Now that she had a job she had much less time to visit the Dragon village, but still made an effort to go there on every day she had off from work. She even occasionally used the excuse of ‘testing the merchandise’ to take one of the flying swords she had created and fly to the village. This was, of course, after she swung by Fisher to give them more vinegar and jars and take five of the filled jars with her. Ponma would also bring jars and vinegar to Fisher, but both of their businesses were kept separate, with their inventories only mixing when the caravan came to town, as they both sold to the same merchant and Ponma was negotiating for both of them.
Whenever she went to the village she noticed the same strange behavior from the men, but tried to ignore it. She simply dropped off the jars, collected her payment, and returned to work. The only time she stayed and practiced her combat skills was when she had a day off, but, as an outer disciple, the sect required her to work seven days out of ten, so she didn’t have many days on which she could do that.
Around a week before the caravan arrived she was looking over the minor jobs on the job board the morning of her off day. The major jobs had received an urgent update last night, looking for a group to handle a bandit group that was attacking travelers. They wanted to make sure that the road was safe for those that visited on Caravan Day, so they had increased the reward, hoping that four or five Foundation level inner disciples would deal with them.
Shen, however, wasn’t high enough level to deal with them, especially by herself. Instead, she found a job she could do. Someone wanted to hire a person to walk their pet Ice Wolf. Spirit animals were more in tune with nature than normal animals, as they could sense the differences in the chi within the towns and the chi in the wild. This meant that they would slowly grow more agitated as they stayed in a town, and would eventually be driven almost insane if kept in a settlement and out of nature for too long. This man wanted someone to take his Ice Wolf on a walk through the woods, at least eight hours long, so that he could experience nature again before the winter got here and the wolf would have to stay inside for several months.
After accepting the job, Shen took the job request to the inner city gate where she was let through. A few minute later she walked up to the man’s front door and knocked. An old man opened the door. He looked to be as old as Teacher, if not older. “Yes, Junior sister?” he said. “What can I help you with?”
“Mr. Li?” Shen asked, and when he nodded she held up her copy of the job posting. “I saw that you needed someone to walk your pet at the job board, and took the job.”
Mr. Li looked at her few a few seconds. “Peak Gathering, hm?” he said, then nodded. “Good. Good. Shoom is late Gathering, and spirit beasts will only really listen to someone that is stronger than them.”
“Oh, I don’t know if I’m stronger. I favor fire spells, which his ice powers would easily beat. I just haven’t broken through yet because my internal elemental balance is off.”
Mr. Li smiled and shook his head. “Oh, in an actual fight he might be able to beat you, then, but for spirit beasts power is about chi pressure. After all, until they reach Foundation and become intelligent, their own abilities are limited by the pressure of the chi within their dantians. Therefore, a spirit beast with a higher minor level, and therefore pressure, can suppress a spirit beast with a lower minor level, and therefore a lower pressure.” One technique which was rarely used by cultivators was the ability to force chi back into an opponent’s body with higher pressure chi. Most people naturally figured out how to do it once they reached Chi Gathering, as it was a fairly basic way to use chi. Cultivators, however, rarely used it, as the Release ability they all learned at Cleansing stage taught all cultivators to increase their chi pressure. This meant that all cultivators knew how to defend against this, making using it on someone that wasn’t far below you a waste of chi. If they were already far below you, you could already defeat them easily, making it situational at best.
He let her into his house and showed her to a room where a large white dog with ice blue eyes laid on a cushion, surrounded by plants and various chew toys. Mr. Li grabbed a bracelet from a hanger on the wall and handed it to Shen. “That is a contract bracelet.” he said. “It makes you my agent, so that the servitude spell will recognize you and let you control him. You probably won’t need it, but just in case he starts to act up it will help you.”
