The Travels Of Xiang, Episode 14

It had been a seven weeks since Xiang liberated the village.  The village as it was when she arrived was a distant memory.  Dead bodies and blood-soaked roads had been replaced by freshly painted houses and children playing.  Families that had once been filled with fear were now filled with hope.  Just knowing she had a hand in the restoration made her feel good inside.

Unfortunately, it would be ending in about another.  That's when she had planned to continue her journey to see the world.  She had let everyone know in advance, so it would be a surprise to none.

Now, she stood in the home the villagers had given her in preparation to lie down after a hard day's work.  Upon getting to her bed, she plopped down, pulled an apple out of her bag, and got her journal ready to be written in.

Someone knocked on her door.  "You may enter."

It was the boy who first lead her to the village.  She learned his name was Venith and he was 12 years old.  He kept going on about how he would get strong and marry her one day.  At first, she thought he was a stupid kid with a cute crush, but he trained to exhaustion in the fields every day with a stick, pretending it was a sword.  He was dead serious.

"Yes, Venith?"

He was still fidgety around her.  "Did you see me training?"

"I did."

"I've gotten pretty strong, haven't I?"

She climbed off the bed and walked over to him.  Then, she knelt to his level and ruffled his hair.  "You have.  I can practically see the muscles bulging under your shirt."

"Hey, I'm twelve, not five," he said, pushing her had aside.  "You ain't got to treat me like some kid."

Xiang laughed a little.  "Fair enough."

"So this is your last week here, huh?" he asked, looking down at the ground.  "Why..."

She put a hand under his chin and gently lifted his head to look at her.  "There's no need to be sad about it.  Keep your head up and keep on training.  I'm sure you'll become a strong warrior who will be the subject of many stories.  If you get that strong, we will see each other again.  I may even come back to check in on your training every now and then."

The boy's face brightened up.  "You will?"

"I can't make any promises," she said, "but I can make the attempt.  So, train every day and don't forget to eat your fruits and vegetables."

"Okay," he said.  Then he scampered off.

As soon as he left, there was another knock on her door.  "Enter."

It was the man who eventually became the mob leader during the liberation of the village.  His name was Jerik.  The previous village elder was killed by the bandits and the villagers elected him as their new leader after the liberation.  It was a role he took reluctantly and he was still unsure if he was the right person for the job.  "Hey, there, young lady."

She stood.  "What brings you in Jerik?"

"I know this is your last week here, so I just wanted to thank you," he said.  "The recovery wouldn't have gone nearly as smoothly without you."

"I'm happy to hear it."

"I kinda wish you would stay," he said.  "But I suppose you have to do what you must.  We'll make sure to keep the house ready for you if you ever decide to come back."

She nodded.  "I would appreciate that."

He shook his head.  "To think, just two months ago I was a regular fieldworker.  Now here I am, charged with running the village.  Everyone's livelihood and lives depend on the decisions I do or don't make.  I guess it still hasn't sunk in yet.  And I don't know what I'll do when times get tough.  I'd be a little more confident if my wife was still around, but she..."  A tear ran down his cheek.

She took his hand, walked him over to the bed, and they both sat.  Then, she put her hands around his and said, "It'll all work out.  The people picked you because they thought you were the most capable person.  In this short time I've spent here, I can see the qualities that everyone else sees.  And while I can't understand what it's like to have a mate and lose them, I do know how it feels to have an entire village behind you.  Make your decisions with confidence because the people want you to succeed."

"Heh, I'm pretty pathetic, huh?" he laughed.  "Here I am being comforted by a person young enough to be the daughter I never had.  If I was any kind of elder, it'd be the other way around.  If the people were smart, they'd have picked you to lead them."

"Nonsense," she said.  "Deep down inside, you know you'll do a good job.  All you have to do is overcome your fear, just like I did when I first made the decision to leave home."

He sniffled, then wiped away a few tears.  "I don't know where you came from, young lady, but your village must be in pain from having lost a gem like you.  This village will feel the same way when you leave here."  He stood and shook her hand before leaving.

Afterwards, Xiang went back to writing in her journal while eating a piece of celery.  Once that was done, she got in back to contemplate things.  Eventually, she went to dream land.

