A young graceful woman dressed in white Taoist robe sat on a tree branch carelessly, humming as she closed her eyes. Her loose hair cascading over her shoulders like the waterfall. Her long eyelashes twitched a little as the gentle breeze hit against it.
Suddenly, a rough push landed her on her butts and she cried out in pain as she closed her eyes,nursing the pain
"Zhu Ling!!!! Can't you grant me some peace and quiet?"
Zhu Ling smirked evily and said,"Look who we have here. Goodness, it's Zhang Li! What in Heaven's name are you doing here while there is a class back on the hall?"
Zhang Li winced as she pulled herself up,"A class? How come I don't know about that?"
"Oh,what do you ever know? Elder Mu asked me to bring you right now."
"Why is there a class every single time? This is just too much " Zhang Li complained, adjusting her ruffled robe.
Zhu Ling responded,"Li Jie, you're older than I am and you've been here for a long time so you should be more familiar with the rules the sect hold"
Zhang Li held the young man by the shoulders,"Zhu Ling, do you want freedom? We can run away from this place"
Zhu Ling slowly removes her hand from his shoulder while laughing nervously,"Li Jie, you're saying nonsense again. This is our sect. Where can we go?"
"Right." Zhang Li sighed and continued,"This is our sect. Let's heed back."
They walked back silently to Lán yuèliàng Hall.
.....
The students sat listening to the teacher's reading when Zhang Li snuck in unnoticed. She smiled at a few friends and watched as Zhu Ling settled down and picked up his own scroll.
The teacher harshly closed the scroll in his hand and turned sternly to Zhang Li who panicked inwardly,"No no no"
"Zhang Li,what level of disregard!! What excuse do you have this time?"
"Teacher, I'm sorry. I didn't know there was a class going on." She apologized half-heartedly while yawning loudly.
"Zhang Li, what insolence!! Do you know the third paragraph of this poem being read?"
"Third paragraph? Yáo fāng de chéngshì is separated into paragraphs?" She asked in genuine surprise as she looked at her scroll .
Zhu Ling rubbed his forehead tiredly and looked at the so-called student.
Elder Mu roared,"That's it. You'll kneel till sunset in the pavement as your punishment so get lost now."
Zhang Li looked at him with horror spread across her face. Sunset? That's cruel. She got up and quietly exited the now hushed hall.
The teacher asked,"Who's next?" When nobody spoke up, he continued "This should serve as a deterrent for those who plan to defy this sect."
....
After about four hours, Zhang Li was already weary and sweating profusely when an arrow aimed for her chest. Using her sword to swiftly defend herself,she stood up to observe her surroundings. An Elderly man with long,white flowing hair walked towards her with his sword unsheathed.
"Father." She said but before she could say more,the man raised his sword against her and a fight began.
"Father,why are you doing this?" She asked as their swords collided with each other.
The man asked,"What did I tell you about missing classes?"
"I didn't know there was a class" She defended and the man raised his lips to the corner of his face"Very well."
After about thirty minutes, he knocked the sword off her hand and stared blankly at her before narrating," I brought you to the sect at the tender age of six, teaching and cultivating you on the right path but what have you learnt? Bad habits and lack of respect."
She fell on her knees with her head hung low," I am deeply sorry if my ways haven't been pristine enough and I have been grateful all these years to have you by my side."
The man sighed,"Come with me." He led her to the top of a small mountain with a serene atmosphere and they both settled on the ground with legs folded in.
The man spoke after a bit of silence," Two complementary and opposite forces that make up qi are Yin and Yang, Yin being evil and Yang being good. They balance the forces of nature throughout the universe."
"You've told me about this countless times." Zhang Li mumbled but he heard her.
"It might as well serve as a constant reminder that to cultivate your qi, you should be able to balance the forces within you. Only then can you achieve what you desire." Her father said and slowly rose to his feet.
She closed her eyes and cleared her throat . As she remained in the peaceful state, she felt tingling warm energy flowing through her meridians. Her senses suddenly heightened,the waterfall sounded closer and it felt as if the winds were whispering softly to her. She heard the sound of Dizi playing crystal clear, a Chinese traditional musical instrument with a blowing hole.
Opening her eyes slowly, she found no one with her. She stood up and walked to the edge of the mountain to stare at the entire view. The Dizi was still playing far away and she muttered,"It's coming from the Palace". Her mind flashed back to the burning town and she closed her fists tightly,"I'll make them all pay. I don't care if I die but I'll raze the palace down and leave everything in ruins". She gazed towards the direction of the ruined town and sighed,"Xifei Town is now a ghost town".
"Zhang Li. Zhang Li. Zhang Li ". Someone called while climbing up the mountain quickly.
She rolled her eyes and asked,"What is it? I did nothing wrong this time around".
The girl panted and asked," what are you doing up the mountain for crying out loud? I'm exhausted from all that running".
"Why are you looking for me? I was working out". Zhang Li answered as she moved past Zhu Xin. The girl spoke," Older Sister Ziyi has sent people to search for you".
Zhang Li turned sharply to her," What?" She stared at nothing in particular before asking," What went wrong?"
The other girl fidgeted before saying," She found something among your belongings ".
"What again this time?" Zhang Li asked carefully and the girl whispered into her ears.
She widened her eyes and gasped," What?"