~ He who watches the world with closed eyes - III ~

When we finally reached the foot of the hill, I was dead tired, almost falling over with fatigue. But thankfully, there was water at the entrance, so we three had some to quench our thirst and refresh our weary bodies.

I was an indoor person, so having me walk this long was a miracle.

"We are climbing that?" I asked with dread, noticing the Red Tori gates marking the entrance of the ascending stairs going up the mountain. The steps were narrow and the structure was also damaged at the edges.

If one was to fall, I assumed it would be instant death for them.

Not that I had acrophobia, but it didn't mean I was stupid.

"We are going, would take half an hour to climb," Rai Xo calculated as he went past me, almost bumping into my shoulder, which I assumed was deliberate.

Fine. I see you senior, I see you.

~~

Half way through I was heaving like some animal who was about to breath his last, and my knees quivered under the weight of my body.

"I c-can't," I gasped, "Please spare me, I can't climb anymore."

"What a nuisance," Rai Xo rolled his eyes, stopping right ahead of me, watching me as I leaned against the mountain to avoid tumbling over into the deep pit on the other side. The steps were really too narrow to support even me. The master builder of these steps must have been very drunk when he proposed such plans.

"If w-we d-don't go now, the master wouldn't have time for you again." Adam spoke up as if the most reasonable one, yet it was rather a pity that I did not care about what he had to say.

"Something is wrong," Rai Xo suddenly mumbled, positioning the torch he carried towards the direction up ahead.

"Is there an attack?" Adam asked urgently, both of them totally ignoring me.

"We need to hurry!" Rai Xo's anxiousness alarmed the rest of us, as he raced up ahead at a great speed, while Adam as well followed him just as quickly.

"W-Wait, what about me?" I asked pitiably, "Aren't I your prisoner?!"

But it was too late to even get a response back, they had actually left me behind in the dust. How despicable were they?

I could escape now, since they left me... but where will I go? Didn't that buffoon seal me?

In the darkness I couldn't see a thing, like literally I felt blind. If I took one step in the wrong direction, I would fall over. And climbing felt safer than descending.

"Curse them, curse them all."

~~

After a great few minutes of extensive labor, I finally reached somewhere which was flat and was sizable enough to built a small cottage.

It wasn't the main landing, but maybe the mid stop?

I shivered under the cold howling wind and heard absolutely nothing, no sound, no moment, nothing. Was the sect really attacked or something? Because only that would justify why Rai Xo had been so worried earlier.

But what caught my attention was the soft black butterfly which glowed and fluttered in front of me. Yes, exactly, it came out of nowhere, and startled me so much that I almost lost my balance.

After regaining some sensibility, I watched the glowing insect, a soft white glow lacing the wings. It was slight, but enough to help with navigation in a place with zero lighting. It was contrasting with the town we had just crossed.

And since the clouds were shadowing the night sky, there wasn't even a moonlight to see with.

For some great ruling sect these people really seemed very lousy.

I humphed, dragging myself forward as the butterfly showed me the way again. And although it was hard to tell why a butterfly would be helping me so much, I could sniff a brief scent of foreboding future planned out for me without my consent. The butterfly was really a creepy occurrence, plus it never appeared like those normal ones.

~~

When I finally reached somewhere significant, since I could see a small lantern hanging in the middle of the yard, I was so relieved, that my feet gave up on me and I sat down in satisfaction.

"I really want to stay here, but for some reason I also want to run away, damn those seniors," I was mumbling to myself for a distraction, since the smell of blood had penetrated my senses long before, and I knew something was very wrong.

The lighting in the yard was insufficient to make out everything clearly, but it was possible to branch out built spaces from the open ones.

I believed there was a small house in front of me and a huge yard at its perimeter. Also, just a few meters up, there must be another built form which looked down on the first one.

And since we were on a mountain of sorts, I assumed that these houses were made to compliment the natural landscape, which was a great concept to be honest.

