4 chapter 4 Scrupulous Girl

Six thousand feet above the ground, in the compresed and densely charged stratosphere, shuffling through the bright fluffy white clouds with the grace and finesse a celestial being on a heavenly mission was a slender female figure with a pair of serious eyes. On a magnificent flying sword, she drifted across the heavens and skittered through the storm clouds like it was her natural habitat. It was evident that there was a certain sense of urgency in her movements but that didn't alter the fact that she was stunning and graceful in her flight. Quick as lightning, she blasted across the sky in a glorious blaze, leaving a trail of ice and dust in her wake. The female form skidded to a halt in the sky right above Zhang Jian's abode and hovered over the house. Still in the air, she circled around it like a vulture that was eyeing its prey. She peered down hard with her knowing eyes as she stared at the small house from the great height which she stood. Something had attracted her here and she didn't quite fully know what it was yet.

Physically, the entity that had taken up a position in the clouds was a pretty being. She had the form of a young woman and her petite physique was typical of most highborn of this time. The long jet black hair that flowed from her waist down had been bound in a perfect ponytail that brought out her facial features. Her pointy long nose, glowing complexion and intense dark eyes further enhanced her already foreign features. She had the form of a young girl but her overall ambience showed that she was much more than just an ordinary girl. Standing on a sword, up above the earth in the clouds with the sun behind her, she had the appearance and magnificence of divinity.

As she stood observing the sight below her,

"It seems this is the location." She thought.

The green gemstone that was at the hilt of her magnificent sword on which she stood on bore a striking resemblance to that which old man Xiao had given Zhang Jian. It seemed to be leading her in the direction of its twin and with the manner which it was flashing its green light like a honing beacon, it meant that the other was close. The petite girl doubted that the other jade was in such an unguarded an open location. She scanned for any defense systems and found none.

"This reeks of entrapment and yet, I do not sense any qi."

The jade was probably in the house below but the question was whether she was powerful enough to wrestle it from whomever was currently in possession of it. As she thought on whether to descend or not, the sword (as if worn out by her indecision) stirred on its own accord and descended down at a tarrying speed. The female entity was unfazed as she stood tall and enjoyed the ride. It seemed like she was relived the sword had made the decision for them and prepared herself for whatever may come next.

"This had better be it."

Because she was coming in hot from a different plane entirely, her eyes adjusted and readjusted to adapt to the new scale. Soon enough, the peak of a mountain came into full view and on it, stood the lonely cabin that she had been observing. She leaned in and willed the sword to quicken its pace.

"It's now or never. Guess I'll just have to handle the prince of this house by myself."

The jade in her sword's hilt reacted aggressively to this auspicious house that stood alone by itself in the middle of nowhere.

"Oh yes," she thought to herself, "It's definitely here."

She mentally prepared herself for the worst and she descended further; "Well, here goes nothing."

Suddenly, the air around her began to shimmer, painting a distorted, surreal illusion of something that closely resembled a hologram. As if she had been expecting it, the female entity pursed her lips together and gestured the sword to slow down. It responded immediately and gracefully skidded to a halt, out of nowhere a menacing authoritative voice invaded her mind.

"STATE-YOUR-BUSINESS-AT-ONCE-!!"

The lady stopped dead in her tracks. It was no secret that only a handful of powerful people possessed the skill set to project their thoughts directly into another person's soul. Bypassing the laws of nature to execute an invasive act such as this required a tremendous amount of discipline. She was shocked by the sheer brute force of this principality's power. Of course she had expected opposition, but not of this magnitude. The voice sounded ancient and powerful. She did not miss the irritation in its tone as it spoke directly to her soul. If the entity had wanted to obliterate her, it would have no trouble doing so. She didn't want to give it any reason to end her so she began in a diplomatic tone;

"Great one, I beg your indulgence. I am only passing by and I mean no disrespect."

The voice came again, more intimidating than when it came the first time;

"WHO ART THOU!"

With the authority in its voice was such that she wouldn't have been surprised if the clouds and birds in the air had all stood up in unison to answer the entity. Knowing that her next words could be her last, she took a deep breath and spoke in her calmest voice;

"I am Wang Yan ancient one."

