Episode 2

“No Going Back Now...”

So there I was, basically told to not come home unless I had done something unbelievable, something impossible, or something improbable.

In any case, I was going to be gone a long time.

To make matters worse, I had been hot on the trail of this notorious enemy of the state, and now they were gone.

I was literally tied to that bed for two humiliating weeks while those women tended to me as if I were a complete invalid and let me tell you that is humiliating!

After two weeks, however, the doctor came in, they lifted me up with a not too comfortable wooden device so they would not have to untie me and he and his apprentice unbound me for all the world to see while he used a really fancy mirror and lantern arrangement to inspect my bone while he kept up his normal murmuring and mumbling routine.

Finally he said, “Two more weeks.”

“Whyyyyyyyyy!!!???” I bawled.

“Because this is a poorly formed old wound and the work I did is not putting up with you wrestling around in your restraints well.” he said in his peculiar mannerism, “I have done everything I could but you keep resisting by twisting and turning like a worm on a hot skillet and that is keeping the bones from healing. They would have already healed by now if you would have simply laid still like you were instructed.”

“I can't stand being strapped in like this!” I protested.

“The longer you struggle,” he said firmly, turning toward the door, motioning that they re-bind me and take away the strange device, “the longer this is going to take.” and then he took his leave.

“Two more miserable weeks and not a reason left to even live.” I groaned.

“I could give you a reason to live,” one of the two daughters offered.

“I think I just figured out why you two are not married.” I groaned.

Instead of reacting offended, they both just giggled and said, “Just hurry up and get well hero.”

Ep 2, Chapter 2

I tried my best not to move, and I have to admit, the pain and the popping in my rib finally stopped after the fourth day.

I was about to try it out but then I thought about what he had said, “The longer you struggle, the longer this is going to take.” and refrained.

I lay there simply focusing.

I think its the first time I ever followed dad's advice so carefully in my life.

I tried focusing on a lot of different things, usually my mind would wander like it was wont to do in the first place.

After I began focusing on the strong warrior however, I began trying to make out his face behind the fierce helmet which did not let in much light nor did it reveal much save those fiercely flashing eyes.

I imagined him striking fighting poses, then I imagined him practicing fighting, and before long I added bandits from my long and replete list of former foes.

It was like a game I suppose, setting this one enemy up with the other enemy, seeing who would win, and in the end the warrior always won.

I ran scenarios through my mind time and time again, with bare fists, with bladed and blunt weapons, and each time he always got the better of the other guy.

Soon I was focusing on making up new moves.

Day after day passed quickly, despite the bothersome and humiliating handling I got from the two sisters who liked women instead of men, as I ran new ideas through my mind over and over again, comparing how they would succeed or how they would fail against a presumed master such as Tai Bei Wu.

Eventually I found myself reciting the more perfect scenarios against two and three enemies, each time raising the difficulty of the enemy.

By the day the doctor came and visited me, I was so entranced with my meditation I was already being lifted up when I finally realized there were other people in the room!

Ep 2, Chapter 3

The doctor was genuinely surprised.

“I did not think you could do it White Thorn!” his normally stern mask lost with raised bushy eyebrows.

“I mediated.” I replied in an almost euphoric state.

“Wonder of wonders!” he frowned quizzically, “The wayward wind has achieved the state of calm!”

“Anyway,” I interrupted his reverie, “I need to try out these new maneuvers I devised.”

“Ohhhhh no you don't!” he protested, “I just got you healed and now you are wanting to try to wreck yourself all over again!”

“Oh I could teach some students while I recover doc.” I insisted.

His and the stablemaster's eyes went wide and they exchanged glances, “Are we hearing you right?”

“What?” I asked, “I've learned a lot over the years and now I think I have finally achieved martial enlightenment...maybe...so why not share it with others?”

“Is this truly the White Thorn of Xinjiang?” the stablemaster frowned quizzically, his head tilting as if seeing me from another view would reveal me to be an impostor.

“I never gave me that name,” I shrugged, “but what's wrong with salty grapes?”

They exchanged glances again in astonishment, the two daughters were seemingly dumbstricken and the mother left the room as if on an urgent mission.

“Whaaaaaaaaaat?”

