“What do we do, father?” Coral asked quietly. Shun only turned his head slightly.

“What do you mean?” She frowned slightly.

“It sounded like we have no choice but to teach others how to use a method to fuel skills, but only Yun can do it.” He nodded.

“That is true.” They continued to walk back to their village along the main road. This road passed the temple on its way to the next village, but it was more of a cart path then a road. The real road started at the town on the other side of the neighboring village.

“Aren’t you concerned?”

“Yun has done something no one else has. Ever. If someone else sees him perform this kind of feat, and the temple learns of it, or the council, what do you think would happen?” She frowned slightly.

“Are you saying that its dangerous?” Biyu sighed sadly.

“Coral, be silent. When we get home, I’ll explain it to you. If you talk so recklessly while we are on the road, and someone else hears you, our entire family will be in danger!” Shen nodded.

“We must be discreet, but we can discuss other things. Like the dojo. Where will we set it up?” Yun smiled.

“Simple. The training circle is where we practice. This is a new art. With very little added, such as a few benches, some mats, and maybe a cistern for water, we won’t need much. A couple of weapon racks for training weapons too. Then we can contact the village chief and see if we can get a small allotment behind the house for a proper dojo to be built.” Shun nodded his head a little.

“All true. We should discuss this when we get home though. Enough talk. Pick up your feet. We all have the ability to jog, or run, so start running!” Yun’s eyes turned brighter.

“Father, we’ll need some coin for the dojo, so do you mind if I go on a hunt?”

 

 

“Yun, why did you want to go on a hunt?” Yun smiled at his younger brother.

“To teach you how to use the skill, brother.” Shen started to smile.

“Really?” He nodded.

“You don’t know any skills yet, but mother and father each know one, and I know two. Since you have no knowledge of how to execute a skill, it will be easier to teach you how to use it my way. Also, since we are going on a hunt, we can take down a good sized animal, and use the meat to fuel your practice.” Shen smiled, but his smile quickly faded.

“You also want to practice, don’t you?” Yun smiled.

“You’ll have to learn this eventually, brother, but you should observe father more. When he makes a decision, but doesn’t seek just one result. For every decision, he tries to make sure it has multiple benefits. Like this hunt. It’s a practice for us, good for our health as we have to run through the forest, and we can earn some silver for selling the hide and the meat.” Shen sighed.

“Is that what he does?” Yun shrugged.

“You tell me. I have spent more time training recently, and most of my time before my injury was spent on Coral. You observed him more than I.” Shen continued to run behind him, but he wondered what his brother really wanted to do on this hunt.

Fortunately, Yun did not want to deceive his new brother. He only brought him out to this forest to train.

 

 

“So, why the rabbit, brother?” Yun smiled.

“You’ll see.” He put the roasted meat in a piece of oiled cloth, and into his pack. “Can you hear it?” Shen shook his head.

“What.....wait, is that....” Yun nodded.

“Either a bear or a boar. Attracted to the smell of the meat.” Shen pulled out his sword. Yun chuckled.

“The sword may sound good on those adventure stories, brother, but unless you make a clean cut on the neck, that beast will keep up the attack. The only other way to kill it in one stroke is a skill. Listen closely to what I say.” His younger brother nodded, and listened. To both Yun and the animal in the woods. Right now, if he considered how much noise it made, it could be either a boar or a bear.

“A skill is formed with intent. Most people form it with the intent to use it.” Shen kept his mind loose.

“Is that why it uses their life force to execute it? Because they wanted to use it at all costs?” Yun smiled.

“Well thought out, brother. Food is energy. That is why I killed the rabbit and roasted it. Bait and fuel. When you see the boar, consider the way to kill it. At the same time, think about using the fat on your body to fuel it. Eating replenishes your energy, and fats. Food is not in your body yet. That is the only energy stored.” Shen nodded again, and kept his ears focused. He turned just as the boar ambled out of the woods.

“Oh damn. Its a big one.” Shen said quietly. The boar turned its ugly head towards the two brothers, then looked directly at Shen.

It followed its instincts and picked the smaller one first. All of Yun’s words flew out of Shen’s mind. Only when the head of the beast plowed into him, did he remember to lift his sword.

