Chapter 3: Chapter 2 - The Meeting
"There." The girl in pink, or Elder Guo Mei, as she had introduced herself said. She gently guided Zhang Xiu by the shoulders to a side room that was tucked away in a corner.
The room was filled to the brim with different colored fabrics. They hung from the ceiling and walls as if someone had used them as decorations. The sun coming through the windows reflected the colors onto the ground, making the room painted in bright colors.
Zhang Xiu smiled at the colors. He lifted his hands and watched with amazement as the different colors danced on his skin.
"Over here." Elder Guo Mei interrupted his play and gestured to a large object in the corner. Zhang Xiu faltered for a second. It was just like the small object he had been holding to see what he looked like.
"It's okay. Tell me, what do you think?"
Zhang Xiu took a hesitant step towards the object. His face was just like what he saw in the small object only this time he could see his whole body. His black hair was now combed and lay flat on his back. A small part of his hair was pulled up into a small bun. A black and white crown was placed around the bun. He wore multiple robes, but the outer layer was white with black cranes decorating the sleeves and back. He smiled.
Lifting the bottom of his robes, he smiled even more at the white boots that now covered his feet. He wiggled his feet and let out a small laugh.
"Of course he would have a room like this." The girl in blue, or Elder Guo Bai, as he has been told, said as she walked into the room. She pushed a few pieces of fabric away and scoffed.
Zhang Xiu gazed at her confusingly, "Whose room is this? It's pretty." He looked around, admiring the way the colors danced around the room.
"Oh, this is great!" Elder Guo Bai laughed, "It's y-"
"Elder Guo Bai. I need to remind you of our situation." Elder Guo Mei interrupted.
Zhang Xiu glanced between the two, confused by the cryptic words they kept saying to one another. He was obviously missing something, but he couldn't figure out what and with how tense they were when looking at one another, he decided it wasn't worth asking at the moment.
"We should get going. We don't want to keep them waiting." Elder Guo Mei said. Zhang Xiu nodded and followed her out.
It was the first time outside and he was pleasantly surprised. He was in a courtyard of some sorts. There were multiple rooms on both sides to the one he had woken up in, as well as across from him. Though the ones across from him were separated by a giant garden. There were trees and flowers decorating the garden with a small pond in the middle.
He went to take a step off the walkway and onto the grass, but was stopped by his gege. His gege was smiling while he held his arm and pulled him gently to his side. The group from before were gathered around him once more except this time a younger boy stood with them.
He was young, with his dark brown hair pulled roughly into a ponytail and his white robes slightly dirty at the sleeves. He had the same appearance as the boy who he had first met, but he looked more mature in a way. He was currently smiling with his head slightly lowered and he was patting down his sleeves where the dirt was.
"Zhang Xiu, this is disciple Chen Mu. He will be showing you around the Sect while I am away." His gege said.
Zhang Xiu nodded along. The disciple, Chen Mu, stepped forward and bowed his head, "This lowly one greets Xiu-Shixiong."
Zhang Xiu pursed his lips and gazed up at his gege. The other boy had called him the same thing, but he didn't understand why. His Gege caught his gaze.
"You have a higher cultivation and have been here longer than them. So you are Xiu-Shixiong to them." His gege explained.
"Then what do I call him? Chen Mu?" Zhang Xiu asked innocently.
"No, no, no." His gege said quickly, "He is called Mu -Shidi."
"Mu-shidi?" Zhang Xiu repeated. His gege nodded and smiled.
"Mu-Shidi." His gege gave the disciple a look and the disciple nodded in understanding.
"The lowly one will take care of Xiu-Shixiong." He bowed towards his gege then turned towards Zhang Xiu. "Xiu-Shixiong, would you like to visit the gardens before we explore the rest of the Sect?"
Zhang Xiu beamed and nodded his head.
Zhang Wei watched as the two walked away into the garden. His eyes lingered on Zhang Xiu before transferring to the disciple that showed him around.
He had trusted Wu Delun in finding a trustworthy disciple to watch over Zhang Xiu while they were in a meeting and he was satisfied with the choice. Disciple Chen Mu was from a wealthy family that owned a large fleet of trading ships. Not only was he a worthy disciple with high cultivation, but he was also one of the most loyal disciples the sect had.
In their previous life, Disciple Chen Mu protected them until his last breath. He fought against the invading demonic cultivators with vigor and honor. Unlike other disciples that fled at the sight, he gave his last breath protecting them so they could escape from the Sect. Seeing him alive once more brought mixed feelings.
