Author's Note: So sorry everyone!  :feels: [https://forum.royalroadl.com/images/smilies/33c4b951.gif]  I said I would update 1-3 chapters per week, but the last two weeks I had finals for school. I apologize again. Also I have been very sick lately  Confused [https://forum.royalroadl.com/images/smilies/confused.png]ick: , but I will try to update more when I get better. Thanks for reading, and enjoy!  [th_059_.gif] [https://forum.royalroadl.com/images/smilies/th_059_.gif]

The week passed quickly with Yo Mei teaching Yu Lin more magic and observing Yu Lin’s skill. Before they knew it, the day for Yu Lin to go was already here.Yo Mei woke up early that day morning and packed Yu Lin’s clothes for her for over the three months that she was going to stay with Chief Chu. She made sure to pack plenty of trousers and shirts because Chief Chu mentioned teaching Yu Lin martial arts. She then woke Yu Lin up. Yo Mei gave Yu Lin a bath, brushing her white, mid length, silky hair until it was completely knotless. She braided her hair and tied it with a blue ribbon.  After that she dressed Yu Lin in a pink dress with a  blue robe that had flower patterns over it. When they headed down for breakfast there was already a knock on the door. Yo Mei went to open the door.

“Good morning Mrs. Du.” Chief Chu said.

“Good morning Chief Chu.” Yo Mei looked sad. She expected Chief Chu to come early, but she didn't’ expect him to come this early. “Why don’t you stay for breakfast?” She wanted more time with Yu Lin. Chief Chu shook his head.

“I’m sorry Mrs. Du but I wish to take Yu Lin as soon as possible. There is so much to learn, and she only has three months with me.”

“I understand.” Yo Mei bent down and looked Yu Lin in the eyes. She cupped her face and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Be good my daughter. Grandpa is going to take you for a while, but mama promises to come and visit.” Yo Mei embraced Yu Lin.

“I will miss you mama.” Yu Lin felt sad parting with her mother. Although she was old mentally, the affections of her mother in this lifetime made her feel emotional. She gave her mom a kiss on the cheek and Yo Mei’s eyes widen in shock for that was the first time that Yu Lin showed any affection towards her. Yu Lin usually was very reserved, unlike other kids who openly hugged and kissed their parents. Yu Lin would usually just give them a small smile. Yo Mei smiled and gave her daughter a tight squeeze before letting her go. Yo Mei handed the bag to Chief Chu and gave him a bow.

“Please take care of my daughter.” She said. Chief Chu just nodded as he picked Yu Lin up and leapt away. Yo Mei watched as the two of them disappeared into the village and a tear slipped her eye.

Chief Chu and Yu Lin arrived at the big house shortly. Chief Chu took Yu Lin to a room and set her down, placing her bag on a table.

“For the next three months this will be your room Yu Lin. Please change into some pants. Tang Tang outside will bring you to the dining room after for breakfast.” Chief Chu left the room closing the doors behind him. Yu Lin opened the bag her mother packed and pulled out a blue shirt and brown trousers. She changed her clothes, folding the clothes that she took off neatly and setting them on the bed. Yu Lin opened her door to see Tang Tang waiting for her. Tang Tang was a cute girl with big purple eyes, a small nose, and small plump lips. She had her purple hair tied up in two balls above her head. When she saw Yu Lin she gave Yu Lin a bow.

“Good morning young lady.” Tang Tang greeted her with respect. Yu Lin bowed back.

“Good morning lady Tang Tang, please, just refer to me as Yu Lin.” Tang Tang shook her head.

“You are a guest of Master Chu.” Tang Tang said. Yu Lin just nodded her head understanding what Tang Tang meant.  

Tang Tang led Yu Lin to the dining room where the rest of the family were already sitting around the table. He Lan glared at her and Yu Lin chuckled inwardly. ‘That brat.’ She thought as she sat next to him.

“Father, what you trying to do by bringing in that brat?!” Sen Feng bitterly said. Yu Lin just smiled.

“Sen Feng, show my guest some respect. You are too old to be fighting with a three year old.” Chief Chu scoffed. Sen Feng blushed slightly embarrassed, but kept his mouth shut. Ju Hua slightly giggled. She had never seen Sen Feng look so small before.

After eating Chief Chu took Yu Lin and He Lan to the training grounds located next to the garden. Ju Hua wanted to join them but she had agreed to go to town with Sen Feng.

Chief Chu stared down at them with his hands crossed over each other. He Lan stood straight with his arms behind his back showing his respect. Yu Lin just stood normally with a blank expression on her face. Chief Chu gave her a small glare.

“Yu Lin, from this moment on you are to address me as Master and treat me respectfully.” Chief Chu roared. When Chief Chu was in teacher mode, he would be extremely strict and would not tolerate any type of nonsense.

