Heavenly Shae

Chapter 17: "Another Tea Break."

"Okay. Now I'm full." Shae groaned and leaned back into her chair.

"Really? There's two more courses to go," Long said.

She groaned again, "Whhyyy?"

"Well the next is small, and the last is a dessert. You wouldn't turn down a dessert, would you?"

She sighed up at him. "I'm not an actual child, Master Long."

"No, but you are a teenager, and you should eat like one. Growing body, and all that."

Yun arrived with tea. She set a hand on Shae's shoulder. "A simple tea, Wise Shae. It should settle your stomach."

She lessened her groaning, "mghm, with honey?"

Long produced the refined nectar in spirit water from earlier. "This would sweeten it up, and maybe help with your appetite."

The girl grabbed Yun's arm, and whispered loudly, "Don't let him poison me. Again."

Yun's eyebrows shot up and she gave Long an accusing glare.

"It was a joke. I wouldn't have given it to her." He returned the vial to his spatial storage. "Though, there's little harm in a bit of foreign qi. Especially when she refined it."

"Speaking of, Wise Shae, have you had a chance to finish comprehension of Master Long's metaphor?"

"Ha, like I've been able to think about anything but food since you brought it out. Hmm, what did I miss?"

Yun deferred to Long with a look.

He grabbed the vial of Shae's dissolved qi off the table. "This central qi. The milky blue part. Is quite recognizable. I believe it is pure qi. It can be refined from neutral qi and is on par with elemental qi, as far as the metaphor and original question are concerned." He set the vial down in front of the girl.

"Hmm..." She poked at it, then swirled it to see the colored flecks. "So my additions are what made it complex? Too complex to convert quickly?"

"Essentially, so the question isn't what did you add, I think you know that. Rather, why are the few drops you did add so complex that it slowed the conversion?"

"Hmm, I do know what they are. Though, when I put the qi together I didn't know as much." She tilted her head. "Is that part of it? My interpretation of their complexity?"

"That is a good part of it, and reminds me of the correction I wanted to make. The elements you listed are not always taught as the base elements. Especially when the cycles of creation and destruction are concerned."

"Oh? What was I taught wrong? Wait, let me guess. Metal is kind of like refined earth, so that might be out. Or fire, since that is more energy focused like lightning. And a replacement... Light? Maybe? Still energy, but more pure than fire. Does Yin and Yang fit in somewhere?"

"Hmm, curious logic. Usually we teach wood instead of air. You said you were on Pilgrim's Rest peak, with Elder Ghon? He is a formation and talisman teacher. They usually use a different list because they are more commonly used in formations, and are much simpler for that task."

"Wood qi? Ugh, right, you said it earlier. That's also what was in those plants you cooked then? I was thinking of it as nature qi."

"Heh," he chuckled, "it's a fine name. Some call it that, or grass qi. But each name carries history, and is usually used in a different way."

"Right, different interpretations, and different manuals and techniques. Still, why the eff is it considered a base element? How is an entire category of biology an element?"

He smirked.

"Ugh!" She threw up her hands and decided to try the tea. It was good and reminded her of something she had before. "Mmm. Ginger! Which I would say could use some sweetness, but..." She tapped the side of the cup in thought. It tastes like ginger, but there's something else, something I can feel.

"A-hem, Wise Shae? Is there something wrong with the tea?" Yun asked from her side.

She looked up to see the woman's concerned face. "Oh, no. Not at all. I think I've had this before, I was just trying to remember where."

Long responded first. "It is a unique preparation. Though ginger is rather common in teas, perhaps it has simply triggered a memory? Do let us know if you are having a reaction to it."

She frowned, then glanced between Yun and Long. "Oh, come on! Please tell me this isn't something weird or special!"

Long took a sip of the tea, and Yun shifted slightly.

Not a nervous shift, but what qualifies as one when it comes to cultivators? Shae took another small sip, not focusing on the flavors, but the feeling.

She spat it back into the cup and wiped her mouth with a napkin Yun instantly produced. "Ok, the gig's up! This is the third time in two weeks that someone's dosed me with this shit, and that's probably only because Elder Ghon didn't have any. Explain." She pointed an accusing finger at Master Long.

"It's perfectly normal tea, Wise Shae." Yun scrambled and inclined her head downwards. Shae recognized this as a half step towards an apology, which made her more angry.

She slipped into English swears to express her frustration, "Fuck's-sake, stop covering for him. That response is worse than denial. Spill the beans, old man." Her fury was still directed at Long.

"Thank you, Fairy Yun. I'll deal with this fallout."

"You're going to deal with my divinely blessed foot in your ass, if you don't start talking."

