“…avenge us!”

Despite his mother’s last words, he had long pathetically resigned himself far from the idea of revenge. He thought it was an impossible goal to reach for all he knew was one man’s face – not even who he was, where they came from, nor why they were there that night. However, there was the face he thought he would never see again just a short distance away. He thought that his blood would boil, but no…every inch of his body was trembling with an indescribable chill.

“This child’s lips are paled,” the man noted, took a step closer with Yun’er still in his arm, and turned to his wife, puzzled.

For a split second, Madame Lin thought she saw fear in the boy’s eyes. Though, she quickly dismissed it and thought the boy was merely shy. She tilted her head and asked gently, “what’s wrong, child?”

He flinched from the touch of the back of her hand on his forehead.

“Talu gege?” Yun’er called out to him, worried.

Realizing all eyes were on him and where he was now, he casted his eyes down nervously and mumbled, “s-sorry.”

Yun’er father, dressed finely in navy blue robe that undoubtedly gave off an air of dignity and even a hint of sternness, which contrasted his wife, finally put down his daughter and kneeled down in front of Talu. He held on to the boy’s wrist, attempting to diagnose what ailment the boy was experiencing. He might not be known for healing skills, but as the proud Sect Leader Lin of the Heaven Water Sect as well as the Martial Arts Alliance Leader, he did still know a thing or two.

What he did not realize was that the boy was petrified at his grip, even though almost no strength was put into it.

Talu tried his best to stay calm.

Sect Leader Lin suddenly raised an eyebrow, wary of the boy’s peculiar pulse. “Boy, where are you from?” Then, he asked lowly, audible enough just for the two of them to hear, “what’s your family name?”

He quickly looked down, afraid to meet the man’s eyes. His heart was pounding against his chest and now, he could even feel the grip actually tightened. “T-talu,” he stuttered and then shook his head, trying his best to forge ignorance. “I don’t have a family name…”

“Oh? You don’t?” The older man was not buying it.

Feeling that the atmosphere had become odd, Madame Lin called out to her husband, “dear?”

Talu took the opportunity to pull his hand back when the man loosened the grip at his wife’s voice. Then he blurted out, “m-my parents were illiterate.” He tried to relax his hands, playing naïve. “Neighbours used to them Tang ge and Tang ge’s wife because they used to make candied hawthorns…”

Yun’er was surprised at this because she was certain that Talu could read. Just how did he learn to read when his parents were illiterate? However, she kept to herself. By now, she had learned to trust this older boy wholeheartedly and thought that he must had a reason for saying that.

Just then, a resounding laugh seemed to be inching closer. “Lin Zheng, how’s that senile master of yours?”

Sect Leader Lin now got up on guard. “May I ask who is gracing his presence?” he started off politely, knowing that it must be someone with great internal qi to be able to echo from such a great distance.

Madame Lin, acting on her maternal instinct, quickly pulled the children close to her.

“Ha!” the voice seemed to sneer, “I wonder just how that senile old fool would react knowing that his eldest disciple is such a coward. He does not even dare to bark back!”

“You—”

A great gust of wind blew the windows open and caused even the great Martial Arts Alliance Leader to put his arm to his eyes to block the force of the wind.

When the wind subsided, Yun’er eyes widened in shock at the extra guest in the room. She pointed at the old man who was grinning quite heinously, “you’re the crazy old man who fed Talu gege something weird!”

“How rude!” the old man huffed. Then, as if he was wronged by her, he crossed his arm and said, “to think that I even brought you a gift today, even though you two really made me searched through streets and corners for days to track you down!”

Then, Sect Leader Lin recognized the pommel of the sword, which was that of a dragon head, carried behind the strange man’s back. He quickly greeted politely, “I apologize for not knowing earlier that it is the Second Elder of Earth Dragon Sect who has graced his presence here.”

The Earth Dragon Sect was rather a mysterious sect in the martial arts world. Everyone knew this sect had tremendous power, and yet, it appeared this sect was not interested in the worldly affairs. Mostly secluded from the world, it appeared as though there was only a handful of disciples from this sect as not many have the fortune to meet all of its members. And now, here in this room was Long Yan, the Second Elder of the sect, a known eccentric for unorthodox experiments and research.

The old man shook his head and clicked his tongue. “Aren’t you changing the direction of the wind too fast? Or, is being a hypocrite really the main qualification these days to sit on the throne of the martial arts world?” He shook his head some more disapprovingly. “That old man is really senile and useless now, it seems.”

“Second Elder, it is fine if you would like to criticize me, but I would appreciate if you refrain from insulting my master.” Sect Leader Lin responded, seemingly impressively.

