A still sleepy Danlu woke up and dragged his feet to the kitchen. In his mind, he went through everything he was going to do today. The first aspect of his plan was already ruined when he opened the kitchen door. Someone was already there.
Xiyun stood before the heating iron pot on top of the kitchen stove, waiting while holding a large bowl of cut pork on one hand and a large bowl of cut mutton on the other. After a moment passed, he dumped both into the broth.
“Xiyun? But I was supposed to make breakfast.”
Xiyun walked to another stove and used a leather glove to bring out a jar of steamed taro seeds. “Too late.”
Danlu stood with his mouth hung open.
Yeon passed Danlu, going to the water to wash up. “If he wants to cook, let him.”
Xiyun began to add the jar of taro seeds and a bowl of scallions. He added small spoons of salt, the juice from fermented black beans, and a sip of yellow wine. He scooped up three cups of rice to throw in as well. Finally, he picked up a large pile of minced ginger held with a piece of white cloth.
“Isn’t that too much?” Danlu said, still just standing there.
“Of course not.” Xiyun dumped all the ginger in and closed the lid. “I think it’ll all boil eventually.”
…
At the table outside, Xiyun served the three bowls and sat down as well. “Where’s Chu Su?”
“Busy at the service. He’ll be here to make dinner later today.” Danlu picked up his spoon.
“What is this?” Yeon asked.
“Taro sour broth,” Xiyun said, already eating.
Yeon and Danlu met gazes before starting. It was quiet as they ate.
“It’s sour, I guess,” Yeon said.
“It’s not bad,” Danlu said.
“It’s not good either. I don’t know the word to describe it. Is it ‘bland’?”
“It’s so easy to eat. All the pork and mutton have been cut into exact bite-sized strips. Even the taro is. I don’t know what I’m eating, but I just keep eating.
Yeon’s eyes slowly widened as she ate. “It tastes like nothing! My hands move to eat it since it isn’t that bad, but at the same time, they would stall because it isn’t good either. How is this even possible?”
“What recipe did you use?” Danlu asked.
“Essential Techniques For People’s Benefit,” Xiyun said.
Whereas Yeon frowned, Danlu spoke. “Even I know that book is the standard agriculture treatise. It instructs how to plant specific crops and raise specific animals. What does that have to do with the recipe?”
“It also has recipes.”
“Aren’t they hundreds of years old,” Danlu said.
“Yes, from Northern Xue. So what if they are?”
“Are you sure you even followed the recipe correctly. Even if it is old, it still shouldn’t taste like this,” Yeon said.
“I just did what the words specified. Well, we’re done.” Xiyun stood up to gather the bowls.
Yeon and Danlu both looked down and their expressions changed into astonishment. Somehow they had finished both their bowls and felt full.
“Good food is the easiest to eat,” Xiyun said in passing towards the kitchen.
Yeon shot up. “That wasn’t good at all! I’m cooking tomorrow.”
Danlu stood up even faster. “But I’m supposed to cook! There’s nothing to take care of here. If I don’t cook, how can I even act like a servant?”
“Since you have so much free time, get up and come here. We’re starting on your training.”
Danlu blinked. “What training?”
“Training as the unofficial preliminary third-generation trial disciple.”
“Don’t schools keep their martial arts styles a secret.”
“Don’t worry. You won’t get far enough to learn the secret stuff.”
“Wow! That’s discouraging!”
Yeon coughed. “Martial arts is also about health. I’m making sure you live a long life.” She suddenly froze and spun her head around. “Xiyun!”
The boy had just left his room with a book in his hands. “Yes?”
“You’re participating as well.”
“I am not.”
“You’re frail as a clay tile and skinny as a bamboo shoot.”
Xiyun frowned, sighed, but eventually walked over.
Yeon faced the two. “Ahem! Water Circulation is about force. Force is about movement. Movement is about muscles. Muscles are about physique. But both of you don’t even have that, so we must build it.
“Build it how?” Danlu said.
“Horse stances. Lots and lots of horse stances. Then we do bodyweight exercises. The best physique is simply stamina. Once that’s covered, you will gain the required muscles in no time. With strong muscles, you can easily control your movements. If every one of your desired movement matches with your movement in reality, then you understand your body.”
