Heavenly Shae

Epilogue 3: New Recruit Report

Master Long strode into the small conference room like he owned the place. He didn't, of course. It was one of many rooms owned by the sect and set aside for this exact reason. He was here to meet and discuss the new batch of recruits with the sect leadership and the head of first-year studies.

One other Elder was already waiting in the room, and he greeted her with a polite nod. "Elder Haifen."

"Master Long," she returned the nod.

Her usual dark blue hair was fading to a sky blue from the roots, forcing Long to school his expression to not react to it. It had been a while since he had seen the elder, and sudden signs of age were always surprising.

"Nice of you to finally make it." She glared at him and began preparing their tea at the low central table. Three chairs were set evenly around it, the fourth had been pulled off into a corner.

Long sat so that the remaining chair was the one closest to the door, allowing them both to watch it comfortably. "I don't seem to be late."

"She's a busy woman. You can't expect her to be waiting on you."

He raised an eyebrow. "We're meeting with the sect master? Directly? Isn't that a bit odd to simply discuss new recruits?"

"Usually, sure. This batch seems to have a few standouts."

"Oh? Do tell?"

She glared at him. "You'll hear it when she does."

"A-hem. Of course." He smoothed his robes, then froze briefly before reaching into an inner pocket. "Are you still doing those brewing experiments?"

Her face shifted to curiosity. "Yes. You have something for me?"

He held out a small vial of what could have been honey, it glowed faintly in the dim room. "Refined nectar qi, from my signature hungering meal preparation."

"Hmmm. Looks rather pure. Why did you refine it?"

"I didn't. Another curious party did, she was investigating its intent and we decided to store it like that, rather than discard it. I thought it might produce something interesting."

She shrugged. "It's a small quantity, but you're correct if you assumed brewing might increase its potency." She shook the vial again and watched it carefully. "Very nicely extracted. You must have had a qi syringe?"

Long smirked and handed over a second vial. This one was mainly white, but he swirled it as he passed it over to reveal hidden drops of red and gold. "Here's another. Probably not worth the trouble of brewing it, but I wanted your opinion on the potential blend."

Haifen glared when he avoided the question, but was quickly distracted by the new vial. "Excellent purity, again. I suppose that's to be expected from a pure qi base. Obviously the drops are poorly integrated..." She stared at the vial for several heartbeats and Long felt her qi fluctuate as she inspected it with her divine senses.

"Is that...?" She asked, "Tribulation qi?"

Long nodded.

Her eyebrows bounced up towards her hairline. "Well, good find. One of ours? Which pure specialist is trying it? I hadn't heard of any overcoming a tribulation recently." She squinted at the vial. "Though, I would expect better comprehension and integration from one of our core cultivators."

"She's not at core, and I believe she recently made a breakthrough with the integration."

"Oh? Well get me a sample of that, then. Might actually be worth brewing. You won't need my guesses about how the mix works either, then."

Long smiled.

"Though, that does narrow it down to- well, you said, she. So just the two at formation building-" she snapped her attention to the door.

Long's head followed suit. A beat later they both stood and smoothed their robes.

They waited for a pair of breaths before the door opened to admit a middle aged woman with stylish short black hair. Her ear length cut stood out simply for the shortness, but the wavy swept-back side-part was considerably different than anything seen on the local streets or even within the sect itself. The rest of her wasn't far behind in making a statement about style.

Bright violet lipstick drew eyes away from her dark purple irises and hid the same tint that was just barely noticeable in her hair. Her skin was close to the near-white of an ice fairy, with the slightly-too-blue tinge. However, her face still held a surprising amount of blush and tan for someone who spent so much time indoors attending meetings which keep her sect running. If she had been mortal, the color would have been makeup, but being a half step from immortality let her appear exactly as she intended.

Her clothes marked her out even further. A loose white blouse was trapped under a tight vest and she was practically the only person in the sect who wore pants instead of the customary layered robes. Both were a flat silver, but they nearly looked grey from the contrast of vibrant red and blue embroidery that the sect was known for. Somehow, the narrow lines of saturated color outshone the slightly metallic cloth.

