Little Peacock

Fu Shulin decided it was best to leave Beishan province all together. Maybe in the warmer south he'd find wandering cultivators willing to teach him in return for him performing some manual labour for them, instead of charging him prohibitive fees.

But he had overestimated how far the meager copper pieces he had could take him. Even if he walked on foot and slept outside when he needed the rest, he still had to eat -- in the end, he never made it out of Beishan.

Halfway to the province's second largest city, Longyu, Fu Shulin could no longer stand his trek on foot and used the last of his copper to book a room.

The inn was shabby, and the service was poor, but Fu Shulin was so relieved to sleep in a real mattress instead of a bed of grass that he had one of the most restful nights of sleep of his entire life.

Early morning brought him uncertainty. He had no more money to go on.

Which left him only an option:

"Please, jiejie, I really need a job. I'm reliable and steady, and I'm up for any kind of task."

The woman working the inn's reception wasn't impressed by his tearful plea. "How old are you? Where are your parents? You shouldn't be asking anyone for a job. Go bother your mother and father."

"Jiejie doesn't know this, but I'm an orphan...I really have no one to rely on."

With the woman's age, Fu Shulin should be calling her "aunt" or even "granny", but he was hoping to win her over, and willing to use every trick he had.

She huffed and puffed some more, but eventually conceded to give him a job as an errand runner for the inn, in exchange for a silver piece a month and room and board.

Fu Shulin was over the moon with gratitude, he never had that much money. He'd used all his savings on the journey; which amounted to a handful of copper pieces scrapped together from new year's gifts and the occasional errand he ran for the elderly folks in their village.

The inn was run by the elderly woman on behalf of a family who lived in Longyu. Her name was An Mu and she berated Fu Shulin whenever he called her "Mumu jiejie", which only made him do it more often.

In truth An Mu found it endearing, but she never admitted that to Fu Shulin. She died without ever telling him how much his presence livened her days.

A young man from Longyu called A-Din came once a week to clean, and a girl called A-Ning helped An Mu prep food for the guests twice a week.

But most days it was just An Mu and Fu Shulin in the inn, alone with whatever guests they had.

The days were peaceful and Fu Shulin enjoyed his work helping An Mu. The guests often thought he was her grandson and praised him for being so filial. This filled Fu Shulin with a secret, guilty, pleasure. No one had ever called him filial before -- and he certainly had never felt so.

He wished An Mu could be his grandmother (he didn't see why not, as he had no others), but he too never told her this.

In his free time he practiced his martial arts in the inn's small courtyard under An Mu's critical eye. She had been a dancer in her youth, and always reprimanded him when his form was sloppy and his back wasn't straight enough.

"Martial arts aren't dancing!" Fu Shulin said, after one too many complaints.

"I've seen my fair share of martial artists and cultivators both, boy, and let me tell you none of them were as clumsy as you. Again!"

Under her strict training, Fu Shulin saw his form improve by leaps and bounds. In a matter of a few months he could burst through wood with his fists, and balance himself on a needle's thread. Even his leaping improved, even though it was all done on the basis of balance and strength instead of using his spiritual energy.

That was a reservoir he still couldn't tap into, but sometimes he swore he could feel it, rushing under his skin like an ever expanding ocean.

In the blink of an eye an year passed. If it wasn't for the debt he still owed his family, Fu Shulin thought he might enjoy spending the rest of his days with An Mu looking over the inn. It was very peaceful, and he liked the quiet.

But he had to make good on that promise, and so he kept diligently training. Ignoring the anxious tightening of his stomach telling him he would need to leave soon to look for a master to teach him.

Sometimes, he would remember Xin Rufei, and the prospect of seeing him again would settle his anxiety.

He was training in the courtyard under An Mu's watchful gaze when a guest joined them outside with his tea. He sat at the plain wooden table and watched Fu Shulin work in silence for a long time, sipping his tea slowly.

Fu Shulin was aware of his attention and put on a show of his skills to impress him. Which made An Mu chuckle with amusement and call him "little peacock" whenever he did something particularly flashy.

When he was done with his tea the man swaggered over towards Fu Shulin, still holding the empty cup in the palm of his hand. "The 'little peacock' shows promise, but what does he plan to do with it?"

He had an air of disreputability about him, loosely tied hair with hints of grey showing at the temples and an uneven smattering of whiskers on his cheeks and chin.

Fu Shulin looked up at him in. The sun was shining behind the man's messy head, casting his features in shadow, but Fu Shulin could still discern the glint of his brilliant roguish smile. He knew a wandering cultivator when he saw it.

He put on his most polite face and bowed at the waist. "This one is going to become a cultivator and join Jade Dragon Manor sect"

The man chuckled. "Jade Dragon Manor, eh? What a coincidence..." He walked a circle around Fu Shulin, observing him from every angle. "I think I can help you with that."