Supervisor Wu's Schemes

Yi fell into darkness. He could not feel, see, or hear anything for the longest time.

He did not know whether he was dead or if he had simply lost consciousness. He did not even have any thoughts on the matter. Death was supposed to be scary but Yi felt calm. He felt as though he had returned home. He did not feel lonely in the vast emptiness that threatened to engulf him. He felt as though he was extremely familiar with this place. He closed his eyes and relaxed.

After what felt like an eternity, Yi began hearing some voices. He felt as though this was not supposed to happen. He did not want it to happen. He had achieved peace and now, this peace was being threatened by something. Yi suddenly woke up as though being pulled back to life. He sat upright as he gasped for breath. He grabbed his chest due to the great pain that came from there. He looked at his body after he had regained his bearings.

He saw a long wound on his chest. The wound was diagonal from his right shoulder to his stomach. He remembered the sword slash from one of the men who had killed the swordmaster. Yi could not believe he was still alive. He did not want to be alive. To him, surviving would mean countless years of pain and struggle. Yi was just twelve years old but he understood who he was. He knew that he was the kind of person who would never do things half-heartedly. When he died, he became content and came to terms with such a reality. Now that he had to live, Yi would not be willing to accept death, not again. Now that he was alive, he understood that he would do everything possible to make sure that he achieved eternity.

Yi calmed down and looked around the room. He saw a middle-aged woman seated on a chair next to the bed. She wore some weird-looking robes. She had a bright smile on her face. Yi said nothing. He immediately worked out what might have happened to him.

'It is most likely that Supervisor Wu is the one who sent those attackers to kill the sword master and steal his sword skill. He must have sent the letter saying something along the lines of completing payment for the skill. This letter will most likely serve as evidence for his purchase of the skill. He must have already planted some other crucial evidence in the swordmaster's residence to prove that he had bought the skill. The letter he sent me to deliver would serve as the final piece of evidence to show that he was not the one who had sent those masked men. If I had died during the attack, he would have most likely acknowledged me as his son and mourned my death to get public sympathy. Now that I have somehow been brought back to life, something must have gone wrong.' thought Yi as he lay back on the bed in silence. He continued working on possible scenarios until the woman spoke up.

"Now that you are awake, go to the hall next door. They are waiting for you."

Yi did not know who she meant but he did as he was told. In his position, it would be foolish to piss off this unknown woman.

Yi slowly stood up and looked around that small room. He said nothing he moved to put on some clothes that were placed to the side. After putting on the white robes, he looked like a proper young master. Yi bowed to the woman before walking out of the room.

"What an interesting young man," she said to no one in particular.

Yi walked as he tried to figure out what had gone wrong with the supervisor's sinister plan. When he reached the door to the hall, he stopped as though remembering something. The letter he had been given to take to the sword master was destroyed in the chaos. He remembered blood spilling all over the piece of paper. If the letter did not survive, Yi would have to serve as a witness to the events.

He then looked at the white robes and understood that his 'father' was trying to, make him look innocent and honest. He also realized that supervisor Wu would most likely acknowledge him as his son to buy some sympathy from the crowd and establish that he was indeed carrying out serious negotiations with the swordmaster and for this reason, he had sent his firstborn son to complete this very important trade with the sword master. Not only that, his firstborn son even almost died due to the savage attackers.

Yi regained his senses after a few seconds. He understood that it was best if he simply cooperated with the supervisor. Even if he were to make his thoughts on the matter known, he would most likely end up in an even worse situation. As for the supervisor, he would simply pay off the Town mayor and that would be the end of that.

Yi entered the hall and inside, he put on a show for the mayor, supervisor Wu, and the other families that held power in the town. He was so convincing that Supervisor Wu almost began thinking that this made-up story was the truth. He looked at this 'son 'of his with a new understanding of who he was. When he began feeling pride towards Yi, he forced himself to put a stop to it.

When Yi was asked his name and about the fact that he was an illegitimate son without any value to supervisor Wu.

Yi stood up for Supervisor Wu and claimed that those were just false rumors spread by the supervisor's enemies.

Yi even claimed that his name was of course Wu Yi and this had been so since the day he was born.

His lies and the proficiency with which he did it almost convinced Supervisor Wu that Yi was his son after all.

In the end, it was found that supervisor Wu had bought the swordmaster's sword skill righteously and properly.