Ep 2, Chapter 4

A meeting with the village council was held and I as questioned thoroughly as to why all of a sudden I was showing these uncharacteristic signs of charity.

“I'm just excited about beating the bandits who keep making life miserable when life is already hard enough is all.” I shrugged.

“Why here?” one man asked.

“Because I just came up with them here while I was tied to a bed and I don't want to forget them!”

“She definitely is as blunt as she is known to be.” one older woman remarked.

“Look-” I protested, “I'm not trying to be some kind of holy monk or anything, I'm just trying to perfect some ideas I have, and if it helps people that's fine with me!”

“Her greedy streak seems to have disappeared though.” another man frowned distrustingly.

“Maybe that knock in the head in the stable made her forget who she is.” another man suggested.

“No!” I protested, “I was simply...” I gasped in exasperation, “I was taking so much time to heal from many long unattended wounds by your most benevolent doctor, that to keep from moving and opening up the wound I just made these moves up while I passed the time is all!”

“Since when did you ever use the word 'benevolent'?” the first old woman growled.

“Oh...come onnnnnnnn!”

Ep 2, Chapter 5

In the end, with the insistence of the two daughters and the enthusiasm of many children and younger people in the village, they all relented and granted me use of the village square as a meeting place where I could be observed in case I was actually now insane, or worse,possessed by some kind of demon, lest I begin harming the people of the village or trying to build some kind of armor of monsters.

We began two days after the meeting and I was officially greeted in my temporary residence, the bedroom of one of the stablemaster's daughters.

She was fine to share a bed with her sister, and had been now for the past month since I was taken in, so it seemed a rather normal thing for me to be there now.

I began with introductions, but it seemed that everybody already knew my name so it was a strange experience for me.

Now don't get me wrong, its not that people in my village did not know me and call me by 'Thorn' or something more derisive, but its that in this village, people were showing me a whole lot of respect.

I began with a lecture the first day about how many of them might need to 'brush up on the basics', but that if any of them could already perform all of the basics, I was eager to get on with the new ideas before I forgot them.

One of the stablemaster's daughter, I keep forgetting their names, but the taller one with the more beakish nose, kept meticulous records of everything I said while the other one, a bit more mobile, joined in on the training, some of the time showing the younger children the steps by leading them through.

As I got to paying more attention to my students, I noticed that some of them had reddish or cinnamon hair, some had other features I might have noticed in some few people who traded, some could have been Uigurs for all I knew, but in general, they were definitely of mixed heritage.

We got into the routines, however and people were learning at various paces, some of them were fast learners, while others had great difficulty.

We rehearsed moves as fast as I could get the better students to figure out the complexities and the mental logic behind them.

The younger students would watch some times as we would demonstrate to them these moves in slow motion so they could see them in action without the problem of it being too fast.

Despite the doctor's warnings, I knew I had to at least superficially test these students on these moves which I myself was not permitted to execute because he was sure my bone had not yet fully healed.

I was mindful to keep my stance properly positioned and keep from twisting or letting myself get thrown, but I needed to do as much to be sure that these students were getting it and developing the right muscles in the process.

I had some of them stretch and push against my hands, while others I allowed them to full on try to throw me because I knew my power was far greater than theirs.

I could see them growing proficient in the weeks that passed as spring began to open up with warmer weather which was making it harder to practice into the later parts of the morning.

With summer, it would be impossible to train here in this intense heat.

“We need some place cool to train.” I remarked to the taller daughter.

“You would have to build such a place and there is nothing out here but sand forever.” she replied.

“That is not exactly true.” I remarked, “The sand is only as deep as one's knees before it becomes much like solid rock.”

“How do you know this?” she asked.

“When you need to dig for water, you have to dig very deeply but it is down there, and you can get an iron or strong bronze tool and dig through it with patience and determination.”

“Do you plan on digging until you reach water?” she asked.

“I don't have to.” I replied, “I just need to dig a low spot where the cold night air can collect and then only use it when it becomes too hot at ground level.”

“This still sounds like a vast undertaking.” she protested.

“Its good strengthening exercise.” I countered, “We will have to work when it is cool, but with enough people we can produce a place cool enough to exercise for three more hours.

