"Not gonna lie to you my lady, I feel that me taking a dump in Susanoo-sama's home is only going to make him rage at me... Somehow, I don't feel this is a very solid pla-... solid... solid..."
"No, someone grab him before he starts-"
"When you can't even say my name! Has the memory gone?! Are you feeling numb..."
-
I awoke with a start, and immediately considered making Nue give me an electric chair. That particular consideration was immediately thrown out of a window that didn't even close the whole way when I found a shadow looming over me. Pure instinct made my fists rise together in a certain manner.
"Oh? You woke up."
It was Shuwen. He looked at the small wooden bucket in his hand, then turned to me again.
"I suppose this was unnecessary."
Why did he even want to throw water on me to begin with? Winter was at its peak. The owner of the local convenience store had even warned me about snow. Fortunately, I was tired and shaken enough from taming the Shikigami that falling asleep wasn't that troublesome, despite how cold it got at night...
Night...
I stare at the window across the room. There wasn't even a hint of sunlight.
"It's still night out."
"Two hours before dawn," Shuwen held up a finger. "Come now, don't you recall accepting my tutelage?"
I yawned, rubbing my blurry eyes, "I do. But what does that-"
"Very well then! The body must be kept fit above all." He gripped my shoulder with far more strength than any old man had the right to possess. A smile tugged at his chafed lips as he pointed to a distant mountain. "You must make it to the top, by yourself. Breakfast awaits there."
"You took care of breakfast?"
"I too am capable of that much." He shrugged. "Servants do not need sleep or food, merely mana."
I earnestly considered just sleeping in instead of making the entirely unnecessary trip. No, that wouldn't do. I had promised myself a change. This was an appropriate one. Before I even spoke, Shuwen faded into the background, leaving me by myself.
"Ugh."
I really wasn't a morning person. No one was. The people who thought they were had just deluded themselves into it.
After a quick trip to the bathroom and washing up by the well outside, I first called out Nue and then the Divine Dogs for no particular reason other than I found it easier to think of things that were right in front of me. The Ten Shadows had immense potential, so long as the user was smart with them.
I didn't want to actually be potential man after all, if only to spite that stupid ancestor of mine.
Breaking into a comfortable jog, I watched Nue take to the starry skies, spreading its massive wings to their full length. The Divine Dogs hid themselves amongst the tall grass all around, slick with the sheen of morning dew.
Surprisingly, my body had little trouble making the trip. It only got a little bit annoying when I had to scale a sheer cliff near the end, but some rock-climbing experience on Enji's end let me easily overcome the hurdle.
Yes, it was undeniable. My physical specs were top-notch even though I'd undergone no actual training. But then again, the Zen'in were a clan closest to jujutsu sorcerers. Maintaining the body to keep up should have been a critical aspect. Then, there was also the chance that the completed clan Crest was helping me along.
I should have gotten that from how little fat I... put on throughout life.
When I reached the top, Shuwen was sitting in the middle of a somewhat bizarre clearing in the middle of great trees. There was a pile of trees behind him, but the ground was plain so I didn't suspect that he'd made the clearing himself.
Sat there with legs folded underneath him, cup-bowl of tea in hand, Li Shuwen looked the most like a cultivator I had ever seen him.
"Quicker than expected." He opened one eye, bringing the steaming tea bowl closer to his lips. "How do you feel?"
"Awake."
Nue cried out and began encircling overhead.
I absently stroked the fur of the white wolf. "Where's my breakfast?"
"I see straining you physically will achieve little." He ignored me entirely and gracefully took a sip of his tea, "The mind then. You are not at peace."
"You've said this before." I said, stepping closer.
My stomach grumbled. Shuwen let out a chuckle and stepped away to reveal a wooden tray behind him. There was only one bowl in it. Ramen. Chicken ramen with dried shiitake mushrooms, seaweed and a bit of shoyu.
What in the Kung Fu Panda was-
"That's breakfast?"
"It was all you brought from your trip to the store." He answered unapologetically. "I also have tea?"
Sighing to myself, I pushed away my destroyed expectations and plopped down right in front of him, crossing my legs instead of following his example. His sitting position looked super uncomfortable, after all.
My stomach grumbled again as I reached for the chopsticks. When I tried to pick up a piece of chicken though...
"No..."
A second pair of chopsticks clashed with my own, deflecting them expertly like we were engaged in some kind of swordplay. When I blinked, the tasty piece of chicken was being chewed on by Shuwen.
"I-I thought servants didn't need food."
