*******
The next morning, after breakfasting on millet porridge and eggs with the other students, Pagan gathered his belongings and made his way to the staircase that led to Xiang Tse’s personal quarters. As he neared the stairs, a young woman with long curly dark hair approached him.
“I am Liang. My uncle Xiang Tse, asked me to escort you upstairs and show you to your room.”
Pagan studied her. He hadn’t seen her before. She wore a light-coloured long shirt and tight-fitting dark leggings. Slender and a little shorter than him, wide-spaced storm-grey eyes in a high-cheek-boned face appraised him coolly. Her features suggested she was Cheng, but the slightly darker hue of her skin, and curly hair indicated other aspects to her ancestry. He thought he detected a hint of mockery and disapproval in her gaze.
Inclining his head in greeting, he hoisted the sack containing his meagre belongings, and followed her up the stairs. His eyes were drawn to her subtly swaying hips. By heaven, she's beautiful, he thought. Flushing with embarrassment, he swiftly averted his gaze – not swiftly enough – as she glanced over her shoulder. She frowned in disapproval before turning away, dark curls bouncing.
Pagan smiled at her back, his eyes seemingly of their own accord flickering back to her beguiling hips. Remembering Sagayetha’s warning about impure thoughts, he quickly looked away, wondering if he had sullied his soul.
After showing him to his room – where he left his belongings, Liang led him up another flight of stairs. They walked down a long corridor and stopped before a closed door bearing the carving of a ferocious looking winged creature, flames belching from its open mouth. Pagan had no idea what it was.
Liang pushed the door open and beckoned Pagan to follow her. “Wait here for my uncle,” she said, her voice cool. She swung around, left the room and shut the door behind her.
Pagan was nonplussed, not understanding what he could have possibly done to offend her. But then he mused, understanding a woman was like to trying to grasp a breeze in your hand.
He glanced around with interest.
The room was large with a highly polished wooden floor. Along one wall stood racks of various weapons: swords of different shapes and lengths, spears, battle axes, and many others unfamiliar to him. Upon another wall hung detailed drawings of the human body.
He walked over to take a closer look at the illustrations.
One drawing illustrated the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the body, each in a different colour. Another illustrated the internal organs, a third the nerve clusters, and a fourth the meridian lines that carry shi energy throughout the body.
As he wandered over to the weapons rack, the door opened and Xiang Tse walked in. Pagan bowed deeply – the appropriate greeting of a student to the master of the Jade Castle.
Xiang Tse smiled and inclined his head. “Ah Pagan, good to see you again my boy. It appears my niece doesn’t approve of you. What have you done to upset her?”
Pagan shrugged. “I don’t know. I hardly said a word to her.”
Xiang Tse nodded. “Women are indeed a mystery. I have had four wives, and am still in the dark.” His eyes twinkled as he surprised Pagan with his next words. “But I am sure the two of you will eventually get on very well. After all, you will be practising together.”
Pagan was aghast at the idea. The expression on his face so comical, Xiang Tse found it hard not to laugh. Pagan protested. “But Master, she is a woman. Women can’t fight and besides, she doesn’t like me.”
This time, Xiang Tse’s laughter rang out, then his eyes turned serious. “Perhaps you shouldn’t have upset her,” he chided. “Many of our people share your sentiments about women. They are forbidden from carrying weapons and learning fighting skills. But Liang is special. She has been with me since she was a child. Her skills are quite extraordinary, and you will learn much from her.”
Pagan bowed in acquiescence, but he couldn’t see the humour in the situation, and found it hard to believe Liang was as skilled as Xiang Tse claimed.