“Whatever,” Long Yan took a seat and picked his ear. “I’m not here for you. I’m here for those two. So, if you know what is good for you, hand them over while I ask nicely.”

“Excuse me?” Sect Leader Lin was baffled. He had only recently taken over the Martial Arts Alliance Leader title and was still relatively young when it came to handling a hooligan-like man such as this one in front of him.

“Oh? Playing deaf, huh? Then don’t mind if I take them!” He spurted out illogically and his eyes were sparking as if the world was his playground. Without a moment to waste, he reached out to the children, making them screamed.

Sect Leader Lin blocked and pushed the old man’s hand away just before he reached the children. “Shimei, take the children out of here!” (Note 1)

“Want to stop me?” The old man laughed. “You’re decades too young!” He quickly bypassed the sect leader and ran to the door.

Worried that Long Yan, who was known to be unconventional in his manner, would reach his wife and the children, he quickly pulled out Ice Heaven, one of the three sacred swords passed down through generations in the Heaven Water Sect. The hilt of the sword was a navy blue colour, matching his robe. Meanwhile, the blade was frosty and yet, seemingly transparent, causing others to be deceived of its true lethalness. He gathered and injected a cold force into the sword before sending it flying at the old man’s back.

Long Yan paused in his track and dodged swiftly without even looking behind him.

Sensing the old man’s relentlessness, Sect Leader Lin made a motion with his index and middle fingers held firmly together. At the signal, Ice Heaven turned back in a boomerang motion, right at the old man’s front this time.

Annoyed, the old man pulled his sword from the back and swung it at the incoming sword without even taking the sheath off from the sword.

Sect Leader Lin coughed out blood the same moment Ice Heaven hit the ground. He stared at his sword on the ground in disbelief that internal qi linking with the sword could be cut off seemingly so easily.

Finally, the old man turned around, and reluctantly praised the sect leader, “I guess you’re not completely useless.” Then as if he was being lenient and acting all generous, “you can keep the girl. However, I have to take the boy. I have not finished my experiment yet.”

Then, without waiting for anyone to properly digest what he had just said, he snatched the boy from Madame Lin’s arm and flew out through the window.

While running through the streets and surprisingly soon into the woods, Talu finally came to his senses and struggled to free himself. “Let me go!” he shouted.

Ignoring the boy, the old man kept running.

Desperate, Talu bit the old man’s waist.

“Oww!” Long Yan winced at the pain and finally glided to a stop.

Talu coughed away the dusty trail of air that the old man had left thanks to his inhuman like speed.

Long Yan put the boy down and told him, “you’re lucky that I have taken interest in you, so be grateful!”

“Leave me alone,” the boy told him off. Now that he had the space to process everything that just happened, he had come to a decision. “Go find someone else for your foolish experiment, whatever that may be. I need to go back.”

Now the old man was thoroughly confused. “Why?!” Then he thought perhaps the boy was ignorant, he proceeded to explain, “you are of the fire essence. That senile man’s disciple and his entire sect focus on the water essence. What good would come out from learning martial arts from them?” Then he added, as if worried it was not enough to steer the boy away from thinking about the Heaven Water Sect, “not to mention, that Lin Zheng is a hypocrite through and through!”

“Hypocrite?” Talu perked up at this.

Long Yan was getting impatient. “That’s not the point! The point is I will make you reach your fullest potential if you follow me!”

Talu did not doubt the old man’s words, solely based on the fact that he had easily gained an upper hand over that man, of whom he finally learned the name, Lin Zheng. However, he knew that if he did not take the risk and go back, then he would never get to find out what happened two years ago. He clutched his hands tightly into fists. “That’s not the point,” he looked up to the old man, “I don’t want to follow you.”

“You!” the old man was taken aback and felt as if his air passage just got stabbed.

“I have things I need to do,” the boy announced. Then he remembered, “and don’t go saying nonsense such as fire essence again. I-I’m not!”

“I don’t get it…” the old man shook his head in disbelief. Walking back and forth, he deliberated how he could convince the boy otherwise. Then, a better idea hit him. He smiled widely. “Hey, you’re really set on going back?”

“Yes,” he nodded.

“Alright,” the old man seemed finally fine with the boy’s decision, as difficult as it was for him to understand. “But you have to listen to me for a few days. Don’t worry, this should serve your purpose well too.”

Years later, Talu would sometimes wonder if he had made the right choice or if there was a ‘right’ choice in the first place at all. If he had chosen to walk a different path, then would things turn out differently too?

Note 1: Shimei means junior sister, similar to hoobae or kohai.

Author's Notes: Finally, a time skip next chapter. Hoping to write more fight scenes in the future too. hehe.