"While your uniquely colorful language is entertaining, threatening any cultivator is a quick way to find yourself in severe pain."

"Oh! I'm so sorry that slang from my last life is bleeding through while you try to fuck-around with my soul. Yea, asshole, I already know what it is. The monks and Miss Mei had the courtesy to tell me what it was instead of tricking me into drinking it."

The slightly curved lip on Long's stoic face dropped, but he didn't start explaining, instead letting the silence hang.

"Yet again. You do a disservice to yourself and your sect." She snatched the vial of her qi off the table and walked out of the room.

"Miss Shae." He flatly called after.

She didn't stop.

Yun was waiting outside with tea again.

Shae stormed towards her with the intent of walking right past. "That's not going to stop me this time."

"Please, Wise Shae. Your anger is justified. I promise you the tea is completely harmless."

"This one or the one inside." She yelled and gestured.

"Both." Yun grabbed her shoulder and squeezed it gently.

Shae deflated only slightly with a large exhale. "Why didn't he say that? Why won't he tell me why?"

"The menu was set earlier in the day, before we knew you were just a lost soul. We didn't think you would react so strongly."

"Or you didn't think I would notice." She turned and slammed her palm flat against the small table. The teacup rattled on its saucer and pain shot into her hand, blanking her thoughts. She had used her right hand, throwing all her strength into it and the pain had been enough that she didn't hear the impact.

The shock wasn't enough to break her anger. She swung her arm around and under, seeking to topple the table. A hand grabbed her arm and another wrapped her left side, pulling her backwards into Yun.

"Please don't, Dear Shae. None of us, Master Long included, none had ill intentions for tonight. The soul calming root has only positive effects. And is supposed to be undetectable."

The girl's fury crumbled almost as fast as it had risen. She leaned back into the comforting embrace Yun had trapped her in. "Undetectable. Except for when?"

"Except when someone's soul doesn't match their body. If you were not born with the same soul you have now, we would know and would not be having this talk... or, in the rare case your soul is stronger than a mortal's should be."

"What happens then?"

"Older cultivators say it has a very particular taste, but is unlikely to calm the soul, as it normally would."

"Then it's especially irritating?" She scowled at the tea set still in front of her.

"No, it does nothing. Your anger is justified. I should have introduced it when it was served."

Shae choked back the start of tears. She didn't want to be angry at Yun. "It's not your fault, please stop taking his blame."

"Nor is your anger yours. You are right to feel betrayed."

"Do you still have my stuff?"

"Yes, but I need the dress back."

"What?"

"It's a rental."

"Oh." Shea took a deep breath, squeezing Yun's arms. "Do you have a punching bag or something? I'm still kinda angry."

"Yes, let's go back inside before you catch a chill from the rain."

"The rain?" She looked up, and felt drops on her face, "I didn't even notice."

Shae's fist slammed into the punching bag with a satisfying thwamp.

She was getting far more power and impact out of each swing than when she started. Yun had given her a small number of very specific instructions, saying, "I won't teach you any techniques or style, but I'm not going to sit and watch you break your wrist."

First it was just making sure her wrist was straight. Then a tip about how to hold her hand, she was just clenching it in anger.

The girl kept punching, getting slightly more comfortable with each swing and putting more power into it. She was still visibly angry and was enjoying the exertion of violence. Yun began asking her simple questions about how she was attacking. "How would you use your shoulder more?" "Can you get more power out of your hips?"

Each question was something to focus on other than how betrayed she felt. She was still here because she knew her anger wasn't completely reasonable. She knew it wasn't fair to desire violence against anyone in particular. There was a torso shaped practice dummy, but she had chosen the cylindrical bag to disperse those thoughts.

"That's decent for a beginner. Have you tried without qi?"

That caught Shae off-guard. Qi? I was using qi? She felt her channels, a small trickle of qi ran through her, more in her arm. She took another swing and felt the subtle tingle of lightning in her right arm.

She took a deep breath and pushed her qi back into her Dantian. Then focused and punched again. It felt almost the same.

"Not as satisfying." She swung a few more times.

"Huh, that's still a good hit. I thought you were reinforcing yourself to get that strength."

"Just funneling anger, I think." She summoned way more qi up and channeled it all into a rage filled punch. Thin red lightning surged over her bare arm, burning into the bag with a sizzle.

"Dang girl. You're right though, the qi doesn't seem to be changing your strength at all." She walked over to look Shae's arm over.

"Qi helps my other muscles. Balances out the strength a bit."

"Huh, run some through?"

She did, cycling her personal qi through her arm and flexing it as Yun watched.

"It's like it can't reinforce or improve it at all."

