Hold Your Horses

As Li Fan drained the last of his soup, a loud gong sounded from outside. Many disciples immediately began gathering their trays. "Afternoon cultivation class," Pang Wei explained. "They expect us at the training yard soon."

Li Fan burped softly and patted his belly, feeling content. "Training yard, right... I think I'll take a quick digesting stroll first." In truth, the last thing he wanted was to jump into drills after such a satisfying lunch.

"Don't be late," Pang Wei warned kindly. "Instructor Lu is strict. He might make you do horse-stance for an hour if you come late."

Li Fan made a face. "Ugh, my knees ache just hearing that." He waved Pang Wei off. "Go on ahead, I'll catch up." Pang Wei shrugged and joined the departing crowd.

Once the dining hall cleared out, Li Fan stretched lazily. "Horse stance or nap under a shady tree?" he mused to himself. "Tree it is." With that, he slipped out a side door, determined to find a quiet spot to snooze away the post-meal drowsiness.

He wandered a bit and found a serene little courtyard behind the kitchens, with a fragrant osmanthus tree providing dappled shade. Perfect. Li Fan settled down against the tree trunk, arms crossed, and let out a comfortable sigh. Within minutes, he was fast asleep, even starting to snore lightly.

Unbeknownst to Li Fan, not far away on the main training ground, Instructor Lu was barking orders at rows of sweating new disciples, one space conspicuously empty where Li Fan should have been. Guo Hei happened to notice the vacancy and smirked, making a mental note of the absent glutton's first strike.

Li Fan's nap was blissful and might have continued until dinner, except fate had other plans. He awoke to an odd sensation, something wet and rough dragging across his cheek. "Mmm five more minutes..." he mumbled, swatting lazily. But the wet rough thing persisted. He cracked open an eye and nearly screamed.

A huge shaggy face was inches from his own. Big round eyes, a bristling snout, and two curved horns—it was a spirit beast, a kind of bovine creature the size of a small elephant. Its tongue lolled out as it licked his face again, clearly thinking it had found a snack.

"Ahh!" Li Fan scrambled backwards, knocking his head on the tree. The beast gave a low moo-like sound. It didn't appear aggressive if anything, it looked... hopeful? As if expecting something.

He then noticed the beast carried baskets on its sides filled with vegetables. It must be a spirit ox delivering produce to the kitchen. The ox sniffed at Li Fan's robes, drooling slightly. It nudged a basket towards him.

"Are you... offering me cabbages?" Li Fan asked in disbelief, wiping ox saliva off his face. Indeed, the basket was piled with fresh cabbages and carrots. The spirit ox looked between Li Fan and the vegetables and let out another impatient moo.

Li Fan realized with amusement that while he had been dreaming of food, perhaps he'd drooled on himself, and the ox thought he wanted to eat its delivery. Either that or the beast itself was hungry and thought Li Fan could prepare something from these ingredients. The latter made him grin. "You got the wrong guy, big fella, I'm not a chef... yet." Still, the idea of fresh ingredients stirred something inside him.

He glanced around; the kitchen back door was open. The cooks must be busy prepping for dinner. If he just borrowed a small wok... No, he should be going to training. But the ox snorted and gave him such a pitiful look, as if saying, I'm hungry too, buddy.

"Fine, fine," Li Fan chuckled. "One quick snack won't hurt." He grabbed a few cabbages and carrots. The ox stomped happily. In the kitchen, he found a spare cutting board and knife. His hands moved on their own years of cooking at roadside stalls and helping in taverns for meals had given him decent skills. Chop chop chop, he sliced the vegetables deftly.

He found some ginger and garlic, a pinch of salt. Lighting the stove with a small fire talisman, he threw everything in a wok with oil and started a quick stir-fry. The aroma of ginger-garlic cabbage soon wafted through the air. The spirit ox wagged its tail, huge nose sniffing in excitement.

Li Fan couldn't help grinning. "Hold your horses or oxen," he joked. After a minute, he expertly tossed the contents of the wok, the vegetables catching air before landing perfectly back. A dash of soy sauce, a sprinkle of spring onions at the end, and done. He heaped the sizzling cabbage and carrot stir-fry onto a large platter.

"Dinner is served, buddy," he announced, placing the platter on the ground. The ox immediately dug in with gusto, its giant tongue lapping up veggies. Li Fan watched with pride and a tinge of envy, it smelled really good, and he realized he was hungry again (after all, he had missed afternoon training and snack time). Fortunately, he had saved a small bowl for himself.

As man and beast enjoyed their impromptu meal, a soft chuckle came from the roof of the kitchen. Perched quietly above was a slender figure in a light blue robe, a veil covering her face. She had been observing the napping disciple and the spirit ox with keen interest. "Interesting," she murmured under her breath. The setting sun cast a long shadow of the eaves, and by the time Li Fan looked up at a sudden feeling of being watched, the roof was empty.

Li Fan shrugged off the feeling and patted the now-content spirit ox. "There you go. Now don't go telling on me, alright?" The ox licked his face one more time, perhaps in gratitude, before lumbering off toward the storerooms, baskets much lighter.

Realizing the afternoon had passed, Li Fan figured he should at least show up for dinner roll call or he'd get in trouble. Dusting off his robe and making sure no obvious cabbage stains remained, he headed back to the dining hall as dusk fell, whistling a happy tune. He felt oddly energized from that snack, as if a warm current flowed in his belly. Must just be the ginger, he thought.

He didn't notice the small patch of grass where spilled sauce had fallen grass that now glowed faintly and grew an inch taller after absorbing the flavorful drippings.

Back in the main courtyard, Instructor Lu was fuming at the list of absentees from training (with Li Fan's name at the top), and Guo Hei was eagerly waiting to see punishment handed out. But when Li Fan strolled innocently into the evening assembly line as if nothing was wrong, all he got was a stern glare and a promise of "double drills tomorrow morning" from the instructor. Li Fan nodded, suppressing a yawn, which only made Instructor Lu's temple vein throb.

By the time night fell, Li Fan was comfortably settled into the outer disciples' dormitory, which was essentially a large shared hall with rows of bunks. Pang Wei snagged the bunk next to him, and they chatted quietly about the day's events. Pang Wei marveled at how Li Fan got off light for skipping training. Li Fan just winked, "I think the key is to not be missed. Blend into the background like a chair. Chairs don't do horse stance." Pang Wei gave him a confused look, clearly not understanding the logic, but shrugged.