I sat and watched the sumo practice for a while Hisai sat next to me. Jonii was a very hands-on coach and got in there often with the cultivators. I was dismayed when I realized there weren’t too many pusher thrusters in the group. It was generally my favorite kind of sumo to watch. I’m sure even though these guys were smaller than your average sumotori, they had to have a lot of power behind them. They were cultivators, after all.

  It made sense, though, considering who they were learning from. Jonii seemed like way more of a technical wrestler. He focused on grappling and belt work and, while it usually made for a good match full of more nuanced wrestling. It was fun to just watch someone clobber someone else. He really focused on the grappling, and I could see how he had the background, like Hisai said.

  “So, how does sumo relate to cultivating? What did you learn from them?” I idly asked Hisai as we watched.

  Hisai frowned and looked over at me. “Didn’t I say mums the word?”

  I looked at him with a cocked brow and a grin. “Alright, sorry,” I say before I look back at the matches.

  “I’m sorry, my friend, I would like to tell you. We should share cultivation and knowledge with everyone, but…” He trailed off and motioned out at the sect. “Sect secrets and I’m sworn to secrecy.”

  I nodded and told him that I understood. It figured a sect would keep some secrets from outsiders about their various techniques or paths or whatever they called them in this world.

  “Come on, let’s go see the craftsman,” Hisai said and stood and tapped my shoulder before he left.

  I stood and brushed off my robe and looked at Jonii standing in the middle of the ring directing a couple of the cultivators practicing sumo. There was something off about him. Something different about him than everyone else I’d met around here. If he noticed me staring at him while I left, he didn’t say anything. He just stayed focused on his training and practicing.

  “Come on, his office is right over here. Hopefully he’s in and not in the workshop. Then we’d have to go back through the tunnel and find him,” Hisai said and put a hand on my back once I went outside.

  He gently pushed me along and led me down the wooden walkway, and I looked over at him curiously. Did he bring me out here just so I’d see the sumo?

  “Yes, it’d be embarrassing if he wasn’t over here,” he admitted and nodded his head.

  Is he trying to recruit me? I blink and realize he’s pushing me harder than I thought. I didn’t think I’d be able to stop even if I wanted to. Before I realized it, we were standing in front of a small wooden building.

  “Elder Kuchiki, it’s me, Hisai Moronao. Do you have a moment? I might have some work for you,” he called out into the door.

  Blink. I thought Hisai was his first name? Or really, I thought we had a situation like Cher, like Bono going on. The door creaked open, and I found myself in front of yet another taller man. This one was much burlier than Jonii was, though. He looked like a lumberjack.

  “What do you need done?” An old, deep, grizzled voice asked. It wasn’t without a certain resonance, though. I found myself comforted when he spoke, and I smiled. It was like, whatever I needed done, he’d do it and it would be the best work of art the world had ever seen.

  “My friend here has an interesting idea for a new type of wagon,” Hisai explained and put a hand on my shoulder once more.

  Kuchiki looked between us both and then nodded his head. He motioned for us to come in and walked away from the door wordlessly. He led us over to a table and sat on a stool and grabbed a bowl of rice he was eating.

  I followed him in and looked around. It was a small, well put together workshop that had cork boards and unique designs pinned and hanging on them. There wasn’t enough room in the workshop to do anything major, but there was a small table and tools next to shelving with tools for smaller things.

  When we got to the table, he sat next to one of the cork boards. He pointed his chopsticks to two stools a little way away from his table. Me and Hisai grabbed them and sat opposite him. Without a preamble, Hisai took out the rolled up crudely drawn plans I did and unrolled it in front of him.

  Kuchiki didn’t say anything, just let Hisai roll it out and put paperweights down on the sides as he ate his rice. He stayed silent for several long moments as he inspected and ate. He nodded a little and made some grunts.

  “What child drew this?” He finally asked around a mouthful of rice while he pointed at my drawing with his chopsticks.

  I frowned.

  Hisai gave a snort and clapped his hand on his knee. “Yes, my friend here isn’t known to be a very good artist. We defer to your expertise, of course.”

  Kuchiki nodded his head and sighed and put his bowl down off to the side. He looked over the picture longer and scratched at his beard. The first full beard I think I’ve seen since I’ve been here.

  “It would be interesting. Useful. I can definitely see how it would have its uses. Especially for some of the bigger farms and businesses who want to transport their goods to different parts of the empire,” he said and nodded his head.

  “Exactly!” Hisai said and once more clapped his knee.

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  Kuchiki looked at me. “You’ll drive this? What sort of animal will you have pulling it?”

  I nodded my head at the man. “Yes, and I have a spirit beast, an ox,” I tell him.

  His eyebrows raise at hearing that, and he nods. “Surprising. Strong then?”

  “Very. She has a lightning core.”

  “Ah, so she’s fast as well, then?”

  I nod.

  “You’re planning on living in this thing all the time?”

  I nod. “At least most of the time.”

  He nods along. “Well, I take it you’re paying tensho for this?”

  “Ah, we owe him a small debt. We’re going to be doing this gratis, I’m afraid. He helped one of our members out of a small bind, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if we didn’t repay the favor,” Hisai chimed in once more.

  He nodded a little more and once more picked up his bowl of rice. “Small favor, huh? So some tensho will be paid?”

