CHAPTER-12

Yao Lan and his disciple walked on the bridge which was above the remains of a gigantis python. It was a scary scenery. Walking on the bridge could make one feel like he was on his way to hell.

After hearing the story, Yin Chen became curious, "Master, what's the meaning of Vuna Hai Vunai?"

"It is an incantation used by the ancient worshippers of Fire to summon the God of Fire, Zurong."

"What does it mean?" Yin Chen asked.

"Vuna Hai Vunai?" Yao Lan frowned. "Do you really want to know what it means?"

"Does it mean something scary?" Yin Chen shivered.

"Vuna Hai Vunai is a phrase very common to an ancient culture that worshipped the God of Fire." Yao Lan replied.

"Culture?"

"Yes. Vuna Hai Vunai is said to mean a lot of things. No one has been able to completely decipher its original meaning."

...

At the peak of Wing-sam mountain, a boy could be spotted swinging a wooden stick to and fro, back and forth. Sweats covered his face which was consumed by desperation and devotion. His heart thumped as if it could fall out anytime.

A few metres from him, sat his teacher. The teacher looked at the boy in disappointment as he sighed. His eyes seem to wander away from the boy as he caught a glimpse of something running through the trees below the mountains.

"Keep practicing, I'll be back soon." Long Zhi said to Long Xue as he dashed down the mountain.

"Does he want to poop or what?" Long Xue chuckled.

Long Xue decided to rest. He breathed heavily before he finally collapsed on the mountain grounds.

Long Zhi chased after the silhouette he had seen moving through the trees earlier. Whatever it was, the thing was moving very fast.

What the hell is that thing? Is it even human?

Long Zhi continued his pursuit even without knowing what he was pursuing. He knew that he couldn't catch the creature if he kept trailing it.

"I'll have to see if I can find a shortcut." Long Zhi said to himself before glancing around, "Found one."

Without wasting anymore time, Long Zhi zoomed into a group of trees that were packed closely together. The creature continued running ahead not even slowing down for a second. Soon, Long Zhi burst out from one of the trees that stood in front of the creature.

The creature stomped on it brakes. Seeing the man appearing out of nowhere must have spooked it and made it fall to the ground.

Long Zhi took in a deep breath as he saw the creature's face. Its face was disfigured. It had no lips, and the symmetry of its eyes were not aligned. Its tongue fell out of its mouth and its complexion was palish grey.

The creature snarled at Long Zhi and ran the other way trying to avoid any physical contact with him. Long Zhi chased the creature again, but this time, he was catching up because the trees in the area were compacted. The creature wasn't used to running in compacted spaces.

As he ran through the trees, Long Zhi saw a writing on the creature's back. The text was in another language, an ancient one at that, one that only a few people would know.

"Elimi?" Long Zhi muttered as he read out the text. The creature seemed to have noticed this as it picked up the pace.

"Come back here!" Long Zhi asked as he picked up a stone and launched himself in the air. Releasing blue qi from his body he roared out, "Die!"

Throwing the stone, it absorbed Long Zhi's qi and whooshed into the body of the creature. The creature let out a high-pitched scream as it shattered into dust and evolved into the air.

Long Zhi covered his ears as he exhaled gustily, "I should have gagged it first."

"What was that?" Long Xue asked as he spotted Long Zhi coming up the mountain with a dead rabbit.

"Just this." Long Zhi spoke as he lifted the rabbit into the air.

"No, no. I mean the scream earlier."

"..." Long Zhi said nothing but shook the rabbit.

"It was the rabbit?" Long Xue opened his mouth in shock, "A rabbit can scream that loud?"

"I told you earlier, this is Wing-sam mountain, a place filled with one of the most purest Qi ever. You'll see and hear things you've never seen or heard before."

"Father never told me about these things." Long Xue replied.

Long Zhi cleared his throat as he replied, "He probably didn't want to scare you."

"Are they any more scary animals here?"

"They're a lot." Long Zhi answered as he began setting up wood for the the fire. "Have you ever seen a lion that could fly?"

"No, is there such a thing?" Long Xue asked.

