Chapter 43 - The Tiger and the Monkey

Chapter 43 - The Tiger and the Monkey

The weeds on this gentle slope halfway up the back mountain were dense with thorns. The branches, tangled with green vines, trembled slightly in the breeze. The only open space was a small, low grave, with a tombstone only half a person's height.

The tombstone was gray and made of rough, uneven stone with Li Chu's name on it. A thirteen-year-old Li Wei had used a sharp stone to make crude markings.

More than four years had passed. The engravings were smudged and practically unreadable. The tombstone had a few patches of green from the vines and moss growing on both sides.

Cassius stood silently in front of the tombstone for a while, then laid the bouquet of white flowers in front of it. He picked up some stones and started scraping the moss off the tombstone inch by inch. He yanked off various parasitic plants, clearing all the plants within a three-meter radius of the tombstone before chucking them far away. The area around the grave was cleared in no time.

Holding a long and sharp stone, Cassius squatted in front of the tombstone, carefully recarving Li Chu's name and dates. This time, the characters were neat and tidy.

Cassius stood in front of the tombstone again, placed his right hand over his chest, and imitated a priest. "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..."

He may not have been religious but he still wanted to say a blessing for the deceased.

After a while, Cassius turned around. He was suddenly hit with a sense of déjà vu and paused slightly.

"Goodbye..." He slowly raised his fist in a salute and walked away.

***

Five days later, within the buildings of the official disciples of the Wind Elephant Sect.

In a small white stone house, Cassius was holding a strange and awkward posture. He was half-squatting in a horse stance with his body leaning slightly forward. His toes were slightly raised, and his head was slightly lowered toward the ground.

Ten minutes later, Cassius arrived at a spire-topped building. He turned right and walked down a long corridor before coming to a stop at a door near the end. He knocked lightly. "Instructor, I'm here."

"Come in." A familiar raspy voice came from inside.

"Okay." Cassius pushed open the door.

It was a spacious meditation room, with gray and white tiled floors. Sunlight came in through the two high windows, making the space bright and clear. Lisa sat cross-legged on the floor in the center of the room, wearing a pale yellow combat attire. Sharon and Damien sat cross-legged in gray combat attire about four meters across from her.

The two looked over when they heard the door open.

Sharon's eyes had a complicated and uncertain look, as if she no longer recognized Senior Brother Li Wei.

Damien's eyes were filled with three parts anger and seven parts fear. His whole demeanor looked somewhat timid. At Cassius's glance, Damien quickly ducked his head down. He squirmed around, his butt shifting restlessly, as if there was a roasting fire beneath the floor. If he had to be honest, he was scared of this somewhat unfamiliar Li Wei.

The scene resembled a monkey provoking a sleeping tiger. It was only when the tiger was asleep that the monkey could show off and pull at its fur. But once the tiger woke up, the monkey was in trouble.

Damien felt like that monkey, except he had two legs bitten off, and was now clinging helplessly to the treetop with its hands, trembling as it watched the tiger climbing the tree. This was undoubtedly an ordeal for him.

"Close the door. Come sit down here," Lisa instructed.

Cassius nodded and closed the door. Then he walked over to Damien and Sharon and sat down.

As luck would have it, Damien was on his right, a mere ten centimeters away. Cassius could clearly see the way Damien's body tensed up the moment he sat down. He warily snuck glances in Cassius's direction out of the corner of his eye.

It seemed that beating him into wetting himself twice was a very effective deterrent to any future annoying scenarios. Cassius found this very gratifying.