Heavenly Shae

Chapter 28: "Making an Example."

The next morning, while on the way to Master Cheng's shop, Shae found the military recruits doing laps around the edge of the market district. "Corporal, lovely morning! Glad I found you."

"Miss Shae, great to see you. That's an interesting, err, lope you have there?"

"Heh, yea, my body cleansing is very uneven, so it makes my run a bit odd when I want to push past my mortal limits."

"Ahh, that will happen. Mind if I use it as an example for the recruits?"

Shae tried to shrug while running. "Go ahead. I wouldn't mind hearing it too."

They were at the back of the pack, so had to speed to the front to be in everyone's vision.

"Eyes on me recruits." The corporal yelled as they began passing the group. "Pay attention to Miss Shae's running style."

As they passed by, she caught the edge of a few questioning sounds, maybe a snicker of laughter or two. Then a few sharp reprimands from a couple soldiers. "Oi, you respect that girl like you'd respect divine lightning or you'll wish I gave you a tribulation." From the gruff voice she could guess it was the older broken soldier, and she glanced over and gave him a polite smile and nod.

Once at the front, she expected them to stop, but the corporal just turned around and kept running while facing backwards. His own running rhythm looked a bit odd now. "Miss Shae has once again given us a wonderful opportunity to see an example of something we don't see every day. This time, however, it is something to be avoided. Her strange running rhythm is due to uneven cleansing strengthening her right leg more than her left. Much more if my guess is correct."

"It is." Shae added in.

"Now as you can see she is keeping up with us, and I'd bet she can get quite a head of speed on straights, but she might have a hard time cornering or stopping suddenly."

Shae was glad she was facing away from the group because she could feel a heavy blush of embarrassment form on her face. Please don't ask if that's gotten me into trouble.

"Group participation time, pros and cons for anyone trying to do this?"

The group remained silent for a moment. "Newbies answer first." One of the soldiers called out. "Everyone says something in three... two... one." A cacophony of yells came from the new recruits.

Shae couldn't tell who said what, but the corporal treated it as though it was expected. "Good, though a few of you will need to work on your enunciation, and one or two more will do extra laps for not having clear answers." He paused to let a few of them groan, then yelled the main points between explaining them: "Pros first. Surprise! Having one limb cleansed fully can greatly surprise an opponent who isn't expecting it. Alpha strike! One strong limb can mean dealing a lethal or at least winning blow to a stronger opponent. Speed and efficiency is a half answer as it's more neutral. Not just movement speed, but efficiency in cultivating, cleansing one limb at a time could be much faster than two, depending on your style. For us it is not, keep that in mind Recruits." He paused as they took a corner.

"Cons! Bad habits! This is the big one, now that Miss Shae is in the habit of running like this, it will be much harder to unlearn later. Musculature is second! If she tries to build muscle like this, it will be very uneven and difficult to train as each leg needs different levels of exercise. Similarly, her bones and joints could have issues, it's rare, but it is possible to break bones if your muscles are too strong. This is also covered by Balance! And lots of related cons to do with martial training, we'll skip over that for now as I don't believe Miss Shae is intending to be a martial cultivator." The girl shook her head in agreement. "Lastly is: cleansing skill! As we cleanse we improve our efficiency and ability to cleanse, so later parts are cleansed more thoroughly than those done first, meaning we sometimes need to cycle back and re-cleanse an area to bring up the quality. Obviously this would be a problem if Miss Shae didn't cleanse her leg particularly well."

Shae nodded along, but then wobbled a hand at the final line. She had been trying to turn around to also run backwards, but her loping gait was so odd that she couldn't manage at the speed they were traveling at, so she settled for just looking at the corporal. "In my case that won't be a problem. Due to the nature of the cleanse, both my right leg and arm are cleansed much more thoroughly than I am able to on my own, but I am getting close."

"Oh-ho ho! That's an interesting situation. Would you care to share how you managed such a thorough cleanse that you cannot repeat? Some pill or spirit plant maybe?"