Shen knew that since ancient times servitude contracts would be done in pairs, a servant tattoo on the servant and a master tattoo on the master. The bracelet would be linked to the master’s tattoo, letting the wearer act as an overseer of the servants. Through the contract the master could use the magic inside of the tattoos to suppress the will of the servant, essentially mind controlling them into doing what the master wanted. This was fine against lesser beasts and low level spirit beasts, but once a spirit beast broke through to Foundation, they would be as intelligent as a small child, and such a contract would therefore fall under slavery laws. In Jade Dragon Sect Territory slavery was illegal. This meant that he would need to have the tattoos removed if Shoom managed to break through. Shen knew that some people would give their pets pills which would poison them to prevent such a breakthrough, but didn’t know if Mr. Li was one of those people.
“Come on, Shoom.” said Mr. Li. “This nice girl is going to take you for a walk.”
Upon hearing this Shoom stood up and walked over to Shen, then licked her face. Shen was a bit surprised that he understood what his master wanted, but then realized that, as a late Gathering spirit animal his intelligence would be on par with a monkey or ape, and Shoom was well trained besides that.
“If you don’t mind me asking, sir, why does he need to stay inside during the winter? Couldn’t an Ice Wolf survive the cood weather?”
“Oh, yes.” replied Mr. Li. “He could survive even in a blizard, by I’m too old to go out in the cold weather, so I can’t do anything outside when it’s cold. So, I’m going to keep him inside with me most of the time.”
Shen nodded, said goodbye and they left the house. It was early enough that they might be able to make it to the Dragon Village before lunch. On her way out of the city’s inner ring, however, she met someone she hadn’t seen in a few months. “Sister Wuxan?” Shen asked, and Wuxan came over.
“Hello, Shen. I didn’t expect to see you here. I assume you are taking Shoom on a walk for Mr. Li?” She knelt down and petted Shoom on the head.
“Yes. I was going to go for a walk all day anyway, so I decided I might as well take him with me.” Wuxan nodded, then stood, a slight look of sadness on here face. “Is something wrong?” asked Shen, and Wuxan shook her head.
“I was just remembering something my grandmother told me. She used to be a spirit beast pet too, but when she reached Foundation, because slavery was legal in her master’s country, he didn’t release her. It wasn’t until twenty years later, when she was almost Nascent, that he died when they were hunting monsters and she managed to escape, though she was badly wounded. She ended up in Red Lotus City where she met Grandfather. But that’s a different story.” Red Lotus City was about two hundred li to the south, so they must have kept moving even after that. Wuxan wiped a tear from her eye. “But I’m sure Mr. Li won’t treat Shoom like that. I’ve never known him to mistreat anyone.”
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Shen nodded. “Yeah. He seemed really nice. Well, I’ll talk to you later. The days are getting pretty short, so I need to get going if I’m going to take him out of the city for a whole eight hours before nightfall.”
Wuxan nodded and stood up. “In that case, I’ll talk to you later.” she said, then continued on her way home.
Two hours later Shen and Shoom entered the outskirts of the dragon village. Several parents ran over to greet her. She quickly took out the five jars of pickled water blossoms. Now that she knew the value of spirit stones she had started to accept a spirit stone per jar, but had also written down a list of every magical plant or animal part that the job board was looking for that was worth no more than seven points each. After all, with a spirit stone being worth five points, charging more than seven would mean taking advantage of these people.
Soon she had received two spirit stones and seventeen contribution points worth of materials. That’s when Sho walked over and noticed the numerous children playing with Shoom. “So, you brought a friend?” asked Sho.
“Oh, yes. I hope that’s okay. I took a job to walk him for his master, and wanted to come deliver these jars anyway. I can leave if you don’t want him here anymore, though.”
“It’s fine,” said Cal, Sho’s father, who Shen hadn’t noticed standing there. “Several times a year local spirit beasts will come with their families to trade with us. The adults can take human form, but the children aren’t able to. Still, they like playing with the children, so we don’t have an issue with it.”
Shen nodded. “I didn’t see you walk up.”
