Daigo smirks at the girl. "Just playin' around, stare all you like." He flexes slightly, looking proud.

His show is interrupted by the laughing. Daigo looks up and watches the intruder descend and make his piece, cocking his head a bit at the whole thing. He wasn't sure who the hell this guy was, but he knew he had some beef with the teachers.

Daigo watched the man leave, and chuckled. He stepped forward from the group of students.

"You just gonna let him bounce like that?"

His baritone voice broke the silence, directed towards the teachers.

Fu Zhen's behavior was very suspicious. Lu Zhang was sure their eyes should have met at least once... maybe was he doing it on purpose. She raised an eyebrow, but decided to forget the issue for now; there would be easier ways to interact with him later.

And besides, something else had attracted her attention - the man's sudden entrance from the ceiling. Some kind of assassin? He seemed to be after Teacher Sun only, but as he spoke Lu Zhang mentally prepared herself for a fight to break out.

And then he... left. Really? No fight?

When Daigo broke the silence, Lu Zhang turned her head to him and spoke as well, arms crossed before her. "I'm more surprised that Mr. Five Venoms agreed to go away. He sneaks into the academy, waits until there's a crowd to make his big entrance, and then just leaves? How indecisive." She sounded mildly disappointed; you don't often get the chance to watch a real fight between masters. She looked back to Teacher Sun, waiting for some kind of explanation.

Qi-yun replied once again to Daigo "I intend to stare til I no longer see its beauty."

When the Dragon descended from his roost Qi-yun never lowered his head, merely closed his eyes, and listened to the banter. After hearing Lu Zhang, Qi-yun answered her question. "The angel did not fall, to spite the gods. He fell to warn of their wrath. A god is a righteous being blind to the shades of gray that dot the morality of mortal life, and that blindness sees all but white as black."

He then turned he conversation partner Daigo. "And god does not punish his enemies in the sight of his creation. It paints him in the same shades if he were to act on his ineffable notions of righteousness."

Daigo's question causes the old monk's eyes to fill with infinite grief and guilt; the air of dignity and power is gone from him, reducing him to just another old, tired, heartbroken man.

Obviously, this just now was the culmination of a long and convoluted relationship between the two. Looking at the state the old monk is in, you can't be sure that they exchanged only words. For the monk's steps are slow and painful as they take him out of the pagoda.

"I forbid you to chase after him. That would just increase the number of corpses. Your teachers... will split you into groups." He waves off the help of a student. "I will see you all later, if Buddha is willing."

A quiet fals over the rest of the teachers as they watch Teacher Sun limp out. Some shake their heads, some shrug. None want to aid the old man, almost as if there was danger of being poisoned...

Mei felt Kagero's gaze settle upon her. She looked over at him and shrugged her shoulders. "Your guess is as good as mine. Mei Sung, by the way," she said to him, being reasonably sure why she was being looked at by her fellow student. It didn't seem to bother her though, Kagero might pick up on. She was used to being stared at.

Then the teacher was talking and moving off, albeit in slow manner. She had a few theories herself, but she didn't have proof and wasn't going to voice them without any details. She would ask Hiroka Furuta about it later. Perhaps she would have some information for her.

She then waited for the groups to be split up and for the rest of the teachers to continue with their training.

Fresh from his bout with Mei Sung, Te Sung had watched the spectacle with varying degrees of quiet interest and quiet boredom.



Te Sung thought about them, as instructed. Benevolence was highly desireable, in oneself and in others, but he'd seldom found it in others, aside from his mentor.

Because of that, he felt the same way about Loyalty. Loyalty meant nothing. Trust was what was important, not Loyalty. Character was important.

Courage was certainly important, but wisdom, more so.

Righteousness was like Benevolence... wonderful to think about, but seldom found... and just as benevolence was dangerous to expect, Righteousness was often poorly-founded.


