Chapter 43: Wrestling A Bear And Other Bad Ideas

Once he'd gained an understanding of the threat he was about to face, Wu Ling wasted little time. Grabbing the charred remains of one of the legs of his easel he pulled out a belt knife and got to work, using what little carving skill he'd managed to cultivate to produce a crudely tapered stick. Rummaging in his bag of art supplies he grabbed a small clay pot of thick paste before rushing to the place where the horses had been tethered.

"Sorry," he said to one of the stoic beasts as his belt knife flashed again taking with it a long length of horsetail hair. Working rapidly he used the thick paste as a glue to affix the horsehair to the stick, quickly shaving the hair into shape to produce a very crude and very large calligraphy brush. It looked ugly and would likely fall apart within an hour but he didn't need it to last for more than a few strokes anyway.