Ki Wardiman's Training

At Ki Wardiman's house, there was an extraordinary bustle. Gendis, his own granddaughter, had never seen her grandfather so diligent in returning to the medicine kitchen, processing herbs, and hunting for plants in the forests.

Gendis actually wanted to express her gratitude to the newcomer in her house, but she lacked the courage to do so. And it seemed that Jagat didn't pay much attention to her either, even though they exchanged glances briefly on several occasions.

She rarely saw brave men like Jagat because all men aged eighteen and above were recruited to become soldiers. It started when Jayakatwang planned to attack Singosari.

Her grandfather was one of the recruiters, and her father was also part of the Kediri forces that stormed the Singosari palace. She had witnessed her grandfather's friend, a Senopari from Kediri, personally come and recruit the young men to become soldiers.

After successfully capturing the palace, her grandfather's friend celebrated his promotion at his house in the now-ruined village, looted by the Mongols.

Since then, she had never seen brave men like the guest in her house. Especially because she liked Jagat Wengi's enchanting brown eyes. She didn't know what this feeling was because she only knew love and affection from the two men in her life, her father and her grandfather.

The opportunity to express her gratitude finally came when Jagat Wengi packed some roots into a bundle. The woman, who was only as tall as Jagat Wengi's shoulder, helped him, and the words finally came out.

"Thank you."

Just a few words, and after that, Gendis hurriedly rushed out through the side door, leaving Jagat Wengi standing there without saying anything in return.

It should have been Jagat Wengi who expressed gratitude for her help in packing the roots. He became puzzled, wondering if it was meant as a sarcastic remark because he didn't say thank you.

Who knows? The woman he knew was only as far as knowing her from the tuak shop and the brothels that were abundant in the city and the port.

He didn't need to understand women like her, let alone have feelings for them. However, after spending months in this house, he was starting to understand that women were different from men.

Not only in terms of physical appearance but also in their attitudes and demeanor.

Jagat Wengi tried to dismiss any impure thoughts about Gendis's body, which he found quite alluring.

Ki Wardiman had mentioned that Gendis was nineteen years old, but her hips and breasts already resembled those of an adult woman, with all the beauty that could be enjoyed by a man's eyes.

Jagat Wengi considered Gendis to have grown up, given the frequent questions she asked her grandfather, especially during their martial arts training sessions.

Gendis was indeed an orphan, just like him.

It all started when the Mongol troops landed in Tuban and looted their village. Ki Wardiman could only save Gendis, but his own daughter fell victim to the savagery of the Mongol soldiers.

Since then, Ki Wardiman's life had changed. He had to take care of his granddaughter, the daughter of his deceased daughter, and disappear from the world of medicine and socializing among village officials and the palace.

However, everything changed since the arrival of Jagat Wengi and his excessive attention to his patients, which made Gendis wonder.

The sweet woman with flowing hair that reached her back wanted to eavesdrop several times when they traveled to Ki Wardiman's secret place, which he had created during the mourning period.

Since he stopped practicing as a healer, Ki Wardiman had built a simple hut on the edge of a river as his hideaway. He spent his days there and returned home before nightfall.

According to their plan, today they would begin training Jagat Wengi's new abilities. Gendis herself would accompany them to learn the location where she would deliver food and other necessities. And most importantly, to accompany Arya Mandana when he came to pick up Jagat Wengi later.

The place was more remote than Ki Wardiman's house. He chose this fast-flowing river to dampen the silence in the small forest behind the hut.

Sometimes, the river's current crashed against large rocks, creating a noisy sound.

"Jagat! This is where we start everything. You must be able to read what I have carved on that stone!" Ki Wardiman shouted as if trying to compete with the rushing river.

"Grandfather! Can Gendis join the training?" Gendis asked with hopeful eyes.

"Just help Jagat tidy up our hut first. Put all our belongings there."

The answer was very different from Gendis' question, but she obeyed and followed her grandfather's command.

Jagat, who was also helping to unload the items from the horse, felt sorry and spoke softly to Gendis.

"I will teach you. What do you want to learn, Gendis?"

Gendis didn't answer immediately. She was mesmerized by Jagat Wengi's clear brown eyes reflecting the setting sun from the west. All she did was rearrange her hair that had fallen forward while she bowed to pick up the cloth bundle.

She remained silent, with a smile unseen by Jagat Wengi.

On the first day, Gendis stayed briefly in the hut as it was getting dark. It was then that she learned that her grandfather trained Jagat Wengi's vision with a sentence carved into the trees.

Jagat Wengi had to be able to read each scattered letter on the tree trunk until he could piece them together into a complete word.

And all of this was done while Jagat Wengi ran with his Thousand Steps technique. Ki Wardiman was grateful because he didn't need to teach a young man who already had a foundation in martial arts, although not all martial artists could master body positioning.

Ki Wardiman observed every movement of Jagat Wengi, including his speed in running. If he deviated even a little, Ki Wardiman would shout and warn his student.