"Sect Leader." Han Taio said beside him with a complicated look behind his gaze.
"I know. Let's go." With the flip of his robes he headed to the meeting room with the group of Elders without looking back.
The meeting room for the Elders and Sect Leader were located at the main hall which was located at the highest point on the Peak. Disciples bowed as they passed and Zhang Wei smiled gracefully, though inside he was having an internal battle.
He was grateful to be back. To see the smiling faces of the disciples once more brought a smile to his face. The peacefulness of the Sect left a warm feeling in his chest, but it was also suffocating. Everything was fine, but only for a moment. Soon a darkness would arrive in the form of an innocent child and there was little he could do to stop it from coming.
They all had agreed to kill the monster, but killing him would not be easy. As a Sect Leader and Elders, they rarely go down the Peak and when they do, its usually with disciples. If they were to kill a child at random and one of their disciples or a civilian were to see, then they would be in trouble. So they had no choice but to wait for him to arrive on the Sect.
They had talked about not allowing him into the Sect, but he couldn't do that because no matter what they had to accept his twin brother. Knowing the twin brother's personality, he wouldn't enter the Sect unless his older twin was accepted as well. So, that left them only one option.
To kill him while he was on the Sect.
They sat down in their respective seats with the Sect Leader in the middle. They sat in silence for a while, drinking tea or fiddling with their swords before Elder Han Taio spoke up.
"Xiu-shidi has lost all his memories. Do you think something went wrong when we used the artifact?" Han Taio said. He had his book out in front of him and was writing something down as he spoke.
Elder Wu Delun scoffed, "It's pretty obvious that something went wrong." He hissed, "why else would he suddenly have a golden eye and no memories." He crossed his arms and scowled.
Elder Guo Mei hummed in agreement, "The artifact was supposed to turn back time with only those in the premises retaining their memories and yet somehow Xiu-shidi has come back with no memories at all." She stated calmly.
"Yes, we know how it works." Elder Guo Bai placed a hand on her forehead groaning at her sister, "The problem is that something did go wrong and if one thing went wrong then other things could have also gone wrong."
"Has anyone else noticed anything? Disciples who seem lost or confused?" Elder Han Taio asked.
"No. As far as I know only Zhang Xiu has shown any differences." Wu Delun said.
Wu Delun had been walking the entire Sect when they had found him, so they all knew that if something or someone was different than he would have been the first to find it.
"But we don't know for sure if something went wrong." Han Taio said, "The artifact is temperamental. No one had used it before and we wouldn't know if something went wrong or not. For all we know, Zhang Xiu's memory loss could be normal." He tried to reason.
"But, then why did it happen to him?" Guo Mei interjected, "It could have happened to anyone, but it happened to him, why? There was nothing special about Zhang Xiu. He had died just like everyone else and yet he out of everyone else came back with no memories and a golden eye." She glanced up at the Sect Leader, "I don't think this is a mere coincidence."
The Sect Leader closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "It may not be a coincidence, but there is nothing we can do about it now. For now we will watch over him and see if his memories come back."
Wu Delun scoffed once more, "You know that none of us want his memories coming back."
"Elder Wu Delun." Han Taio warned.
"What? Everyone knows here that the way he is now is way better than that awful personality." He gestured to those around him with one hand, "Which do you prefer? The horrible personality from before or the innocent looking-"
"Enough!" Zhang Wei slammed his fist on his seat. "We will not discuss his personality." He took another deep breath.
"Well, personally I prefer this newer version of him." Guo Bai said. She was resting her head on her hand as she spoke, "I'm just saying," she hurriedly added, "but, this could be an opportunity and you know it. Without his nasty personality, he won't be going around and provoking that monster. Saving us the worry of having him turn against us so early on."
"She's right. This time we will have a firm grip on the situation rather than him going around and ruining it in a matter of seconds." Han Taio added, quickly writing it down in his book.
"It wasn't his fault!" Zhang Wei seethed.
"No. It was all of our faults." Han Taio's hand paused, "Zhang Xiu was just a small part of it."
There was a moment of tense silence. Han Taio sighed and began to write once more, "I will check into Zhang Xiu's situation."
"I will help youl." Guo Mei added.
Zhang Wei gave them an appreciated nod. "For now, we will keep an eye on him. If something is to change or you find something out, alert us right away." He paused then quickly added, "And make sure he doesn't ever come in contact with that monster."
