It was close to midnight when Mingliang left the house. He brought Black Jade with him because he wanted to cultivate the snake's behavior and temperament, which meant a daily dose of chanting sutra. He also wanted to improve their relationship, although he bound Black Jade by the contract, Mingliang preferred the snake to serve him voluntarily, out of loyalty. Besides he found out that the leak from the crack in dimension, was nothing but a trickle. It would take a while before it reached any level that worth to absorb.

To prevent the energy from leaking out of the small building, he drew a simple array that would gather it all at one spot.

Mingliang quietly entered his room and found Somad asleep on the floor. He felt sorry for the boy, but at the same time, his trust in Somad grew. Mingliang proud to be his teacher. The boy could sleep on the bed, but knowing it was his teacher's bed, he preferred to sleep on the floor. People might call it a backward tradition, but the boy acted out of respect for the elders, and Mingliang saw nothing was wrong with it. Of course, filial piety was not about blind obedience. Filial piety also came with the responsibility to keep pushing forward the progress. But as scientists like to say, 'Standing on the shoulder of giants.' One should never forget their predecessor.

Carefully he picked up the boy and laid him on the bed. Gently he covered the boy with his blanket. Black Jade watched the scene. The young snake learned something new today. The snake relied a lot on her instinct and intuition, but that made her see more than the obvious.

When the snake rested on an array like the day before, and Mingliang chanted the scripture for the snake, he felt the snake's nature became much gentler.

That night, Mingliang had so many things in his mind that he didn't feel sleepy at all. The crack between dimension opened a once in a lifetime chance for him. He didn't plan to use the energy inside the bronze medal, because he wanted to give that medal to Somad in the future. Now, with the available source of energy, he could use it to further his cultivation.

'It would be a waste if I don't use this chance.' Mingliang thought to himself. The night was quiet, it helped him to think calmly.

'Xuan Wu body.... yea... if I could practice Xuan Wu body then I don't have to worry about my defense. During a fight, I can focus on other aspects.', Mingliang remembered the difficult situation he was facing during his fight with Black Jade.

Xuan Wu body was divided into nine layers. The first layer was to draw the defensive rune all over his skin. The denser he could arrange it, the better the result was.

Mingliang checked on the energy level left inside the bronze medal, 'There was enough to practice the first layer, and I still got the energy from that crack.'

For some reason, Mingliang felt a crisis was coming. He no longer had any thought to save the energy inside the bronze medal, 'I got to grow stronger....'

Somad got up early in the morning. Mingliang was still meditating on the floor, by that time. The boy saw it and quickly jumped down. He wanted to tell Mingliang to get up but didn't want to disturb him. Somad stood in hesitation.

Mingliang opened his eyes and smiled at him, "Yo boy. It's still early, why don't you go back to sleep?"

"I... well, uh teacher. When did you come home last night? I waited for a long time.", Somad decided to change the topic and sat on the floor, next to Mingliang.

Mingliang had thought about it last night. He was considering to tell his disciple about the incident in the haunted house. In the end, he decided to tell Somad everything, because that incident brought some risk to Somad as well.

“Hmm..., now that you ask. There is something I want you to know.”, Mingliang got up and sat on the bed. He gestured Somad to sit next to him. He told Somad all that happened, without omitting any information.

Somad listened to Mingliang's story attentively. Sometimes there were signs of excitement in his voice when he asked something in detail. It was the total opposite of Sari's reaction. It didn't escape Mingliang's sharp eyes. Secretly he acclaimed his disciple mentality. Sometimes he wondered, what did that boy experience during his day living on the street. Whatever it was, Somad dealt with Mingliang's experience better than Mingliang himself.

"Now, as you can see. I might provoke someone strong this time. Even if that man in black doesn't have allies, there is still a good chance that I have to deal with the law. Do you still want to be my disciple?", Mingliang had told him all. Now, he wanted Somad to make a decision.

Somad laughed and answered casually, "Teacher, is there any choice in life without any risk? Say I'm hungry and then there's a stranger offer me food. If I don't take it, most likely I would die from hunger. If I take it, maybe he's a pedophile. It would be lucky if he just drugs me and then fucks my ass. I could end up killed and mutilated."

"Risks are everywhere in life. Better I choose a path, that will give me a chance to learn something to defend myself."

"Besides, even if I give up now, people still know that at some point I was your disciple. They will use the fact that you send me away, as a hint that you do care about me. So I'm still at risk."

*In 1996 and 2007, there was a series of mutilation case in Indonesia. The victims were street children, and in both cases, the perpetrator was someone they knew and close to them.

Somad brushed away Mingliang's question without any hesitation. Quickly his attention turned toward Black Jade, “Teacher, where is the snake? Why can't I see it?”

Stolen story; please report.

Secretly Mingliang embarrassed, his disciple had more guts compared to him, "She's sleeping right now. When she wakes up, I'll tell her to show herself to you."

“Hmm... since you determine, then I'll begin to teach you how to gather energy and cultivate your chakra. I will teach you a few simple runes. With runes, you relatively take less energy from yourself and rely more upon the energy around you. The downside, it takes a longer time and higher concentration compared to skills and abilities, which become part of your self after you attain it.”, Mingliang spoke seriously.

Now that Somad was determined to follow him, with the crisis looming in the future, Mingliang felt it wasn't the time for teaching the boy in ethics and morality. Somad needed to learn something he could use to protect himself.

"Alright! That's cool, what should I learn first?", Somad threw his fist in the air.

"I planned it last night. First I'll teach you two runes. One to call forth wind element, and another one, to excite earth element. They are the simplest runes in our inheritance. At this moment, I will teach you the form and the theory. Later, when you've learned how to gather and control qi, then you can practice it. Now, look at the first rune.", Mingliang then drew the rune on the floor with his finger.

