Daybreak at the Valley of Caves, well sort of... It is always hard to tell for sure, as any sunlight is reduced to a diffused glow. The entire surrounds are as usual shrouded by a thick morning fog, a shifty mist that alternates between concealing and revealing the hundred or so little caverns scattered within.

Inside the atmosphere is actually pleasant; any light breath of wind sends the nearby bamboo thickets rustling with soft, susurration sounds that are somewhat soothing.

It is still late winter in the Kingdom of Wangchung. Yet, even during this time of year, purely due to the nurturing nature of spiritual veins, the surrounds of the Misty Cloud Sect still abound with both evergreen and verdant deciduous trees, flush with early spring blossoms.

Jian Cheng stands in the mouth of his tiny seven-chi by seven-chi cave and looks back.

He has stowed everything he owns back into his storage belt, so the small cave is largely empty, making it appear to be abandoned again. Truly it has been unlucky in attracting denizens!

All that remains behind is the bed, a small table, and a set of two rickety chairs. The curved ceiling is only six-chi at it’s highest point, so he would often hit his head on the roof in the corners. He always has to be careful, especially approaching the stone ledge which runs along one wall and doubled as his single bed. Still he doesn’t mind it too much, his room at home in Rusty Creek wasn’t that much bigger. It is almost a shame he is leaving...

According to Fatty, their hovel valley is merely one of seven districts allocated to the male outer court disciples. The three other Rusty Creek buffoons are ensconced in a neighbouring valley barely three li away. Jian Cheng still plans to set things straight with those little louts, but it can wait, he has other, bigger fish to fry and more pressing problems...

Fatty has informed him that all of the outer court disciples live in humble conditions like this - it is a form of motivation. Only when they have managed to become an inner court disciple - by reaching either ninqi tier-six before 14, or tier-eight before 16 - will they be able to move beyond the guarded gate to those prime locations closer to the sect spirit vein. If they manage to achieve tier nine by 16, they will even be elevated to core disciple status, receiving the same resources and treatment as the sect elders while living in the infamous Misty Cloud Manor.

A few moments ago Fatty felt the call of nature, prompting a visit to the communal ablutions block. Jian Cheng takes the opportunity to clear out his tiny cave, which is right next door, as well.

They won’t be coming back. He told his friend this earlier, but he clearly hasn’t believed him. He stows Fatty’s paltry few possessions into his storage belt, he can't help but notice that the space within the buckle is bigger than either of their tiny hovels...

Shaking his head, he ambles towards the mouth of the valley from where Fatty has just emerged.

“I need to take the qi test again, then sign in and get my official robes.” Jian Cheng says.

“After breakfast right?”

“No, the early bird catches the worm--”

“A dirty worm’s not nearly as nice as a cooked breakfast though is it?”

In the end, Fatty eats. while Jian Cheng is tested. He is not found wanting either, registering a respectable tier-four, surprising even himself. It is a decent result for a new entrant, yet only makes him slightly above average for his age.

In the commissary, Fatty is even more surprised at the result, he’s been surpassed after all. They are both 12 years-old, yet Fatty, after two years in the sect, is still stuck at the late tier-three stage - about average for his age...

“Did you get an affinity?”

“No.” Jian Cheng says somewhat proudly. He had barely managed to suppress any affinity showing up by using the guixigong to muddy the waters within the crystal orb. He’s wisely taken Brother Wang’s warning about revealing his healing talent to heart...

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Fatty says in a comforting manner, but immediately becomes much more cheerful. Jian Cheng notices but what's a little schadenfreude between brothers?

“What’s next?” Li Feng asks.

“Task assignment. And this is how we’ll do it...”

Once the pair arrive at the main pavillion, they head inside the appropriate building, before finally lining up at a long counter.

A young man eventually ambles over to the two of them. The gangling 19 year-old is only in tier-seven, and set to wash out of the sect in six-or-so months time.

Therefore, he has been assigned a low-level task, to which he has clearly ascribed an equally low-level of enthusiasm and care. The saying ‘pay peanuts; get monkeys’ springs to mind. Still, nominally he is the deacon in charge of all new inductees' task assignments and orientation.

Once he has checked Jian Cheng's shiny new token with his name, affinity and rank on it, the deacon asks if Jian Cheng has any "particular set of skills?”.

In such a large sect, anonymity is truly a trouble maker’s friend. In order to maintain a low profile, and not stand out to be easily remembered afterwards, Jian Cheng doesn’t want to appear unduly keen. It would seem suspicious to suddenly volunteer for the sect’s worst task, so he subtly tries to steer the deacon into suggesting the desired role on his own...

“I’m good at running around... Reading maps... And remembering names... And addresses...”

Subtlety is not his strong suit.

“What? No, I mean a set of skills like cooking, gardening or maybe carpentry...”

“Um, I’m also rich and don’t need to get paid much...”

“No, I mean a tangible ability, not vague likes and dislikes... I’m not a matchmaker you know... Do you have any actual work experience from your home town?”

“Uh...I just used to deliver messages mainly...”

“You need to be rich to be a messenger, because you only get paid per message delivered.” Fatty butts in from the side. “Ooh, I want to be one too.”

