(Day 130)

The valley below the sect was awash in activity.  The last of the snow was a thing of the past and the fields were green again.  Laborers from Hotan toiled in the spring sun, constructing another storehouse needed for the additional feed of the horses.  Something that could be used as a temporary stable if need be.  The tents and wagons of the workers had formed a small village.

One of the dormitories of Jin disciples had come down the mountain for riding lessons.  In their spare time they socialized with the townsfolk, as best they could with the language barrier.  Luckily, the builders knew what they were about, so Pengfei did not need to worry about translating any instructions.  The construction continued apace.

And now the Tibetan tribesmen were passing through, with their own carts and herds.  Their trading in Hotan was done, headed back south to graze for the season, maybe longer.  The dialogue between Pengfei and Pema had become stilted after the revelation of her engagement.  The days in Hotan had passed stiffly.  They avoided each other if possible.  Now she passed a stone’s throw away from him, not even looking in his direction.  He wondered if she would speak to him when he laid eyes on her again.  If he ever laid eyes on her again.

–Fuck.–

There was a constriction in his chest as he watched her across the field.  The long braids mixed in with the rest of her flowing black hair.  Her tanned skin more lovely than any of the vaunted ‘jade beauties’ he had seen in the Central Plains.  She whooped and shouted, caring only for the animals.  Urging sheep along, keeping the goats from mixing with those belonging to Kunlun.

“This is probably the most crowded this place has been… ever.”  Nanxi observed as he rode up.

“I guess.”

“Come on.  Stop thinking about how badly you screwed things up with her.  We’ve got some work to do.”

Nanxi grabbed Pengfei’s reins and set off toward Kunlun’s encampment.  

“Hey!”  Pengfei protested, trying to pull away, but Horse seemed to agree with his friend.  She neighed and continued on her path, not taking heed of any of her rider’s exhortations.  Apparently, she also thought he needed to stop moping.  “Traitor.”

He gave one last look back to Pema.  In an hour, the Tibetan clan would be out of sight around the next bend in the valley.  By the end of the day, they’d be in southern plateau.  

The disciples who had come down the mountain were living out of tents.  The workers from Hotan would begin working on a bunkhouse for them after their current project was finished.  The boys all complained about their temporary accommodations, but none did so in front of Chen Mo.  The decrepit head of the Veneration Hall was taking his turn to supervise the disciples, seeing that some semblance of order was kept.  As loudly as the elder complained about the duty, he would tolerate no whining from the Jin generation.  

Nanxi took the initiative at the camp.  He whistled and shouted as he rode his tawny brown mount between the tents. 

“Come on you lazy bastards, come and learn a thing or two!”

The disciples jeered and hissed at Nanxi but made their way over to the paddock.  A small circle of earth, fenced in and containing several of the new horses.  The boys looked up expectantly to Pengfei once they had gathered around.

–This … this is weird.–

They looked at him as if he carried some kind of authority.  And he did, at least for now.  As if to confirm it, he was sitting above them all, high in the saddle as they paced the ground.  

–Don’t want to lay it on too thick.  Don’t want to be a limp noodle either. —

Pengfei tried to measure his tone before he spoke, sounding it out in his head.  He thought it went alright when the words finally left his mouth.

“Well, I’ve been working on these five horses the past week.  Broken them in a bit.  They only threw me off…  twenty, maybe thirty times.”  He gave his ass an exaggerated rub and flashed a self-deprecating smile, drawing a chuckle from the others.  “They’re still skittish, so try to keep them calm as you put the saddles on them.  Work in pairs, then take turns riding around the paddock.  Let me or Nanxi know if you need help.”

The crowd split into smaller groups and set to their task.  Pengfei watched absent-mindedly, shooting glances over his shoulder to the Tibetan clan still passing through the valley.  But he could not find Pema again.  

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(Day 154)

Pengfei opened the door to the Scripture Hall and stepped inside.  Neng and Chen Weidao each looked up from their respective desks, pausing in their usual work of transcribing new copies of worn and damaged texts.  

“Greetings Elder Weidao.  Brother Neng.”

He bowed over his clasped fist to the both of them.  Neng barely looked up.

“Do you have anything for me?”  Chen Weidao asked.

“Yes, sir.”

Pengfei withdrew a text from his robes.  The copy of “Zhoubi Suanjing” that the elder had let him borrow months ago.  Not so subtle hints had indicated it was time to return the book.  He stepped forward and used both hands to hold it forward.  Elder Weidao took the proffered item, inspecting it with a critical eye.  He quickly flipped through the pages to check their integrity.

“It’s in better shape than I would have thought after so long.  Did you take it on your little jaunts to the great outdoors?”

“I wouldn’t dare to take that risk.  It’s been safe in my dormitory.”

The elder nodded in approval.  “Good.  Since you showed some common sense, you can borrow another one if you like.”

“Thank you.”

Pengfei turned to peruse the shelves of the little library.  He skipped the martial arts manuals and Taoist treatises and instead looked for more scientific literature.  The ‘Zhoubi’ had been engaging, but his pleasure in the astronomical tome had derived more from the mathematics than the discourse on the heavens.  

–Stars, stars, and more stars.–

He looked through the books which contained the mathematics he sought.  There were few that considered the subject for its own sake.  Most only detailed the theory necessary to chart the movements of the sky.  

