Chapter 6
An Unexpected Visitor
Yuwen Yue heard the sound but pretended to be asleep so the bird could calm itself.
Suddenly, a group of black-clad ninjas surrounded his room. Yuwen Yue sensed danger when the bird quacked repeatedly. Silently, he stood up, placed the bird in a safe spot, and closed his eyes to heighten his senses. He was unarmed. His sword had been lost during the icy lake tragedy, but he had managed to acquire some small, cold weapons, like a dagger, for close combat. He grabbed the handmade bow and arrow he had assembled, in case he decided to switch to an offensive strategy.
Since his last action at the frozen lake, Yuwen Yue hadn't practiced his Gongfu martial arts, but he remained confident, those skills were his for life. With sharp hearing, he recognized the footsteps as belonging to assassins. Although he heard no swords clashing, the sound of footsteps running across the roof was clear. He slowly donned his hood and prepared for an attack.
Yuwen Yue thought briefly of the father and son living below, wealthy merchants who ran the lodge. He resolved that, if he encountered an unknown entity tonight, he would not hesitate to protect the people who had saved his life and continued to help him.
Suddenly, the sound of tiles being dislodged from the roof reached his ears. He counted five distinct pairs of footsteps, five enemies to confront. He extinguished the candles in his room.
The moment one of the ninjas entered his room, Yuwen Yue swiftly grabbed him by the neck, strangled him with a rope, and slammed him against the rustic wooden wall. In the darkness, he couldn't see the ninja's face clearly. Yuwen Yue waited for the others to descend, but none came. The ninja then reversed Yuwen Yue's grip. The two engaged in a martial arts battle in the dark, both highly skilled. Eventually, Yuwen Yue lit a small fire with a matchstick from his pocket.
Neither combatant wanted to give up, and the fight continued until the bird suddenly called out the name "Xinger" three times. Both men froze.
When the ninja's attention was diverted to the bird, Yuwen Yue seized the moment. He captured the ninja, pinning him face-down as he tied his hands.
Yuwen Yue dusted his hands as if brushing off dirt, a gesture he had learned outside the Yuwen household, symbolizing a task completed.
Cold and composed, Yuwen Yue didn't bother to look at the ninja's face. He dragged the man onto the veranda and prepared to push him to another roof, but the ninja shouted, "You cast a shadow!"
"Huh?" Yuwen Yue looked him in the eye.
"I said, you cast a shadow!"
Yuwen Yue removed the ninja's mask and saw that the man was the young fighter he had encountered earlier in the arena.
"I just realized you're not the Seventh Yue! Now go, I made a mistake!"
Yuwen Yue dismissed him and turned back to his room when...
"Casting a shadow means you are a master who can either illuminate the lives of your followers or plunge them into darkness!"
Yuwen Yue was startled; he hadn't expected the young man, who resembled Yue Qi, to understand the code of expressions he and his servants followed.
Yuwen Yue responded: "A master casts light when they do good, but a shadow when they abuse their power. Slaves obey, but they also guide their masters, challenging them when they abuse power and supporting them when they do good."
The ninja met Yuwen Yue's eyes with a mocking gaze, refusing to kneel. Both men understood the weight of the words exchanged. The ninja said, "I will meet you again. Until then, you must wait for me," and disappeared.
Yuwen Yue was left alone, reflecting on the encounter. He hadn't expected anyone outside his bodyguard to know the code of expressions he had shared. He wasn't sure if this man had been sent by the Yuwen household or if he had been spying on him. For now, Yuwen Yue remained incapable of confronting his household, still recovering from injuries and unanswered questions, especially about his mother and Xinger.
Reflecting on the past, Yuwen Yue remembered how he had nearly died when he stormed Yuwen Huai's household. He had pushed through the traps and confronted the third concubine, who he had thought was dead, only to find her alive but disabled. She had been locked away for years, a prisoner of Yuwen's most dangerous schemes in Jile Pavilion.
In the present, Yuwen Yue finally accepted that the young man could not be Yue Qi, but possibly a doppelgänger. With no news from the Yuwen household and deliberately avoiding his bodyguards, Yuwen Yue doubted the ninja was connected to his family. He could only hope Yue Qi had survived the thousand arrows that had been fired at him. If not, perhaps that was why Yuwen Yue remained in hiding. Though tempted by his grief, Yuwen Yue chose to stay strong, refusing to dwell on that path. He believed Yue Qi was alive, and that his bodyguards would eventually find him, if not today, then soon.
The next day, Zuo Zong attended to his duties at the Shaolin Temple, sweeping floors, scrubbing walls, cooking in the kitchen. After completing his chores, he practiced meditation and Kungfu. Zuo Zong, unlike the other monks, was allowed to grow his hair since he was not part of the chanting warrior monks. He oversaw infiltration, espionage, and surveillance when the temple required his services.
During meditation, Zuo Zong saw Yuwen Yue in his vision. Unable to focus, Yuwen Yue's face kept appearing in his mind. He shifted his thoughts to his brother, Zuo Shan, but fragments of his past still brought Yuwen Yue to the forefront. Eventually, Zuo Zong stopped meditating. It felt as though the wind itself was urging him to meet Yuwen Yue. He agreed and hummed in peace, vowing to learn more about Yuwen Yue and the secret code known only to his father and Zuo Shan.
