Typer’s room: Hello guys. Finally, one of my favorite characters makes her appearance!

So, I decided to address here to a mistake I made while writing this story, and that is only later on I actually describe the MC. So I sneaked in a small description of her here, even though there wasn’t any originally.

I’m also cutting down the upload speed to one every two days from now on, and maybe an extra one when I’m in the mood.

As I said before, this is VASTLY a work in progress, and wasn’t made to be posted initially, so there might be some inconsistencies. If so, please do tell me, as I want to make it an enjoyable read ^^

May your reading be enjoyable.

----

I made my way through what looked like a garden, walking amidst the short hedges and flowers that gave some color to the otherwise empty garden. Following the energy I felt, I quickly made my way through the large area, surprised at how much bigger this house was compared to the others.

Wondering why the large difference, the words from the guard came to mind, with him saying something about the family having once hosted a spiritualist. That could be the case.

While walking, I took a glance at the massive house in the middle of the garden, having two floors and made with an expensive looking wood, it was a few levels of sophistication above the other houses from the neighbor.

In fact, this is probably the only house capable of being compared against the village elder’s house. For a brief moment I wondered if it really was a good idea to barge in unannounced in this house, but in the end I dismissed the idea. After all, nothing a good puppy eyes couldn’t solve. This had proven true enough for me up to now. Besides, there was something I really wanted to check here.

Sighing loudly, I still made sure to quieten my steps and watched out for a couple of guards that lazily patrolled the house, which was ridiculously easy when you can sense them from twenty or so meters away without the use of your eyes/ears.

I mean, seriously, I can tell with too much ease how many people are inside that house, what they are doing and so on. Well, I can’t really tell their feelings, as it seems that I need to have some more knowledge of the person to actually tell that.

But what really interested me wasn’t what was happening inside the house, but in the garden near me, between a few other tall hedges, where two of the energies were sitting around what I would guess to be a fountain due to the sound of running water.

I discretely made my way towards the opening on the hedge and peeked through it, curious about what was happening in there.

What I saw was the old spiritualist from earlier, the same one I saw while walking with father. He had a long white beard in his face that wouldn’t lose to Gandalf, but his hair was a bit lacking…

Okay, he was bald. I could even see the sun reflecting on the shiny head. Really. He was wearing a yellow/goldish robe that seemed to focus on the ease of movement. He sat in a cross-legged form while resting the palm of his hands on the knees.

The other one, was a girl. Probably two or three years older than me. She sat on her knees, not unlike how the people from the orient back at my original world. With short hair that fell up to her neck tinted with an odd tone of purple. Wearing a ridiculously expensive looking robe, full of fancy looking embroidery and a foldable fan in her hands.

Compared to her, my clothing was vastly simpler, being mostly my blue linen dress and the shorts I wore beneath. At least I wouldn’t lose in looks, since I did get most of my mother’s appearance, with my pale skin and delicate-looking features. Although I did get my father’s hair, which was black, but aside from that, I was almost a miniature version of my mother.

Well, self-boasting aside, the thing that got my attention here wasn’t their positions, but their energies.

The old man I already knew about, with his large energy with a different quality to it compared to the other people I saw on the streets. But the girl also had a similar feeling to her, even if the energy was much smaller, even than mine, she still had a lot more energy than other pedestrians.

The old man, however, was doing something that brought my attention to the situation. He was manipulating his energy so that it would put itself out from his body in a light cover, much like how mother did. However he only had enough energy to put it on one part at a time.

“Hmm… Right hand?” The girls asked with her eyes closed and some sweat dripping from her forehead.

“No. Try again.” The man said as he moved the energy from his leg to his left shoulder.

“Hmm… Head!”

“Close, but not quite. Once more.” He changed it to his left forearm.

“Left hand!” The girl said with a proud tone.

“No.”

“Hmm… This exercise is a lot more complicated than what I originally expected.” The girl said in a perfectly refined tone. “Is this supposed to be so difficult as you make it?” She asked in confusion.

“It is, young lady. The first steps before a journey are usually the hardest.” The old man said in a patient tone as if he was teaching her… Which I guess he was, in a way?

“And how long does one of my caliber might take to surpass said first step?” The girl asked while fanning her head.

