CHAPTER 24: INVITATION TO GO HOME

The holidays were coming up. Students had the option of going home or staying on campus. Most students chose to go home to spend time with their families and enjoy the coming festivities there, with only a few staying, ensuring campus was as empty as when he had first arrived in Goixi Academy.

His roommates, Ai and Ao were packing up their belongings, preparing for the trip back home. They lived closer to the academy, so they could take the trip by foot, arriving at their destinations within a few days. As for Zen, a journey on foot across a whole province, was unimaginable to him.

There was a knock on their door, “Hey, I’m looking for a Wang Zen.”

Ai and Ao looked at Zen. “I’m Wang Zen.”

“I have a letter for you,” the courier gave Zen a sealed envelope that he opened.

“A letter, you almost never get any letters,” Ai said.

Zen ignored him, reading the letter in excitement. Shibi mimicked his excitement, hopping around on the bed while he opened the letter. Zen understood why Shibi was so excited. For the past five months, the courier had come, bringing Mana Well Pills. Twice in those five months, Zen had grown so annoyed with his progress that he angrily gave them to Shibi, who seemed to love the pills. So to Shibi, the courier represented the chance that it would get more pills but to Zen, he represented a letter that would tell him when the carriage to take him home would arrive.

“Are you alright?” Ao asked.

“Who’s the letter from?” Ai asked.

“My father,” Zen said, crumbling the document up. “He says the family is busy, so I should stay here for the rest of the year.”

“Tough luck, man.” Ai said.

“Yeah, sorry.” Ao said.

Zen ignored them, deciding to gaze up at the ceiling while Shibi rested on his chest. Eventually his roommates left, saying their goodbyes to Zen, who was too sad and angry to acknowledge them.

-

Zen went into the city, which was still lively, unlike the academy. Shibi sat close to his shoulder, not yet used to the city as they spent most of their times in the academy campus. He was walking leisurely, wondering what he would spend his money on. While walking, he caught a flash of red, that instantly called to him.

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Someone was walking through the streets, wearing a long red and black coat with the insignia of a dragon at the back. Zen followed the man, while everyone around him parted, giving him the right of way. The boy tried to get a read on the older man and was taken back by his power. He had to stop for a moment as he was stronger than even the head of the guard back home, Yin Bhiki.

Zen shook the fear from himself and continued to follow the man. The man was heading deeper into the city, towards an area Zen had only heard about, Down Town. While looking for thieves, he followed the man but even here, the man in the red and blue coat and hat was sufficiently feared.

“Of course,” Zen said under his breath. “Bloody Red Dragon Sect.”

Zen made it deeper into the town. He stopped, noticing a familiar face.

“Jun Nee?”

The girl stiffened at the call of her name. She looked up, gasping quietly when she saw Zen before dashing into an alley.

“Jun Nee!” he called. His head kept turning, to the man from the Red Dragon Sect to the alleyway Jun Nee had taken unsure what to do and who to follow. “Shibi, can you follow the man?”

Shibi leapt off his shoulder, moving along the gutters towards the man in red and blue.

“Good Shibi,” he said before following Jun Nee.

She caught him, running in the alleyway.

“Jun Nee!” He called out.

Jun Nee looked back at him, her eyes widening in shock. Qi rose from her, surrounding her body and making her move faster and pull away from Zen. He was shocked at her sudden gain in speed but he let his qi flow from his dantian, and circulating it through his meridians. He made his body speed up by saturating his legs with qi, it was raw and basic method not like Jun Nee’s more sophisticated technique, but it allowed the speed at which she got ahead of him less.

Zen was starting to fear that he would lose her with how much faster she was moving. “Everyones’ faster than me,” Zen said bitterly, “even Jun Nee.”

Zen became aware of someone following him. He could hear sounds behind him, sounds he was not making. He was too afraid to look back, in case he lost sight of Jun Nee. He wondered if the one behind him was the man he had been following but he later thought different. He would know if someone that powerful was following him.

Jun Nee finally sped from his sight, taking a corner. He took the corner and found no one there, unsure if he should carry on or not. He was behind a building with a single door offering as an alternative entrance. He went to inspect it but heard a sound that reminded him he was being followed. Circulating his qi, he prepared to face his pursuer. They got closer and closer and closer…

Until…

Shibi leapt out at him.

“Shibi!” Zen said. “You’re suppose to be following the Red Dragon Sect guy, not me!”

Shibi made unintelligible sounds as answer as it went to his shoulder.

Zen looked at the door. He slowly walked to it, reaching his hand out and grabbing the handle. He turned it and he and Shibi was blasted away. He coughed where he had landed on the ground.

“Shibi, you okay?” Shibi climbed back on his shoulder as he returned to his feet. “I wonder what is so important that they have to put such a powerful protection block on this door.” Zen looked at the front of the building where some people entered. “How about we find out?”