"It's still quite delectable."
This was some bullshit, man.
My eyes glazed over.
Why was he giving me the Po treatment... I wasn't even fat...
"Let me eat." I felt like crying.
"Who knew hunger was the bane of your cold exterior? Well, you may eat."
With false hope, I reached for a second piece. He kicked my hope in the nuts and stole that one as well, then another the moment I stared at it. I tried to snatch the bowl. He picked it right up and jumped back with a kick with such ease that he seemed to be floating.
"Kakaka! You may take it!"
Gritting my teeth in hungry anger, I commanded Nue. The massive creature swooped down with blinding speed and extreme precision... only for Shuwen to lean back all the way. The talons harmlessly swiped over him.
"I fucking knew it. You couldn't just be some nice old man."
The white wolf behind me ran forth but Shuwen spun on a heel. His robes fluttered. My wolf was sent facefirst into the pile of trees. I rushed him myself and he threw the bowl in the air. I was forced to change trajectories in an attempt to save my food. By some luck, I did manage to position myself quick enough to catch it.
Yet, breakfast remained out of my reach.
I felt a weight on my shoulder and ate dirt when my 'teacher' used me as a jumping pad.
Chuckling, he started eating again, slowly, with great delight written all over his face. I sank into the shadow cast by a nearby tree to erupt from underneath his feet... He used my forehead to jump into the air, even taking a sip of the broth mid-flight.
In a last ditch effort, the black wolf jumped out of my sleeve. When Shuwen inevitably sent it flying with a round kick by twisting his entire body, dozens of rabbits sprouted from the shadow cast by the arm holding the bowl. I felt one touch the wood before Shuwen remorselessly impaled the poor thing through the chest.
"I'm going to..."
I found myself on the verge of tears.
Shuwen calmly placed the bowl down before me.
"Don't cry, master. Here."
The bowl was empty.
That morning, I barely restrained myself from calling out the Divine General himself. Instead, I covered my face with my hands.
"Don't be so down. Your synergy with your familiars is impressive considering you only recently acquired two of them." He noted, stroking his chin, one hand behind his back, "You move faster when you try too... What is it? Is the sheer amount of your Chi reinforcing your body unknowingly?"
"...What?"
"Go on, try. Sense the flow within your body." He crouched down, gripping my fist, "Follow along the course. There should be gaps and cracks. Aren't you interested in what happens if you fill those with your Chi? Or perhaps coat your fists with that energy and make it lash out at the final moment?"
...
"I'm not doing shit without food."
"I shall cook you up a feast if you try. Surely, your culinary skills are shallow compared to mine."
...
Those sweet words...
-
I folded.
In the end, I folded when tempted with good food.
Sitting there, under a maple tree with the Sun at its peak in a clear blue sky, I was also sure that I ascended to some higher form of being because the pangs of hunger stopped entirely once I started focusing on the tainted 'energy' flowing out of my gut and tracing along the marks that appeared on my body when I beckoned it forth.
I called it mana, because of where I was.
Li Shuwen called it Chi.
It felt like what I imagined Cursed Energy was meant to be.
With a thought, the mana began coursing through my body. Yes, like Shuwen had said, there were gaps, cracks and fissures in the structure of my entire body. With nary a thought, I was easily able to force my mana to complete them, then even coat my fists and legs in the energy.
Only a moment passed before I was hit by a foreign force, and my efforts crumbled at the base.
When I opened my eyes, Shuwen's lips were parted. He closed them the moment he noticed and shook his head.
"How did I do?"
He seemed to think for a moment, "...Adequately. That was your first time?"
"Yeah. I only awakened the Ten Shadows a couple days ago. I've been messing around with the crest since then."
Well, it had been a few weeks actually, but I wasn't even conscious for most of them.
My cruel teacher hummed and turned to leave.
"I will make good on my word. Let us return home so that I may rethink-..."
Hopefully, he'd actually let me have breakfast tomorrow.
-
Hope you enjoyed.
Hold on, figuring out basic reinforcement that easily and this level of natural control over mana... C-C-Could he actually be talented? NAHHHHHHHHHH! HE CONSIDERED SUMMONING RAGA CAUSE HE WASNT GETTING FOOD! HE'S A FRAAAAAAAAAAAUD! A FRAAAAAAAAAAAAAUD! HIS REINFORCEMENT FELL APART ANYWAY! ALL THE TALENT IS DEFO FROM HIS CREST! HE AIN'T SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-
You can find 7 chonky chapters ahead at patre0n.com/Bleap