“It varies from Spiritualist to spiritualist.“ He said while looking around and flexing his muscles a bit. Suddenly, his gaze landed on the hedge I was hiding over and he frowned slightly.. “It seems that we have some visit...” He said while getting up..

Well, looks like I’m found out, so no point in dragging it around anymore. I moved away from behind the hedge and put on my best curious face, which wasn’t all that hard when it was pretty much the same face I had while watching them.

“Hi!” I said while waving at them.

“Huh?” The old man looked surprised at me. “What is a young girl like yourself doing here?” He asked while giving a look at the girl besides him, who was also staring at me surprised.

“I’m taking a walk!” I said innocently.

“So, you are taking a walk in a heavily guarded area house of a lesser noble?” The man asked.

“Yeah. Can’t I?” I asked while tilting my head. The old man frowned slightly at my more than obvious response. “Hey! Hey! Old man. What are you doing?” I asked him excitedly, which threw him off rhythm for a moment as he blinked in surprise.

“Master Roshi here is teaching the great me the basics of how to be a Spiritualist.” The girl said while covering her mouth with the fan.

Hmm? Master Roshi? That sounds oddly familiar… For some reason I suddenly feel that I should be careful around this old man. Looking at him, I noticed the was smiling awkwardly at the girl’s introduction.

“Heeh? Can I also learn then?” I asked when reminding of what mother did whenever she made her super-human feats.

“Hmph!” The princess said with a haughty tone. “Master Roshi here only teaches the rich and noble like me, Tian Lon-ying!” She said while nodding proudly to herself. “So a poor peasant like yourself should not even dream of receiving a teaching from a rank three spiritualist like him.” I don’t think I like her attitude very much, I held back a frown while she spoke. “So it falls on a noble like me to allow you to have a chance to watch a training session with me, as you would never have a chance being a peasant.”

Wait, what? I looked confused at her for some time trying to understand her words, was she surprisingly a good girl despite her foul mouth?

“Then I can stay?” I asked confused.

“Yes, I shall allow you to accompany me.” She said, receiving a raised eyebrow from the master, but he didn’t seem to disapprove.

“Yay! Thanks big sis!” I said while walking to her side and sitting.

“Yes. Thank me, as it’s what you plebeians should do whenever I do something for you!” She said happily and puffing out her still nonexistent chest. “But, I shall also request one thing from you!”

“Hmm? What is it?” I asked a bit wryly.

“You will have to allow me to hug someone as adorable as you!” She said with a nod. “For a plebeian, you look really cute.”

“Do I get petting?” I asked in my negotiation mode.

“I can do that.” She said with a nod.

I smiled happily and nodded to her, so she quickly picked me up and put in her lap, where she started to hug me for a moment while using her free hand to pet my head gently.

“I hope this does not become a bother to you, Master Roshi?” She asked while staring at the old man, but he simply shook his head.

“I owe your grandfather a great debt. This much is nothing.” He said while shaking his head. “She can stay as long as she doesn’t interrupt your training.” He said while once again focusing himself. “Shall we continue?”

“Yes, let’s.” Tian said with a nod.

The old man once again started to manipulate the energy, first starting with pulling the energy from out of his body inside, much like that one time mother did, but it felt a lot more… Weaker? I can’t say for sure. It was different, not as powerful, I guess.

After melding his internal energy with the one from outside, he started to make a small layer around a part of his body. This time it was around his back.

Tian took a deep breath and started to breathe in deeply in a rhythm. She stood like that for quite some time, and for a moment I felt that her energy moved slightly before going back to its original shape.

Looking at her in curiosity, I saw as she frowned slightly before starting to speak.

“Neck…?”

“Not quite.” The master replied before redirecting it to his right forearm.

“Right… Forearm?” The girl asked.

“Correct. Next one.” He said as he replaced it on his feet.

“Right… Shin?”

“Wrong.” The master said, and I finally started to understand, but let’s be sure.

“What are you trying to do?” I asked while looking upwards towards Tian.

“Master Roshi is helping me train my spirit perception.” The girl said. “It’s the first step before starting the real training of collecting energy.”

“...Is that the stuff that keeps moving around his body?” I asked, and with this both looked at me in shock, to the point that Tian even opened her eyes.

“You can see it?” Roshi asked shocked.