 

 

“I thought you would dodge.” Shen looked up at a face he never thought he would see again. Yun reached out, lifted him easily from the ground, after he kicked the head of the boar away.

“Mother is going to kill me.” He said softly, while Yun chuckled. Shen looked down at his clothes and saw the blood stains.  Those were the stains from when the head of the boar hit and knocked him down.  The head was not attached to its body at the time.

“Most likely she will wallop me, brother. I was the one who took you on this hunt with me.” Yun sighed, reached into his pack and started to tear into the rabbit. “At least we’ll be able to sell the hide. Its relatively intact, but I’m going to eat an ungodly portion of this meat in the next hour or so.” Then he glanced at his dazed brother. “What do you think went wrong?”

“My mind went blank. I couldn’t think while that beast charged.” Yun thought for a moment, then turned to the boar’s body.

“This beast is a good thousand jin. Not overly huge, but big enough to give the local farmers some trouble. At least it wasn’t one of those.....two....thousand.....oh shit.”

 

 

“What happened?” Shen buckled under the weight of his brother as he dragged him home.

“Two. Two bloody boars. Yun killed the first one, but wasn’t aware of the second one until it was too late.” Shun ran and helped him to lift Yun and drag him into the house. He looked them both over, and frowned.

“I only see blood, but no wounds on either of you.” Shen sat down heavily.

“He used the skill twice. We didn’t have enough food set aside and were ready to roast the first one to feed him up.” Shun sighed.

“And the boars?”

“While I dragged Yun home, I saw some farmers. I told them who we were, and asked if they could retrieve the bodies.” His father called out.

“Biyu! Food! Lots of it!” Shen saw the briefest of smiles on his father’s lips while they heard Biyu grumble.

“Damned fool. Gonna eat us out of house and home. I should bash his head in so he forgets how to use skills altogether.”

 

 

“Yun will agree, father. Half a boar, five hundred jin, is a lot of meat. That will help these farmers out, as they will either be able to have meat for a long time, or they’ll be able to sell it for a nice profit. All they did was transportation. A whole one is too much.” The farmers nodded.

“The girl is correct, kind sir. We already feel bad even accepting that much meat. Your family is well known for its battlefield prowess. We will not dare be greedy.” Another nodded his head so fast, Coral thought it would fall off.

“Yes yes, how could we face the gods if we were to take so much when he used a gift they gave him?  And those boars have bothered us for months!” Shun nodded, a small smile on his face.  The man talked and nodded so quickly, Shun was slightly amused by his manner.

“Very well. Then I thank you on behalf of my son. If you wish, you can take the organs of both animals. I know how good the meals a farmer’s wife can prepare, even with the organs of such an animal.” They smiled wide.

“True. Our wives are quite inventive. We’ll help to string them up, gut them, and let them bleed out. Where is your slaughtering area?”

 

 

“How is he doing?” Coral shook her head.

“Watch.” She took a piece of ham and put it in Yun’s mouth. He didn’t even chew, but the meat disappeared as though he swallowed it.

“I’ve never seen the likes of it.” He said, completely in shock. “I thought I was exaggerating when I said it to the elder, but his body....its like there’s a hole inside him.” He sighed. “At least he was able to kill two boars. We won’t lose any money on feeding him. Keep doing what you can until he wakes up and is able to feed himself.” Coral kept her gaze on her brother.

“And what about the dojo?”

“Its already taken care of. Apparently, Elder Qiyuan sent word to the village chief. An allotment of land has been given to us, just behind our land. I will need to cut a path, and clear a few trees. Other then that, we’ll do as Yun said. A training circle, some benches, weapon racks, a cistern, and some mats. As our dojo grows, it will get a proper building.” He looked at his daughter, and frowned slightly. “Shouldn’t you put some food in your hand, Coral?” She blinked.

“What? Where....I could have sworn I had some.” She only paused to listen to her father speak, but when she turned her attention back to feed her brother, the meat was already gone.

Coral looked closely at Yun and sighed. His eyes were not open, and his hands had not moved. There was no possible way he could have taken the food from her hand, right?