For the next hour, they walked in silence, the road stretching ahead like an endless ribbon under the afternoon sun. Though the quiet between them wasn’t exactly awkward, it didn’t feel comfortable either. Lian Yi chewed the inside of her cheek, resisting the urge to speak, even as thoughts buzzed in her mind. But finally, the question she’d been holding back slipped out before she could stop herself.
Finally, the words tumbled out before she could stop herself. “I’ve been wondering… what kind of name is Ahmad?”
Ahmad glanced over at her, a faint smile pulling at his lips. “What kind of name is Yi?” he retorted, though there was no malice in his voice. Before she could respond, he added, “I know what you mean. But, keep your voice down, I can hear you just fine.”
She blinked, a little confused. She hadn’t thought she was speaking loudly at all.
Ahmad went on, “My grandfather came from the West, like, far, far west. He was a merchant on the Silk Road and eventually settled here. My father named me after him. And... well, here we are.”
Lian Yi mulled over this, trying to picture lands so distant they had entirely foreign names, people so different they’d give a name like Ahmad to a child. She’d never traveled far from home, let alone considered a world beyond her own.
“How long would it take to get there if it’s that far?” she asked finally, looking over at him with genuine curiosity.
“Hmm... at our speed, walking from dawn to dusk, perhaps a hundred days?” he replied.
“Wow. What could possibly motivate anyone to go that far?”
“Money, it's why my grandfather stayed. He made enough money and didn't feel like going all the way back, also horses exist, so it doesn’t actually take that long.”
Silence fell between them again, though it felt a little less stifling now. She couldn’t help feeling a bit more curious about the man who was now her teacher. They would be spending quite a lot of time together, after all, so why not learn a little more about him?
After a while, Yi spoke up again. “So, are we planning to keep quiet the whole journey, or actually, you know... talk?”
After a moment, Ahmed replied. “I’m not talking because there’s nothing to talk about,” he said casually. “You’re a fifteen year old girl, and you spent your whole life in a cozy sect run by your father. The only thing we really have in common is martial arts.” He paused, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. “Except, not really, because I could kill you by accident while turning in my sleep. It also doesn't help that I was partially forced into this.”
Lian Yi felt a mixture of offense and amusement at his bluntness. She wanted to argue that she was more than just a sheltered girl, but his tone left little room for protest. Instead, she just furrowed her brow, biting her lip to keep herself from snapping back.
They continued walking in silence for the rest of the day and as the sky began to darken, a question that had been plaguing Yi for the last hour finally bubbled to the surface. “Are we going to make it to a town before nightfall?” she asked, eyeing the thickening forest that surrounded the path they were walking on.
“No,” Ahmad replied, unfazed. “We’ll camp out today.”
Lian Yi hesitated. “Camp out?” The idea hadn’t occurred to her. In all her years at the Wind Flower Sect, she’d never had to spend a night in the wild, at worst she had slept inside a carriage.
Ahmad shot her an amused glance, clearly aware of her discomfort. “Let me guess, first time in the wilds?”
She didn’t answer, but her silence had answered for her. Ahmad chuckled softly, his laugh somehow easing Yi’s nerves.
Half an hour later they found a small clearing in the forest right next to the road, the remains of a couple of days old camp were still visible.
“Stay here, I'll go get stuff for the fire.” Ahmed proclaimed and ventured off into the forest before Yi could respond.
Before long he returned, a bundle of sticks below his armpit, and an already skinned rabbit in the other. But before Yi could comment on how he skinned a rabbit in the complete darkness of the forest, Ahmed had already gone to the remains of the fire. And with a single hit of a rock against another rock he set the sticks on fire.
Right after finishing, he effortlessly skewered the rabbit and started holding it over the fire as it began to cook.
“Won't you get tired? From what I know, it takes quite a while for it to be cooked properly.” Yi said.
“I skinned a rabbit in complete darkness not to mention caught it, and you're wondering if I will get tired from holding it?” Ahmed asked, genuine curiosity visible on his face.
“Forget I said anything.” Yi muttered, looking away, her face a bit flushed.