The dragon motif present on all elder's robes was anything but subtle here. Multiple finely detailed palm-sized dragons raced up the outside of her thighs and all across her vest. She nodded to the two elders as she moved towards the table.

"Sect leader," they both intoned and bowed deeply.

"Haifen, good to see you. Long, I'm surprised you're back early. Let's get started," she spoke smoothly and sat abruptly. A glance at the unserved tea had Haifen moving to serve it. Then she crossed one leg over the other, revealing simple black flats. The foreign footwear was yet another thing that should have clearly labeled the woman as some kind of outsider.

"I hadn't expected your direct attention on this matter, Leader," Long said and sat while smoothing his robes again.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I thought it unnecessary, until one of our potential recruits was accused of crippling our former formation master. Did you recover that letter?" She raised an eyebrow at Long.

"Well, there was some-"

"Of course not. Espionage got to it first. Even with that, Formations is still up in arms and is demanding an inquiry. Please tell me the trials have something interesting, Haifen." She reached out and accepted a teacup from the woman.

"Yes, Leader. Many interesting recruits this season, several in Long's batch."

"Keep it to that one group, I don't even have an hour." She sipped the tea and tilted her head, then nodded acceptance and sipped again.

Haifen hid a sigh of relief. "Almost a set of qi gatherers wished to negotiate their contracts. More than usual from the four sets of recruits. Of that, only three made substantial changes. Most were from those collected at Gatewash, so I expect someone there is spreading rumors. Two pushed the limits of what we expect is repayable, and the third mainly asked for more freedom from regular duties." She shrugged. "Nothing beyond what has been accepted in the past."

Long raised an eyebrow.

The sect leader gave no appearance of noticing, but followed up on exactly what Long was thinking. "That's the qi gatherers. What about higher stage recruits?"

"A-hem, yes." Haifen halted before sipping her tea then set it down again. "My apologies. Lately, we cover everyone from qi gathering first. The other Elders prefer to 'save the best for last' as they say."

"Is that strictly true?" She asked. "Surely the test does not challenge even cleansing recruits. How can that be a satisfying demonstration of skill?"

Haifen nodded. "I agree. Occasionally... an Elder has enjoyed the inherent failure of a higher stage recruit using the lower entrance, or similar mishaps that reduce their initial status."

Their sect leader frowned. "That's rather distasteful... tell me who- no, no. Not my oxen to herd. Formally report it to their direct superior, if you haven't already. Carry on as you like. Standouts in the test itself?"

"Yes, Leader." She nodded into a quick seated bow. "My current favorite is Miss Shu Nalin. She nearly completed the trial first."

"Hmm. Shu? The merchant family? And how nearly?"

"Yes, from Gatewash, her cousin was with the guard entourage, actually. She blazed a direct trail, efficiently scaling each of the ridges and low cliffs in her way. She would have been first if she had actually found the door. Instead, she attempted to scale the Shattered Falls."

Long sharply sucked a breath in through his teeth.

Haifen looked over with a smirk and nodded. "I agree. She was quickly recovered from the pond by the watchers, drenched and scraped but with only her pride seriously injured."

"That still drops her placement, yes?" Long asked.

"Correct. She would have placed about middle of the pack, but used her negotiation to bump into the top third."

The sect leader tilted her head. "We allow that? Why not just a higher stipend."

Haifen nodded. "She wanted to deserve her rewards. She said a higher placement meant she would need to fight to hold onto it, and improve it, whereas a flat bonus-" she ruffled over a few pages on the small table, "-would make her weak like those noble brats."

The sect leader snorted. "Well said. Fire affinity? And is Elder Riko still teaching first years? No offense Long."

The noble shrugged. "None taken. Riko would be a good fit, though he's a bit rough on his personal disciples. Hmm, and I think the Shu's favor wood qi?"

