"Oi Liyue! Did you see your Big Brother Han around?"
Early in the morning, the Temple had a sense of peace. In the huge training ground, a place at the top of the mountain with cobblestones dotting the ground and traditional temple buildings surrounding it, Liyue was training her spear. Bald monks sat here and there; their eyes closed in deep meditation as the rising sun bathed their orange-brown robes.
Hearing Yue Li's shout from one of the Temple Buildings, Liyue stopped her spear and looked at her mother-in-law. There was some distance between them, so she shouted back, "No, didn't he sleep with you? He didn't come here!"
Yue Li paced back and forth for a while before waving and running into the temples. She was having a bad feeling in her gut from the moment she woke up. Han Li was supposed to be by her side since he had slept beside her, but where was he?
She stumbled into many monks walking around with peaceful faces, but that sense of unease wouldn't go away. Soon enough, she stumbled into Hua Yu and Hua Feilan. They were sitting under the shadow of the roof, listening to an old woman's sermon about life with a bunch of monks surrounding them.
Poking the Power Born on the shoulder, she asked hushedly, "Hua Yu, Hua Yu, did you see my son?"
Hua Yu shooed her away, an irritated expression on her face. "I lost all of my Magical Resources to him this morning. He was around here, but I don't know; he seemed to be having some trouble with the monks earlier. Don't trouble us. I was on the cusp of an enlightenment."
Yue Li smiled sheepishly and blinked at some kids who were looking at her in irritation for breaking their concentration in the class. Then, she jumped on her heels and ran to one of the rooms littering the huge building. Opening the door abruptly, she was stunned for a moment.
Her voice hesitant, she questioned, "Li Yao... what is this getup?"
Li Yao's beautiful figure was now wrapped under monk robes, her lustrous black hair tied on her back in a humble bun. She was also in the position of meditation. At Yue Li's sound, she opened her eyes with a slight blush.
"Your son forced this one on me the first thing in the morning. Ask him what he wants yourself. I have no idea what that guy wants. Like, ever."
"Eh..." Yue Li scratched her cheek slightly. "Maybe it is a method of training for you? I don't know. You look beautiful in monk robes, though; maybe it's his kink?"
"Stop sexualizing everything. He is not that shallow."
"Oh? Li Yao..." Yue Li scoffed, "You know my son more than me?"
Li Yao chuckled. "I wonder."
Squinting, Yue Li scoffed once more and asked, "Anyway. Did you see him? I have been searching for him for a while, but he is nowhere to be found."
"Hmm? Han Li was here about an hour ago, and Monk Hen Shin took him away for something."
"Monk Hen Shin?" Yue Li deflated like a balloon. Her son had told her to stay away from that particular monk as much as possible. That monk had the Magical Power of Lie Detection, thus, their secrets slipping out was a genuine possibility—as her Xiao Li,said. Careful, has to be careful.
Sighing, she walked out of the room, leaving Li Yao to meditate, she bet the woman was as ignorant of such a thing as she was and looked at the orange sky. She stretched and all the bones inside her shivered in excitement as cool breath entered inside her.
She was already getting used to this. It had been four days since they arrived here and the monks had given them great housing arrangements. They even visited the waterfall once every day for bathing, even though Han Li had rarely followed.
Living here was becoming a new norm, and since Han Li had been rough on the bed for a while, he had given her a rest from training.
Looking sideways, Yue Li was suddenly surprised.
Under the shade of the oak tree, a woman sat, bored out of her mind, and she was looking at her while picking her nose. Wei Yuanfeng!
Smiling, her shoulder unknowingly a bit haughty, Yue Li walked towards her son's disciple and asked, "Yunfeng, where is your master?"
Wei Yuanfeng snorted slightly. She could see the similarity in the way Yue Li carried herself and how her son carried himself. "He tricked me. He woke me up early in the morning and threw me into cold water for no reason. Then drowned me every time I tried to escape."
Contrary to her belief, Yue Li laughed. "Ah, cold water throwing. Liyue and I also got that at the start; his training hardly ever makes sense, but It works. Believe me, if I wanted, I could beat you to a pulp."
That was not even a lie.
Seeing Yue Li's nervous appearance, Monk Hen Shin sighed. "Your son, did he find a way to heal Ruo?"
"He always had a way..." Yue Li said, cautious not to lie. If Han Li had told her that he had a way and didn't tell her to lie, saying the truth should be better, "He knows how to get rid of the Gu Worms replacing Little Ruo's heart and spine."
The monk nodded.
He had refused to help Ruo because he himself didn't know how. If he tried to barge into the Fang Clan and fight their Power Borns to get his hand on the opposite end of the Gu, replacing Ruo's heart... that would also cause a lot of innocent deaths. To save one Ruo, he was not willing to kill many innocents who would get involved one way or the other.
When gods fought, mortals were the ones most harmed after all. Yet, knowing that Han Li did have a way to save her, he couldn't help but feel some sense of relief. Even a bit of admiration.
"Monk," Hua Yu asked. "Isn't protecting the peace of all lifeforms kind of your thing?"
"Hmm? Indeed."
"I am curious. Yet, Han Li seems to take it for granted that you monks wouldn't interfere in his fight. Why... is it like that? That you won't interrupt a fight in which one party would surely die. Aren't monks supposed to lend a helping hand to all sufferers? Whoever of the duo ends up dying, isn't it your thing to save the loser?"
Monk Hen Shin sighed. "No, death is the greatest way of ending all sufferings of life. Neither our temples nor I are responsible for the actions of people who are clearly of age. As long as there is nothing forcing them to decide so, it is their own decision. He knows we wouldn't bother interfering with unknown duels. He is far too wise for his age."
Hua Yu nodded in enlightenment. She knew that would be the case. She just wanted to make sure. "Monk, who do you think would win?"
"Who do you want to win?" The monk asked.
"Of course, that would be Han Li. He is my partner."
The monk sighed. Then, he walked away.
Leaving Yue Li in a wreck of anxiety and fear.
***
Near a waterfall, Han li and Yang Wei sat against each other. A small bonfire separated them from each other. They both ate meat and drank wine. Their swords were inside their sheaths for a long half an hour before the wild rabbit vanished into their stomachs.
"Yang Wei, do you fear death?" Han Li asked, smiling.
Yang Wei's pale eyes were a sort of deathly calm. He replied in a feminine voice, "Indeed. I fear death."
"Do you have a Life Type Magical Resurce in your hand to place as the bet of whom among us would remain breathing tomorrow?"
"Five of them." Yang Wei put a small cloth bag down.
"Do you have any unimaginable treasure to put as a bet?"
Han Li put down his Life Sword in front of him. "This sword is priceless."
Yang Wei's eyes lit up.
"Do you have anything else?" Han Li asked.
Both of them were wary of each other. Han Li was especially wary of the Spirit. He had some thoughts about what it was but he was afraid of one thing more than anything, even if he won, such an enigmatic thing as the Spirit would surely have some kind of powerful last-ditch attack or something similar. Even your usual Power Borns had those things, not to mention the Spirit...
which he presumed was something far more deadly than a normal Power Born.
Yang Wei himself was also wary. Han Li felt stronger.