Evening arrived and I was summoned by Master Longwei through one of the students. I was told that Master Longwei was waiting for my arrival. At last, I entered the temple and found Master Longwei having a quiet devotion. It's another word to recess or a quiet time to talk to God or Buddha, whichever comes first.
Master Longwei saw me and stopped his devotion, asking me to close the door. I did what he ordered. I didn't know what he was up to, but I knew it had something to do with the powers he believes that I possess. I had a hunch that something wasn't right, but ignored my intuition anyway. His eyes kept looking back and forth towards the closed door, his breathing was as heavy and shallow as if he'd partook in a marathon race. Even his movements were quicker than usual, which was rare because whenever he walked across the room, his movements were always slow and steady as if at ease, not quick and calculating as if he's plotting to do something dangerous.
Master Longwei took off his jacket, his muscles flexing in every direction. He reminded me of Bolo, the actor from the Enter the Dragon film, starring Bruce Lee and Jim Kelly, but stockier and a few inches shorter than him in his hey days. I wondered what happened to him. What happened next surprised me, sending my norepinephrine levels through the roof. I got set for a fight that I was not cognizant of nor prepared for. I knew I was never a match for him or anyone else for that matter. The combat with Chung Lee was won by default. I hoped and prayed to Buddha and the Monks before him that it'd be the same with Master Longwei. "Come Lui, fight me. Let's see what you're made of!" he said, cracking his knuckles and twisting his back, making sure that he doesn't hurt himself.
I was scared and afraid, but I decided to put my fears to the side. Somewhere in the Heavens, I knew Mom and Dad were looking down at me as to say, we told you so. It was too late. I sealed my fate and that was that. I had to take what come may or suffer the consequences much worse than the one I was facing. "Alright." I said, nodding. "Let's go." I added.
I didn't look at the fight as a challenge. I saw it as an opportunity to learn a thing or two from him. "Land a hit on me if you can," he ordered. I charged at him, throwing various punches and kicks against him, in an attempt to hit him. He blocked all my attacks, fighting with just one hand while the other hand was placed behind his back. We went at it for a while: Me, throwing punch after punch, kick after kick, calculating my next move, wondering if I should give up or give it to him like I gave it to Chung Lee the other day, tear him a new butthole. At least try to anyway, whether if I possess my superpowers or not. Him, blocking my punches and kicks, moving around too quickly that I felt dizzy, close to calling it quits. My head fell back when Master Longwei landed a hook kick at the side of my face. KA-THUNK! I fell on the ground like a log of wood. Was my head bleeding? Thank God I was studying medicine because physical combat's not my specialty. I felt spasms all over my body. I think it was a mechanical shock. I had no control over my body as I reached the ground, landing against it. My head felt so heavy as if it had been loaded with a bag of cement and my eyes began to spin as I tried to pull myself up but to no avail. That man is not aware of his own strength, I contemplated, still in a daze from the kick landed against my face. Dear God! I need a strong cup of liquor and a cigarette. And I never had an alcoholic nor a nicotine habit a day in my life, but those two components were something I needed to keep me calm.
Witnessing me land on the ground the way I did, barely able to pick myself up off the soil, Master Longwei reached out to me and said with a concerned tone, "I'm so sorry, are you alright?" he expressed, trying to help me up. "Oh shit… here comes the boom!" I softly muttered to myself. Master Longwei hadn't expected a thing until my eyes turned white. The feeling of pain and dizziness vanished into thin air. As a matter of fact, I began to see clearer than ever before. I felt so much rage inside of me, I couldn't control myself.
BOOM!!
The ground beneath us shook like an earthquake, scaring the shit out of us. I landed a punch to his chest as he tried to help me up. The impact of my punch was so intense that it threw him over, in the sky, landing him hard against the ground. Blood gushed out of his mouth as he tried to carry himself up. The temple was big, and it had enough space inside to contain us as we fought, so nothing or no one could interrupt us. I charged at him with full force when he yelled, "Stop Lui, stop!" But I didn't listen. My mind and body were in another space, charged with forces so strong that it could kill me if I weren't careful or if I used it too much, whatever the case maybe. "Stop Lui," he weakly repeated. Again, I didn't take heed to his plea. I swung multiple punches and kicks at him as if there was no tomorrow. He tried to defend himself, but it was hopeless. If he'd land a punch; I would throw three or four punches towards his dorsal and ventral area. If he'd land a kick towards my hind leg; I would land a fiercer kick towards his face and groin.