As for the rest...
--Teacher Ma did not interest Te Sung.
--Teacher Wang's acrobatics might prove somewhat useful, in spite of being some sort of lech...
--Teacher Zhang's lessons would probably prove even more useful.
--Teacher Li seemed worth studying under, no pun intended...
--Teacher Cao's lessons, uninteresting.
--Te Sung didn't know what to make of Teacher Hu. He would give Hu a chance to impress him...

Master Sun, however, seemed to have a lot to teach. Te Sung was impressed with how he handled himself when the brute showed up.

Of the other students,
--Daigo seemed a boor,
--Mei Sung, interesting and intelligent enough... maybe even deep. The same went for Qi-yun.
--Beggar Leng didn't seem like a bad fellow so far... maybe not much to him...
--It was too soon to judge Kagero and Lu Zhang, but he wasn't terribly impressed by what he could discern of their characters so far... Kagero might have hidden depths, though... it was hard to say, this early in their acquaintanceship.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:20, Fri 20 Oct 2017.

Kagero gave a silent laugh as he heard Mei's response, not out of mocking or anything like that, but that Kagero was genuinely surprised at her awnswer. Giving a nod back towards Mei and would respond to her

"Kagero Touma, and who knows, you guess may reveal something new, don't you think? Though I have a feeling that next time we discuss this, we'll have a bit more to think on, yes?"

Kagero gave another silent laugh as he had an idea of where everything was going to this point. With Kagero having responded to Mei, he returned his attention back to the stage, where Master Sun was walking away slowly, and Kagero was slightly disappointed in the Master, that a few words could shoot down this man.

As Kagero watched the self-pitying monk stumble away, he also caught word of what Qi-Yun spoke of, mostly since Kagero was next to Lu Zhang, and he decided to respond to his 'analogy', though Kagero continued to watch the stage.

"An interesting analogy, but a premature one, don't you think? After all, the folly of the righteous is that they always believe they are in the right, and most of all, others paint them as such. Meaning that they could punish whom they want, in front of who they want, and everyone will scream divine righteousness. Though it's more than clear that what we are seeing isn't a being blinded by their own righteousness. But a person shackled by the chains of grief and morality."

Kagero would turn to Lu Zhang and would give her a more definitive awnswer to her question, after all, Kagero felt that Qi-Yun's response wouldn't be as satisfying as saying it straight out.

"Though to awnswer the question you had earlier, I believe it's because he wasn't her to fight. Like you said, he waited for all of us to gather her just for that show and dance. If he wanted to fight, he most likely would've done it when Master Sun was alone, or when we weren't around.

In fact, I think he was here to tell us something. Perhaps investigate the term 'Demon Whip Empress' and it's history with Master Sun or this very school itself, after all, he went through the pains of making such things obvious before leaving."

Kagero would give a shrug and would finish off

"Though this is all speculation of course, I could very well be off the mark entirely. Apologies if my response wasn't as definitive as you wish. Though if we do get split into the same group, I would be more than happy to discuss more."

After, as the others, Kagero waited to see what group he would be split into, and which teacher would train them.

The girl staring at Daigo managed to get her wits together and... well, stop staring. Perhaps it was his roguish charm; or perhaps she was just starved of some "real men" in her life. Be it as it may, the girl manages to look up just in time to see the intruder descend, and then elope. "Oh my, only my first day, and already this!" She could just squeal aloud from all the happiness and elation filling her little heart. But she won't. At least not yet. If Daigo spares another look, he'll find her well-developed, with ample curves and extremely well shaped, almost overly muscular legs - she probably specializes in kicks and acrobatics. Her gaudy clothing marks her as someone from the Red district.

Teacher Zhang walks over to Kagero, casually, wearing a non-expression on his face. "Young master. I'll trouble you with some boring lectures and exercises for the time being. I hope I can aid in sharpening your leadership skills further." There is no trace of irony in his voice. Bringing up Kagero's father and the network of obligations between the two is unnecessary. He also waves at Daigo and the girl almost clinging to him. "Mister Tatsuya. Miss Jewel." He intentionally uses their first names, in clear contradiction of custom. "I will be honored to help you on your initial steps in this humble school. Let us take a walk in the woods to discuss your needs, first. Teacher Sun already has something for you in mind, but I want to get a better feel for you first." He leads the way out. The lightness of his steps is immediately noticeable - even on gravel he makes no sound, and leaves no footprints at all.

