PANEL ONE:
Outside view of the tent, the sun descending toward the horizon.
Grandpa Lin: Ah, right. Xiu Mei, this is Kenji Haiyaou, an old friend of mine. That is his daughter, Rei. They have... an unusual proposition.
PANEL TWO:
Xiu Mei side-eyes Rei while Rei continues her watch-and-stretch routine.
Grandpa Lin: The two of you will test your skill against the other. This will be a three-point match. No matter who wins the match...
PANEL THREE:
Both Min Hua and Xiu Mei look confused and surprised.
Grandpa Lin: She and her father will remain here for two months, taking care of the maintenance of our home. Should Xiu Mei win, that will be the extent of the changes.
PANEL FOUR:
Grandpa puts on his grumpy face.
Grandpa Lin: Should the Haiyaou girl be the victor... the free time you would have gained from being relieved of chores will be spent instructing her in our style... as well as one other stipulation that I hope will not need to be discussed.
9 thoughts on “Terms and Conditions”
Zar Kane the Wookie
Either I keep missing something or the other stipulation is never discussed… Don’t tell me what it is but let me know if its talked about. I want to figure it out on my own. I’m on my third reread
Ryan Gindlesperger
Yeah, it never came up thanks to Grandpa Lin being so ticked off at the performance and Xiu Mei’s redirection toward Min Hua.
Also, it makes me stupid happy that you like it enough to reread!
Zar Kane the Wookie
I tend to reread webcomics I like about once a month. Don’t have much to do after work til the weekends. I like Mastery well enough so its one I keep near the top of the list. I do prefer the Mastery Prequel thow. Having a bit of trouble getting into the Sarah and Ash (Act 1 I think) storyline but I want to see where it is heading and how Min and Rei work into it. Keep up the good work.
Zar Kane the Wookie
Didn’t think to add this in my other reply but… I really want to know what the other stipulation is. As ya said it never came up but did it come up later? Or is it just forever lost in the mystery that is Mastery? Also just saw the latest post on another tab, glad to hear ya’ll are alright. Sorry about the car but hey, at least ya’ll got dinner or did it get away?
Ryan Gindlesperger
xD I’m surprised that everyone thinks we got to keep the poor thing.
Nah, we were going slow enough that it made its way off. It was one of many that were there at the time and it had charged us. We weren’t inclined to get out of the car at all for a bit, given what one of the smaller ones did to our car.
As far as the stipulation? It was originally going to be Min Hua taking over Xiu Mei’s classes for her, which would have been super humiliating. Xiu Mei totally derailed that with her redirect… which, tbh, worked out better for everyone.
Ryan Gindlesperger
NGL, I’m with you on that one.
There’s a lot of meat to this story. Finally tackling the beginning of the first main plot is a hefty task. Sarah and Ash have a much different lifestyle and have had a wildly different experience growing up than Rei and Min have… enjoyed. If you’re a fan of Rei and Min, I think you’ll like where things go, even if it takes a while to get there.
I’m glad you’re enjoying this enough to re-read it so often! I wish I could push new content more often!
Zar Kane the Wookie
Take ya time, I’m sure most (if not all) of ya fans will agree with me when I say ‘we would rather you take ya time and produce a great comic with a good story rather than a sloppy comic with a limited story’
All-Purpose Guru
I’m with Zar. This stuff just gets better, don’t worry about deadlines, stuff happens.
I have a question, though. If Rei WINS Xiu Mei will instruct her? If Rei LOSES I would have expected Xiu Mei to have taught her, or maybe Min Hua if she was inexperienced enough.
Sorry, just curious. I’m expecting whatever arrangement Kenji set up would have been for the continuing education of Rei.
All-Purpose Guru
OH, I think I get it now, If Rei proves her worth, ability, and potential then she gets to learn the Lin style. If she doesn’t… it’s just a lot of dishwashing.
Effectively, this is a belt test.