In the fifteenth year, I set out together with my little sister and one of my other male pupils to travel to the Lord’s capital. We will travel down along the river originating in the mountains above our river until the city Mao which lies along the Mao lake. From there we will travel overland until we come to the capital of the region. The priest explains the journey to us since he takes it about three times a decade. It usually takes two to four weeks, but we will use more than half a year on the same trip. I need to ply my trade on the way both to build my reputation and coffers for buying land. Both are needed if I wish to buy parts of the forest to the west of the village. I have looked over the terrain and with a road to the village and work, I will be a nice big farm. About half as large as the village and fitting in my mind for me.
“So you are off.” My new fiancee states when we arrive in Banks after having greeted her family properly. “I am off,” I tell her while working her back like she likes it. The least I can do after once again pounding her in bed. I also enjoy exploring her body at my own leisure. We both seem to like it kind of rough and it was part of the contract. Cu even built us a small place like the one I have at home. What a nice man, I will need to find him something special. Maybe place when I unlock the paper printing secrets I will place it here in Bank. Xia would like that. “Are you sure it is needed?” She asks me, demure and submissive in public but speaks her own mind in private. I like it, but it also means I need good arguments for my actions. “Yeah, it is necessary for my plans. The family and village would not stand for it and I would like to be able to come home.” I tell her and begin working my magic so she shuts up. There are two reasons for going on the trip, one is to buy the farm. The other is to gather the needed money for it, more money than our villages pay combined in taxes over ten years.
We spend three days in Banks working on our teamwork and sales tactic. There are two important things to consider while working. How we present us and how much money we earn. Neither my sister or Xi my male pupil argues with my goal of money over honour. It is in my mind possible to buy honour with money as long as the method of earning it is not too far off. So we work on how to entice customers what to say and how to work them through the system. Xi is not part of the salesforce but a guard for our money and otherwise a gofer.
We leave Banks in the morning taking a boat down to the next village where we ply our trade and move on draining the village for all the money we can and at the same time being helpful and courteous. We spend three days to a week at every village and after only a month and five villages, we arrive in the city of Mao.
Mao is a strange city in many regards, at least to me. It lies between the river and one bank of the lake with farmland stretching out behind it. I can see fishing boats on the lake and even a larger barge coming up the river. The strange part of the city is that it is built much like a fortress and most of the city is outside the walls. This is because the city is on the region's frontier and even with years of peace is guarded. This creates a strange mix of civil and military architecture. It is exotic and exiting however and it does ease some of my anxiety for travel.
The first stop on the way is to acquire entry to the town. This is not so hard to do, merely paying for the right to enter Town proper. The outlying area is not possible to hinder access to. We pay the guards and get some tips from them on where to stay.
Walking through town should not take more than ten minutes at the longest. I have other ideas though and swirl from one attraction to another. The typical tourist when seeing a new place. Everytime Xi or Ha, my sister, manages to get me back to walking towards the resident manager of the city I go down a side street because something caught my eye.
I get to see the docks where fishing, floating timber and trade boats are brought in. The dock is built out of wood around the town walls and look ridiculous but fun. I chat up different people and get different questions answered. Silly things really, like “what is that” and “where do those guys come from”.
The architecture is different for different parts of town. Close to the small temple, there are traditional buildings with their ski jump roofs and circular doorways. Most houses are built and painted in black and white, they look regal. Towards the dock, the houses have roofs like barns and as much storage space as there is room for. The houses people live in and work out of also have more colour. The colour schemes are dominated by muted colours like light blue or yellow. Some houses have either frescos on the entrance or elaborate tiled pictures. The streets are narrower and side streets blocked or locked. The other direction away from the gate and along the wall houses are built up against the wall. Some look military while others are working areas. Outside the walls, there is even more variety with more colours, but we entered and will stay inside for some time.
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After what feels like hours of sightseeing and chatting with the locals we arrive at the administrative centre of the city. It is a fortress adjoined surrounded by what I call the temple district. Where all the important people live. Getting in costs me another fee similar to the one we paid to get into the city.