At that point, I became indestructible and too strong for my own good. Master Longwei could not beat me anymore because I was suddenly too much for him to handle. With blood pouring out of his mouth like a fountain, he begged once more. "Stop Lui," he said. "Please!" he added. Again, I didn't listen. How could I listen? I was not Lui, the shy, spineless kid that no one liked. I was Zhèngyì zhī wáng, the Lord of Justice. I was unbreakable. I was hazardous. I was as deadly as they come, and no one could stop me if they tried. Without a second notion, I landed an axe kick against his chest. This kick is the riskiest moves in the form of martial arts. Wrong move can cause lung damage and an instant trip to the infirmary. Master Longwei managed to block the kick with his hands but still the impact was too strong, and he knew it. It was so intense that he staggered backwards and only managed to prevent himself from falling to the ground.
Immediately, I charged at him the third time with more strength. He begged and begged until he could hardly say anything else. "Stop it Liu, you crazy boy!" he yelled as loud as he could but no avail. I had lost complete control over my mind and body. There was a burning rage inside me, nothing like the one I had when I first experienced my powers, during my fight against Chung Lee. This time it was a totally different feeling. A feeling that I could not describe. I went towards him, tossing more kicks and punches at him. Finally, I landed a scissors kick over his waist and brought him down to the ground. Then, I folded a massive punch, reaching out to land it on his face. "I said stop! Stop!! Please stop!!!" he exclaimed some more, in attempt to stop me again, only to have failed once again. If he knew that the Lord of Justice superpowers were too powerful, then why initiate the fight in the first place?
Immediately I heard my father's voice, telling me that enough is enough. "Stop your incivility once and for all," he commanded. Apparently, ashamed of what I had done to Master Longwei. Looking down at Master Longwei, I realized that I was repeating what my father did to me when I was a kid. In this scenario, Master Longwei was me, begging the kid I was competing against not to kill me and I was the kid that nearly beat his brains out of his skull. "You were about to do something foolish until I intervened. Do what I say." he added.
Minutes later, I returned to my senses and found Master Longwei on the ground with my fist in his face, close to dismantling his facial structure. He exhaled heavily, relieved that Dad intervened. If it hadn't been for Dad, Master Longwei would've been dead while I would have been exiled not just from the Temple, but from the country. I would have lived many years with images of Master Longwei's deceased body flashing in my mind like a camera, capturing every moment of him begging me to stop hurting him but decided to take the man's life instead of controlling my anger and nursing the master back to health.
Fear displayed on his face as if he'd saw a ghost. All I had to say was 'Boo' and he would have sped away like a track star. The frightened look on his face shattered my heart into a million pieces. He really thought I was going to kill him. It wasn't me Liu, the sensitive, studious kid that he was confronting, it's the Lord of Justice that he was combating. Then again, how would I explain the situations to the Monks if I were to have killed Master Longwei? Let's be real; we'd recently lost one too many instructors to count. Master Longwei was our last beam of hope. So, why make something worse than it already is?
Anyways, who could blame Master Longwei for being scared and assuming that he was going to die before his time? I would have thought the same thing too, if I were in his shoes. In any case, I was so ashamed of my actions that I ran off, leaving him behind.
I couldn't stand the sight of him. He was bruised, bloody and in bad shape.
Mortified, I ran into my room and locked myself inside, promising myself that I would never utilize those powers again. If I must live the rest of my life as a coward, then so be it. I'd rather be a wimp with a conscious than a murderer possessed with everything except a kind heart. "God doesn't like ugly." Mama once said, teaching me the difference between right and wrong. Her words rang in my ears, "Don't let the superpowers destroy your heart. Your power begins within." I wondered what she meant, only to realize that I would find out sooner than later. I fell asleep, giving my mind and body much needed rest.