“Master?” Yu Lin blankly said. In her past life she never had any master as she taught herself martial arts. The only one who came close to being a master was Shan Qi Long who taught her the Shan Clan’s Energy Balance Technique but he did it as a friend so Yu Lin didn’t count him as a master.

“That’s right! What are you doing right now? Get into your concentration stance like He Lan!” Chief Chu’s voice could echoed. Yu Lin shuddered slightly before standing like He Lan. After seeing Yu Lin in this position Chief Chu nodded his head. “Now then let’s get started. He Lan!”

“Yes Master?”

“What are the three rules one must follow if they want to become a Chu Clan disciple?”

“One, address Master respectfully at all times during the training session. Two, focus on hard work and do not cut any corners. Three, do not go overboard and know when one must rest!” He Lan shouted.

“Why do I want you to follow these rules?”

“So we will learn to discipline ourselves, and so we will be able to continue learning martial arts.”

“That’s right. Yu Lin, did you know that people who train and reach higher ranks are able to live longer and have a longer youth?” Chief Chu looked at Yu Lin. Yu Lin nodded her head.

“I know.”

“Haven’t you ever wondered why grandpa looks so old?” Chief Chu raised his eyebrows. Yu Lin looked away wondering what kind of answer she should reply with. “Be honest with me Yu Lin. I will take offense to anything you say.” Chief Chu reassured her. Yu Lin swallowed.

“Because you have asked, I will say everything honestly gran- Master Chu.. My mother had told me that one must train when they are young if they still wish to be youthful when they are older. She had also told me that the chi center will stop leveling up after a certain age and breaking through to another rank will be difficult. Although you look a bit older than I would think one would look like if they are still in their youth, you are still very strong. Based on these facts I will say you are around 70 years old.” Yu Lin answered. Each species had a different life span but most humans who knew basic martial arts could only lived up to around 150 years old at the best because of their yellow chi.Yellow chi creatures could only live up to hundreds of years old. Blue chi creatures could live up to thousands of years old, but red chi creatures could live up to hundred of thousands of years old.  

“Your mother have taught you well Yu Lin, but I am not that old. I am already 102 years old.” Chief Chu said. Yu Lin eyes widen.

“What? Master Chu you are 102 years old?! How?” Yu Lin knew that Chief Chu was strong but if he was already 102 then he should be even stronger than he currently is. Chief Chu gave Yu Lin a weak smile. He rolled up his pants and turned around revealing scars on his achilles heels and his calves. Yu Lin’s gasp and a memory flashed through her head.

Hu Die rushed to the hospital panting with her big belly in front of her. She was already 7 months pregnant. It had been a year since she got married to Qi Long and they were expecting a child. She was taking a rest from the hospital when one of the healers ran to her for help. Hu Die got there as fast as she could.

“What is going on?” She said as she followed the healers to a room. The nurse had tears in her eyes.

“It is terrible my lady. I don’t understand how someone could do this to someone else.” The nurse wept. Hu Die didn’t understand what the nurse was saying until she got to the room. Her jaw dropped at the scene. On the table laid a man on his stomach with long white hair, with red strands in the mix, trailing down his strong back, biting onto a piece of cloth. He had his arms tied down to the table and his sweat trailed down his whole body. He biting down hard on the cloth and his screams was muffled. The man was clenching his fist tightly.

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Hu Die saw the long cut on his both his calves that started from the bottom of his knees and ended at the top of his achilles heels. His achilles heels was cut horizontally. ‘Who could do such a cruel thing to someone?’ Hu Die thought. For someone to have their calves and achilles heels cut is the worst thing that could happen to someone. By doing this, that person may never be able to practice martial arts ever again. It is the same as if breaking their chi center! Blood was furiously gushing out of both of the wounds and the man’s face was getting paler. There were six healers in charge of him, three per leg. They were all trembling and some were panting heavily.

“What are you guys doing?! Close him up!” Hu Die yelled. The healers shook their heads out of hope.

“The wound is too deep. It has cut through all his chi veins and his achilles heel tendon. If we don’t fix his achilles tendons before we close him up, then he may never be able to walk at all.” One of them replied.

“Then hurry up. You guys have done these procedures many times before.”

“We are trying to Lady Hu Die, but there are so many tiny cuts everywhere that we are having a hard time locating them. It’s as if someone has purposely made them there. If we leave even one open, then he may never be able to practice martial arts again.” Another one replied. Hu Die clenched her teeth. She knew that chi energy traveled through one’s body by chi veins. If there is even one cut on one of the veins then it would be like two unconnected tunnels. Hu Die also knew how it felt not to be able to practice martial arts. She could tell that the man was a martial artist and for a martial artist to not be able to do martial arts is worse than death itself. ‘No matter what happens, I have to save this man.’ Hu Die took deep breaths. She stroked her belly gently.