“Oh, I just heard that you had arrived and decided to come say hello. You don’t happen to have any of those large blossoms, do you? They taste much better than the small ones. Much purer water chi, after all.”
“Sorry, no. I only brought small ones today, and already sold them all. I can bring you one next time if you want, though.”
“I’d love one. Is two spirit stones enough, or do you want materials? I have an herb garden with some herbs in it that are decades old. You could come by and look at them if you want.”
This sounded a bit strange to Shen so she declined. “No, two spirit stones will be enough.” His behavior reminded her it was the time of the month when all of the men in the village would start being nice to her for some reason. While the sect could use the better quality herbs, she wasn’t comfortable enough around him to go to his house without Sho accompanying her.
He nodded. “In that case, I look forward to your return.” He nodded slightly and Shen did the same.
He didn’t leave, however, so Shen looked at Sho. “So, do you think you could teach me some more illusion magic? I don’t think I can do any actual shifting until I reach Foundation, but if I can expand on when I know with illusions….”
Sho nodded. “Sure, lets go over here.” she said, pointing to an open part of the field. Sho spent the next hour teaching Shen how to alter people’s perception of static objects, and Shen promised to practice more. The whole time they were talking Cal was watching them, so she wasn’t comfortable staying any longer.
She walked over to where Shoom was laying. Several small dragons were laying on or around him napping. Apparently they had played so hard that they wore themselves out. “Come on, Shoom.” Shen whispered. “We need to go.”
Shoom opened his eyes, carefully dumped the child off of his back, and walked over to her. He was gentle enough that the child didn’t wake up.
---
Ten li from Farmer village a fat man in a straw hat and gray robe walked down the road wearing a massive backpack. To the casual observer he was just a poor traveling merchant, carrying his wares on his back as he moved between the cities.
As he stepped between two large rocks, however, a group of men jumped out to block his path, six behind and seven in front. “Hello.” he said, slightly bowing. “How can I help you gentlemen?”
“We’re actually from the nearby sect, and are here to collect the toll for using this road.” said a man in a greasy yellow vest. “Now, how about you hand us your backpack so we can see how much you owe?”
The fat man smirked. “Any reasonable toll would be a flat amount, not a percentage. Tell me how many spirit stones or gold coins I owe and prove which sect you are from and I will gladly pay. Assuming your fee seems reasonable.”
“I don’t think the human shaped dumpling understands, brother.” said the scarred young man beside the first. “You’ll pay whatever we ask, or you’ll pay all of it. And maybe your life as well.”
The fat man nodded and removed his backpack. The thirteen men smiled as he did so. “Things must be getting bad for the sects if their outer disciples must act like brigands just for them to pay their bills.”
The greasy man drew a curved sword from his back and the others copied him, drawing various weapons. “How did you get to be a merchant if you are this stupid?” he asked the fat man. “We obviously aren’t from any sect, unless you count the Black Cougar Mountain Gang.”
The fat man nodded. “Then I don’t risk offending anyone that matters by saying no.” With that a wave of chi flew out of him creating a wind which blew all of the dead leaves off of the trail around him.”
“So, you’re a cultivator.” the greasy man said. Several of the men looked scared at facing a cultivator. They were hoping for a weak target they could push around. Who knew what a cultivator might send against them?
“We can take him, boss.” said the scarred young man. “He’s only middle Gathering. You’re Late, and several of us are early.”
To this suggestion the greasy boss smiled. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s go, boys.” With that the thirteen men charged him. Before they could reach him, however, the wave of chi developed lightning within itself and another wave flew out from the man. Several of the bandits collapsed on the spot with lightning burns on them from the impact, and several more were knocked down. The boss seemed to be the only one to withstand it.
“Damn you.” he screamed as he charged the fat man and swung.
