“So, have you figured out what you’re going to do about the muskets?”

  After Betsy and I got everything and she was latched into the wagon, Hisai spoke to me after he pulled me away from Niku. Looking up at him, I then shrugged again. “I think I’m going to take one, like you said. I’m already taking the mana, so…”

  We were on the edge of the little village, just between the village proper and where the fields started. It was still early morning, and I took a moment to look over and watch the bright orange sunrise. It was good to get an early start, though I really would have preferred to get up even earlier. No one was exactly happy about starting before dawn, and Moritoshi put up the most fuss. Niku eventually told me we should wait, and because of her, we were still here.

  He nodded his head and gave me a relieved smile. “Good, I think that’s the right call. Nevermind my misgivings about Advisor Zhao. There’s a lot going on politically that I’m not privy to, and I am an elder of a rival sect.”

  I eyed him, and he just smiled at me. Does that mean he didn’t mean it? Or…? I wasn’t sure. Either way, I reached out and shook his hand. His handshake was all that my father told me one should be, and I felt a little proud. It was firm and assertive, but it didn’t break my hand. I grinned over at him, and he smiled back.

  “Do not worry, my friend. You and Niku will be well, I think. If you need anything, don’t be afraid to send a message,” Hisai said with a slight nod to me.

  Niku was on the other side of the wagon saying her own goodbyes. I could hear her telling her master that she would be fine and trusted me not to do anything improper with her. I rolled my eyes. Hisai nodded over to them and grinned. I just shrugged at him.

  “I’ll let you know how it goes with, well, that other thing,” I told him.

  He inclined his head.

  Alright, I don’t know why this was so hard to actually get going, but I wanted to lay some tracks. Betsy felt I was getting impatient and gave me a bellow of agreement. I looked back at her and nodded. “Yeah, it’s time to go.”

  I walked around the wagon to find Niku still arguing with Moritoshi, and I frowned. “Alchemist Moritoshi, stop. It’s fine. We’ll be fine. She’ll be fine. I’m not a weirdo, and I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Niku.”

  I was behind the pair and glared at Moritoshi when he turned around to face me. He frowned and crossed his arms. Niku just put a hand on his shoulder and smiled over at me.

  “We've gotta get going. It’s gonna be a long trip north even with as fast as Betsy is,” I told Niku and eased my facial expression. I had been glaring at Moritoshi when I first started ranting, but you know, I couldn’t do that to Niku.

  She nodded and pointed at her luggage just a few feet away. “Yes, I have my pack and a trunk. It just needs to be loaded up.”

  I nodded my head and walked past them over to her stuff. I thought about giving Moritoshi a little shoulder bump, but I thought better of it. Her trunk was a little heavy, and I grunted when I lifted it and gave her a look. “What’d you pack in here, rocks?”

  She looked at me with her eyebrows raised in mild surprise. “Yes, a few actually.”

  Moritoshi just gave a strangled noise. “It took two of us to carry that down here.”

  I shrugged and carried it over to the wagon. “It’s not too bad. Just surprised me more than anything. Aren’t all cultivators this strong? Or…”

  Moritoshi looked at me angrily again and gave a strangled noise in frustration. Niku just put a hand on his shoulder to calm and looked at me. “No Maikeru. Moritoshi is in the very lowest levels of the spiritual realm, and I’m still in the physical.”

  Moritoshi glared at his student and then looked back at me. “And you’re some kind of freak of nature. How long have you been cultivating?”

  I looked at Niku when she talked about the spiritual and physical realms. I’d need to get more info from her about all that. Soga didn’t tell me anything about the different ranks. Did he? I couldn’t remember. Then I looked back at Moritoshi and thought. “Um, a couple of months?”

  Moritoshi’s fists tightened, and he glared at me. Thankfully, Hisai came to my rescue and put a hand on my shoulder. “Our new friend here has been practicing longer than that, I assure you. He just must have the Heavens blessings. After all, he moves things around so quickly. How could the Heavens not smile on one who transports goods so reliably?”

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  Moritoshi stared at Hisai with his mouth hanging open. The man looked like his head was about to explode. It only lasted for a minute before he recovered, and his spine straightened, and he looked back at his student with a smile. “Very well, Niku. Make sure you report in whenever you can. Let me know how things are going, and I’ll check in on your father when I can.”

  Hisai gave me a hand, and we carefully chucked her stuff into the lead bunk wagon. It’d make sleeping a little more cramped for me but eh, I already had more room than I was used to in the bunk of a truck. I tried to listen to them, but once I was sure they were actually saying their final goodbyes, I thanked Hisai for the help.

