Ryuk was once again out in the courtyard, this time meditating in the freezing snow under the watchful eye of Song Ran. Despite the near freezing temperatures, Song Ran insisted for Ryuk to leave his coat indoors. The cold would help with the Qi circulation, or so he was told.

“You are stronger than the cold. Resist the urge to give into your body’s weakness. Feel the power of the stone,” Song Ran said in his usual, sermonic fashion.

“Right, Feel the power of the stone, feel the power of the stone, wait. Feel the power of the stone? How does that work?” Ryuk asked, waving the stump where his right hand should’ve been.

“Figuratively. The power of the spirit stone is usually absorbed through the palms but you are a special case. You must learn to absorb the stone’s essence by other means. Masters can absorb spirit stones with the power of their mind alone. Now you’re clearly no master, but if you can manage to absorb even a quarter of the stone’s essence, it should be enough to propel you into the initiate stage.”

“I don’t understand,” Ryuk complained.

“Yet,” Song Ran corrected. “No one said this would be easy, even I can’t absorb stones through the power of will alone. But If you want to make the deadline, you will have to learn. Now imagine yourself cutting off from the world, there is only you and the stone.”

Ryuk took a deep breath and exhaled, trying his best to shut himself off from everything else in the world. But the constant distractions, the incessant chirping of birds in the background, the bitter bite of the cold, all prevented him from completely shutting off.

“I… can’t,” Ryuk whispered, his gaze dropped to the floor.

“Yet,” Song Ran once again corrected. “Let us head back inside, I think we’ve made enough progress today.”

“Progress? What progress, I’m just a massive failure,” Ryuk croaked while being wheeled inside by Kaya.

“If that is truly what you think, then I will not attempt to console or prove you wrong. But in my opinion, you should have more confidence in yourself. You’re a very brave child.”

“I’m not brave, or a child.”

“The village below the manor will be holding their annual winter festival, I can try to convince your father to let you attend. Everyone needs to relax now and then,” Song Ran said with a confident smile.

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“Really?” Ryuk exclaimed, leaning forward in his chair. “Father never lets me attend. He thinks commoner festivals are below us.”

“I’ll have a talk with him,” Song Ran replied. “I’m sure he’ll make an exception this year.”

The three walked from the courtyard to the study in awkward silence. Ryuk had never really taken stock of Song Ran before today. He thought that the tutor from the capital would be no different from the rest. But Ryuk was starting to grow to like Song Ran. His teaching was strict and a no-nonsense, there was no coddling like the past tutors.

Ryuk wasn’t sure what drove Song Ran to accept the position in the first place. The limbless boy from the Runan Household was a legend among the teaching circle. Famous for driving away even the most patient of tutors, Ryuk was the living nightmare of many educators. So, it came as a shock when Runan announced his new tutor was Song Ran.

The study room was just how they had left it yesterday. Song Ran was very particular when it came to the study, he didn’t even let maids in to clean. Ryuk could understand his reluctance, the study was filled with notes the tutor had amassed over the course of his life.

Song Ran had turned the study into his own little office; sprucing the study up with his imported decor. From what Ryuk had gathered so far, the bulk of the appliances were from the west. The tutor held a peculiar fascination for all things western, including their furniture.

Passing by a mirror, Ryuk caught a glimpse of his reflection. His long, unruly black hair, and beady eyes always gave people the impression he was up to no good. He had the face of a delinquent, according to his sister. But what use was an intimidating appearance if even a ten-year-old child could best him in mock combat.

“Will you teach me any of the magic arts? I mean I wouldn’t mind being able to lob fireballs with my mind.” Ryuk asked in an attempt to temporarily distract himself from his self-loathing.

“In due time, but if you ever hope to learn more advanced skills from me, complete understanding of the basics such as the flow of Qi is required, lest you lose yourself.”

“Lose myself?” Ryuk asked under his breath.

“Immortal arts, magic arts, it is all the same, regardless of whatever fancy name they labeled it. Cultivators draw the Qi from their surroundings into their dantian,” Song Ran explained, pointing to his dantian, which was supposedly behind the navel. “What do you believe would happen if someone were to over exert themselves and draw in too much Qi?”

“I don’t know,” Ryuk replied with unease.

“They would be consumed by it. There are five principal elements of Qi. Fire, earth, metal, water, and finally wood,” he explained. “It would be quicker just to show you.”

For a moment Song Ran fell quiet. “Burn!” he then commanded to no one in particular, stepping away from the duo. Ryuk and Kaya watched Song Ran skeptically, both of their heads tilted to the side. With a wave of Song Ran’s hand, fire materialized out of thin air.

Kaya yelped in surprise, glaring at the tutor with undisguised annoyance. Ryuk’s reaction was much more muted. Reaching out for the fire, he drew his stump back when he realized just how foolish he must’ve looked to the others.

“Now, imagine being consumed by the fire. Your body engulfed in the very flames you summoned,” Song Ran whispered. “It is important to know your limits. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand,” Ryuk answered, nodding his head in affirmation.

“Now that we’ve got that out of the way, who’s ready for some studying?” Song Ran asked with a grin.