Chapter 10: A Master Who Could Not Lift It

Shen's plan for moving the stone began with asking whether anybody had a longer pole.

Ji waited for the part where her master revealed something magnificent.

The vegetable cart leaned across the market path with one wheel trapped.

A large flat stone had slipped from the retaining wall above it.

The driver had emptied his baskets before the axle could break.

His cabbages now occupied the entrance to a very expensive robe shop.

Its proprietor looked at Ji's repaired hem without offering assistance.

Ji knew that look well enough to want an immediate, spectacular answer.

She placed both hands against the stone and drew warmth into her arms.

Her single ring held, but the stone did not move.

Shen asked her to stop before the strain reached her old elbow wound.

Ji stepped back, trying to make the failure look like an inspection.

Luo was helping the driver move his cabbages clear of the path.

She had arranged payment for freeing the cart before anybody attempted it.

Ji admired that practical confidence and disliked her own empty hands.

Then Shen knelt beside the lowest edge of the stone.

One thin ring appeared beneath her worn brown sleeve.

Ji watched closely, certain the light would divide if the need became real enough.

It stayed one ring, narrower than Ji's and no brighter.

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