"Well it is divine flesh." Shae smirked.

"Yea, no kidding. I'm no expert, but I wonder how this compares to body cultivation."

"Huh?"

"There are some cultivators that use qi and alchemical baths to transform and improve their bodies."

"Oh, that sounds familiar, they can get, like, different hair and skin color, right?"

"No, that's just cosmetic pills or shampoos. They do stuff like dissolve half their bones with acid so they can replace it with alchemical super steel."

Shae grimaced, then switched to a smirk. "Adamantine? And which half? Top, bottom, left, right?"

Yun rolled her eyes at the girl. "Har har har. Usually it's just called bone steel, because that's what it's for, and that's the only way to get it. Pretty sure it's not actual steel though."

"Mhm, probably not. Most metals are not good for the body. Um, well, that's in mortals. Maybe titanium? Uhh, a white metal?"

"I don't know how you sound so certain, but yes, it looks like a white metal. Though, most people say that is because of the bone." Yun smirked.

Shae groaned. "Ugh, I deserved that."

"The point I was trying to make is, you're near the limit for what strength your muscles are capable of producing, so qi might not have an effect on them, at least without a technique."

"Really? Huh, I thought I would be able to get way stronger. Surely body cultivators have a way?"

Yun smirked at the girl. "You do it the old fashion way, exercise to build muscle. And you really have to push your limits."

"Ugh. I gotta become a muscle-head, now?" The Fairy gave her a cute giggle that distracted her when even the physical contact hadn't. Stupid teenager hormones.

Yun shook her head, cascading her hair back and forth. "You don't have to. Most don't until they get far into martial weapons training."

Shae smirked and turned away. Then started lining up a kick. "Any advice for kicks?"

"Heh. Other than: don't?"

"Wha-?" She stopped herself from going full force and had to catch the bag for balance.

"You can kick the bag like that. Hit with your ankle centered, spread out the impact as much as possible. But don't try too hard, and don't kick anything actually solid unless you get those steel bones and something for your joints."

"Uhhmm," the girl stammered, "because I'll break something?"

"Yes. You'll break your foot or shin before whatever you're kicking. That divine strength doesn't change the fact that bone shears quite easily; sweeping kicks just don't work. Even if your bones were cleansed too, they are not reinforced. You've probably just removed the weakest spots, if anything."

"Ugh. Good to know. Um, what about just..." She leaned back a bit and tried kicking forwards, nearly losing her balance again. She had to smile at the Fairy's giggles returning.

"He-he he-he. If you want to, go ahead. Compression is bone's strength, which is why punching is fine, and your punching form is much more effective than that kick. I can't help a whole lot with that either, I was only taught flying kicks for rushing an enemy."

The girl's eyes went wide, "Flying kicks! Show-me, show-me!"

Yun gave a hesitant grin. "Fine. Stand back."

A brief equipment setup later and Yun was rushing the target dummy from across the room. Two long strides covered half a dozen paces and she was in the air, flying the other half dozen to kick the target square in its chest. Shae felt like the world froze as Yun's foot was planted sideways, her whole body stretched out in a Mantis stance: her hands raised above her head and her other knee bent up to her chest. The scene seemed to pause like she was just standing casually on the ground, except she was parallel to the floor.

Formations activated around the dummy and across the floor as the force hit, and it resisted being knocked back. Shae didn't see the shockwave or hear the impact, but she felt it in her chest like a low bass note. Yun casually completed a backflip to land facing the young girl, not a bead of sweat on her, nor hair out of place.

"Whooah!" Shae said, her eyes sparkling. "Again! Again! Again!" She clapped along with her chant.

"Ha ha-ha, well aren't you easy to impress? Did you even see much?"

Shae hopped once and tried to mimic the striking pose. "Yea you were like BAM! And I felt the shockwave. Oop-" she almost fell over trying to get the pose right.

"Heh, I did think that was too fast to see properly. I'll do it just once more, and try to slow it down."

"Yes!" The girl threw a fist up.

A knock interrupted and a man's voice spoke through the door, "Miss Fairies?"

Shae's mood dropped like a stone. She slumped and walked back to the punching bag.

"Come in, Van." Yun called.

Shae hitched her step at the chef's name but decided she wanted another swing at the bag anyway.

"Fairy Yun, Wise Shae, I thought you could use a distracting treat." Van held a covered platter which he set on a table near the door. It was the only table to sit at in the training room.

"Ugh, another course?" Shae grunted then swung with fresh rage and not a small bit of qi in her arm. She timed the lightning better and left an imprint that trailed a wisp of smoke.

"Not at all, Miss. Master Long was well aware that you wouldn't entertain him any longer. This is something I prepared just for you. I'm sure Fairy Yun will enjoy it, as well."

