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.
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