HU NAYIN'S DARK SECRET 1

"You... Hu Nayin..."

Hu Nayin had been standing before Yun. Her long hair fluttered in the twilight breeze when she stared at the startled Yun.

"Thank you for still remembering me, Master, though we haven't met each other for a long time since Master left Yunnan," Hu Nayin's smile grew wide in the dim sunlight. She then paid her respect.

Yun smiled back at her. "Ah, my dear Nayin. I'll never forget whoever I have ever accepted as my disciple, let alone you, my most talented disciple. You are my favorite disciple, Nayin, actually I feel sorry to leave you... but the Light of Eternity has called me to Mount Emei in Sichuan so I made a decision to leave my homeland that I love so much."

"Mount Emei? So far... how long have you been there? Then, Master has attained Illumination?"

"Almost fifteen years, but I never entered the Illumination even though it has called me so many times, because I've got a call to go back to Jianghu as I heard a moan for help..."

"You are a very kindhearted person, willing to return back to Jianghu before completing the sacred hermitage that all Seekers coveted... but, such a pity..."

"And you, Nayin? How are you recently? You're much more mature now, well, of course, it's been fifteen years... you've got married, haven't you?..." Yun looked at Hu Nayin's swollen belly.

"Yes, Master... I've got married..."

"That's good. Because, to be honest, your aura is too strong it dazzles every man who intends to marry you... of course, it is the Fate of those who get more Bounties from the Universe, just like I and other fellow brothers and sisters experience. That's why I'm apathetic about your destiny of marriage, but it's good that my fear doesn't come true."

"Yes, Master has told me before. I also never thought that I can get a good mate, but Heaven finally gives me a very beautiful gift just like all women always dream of..."

"So, you are married to a Kaifeng man?"

Hu Nayin nodded. "Fate is such an odd thing, it lets us meet here after fifteen years we've parted. So I can meet the Master I love so much."

"We shouldn't be talking in such wild nature. We should have a reunion in a warm teahouse, to celebrate the reunion between Master and disciple who have been separated for a dozen years," Yun smiled kindly.

"It's okay, Master. Let's chat here. I'm sure that you are unwilling to appear in public too often these days, right?"

Yun just noticed the oddity in Hu Nayin's stiff face.

"Nayin... I feel like you have changed... Not only in your age and status, but you have also changed in mindset and personality."

"Well... you are right. I used to be a fool-but-smartass girl. I thought that if I became a great Daoist expert then I would reach the true meaning of my life. Thus I was innocently busy studying various magical arts. But now I have realized that it is actually not what I am supposed to do. And…" Hu Nayin gulped her saliva, exerted her best to adjust her tension as she said the following words - her main objective in seeking Yun, "I... also expect the same thing from you. You want to help many people, right? You want to do good, right?"

Yun stepped closer to Hu Nayin. Her eyes turned wider as he got closer to Hu Nayin.

"The sunset is telling me that you are standing on the boat opposite me..."

"No, Master... I am not your opponent, because our intentions are all the same, we both intend to help the people. It's just that your boat deceives you by taking you down the Demon Path."

"Ah. You must not be here by chance. If you just want to reunite with me, you won't come here and make such a strange conversation." Yun's friendly expression completely disappeared. Her facial muscles were now stiffened. "Just tell me your true intention. Are you currently working for the government? Or, is your husband a government officer? And the reason why you come here is related to the riot?"

"You are so smart, Master, you can immediately grasp the purpose of my visit. But please understand, my goal is not as bad as you think, I even want Master to do something very noble..."

"Do you want to beg me not to send jinx to the government anymore?"

"Yes, Master," Hu Nayin's voice turned serious.

Yun smiled again. But this time she curved a bitter smile. "Do you know the reason why I take part in this movement?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know."

"Because I hate the Ming government!"

The wind blew hard, made Hu Nayin's hair flow and let it messier.

"The elephants wage war between themselves, but it is deers which die in the midst. How miserable our fate as the commoners. When the Ming army annexed Yunnan from the Yuan, they arbitrarily destroyed and robbed our property, even though as the commoners we have nothing to do with the Yuan government. Moreover the aristocrats, they behaved as they liked, ravished the girls and made them their toys. My family became their victims. They must bear the burden of having status as lower commeners in the areas attacked by the new government."

Yun's voice as she told the bitterness of her childhood was loud and fiery, showing how deep the grudge she held against the criminals who had made her suffer. She became even fiercer when continued, "But the Ming government's attitude doesn't change even though it's been the Third Emperor who rules this country. It is even worse than before. I've seen it by myself, how brutal the soldiers when they arrested men for forced labor to build a new palace and large canal. Even though the whole Ming is are suffering from disaster... unforgivable... unforgivable! Do you think this all can be forgiven?!"

"But, what you have done is actually bringing misery to the people..."

"I'm not attacking people, I'm attacking the royal family!"

"But in the end what appeared was flood disaster, right? And not a severe disease? After all, flood just destroyed people's land since the flood that you all arranged to attack Kaifeng Palace finally stopped in halfway, so it didn't work, right? Everything you do isn't ended in the result you actually hoped for."

"Why do you know so detailed, Nayin?"

Yun stepped forward a few more inches. She raised her eyebrows as her eyes met with Hu Nayin's blinking eyes.

"Why do you know it so thoroughly? If you are a mere commoner, or a mere government officer, you won't be able to explain it so clearly. Nayin, actually who are you?!"

Yun asked the final question in a very loud voice. On the other hand, Hu Nayin stared at her wistfully.

"I am... Hu Nayin, Wang Fei of Zhou Fan Wang Guo."