As thought, I easily entered the sect without any barrier greeting me, nor were there people I could see.

Usually, one would avoid going to places which smelled funny, but going down now after so much climbing would be a stupidity, so I came here anyway.

It didn't take long for me to stumble around with the butterfly navigating my way, and soon I found myself falling into some room, since the door was half open and the skirting corridor was missing.

And to maintain balance, I tried pushing myself around with my palms, and that would have worked if I wasn't so exhausted that even the hands were crushed under my falling frame.

"Ouch," I yelped, rubbing the side of my butt which had taken the brunt of it.

I was really feeling the pain in the cold, and my thin uniform of a disciple really didn't help with anything.

I had noticed that I had been the only one who always dressed in a plain cream undershirt and grey over shirt. With of course, grey training pants.

It was really thin and the material was coarse, the quality the worst a cloth could have, considering how richly that senior dressed.

"Don't worry Raven your time would come when you will flaunt your dresses to them, they will be the ones jealous of you."

I groaned, trying to get up in a composed manner, even though my mind told me to just lay down and pass out.

'No, I can't lay down in the middle of nowhere, what if they kill me in my sleep,' I thought dumbly, the worst supply of thoughts coming to my mind in waves.

I really was tried it seems.

"You can Recuperate here if you want, nobody will disturb you."

Startled upon hearing another voice, I scrambled back in fear, my instincts telling me something dangerous might cause me harm. "W-Who are you?"

A genuine question that anyone distressed would ask, but the stranger, whom I couldn't see was not keen on answering that. I also noticed the butterfly had vanished again, leaving me in a tight spot.

"Your master isn't here, must be in the main sect hall."

"I d-don't care about that," I trembled, this person felt very... bizarre, because not only I couldn't tell where he was speaking from, but also, his voice was too exceptional, feeling kind and generous, comfortable even to hear in his deep melodic monotone.

A long time ago I had read a book which told a story about two wives. The husband cared for the second one the most, while the first one was disregarded because she behaved too immaturely and was ugly. It so happened, that the second one had a good bearing and a very healthy relationship with all she met.

But in the end, she was the one who murdered her husband because of property related disagreement.

The moral of the story was, never trust beautiful people who know how to talk, because they are the most vicious ones.

Well of course I did not believe every beautiful person was vicious, since I fell in that category as well, but this person...

He really made me nervous for some reason.

And at that time, the cloud parted, giving space for the moonlight to fall upon every surface it could reach.

The silver hue made it clear to me that the man was sitting by the edge of another opening, his hair seemed long and his outline looked like that of an adult man's. Surely the voice had given it away, but the silhouette also made it more apparent.

"Do you know what happened here?" I asked him after a while, regaining some solid backbone to gain information. But it was awkward since I was still sitting on the floor, in a position which seemed to leave me vulnerable. Although if this man had wanted to kill me, he would have by now.

"Where are you from, your manners are lacking."

That had me stumped, "I do have manners, okay, you are the one who hasn't told me his name yet, not even once."

A chilling silence followed, after which I heard him chuckling, the sound alone making me shiver, it was so deep and smooth, I could almost melt right there.

I hadn't known a man could sound this sexy, like ever before. Even the though was embarrassing.

"I haven't heard someone this discourteous and impudent before. Did your seniors and master not teach you?"

I huffed, glaring at the figure, because even with no light, the moonlight at the present was very helpful, "I am not from this world, so it makes sense I wouldn't know your 'manners' now wouldn't it."

"You mean..."

Upon realizing the mistake I made, I quickly back tracked, "hahaha, don't mind me, that was just poor humor sir, don't mind it."

"...sir?"

I slapped myself for my own foolishness, of course this world wasn't aware of that English term, "I mean m-master, senior, uncle, brother, whatever you are."

There was a long uncomfortable silence, "Neither, you shall address me as Zuen Ken, the ordinary know me by the name of Xi Ken."