Spreading one's wings

The old man's face darkened, directing his eyes full of killing intent toward Nga Khwe. He positioned his body between Maung Nyo and Nga Khwe, ordering Maung Nyo to stay behind him. Yet, Maung Nyo did not respond. Why can't I move? Panic rose within him as he felt the weight of Nga Khwe's killing intent. The old man glanced toward him and saw that he was frozen.

Nga Khwe seized the momentary distraction. He made the ground underneath the old man turn into the soft sand, causing him to lose his footing and then swung a powerful strike at him.

Despite losing his footing, the old man reacted with remarkable agility. He kicked the soft ground with such intensity that it collapsed rapidly, creating a strong explosion that pushed him up into the air. While he was in the air, he twisted his body spinning toward Nga Khwe, aiming to kick at him.

Nga Khwe sidestepped the attack and charged straight towards Maung Nyo ignoring the old man. 

The old man rushed towards Maung Nyo but Nga Khwe was there first, cutting Maung Nyo's left side. Maung Nyo screamed in pain and fell to the ground.

"Stay away from him!" the old man roared. The surrounding temperatures began to rise. His speed became even faster. He struck Nga Khwe with his palm, melting Nga Khwe's sword when he used it to block the attack and pushing him away. 

Blades of grasses and leaves start to burn due to extreme heat yet Maung Nyo remained unaffected, protected by the old man's precise control.

"Now you are finally serious. How ironic that a man who was known to read countless manuals uses tejo (flame)1 to fight," Nga Khwe exclaimed.

The old man picked up Maung Nyo from the ground, putting a pill into Maung Nyo's mouth to heal him. 

Strangely Nga Khwe did not take advantage of the opening.

"Finished?" he taunted.

The old man did not respond. Instead, he hit Maung Nyo's pressure point causing him to lose consciousness. 

When Maung Nyo woke up, he saw the surroundings destroyed and numerous bodies scattered throughout. He concluded that Nga Khwe had brought reinforcements but they had been defeated by his grandfather.

Maung Nyo checked his wound. It was healed quite decently. He wondered how good his grandfather's medicine was to heal him so quickly from a severe wound. He tried to stand up but his legs were not responding. Why won't my legs move? He inhaled deeply and tried again, but still, it didn't work. He exhaled slowly. After a few tries, he finally managed to stand.

Maung Nyo started looking around for his grandfather. He tried to shout for his grandfather but he could not make a voice due to trauma. Please, let him be alright, Maung Nyo wished.

Minutes had passed. Maung Nyo found his grandfather and tears started flowing from his eyes. "Grandpa!" He rushed towards the old man, who appeared noticeably weakened and exhausted. The old man's eye shone brightly as he called out to Maung Nyo, inviting him to embrace. " Child, you woke up."

Maung Nyo embraced the old man. "Grandpa, I am glad you are..."

"Not now, child. I do not have much time. I might look fine on the outside but all of my vital organs were burned by using my power beyond its limits. I have a lot of things to say. Things that I wish I could have said when you were older," said the old man. Maung Nyo, crying, stayed silent, heeding the old man's wish.

The old man looked at Maung Nyo's eyes and continued, " I can still vividly remember the day I found you. It was in a clearing near the beggars' village. I heard the voice of a crying baby and followed the sound. There I found a baby warmly embraced by his dead mother who had starved to death. As a righteous man, I couldn't leave the innocent baby alone to die in the woods. So, I decided to bring you to my sunrise sect and gave you a name, Maung Nyo for your skin and eyes appeared brown due to malnutrition."

The old man paused for a moment to swallow his saliva and continued," When I arrived back to the sect, I brought you to my senior brother, the sect leader of the sunrise sect." 

While the old man was speaking, a vision of an old memory reappeared to him.

In a room with a large wooden desk, intricately carved with symbols of the Sunrise Sect, a loud voice echoed.

"Why did you forbid the child from entering the sect, brother?" argued the old man, holding a child.

"I couldn't, junior brother. I couldn't do it for the sake of the sect." The sect leader apologized. 

"Why?"

"Because he is the bearer of misfortune! Do you know why he and his mother were away from the beggars' village when you found him? The beggars were impacted by his misfortune and couldn't beg anything for three months straight. Finally, they decided to draw lots to find a person causing them so much misfortune, and his mother drew the lot seven times in a row. They cast her and her child out of the village. The child and his mother lived in the woods near the village struggling to find decent food until the mother died of starvation and the baby met you," the sect leader explained.

"Senior brother, even if you can see a year into the past and the future with your divine eye (Dibba-Cakkhu)2, you can't tell for certain that the boy will keep suffering from misfortune for his entire life. Don't you remember one of our late master's teachings about altering one's fate?" the old man pleaded.

"Junior brother, although I can only see a year into the future, the boy was born under the unlucky comet. The harm he could bring to the sect if we kept him here is unimaginable. If the junior brother insists on keeping him, you must raise him by yourself outside the sect. Do not pass any of our sect teachings on to him except basic martial arts." The sect leader affirmed. 

"Fine, I will raise him myself." the old man conceded. 

As the old man spoke of his encounter with Maung Nyo, Maung Nyo couldn't help but ponder if the sect leader of the sunrise sect was correct in his words since he brought misfortune to his grandfather. 

"This is how you became my grandson," the old man smiled.

"Grandpa.." Maung Nyo wept.

"Do you hate me for keeping this a secret from you?" 

"No, I could never hate you."

"Take this ring." the old man handed the ring to Maung Nyo. 

"It contained the sect's martial arts manuals. I wrote them when I discovered the news about the sunrise sect's destruction. It includes most of the sect's martial arts and secret manuals that can only be accessible by elders. The only ones missing are the secret martial arts exclusively accessible by the sect leader." the old man revealed.

When Maung Nyo took the ring, the old man's face turned serious, "Although the late sect leader forbade me from passing you the sect's martial arts, as the acting sect leader, I lifted the ban and named you as the fifth sect leader of our sunrise set. You will rebuild the sect and lead it back to its former glory."

"It is an honor, acting sect leader. Please accept my kowtow." Maung Nyo insisted, trying to hold back his tears.

Maung Nyo left his grandfather's embrace and kowtow to him three times.

"I am sorry, child. I do not want to give you such a burden. You have to leave now child. Soon, more people from the demon sect will come and inspect this place. They will kill you if you are found."

"Remember my child. Fate can be altered by doing good deeds. Do not let your misfortune change you."

"Grandpa..." Maung Nyo wept and kowtowed to the old man three more times. " I am leaving grandfather."

The old man watched over Maung Nyo's departing figure and whispered. "It is a shame that I couldn't be there to see you grow up and have a family. Go on, spread your wings, and proudly soar towards the infinite sky."