She crossed her fingers and waited for the worst. As if it had considered she wasn't worth killing, the ancient voice came at her again and asked again with mild irritation;

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

She wasted no time and answered truthfully;

"I seek an item that has been long lost."

It was best to keep her answers short, simple and truthful. Wang Yan wasn't completely sure what had kept her alive, but she knew her courteous nature had played a role in it. She didn't know or recognize the voice, but she knew that the prince of the air over this mountain must be one of the great masters who preferred to stay hidden. There were other masters who tended towards flamboyance and showmanship, but she had never met one of such hidden masters- till now! She finally understood why they remained hidden. Their intimidating aura alone was sure to slay a weak mind. She shuddered at the thought of how close she had come so close to being skewered like ordinary cattle.

"Fetch your precious property and get out. A lone master lives here, take care not to disturb his peace or run the risk of being obliterated!"

With that, the voice receded. Wang Yan waited a few more anxious minutes before she finally let herself breathe as she heaved a deep sigh of relief. Her search for the Purple Sapphire had been a long and tedious journey, and once again, it had brought her close to death. This was as close as she had gotten in a pretty long time. In the past, Wang Yan had cheated death several times before but this had been a bone chilling experience. Her brief but exciting brush with the grim reaper had been insanely terrifying and she knew she wouldn't be in a hurry to forget this encounter.

Her eye widened as a staggering thought hit her;

"Wait a damn minute! Didn't he just say a peerless master lived here?" she wondered with bewilderment as she continued her train of thought; "So that overbearing presence was simply a vassal? What great master could subject such a powerful prince of the air under his service?"

While a part of her was itching to find out, the other part screamed at her to let it go and turn around. But her curiosity prevailed and she touched down gracefully on the ground with a soft thud. The sword automatically flew into her hand and Wang Yan surveyed her new surrounding with laser like precision until finally, her eyes rested on the entrance to Zhang Jian's cabin. The door was a simple wooden one, but in Wang Yan's eyes, it was a mysterious portal that led to the lair of an even more mysterious master. She expected just about anything on the other end, from A three headed dragon, to an eleven-feet demon with rippling muscles, to a mysterious old man shrouded in flowing white robes. Then finally, as if compelled by some external force, Wang Yan found herself walking towards the door with mixed feelings and unreasonable expectations. She stopped just three-feet shy of the door, stretched out her sheathed sword and tapped the door three times with the tip. She then took three steps back and waited- expecting the worst while still hoping for the best.

On the other side of the door, secluded in the comfort of his home, Zhang Jian was deep in work and lost in the world that captured the minds of artists who were in the moment. Head bent over the table, brush in hand, eyes fixated on the calligraphy, Zhang Jian was completely lost in the sea of his creative genius. Zhang Jian was a pretty modest guy even he knew that there was no denying the fact that he had gotten a whole lot better since he came to this strange place. Primarily because he could finally zone out both the surrounding (and internal noise) and focus completely on practicing his art, but also because he had no distractions whatsoever. Up until now at least.

The pronounced footsteps walking towards his door echoed and reverberated through his normally quiet space. Zhang Jian paused and frowned, The last time he had an unexpected visitor, be had turned out to be the one of the best people he had met in his lifetime, only to be snatched away by the cruel hands of the same fates that had brought the old man into his life in the first place. His eye brows furrowed as he tried his best to guess who it could possibly be

"Footsteps? That's strange."

The sound and manner with which it walked sounded nothing like the dignified footsteps of his close friend and colleague Xiao Luo. In fact it was the opposite actually. Tensed, he waited for his unexpected guest to make the first move. He sensed some hesitation on the other end and Zhang Jian thought;

"Yep, definitely not old man Xiao Luo." He thought to himself; "But who could it be though?"

He was about to find out. The knock he had been expecting finally came in three nervous taps. He in turn stood up from his desk and walked cautiously towards the door. Not really knowing what to expect, the painter warily opened the door.

Zhang Jian stared at Wang Yan as if he had seen a ghost, or a figurine or anything rare. The look in his eyes was one of pure wonder. It had been a long time since he had seen or been in the presence of such a pretty girl. Her sharp eyes, aquiline nose and streamlined physical caught his attention. Even from where he stood, he caught a whiff off the luscious scent of her hair product. She was young, early twenties at most. Her garments were modest but far from those of the lower class. He didn't even think as to why she was here, in that moment, he simply appreciated her presence and would welcome her any day as his guest.