“I heard that there are attainments in martial arts. Is this one of them?” Danlu said.
“In a way, yes. But, likely no.”
Then which is it?.
Yeon continued. “Real attainment is the first realm of the Martial Path, Perception. Unlike cultivators, martial arts don’t sense the inside of their bodies, they sense outside of their bodies, the world.”
“I can feel the breeze touching my skin. Is that Perception?” Danlu said.
“I can also feel the breeze,” Xiyun said, participating, though his eyes occasionally took glimpses at the book he left on the table.
“Close your eyes,” Yeon directed at Danlu.
Danlu did.
“Now, open your eyes.”
Danlu opened his eyes and remained confused.
“I just punched the air one finger away from you. Did you know?”
“How would I possibly know?”
“Then you’re not in Perception, now are you?”
“Will I ever be?”
“Martial arts is different from cultivating. Anyone can achieve it through pure effort. Well, the second realm, Control, might be impossible, but Perception is different.”
“But punching to tell if someone is at that level? Does this even work?”
Yeon frowned. “Of course it works.” She turned. “Xiyun, punch my face. Come on, try it.”
Xiyun obviously wasn’t going to punch her, but he did raise his hand.
Yeon closed her eyes and waited for the strike. No matter what, she would feel it coming. Suddenly her eyes shot open.
His finger was poking her cheeks. Xiyun stood still since he didn’t receive any other instructions while Yeon stayed silent.
“How? I didn’t feel your hand.” Yeon was then reminded of the moment they first met.
Danlu laughed. “So it doesn’t work.”
She blinked. It was intent, or the lack thereof. When martial artists predict each other’s movements, it is because they perceived the other’s intent. The boy had no intent. He wasn’t hiding it or redirecting it, there simply was none.
Her lips smiled. “That’s quite a useful gift. It’s something even I would find useful.”
Xiyun titled his head.
Yeon sighed and let it go. The boy obviously didn’t want to learn how to fight. Perhaps in the future, but for now, she also preferred that he didn’t need to fight. “Danlu, get in a horse stance.”
“What about Xiyun?”
“What about him?”
Danlu yielded and tried doing the horse stance. After being corrected several times, he finally found the right crouching position. He stayed in the position for as long as he could, even he wanted to know how long he could do it for. Finally, he collapsed onto the ground.
Yeon swept her fists while practicing her boxing forms. Xiyun flipped a page as he read.
Danlu sat up and watched. What was he? I am lucky. What am I besides lucky? He got the luck that he once asked for and now he wasn’t going to waste it. His legs were still sore, but he pushed himself up. “I am going to headquarters to help out.”
“Good luck.”
“Good luck,” Yeon and Xiyun said in unison.
He felt his step grow lighter. Danlu left the courtyard and crossed the compound.
…
He sat at his side desk against the wall and continuously flicked his fingers over the abacus with his left hand. His right held a brush writing down numbers. His eyes switched between the two.
“Deduct these wages…” he muttered. “…and finally internal contractual compensation costs. Actually, where is that sheet again?” He walked past several desks and found it in an open drawer. His eyes widened when he read it. Isn’t this number way too big? Just as he was about to check over it, he heard his name being called from downstairs.
“Danlu! Danlu!”
He placed the form back where it was and went down. When he spotted Deng Bo sitting at the side lobby’s desk, he opened his mouth. “Uncle Deng, how can I practice doing the accounts if you interrupt me at every breath! I am telling you I don’t know the details of Father’s plans.”
“It’s about something else.” Deng Bo waved his palm to introduce a youth somewhere one or two years older than Danlu.
The youth was dressed in a simple discolored shirt and pants. Although his hair was black, it shaded more similar to gray. Untied, it fell over his ears and stopped before touching his shoulders. Yet it was his tired expression that Danlu noticed. It was looking at the definition of defeat.
“He’s looking for work. Basic arithmetic. Basic law. Writes well- like really well. Bring him around the departments that have openings. If things work out, he can choose to either sign a part-timer or full-time work contract,” Deng Bo said.
Danlu stepped forward. It was real work and he could see why Uncle Deng was having him do it. “Follow me.”
The youth nodded.
Danlu found the youths’ steps to be slow. He stopped in the middle of the hallway.
“How did you impress Deng Bo?”
