Two days had passed since ReZhui’s encounter with the blond boy. His parents agreed to let him have one more day of rest after his late arrival back home and on the following day, ReZhui led his brothers down the hill like any other school day. Stepping onto the school grounds, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Several classmates were playing a game of tag, some girls gathered around Brother Wei and the rest gathered in a circle to draw or complete their homework, supervised by Sister Tian. Nothing has changed about them but the relationship between ShiYan and himself…
Shaking his head, he encouraged himself. ReZhui left his twin brothers to play with the others and he walked to the back garden. The pond was as sparkling as ever and the turtles that resided upon the wet pond rocks, munched on lettuce. That was, however, only the children of Nan. Instead, he got a small grave right next to a tall tree, which had the most roots soaked within the pond. No one attended the burial. Only Teacher Woo was there, who set the grave up by himself.
ShiYan was standing at the edge of the pond. She tucked the right side of her hair behind her ear and made eye contact with ReZhui, coming closer towards him. He tensed his lips.
‘Should I…Is it alright to talk about yesterday? Nothing bad happened but…I wonder if she had anything that she didn’t bring up but wanted to say? What about our friendship after I met her father for the first time? This doesn’t seem like best friends at all. Are we starting a different kind of relationship anew due to Mr Xu’s presence and wishes? What do I say-’
“Good morning, ReZhui,” ShiYan greeted gently. Her voice sounded like the hum of a nightingale.
“Ah…Yes! Good morning to you too!” ReZhui replied formally.
There was a pause.
“Seriously ReZhui, what’s with that attitude? Looks cute though. I love it!”
“Well…your father. I made a promise, didn’t I? And now…”
‘Should I tell her? Should I tell her?! Should I?! Maybe, expressing my worries would trigger that awkwardness between us. I might have messed up-’
“Hello to ReZhui?! Are you there?”
Her hand was waving close to his face, bringing his attention back to her.
“Unbelievable, ReZhui. Ever since you visited my village, you suddenly underwent quite the character switch.”
“Really? Is that so…”
“True, true, my dear friend. Back then, you expressed your voice loud and clear. Now it feels like-”
“Your neck was shackled and you could hardly breathe, choked by fear.”
Teacher Woo interrupted ShiYan’s answer with one of his own. Both ReZhui and ShiYan turned to face Teacher Woo. He was in his usual garments. A white Hanfu robe with a leather belt, added with several pockets that held a small hand brush and his notebook. His eyes were covered by his relatively long eyelashes and he had a bald spot on his head. Surrounding it were combed strands of white hair that reached below his shoulders and a long white beard hung from his bony face which was an arm long. Teacher Woo also sported a long wooden curved stick that supported the old man’s weak stability.
“Teacher…”
“Teacher Woo, what seems to be the problem? Is it time for class to start already?” ShiYan questioned first.
“Don’t be alarmed, dear children. I just came here to inform ReZhui that there will be replacement classes for him as he missed two day’s worth of lessons.”
“But Teacher, shouldn't I also be receiving some as well? I was absent for the previous day’s lesson as well?”
“Oh ShiYan, your passion to learn is very admirable. However, I am confident that you can understand that day’s content through self-study. After all, ReZhui’s grades are below average to say the least. He needs additional guidance if he hasn’t mastered the basic foundations yet”
“But Teacher Woo, I think Brother Wei’s help is more than enough. You got to get more rest. Also, that’s what you did last time.” ReZhui intertwined.
“Yes…Usually, I would give the duty to HuaYan. But, he currently is busy doing revision for the Imperial examination in 2 months. As you have heard, it takes at least 3 months to reread all the topics that will be in that examination. Therefore, I do not want to pressure him with more work.”
“Understood Teacher!”
“Understood Teacher Woo.”
“So ReZhui, I will be meeting you tomorrow and next Monday after class finishes. Inform your parents about this. That’s all I have to say. I think it’s nearly time to start class.”
As ShiYan rushed towards the backdoor, ReZhui followed the pace of Teacher Woo’s footsteps.
“Yes, I overheard your conversation.” the teacher answered before ReZhui got to ask.
“Oh…so what do you think of it, Teacher Woo?”
“Well, all I can say from what I witnessed is that change is not necessary. Just act like how you usually do around ShiYan. It will turn out fine.”
“Thank you Teacher Woo.”
“I also believe that you can ease your feelings about YaoMing as well.”
“YaoMing?”
