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.
The posture was strange, requiring good balance and strong body control to maintain it consistently. Needless to say, it was very exhausting.
Cassius's chest rose and fell in time with his breathing. Slowly, the layer of black covering his body became transparent. The stench of river mud on his body gradually dissipated, turning into a faint fragrance and revealing his well-defined, strong muscles.
"Hu…" He let out a heavy breath and opened his eyes, returning to a standing position.
The ointment's effectiveness is too weak… It's only about one-third to one-fourth of the medicine bath. Cassius clenched his fist, his skin as slippery as an eel.
He could see the difference in the effectiveness of the ointment and the medicine bath through his progress bar, but he could also feel it during normal training. The medicine's sting on his skin and muscles was many times more intense than the ointment.
The more painful it was, the more effective. And the more medicinal nutrients it had, the faster the progress.
Having grown used to soaking in whole barrels of medicine in the real world, Cassius could barely tolerate the slow grind of the ointment. Maybe it was time to execute the original plan.
He glanced outside the window and picked up a gray combat attire embroidered with wind and cloud patterns on the sleeves. After he carelessly tidied up his room, he walked out the door.
Today was the day of the monthly test. This monthly test wasn't a big event for the whole sect since it was just a monthly martial arts progress check for the three disciples under Instructor Lisa. Essentially, it was a match between the three of them.
Although Li Wei was the senior brother, having joined the training camp a batch earlier than Damien and Sharon, he always ranked last in the monthly tests; he even lost to a girl like Sharon. His inability to get over his mental hurdle meant that he could never demonstrate his full strength.
As a martial artist, personality was crucial as it basically determined one's fighting style. A timid person would never be able to unleash their full potential, while a domineering and arrogant person always seemed poised to strike.
In fact, practicing martial arts could effectively change a person's physique and spirit. However, this change had its limits. It varied from person to person and wasn't absolute.
Cassius could clearly feel that he had changed. He became more courageous, calmer, and more confident. He wasn't averse to killing; on the contrary, he felt faintly excited, although, he suspected that this somewhat inhuman mentality was brought on by the strange and eerie shadow.
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.
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