Deep Thoughts

On hearing this, the man laughed loudly and spat on the floor.

"I'll rather die than spill out any information. Hahaha... hahahaha...I do this for the great cause", he said.

Seeing that the man wasn't willing to cooperate and save them the stress, principal Ming decided to extract the information from him.

"We don't need your compliance, we have our ways around it", principal Ming said.

He then instructed the prison warden to bring all the truth seeking tools, so that they'll begin the process. The warden did as he was told and made everything ready.

From the things provided, principal Ming brought out a pill. "Do you recognize this?" he asked the prisoner.

The prisoner looked and behold it was the truth seeking pill. Just a dose of it would make you say all you wouldn't wish to say.

"Don't use such despicable means on me", the prisoner howled.

Immediately the pill forced into him through his mouth. Principal Ming then gave the pill sometime to take effect.

But to their surprise, the man's eyes turned red, it was as though he gained strength. He then laughed for a while;

"Hahaha... hahahaha", he laughed.

"Such despicable means won't bring out the truth from me. You only made my death easier. I can lay in rest because I know our revenge plan is definitely going to succeed", he said.

Principal Ming alongside the rest masters were all dumbfounded as none of them could fathom what the man meant. Not long after, they discovered the man was silent and his body didn't move.

This is not what they were expecting, but master Lin Fei went forward to confirm and found out he was truly dead.

"He's dead", master Lin Fei said after checking his pulse.

"Seems like he had a poison in his body before, but it got triggered by the truth seeking pill we gave to him", she said.

"It seems the poison tribe are one step ahead of Wushu kingdom. The truth seeking pill is now useless to any member of their tribe", she said.

After that principal Ming instructed the prison wardens to properly get dispose of him as they returned back to a academy hall.

Meanwhile, in the purple cloud wing, all the injured students are being attended to by the academy doctor.

Back in the silver eagles wing, Tang Tang was busy with some study about the history of the poison tribe, Mao Li was going through some meditation in other to improve his state of mind.

Bi Yao on the other hand, stayed away from the others and locked herself up in her closet. At this moment, she was deeply lost in thoughts and pondered on some things.

Sh hadn't recovered from the fact that actually took a knife for her the previous day. She couldn't get her mind off the fact that Gui Shan saved her.

"Who am I to him? Am I very important to him or is this how he treats everyone else?" She pondered.

"Guess I'm special in his eyes",

"I finally find someone who can share in my pains", she said.

Growing up as a child, her father never allowed her to relate too intimately or create bonds with other children. He always called love weakness.

Her father had always told her not to be blinded by love, sympathy and emotions. He would always say;

"These led to the deaths of many great men".

He always told her that such feelings would obstruct her path to greatness and not help her cultivation.

Her father always told her that nobody in the world of today, not even a closest friend can be trusted. He told her to always rely on her abilities and never give room for anyone or let he guard down for anyone.

So growing as a child, that mentality was instilled in her. But one thing that always stopped her from being indoctrinated to her father's teachings was her mother's last words.

One thing she couldn't forget were the words of her mother before she passed away. 

"You're special, that's by I'll always stand by your side to protect you", her mother would say.

These were her words when she last saw her mother. Although she was sad about her demise, but she always kept her words in her heart.

That fateful evening, she established a bond with Gui Shan in her heart as though he was there when her mother said these words. Suddenly, there was a beam of smile in her face as she recalled how Gui Shan saved her.

...But as we proceed, we'll see how the hands of fate played out for the both of them...

That same evening, Gui Shan pondered on what the shopkeeper said earlier that day. Gui Shan from his intuitions could tell that the matter isn't as simple as it is.

"For the whole of the purple cloud wing to be defeated by a single, imagine what ten of his kind could do in Wushu kingdom", he ruminated.

The man's words rang in his heart. 

"...It's too late now! Hahahaha... hahaha, we can't be stopped...

Gui Shan pondered in his words and tried equating it to principal Ming's statement.

"...Something is coming, the clouds are gathering, fate is about to unfold itself a second time. I smell blood and see battles coming ahead...

The words were resounding in Gui Shan's head. Just then master Huang Ju's arrival in the manor was announced.

Gui Shan immediately took a deep breath and went with others to welcome master Huang Ju to the manor.

"Welcome back master", they all greeted as they walked him into the main chamber in the manor.

Master Huang Ju sat and was silent for a while. Just then Tan Ning popped up a question.

"Master you seem worried how all is well?" Tan Ning asked.

"All will be well", master Huang Ju replied. Gui Shan then summoned courage to speak.

"Master, how is the progress of the interrogation of the poison tribe clansman", Gui Shan asked.

Master Huang Ju was silent for a while, but he cleared his throat and narrated all what transpired in the prison ward.

"At first, the man was proving stubborn and hard to deal with, so we decided to feed him with the truth seeking pill", he said.

Just then Ru Yuo interrupted and asked;

"Master, what's the effect of the pill?" She asked.

"When one takes that pill and it enters your blood stream, you act against your will to lie and speak the truth concerning anything you're asked", he said.

"Unfortunately, the poison tribe were one step ahead of us and made a measure to counter the pill", he said.

"After we fed the man with the pill, it didn't take long, the man died and the interesting part was that he died with no worry but died smiling and claiming they have won", he said.

"Master Lin Fei after analyzing the body of the dead man, discovered that there was a poison in his body which git activated when he took the truth-seeking pill", he said.

"So right now, we just have to observe the times carefully as investigations are being carried out by the academy's secret agent", master Huang Ju added.

"Master, so you mean that we're not going to hunt for any more of the tribe members?" Ru Yuo asked.

"Majority of the members had fled upon getting reports that some underlings have been captured by the academy", he said.

"Starting from tomorrow, you are to continue with your routine training till another mission seeks your attention", he said.

After this, master Huang Ju left them and went to his closet to meditate. Gui Shan then returned to his room and locked the door.

He sat on his bed more bemused than ever.

"I didn't expect things would take this form", he said.

That evening, Gui Shan gave everything a deep thought.

"Are all this part of my destiny? What lies ahead of me?" He pondered.

"I just have to get stronger as the time of battle approaches",

"I have to get stronger to protect the ones I love", Gui Shan said.

"I have to get to the root of my destiny. What if my destiny is intertwined with all this?" He thought within himself.

Just then, someone knocked at Gui Shan's door. "Who is it?" Gui Shan asked.

"It's me Ru Yuo. I was wondering if you would want to watch the scenery tonight together with me, it's a full moon", Ru Yuo said.

Gui Shan hesitated for a while and finally spoke.

"Uhmm...you know I would've loved to watch with you but I feel so tired", Gui Shan said as he yawned loudly.

"Okay, I'll respect your choice this time. Have a nice rest", she said as she left his doorpost.

It was at that very moment that it occured to Gui Shan that Grandmaster Hun Feng told him to meet him the next full moon for something important.

... continue from the next chapter..