Haifen nodded. "Her cousin is indeed wood aspected. Of course, the destruction cycle suggests fire could be within easy reach. Elder Riko has been in seclusion for a few years, though recently emerged to check on his remaining personal disciples who have taken over martial training. To varying success. Now that they've had a taste, we expect a few to step back to focus on themselves. Likely, Martial Elders Taoying and Chuhujieye will be the primary instructors this year."

"Likely?" The other woman asked.

She shrugged back. "The early martial disciplines have had a very loose teaching structure of late. It seems to get results so management hasn't stepped in."

Long smirked. "Last time I was here it was non-stop duels and brawls. Though, my own presence seemed to quickly add formality to the structure."

"Yes, we were quite pleased with the results then. Are you sticking around for long?" Haifen raised an eyebrow at him.

"Hmm, not sure. My prospects for disciples seem to have dried up."

"And how did they do during the trial?" The sect leader asked.

"Are we past the qi gathering group?" He looked to Haifen.

"Hrrmm." She flipped through a couple pages. "A couple to keep an eye on. One tried to follow Miss Shu, they couldn't manage the chalk ridge. That was enough defeat to turn them to the casual path. One boy walked the whole test calmly; as though it was a simple stroll in the park. He was noted to have: never encountered a single obstacle larger than an unbalanced river stone," she read off the page.

Their sect leader scowled in confusion then waved her free hand and dropped the expression instantly. "Make sure he meets any monks when they pass through, otherwise leave him be. I take it the casual path is the boring follow the leader method."

"Correct. As usual, several nobles led the group and generally took advantage of the peasants' obedience whenever necessary." Haifen's eyes flicked to Long, then back to her papers. "This year, after the nobles ascended to the administration building, they demanded the merchants wait for an hour, and the peasants a further two hours. The group only waited until the next recruit arrived, then all cut ahead of them."

Their sect leader snorted at that. "Good for them. Are there existing plans in place for breaking that behavior?"

"Yes, Leader. This year it's-"

She stopped her with a raised palm. "It's fine, I trust the system."

"A couple others to keep an eye on, detailed in the written report." Haifen grazed over her notes once more, then looked up at Long. "Your disciple prospect?"

He nodded and sat forwards to set his nearly empty teacup down. "I am rather conflicted about her, but-"

"Her?" Haifen interrupted and flipped through several pages in a blur. "I thought it was a boy- one Zhango, from one of the Long's secondary houses."

"Ah, a-hem." Long forced a heavy cough to the side. "Yes, about disciple Zhango first, then. He had been sent out to the Jian Quan earlier in the summer to perform some tempering and enhance his water aspect. We had little contact then as I hadn't planned my return yet. Upon passing through Flame Well, I visited his family and made the least commitments possible, to simply assess his potential during the return trip. He was slated to join the caravan regardless. The families do make a habit of ensuring there's at least one each year." He flashed a frown.

The sect leader had raised an eyebrow early on, but at the pause she dropped it and made a slight nod for him to continue.

"The earlier comment about weak nobles hits home here. He made a poor showing on his first cleansing attempt, barely used half a cleansing bath and definitely had qi remaining." He shook his head. "I think the battle at Gatewash got him a little more motivated, though. I heard he had a decent showing during the trial." He nodded towards Haifen.

She slowly returned the nod and lifted a page of her notes. "Yes, top quarter. He distanced himself from the casual group quickly and made excellent time with only a couple bumps and scrapes along the way. The watcher's note says: he was surprisingly resilient, for a noble brat."

Long swallowed something sour and cleared his throat. "A-hem. Yes. That isn't what I would have expected from his previous behavior."

The sect leader nodded. "Enough to hand him off to another elder?"

Long slowly tilted his head from side to side while taking another sip of tea. "I'll continue with him while I'm here. He's earned another chance, at the least."

"Any others?"

Haifen nodded quickly. "Yes, Leader. One more cleansing recruit. She's quite promising it seems."

