Chương 45: Chapter 42 - Moving Day

It was moving day. They had just over three hundred li to travel, and it would take at least a full nine day week to reach their destination. They needed to make it before the month of the turtle drowned everything in rain, so there was no time to waste. The frantic energy around Changpo village was enough to drive even a monk of the Shaolin Sect to distraction.

The bleating of sheep, the whinnying of horses, and the shouts and screams of humans echoed across the plains as the entire village magically vanished into bags and wagons. It was a dance that they'd performed for thousands of years, and the motions were performed out of a well-worn habit. But this time there was one thing different.

If you were to stand at the highest point of the village – the Lee family yurtwagon – and look down, you would see a black haired, yellow deel'd figure running in between yurts and dodging baggage in between flashes of bright starlight. —"Go grab those saddles, Song," Wook instructed, pointing at the enormous pile laid next to where the stables used to be.

"And take them to uncle's yurtwagon."

"Yes, Wook," Song hefted the saddles onto one shoulder. Stacked like this, they weren't that hard to carry.

"And the bridles."

"Yes, Wook," Song headed towards his uncle's yurtwagon to deliver the saddles first, but Wook stopped him.

"Ah, ah! All together! It's a waste of time and training opportunity to do them separately!" Song tried to pick up the bridles, but when he leaned over, the saddles shifted on his too-small shoulders and toppled to the ground. He stared at the pile in despair." Woooooook." —"Cousin Song! I can't carry all these pots of changpo flowers. Do it for me," Mae demanded. She covered a cough, and held her other hand out daintily at the wooden skid. Song hooked the rope of the skid over his shoulder.

He gave it a few test pulls, then heaved. It tore a rut in the grass, but it moved.

"Yes, Mae."

"Wee!" Mae jumped onto the skid, and Song nearly fell over backwards from the added weight. Song rubbed his shoulder.

"Mae~! Don't you have other chores to do? There's still a whole field of flowers behind the training grounds. We need as many as we can get for our next home." Mae pouted.

"Awwww… but I'm tired."

"We haven't even left yet! Get to it." — Tae pointed to his sweaty back.

"You there! Servant! Scratch my back!" Song considered his third brother; he was between chores and technically free.

"... I hate you, Tae." Tae held his hand up to his ear, his face twisting into feigned anger.

"Ahh?? This servant dares speak back to their master?" Song sighed and began scratching.

"Yes, Tae."

"Oooh, that's the spot! Lower! Lower! AHH!! LESS NAIL! LESS NAIL!" — Seojoon held a small scroll out to Song, his eyes glued to the horses as they were hitched to the massive Lee family yurtwagon.

"Song, carry this message to the Patriarch."

"Yes, Seojoon," Song said respectfully.

"That technique of yours is quite helpful for situations like this," Seojoon mused.

"I can imagine its uses on the battlefield. What are its limitations? I may have some ideas to improve it." Song considered his older cousin for a long while before replying, "... I'm not telling you the weaknesses of my martial arts, Cousin Seojoon."

"Pity." —"Come give your mother a kiss!" Chohee said brightly, holding her arms open. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Song backed away, holding his hands up to try and keep her at bay.

"Mother, please, everyone's watching."

"Let them watch! Aren't you supposed to be obeying orders today?"

"I really don't think that a servant has to –" Song protested. Chohee dove forward and laid a kiss on her son's forehead. Mwah!

"Mother!!!" — ["Kw –"] The cycled qi hit Song's dantian with a gentle touch. ["You've almost got it!"] Cyrus called back. ["Kwy–"] ["Now the - it!"] Song tried again, dodging past some unruly children as he did so. ["Kwite. Kwiet. Quiet."] ["That last one got it! Huzzah!"] Song began cycling qi harder. ["Quiet. Quiet. Quiet. QUIET!"] ["... you can stop now."] ["QUIET! QUIET!"] —"Song, do you see the Yu family Patriarch over there?" Uncle Seok pointed to a figure in the distance standing atop a wagon.