Teacher Wang seems embarrassed as he walks towards Lu Zhang. "Erm. Ah, hello there, Miss Zhang. I have the pleasure and duty of being your first... err, teacher." He smiles, hoping the girl won't notice how sweaty his palms are. Lu's (or rather her father's) status were a clear reason not to follow his usual pattern of behavior. Teacher Sun probably arranged it that way just to irritate (or educate) Wang. "You and young Nam..." he waves over the young man she noticed before. Now that she knows his surname, it is easy to place him in the Imperial Bodyguards. "Now, I know you two have a different relationship, but inside the school, you are equals, understand?" Wang went on. "Also, you, young man. Sung, Qi-yun. Come over here. Leave your philosophy behind for a second. We'll start on your training right away. But first, let me see your aptitudes. See the pearl hanging from the ceiling? Last one to touch it will have to do one hundred pushups. Go." Nam stares at the teacher for a long moment, then at Lu, questioningly.

Teacher Li pads over comfortably to Mei Sung. "Hi. I'll take care of your first day here." It was obvious there were other matters troubling the teacher, but she pushed them aside. "Teacher Sun picked me because you practice the Iron Cobra style. Or at least he thinks you do - and he is rarely wrong. I happen to have a basic understanding of that style. Shall we do a round of push hands?" She offered a hand - the push hands drill is a well known one where both players try to unbalance the other via forearm contact only. No striking is permitted, and the Iron cobra school is one of the most adept at this.

Te Sung, Beggar Leng, and Silver Moon (a girl with a mechanical left arm) are rounded up by Teacher Cao. "You've been picked by Honorable Sun, but... well, let's give him a moment to recover. After all, it's a family matter. Too sad, too sad." Cao's voice is a wheezing rasp, almost as if his voicebox was made from rusty metal. "I'll try and fill in for him for now. So. What do you think about our humble school? Did you notice anything peculiar about it? And even more importantly, did you connect Old Sun's words with the Old Classics and the Five Ways?" You are not sure what he is referring to. Perhaps it's just a mindgame, or a test of your abilities to spin an answer from things you've heard somewhere else...

Mei Sung bowed to the shorter woman. The two made a somewhat odd pair at the moment, with Master Li being in the traditional dress while Mei was more appropriately dressed for a shift on the railway line. "Certainly, Master Li. And it is the Iron Cobra that I've been trained in," she responded. The girl offered her hand in response, getting into position to begin the round. She knew this could be done in a cooperative manner, with each trading off the pushing method as a form of training, or as a competition between the two. Mei wasn't sure how Master Li would want to structure this, so she waited for further instructions.

Lu Zhang turned and listened to Qi-Yun Sung's explanation - and was taken aback by the flow of cultured speech. Her high class education (or what she remembered of it) allowed her to make sense out of his lyrical sentences, but he had her lost at "ineffable". That's one of those words that only dead writers use! She had no straight answer after he finished, and so she held her chin and pretended to reflect. "Notions of righteousness. Hm. Yes, that's an eloquent way to put it."

Kagero's abridged explanation came just at the right moment, and Lu Zhang nodded to him as silent thanks for the clarification. "True. And the other masters seemed even more bothered with him than Teacher Sun himself... they must know the details about this whole business. Though I suspect we first-year runts won't get any straight answers right away." She then shrugged her shoulders and looked up at Kagero with a slight smile. "I guess all our theories right now are far from definitive, huh? Oh well. I just hope we get a chance to watch the masters fight for real some time." She gave him and the others a last nod as they were split among the teachers.

Lu was pleased at first to be chosen by Teacher Wang, but his once cocky attitude soon became all too familiar to her. He had been her favorite teacher so far: muscled, confident, charismatic... almost her perfect idea of a Master. Aside from the flirting bit, perhaps. And yet here he was, sweating before a girl half his size. Why did physical strength yield to status so easily? She ignored his hesitance and made the customary bow. "I'll be in your care, teacher." He was probably like the others - she would have to show him she wasn't made of porcelain. And Fu Zhen... she had an idea of why he might be here, but she would rather ask later. For now, she just decided to finally look him into the eye before turning back to Teacher Wang. "Different relationship? We are equals. Period."