"Ah, then she must be why I'm here today, and why Long's been dragged out of his hot spring." She smirked at the man.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"A-hem, yes. I'll admit I had some hope to mentor the girl, but we got off to a rocky start. How much have each of you heard?"

"Most of it, since your report to the other leaders was quite thorough. Oh, and because espionage recovered the mystery letter from Ghon." The sect leader shrugged. "It was mostly as expected, though he suspected a few things that are difficult to confirm covertly."

"Ah, this is news to me? There was an earlier report?" Haifen flicked through a few pages without looking at them.

Long nodded. "It was mainly about the defense of Gatewash. However, the discussion quickly found new interest in the cleansing recruit that inserted herself into the situation. Lost souls will do that, rather predictably."

"Oh? She's a lost soul? You have confirmation?" Haifen withdrew a pen and made notes while Long nodded his confirmation. "I knew Elder Ghon was involved because we received his introduction letter for her, Miss Zhi Chen-Ai. Though, he was sure to include recognition of her title and preferred name, Heavenly Shae. I hadn't realised our agents had recovered the letter. May I ask why that was necessary?"

"Different letters. Ghon sent two, the simple introduction you saw and an encoded message regarding a personal situation he feared would occur, and nearly did. Strictly speaking, the situation is still developing, so it's not public knowledge yet. Hmm, you should become informed as to Long's report, but for now let's stick to just the trial results."

"Very well. A small detail about titles, she included Wise in her entry form, electing to use the combined title."

"Oh? You hadn't mentioned that, Long."

He repressed a grimace. "At the time, I was admittedly downplaying her role in an attempt to focus on my report."

The sect leader smirked. "And keep the other Elder's fingers to themselves, I assume. Did you hope to get the next drop of wisdom from the lost soul?"

He frowned and looked down. "I hadn't hoped for that, no. Her attitude is rather brash, leading me to not expect the delicacy required to assist in that way."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow and stared intently with her deep purple eyes. "Am I reading too much into that statement? She's already said something to you?"

He swallowed and coughed to the side, then cleared his throat and took a gulp of tea.

Haifen also raised an eyebrow, looking between the two, but remained silent.

The sect leader looked at the inside of her left wrist where a silver bracelet held a thumb sized black gem in place. "Hmm. I think I can spare another part of an hour for this. Spill, Long."

He sighed loudly. "She gave me a note. I haven't read it. I was planning on- Etmei- Sect Leader!" He startled as he felt the woman's qi brush over him. It wasn't the rough intrusion of a scan, but a gentle touch like a silk cloth barely brushing his cheek, almost below notice.

"Hmmm? This sheet of wood with a question on it? It does seem out of place."

"I was planning on discussing it with my master, Leader."

She had paused with her head slightly tilted, and her gaze staring through the man. "It's not a terrible question." Her eyes snapped back to Long. "It might even get lucky and find a roundabout way to point out your real flaw."

He frowned. "What flaw is that, Honorable Leader?"

She shook her head and waved a hand at him. "You've been told before but always ignore it. Anyway, little Shae's words won't harm your path, not that that will make you read them so soon." She smirked and nodded at him. "Consulting with your Master is the correct move."

Haifen moved suddenly to attend to the teapot and broke the building silence.

"Ah, right. Where were we..." The sect leader tilted her head up for a beat. "Was there a story to Wise Shae's title?"

Long smoothed his robes and reset his disposition. "Since you said you had time, yes. Going by Young Elder Bai's report, her words elicited two simultaneous enlightenments in Minlin Town, followed quickly by a third, involving a monk, and more directly, the military personnel in the trading square. More recently, she had a shared enlightenment with Nurse Joi of Doctor Cho's clinic in Gatewash. In which Shae chained into a larger enlightenment that had been delayed during the spirit beast battle. Large enough that she had some difficulty with it, though that comprehension also allowed her to fully integrate aspects into her qi and increase the density significantly. She's likely close to producing liquid qi, though most certainly unable to handle it."