“Yup.” I said while pointing at his feet. “It’s on your feet right now.” He frowned slightly and quickly relocated the energy, but before he could ask, I said. “Right thigh... ” He widened his eyes and moved it around. “Left forearm… Right shoulder… Head… Right toe… Nose... ” I started pointing each and every one of the places he moved the energy, and every time the duo widened their eyes.

“Girl, tell me… Have you trained in this before?” He asked me in doubt.

“No?” I asked tilting my head. “I’ve always felt this since I remember.” Which was even before being born, but no need to add this.

“You… Always…?” The master said in shock while staring at me.

“Yes. But it’s very limited...” I complemented. “Like this I can only feel it until a few meters. But when I close my eyes I can see the whole house! It’s really good.”

“A few… Meters?” Roshi asked me in confusion. Is it really that bad?

“Cute plebeian… Could it be that you are a genius?” Tian asked me in confusion.

“Hmm?” Genius? Is it that good? “How far is it usually?” I asked the Master who was rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“Young girl... From what I know, the most experienced masters can see up to...” He sighed deeply. “Five meters.” Huh? I stared at him in confusion for a moment. Only that? I can feel at least around ten to twenty meters when I’m not even trying to focus. Feeling confused I saw as they stared at me in awe. “Young girl… how old are you right now?” Roshi asked me.

“I’m four. And I’ll become five next summer! Then I’m going to learn blacksmithing from father.” I said cheerfully, barely able to hid my excitement.

“Only four, yet already with such talent…” Roshi said with a deep breath. “Young master Tian.” He said while turning to her. “Would it trouble you if I were to give this girl some special training?” He asked Tian who still looked at me in shock, when the girl turned to him with a frown he quickly went on. “You see, to meet such a talented person like yourself is already a rare occurrence, but this girl… Is something else. I fear on what would happen if we were to lose her.”

“I’m sorry master Roshi, but I can’t allow that.” Tian said while shaking her head and taking me out from her lap. I widened my eyes thinking on what she would do. “Father has already been publicizing the fact that I’m a prodigy when it comes to such matters, so if word that a simple plebeian like her, with even greater talent than me would appear, it would deal a huge blow to our status.” She said while turning towards her house. I felt a bit sad thinking that I was losing such a chance, but she was thinking of her family in the end, so there wasn’t much I could do. “So I will talk to father and arrange so that she can become my aide in training. This way she will be related to our house and will only bolster our power. You’ll have to wait until then.” She said while taking a short bow towards the master and looking at me. “Tell me, cute plebeian, what your name is.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Lia. Lia Liu Wang.” I replied a bit stunned with the sudden events. “I’m Ran’s daughter.”

“Lia Liu Wang, huh...” She said with a nod. “It’s my duty as a noble to not lose such an opportunity like you, so I shall not let you deny this offer.” She said with a slightly heavy tone.

“Can I still train blacksmithing with father?” I asked worried. Tian looked at me confused for a moment before nodding.

“If that is what you wish, I see no reason as to why oppose you. Besides, a personal blacksmith could be a good addition to the family.” She said before bowing once again towards Roshi. “I’ll take my leave for now, master.”

“Yes. Please do so.” He said with a quick nod and letting Tian leave the area. I pouted a bit at the loss of my petting, but there wasn’t much I could do. “Now then, Young Lia. Why do you wish to become a blacksmith, even when you have such talents?” He asked me curious.

“Because it’s cool!” I said cheerfully. “Father looks really cool when he is blacksmithing, and I want to make a really cool weapon to fight with!”

“A cool… Weapon you say?” He asked me with a wry smile, probably not expecting my answer. “Don’t you know that weapons are useless against spiritualists?”

“Not if I become a spiritualist too!” I said while sticking my chest out, but Roshi shook his head.

“It’s even more useless if you become a spiritualist.” He said while shaking his head, making me stare at him in confusion. “You see, young Lia, spiritualist can’t extend their spirits too far away from their bodies, and this mean that weapons aren’t affected by our abilities.”

“Heeh! No way!” I said while pouting. Why did it have to make it even more difficult for me. “Then I’ll make a sword that can do that!” I said while nodding angrily.

“Ha ha ha ha! A feisty one, aren’t you?” He asked while laughing loudly. I stared at him angrily, but it didn’t have much of an effect. “But this raises me a question.” he said while stroking his beard. “How much do you know about spiritualists?”

“Hmm...” I said while closing my eyes and trying to remember what little I did remember. “They have this energy on them… They wear badges… And they have political power… And they are strong.” I said with a nod.