Wang might have been timid, but at least his instructions were to the point. Suddenly, Lu was in a race with Fu Zhen and the Cultured Gentleman from earlier. Without even looking at the others, she crouched low and looked up, like a cat ready to pounce. "Alright!" She grinned and, in a split second, she was in the air, darting straight towards one wooden platform above her. Ah, nothing like some action after all that talking! She would try to pounce from platform to wall to platform all the way to the top.

Daigo nods at the girl, looking her up and down. "Yeah, should be a kickass time if this is our first day so far." He clenched his fist, feeling his knuckles pop.

He watched Teacher Zhang wave to them, grinning as he beckoned them to follow him into the woods. He gave the girl a gentle elbow to her arm and nodded with his head to follow. "Let's get this show on the road, yeah?"

He walks toward where Teacher Zhang departed, eager to begin.

Qi-yun looked like he had been struck when Kagero spoke. His eyes focused, and his face scrunched in recognition, causing him to lose some of that daze that had been on his features since his arrival. Qi-yun opened his mouth only for his words to fail him, as Lu also seemed to respond to his rambling. It wasn't often that the people of Boat town listened to him speak, It was less common for people to actually respond to him. Really it was only those who either knew him, or else had business with him that gave Qi-yun a second thought after hearing him speak. It was less common for one to respond in kind.

"B-But are all gods not bound by such chains?" Qi-yun's voice quavered, and lost some detachment it had carried before since he now knew someone was listening. "The Queen found herself unable to smite her namesake for fear of how she would be seen..." His voice trailed off sounding incredibly uncertain. He was visibly relieved when the teacher called him over in the same normally dismissive tones Qi-yun was used to hearing.

When Teacher Wang said go, Qi-yun didn't hesitate as he jumped straight to the wall. He found foot hold on windows, ladders, but mostly on the uneven sections of the stone walls. Every foundation he found he would use to jump straight up towards the next, taking the hardest, but hopefully the most direct route towards the top.

"I am willing to absorb any pointers you have to offer regarding the school, Teacher Cao," said Te Sung. "As for Master Sun... and the Old Classics and the Five Ways... I will profess my ignorance of the subtleties and nuances you surely observed... except to say that Master Sun's words strongly suggest a laudable reluctance to act until it is absolutely necessary, and then only with the appropriate amount of force needed... and in a manner free from bloodlust. These are character traits of which I personally approve. Of course, it is sometimes hard to know what level of force is best for solving a problem... but that is why one seeks to be educated, is it not?"

Mei Sung finds her teacher to be quite too short for comfort. Bending down and twisting to accommodate teacher Li's short stature is sure to look funny from the side. Not that anyone thinks of making fun of Mei at the moment. The teacher, on the other hand, doesn't seem to notice anything amiss, and leads through the usual, well known routine. Expand, press, thread, ward off. Huh, it sounds familiar, right? It's almost as if Mei was being invited to correct teacher Li, or apply some sort of trick. What she chooses to do now could have serious consequences on her time in the school...

Try as she might, Lu Zhang just can't win the race to the pearl. Despite her movements being close to those of a professional acrobat. Qi-yun almost sleepwalks, barely paying attention at all, yet he somehow always is ahead of her. The way he ascends straight up the rough stone wall seems impossible. The third contestant, the bodyguard, seems content to trail behind Lu. There is still time for a trick, if she wishes. Perhaps this is the actual test, seeing how she behaves when defeat is all but certain.

Teacher Zhang ruminates on the necessity of having a light step as the first and most important element of good kung fu. Kagero, Daigo and Jewel do sound like elephants, stomping after the teacher. "Well, children." He stops in front of a big oak, the tree's think branches hanging over the gravel path. "We'll practice your lightness skill. Please climb on the branch, and jump down on the gravel path while making the minimum of noise." He smiles apologetically. "A hundred times, please. Start now."