  Hisai put a hand to his chest and looked offended. “Absolutely not. This good samaritan helped us, and we shall help him. He needs something better than a simple wagon. No expense shall be spared.” This made Kuchiki sigh and put his bowl back down. “Well, you’re the young genius, so whatever,” he said once more around a mouthful and shrugged. “I have some ideas. It’ll take some time, but I have some ideas. You’ll be the envy of every wagoneer in the empire. It’ll even rival what I hear the Chens have.”

  I blink. I didn’t know who the Chens were.

  “Well, it should. He’s going to have an entire sect backing him. They’re just a cook and artifact peddler,” Hisai said, once more adopting that hurt tone.

  Kuchiki grinned and chuckled a bit. “True, true. Alright, leave me to it. I’ll let you know when it’s ready, Hisai. Then I trust you can get word to our friend here?” He asked and motioned at me.

  “Of course.”

  “Alright then, go on then. Let me finish my lunch and I’ll get with the team and get going on this,” Kuchiki said and waved us away.

  “Thank you Elder,” Hisai said and stood and walked towards the exit. He gave a slight finger wave on his way out of the door.

  I stood and followed and gave a slight bow. “Thank you Elder. I can’t wait to see what you do,” I told him just before I left his office.

  He just waved me off and nodded his head. I felt a hand on my shoulder and then I was being pulled away. Before I could react, the workshop’s door was being closed by Hisai.

  “He’s really not a fan of company, and we almost overstayed our welcome,” Hisai informed me.

  I nodded, and we walked along.

  “Well, your current wagon isn’t broken or anything, is it? It shall do in the meantime?” He asked.

  “Oh yeah, the wagon now is fine. It’s just hard to maneuver in cities when it gets busy and I’ll be able to have more room with the combination deal we’ll have going,” I explain.

  Hisai nodded his head as we went through the tunnel, and we talked.

  “What do you have planned now? Gotta be hauling cargo if you want to make money, no?” He looked back at me with a playful expression.

  I smirked and shrugged. “I’ve actually done pretty good, I think, with the couple of loads I’ve taken so far. Right now, my plan is just to go back to Sunjin and see some people I’ve become friends with,” I explained to him.

  He nodded along and then looked back at me with a raised brow. “Sunjin? Really?” He nodded his head, taking in the info, and seemed a little surprised.

  “Yeah, I had an accident there and some people really helped me out. Hiragana and Erana specifically. They seem like good people. Is there a problem with Sunjin?” I asked, a little defensively.

  “No, of course not. It’s just a bit small. You seem like you’d settle into a bit of a bigger place. Though Hiragana does have a booming tea business. I’m afraid I don’t know who Erana is, though,” he said as we walked back out in front of the main building.

  “Oh, she’s an alchemist apprentice. She’s, uh, nice…” I say with a small smile.

  Hisai cocked his brow again and grinned. “Oh, a lovely young lady, hm? Well, good for you.”

  I blinked and looked at him, then offered a little shrug as a response.

  He reached and pinched my cheek softly before giving it a soft slap.

  “Hey c’mon,” I tried to dodge the slap, but of course the young genius was much too fast for me and I laughed a little.

  He once more reached his hand out and I eyed it cautiously.

  “No, no, don’t worry. I learned my lesson. Besides, we can’t be giving outsiders our sect resources,” Hisai said with a nod.

  I took his hand, and we shook. This time the grip was close to being too firm, but I could endure. When we withdrew our hands, I looked him over. “Were you trying to recruit me?”

  “Perish the thought,” he said with his hand on his chest. “No, it’s a process to get accepted, and I’m not sure the other elders would accept you, anyway. You are somehow too far along your path to join the sect, I think, but I’m still not quite sure how that’s possible.”

  He narrowed his eyes and looked me over, and I once more felt that icy shiver through my body. Before I could say anything, my old friend Zhong Fei walked towards us, carrying a long package wrapped in plain brown paper.

  “I’m here to show our guest to his wagon and beast,” he looked at Hisai and gave a bow with his hands clasped in front of him.

  “And it seems you’ve brought what I’ve asked?” Hisai asked as Zhong Fei reached the package out.

  Instead of Hisai grabbing it, he motioned to me, so I reached and grabbed it with a raised brow.

  “I just figured you were bored, always driving around, so I got something for you to entertain yourself,” Hisai explained.

  “You really didn’t have to-” but a raised hand silenced me.

  “Open it.”

  I nodded my head and tore open the paper. Zhong Fei took the paper as I unwrapped and uncovered what looked like a sort of guitar. The body was a square box, and it only had three strings. My mind reeled as I tried to think of the name of this weapon. I had seen it in movies and browsing various weeb websites but at the moment I couldn’t think of it.

  “A shamisen is a marvellous instrument to learn. While your ox drives you along, you can balance your time between cultivating and playing. There should be a little manual in there and the bachi that you use to play the instrument,” Hisai explained.

  I stared at it and held it by the neck before I looked over at the young Elder. “This is amazing, you really didn’t have to-”

  I was once more interrupted, and he waved away my thanks.

  “You’re a good man and we owe you a debt. I figured the instrument and new wagon would clean our karma.”

  I listened to him and nodded my head. “It’s really not needed, but thank you very much,” I said with a little bow.

  “Go on now. Zhong Fei will lead you along the way. You’ll find your animal well taken care of and some extra rations and supplies for the both of you in the wagon. When your new one is ready, I will let you know,” Hisai said with a smile. “Now, begone. I do have things to do.”

  The first substory will be about our new friend Jonii, who has a nice a little history himself.

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