Chapter 14 — The Wei Family’s Stone

CHAPTER 14

The Wei Family’s Stone

“Ten spirit stones! Lift the Wei family's stone and take them home!” Ding Hai shouted.

The crowd closed around a low platform in the market square. A round black stone stood upon it, with an iron ring set deeply into the top. Beside the stone, a board listed its weight and the rules. Two thousand jin. Lift it clear for three breaths. Two spirit stones to try.

Shi Feng stopped near the basket stall. The stone rested on three short feet, leaving daylight beneath it. It wasn't fastened down. A porter even crawled halfway under the platform to check, earning a kick from the man waiting behind him.

“You can inspect it after I win!” Ke Kang said.

The porter climbed out, wiping dust from his beard. Ke Kang had opened one hundred and eighty meridians. He rolled up his sleeves and seized the ring. He hauled until his face turned purple. The stone tilted, then dropped with a thump.

“Two breaths!” Ke Kang protested.

“Half a breath, and half the stone,” Ding Hai said. “Who taught you to count?”

The crowd laughed. Ke Kang stepped down, rubbing his palms. Shi Feng looked at the banner behind the prize box. The Wei household sponsored the stall. Its young master sat in a chair beneath it, enjoying a plate of grapes while other people sweated.

Wei Kuo hadn't noticed him yet.

He had reached Qi Condensation. That was good enough to impress the Meridian Opening hunters crowding around the platform. It wasn't good enough to impress Shi Feng, whose restored network had already carried him into Qi Condensation.

A woman asked whether lifting the stone would win her son a household job. Ding Hai explained that the prize was only ten stones. She dragged her son away. Ten stones were good, but a lifetime meal ticket was better.

Wei Kuo finished his grapes and stood.

“Let me show you,” Wei Kuo said.

Ding Hai immediately cleared the platform. Luo San, the Qi Condensation servant beside the chair, took the empty plate with both hands. His young master caught the ring, took a deep breath, and lifted.

The stone rose to his knees.

Wei Kuo held it there, trembling slightly while Ding Hai counted very slowly. He lowered it on the third count and spread his hands toward the crowd.

“Talent can't be replaced by a strong back,” Wei Kuo said.

The porters looked at each other. That speech seemed aimed at them. Ding Hai clapped first, and the household servants followed until several townspeople joined in.

Wei Kuo smiled. Then he saw Shi Feng near the baskets.

His smile grew wider.

“Brother Shi Feng! Come try!” Wei Kuo called. “You were a genius once. Surely Heaven left you two useful arms?”

Several heads turned. The old story passed through the crowd faster than the prize rules had. Two hundred and thirty-seven meridians, ruined overnight. The former fiancé of Lu Qingxue. Qingshi Town's cripple.

Shi Feng looked at the prize box.

“Does the sponsor compete for his own money?” Shi Feng asked.

“I'm demonstrating for the people!” Wei Kuo said. “Naturally I won't take the prize.”

“That leaves ten for me,” Shi Feng said.

He stepped onto the platform and paid the entry fee. Ding Hai hesitated over taking it. Then Wei Kuo laughed and nodded, making the choice easy.

“Don't force yourself,” Wei Kuo said. “If you faint, people will say my household bullied an invalid.”

Luo San chuckled beside the chair. He didn't bother stepping closer. A cripple trying to lift a stone wasn't a threat to anybody except his own waist.

Shi Feng set his feet and caught the ring with one hand.

“Use both!” Ding Hai warned. “The weight is written plainly. Nobody forced you!”

Shi Feng lifted.

The stone left the platform, passed his knees, and rose to his waist. He held it there without bending his back. Refined qi stayed within his body, supporting the muscles instead of spreading into an aura.

The square became quiet.

Ding Hai forgot to count.

“Are the three breaths mine or yours?” Shi Feng asked.

“One! Two! Three!” Ding Hai said hurriedly.

Shi Feng lowered the stone gently. It didn't even strike the boards hard enough to shake the prize box.

The porter stepped forward, staring.

“With one hand?”

“Didn't Young Master Wei use two?”

“He didn't grunt either!”

“Was the weight changed?”

Ke Kang pushed through and seized the ring. He couldn't lift it any farther than before. His face reddened as the crowd watched. Finally he let go and pointed at Shi Feng with open admiration.

“His arms are better than mine,” Ke Kang said.

That simple admission made Wei Kuo's expression worse. He had been preparing to blame a loose footing or a weakened stone. Now his own challenger had confirmed the weight for him.

“It's medicine,” Wei Kuo said sharply. “Anybody can strengthen flesh with enough medicine.”

“Then the stone measures strength correctly,” Shi Feng said.

He held out his hand toward Ding Hai.

The stall keeper counted the prize at once. He ran a fair challenge, and he wasn't about to lose a day's customers because the sponsor disliked a winner. His bow toward Shi Feng was much deeper than it had been before.

Wei Kuo stepped down from his chair.

“Another lift,” Wei Kuo said. “Raise it over your head. I'll give you twenty.”

“No,” Shi Feng said.

“What? Afraid?” Wei Kuo asked.

“The board pays ten. I took ten,” Shi Feng said. “If you want dancing too, hire a performer.”

A laugh escaped from somewhere near the vegetable stalls. Wei Kuo turned, but the whole row suddenly studied its cabbages.

Shi Feng put the prize away and walked down the steps. He didn't need to prove his body to a young master with grapes stuck between his teeth.

Luo San moved as if to block him. Shi Feng looked at his hand, then into his eyes. For some reason the servant stopped. He told himself there were too many people watching.

Wei Kuo seized the ring again. He wanted to lift the stone above his own head and recover the square's attention. It reached his waist, trembled, then dropped so hard that his shoes jumped.

The laughter became harder to hide.

Shi Feng bought noodles at the far side of the square. The seller added a little broth and asked whether the stone really weighed two thousand jin. He said yes. She shook her head and went back to serving.

A fair challenge had paid for his meal. That pleased him more than Wei Kuo's miserable face.

Beneath the banner, Wei Kuo ordered Ding Hai to close the stall. He waited until Shi Feng had gone before speaking to Luo San.

“Find which road he hunts on,” Wei Kuo said.

Luo San looked toward the noodle stall and nodded. The young master no longer wanted an audience.