But after a couple of seconds, though, she turned back to him with another question. “Um... quick question. How exactly do I... relieve myself out here?”
“Quick question,” Lian Yi began hesitantly, her cheeks flushing slightly. “How do I… um… relieve myself out here?”
Ahmed’s face turned into a grin. “Ah, the important questions.” He gestured toward a nearby tree. “That one’s got low-hanging branches. Grab a couple of leaves and go ahead. If you find something sticky, you can also stick them to a stick to get that luxurious experience.
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Lian Yi stared at him in disbelief, but Ahmed’s expression had turned dead serious while he was answering her.
She shook her head, mumbling something about how absurd this all felt as she trudged off toward the tree. Ahmad’s laughter echoed in the fading light as she disappeared into the underbrush.
–
The fire crackled softly in the center of their camp, sending flickers of light dancing across the trees. The dense forest surrounded them, its shadows deep and endless. Lian Yi lay on a blanket Ahmed had given her sleep on, staring up at the night sky through the breaks in the canopy. The stars twinkled faintly, but they did little to calm her mind.
She shifted uncomfortably, the sounds of the forest, rustling leaves and various animal sounds like the distant hoots of an owl filled the otherwise silent forest. Beside her, Ahmad sat propped up against a tree, his flask in hand, staring into the fire.
His usual aloof expression looked a bit more relaxed out here in the wild, though he still had the same air of indifference that made him such a frustrating traveling companion.
“I can’t sleep,” Lian Yi finally muttered, breaking the sounds of nature's song.
Ahmad took a sip from his flask but didn’t respond immediately. The embers in the fire popped, and Lian Yi let out a sigh, feeling the weight of exhaustion, both mental and physical, press down on her.
Eventually, he glanced over at her, the fires flames dancing in his eyes. “That sure sounds like a you problem.”
Lian Yi glared, though there wasn’t much heat behind it. “Well, now it’s your problem, too, because I’m going to keep talking until I fall asleep.”
Ahmad sighed dramatically, leaning his head back against the tree. “Great.”
She sat up, wrapping her arms around her knees as she stared into the fire. The flames danced, their heat a welcome contrast to the cool night air. “Tell me a story.”
He groaned. “I’m not telling you a story.”
“Ah, come on,” she insisted. “Can’t you entertain your disciple for just a bit?” She put a lot of emphasis on the disciple.
“Entertain you?” Ahmed scoffed. “I’m not some bard.”
“No,” Lian Yi said, “but you’ve been through a lot, haven’t you? Surely you’ve got some stories you can tell to help me fall asleep.”
Ahmad stared at her for a long moment, then shrugged, as if resigning himself to her persistence. “Fine. You want a story? I’ll give you a story.”
Lian Yi perked up eagerly, hugging her knees closer. “Go on, then.”
He stretched his legs out and took another sip of his flask before beginning, his voice carrying a lazy drawl. “Alright. How about the story of a blacksmith’s son who became a martial master for the most glorious of reasons?”
Lian Yi blinked. “Well, you've git my attention.”
“The guy was the son of a blacksmith, medium sized city, nothing special. His parents wanted him to take over the family business, as parents usually do, but the problem was he was both lazy and had almost no talent for it.”
She raised an eyebrow, intrigued she asked. “So, what did he do?”
“Well, when he turned nineteen, he got it into his head that he wanted to learn martial arts, but he needed money to get a master since he was too old to join any kind of organization. Naturally, his father told him no. Said if he wanted to get the money he had to earn it himself. So the kid tried finding work, but as you can imagine, he wasn’t exactly a shining example of hard work.”
Lian Yi smirked. “Sounds like a real overachiever.”
“He was terrible at everything,” Ahmad continued, ignoring her comment. “Eventually, he decided to make arrows for the local garrison. Figured it was simple enough so that even he can do it. The first month, though? He barely made any, and what he did make was complete garbage. The garrison didn’t want them.”
Lian Yi chuckled. “Let me guess. He didn’t give up?”
“Right. By the second month, the arrows were a little better. Still trash, but he sold them cheap enough that the soldiers used them for training. And by the third month, the kid actually got good at it. Not as good as his father, mind you, but good enough. And the garrison liked him because he was cheaper than a real blacksmith.”