Haifen nodded along while making notes and looked surprised at appropriate moments. "Chained enlightenments, that's rare. Though, in one so young, the smaller ones can come quite quickly. I see in Elder Ghon's introduction he mentions an incident leading to her title. May I be made aware of what the incident was? Unless it's related to that developing situation?"

"Hmm, it's not. And I believe I could guess it, but I'd be surprised if Long doesn't have the details." Their leader smirked and sipped her tea.

"Guess? That encoded message didn't explain it?" Long asked with a skeptical expression. He coughed lightly when he remembered who he was speaking to. "Yes, Leader. I can fill in the details, most of them. Near the end of summer a tribulation was called down upon Pilgrim's Rest Mountain. The Wise and Heavenly Shae claims it was hers and the cleansing of her right-most limbs supports that claim." He frowned down at his own empty teacup. "I'm surprised Ghon didn't mention it."

The sect leader smiled and sat back in her chair.

Haifen had frozen stiff. A breath later she blinked and looked at what she had written. "What for? And how did she survive?"

"You'll have to ask her yourself." Long shrugged. "I think she might have said, but we argued as much as we talked."

The sect leader tapped a finger on her knee. "A mortal tribulation would be very survivable. It's still lightning, but luck alone would be enough."

The two other cultivators looked at her very skeptically.

"What? And she's a lost soul," she defended.

"Leader," Long started, "is not that we don't believe you."

"-It's just that it's been a very long time since you were anything close to mortal." Haifen finished.

She frowned at both of them in turn. "And you think my own comprehension over the power of the heavens couldn't lead me to that conclusion?"

Their eyes shot open and they swallowed simultaneously.

"More to the point at hand. That qi vial Long passed you, it's her qi. Pure laced with tribulation qi." She pointed a finger at Haifen, then swung it over to Long. "Moreover, her enlightenment in Gatewash allowed her to integrate it fully? You said as much earlier. That means that was a core-strength enlightenment, not some piddly beginner's breath of gold."

Long nodded slowly, still reeling from her earlier correction.

Haifen coughed through her nose and directly controlled her expression. "She's going to be a monster."

The still relaxed woman nodded. "She likely already is, for her stage. However, keeping up with that kind of progress is like slipping fate's due. You mentioned cleansing? Has it been examined?"

Long nodded quickly. "Yes, Doctor Cho found it to be high quality, improved healing but not breaking into the divine. The girl's trying to spread it-"

"Tsk. Stop referring to her as a girl. Beyond being a culturally recognized adult, she's a lost soul and has already experienced at least one mortal life."

Haifen kept her eyes wide and mouth shut, then made a note and circled it.

Long nodded, and took a breath to wag his jaw while choosing his words carefully. "The young cultivator has begun to spread the cleansing based on notes provided by the Golden Orchard monks. I doubt they gave her anything like the mirror method, however."

Their sect leader nodded. "I'm not up to date with the current manuals and techniques for her stage, ensure she gains access to that and any other manuals that seem appropriate. Pure qi manuals as well." She looked between them. "It doesn't have to come from either of you, but she'll need to at least read them over. Hmm." She looked up at the ceiling.

"Uhm, Leader. We still have policies in place to avoid favoritism," Haifen interjected.

"Yet, we also claim to reward ability and merit, do we not?" She shook her head. "I'll leave the specifics up to you, though you can start by failing to find her a suitable cultivation manual. I seriously doubt we have one that would perfectly match her interpretation of tribulation lightning anyway. Will she fight for herself?" She asked Long.

He nodded. "For what she's owed? Certainly, few recruits would be able to match her spirit. If you mean direct combat? Hmm, she'll certainly stand her ground. Not sure about martial prowess, yet she showed up to the Jian with a peace-bound sword."

She raised an eyebrow then checked her bracelet again. "That will have to wait for another time, I think you have enough to work with. Anything else?" She looked to Haifen and prepared to stand.

Haifen flipped a page and looked up quickly. "Uh. We didn't go over her trial. And which Elder will take her, they'll start a riot if it's left open."

She huffed and let her weight fall into the chair again. "Highlights?"