Ep 2, Chapter 6

We were putting some good hours in and I was getting even stronger than I used to be, and several of the students were also putting on some strength.

I had them test out with my guandao since I had neither anything lighter nor anything similar to it anywhere.

We asked the blacksmith to make some lighter versions, so eventually we hoped these would show up and help us to train, but at the time, they were on back order due to a shortage of iron, firewood and a long list of other work ahead of us.

In the mean time, we borrowed some long pruning tools and tied small rocks to them for weight.

They proved to be too fragile for the task however and I ended up dealing with angry farmers who could not harvest their crops without them and ended up paying out some of my meager savings to buy for them new handles from traveling merchants.

While I was at it though, I went the extra distance and ordered three jin weight of iron ingots from them and five of their stronger handles so we would have them set aside for the training weapons the moment the blacksmith was free to make them.

I did not want anything to get in the way of this training.

I guess I had quickly grown obsessed.

I no longer had to worry about people talking bad about me or talking down to me as they were seeing their children getting stronger, keener and healthier.

The doctor's final visit produced the declaration that my years old wound had totally healed to the point he could not feel it or see evidence of it any more, despite my knowingly 'overdoing it' as he had called it and the children were getting sick less often than he had ever seen in his years as a healer.

Soon older people who had a lot of free time were showing up and learning the basics.

I was having a blast.

Life did not seem like it could have possibly been better for me!

I found a 'home' and people who truly loved and respected me for the first time in my life.

It felt so good I would some times lay in bed tired from a day's training and go to sleep with the biggest smile on my face.

I would have totally forgotten all about my entire mission due to this, except that one day, out of the east a strange wind came. And on that wind, came a hauntingly familiar scent...

Ep 2, Chapter 7

Even down in the pit with the students, in the middle of the hot sweaty part of the day when the stench of humans was at its highest, that tiny, fine, delicate scent reached me in mid swing and I just almost lopped the head off of one of my students.

Thankfully they realized suddenly that my gaze had changed as I lost focus and cried out “SIFU!”as they ducked and rolled away, leaving my mighty guandao to only cleave the air and lead me around to land flat on my face.

As the sound of lazy horse hooves slowed to a stop, the thick shadow of an armored figure hove over me and I looked up into the sun haloed black likeness of the nearly forgotten criminal Kim Wu Jin.

I scrambled to my feet but by then the warrior had turned and begun to saunter off nonplussed by my graceless landing on the slightly dust covered training pit floor.

I did the only thing that made sense to me at the moment: I snatched up my heavy fighting weapon, leapt out of the hole in a single bound and bellowed out at the top of my lungs “KIM WA JINNNNNNNNNNN!”

The warrior, only a scant few paces ahead of me now, slowed to a stop, almost turned but not so much as to make it evident he was throwing only a disparaging sideways glance of contempt before shrugging as if to say “It was only the wind, or perhaps a nosy fly.” before nudging his mount to proceed sauntering westward.

I'm not one who is easily insulted in life, little sinks in and I have such a tough hide, little hurts.

But when I was not once but twice, in rapid succession dismissed as if I were at best a pathetic fool lying in the dirt, or at worst, nothing but a harmless insect, I was just downright miffed as bad as a girl could be miffed.

I was just irked, upset, embarrassed, mad and ready to cry all in one single move.

I don't recall clearly but I might have also come of that time of the month, so I shall blame the crying part on that.

I stomped up the road after the tall, imposing warrior in armor as if to simply hew him down where he sat on the horse's back, but first I knew I had to confront him and call him out or it would be nothing more than an act of cowardice to attack him from the rear.

Also, with all that armor, it was likely it wouldn't do much except make him mad enough to have his mount, which was also armored, simply trample me to death and leave the villagers or the vultures to clean up the remains of me.

He was going easily slow enough so as I stomped up past him and tried to stand in his way, my long heavy guandao like a bar across the pathway, he would surely have seemed to have had to confront me now!

Instead, however, he merely turned into a side alleyway as if he had never planned on passing along that direction in the first place without so much as giving evidence that he ever even saw me.

Three times now he disrespected me!

Now I was hot!