"Oh?" Both women echoed.

Van sniffed the burning leather smell in the air with a grimace. "I believe the other dummy has formations to handle qi attacks, Miss." He walked to a window and cracked it open.

"Uh, yea, sorry." The girl dipped her head as she walked across the room.

"She wasn't doing that before, and didn't really want to hit the dummy. Still lots of empathy left in this one." She mussed Shae's hair as they reached the table.

"Well, that's quite good to hear." Van waved a hand and a light whistle of wind sounded, it breezed around the room, pulling at clothes and escaping out the window leaving a fresh clean smell.

"Ooh! Handy," the girl chirped. She leaned close to the platter and sniffed. "Hmm, can't tell. Something sweet, for sure. Nothing weird, right?"

"All completely mortal ingredients, I promise you."

"Thank you, Chef Van." She nodded and sat down.

"Tell us about it?" Yun asked.

"Of course. This traditional dessert is completely ordinary to some, yet cultivators world wide prize it as a delicacy. This preparation is more elaborate, yet still based off of the tales of travelers to match some level of authenticity. Some have described it as better than sex."

"Van!" Yun gestured to Shae. "She's just a girl."

"Chocolate?" The girl asked with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

"She's a lost soul, Yun. And yes, one ingredient is chocolate. Fairy Yun, Shae, allow me to present the iced cream sundae." He removed the cover to reveal a perfectly iconic and large sundae, one that had dropped right out of a 1960's Earth diner.

The metallic ringing noise from the cover was interrupted by Shae's squeal of joy. She dove at the chef, wrapping her arms around his waist. Like any capable cultivator, he didn't drop the metal cover and kept his balance, but let the girl push him away from the table a few paces. Her squealing turned into rushed words, "aaaaa-you're-my-new-best-friend, can-I-stay-here-forever? Thank-you thank-you thank-you thank-you."

He just chuckled and patted her back with his free hand.

"Oh!" Yun said with a spoon in her mouth. "Mmmhhmmm, this is very good!"

"Ah!" The Earth girl shouted and rushed back to the table. Without another word she dug into the dessert.

A quarter hour of delighted moans and muttered appreciation later and the two women were scraping the final drops of colorful syrup and melted ice cream out of the serving dish.

"Didn't you say you were full earlier, how did you eat all that?" Yun asked. She had taken a much more reserved approach, taking only small spoonfuls and savoring them for longer.

"Mmmhhmmm." Shae mixed a hum of enjoyment with one of discomfort, then pulled the metal spoon out of her mouth. "Teenagers are magic. They can and will eat anything you put in front of them. Double for sweets." She had rested her head on the table, cradling her stomach in pose that signaled she was uncomfortably full.

"Hmm, I don't think so. You would need at least your stomach meridian cleared to process food that fast."

"Ugh. It's a turn of phrase, Yun." She waved a hand without looking up.

"Oh." The woman blushed.

When she did look up to see the blush, Shae found her previous thoughts replaced with a raised heart rate.

"Ahem." Chef Van interrupted. "I hope you don't consider this interrupting, and I realize you may not want to discuss the matter. However, I hope you'll accept our most sincere apologies for the incident earlier. This establishment takes great pains to cater to its customers. We had no ill intentions towards you, and we consider this oversight a black mark that needs correction. If there is anything we can do to make this up to you, please don't hesitate to inform me or Fairy Yun." He paused to let Yun stand and they both gave a low bow.

"Hmgh." Shae swallowed. "Rise, you two. Hmm. A little part of me wants to be greedy and take you for all your worth, but that's so stupid that now I don't even want to ask for anything." She smiled. "I know it's not your fault and you shouldn't even have to apologize to a teenager who had a tantrum, however well deserved it was. Chef Van, Fairy Yun, I hold nothing against you or this business for any part you may have played in the matter. I completely absolve you all of guilt, responsibility, and debt. Assuming that's within reasonable custom to do so. Please let it be, this was more of a misunderstanding than anything serious."

The two employees shared a glance and Yun returned to her seat.

"Thank you, Shae. We still want to do something for you."

"Hmm. I'm not sure you need to. Heh, the ice cream was more soul soothing than the tea was, even the first time I had it."

"But Miss Shae, either of us could have insisted on withholding the root. We all heard what happened outside, and we did not doubt the truth of it."

"Thanks Chef. But really, I'm not upset about drinking it. You had valid reasons. How much worse would it have been if your bogey monster had slipped past because of the rare chance I might detect it and be offended?"

They nodded slowly. Watching for her reaction.