Somad watched him drew attentively and listening to Mingliang explanation, "Do not forget the sequence and the form. Keep your movement smooth and stable. There can't be any broken lines. Once you remember it, I'll teach you what each character means. It will help you to remember what intention you should keep in mind when you draw it."

Teacher and disciple deeply engaged in their study, that they lost track of time. They realized it when the sun shone through the windows.

"Have you remembered them?", Mingliang was watching Somad, repeatedly drew the runes he just taught him.

"Yes, teacher."

"Okay, I'll take you back to Mr. Ryan's house.", Mingliang stood and stretched his body.

"Teacher, I can return by myself. You need some sleep. You haven't slept at all yesterday. ", Somad saw Mingliang's tired face.

"No, no. I need to apologize too. Yesterday, I forgot to call.", Mingliang rubbed his disciple's head.

"I already called them, when you didn't return at eight.", Somad tried to persuade his teacher.

"You do? Well, that's good. We should try our best not to trouble other people. Still, I have neglected my role as your teacher. That's why I should personally go and apologize to them. Now let's wash our face and then I'll take you there.", Mingliang ended it, Somad saw that his teacher wouldn't change his mind and nodded his head.

So they went to the family who had Somad in their home. Mingliang sincerely apologized to the family, then returned to his rented room and got some rest. Later, after Somad finished his work, the boy went to Mingliang's rented room once again and continued his study.

After a week passed by, through Mingliang's guidance and Somad's sincere efforts, the boy mastered the rune.

"Now, use the energy from the medal to draw the rune. Don't draw too much. Your body isn't ready to handle it. Just carefully use a bit of it each time. The purpose of this practice is for you to learn to control the energy."

"Keep it smooth, flowing, yes... like that."

Using the medal's energy, Somad drew the wind rune. Mingliang watched at his side, reminded him whenever he lost control over the process. They began practicing for real since yesterday. Now, Somad could draw it smoothly.

"Be careful now, don't lose your concentration at the last line. You almost finish."

Somad's heart beat faster. A cold sweat ran through his back. But he insisted and drew the last line smoothly and complete the rune. The wind blew, a very weak wind whirled across the room, barely made a stack of papers fluttered.

"Teacher! I did it! I made it!", Somad shouted with a sense of success.

Mingliang patted his shoulder gently. He couldn't hide how proud he was. Mingliang found that watching his disciple's success was a greater satisfaction than achieving his own, "That was good, now you have to practice it again and again, for the next two hours. Wait until you can draw a hundred times without making any mistake, then you can start practicing with the second rune. I have talked to Mr. Ryan. He agreed to let you stay here tonight. Tonight, I will help you to open your energy veins."

A concerned look was on Somad's face, "Teacher, I know you are good to me, but if you spent too much time to help me. How about your own? Two days ago, you spent the whole night to help me open my chakra and vein. Now, you will spend another whole night to help me again."

Mingliang laughed, "Don't worry, it's not that I neglected my own practice. I almost finish practicing the first layer of Xuan Wu body, but I need to give some time for my body to recover. That's why I plan to use this time to help you open your energy vein."

"Thank you, Teacher.", Somad didn't argue anymore, but still, his respect to his teacher grew.

"Okay, don't think about it. Focus on your study, that's how you repay me if you feel you have to. Rune is the foundation of our sect's inheritance. Learn the basics well, and it will help you later in the higher level.", Mingliang rubbed the boy's head before he left to his old computer.

Somad saw his teacher operating his computer and asked, "Teacher, have you found something about that rune?"

Mingliang nodded his head, "I have looked for several ancient writing, so far I haven't found something close to that one. I'm not in a hurry though. It's not that important. I'm just curious that's all."

Somad wanted to ask some more. He hesitated. He looked at his teacher's grim expression. Somad gritted his teeth and started to draw another rune, "With my current skill, I can't help Teacher at all. I got to grow stronger soon."

Mingliang just downloaded a document of some ancient writing. He was looking that document at this moment. He tried to crack the rune in that haunted house. His face was grim, as he ran through all his finding up till now.

Mingliang found the origin of the rune the day before. It was an ancient Jewish rune. He hadn't solved what it suppose to do. The sage who sealed away the magical world was a Jew. Now, in that small building, there was a crack between two worlds. Was that only a coincidence? A side effect of a summoning process? Or he had made a wrong guess since the beginning?

He was deep in his thought when his phone rang. Somad lost his concentration. The boy stared at the phone angrily. Mingliang laughed at him, he stood to get the phone, and nudged the boy on his way, "Don't blame the phone, how would you use your rune in a fight, if you lose your concentration so easily?"

"But...", the boy looked for an excuse.

But Mingliang quickly cut it out, "No but, back to your practice now."

Quickly he picked up the phone and answered, “Hallo. Yes, it's me Mingliang.”

"Oh Doctor Ibrahim, how are you?"

"Hmm... okay I see.", Mingliang's expression became serious as he listened to Doctor Ibrahim, "I'll get there as soon as I can."

"No, no, no problem at all. I'll see what I can do."

"Yes, thanks."

"Okay, see you there."

When Mingliang put down the phone, he saw Somad was looking at him.

"Teacher, is something happen? Is that Doctor Ibrahim we met when we were at Sister Nina's house?", the boy asked.

"Yeah... he needs my help."

"Are you going to see him now? Can I go with you?", the boy got excited.

"No. This time you stay here. Keep on practicing, don't waste your time for something unnecessary.", Mingliang shook his head.

His expression was grim. When Somad saw it, he argued no more.