“Ah, it’s Mr Xu for kids like you. I forgot. YaoMing is actually his first name. Some small trivia right there. Anyways, he does not seem that cold-hearted as he appears to be. After all, getting a license in medicine is the toughest in these lands. Life is the most important possession anyone has. Playing with it requires extreme skill and theoretical analysis.”
“You know everything in this world, don’t you, Teacher Woo?” ReZhui asked with admiration.
“I don’t know everything, I just know what I know.” Teacher Woo humbly replied.
After their small exchange, they reached the backdoor. ReZhui let the teacher enter first before closing it shut behind him.
Class was in session for the day.
---
Class began with a greeting to the teacher by the students. The assistants would go around the classroom to collect the homework journals from the students and place it on the teacher’s desk for marking. Afterwards, students would pull out their notebooks and small handouts. Copies of these notes were made by a wooden printing press and brushes were supplied to the students, which were made of horse tail. It was quite the long lasting writing tool.
Subjects, such as Maths, Literature, Basic Sciences, History and Geography, were taught with half hour breaks between each subject. All of these were mainly taught by Teacher Woo. In this normalcy of the class routine, where a teacher asks a student or student asks teacher, there would be students that would ask questions regularly such as ShiYan. One of the brightest in the class. But, for today, that was not the case. The one that asked the most questions was not ShiYan. It was ReZhui.
---
In math class…
“Teacher, could you explain the working here? I do not understand.” ReZhui’s hands were quickly moving the beads on the abacus, trying his best to understand what Teacher Woo showed on the blackboard.
In literature class…
“I think that this showed that the youngest child wanted the eldest brother to succeed. She knew that the gourd given to him was rotten within, therefore gave him her fruit instead.
In science class…
“Teacher, could you repeat the process again? I just finished copying down the first diagram.”
Especially in history class…
“Therefore everyone, when the First Kingdom was in shambles and there was little time before the Northern barbarians would invade the newly established capital of ChunGong, the Emperor along with his two newest retainers set out to meet a rumored martial arts sect where they shaved off their hair and had bones that break steel. What happened there was not documented in the Royal Library but the aftermath was recorded by the Great Historian. His identity is a pretty hot debate among the scholars so I would not delve into that for your syllabus. Back to the Emperor.
Upon his return to the Royal Gardens, he led a force of 20,000 martial artists donned in uniforms that were one of different vibrant colors of the rainbow. Each color group was led by a General who was called a Sect Head Representative by their men.
With the help of the martial artists, the First Kingdom was able to push back the Northern forces to their starting positions high up in the Karagan desert and Lobun Plateau. It was a stalemate for the next 200 years and this gave the soldiers enough time to construct a long wall called the Great Wall. Despite the developments, no effort was made to quench the fire of the barbarians. As a result, there are now reports of small signs of activity near the Great Wall. But that is a talk for another time.
After achieving the stalemate, the Emperor officially assigned the martial artists, who did the most in the counterattack, titles befitting of their abilities. They were called the Seven Swords of Light. A group that was used to inspire hope into the masses and unfortunately, that ‘hope’ was disbanded several years back after the 3rd generation Emperor died in a fire accident.”
“Teacher Woo?”
“Yes ReZhui, what’s your question?”
“Did the Seven Swords die in battle or something else? Otherwise, what could have happened to separate all of them?”
“...I…Ahehm. Despite my vast knowledge in nearly any subject that you could think of, I must be frank that I have little knowledge about the martial world. Or…it’s just that the information I can dig out was very minimal on that matter. So I cannot answer that. My apologies.”
“It’s alright Teacher. Thank you.”
The lesson continued with the reciting of the Second Kingdom ruled by the only son of the First Emperor and the Third Kingdom with the cousin of the First Emperor before being replaced by the third son of the son of the First Emperor.
As Teacher Woo explained the changing cultural and social practices between transitioning emperors, ReZhui listened attentively. Yet, the question he was left unanswered bothered him throughout.
In geography class…
“Going back to the final years of the First Kingdom, the Great Wall was accomplished 2 years after. It took a total estimate of 10 million civilians and slaves to complete its construction. It spans throughout the border of the first Kingdom with the Karagan desert to the mountain ranges located near the Bharata Confederate. This was also where most of the fatal casualties were recorded. It was estimated to be in the 500,000s.
A number of factors contributed to their demise. However, you will only need to learn 4 which are improper working tools, unpredictable weather, delayed supply chains and outsider invasions.”
“Teacher, why are we only meant to learn 4? And, what are the other reasons?”
“ReZhui…You are still young so the other reasons would not be suited to be taught until you are older. I apologize again.”