"Significant use of improvised light formations, all using a single fire symbol with modified intent. She scaled the primary cliff face in the dark, but by using the training section, then took the stairs up to the special entrance, escaped it, and continued to the medium administration entrance."

Long sat forwards. "And she found Elder Mingrho's favorite walking stick before she started the trial."

Haifen flipped a few pages. "It ended up planted at the edge of the Shattered Pond."

Their sect leader held a blank expression. "I'm not familiar with the significance of that. Or what the special entrance is for? It gets used so rarely." Then she glanced at her wrist again.

"Ah, right, it's not very... popular." Haifen nodded but hesitated to continue. "Ahh-anyhow, both events are noteworthy, though in Heavenly Shae's case, they are perhaps a footnote at best compared to what we've discussed. The watchers made special note of her formations," she looked down and began quickly reading from her paperwork. '' She carved the first two into the dirt, then the rest from a low grade wood-skin notepad and charcoal pencil. The symbol itself matches an older fire-starting formation taught to beginners, but it's been simplified and she went beyond that to incorporate a balancing spiral. I've sent it-" She glanced up and stopped when she saw the sect leader.

The busy woman flattened her expression and picked up the dropped conversation. "Likely taught to her by Elder Ghon. His early formation career was flush with simplifications and refinements to basic formation work. Still, for only recently learning, we can call that impressive. Let's hope she intends to pursue it. Do we know how open her class schedule will be?"

"She made it clear she intended to challenge several classes," Long answered. "I have some suggestions for filling most of those."

"I was going to suggest mandatory professional testing. Have her sample all the introductory options so she doesn't miss out on a potential calling. Hmm, I suppose once she has rejected potions, painting, and whatever else you could assign other classes." She turned back to Haifen. "Remind me of the standard procedure for that?"

She nodded. "If there's something available, they can start it early with the instructor's permission. However, that permission is difficult for first years to acquire. They sometimes end up on bounty duty, usually some other entry level task, and additional martial training. What did you have in mind, Master Long?"

He took a breath to smooth his robes. "I've discussed some of this with her and she seemed keen. She should be fast-tracked through intent with the end goal of intent disruption specialty, and jumped ahead to the Dao primer classes with the goal of attending the Dao lectures this summer."

Haifen's eyes grew wider as Long talked. When he finished she burst out laughing. "Ha-ha ha ha! Very funny, Long but the sect leader's time is valuable..."

The two other cultivators in the room ignored her outburst and maintained their previous intensity.

The brewer's humour dried up and she glanced quickly between the other two. "You're serious. And you're taking him seriously, Leader?" She gawked, then continued to gawk and restrain her reactions when the sect leader replied.

"I agree." The powerful woman nodded and faced Haifen directly. "It will make sense once you've read the battle report." Then to Long she asked, "And intent disruption, so that shattered core in Research...?"

He nodded. "Apollo was eager to run it back for them to examine. I haven't seen the results?" His raised eyebrow implied the question.

She nodded back. "Full disruption, as you both suspected, though hairline fractures suggest the core was already shattering before your strike. So who's to say how strong the beast's will was. Still, an impressive display and they are eager to get her into an interview. Please, delay them as much as is reasonable."

The sect leader briefly paused to consider something, then nodded to herself. "Contact the instructors for specific requirements and start Junior Shae on challenging the prerequisites. If she fails to get into all of them, send me a report as to why. She can begin the profession sampling early as well, especially for conflicting classes." She glanced at the barely recovered cultivator. "We should assume that research isn't public yet either, pretend you didn't hear anything, Haifen."

She hesitated, still catching up with her notes. "Yes, Leader." She looked down and crossed something out, then used a technique to strip the ink from the page. "Should we show such direct interference, especially before she's chosen as a disciple by someone?"

Long snorted. Then waved it away when he drew their attention.