I went around the next building in anticipation of catching him in a narrower street where he would surely have to face me or run me over.

When I got there, however, he was simply not there!

I looked both directions to be sure he had not bolted or leaned against a building or something to avoid my seeing him but he was simply no place to be found!

I walked forward from there to the alleyway I had seen him turn onto, but right about midway down the alley, his hoof prints simply stopped!

For some reason, and I do not know why, I looked upward.

I did not see him in the air, I did not see any means for a large heavy horse and an armored man to have suddenly been hoisted up out of sight, so I was stymied.

I ran up the alley to the street, however, and there he was, sauntering on westward as if he had never even left the main street!

Now not only was I mad but I was wary and confused!

Had he literally backed up step for step in his own tracks?

Had he used some special illusion magic of technique to make it only seem as if he had turned?

Either way, he was evading me and leaving me no space to challenge him!

How could I challenge one who refused to recognize my existence?

Surely he did because he paused to look down on me in the hole!

Or did he only come to look because my student cried out 'sifu' and he was looking to see if there were some master worthy of his attention?

I could not tell, although clearly, as I was face down in the dirt and the other person was pretty much crouching with a worried and bewildered look, neither I nor my student appeared much like any form of sifu you would read about in legends!

I did not know what to do!

I was so frustrated!

I took off running and leapt out in front of him again.

This time he stopped!

Then he pulled out a gourd, took a deep swig, stopped his gourd, took a deep breath, and with a clapping of his hands, spewed forth a huge smoking cloud of fire that I had to recoil from to keep from getting burned.

I had rolled away to the side to avoid the flames, expecting him to perhaps come down on me from above, making sure to roll beneath a sturdy cart nearby.

To my dismay however, instead of him trying to press the attack, he lurched forward at a full gallop and in moments was out of sight on the horizon.

As students and villagers came gathering around to see if I was alright, nobody mentioned the bandit but were totally worried for my welfare.

The younger of the two sisters said, “Your hair is singed, I must tend to it and rid it of the stench!”

I wanted to protest this but then everybody else chimed in agreeing it was high time for me to get a bath.

What could I do?

I looked back in pained dismay at the horizon hoping he would be there just in sight taunting me.

Instead, there was nothing but dust and scrub brush to the horizon.

Ep 2, Chapter 8

I insisted I could bathe my self and the two of them were quite crestfallen.

I let them heat the water, because although I could have done my self, they were afraid I would set my hair totally on fire and strictly forbade me from getting near the hearth.

I knew the two of them were outside the door eager for any excuse to harass me while I was , so I wanted to hurry and wash up quickly.

When I had decided that I had gotten done however, they immediately shoved me back in, once again stripping me and pointing out how miserable of a job I had done cleaning myself while taking liberties to handle me in ways I was not liking in the process.

“If you don't want us washing you,” the older sister declared, “first you have to prove to us you know how to wash your self.”

In shame and humiliation, I tried to wash as they said, and found it was a really hard job!

Apparently, never trying very hard to become limber in my youth, always working for sheer speed and power for frontal or overhead attacks, I never kept my joints in such a manner as to be able to reach my back, or my toes.

It probably came as no surprise to them that my idea of a complete bath was to slowly and carefully wade, clothes and all, into some body of water and swish around in it until the brown goes away.

This whole idea of using a small amount of water to get clean with, just never did work for me too well.

On top of that, I could go for months without a bath, and not a soul would say a word to me, except possibly my snooty older sister, but she was such a priss she never even tried to learn how to ride horses.

Imagine that!

A girl who did not even like horses!

Unnnnnnnnnnnnnnbelieveable!

Her name means goose by the way, and she hates it when I about it.

Interestingly, unlike me, she totally loves water.

I'm not too fond of it, kind of averse to it, especially since I can't swim and don't even float.

I've nearly drowned many times as a child up in the mountains trying to bathe and its probably the biggest fear I have in the whole world.

Drowning, not bathing.

Bathing is just a bother.

Well...now its more than just a bother, its downright terrifying!

(sigh)

Ep 2, Chapter 9

They fussed over my hair for far too long and spent a lot of time trying to convince me I needn't worry about any big heroic battles because all of the people around here needed me more to deal with 'real' bandits and not some mere 'political fugitive'.