Zuo Zong, dressed in an orange Shaolin monk outfit with a long bead sash on his right shoulder and a high ponytail, looked dashing and charming. He was about to dismiss his thoughts when he was startled by a man sitting in a Buddha pose in the middle of the temple, fists resting on his knees, eyes closed. Zuo Zong was stunned, unable to move.
The man, dressed in a neat, powder-blue fighting costume with wide pants and V-shaped long sleeves, wore a black belt with a jade stone and black shoes laced up to his knees. His hair was tied at just the right height, just as it had been when Zuo Zong first saw him at the fight arena. His aura radiated like the sun, and the wind stirred the tea candles surrounding the temple, creating a divine and cleansing atmosphere. Zuo Zong's heart fluttered with excitement. The man's outfit did not match his god-like face, especially with his eyes closed. "Did a god come down today?" Zuo Zong wondered.
After his extended meditation, Yuwen Yue rose and went to the Buddhist altar to offer the money he had earned from his fight. He was searching for someone, knowing that the ninja had been meditating in front of the temple earlier. "Where is he?" Yuwen Yue thought to himself. He was sure he had found the ninja but now saw no trace of him.
Yuwen Yue had found a dark brown wooden beaded bracelet the night before. The beads on the bracelet indicated the level of martial arts mastery its owner had achieved. Yuwen Yue tucked it into his pocket, planning to return it to its owner if they crossed paths.
Yuwen Yue, once the master of the Eyes of God, was known for his sharpness. Once he set his sights on someone, it was impossible for them to escape. Bowing with clasped hands, he spoke respectfully to the monks sweeping the temple grounds. He asked them who the owner of the beaded bracelet was. One monk, noticing the bracelet, thought to himself, "This belongs to Master Zuo, how did this stranger come to possess it?"
Zuo Zong, hidden nearby, watched Yuwen Yue interact with the junior monks. He realized his bracelet had been missing since the previous night. Amused, he shook his head. Whoever had managed to take it had to be as skilled as he was. Yuwen Yue had retrieved it. The bracelet, which was nearly impossible to misplace, could reveal his identity and location if read correctly.
Zuo Zong understood that Yuwen Yue must be an elite master, hiding his true nature in plain sight. The way Yuwen Yue carried himself in the temple revealed his dignity, honor, and mastery. But Zuo Zong knew he had to retrieve the bracelet before the temple master discovered its loss, or he would face the punishment of a journey to the far icy mountains of Woolong.
Forced into action, Zuo Zong leaped from his hiding place behind a lion-headed statue and approached Yuwen Yue. This time, he adopted a humble presence. The junior monks bowed to him, showing utmost respect. Zuo Zong, with prayer beads in hand, bowed his head to Yuwen Yue. Yuwen Yue acknowledged him with a calm, cold nod. Their eyes met, narrow with intensity. Without waiting for an introduction, Zuo Zong, as a skilled spy, wanted to show his subordinates that he knew everything about the man before him.
"I see why the stranger came," Zuo Zong said, instructing the young monks, "Let me handle it."
The monks obeyed, leaving the two masters alone. Zuo Zong quickly initiated a fight, aiming to reclaim the beaded bracelet from Yuwen Yue's hand. Yuwen Yue, sharp after meditation, reacted swiftly. He tossed the bracelet into the air, and Zuo Zong deftly caught it. Impressed, Yuwen Yue batted at Zuo Zong's right palm, forcing him to toss the bracelet to his left hand. The two engaged in a back-and-forth struggle, mimicking each other's movements in a dusty whirlwind of flying kicks and jumps. Zuo Zong, growing angry, switched to defensive attacks, but Yuwen Yue continued playing with the sacred bracelet.
Their battle escalated across the temple grounds. At the edge of a cliff, Zuo Zong, balancing precariously on one foot, slipped and began to fall. Yuwen Yue, eyes closed, grabbed Zuo Zong's hand. In that dangerous moment, Yuwen Yue remained calm but knew he couldn't hold on for long. He quickly untied the laces from his shoes and expertly tied their hands together. Summoning all his strength, Yuwen Yue pulled Zuo Zong up from the cliff.
"Why did you save me?" Zuo Zong asked.
"Because you were about to die," Yuwen Yue replied coldly as he untied the rope and retied his shoes.
After finishing, Yuwen Yue handed the beaded bracelet to Zuo Zong. The cold wind blew between them as Yuwen Yue, without looking back, began to walk away.
Zuo Zong, surprised, almost called out his name but stopped himself. He didn't know anything about this mysterious man, but he knew it would be disrespectful not to express gratitude for saving his life. The random kindness Yuwen Yue had shown him today wasn't something that happened every day.
"Master!" Zuo Zong shouted after him.
Yuwen Yue, though he heard, did not turn around.
Zuo Zong bowed deeply, expressing his thanks. He owed his life to Yuwen Yue, a debt that could not be repaid, even with lifelong service. He bowed again, this time for returning the sacred bracelet to its rightful owner.
Meanwhile, a young monk who had questioned Yuwen Yue earlier watched the scene from a hidden spot. But Yuwen Yue had sensed his presence.
"You're not going to tell anyone what happened here today," Yuwen Yue warned, his grip tight around the young monk's neck.
"Yes, ma-master," the monk stammered in fear.
Yuwen Yue left, fully aware of Zuo Zong's gestures behind him, but pretended not to notice.
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