The class went on until they reached 14:00. The students were dismissed like the usual and Elder brother Wei and sister Tian stayed behind for additional lectures.
As ReZhui finished packing his bag, he told his twin brothers that they may go ahead first because he himself had to do something.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
‘They sure are quite gullible, aren’t they?’ ReZhui sighed to himself.
---
ShiYan was feeling rather down. Throughout the school day, ReZhui suddenly became more active. He stopped daydreaming and asked questions, albeit some were pretty basic for a smarter student like herself.
She was currently waiting for the horse carriage to take her and the other students down the mountain and to the villages. After several exchanges with some of her friends, she spotted ReZhui at the corner of her eye. She turned to watch him.
ReZhui said goodbye to his friends from Bai village and sent off his brothers by themselves with confidence. Soon after, he started to quicken his pace as he set off in another direction. ReZhui went in between the trees surrounding the school bungalow, disappearing from sight as he walked further in.
Shocked at what just happened, ShiYan instinctively started to follow after him. Unfortunately, just as she took the first step, the sound of a horse neighing could be heard approaching closer.
‘Why does it have to be now out of all times?’ ShiYan grunted in frustration.
After her incident with ReZhui 2 days ago, she promised her father to return home at the normal time he set for at least one week.
‘Dad’s face after I said that surely was quite the disappointment. He still looked at me with his usual sharp eyes but later in the night, I don’t doubt myself that I saw flowers surrounding that gloomy old man. He really can’t take any embarrassment.’
As such, she gave up on tailing ReZhui and boarded the carriage that arrived a few minutes later.
‘ReZhui, I hope you are doing well,’ she said her prayers.
---
With sweat dripping off his face and neck, ReZhui breathed heavily. It had been an hour since he first started walking this trail across the highlands. The temperature was increasingly getting colder as he climbed higher in elevation.
The thick trees gradually started to thin out as he trudged across several groups of chopped tree trunks on scattered patches of open land. Grass started to grow more abundantly; flowers and bushes lay randomly throughout the high plateau. Wind speeds began to speed up as he hiked the low gradient slope, stopping at a cliffside. The picturesque view of the landscape below gave ReZhui a very warm feeling. He could see long rectangles of black paddy of the Bai village in the distance, as well as the smoke rising from the chimney of the bungalow Teacher Woo lived in. Further downhill, he could roughly spot the cluster of brown spots that was ShiYan’s village and at a greater distance, small lines of rising smoke could be seen from Luo ChengShi. The Bai river that played a part in developing the civilization known as the Middle Kingdom, flowed from the mountain higher up this slope at the snow-capped peaks where it touched the clouds and possibly the heavens. From there, water flowed down the mountain and slowly splitted up into several streams, some big and others small. Meanders bend increasingly in intensity and size as the current reaches lower and lower in elevation. When it flows across ShiYan’s village and near Luo Chengshi, numerous tributaries have gathered to form a wider Bai river than up from where ReZhui is standing.
Leaves twirled in the strong gale as he spread his arms wide, taking in the fresh, cold air.
‘I want to treasure this. I want to protect this. I want to keep it like this, if I can…Forever’ he calmly desired with a wide smile.
As he did so, a figure came closer to ReZhui. It spoke.
“Enjoying the view again, ReZhui? No matter how much I look at this, I also cherish this scenery.”
“That’s right. It truly is the greatest! Isn’t that right, MianJu?” ReZhui turned to face him.
“I wholeheartedly agree, my young friend.” Jia MianJu replied happily.
The two of them had a moment of silence before sharing a laugh between the two.
“Haaaah, anyways, what brings you here, ReZhui?”
“I think it's better to talk at your place.”
“Something important I see. Alright, let's get going.”
Following behind MianJu, ReZhui went down a flight of stairs at the end of the cliffside. What greeted them was a humble wooden cottage surrounded by forests and several large boulders. It was located on top of a small peak of a hill next to the cliffside.
A separate wooden workshop was placed on the right side of the cottage which featured a smithy. ReZhui had been to this place numerous times ever since he was 6 years old.
---
At that time, ReZhui was out in the woods with his father and his twin brothers for a walk but after a huge fog immediately settled in the area, ReZhui unfortunately got separated. Although he was able to get out of the fog soon after, a pack of wild wolves surrounded the child. Feeling cornered, ReZhui tried to hide under a tree root as told by his father in case a predator was spotted. Even so, the wolves moved faster and pounced on ReZhui…
That was when the front wolf was cleaved in two in the split second before impact. ReZhui flinched back as he saw the blood splatter everywhere, intestines and stomach acid leaking out of the two body pieces.
