A small make-do border control

With hands behind his back Zu Fu offered a silent nod to her question.
"They do... still. But let's not talk about that." a friendly smile appeared as they would soon cross into hearing range of the guards. "They'll be amiable after we talk - I'm quite sure of it. So you will probably not need to accidentally press your cane into their feet." Zu Fu's grin wry as they approached.

"Halt..!" one of the guards would raise his hand signalling the elder pair to stop. "Who... are you? You're not peasants and none of you look like nobles either?" scratching his hair another one approached before Zu Fu could answer.

"Spies... that's what I think they are." they other guard said, a malicious voice and a scowl he looked skeptical towards the two. "You're not even from Tawakoshi..." he gave a disrespectful upwards nod towards Grandma and narrowed his eyes looking at Zu Fu. "And if you're a monk I'm Hizashi Gen..." he said hearing a small hissing noise from his feet, noticing a small snake curl up his leg, his face growing white and body all stiff - his colleague not very keen to touch it.

"Th-that's a spiraled red-green viper..!" the other guard clearly recognized the venomous but small serpent.

"Oh... what luck! We're traveling apothecaries, and my colleague here is an expert in handling snakes." Zu Fu said his grin widening. "Aren't you..?" he gave her a sidelong glance begging her to take it from there.

"P-please... g-et it off..! I'm too young to die..." the guard's voice had lost all its confidence only a meager high pitched stutter remaining.

Zu Fu couldn't help but chuckle a bit as Grandma had started actually counting the rings on the snake - the guard with the snake around his shin almost growing purple in the head forgetting to breathe in the situation.
"Well you're very right, we must be careful though, that it is not the crimson-grass viper which middle ring is slightly thinner than the others - that one can crush the leg of a bear..!" Zu Fu chimed in and the guard becoming increasingly stiff the more grandma mentioned the colors of the rings.

"M-my family inherits my wealth..!" he stuttered as Zu Fu - with his hands on the back - made a subtle 'come here' motion with his index finger before nodding at the guards' other leg. "That one is quite spotty - looks like the Yellow Eyed Killer Serpent, wouldn't you say?" Zu Fu commented seeing another snake crawl up the other leg of the guard. "What do we do about that?" he asked Grandma calmly, enjoying these little schemes.

The other guard seemed flustered and confused - wanting to run away his movements twitching and unsure he decided to put his trust in this old lady with the firm voice and he carefully knelt down to approach the snakes. Using his own fingers he tried to keep up with Grandma's shouting and counting as well as he could.

"B-boiling water... N-no wait a second..!" the guard with the two snakes curled around his legs stuttered but the determination in Grandma's eyes was enough to make him believe it, and his mind overcooked by all these danger signs which also meant he suddenly turned the white of his eyes outside and with a sudden 'plomp' he fell down on the grass landing unconsciously on his back.

"Oh... oh nooo... Perhaps the snakes cut of his blood stream? Or even worse... the flow of chi! It could have been the Yellow Eyes Chi-Eater Serpent too..." Zu Fu mused taking a few steps closer while rubbing his chin concerned. "And where are the snakes now?" he asked, as the other guard looked at the fainted guard's legs with big eyes before he started jumping around looking down the grass letting out sounds of increasing panic.

"You know what..? Perhaps it's better to take your border somewhere else, you've probably angered a snake god by being here." Zu Fu gave a friendly smile in his mind thanking the spirits that had taken visible form to help him.

"There's a shrine to a kami just a bit further down the road, perhaps we can still make an offering and save their souls, if we hurry?" he turned to Grandma and winked, the guard still in a state of near hysteria.

"Yes yes, for god's sake please help us..!" he said running around the other soldiers having heard what had happened climbing into trees and trying to fit as many of them on the carts and barriers - anything above ground level.

"Then let's make haste, shouldn't we?" he nodded to Grandma and if she agreed and was done punishing these poor soldiers, he would continue down the road and into mainland Jeoncho along with his companion.

"And they say growing older makes you boring..!" Zu Fu laughed when they were quite the distance from the border control. "If there is one thing the spirits generally like, it is shenanigans like that! Even lesser spirits have 'funny bones' and love to cause trouble once in a while, especially if the humans they're targeting are behaving uptight!" Zu Fu said raising his finger in the air as if explaining something very important.

"Still... spirits don't much like it when jokes turn serious - or cruel - and you involve them. Only yokai spirits enjoy that, and you don't want to call upon them." Zu Fu warned grandma his face suddenly a bit more sincere. "In other words... a bowl of boiling water is no match for a few insults regardless of how you treat that in Isra." Zu Fu said knowing quite well what he thought grandma would have done with that and gave her only half a smile.

"I've observed you observing other people and things for a while now." Zu Fu stopped. "It is as if you're constantly analyzing the situation and trying to figure out, by the information you glean, what you must do to make the situation pay out to your advantage in the best possible way." Zu Fu deducted his words neither harsh nor soft - yet purposeful still.

