Chapter 51 - Predator or Prey

Trexa gran angrily ran towards the old man, but Zou Yue cupped her in his hands. "Let's wait. Everything comes to a man who is patient," he whispered with a small smile.

He knelt down again, with his back straight this time.

Time went by and it was already the evening..... The person inside the room was still practicing after taking short breaks.

He listened to the mesmerising sound of sword whist closing his eyes.

The sound stopped late in the evening.

He remained still in the meditative pose with his eyes closed.

"You know there is a snake in this yard," a husky voice said above him.

Zou Yue opened his eyes and glanced up to see a young man in traditional Japanese clothes. "I am not a snake," he whispered.

The young man squatted down in front of him, grunting softly. "You know something. There is a food chain that exists in the wild. The predators eat the prey."

Zou Yue gritted his teeth. "What are you implying?"

"What else? You are the prey here, and I am the predator. You are the rat whist I am the snake," he said with a sarcastic smile. "So know your place before you get eaten,"

Zou Yue tightly clenched his fists. He silently sat there, unmoving.

"So your really won't leave. Fine, we shall do it the hard way." The man stood up and walked back to the room. He came back out with a snake in hand.

Yue glanced at him with a deep frown.

"This is Freya, she's a black mamba... she stayed in this yard for a long time before I accepted her as my pet..." he whispered caressing the snake's black shimmering scales. The cobra raised its head, ready to bite into anything in its sight.

"hisss!!!!!"

And as expected, its beady black eyes focused on Trexa gran.

Zou Yue swiftly pulled Trexa back protectively.

"This is your last chance. Get lost,"

He remained unmoving.

"sigh I admire your cowering self a bit more now," he placed the snake on the ground.

It swiftly slithered over to him.

Zou yue readily held his suitcase to hit it if it attacked her but to his surprise Trexa gran jumped onto it.

"Trexa!! Oh my god!!" he rushed to her.

But his rat had everything under control. It clawed the snake's face and swiftly threw kicks and punches.

The snake spread its hood but the rat kicked it right in between its eyes.

The snake tried its best to fight back, but Trexa gran overpowered it by a large scale.

"Squeak!!!" Trexa gran gripped the snake's slimy body and slammed it down on the ground like a pro wrestler.

Zou Yue mentally clapped for her. 'The time you spent watched WWF with dad paid off my dear daughter!!!'

The snake hit its head on a random piece of rock and lost consciousness and his baby Trexa stood on top of it victoriously.

"H—how....." the man stuttered with a look of disbelief.

Zou Yue glanced at him intently. "Food chain? Predator?? Let me tell you something. A cornered rat can fight much better than a cocky snake. When in emergency, food chain crumbles, only fight-or-flight instincts remain."

He moved closer and stood tall in front of him. 

"For a powerful predator that fight or flight will always tell it to run because it can always find another prey. But for that the rat only fighting can save its life."

"Do you understand the difference now?" Zou Yue unblinkingly peered into his deep black eyes.

The man looked surprised for a second, but soon his lips rose up. "Well done. Uncle Rain, can you arrange a room and hot soup for our guest," he smilingly patted his back.

A servant instantly ran to him and picked up his baggage. "Please come this way, master,"

Zou Yue's eyes only focused on the young man in training clothes.

The man had been hostile to him just minutes ago, but now he was laughing and smiling like nothing happened.

"Why?" he whispered, the only question in his mind.

The man picked his snake up and gently caressed it. "I hate ones who grovel. Because down on the ground they can easily pull the carpet under you,"

"So keep your knees clean, kid. No one is worth throwing away your pride,"

Zou Yue finally understood.

The old man had accepted him and his disciple of his was testing him further.

If for a second he had shown weakness or begged to him, he would have been thrown out of the house instantly.

All his memories of his apocalypse days resurfaced. Days of him grovelling in front of those thugs. Days of him picking up scraps, eating mud...

'Power..... this is the difference in power.'

He picked up Trexa, who was squeaking in joy, and caressed her. "Trexa gran... I wish to be this powerful... powerful enough to keep my knees clean." he glanced at his stained pants with renewed passion.