A loud sound woke me up, a ringing sound which I believe coming from a large gong. I opened my eyes, and I see a flurry of movements; people move around in a hurry. I sat up groggily, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand.

"...."

"What are you doing? The morning practice is about to start...get moving."

A nervous voice sounded at my left. A scrawny kid with small chinky eyes, wearing the sect robes, is looking my way.

"Are you listening? Punishment will be imposed on those who will be late. Don't tell me I did not warn you." Then he went away.

I examine my surroundings and see mats on the floor shape like mattresses. They resemble traditional Japanese futons. But where pillows should be are wooden blocks instead.

I have the same block where I was sleeping on; it is rectangular with a grove in the center. I guess that's why the neck should rest on... This could be the reason why my neck hurts.

The surrounding kids are putting on their robes with unmistakable urgency. My instinct says I should follow the advice of the scrawny kid.

I noticed I was already wearing the robes given to me. I stand up and stretch my body because my body is sore all around. As if my body was beaten black and blue.

Wait, was I beaten? ...Or did I?

I feel that I was beaten, but I don't seem to remember it ever happened. My body may hurt because of this uncomfortable bed and pillow. How the hell was I able to sleep with these anyway?

The kids rush out of the room as soon as they finished putting on their robes. I guess I have to follow them; I don't want to get late to whatever activity they are going to... I have a feeling it won't be good for me if I'll be late.

Hey... what's wrong with me? I have these feelings, but I can't explain why I have them.

I followed the kids as they run, not participating in the surroundings. We arrived in a spacious courtyard. Many children are already assembled of various ages wearing sect robes.

Sect robes? How do I know these robes we are wearing are robes of the sect members? And why I'm unsurprised that I woke up in a place like this? I'm accepting this situation very well, as if I know I should be here.

After all the younger members of the Gold Peak are assembled, the morning exercise began.

We are performing various stances, and body postures called Qigong. It is achieved through multiple poses that mimic animal movements. It begins with slow fluid movements accompanied by breathing techniques. Afterward, we are asked to hold the posture for sustained periods.

A teenage guy is leading us. Dozens of others are also walking around checking. Making sure the kids are doing the right stance. They wield a wooden paddle to correct any wrong body placement or posture.

It astonishes me why I know all this stuff. But what surprises me more is I was able to follow the stances instinctively.

Sweat started pouring as we perform this system of coordinated body posture, movement, and breathing. Each stance also gets more challenging because we need to maintain the poses longer.

After about one and a half hours, we finished. Then we have the morning run for another hour. Then finally, we have our breakfast.

The dining area is a very spacious building with massive open windows. Rows and rows of low tables and each row has two tables that make two people face each other while eating.

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We are given one bowl of rice and several dishes like soybeans, cucumber, and noodle soup—a few fish and meat. The plates are carefully proportioned.

I could swear I never used a chopstick before, but I'm fine using it now. Everything seems so bizarre that I am so distracted from enjoying the food or notice my surroundings.

After breakfast is the lesson. In this place, we are taught about theories about cultivation. We have to go down the mountain to receive our lessons. At the bottom of the stairs is an enormous palace. To enter, we must show our jade slips or whatever they call this ID looking thingy.

Since several recent members don't know how to read, we are separated from those who already know.

Yes, I need to learn how to read and write, which feels wrong...deep inside, I know I am literate. Yet, I'm gravely mistaken.

The writing in this world is like chicken scratches, which are hard to read. I don't even recognize any character, let alone read any words. I thought I was going to have a hard time learning to read. But somehow, the text is starting to make sense as I listen to the teacher.

An elderly man is teaching us in a room full of 20 students. We are seated cross-legged. Each of us has low tables where scrolls, paintbrushes, and writing ink are placed.

At the beginning of the class, a very skinny girl with large, deep eyes locked eyes with me for a moment. At the end of the lessons, she kept on looking at me who makes me self-conscious.

Is something on my face? Or my hair? Why is that weird girl kept looking at me?

The journey back is a lot harder than going down the mountain. We are told that this is part of the training. I noticed someone was following me. I turn back and found it was the girl earlier.

This is getting annoying; what does she want from me? I'm planning to ignore her, but I don't like being followed, so I approached her to ask whats the deal.

"Can I help you?"

"...."

"Who are you? Why are you following me?" Somehow It got her angry because she glared at me with those big sad eyes.

"You have been ignoring me since we entered Gold Peak, and now you are saying you don't know who I am. I've been worried about you, and this is how you repay me." She stomps her feet and runs ahead of me.

"Wait! How do you know me? Have we met before? I'm sorry, it seems I have forgotten." I shouted.

She moved back to me with astonishing speed. "So something is wrong with you. I knew it! You have been acting strange these past few days. Everything is normal on the outside, but I knew something was wrong with you...like you are not alive at all."

"What do you mean?"

"You are moving and performing the activities of the sect, but you don't respond to others around you. We have been here for a week, yet this is the first time you talk to me. I've tried talking to you several times, but you never responded. What happened to you?"

She whispers. I can barely hear her. "I don't know, it seems like everything is bizarre. I'm unsure what happened, but I can't recall the things I have done this week. I woke up this morning, confused."

"What's your name, and how did we meet?" I asked her, being curious.

"It's me, Lou Yi. You saved my life." She replied, why pointing up the stairs.

I blanked out because I think I remember something, but then... nothing. My head hurts, so I massage my temples. "We should get going; I don't want to be late for the afternoon meditation."

We were back at the courtyard for the meditation. This is where proper meditation is taught. For beginners are a simple cultivation technique.

It's a simple technique to absorb energy from heaven and earth. This meditation technique will nurture our Qi, which is the foundation building for cultivators. I close my eyes and followed the instructions of the elder.

Twenty minutes after, I was able to immerse myself. I find myself climbing the stairs again, going to the peak. This time, the smooth stone steps are now dirty and moldy. It is already dark, but no moon or stars in the sky. I know that something is wrong, yet my body continues to move up.

Then the scene changed, now I look at the two bodies on the floor. There is a metallic smell in the air. I noticed that my hands felt wet, so I raise them. I started to pant and sweat.

My hands are covered in scarlet red liquid, and I know it is blood. Blood started to flow down the steps. I followed where it is coming from with my eyes.

It is getting hard breathing, and my whole body is trembling.

The bodies on the ground started to move mechanically; they crawled towards me. I can see blood trails they leave behind. Then they opened their bloodshot eyes, then stared at me. Those eyes are staring directly at my soul, sending shivers on my spine.

"Why did you kill us?!" They shriek at me as they crawled faster, blood spurting from their mouths.

I wanted to run, I wanted to scream, but I can not do anything. I stayed rooted as the corpse came closer, my mind screaming No!!!

Light burst, washing away the darkness, warmth came to embrace, and a soft voice of a woman soothing my soul. I want to see the face of the woman who saved me from that nightmare, but I can only see the light. Her voice is my only clue of her identity, yet I can't describe how she sounds like, nor understand the words she told me.

A warm invisible hand caresses my face, and warmth and light entered my body. The cozy feeling came to me... but suddenly, a rush of information, images, and memory entered my mind. Everything came back to me.

Then I opened my eyes...truly awakened.