“But have you seen how huge he is?” I insisted, “Surely he is the leader of a powerful subversive army who is trying to overthrow the emperor!”

“What difference does that make to us way out here?” the older sister asked, “We're so far from all that stuff, we don't even know it has changed until some merchants come back and tell us about it, so maybe every what...ten years or so?”

“Well,” I felt really dumb, “that may be true,” I conceded with reservation, “but if I can turn in this bad guy and get all that money, imagine what I could do for this village!”

“What is money going to buy us?” the younger sister asked disdainfully in a melancholy tone, “We have everything we need from the trade we do as long as we can just keep the bandits away.”

“And you make us strong.”

“Yeah.”

“I'm just teaching bec-” I stopped and took a deep sighing breath and pondered this. “Why was I doing this? Really?”

“Because you want to become strong enough to defeat this outlaw and make a lot of money and fame?” the older one asked.

“Well,” I shrugged, “sure!”

They both had sad and yet soured expressions, “Go if you must,” the younger one said, “die out there in the desert if its that important.”

“You have a home,” the older one leaned a little toward me.

“A village,” the younger one also leaned in some.

“Friends,” the older one put her hand on my shoulder.

“Family,” the younger one put her hand on my other shoulder.

“Us...” the older one began to lean in, lips puckered.

“Uhhhh....hey,” I stood up quickly, “Girls...Ladies...Please.”

They followed me with expectant and yet clearly frustrated expressions.

“You don't find us attractive?” the younger one suddenly got a pouty face.

“You don't find us beautiful?” the older one showed a sad face.

“You find us distasteful?” the younger put on a sour face.

“You find us repugnant?” the older one made a shocked face.

“Kaaaahhh...” I half growled out in exasperation, “Ladies...” I shaped my frustrated hands into upturned claws, “I'm just not 'that way'!”

“If anybody in the whole region of Xinjiang can tell people's attractions,” a a wizened older voice from behind me made me jump and spin, “its these two.” said their mother who was standing there with that kind of look you see when people catch you flat in the middle of a badly performed con job.

“Huh?” I blinked in disbelief.

“They're seers.” their mother said, “Witches. Third eye.”

I looked back and the two of them had the widest, most childish looking silly grins I had ever seen on a person in all my days.

Ep 2, Chapter 10

I lay in bed flipping and flopping and generally feeling miserable.

I was totally off my game on so many levels now.

I screwed up and almost beheaded a student.

I then fell flat on my face in front of everybody.

I was then regarded as a buffoon by my nemesis.,

Then I was totally ignored by them, spoofed by them, almost burned to death by them, and finally left in the dust by them.

Then came the humiliating bathing and groping again, the bizarre and unsettling conversation about who I would be attracted to combined with what amounted to trying to steal my first kiss...by a woman much older than me to less!

I wedged my blade under the door to make sure one could not readily open it while I slept, but now I could not even sleep.

All this stuff was racing around my head when I heard somebody trying to open the door.

“I just noticed you couldn't sleep...” came the younger sisters hushed voice through the door.

“Yeah I know and you wanted to 'offer me some comfort'...well...no thank you.” I grumbled.

“No I just was going to listen so you could get it off your chest is all.” she insisted.

“The only things I want to get off my chest these days is you two women's hands.” I rolled over to face the wall.

“Its not like thaaaaat!” she persisted with a whiny voice.

“I'm not buying the act.” I warded her off.

“Ohhhhhhhh...” she sort of growled, “Fine. Have it your way. I'm going to bed.”

“Goodniiiiiiiiiight” I said in a coaxing tone.

I lay there alone with my thoughts until morning, and when I could see the light beginning to come into the sky in the east, I quietly pulled my guandao out from under the door and immediately the door swung open causing me to leap back blade forward in a defensive position.

The younger sister fell backward into the bedroom and hit her head on the stone floor with a muffled 'klunk'.

She woke up wailing in pain holding her head and crying.

As everybody came running in alarm, it became evident what had transpired.

She had spent the entire night there leaned against the door waiting for me to change my mind and eventually fell asleep without even knowing it!

The rest of us were collectively at a loss for words.