"The problem- no, the person I'm mad at is Long. He showed no reaction, no remorse or empathy or even willingness to admit his mistake when it happened. He could have dosed my tea at any time. Why set up this elaborate apology, just to completely undermine it by sneaking something into my drink." She frowned and rubbed her forehead. "I'm worried he will argue away his mistake. Use the facts to blind himself to the real mistake he made."

"You're worried about him?" Yun asked.

"Shouldn't I be? I'm heading to a sect full of Elders like him, and the others I've met haven't been much better. These are people who have huge amounts of power and are expected to teach and lead generations of cultivators. I need to believe in them. Know they are making the best decisions they can. And just trust them. I wouldn't be so doubtful, but how do I trust Long after this absurdly stupid slip up?" She dropped her head back to the table.

Van stepped forwards and put a hand on her shoulder. "I fear you're correct."

"Van?" Yun asked.

"I've known Long for many years, and he might just convince himself he was in the right. We all have the responsibility of finding and properly identifying the threat of soul takeovers. But Wise Shae is absolutely correct that we don't need to let it impact our lives and infest events like it did today."

She rolled her head on the table to smile up at him.

He squeezed her shoulder. "I'll go talk to him. He may not be able to gain your trust tonight. But I'll make sure he knows what he lost, and why."

"Thanks, Chef."

"And thank you, Wise Shae. Most new cultivators don't know enough to hold their betters to any standard, let alone the one you just set." He smiled, quickly cleaned the table of dishes and left the room.

A few slow breaths after Van left, Yun asked, "Still need to throw more punches?"

"Mmmgh, I'm worried what will happen if I overexert myself right now." She rubbed her stomach for emphasis.

"Heh, well, it is getting late, I think Long intended for you to have a room at the inn with the others. Though, there are other inns."

"Ugh. Is it petty to turn that down? Huwa-" she sat up quickly. "It probably is, but I do feel like moving. Last time I ate ice cream I ran a dozen li to 'burn it off'."

"Running? I thought you said no overexertion?"

"Yeah, I don't want to run, but a walk would be nice. Oh! I have a qi practice to check on, that needs a walk too." Her bag was in the corner of the room, so she went to it and brought her stack of papers back to the table.

"A practice that requires movement, and checking? Comparing results to previous days?"

"Mhm. More or less. It's a multi-step process, so I need to make sure the one I was working on today is complete. Going over tomorrow's wouldn't be bad either."

Yun raised an eyebrow at the stack of pages covered with tight script. "Are these all qi practices and techniques? Aren't you new, and from a peasant family?"

"Yep, yep, and yep. These are all from the monks I met in Minlin. And this one is the one I need to check." She pulled out the thicker bundle that had been bound like a thin magazine.

"That's one practice?" Yun asked with incredulity.

"Eh, it's closer to twelve. I do them in order as we travel, pretty much one a day. Though, I've noticed them finishing at different speeds, when I actually notice. I've been mostly guessing. I'm about a third of the way through, maybe half, now."

"That sounds quite involved for a normal practice. Should you be telling me about it?"

Shae looked up with eyebrows raised, then relaxed and shrugged. "Dunno. I think a lot of these have better versions at the sect. And this one is for new cultivators, so not that useful to anyone."

"But you're doing it?"

"The opportunity arose. The monk who made it hasn't had a lot of people use it, because of the limitations."

"What's it supposed to do? If you don't mind answering."

"I can say, but I'm not entirely sure. It seems to be intended for answering a question about one's cultivation, or maybe their future. You travel a path and it tells you what's ahead on that path, sort of thing. Here, read the introduction."

"If you're sure."

"Yep." She turned the book around with the summary page revealed.

Yun flicked the cover closed quickly to read it, then opened it up again. "This... reads like divination." She inhaled deeply then looked at the girl with a stern expression. "I will help you with this. What do you need?"

"Pffft! Ha-ha ha, so serious!" Shae put a hand over her mouth and leaned back on her chair.

Yun's expression stayed firm except a twitch of her cheek raising the edge of her lip, but her eyes were what really made her smile clear.

"Okay, okay. A quick meditation, then I need to go for a walk."

The Fairy looked down at the summary again. "Don't you need to go somewhere? You can't just walk in circles."

"Huh. You got that just from the summary? I hadn't considered it, but you're probably right."

"I'm definitely correct. We can go to your inn, how long do you need?"

"Uhm, not sure how long. Maybe an hour to be safe?"

"Then we will take the scenic route. Flame Well is spectacular at night, even more so in the rain."

"Oh right, rain. Do you have umbrellas?"

"We can do better than that! We have qi!"

Shae smiled and opened the Manifold Journey manual to the practice she needed to review.