  Betsy gave another bellow, and the wagon shifted a little as Niku climbed onto the driver’s bench. This whole thing felt like trying to leave my grandmother’s house after a holiday meal or something. Say goodbye just to get up and put your shoes on and then go to the door and then stand there for another 45 minutes talking to family before you actually leave. I went around to the side opposite of where Niku climbed up and climbed up to my bench.

  I grinned when I looked at her sitting there. I can’t lie; she looked determined, hopeful, and excited to be going on a journey. In a word, she looked adorable as hell. Beside her, I sat and took Betsy’s reins. I was about to give her a call to get going when a horse stopped right beside the wagon. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t Kio. She was on her saddle and holding the reins of her own mount as she looked up the mountain range we were at the base of.

  “Cultivator Kio,” I said with a slight bow of my head.

  “I think I’m done here as well. It’s time to go back to my sect and see what’s going on. You’re stopping there to join the convoy, yes?” she looked at me with those impassive eyes.

  I nodded. “Yeah, I suppose so. Your sect has things for me to carry, right?”

  She gave a simple nod of her head.

  “Excellent, we’ll meet you up there. I just need to grab something on my way,” I said and looked out in the opposite direction past the grain fields of the village.

  She cocked a slender eyebrow, and even Niku sat up a little and looked at me curiously. Betsy gave a very annoyed bellow, and I could feel her trying to speak once more. I know she didn’t like the idea of carrying the muskets, but I didn’t want her to say anything about it at the moment with Kio standing there. I didn’t know the woman well enough to know where she’d fall on everything that Hisai and I had talked about.

  I gave a reassuring pat to Niku’s leg and just patted it gently, hoping she got the message. I’d explain everything to her when I could. At the same time, I sent calming energy through our link to Betsy, hoping she’d calm.

  “I’d say we could go to the sect first, but I don’t know how the convoy will like me leaving and coming back,” I explained with a nervous smile. Why was I nervous? I couldn’t quite tell you. Something about Kio put me on edge. She seemed like Moritoshi except… more. More prim, more proper, and definitely more powerful.

  It took her a moment, but finally Kio inclined her head. “Very well. I’ll try to get the convoy to hold for you, but don’t be long. I’ll at least tell them you’ll be along shortly. I’m sure you’ll be able to catch up with it.”

  I nodded. “Thank you, Cultivator Kio.”

  Instead of responding, she prodded her horse, and it galloped off at a slow steady pace towards the mountain. I watched her go for a moment before I turned back to Niku. She was still looking at me with a curious expression.

  “Where do we have to go?” she asked.

  “I just, uh, need to pick something up. I’ll explain on the way,” I told her before I looked over at Betsy.

  Betsy gave another annoyed bellow, and I could feel her glare at me.

  “Come on, Betsy, let’s hit these sweet country roads,” I told her.

  I expected her to get pulling, but instead she stood there and looked back at me with a real glare now. I grunted. She was still struggling to speak.

  “I’m not carrying those,” she bellowed out. They didn’t quite sound like she was fully talking. It sounded more like she was talking but couldn’t quite open her mouth all the way to say what she wanted to say.

  Niku just inhaled sharply. “She’s a…”

  My eyes went wide, and I looked over at her and shook my head vigorously. I mouthed the word no. The last thing I needed was Niku saying that Betsy was in fact a male. The ox was more than a little miffed when I asked if she was a dude, and it took me forever to get back in the ox’s good graces. ]

  Betsy bellowed, and this time it sounded much more like she could get the words out. She even raised her nose in pride when she said. “I’m a queen.”

  Niku looked at me, and then at Betsy with her mouth hanging open. It took her a minute to recover, and she did nicely. She climbed down from the wagon and walked over to the ox to look Betsy in the face. The alchemist wrapped her arms around Betsy’s neck and hugged her. “Yes, you are, and a fabulous one at that.”

  Now I was slack jawed. I watched Niku come back around and climb back on the bench. Betsy felt like someone had given her the goose that laid the golden egg. I could feel her pride emanating through our link.

  “Alright, girl, come on. I’m only taking one of them. The emperor should know what’s going on,” I pleaded with her.

  She grunted and bellowed and eventually the wagon started rolling towards where I had buried the muskets. I closed my eyes and looked up in relief. “Thank you, Betsy.”

  The ox grunted again.

  “So, what’s going on?” Niku’s voice jolted me from my relief.

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