“My baby, please bear with your mother.” She whispered quietly. She closed her eyes to gather her thoughts before opening them. “Healers here, listen to me and follow my every orders. Close up both his calfs so that they stop bleeding, but do not touch his chi veins. I need all of you to work on his achilles tendons instead. That is the most important part.” She ordered. One of the healers looked up.

“Then he will never be able to do martial arts again.”

“Don’t worry. I will take of the chi veins.” Hu Die replied. The healer who took her to the room shook her head.

“No! You can’t. If you do this, you might lose your baby. Please don’t!” She was crying. All the other healers agreed.

“It is not worth it to lose your child over a stranger my lady!” One of them said.

“We will do our best, so please don’t do this.” Another said. They did not want Hu Die to risk losing her child.

“Quiet!” Hu Die roared angrily over their protests. They all shut their mouths immediately. They all trembled. Hu Die looked at all of them with gentle eyes. “I know that you all know that I shattered my chi center.” She looked around the room and the healers nodded their head slowly with sad expressions on their face. They became healers due to the fact that their chi centers were not as large as others but they felt that it was sad for Hu Die to have to become a healer due to that tragedy.  

“Then you all must know that I understand how hard it is to live without martial arts. To live weak, and humiliated by others because I could not practice martial arts. I would have rather died.” Hu Die looked at the man who was now passed out from all the pain. “Looking at this man, I do not want him to suffer all that pain that I had to go through. I know the risk of going through with this operation, but I am a healer. You are all healers also. You all should believe that together we can save this man. The patient has put his trust in us, we shall fulfill that trust.” The healers nodded their head.

“If my lady is willing to risk your child’s life to save this man, then we will also risk our lives to save him, because we are also a healer like you.” One of them said. Hu Die gave them a smile.

“Alright. My fellow healers to ensure the safety of my child and this patient we all need to work efficiently and fast. Hurry and close his calves now.” Hu Die ordered.

“Yes my lady!” They all said. They quickly sealed him up and moved to his tendons. Hu Die tied up her hair and moved to his left calf. Usually healers only healed things when they were opened where they could see the wound physically. This was so that they could be the most precise in placing their chi energy, but this could also be dangerous to the patients. Hu Die was already a Master ranked healer and could heal people with their wounds closed, but it took her a lot of concentration and was a strain to her physically. ‘You can do this Li Hu Die.’ She thought to herself as she insert her chi energy inside of the man’s calf.

4 Hours Later

The operation was finally done, and Hu Die managed to heal of the man’s chi veins. The other healers also healed his tendons to the point of where it seemed like it was never sliced open in the first place.

“We managed to do it my lady!” The girl cried out. The rest of the healers cheered. Hu Die was sweating and panting heavily.

“That’s… right. I am proud... of you guys.” Hu Die said weakly. Another healer popped inside the room.

“I found out this man’s identity!” He said. Hu Die nodded her head.

“What… is… it?” Hu Die said panting.

“His name is Chu Hong Hu and he is from the Green Continent.” That healer announced.

“Chu… Hong… Hu? What pretty... characters for a name.” Hu Die giggled. The rest also had a smile on their face.

“My lady, you have worked hard. Why don’t you get some rest now?” The girl began to walk over to Hu Die. Hu Die nodded.

“I… should.”  As the girl was walking over she suddenly stopped and gasp.

“My lady!” She exclaimed.

“Huh?” Hu Die raised her eyebrows. She looked down to see her white dress have a streak of red. There were also red droplets on the ground. ‘No! My baby.’ Hu Die thought as her  eyes fluttered closed as she slowly fell to ground.

Chief Chu turned around and saw Yu Lin’s face.

“28 years ago, I got hurt really bad. Because of that certain incident I had not been able to make another breakthrough to the next rank. I have tried many different medicines and healing techniques but breaking through is impossible for me now. Luckily I did not lose the ability to practice martial arts or else I would have really been a lost cause.” Chief Chu said. “I also started practicing martial arts at a later age than people or I would look younger.” Chief Chu was lazy and arrogant as a teenage leading him to start late. He didn’t want any of the village kids to regret his decisions and that was why he pushed for them to practice martial arts at such a young age.

Yu Lin gave him a small smile and then raised her eyebrows.

“28 years ago?!” She blurted out. Chief Chu looked at her surprised.

“What about it?” Chief Chu asked. Yu Lin blinked quickly before shaking her head.

“No. It is nothing.” Yu Lin quickly answered. ‘I operated on Chu Hong Hu when I was twenty, and I died when I was forty. Only 23 years should have passed if I was reborn right away. Does this mean that five years had passed already before I was reborned?' Yu Lin was confused but could not figure the situation out. Looking at Yu Lin, He Lan rolled his eyes. Chief Chu just shrugged his shoulders.

“Anyways, let’s get started.” Chief Chu said. “First lesson, physical endurance.”