Yet again, man and ape stood together at the training ground. The time Vera spent training had increased in proportion to his recovered condition.
A cold wind gently brushed through the trees that encircled the training ground. Vera sat in a meditative position. The light of dusk obscured by Bao's colossal body.
"Focus on the nature of metal. Think of the tactile interactions it has with the world around you." Bao's hands mimed six points. representing the senses through which metal could be perceived.
"I have an understanding of the first five senses. But how do I think of metal as a part of the sixth sense?"
"Try?..."
"..."
Even through his closed eyes, Vera's disdain for Bao's poor teaching abilities was visible.
In times like this, Vera remembered Danho fondly.
"Oye, just now, it flickered; you were close to mimicking it."
"Really?"
"'Close' may have been an overstatement. But there was a reaction."
"We used to burn people like you in the Deep Cold." Vera murmured under his breath.
"What? I didn't catch that."
"Nothing..."
After about another hour of fruitless attempts, Bao decided to switch the pace up.
"Let's train with the halberd for a bit then."
"Sure." Vera stood up as he dusted his robe. The thought of physical training reinvigorated him.
Bao handed Vera the halberd. Its regal engravings shimmered under the setting sun.
"Up till now you have been using weapons of poor quality, ones that aren't supposed to be used by masters of your calibre."
"Hm."
"But this isn't the same as the garbage you've been using up till now."
Bao extended the weapon to Vera; a slight quiver ran through his arm. As Vera firmly gripped the halberd with both his hands, Bao let go.
"What the fuck!" Vera groaned out, the veins on his pressing through his skin as he shouted.
"Pretty heavy, right?"
"Yeah, pretty fucking heavy."
"Start using your qi. This was never supposed to be wielded with just raw strength."
Streams of golden qi flooded Vera's veins. His expression tightened; a slight discomfort pulsed through him. Nonetheless, the supplementation eased the strain from the weapon.
"Keep it up. You won't recover if you don't push through this phase."
"Hm."
"What kind of weapon can't be wielded with pure strength?"
"The kind that immortals give you."
"..."
"Perform basic halberd movements you are familiar with."
"Sure."
Usually, when people wielded halberds, they'd have to use passing and gathering steps. Simply because of the torque produced by the halberd. However, this wasn't the same for martial artists.
When counterbalance can match up with pure torque, the array of moves that could be performed increases greatly.
With his right foot digging into the ground, Vera swung the halberd from a low steer into an upper guard.
His grip slid from the middle pivot to the blade's end; his upper guard morphed into an overhead steer guard.
The sheer momentum of the halberd was reflected in the tremors of the ground beneath Vera as he made short dashes forward.
The overhead steer guard swung into an arc, trailing from his skull and crossing his torso.
At the end of the movement, the halberd stood at a side guard on his right.
"That was a clean guarded swing... But this isn't the kind of weapon you are used to, Vera."
"?" Vera's eyebrows creased; he was unsure as to what was wrong in his movement.
"You can put more strength into the swing. The halberd won't break."
"Alright..." while he was unsure about what Bao had to say. He figured if the weapon broke, that's all it really was.
His grip tightened around the halberd's cold iron shaft. He repeated the guarded swing; only, this time he picked up the pace by a large amount.
The wind followed, with no purchase. Its trail to the blade widens by the second. As Vera reached the overhead steer guard, the wind roared. Its path broke, as it was unable to follow the blades' tangent.
The blade's weight almost had Vera reeling. But he braced himself. The length of the muscles in his hamstring tensed from the corrective force.
The ground beneath him cracked open. The pattern mimicked a map of the five planes.
Vera's body turned taut; his body mirrored the string of a great warbow.
The blade dove through the wind; the overhead guard bled into a side guard.
A warm drop of sweat trickled from his hair, dispersing into his eyebrow.
"Pretty rough, right?"
"Yeah..."
"Look at the ground."
"?"
Vera's head turned to the ground, but he didn't see anything that'd warrant Bao's words.