"Of course Sect Leader." Han Taio smiled.
Guo Mei took a sip of her tea then calmly changed the subject, "When are they expected to enter the Sect?"
"I didn't have time to check, but based on my records, the Sect will be opening it's gates to end disciples for the first time this year. That's when they will arrive." Han Taio looked up from his book, a complicated expression on his face. "Why?"
Guo Mei was calm as she spoke, "Because I noticed some new disciples on the way here."
The room went silent.
"I fear that he is already here."
—--------------------------
"Over here are the Disciples rooms." Mu-shidi showed Zhang Xiu a clutter of large buildings that looked just like the one they had left. Though, these ones were closer together and had disciples running around.
"All disciples will stay in these dorms while they learn to refine their Qi. Once they successfully refine their Qi, they will choose an Elder to study under." Mu-Shidi explained. "Sometimes, if they are talented enough an Elder or even the Sect Leader himself will personally choose a disciple to study under them." The boy beamed as he spoke, with his head held up high.
"Have you seen it happen before?" Zhang Xiu asked.
The boy's smile faltered, "No. Not sense I have been here, but there are rumors about such stories.''His gaze wandered a bit, then as if he had remembered something he shouted, "Oh! I forgot our Sect has just opened its doors to a new batch of disciples, so perhaps we would be able to see if the story is true or not." He laughed.
Zhang Xiu nodded along with a warm and gentle smile. He could see how hard Mu-Shidi had been trying to show him around. He was energetic and talkative, which Zhang Xiu was happy about. It's just that he was having a hard time following the conversations.
The words flowed easily and Zhang Xiu could grasp the basic ideas of what Mu-shidi was trying to convey, but the meaning behind certain words were lost to him. He had no idea what 'Qi' or 'refine' meant, but he didn't want to stop the other in order to ask these questions, especially with how energetic he was.
"Oh! Over here is one of my favorite places to cultivate. It's very peaceful and even has a small pond." Mu-Shidi brought him over to a small cobblestoned path that led into the forest that surrounded the Sect.
"Not many people know about this place, so I tend to come here to meditate." He explained.
The disciple dorms slowly disappeared from view and the trees around them began to grow.
"When I first discovered this place, I had just entered the Sect." Mu-Shidi began to speak once more, his face taking on that of one of reminiscences. "It was beautiful an-"
"Mu-Shixiong! Mu -Shixiong!" Another young disciple came running up from behind them.
"What's wrong?"
"The new disciples entered the forbidden forest again." The disciple groaned. He stopped right before Mu-shidi and complained, "Every time! Every time I watch them they just leave! Mu-Shixiong, what do I do."
"You should have watched them closely." Mu-shidi said with a firm tone. He placed a hand on his head and sighed, "You know Elder Wu Delun is going to punish you, right?"
"I know." The disciples' head dropped, "But it's not my fault! I know I'm supposed to be watching them, but I turned around for one second and they were gone!" He sighed. "I don't know what to do anymore, they don't listen to me." He began to sniffle. "Mu-Shixiong, please help me."
"Okay, okay, it's fine I'll just…" he turned to face Zhang Xiu. "Xiu-Shixiong. I know I shouldn't, but could you please wait right here? I promise I will be right back."
"Okay." Zhang Xiu nodded. Mu-shidi looked like he was torn between leaving him and going to help and he didn't want the other disciple to get in trouble even more, so he easily agreed.
He stood in place and watched as the two ran off into the distance. It was silent for a while. Zhang Xiu gazed around for a while and began to notice small things about this place. He noticed how the trees surrounding the path tended to cave in and cover the hidden path rather than invading it. And how the flowers seemed to only bloom in certain colors on certain bushes.
A slight sweeping noise caught his attention. It was faint, but constant enough for him to have noticed it. It was coming from further down the path. Thinking about what Mu-shidi had said regarding the secluded place where he liked to cultivate, he assumed that another disciple was there as well. Without a second thought he walked over to the sound.
The path was winding and felt endless, but as time passed the noise gradually got louder until he came across a young boy who stood alone underneath one of the trees. The young boy was on the taller side, though he was still about a head shorter than him. His black hair was tied up into a ponytail, the same style it seemed that all the disciples were wearing. His head was lowered and he was sweeping, but something was wrong. On the ground right underneath him were a few traces of blood.
"Are you okay?" He asked a little louder than he intended. He didn't want to approach the young boy and startle him, but he also couldn't contain his worry.
