils clearing their throats brought my flirtation with their master to an end. In a different life, I would have swept these annoying insects away and over the wall of the yard with a single swish of my tail.
But in this life, the furious look Wei favored her students with made all three look as though they would have rather been flung over the walls. She turned to them and slowly surveyed the condition of the training yard. I followed her eyes and found the grounds and area immaculate. I would have been undisturbed to set a meal down in the middle of the yard and eat upon the dirt ground.
The three students held their tools in one hand and had their whole torsos set toward the ground in full bows. Though I was inclined to suspect them of some kind of foolishness, I could not personally find fault with the cleaning job they’d done.
Wei folded her arms and strode away from me, taking large steps as she did. She followed the walkway around the frame of the training yard and turned back to face her students. “You’ve done acceptably. Replace your implements and retrieve your training spears.” Not one of the three young men so much as twitched. Wei held herself almost as still as they did. “Dismissed!”
The moment she barked the lone word out, all three of them broke from where they stood and raced into the room. They did so with considerably less decorum than they’d displayed while cleaning the yard, but from the smile on Wei’s face, their behavior was acceptable.
“Would you care to help me train my students? They will not often encounter a master of the sword forms and the experience would do them well.” She bowed as she asked and I waited until she faced me before I nodded.
“I would be honored, thank you for this opportunity.” I stood in a quick motion and waited as Wei crossed the now swept and manicured yard toward the weapon stands.
When the three young men returned, I’d already set the Mountain Cutter against the wall and taken up a wooden sword with which to practice.
The three men held long staves with broad wooden heads on the ends. These were different from the practice spear Wei had used with me, but I didn’t question the provenance of those new spears. Instead I simply waited for Wei to speak.
She set Hua to practicing kata on his own while I faced off with the third, acne-faced boy. His footwork was exquisite, not as fast or precise as his master, but the young man possessed a clear gift as he swept over the dirt surface of the yard as if skating across ice. His grip on his training spear was less certain. He held the haft too tightly, so each time I hammered the wood with my own blade, I could almost hear the wince in his shoulders. Otherwise, his technique was clearly derived from Wei and his handwork was impeccable.
Without his master’s strength or speed, he was no match for me.
Yet, each time we squared off I gained a new insight into Wei’s school and the advantages of the long spear over my daikatana. The other weapon’s reach was nothing to be sniffed at and more than once I found myself dancing out of the young man’s arc barely ahead of the wooden “blade” at the end of his spear. As with his master, he used every portion of the spear as a weapon. It was a truly glorious pair of hours, not only did I learn as I sparred, but I had the distinct impression the young man studied my own form and sought to pierce the gaps between my defenses.
When we broke, a soft clap floated out from the doorway. I found Hanari, in the guise of an old woman, sitting in her ochre robes and nursing a large jug as she reclined. The indecorous way she lay back, the upper leg bent and her lower one dangling from the walkway could have posed a distraction to the others or even me, if not for Hanari’s apparent age.
Still, I wanted to walk over and quietly chastise her. Her behavior disrespected my master’s robes, his lineage, and his memory. But my stomping line toward the supine Kitsune stopped when the acne-faced youth appeared before me with a water jug in one hand and a ladle in another.
“Honored guest and sword master.” He bowed and presented both the jug and the ladle to me. “Please drink your fill, do not let it be said the house of the double spear is ungracious to her guests.”
I bowed to him and accepted the ladle. He held the jug while I drew water from it. The young man kept his eyes downcast. “Thank you for your consideration.”
The moment I returned the ladle to him, he set the jug aside, with the ladle in the mouth and dropped to his knees. “I beg you most humbly to forgive me and my companions for our rude treatment yesterday. We brought shame upon our master and our dojo and yet you have deigned to train us despite our hostility. Your munificence is a lesson to heaven and the kings upon the mountains.”
I twitched at his final words, but bowed to him. “And your manners are a light upon your master and your dojo. Please stand.” The young man hopped to his feet. “I would also commend your footwork. While we sparred, I marveled at the foundation of your stance. I have seen few as firm a stance while maintaining the grace required for your chosen weapon. Your skill is a great honor to your school.”
Wei appeared behind the young man as his face colored and he stuttered. She ruffled his hair and said, “See? I do not dole out praise superciliously. What do you say to our guest?”
The youth bowed from the hips. “I thank you from the bottom of my heart and promise to commit to my training with even more vigor!” A few dark drops hit the ground near his shadow.
Was the boy weeping? I wasn’t so cruel as to mention it, much less mock him for the display of emotion. Jinshi would have and I would never be like her. I returned the young man’s bow and walked over to Hanari.
She’d collected raisins into a pile on her sleeve and plucked the little golden fruits from the heap and popped them into her mouth. Her eyes fluttered closed with each bite and she inhaled through her nose as the flavor. “We can move in here if you’d prefer. I like this place.”
I snorted at her. Hanari knew nothing of me or my ambitions, not truly. As much as I found the house of the double spears a pleasant stop in my journey, my true destination lay far away, back in the mountains of my birth. This was merely a chance to rest, gather my vigor, and perhaps find work. Absent the final matter, I would leave Tamanoe within the week and set out to make more gold.
Armies did not feed themselves and I would need a grand army to reclaim the Western mountains from the dark spirit currently ruling them and controlling my father.
