Choosing To Confess

We checked into the luxurious hotel right away and made our way to our rooms. I had booked the entire 11th floor for my family so that both they and the security team could sleep comfortably at night.

I took a shower, got changed, and met Melissa at the elevator door, who was jumping to see the tour spots and the vibrant lifestyle that was alien to us all. My uncle and aunt had told us to go ahead and begin the tour without them, as in their words, they were very tired and wanted to get "acclimated to the rooms."

My aunt's sly smile while saying that to my face still sent shivers down my spine. I wasn't sure whether they were doing it so that I could spend more alone time with Melissa or if they really wanted to test out the beds, but I was more inclined to assume the former.

I had barely paid any attention to Melissa during the past few months, always running around to be shouted at by the next martial arts master with a stick in his hand and a stick in you-know-where.

Unfortunately for her, I was only going to get busier starting the "vacation" in China, so out of guilt, I decided to spend a little more time with her. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't feeling guilty for taking Kuzan's place or any nonsense like that. It wasn't like I had chosen to take his place, and I was indeed grateful to the previous Kuzan for this new chance at life. It was just that it would do no good to cut off my connections with the rest of the family.

Discounting the loss of resources and wealth I would suffer if I started treating them as strangers, what good would it do to do such a thing? If I could easily pretend to be Kuzan and act like little old Melissa hadn't just lost another member of her family, why not do it? It was way more fun this way for me too, and I was preventing the family from feeling loss and heartache.

Let me give you an example, then it may be easier to understand my thinking. Here's the scenario: an old man is dying at the hospital; there is no chance that he lives to see the next day. By his bedside, having supported him throughout his life, is his loving wife. She has been with him forever, through the highs and lows, and even throughout his illness, never once leaving him.

The old man has a confession to make before his passing. He wants to tell his wife before he dies that he once cheated on her after they had been married. He feels like he has to tell her; he has to ask for forgiveness for his adultery. That is the only way for him to get this burden off his shoulders so he can die in peace.

Now here is the dilemma; should the old man tell his loyal wife of over 50 years about his betrayal, telling her that he wasn't the man she thought he was?

NO

The man is not confessing for her sake; he is only acting selfishly, wishing to die peacefully while putting the burden of the truth on the living.

Does that not hide the truth? YES, but is it the truth if it dies with the old man? If a tree falls in an empty forest, does it make a sound?

As famous philosophers have repeated time and time again throughout history:

Ignorance is bliss.

What kind of brother wouldn't want their sister to live happily?

Thus, I would take up Kuzan's role as an older brother and as a part of the Rosen family, not out a feeling of guilt or responsibility, but out of consideration for how nicely the family members have treated me.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. In for a penny, in for a pound. I had always believed in the retric of repaying hatred with hatred and kindness with kindness. It did not matter who the family members thought I was when doing it, but they took me in, made me feel a part of their family.

Emotions are not rational, that's why they are called emotions in the first place. If words mean nothing, actions mean nothing, then what the hell is left?

As long as they did not get in the way of my martial path, I did not mind having a wonderful family around me as an accessory.

One might think, wouldn't having people close to you just give you more weaknesses?

HA!

If I needed to conform my life in such a manner, scared of how others might use my family against me, I wouldn't deserve to be able to call myself a martial artist in the first place.

Fighters need to be ready for combat no matter the circumstance. Whether you are sleeping, being intimate, or even on the toilet, there is no moment that a fight cannot occur. Whether you are protecting someone or seeking to take a life, there is only winning or losing, no excuses.

Would the strongest man in the world be afraid of protecting his family—actually, scratch that. In his case, the world is the one who would be afraid of protecting his family from him.

Hehe,

Uh, where was I? Oh right!

Would any martial artist worth his weight be afraid of having those he loves used against him? Hell no...

...plus, I could always abandon them if it becomes that much of a problem.

"Ow!" I screamed from having my left arm pinched by the dwarf next to me. "Melissa, seriously, I just bought you an ice-cream cone too! Don't I deserve a little leeway?"

"You would, brother, but I thought you were thinking of something extra mean, so I only pinched you once instead of twice," barked the chihuahua, while whistling and skipping away to the next street stall.

'It seemed she was in a really good mood, judging by the fact that she called me brother instead of Kuzan.' I ran up to Melissa and grabbed her by the hand to prevent her from getting lost in the crowd.

Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Albert eventually joined us for dinner during the afternoon, saying plenty of excuses like that had "overslept" and had forgotten the time when accused by Melissa for abandoning us for the whole day.

'I'm sure you did, Uncle Albert, I'm sure you did.' Anyway, before driving back to the hotel, I had a different chauffeur drive me to my next destination, saying goodbye to the family for the night.

"Are you sure you want to go there sir, I hear they arn't too friendly to tourists." asked my driver, obviously concerned by the destination I had told him to go to.

"Yeah, don't worry, they're expecting me."

I had him drop me off right at the entrance, gave him a sizable tip for the large detour he had taken out of the city, and sent him back to the hotel.

'So that's it, huh,' I thought to myself while craning my head to look up at the giant walkway of stone stairs ahead of me. 'Bailin Temple. The birthplace of Kaiou Retsu.'

