“Morning, Dan!”
Despite the wake of day, an excited voice rings across a grand courtyard in response to Dan’s appearance. Dan chuckles in response to the greeting, watching as the little girl rushes across the walkway.
“Err- Yuyu! W-wait-” Dan stammers as the little girl shows no signs of slowing down. In her excitement, Yuyu had forgotten about the state of Dan’s arms, leaping from the walkway towards him. “Yuyu w-”
A pair of arms blurs before Dan, intercepting Yuyu before she crashes into his helpless body. With his arms stiffly extended, the figure stares blankly at the girl floating mid-air before him.
“Ehh?! Weiwei?!” Yuyu exclaims with flailing arms, causing Wei to set her down in a panic. “Wei!” She yells again, jumping forwards and wrapping her hands around his waist. “Yuyu hasn’t seen Weiwei since the carriage ride! Is Wei here to play?”
“Uh- Hi, Yuyu. I’m here to-” Wei pauses in the midst of his panic, realizing that he doesn’t know why exactly he had been dragged here. He whips his head towards Dan in search of answers.
“Weiwei’s here for a haircut.” Dan responds dryly, his eyes nervously scanning around for his master.
“Wait, what? I didn’t sign up for a-”
“Haircut?! Weiwei came to the right place.” Yuyu releases her arms from Wei’s waist, folding them around her chest with one hand under her chin. She nods rhythmically as she observes Wei’s hair, guising her excitement as expertise. “Mhmm… Weiwei would look handsome with short hair, like Chunchun and Dan.”
Wei flinches at the idea of a haircut. After recomposing himself, his brows furrow as he glares needles at Dan. Seeing the nervous gaze scanning around, Wei follows suit, curious as to what Dan is looking for.
After a short moment, a gentle breeze descends from the center of the courtyard, dispersing outwards upon touching the ground. Following the breeze, a figure shrouded by the morning rays descends into the courtyard. With gentle steps, the figure lands before patting his robe down.
“Disciple Dan greets Master Sun!” Dan lowers his eyes and bows deeply towards the man in the courtyard.
“Student Wei greets Instructor Sun!” Wei follows suit, bowing with cupped hands to show his utmost respect.
“School isn’t in session, feel free to call me uncle Sun for now.” Sun, in the midst of dusting off the burnt debris of fragrant herbs embedded between the fibers of his clothes, smiles at the sound of Wei’s voice. Upon finishing, he lifts his eyes to meet the young Zhou prince. “Good to see you again, Wei.”
“Dummy, is that you? Don’t forget breakfast!” Lia’s voice calls out from the house at the back of the estate. As she steps out into the courtyard, her eyes turn towards the boy standing before Yuyu. “Oh, I didn’t know we had guests or I would’ve made more. You are…”
“Zhou Weixing greets...” Wei replies respectfully, his eyes drawn to the blue jades beneath Lia’s ears. “Sister Song.”
Upon hearing Wei slip the Song name, Dan and Yuyu flinch with clenched hands. They exchange knowing looks before slowly turning their attention towards Lia.
“What’s with the faces?” Lia covers her mouth to hide her chuckle at the sight of their tense expressions. “I’m not dumb, dummies. Nice to meet you, Weixing. Come join us, I’ll make another portion of tomato eggs.”
Sun smiles, shaking his head slightly at Dan and Yuyu’s tense reaction, before following Lia into the house.
“Psst!” Yuyu tugs at Dan’s sash to get his attention. “Yuyu thought it was supposed to be a secret until…”
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Dan shrugs in response, unsure as to what had happened. As he shrugs the matter off, another concern takes over his mind. The same concern that had him nervously scanning around earlier. Seeing Lia waving at them to come, Dan shakes the thought free, determining that he’ll tell Sun when the time is right. The trio enter the house, one after another, before seating themselves around the table.
“Since you’re on a strict schedule, Wei can have my portion. I’ll make another for my-”
“Lia, can you take Yuyu along?” Sun’s sudden request calls out towards Lia’s departing figure.