Wang Yan on the other had was also impressed with the entity before her, but probably not in the same fashion as Zhang Jian. A lot of masters she had met and known in the past were flamboyant and loved aesthetics. They were usually inclined towards the benefits of the pomp and pride that came along with the privilege of being masters. Most of the time, on the spectrum of aptitude (on the level of the highest ranking masters in her world), those masters who were predisposed to glamour and flashy lifestyles never quite rose above the level of competency to proficiency. Thus, they compensated their limitations with shallowness and ostentatious displays of strength. They were almost always fickle minded, sensitive and easily provoked when they sensed a challenge from the younger generation. But she sensed none of these faults and defects in the master that stood before her.

"Yes," she thought, "This was definitely him."

She was petite so Zhang Jian's frame towered over her like a gentle monster. Weeks and weeks of tilling the soil had turned Zhang Jian's initial lanky frame into the impressive form of a muscled working man. His slighter darker skin now enhanced his masculinity as it was a clear testament to the many hours he had put into work. This hunk that stood before her was definitely whom she was looking for.

"Oh and he is so young."

Wang Yan fought to restrain her mind from drinking in his physical features and tried desperately to focus on the atmosphere around him, but her stubborn young mind couldn't. She found her gaze drifting from his solid jawline to his slightly open rock hard chest. In her mind's eye, he was perfect. What more, he was a master too! And a peerless one at that. The young woman didn't admit it to herself, but she was taken in by this strange master. He appeared exotic. He had a foreign vibe about him and she welcomed it gladly, it was a good break from all the regular masters whom she had known and gotten wearied of.

Zhang Jian on the other had was unaware of just how much he had physically changed over the past few months. In his own mind, he was still the same person. The same tall, skinny dude that he had pictured himself to be all his life. So he couldn't understand the look on the young girl's face as she regarded him with an intense pair of dark eyes. He thought she must have come to the wrong place or maybe she had known the previous inhabitant of this abode. Just when he thought of the right and perfect way to start an intelligent and enlightening discourse, she beat him to it by beginning with the perfect ice breaker; a courteous greeting. Her voice came loud and smooth;

"Senior, I greet you."

The amused Zhang Jian thought to himself; "When did I become a senior? There can't quite possibly be ten years in the difference between our ages."

Then he sighed inwardly when he remembered again the tiresome and demanding rules of engagement in this time. Each situation required certain protocols as well as designated salutations for every category of people that belonged to the society. So, in as much as he wanted to have an ordinary conversation with someone who was finally in the same age demographic as him, he couldn't do so freely as the freedom to converse would be encumbered by these binding protocols.

It was impossible to gist like a regular person. One had to always abide by the rules of engagement which loomed over every conversation and dominated every civil or political discourse. It was indeed tiresome. For a simple time and an even simpler set of people, things could be pretty complex. One wrong word, one misstep could have people looking at you the wrong way. But Zhang Jian also appreciated it because he remembered his own time and guessed that the decadence in his time had been brought about by the gradual neglect of the old ways of doing things. Zhang Jian wished that there could b some kind of compromise between the stringent measures of the past and the liberal approach to live that was typical of his generation.

"These ancients sure do love to tie themselves up with inconvenient customs and traditions. To hell with this, I am just going to speak like a normal person."

Wang Yan had been watching his deliberation and thought he was considering if she was truly worth his time or not. She remembered the warning the prince of the air over this environment had given her just a few moments ago and she panicked. She did not dare to think about the consequences of disturbing a master as great as this who had subdued an entity as terrifying as the prince of the air over this environment.

Today didn't seem to be her day at all. This was the second time she was running the risk of angering a powerful being. So, not wanting to fall out of this peerless master's good graces by making such a nasty first impression, she dropped to her knees in a dramatic fashion and she let out a torrent of words that came out faster than Zhang Jian could follow;

"O peerless master! Forgive thy humble servant for disturbing your peace for I know that you are a busy and malevolent being with no time for ordinary folks and ordinary troubles. I humbly ask that you accord me your benevolence and grant me the privilege of your audience!"