"No, it was fairly simple. Both my right arm and leg were cleansed when I was struck by tribulation lightning three times."

The corporal missed a step and hit the ground rolling nearly into the group of recruits. He recovered quickly and Shae noted that he didn't actually bump into anyone, but the dominoes had been tipped. The front few recruits moved to dodge their leader and a chain reaction of falling bodies occurred. Several of the seasoned soldiers had to take action to snatch up recruits and prevent trampling. Shae suspected one of the other soldiers might have also missed a step as more than just the front of the group was affected.

With some distance between them, she greatly considered using this distraction to make a dramatic exit, but she paused too long and missed the timing.

"Ah-em. Well. Form up!" The corporal cleared his throat as everyone got back into loose formation and the run continued. It hadn't stopped fully, only slowed to a mortal pace. "That there is an abject lesson in not letting your guard down for anyone. Especially not heavenly cultivators, their words can bring the light of the heavens down, and pull the ground from under your feet. Now say it with me squad: Thank you, Hea-ven-ly Shae!" He beat each syllable like a drum.

"Thank you! Hea-ven-ly Shae!" The whole group shouted out in surprisingly tight sync.

"Myself and Private Franz will be joining in for the extra laps."

"Yes, sir!" The private called out from mid pack.

"Now that you've all heard it clearly, we've no need to further comment on Heavenly Shae's cleansing or running. And that ends the practical lesson."

"Thank you, sir!" The group shouted together, not quite as in sync without the clear prompt.

The corporal drew Shae to the side and they fell back behind the group again. "Sorry about the title, noticed you flinched when I said it."

"It's fine, not the first time I've heard it, just surprised me."

"Don't wave it off, I can tell it's not entirely fine. But just so you know: the monks use it because you called down an enlightenment, we use it for those who have passed a tribulation."

"Speaking of, a couple people mentioned there was news on that front, did the other...?" She pointed ahead at the group, not wanting to call the man out as 'broken'.

"Yep, was nearly right at the end of Ol' Hans' enlightenment that the boy managed his. Not surprising, really. They were injured at the same time, only fitting they recover near the same."

"So, are they... fine? Now?"

"Oh, heavens no. That kind of thing takes years to heal, decades sometimes. Oh, speaking of--speaking of, we found that lad you did a number on, along the road."

"Did a what-now?"

"Hah, that's what I was going to ask. More frankly though, he deviated his cultivation as well as whatever you did. The fellow practically begged us to deal with him when we found him."

Shae gasped, "He asked for death!?"

"Ah, no, no. He surrendered, wanted help from us, but there's only so much we can do for him. Had the same look in his eyes as Ol' Hans back when he broke, but we couldn't feel anything wrong with the kid when we found him."

"Hmmm, I would like to feel sorry for him, but banditry is banditry."

"Right, but what did you do? He should have had you overpowered. No offense."

"None taken. And yes, he should have won any kind of fight. But he was more interested in intimidation, and then he chose the wrong battlefield." Shae smirked, opened her mouth to say more, but reconsidered. "I understand there are some things cultivators don't talk about in public?" She gestured around them.

"Ah, sure, sure. Another time then." He looked disappointed, then cheered up suddenly. "Ah, right, are you leaving with the sect group?"

She nodded. "Tomorrow morning."

"Well, find us again tonight or tomorrow morning, we got a bit of a gift for you, as proper thanks." He gave her a wide warm smile. "And if you don't, the Sarge'll chase down the caravan to give it to ya!" He laughed.

She smiled back. "Well, I'll do just that then. Thank you for the lesson, Corporal." She nodded and broke off from the group.

"Thank you for the same, Heavenly Shae!" He called after her.

They had been running quite close to Master Cheng's shop, so Shae slowed to catch her breath and cool down from the run. They had kept up a surprising pace for new recruits. Nothing superhuman, but still a fast run.

She heard wood chopping as she reached the store and went around back to find Master Cheng and his 'boy' in the back.

"Good morning, Master Cheng." Shea called out.

He turned and waved weakly. "Gu' mornin'."