She turns back, eyes flashing a hint of confusion at the request. After his adamant refusal to let Yuyu near a fire until she’s older, it strikes Lia as strange that he would change his mind out of the blue. The confusion disappears as the two lock eyes. Seeing the barely discernible movement in his jaw, Lia quickly understands that something had happened. Without asking for his reasoning, Lia beckons Yuyu to join her. As the two leave the house, Lia closes the door tightly behind and proceeds with her tomato egg demonstration. Unsure of how long Sun would need, Lia stretches out her explanations to afford him more time.
Meanwhile, back in the house, Sun’s gaze turns towards the shoes lining just past the entryway. Upon confirming the dull stain of blood on one of the shoes, along with the familiar smell, Sun flattens his palm on the table and erects a sound barrier around them before snapping his glare towards Dan.
“Yi Dan.” His stern, aura-infused, voice causes Dan and Wei to both flinch. “What happened?”
Dan had resolved to tell his master as soon as they left, but it’s unavoidable now. He takes a deep breath and kneels on the floor, slamming his forehead against the wooden panel.
“Sorry, Master! These two were bothering the owner of the noodle stall and his daughter! They were extort-”
“What-” Sun intensifies his voice upon hearing the nervous stammering. A heavy pressure crashes above Dan, sending his forehead pressing flat against the floor. Knowing that there’s no reason for the long winded explanation unless he had done something terribly wrong, Sun removes the question from his intonation. “Happened.”
“SORRY, MASTER FOR BREAKING MY OATH!” Dan skips the explanation, knowing that despite the circumstances, he had indeed broken the oath he made the second night after their return to New Hope City. “I HARMED A CIVILIAN!”
Silence descends within the barrier as Sun glares at his disciple. Wei shivers from the sideline, his palms sweating profusely as he holds onto the edges of the chair. Despite the pressure being targeted specifically at Dan, Wei couldn’t help but feel his breathing stifled by just being in the vicinity.
“Is this why you wanted to be my disciple?” Sun asks, his voice still stern, but much calmer than previously.
“NO, MASTER! IT WAS AN HONEST MISTAKE! I APOLOGIZE FOR MY CARELESS ACTIONS!”
“A thousand laps along the Academy walls.” Sun sighs as he withdraws his aura. Despite knowing full well that the punishment is too harsh, Sun veers on the side of caution and issues it anyway. Despite knowing that it’s excessive, he wants to prevent his disciple from losing his way like he once did. “Go reflect on your actions. Don’t come back until you complete the laps or understand what you did wrong.”
Dan rises to his feet, silent as he bows deeply before turning away towards the door. Wei stares blankly through the window as Dan disappears from the walkway lining the eastern wall of the estate.
“In-Instructor S-S- Instructor Sun…” Wei stammers as he gathers the courage to turn his gaze back towards Sun. “Th-those men- even th-th-though t-they were civilians, th-th-they were threatening t-t-to hold th-the daughter capt-t-tive because th-the owner couldn’t pay th-the ext-t-tortion fee.”
“Uncle Sun.” Sun starts with correcting Wei’s mistake. With a sigh, he turns towards the window before continuing. “His fault is not that he stepped up to protect them. His fault is that he lost control...”
Sun's voice trails off as he tries to pinpoint the moment that he lost his way. Perhaps it was his Master’s final moment, charging forth into certain death whilst he was frozen stiff. Perhaps it was the heartwrenching panic that swept over him as he searched for his sister amidst the chaos. Perhaps it was the guilt of cowering in hiding whilst the villagers around him were slain, too scared of death to intervene.
Or did it happen much later in time? The first time he drew blood during the Qin invasion? Or was it the unending days drenched in the blood of his enemies? Day after day, spilling blood in his rage-fueled quest for vengeance.
No. He sighs as he arrives at the answer. It wasn’t one moment that veered him off the path his Master had desired for him. It wasn’t one event, rather, it was a collective of all those events. Every time he tried to return to the azure-lit road, a crimson curtain would descend and set him astray. Each time the curtain parted, that azure-lit road would drift further and further away- until eventually, he could no longer see it.
“It’s a dangerous road…” Sun mumbles, his senses locking on the boy running along the Academy walls.
“What is?” Wei asks.
“Hmm? Oh.” Sun retracts his senses and turns towards Wei. “Nothing. By the way, what brings you here? Everyone else has already returned home.”
“About that…”