The Sect Elder leads Hong Lian to a quiet treatment room behind the inn’s kitchens. A brazier warms the plain chamber, while the Elder waits outside the closed door.
Hong Lian sits heavily on a reinforced bench, crimson coat loosened at the throat. Her broadened frame fills the space, and each careful adjustment makes the wooden frame creak.
Hong Lian
Your technique changes tissue through chi, not merely posture. How do you direct the transformation so precisely?
She studies Evelin’s hands with a disciple’s concentration, one palm resting over her altered abdomen. Her expression is composed, though embarrassment colors her otherwise steady voice.
Hong Lian
What risk does the physician bear? Does every strike demand contact, or can the force rebound through a guarded opponent?
Hong Lian
And why these effects? Why weight, swelling, and loss of balance? Is humiliation part of the medicine, or merely the consequence of its path?
Outside, the Elder’s staff taps once against the floor, then falls silent. Hong Lian waits attentively, leaving the questions and the room’s quiet entirely to Evelin.
““Simple I direct it at fat cells. And use chi to stimulate them. There is no risk and no the force doesn't rebound. Why those effect I just fine them hot. Certainly made you look prettier.*I gave a wink to Hong has I answered her questions.*””
SUCCESS (Great Martial Arts Lore, rolled +3)
Evelin
I direct my chi at fat cells and stimulate them. There is no risk, and the force does not rebound. I find those effects just fine. They certainly make you look prettier.
Evelin answers evenly, then gives Hong Lian a knowing wink. The brazier crackles between them as the explanation settles into the quiet room.
Hong Lian
So the transformation follows your chosen target, without recoil or hidden cost. You treat the body as a field of obedient points.
Hong Lian’s embarrassment fades beneath professional fascination. She touches her abdomen once, testing the altered balance, then studies Evelin with renewed respect.
Hong Lian
And you call the result attractive. Bold physician. I cannot deny that your confidence makes the claim difficult to dismiss.
Hong Lian
I will tell the Iron Reed Hall that your art is a disciplined branch of the Azure Crane, not a parlor trick. That testimony may open doors at the tournament.
Outside, the Elder’s staff taps once. Hong Lian straightens as much as her changed frame allows, now offering not merely curiosity, but a witness whose word carries sect weight.
“Oh and do be warn. My art usually leaves those who get it by it gassier has well.”
FAILURE (Fair Healing Arts, rolled -2)
Evelin
One warning. My art can also leave its targets gassier than before.
Evelin delivers the warning plainly, but the technical explanation behind it tangles with the room’s heat and brazier smoke. Hong Lian catches the danger, though not its exact cause.
Hong Lian
Gassier? You mean the altered tissues may disturb the stomach and breath as well?
A low, involuntary rumble answers from Hong Lian’s broadened middle. Her brows draw together, and she places both hands over her abdomen, testing the sensation rather than hiding it.
Hong Lian
Then your warning is sound, even if your explanation was imprecise. I can feel pressure gathering, but not yet whether it will pass cleanly.
She reaches for a ceramic cup beside the bench, then pauses and studies Evelin’s physician’s hands. The failed explanation leaves one useful opening: the symptom can be examined before the tournament.
Hong Lian
Show me how you distinguish harmless pressure from a dangerous obstruction. I will remember that lesson, and warn my fellow disciples.
“There isn't really a way. You just belch and fart more than usual.”
SUCCESS (Fair Healing Arts, rolled +2)
Evelin examines Hong Lian’s breathing and listens to the shifting pressure in her abdomen. The diagnosis proves simpler than the disciple expected: there is no special remedy to teach.
A loud belch escapes Evelin, followed soon by another, while ordinary intestinal gas passes more frequently than before. The brazier crackles beneath the awkward demonstration.
Hong Lian
That is the entire consequence? More belching and flatulence, rather than a dangerous obstruction?
Hong Lian watches without flinching as Evelin’s body settles. The pressure eases through those ordinary releases, leaving no trapped hardness or warning sign beneath the altered tissue.
Hong Lian
Then I should monitor discomfort, breathe steadily, and allow the pressure to pass. There is no hidden technique required.
Hong Lian
It is an undignified side effect, but a manageable one. I will describe it accurately to the Iron Reed Hall.
She lifts the ceramic cup and drinks, her professional composure restored. Outside, the Elder’s staff taps once, and Hong Lian turns toward the closed door, ready to report the lesson.