"You are modest. That is a characteristic worth nurturing" Cao replies as he chats with Te Sung, Leng, and Silver Moon. "Walking without leaving a shadow, being present yet invisible - those are some of the allegories the ancients have left us with to guide our thoughts. In any case, making an irreversible choice is something we should avoid. For example, killing is one such irreversible choice. The rivers and lakes community never tolerates needless death, and a bloodthirsty fighter will find himself hunted and put down like a rabid dog, or at least imprisoned for a long while. So, what are your views on giving people the benefit of a doubt? How far should they be allowed to bend and stretch to justify their misdemeanors?"

Kagero would have a bit of a smirk on his face as he listened to Lu Zhang's response to his explanation, since he believed that she was right on what she said, about both the theories and on the chance to see the masters fight. Though some of that did come from Qi-Yun's stuttering, and while Kagero wished for the chance to respond once more, Kagero too was called by Teacher Zhang.

Kagero wondered slightly, as he gazed over the others called with him, if there was a certain reason why each of them were paired off like this. Since Kagero didn't think it was mere coincidence that the people of the Red-Light District were put into a singular group all together. Though, Kagero's line of thought was broken slightly as he heard what Teacher Zhang had said. Kagero would simply give a small bow of his head, to say that he understood. Than, followed Teacher Zhang outside.

As Kagero listened to Teacher Zhang, Kagero noticed that this test was more than just being light on one's landing. Especially since going up and down the tree, a hundred times, could be quite fatiguing if done improperly. It would be especially interesting, since Kagero was trained to be more agile and powerful, rather than the finesse that would be more useful in this test. Though, Kagero wouldn't waste time analyzing, since it wouldn't help Kagero be any better at this. Deciding not to wait for any of the others to go first, Kagero would climb the tree, and land as quietly as possible. The first one, being more of a test to see if he would be able to land quietly or not.

Lu Zhang couldn't believe it. Here she was, trying to show off her speed to Teacher Wang, and yet Qi-Yun outran her seemingly without even making an effort. Was the race over? Was she really going to lose to... to some kind of poet? There was no way she could just forfeit like this on her first day at school.

How could she outrun him? At this moment, she remembered a saying from some ancient strategist, which her brothers often paraphrased in more crass terms: "In war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak." If Qi-Yun was so impossibly fast, maybe she had to avoid racing him all the way.

After all, if going up wasn't working, all she had to do was bring the pearl down!

Lu Zhang balanced herself onto one platform and, pausing her ascent, she took off her metal circlet. In one spinning motion she threw the circlet like a discus; up it went, bouncing off two walls before careening madly towards the pearl. If all went right, the force and angle of impact would be enough to dislodge the ornament, causing it to fall in an unpredictable path - and Lu alone would be ready to catch it as it fell.

Of course, this was a gamble. If Qi-Yun was sharp enough to notice her trick in time, he might be able to react and catch the pearl before her. But she was willing to take a risk, and besides, the Mystic looked like a distracted type.

In reply to Laozi (msg # 28):



Allegories? wondered Te Sung. Master Noric can do those things without half trying...



"People should always get a chance to change, if they are sincere about wanting to change. The problem is that the worse their selfish actions, or the longer such actions go on, the harder it becomes for anyone else to believe that such a person might be sincere about changing his or her ways..."

So far, Master Li hadn't indicated that this was a competition between either of them. The difference of height was simply a challenge for Mei Sung to deal with. Instead of trying to apply some sort of trick or comment on the obvious, Mei Sung positions herself into more of a squat position to continue to the exercise. It was more challenging, but the only true competition to improve one's strength and skill was yourself. Mei felt she could hold herself in the isometric squat position and still perform the push hands exercise. She also felt it would be a signal to Master Li that Mei Sung wanted to be pushed harder if Master Li was to be her long-term trainer here.