“So, he earned enough money to finally hire a martial arts master?”
Ahmad nodded. “Exactly. A couple of months later he had saved up enough, hired a decent master, and started training. But here’s the funny part. Turns out, he wasn’t just some lazy bum. He had a ridiculous talent for martial arts, he just never tried it before. His master was so impressed, he took the kid to his own master at Mount Hua, and before you know it, the kid’s one of the Mount huas three plum blossom swordsmen.”
Lian Yi frowned. “All because he made arrows for a few months?”
“No,” Ahmad said. “All because his back hurt.”
She blinked in confusion. “What?”
“You heard me,” he said with a chuckle. “The reason he wanted to learn martial arts in the first place? It wasn’t some grand dream of being the strongest or to become an escort warrior so he didn't have to do blacksmithing. No, he overheard a young martial artist in a tavern one night, bragging about how after he advanced to the late general stage, his back stopped hurting.”
Lian Yi stared at him. “You’re telling me this guy went through all that effort just because his back hurt?”
“Yup. He thought if he became strong enough, his backpain would go away. That was his motivation.” Ahmed replied with a smile.
Lian Yi burst out laughing, the absurdity of the story hitting her. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous, sure,” Ahmad said with a shrug, “but it worked out for him. He’s now one of the three plum blossom swordsmen, easily the top 1000 greatest martial masters out there, all because he couldn’t stand having a sore back. And he started at 20 years old. Can you imagine how strong he would be if he started training at 10 or so like all others? That’s easily enough for a stage with his talent.”
She shook her head, still laughing softly. “I can’t believe that.”
“Believe it, for it is the truth” Ahmad said.
Lian Yi smiled, the weight of her worries momentarily lifted. The forest around them felt a little less oppressive, and the crackling fire a little more comforting.
“Thanks for the story,” she said, lying back down and closing her eyes. “I think I might actually be able to sleep now.”
Ahmad took another sip of his flask, leaning his head back once more. “Good. Maybe now I can get some peace.”
As the fire burned low, Lian Yi drifted off, her mind now filled with the image of a lazy blacksmith’s son cursing his back while on a road to becoming a martial arts master.
-
The morning came too soon for Lian Yi. She stirred under the thin blanket Ahmed had tossed her the night before, her eyes heavy and her body stiff from the rough ground.
Her back ached, and every time she shifted, the dull throb in her muscles reminded her of the previous day’s trek. She groaned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she sat up, the early dawn light casting long shadows through wherever the trees broke to let the sun break through.
Ahmad was already crouching by the dying embers of the fire, poking it absently with a stick. He looked as if he’d been up for hours, or maybe didn't go to sleep in the first place, yet his face was free of any signs of exhaustion.
"You're up," he said flatly while glancing over at her. “Good. We leave in five.”
Lian Yi groaned. “Five minutes? I barely slept.”
"Not my problem," he replied with a shrug. “You'll sleep better after a few more nights of this. Your body’s just not used to it yet.”
“I can confidently say this past week has been the worst in my life.” Said Yi right after a long yawn.
“The worst so far, you mean.” Ahmed retorted almost immediately. “But don't worry, don't you know the saying? A hundred bad days make a hundred good stories, a hundred good stories make you interesting… To talk to? No, that doesn't sound right. I forgot the last part, but you get the point.”
“Whatever.” She responded before standing up. She then proceeded to amateurishly try to make her hair not look like total chaos, which was quite hard considering she only had her hands and no mirror. “What's for breakfast?”
“Nothing, we'll arrive at a town in 3 or so hours, so you'll eat then.” He answered while starting to depart.
Yi did not look happy but realizing there was nothing she could do about it so she let it go, or at least wanted to. Yet another annoyance to add to the list.
“Any reason for it, or were you too lazy to make something?” She might not be able to do anything about it, but she at least wanted to know why she would go hungry.
“Because I've heard it's healthier. Also, you'll walk faster, which doesn't hurt.” He said while starting to walk.
Lian Yi’s groans echoed through the forest, but they eventually faded. Replaced by the sounds of feet hitting the dirt.