Kenki's eyes snap open. Immediately he jumps from where he'd been laying, the reaction is instinctive, performed without the slightest bit of thought.

…that's why he trips and falls when he gets entangled in the covers that had been keeping him warm.

Wide eyed, his gaze moves left and right, taking in his surroundings. He sees a bed, his bed, his drawings chaotically scattered through the room, the collection of random crappy bows that had been gifted to him by a local craftsman.

'My room… How?'

Examining himself he notices that he's not wearing any of his previous clothes. All of them were brand new ones that he'd never seen before.

Standing up he tidies up the small mess that he'd made. Folding the blanket he places is under the bed.

'The last thing that I remember…' he sits down on one of the chairs in the room. '...was that wolf, right? I was preparing to stab it with all my might, until something got hold of me and knocked me out… I see'

There aren't many people that could have saved him from that hopeless confrontation. Only one person comes to mind.

Fragments of memories come flooding in as he deliberates. Some that he'd forgotten, some that he'd simply ignored and some that are downright infuriating. So much so that he wants to travel back in time to give his past self a proper slapping

'Nonono… I can accept being stupid but this is something else. Something foul is at play here.' His mind wanders off to the events of the wolf extermination mission. Just before Kenki and Goro had first encountered the wolf pack, back then his ears had heated up just after taking off his hood. He'd dismissed it as hypothermia at the time but now that he thinks back on it…

'How did I not make the connection between hearing better and the goddamned heat in my ears!?'

And it's not just that one particular event either. Over the last year it has happened thousands of times with rapidly increasing frequency. The many times he'd fired off a particularly powerful arrow that would literally break apart the wood and stone target dummies. The many times when he'd performed feats of agility that no olympic athlete from Earth would be able to replicate

So many examples, and he had always dismissed them with one bogus reason after another…

But worst of all in his opinion is how he'd behaved with Dongmei.

Ken shakes himself out of his daze.

'No, this is why I was sent on such an unreasonable mission. She wanted me to fail, she probably never even left my side, always observing… I just don't understand why Goro was allowed to die. He did nothing to deserve that fate.'

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Ignoring that train of thought he concentrates, looking inwards, trying to replicate the sensations he'd felt during his final stand on the stump of that tree. He searches for the origin of that wonderful energy

And, several minutes later, he finds it. Something that feels like a fifth limb just below his stomach, he knows that it's there but when it comes to controlling it… it's pretty difficult.

He tries to tickle out a reaction with cautious mental tugs, and he does, but due to his poor control the energy comes flooding out of his body.

Not too much of it. It is a miniscule amount, barely one or two percent. But despite that he feels a little bit of fatigue creeping up, not fatigue of the body but something deeper. The odd sensation causes the boy to shiver.

He leaves it alone for now, fearful of damaging himself. At this point it's pretty much certain that Dongmei would teach him how to control it anyways.

*knock* *knock*

Kenki's ears perk up at the sound coming from the door to his room. He turns to look at Dongmei as she enters his room.

An enigmatic expression on her face, each one has their eyes locked on the other as she approaches.

She sits on the chair opposite to Ken, the wooden table standing in between them.

"You must have a lot of questions." She finally says after a minute of silence.

"You could say that, master. But before that…" Ken stands up and bows to her. "...I'd like to apologize."

"Apologize for what?"

"For everything. You clothed and fed me, you took care of me and taught me how to fight. And all I've done is act like some puppet. Until now I've unthinkingly performed what you've told me only for fear of the repercussions. Thinking back on it, several times have you tried to reach out and deepen the relationship only for me to act cold and ignore you."

Dongmei laughs at Kenki's words, shaking her head.

"Don't worry about it. Sit down." She reaches her arm out to pat him on the head, a smile evident on her face.

The action causes Ken to blush.

"I'm guessing that you've noticed the force that has been tampering with your memories and behavior."

"I… yes, I have." Ken is reminded of the incidents again "The memories of me destroying a couple of the target dummies with simple wooden arrows are particularly clear. I'm guessing that for some reason you were unable to tell me about them."

Dongmei nods, her smile still present. "I couldn't have told you because both of us would have died."

"Died?"

"Indeed, it's also for that very same reason that I can't tell you much more." She sighs "Just know that that force is always present, it's always listening and it's an enemy of all that walk the path of cultivation. Doesn't matter if it's man, plant or beast."

Ken nods, slightly apprehensive.

"Now that you have passed the Trial of Initiation you don't have to worry about it messing with your mind ever again. Not unless you enter some very special zones in the world, but that's a matter for the future." She waves her hand dismissively.

"We call this force the heavens. Remember that. For the time being try to stray away from anything that would bring their ire. As long as you don't try to train anyone, like I have with you, or write down your experiences on a piece of paper, you should be perfectly fine."

"Writing information down is dangerous?"

"Everything is potentially dangerous, that's why most completely refrain from speaking about the topic. I'd teach you more but unfortunately I don't know what I am and aren't allowed to say, you need special training for that"

"..."

"...Master Dongmei. Can I ask you something about the mission you gave me?"

"Ask away."

"Why did you let Goro get eaten?"

"Oh, that's pretty simple. Because he was planning on torturing and killing you."

"Eh?" Ken's brain comes to a grinding halt at that new nugget information.

"I haven't had the chance to do any digging around but I tracked him after you two separated to gather supplies and equipment for your journey. He's part of some sort of criminal group originating from Themten." She thinks over her next words for a bit.

"The main reason why that man accepted your request was because he wanted to check on your skills and power. If you were weak enough, upon your return, he and a couple of his friends would have ganged up and beaten you until you couldn't move."

"From that point on they would have tortured you into giving them information on any other coins that you may have, executing you after they'd gotten what they wanted."

"O-oh… I see. I gave him everything that I had, though…"

"Heh hah hah" Dongmei laughs at Kenki's puckered face.