Kai stood dumbfounded as he looked at a still smiling Hu Delun, his body still shivering and his mind in a frenzy. There is something strange going on with Delun, and Kai doesn't like whatever this feeling is.
"What do you want with Kai?" Taio narrows his eyes at Delun. Kai isn't the one to hide from people, and if Kai is hiding behind his back and it's because of Delun. Taio wants to know why.
"Like what I told Shufen, I am here to meet master Wang Feng-Huang's son. He is the talk of cultivation school and all over the Cultivation world." Delun replied, the smile never left his lips.
Kai shrinks further behind Taio, and the left sleeve of his robe.
"Well, as you can see. The little scarecrow doesn't like the attention." Shufen said in a boring tone. His hands folded across his chest and he yawned, clearly bored of the whole conversation.
Kai smiled to himself at Shufen's behavior. 'Did he just lie for me a while ago? Or, maybe he doesn't trust Delun? Anyway, that is so cool of Shufen.
"Oh, ok. Anyway, I hope to get to meet you in person soon." He looks over Taio's back at Kai. "Well Drogans, u bid you goodnight." Delun bow and leave.
The three Drogan disciples stood at the door and watched as Delun left, and never took their eyes off of him until he was no longer in their sight.
"That fellow creeps me out." Shufen broke the silence and said, before walking back into the room.
"He isn't the only one." Taio muttered, as he spun Kai around and back into the room.
Taio led Kai to the table where Shufen had already sat back down at his previous spot. Taio poured out two cups of tea, and pushed one over to Kai. He sips on his for a brief moment, and then moves it away from his lips and fiddles with the cup. As he started to take little glances at Kai, which made Kai on the other hand, feel uncomfortable. Even Shufen sat there wondering what was up with Taio.
"I'm Taio?" Kai put his cup down, cleared his throat and looked up at Taio.
"Y-yes?"
"Is there something you want to tell me, or ask me?"
Taio opens and closes his mouth, a deep blush forming on his cheeks. As he stretched his head. "Umm…oh..i-yes."
"What is it?" Kai smiled.
"This might sound weird, but I want you to stay away from Hu Delun."
Kai and Shufen both look at one another, and then back at Taio.
"Why?" Kai asks. Really glad that he wasn't the only one that thought that there is something off with Hu Delun.
"Because I don't trust him." Taio blurted, startling Shufen and Kai. Taio took a deep breath, and tried again to explain himself better. "There is something just off with him, and if he had fought Fong Woo and made it out alive. Then why is he just coming back after all that time? And why didn't the cultivators from his Sect find any trace of him? No, there is something suspicious going on, and Kai, I feel like you are a big part of whatever Delun is cooking up. So please, please stay away from him. Please." Taio begged, reaching over the table and taking both of Kai's hands in his.
"Don't worry, I already sense that there is something strange about Delun from when I saw him out in the courtyard. I just get this strange feeling whenever he is around, and I suddenly feel cold. When I look into his eyes, they look soulless. Not like when I stare at you and see brightness inside your eyes, or when I look at Shufen and see a lot of pride and confidence in his eyes. And not like when I see Qing yuan's soul, how pure and gentle his soul is." Kai smiles at nothing, as Qing yuan's face flashes through his mind.
"Don't you see his boringness as well?" Taio mumbled in a mocking voice, which made Shufen laugh.
"Hmm, what was that Taio?" Kai snapped from his little day dream.
"Nothing." Taio lies. "So, you don't trust him either?" He steers Kai away from his little rant.
"No, and the strangest of all. He doesn't have an aura around it. I can't see it, he is just blank." Kai takes a sip of his tea.
For the first time ever, Shufen actually smiled at Kai. "I didn't know you were so advanced in your Prospecting skills. You sure learn fast, keep up the good work." Shufen actually complimented Kai.
Kai beams with pride, as he thanks Shufen. He is like a child who got a reward or praise from his strict parents. "Thank you Shufen." Kai was going to bow in respect to Shufen, but Taio placed his hand on Kai's chest to stop him.
"This buffoon doesn't deserve your respect, he should be the one bowing to you. In fact, you might be a beginner but out of all of us here. You have the highest rank." Taio stuck his tongue out a Shufen who rolled his eyes at him.
Three weeks have passed and Kai has gotten better in his training. He has also mastered the art of controlling his fire element, and also how to manipulate it along with his water element. He has also improved in his martial arts as well, and Qing yuan and master Zhou couldn't be more proud. Kai also has improved in his studies as well, and he can memorize every rule and regulation on the Prospecting scrolls. And he knows everything and every history of all the seven kingdoms and different clans and sects. He even knows now about the history of the great war. He has even been reading about his biological father, and the amazing things he did. Kai has also been learning a few tricks on his own, and there is something that he found out that he hasn't told anyone. Not even Qing yuan and Taio whom he trusts dearly. One day he was at the Chunjie jingshen waterfalls, in an enclosed section of the Prospecting school, practicing some tricks with his water element. When he slipped on a rock covered in moss, and fell into the river. The water suddenly, out of nowhere got rough making it hard for Kai to resurface. He finally saw the roots of a tree that had made the water its home and grabbed onto it and started to use it to get back to the surface. But as soon as his head broke through the water, a huge wave crashed down on him sending him back under. He struggled to breathe, as he tried clawing back his way to the surface but failed. Kai started to panic, and his lungs started to get tight. He tried using his water ability, but it was no use. It's like something was blocking his powers. He could feel the last bit of oxygen he had left dissipate from his lungs, as he still continued to struggle. 'This can't be it, I can't go down like this. I don't want to die!' Kai cried. He gasped and too in water, as the need for air became unbearable. But he never gave up, he continued to try manipulating the water, but kept on failing. Which got him angry, and with one big hard slash of his right fist in front of him. A golden bright light emerge from his chest, and a silent blast rocked his body to the surface and onto the river bank. Kai coughed harshly, and all the water came rushing from his mouth as he tried to refill his lungs with air.
When Kai could breathe properly again, he looked down at his chest but saw nothing. But when he looked at his right hand that still formed into a fist, he opened his palm and saw a golden light formed into an orb. He looked closer at the little ball of swirling energy and sure enough, he saw a golden and water lotus in the middle of it. All that he had learnt about his biological father came flashing back to his mind, and it suddenly hit him. His father had passed on his gift to him, he now holds the purity or golden core, aka the lotus aura.
Kai decides not to let anyone know, and goes about like nothing happened. But he wasn't alone at the waterfalls that day. Because the person he avoids the most, was there watching him. He was also the one that made the water rough, and now Hu Delun had sent word to Fong Woo that Kai holds the lotus aura.