The young boy froze, but didn't turn around.
Zhang Xiu glanced worryingly at the pile of blood that was growing larger by the second on the ground, obviously coming from the man's hands. Without a second thought he ran over and grabbed the young boy's bloodied hands.
He gasped at the wounds. "Are you okay?" He asked.
There were large cuts all over his hands. The cuts didn't look too deep, but they were still bleeding and had a ghastly look about them that made Zhang Xiu flinch in pain for the young boy. He gently moved the hands around, checking carefully if anything was inside the cuts. Noticing some small pieces of wood, and the broken broom on the ground, Zhang Xiu finally figured out what had happened.
"Why are you using a broken broom to sweep? Are you okay?" He asked again, looking down at the young boy who was staring straight at him.
The boy's eyes were cold and dead, but there was also a slight tinge of surprise in them.
Zhang Xiu didn't notice the strange look in the others eyes, instead he was worried about the bruises that lined the others face. They weren't noticeable at first, but when he moved his head, his hair moved as well, showing the bruises on the side of his face.
Zhang Xiu raised his hand. The boy's eyes followed his every move. A look of surprise flashed across his face as Zhang Xiu gently rubbed the bruise on his face.
"Did someone do this to you?" He asked, concern lacing his voice.
The young boy was silent for a moment longer, his eyes roaming Zhang Xiu's face, stopping when they landed on his eye. Something flashed in his eyes and with slight hesitation he nodded his head and lowered his eyes. His lips trembled slightly as he spoke, "Yes."
Zhang Xiu's heart ached. 'Why would someone do such a thing?'. He pursed his lips not knowing what to do.
He pondered for a while, not sure on what to do about the poor boy's injuries. He mused for some time before a memory flashed through his mind. Didn't Mu-shidi show him a room specifically for instances like this? Mu-shidi told him that he would never have to go there, but just in case he or someone else got injured he could go in there to get treatment.
With a smile on his face, he beamed up at the young boy who was still looking at him with a complicated expression. "Let's go get your injuries treated!" He said with enthusiasm, but his shoulders dropped in seconds, "I don't know exactly how to treat your injuries, but I know where to go." He reassured the other.
The young boy looked up at him, "You don't know how to treat my injuries?" He asked quietly.
Zhang Xiu looked down at him with furrowed eyebrows. 'Am I supposed to know how to heal? The others never mentioned knowing how to heal.'
"I don't, but I'm sure I can figure it out." Zhang Xiu smiled.
The boy smiled. "Xiu-Shixiong, this lowly one thanks you for your concern, but there is no need for you to treat this lowly ones injuries." The boy bowed then headed over to grab the broken broom.
"What?" Zhang Xiu froze and turned to face the boy who had turned his back to him, "But, you're bleeding." He took a step forward, only to stop when the boy picked up the broken broom without flinching.
Zhang Xiu flinched for him. He let out a small gasp as more blood fell to the ground and he rushed forward. He grabbed the broom and threw it to the side, then turned his focus on the young boy's hands once more. He gently encased them within his own and with worried eyes he said, "Please, don't hurt yourself anymore. Please, come with me and we can heal them."
The young boy watched Zhang Xiu with an unknown look in his eyes. A small smile graced his lips and he nodded, "Okay, but I only want you to treat me. No one else."
'He must be afraid of others.' Zhang thought.
"Okay." Zhang Xiu easily agreed, "But, um, I might not be very helpful." He said quietly, his eyes avoiding the other as he spoke.
The boy kept smiling, "That's okay. Xiu-Shixiong is very powerful. I am sure that your healing technique will be very effective."
Zhang Xiu pondered for a moment. A sense of shame enveloped him and he pursed his lips and turned away. A deep flush covered the tips of his ears as he spoke, "I-I don't remember how to heal. I'm sorry."
The boy's smile widened. He tilted his head to the side and said, "Does Xiu-Shixiong really not remember?"
Zhang Xiu shook his head, "I woke up this morning and I couldn't remember anything. I'm sorry, but I won't be able to help you."
The boy smiled once again and reached out with his bloodied hand. "It's okay Xiu-Shixiong. I can help you." His hand gently grabbed a strand of Zhang Xiu's hair and brought it to his mouth. "We can learn together." He gave it a gentle kiss and smiled.
"This lowly one's name is Yang Hu."
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Pudding98
Pudding98 These chapters are going to be longer in this novel, because of that it will take longer to get chapters out.
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