“That’s not very much, isn’t it?” Roshi asked with a wry smile, and I shrugged. “Okay, let’s start with something basic then. The badges.” He said while unbuttoning the badge on his chest and showing it to me. “Tell me, what does this badge tells about me?”

“That you are cheap and don’t buy a shiny one?” I asked seeing the dull brown badge. This made the old man flinch for a moment before shaking his head.

“Tha-that’s not the case.” He said sighing. “You see, the badge’s color tells to which of the four great clans I am affiliated. Mine is brown, so I am affiliated to the Tortoise clan. Red is used by the followers of the Phoenix clan, while blue is for the tiger’s and green for the dragon’s.”

“Tortoise sounds weak. Are you weak, master?” I couldn’t help but feel tempted to make this question.

“The tortoise does not care as much about strength as it cares for its survival.” He said in a patient tone. “We, of the tortoise prefer to enhance our resistance than go for the offensive, after all, a good battle is the one you get out alive.”

I feel a bit sullen that he dodged my joke, but his words do make sense.

“Then, if we learn from you, we will enter the tortoise?” I asked confused, but he shook his head.

“No. What I will teach you two is the very basics and does not relate to any of the clan’s teachings.” He explained. “The choice of which clan to follow is one you have to decide on your own.”

“I see...” I said with a nod before focusing my attention on the badge once again. “Then, what does everything else means?”

“Hmm. Good to see that you are curious.” He said with a nod. “Well, next we can talk about the size and the number of stars. What do you think they mean?”

“Stars are how many championships you won?” I asked for the first thing that came to my mind.

“Where did you even take that idea from? No! The number of stars counts your rank, while the size of the badge counts your tier. There are seven tiers, and for each tier there are seven ranks.” He said while drawing some circles on the ground. “These are the size of the badges. As you can see, my badge shows that I am from the third tier, and the three stars tells that I am from rank three.”

“Heeh. Is that good?” I asked confused since I didn’t have something to base it on.

“It’s good enough for an old man like me.” He said with a brief laugh. “Well, I enjoy more teaching younglings such as yourself than getting into fights, so I see no need to grow much stronger.”

“Heeh...” I said impressed. He is really different from the master Roshi I had in mind, it’s almost like he was the opposite! “Master Roshi is a really good old man then!”

“Ooh! It’s good to receive such praises.” He said with a nod, before stopping. “It seems that we have another visit?” He said while looking away at a place behind me.

I turned just in time as I felt another energy enter within my range, and from far away I could see a woman, wearing a simple white robe walking towards us. She looked surprised at me for a moment before focusing back on master Roshi.

For some reason she stopped at a fair distance from the old man, and had a wry smile when speaking to him.

“Greetings Master Roshi.” She said wryly. “Isn’t lady Tian with you?”

“Oh, I fear she left a while ago to talk with her father.” Roshi said while looking at the woman. “Is something of importance?”

“Well… There are a few people in the front gate saying something about an intruder...”

Whoops! Father! I completely forgot about him! Feeling a bit guilty, master Roshi noticed as I got embarrassed and laughed beneath his beard as he somehow understood my situation.

“I guess I can solve this for you.” He said with an amused expression. “Let me go there with you.”

“Aaah… No need...” The woman said hurriedly. “I can go and get lady… No need to work yourself over it!”

“Foolishness. These bones aren’t old enough to let you trouble yourself like that!” He said while raising himself from the ground.

And then, the unimaginable happened.

As Master Roshi raised himself, his hand rested on a small patch of loose ground, so the moment he started to raise himself, his hand slipped, making him lose his balance for a brief moment.

This wouldn’t be much, if it wasn’t for the fact that the girl tried to approach to help him, but as he raised his arm to tell her that it was alright, his hand once again slipped, this time in a lightly wet patch of grass that had recently been watered.

He tumbled forward and hit the girl head-first, taking her down with him and falling atop of her, with his head buried deep into her bosom.

Looking at the scene in shock, I noticed as the girl became beet red while Master Roshi recovered himself. He quickly raised his body and raised his hands as if saying that it wasn’t his fault, a look of desperation in his face.

The woman raised her hand and slapped him right across the face, leaving a pulsating red mark in his cheek.

