Ch-23 A year passed

~after a year~

A carriage, adorned in opulent gold trim and draped in rich velvet, glides gracefully on polished wheels. It's a masterpiece of craftsmanship, boasting intricate engravings. It had jewel-toned curtains covering the windows, concealing the people within.

It moved through the narrow cobbled streets of a bustling shop alley. Wooden facades adorned with intricate carvings line the winding path, showcasing an array of goods.

Merchants haggle with patrons over spices, textiles, and handcrafted trinkets. The air is filled with the scent of freshly baked bread from a nearby bakery, while the distant clatter of blacksmiths adds to the lively symphony of the market.

All the people gave way for the carriage to move and even bowed to show respect to the symbol that hung in the carriage. It was an emblem only the elders of the spirit hall can carry.

As it moved through the shopping street suddenly a sound of a girl sobbing came with the violent barking of a dog.

"Stop the cart" the person inside the carriage instructed the driver.

The carriage soon came to a stop in front of the dark alleyway. The curtain of the window dropped and a childish face poked out of it.

The alleyway was all dark and gloomy with some trash cans stuffed in the back. Two boys could be seen trying really hard to keep a mad dog at bay. They both had bite and scratch marks on their bodies. Their clothes were torn apart and covered with dirt and blood stains. And a girl squeezed herself in a corner of the alley. She looked terrified and cried continuously.

"Young master should I intervene ? The coachman asked.

" No you don't need to. I'll go take a look myself. " The boy said and got out of the carriage.

He has medium length white hair and he was wearing skin fitted full body armour with a hood in his back. It was none other than Yuze.

(Image)

Yuze stood in front of the alley. As soon as the dog saw him. It felt something, it was horror. It quickly left the two boys and tried running out of the alley but suddenly it got lifted in the air with no control over its body.

"Hey, What are your names.?" He spoke.

" My, umm name is Xie Yue

"I'm Xu Yan"

Both the boys spoke in a broken and extremely exhausted voice.

"Hey girl in the back, what is your name?"

" I'm.. I'm… Hu Liena… thank you… thankyou for saving us." She said while stuttering.

" Nah I did save you. No one can save you other than you yourself, remember that. "

" Yes…yes sir… I'll remember that. " The girl spoke with some confusion.

" When I said I didn't save you, I really meant it. I saw those two boys fighting the dog but why didn't you join them ? You're too sacred? You look the same age as them but why didn't you fight? I don't save people who hide behind others back.

You lack courage Hu Liena.." Yuze spoke.

As soon as he finished speaking he threw a dagger in front of Hu Liena. And both Yue and Yu started floating in the same. And let the dog free in front of Hu Liena.

" Sir, sir please let us go. We've lost everything already and we have nothing. We can't afford to lose her too." Both the boys started begging Yuze.

" Kill it " Yuze totally ignored what those two boys were saying and spoke to Hu Liena.

Hu Liena stopped sobbing and with determined eyes extended her shaking hands slowly towards the dagger in front of her.

As soon as she grabbed the dagger the dog chased at her. But the dog couldn't go much further as it fell down on the dog with a dagger stabbed in its neck.

Hu Liena had strengthened her grip over the dagger and with a swift motion stabbed it straight into the dog's neck.

"See you could do it, if you just tried. If you joined them then it would have ended a lot earlier." Yuze said to Hu Liena.

" I understand sir. I won't be scared ever again. I'll face it with all my strength. Thank you for saving me and my brothers " Hu Liena fell to the ground and bowed.

Yuze quickly let Yue and Yu get down and approached Hu Liena and picked her head up.

"Never bow to anyone else other than your parents and your life long master. " Yuze spoke and then looked towards the coachman.

The coach man understood what Yuze meant and quickly summoned his Martial soul. 5 rings quickly floated around him and his 2nd and 3rd ring blinked and soon all the wounds of Hu Liena, Yue and Yu started to heal with extremely fast pace and soon all their wounds vanished and were replaced with clear skin.

"Teacher, what do you think of them?" Yuze asked, looking at the carriage.

"They're interesting and extremely talented." Bibi Dong said as she got out of the carriage.

" What's your age ? " She enquired them.

" We…we're 5 years old " all said with extremely nervous looks in there eyes.

'I wouldn't blame them for being nervous. Teacher's presence automatically forces you to be at your edge all the time.' Yuze thought.

"What happened to your family ?" She enquired.

"We're from a village on the border between the Heaven dao empire and the Star lou Empire. Because of the conflict of land between both the nations no spirit masters belonging to both the nations couldn't enter the border regions. So it made the villages present in the border regions prone to constant attacks and invasions of Dark spirit masters."

One night our village was burned down to ashes by those bastards. We became mere resources for their growth. Our father was burned to a crisp in front of us. " Yue spoke as his nails dug into his hands and blood oozed out of it. Tears streamed down his cheeks, but his eyes were still determined.

It was the same for Hu Liena and Xu Yan. Their eyes were red and just holding in their tears.

" Yuze look at their faces, what do you see? '' Bibi dong asked Yuze.

" I see desire. Desire for strength. Desire to take revenge. Desire to not lose someone close to them ever again. " Yuze responded.

" That's right. Let me tell you, revenge is the purest form of emotion. People will do anything to fulfil their revenge. " Bibi Dong said.

" Listen kids, you three are coming with us. Whether you can take your revenge or not depends on your own ability. I can only show you people the path, if you people can walk on it or not is totally upto you.

And remember well, being weak is a sin. What you're feeling today etch it into your hearts don't ever be in a position when you've to feel this again. " Bibi Dong spoke then looked towards the coachman and told him

" Prepare clothes and food for them, then we'll continue our journey. "

" I'll do it at once, Pope. " He bowed and responded.

______________________

Thank You For Reading

Please leave a REVIEW. It lets me know where I can improve.

If you like this story so far you can consider adding it to your LIBRARY.

Giving POWER STONES would be appreciated.

______________________