"I've seen Yokai trying to wear the bodies of humans, but a small tab of my walking stick and they leave immediately as they are never able to truly inhabit it. They look clumsy wearing skin as everything non-human do when trying to act human. They never become human, they instead become the caricature of a human being - either too brash, too pleasing, too childish, too emotionally distant..." Zu Fu catching Grandma's gaze. "Do you know, what I'm talking about?"

"Hmm... if you must know, I do think the Yokai are a bit different because they have emotions that normal spirits doesn't have. Also one may not confuse the spirit of a dead soul with the spirit of nature and its guardians. I mostly dabble in the latter." Zu Fu explained with a grin without going too deeply into such a complex subject right now.

"But the possibility was there, wasn't it..?" Zu Fu responded immediately. "Don't mistake the spirits to be a plaything, they will turn if they are not treated with respect." Zu Fu's index fingered lifted to reprimand Grandma, but it was just as much for her own sake.

Some of the spirits around Tawakoshi was without a doubt able to see or feel that Grandma was not a regular human being, but it was not that which had given her away. Because of his work with spirits Zu Fu had learned to look into the life essence of people and ascertain its type and origin. In this case he did not fully understand its origin, only that this was not something that normally inhabited a human being.

"I know that you are not a Yokai." Zu Fu smiled again. "Still humans produce humans, that body did certainly not belong to you originally nor represent your rightful form, does it? Is it one that you have occupied or created using magic?" his questions persisting but still far from being hostile, if Zu Fu was ever capable of such.

"It is not that I shun you for not being a human being, I do not deal in words like 'monsters' or the likes, I find them far too divisive, but I do get the feeling that because you might haven't had human parents, your understanding of us may be mental more than emotional, am I right?" he asked, his voice helpful towards grandma. "This lack of knowledge about humans may present you with trouble in doing what is right in whatever quest have brought you here." he deducted.

"And I hope it stays this way - you've only been here for a very short time." Zu Fu gave her a smirk. "I'm sure you're a mage of quite blindingly potential and realized ability, so this means responsibility." Zu Fu continued his little lecture but then sighed. "Of course in matters of self preservation action sometimes has to be taken, I understand that fully." the old sage not about to tell her she couldn't use her powers at all.

Zu Fu scratched his chin and inclined his head a bit.
"I'm not sure of very much, but I'm very sure your parents did not look like human beings - am I right in that at least?" he jested knowing that by now it would be more than difficult to pry clear answers out of her.

Listening to har arguments he nodded a bit his expression changing slightly as he took everything in.
"Perhaps not as selfish as you would have me believe, Grandma. If you lack the proper emotional knowledge about human behavior, it can be very hard to make the choice which yields the best possible outcome for you. You risk simply just walking around aimlessly and distant as so many people have done before you, as they sought power, truth and knowledge." Zu Fu pointed out his finger waving in front of him as he explained.

"Still you may or may not believe an old fart like me, but is it not worth considering, that there is a useful and somewhat central faculty of the human mind someone 'not human', may have a difficult time comprehending?" Zu Fu proposed, curious to if Grandma was going to shrug it off anyway.

Walking further ahead indeed much would be discussed that day, but it seemed like their trials were not over yet as they neared a small town, a well situated outside it with a few soldiers gathered around it and a young girl approaching it.

"Please, we need to draw water from the well to the village..!" the young woman barely out of her teens pleaded as one of the resting soldiers got up again.

"Can't do that, you might be a spy and we can't have spies using our water reserves now can we?" the soldier said disinterested.

"B-but I'm no spy, I live in the town down there - the elders can confirm. I can get them right away..!" but about to turn around the soldier grabbed her arm.

"Don't get the elders, if you know what's good for you." he threatened her. "You want water, you'll have to pay tribute to the nice soldiers protecting you. Pay four mon to each of us and fetch us some bread or a rabbit to cook, and you'll get a bucket of water..." he smirked.

"One bucket only..? But that's too much to pay, and we dug this well ourselves!" she persisted.

"That's a damn pity! Now the stakes have upped and you'll bring us this regardless, give us nice company for the night and then we'll consider if we give you a bucket of water!" the soldier upped his demands dramatically the young woman looking as if she had no idea what to do against those preposterous demands.

Zu Fu cast a sidelong glance at Grandma knowing her to have overheard the conversation too.
"What is right for you in this situation?" he simply asked referring to the previous conversation they had held earlier that day.

A pondering wrinkle appeared in Zu Fu's forehead along with the rubbing of his head he contemplated her words about not being able to experience emotions but were instead relying on being able to predict emotional outbursts.
"Yes, I expected as much." he simply said as he was finished contemplating it. "However being able to form an emotional bond is a type of communication the mind can't predict or act upon." he added quite self assured about this.