Daigo looks at Master Zhang incredulously. He watches as Kagero begins the absurd task, reaching the branch and falling to the ground like a leaf. He stands there for a moment, mouth agape.

Finally, he begins chuckling. The chuckle turns into a laugh, Daigo dropping his hands to his knees as he struggles to believe that this was really the first assignment.

He stands back up straight, tremors of laughter escaping his lips as he wipes a tear from his eye.

"That's it? That's what you brough us all the way out here for?"

He shakes his head, stepping up to the tree and picking a branch. Daigo had hoped they would dive straight into combat training. Maybe some sparring to show Zhang what they were made of, but the man wanted them to climb trees. Not gonna even take my jacket off for this one. He thought, looking upwards to the branch.

He launched from the dirt, clasping the branch in one huge hand. He hung there for a moment before descending to the ground, trying to be as quiet as possible. Agility was never his strong suit, but he knew he could show up the other guy if he really wanted to.

Kagero's landing is positively thunderous. Any louder, and it would startle teacher Zhang, who is raising an eyebrow even now. "Oh my. Are you trying to punish the gravel path, young master?" He chuckles. Kagero's raw power shined through the attempted soft landing. "Then again, with your station, this kind of skill isn't required. But still. Hmm." He taps his finger against his lips.

Daigo's antics didn't as much as wrinkle Zhang's eyebrows. The landing, while much better than Kagero's, still left much to be desired. "Huh. It seems, you both really do need my pointers. Sung's eyes have only improved with age." Jewel lands right next to Daigo, the petite girl displaying about the same aptitude for acrobatics as the scarred teenager. "You too, miss Jewel? Oh my." Zhang shakes his head. "Teacher Sung asked me to show you the Willow Step. It is a type of lightness kung fu. The first step on the road to learning it is feeling every pebble on the gravel path as you land. After enough repetitions, you will understand why I'm making you do this. Judging by your talent... we should be done with this by the evening." He smiles thinly. "You have only ninety-nine repetitions to do. I'll fetch the paper for the second part of the training." He turns and walks off, steps inaudible.

Just as you contemplate whether continuing the jumping up and down business is worthwhile, you hear a rustling deeper in the forest. Is that a black-clad person hiding behind that tree there?

Do you pursue, or feign ignorance?

---

Lu's circlet throws sparks as it bounces from stone walls, startling one or two other students standing on the shelves an watching the competition. The circlet follows an erratic path - then bounces off an outcropping, and in a shower of sparks, cuts the chain holding the shining pearl suspended. For brief moment as the pearl seems to refuse falling down; then the circlet strikes it as well, and it bounces off the walls...

...right into Lu Zhang's hands. Only... Qi-Yun is already there. His fingers close around the pearl in the same moment as Lu's, and the two find eachother holding hands, balancing on a thin beam a few dozen feet from the floor.

Do you fight for the pearl, or does one of you yield?

---

Teacher Cao stops and regards Te Sung for a long moment. "So do you put change above steadiness, or the other way round? Too much change, that might be much more trouble that you think. Suppose everyone thinks like that... then there'd be nothing unusual in me suddenly attacking you, no?"

The killing intent suddenly erupting from the teacher is very real, however. The dark aura rising from the seemingly frail ancient bespectacled man quite disturbing to someone as perceptive as Te. Cao turns to face his student - Te could swear a punch is thrown, fast and vicious enough to smash his skull...

...suddenly the killing intent is gone, the punch disappears as well - there's just the benign-appearing old man with the shadow of a sardonic smile.

"Yes, sometimes it is difficult realizing what is real, and what isn't; what is changed, and what is constant. I can't help with that... but I can teach you how to ignite your intent. Unless you want something else?"

---

Teacher Li smiles. Was this kid really challenging her to push... harder? This was almost too good to be true. So Li stretches out her hand. A single forefinger touched the middle of Mei Sung's chest.

Next thing  Mei knows, she's flying upside down through the air; the landing is quite a bit more unpleasant. She rolls and stands, the acrobatics training paying off dividends right now. A throbbing pain on her chest makes her take a peek - the spot where teacher Li's finger touched her displayed a large bruise.

