He climbed on the ship with ease, the wooden floor was wet and slippery. The other members of the crew gladly greeted him. It wasn’t the first time he had helped these men. Taking the nets and emptying them inside of the crates or carrying those same crates that would be bought by the whole village or sometimes by outsiders were things he’d done at least a hundred times. Many of the fish caught in the waters surrounding the island were unique to the region and known for their incredible taste, nearly rivaling the reputation of foreign exporters in the neighboring kingdom, farther from the wall of the world, the only outside kingdom Li knew the name of, the kingdom of Gaterose.
“So today is the day, hmm?” the man said as he picked up a crate alongside Li. He was smiling as the boy was but his was a little dimmer. “Yes!” Li answered him while they walked in the direction of the gangway. “And I'll outclass every other competitors, just you wait!!” a silence installed itself in between them. The sounds of the sea and of the birds rang through the area but the silence did not grow uncomfortable. Seeing this as an opportunity, Li kept on talking. “Two years I have trained and two years I have waited so I wanted to say thank you because if it wasn’t for your help, I never would have made it.” There was a time when Li resented his first meeting with his ‘master’, if one could even call it that, but that was before he found his ambition in life. “Don’t thank me for the stuff after I saved your ass, I barely did anything.”
Li’s face was still stuck in a smile that spread on his face ear to ear as he looked at the man. “Master Kai, I wouldn’t have started calling you master if you had only done barely anything.” Li didn’t like to hear his friend sounding like that, Kai was the one who thought him to be more assured in himself so it felt wrong for him to act like that. The only times he’d seen him like that was when they met for the second time and when he told him for the first time his desire to become a follower of the path of Anway.
“Hey, kid… Are you sure you want to do this?” the man said after the first trip carrying the crates. Li was surprised by the doubt in the voice of his oldest friend. “What?” he answered. “I have been training for so long! There is no way I won't get taken in!”
“Listen. I’ve seen you practice and, don’t get me wrong you're really, great at combat but…”
Li looked at him with frustration in his eyes. “But?” the older man hesitated before answering. “You’ve only fought against wooden dummies and me sometimes. Real combat is differen-” Kai could not even finish his explanation before he was interrupted by Li. “I can do it!” He nearly yelled. “I have trained for this day! Until my knuckles bled and my body was covered in sweat and until my muscles would burn all over my body!” the man sighed. He knew why Li was obsessed with his goal. He knew how much effort he had put into it. Warriors from all over the world came during the contest and even if strength was not very necessary to be chosen, the few that were had skill and talent… To Kai, Li seemed to underestimate their power and by a lot.
“You're right.” Kai said to the boy as he dropped the crate he was carrying, they didn’t even get out of the boat with these second ones when the disagreement started. “It's true, you have been training for over two years… But I only started to help you a few months ago!” Kai looked at the sky, covering a portion of his vision with his right hand. The sun was high but still not at its highest, he estimated there was one hour left before the doors of the outer temple would open. “And who said I needed your help to begin with!?” Li was mad now and everyone on the boat was looking at the two of them. Kai turned his face back towards his younger friend and Li knew, by the look in the eyes of Kai, to expect something that he would not like. This look, determined and rigid, he had never seen on his face before. “If you can make me yield against you, in a fight, I’ll let you go.” The wind blew and Li’s hair danced along its currents. “But if I win… You’ll have to wait until next year, own your skills before trying again.”
The other fishermen on the boat with them stopped their chatting as they heard Kai’s words. One of them, with a large white beard and a black cocked hat, a man clearly foreign from the island, easily distinguished by his darker skin, stepped out of the group. “There won’t be any fightin’’ on ma boat, you two.” He said. Kai nodded as he extended his hands to Li. “Deal?” the young boy smiled. The frustration had faded away, replaced by surprise and exitment. He was grinning like before. “I am going to show you how the student surpasses the teacher!”
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Near the village, there was a large clearing within a forest, mostly accessed through a path from the western part of the village. This was where Li had spent a lot of his time, away from troubles and bullies, only surrounded by the green trees, often to relax under the light of the sun in the summer. Li had only started to use the area to train two years ago, with the help of a wooden dummy gifted by Kai a few months ago.
But today, he and Kai were in this clearing so that he could prove that he was ready. “I’ve hit this dummy over a thousand times, kicked it over a thousand times. I have lifted rocks until my back broke and I have wounded my muscles so many times I couldn’t even count them.” Li said as he positioned himself opposite of Kai. The older man seemed unfazed, his face was stern and his eyes disinterested, something that really annoyed Li. “And it's time for you to realize that it wasn’t enough.” Kai raised his right fist and used his other hand to make a back and forth motion, indicating Li that he could attack.
And attack Li did. He launched himself at Kai with great speed. First his right fist then his left and two kicks of his right leg, which all missed as Kai easily dodged them. But while Kai dodged the hits, he didn't attack his opponent. He remained unfazed. It annoyed Li even more, leading him to launch himself at Kai again. This time, though, Kai raised his left foot and drove it into Li's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Li doubled over, gasping for air. They had fought many times in the past but never had Kai been able to simply dodge all of his attacks and never had he hit Li with such force. That is when Li truly understood that the man standing before him had been playing with him all along. If he couldn’t even land a hit on Kai, how could he stand a chance against the people that he would have to measure himself against to have a hope to be chosen by the masters of the purple path?
“Do you see now, Li? If you can’t even defeat me when I am serious then how are you-” Li launched himself again at Kai, aiming for the gut this time, he had surprise on his side, his confidence grew in the few seconds it took before he hit his target, only for it to be shattered for he did not even hit Kai, he received a punch in the face, sending him to the ground, on one knee.
Suddenly, Li felt a warm liquid flowing from his nose, and severe pain overtook him. His nose was broken! Kai stepped back and looked him directly in the eyes. “Give up.” he said. But the frustration in Li’s heart turned into rage. How could the first true friend he ever had betray him like this? He had hidden so much skill from him, which he could have learned, he thought. He screamed as he rose from the ground with one more hit aimed for Kai’s face and it landed. He felt the cartilage of Kai’s nose under his furious fist, fueled by power he never knew he had.
But Kai seemed unfazed by the pain the hit must have brought. He had only moved slightly from his position. The man lightly pushed away Li’s fist. “And now, we're even.” Li’s face was still red with anger. “You have, no… I have failed you, I wasn’t there to help you, all I did was feed these delusions that you could achieve that impossible dream…” Kai fell again to his knee, eyes locked on the ground. “I can still help you, teach you what I did not… But you won’t be able to climb the steps this year… Nor the next.” Li hit the grass with his right fist. “I don’t need your help or anyone’s! You think I am not good enough? I’ll prove you all wrong! Just you wait-” he started to sob.
“Li, you made a promise, you won’t go up there!” Kai said. “I won’t… Not this year. Not until I’ve beaten you!” the young boy answered with a strangled voice filled with rage and shame. He rose to his feet and started to walk past Kai. “And I'll keep training… Without your help!” The stern face of Kai cracked for a few instants, when Li wasn’t looking before he turned to him. “I didn’t mean to-” again, he was interrupted. “It doesn’t matter what you meant. Leave this place now…” Kai did not answer. He walked away from Li, onto the short path to the village, looking back a few dozens of meters away only to see Li looking back at him.