Once Jagat Wengi successfully passed the series of letters carved on the tree trunk, the next morning, Ki Wardiman increased the complexity by adding more letters, and Jagat Wengi had to piece them together into complete sentences.

Before returning home, Gendis watched the training, which she still didn't understand its purpose for future battles.

Jagat Wengi swiftly moved with his agile body. His jumping point was in front of the hut, and he ran towards the rock, leaping from one tree to another.

He couldn't stop for too long, just a fleeting moment to read the letters carved on the tree trunks.

Unlike yesterday, when only a few letters were carved, this time Jagat Wengi took quite a while to observe the scattered letters predetermined by Ki Wardiman.

Finally, Jagat Wengi returned and reported everything he had seen.

However, Jagat Wengi seemed transfixed and unable to utter a single word to Ki Wardiman.

"Come on, speak up. What did you see?" Ki Wardiman urged, holding back a smile but restraining himself.

Gendis, who had been ready with her horse, felt a surge of curiosity as Jagat Wengi's gaze fell upon her.

"I-I will protect Gendis from the evils of humans and all creatures in the universe."

Ki Wardiman laughed upon hearing it, and Gendis's guava leaf eyes shone with a sharp playfulness, although she blushed in embarrassment. She quickly mounted her horse after bidding farewell to her grandfather without looking at Jagat Wengi.

For the following months, this became a routine for Gendis, diligently visiting Jagat Wengi's training hut. In addition to following her grandfather's instructions to purchase their supplies, Gendis also wanted to witness Jagat's training.

Of course, Gendis wouldn't be left alone. Ki Wardiman occasionally returned home to check on his granddaughter. He would spend a day there before returning to his hut.

But once again, Gendis couldn't make her request, as Jagat's training became increasingly demanding. Gendis couldn't understand why her grandfather instructed Jagat Wengi to train in the middle of the river. After observing and waiting for the results, she was truly surprised.

Jagat Wengi was asked to read word by word within the water!

The words were visible through the stone carvings spread by Ki Wardiman. The swift current of the water proved to be very challenging for Jagat, although by the next day when Gendis returned, he had succeeded in reading them.

However, Gendis's visit this time wasn't to demand the promised martial arts training offered by Jagat Wengi. She came to inform her grandfather that Arya Mandana had arrived at their house. But when she was offered a ride to the training hut, Arya Mandana only inquired about Jagat's well-being.

"Why didn't you bring him here?" Ki Wardiman asked.

"I did, but Uncle Mandana seemed in a hurry. He also looked tired and had a wound on his arm," replied Gendis.

Ki Wardiman simply nodded as he listened to his granddaughter's explanation, while still keeping an eye on Jagat Wengi's training in the river. However, Gendis continued with another question.

"Is this because of the rebellion led by the Duke of Tuban?"

"Who? Ranggalawe?" Ki Wardiman asked. For the past seven days, he had not left the hut and observed the situation outside. It was common for a new kingdom to face rebellions. (A/N: See Author Thought)

Sabrang also faced a similar situation when Kediri became an independent kingdom. Unfortunately, he couldn't help his friend when the Mongols and Majapahit attacked Kediri.

Arya Mandana's situation was undoubtedly difficult because Ranggalawe was his superior. Perhaps that's why he couldn't join them at the training hut.

He needed to gather information in Tuban immediately. Arya Mandana was a student of his friend. Maybe he could do something to help him.

Ki Wardiman was about to move but hesitated because Jagat Wengi's training was not yet complete. He still needed five more sessions before moving on to the testing phase, which involved copying his ten medical books without missing a single letter.

And the final stage of the test was to transcribe conversations of foreigners into Jagat Wengi's memory.

Of course, not conversations in Javanese, but those of foreigners. And the particular foreigners he had been targeting were the killers of his daughter and her husband, Gendis' parents—the Mongol soldiers.

He had planned to seek Arya Mandana's assistance, knowing that the Majapahit officer was currently pursuing the Mongol fugitives. Besides, he had withdrawn from royal affairs. There would be many new officials in Majapahit whom he didn't know.

He needed to find a Mongol person or their translator. But how? He had no means to pay them. Arya Mandana, with his influence, could bring a translator, but he was currently dealing with his own problems.

The only way out was through Jagat Wengi. Only he could fulfill this task.

"Jagat..."

"Yes, Ki..."

Jagat Wengi obediently approached Ki Wardiman in response to his call.

"This is the final test of your abilities."

"What is it, Ki?"

"Can you find a Mongol translator to bring here?" Ki Wardiman asked, with Gendis silently listening to the conversation between teacher and student.

As a student, Jagat Wengi couldn't refuse his teacher's command. But he thought about the expenses involved.

"I-I don't know, Ki, how to pay them because maybe in the Port of Tuban, people like that can be found there."

"If you find them, bring them here."

Ki Wardiman didn't say anything about the cost, and his body language didn't indicate anything about it. In other words, it meant he had to bring the translator by...

Kidnapping?