I could barely control myself, no, I couldn't control myself any longer. I let the [Battle Aura], which had been strengthened by my training over the past few months, finally burst out in full. The soles of my feet slammed into the concrete below me, leaving an indent as I rushed up the stairs.

Halfway up, however, I was stopped, distracted by the sounds of someone training in the surrounding forest. 'I guess introducing myself to the locals wouldn't be a bad idea,' I thought, not knowing the future ramifications of my decision. I believed that with my skills, I could handle a regular disciple of the temple, underestimating my luck.

I used my heightened senses to quickly find the source of the noises, only to find a small wooden hut by the side of the river, with no trace of the person who had been making the sounds just a moment ago. I looked around everywhere, desperately trying to find any trace of life, knowing full well that I had fallen into an ambush.

'Stupid Kuzan, stupid. You're not the strongest man in the world yet; you have to be much more careful. Plan first, act later.' I couldn't believe that I had found myself in this predicament.

I felt a cold sensation run up my spine and goosebumps on my hands and feet. A heat in my chest increased to a degree I had never felt before.

"Boo!" screamed an ancient voice into my left ear.

Instead of blindly spinning around to face my attacker, like an idiot, I ran forward to create space between myself and the assailant.

"Nice reflexes, young man. Now, would you mind telling me why you were running up the stairs to the temple in such a rush? Also, the forest is no place for a young man—no, boy like you," said the old man, narrowing his eyes at me.

The word 'old' wasn't nearly enough to describe the man in front of me. His skin hung onto his skeleton-like frame. The short fossil was wearing a Chinese cap, round glasses, a light-colored knee-length tangzhuang jacket, matching pants, and kung fu shoes to complete the look.

With long white hair, long fingernails, and a prominent amount of wrinkles all over his body and face, it could only be one master of Chinese martial arts that I was facing. The embodiment of self-defense and technique, the Supreme Grandmaster of Chinese Kenpo:

'Kaiou Kaku'

'Damn, I really ran into such a big fish so early on. I don't know if I should blame my luck or thank it. Regardless, I guess it's time to use all my training flirting with old men to my advantage to make a good first impression on this geezer.'

"I am so sorry, senior, that I disrupted your training. I was only making my way up the temple for instruction when I heard your voice and let curiosity get the better of me. I was too impulsive; please forgive me."

"Instruction, huh? Looking at you, you do seem to have had some prior training," said the old man in an uninterested voice, obviously not impressed by what he saw.

"Yes, senior! I only started training a year ago under my first master, and he recommended that I come here if I wanted to continue my training and become a real martial artist," I replied to his inquiry, doing my best to show the utmost respect for his skills.

"Hmm, a year, huh?" questioned the old man, raising one of his eyebrows slightly. "Okay, let's see what you can do, little boy."

I was unfazed, even when hearing the words "little boy" coming out of that geezer's mouth, I was unfazed. I used all my strength, skill, and speed to land a straight punch to his abdomen without hesitation, knowing full well of his true strength.

Surprisingly, I was successful in my strike, as it did land on the old man's body. After all, I didn't want what happened to Kaioh Samwan in the Raitai Tournament to happen to me. Luckily, it seemed as if my sucking up to him had worked since he chose to receive my punch instead of dodging it.

The old man's body flew back from my punch but was stopped when his feet dug into the Earth. He had only moved backward by a few inches until the weight of the impact had seemingly passed through him.

'Xiaoli' I did my best to track his movements, analyzing his skill and devouring the technique.

"Nice strength, young man, especially for someone your age, but you shouldn't be so distracted during a fight," instructed the old man, a small grin surfacing on his face from what he was about to say next. "Since I've let you hit me once, it's only right that I get a turn too, don't you think, young man?"

Before I even had a chance to respond, I was met with a seemingly slow punch from the old man. Instead of choosing to dodge the obviously dangerous attack, I decided to risk it for the biscuit. I used the same movements to try and dispense the attack, just like the old man. I was able to dispense most of the force, letting it simply flow through my body, like a tissue being struck by a blade in the air.

Still, due to my inexperience with the technique, some force still affected me, but I was able to withstand it with my well-trained body. The impact still made me drop to my knees; however, I was still in the fight.

"Interesting little brat, aren't you? Okay, okay, that's enough for now. Looks like I hurt you a little. How about I take you up to the temple to get some treatment? I will even introduce you to everyone. Let's go." The old man grabbed my arm and refused to let go, his mood seemingly taking a complete 180. He was acting like a nice, old, concerned grandpa, shouting at anyone who would try to hurt his favorite grandchild.

I saw the image of a Kaiou Kaku holding a lollipop, leading me down the road to the back of his van. I quickly shook out of my vision, afraid that Kaiou Kaku would somehow read my thoughts.

Damn that [Willful Eye] skill. Thank God even the Grandmaster of Chinese Kenpo doesn't have Melissa's level of supernatural senses. Otherwise, I don't know if I'd be traveling up the mountain rather than being buried at its foot.

"Slowly now, young man. I'm over 130 years old, you know. The temple's not going anywhere." I guided the old man slowly up the mountain, stair by stair, holding his hand as we made our way to the entrance of the temple.