The remaining wolves instinctively moved back to the sudden danger that appeared right in front of them. Growling with caution, the wolves began encircling the two of them.
“Are you alright, child?” the man asked, brandishing his sword.
“Yes sir, I am. But…what do we do now?” ReZhui asked nervously.
“There is nothing to worry about. If you feel scared, close your eyes NOW!”
As the man demanded ReZhui, wolves spread their claws out, jumping up high towards them. In spite of their coordinated attack, the wolves were powerless from the start.
The man retaliated with a wide horizontal swing of his blade. The sword attack didn’t reach the wolves but it didn’t need to. It was a catalyst for a much more efficient killing strike. Numerous halos were immediately formed surrounding the center of the wolves’ body. Each halo for every wolf. It appeared as though the wolves were in the midst of jumping through a translucent, shiny white hoop of light. The instantaneous formation of these mysterious halos triggered a prompt slice through all the wolves’ bodies simultaneously.
Blood exploded around the place due to the sheer intensity of the cutting force exerted. Body pieces flew everywhere before all of them rapidly started to disintegrate. ReZhui, who wanted to see the ‘spectacle’, watched as the body parts turned to dust. After a short blink of his eyes, the dust vanished to nowhere.
“Where…where did they go?” he asked hesitantly.
“They were removed from existence. The disintegration to dust was a result of my lack of skill.”
ReZhui was puzzled at his reply. His six-year-old self was already both scared and excited at the overpowering ability of the man donned in black clothing in front of him but for the man to say that he could have done better, it was something that ReZhui only heard from his mother’s bedtime stories.
“Sir, who are you?”
The man turned to face the little boy. He remained silent before replying.
“My name is Jia MianJu. I am just your average blacksmith that lives in the mountains to find the best ore. This power you just saw was my sword’s ability.”
“Wow! You are awesome, Sir! Could you make one for me?”
“Alright, listen child. The most important thing to do now is to find your parents. Also, isn’t it impolite for you to not introduce yourself?”
“Oh yeah! I am so sorry, sir. My name is Zhang ReZhui, the son of the chief farmer Zhang GuoZhao of Bai village.
“Oh…Anyways, for now, follow behind me and scream if you cannot find me. The fog may come any moment now. We need to move now.”
The duo left the battle site and walked uphill. Any advancing fog was dissipated by a single swipe of his blade, sending upcoming gales to disappear whenever they came close. After an hour of hiking, they reached the peak and what ReZhui saw was a wooden cottage. Further onwards was a steep cliffside that looks out to an impressive view of the entire river basin of the Bai river.
“Woah. It’s beautiful!” 6-year-old ReZhui said in amazement.
“This is where I live. If you ever get lost in these woods, just climb uphill and I will be there. Do you understand me?”
“Of course Mr MianJu, this is amazing!”
“Just call me MianJu. The ‘Mr’, I am not used to.”
“Got it! Elder brother MianJu, it is.”
“Wait…Haaa. Anyways, go down this hill and continue straight. Your father and brothers would be there. Also…let’s keep our…friendship a secret.”
“Really? No problem at all. Bye, Brother MianJu, thank you for your help!”
MianJu watched as the little boy ran off into the direction he pointed. That was when ReZhui turned around to ask a final question.
“Oh ya, Brother MianJu, what is with that blindfold? Can you not see?”
MianJu slowly touched the blindfold, feeling the creases and folds of the cloth on his nose. He smiled gently.
“In exchange for my eyes, I got something greater so don’t worry about it!”
MianJu’s reply puzzled the young ReZhui as he started to head down the slope. As Mianju watched, he whispered softly to himself.
“It was worth it. Her child is alive and well-fed. She really chose the best starting place for him, didn’t she? Ha…I am impressed.”
MianJu sighed; the sun started to set for night to come.
---
“So ReZhui, how’s school these days?” MianJu asked as he gave a cup of black tea to ReZhui.
“Wonderful. Thank you very much. As I was saying, I went to ShiYan’s house. Her dad is a herbalist and he lived in this large house with a very wide courtyard. Not only was his house huge, there were many tall houses and shops. Apparently, they were made out of concrete, a stronger material than cement that my father uses in the village.”
“Impressive but that is not why you came here, isn't it?”
“I am sorry if I am taking your precious time, elder brother MianJu.”
