Unexpected Meeting

Yi Yun came out frustrated to the point of breaking. He rode his stallion and not knowing exactly the way through the town went wherever he thought he could go. After some time he reached a small lake. It was surrounded by rocks and he suddenly saw the house that was beside it. It was not that grand but it was big and can be deduced that the owner is someone influential. He tied his horse and crossed the rocks to take a closer look at the window facing the lake. As he came nearer he saw a face appear in the window. A face he felt he can give anything to see, at any given time,

"Why is it wherever I go and you are there jiejie?"

He sat on a rock to watch Adara up in her window calmly standing drinking something from a cup. It was as if a play is enacted out and he was an ardent audience to it. The proximity at which Yi Yun was at he can clearly see her standing with her hair now let down completely fluttering in the breeze. He was so engrossed and smitten at the sight that he didn't notice the moss underneath his feet which was very slippery. Somehow his feet slipped and he fell hard tumbling making some disturbing sound. Adara has a habit of drinking her tea before going to sleep. She watched the calm waters of the lake glistening and suddenly she heard a disturbance at the side and saw bushes just across the fence among the rocks on the left shore of the lake moving violently as if something or someone was there. She quickly became alert and fetched her sword and ran out of her house as quickly as possible so that the intruder could not escape. She reached the spot and saw that the intruder was still struggling to break free from the bushes and creepers. She swiftly went, found the intruders collars, and dragged him out before raining punches and kicks on him. After that, she unsheathed Vayusaka and commanded him to stand up. Yi Yun with dry leaves, twigs, and dirt on him stood up tumbling clutching his left arm on which Adara had landed a swift kick. He hastily turned around with a ruptured lower lip and a nosebleed. Adara was speechless seeing the intruder. She spoke in utter irritation and surprise.

"What are you doing there among those bushes?"

Yi Yun huffed and puffed and said, "I was just visiting the lake trying to clear my mind and the moss was slippery so I fell down before you thought I was a thief or worse, an intruder from the kingdom."

Adara sheathed away her sword and looked at a battered Yi Yun. She somehow felt sorry for the misunderstanding and spoke,

"I am sorry I thought you were an intruder."

Yi Yun with a mysterious smirk, "It's ok I will survive this. I am happy to be a punching bag for rehearsal before your big day at least."

He then dusted away the dirt and felt the soreness in his hands, probably back, and shoulders. Adara then could not stay quiet and said,

"Come along I will put some medicine on them."

Yi Yun, "Its okk jiejie. I'll be fine."

But Adara felt a little weird for beating him up so she spontaneously stepped forward, held Yi Yun's wrist, and said,

"No, you are not leaving without applying the medicine."

She almost dragged him behind her. Yi Yun's world started to spin with the sudden unexpected behavior of the girl who has changed his entire demeanor since day one. He started walking behind her without saying a single word of protest as if he was bewitched by something until he reached her house. Adara took him to her room and told him to wait. She brought a box with all sorts of ointment and concoctions made mostly by Mongmit. She took a yellow-colored paste and started to apply it on Yi Yun's forehead and he bumped into a stone boulder after Adara kicked him hard. Sitting on the bed Yi Yun had fixed his eyes on her as she stood facing him, applying it slowly to the blackened area. She suddenly noticed Yi Yun staring. She herself found looking deep into those dark brown eyes that stared back at her, but soon managed to come back to her senses and curtly asked Yi Yun,

"What are you staring at?"

Yi Yun, as shameless and straightforward as he is, answered without taking his eyes off her, "Nothing."

Adara felt an awkward tingling sensation creeping through her skin. She abruptly stepped back and said, "It's done. You can go now. And I am sorry once again. See you soon."

Yi Yun got up and smiled and said, "Yes definitely, I will see you. We need to discuss a lot of things. Thank you for the beating though."

Saying he winked at her before leaving.

As he was about to cross the main door threshold Councilman Shera was returning home. Yi Yun bowed to him.

Shera, "Yi gongzi, how are you here, and what the hell happened to you? Who did this to you?"

At that moment Adara came out hearing Shera's voice.

Yi Yun, smirked and said, "Your daughter beat me up thinking me to be a thief."

Shera was flustered and he said, "Ohhh my goodness!"

Then he looked at Adara and scolded her,

"Beta, what is this? You beat him up like this so horribly?"

Adara nervously said, "Baba, I thought he was an intruder."

Shera, "You won't look who you are up against? How can you just mindlessly beat someone like this?"

He then turned around to Yi Yun and said, "Gongzi, please come inside and have some tea with me."

How can Yi Yun let go of such opportunity and thus readily accepted the invitation. Shera led them to his study and then he asked Yi Yun to have a seat and went out himself to make tea. It was Yi Yun and Adara now in the study so he spoke.