"This the boy you mentioned?"

The boy rolled his eyes in irritation. He was clearly a man. Easily twenty and built like a brick chimney. He was dutifully chopping wood while Cheng watched.

"Aye he is."

"Does he have a name?"

"He did and he might again, once he's finished his punishment for slipping work yesterday."

"Ah, I see." Shae did see his muscles clearly, mortals needed to do a lot of work to get that strong. From the way he comfortably swung the ax it was clear the boy had suffered many such punishments.

"Speaking of names, Miss Shae." The boy glanced up and missed the log with his ax swing. "You wouldn't happen to be this Heavenly Shae the town's been talking about?"

"Ugh, you heard the soldiers."

"Heh, half the old town could 'a heard that. An' my old ears are still sharp."

"Oh? Sharp enough to keep an ear on the whole store from back here?"

"Of course." He nodded proudly.

"So when I came in yesterday and was calling for service, you were deliberately ignoring me?"

He flinched his head down like she had struck him across his scalp. "Ah, well, Miss Shae. I was working ya see-"

"Save it." She snapped, then more warmly. "I understand what it's like to get drawn into my work." She looked at the boy, who had stopped chopping to stare at her. "Unlike some!" She glared and he began splitting the logs faster.

"Heh, be glad she said something, boy. If it was me I would 'a added another dozen." He chuckled. "And speaking of work. Got two dark hardwoods on horses inside. Marked up for ya, if ya wouldn't mind starting. I'm going to stay out here and enjoy the fresh air."

The boy missed another strike during that, but recovered quickly when they looked at him.

"Great!" Shae said and went inside.

There were three bow blanks set up on bow-horses, but only two had markings on them for where to cut, so she didn't have to get clarification. The morning passed quickly and as she was finishing the second, Master Cheng came inside.

"Ahh, see ya figured out which two I meant. Well done."

"Hmm, well that third one wasn't marked up, so it wasn't hard."

"Ehh? Ah, fresh carp, knew I had forgotten somethin'." He blew out a slow raspberry in frustrated defeat.

"Uh, was that third a softwood or something."

"Yea, pretty much. Guess ya lucked out of the test this time." He wandered over to the bench where the golden larch branches were still stacked up. "Oh, did ya get yer monk friend to look at that branch?"

"Ah! Uh, no. I forgot, sorry. I'll ask tonight instead, she'll be staying in town a bit longer anyway."

"Eh, and that sect group won't be, ya going with them?"

"Yes. That's the plan. That reminds me. For my payment, I'd like a bow, something with a heavy pull for my cultivator strength." She flexed her right arm proudly.

"Eh? Payment? Did I owe ya something else?"

She put her hands on her hips and stared at him, then gestured to the bow-horse she was working on.

"Err, ah, right. You'll get paid for the work, of course."

"Considering this is the hard part, and I'll have done most of several bows by tonight, I think a finished one and arrows is more than a fair deal."

"The hard part? Most of? Nah, not even close, and now we're going to have to spend the afternoon dissuading ya of that idea." He shook his head. "The hard part, the part that takes skill and experience and knowing what you're doing. That is the final carving, anyone can do the bit yer on, even the boy."

She frowned at him, the boy's reaction said otherwise, but kept her silence as she knew better than to argue with a master craftsman about his craft.

Before lunch he got her to rough out a third hardwood bow, then they stopped for a quick lunch snack that the boy had fetched. Bits of cheeses and cured meats, with just a few fresh veggies mixed in. "I don't like breads or fruits during the day." the old master said. "It works up the appetite, and the sugar makes me jittery and impatient."

Shae didn't have much to say in response. "I like a good sandwich or wrap, and fruit is nice, but I'm young enough I'm always impatient and jittery." She finished with a smirk.

He chuckled in response.

That afternoon, they worked on something new. Taking a rasp to the bows to slowly shape them into their final forms. The master artisan quickly looked over each piece and marked areas with charcoal where they needed to have material removed. He instructed Shae to only remove the charcoal, and not get too aggressive with it. He repeatedly cycled through the three bows she had roughed out that morning while she laboriously shaved the markings off each in turn.