The Travels Of Xiang, Episode 13

It had been a week since Xiang liberated the village and what a week it had been.  The villagers buried their dead and had a short grievance period.  Then it was right back to work, rebuilding houses and hitting the fields.

Xiang's schedule had been packed.  Hours in the fields, fishing, and being visited by villagers made up the bulk of her days.  The young males of the village were particularly fond of her, for reasons that had become all too obvious to her.  It all wound up being logged in her journal.

Now, she stood alone outside of town, getting in the training session she'd been meaning to do for a while.  She'd already done the necessary stretches.  Now came the training.

She got into her stance.  "Feel the energy.  Absorb the energy.  Channel the energy.  Release  the energy."  These were the principles of the Burst Fist technique.  She still had a long way to going to master it, but at the very least, she could use it effectively.

She felt the energy surge from the world, up her legs, through her torso, and into her arms, where it settled into her fists.  From here, Xiang needed to decide what to do with the energy before she released it, using her intentions and her target as her guide.  If the was target was weapons or armor, she would concentrate some energy to shield her fist at the last possible moment, then overload the opponent's armaments with the remainder, causing them to splitter and shatter.  If the opponent themselves was the target, she would simply use a portion of the energy to augment her natural punch power to repel them, sending them flying.  In a real fight, she had to make this decision in an instant to keep from killing her opponent or suffering an injury herself.

After practicing for a while, she saw the woman she'd rescued coming her way.  Over the past week, Xiang and the woman had become friends.  She learned that her name was Gwen and she was a few years older than Xiang herself.

"Hey, Xiang."  She held out the pot as if making an offering to a goddess.  "It's vegetable stew, your favorite.  Please accept it."

Now that she thought about it, she was hungry.  Perhaps a break was in order.  "Thank you," Xiang said as she took the pot.  It was still warm.  And it looked like more than she could eat.  "Why not join me as we eat this stew and enjoy the wilderness?"

Gwen looked surprised as she reached into a pocket on her apron and pulled out a spoon.  "I only brought the one spoon."

"Then let's go to your home and enjoy it."

"I meant for you to have it all," Gwen said.  "I'm not worthy enough to share a meal with you."

"I won't hear of it," Xiang said.  "We will share this meal you have brought me."

Gwen couldn't hide a smile.  "O-okay.  Just let me go back and get some bowls."  She scampered off excitedly.

Xiang did cooldown stretches until Gwen returned.  Then, they partook in a stew dinner together.  As they ate, Xiang noticed Gwen looking at her like a lovestruck teenager.  "You realize we're both female, do you not?"

Gwen shook her head.  "It's nothing like that.  It's just that you're so amazing.  To think, just one week ago I was looking at my dead parents and about to be killed myself."  She cracked, but didn't cry.  After regaining her composure, she continued.  "But then you came and saved me and my fellow villagers.  Strong, caring, just, beautiful...you're younger than me, but you're the type of woman I want to be."

Xiang was starting to feel embarrassed.  "There's no need to lay it on so thick.  I'm just a human being, like you."

"And humble, too," Gwen added.

"Stop!" Xiang said, half-shouting.

"Sorry, sorry." Gwen said meekly.  After about a minute eating in silence, she asked, "Can you teach me how to fight like that?"

"Not right away and not in the period of time I intend to stay," Xiang answered.  "It took me almost fifteen years to get to this level and I'm still not as good as I could be or should be.  Even barring the Burst Fist technique, martial arts isn't something that can be learned or mastered in a month or even a decade."

Gwen looked at the ground.  "Oh...that's right.  You're not staying, huh?"

Xiang nodded.  "When I left home, my goal was to travel the world.  While some of what I've already seen has been heartbreaking, I haven't met that goal yet.  I have to see what's out there.  The cultures, the foods, the people, I want to see as much as I can.  I can't do that if I stay in one place.  I know in my heart of hearts I'll never see it all and that everything I see won't always be good, but that's better than just being a farm girl who never sees or experiences anything."

"And a philosopher, too?"  Gwen ate another spoonful of stew.  "What a woman," she sighed.

Xiang sighed.  They ate stew until the sunset, watching a few animals pass by as they did.