"If your breath is strong enough, you can balance the entire Cosmos on one finger." Teacher Li smiles at Mei. "I'll teach you how. Unless, of course, you have different ideas."

Mei had been going through the push hands exercise with Master Li until the other, well, Mei didn't think she actually took offense to Mei adjusting the height difference between the two (and making it harder on Mei). Rather, she expected that the other woman appreciated Mei showing that she wanted to be pushed and not coddled.

The being sent flying through the air certainly confirmed that coddling was not on the list. The woman crashed into the ground, kicking up dust and stone with enough force to send her bouncing back and up again. The second time she managed to land on her feet with a midair flip, driving her legs into the ground to halt the backward progression.

Mei walked calmly back towards Master Li as she spoke, glancing at her chest briefly where she'd been struck. That was a ton of power. But was that physical strength or something else? she wondered to herself as she passed the crack in the floor where she had initially landed.

"I would learn, Teacher Li," Mei Sung replied with a respectful bow as she returned to the woman, still appearing to be perfectly ready to train despite the bruise as though it wasn't bothering her at all. This technique wasn't dissimilar to what Mei Sung used in her own training, but it was far more advanced and certainly wasn't Iron Cobra, from what she could tell.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:09, Sun 05 Nov 2017.

Landing on the Support beam pearl in hand, Qi-yun breaks a small smile. For he can not help but be proud. It takes him a moment to register her other hand. Frowning his eyes follow the hand down the arm, and to Lu's face. Qi-yun's eyes grow sharp, focusing in a way that makes his previous expression seem-not dead-but devoid of any actual life. He stares into Lu's eyes looking for something just beyond them.

With out letting go of the pearl Qi-yun closes his eyes, and crouching down he speaks in a slow metered tone. "You are sitting on a boat staring into the vast distance. The sun, and clouds are reflected on the water making the ocean seem as if it were nothing more than open air. And you, you are flying across the expanse chasing the sun, Desperately hoping that it never sets on you. Why is it that the night brings such fear?" Qi-yun waits for her answer, and assuming Lu answers introspectivly, he lets go of the pearl.

In reply to Laozi (msg # 34):




"I feel that, as with many things, the issue of change versus steadiness is one where, in both cases, moderation is best."

"As for 'igniting my intent...'" Te Sung shrugged. "I'm willing to listen, and learn... such things are why I am here."

Teacher Li nods and smiles. It's difficult to see her as a thin, mousy girl wearing noisy wooden footwear after that display of power. "Good, good. You'll need to pick up a couple of herbs for the ointment first. It will make practicing this much less painful." A faraway look in her eyes as she remembers her own training; she shakes those memories away. She gets out a note block and scrawls a few lines on it, then hands the paper to Mei. "Here, the prescription. There's a herbal shop in the east part of Red District, called "Green Eternity Pearls and Sundries".  Go.  She waves Mei away. The shop just might be reachable before the lunch break, if Mei hurries.

---

Teacher Cao adjusts his spectacles and gives Te Sung a long, evaluating look. "Really? I sense a lack of excitement there. Teacher Sun was certain this is the skill you lack. He argued that the dominance of yin in your essence would imbalance your personality, and make you... too girly and indecisive." Cao's shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. "Yes, yes. Well, perhaps you could have more use for the Virgin Boy Golden Bell Hanging. It's a yin aligned defensive skill with amazing benefits. It does require a particular kind of discipline, however. Or we could work on your basics, even though I see your foundation is more than adequate."

Before lunchtime? Mei knew the rail lines inside and out, along with a lot of shortcuts and that her strength greatly aided her speed. She'd expect to be there and back by lunchtime, unless it was one of those ointments that took the maker a long time to make. "I will retrieve the ointment," she said.

With that, the girl was off to the Red District at top speed, using the routes learned over a lifetime of working on the rails to make excellent time. She had a permanent rail pass due to her job and took advantage, literally jumping onto trains and hanging from the door handles of cargo cars that were going her way already and riding them until she needed to jump off and run some more.