This kind of damage was normal.
"What's the problem?"
"Vera, where were you standing when you started the movement?"
"..."
He hadn't taken a single step from the starting point. His mind, engulfed in controlling the Ji's tangent, forgot about his footwork.
"We have time... Start training with the guard. Commander Jin leads the class for those who move from wooden to iron halberds. With his fifty years of experience, he'd be a better teacher than I could be."
Vera held the halberd against the ground. Laboured breaths escaped him.
"Should we call it for today? Dinner time is approaching."
"That would be best... I'd rather not have Linda come up to my house again."
"Don't worry; you got away far easier than I did."
"I could tell."
"You're getting closer to the stage of transmutation. Given a month or so, you should be able to break through. The halberd can be corrected under Commander Jin. All that remains is the canon of Taowu."
"When should we be able to start it?"
"Not any time soon... The canon requires you to be capable of manipulation."
"..."
Reaching the stage of manipulation would at least take another six months. The problem was, Vera would be leaving the village within a month's time. His conquest had long since stalled for his recovery.
"Bao... Why are you helping me so much? Is it because of Vast Heavens?"
"Before I met you, that would've been the reason. But to all of us at the village, you aren't just another aspiring ascender. I help you not because of Vast Heaven's interest. I help you because you care for my people, as they care for you."
"Bao..."
"Stand unburdened, Vera. The hand of the immortals can change one's fate, but it can't change our hearts."
Vera nodded silently. A weight that bore on him was slightly eased. The newfound conviction he gained from the village started to solidify.
***
Dinners and outings passed as always. As the end of the month grew near, the time Vera spent training diminished.
More evenings spent helping Linda cook.
More nights spent sharing liquor with Ken.
More days spent gallivanting with Renta.
Soon the day of Vera's departure arrived. He stood at the gate he'd passed through half a year ago.
The afternoon sun shone brightly over him. Cold winds dragged dust across the stone pavements of the village.
His cheap rucksack bit into his shoulder. A thick robe hugged his body.
Vera recalled the day he left Deep Cold. Though he stood alone, he felt the wishes of his people behind him.
Today was no different. Only an army of people stood behind him; their emotions held the same weight as those from home.
He was heralded as the saviour of the village. Families stood at the gate. Fathers who would've died otherwise embraced their wives and children.
Behind him stood Linda, Renta, Ken, and Bao.
"Use the robe I knit for you... Winter is coming soon; it gets really cold." Linda spoke softly; tears welled up in her eyes.
"I'll cherish it, Ma'am."
"Take care of yourself, young man. Don't let people take advantage of your kind nature, as we have," Ken spoke, the shine in his teeth standing valiantly.
"I'll take care, Ken. I hope you remember, I did what I did only to repay the kindness I was given."
Bao's palm firmly grasped Vera's shoulder.
"Take care, little one. I hope your path leads you to the land of the ascended. In that place we shall meet again."
"Hm... I'll wait for you there."
Vera got onto a knee. His palms grasped Renta's shoulders.
"Be nice to Linda. And stop trying to sell people stones that are worth nothing."
Renta faced the stone pavement. His eyes were unwilling to meet Vera's.
"More than anything else, take care of yourself, Renta. You are a strong child."
Quiet sniffles broke through Renta. His head still faced the ground.
"Hmm..."
Vera got up. He walked through the village gate. His hand waving at the people behind him.
"Take care, everyone. Sometime in the future, may we meet again."
Vera's visage was engulfed by the dense foliage of the Demon Continent. The cheers of the chimps slowly dampening.
But through those voices, one stood clear to him.
"Thank you, Vera! I'll be good. So come back soon!"
A quiet smile crept onto Vera's face.
Stubborn as always, aren't you, Renta?
The symphony that once bore heavily on him now uplifted him.
The village of the chimps blurred into the background. The end of a story that changed who Vera was.
The mark of the Zhuyan was embedded into his flesh; its gentle shine carried a piece of the village along with him.