Book 2 Chapter 38

Today was a day off from his working duties and Willow couldn’t be happier.

He was currently practicing water qi techniques with Madame Park in the small garden behind the teahouse. Calypso was by his side, though their attention was clearly on the colorful flowers surrounding them rather than the exercise at hand.

Willow had initially been surprised at the existence of the garden. There were high walls surrounding it so it wasn’t visible from the street, and apparently even the customers weren’t allowed back here.

It seemed to be the place Madame Park went to relax.

He wasn’t fully sure what it meant that his etiquette teacher was now sharing this space with him while they trained, but he was happy for the change in scenery.

Learning in a garden was far more preferable than a drab study.

“Your stamina’s been much improved recently.” The Madame commented from her place on a small bench, interrupting Willow’s wandering thoughts.

He stopped harmonizing with Calypso before he began to speak, since apparently it was quite unnerving otherwise.

“I’ve started on the next step of my core exercises, it’s helped a lot.” The results of his training really were quite extraordinary to him. He was most impressed with how much more efficient he was with his qi. If before he needed a bucket to do something, now he only needed a cup.

This was in spite of the fact his core could hold less qi overall. The gains in the purity of it far outstripped the lost total capacity.

Calypso had also gotten bigger and had more qi of their own for him to draw on if he really needed to. However he didn’t like to do it since his friend would get a lot more sluggish afterwards.

“Must be quite the exercise if you’re getting such results so quickly.” The Madame commented while narrowing her eyes.

Willow shrugged. “Miss Mu taught it to me. Other than that I don’t know much about it.”

He started to wonder if it was a good sign that he could lie to people so much easier now.

He tried not to think about it too much.

Madame Park clicked her tongue. “I just hope she’s not sacrificing your long term growth. It would be a shame if teaching you turned out to be a waste of my time due to her shortsightedness.”

Willow was still unsure why there was so much animosity between Madame Park and Miss Mu. He’d tried to pry the story from both of them periodically of course, but he just kept getting the runaround and was told to ask the other for the details.

The Madame politely cleared her throat, grabbing Willow’s attention again. “Now then, I do believe you are ready for that mental technique I promised you. It was quite difficult to formulate and test so I hope you appreciate the effort I put in. Cases such as yours are apparently extremely rare so there was very little for me to work with.”

Willow quickly grew excited. Finally! He hadn’t pestered Madame Park about the technique at all, but he’d been hoping to get news about it far sooner.

Dealing with crowds had gotten a little better with time, but it was still overwhelming when too many people were around and he often got headaches just from going to a stall to grab snacks.

He wanted to be a bit more normal in just this one way.

“Thank you Madame Park!” He flashed her a genuine smile.

No smile reached her face, but Willow felt the steel haired woman’s qi warm itself with joy. “It was part of the agreement after all. Now come and sit with me as I walk you through the required steps.”

Like whenever she taught him how to use qi before, Madame Park created a small diagram using steam, expecting Willow to be able to read it clearly due to the same sensory abilities they were now trying to temporarily shackle.

The pattern he was taught for the new mental technique was far more complex than the one Mu had used on him in the past. This one focused much more on his inner eye, looping around and over it while also travelling through some other parts of his mind to prevent any pain or discomfort from deliberately blocking off a part of his senses.

After following the pattern for several cycles he felt comfortable with the idea of trying it on himself.

He’d gotten used to running qi through his mental pathways during the time he was trying to get Mu’s mental technique to work, but this was far more complicated and used paths that were a bit less developed. However that proved to be no true obstacle as he was able to finish the pattern he’d been taught and the technique settled into his mind.

The world around him grew dim and muted.

The beautiful garden he could constantly perceive could now only be seen, smelt, and heard.

He could no longer feel the hidden emotions of the Madame.

Yet there was none of the muddleheadedness that had accompanied the loss of his senses the previous times it had happened.

Was this how most people viewed the world?

It felt so much emptier.

“I gather from the way you’re looking around that the technique worked?” Madame Park asked with some mild concern.

Willow nodded, not really trusting himself to speak right now. There was none of the lingering feeling of wrongness that Mu’s technique had, but it was still strange to be limited like this.

The boy sat in silence for a few moments longer, looking around at the garden with a somewhat lost expression on his face. Before eventually replacing it with a smile.

He was free from the burden of his gift whenever he chose now.

He belatedly noted that he was being quite rude, he’d just been given a wonderful present after all.

“Thank you again, Madame Park. It means a lot to me.”

He could now travel to cities, and meet new people without worry after all.

This time the Madame let her smile show on her face. “You are quite welcome, Willow.”

The steel haired woman slowly stood up and held out her hand. “I’d like to stress test the technique a little bit, to make sure it’s fully working. Would you care to accompany me to a steamed bun shop in the heart of town? Their custard buns are positively delightful, and I have a sudden craving for them.”

Willow’s smile grew brighter as he hopped off the bench and took hold of the older woman’s hand. He bowed his head over it, and as he’d been taught told her. “I would be glad to accompany you, Madame.”

The two made their way through Yeobaek, and while Willow still didn’t enjoy crowds due to the noise and crush of people, he was able to navigate them without being overwhelmed to the point of headaches or senselessness.

The hearts of civilisation were now open to him and he was excited to see what they held.

For today they held tasty treats.

Who knows what they’d hold for him in the future.