"Yes, it's called a Lionbird." Long Zhi answered.

"What do they do?" Long Xue asked.

"They're fast, deadly, dangerous and natural born killers. They kill almost anything living."

"Even their own kind?"

"Even their own kind. " Long Zhi stated as he used his Qi to start the fire.

"Can I also do that?" Long Xue asked as watched how Long Zhi started the fire.

"You mean setting the woods on fire by using you qi?" Long Zhi replied, "Yes, you can, but you'll have to pass this test first."

"What's the test?" Long Xue's eye's brightened.

"Raise your right palm into the air."

Long Xue raised his palm into the air.

"Now I want you to concentrate. Close your eyes. When you close your eyes, you have a more concentrated connection with your meridians. Can you feel the Qi flowing through you?"

"Yes I can." Long Xue answered.

"How does it feel?"

"It feels calm and soothing, no. It feels warm, it's cold now."

"That's right. The Qi is neutral. It is neither hot nor cold, neither calm nor soothing. It's just neutral. Though, some masters might call it ununderstandable, I call it neutral."

"Hm." Long Xue mumbled.

"Now, I want you to clear you mind. Don't think, just do as I tell you to. Move your Qi towards your palm."

"How do I do that?" Long Xue asked.

"Block the other pathways, make your Qi flow in only one direction." Long Zhi replied.

"Okay." Long Xue did as he was told.

He began blocking the pathways that didn't lead to his palm. He breathed in and out slowly as he did this, keeping his mind still and firm.

"You can open your eyes now." Long Zhi's voice dispersed into the air after a few seconds.

Long Xue opened an eye first. As he saw the flame on his palm, he immediately opened the other and began jumping around, "I did it! I did it! I did it!"

"Stop screaming you moron! The flame will get out of control!" Long Zhi warned, but it was already too late.

The fire in Long Xue palm grew and swallowed his whole arm as it reached for the skies, "What's happening?"

"I should have warned you earlier! The fire is connected to you, and feels whatever emotion you feel. If you're neutral, so is the fire. If you're angry, so is the fire. If you're scared, so is the fire." Long Zhi explained

"Well I'm scared right now! Why isn't the fire scared?"

Long Xue panicked.

"Don't be scared! You're only making it worse. When fire feels fear, it spreads out the more!" Long Zhi retorted.

"Ah! What do I do?" Long Xue asked.

"Try to calm down before fire starts to spark!"

Just as Long Zhi said that, a spark flashed on the fire. Both Long Zhi and Long Xue saw the spark and they stared at themselves with their eyes frozen, "What would happen if the fire begins to spark?"

Long Zhi jumped off the mountain and began running away as he shouted, "Crazy kid! I hope you survive this!"

Long Xue turned to face the large fire that swallowed his arm. The fire had already began to show multiple sparks. The sparks made ticking sounds that sounded like a countdown.

"Try to calm down, try to calm down!" Long Xue panicked as he took in deep breathes, and soon, the fire went off almost immediately.

Long Xue examined his palms to see if the fire was still there, but to his surprise it had completely disappeared.

"I did it!" Long Xue shouted out in excitement.

From a distance, Long Zhi shook his head as he spotted the large fire above the lad's head, "Tsk. Crazy kid. Even his fire is crazy too."

Long Xue was finally happy when all of a sudden the ticking sound started again. Long Xue also noticed everywhere was hotter than usual, and that the weather was brighter.

"Why is everywhere this hot? Is it usually so hot in the evening? Why is everywhere so bright? I'm pretty sure it should be past the seventeenth hour by now."

The ticking sound became more rapid, "Where is that sound coming from?"

Long Xue slowly tilted his head and noticed that his hair was on fire. Normally, he shouldn't have panicked because he was the one summoned the fire, it shouldn't harm him, but somehow, it did.

Long Xue could literally feel his brain fluid boiling, "Ah! Help! Ah!"

He ran back and forth and even to and fro shouting for help. Sooner rather than later, the ticking sound stopped as the sound of a loud bang blasted dust into the air, and the fire from the explosion literally disintegrated everything in its path.