“It is nothing, ReZhui. Most of my days were very mundane. I craft weapons and metal kitchen utensils, go to the woodlands to gather wood and once in a while, go out on long travels around the Middle Kingdom. I actually enjoy your company every time you come here on a regular basis. Even so, I am surprised that our friendship is still hidden from your father. You are a good hider.”
“By the way, why is it called the Middle Kingdom again?”
“Still not wanting to talk about that, huh?”
“It’s just that…especially now after I saw ShiYan’s village, I realized that the world is a huge and possibly scary place. I worry that my curiosity to learn more about the outside world would hesitate my very caring father. He already works so hard for me that I do not want to stress him out on this. I can do this myself for both our sakes.”
“So you came here to find some answers.”
“Yes.”
“...Alright, I will indulge in your quest for knowledge.”
“Thank you Brother MianJu”
“Anyways, for your first question, after the Third Emperor’s passing, the Imperial Court was chaotic as a night market. New reforms were made with or without proper approval from the Ministers. The Supreme General was out on the battlefield so security was lacking coordination in the Royal Gardens and even more assassinations occurred with important scholars, advisors and eunuchs. It took them 2 years to reorganize themselves out of that bloodbath and assigned the late Emperor’s son to the throne at 2 years of age. However, since the prince is too young to rule, the Prime Minister took charge of the kingdom along with the other advisors of the Imperial Court until the prince became of age at 22. This decision formed the Council of elders and it uses a majority voting system. Hence the name, ‘Middle’, since no one person is really in charge of the kingdom. That is…for now though.”
“Wow…I didn’t know your travels gave you all this information.”
“I am not that bad of a recluse. Even though I live high up in this mountain, I got my way of getting insider details.”
“You sure are full of mystery, Brother MianJu.”
“Not that you have to worry about it, right?”
“Of course, I do not wish to offend you with all the help you gave me for the past three years.”
“...Gratitude accepted.”
“Anyhow, for today, Teacher Woo talked about the Seven Swords of Light. Why did they disband after so many years after it was formed? And, how are they so powerful? Teacher Woo didn’t have the answer. It was very shocking but I hope you know something.”
“...”
“MianJu…”
“The Seven Swords of Light…They were a military force that had multiple members over the generations. When one position is left empty, another member from only the same Martial Sect was assigned to fill the role. The seven seats are representatives from the seven Sects that were in the forefront of the battle against the North. These representatives were one of the most powerful in their respective Sects. That’s all you have to know for now. Any other information could get you killed. I do not want to risk telling you for someday, you may accidentally say anything about them. Don’t underestimate their senses.”
“Then…why did they separate? You didn’t touch on that.”
“Simple, they thought the title was no longer worth holding after the chaos that happened in the Imperial Court. After all, they only care about their own martial families and other competitive sects. Honestly, if they were set to conquer the Royal Gardens, even a million foot soldiers wouldn’t stop a single major Sect. That’s how powerful they are. Understand?”
“Yes…”
“Don’t worry though, I can assure you that they will not be a danger to the villages or Luo ChengShi. These places matter little to ones that seek immortality.”
“Alright, thank you.”
“That’s all you have to ask?”
“Yes. I have found the resolve I need.”
“MianJu, do you remember the time you saved me from that pack of wolves?”
“I do. What about it?”
“Teach me your martial arts.”
A silence filled the room. The fire crackled and soot spilled out of the open flame. The sun began its descent as the sky turned a bloody orange. MianJu was looking down, not answering. As ReZhui decided to give up on his request and got up from his seat, MianJu replied curtly.
“This may…No, it will bring you onto a new and dangerous path. I do not know what happened on your first visit to ShiYan’s village beyond this mountain but I can feel your desire will be your downfall one day.”
“I…I am committed.”
“Alright then, Saturday, same time. I will teach you the minimum for self-defense only.”
“Thank you very much, Elder brother MianJu!”
After that intense exchange, ReZhui returned home before nightfall. As his father asked where he had been, ReZhui replied that he picked some wild fruit and flowers. Proof was he had a bag of these in hand given from MianJu. However, both GuoZhao and MeiYue did not know of this fact.
---
On the next day, school began and ran like the usual. After dismissal, ReZhui walked to Teacher Woo’s desk to begin the extra classes. He looked tense with determination.
“What’s wrong, ReZhui?”
“Teacher Woo, this may not be part of the syllabus. But, could you teach me this as a separate class privately and not known by my father?”
“What is this request then? I am curious about your behavior and actions these days, ReZhui. I will see what I can do.”
“What is merchantry?”