"So Adara jiejie, I heard you can control three elements. And for fire, your main element, you can create it out of nowhere, along with wielding your sword while casting spells. How do you it? I am truly fascinated."

Adara looked at him impassively and asked, "So Jiva babbled all about it to you guys? I am going to kill him someday"

Yi Yun, "Why everyone knows about it right so what is the big deal?"

Adara, "I don't like that. Yes, people know about it and that's why I get all the unwanted attention. I don't like that at all; being a celebrity sort."

Yi Yun, "It isn't that bad; right?"

Adara, "Don't know about being bad or good, I just don't like it."

Yi Yun, "So this shyenagaru of yours; I heard you found it in a demon snake's cave. But it was supposed to be extinct. That is what we read in our books."

Adara became excited when being talked about her most beloved companion,

"Yeongsin has been my one true companion. She has always protected me and we kind of share a spiritual bond. But yes you are right even I thought sheynagarus to be extinct until I found her."

While speaking about Yeongsin the smile Adara had on her face was something Yi Yun was fascinated about. He could see how much Yeogsin loves her, and when talking about her, Adara's face lit up. This is a smile when you are unconditionally loved. Suddenly Yi Yun felt a strong feeling of being the reason for that smile on the person sitting across from him. A deep sense of strange enticement gripped his heart. But the smile soon faded away from Adara's face and it was replaced by the usual straight face she wears in front of Yi Yun much to his disappointment.

Councilman Shera entered with a tray of freshly brewed tea in an earthen pot and three earthen cups. Yi Yun got up and helped him place the tray on the table and poured the tea into the cups. Once settled Councilman Shera asked Yi Yun,

"So Yi gongzi, tell us more about this mysterious assassin we are dealing with."

Yi Yun, "The assassin, as of the intelligence I have gathered so far is a ruthless killer, without remorse. Even when she fails to find the chosen ones she kills them. I have a spy in the town of Sinwang. Two days ago a mysterious woman appeared and threatened a bar owner and stayed in the brothel."

The last sentence got Councilman Shera to choke and coughed on the tea he was drinking and Adara turned pink on her cheeks. Yi Yun nonchalantly kept on speaking,

"She is allegedly the finest warrior created by Commander Xi and as stories go by that he wanted her to have magical abilities and experimented on her with nefarimancy but it wasn't successful. He trained her in rare forms of war crafts and martial arts. Till now she has killed nearly about thousand people and her top priority mission is to capture the chosen ones. But the most disturbing fact about her is that she is not Tianxian as per what people have seen."

At this, both Adara and Shera looked up in the intrigue.

Adara, "If she is not Tianxiaian then where is she from?"

Yi Yun, "We don't know that yet. Word has it that the Commander brought her from one of his quests."

Shera felt something weird about what Yi Yun said but he kept silent about it. Adara on the other hand was concentrating on the issue of 'chosen ones' and inquisitively asked Yi Yun,

"So have you heard of these chosen ones yet?"

Yi Yun became serious and looked straight at Adara and gave out a smirk saying,

"No. Not yet. I wonder where they are. More than that I want to know about this prophesy that has been made on them."

Adara looked at him and nodded in agreement; not knowing that they both and the guy Adara saved were hiding the same secret. After they finished tea Adara walked Yi Yun to his horse to see him off. While walking side by side Yi Yun asked Adara,

"So jiejie, what is the other element you control?"

Adara, "I thought Jiva told you guys everything."

Yi Yun, "Actually I left the place before. So didn't hear the whole story."

Adara, "Why? What happened?"

Yi Yun became anxious as to what reason he should give her because he cannot say that he left the place out of pure jealousy. So he said,

"I was feeling claustrophobic and needed some air so."

Adara felt the lameness of the excuse too illogical but she said nothing about it anymore. Yi Yun asked again, "So what is the element?"

Adara stopped; looked at him and answered, "Air. I can control air."

The answer internally knocked Yi Yun out totally. The reason he felt jealous of Jin Ho back in the inn was that Adara shares the power of the mind with him and now hearing that she can control air he felt a soothing cool sensation in his mind. He controlled a strong urge to go and hug her. Seeing him acting strange Adara asked him,

"Why are you acting strange? Is everything alright?"

Yi Yun suddenly approached her took her hands in his looked deeply into her eyes and said, "Now everything is alright jiejie. See you tomorrow. Goodnight."

He quickly mounted his stallion and rode off. Adara felt very awkward with this sudden behavior of Yi Yun. She can clearly feel that he was, for some reason beyond overjoyed but was confused at the same time because she could not fathom what could possibly make him so happy. She stood scratching her head before shrugging off the feeling and returning back to her home.