After Feng Furen had left, Hui Lan was left sitting alone in the same place.
Her crystal clear eyes stared into her empty teacup that had no contents inside.
Just like the question Feng Furen had left to her, there were no such contents that were left behind for Hui Lan.
It was like a mind guessing game that Hui Lan had to guess what was on Feng Furen's mind.
...It could be anything...from out of space to the earth and to the ocean.
...But there was only one answer.
From time to time, Hui Lan's long lashes would flutter whenever she blinked. When she thought of something, her soft brows would be furrowed from time to time.
These small actions came out naturally as she put on her thinking hat.
...What never blows away with the wind, never merges with the light but cannot live without light, and is a cast out?
...Only darkness did not merge with the light...and without light, there cannot be darkness for both came together...
...Darkness does not waver...and is still for it is too dark to see anything... the darkness that is cast out...could only be…
...Shadow?
Hui Lan picked up her empty cup and raised it up in the air. The light lanterns in the big space that had been shining its light for the entire room shone upon the cup and behind the object, a shadow was cast out.
Hui Lan tilted her head as she looked at the shadow that had been cast out. She stared at the shadow and could see how still it was.
She then lifted up the cup higher in the air and the shadow moved along with it like a loyal follower.
...The shadow does not blow away whenever the wind or something else tries to make it move. Only when the owner of the shadow moves, so does the shadow move.
...It has been as such and will continue to be like this.
Hui Lan got up from her seat and glanced at the teacup one last time, before heading her way out. She thought of it carefully and thoroughly.
Furthermore, she was sure that if she answered this answer she would not regret it either.
...So be it!
Hui Lan walked out with a steady heart and steady footsteps. She was ready to hand over her exam answer.
Only the hourglass that was not even halfway and was still flowing down like a sinking sand flowing down a drain. However, the candidate had already made her way out to her examiner.
Feng Furen could hear the small footsteps coming over towards her direction and looked forward to what this young lady would have to say for her.
This question was particularly picked out for her. If she could answer the same answer Feng Furen had in her mind, then all the tests, she had passed them all.
This question was not only finding the answer to it but also a mind game.
Hui Lan's first test was to test how she would solve the problem when she did not have any strength and to confirm her identity. Her second test was to see how she would move in facing her opponents. The last test was to see whether she could answer and guess what was on someone else's mind.
The new student had already finished the first two tests and now, she had the last test awaiting for her.
Walking out from the separate room, Hui Lan could see Feng Furen sitting leisurely on top of one of the branches from the Yun tree.
...Yun tree? The name was just the same as the mountain...Mt Yun...hm.
Nevertheless, Hui Lan walked up towards Feng Furen who was hanging above her.
"You have the answer?" Feng Furen asked without looking up from her book, "But the time is not over yet, you're sure you do not want to think it over?" Feng Furen tested Hui Lan.
...That was the same question she had asked herself and her last answer to that question was...yes. Since she was young, whenever she had an exam, before she would send in her papers, she would always ask herself if she was already satisfied with the answers or if she was not going to regret it. Until she came to an agreement with herself, then she would hand in her papers.
...Now was such the time that she felt sure with herself. She was ready.
Hui Lan confirmed with a bright smile, "More than ready!"
Feng Furen raised her brow.
...Since Hui Lan was ready, then she too was ready to listen to her.
Feng Furen placed her book down on the big tree branch before turning herself to face Hui Lan, "Good! What is your answer?"
Hui Lan opened her lips and spoke, "It is a shadow!"
After the answer was thrown out, both looked at each other for a short moment before Feng Furen finally revealed a smile.
"Very well." Feng Furen then threw the book that she had been reading to Hui Lan, "Catch!"
As the book was flying towards her direction, Hui Lan quickly caught the books in her arms. She looked down at the book puzzledly.
Nevertheless, Feng Furen quickly cleared her questions, "For you to read and practise yourself. This book was written by my master from where I had come from. I hope you will be able to learn from it."
Hui Lan eventually flipped the book around to see the front of it. The title of the cover wrote...
...'Shadow Book'
Feng Furen got up to stand on the branch nimbly, "Take some time to read it. If you walk out from that door, you can get some fresh air. I will cook you some food as your reward, so take your time reading it. Tomorrow, you will get your first training from us."
Hui Lan looked up from the book. Before she could say anything, Feng Furen had already made her way to one of the rooms in the hall.
Hui Lan could only watch as Feng Furen's back disappeared into a room that must be the kitchen. She then looked at the direction Feng Furen had mentioned and there was a round wooden door carved onto the wall.
Tree patterns were drawn onto the door that looked just like the Yun tree in the middle. It seemed, everywhere in this arena, the Yun tree was the centre of it all.
Nevertheless, Hui Lan made her way towards the closed door.
It seemed like any other ordinary door, but it was one of those doors that would lead to a mysterious land of some sort.
Upon arriving closer to the door, the door that seemed quite small from afar was twice the size of her height. Her eyes explored the patterns of the door and to the golden lion doorknob.
...Hm, very grand indeed.
Hui Lan pushed the door forward and with a loud heavy door sound the door opened before her.
What laid beyond the door made Hui Lan gasp in amazement.
Her eyes sparkled like a million stars at one time.
...This place...was it even real?
She took a small step forward in wonder and the next step was history.
Hui Lan was in the middle of a green garden with trees aligned beautifully around her. The entire place was filled with green grass and different kinds of flowers.
Above her was a wide open roof and the sky was as close to her than ever before. She looked up and the sky was already an orange pinkish colour.
...It has been this long already? She had come to this place since the morning and now the sun was already setting.
She looked behind at the place where she had come from. Around the place was a gigantic ground looking like a small hill, it seemed that the place was built underground.
Hui Lan looked back at where she was and around her was a huge wall that almost reached the sky with the rooftop wide open. It seemed there must have been a defensive line around the rooftop for she could not see or hear anything or any living thing coming closer to it.
She could still remember those sounds from the wolves when she entered this place and it was not something she would want to mess around with. She took another look around and the more she fell in love with this private wood space she had to herself.
With the book in her hand, she went ahead and sat underneath the tree in front of her.
After settling down, she could finally open the book that had been gifted to her by Feng Furen.
..Shadow Book…
Upon opening the first page, two sharp characters were written onto it
...Yin Ying.
Then, upon opening the second page, the two pages were all drawings of a person posing in different kinds of poses.
It all looked so full of life.
As she looked at them, it looked like these were some kind of move for...martial arts?
Hui Lan continued to open the next few pages and they were all a drawing of a person doing different kinds of posing, all looking very different yet so smooth like water. She went back to the first few pages and observed the moves more.
In a way, they kind of looked like someone dancing and there was a drawing for every step.
No words were written, just simply real life looking drawings.
...These moves...they did not look too hard…
...She did not know why but it was as if she was drawn into it.
Despite some of the pains lingering in her muscles, Hui Lan decided to get up and place the book in front of her.
After setting up her view, she began to slowly replicate the moves from the book.
She started out slow, but soon her body began to follow along and remember the same moves she had been doing.
And as if she was like a dancer, she was spinning around and whirling her arms, her legs, and her whole body.
Hui Lan was in her own moment, alone in the garden, flowing along with the waves of wind.
Practising the different moves, Hui Lan had forgotten the time and was simply enjoying herself.
While Hui Lan was down below the hearth, it was time for the sun to wave goodbye to one edge of the earth to greet another corner of the earth.