The youth gave a weary smile and took out a piece of folded paper.
Danlu unfolded it. The first thing he noticed was how neat the calligraphy was. The only other time he has seen cleaner words were Xiyun’s notes. The second thing he noticed was how well written it was. He had no idea how the teachings of Great Learning were similar to Doctrine of the Mean. He didn’t even know they were both chapters of the Book of Rites until it was mentioned halfway through the words. Yet, by the end of the reading, he was inclined to believe anything and everything the youth had to say, before visiting a teahouse to debate the subject with a random passerby. No wonder Father always says I’m too dumb to become a scholar.
He smiled and returned the paper. “I’m Chu Danlu. What’s your name?”
“Yuan Qiyang.”
So his name is Qiyang. “If you can write essays, let’s visit the legal department first. They’re looking for people who can draft contracts.” He continued to lead.
“Sure.” Qiyang followed.
“So, where are you from?”
“Lanzhou.”
“The one in the east or the one in the west?”
“East.”
Danlu stopped again. “I’ve recently been there, just after New Year’s. I have a friend who used to live in Lanzhou.”
“Maybe I know him.”
“Unlikely. No one there knows him.”
Qiyang didn’t understand.
Danlu silently starred, sizing up the youth older than him. “So you’re from Lanzhou…” he muttered. “Let me be honest with you and don’t tell Deng Bo this. The reason there are job openings is that we just reorganized and things are really hectic right now. Not to mention, we’re still on schedule to expand the business south. If you’re looking for easy stable work, you might want to look elsewhere.”
“It’s okay, I don’t know how long I’ll be doing this anyway.”
“What did you do before?”
Qiyang closed his eyes. “I was expelled from school.”
“I already guessed that you were the scholar type. Was it the ‘failing classes’ kind of expelled, or the, ‘I offended a wealthy student’ kind of expelled?”
Qiyang’s eyes widened. “Is it so common that you can make jokes about it?”
“Ha! You country bumpkins are funny. But, yes. Still, a failed scholar? Aren’t there a lot of schools in Luoyi?”
“I only have enough taels to go back to my hometown.” He pressed his teeth closed. “Which I’m not doing.”
“Can’t you take the Prefectural Exam anyway?”
“I have nothing to study. The exams are overly specific yet very broad at the same time. The graders will always spot your deficiencies.”
“Have you given up?”
Qiyang saw the faces of his mother, his father, and Teacher He. “I’d rather drop dead than return to Lanzhou with my head down.”
Danlu blinked in realization. “That’s what it is! That’s why you’re working. There are some schools in Luoyi where you don’t need to pay tuition upfront but in increments.”
“I hope that I can work in the afternoon and evenings. I can take classes in the morning and study at night.”
“What about sleep?”
Qiyang seriously looked Danlu in the eyes. “Someone once told me that ’sleep is for the weak’.”
Danlu cracked laughing. He didn’t know why he found it so amusing. “Hopefully I can meet that person in the future.” He suddenly stopped and silently stared at the youth again. He slowly opened his mouth. “You know, I know a bookstore in this city.”
Qiyang glanced up. “A bookstore?”
Danlu looked up and down the hallway before walking up to the youth.
He waved his hand towards himself.
Qiyang looked at Danlu oddly but crouched down anyway.
Danlu began whispering. “It’s called Orchid Bookstore. Very secret place. I’ll draw you a map later. Apparently their collection isn’t very good, but they might suffice if it’s just for the exams. And I hear that the storekeeper is a learned but greedy man. If you pay him well enough, he can probably answer any question you have, no matter what it’s about.”
“Really?”
“Right, but don’t make it obvious I’m the one who told you this.” Danlu stepped back. “Let’s go to the law department.”
They climbed the set of stairs up to the second floor of headquarters and passed several people. Just as they were about to reach their destination, a commotion in one of the meeting rooms drew Danlu’s attention.
“The predictions are quite clear!”
“We can’t borrow from the estate?”
“Check them again!”
At the table were Chu Su, Manager Chen, Manager Bao, Uncle Tiao, the Chief Legal Adviser, and the three Head Accountants. They were all arguing. There wasn’t anger, but stress. In Manager Bao’s hand was the familiar internal contractual compensation form being waved around.
Danlu stepped into the chaos.