“Whoah, what? You two are too weird...”

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, two messengers are duly signed up, then ushered firmly out the door. As they leave, Jian Cheng looks back and sees the deacon is still stood in the doorway, shaking his head.

He sighs to himself, so much for going incognito...

The next part of his plan needs to go a lot smoother... He pulls Fatty aside to hammer out the details yet again. The whole previous debacle was clearly his fault so he has his friend repeat everything he knows about messages and the Message Dispatch Station... Information is power.

“Messages are recorded at or delivered to the central location of the station, to later be sent out externally or internally within the sect--" Fatty drones, he sounds like the rule book being read aloud by the bored deacon at Jian Cheng's orientation. "--Then a messenger comes along, they must sign for each and every message, then they receive both the sealed message and a receipt for it... What else? Oh, at the other end, the recipient of the message signs the receipt and you return to the station to get paid...”

“Good, who were the three elders you said are rumoured to be in deep cultivation seclusion.”

“Uh, Elder Li, Elder Xie and Elder Wei.”

“Great. Now we pose as personal disciples, or some form of underlings. Then we take turns at dropping into the dispatch station and asking for messages for each of the elders - hopefully they’ve had a few build up, or some have gotten returned over the last few weeks”

“We’re actual messengers now why don’t simply show our badges and sign for them?” Fatty asks.

“Idiot. Do you think any old or young messenger can waltz in - especially on his first day - and demand only the few missions he wants?”

Li Feng tilts his head for a second and then nods grudgingly. So far so good... Fatty can't see the bigger picture yet. So Jian Cheng decides to let the line out bit by bit...

"If we do it your way, we’ll be running around the mountain for months before we get the exact message we want... By then those three elders will be out of seclusion--”

“But we won’t get paid if we don’t sign for it...”

Nope. He's lost the thread again.

“Fatty, we don’t need money anymore. We’re going to live in the inner court, where, you yourself said - more than once in fact - that food is completely free...”

Li Feng is almost drooling. “They have a top chef and the dishes all have spiritual--”

“Focus Fatty... So we’re agreed to do it my way?”

“He-he, naturally. Brother Cheng’s plan is without precedent...”

“Right, you go first, you look more trustworthy... And also, like someone who already comes from a place where food is free...”

Fatty just smiles... Still thinking about free food... Jian Cheng snorts. Although even he appreciates the concept. He realises it is the perfect lure for the pair.... His focus would be on the free, while Fatty’s would be on food...

“Oh, try not to sign anything, ” he reminds his day dreaming friend. “Though, I suggest using the name Liu Tong if you do...”

Inside the Message Dispatch Station, another deacon mans another long counter. This one is covered with sheets of vellum, quills and clay pots of ink. At that moment the deacon is staring off into space. A few chi in front of him a heavyset teen fidgets, shifting his considerable weight from foot to foot...

“So Elder Wei has emerged from his break through seclusion?”

"Crotchety old grump, I hope he failed and fell back a tier..." he mutters under his breath. The deacon then stares down at the bulky boy with some sympathy in is eyes. Over the years, he’s come across Elder Wei more often than he’s liked... Felt that swift kick on his backside more than once... He winces at the recollection then smiles ruefully at the boy on the far side of his counter.

He can imagine why this pitiful teen has such a stricken expression - clearly he’s been scared witless by the overbearing elder...

This chubby child has probably been collared while walking by, minding his own business, then booted down the mountain on this thankless task... When his ridiculous request inevitably gets refused, upon his return he will surely receive a second beating...

The deacon sighs. Sect life is simply too cruel... On the other hand, the boy could clearly do with the exercise... Even a beating may have benefits...

The supervisor suddenly has a second thought too. If he dares to break protocol and surrender a message to this chubby nobody, he won’t have to pay an actual messenger, marginally improving his monthly budget... And personal bonus!

It is strictly against official procedure though... Also, his superior is an iron-clad stickler for the sect rules... But then he notices there was actually more than one message... There are in fact, three sealed scrolls. One, two, three... Peaking out of the Elder Wei’s assigned cube in the wooden shelf wall behind him. A significantly bigger bump to his bonus! And like that, his decision is made.

No signature will be necessary, no point providing extra evidence just in case.... Messages get misplaced all the time, no big matter... Minimum wage, minimum effort... With a flourish of the quill, the supervising deacon signs the three messages off as having been, signed-in, sealed and delivered.

Two minutes later, Fatty emerges from the building. He blinks in the sudden sunlight then gives a nervous two thumbs-up towards a tree in the far corner of the main pavillion. Almost a li away, crouched in the shadows of a weeping willow, Jian Cheng breaths a sigh of relief. It had been a close run thing...

They had taken turns earlier, but Elder Li and Elder Xie had been utter busts with no messages at all. The only thing either of them managed to collect was a stern lecture about sect messages rules . Elder Wei was their last forlorn hope... They even had to wait for a shift change of supervisors at the station, so they wouldn’t be recognised. But against all odds, Elder Wei had delivered... Literally... Multiple messages as well. Access for both of them.

“Ke-Ke,” Jian Cheng slaps his thigh and begins to chuckle, he loves it when a plan comes together.