The sect leader sat up, preparing to leave again. "Obfuscate what you can, but she won't be chosen any time soon. She has a black mark on her file. They've requested she be assigned a martial mentor, you can operate through them, if needed." She stood. "I really must be going, now. You two can handle the rest. Good work with the tea, Haifen, and good luck with the nectar." She nodded at the woman.

The other two stood just after their leader. Haifen bowed and said, "Thank you, Sect Leader."

"And Long, good luck with Junior Shae's note. Whether she knows it or not, the answer is much deeper than most expect." She nodded to him.

He restrained a frown and bowed. "Thank you, Sect Leader."

"Ah, and notify me once she's reached core- no, earlier, when she triggers another tribulation, or when she reaches formation building. Whichever is first." She shrugged and turned to leave, the door opened to an empty hall just before she turned.

"Sect Leader! You're going to-" Haifen started.

She raised a hand to halt her. "No, I'm too busy for a disciple myself. Yet, meeting the prodigies early is always good. I suspect the others in her generation won't be far behind." She smirked at them and was gone, the door gently closing in her wake.

"Hmph. Guess she really was late," Long muttered.

Haifen huffed out a large breath. "I've not seen her get that involved in a while. What happened during the Gatewash battle?"

"Hm? Oh. Miss Shae stood in my domain, then resisted it and made use of its Dao abilities."

"What!? That's not possible!"

He shrugged. "It's clearly possible. I believe no one does it because there's no benefit. The domain owner can snatch the power back with a bare thought."

"Oh, so you protected her from its effects? And that must be why she was in the clinic?"

"Ah, not exactly. I was rather... focused on the battle and my own Dao construction. She was fine on her own."

Haifen blinked several times. "I'm not sure I follow."

"Yes, it was quite surprising." He took a deep inhale. "And it's so refreshing to watch someone else be stunned by that girl's antics. Speaking of, can you handle organizing her classes? I'm a little out of date here."

She huffed and looked up. "Yes, I suppose you'd have to annoy me for half of it anyway. You'll owe me, though."

"I just gave you that nectar qi."

"Pff, and what did that cost you? Get me an updated sample of her qi, for starters. What use is this unintegrated mess if she's solved that already? And let me read her note." She pointed at his robes.

He flinched his hand towards the robe's inner pockets. Then relaxed and frowned down at the reaction.

"Come on, our leader seemed to think it was nothing special. When's your meeting with your Master?"

"Right after this."

"Then you're about to find out anyway." She extended her open palm.

"Fine." He huffed and removed the thin slip of paper.

Haifen flexed her outstretched fingers while waiting for the paper. Taking it greedily once within reach. She was confused as soon as she read it. "What moves the ocean?"

"Did you just?" Long scowled, grunted, then rubbed his forehead with two fingers.

"Uh, sorry. It was just a reflex." She looked at the small note again. "I've never really thought about it? Any ideas?"

His scowl didn't vanish, but it began to look more forced than genuine. "If I do have some, I'd prefer to discuss them with my master."

"Right, it really was an accident. Although, now you have time to consider it." She handed it back and he snatched it from her. She looked down at her paperwork and the tea set. "Are you having the meeting here? I'll make you a pot?" She quickly cleaned up her paperwork and used spatial storage to swap the pot out with a fresh one.

Long sighed and dropped his forced expression. "You saw the room schedule?"

She nodded and sat down, then set the teapot to boil using a small spiritual tool that was practically hidden under it.

"Did you need more help wrapping up the trial business?" He asked and also sat down.

She hummed then shrugged. "If you aren't interested in organizing Shae's classes." She exaggerated a shrug by opening both hands to her sides.

He flashed a frown and nodded. "Fair enough. What about other promising recruits? From the other groups? Any swordsmen?"

"Plenty of children carrying blades. They'll need a few years before they qualify. But I wasn't joking when I said I was glad you were here, drop by the martial yard and give some lessons. The older students hardly even expect a schedule." Her hands twitched like she was leafing through paper. "As for promising recruits, there's always a few, and more willing to work hard. You know which produces actual results." She finished with a smirk.

The pot whistled and her attention was drawn away.