Chapter 10 - The Wise, the Strong, and the Favor

The Emerald River runs through the southern region of the grand continent. It starts as a stream up in the Blossom Mountain Range to the west, turning into a massive river as it courses eastward into the South Sea. Along the river's bank, farmers toil from morning to night, tending to their rice paddies. Their collective efforts come together to form the backbone of society. Without the sweat of their labor, the grand continent would collapse.

On this particular morning, a farmer and his daughter walk through the narrow paths between paddies. The father wore a beige, sleeveless, rag top and gray pants. His straw hat hangs around his neck, resting on his back. A sickle sits securely on his sash. His daughter walks behind him. Her hands join together behind her, holding onto two hemp bags. 

As the father and daughter duo walk by, they greet the other farmers who were already hard at work. Upon arriving at their usual spot, the daughter bids her father farewell. She continues making her way through the paddies, occasionally stopping to chat with the farmers. 

Life was relatively peaceful here. The days pass in a similar manner year-round. The people wake, work, and rest. This particular morning, however, was slightly different than the others. For a short moment, every farmer put their work on pause to look up at the morning sky. 

***

"Aunty Lia," Yuyu says as she places her hand on Lia's clenched fist. "It's a lot less scary when you open your eyes. Yuyu promises!"

Yuyu wiggles her pinky, brushing the back of Lia's fingers. Lia, with eyes still closed, carefully stretches her pinky outwards. Yuyu hooks her tiny pinky around Lia's. Taking a deep breath, Lia musters up the courage to trust Yuyu's promise. With her head still stuffed against Sun's back, she slowly lifts her shivering eyelids. She takes another deep breath as she musters up the courage to peek up over Sun's shoulder. 

Looking at the view before her, Lia's heartbeats began to slow. Her fingers relax, if ever so slightly, as she gazes at the world below for the first time. An exhilarating feeling takes over her, washing away every other feeling. The exhilaration made her feel the sudden urge to scream.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

"Louder aunty Lia! Like this!" 

Yuyu lets go of Lia's pinky and stretches her arms outwards. She takes a deep breath before yelling at the top of her lungs.

  "YAH-HOOOOOO!!!"

Lia follows her example. She takes a deep breath, infusing it with her fears.

"YAH-HOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

As her breath leaves her in the form of an exhilarating scream, so do the fears that weighed her down.

"YAH-HAHAHA- WOO-HOOOO!!!"

The two take turns laughing and yelling as they soar across the sky.

***

Meanwhile, back at New Hope City, an elderly man sits behind a wide wooden desk. The sides of the desk were adorned with elegant carvings of mountains and clouds. The desk sits on top of four rounded legs. Starting from the base of each leg, four dragons coil upwards, stretching their heads outwards from each of the corners of the desk. Two stacks of neatly organized scrolls sit on the left side. To the right, a stack of books sits ten centimeters from each side of the corner. A simple granite inkwell and brush sits perfectly parallel next to the books. 

Sitting behind the desk, an elderly man rolls up the scroll in front of him, placing it on top of the stack closer to him. He picks up another scroll from the stack further away and unrolls it on the desk. Before reading the contents, he nudges the left side of the scroll forwards until the scroll lines up perfectly parallel to the edge of the desk. He strokes his beard as his eyes flutter up and down, working their ways across the scroll from right to left.

"Still as uptight and boring as usual, I see."

The elderly man doesn't flinch at the familiar voice. He continues reading through the remaining contents of the scroll. A short moment later, the elderly man rolls up the scroll and sets it onto the stack closer to him. 

"Still as lazy as usual, I see," he retorts.

"Long time no see, old man." 

The elderly man, seeing his old friend, smiles and signals for him to take a seat.

"What brings the Grandmaster to this humble institution?"

"Baah! Straight to business as usual." The friend spat in disgust, clearly offended. "What? Your old pal can't simply come by just to say 'hi'?"

"Why didn't you stop by yesterday? Or the day before? Or at any point in the past five years for that matter?"

"Old man, you're going to go senile if you keep track of every little detail. Bahaha! And why ask when you already know? I'm retired! Retired I tell ya! I know that word doesn't exist in your vocabulary, bu-" The friend pauses as he sees no reaction from the elderly man. "Nevermind. It's no fun teasing you." 

"Imagine that, the humble Grandmaster spares me from a battle of words. How kind. How can this humble Headmaster ever repay you for this show of grace?"

The friend doesn't reply. He just looks at the elderly man intently with a piercing gaze. The elderly man meets his gaze with equally sharp eyes. They stare at each other as palpable tension rises.

"BAHAHAHAHA!"

Their air of wisdom and dignity disappears as they break out in laughter.

"Is it true you quit drinking?" The Headmaster asks.

The Grandmaster laughs heartily before pulling out a gourd full of liquor.

"What do you think?" He smirks before taking a swig from the gourd, passing it to the Headmaster after.

The two laugh and chat as the gourd grows lighter and lighter throughout the course of their conversation. 

"By the way, have you spoken to the boy lately?"

The Headmaster nods, understanding the meaning behind the Grandmaster's words. He tilts the gourd up, about to drink the last gulp.

"It seems his balls have dropped. Bahahah. I tell him to keep his mouth shut, and he goes yapping to you." The Grandmaster laughs as he snatches the gourd out of the Headmaster's hand, stealing the last gulp. "Ahh! Whatever, I expected as much."

"I'm completely hands off," the Headmaster comments. "I'm sure you must have your reasons for keeping it under wraps."

"Old man, back in my prime, how many people do you think could hold their own against me?"

The Headmaster holds up four fingers.

"That's right, fo- Wait what? You must be going senile old man. Surely you're not counting that fool with his flashy dancing? He doesn't even know the first thing about the way of the sword! Dancing around in flowery robe with his stupid perfect fac-"

The Headmaster laughs as he listens to his old friend get riled up over the Swordsman of Spring. 

"I see that you're still bitter that she chose him over you," he laughs as he folds his pinky.

"Ahem!" The Grandmaster, having realized that he had been conned, clears his throat before quickly refocuses on the topic. "Anyways. Three. I've only ever considered three individuals to be my martial equal."

The Headmaster listens intently as his old friend leans in.

"What would you say if there was someone who could best all the Grandmasters, including that flowery prancing swordsman, in combat?"

"The one you referred to as a 'slumbering dragon'?" 

The Grandmaster nods. 

"I'd say that the Martial Alliance should welcome him as a new Grandmaster."

"No, you senile fool! All of us, together."

The Headmaster stares at his friend, trying to gauge whether or not the Grandmaster was being serious. Without flinching, the Grandmaster stares back at him.

"Then…" He strokes his beard in contemplation. "I would say the same as you. Hopefully, nobody is foolish enough to wake him from his slumber."

The two friends discuss the matter, along with other matters, throughout the day and into the evening. 

"Come by more often, old friend." The Headmaster smiles as his friend departs. 

The Grandmaster stops, suddenly remembering another important matter. He turns around.

"Old man, I need a favor."