Zu Fu let her finish her reasoning as they observed the happening in a safe distance shielded by a few trees too.
"So the situation becomes complicated to you because you... think that my guidance is valuable and thus try different options on the mental scale to see what would benefit you the most?" Zu Fu nodded, he could accept the conclusion although it was not his.

"I do not wish to mock, but it is clear, that you do not receive the emotional communication the girl is practically yelling out - and thus nor do you understand that saving her might yield much more than you risk to stand losing. For example the happiness of the villagers, the good will of the local spirits and the guardian of the well who wishes only to share his water." Zu Fu tried to explain, but of course it would be hard for her to understand.

"It is a foolish question..!" Zu Fu laughed genuinely and with little restrain. "If this is a mental exercise I'm in, but in reality we have loads of other options - so no going try to fulfill my answer now! I'm sorry, but I've bargained with one or two Yokai who thought they could get sneaky with me, I think it is not the case here right?" Zu Fu said and feeling sure Grandma would not go to those lengths, he tried to answer.

"Well consider this... what is the 'right' of the nature? A tree, proud and tall may in some circumstances live out its life healthy and happy, while not far from there a similar tree has been struck with a fungi which saps its vitality and leaves it weak and ill but keeps it alive." Zu Fu's deep digging into Grandma's for a moment. "Both is nature, but do you prefer one? I know I prefer one, because that is the state I prefer to see myself in and I shape the world in my image." Zu Fu said and grinned. "However I think right now we are only dealing with that one group of... I think I can count five of them who have taken to claim that well for a rest." he said glancing their way as the soldiers had heard his laughter and were approaching carefully - one holding onto the girl and staying back.

"Huh, who are you two..!" they commanded them.

"So... a question back, do you want to handle this situation - or do you want your 'bodyguard' to fix it?" he grinned not answering the guards yet.

A smile and a steady nodding Zu Fu accepted her viewpoints and did not wish to pursue the right of his own ones with too much zeal.
"Perhaps those are the viewpoints of two different beings who's reliance lies different places." he'd end the discussion diplomatically fixing his eyes upon the soldiers getting closer to them.m

"Uhmm..." the soldier said as he had not expected such blatant disrespect and knew not what to answer now that they were not scared of them. "Corru... what did you call us!" he said shocked gazing wide eyed at the foreign looking woman and his lips parting slightly while Grandma continued her verbal onslaught mercilessly - his head becoming increasingly red with anger, while the other three soldiers along with him noticed a looming danger they could not entirely describe the origins of, but remained careful even as their leader aggressively pointed his finger at Grandma.

"You old hag!" he shouted. "Don't think that you and the old wrinkled raisin fart behind you can just walk up here and tell us what to do! We're hard working soldiers and demand respect, and if you do not show us the proper respect we deserve, we'll throw the girl and everyone of you into the well, and you can enjoy as much water as you like..!" his voice firm and unbending and Zu Fu raised a brow of concern in the background. Not for their own well being, but for that of the soldiers - and potentially the girl of Grandma unleashed too much force.

The guard once again shut his mouth, the words of this old lady like a slap in his face and he started feeling as if she didn't give a damn about his authority at all. She was a foreigner and thus perhaps didn't know the hierarchy here very well - but that was just an excuse and he couldn't back down when his companions were looking to him.

"I'll put you in the dirt..!" was his words, but the snap of fingers wanted it differently and as if a giant hand pushed him down his body would unceremoniously and quite ungracefully connect firmly with the ground to interrupt any further words - the other soldiers going same way and staying quite put.

The soldier at the well had already grabbed the girl tighter in a bid to protect herself, but he couldn't help but shake as Grandma approached. As he heard his own sword unsheathe he instinctively reached for it to stop it, but with his hand touching the blade as it continued the way out a deep cut was set upon his left hand and he crouched in pain releasing the girl.

The soldier's eyes were fixed upon Grandma from this humble position only to be broken by the tip of the sword hovering in front of him.
"Ahh.. y-yes m'am..." he dared hardly stutter the words but was even more afraid not to as he forced them out syllable by syllable. "I'll.... do it right aw-away..!" he turned to the well with no thought of his bloody hand and started pulling up buckets of water like his life depended on it, the girl standing as if paralyzed looking at Grandma with her eyes locked in a wide open position.

"A--ahhhh...!!!" she suddenly screamed the shock too much for her to process as she turned around about to run away, but when she turned a kind old man was standing before her.

"Now you really done it, Grandma..." Zu Fu said and chuckled having strategically flanked the girl anticipating this, as he rubbed his hands, opened his palms and gave a gently blow towards the girl. Small white snowflake-like bits started dancing around her and the girl looked around before closing her eyes and laying down and went to sleep.

"I suppose we need to get these guys to forget about us too and leave this place." Zu Fu insinuating that some kind of clean up of their minds was necessary. "They all look like a bunch who would benefit from a time in a monestary - what do you think?" he asked Grandma with a smirk.