Zhang Jian blinked. He blinked again. Not because there was any dust in his eyes, not because there had been a change in the surroundings humidity. Not because of anything at all, but because he had never had another human kneel before him before. It was strange. He now understood why men loved power and everything that comes along with it so much. He remembered in that instant what his professor in college had said to them on the topic of tyrants and tyranny; 'The pleasure of command is sweeter than that of intercourse." Though he hadn't understood it then, he had a little understanding of what it meant now.

The young man was completely flabbergasted. Just when he had chosen to hold a normal conversation for the first time after what seemed to be like a really long time, this young girl, in a very short moment had completely shattered any hope he had been nurturing in that regard. What was she prattling on about anyway? talking about malevolent beings and benevolence? Was this supposed to mean something?

"Damn this stifling protocols!" he thought to himself.

As Zhang Jian's emotions reacted to the situation, the logical thoughtful part of him delved into full assessment mode. Hadn't she called herself a humble servant earlier on? So she must be the emissary of a noble for only that class of the society had need of disciples and vassals. If that was to be considered as the truth here, then it was indeed safe to assume that she must be under the service of someone with enough wealth and resources to engage the service of a vassal such as this lady before him. But why was she here and more importantly, how did she find him? His house was the only one within a twenty mile radius so it was no coincidence that she had found him. The only linking factor, the only common variable he could arrive at was one man- Xiao Luo!

"Was that it? Could it truly be so simple?"

Indeed, his theory seemed plausible. But he waited to confirm her identity and the purpose of her visit. The last time he had seen Xiao Luo, the old man had charged him with keeping safe a precious treasure. This girl being here (if truly she was of Xiao Luo's household) could mean only two things;

1) She must have been pretty close to Xiao Luo to know about his close relationship with Zhang Jian and must have informed her about the precious ornament he had left in his care.

2) The second option was more disturbing, it was also very likely that she was a renegade vassal who sought to take advantage of the information she had gleaned by the reason of her closeness to Xiao Luo

The poor Wang Yan had been on her knees with her eyes to the ground all this time it was a posture that was typical of vassals in this time. A painful minute had passed since she had made her plea and yet there had been no response. She began to panic at the thought of him sending her away, or something worse! Then suddenly, as if in tune with the very flow of reality and time itself, the booming voice of the peerless master came. In a tone that conveyed no emotion whatsoever, he spoke;

"Rise up to your feet young girl. There is really no need call me master. I am Zhang Jian."

He purposely his name be revealed to see if it would strike any chord and watched her reaction. Sure enough, a registered look of surprise manifested on her face as she rose to her feet. But Zhang Jian was mistaken, the look wasn't what he thought it was. Wang Yan didn't had never heard his name before, her surprise was birthed from the astonishing fact that a peerless master of his status had given her permission to use his full name! It was unheard of!

"Such humility!" Wang Yan thought. "I really must be the right place after all."

Still standing in the spot, she refused to come forward towards the house. Zhang Jian assumed that it was because of her chronic shyness but then remembered that in the ancient times, the rule of invitation stood firm amongst other rules on hospitality. Those days, it was considered rude to enter a person's house without invitation. Doing so could bring ill-luck and misfortune that could last for years. Zhang Jian smiled as the poor girl shuffled on her feet uncomfortably,

"Heaven knows what must be going on in that head of hers." He thought to himself.

If only Zhang Jian knew the thoughts that were racing through her mind, he would have be even more stunned. Wang Yan thought maybe she wasn't worth being invited into the master's abode. But that didn't bother her. What she had been pondering on was how she could present her request to him. Zhang Jian's voice disrupted her thinking process when it overcame the sound of her own thoughts;

"It's alright. You may come in."

With that, he turned around and went in. the nervous Wang Yan followed at a safe pace and a healthy distance behind him.

As soon as she stepped into the house and laid eyes on the desk with the paintings, brushes and calligraphy on it. She stopped abruptly, brought out her right fist and met it with her open left palm in an apologetic manner. and tendered her apologies in a respectful tone;

I seem to have disturbed your magnificent work!"