She found the work harder than the rough cutting of the morning. Working up a sweat just from working the rasp constantly. Partway through he stopped her to sharpen the rasp, which was a fair bit of work for the complicated piece, only showing her the basics before they swapped to a new rasp to keep the real work moving. "If I've only got you for today, we're not stopping to sharpen a tool I have six of."

Each pass barely changed the bows at all, but Shae noticed their shapes slowly changing and the three drifting apart. One was to be a longbow, the second a shortbow, and the last a recurve. She was surprised the old master could work on all three at once, keeping the different designs in his head without confusion. Her respect for him skyrocketed.

As they got down to the last touch ups, he had a few comments. "This last bit really determines the life of the bow. Too much taken off leaves a thin spot, meaning it will bend more and become the weakest part of the bow, eventually snapping. Too much left on resists bending, meaning the narrower sections on either side takes the stress instead, then ya get the same story as the narrow part. A good bowyer can look a bow over, mark a line on it, and years later the bow will snap right on that line."

Shae could only agree that his words made sense. "How do you know what is too thin or thick?"

"Most people gotta take the bow out and bend it a few times, watch the curve it makes. I know these hardwoods well enough to get them nearly done. I'll do that soon enough. But ya won't get much from watching as the differences will be too subtle."

They slowed down as the last touches came together. Then he pulled one of the three out and had her bend it like she was stringing it.

"Nah, use the weak arm. If ya can't string it with the weak arm, ya won't have any aim."

They continued for a little bit longer until he declared the recurve done. "This'll be the bow ya requested. I'd usually put a bit more flare on it, but we don't have time for that, and it lets me count it as cheaper so I can give ya a second bow." He grabbed one of the other blanks they had roughed out yesterday.

"Um, this one isn't finished?"

"Course not. Ya think I showed ya all that today just to hand over two finished bows? This one will be a higher pull weight than that one. For when both yer arms are strong enough to use it."

"Ahh! Thank you, Master Cheng!"

"Don't rush it now, match the bow you've got and remember recurve is a harder design, so don't rush it, ya won't need it for a while. Even I wouldn't finish it before the end of yer trip, but really I'll be surprised if ya don't snap it along the way. And let me know how it goes, see if you can't find another bowyer to critique it for ya."

Shae found his nervous rambling a bit endearing. Clearly he wasn't used to letting his work walk away so soon.

He quickly switched back into merchant mode, a gleam of mischief in his eye.

"Alright, so. Thank ya for the work, and now that we're even: what else can I sell ya?"

"Oh umm, I think this is enough for-" she stopped mid sentence, then sighed. "Arrows, and a quiver. And bow strings, is the grip supposed to be wrapped? Leather or cloth for that, Ugh oil for the wood, right? You monster. A rasp. No! A sharp one." She corrected as he reached for one of the dull rasps. She continued, "Do you do use sandpaper or something finer than the rasp for finishing the wood?"

"We can get you that. And ya should note that the heavy bow will need different arrows, don't need 'em now, won't matter to yer aim, but when yer better ya will. From heavier wood and less flexible so they don't snap right when ya loose 'em."

"The arrows can snap too?" Shae exhaled in defeat.

"Yep, but recover them even if they break, good sharp heads can be reused a bunch of times, fletching too, I'll throw in some practice arrows. Ya manage to get any food for the road?"

She shook her head.

He raised the bow, "Well ya could hunt, but ya'd wanna get some practice in first. Road food will be hard to scrounge up now, with the short notice and all. But I'll send the boy out for some. And get some spices and salt, people will drag ya to their fire if ya have good spices. Now clean up a bit and get out. Got a visitor coming that ya don't need to be here for."

"Oooh, is it Auntie Mei?"

The older man blushed a bit. "No aunties, only a lovely lady that I haven't spoken to in far too long."

Shae giggled as she walked off to clean up herself and the shop tools.