–It’s all well and good.  Just wish there was something a bit more rigorous… built up from the bottom.–

He picked up the ‘Nine Chapters of the Mathematical Art’ and looked at its pages.  He’d studied it with tutors before, at home in Sichuan.  

–Too focused on application…–

“Your swordsmanship has improved.”

Pengfei jumped at the words.  He looked back to find Chen Weidao had set down his brush, addressing the disciple directly and intentionally.  Neng seemed as shocked as Pengfei.  He looked from his master to his peer and back again before making a show of returning to his work.

“Oh… um, thank you, elder.  But I’m still far below my brothers, such as your disci – ”

“Of course you are.  I didn’t say you were good.  Only that you had improved.  Still, it’s the rate of change that is noteworthy, not the absolute level.”

Chen Weidao stood and walked over to the shelf, taking the book from Pengfei’s hand.  “In the language of the classics… imagine two quantities.  One greater, one lesser.  The greater quantity doubles every day, while the lesser triples.   How long until the minority becomes the majority?”

The elder closed the book and returned it to the shelf, before changing topic.  “There’s going to be a tournament in the winter.  Have you heard?”

“Yes, sir.  A friend told me this morning.  I wasn’t planning to compete but -”

“I know Chen Rulan thinks highly of you.  And you’ve earned some good will with the Sect Leader, taking on this foolish project in the valley.  But the tournament would be a good opportunity to demonstrate your improvement to the rest of the elders.  When Kunlun’s punishment ends, your generation will be allowed to visit the other sects of the wulin.  If you practice hard for the next few months, you might earn yourself a trip to somewhere reputable, like Mount Hua or Wudang.  Something to think about.”

The elder selected another book and handed it to Pengfei.  A title he did not recognize, ‘Arithmetic and Geometric Primer.’

“Thank you for the advice sir.”, the boy said, looking between the man and the text with equal confusion.

The elder had already turned his back before Pengfei remembered his manners and bowed again.  Returned to his desk and his work, without another glance.  

The disciple walked slowly back to the door and quietly excused himself, pondering what the man had said.  He caught a glare from Neng as he closed the door, paused for a moment to see the other boy’s eyes through the crack, then turned away.

He sighed heavily, puzzled and distracted by the sharp look from the other disciple.  There had been a distance growing between them.  It had started when Weidao had taken Neng as a disciple.  Perhaps unspoken jealousy on Pengfei’s part had been the genesis of it.  Things had grown more awkward since he had shared the story of his life-and-death fight in the canyon.  Pengfei had naturally been reserved for a time afterward.  Thoughtful.  Where Nanxi had made an effort to break through, Neng had let the silence stand. 

Pengfei had come out of his reverie eventually and reached out only to be kept at a distance.  Subsequent attempts at bridging the growing divide had been ignored, or outright rebuffed.

Still, Neng kept the secret of the canyon.  And there was gratitude and respect for that.  But the look just now was a cause for concern.  

–What to do about that, what to do…?–

It wasn’t the first time he had asked himself the question, and with no more clues as to an answer, he quickly set it aside.  There were plenty of other more interesting things to consider.  The book in his hand.  The tournament, which had broader implications than he would have first guessed. 

The hypothetical years ran out before his eyes.  The future of Kunlun.  In his mind, they journeyed to their traditional home in Qinghai, and from there further east.  Visiting the great sects and clans. 

–Mount Hua… Wudang… Shaolin and the Wulin Alliance.  It’s all starting to feel a bit closer now.  Maybe because Kunlun feels more like home now?  I got comfortable here, so I guess I’m looking forward to the next thing…–

He wondered what exactly ‘the next thing’ would be.  He floated on a sea of possibilities, daydreaming all the way back to his dormitory. 

It was crowded.  Disciples lounged about their quarters on their day off.  The ones missing were mostly those who had been taken as direct disciples to one of the elders.  Nanxi would be off studying swordsmanship with his master Chen Zi, or performing some menial task for the man, like Neng.  

Normally, Pengfei would go to see Chen Rulan but the elder had given him the day off.  Ordered him to rest, in fact.  

The months since taking delivery of the horses had been particularly busy.  Every other month spent down in the valley.  And sometimes issues with the herd necessitated his presence, even when it was not his shift.  Questions that only he could answer, and sometimes not even that.  He often had to figure it out on the fly, returning only last night from one such expedition.  An abscess underneath the hoof of a gelding.  

His qinggong continued to improve, the time spent climbing up and down the mountain diminished with each lap.  But it still took its toll.  Pengfei was grateful for the rest granted by Chen Rulan, the consideration of his teacher.

He would have spent the time with his friends for a change but Nanxi would be late to return.  The twins were stripped to the waist, darning their clothes.  Xiaotong was nowhere to be seen.  And though Shutian napped on his bedroll across the room, Pengfei was not the type to sleep in the middle of the day.

–I told Elder Rulan I’d relax… Neigong is close to relaxation, right?–

He folded his legs and set his back to the wall, closing his eyes and taking in a breath.  He traced its path through his body.  The flecks of nature’s energy were faintly perceptible tumbling through the channels of his torso, bouncing off unseen blockages in his meridians until they reached his dantian and joined the whirlpool of qi there.