The merchant merely stepped to the side while placing his hand on the boss’s chest. “I hope you live a proper life the next time around.” he said, and a massive bolt of lightning flew from hit hand, throwing the bandit backwards and into one of the giant rocks on the side of the road. The fist sized smoking hole through his chest assured the few of his men that were able to stand that he was no longer alive.
The fat merchant looked around at the bandits. “What was it that your brother said? I had to give them anything they wanted of mine or they would take everything and maybe my life too? I think I’ll offer you the same deal.” One of the bandits was angered by this reversal and charged, sword raised in the air. Before he could swing it down however, a sword rapidly enlarged in the merchants hand and he thrust it through the man’s chest. “It seems some of you went for the second option. There are four of you left standing. What will you choose?” He withdrew the sword and the newly killed bandit collapsed. The merchant flicked the sword, flinging the blood onto two of the surviving bandits, then it shrunk and reentered his ring.
Ten minutes later four bandits kowtowed once more before getting up and leaving with their clothes and a few days worth of rations, including one canteen each. The Merchant stood and looked at the pile of loot beside him. These bandits weren’t particularly poor, and even had a magic bag and a few herbs he could sell to the sect. This attack had made him even richer. He waved his hand at the pile and the items in it started to shrink and fly into his ring. This should be enough for him to enjoy himself as well as paying for another month of travel. Hopefully the sect would have a brothel where he could relax. Even if they didn’t, they would surely have a nice restaurant.
The merchant continued on his way and soon found himself entering a village which called itself Farmer. Apparently, it was a farming village staffed by the outer sect members of the sect, and was responsible for providing most of the food and herbs for the sect. After eating his fill at the village, the merchant left a spirit stone on the table, tipping the owner more than the large meal had cost, then made his way to what they called the White Jade Road.
A path wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side wound its way up the mountain to where a moderate sized city sat, the presumed sect town. This road was paved with bricks of white jade, each brick being worth at least a spirit stone. As he stepped onto the road, however, the merchant immediately understood why they had built such an expensive road. Wood energy from the surrounding fields flew into the road and up the mountain. There were even arrays between some of the fields to help gather this chi.
As he walked up the mountain he noticed that from a side path a stream of metal chi joined the wood chi as the road divided into two lanes. Another quarter of the path later, and a stream of earth chi joined the other two, turning the road into three strips of jade bricks. As he approached the gate he noticed the three paths split and go along the outer wall to three different walls which lead to the center of the city. ‘Interesting’ he thought. ‘Someone was smart enough to build a defensive array here. They might survive the coming battle.’
The Wood line split from the other two and went clockwise around the city, with the Metal line leading directly to the wall and the Earth line leading a bit counter-clockwise to its inner spoke wall. He followed the Wood line, which maintained the full width of the road, until it crossed over a second line which joined the inside of the curve, then reached a large gate. This second line was full of water chi, and connected to the water spoke wall of the city.
As he made it to the gate two middle aged guards raised their hands. They both seemed to be in the late Foundation stage. “Halt.” said the one on the left. “This town is home to the Jade Dragon Sect. State your business.”
“My name is Quan Xiu. I am a traveling talismonger. I was hoping to offer my wares to the people of your sect.”
The two guards looked at each other before nodding. “Fine, you may enter.” said the one on the left. “I assume you are here for Caravan Day, but that’s a week from now. Just know that there are some rules you’ll need to follow. The main one is that no one who isn’t a member of the sect is allowed in the inner city without an Elder escorting them, and they only escort people for important business. Most of the business with outsiders is done in the Water district, which this gate leads into. You’ll have to rent a room in one of the inns, but they aren’t that expensive. The cheapest is only a gold per night.”
The merchant knew that in most mortal settlements you could get a decent room for a silver per night, so this was twenty times as expensive. Still, it was much easier to make money in a sect town, so things tended to cost more. “Thank you for the advise, sir.” said the merchant, cupping his hand and bowing. “I will stay in the outer city, then.” With that the guards stepped aside and let him enter the city.