The name on the door tells me I am to see Li Xiong. “Good afternoon, are you Li Xiong?” I greet and ask the man whose office we are shown into. “Good afternoon to you too, and yes, I am.” He greets me as I stand before him alone. My companions stayed outside the fort so we did not have to pay for all three. “What may this lowly servant help you with this fine day?” He asks me and smile, he is tired of the day. “My name is Su and I am a licensed healer from Rapid village,” I tell him and show him my license and documents. I even have brought documents signed by all the village heads or chiefs along the trip. “Good good, you wish to practise in the city?” He asks and I agree. “Okay, what treatments are you applying for a license to?” I fill him in and he writes them down. “uhu, good, good.” Is all he says after a while. “We currently do not have anyone with your speciality practising here so I see no problem. You do have to show your skill and be evaluated.” He tells me and then goes on listing the fees for three months work, the least possible. “I do house calls, so you just give me a call if want help with your back,” I tell him before we say our goodbyes. He says a runner will come for me when I can be evaluated. I tell him I will send a runner when I know where I stay.
“Everything seems to be in order,” I tell my travelling companions when I rejoin them outside the fortresses walls. “Good, let us go outside the walls and find a cheap place to stay.” My sister tells us and marches on, seemingly fed up with my whirring around. Finding a place to stay turns out to be less work than we first worried. The prices are strictly regulated after what amenities the inns supplies. We go to a nice quiet place in the lower middle ranking. The difference in price is worth it for our own room. I pay one of the younger sons of the proprietor to send his son with a message to the administrator's office and after dinner, we turn in.
A messenger arrives the next morning even before I am awake, but Xi is up practising his kata’s and wakes me. After a hurried breakfast and sprucing up I leave for the fortress again, having to pay both entrance fees over again. Some kind of pass is needed, but I have yet to see it. Maybe a good suggestion for my friend the administrator, he looked to be low on the pecking order. When I am showed inside I am not shown to his building, but rather around the back where there is a nice quiet corner. There I am met with an older man sitting on a small veranda outside a quaint little house.
“Greetings elder” I bow and say to him “Greetings young one,” he says back. He introduces himself as the resident healer and the cities spiritual leader, San Ma Can. The longest name I have yet to hear of. “So I hear you try to pass yourself off as a healer.” He says having left me standing before him, he is reproachful in his demeanour. “Elder I cannot do anything else and follow the law.” Tell him and smile. “My gifts are not strictly healing, rather massages that bring wellness and healing to the body.” He looks at me for quite a long time and shakes his head. “And what other than a play on words is that?” I shrug and look at him. “A flawed representation of the subjective matter tried to communicate through the media of speech from a subjective understanding of the worlds and heavens larger truths.” I tell him and finish off with “respected elder.” All respect is long gone from my words since the man refuses to do his job as off yet. Rather he is concerned with testing me for his own goals and I have to say I look down on such behaviour. “Well, we will have to test you then.” He answers in response to my petulance.
“Ah, heaven” is the response when I crack a really though part of his back. I have been working for more than an hour on his lower back. In the start, he surprised me by telling me it was him I would be working on. And he scoffed at my warm up. When I had warmed up and found most of his problem areas, mainly that he seemed to be unable to relax the muscles in his back, in addition to all the other wear and tear in the tissue. I used all my expertise and magic to rock his world. Now he is a shivering plump of water and tissue under my fingers and I think even had a small orgasm. When massages become magic there is so much potential. I even have a small moment thinking on all the other medical stuff I would like to try. There are sharp limits to what I am able to do with massages. Inside organs, bones and such deeper issue I cannot reach by treating the patient by doing a massage.
“So what do you think?” I ask the good old healer when he finally wakes up again. I am sitting outside and waiting on him and have seen quite a few servants looking at me from doors and windows. “I retract all my bad words, that was heavenly. How long are you staying?” He asks me and I tell him I will be here for three months. “Put me down for an appointment once a week.” He tells me and does not even ask how much it will cost. I really have to set a price, and I know how. I will take the probable price of the land I wish to buy, multiply by two and add five percent to the price before dividing by the amount of time I have in the city. Start there and work my way down, or up, depending on demand.