A Peasant’s Guide to Sorcerery 7

A Peasant’s Guide to Sorcerery 7

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Commissioned by Ichypa

Wordcount: 2500

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Ying let loose a breath and wiped the sweat from her brow, as she finally finished her training herself to her limit.

Before she met Zhang, before she nearly perished, reaching for her limit would take a handful of hours.

Now, she looked upon a cliff-face upon which was etched the Beggar Sect’s name, carved entirely by her latent energy, after an entire afternoon and morning bereft of weakness.

“By all that is good… how am I supposed to use this power without inviting retribution?” Ying muttered to herself with a groan. She divested herself of her sweat-laden clothes and took in the spring nearby, where she set spare clothes and a wash bucket. Soon enough, she was cleansing herself of the accumulated sweat and grime from her exercise, but her mind was entirely focused on what her changes meant for her future. “If I rejoin the sect, I would invite chaos to the land.”

The immortals and their sects kept one another in check all over the land. Their territories, the city-states which they governed, and the facsimile of civility that kept everything from collapsing hedged on that balance. Destabilizing it was too easy. The Beggar Sect already did by simply existing and clashing against the corrupt nobility that fed the immortals’ ever-growing desire for more power.

If they did not move equally from territory to territory, disrupting the gluttonous desire for power of each immortal sect in turn, then they would invite retribution from the heavens. Then, as they fought and died, they would take the lives of many aspirants to immortality of the sect they fought… which would in turn invite the rapacious gaze and hunger of their neighbors.

The finest result of such a miscalculation would be a territory equally divided amongst new conquerors, with all in that region dead from years of conflict.

The worst result would be a compounding effect that leads to the tenuous peace between immortals to be utterly disrupted.

Ying knew that if she did not move carefully, then she would bring a calamity upon the land—

“Oh, hi, Lady Ying!”

Ying didn’t know how, but simultaneously she felt as though her blood turned into frost in her veins, while her face turned into a bonfire at the same time.

“Lord Zhang!?” She dipped and hid in the water before turning to the sound of his voice… and found herself shocked to find him waving across from her in the water with wet hair. He was completely naked and lathering himself with soap with a smile. Her eyes traced the contours of his form and her blood drained from her face as she realized that he hadn’t just arrived. “When… when did you get here?”

Her voice was the absolute meekest she’d ever heard it. She was almost surprised at the sound of it. It felt like she was hearing another person. A young lady lost for words, rather than one of the Beggar Sect’s finest aspirants.

“Just a few moments ago!  I was just starting to soap up when you came through the bushes and started bathing!” There was no lechery or trickery in his voice. All Ying heard was Zhang’s typical manner of excited, innocent speaking. “Were you the making the carving noises all day? Can I see what you made after I’m done bathing?”

He was looking straight at her, even as she did her best to hide her body in the current behind her legs. In his eyes, there was naught but the same candor and innocent he always had.

Ying felt irritation well up within her for a moment, before she shredded it into pieces and took control.

“Sure… but first, would you mind creating a barrier between yourself and I in the river? I don’t like being seen bathing.”

“Sure!”

Zhang, as Ying knew he would, complied without a mote of hesitation to her simple request and with his power called forth the stones in the river to create a wall of privacy between herself and him. When she moved, she found that it did as well, and Zhang spoke again.

“Taking baths is great, so do what makes you comfortable! I won’t see a thing even if you decide to swim upstream and downstream!” Zhang proclaimed the fact that he made a perfect shield for combat for privacy alone without missing a beat. “Tell me if you need any soap or anything. The ones the Fei’yen clan gave me are amazing! I’m going to keep as many as I can.”

Ying allowed herself to relax at the sight of the wall, but her face reddened nonetheless.

Zhang had refined his body through training very well. He had naught a single scar upon perfectly pale skin bereft of any blemish. His musculature was clear beneath taut skin, while the fat he had was the same as anyone who ate properly. He didn’t have a single hair beyond that upon his head and brow… even past his waist—

Ying cleared her mind of impure thoughts by introducing her face to the cold stream’s depths.