She walked away while stomping the ground, while master Roshi crossed his arms, putting the hands on the sleeves of his robes and said.

“Ay ay… Why does this always happen?” He asked with a heavy tone.

What the hell does he means always happen? That scene was downright improbable to happen. If I didn’t know better I would even say that some kind of otherworldly force wrote these events just to have a laugh at his situation.

Shaking my head to clear away these thoughts, I followed Master Roshi as he guided me through the garden until we reached a small path leading towards the front gate.

I won’t lie. The invader is probably me and the people in front of the gate is probably father and some of the other smiths. Well, leaving that aside, there were a couple of other people on the way to the front gate. One was Tian herself, the other was a large and muscular man who had an air of maturity and sovereignty to him that was even more prominent than Tian.

Wearing a purple robe and having his hair cut short, the man had a large build comparable to father, even if he didn’t look as muscular as Ran, he still had slightly intimidating air about him.

Once they heard me and master Roshi approaching, the two turned to me and Tian smiled, while the man that was probably her father frowned slightly when seeing us.

“Is that the girl you spoke me about?” He asked with a slightly surprised voice before turning towards Master Roshi and the big red mark in his cheek. “Ah, master Roshi. It seems that your title still haunts you.”

“Luck with women left me a long time ago, Master Bo.” Roshi said with a sigh before shaking his head. “But yes, this young lady is the one whom your daughter spoke about.” He said while turning to me. “This little girl is Lia, and her perception of spirit is downright incredible. Talent isn’t enough to describe this.”

“Hello mister Bo. My name is Lia Liu Wang.” I said while bowing slightly towards the man, this seemed to please him, as he nodded slightly.

“Hmm, I see.” He said while looking at me intensely. “And you wish to become Tian’s aide?”

“If it will allow me to train, then yes.”

“Do you have any idea what the choice you are making means?” He asked while lightly closing his eyes.

“No?” I said while tilting my head. That never really crossed my head.

“Then, why did you decide on training spiritualism with Master Roshi? Do you have any reason for that?”

“Well… Master bald… Master Roshi asked me to train. That and it sounds fun.” I said in my best childish impression, Roshi flinching a little when my tongue slipped. There was also the reason that I had the feeling that learning this might help me get closer to mother.

Bo stared at me for a moment, and I felt myself sweating coldly, as his eyes almost seemed like they were looking through my soul. Did he notice that I had another reason behind training spiritualist?

Shaking my head in my mind so that I could calm down, I focused myself on acting innocent in front of him. This seemed to please him, because even though he shook his head, he had a wry smile in his face.

“Truly a child, huh?” He said with an amused voice.

“Master Roshi, why did you bring Plebeian Lia here?” Tian asked confused when she noticed her father was satisfied with his questions.

“Because I believe the visitors might have something to do with our little invader here.” The master said with a proud tone.

“Is that so?” Bo asked before nodding. “Then why don’t you come with us. It might help us with whatever they might want.” With that he turned towards the gate once again and started walking with all of us following behind. “But, this does makes me curious, but how did our guards not pick you up earlier?”

“If I sensed them approaching I would move away. Easy as that.” I said with a wide smile, but this made Roshi stop.

“You… Sensed the guards? The non-spiritualists?” Roshi asked shocked, and I nodded.

“Yes?” I asked confused and saw as he stared at me in shock.

“You… Really are something different.” Roshi said while shaking his head.

I turned my head to see what Tian and Bo were thinking about it, but the two seemed as confused as I was about this whole situation.

As Roshi delved into thinking, we quickly reached the gate in silence, where a few guards were talking with some men on the streets. Once my gaze landed on the large blacksmith who was shaking his head, I smiled and started running towards him.

“Daddy!” I shouted cheerfully as I jumped in his arms, where he quickly raised me towards his shoulder, but I didn’t miss the light frown in his face.

“Lia… What the hell did you do today?” He asked me, but before I could say, Bo approached father and said.

“Your daughter just managed to get a position as my daughter’s aide and become the apprentice of a third tier rank three spiritualist.” He said with an amused smile, but father clearly didn’t give him the expected response, because the next moment he sighed in relief, Bo frowned suspicious. “You don’t look all that surprised?”

“There's little what this girl can do that surprises me anymore.” He said with a dry laugh. “At least it wasn’t something bad.”

I could only smile awkwardly at his words, as I had no way to defend myself.