Yu Jii was separated from them by a veritable sea of milling people and animals.

"I need you to go tell him to move his damn vegetable wagon out of the way. Or get a Jo to be useful and sit on it. The smell is distracting the horses." Song considered the distance. It wasn't too far for his technique. He lined up his shot, aiming for the top of the wagon. Today hadn't been a total loss; he'd made a breakthrough! According to Cyrus, light shining upon a surface was no different from a reflection. After all, how could he see the light on the wood otherwise?

Earlier today he'd shucked his deel for a simple set of pants, wandering around bare-chested for just this purpose. He flared his dantian. At this distance the wood of the wagon barely showed any effect from his light, but even a little was enough. Song stepped onto his Starlight Bridge – And landed on the back of the wagon next to the Yu clan Patriarch.

"Patriar – " His greeting was muffled by the four tentacles that burst from the back of Yu Jii's deel in a disorienting vortex. They wrapped around him in an instant, enveloping him in rubbery, suckery, folds, then flipped him over and against the side of the wagon with a BANG!!!.

"Oh? Is that you Lee Song?" Yu Jii gave an apologetic head-nod, his tentacles unwrapping and depositing Song to the floor with a limp thump.

"You really shouldn't surprise a foundation level cultivator like that. Or anyone for that matter."

"I'm learning so many things today," Song mumbled, trying to see past the stars in his eyes. Jii considered the tangle of limbs on the floor.

"Do you think you could carry a message for me?" —"Yes, Cousin."

"Yes, Tae."

"Yes, Auntie."

"Yes, Uncle."

"Yes, Tae."

"Yes, Mae."

"Yes, Tae."

"Yes, Tae." —"Sigh Yes, Tae." Song sighed. Tae's voice was imperious as he demanded, "And then – ""Tae, I'm not your personal servant," Song finally snapped. He tossed the large fan that he'd been waving in front of Tae's face down to the ground. Tae blinked, then grinned.

"True! You're everybody's personal servant today, remember? Keep fanning, I was just getting cool." Song's eyes narrowed.

"I'm going to tell Juwon that you're abusing the servants." Tae tsk'd, then waved Song away.

"Shoo! Begone! Go bother the horses, servant!"

"I'm going to spit in your airag first chance I get, Tae." Tae snorted.

"It would improve the taste." —"Song, I hear you've been running around delivering messages today?" Lee San said, looking down at his youngest son. He stood atop the Lee Family yurtwagon, which had been hitched to two-dozen champing horses. His left hand was encased in a thick leather glove, and far overhead the red shape of Kkongi could be seen slowly circling the village at a distance.

"Can you deliver one for me? Go tell the other Patriarchs that the Lee Family is ready to move out." Song bowed at the waist.

"Yes, Patriarch."

"Next, take this message to Seojoon." He passed two scraps of paper to Song.

"And this final one to the hunters."

"Yes, Patriarch." San hesitated, then added, "After that, you're relieved of your duties. Do whatever it is Hunter An needs you to do. What did you learn today?" Song grimaced.

"I learned that Brother Taeyang needs to learn when to shut his big mouth." San chuckled.

"If you can figure out how, please tell your Mother and I. We've been trying for years."

"And I do see brother Juwon's point. I was so caught up in my injured pride that I was losing sight of what it meant to be a Lee. I should focus on how I can improve, instead of what I'm unhappy with. I even made a breakthrough in my martial arts!" Song beamed with pride at his father. Lee San gave his youngest a paternal smile.

"Good. But this doesn't mean that your punishment is over. You'll report to Hunter An each morning then come back here for your duties after lunch. Understood?" Song scuffed a foot. So close!

"Yes, Patriarch."

"Good, now get going." Song got. An hour later, the rest of Changpo village did as well. The massive throng of people and animals moving in fits and starts as they returned to their endless wandering of the Great Nakjo Plains.