No.

Absolutely not.

Not only was she an aspirant to immortality and a champion of the Beggar’s Sect with much more to worry about and do… he was her savior! Fanciful thoughts of friendship was already too much, let alone pursing romantic relations. Hers was to be a life of conflict, violence, and constant loss in the pursuit of power. It would be doing Zhang a grave disservice if she pursued him in that manner.

It was far better to see him matched with a regular, mortal woman with influence, land, and beauty who he could enjoy, rather than a warrior with innumerable enemies now and in the future

Ying pulled herself from the water’s depths with a heavy sigh after letting the shock flow over her… and cursed herself and grimaced as a flush formed on her face. She forced herself to bathe more quickly, as she heard Zhang hum lightly across the wall, and stopped herself from glancing in that direction.

He was nice, pleasant, and extremely powerful.

Not only that, but he saved her life, and… had a charm about him that intrigued her immensely.

However, all her feelings and sentiments were best done away with for the sake of honor and doing what was right.

Despite what she wanted, it would be better to facilitate a comfortable life for Zhang instead of entertaining any fanciful ideas—

“Lady Ying, I’ve covered my eyes and I’m bringing you some soap!”

Zhang rounded past the shield he’d made, completely rinsed of any soapy suds, and holding only a bar of soap in his hand while his eyes were covered by a towel.

Once again, Ying’s trained, enhanced, and practically superhuman gaze beheld Zhang.

This time without a mote of concealment in the slightest.

Ying proceeded to desperately repeat her thoughts in her head, even as a distinct whimper left her lips, and a deep scarlet tinged her entire face.

Cute, but aggressive in all the right places.

Ying barely managed to swallow dryly as she responded to Zhang.

“T-thank you, Zhang. Stay there and do not tread any farther blindfolded. I will come to you.”

“Okay!”

Ying did so, fetched the soap, and returned to her spot in the spring.

The right actions resounded in her head… alongside the body of an attractive young man her age who had the most pleasant demeanor she’d ever experienced.

At that moment, Ying knew that she needed to find him a wife before she lost her battle against herself.

The right thing to do was to ensure that Zhang wouldn’t be involved in the trials and tribulations that she would encounter for the rest of her life.

Not throw herself at him for being a sweet, caring, capable, and attractive—

Once again, without hesitation, Ying threw herself bodily into the river water.

“Ah-ha-ha! I think it’s really fun to jump into the water too, Lady Ying!”

Why couldn’t he be less cute and nice!?

…

Fa Bai met Ying’s gaze with no small amount of trepidation, as she expected of any mortal that knew of her complete abilities, but Ying was too tired to make use of that intimidation.

Not from her training, but the time she spent with Zhang afterward.

The test of her self-control as he marveled at every little thing that she did, complimented her so nicely, and eagerly listened to everything she said, while smelling so nice and with slightly-tussled hair from a bath.

It took her less willpower to carve her school’s name with her hands alone into a cliffside than it was to spend time with Zhang keeping her distance.

Ying had barely anything left and wanted no more than to get some rest… but she knew she had to get this one thing done first.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t disagree with Fa Bai’s words in the slightest.

“My apologies, Lady Ying, but even with all his power, it’s impossible to match him with anyone of worth. They’ll take advantage of Lord Zhang in moments, and it will take a long time before lessons shall allow him to properly act in accordance to his might.” Fa Bai spoke softly, worried about herself and her occupation, but gained strength when Ying just nodded in understanding of her words. “He learns very quickly and uses whatever knowledge is given to him the moment it arises. It will take a few months of concentrated effort, but I believe that he can be wed, properly and be aware of the intricacies of court and thrive… but not now or even in a few weeks. It is impossible.”

Months or even a handful of weeks spent with Zhang.

Ying mulled the thought over for a few moments, before making a simple decision off of her knowledge of what would occur if that took place.

“Does he have any interest in you?” Ying asked the servant whom she hired to teach Zhang without a shred of hesitation. The young woman was pleasant looking and of age, as was the case for all retainers hired to serve lords and ladies for the rest of their lives. They were meant to be guards, advisors, and even lovers when desired. To be a retainer was a difficult duty, essentially signing your life onto another’s to do as they wished, but it allowed even the poorest of farming families to invest in their children and become owners of land within a single generation. So, Ying had paid the price for Fa Bai, and now wondered if that price was worth its cost. “Have you denied him?”

Ying had signed the contract and granted Fa Bai to Zhang, thus she held power over the retainer, could end her life in a moment, and know if Fa Bai was lying.

Her heart sank as the truth left Fa Bai’s lips.

“Lord Zhang doesn’t appear to have any interest in me. I believe that he believes in the custom that a man should first be with his future wife, although he admits that he would take on more, if he could afford to support them and love them as a husband should.” A light blush formed on Fa Bai’s face as she met Ying’s gaze. The sword wielder flushed at the insinuation of what would occur if her and Zhang’s relations progressed if she sought to pursue him. Zhang would seek to marry her. That idea had to leave the Beggar Sect's aspirant’s mind swiftly. “However, I do believe that he can be convinced otherwise and become less… interested in the women beside him. I can imply that his power and station needs an heir swifter than he believes, and he would take a contract to have someone bear his child and he would raise that child without concern for any relations outside of it.”

Ying wondered why Zhang would do such a thing for a moment, before coming to a realization.

“Ah, Zhang was born of a contract himself.” Ying spoke and Fa Bai nodded at those words. “No wonder he speaks only of his father.”

Children born of contracts were raised alone by the parent who paid for the contract. It involved a woman being paid to carry a child to term and wean it off of milk for a set price. From then on, the child would be raised as an heir. It was a means of keeping land solely within one’s family. Many considered it cruel, but many laborers had no choice. Immortals, aspirants, and noble lords kept many women as their own in their palaces of pleasure. If a man did not have the funds, the power, or the ability to attract a wife, then he certainly wouldn’t be able to keep one from the predations of others.

“Indeed, but it's not as cruel as you might believe. Zhang’s father and entire lineage did this for seven generations. Each one focused entirely on buying land, slowly gaining funds, and then teaching their sons to do the same… for the sake of ensuring that their sons will not have to do the same.” Fa Bai nodded at her own words and sat a bit straighter. The young woman was a peasant herself and raised up her family forevermore with her contract as a retainer. Zhang’s family toiled for entire generations to do the same without selling one of their own. “I believe that it would be cruel to take such a thing from Lord Zhang, but if you ask it of me, contractor, I shall convince him to do so.”

Ying spoke without thought.

“No. That won’t do. We’ll find another path for him… begin a search for women not of noble birth. Ones without links to nobility and without links to the heavens.” Few such women existed even in large towns, but Ying was not deterred. This was the best path forward. Although she initially planned for Zhang and his power to benefit the land from becoming involved in the games of nobility… she relented and focused simply on Zhang’s happiness. If he sought to do good in the future with his power, then she would help him. But, for now, she would repay him by assuring his lineage. Not through her own actions, of course. “I expect a report on the matter by the end of the week. Be thorough, Fa Bai, and earn the cost of your contract.”

“I will do as I am bid, Lady Ying.” Fa Bai stood at that and bowed, before turning to leave. Ying examined her movements, searching for any sign that Zhang “helped” her as he did her and her new student, and found no sign. Her stare disconcerted the servant and she turned to look at the sword-wielder. “Is there something else?”

Ying considered the question, before shaking her head and moving to her bed.

“No, nothing. You are dismissed.”

If Zhang found her trustworthy, then he will grant her the same blessing and he would be safer for it.

If he did not, then he will simply have a retainer to help and serve him.

In either event, Ying cleansed herself of the stress of the matter.

It was not her decision to make.

Or, rather, she didn’t wish to make such a decision.